Exploring the New Features of Microsoft Office 2021

Author:

Published:

July 5, 2024

Microsoft Office 2021 is the latest version of the popular suite of office applications, bringing many new features and improvements. Let’s take a closer look at Office 2021 and how it can enhance our productivity and ease of use.

Key New Features of Office 2021

Real-Time Co-Authoring

One of the main advantages of Office 2021 is the ability to co-author documents in real time. In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you can work on files simultaneously with colleagues located anywhere in the world. All changes made by different authors are instantly synchronized, allowing you to stay updated on the latest edits.

Additionally, the tools for commenting and discussion have been improved. You can leave comments on specific text fragments or table cells to highlight important points for your colleagues. All users receive instant notifications of new comments and can respond promptly. These features are particularly relevant in the context of the growing popularity of remote work and flexible schedules.

New Features in Excel

Excel 2021 delights users with several useful innovations that expand data handling capabilities:

The XLOOKUP function allows you to quickly find information in tables and ranges. It is designed to replace the familiar VLOOKUP function, offering more flexible and intuitive search methods.
Dynamic arrays and new functions (FILTER, SORT, UNIQUE, SEQUENCE, RANDARRAY) enhance data analysis and processing capabilities. Now, a single formula can return multiple cells, opening new horizons for working with large volumes of information.

The LET function enables the storage of intermediate calculations and assigns names within formulas, making complex formulas more readable and understandable. This is especially useful for handling bulky calculations that previously had to be broken down into numerous parts.

To conveniently track cells and formulas, Excel 2021 includes the “Watch Window” tool, allowing you to monitor values across different sheets and workbooks simultaneously without switching between them.

Improvements in Word and PowerPoint

Word 2021 offers several notable improvements for comfortable text work:

Dark mode support reduces eye strain during prolonged document work. It changes the interface color scheme to a darker, subdued palette while maintaining high contrast and readability.
The immersive reader mode now allows users to choose from various preset color schemes for page backgrounds, enabling customization according to personal preferences and reducing eye fatigue. Additionally, enhanced color settings help people with visual impairments better perceive text.
The document listening feature has been enhanced. Microsoft has improved the quality and naturalness of the voices used for text-to-speech conversion. The machine speech is almost indistinguishable from human speech, making document listening more pleasant and comfortable.

PowerPoint 2021 will delight fans of handwritten input with new animation effects (Ink Replay), enabling the creation of dynamic presentations that simulate real-time handwriting. Another interesting feature is the ability to save slide shows in animated GIF format for easy sharing on social networks and messaging apps.

Interface Updates and Performance Enhancements

Office 2021 features an updated user interface in the style of Windows 11. It is cleaner and more streamlined, with single-line icons that make application navigation even more intuitive. The stock image and icon collection is regularly updated with new content, offering users a wide selection of ready-made elements for document and presentation design. Important UX features include:

Improved function search. For quick access to necessary functions, Office 2021 includes an enhanced search feature. Simply enter a query in the “Tell me what you want to do” field, and the system will suggest suitable options. This significantly speeds up work and eliminates the need to spend time searching for commands in the menu.

Increased speed and stability. Developers have focused on improving the performance of office applications. According to Microsoft, Office 2021 boasts increased speed and stability, which is particularly noticeable when using complex Excel functions. Code and algorithm optimizations have resulted in faster response times and smoother operation, even when processing large amounts of data.

Other Innovations and Improvements

Saving Images in SVG Vector Format

Office 2021 now allows saving images and graphics in SVG vector format without quality loss when scaling. This is especially useful for creating adaptive content that looks equally good on screens of different sizes and resolutions. SVG files occupy less space than raster images and are easily editable in vector editors.

New Sketched Outline Styles in PowerPoint

PowerPoint 2021 offers new Sketched outline styles that simulate marker or pencil drawings. These styles enable the creation of informal presentations, giving slides a more friendly and creative appearance. They are ideal for explaining ideas in a relaxed atmosphere or creating presentations in a sketchnoting style.

Integration with Microsoft Teams

You can now communicate with colleagues directly from the office applications interface through chat or video calls, thanks to integration with Microsoft Teams. Just click the “Chat” or “Video Call” button in the menu, and you can instantly start a conversation with the desired person or group. This significantly speeds up interaction and simplifies collaboration, eliminating the need to switch between different programs.

By choosing Office 2021 Professional Plus, you receive not only a suite of familiar office programs but also an entire ecosystem for productive work in modern conditions. If you value reliability, security, and innovative technologies, then the Office 2021 Professional Plus is the ideal choice for you.

More iDevice Central Guides

iOS 17 Jailbreak RELEASED! How to Jailbreak iOS 17 with PaleRa1n

iOS Jailbreak Tools for All iOS Versions

About the author

GeoSn0w

An iOS and Jailbreak enthusiast who has been around for quite some time in the community. I’ve developed my own jailbreaks before and I am currently maintaining iSecureOS, one of the first iOS Anti-Malware tools for jailbroken devices. I also run iDevice Central on YouTube with over 146.000 Subscribers! Thank you for being part of this awesome community.