Excel 2016 added a good new feature: One-click forecasting to help you understand current trends and predict future ones. Here's how it operates.

First you will need a table containing a number of dates or times and values associated with those dates. For instance, weekly stock values or monthly sales data. Excel will use these values to create a new worksheet with a forecast chart.

Select any cell in one of the series. Excel will automatically choose the rest of the data for you in the next step.
Go to the Data tab and click Forecast Sheet.
(Optional) Adjust the forecast end date in the forecast worksheet preview.
(Optional) Click the Options menu and adjust the forecasting options.
Click Create.

In some moments, you'll find a new sheet in your workbook containing the forecast chart based on your historical data. In that sheet, Excel will even produce a tablet containing the historical and predicted values, which you'll modify if you'd like to adjust the forecast.

Funnel charts in many cases are used in sales, marketing, along with other departments to exhibit data through different stages in a process, for example prospects moving with the sales pipeline. A current update to Office 2016 makes it dead simple to produce a funnel chart in Excel.

This new feature is available for Office 365 subscribers.

1. Select your data in Excel. It ought to have a row for each stage of the process and a column for that values.

2. Click the Insert tab.

3. Click Insert Waterfall or Stock Chart > Funnel.

Excel will insert the funnel chart for you. Double-click within the chart to format the bars along with other elements of design from the funnel chart, or go to the Design and Format tabs to quickly customize the chart's appearance.

When it comes to Web browsing on your Windows 8 tablet, chances are you've already picked your favorite browser to do the job. However, you may be really missing out. The best browsers can increase your surfing experience with fast speeds, comprehensive standards support and intuitive navigation. We place the three leading browsers for Windows 8's "Metro" mode -- Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox and Internet Explorer -- towards the test to determine what one will last best.

Round 1: Interface (30 points)

From button placement to changing tabs, your browser's layout is prime to how quickly and comfortably you are able to surf the net.

Chrome for Windows 8's Metro mode simulates a Chrome OS desktop, with the familiar browser layout open like a window accompanied by app icons for Gmail, Google search, Docs and YouTube in a taskbar at the bottom. In addition to the surrounding desktop, Google's browser for Metro mode isn't any not the same as its desktop version, with navigation icons and the URL bar positioned at the top.

Both Internet Explorer and Firefox in Metro mode place the navigation panel at the end for easier access with your thumbs. Internet Explorer's navigation panel is sort of cluttered, with buttons for Back, Refresh, Tabs, Favorites and Settings sitting along a URL and check bar. Firefox employs a cleaner approach, with only Back, Favorites, Pin and Options buttons next to its Awesome Bar (URL and check field).

These bottom panels both in Firefox and Internet Explorer auto-hide so that you can enjoy full-screen viewing. However, Firefox goes a step further to make things easier and prettier by overlaying translucent Back and New Tab buttons on the right and left of the screen which means you do not have to leave a complete screen simply to open a new tab.

All three browsers support swiping left and right to move through back and forward through visited pages.

Ie and Firefox both helpfully suggest sites you might be looking for while you enter a URL or keyword within the address bar, which answers are tiled just above the field so you can easily tap them. But when you are looking at scrolling through the tabs you have open, Internet Explorer has the edge, displaying them just over the address bar whenever you hit Tabs while Firefox docks them at the top of the screen.

Each time you open a new tab, Firefox displays a pretty speed dial of the recent, favorite pages as well as your most frequented bookmarks which means you do not have to spend your time typing URLs. Ie suggests frequent sites, only within a black panel above the keyboard, which affords it less space.

When it comes to switching between Desktop and Metro modes, Firefox provides the most seamless transition. It is simple to re-launch the browser inside your preferred format by tapping the Options button near the Awesome Bar, as well as your open tabs are preserved if you switch. Chrome provides easy access to the re-launch tool, nevertheless its tiny interface makes the option hard to find, nor browser maintains your open tabs. Internet Explorer maintains two different and unrelated browsers simultaneously, one for desktop and something for Metro.

Winner: Firefox. We like the straightforward navigation panel, the helpful new tab page and the seamless switching between desktop and Metro modes.

Round 2: Speed (30 points)

Though the performance of your Net connection and your CPU do more to determine your overall surfing speed, your browser also has a role to experience.

While using Numion website loading stopwatch tool, we measured just how long it took each browser to load NYTimes.com and Laptopmag.com. In between each round of tests, carried out on the same Windows 8.1 tablet (Acer Iconia W4) within the same Wi-Fi connection, we cleared the cache for every browser.

