Using different data types in Microsoft Excel is about to get a lot easier

In the early days, Excel only handled cells as text and numbers. There wasn’t a great deal more context added to cells past that. However, as Excel grew and more and more people depended on it to manage their daily lives, Microsoft added special data structures like currencies and geographical locations.

While these were very welcome additions, there was just one problem: the formatting for these special data cells didn’t appear in the formula bar as succinctly as Microsoft liked. Now, the company is changing that with a new update that is available to Excel Insiders right now.

Microsoft Excel receives value tokens in the formula bar

In a post on the Microsoft 365 Insider blog, the company breaks down what these new “value tokens” can do for you:

Microsoft Excel has continuously evolved to handle more than just plain text, numbers, and errors. For example, we’ve introduced the ability to put stocks, geography, currencies, and formatted number values, among other data types, in cells, allowing them to hold richer data and connected information.

However, these data types were not able to be shown in the formula bar in a cohesive way – until now! This enhancement provides a clear visual indication that a cell contains a data type or other richer formats. The addition of an icon next to the value further helps differentiate between data types in a spreadsheet.

You can see it in action in the above GIF. When cells have a special data type applied, the formula bar now shows which format they’re using via a little icon. It makes it a lot easier to see what data type the cell is.

If you want to use this tool, make sure you’re on Excel Version 2502 (Build 18623.20020) or later. Once done, just give any cell a data type, then click on it and look at the formula bar. You should see a little icon letting you know which data type it’s using. Simple.

Despite its simple appearance, Excel goes a lot deeper than you may first imagine. If you’re still a newcomer to Excel and you don’t know all the ropes, be sure to check out all the Excel functions we wish we knew about earlier and give yourself a head start.