At Apolitical’s 30-minute masterclass, Excel pro David Benaim delivered a high-energy whirlwind tour of spreadsheet hacks designed to save time, boost accuracy, and unlock new features — many of which even seasoned users may have missed. Read on for the 15+ tips, tricks, and hidden features for public servants looking to up their Excel game.
Click here to download the completed Excel Sheet from David’s June 2026 presentation with exercises to practice building tables and using VSTACK and XLOOKUP.
🔍 Quick wins with new features
Convert images to data: Use Data > From Picture > Picture from Clipboard to transform tables in images into editable spreadsheets using AI.
Checkboxes made easy: The new Insert > Checkbox feature lets users quickly add interactive tick boxes.
Focus cell tool: Ideal for teaching or visual clarity, this new tool in the View tab highlights the selected cell with a custom color.
Regex: Use REGEX.EXTRACT() to pull out complex patterns like email addresses embedded in messy text — a powerful upgrade for text manipulation.
Excel Tables: Select your data and choose Insert > Table. Tables automatically expand to include new rows and columns, carry formulas down without dragging, and use dynamic column references that update as your data grows.
🤖 Smart formulas & AI
Flash fill: Type an example, click Flash Fill, and Excel will guess and apply patterns — great for splitting names or cleaning formats.
Prompt AI for formulas: Specify “Excel formula,” reference cell IDs (e.g., “from H9”), and describe the logic. ChatGPT can suggest useful functions like TEXTBEFORE.
✨ Formatting & cleanup tips
Clear All: Rather than manually deleting formatting like text, borders, and fills, use Home > Clear > Clear All to get clean cells with one click.
Fill without formatting: Preserve your background while pasting data by choosing Fill Without Formatting after dragging a formula down.
Paste special > Column widths: Maintain column sizing when transferring data between sheets.
Transpose rows & columns: Use Paste Special > Transpose or CTRL + ALT + V to flip data orientation efficiently.
Create dashboards instantly: Ask Copilot to “make a dashboard in a new worksheet” and Excel will generate charts, summaries and visualisations from your data in seconds.
🌍 Smart tools for global data
Live currency converter: With Data > Currency, you can see live exchange rates or use the STOCKHISTORY function to access historical currency data.
Translate function: TRANSLATE auto-detects language and converts content — useful for working across multilingual teams.
🧹 Data cleanup
Remove duplicates: Use Data > Remove Duplicates to clean records across single or multiple columns.
Conditional formatting for duplicates: Instantly highlight repeating values visually using Home > Conditional Formatting > Highlight Cells Rules > Duplicate Values.
🧑🤝🧑 Collaboration & version control
Show changes: View a log of edits, cell-by-cell, in the Review tab.
Edit history: Select a cell and view its edit history — ideal for multi-user spreadsheets.
📚 Advanced formulas
VSTACK: Combine multiple datasets into one with =VSTACK(). This dynamic function stacks tables vertically and updates automatically when source data changes. Excel also offers HSTACK() for horizontal combinations.
XLOOKUP: Replace VLOOKUP with =XLOOKUP() for more flexible lookups. XLOOKUP can search both left-to-right and right-to-left and won't break when columns are inserted.
Learn more Excel tips and tricks in the Data Skills Network
Join Apolitical’s Data Skills Network — a peer-driven hub for public servants keen to level-up their data skills. You’ll find resources, support, and answers from a global community of over 800 spreadsheet-savvy professionals.
About the speaker
David Benaim — Excel vlogger, trainer, and comedian — combines tech skills with humour via his Excel Comedian social channels. He’ll even be performing the world’s first spreadsheet-themed stand-up show at the Edinburgh Fringe.
👉 You can watch the event highlights or find the full recording from our 2025 event on the event page, check out our February 2026 event, or find David's latest Excel tips from the June 2026 event on Hacks for Working with Spreadsheets.
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