Ryan King Art writes: In this Blender tutorial we will create this Futuristic Stylized Ringed Planet. Source

The ways roads are used, with ever larger and heavier vehicles, have dramatic consequences on the environment – and electric cars are not the answer Today, there is an average of 37 tonnes of road per inhabitant of the planet. The weight of the road network alone accounts for a third of all construction worldwide, and has grown exponentially in the 20th century. There is 10 times more bitumen, in mass, than there are living animals. Yet growth in the mass of roads does not automatically correspond to population growth, or translate into increased length of road networks. In wealthier countries, the number of metres of road per inhabitant has actually fallen over the last century. In the United States, for instance, between 1905 and 2015 the length of the network increased by a factor of 1.75 and the population by a factor of 3.8, compared with 21 for the mass of roads. Roads have become wider and, above all, much thicker. To understand the evolution of these parameters, and their environmental impact, it is helpful to trace the different stages in the life of the motorway.  Until the early 20th century, roads were used for various modes of transport, including horses, bicycles, pedestrians and trams; as a result of the construction of railways, road traffic even declined in some European countries in the 19th century. The main novelty brought by the motorway was that they would be reserved for motorised traffic. In several languages, the word itself – autostrada, autobahn, autoroute or motorway – speaks of this exclusivity.  Roman roads varied from simple corduroy roads, made by placing logs perpendicular to the direction of the road over a low or swampy area, to paved roads, as this engraving from Jean Rondelet’s 19th‑century Traité Théorique et Pratique de l’Art de Bâtir shows. Using deep roadbeds of tamped rubble as an underlying layer to ensure that they kept dry, major roads were often stone-paved, metalled, cambered for drainage and flanked by footpaths, bridleways and drainage ditches Like any major piece of infrastructure, motorways became the subject of ideological discourse, long before any shovel hit the ground; politicians underlined their role in the service of the nation, how they would contribute to progress, development, the economy, modernity and even civilisation. The inauguration ceremony for the construction of the first autostrada took place in March 1923, presided over by Italy’s prime minister Benito Mussolini. The second major motorway programme was announced by the Nazi government in 1933, with a national network planned to be around 7,000 kilometres long. In his 2017 book Driving Modernity: Technology, Experts, Politics, and Fascist Motorways, 1922–1943, historian Massimo Moraglio shows how both programmes were used as propaganda tools by the regimes, most notably at the international road congresses in Milan in 1926 and Munich in 1934. In the European postwar era, the notion of the ‘civilising’ effect of roads persevered. In 1962, Valéry Giscard d’Estaing, then‑secretary of state for finances and later president of France, argued that expanded motorways would bring ‘progress, activity and life’. This discourse soon butted up against the realities of how motorways affected individuals and communities. In his 2011 book Fighting Traffic: The Dawn of the Motor Age in the American City, Peter D Norton explores the history of resistance to the imposition of motorised traffic in North American cities. Until the 1920s, there was a perception that cars were dangerous newcomers, and that other street and road uses – especially walking – were more legitimate. Cars were associated with speed and danger; restrictions on motorists, especially speed limits, were routine.  Built between 1962 and 1970, the Westway was London’s first urban motorway, elevated above the city to use less land. Construction workers are seen stressing the longitudinal soffit cables inside the box section of the deck units to achieve the bearing capacity necessary to carry the weight of traffic Credit: Heritage Image Partnership Ltd / Alamy To gain domination over cities, motor vehicles had to win priority over other street uses. Rather than restricting the flow of vehicles to minimise the risk of road accidents, a specific infrastructure was dedicated to them: both inner‑city roads and motorways. Cutting through the landscape, the motorway had, by definition, to be inaccessible by any other means of transport than motorised vehicle. To guarantee the fluidity of traffic, the construction of imposing bridges, tunnels and interchanges is necessary, particularly at junctions with other roads, railways or canals. This prioritisation of one type of user inevitably impacts journeys for others; as space is fragmented, short journeys are lengthened for those trying to navigate space by foot or bicycle.  Enabling cars to drive at around 110–140km/h on motorways, as modern motorways do, directly impacts their design, with major environmental effects: the gradient has to be gentle (4 per cent), the curves long (1.5km in radius) and the lanes wide, to allow vehicles to overtake each other safely. As much terrain around the world is not naturally suited to these requirements, the earthworks are considerable: in France, the construction of a metre of highway requires moving some 100m3 of earth, and when the soil is soft, full of clay or peat, it is made firmer with hydraulic lime and cement before the highway’s first sub‑layers are laid. This material cost reinforces the criticisms levelled in the 1960s, by the likes of Jane Jacobs and Lewis Mumford, at urban planning that prioritised the personal motor vehicle. When roads are widened to accommodate more traffic, buildings are sliced and demolished, as happened in Dhaka’s Bhasantek Road in 2021 Credit: Dhaka Tribune Once built, the motorway is never inert. Motorway projects today generally anticipate future expansion (from 2×2 to 2×3 to 2×4 lanes), and include a large median strip of 12m between the lanes, with a view to adding new ones. Increases in speed and vehicle sizes have also translated into wider lanes, from 2.5m in 1945 to 3.5m today. The average contemporary motorway footprint is therefore 100 square metres per linear metre. Indeed, although the construction of a road is supposed to reduce congestion, it also generates new traffic and, therefore, new congestion. This is the principle of ‘induced traffic’: the provision of extra road capacity results in a greater volume of traffic. The Katy Freeway in Texas famously illustrates this dynamic. Built as a regular six‑lane highway in the 1960s, it was called the second worst bottleneck in the nation by 2004, wasting 25 million hours a year of commuter time. In 2011, the state of Texas invested US$2.8 billion to fix this problem, widening the road to a staggering total of 26 lanes. By 2014, the morning and afternoon traffic had both increased again. The vicious circle based on the induced traffic has been empirically demonstrated in most countries: traffic has continued to increase and congestion remains unresolved, leading to ever-increasing emissions. In the EU, transport is the only sector where greenhouse gas emissions have increased in the past three decades, rising 33.5 per cent between 1990 and 2019. Transport accounts for around a fifth of global CO₂ emissions today, with three quarters of this figure linked to road transport. Houston’s Katy Freeway is one of the world’s widest motorways, with 26 lanes. Its last expansion, in 2008, was initially hailed as a success, but within five years, peak travel times were longer than before the expansion – a direct illustration of the principle of induced traffic Credit: Smiley N Pool / Houston Chronicle / Getty Like other large transport infrastructures such as ports and airports, motorways are designed for the largest and heaviest vehicles. Engineers, road administrations and politicians have known since the 1950s that one truck represents millions of cars: the impact of a vehicle on the roadway is exponential to its weight – an online ‘road damage calculator’ allows you to compare the damage done by different types of vehicles to the road. Over the years, heavier and heavier trucks have been authorised to operate on roads: from 8‑tonne trucks in 1945 to 44 tonnes nowadays. The European Parliament adopted a revised directive on 12 March 2024 authorising mega‑trucks to travel on European roads; they can measure up to 25 metres and weigh up to 60 tonnes, compared with the previous limits of 18.75 metres and 44 tonnes. This is a political and economic choice with considerable material effects: thickness, rigidity of sub‑bases and consolidation of soil and subsoil with lime and cement. Altogether, motorways are 10 times thicker than large roads from the late 19th century. In France, it takes an average of 30 tonnes of sand and aggregate to build one linear metre of motorway, 100 times more than cement and bitumen.  The material history of road networks is a history of quarrying and environmental damage. The traces of roads can also be seen in rivers emptied of their sediment, the notches of quarries in the hills and the furrows of dredgers extracting sand from the seabed. This material extraction, arguably the most significant in human history, has dramatic ecological consequences for rivers, groundwater tables, the rise of sea levels and saltwater in farmlands, as well as biodiversity. As sand is ubiquitous and very cheap, the history of roads is also the history of a local extractivism and environmental conflicts around the world.  Shoving and rutting is the bulging and rippling of the pavement surface. Once built, roads require extensive maintenance – the heavier the vehicles, the quicker the damage. From pothole repair to the full resurfacing of a road, maintenance contributes to keeping road users safe Credit: Yakov Oskanov / Alamy Once roads are built and extended, they need to be maintained to support the circulation of lorries and, by extension, commodities. This stage is becoming increasingly important as rail freight, which used to be important in countries such as France and the UK, is declining, accounting for no more than 10 per cent of the transport of commodities. Engineers might judge that a motorway is destined to last 20 years or so, but this prognosis will be significantly reduced with heavy traffic. The same applies to the thousands of motorway bridges: in the UK, nearly half of the 9,000 highway bridges are in poor condition; in France, 7 per cent of the 12,000 bridges are in danger of collapsing, as did Genoa’s Morandi bridge in 2018. If only light vehicles drove on it, this infrastructure would last much longer. This puts into perspective governments’ insistence on ‘greening’ the transport sector by targeting CO2 emissions alone, typically by promoting the use of electric vehicles (EVs). Public policies prioritising EVs do nothing to change the mass of roads or the issue of their maintenance – even if lorries were to run on clean air, massive quarrying would still be necessary. A similar argument plays out with regard to canals and ports, which have been constantly widened and deepened for decades to accommodate ever-larger oil tankers or container ships. The simple operation of these infrastructures, dimensioned for the circulation of commodities and not humans, requires permanent dredging of large volumes. The environmental problem of large transport infrastructure goes beyond the type of energy used: it is, at its root, free and globalised trade. ‘The material life cycle of motorways is relentless: constructing, maintaining, widening, thickening, repairing’ As both a material and ideological object, the motorway fixes certain political choices in the landscape. Millions of kilometres of road continue to be asphalted, widened and thickened around the world to favour cars and lorries. In France, more than 80 per cent of today’s sand and aggregate extraction is used for civil engineering works – the rest goes to buildings. Even if no more buildings, roads or other infrastructures were to be built, phenomenal quantities of sand and aggregates would still need to be extracted in order to maintain existing road networks. The material life cycle of motorways is relentless: constructing, maintaining, widening, thickening, repairing, adding new structures such as wildlife crossings, more maintaining.  Rising traffic levels are always deemed positive by governments for a country’s economy and development. As Christopher Wells shows in his 2014 book Car Country: An Environmental History, car use becomes necessary in an environment where everything has been planned for the car, from the location of public services and supermarkets to residential and office areas. Similarly, when an entire economy is based on globalised trade and just‑in‑time logistics (to the point that many service economies could not produce their own personal protective equipment in the midst of a pandemic), the lorry and the container ship become vital.  The final stage in the life of a piece of motorway infrastructure is dismantling. Like the other stages, this one is not a natural outcome but the fruit of political choices – which should be democratic – regarding how we wish to use existing roads. Dismantling, which is essential if we are to put an end to the global extractivism of sand and aggregates, does not mean destruction: if bicycles and pedestrians were to use them instead, maintenance would be minimal. This final stage requires a paradigm shift away from the eternal adaptation to increasing traffic. Replacing cars and lorries with public transport and rail freight would be a first step. But above all, a different political and spatial organisation of economic activities is necessary, and ultimately, an end to globalised, just-in-time trade and logistics. In 1978, a row of cars parked at a shopping centre in Connecticut was buried under a thick layer of gooey asphalt. The Ghost Parking Lot, one of the first projects by James Wines’ practice SITE, became a playground for skateboarders until it was removed in 2003. Images of this lumpy landscape serve as allegories of the damage caused by reliance on the automobile Credit: Project by SITE Lead image: Some road damage is beyond repair, as when a landslide caused a large chunk of the Gothenburg–Oslo motorway to collapse in 2023. Such dramatic events remind us of both the fragility of these seemingly robust infrastructures, and the damage that extensive construction does to the planet. Credit: Hanna Brunlöf Windell / TT / Shutterstock 2025-06-03 Reuben J Brown Share