Across all of the different pages, Firefox consistently emerged as the speediest browser. It fully loaded NYTimes.com and Laptopmag.com within an average of 3.21 seconds and 4.85 seconds, respectively. Internet Explorer came in second overall, pushing the same sites through in an average of 4.17 seconds and 5.41 seconds. Chrome brought up the trunk, displaying NYTimes.com and Laptopmag.com in five.06 seconds and 6.94 seconds.

Firefox also proved fastest within the SunSpider JavaScript speed test. Scoring 573.6 milliseconds on average, the open-source browser just beat Internet Explorer (576.8 ms average) and Chrome (598.6 ms average).

Chrome took charge in HTML5 loading speeds, however, beating others on Peacekeeper using its score of 1,156. Firefox followed with 879, while Internet Explorer delivered a poorer 672.

On more taxing tasks, such as rendering an intricate WebGL (Web Graphics Language) environment, Firefox lost its result in Chrome. While Firefox maintained 45 fps with 50 fish and 41 fps with 100 fish within the tank simulation (Chrome got 40 / 39 fps), Google's browser pulled ahead when 250 fish were added too this mixture, providing 37 fps against Firefox's 32 fps. Internet Explorer delivered a poorer 43 fps at 50 fish, 39 fps at 100 fps along with a weak 29 fps with 250 fish.

While Chrome delivered better Peacekeeper scores, the app's performance was unfortunately clunky and glitchy during our testing. This means that while HTML5-heavy pages may load faster on Chrome, you'll spend a lot time attempting to open tabs since the overall experience is frustratingly slow.

Winner: Firefox. Blazing page loading speeds and overall faster performance makes this app the Flash from the browser world.

Round 3: Special Features (20 points)

Since Chrome for Windows 8 is actually the desktop form of the browser bundled with Google's OS, you get access to a world of a lot more than 30,000 apps, extensions and add-ons which make your browser more feature-rich. There is also tab indicators to show you, instantly, which of your pages is making noise or playing a video.

Because of the mobile environment, though, the usefulness of those features is questionable. Each Chrome tab is tiny with an 8-inch tablet's screen, and the indicator symbols become minuscule and difficult to see. (The knowledge on larger screens is more comfortable.) You're also less likely to utilize a Chrome Web app for example Pixlr Photo Editor when you are able use Photoshop Express along with other full-fledged programs in your device.

Both Ie and Firefox offer useful special features, such as Don't Track to signal to servers not to record your presence. While all three browsers may be used in Windows 8.1's split screen mode, only Internet Explorer could be docked alongside with another window of itself. This is particularly useful for instances when you want to compare two different cinema listings, for example. You can't do that with Chrome or Firefox.

Ie, not surprisingly, boasts comprehensive native integration. You can pin specific sites to your Start screen like a Live Tile to obtain notifications once the Web site is updated, split the display between as much as four windows for side-by-side browsing and simply call numbers on websites with Skype Click to Call. A built-in Reading List app lets you save pages and browse them when you have time later. Microsoft's browser also has a Flip ahead feature that lets you scroll through parts of a multi-page article by swiping from the right side from the screen to go to the following page.

Ie 11 includes Flash installed out-of-the-box which means you don't have to feel the troublesome procedure for loading the plug-in for yourself. The browser may also detect your gyroscope so you can use websites that make utilisation of the hardware just like an application. However, few sites actually make use of this feature.

Winner: Ie. It's no wonder that the default browser comes packed with excellent device integration, and we especially like being able to view two websites side by side.

Round 4: Standards Support (15 points)

The extent that a browser supports various Web standards can greatly impact just how much you enjoy your preferred sites. A good browser will be able to interpret and display most Web languages or plug-ins such as HTML5, CSS3 and JavaScript to be able to notice a page the way a developer intended.

We put all three browsers via a series of tests to determine how good they supported common Web standards.

Chrome separated itself when it came to HTML5 support, scoring 505 out of 555 on the HTML5test.com benchmark. This test checks to see if your browser is capable of displaying common HTML5 features, such as drag-and-drop, graphics rendering, geolocation and device orientation.

Firefox arrived second with 458, while Internet Explorer delivered only 372. Internet Explorer also met just five of seven HTML5 capabilities around the Peacekeeper test where Firefox and Chrome both met all seven.

Chrome also did well on CSS3 support, scoring 60 percent around the CSS3 make sure beating Firefox (58 percent) and Internet Explorer (53 percent).

Thanks to its support of the Lazyload tag, Internet Explorer 11 may also let developers lower the priority of the item, keeping unwanted items like ads from blocking up bandwidth while you load a site.

Winner: Chrome. Google's browser better supports common Web standards, with Firefox arriving a detailed second.

