Allow removal of "Copilot Suggestions" from right-click menu
I have been using Excel for decades and CONSTANTLY use the right-click menu for quick access to basic functions (e.g., "Insert"). Ever since "Copilot Suggestions" was added to the drop-down list, it always throws me off due to its placement. I have Microsoft 365 on Windows 11 Pro. I have searched for ways to remove this from appearing there and the result said "go to File > Options > Copilot and uncheck the 'Enable Copilot' box". However, when I attempt to do that, there is NO "Copilot" option available! PLEASE allow removal of "Copilot Suggestions" from the right-click menu OR at least the option to move it to the bottom (so it isn't in the way of things used ALL the time). I realize that Copilot is a great resource for many users, but I am confident in my Excel skills and in my ability to research/learn new skills the "old school" way, so I have little use for this feature now and would prefer to hide it.
Excel App Builder: Should Excel Support Turning Workbooks into Standalone Low-Code Applications?
Excel has been much more than a spreadsheet application for a long time. In many organizations, Excel is already used as an informal low-code development platform. Advanced workbooks often contain not only data and formulas, but complete domain-specific logic: calculation models, planning tools, dashboards, input forms, reports, simulations, administrative workflows, and sometimes even small internal business applications. This is one of Excel’s greatest strengths. It allows domain experts, power users, analysts, engineers, teachers, consultants, and small businesses to build working tools without becoming full-time software developers. However, there is a structural limitation: the final product usually remains an Excel workbook. That creates several problems: the user needs a compatible Excel installation, macro security and Trust Center settings can block functionality, formulas and business logic are difficult to protect properly, distribution and updates are not as clean as with real applications, workbook-based tools often look less professional than standalone software, user interface, data, and logic are often mixed together in the same file. I believe Microsoft could turn this existing reality into a major strategic opportunity. Core proposal: Excel App Builder / Excel Runtime My suggestion is an official Excel App Builder or Excel Runtime. The idea would be to allow selected Excel workbooks to be packaged as protected standalone applications. Excel would continue to serve as the calculation, data, and automation engine in the background. The end user would not necessarily see the workbook itself. Instead, they would interact with a clean application interface: input forms, buttons, dashboards, charts, reports, controlled tables, and export options. Possible output formats could include: Windows apps, web apps, Teams apps, SharePoint apps, mobile-friendly internal tools, protected specialist applications. This would not replace Power Apps. In my view, it could complement Power Apps very well. Excel could remain the place where fast domain logic, calculations, prototypes, and models are created. Power Apps, Dataverse, Azure, and the wider Microsoft ecosystem could then support larger, scalable, enterprise-level workflows. In other words: Excel could become the natural entry point into Microsoft’s low-code ecosystem. Why this could matter strategically Excel already has an enormous “hidden developer base”: people who are not traditional programmers, but who build useful tools with formulas, tables, Power Query, Power Pivot, VBA, Office Scripts, and now AI assistance. This is a unique market position. Many of these users would not start with C#, JavaScript, Python, or a full application framework. But they already start with Excel. They already build the logic there. The missing step is a professional way to package, protect, distribute, and update those solutions. An official App Builder could: strengthen Excel’s long-term relevance, differentiate Excel from simpler spreadsheet competitors, create a stronger bridge between Excel and Power Platform, give power users a professional deployment path, create new commercial licensing opportunities, reduce the need for fragile VBA/UI workarounds, make Excel-based tools more secure and maintainable. Example use cases A small engineering office creates a technical calculation workbook and exports it as a protected customer tool. A school or university builds a grading, diagnostic, or planning tool with Excel logic but provides staff with a clean app interface. A small business turns an Excel-based quotation calculator into an internal sales app. A finance department packages a planning model as a controlled scenario tool for managers. A consultant builds specialized calculation tools and distributes them professionally without exposing the workbook structure. These are not exotic scenarios. Many people already build this kind of logic in Excel today. The difference would be that Microsoft could provide an official, safe, and professional deployment path. Supporting features that would make this stronger 1. Modern UI layer for Excel-based apps Excel-based applications would need a modern interface layer: forms, dialogs, navigation pages, buttons, card layouts, dashboards, responsive views, mobile-friendly layouts, role-based views, binding to cells, tables, named ranges, and data models. This would create a clearer separation between data, logic, and user interface. 