AutoComplete is a feature in many writing and math apps that we sometimes take for granted. The AI-powered feature can figure out, with some degree of accuracy, what the next word or number in a sentence or math problem we might type out ahead of us.
For Excel users in Windows, AutoComplete features while using dropdown lists has been around for a while. Today, the Microsoft 365 Insider blog has announced it's being added to the Excel apps for iOS, Android, and Mac.
The feature’s algorithm can match text from anywhere in the list item—the start, the middle, or the end of the text string. The algorithm also automatically excludes blank items from the validation list.
With AutoComplete, you can fill forms and other types of content faster and more efficiently. You’ll spend less time scrolling through lists, dealing with data validation errors, or writing complex code to handle this task.
All Excel users have to do is open those supported apps and create a dropdown list. Then they can just start putting text in a cell that matches one of the list items. They can choose one of those list items or simply hit the Enter key or icon.
Microsoft 365 Insiders can access Excel with the new AutoComplete dropdown list feature in the following app versions:
- Android: Build 16.0.16816.10000 or later
- iOS: Version 2.77 (Build 23090704) or later
- Mac: Version 16.77 (Build 23091003) or later
There is no word on when these features will reach general availability.
Microsoft recently added support for the Python coding language inside Excel for Microsoft 365 Insiders. It also plans to put in support for the company's generative AI assistant Copilot in Excel specifically for editing and adding Python code. That feature will be added in a preview program later this year and will enter general availably in 2024.
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