Windows is the OS I use every day, even though it does plenty of things I don't like. I've tried switching to Linux more than once, and I keep finding reasons to give it another shot, but I always end up back on Windows. For all its faults, it still works best with the apps, hardware, and workflow that I rely on every day.

If you haven't used Excel in a while, you may be surprised by how much it has changed. Whether you switched to Google Sheets, moved to open-source software, stayed with an older version, or simply stopped following updates, Microsoft has added features that could dramatically change how you work with spreadsheets.

For years, I accepted Excel's ribbon exactly as Microsoft designed it, even though I only used a fraction of its commands. After spending 10 minutes removing the clutter and reorganizing my favorite tools, I had a personalized workspace that sped up my workflow and stayed with me every time I opened Excel.

After years of using Excel, it's easy to fall into muscle memory. You click the same ribbon tabs, rely on the same shortcuts, and barely notice when Microsoft adds new tools. That's how I initially overlooked Focus Cell, a simple feature that solved one of my biggest frustrations when working in Excel.

If you've ever used Win+Shift+S for quick screenshots, you'll know how handy it can be and how much time it can save. But there's another shortcut that's even more useful. On recent versions of Windows 11, Win+Shift+T extracts editable text directly from your screen, turning information trapped in images, PDFs, and presentation slides into text you can immediately reuse.

Excel isn't known for being pretty, but the overlooked IMAGE function changes that. I'd used the IMAGE function before for simple visuals, but I wanted to see how far it could go. So I put it to the test by building a couple of interactive tools, and by the end, my spreadsheets felt more like apps than worksheets.

I use FOSS (free and open-source) tools every day on my Linux machine. But before I started really getting into it, there was one app that changed the way I thought about software to that point: LibreOffice. Discovering it changed my mind about how I use software and I consider it a hidden gem that's hiding in plain sight.

I used to spend far too much time building and debugging complex Excel formulas. Now, I can describe a problem to AI and get a working answer in seconds. But when I asked ChatGPT, Claude, and Gemini for the "best" Excel formula, they all gave me different answers.

Are you fed up with Microsoft's invasive behavior? They're increasingly inserting themselves into your digital life, collecting your data and outright disrespecting your wishes. It would normally anger me, but there’s no Microsoft on my system, and I'll explain why.

Network issues can often be infuriating because everything seems to work as it's supposed to—except your internet connection. Then your internet connection starts working fine, but websites take forever to load. Then there are those frustrating intermittent connection issues that come and go seemingly at random.

Microsoft has been on a roll recently, bringing new Windows 11 features left and right. The latest one to reach general availability (meaning it's available to every Windows 11 user, not just Windows Insiders) is called point-in-time restore, and from what I've seen, it's essentially a modern take on System Restore, which has been around for more than a quarter of a century, first debuting with Windows ME back in 2000.

I spent years fighting Excel's default behavior before realizing many of its biggest annoyances could be fixed in minutes. These buried settings changed the way I work and let me customize Excel to behave exactly how I want. Best of all, I only had to change them once, and Excel remembers my preferences every time I open the program.

Most of us use the same handful of Excel commands every day, overlooking features designed to make our spreadsheets easier to manage. This weekend, explore five hidden gems that can change the way you work with Excel.