2. Protected workbook logic A professional app export would require strong protection options: hidden formulas, protected named ranges, protected scripts or macro logic, defined input areas, digital signing, controlled editing, update mechanisms, possible licensing controls for commercial distribution. 3. Formula cells with controlled manual override One frequent Excel problem is that users overwrite formulas. A useful new cell mode could be: default formula + optional manual override The cell would keep the original formula internally but allow a controlled manual exception value. Excel could show whether the formula is active or manually overridden. This would remove many helper-column and VBA workarounds in planning, pricing, grading, budgeting, and technical models. 4. Native database layer inside Excel Excel is widely used as a database, even when that becomes fragile. A native database layer could support: primary keys, relationships between tables, required fields, validation rules, change history, duplicate detection, form views, simple queries, optional cloud synchronization. This should feel like a natural extension of Excel tables, not like a separate database product. 5. Multidimensional workbook models Many workbooks use separate sheets for months, locations, versions, departments, or scenarios. This often creates duplication and maintenance problems. Excel could support native dimensions for tables and models, for example: time period, location, scenario, version, department. Formulas, charts, dashboards, and PivotTables could become dimension-aware. This would be especially useful for financial planning, controlling, simulations, scientific models, and project planning. Why now? AI is changing how people build with Excel. Copilot and other AI tools make it easier for non-programmers to generate formulas, scripts, models, and structured workflows. That means more users will be able to build complex Excel-based solutions. But if AI helps users create more advanced workbooks, the next logical question is: How can these workbooks be safely packaged, shared, protected, and used as real tools? An Excel App Builder could be the answer. Possible first step This does not need to start as a massive platform. A realistic first version could be experimental: selected workbook ranges, simple input forms, protected formulas, dashboard view, Windows or web runtime, export as an internal app, optional Teams or SharePoint integration. It could even begin as an Excel Labs / Microsoft Garage style experiment to test demand and gather feedback from power users, developers, and organizations. Core question for the community Excel is already used as a hidden development platform. Should Microsoft make this official? Would an Excel App Builder / Excel Runtime be useful for your organization, clients, or internal tools? Which feature would matter most in a first version? protected workbook runtime, modern UI layer, formula override cells, native database layer, multidimensional models, Power Platform integration, commercial app distribution? I would be very interested to hear how other Excel users, developers, MVPs, and Microsoft product people see this idea. In short: Excel already allows millions of people to build domain-specific logic. Microsoft could turn that strength into an official, secure, and economically attractive low-code application platform.
Sorting data on multiple sheets
Hi, I'm using Excel to track data from my team for analysis. I have 5 sheets in my workbook one for each week and a monthly overview. each week totals all data and totals are added to overview using SUM function, however when i sort a column, let's say i sort column a (Name) A-Z, all the data for each person on the monthly report changes. the same happens on the weekly sheets if i change the order of a column everything get mixed up so that each persons stats change. is there a way to stop this from happening? I want to be able to arrange it so that all the data in a row stays the same on each sheet
LABS.GENERATIVEAI() Not working (03/2026)
I am trying to utilize the ai function in a project at work but something isn't working. I have both a user and admin key from OpenAI that both start with the "sk-" syntax. I have 365 Premium (personal not business) When I do a simple function like "=LABS.GENERATIVEAI("Hello World")" it just returns with #N/A! error. I'm using the gpt-5 model for Excel Labs I'm at a loss as to why this isn't working... I have credits in the "vault" of OpenAI and have double checked what seems like every parameter for this to work. I'm also on the beta stream of Excel Labs to access the latest updates and Excel is fully updated, computer has rebooted, and it is still not working. Any ideas or are others having issues with this working too?Use Copilot in Excel to build your brackets
