For 40 years, an Excel cell has held one value. Microsoft is now testing cells that hold a list, such as several tags, certifications or product sizes, while keeping each item separate for filtering and formulas. The feature is rolling out to the Beta Channel for Windows and Mac.
People have long crammed several values into one cell as comma-separated text. That looks fine but breaks the moment someone wants to filter or count by one of the items. The usual fix was to split the data across many rows, which makes the sheet harder to read.
Lists, arrays and nesting
Microsoft is adding three things. A list is a cell with several values of any type, and an array in a cell holds a small table of rows and columns. A nested array is an array inside another array.
Users make a list with Insert > List or Ctrl+J and type items separated by commas or semicolons, depending on regional settings.
Four new functions work with them. HAS checks whether one item is in a list, HASANY whether any of several are, and HASALL whether all are. FLATTEN turns nested arrays into a plain one.
Still a preview
Microsoft says the behavior may change before general release, based on tester feedback. It has not given a date for everyone else.
