Excel has two new tools to help you right powerful and complex formulas to increase your Excel-fu and increase productivity: Formula Suggestions and Formula by Example.

Formula Suggestions

In Formula Suggestions, Excel will do some clever trickery based on what is sees around the spreadsheet. So in a “Total” column, Excel might suggest a SUM() formula. Check out this video of it in action:

Formulas suggested are SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, COUNTA, MIN, and MAX.

Formula by Example

When typing into cells that relate to other cells, Excel may suggest a formula to automatically fill the rest of the column or row. If Excel ‘sees’ a text pattern being typed repeatedly, it will suggest a formula that will do the job for the rest of the column. See it action in the video below:

If you need more formula tips, check our essential Excel functions and our other Excel tips.