The Beginnings of Excel
The original version of Excel was released for Mac in 1985 under the code name “Odyssey”. It was developed by Microsoft to make spreadsheets more accessible to everyday computer users. At the time, Lotus 1-2-3 dominated the spreadsheet market. Microsoft aimed to create a more user-friendly and visually appealing spreadsheet tool.
According to the Encyclopedia Britannica, “The first version of Excel was released in 1985 for Apple Inc.’s Macintosh computer; it was the first spreadsheet with a graphical user interface (GUI). Excel was initially written for the Macintosh but later ported to DOS in 1987.”
Sources:
https://www.britannica.com/technology/Microsoft-Excel
Early Windows Versions
The first version of Excel for Windows, Excel 1.0, was released in 1987. This version introduced a graphical user interface and used the Windows 2.0 operating system. Excel 1.0 offered limited worksheet functions but allowed users to link multiple worksheets together. In 1988, Microsoft released Excel 1.5 which introduced toolbars and the ability to add charts (Microsoft Excel, 2023).
Excel 2.0 followed in 1989 with expanded formatting options, printing capabilities, and better integration with other Windows applications. By Excel 3.0 in 1990, Microsoft added more worksheet functions, customizable toolbars, and support for VBA macros for automating tasks. These early Windows versions marked Excel’s transition from solely a spreadsheet tool to a robust data analysis and charting application (Outlook, PowerPoint, Excel, Word Version 1.0?!, 2019).
The launch of Excel 3.0 in 1990 was a major release that dramatically expanded Excel’s capabilities. With over 90 new worksheet functions, customizable toolbars, and macro support through Visual Basic for Applications (VBA), Excel 3.0 transformed into a powerful data analysis tool beyond basic spreadsheets (What’s new in Excel 2021 for Windows, 2022).
Excel 95
In August 1995, Microsoft released Excel 95 for Windows 95 1. This version represented a major upgrade from previous versions and introduced several new usability features. Most notably, Excel 95 introduced workbook and worksheet tabs, allowing users to quickly switch between worksheets in a workbook. It also added toolbars with buttons for common commands, making features easier to access. Additionally, Excel 95 introduced formula autocomplete, where the program suggests functions and named ranges as users type in cells. This auto-complete made formulas quicker and easier to write without errors.
Overall, the release of Excel 95 marked a huge leap in usability over previous versions. The tabbed view, toolbars, and formula auto-complete fundamentally changed how users interacted with Excel and made it far more user-friendly. These usability upgrades, combined with Excel 95’s release on the new Windows 95 operating system, helped cement it as a powerful, mainstream spreadsheet tool.
Excel 97
In 1997, Microsoft released Excel 97 as part of the Office 97 suite1. This version marked a major upgrade with new web capabilities, data analysis tools, and auto-fill features. For the first time, Excel workbooks could be published online and accessed via a web browser2. Excel 97 also introduced over 40 new worksheet functions for statistical, engineering, and financial analysis1. The auto-fill tool made it simpler to quickly populate data by detecting patterns and copying them to adjacent cells. These improvements helped transition Excel beyond just spreadsheets and basic calculations.
Excel 2000
Excel 2000 debuted in 1999 as part of the Microsoft Office 2000 suite. This version focused heavily on making Excel more user-friendly through features like context-sensitive help, Office Assistant, and Show Me examples. Microsoft described Excel 2000 as having an “intuitive, easy-to-use interface,” with additions like the Formula Palette that walked users through building formulas step-by-step.
Other key new features in Excel 2000 included publishing directly to HTML, Smart Tags that recognized data types like dates and could format them appropriately, and pivot table enhancements like drag-and-drop field reordering. There were also major speed improvements, with Microsoft claiming certain actions were up to 40x faster than in previous versions. Overall, Excel 2000 marked a major shift towards making Excel accessible to casual and new users while still providing power features for experienced spreadsheet builders.
Excel XP (2002)
In 2002, Microsoft rebranded Excel to align with the Windows XP operating system. This version was called Excel XP (the previous version was Excel 2000). Excel XP introduced several new features for users:
New charting capabilities allowed more customizable charts and graphs. Users could now add trendlines, bar/column comparisons, and moving averages to their charts. Excel XP also added support for maps and organizational charts.
Smart tags were introduced in Excel XP to make actions more discoverable. Users could right click on a cell with a date, place, or financial value to see a menu of relevant actions like date calculations or stock lookups.
Task panes provided a new form of user assistance that was contextually aware of what users were doing. For example, when working with a PivotTable, the task pane would display helpful information related to PivotTables.
