5 Features Excel Should Have (But Doesn't)

1. Vertical Sheet Tabs

The horizontal tab bar at the bottom hasn't fundamentally changed since Excel 97. With widescreen monitors showing 30+ inches horizontally but only 15-20 inches vertically, putting tabs on the side makes far more sense.

Chrome, VS Code, and most modern software moved to vertical tabs. Excel still scrolls horizontally through tabs from 1995.

2. Built-in Date Picker

Every web form has a date picker. Every mobile app has a date picker. Excel — the world's most-used data entry software — doesn't.

The workaround is Data Validation with a date restriction, but that doesn't give you a visual calendar. You still type manually.

3. Simple Database Push

Excel has Power Query for pulling data from databases. Pushing data back? You're on your own with copy-paste or manual data entry.

For a tool often used to prepare database imports, this gap is surprising.

4. Workbook Object Explorer

Want to see all named ranges in a workbook? Name Manager. All comments? Review tab hunt. All conditional formatting rules? Manage Rules, but you have to check each sheet separately.

There's no central panel showing everything in the workbook at a glance.

5. Sheet Search

Want to find a sheet named “Q3 Revenue” in a 100-sheet workbook? Right-click the navigation arrows and scroll through a list. Or press Ctrl+G and hope you remember the exact sheet name.

There's no Ctrl+F for sheet names.

Official Resources

• What's new in Excel — latest Excel features
• Excel training — Microsoft training videos