You can check by clicking the icon of a megaphone near the top right of the screen above the Ribbon. The new look appears in both Windows 10 and Windows 11, but depending on your installation, it may or may not show up by default. Through the years, Excel’s Ribbon has gotten a variety of cosmetic changes, but it still works largely the way it always has. But it still works in the same way, and you’ll find most of the commands in the same locations as in earlier versions. Some time after Microsoft released Windows 11, the company again gave the Ribbon (and Office overall) a slight facelift, so it more closely aligns with that new version of Windows.

It’s now flatter-looking, cleaner, and less cluttered, and it has high-contrast colors, which makes the icons and text on the Ribbon easier to see. In 2018, Microsoft overhauled the way the Ribbon looks, and the company has continued to tinker with the design since then. If you need a refresher, see our Excel 2010 cheat sheet. Since the Ribbon has been included in Office applications since Office 2007, we assume that by now you’re familiar with how it works.

The Ribbon interface that you came to know and love (or perhaps hate) in earlier versions of Excel is still alive and well. If you have Office 2021, check out “ What’s new in Office 2021.”) Use the Ribbon (If you’re using the perpetual-license Excel 2016 or 2019, see our seperate Excel 20 cheat sheet. We’ll periodically update this story as new features roll out. This cheat sheet gets you up to speed on the features that have been introduced in Microsoft 365’s Excel for Windows desktop client since 2015.

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