Chris Menard is a Microsoft MVP. He is certified in Excel, Word, Outlook, and PowerPoint. His YouTube videos have over 25 million views.
Writing formulas in Excel can be time-consuming and challenging, even for experienced users. Selecting the right function, referencing the correct cells, and ensuring proper syntax often slows down workflows and leads to errors. Many users spend extra time troubleshooting mistakes, searching for examples, or trying to recall the exact formula
Microsoft Excel
I tested how well Excel's formula completion with Copilot handles a multi-step calculation that would normally require a nested function. The goal was simple: calculate profit by subtracting the total cost of units sold from total revenue, with unit costs stored in a separate lookup table. Instead of
Privacy
Microsoft Teams has a great Copilot feature. A Microsoft 365 license is required for this feature. In a Teams meeting, I need AI assistance during a conversation, but the participants do not want the call recorded or transcribed. There are plenty of situations where privacy matters: a vendor asks for
Microsoft Excel
Excel's Copilot-powered Formula Completion is now available on the desktop app — not just Excel for the Web. Type an equals sign, and Excel suggests complete formulas based on your data context. Here are three examples showing how it works. Extracting First Names With a "Rep Name"
Microsoft Excel
The right-click context menu in Excel holds some powerful features that many users overlook. Here are 8 right-click techniques that can speed up your everyday Excel work — from moving columns without cut-and-paste to autofilling weekdays only. 1. Move Columns with Right-Click Drag Instead of cutting and inserting columns, select a
November 4, 2025 Microsoft MVP and productivity expert Chris Menard will be presenting a highly anticipated session titled “Executive Insights: Harnessing Excel for Strategic Analysis” at the EA Ignite Conference, held at the Renaissance Nashville Hotel. This premier event, running from November 3–5, 2025, is tailored for executive assistants
Microsoft 365
Chris Menard will present “Mastering Microsoft 365 Copilot” at EA Ignite in Nashville on Nov 3, 2025. Learn how Copilot boosts productivity in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Teams during this hands-on session.
Microsoft Teams
Microsoft Teams is rolling out a redesigned file search experience for channels. The old Files tab has been replaced with a new Shared tab that combines files, links, and recent activity in one place — with keyword filtering and direct access to your SharePoint document library. In this tutorial, Chris walks
Microsoft Copilot
In this live session, Chris Menard and Melissa Ballesteros walk through practical tips for getting more out of Microsoft 365 Copilot. From Excel formula suggestions to AI-powered notebooks and PowerPoint presentation creation, this 45-minute session covers the features that matter most for everyday productivity. Excel Formula Completion with TEXTAFTER Chris
Microsoft Excel
Excel's Copilot formula completion feature can write complex XLOOKUP formulas for you. Instead of memorizing syntax and figuring out the arguments, you describe what you want in plain English and Copilot generates the formula. In this tutorial, Chris Menard demonstrates this using a sneaker sales dataset. Watch the
Microsoft
The Windows system tray (notification area) sits in the bottom-right corner of your taskbar, and most people never customize it. By default, many useful icons are hidden behind the caret (^) arrow, making them harder to access. With a few quick changes, you can keep your most-used apps visible and use
Microsoft Excel
If you've clicked the Copilot icon in Excel and gotten a task pane that doesn't look quite right, you're not alone. The default pane opens a general chat window, but the real productivity gains come from switching to App Skills — the workbook-aware Copilot experience