Round 5: Syncability (15 points)

Often, you want to move from your mobile device for your desktop for a fuller reading experience, but transferring your many open tabs could be troublesome. Thankfully, all three browsers allow you to sync your articles across devices so you won't have to manually search for the specific site you were reading. Some browsers do this better, bookmarking your last position on the page so that you can pick up exactly where you left off.

With Chrome, simply sign into your Google account to pull your open tabs across various linked devices. You can decide to open pages by clicking Recent Tabs underneath the Options button, which saves not only pages which are open on connected systems but additionally a full browsing good reputation for the past 4 months. You may also search this log, arranged in chronological order, so looking for that certain page you visited that one time a good obscure topic is easy.

Firefox Sync's setup process is sort of tedious. You'll have to sign in for your Firefox account through the browser within the desktop environment. The browser generates three sets of short codes, which you'll want to have to enter the unit you want to connect to your account. Dealing with the page to input these codes takes a number of steps, which is troublesome.

Once you've went through setup process, Firefox lets you sync your add-ons, bookmarks, history, tabs and preferences, and save passwords. It is a nifty feature since you do not possess to retype passwords into pages you've already signed into - Firefox Sync remembers and fills those fields in for you. Unfortunately, you won't have the ability to sync your open tabs. The feature also fails properly if you have beta and production versions of Firefox installed on the same device.

You are able to only sync content on Internet Explorer across Windows 8.1 devices, which limits the usefulness of this feature. It is also tedious to setup; you'll need to enable Web Browser synchronized Settings in each of your Windows 8.1 devices after you have signed into them. We'd prefer having the ability to sign into and pull open tabs and preferences from Internet Explorer itself instead of having to dig into the pits of Microsoft's settings.

Once your devices are set up, though, the interface for IE is rather simple. Just click the drop-down arrow alongside Tabs whenever you open a new tab and you may open any page out of your connected devices.

Winner: Chrome. An easy sign-in process without the need to create a separate account should you already are a user of Google's other services gives Chrome the edge. A comprehensive backlog of visited pages is another plus.

Verdict

Speedy loading time, a clear interface and good support for standards make Firefox our top browser for Windows 8.1's Modern environment. While Chrome has better support for Web standards and much easier syncing capabilities, it desperately needs a touch-optimized interface. Also, throughout our testing, Chrome was undoubtedly the glitchiest browser, often crashing or refusing to join up our touch.

Like Firefox, Internet Explorer includes a touch-friendly interface also it adds the benefit of having the ability to launch more than one Metro window, but slower speeds, worse standards support along with a completely separate desktop browser hold it back. Bottom line: You can't go wrong with Mozilla's browser for the Windows 8.1 device.

The nation's Security Agency (NSA) wants users to update their Windows 7 or Windows XP computers because of a critical security vulnerability able to inflicting devastating damage.

The vulnerability, called BlueKeep, was discovered a couple weeks ago in older versions of Windows, including Windows 7, Vista, XP and Server 2008.

The flaw is really serious that Microsoft was quickly released patches for Windows XP, an operating system the software giant stopped supporting five years ago, as well as Windows 7 and Windows Server 2008 (Vista got nothing, however.)

In the event that wasn't alarming enough, Microsoft released not one but two statements comparing BlueKeep to the WannaCry attacks, and warning that this new flaw is "wormable," and could spread from one machine to the next.

Yesterday (June 4), the NSA released an advisory strongly urging Windows users and administrators to update their older systems using the Microsoft patch.

"Recent warnings by Microsoft stressed the significance of installing patches to address a protocol vulnerability in older versions of Windows," the NSA wrote. "We have seen devastating computer worms inflict damage on unpatched systems with wide-ranging impact, and therefore are seeking to motivate increased protections from this flaw."

In the end posess zero firm number how many systems have been affected, the NSA says "potentially millions" of Windows PCs are vulnerable. When Microsoft published its second statement on May 30, it was in response to an independent security researcher's finding that nearly a million computers attached to the internet were still defenseless against an attack.

The NSA is anxious that malicious attackers can use the vulnerability to create malware that could spread ransomware or other exploits.

"This is the type of vulnerability that malicious cyber actors frequently exploit by using software code that specifically targets the vulnerability," the NSA advisory reads. "For example, the vulnerability could be exploited to conduct denial-of-service attacks. It is likely only a few time before remote exploitation tools are accessible with this vulnerability."

While systems running Windows 8 and later are safe from BlueKeep, many companies and organizations continue to use old software that supports legacy programs. The systems they use may potentially house sensitive information that may be used against them with a bad actor.

We strongly encourage everyone utilizing an older version of Windows to update their PCs with one of these patches as quickly as possible.