Longchamp has reintroduced its iconic SoHo flagship, unveiling a bold new chapter in its architectural and artistic journey. Nestled in the heart of downtown Manhattan, the La Maison Unique boutique has been transformed into a space that merges retail with an immersive cultural experience – offering more than shopping, but a deep dive into the brand’s design philosophy, legacy, and creative ambition. At the core of this reimagining is the rekindled collaboration between Longchamp and celebrated British designer Thomas Heatherwick. Nearly two decades after his original work on the space, Heatherwick returns to re-envision the site with a fresh narrative. The result is a compelling blend of artistry, innovation, and Parisian warmth, translated into architectural form. The redesign honors the bones of the original building while elevating its purpose. One of the most striking updates is the reinterpreted central staircase. Originally made of steel ribbons, it has been reborn in Longchamp’s signature green – a vibrant pathway of swooping planes that guides visitors up from the ground floor, like ascending a hill. The dramatic feature sets the tone for the boutique’s organic, flowing atmosphere. Above, the retail space has been crafted to feel less like a store and more like an upscale, lived-in loft. Round rugs in rich green tones spill from carpeted columns across warm wood floors, creating a dynamic interplay of texture and form. Vintage and bespoke furnishings – like a 1970s croissant sofa by Raphaël Raffel and sculptural works by David Nash – anchor the room with both history and originality. Longchamp’s ties to the art world are on full display throughout the store. The brand’s private collection, along with newly commissioned pieces, gives the space a gallery-like feel. Highlights include ceramics and sculptures from artists such as Dorothée Loriquet, Bobby Silverman, and Tanaka Tomomi. Their works echo Longchamp’s commitment to natural materials, tactile surfaces, and organic design. In a deliberate shift from traditional retail layout, the central area has been opened to encourage conversation. Instead of focusing solely on product display, the well-lit space invites guests to linger and connect, mirroring the rhythm of a Paris apartment transplanted to a New York context. The visual storytelling continues with intentional quirks: neon signage, hand-drawn graffiti by artist André, and archive objects that trace Longchamp’s early heritage as a maker of leather tobacco accessories and travel games. These nostalgic elements add to the space, providing a bridge between past and present. This revitalization is part of a larger movement within the brand to reshape the in-store experience. It reflects a shift in luxury retail – from transactional to experiential. By creating a space where design, storytelling, and sensory detail converge, Longchamp is championing a new kind of flagship – one rooted in memory and human connection. “Retail moves fast, but architecture should last. We wanted to create something bold and joyful, yet warm and timeless – an apartment-like space that invites people to stay,” Heatherwick Studio partner Neil Hubbard says. “From the swirling green rugs under green-carpeted columns to curved furniture that feels custom but lived-in, everything was designed to feel unified and human. Even the red brick walls downstairs, set to host rotating installations, help ground the space in SoHo’s industrial roots while creating room for surprise.”

Until last October, Argentinian musical duo Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso were more or less a regional act. Known for their experimental blend of Latin trap, pop, and rap, the pair had a fanbase, but still weren’t cracking more than 3,000 daily streams across services like Spotify, Apple Music, and YouTube. Within a week, they shot up 4,700%—hitting 222,000 daily streams—according to exclusive data firm Luminate, which powers the Billboard charts. Suddenly Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso were global pop stars.  What changed? On Oct. 4, the pair were featured in a Tiny Desk Concert, part of NPR’s 17-year-old video series featuring musicians performing stripped-down sets behind an office desk in the cramped Washington, D.C. headquarters of the public broadcaster.  In the concert video, the artists play five songs from their debut album Baño Maria, which came out last April. Paco’s raspy voice emerges from underneath a puffy blue trapper hat while Ca7riel sports an over-the-top pout and a vest made of stitched-together heart-shaped plush toys. The pair sing entirely in Spanish, backed by their Argentinian bandmates (sporting shirts screenprinted with their visas) and an American horn section. The duo’s performance quickly took off across the internet. Within five days, it had racked up more than 1.5 million views on YouTube, and hit 11 million in little more than a month. It also reverberated across social media: the NPR Music Instagram post garnering nearly 900,000 likes, and TikToks clips garnered hundreds of thousands of views.  In a year that featured Tiny Desk performances from buzzy stars like Chappell Roan and Sabrina Carpenter, as well as established acts like Chaka Khan and Nelly Furtado, Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso’s concert was the most-watched of 2024. It currently sits at 36 million views.  That virality translated to an influx of bookings for the duo, including a performance at Coachella in April, and upcoming slots at Glastonbury in June, FujiRock Japan in July, and Lollapalooza and Outside Lands in August. Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso’s global tour includes sold-out dates at Mexico’s 20,000-capacity Palacio de los Deportes and Chile’s 14,000-seat Movistar Areana—and was previewed by an appearance on The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon in April.  “Through Tiny Desk, we’ve noticed media approaching us, promoters being very interested in offering their spaces and festivals, and many media outlets opening doors to show us to the world,” says Jonathan Izquierdo, the band’s Spain-based tour manager who began working with the duo shortly after the Tiny Desk Concert debuted. “We’ve managed to sell out summer arena shows in record time and we’re constantly adding new concerts. Promoters are knocking on our doors to get the Tiny Desk effect.” Bobby Carter [Photo: Fenn Paider/courtesy NPR] Tiny Desk, Big Influence The Tiny Desk effect is something Bobby Carter, NPR Tiny Desk host and series producer, has seen firsthand. Carter has been at NPR for 25 years, including the past 11 on the Tiny Desk team. He took the reins when Bob Boilen, the longtime All Songs Considered host who launched Tiny Desk in 2008, retired in 2023.  The series—which now has more than 1,200 videos—began as an internet-first way for Boilen to showcase performances from musicians that were more intimate than what happens in bigger concert venues. The first installment, featuring folk artist Laura Gibson, went up on YouTube. Today, the concerts are posted on the NPR site with a writeup and credits, as well as YouTube, where NPR Music has 11 million followers. NPR Music also clips installments on Instagram, where it has 3 million followers.  In the early days, NPR staff reached out to touring bands to secure bookings. Acts coming through DC could often be cajoled into filming an installment before heading out to their venues for that night’s sound check. Now, musicians come to DC just for the chance to record in NPR’s offices.  “We don’t have to worry about tours anymore,” Carter says. “Labels and artists are willing to come in solely for a Tiny Desk performance. They understand the impact that a really good Tiny Desk concert can have on an artist’s career.” Early on, the stripped-down nature of the Tiny Desk—artists can’t use any audio processing or voice modulation—lent itself to rock, folk, and indie acts. But a 2014 concert with T-Pain, in which the famously autotune-heavy singer unveiled an impressive set of pipes, showed how artists from a broader array of genres could shine behind the Tiny Desk.  “Everyone knows at this point that they’re going to have to do something different in our space,” Carter says. “It’s a bigger ask for hip-hop acts and electronic acts, but most artists now understand how important it can be if they nail it.” Carter highlights rapper Doechii as an artist who overhauled her sound for her Tiny Desk concert in December. Doechii’s all-female backing band used trumpet, saxophone, guitar, and bass to transform songs from her mixtape Alligator Bites Never Heal for the live setting. “If you listen to the recorded version of her music, it’s nothing like what you saw in that Tiny Desk,” Carter says.  Clips of Doechii’s Tiny Desk virtuosity lit up social media, introducing the ‘swamp princess’ to new fans. The concert even inspired a viral parody, with writer-director-comedian Gus Heagary pretending to be an NPR staffer watching the performance.    Reimagining Old Favorites It isn’t just emerging acts that totally revamp their sound for a Tiny Desk opportunity. Established artists like Usher, Justin Timberlake, and Cypress Hill have followed T-Pain’s lead and used NPR’s offices to showcase reimagined versions of some of their most popular songs. When Juvenile recorded his installment in June 2023, he was backed by horns and saxophones, a violin and cello, and John Batiste on melodica. The New Orleans rapper played an acoustic version of “Back That Azz Up” twice at the audience’s request—the first encore in the series’ history.  “I love what has happened with hip hop [on Tiny Desk],” Carter says. He explains that artists now approach the concert with the mindset: ‘I have to really rethink what I’ve been doing for however long I’ve been doing it, and present it in a whole new way.”  Tiny Desk has also helped musicians like Juvenile, gospel artist Marvin Sapp, and percussionist Sheila E to reach new audiences while reminding listeners they’re still making music. “We’re helping artists to re-emerge,” Carter says, “tapping into legacy acts and evergreen artists [to help] breathe new life into their careers.” In many ways, Tiny Desk now occupies a niche once filled by MTV Unplugged—but for the generation that has replaced cable with YouTube and streaming.   “Maybe 10, 15, 20 years ago, all of our favorite artists had this watershed moment in terms of a live performance,” Carter says. “Back in the day it was MTV Unplugged. SNL is still doing their thing. But when you think about the generation now that lives on YouTube, some of these Tiny Desk performances are going to be the milestone that people point to when it comes to live performances.” Building a Diverse Audience When Carter talks about Tiny Desk concerts reaching a new generation of listeners, it’s not conjecture. He notes that the NPR Music YouTube channel’s 11 million subscribers are “as young and diverse as it gets. It’s almost half people of color [and] much younger than the audience that listens to NPR on air, which is an audience NPR has been trying to tap for a long time,” he says.  