Most people only use Excel as a tool to arrange data, but its flexibility is far beyond the spreadsheet. You can use it to play funny games, create beautiful works of art and even arrange your life by using it as a calendar.
1. Play classic gaming
One of the most interesting things you can do with Excel is to turn it into a gaming platform with a bit of creativity and some basic formulas. For example, you can create tic-tac-toe game by customizing the cells to form a net and use the formulas to monitor the player's water.
If you like adventure, you can try creating games like Minesweeper, Snake or Pac-Man, with the help of Script VBA (Visual Basic for Applications). You also do not need to start from the beginning – many Excel game models are available online.
2. Solve Sudoku puzzles
In addition to classic games, you can turn the Excel spreadsheet into interactive Sudoku solution. A remarkable example comes from Reddit /U /Krakenoflakezurich users who designed an impressive Sudoku explanation in Excel just with conditional formulas and formats. This setting turns a basic spreadsheet into a dynamic puzzle tool, where you enter the given numbers of a Sudoku and Excel puzzle will help fill the blank.
Conditional format of Excel highlights the valid countries, while the formulas ensure compliance with the Sudoku rules – without repeated numbers in rows, columns or mesh.
3. Image editing
One of the lesser known but surprising features in Excel is the ability to edit images. Not only the options of cutting, rotating and changing the basic size – Excel offers other editing tools to enhance your image.
After inserting the image into the Excel spreadsheet, you can move to the tab Picture Formatwhere you will find options to apply shadows, reflections and soft edges to create a more sleek and professional interface. Like other Office applications, Excel also includes Picture Stylesallowing you to apply many different borders and 3D effects to the image.
These options can be really useful if you are in an urgent situation and need to quickly improve the image – whether adjusting the style or even erasing the background. After editing, you can save the image by right -clicking on the image and selecting Save as picture.
4. Create artwork
This may sound abnormal – or even strange – but Excel's Autoshape feature can help you create a beautiful artwork. One of the most famous examples of this is Tatsuo Horiuchi, a Japanese artist who turned Excel into his picture. Using tools like Autoshape, Horiuchi has created complex landscapes, proving that Excel is not only for calculation.
To create your own artwork, go to Insert> Illustrations> Shapes And use Excel's straight line tool as an accurate tool to outline complex shapes or borders. Then, combine it with Excel's coloring tool to gloss and color, turn your calculation into a canvas picture.
For creative approach, you can use Excel's grid structure as your Canvas picture. By changing the size of the cells into small squares, you can turn each box into a “pixel” and color to create anything from simple designs to complex images, Like a picture.
5. Create a password or random number
You do not necessarily rely on the online password creation process to create a strong password. Integrated functions of Excel like Rand and Randbetween can help you create a random and complicated password in just a few seconds. For example, to create a random password of 8 characters including letters, numbers and special characters, you can use the following formula:
=TEXTJOIN("", TRUE, CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(33,126)), CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(33,126)), CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(33,126)), CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(33,126)), CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(33,126)), CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(33,126)), CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(33,126)), CHAR(RANDBETWEEN(33,126)))
In addition, you can use Excel's Rand, Randbetween and Randarray functions to create random numbers. This feature is especially useful when you need to choose the winner from the list of entry, random samples for surveys or number indications for winners.
6. Send a series of emails
If you need to email a series of personalized to a group of recipients, Excel can help you. With Mail Merge, you can easily customize and email a series directly from Microsoft Word, using data stored in Excel spreadsheets.
To do this, you first need to arrange the recipient's detailed information – such as the name, email address and other personalization information – into the columns in Excel. After that, you will need to create an email draft in Word and link to your Excel file through Mail Merge. This feature allows you to insert personalized fields (such as specific names, addresses or incentives) into your email form, making sure each person receives a suitable message.
After everything is established, Mail Merge will automatically fill in details for each recipient and you can email a series of personalization – all from Word. Although this process takes a bit of time and effort to set up, it can save you hours when sending emails that are personalized to large groups.
7. Create a custom form
Excel can be an effective tool to create an interactive form, can fill it out, whether it is a survey, questionnaire or feedback form. To start, you will need to turn on the tab Developerproviding access to a series of form controls such as text boxes, checkboxes and drop-down menu.
After activating, you can add many different controls to your form by choosing them from the group Controls. For example, you can insert the check box for questions/no or Drop-Down list for multiple-choice options.
After designing the form, you can ensure the integrity of the data by protecting the page. You can customize the protective settings to control the user's interaction, such as allowing users to fill out the form while preventing other changes.
8. Create personal calendar
If you like to use Excel, why not turn it into your personal calendar? Excel offers multiple templates for daily, weekly, monthly and annual plans that you can easily customize. Just select a template you like, then adjust the layout to fit your work or personal schedule.
The main advantage of using Excel as the calendar lies at the custom level it provides. You can modify colors, fonts and even apply conditional formats to highlight important days, meetings or tasks. This allows you to create a calendar not only functional but also in terms of image.
Overall, the potential of Excel is far beyond the data and data management. Take time to explore its creative applications and maybe, you can unlock a completely new level of productivity and creativity.