Other interface changes included drag and drop, more toolbar customization options, AutoComplete in cell values, and the Formula Evaluator for step-by-step debugging of formulas.
Overall, Excel XP built on previous versions with enhanced charting, new smart features, task panes, and subtle interface improvements for a more powerful and intuitive spreadsheet program. The product name change to Excel XP reflected Microsoft’s desire to align Office with Windows XP for a consistent customer experience.
Excel 2003
In 2003, Microsoft released Excel 2003 as part of the Office 2003 suite. Excel 2003 introduced several major new features and improvements[1]:
- New statistical functions, including Poisson distribution and rank and percentile
- XML support to facilitate data imports from XML data sources
- Integration with SharePoint to collaborate on spreadsheets
- New Table feature for structured data
- Improved charting capabilities such as adding error bars
- Ability to publish Excel data directly to PowerPoint slides
By upgrading analytics features like financial and statistical functions along with better chart customization, Excel 2003 helped users glean more insights from their data. The Table feature also made Excel more adept at handling structured data sets. Meanwhile, the XML and SharePoint support pointed towards Excel’s focus on improved collaboration in recognition of spreadsheets often being shared documents.[1]
[1] http://www.shortcutmania.com/Microsoft-Excel-2003-Keyboard-Shortcuts-printable-cheatsheet.htm
Excel 2007
Excel 2007 marked a major overhaul in the program with the debut of the ribbon interface, replacing traditional menus and toolbars. According to GCGEdu lessons, the ribbon groups related features and commands together under tabs. This provided a more user-friendly experience by making features easier to locate. Additionally, Excel 2007 introduced live preview so you can see formatting changes before applying them.
The updated user interface was controversial at first. Some users complained the dramatic changes made Excel 2007 harder to use compared to previous versions they were accustomed to, like Excel 2003. According to a Microsoft forum post, one user called the new UI “pure ____” and “non-intuitive.”
Beyond interface changes, Excel 2007 also added new features like pre-built conditional formatting options, sparklines, and an improved spell checker. According to an Indiana University article, the ability to sort data by color and filter by color/dates was also introduced.
Excel 2010 and Beyond
In 2010, Microsoft released Excel 2010 as part of the Office 2010 suite. This version focused on expanding collaboration options, with features like simultaneous multi-user editing and embedded web apps. Excel 2010 also introduced Sparklines, which are mini charts that fit in a single cell, and Slicers for filtering PivotTable data visually (Learn more: What’s New: Changes made to Excel functions).
Excel 2013 built on those collaboration features and expanded data analysis tools like PowerPivot and Power View. It also added Quick Analysis options for visual insights into data trends. In 2016, Excel continued improving analysis with new chart types like waterfall, histogram and box & whisker plots. It also introduced fast, easy forecasting based on historical time-series data.
The latest versions of Excel have focused on integrating AI through features like Insights, which highlight patterns in data and suggest ways to visualize it. It also has Ideas, which recommend formulas based on the context of data in a spreadsheet. These tools leverage Microsoft’s advancements in machine learning to automate some analysis tasks.
Throughout its evolution, Excel has consistently expanded its capabilities to help people gain insights, collaborate effectively and make data-driven decisions. It continues to be one of the most ubiquitous and powerful spreadsheet programs for personal, commercial and enterprise use.
The Future of Excel
Excel has seen immense growth and innovation in recent years and looks set to continue evolving as a robust platform for data analysis, collaboration, and business intelligence. Some key areas where Excel is likely heading next include:
More intelligence and automation – Excel is integrating more AI capabilities like Ideas in Excel, forecasting functions powered by AI [1], and natural language queries to turn data into insights faster. Users can expect more automated intelligence to streamline analysis.
Expansion to new platforms – With growing mobile usage, Excel is expanding to iOS, Android, and the web through Microsoft 365. This allows for more flexibility in when and where users can access the full power of Excel.
Deeper integration with Microsoft 365 – Excel is integrating with Microsoft’s wider cloud and AI capabilities for collaboration through SharePoint and Microsoft Teams [2]. Users can expect more connections across Microsoft’s ecosystem.
Customization and extensibility – With the growth in power users, Excel allows more customization via macros, add-ins, and embedded SDKs to tailor it to specific use cases. Users can expect more control over customizing their Excel experience.
Overall, the future of Excel points towards more intelligent experiences on more platforms and deeper synergies across Microsoft 365 for a robust data analysis tool. At its core, Excel aims to transform data into insights faster for users.