That diversity informs some of the special series that Tiny Desk produces. The Juvenile video was part of Carter’s second run of concerts recorded for Black Music Month, in June. Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso’s video was tied to El Tiny, a Latin-focused series that debuts during Latin Heritage Month (from mid September to mid October) and is programmed by Tiny Desk producer and Alt.Latino host AnaMaria Sayer.  Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso’s tour manager, Izquierdo, has worked with artists featured in the series before. He says Tiny Desk is crucial for Latin American artists trying to break through. “I’ve realized that for U.S. radio, Latin music benefits from Tiny Desk,” he says. The Tiny Desk audience’s broad demographics are also increasingly reflected in its broader programming. Bad Bunny’s April installment took his reggaeton-inspired songs from recent album Debi Tirar Mas Fotos to their acoustic roots, using an array of traditional Puerto Rican, Latin American, and Caribbean instruments, such as the cuatro puertorriqueño, tiple, güicharo, and bongos.  “[Our] audience informs a whole lot of what we do,” Carter says. I get so many pointers from YouTube comments like ‘Have you heard of this artist?’ We’re watching all that stuff because it helps us stay sharp.” Tiny Desk heard round the world With a strong global audience, Tiny Desk has been expanding into Asia. In 2023, NPR struck a licensing deal with South Korean Telecom LG U+ and production company Something Special to produce Tiny Desk Korea for television. Last year, NPR inked a deal with the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK) to launch Tiny Desk Concerts Japan. “We’re really expanding in terms of global reach,” Carter says.  Here in the States, Carter and Sayer recently launched Tiny Desk Radio, a series that will revisit some of the series’ notable installments, sharing behind-the-scenes stories from their productions and playing the audio from the concerts “Our engineers put a lot of time and effort into making sure that we sound great,” Carter says. “I hear it a lot—people tell me they prefer an artist’s Tiny Desk over anything.” That’s something Ca7riel & Paco Amoroso clearly have on their mind as they navigate the Tiny Desk effect and a new level of recognition (their daily streams haven’t dipped below 50,000 a day since the beginning of the year). The duo released an EP in February, Papota, which features four new songs, plus the recorded versions of their pared-down Tiny Desk performances. They also released a short film that recreates their Tiny Desk performance—this time in a Buenos Aires diner. One of the themes of the EP is the pair wrestling with the implications of their viral success. On the song Impostor, Ca7riel asks “¿Y ahora que vamos hacer?/El tiny desk me jodio” (What do we do now? Tiny Desk fucked me up.) It’s an overstatement, but an acknowledgment that the path they’re now on ran directly through the NPR offices. 

Sometimes, you've to set aside everything you've been taught in order to truly tap into your creativity. It's a brave move but one that has certainly led to big things for Berlin-based illustrator Marc Majewski. In 2024, he won the Best Illustrated Children's Book award from The New York Times and the New York Public Library for As Edward Imagined, and he's currently an in–demand artist in both children's publishing and editorial illustration. Marc grew up in the French Alps, near the border with Switzerland, surrounded by nature and with a great love of traditional picture book illustration, which was fed by his aunt. To reach his dream of becoming an illustrator, he trained the classical way, learning to paint highly realistic imagery – what everyone would call "good illustration". But something wasn't right. This just wasn't him. On the side, he would create the loose, playful sketches he loved but never conceived of them as proper illustrations. Marc's new book Parks is out 5 June. "Then I had a moment where I decided I wanted to paint and create with the same joy and freedom I had felt as a child," says Marc. "I stopped making pictures the way I'd been taught and started painting the way I did in my sketchbooks, directly with paint. The result was much livelier and more joyful illustrations." One epiphany was followed by another when he wrote and illustrated Butterfly Child. This wasn't the first book he'd worked on, but to Marc, it felt like it was. He continues: "The book touches on what it was like to be a queer kid in the countryside and on bullying – so parts of me felt like the child in the book. I think making any book is a vulnerable process, but creating something that explores more personal parts of ourselves can trigger a lot. In my case, the fear of being rejected, shamed, or bullied – which are experiences many kids, and especially queer kids, go through." Published in 2022, it has been translated into 10 languages and resonates with children around the world, supporting kids and encouraging them to express who they really are. From Butterfly Child. Marc is drawn to stories that bring that bring nature and creativity together. He grew up in the Alps, and nature continues to inspire him. In Butterfly Child, As Edward Imagined, and Peter Pan, he explores characters who build, craft, and imagine things, bringing their storybook worlds to life; his simple, Lowry-like figures burst with enthusiasm. Peter Pan is one of his favourites so far. "I knew the story before I started the project, but as I dove deeper into it, I began learning about Barrie's life and how much of it was woven into Peter Pan. That really resonated with me and my own work. I was also inspired by the author's playful spirit – how he balanced lightness and whimsy with meaning and depth," says Marc. From Peter Pan. Return of the Wolves. In future, he'd love to work on a film, and Hayao Miyazaki has always been a big influence. If there's one thing he wants to avoid, it's getting too comfortable or set in his ways. "It's important for me to stay connected to that feeling I had when I first embraced the childlike process of painting and to keep my mind open to playful exploration," says Marc.

Materials Hub eliminates barriers to ethical sourcing across AEC firms, owners, and manufacturers  Acelab announces the launch of its impactful Design for Freedom Tracking solution within the Materials Hub platform, creating the industry’s first AI-powered system that transforms ethical sourcing from aspiration to reality for architecture and design professionals of all levels. (Courtesy Acelab) Making the Invisible Visible: A new era in Ethical Material selection The Materials Hub platform directly addresses the urgent need for responsible building materials by seamlessly integrating Design for Freedom principles into everyday workflows, making ethical considerations impossible to overlook. Acelab executives Vardhan Mehta and Dave Lemont unveiled this transformative technology at the fourth Annual Design for Freedom Summit on March 27 held at Grace Farms in New Canaan, Connecticut. “Our partnership with Acelab and the launch of the Materials Hub is a groundbreaking step in our shared commitment to eliminate forced and child labor from the building materials supply chain,” said Sharon Prince, CEO and founder of Grace Farms Foundation. “Together, we are addressing a critical challenge to advancing ethical supply chains by enabling design professionals to source materials that are less at risk of labor exploitation. By making ethical material selection accessible and practical for architects and designers everywhere, we’re creating meaningful industry-wide change toward a more humane built environment.” “The industry has been held back by disconnected, labor-intensive processes that require firms to manage complex spreadsheets and conduct time-consuming research to verify ethical compliance,” said Vardhan Mehta, cofounder and CEO of Acelab. “Our AI-powered solution bridges the critical gap between the 10 percent of the A&D industry that understands forced labor risks and the 90 percent that needs actionable guidance. Materials Hub makes the invisible visible, ensuring that ethical considerations are displayed alongside performance, cost, and aesthetic decisions—creating a complete picture that transforms how materials are selected.” (Courtesy Acelab) Seamless workflow integration: from complex to intuitive The intuitive Design for Freedom tracking system automatically integrates with project initialization, featuring: Intelligent templates with built-in Design for Freedom reporting standards Real-time certification data enabling instant ethical filtering Ready-to-implement product category schedules aligned with Design for Freedom principles AI-powered risk assessment that flags high-risk locations and materials This frictionless approach eliminates the traditional barriers that have prevented widespread adoption, replacing manual processes that required professionals to: Juggle multiple disconnected spreadsheets Conduct time-intensive product code research Navigate complex variables to determine ethical compliance “Materials Hub places ethical labor considerations directly alongside performance and sustainability metrics, making it impossible to evaluate materials without seeing the full picture of their human impact,” Mehta emphasized. “We’ve translated complex supply chain data into clear, actionable insights through our AI platform, democratizing access to this critical information for all design professionals—not just specialists.” (Courtesy Acelab) Democratizing ethical design across the industry “By eliminating the friction points that have traditionally limited participation in Design for Freedom, Acelab is transforming ethical sourcing from a specialized program into an industry standard,” said Dave Lemont, Acelab’s executive chairman and former CEO of Revit. “Our platform demonstrates the tangible business advantages of ethical materials—showing how DFF guidelines benefit not only vulnerable workers but also strengthen project timelines, risk management, and client relationships.” Acelab’s groundbreaking technology delivers three transformative market solutions: Eliminates practical barriers to ethical material selection Creates unprecedented access to ethical sourcing tools for firms of all sizes Accelerates industry-wide adoption of ethical standards through intuitive technology “By partnering with industry leaders to aggregate and validate ethical supply chain data, we’re creating unprecedented transparency in material selection,” said Mehta. “Materials Hub ensures that even smaller practices without dedicated sustainability teams can confidently specify materials aligned with Design for Freedom principles, leveling the playing field across the industry.” Nora Rizzo, Ethical Materials director at Grace Farms, noted: “What Acelab has created is a game-changer for practitioners at the forefront of material selection. Before Materials Hub, incorporating ethical considerations required extensive knowledge, research, and resources that most firms simply couldn’t access. Now, every architect, designer, and owner can make informed decisions about forced labor risks as they evaluate products holistically. This open-source technology transforms what was once an overwhelming challenge into an integral part of our daily workflow.” Note: Acelab’s Materials Hub platform also integrates with other key sustainability initiatives including the AIA Materials Pledge and mindful MATERIALS Common Materials Framework, creating a comprehensive platform for holistic, ethical design practices. About Acelab: Materials Hub is an all-in-one platform empowering architecture and design firms to seamlessly research, select, and document material decisions. It centralizes knowledge, optimizes research with AI-powered search, streamlines decision-making through improved collaboration, and simplifies documentation through automation. Learn more at acelabusa.com. About Grace Farms: Grace Farms is a cultural and humanitarian center in New Canaan, Connecticut that brings together people across sectors to explore nature, arts, justice, community, and faith at the SANAA-designed River building, on 80 acres of publicly accessible natural landscape. Its humanitarian work to end modern slavery and foster more grace and peace in the local and global community includes leading the Design for Freedom movement. Launched in 2020 by Grace Farms’s CEO and founder Sharon Prince, Design for Freedom reimagines architecture by raising awareness and inspiring responses to disrupt forced labor in the building materials supply chain. The Design for Freedom Working Group comprises more than 100 leaders who together are spearheading a radical paradigm shift and mobilizing the full ecosystem of the built environment. This collaborative approach to comprehensively address humanitarian issues and generate new outcomes is reflected across all the initiatives and spaces of Grace Farms. Learn more at gracefarms.org.