The matchups are finally set, and the annual question is back: how do you pick a bracket that’s fun and gives you a real shot at predicting the winner—whether you’re following the men’s tournament, the women’s tournament, or both? This year, you can use Copilot in Excel as your bracket sidekick—turning past tournament patterns into quick “what-if” scenarios, stress-testing upset paths, and sanity-checking your picks against historic data. Instead of manually building an analysis, copy/pasting data, and building multiple versions, you can ask in natural language and let Copilot build the analysis for you right inside an Excel workbook. Below are a few fast, practical ways to use Copilot in Excel to build a bracket workbook, explore upside picks (hello, Cinderella runs), and model “if this happens, then what?” outcomes so you can fill your bracket with more confidence than the rest of the group. 1) Set up a bracket workbook Open a new workbook, then open Copilot in Excel. Make sure “Edit with Copilot” is turned on. Start by asking Copilot to create a bracket template: “Create a 2026 [men’s or women’s] college basketball bracket including all the latest teams and seeds. Build dropdowns for each round so I can choose the winner of each matchup all the way to a champion, formatted like a standard bracket. For each dropdown, show only the 2 teams in the matchup based on the winners chose in previous rounds using helper columns." With that foundation in place, you’ve got a clean structure for picks and scenario assumptions. From here, you can make your picks and Copilot can help you add calculations, create “what-if” views, and summarize the implications of different upset paths. Bonus: Want to theme your brackets around your favorite team? First have Copilot generate a simple skills sheet and ask it to follow the instructions when creating brackets. “Create a skills sheet for my favorite team, [Team]. Include the official team colors (with hex codes), mascot/nickname, text colors, and conditional formatting rules for winners/losers.” 2) Stress-test your bracket with real-world scenarios Now for the part that can actually give you an edge: use Copilot to spin up scenario tabs and see how your bracket performs under outcomes that happen all the time in March—Cinderella runs, unexpected seed collapses, and “hot team” momentum that goes against conventional logic. Try some follow-up Copilot prompts like: Cinderella path: “Pick a 10–13 seed to reach the Sweet 16 based on past tournament frequency. Create a version to reflect that upset path, and show which higher-seeded teams I’m fading.” All the 1-seeds don’t make it: “Create a version of my bracket where at least two 1-seeds lose before the Elite Eight. Identify the earliest-round upsets needed and how my champion pick changes.” Favorite team: “Assume my favorite team is [Team]. Build two paths: (1) optimistic (reach the Final Four) and (2) realistic (based on projected path). For each path, show who they’d likely face by seed line and which matchup round matters most for them.” Momentum model: “Calculate a “momentum multiplier” using the conference tournament games and recent performance for each team and use that to fill out a version of my bracket weighted by momentum.” 3) Compare bracket variants and choose your entry Once you’ve built a few scenario versions, Copilot can help you compare them—so you’re not guessing which bracket is better, you’re choosing the one whose risk/reward matches your needs. Use a prompt like: “Create a comparison analysis for all my bracket scenarios in this workbook including charts. Include number of upset picks by round, and my top 5 most ‘contrarian’ picks across all my brackets. Give a recommendation for which to submit if I’m trying to win my bracket challenge or simply play it safe.” Copilot can generate the comparison table, highlight the key differences, and summarize the tradeoffs in plain language—so you can decide whether you want a safer entry, a balanced upset strategy, or a bold bracket designed to win big. Your turn: build your bracket with Copilot Ready to try it? Open Excel, start a new workbook, and use Edit with Copilot to create your brackets. Once you’ve got a bracket you like, share it with your league, your family, or your coworkers.Sheet View Issues with Excel Web Browser
Hi, I have created a Excel document for my department to use, I tried Excel App but due to the size of the Spreadsheet it kept freezing, as a result I switched it to use Excel through Web Browser. The sheet no longer freezes which is good. I do have another issue though.....I wanted multiple users to be able to access, edit the sheet at the same time so I did some research and Sheet View seemed to be the way forward. I created a Sheet view for each employee to use so when you go to View, Sheet View and click on the relevant person their work is updated, saved etc and this shouldn't affect others view. This is working in terms of people editing. The main issue now though is that despite following advice sometimes when someone changes a filter on their own sheet view it seems to change others view. My understanding was you can hide, filter etc within your own Sheet view but this doesn't seem to be the case.......PLEASE HELP!!!! My excel and computer Skills aren't excellent to please any simple advise would be great.
