This Secret Excel Feature Connects You To Free Data & Saves Tons of Time

One of the platforms that a lot of offices use is Microsoft 365. This cloud-based environment includes the popular MS Office apps (Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint) as well as multiple cloud features to empower remote teams (OneDrive, Teams, OneNote, etc.).

The platform is also filled with many “extras” including free stock images, free videos, and more, but many companies completely miss out on these additional freebies that could save them time and money.

One of the most interesting extras with the potential to save companies hours of research and report preparation time is Linked Data Types in Excel.

Data Types is a function that allows you to connect a certain dataset, such as the names of medical conditions, to a cloud database with multiple facts and figures about that topic.

You connect your data to the database by telling Excel what “type” of data your working with (such as university names, chemicals, names of movies, foods, etc.). 

Once connected, you can then access the appropriate cloud database and pull the details you like right into Excel in seconds. 

Example of using the Foods data type to populate nutritional details.

How Do You Use Data Types in Excel?

First, we’ll go through a step-by-step on how to use the Data Types feature. Then, we’ll go through some of the ways it can be used by multiple industries to significantly reduce information finding/gathering and report preparation tasks.

It’s estimated that employees spend an average of 9.3 hours each week just searching and gathering information.

  • Step 1: Type your data into a column in Excel.
  • Step 2: Highlight your data.
  • Step 3: Click “Data” in the top menu.
  • Step 4: Choose the appropriate data type from the Data Types window

  • Step 5: Excel converts your row of data into a data type, and an icon will appear to the left of each entry.
  • Step 6: If you see any entries with a question mark, you will be prompted to clarify your data in the right-hand panel.
  • Step 7: Highlight your data and click the small database icon that appears at the top right of the first selected row.
  • Step 8: From the dropdown options, choose the data you would like.
  • Step 9: The data will populate for each selected entry into the next available right-hand column.
  • Step 10: Choose as many variables as you like from the list to populate your spreadsheet.

Where Does the Information Come From?

The data that you connect to in Excel using Data Types comes from “reputable sources,” according to Microsoft.

Those sources include:

  • Bing
  • Wolfram
  • Power Bi
  • And other sources

What Types of Data is Available?

Microsoft has recently added what it calls “100’s” of data information categories to this Excel feature. This makes it useful to just about any type of business or industry.

For each “Data Type” category you see in Excel, you can choose from a variety of different data areas.

For example, you can use the Terrain data type to find data about beaches, caves, deserts, islands, volcanos, and many other terrain features. It also includes details on species, dog breed, cat breeds, and more.

Here are the main categories you have to choose from:

  • Anatomy
  • Animals
  • Automatic (automatically detects things like books and other media)
  • Chemistry
  • Cities
  • Currencies
  • Foods
  • Geography
  • Locations
  • Medical
  • Movies
  • People 
  • Plants
  • Space
  • Stocks 
  • Terrain
  • Universities
  • Yoga

You can find all the types of entries that can be used within each category on Microsoft’s Data Types page

How Can I Use Data Types in My Business?

Just because a program has a cool feature doesn’t necessarily mean you will find a use for it. However, because data types includes so many different categories of information, it can be used for many tasks in multiple industries.

Here are a few possibilities:

  • Restaurants can use the Foods data type to quickly find nutritional details for recipes. 
  • Construction and engineering firms can use the Terrain and Locations data types to make their site assessments take less time.
  • Gyms and fitness centers can use the Yoga data type to instantly find information on pose difficulty level, images of each yoga pose, mobility benefits, and more.
  • Schools can use multiple data types, like Space or Anatomy, to quickly prepare information for lessons.
  • Product manufacturers can populate data on chemical compositions in seconds using the Chemistry data type.
  • Healthcare providers can access disease and treatment information and ICD-9 and 10 codes using the Medical data type.
  • Investment firms can use the Stocks and Currencies data types to reduce the research time for client investment reporting. 

Are You Using Microsoft 365 to the Fullest?

What extra features might you be missing out on in Microsoft 365 that could save you time and money? Onsite Techs of Rhode Island can help you uncover the hidden potential and productivity power of your cloud applications. 

Contact us today to schedule a consultation at 401-773-7766 or book a video call now.