It's that time again, for Google to announce that real-time translation has come to one of its communication apps. This time, it's Google Meet, which can translate between English and Spanish as you speak in a video call. If that sounds familiar, it's because it's not the first time Google has announced something like this.Google Translate has had features that let you speak to someone in another language in real time for a while. For example, back in 2019, there was a real-time translation feature called Interpreter Mode built into Google Assistant. It's also been possible on Pixel phones for a while (and even Samsung phones). Most of these, however, have been either text-to-text, or speech-to-text. You can use the Google Translate app for a speech-to-speech experience, but like with Google Assistant's Interpreter Mode, that only works in person. So, what's different here? Well, during its I/O keynote, Google demoed two users in a video chat speaking in their native languages. Google Meet then translates and speaks the translation back in a relatively human-sounding voice. This new feature is available now for Google Workspace subscribers (plans start at $7/month), but unfortunately, it's not in the free version. On the plus side, additional languages are promised to start coming out in just a few weeks.While I haven't tested it out yet, it does seem to be a more convenient way to access a feature that you might otherwise have to hack together with another tab, or by opening your phone and holding it up to a speaker. Plus, it can be a bit more natural to hear translations spoken out for you, rather than having to rely on translated captions. I do wonder whether it can keep up with the natural speed and flow of a conversation, though—nobody likes to feel interrupted.

PROS: Discreet, elegant, and unobtrusive design that doesn't scream "tech" Lightweight and comfortable premium frame Focuses on essential experiences without the unnecessary cruft Impressive transcription and teleprompter features Long battery life and effortless charging case design CONS: No speakers for calls or audio feedback (especially during navigation) Temple tips touch controls can be a bit cumbersome A bit expensive RATINGS: AESTHETICSERGONOMICSPERFORMANCESUSTAINABILITY / REPAIRABILITYVALUE FOR MONEYEDITOR'S QUOTE:With a simple design and useful features, the Even Realities G1 smart glasses prove that you don't need all the bells and whistles to provide an experience. Every day, we’re flooded with more information than our already overworked minds can handle. Our smartphones and computers put all this information at our fingertips, connecting us to the rest of the world while ironically disconnecting us from the people around us. Smart glasses and XR headsets promise to bring all this information right in front of us, bridging the gap that divides physical and virtual realities. And yet at the same time, they erect a wall that separates us from the here and now. It’s against this backdrop that Even Realities chose to take a bold step in the opposite direction. In both form and function, the Even Realities G1 smart glasses cut down on the cruft and promise a distilled experience that focuses only on what you really need to get through a busy day. More importantly, it delivers it in a minimalist design that doesn’t get in your way. Or at least that’s the spiel. Just in time for the upcoming Father’s Day celebration, we got to test what the Even Realities G1 has to offer, especially to some of the busiest people in our families: the dads juggling work responsibilities while trying to stay present for their loved ones. Designer: Even Realities Click Here to Buy Now: $599. Exclusive Father’s Day Special – Get 50% Off the G1 Clip + Clip Pouch! Hurry, offer ends June 15, 2025. Aesthetics You probably wouldn’t even be able to tell the Even Realities G1 is wearable tech if you meet someone on the street wearing a pair. Sure, they might look like slightly retro Pantos, but they’re a far cry from even the slimmest XR glasses from the likes of Xreal or Viture. You can clearly see the eyes of the person wearing them, and the tech is practically invisible, which is exactly the point. The design of the Even Realities G1 is on the plain and minimal side, a stark contrast to the majority of smart glasses and XR/AR headsets currently in the market, even those claiming to be fashionable and stylish. Sure, it’s not going to compete with high-end luxury spectacles, but they’re not entirely off the mark either. Unless you look really closely, you might simply presume them to be a pair of thick-framed glasses. The form of the glasses might be simple, but their construction is anything but. The frame is made from magnesium alloy with a coating that’s fused with sandstone, while the temples use a titanium alloy on the outer sides and soft silicone on the inner surfaces. The mixture of quality materials not only gives the Even Realities G1 a premium character but also a lightweight form that’s only ever so slightly heavier than your run-of-the-mill prescription eyeglasses. While the G1 most looks like normal eyewear, the temple tips are dead giveaways that things are not what they seem. The blocky, paddle-shaped tips that house batteries and electronics are definitely larger than what you’d find on most glasses. They’re not obnoxiously big, but they do tend to stick out a bit, and they’re hard to “unsee” once you’ve noticed their presence. Despite looking quite aesthetic, the Even Realities G1 isn’t pretending to be some posh fashion accessory. After all, the circular G1A and rectangular G1B options hardly cover all possible eyewear designs, and the limited color selection won’t suit everyone’s tastes. Rather than something you flaunt or call attention to, these smart glasses are designed to be an “everyday wear” and disappear into the background, making tech invisible without making it unusable, perfect for the dad who wants to stay connected without looking like he’s wearing a gadget at the family barbecue. Ergonomics If you’ve ever tried any of those hi-tech wearables promising the next wave of computing, then you’d probably know that you’d never wear any of those glasses or visors for more than just an hour or two every day. They may have impressive technologies and apps, but they become practically useless once you take them off, especially when you have to step out into the real world. In contrast, the Even Realities G1 is something you’d be able to wear for hours on end, indoors or outdoors. Made from lightweight materials with a construction that even throws away screws to reduce the heft, it’s almost mind-blowing to think that the glasses houses any electronics at all. This level of comfort is honestly the G1’s most important asset, because it allows people to experience its smart features far longer than any Quest or Viture. When it comes to eyewear, however, prescription lenses have always been a sore point for many consumers, and this is no exception. Because it integrates waveguide optics into the lens, you’ll have to pay extra to have customized prescription lenses when you buy an Even Realities G1. It can be a bit nerve-wracking to ensure you get all the measurements and figures right, especially since you can’t return or exchange glasses with customized lenses. While the G1 eyeglasses are definitely comfortable to wear, the same can’t exactly be said when it comes to manually interacting with them. While most smart glasses and headsets have controls near your temples, the G1’s touch-sensitive areas are at the temple tips, which would be sitting behind your ears when you’re wearing the glasses. They might feel awkward to reach, and those with long hairstyles might find it difficult to use. Fortunately, you will rarely touch those tips except to activate some functions, but it can still be an unsatisfactory experience when you do. Performance The Even Realities G1 takes a brilliantly focused approach to smart eyewear, prioritizing elegant design and practical functionality over unnecessary tech bloat. The 640×200 green monochrome display may seem modest, but it’s deliberate choice that enables the G1 to maintain a sleek, stylish profile. The absence of cameras and speakers isn’t a limitation but a thoughtful design decision that enhances both wearability and privacy, allowing users to seamlessly integrate this technology into their daily lives without social awkwardness. The magic of the G1 lies in its delivery of information directly to your field of vision in a way that not only delights but also transforms how you interact with digital content. The core Even Realities G1 experience revolves around bringing only critical information to your attention and keeping distractions away, all without disconnecting you from reality and the people around you. Its text-centric interface, displayed by two micro-LED displays, one on each lens, ensures that information is distilled down to its most essential. And there’s no denying the retro charm of a green dot-matrix screen in front of your eyes, even if the color won’t work well against light or bright objects. The Even Realities G1 experience starts with the dashboard, which you can summon just by tilting your head up a bit, an angle that you can set on the companion mobile app. One side shows the date and time, temperature, number of notifications, and your next appointment. The other side can be configured to show one of your saved quick notes, news, stocks, or even your current location. None of these items are interactive, and you’ll have to dive into the mobile app to actually get any further information. With Father’s Day approaching, it’s worth noting how the G1’s floating heads-up display, visible only to the wearer, helps dads stay effortlessly connected, organized, and present. The QuickNote and Calendar features are particularly valuable for fathers juggling work and family responsibilities, allowing them to process their to-do lists perfectly on schedule without missing a beat of family time. Spending quality time with your child then suddenly remembering you need to buy batteries on your next errand run? No more frantically scampering for pen and paper or even your phone; just tap and speak. Of course, the smart glasses really shine when it comes to the, well, smart functionality, most of which unsurprisingly revolve around words, both spoken and displayed. Transcription, which is used when making Quick Notes, records your voice and saves it alongside the transcribed text. Fathers who find themselves in never-ending meetings no longer need to worry about missing a beat. Not only do they get to keep notes, but they also receive a summary and recap thanks to the G1’s AI capabilities, a game-changer for busy dads who need to process information efficiently. Translation can make international trips quite fun, at least for some interactions, as you’ll be able to see actual translated captions floating in the air like subtitles on a video. Dads who give a lot of talks, business presentations, interviews, or broadcast videos will definitely love the Teleprompter feature, which can advance the script just based on the words you’re speaking. No more worrying about missing important points during that big presentation, leaving more mental bandwidth for what really matters. It’s also perfect for a captivating Career Day show that will do your kid proud. The accuracy of Even Realities’ speech recognition and AI is fairly good, though there are times when it will require a bit of patience and understanding. There’s a noticeable delay when translating what people say in real time, for example, and it might miss words if the person is speaking too quickly. Navigation can be a hit or miss, depending on your location, and the visual direction prompts are not always