Since its inception, Excel’s recalculation engine has never been revamped. Excel expert David Ringstrom, CPA, introduces webcast participants to an entirely new class of worksheet functions known as dynamic arrays. Available only to Microsoft 365 subscribers, dynamic arrays recalculate traditional formulas faster. They also eliminate the need to use menu commands to sort, filter, and/or remove duplicates from a list of data. You can create formulas in dynamic array that resize themselves automatically, including an amortization table that expands into additional rows when a loan term increases or contracts when a loan term is shortened.

David demonstrates every technique at least twice: first, on a PowerPoint slide with numbered steps, and second, in the subscription-based Microsoft 365 version of Excel. David draws your attention to any differences in the older versions of Excel (2019, 2016, 2013, and earlier) during the presentation as well as in his detailed handouts. David also provides an Excel workbook that includes most of the examples he uses during the webcast.

Microsoft 365 is a subscription-based product that provides new-feature updates as often as monthly. Conversely, the perpetual licensed versions of Excel have feature sets that don’t change. Perpetual licensed versions have year numbers, such as Excel 2019, Excel 2016, and so on.

Topics covered:

• Displaying subsets of data dynamically by way of the new FILTER worksheet function.
• Matching the IPMT and SEQUENCE functions to create a dynamic column of interest paid amounts.
• Filtering based upon two or more conditions with the FILTER function in Microsoft 365.
• Creating an in-cell list by way of Excel’s Data Validation feature.
• Utilizing the PPMT and SEQUENCE functions together to return a dynamic column of principal paid amounts.
• Preventing dynamic arrays from resizing by using wrapper functions.
• Nesting dynamic array functions such as SORT and UNIQUE together.
• Locating documentation and example workbooks to use while exploring dynamic arrays in Office 365.
• Assigning random numbers to a block of cells by way of the new RANDARRAY function.
• Crafting self-resizing formulas with the new Spilled Range Operator in Microsoft 365.
• Sorting lists of data dynamically from elsewhere in a spreadsheet with the new SORT function.
• Troubleshooting the new #SPILL! error that can arise in certain circumstances with regard to dynamic array formulas in Microsoft 365.