Excel

Workday Adaptive Planning introduces Adaptive Decision Intelligence, an AI-driven platform aiming to replace Excel in financial planning by integrating data from multiple sources and enabling real-time scenario planning. The feature, currently in early testing, is designed to address version-control issues and data-wrangling challenges common in spreadsheet-based workflows. Workday acquired Adaptive in 2018 for $1.5 billion, and the platform now serves over 7,000 customers.

XLIDE is a new tool that allows users to run Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) code in Visual Studio Code without requiring Excel. The project, hosted on GitHub by WilliamSmithEdward, aims to provide a more flexible development environment for VBA automation tasks.

Microsoft has added an option to move the floating Copilot Dynamic Action Button to the ribbon toolbar after widespread user complaints about it obscuring content in productivity applications. The change, rolling out this week, allows users to toggle the assistant's visibility and represents Microsoft's response to feedback about forcing Copilot on users. Windows leadership has also promised a broader reduction in Copilot entry points across the operating system.

Microsoft is rolling out updates to Office apps next week that will allow users to disable the Copilot button that appears in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. The floating button had frustrated many users, particularly Excel users, as it obstructed cells and couldn't be fully disabled. Microsoft acknowledges the need for more user control over how Copilot appears in its applications.

The UK antitrust regulator is investigating Microsoft Office for potentially uncompetitive bundling of Word, Excel, Teams, and Copilot. The investigation aims to determine if this bundling practice is unfair. Microsoft's office software suite is widely used.

Microsoft is updating its Copilot feature in Office to make it easier to access and use, with a new icon and updated keyboard shortcuts. The changes aim to address user feedback and will be available in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for Windows and Mac by early June. However, some users have expressed frustration with the feature's intrusive design.

A user discovered a formula that causes Excel to malfunction, highlighting an unexpected issue unrelated to Oracle ERP. The story is part of The Register's On Call column, which shares reader-submitted tech support anecdotes.

A 17-year-old critical Excel vulnerability is being actively exploited, prompting CISA to issue an alert. Microsoft addressed the flaw via Patch Tuesday updates, but the outdated bug remains a target for cyberattacks.