reliable. The latter is also one of the cases where the absence of built-in speakers feels a bit more pronounced. There’s no audio feedback, which could be useful for guided turn-by-turn navigation. Even AI can hear you, but it can’t talk back to you. Everything will be delivered only through text you have to read, which might not always be possible in some cases. Admittedly, the addition of such hardware, no matter how small, will also add weight to the glasses, so Even Realities chose their battles wisely. The Even Realities G1 is advertised to last for 1.5 days, and it indeed lasts at least more than a day. The stylish wireless charging case, which has a built-in 2,000mAh battery, extends that uptime to five days. Charging the glasses is as simple as putting them inside the case, no need to align any contact points, as long as you remember to fold the left arm first before the right arm. Oddly enough, there’s no battery level indicator on the glasses, even in the dashboard HUD. Even Realities focused on making the G1 simple, both in design and in operation. Sometimes even to the point of oversimplification. To reduce complexity, for example, each side of the glasses connects to a smartphone separately via Bluetooth, which unfortunately increases the risk of the two sides being out of sync if one or the other connection drops. Turning the glasses into shades is a simple case of slapping on clip-on shades that are not only an additional expense but also something you could lose somewhere. Sustainability By cutting down on the volume of the product, Even Realities also helps cut down waste material, especially the use of plastics. The G1 utilizes more metals than plastic, not only delivering a premium design but also preferring more renewable materials. The company is particularly proud of its packaging as well, which uses 100% recyclable, eco-friendly cardboard. While magnesium and titanium alloys contribute to the durability of the product, the Even Realities G1 is not exactly what you might consider to be a weather-proof piece of wearable tech. It has no formal IP rating, and the glasses are only said to be resistant to splashes and light rain. It can accompany you on your runs, sure, but you’ll have to treat it with much care. Not that it will have much practical use during your workouts in the first place. Value Discreet, useful, and simple, the Even Realities G1 smart glasses proudly stand in opposition to the literal heavyweights of the smart eyewear market that are practically strapping a computer on your face. It offers an experience that focuses on the most important functions and information you’d want to have in front of your eyes and pushes unnecessary distractions out of your sight. Most importantly, however, it keeps the whole world clearly in view, allowing you to connect to your digital life without disconnecting you from the people around you. The Even Realities G1 would almost be perfect for this hyper-focused use case if not for its price tag. At $599, it’s easily one of the more expensive pairs of smart spectacles you’ll see on the market, and that’s only for the glasses themselves. For custom prescription lenses, you need to add another $150 on top, not to mention the $50 (normally $100) clip-on shades for those extra bright days. Given its limited functionality, the G1 definitely feels a bit overpriced. But when you consider how lightweight, distraction-free, and useful it can be, it comes off more as an investment for the future. For family and friends looking for a meaningful tech gift this Father’s Day, the G1 offers something truly unique: a way to stay on top of work responsibilities while remaining fully present for family moments. Whether capturing quick thoughts during a child’s soccer game or discreetly checking calendar reminders during family dinner, these glasses help dads maintain that delicate balance between connectivity and presence. Verdict It’s hard to escape the overabundance of information that we deal with every day, both from the world around us, as well as our own stash of notes and to-do lists. Unfortunately, the tools that we always have with us, our smartphones, computers, and smartwatches, are poor guardians against this flood. And now smart glasses are coming, promising access to all of that and threatening to further drown us with information we don’t really need. The Even Realities G1 is both a breath of fresh air and a bold statement against that trend. Not only is it lightweight and comfortable, but it even looks like normal glasses! Rather than throw everything and the kitchen sink into it, its design and functionality are completely intentional, focusing only on essential experiences and features to keep you productive. It’s not trying to turn you into Tony Stark, but it will help make you feel like a superhero as you breeze through your tasks while still being present to the people who really matter the most in your life. For the dad who wants to stay connected without being distracted, who needs to manage information without being overwhelmed by it, the Even Realities G1 might just be the perfect Father’s Day gift: a tool that helps him be both the professional he needs to be and the father he wants to be, all without missing a moment of what truly matters. Click Here to Buy Now: $599. Exclusive Father’s Day Special – Get 50% Off the G1 Clip + Clip Pouch! Hurry, offer ends June 15, 2025.The post Even Realities G1 Glasses Review: Smart, Subtle, and Perfect for Father’s Day first appeared on Yanko Design.

Windows may get all the attention, but when you want to get real work done, you turn to the applications that run on it. And if you use spreadsheets, that generally means Excel. Excel is, of course, part of Microsoft’s Office suite of productivity tools. Microsoft sells Office under two models: Individuals and businesses can pay for the software license up front and own it forever (what the company calls the “perpetual” version of the suite), or they can purchase a Microsoft 365 subscription, which means they have access to the software for only as long as they keep paying the subscription fee. When you purchase a perpetual version of the suite — say, Office 2021 or Office 2024 — its applications will never get new features, whereas Microsoft 365 apps are continually updated with new features. For more details, see our in-depth comparison of the two Office models. This cheat sheet gets you up to speed on the features that have been introduced or changed in Microsoft 365’s Excel for Windows desktop client over the past few years. (If you’re looking for Excel tips for the perpetual-license Office suite, see our Office 2021 and 2024 cheat sheet.) We’ll periodically update this story as new features roll out. In this article Use the Ribbon Search to get tasks done quickly Explore Excel’s advanced chart types Collaborate in real time Take advantage of linked data Make your own custom views of a worksheet Create dynamic arrays and charts Use AutoSave to provide a safety net as you work Review or restore earlier versions of a spreadsheet Try out Microsoft 365 Copilot in Excel — but don’t expect too much Other new features to check out Use keyboard shortcuts Use the Ribbon The Ribbon interface, which puts commonly used commands in a tabbed toolbar running across the top of the application window, is alive and well in the current version of Excel. Microsoft has tweaked the Ribbon’s looks numerous times over the years, but it still works the same way it always has: just click one of the Ribbon’s tabs to see related commands on the toolbar. For example, click Insert to find buttons for inserting tables, PivotTables, charts, and more. Through the years, Excel’s Ribbon has gotten a variety of cosmetic changes, but it still works largely the way it always has. Preston Gralla / Foundry Just as in previous versions of Excel, if you want the Ribbon commands to go away, press Ctrl-F1 or click the name of the tab you’re currently on. (The tabs above the Ribbon — File, Home, Insert, and so on — stay visible.) To make the commands reappear, press Ctrl-F1 again or click any tab name. You’ve got other options for displaying the Ribbon as well. To get to them, click the Ribbon display options icon (a down arrow) on the bottom of the Ribbon at the far right, just below the Share button. A drop-down menu appears with these four options: Full-screen mode: This makes Excel take up your entire screen and hides the Ribbon. To get out of full-screen mode, click the three-dot icon at the upper right of the screen. Show tabs only: This shows the tabs but hides the commands underneath them. It’s the same as pressing Ctrl-F1. To display the commands underneath the tabs when they’re hidden, press Ctrl-F1, click a tab, or click the Ribbon display options down arrow and select Always show Ribbon. Always show Ribbon: This displays the entire Ribbon, both the tabs and commands underneath them. Show/Hide Quick Access toolbar: This displays or hides the Quick Access toolbar, which gives you fast access to Excel commands you want to have available no matter which tab you’re on. When you enable the toolbar, it starts off empty. To populate it, click a small down arrow that appears at the right of the toolbar and from the drop-down menu that appears, choose which features to put on it. If you don’t see a command you want, click More Commands. Find the command you want on the left and click Add. You can have the toolbar appear either at the top of the screen, just to the right of the AutoSave button, or just underneath the Ribbon. To move it from one place to another, click a small down arrow that appears at the right of the toolbar and from the drop-down menu that appears, select either Show below the Ribbon or Show above the Ribbon.  Microsoft has for many years teased a simplified version of the Ribbon that hides most of the commands to reduce clutter. That simplified Ribbon is available in the Excel web app, but there’s currently no sign that it will appear in the Excel desktop app. There’s a useful feature in what Microsoft calls the backstage area that appears when you click the File tab on the Ribbon. If you click Open or Save a Copy from the menu on the left, you can see the cloud-based services you’ve connected to your Office account, such as SharePoint and OneDrive. Each location displays its associated email address underneath it. This is quite helpful if you use a cloud service with more than one account, such as if you have one OneDrive account for personal use and another one for business. You’ll be able to see at a glance which is which. Click the Add a service dropdown to add another cloud storage account. Preston Gralla / Foundry Search to get tasks done quickly Excel has never been the most user-friendly of applications, and it has so many powerful features it can be tough to keep track of them all. That’s where the handy Search feature comes in. To use it, click in the Search box — it’s above the Ribbon in the green title area. (Keyboard fans can instead press Alt-Q.) Then type in a task you want to do. If you want to summarize your spreadsheet data using a PivotTable, for example, type in something like summarize with pivot table. You’ll get a menu showing potential matches for the task. In this instance, the top result is a direct link to the form for summarizing with a PivotTable — select it and you’ll start your task right away, without having to go to the Ribbon’s Insert tab first. The search box makes it easy to perform just about any task in Excel. Preston Gralla / Foundry If you’d like more information about your task, the final items that appear in the menu let you select from related Help topics. Even if you consider yourself a spreadsheet jockey, it’s worth your while to try out the enhanced search function. It’s a big