The very first thing that you will notice when you open the new and advanced version - MS Excel 2013 is its brand new look. Going further you may find that it does not involve many new features, but all the old ones are upgraded in a way that they now provide a professional and perfect result quickly. The approach to deal complex queries and easy problem solving skills make it a tool that almost all users whether they are new or old enjoy. Let us explore new features of this efficient spreadsheet application:

• Completely New Starting Screen:

Gone are the days when you get a blank sheet upon starting MS Excel. In new MS Excel 2013, you will be greeted with a completely new and attractive page. This new landing page gives you a quick look of everything involved in this application including the ‘Recent Workbooks’. Moreover, the availability of different templates lying in tiled format helps you to select a format according to your requirement ranging from personal budgeting reports to financial reports. At the top right corner of this screen, you can see the SharePoint or SkyDrive account to which you are currently connected. However, you can disable this start screen as well.

• Enjoy the ‘Quick Analysis’ Tool:

The ‘Quick Analysis’ tool of Excel 2013 lets you convert your data into chart or table in just two or less steps. You can also see the preview of your data with conditional formatting, charts, or sparklines in one click only.

• The Magic of Flash Fill:

It works as a personal assistant as it understands what you want to do and enters the remaining data; and hence finishes your work quickly. This is because it understands the pattern that is being followed. For example, if you have a list of full names and you want to separate the first name from last, then ‘Flash Fill’ will help you to perform this task quickly. All you need to do is to select a column provided next to your data, type the first name, and press ‘Enter’. After that as soon as you start typing the next name, ‘Flash Fill’ will show you a list of all suggested names. If the provided list is correct, then simply press ‘Enter’ for acceptance. Follow the same process for separating the last names.

• Chart Recommendations for Your Data:

The ‘Recommended Charts’ feature of MS Excel 2013 makes your working with Excel more intuitive. This feature instantly creates a chart that is most suitable for your data. To use this option, you need to do is to ‘Select your data’ of which you want to create the chart, and then click ‘Insert >> Recommended Charts’. A list of all the recommended charts is generated under ‘Recommended Charts’ section. You can go through this list and select one to see how it looks with your data. After finding an appropriate chart click ‘OK’. You can use ‘Chart Elements’, ‘Chart Styles’, and ‘Chart Filters’ for adding various elements in it.

• The ‘Slicers’ Option for Filtering the Data of a Table:

The ‘Slicer’ feature was initially introduced in Excel 2010 with pivot tables, but in Excel 2013 you can use this option with tables and queries as well. With the help of slicer you can apply filter to your data and get to know what you need.

• Store and Share Your Files Online:

The support for cloud allows you to save your work online. Moreover, you can also share your Excel workbook with people irrespective to the fact that which device they are using or what their location is. Apart from this, you can attach your Excel workbook with your web page.

• Features to Make Your Data Look Rich:

The provisioning of more specific and clear data labeling enhances the visibility of data that is shown in any different shape. You can add animations in your chart as well and make it more interactive.

• Creation of Pivot Tables According To Your Data:

Selecting the appropriate filed for summarizing your data can be a difficult task for you; however, this new version of Excel helps you to work well with this. Upon creating a pivot table, MS Excel suggests you different ways to create the summary of your data and shows you the preview of the layouts from which you can select the best one.

• Create Related Tables:

When related data is saved on different tables, you can create relationships among these tables in this new version of Excel. This creates easy data access without sticking to one table only.

• AutoRecover Option:

Despite the advanced features of MS Excel 2013, there occur situations when you forget to save your Excel sheet or you encounter Excel crash. This causes severe data loss; however, if you have enabled the ‘Save AutoRecover information every x minutes’, then you can easily overcome data loss. You can select this option by going through the ‘File >> Options >> Save’ and select ‘Save AutoRecover information every x minutes’ box. Moreover, ensure that you select the ‘Keep the last autosaved version if I close without saving’ box.

However, irrespective to the efficient option of auto recovery in Excel, there occurs time when you come across situation of Excel corruption. The corruption of Excel file results in complete inaccessibility of all the data stored in it. In such situations, use of a professional Excel recovery software is recommended. Professional tools of this category repair corrupt or inaccessible MS Excel sheets without causing data loss, hence they are best solution to overcome the loss in such situations.