time-saver, and far more efficient than hunting through the Ribbon to find a command. Also useful is that it remembers the features you’ve previously clicked on in the box, so when you click in it, you first see a list of previous tasks you’ve searched for. That makes sure that tasks that you frequently perform are always within easy reach. And it puts tasks you rarely do within easy reach as well. Users of enterprise and education editions of Microsoft 365 can also use the Search box to find people in their organization, SharePoint resources, and other personalized results from within Excel. (See the Microsoft Search support page for more details about all it can do.) Explore Excel’s advanced chart types Charts are great for visualizing and presenting spreadsheet data, and for gaining insights from it. To that end, Microsoft has introduced a number of advanced chart types over the past several years, including most notably a histogram (frequently used in statistics), a “waterfall” that’s effective at showing running financial totals, and a hierarchical treemap that helps you find patterns in data. Note that the new charts are available only if you’re working in an .xlsx document. If you use the older .xls format, you won’t find them. To see all the charts, put your cursor in a cell or group of cells that contains data, select Insert > Recommended Charts and click the All Charts tab. You’ll find the newer charts, mixed in with the older ones. Select any to create the chart. (For help using charts, see our guide to charts and sparklines in Excel.) Excel includes several advanced chart types, including waterfall. Preston Gralla / Foundry These are the new chart types: Treemap. This chart type creates a hierarchical view of your data, with top-level categories (or tree branches) shown as rectangles, and with subcategories (or sub-branches) shown as smaller rectangles grouped inside the larger ones. Thus, you can easily compare the sizes of top-level categories and subcategories in a single view. For instance, a bookstore can see at a glance that it brings in more revenue from 1st Readers, a subcategory of Children’s Books, than for the entire Non-fiction top-level category. srcset="https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel2016_chart_treemap.jpg?quality=50&strip=all 830w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel2016_chart_treemap.jpg?resize=300%2C191&quality=50&strip=all 300w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel2016_chart_treemap.jpg?resize=768%2C489&quality=50&strip=all 768w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel2016_chart_treemap.jpg?resize=264%2C168&quality=50&strip=all 264w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel2016_chart_treemap.jpg?resize=132%2C84&quality=50&strip=all 132w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel2016_chart_treemap.jpg?resize=753%2C480&quality=50&strip=all 753w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel2016_chart_treemap.jpg?resize=565%2C360&quality=50&strip=all 565w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel2016_chart_treemap.jpg?resize=392%2C250&quality=50&strip=all 392w" width="830" height="529" sizes="(max-width: 830px) 100vw, 830px">A treemap chart lets you easily compare top-level categories and subcategories in a single view. Preston Gralla / Foundry Sunburst. This chart type also displays hierarchical data, but in a multi-level pie chart. Each level of the hierarchy is represented by a circle. The innermost circle contains the top-level categories, the next circle out shows subcategories, the circle after that subsubcategories and so on. Sunbursts are best for showing the relationships among categories and subcategories, while treemaps are better at showing the relative sizes of categories and subcategories. A sunburst chart shows hierarchical data such as book categories and subcategories as a multi-level pie chart. Preston Gralla / Foundry Waterfall. This chart type is well-suited for visualizing financial statements. It displays a running total of the positive and negative contributions toward a final net value. A waterfall chart shows a running total of positive and negative contributions, such as revenue and expenses, toward a final net value. Preston Gralla / Foundry Histogram. This kind of chart shows frequencies within a data set. It could, for example, show the number of books sold in specific price ranges in a bookstore. Histograms are good for showing frequencies, such as number of books sold at various price points. Preston Gralla / Foundry Pareto. This chart, also known as a sorted histogram, contains bars as well as a line graph. Values are represented in descending order by bars. The cumulative total percentage of each bar is represented by a rising line. In the bookstore example, each bar could show a reason for a book being returned (defective, priced incorrectly, and so on). The chart would show, at a glance, the primary reasons for returns, so a bookstore owner could focus on those issues. Note that the Pareto chart does not show up when you select Insert > Recommended Charts > All Charts. To use it, first select the data you want to chart, then select Insert > Insert Statistic Chart, and under Histogram, choose Pareto. In a Pareto chart, or sorted histogram, a rising line represents the cumulative total percentage of the items being measured. In this example, it’s easy to see that more than 80% of a bookstore’s returns are attributable to three problems. Preston Gralla / Foundry Box & Whisker. This chart, like a histogram, shows frequencies within a data set but provides for a deeper analysis than a histogram. For example, in a bookstore it could show the distribution of prices of different genres of books. In the example shown here, each “box” represents the first to third quartile of prices for books in that genre, while the “whiskers” (the lines extending up and down from the box) show the upper and lower range of prices. Outliers that are priced outside the whiskers are shown as dots, the median price for each genre is shown with a horizontal line across the box, and the mean price is shown with an x. Box & Whisker charts can show details about data ranges such as the first to third quartile in the “boxes,” median and mean inside the boxes, upper and lower range with the “whiskers,” and outliers with dots.Preston Gralla / Foundry Funnel. This chart type is useful when you want to display values at multiple stages in a process. A funnel chart can show the number of sales prospects at every stage of a sales process, for example, with prospects at the top for the first stage, qualified prospects underneath it for the second stage, and so on, until you get to the final stage, closed sales. Generally, the values in funnel charts decrease with each stage, so the bars in the chart look like a funnel. Funnel charts let you display values at multiple stages in a process. Preston Gralla / Foundry When creating the data for a funnel chart, use one column for the stages in the process you’re charting, and a second column for the values for each stage. Once you’ve done that, to create the chart, select the data, then select Insert > Recommended Charts > All Charts > Funnel. Map. Map charts do exactly what you think they should: They let you compare data across different geographical regions, such as countries, regions, states, counties, or postal codes. Excel will automatically recognize the regions and create a map that visualizes the data. You can compare data across different locations with a map chart. Preston Gralla / Foundry To create a map chart, select the data you want to chart, then select Insert > Maps, then select the map chart. Note that in some instances, Excel might have a problem creating the map — for example, if there are multiple locations with the same name as one that you’re mapping. If that occurs, you’ll have to add one or more columns with details about the locations. If, say, you’re charting towns in the United Kingdom, you would have to include columns for the county and country each town is located in. Collaborate in real time For those who frequently collaborate with others, a welcome feature in Excel for Microsoft 365 is real-time collaboration that lets people work on spreadsheets together from anywhere in the world with an internet connection. Microsoft calls this “co-authoring.” Note that in order to use co-authoring, the spreadsheet must be stored in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online, and you must be logged into your Microsoft 365 account. Also, co-authoring works in Excel only if you have AutoSave turned on. To do it, choose the On option on the AutoSave slider at the top left of the screen. To share a spreadsheet so you can collaborate on it with others: first open it, then click the Share button on the upper-right of the Excel screen. The “Send link” window pops up. Here you can send an email with a link where others can access the spreadsheet. Use the “Send link” pane to share a document and the “Link settings” pane to fine-tune its access permissions. Preston Gralla / Foundry Enter the email address of the person with whom you want to share in the text box. Enter multiple addresses, separated by commas, if you want to share the workbook with multiple people. One feature I found particularly useful when adding email addresses: As you type, Excel looks through your corporate or personal address book and lists the names and addresses of contacts who match the text you’ve input. Click the address you want to add. This not only saves you a bit of time but helps make sure you don’t incorrectly type in addresses. Next, decide whether anyone with the link can access the file, or only those whose email addresses you enter. If you see the text “Anyone with the link can edit” near the top of the pane, you can change that by clicking it, then choosing Specific people on the screen that appears. Similarly, if “Specific people” appears above the email addresses, you can change that by clicking it, then choosing Anyone with the link can edit from the screen that appears. (If you use a business, enterprise, or education edition of Office, your IT department may have set up different sharing permissions on these two screens, such as an option to allow anyone within your organization to edit the document. You may also need to click a Link settings button — a gear icon — to access the “Link settings” pane.) On this second screen you can also set the document to read-only for everybody, or allow everybody to edit it. In the “Other settings” section, click the down arrow and choose either Can edit, which allows full editing, or Can view, which is read-only. If you want to give certain people editing privileges and others view-only privileges, you can send two separate invitations with different rights selected. On this screen you can also set an expiration date after which people won’t be able to access the file, and you can set a password so that only people who have the password can access it. When you’ve made your selections, click Apply. Back in the main “Send link” screen, you can send a message along with the link by typing it into the Message box. Then click Send. An email is sent to all the recipients with a link they can click to open the document. Your collaborators will get an email like this when you share a spreadsheet. Preston Gralla / Foundry (If you’d rather send recipients a copy of the file as an Excel file instead of a link, and thus not allow real-time collaboration, click Send a copy at the bottom of the “Send link” screen.) There’s another way to share a file stored in a personal OneDrive for collaboration: In the “Copy link” area at the bottom of the “Send link” pane, click Copy. When you do that, you can copy the link and send it to someone yourself via email. Note that you have the same options for setting access and editing permissions as you do if you have Excel send the link directly for you. Just click Anyone with the link can edit or Specific people below “Copy link,” and follow the instructions above. To begin collaborating: When your recipients receive the email and click to open the spreadsheet, they’ll open it in the web version of Excel in a browser, not in the desktop version of Excel. If you’ve granted them edit permissions, they can begin editing immediately in the browser or else click Editing > Open in Desktop App on the upper right of the screen to work in the Excel desktop client. Excel for the web is less powerful and polished than the desktop client, but it works well enough for real-time collaboration. As soon as any collaborators open the file, you’ll see a colored cursor that indicates their presence in the file. Each person collaborating gets a different color. Hover your cursor over a colored cell that indicates someone’s presence, and you’ll see their name. Once they begin editing the workbook, such as entering data or a formula into a cell, creating a chart, and so on, you see the changes they make in real time. Your cursor also shows up on their screen as a color, and they see the changes you make. You can easily see where collaborators are working in a shared worksheet. Preston Gralla / Foundry Collaboration includes the ability to make comments in a file, inside individual cells, without actually changing the contents of the cell. To do it, right-click a cell, select New Comment and type in your comment. Everyone collaborating can see that a cell has a comment in it — it’s indicated by a small colored notch appearing in the upper right of the cell. The color matches the person’s collaboration color. To see someone’s comment in a cell, hover your cursor over the cell or put your cursor in the cell and you’ll see the comment, the name of the person who made the comment, and a Reply box you can use to send a reply. You can also click the Comments button on the upper right of the screen to open the Comments pane, which lists every comment by every person. Click any comment to jump to the cell it’s in. You can also reply when you click a comment in the pane. You can make see comments that other people make, and make comments yourself. Preston Gralla / Foundry Take advantage of linked data Excel for Microsoft 365 has a feature that Microsoft calls “linked data types.” Essentially, they’re cells that are connected to an online source (Bing) that automatically updates their information — for example, a company’s current stock price. As I write this, there are nearly approximately 100 linked data types, including not just obvious data types such as stocks, geography, and currencies, but many others, including chemistry, cities, anatomy, food, yoga, and more. To use them, type the items you want to track into cells in a single column. For stocks, for example, you can type in a series of stock ticker symbols, company names, fund names, etc. After that, select the cells, then on the Ribbon’s Data tab, select Stocks in the Data Types section in the middle. (If you had typed in geographic names such as countries, states, or cities, you would instead select Geography.) Excel automatically converts the text in each cell into the matching data source — in our example, into the company name and stock ticker. Excel also adds a small icon to the left edge of each cell identifying it as a linked cell. Click any icon and a data card will pop up showing all sorts of information about the kind of information you’ve typed in.  For instance, a stock data card shows stock-related information such as current price, today’s high and low, and 52-week high and low, as well as general company information including industry and number of employees. A location card shows the location’s population, capital, GDP, and so on. You can build out a table using data from the data card. To do so, select the cells again, and an Insert Data button appears. Click the button, then select the information you want to appear, such as Price for the current stock price, or Population for the population of a geographic region. srcset="https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel-microsoft365-15-linked-data-2023.jpg?quality=50&strip=all 620w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel-microsoft365-15-linked-data-2023.jpg?resize=300%2C293&quality=50&strip=all 300w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel-microsoft365-15-linked-data-2023.jpg?resize=172%2C168&quality=50&strip=all 172w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel-microsoft365-15-linked-data-2023.jpg?resize=86%2C84&quality=50&strip=all 86w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel-microsoft365-15-linked-data-2023.jpg?resize=491%2C480&quality=50&strip=all 491w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel-microsoft365-15-linked-data-2023.jpg?resize=368%2C360&quality=50&strip=all 368w, https://b2b-contenthub.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/excel-microsoft365-15-linked-data-2023.jpg?resize=256%2C250&quality=50&strip=all 256w" width="620" height="606" sizes="(max-width: 620px) 100vw, 620px">Linked data types let you insert information, such as a company’s high and low stock prices, that is continually updated. Preston Gralla / Foundry Excel will automatically add a column to the right populated with the latest information for each item you’re tracking, and will keep it updated. You can click the Insert Data button multiple times to keep adding columns to the right for different types of data from the item’s data card.  It’s helpful to add column headers so you know what each column is showing. Make your own custom views of a worksheet Sheet Views let you make a copy of a sheet and then apply filtered or sorted views of the data to the new sheet. It’s useful when you’re working with other people on a spreadsheet, and someone wants to create a customized view without altering the original sheet. You can all create multiple custom-filtered/sorted views for a sheet. Once you’ve saved a sheet view, anyone with access to the spreadsheet can see it. Note: To use this feature, your spreadsheet must be stored in OneDrive. Sheet views work best when your data is in table format. Select the data, then go to the Ribbon toolbar and click the Insert tab. Near the left end of the Insert toolbar, click the Table button and then OK. To create a new sheet view, click the Ribbon’s View tab, then click the New button in the Sheet View area at the far left. The row numbers and column letters at the left and top of your spreadsheet turn black to let you know you’re in a new sheet view. In the Sheet View area of the Ribbon, it says Temporary View, the default name given to a new sheet view before you’ve saved it. Here’s a sheet view with data sorted from highest to lowest costs. Preston Gralla / Foundry Now apply whatever sorting and filtering you like to the data. (If you need help, see the “How to sort and filter data” section of our Excel tables guide.) To save this view, click the Keep button in the Sheet View area of the Ribbon. When you do that, it is saved as “View1” by default. You can click View1 and type in a more meaningful name for the view. When you click Exit on this toolbar, you return to your spreadsheet, and the row numbers and columns on the left and top of the spreadsheet are no longer black. To switch from one sheet view to another, click the View tab. At the left of the Ribbon toolbar, click the down arrow next to the name of the current view (it will say Default if you’re viewing the spreadsheet without a sheet view applied) to open a dropdown list of the sheet views created for the spreadsheet. Click the name of a sheet view to switch to it. Whenever you’re looking at a sheet view, the row numbers and column letters framing your spreadsheet remain black to indicate that you’re in a sheet view, not the original spreadsheet. Create dynamic arrays and charts Dynamic arrays let you write formulas that return multiple values based on your data. When data on the spreadsheet is updated, the dynamic arrays automatically update and resize themselves. To create a dynamic array, first create a table as outlined in the previous tip. Make sure to include a column that lists categories. Also put in at least one column to its right that lists corresponding values. Put a header at the top of each column. So, for example, if you’re creating a spreadsheet for a business trip budget, Column A might list expenses, such as plane tickets, meals, hotel, etc., and Column B could list each item’s cost on the same row. Once you’ve set up the table, use a dynamic array function on it, such as FILTER, SORT, or UNIQUE to create a dynamic array next to the table. Here’s an example of a formula for using the FILTER function: =FILTER(A2:B9, B2:B9 < 2000) This tells Excel to show only the items that cost less than $2,000 in the array. The FILTER function created a data array showing only the items with costs below $2,000. Preston Gralla / Foundry Now, whenever the data in your source table changes, the dynamic array updates and resizes itself to accommodate the changes. That means the dynamic array is always up to date. So in our example, if you add new items with values under $2,000 to the table, the dynamic array will enlarge itself and include those new items. In the same way, you can use the SORT function to sort data and the UNIQUE function to remove duplicate data. (Read about more ways to use the FILTER, SORT, and UNIQUE functions from Microsoft support.) You create a dynamic chart from the dynamic array in the same way you do any other Excel chart. Select the cells from the dynamic array that you want to chart, then select the Insert tab and select the type of chart you want to add. When the source data changes in a way that affects the dynamic array that the chart is based on, both the dynamic array and the chart will be updated. Use AutoSave to provide a safety net as you work If you’re worried that you’ll lose your work on a worksheet because you don’t constantly save it, you’ll welcome the AutoSave feature. It automatically saves your files for you, so you won’t have to worry about system crashes, power outages, Excel crashes and similar problems. It only works only on documents stored in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online. It won’t work with files saved in the older .xls format or files you save to your hard drive. AutoSave is a vast improvement over the previous AutoRecover feature built into Excel. AutoRecover doesn’t save your files in real time; instead, every several minutes it saves an AutoRecover file that you can try to recover after a crash. It doesn’t always work, though — for example, if you don’t properly open Excel after the crash, or if the crash doesn’t meet Microsoft’s definition of a crash. In addition, Microsoft notes, “AutoRecover is only effective for unplanned disruptions, such as a power outage or a crash. AutoRecover files are not designed to be saved when a logoff is scheduled or an orderly shutdown occurs.” And the files aren’t saved in real time, so you’ll likely lose several minutes of work even if all goes as planned. AutoSave is turned on by default in Excel for Microsoft 365 .xlsx workbooks stored in OneDrive, OneDrive for Business, or SharePoint Online. To turn it off (or back on again) for a workbook, use the AutoSave slider on the top left of the screen. If you want AutoSave to be off for all files by default, select File > Options > Save and uncheck the box marked AutoSave files stored in the Cloud by default on Excel. Using AutoSave may require some rethinking of your workflow. Many people are used to creating new worksheets based on existing ones by opening the existing file, making changes to it, and then using Save As to save the new version under a different name, leaving the original file intact. Be warned that doing this with AutoSave enabled will save your changes in the original file. Instead, Microsoft suggests opening the original file and immediately selecting File > Save a Copy (which replaces Save As when AutoSave is enabled) to create a new version. If AutoSave does save unwanted changes to a file, you can always use the Version History feature described below to roll back to an earlier version. Review or restore earlier versions of a spreadsheet There’s an extremely useful feature hiding in the title bar in Excel for Microsoft 365: You can use Version History to go back to previous versions of a file, review them, compare them side-by-side with your existing version, and copy and paste from an older file to your existing one. You can also restore an entire old version. To do it, click the file name at the top of the screen in an open file. A drop-down menu appears. Click Version History, and the Version History pane appears on the right side of the screen with a list of the previous versions of the file, including the time and date they were saved. (Alternatively, you can select the File tab on the Ribbon, click Info from the menu on the left, and then click the Version History button.) Use Version History to see all previous versions of a spreadsheet, copy and paste from an older file to your existing one, or restore an entire old version. Preston Gralla / Foundry In the Version History pane, click Open version under any older version, and that version appears as a read-only version in a new window. Scroll through the version and copy any content you want, then paste it into the latest version of the file. To restore the old version, overwriting the current one, click the Restore button. Try out Microsoft 365 Copilot in Excel — but don’t expect too much For an additional subscription fee, business users of Excel can use Microsoft’s genAI add-in, Microsoft 365 Copilot. You can have Copilot suggest and create charts, create formulas, mine spreadsheets for data insights you might have missed, and more. If you have a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family subscription, many of those features are now bundled with your core subscription. To start using Copilot in Excel, open a spreadsheet and click the Copilot button at the right of the Ribbon’s Home tab. The Copilot panel will appear on the right, offering suggestions for actions it can perform, such as summarizing your data with a chart, adding formulas to the spreadsheet, or applying conditional formatting to the sheet. You can also chat with Copilot in the panel, asking questions about your data or how to perform an action yourself. Note that these suggestions are generic and won’t always make sense. For example, when you start with a blank worksheet and click the Copilot button, its suggestions include summarizing data using pivot tables or charts, even though there’s no data to chart or put into a table. Microsoft 365 Copilot can help you in multiple ways in Excel, including creating formulas and charts, mining spreadsheets for insights, and more. Preston Gralla / Foundry In my testing, I found that Copilot wasn’t particularly helpful. For example, when I asked it to summarize data using a PivotTable or chart, several times it responded, “Something went wrong. Please try again in a moment.” Then it said that I first needed to reformat parts of my spreadsheet by using the Transform() function, and gave confusing advice on how I could do it — it wouldn’t do the task itself. (Eventually, I gave up.) When I asked it to suggest conditional formatting for my spreadsheet, which would highlight important data, it told me which data I should highlight but didn’t explain why the data was important. It also didn’t do the highlighting for me or tell me how to do it. I gave it one more try and asked it to perform an advanced analysis, which it would use Python to do. It certainly did something, although it was unclear what it was. It overwrote my original spreadsheet and added a section that claimed to show annual growth rates for revenue streams. But the data seemed to be incorrect. Perhaps advanced spreadsheet jockeys might be able to make sense of what Copilot is up to whenever they ask it for help. But mere mortal businesspeople may find it of no help at all. In my testing, I found Copilot not at all helpful, although spreadsheet jockeys may be able to make some sense of what it does. Preston Gralla / Foundry What’s more, Microsoft’s focus on Copilot in M365 has reduced the usefulness of Excel in some ways. For example, there used to be a handy feature called Smart Lookup that let you conduct targeted web searches from inside Excel. But at the beginning of 2025, Microsoft removed Smart Lookup from Excel, saying that the feature has been deprecated. Now the only way to search the web from inside Excel is via Copilot, which lacks some features of Smart Lookup — notably the ability to highlight words or phrases in a document and trigger an automatic web search. And M365 Copilot isn’t available to business customers unless they pay the additional subscription fee. Other features to check out Spreadsheet pros will be pleased with several other features and tools that have been added to Excel for Microsoft 365 over the past few years, from a quick data analysis tool to an advanced 3D mapping platform. Get an instant data analysis If you’re looking to analyze data in a spreadsheet, the Quick Analysis tool will help. Highlight the cells you want to analyze, then move your cursor to the lower right-hand corner of what you’ve highlighted. A small icon of a spreadsheet with a lightning bolt on it appears. Click it and you’ll get a variety of tools for performing instant analysis of your data. For example, you can use the tool to highlight the cells with a value greater than a specific number, get the numerical average for the selected cells, or create a chart on the fly. The Quick Analysis feature gives you a variety of tools for analyzing your data instantly. Preston Gralla / Foundry Translate text You can translate text from right within Excel. Highlight the cell whose text you want translated, then select Review > Translate. A Translator pane opens on the right. Excel will detect the words’ language at the top of the pane; you then select the language you want it translated to below. If Excel can’t detect the language of the text you chose or detects it incorrectly, you can override it. Easily find worksheets that have been shared with you It’s easy to forget which worksheets others have shared with you. In Excel for Microsoft 365 there’s an easy way to find them: Select File > Open > Shared with Me to see a list of them all. Note that this only works with OneDrive (both Personal and Business) and SharePoint Online. You’ll also need to be signed into you Microsoft or work or school account. Predict the future with Forecast Sheet Using the Forecast Sheet function, you can generate forecasts built on historical data. If, for example, you have a worksheet showing past book sales by date, Forecast Sheet can predict future sales based on past ones. To use the feature, you must be working in a worksheet that has time-based historical data. Put your cursor in one of the data cells, go to the Data tab on the Ribbon and select Forecast Sheet from the Forecast group toward the right. On the screen that appears, you can select various options such as whether to create a line or bar chart and what date the forecast should end. Click the Create button, and a new worksheet will appear showing your historical and predicted data and the forecast chart. (Your original worksheet will be unchanged.) The Forecast Sheet feature can predict future results based on historical data. Preston Gralla / Foundry Manage data for analysis with Get & Transform This feature is not entirely new to Excel. Formerly known as Power Query, it was made available as a free add-in to Excel 2013 and worked only with the PowerPivot features in Excel Professional Plus. Microsoft’s Power BI business intelligence software offers similar functionality. Now called Get & Transform, it’s a business intelligence tool that lets you pull in, combine, and shape data from wide variety of local and cloud sources. These include Excel workbooks, CSV files, SQL Server and other databases, Azure, Active Directory, and many others. You can also use data from public sources including Wikipedia. Get & Transform helps you pull in and shape data from a wide variety of sources. Preston Gralla / Foundry You’ll find the Get & Transform tools together in a group on the Data tab in the Ribbon. For more about using these tools, see Microsoft’s “Getting Started with Get & Transform in Excel.” Make a 3D map Before Excel 2016, Power Map was a popular free 3D geospatial visualization add-in for Excel. Now it’s free, built into Excel for Microsoft 365, and has been renamed 3D Maps. With it, you can plot geographic and other information on a 3D globe or map. You’ll need to first have data suitable for mapping, and then prepare that data for 3D Maps. Those steps are beyond the scope of this article, but here’s advice from Microsoft about how to get and prepare data for 3D Maps. Once you have properly prepared data, open the spreadsheet and select Insert > 3D Map > Open 3D Maps. Then click Enable from the box that appears. That turns on the 3D Maps feature. For details on how to work with your data and customize your map, head to the Microsoft tutorial “Get started with 3D Maps.” If you don’t have data for mapping but just want to see firsthand what a 3D map is like, you can download sample data created by Microsoft. The screenshot shown here is from Microsoft’s Dallas Utilities Seasonal Electricity Consumption Simulation demo. When you’ve downloaded the workbook, open it up, select Insert > 3D Map > Open 3D Maps and click the map to launch it. With 3D Maps you can plot geospatial data in an interactive 3D map. Preston Gralla / Foundry Automate tasks If you have OneDrive for Business and use Excel with a commercial or educational Microsoft 365 license, you can automate tasks with the Automate tab. You’ll be able to create and edit scripts with the Code Editor, run automated tasks with a button click, and share the script with co-workers. See Microsoft’s “Office Scripts in Excel” documentation for details. Insert data from a picture into Excel There are times you may find data inside an image file that you’d like to get into Excel. Typically, you’ll have to input the data from it manually. There’s now a way to have Excel convert the information on the image into data for a worksheet. In the Get & Transform Data group on the Data tab, click the From Picture dropdown and select Picture From File to choose the image you want to grab data from, or Picture from Clipboard to take a screenshot of an image on your PC and then import the data. For more details, see Microsoft’s “Insert data from picture” support page.   Use keyboard shortcuts Here’s one last productivity tip: If you memorize a handful of keyboard shortcuts for common tasks in Excel, you can save a great deal of time over hunting for the right command to click on. See “Handy Excel keyboard shortcuts for Windows and Mac” for our favorites. This article was originally published in August 2019 and most recently updated in May 2025. More Excel tutorials: Excel basics: Get started with tables Excel basics: Get started with charts and sparklines How to use PivotTables and PivotCharts in Excel How to use slicers in Excel How to use Excel formulas and functions How (and why) to use conditional formatting in Excel How to use Excel macros to save time and automate your work