Windows 10's Hello feature provides a wide selection of methods to log in for your laptop, from passwords to PIN numbers, fingerprint scans and even facial recognition. That latter requires an infrared or Intel RealSense camera. So far, that's been limited to select computers, like Microsoft's own Surface Book and HP's EliteBook Folio G1. You can also buy some external webcams that will provide this functionality.

It is cool, and it works really well. If you have the right hardware, here's how you can setup Windows Hello's face login:

1. Open Settings and choose Accounts.

2. Click "Sign-in options" on the sidebar and scroll right down to Windows Hello. Click "Set up" under Face.

Without having a PIN, you'll need to set that up first. That's located directly above Windows Hello.

3. Click Get Started.

4. Enter your PIN.

5. Stare into the webcam while Windows Hello scans the face. This process will be quick.

6. Click Improve Recognition for additional scans, or close the setup process. If you wear glasses or perhaps a hat, we recommend that you scan the face with and without one on.

The next time you sign in to Windows, the camera will be hunting the face.

Windows 10 has a Maps app that allows you to search for locations, get turn-by-turn directions, and see points of interest anywhere you go. Knowing you won't have an internet connection on your pc, you may still begin using these features by downloading offline maps.

When you download these regional maps, you'll be able to get directions and search for places like restaurants and coffeeshops even when you're not connected to the internet. The fastest way to download maps is through the machine settings. Here's how.

1. Select Settings from the beginning menu.

2. Click System.

3. Select Offline maps.

4. Click the + button alongside "Download maps".

5. Choose the continent where your required country is situated. (Sorry, adventurers, Antarctica isn't supported.)

6. Choose the region you want to download. With respect to the area, you can download a whole country or you will need to drill right down to a smaller region (for example, with Canada and the USA).

7. Repeat for just about any additional regions you need to have as offline maps. You can download more maps while other maps are presently downloading.

Tips:

The whole U.S.A: If you want to download all the maps for that USA, you are able to choose "All regions." It will require up over 4GB of space on your hard disk, however.
Multiple countries at the same time: If you wish to choose several country or region at any given time, click the multiple-option button at the base bar

After which check the regions you need to download en masse.

You can also do that in the settings menu from the Maps app itself, but it's an extra step and also the downloads won't start until you close the Maps app. Therefore it is just simpler to do it from the system Settings app.

After downloading the offline maps, you can use them in the Maps app even if you're in a location without internet. Some features, like the 3D view, aren't effective within the offline downloaded maps, but for just making your way around when you are traveling, Windows 10's offline maps can be quite helpful. The offline maps will also be automatically updated when your system is connected to Wi-Fi and connected.

Should you no longer need the downloaded map and you'd like to release some hard disk space, return to the Offline maps settings and select the maps to delete.

Microsoft's Cortana AI is great for helping you find news when you're searching for a read, but did you know additionally, it may send you notifications concerning the stories that matter probably the most for you? The Windows 10 form of the digital assistant will gain this feature within the Anniversary update going to be out this summer, but Windows Insiders around the Fast and Slow rings already have it.

1. Click the Cortana field from the Taskbar.

2. Click on the Notebook icon.

3. Under "News topics you're tracking" click "+ Add a topic."

4. Enter a topic in to the prompt.

5. Select a result.

6. Click Add.

You've now set up Cortana to transmit news notifications. Notifications appear briefly in the bottom right corner and then move to the Action Center feed.

The Cortana voice assistant in Windows 10 can set reminders, send emails as well as engage in witty banter when you talk to her. But what if you're in the U.S. and also you want her to have a British accent or talk to you in Chinese? At the moment, the voice assistant supports seven regions -- the U.S., United Kingdom, China, France, Italy, Germany and Spain. You can change Cortana's language voice to the of these countries' native languages in just a few steps.

Automatically, altering your region will also change the date format Windows uses, the keyboard layout, the headlines you receive from Cortana plus some of the promotions in the Windows store. However, if you want, you are able to switch the date and keyboard back to U.S. settings once you make the initial region change. Here's how to change Cortana's speech.

1. Navigate to Settings. You can get there by clicking the Settings icon around the start menu.

2. Click Time & language.

3. Select Region & language from the left pane.

4. Select a new region from the pulldown menu. At this moment, Cortana is just obtainable in the United State, Uk, Italy, France, Spain, Germany and China. If you wish to give Cortana a British accent, select "United Kingdom."

5. Click Give a language under the Languages subhead.

6. Choose the appropriate language. The top-level menu only shows major language groups, but you'll be able to choose a specific dialect around the next screen. So, for British English, you decide on "English" from this menu.

7. Choose the local dialect for the language. For British English, for example, you would select "English (United Kingdom)."

8. Click on the language you just added.

9. Hit "Set as default."

The new language will now be at the top of the list.

10. Choose the language again striking Options.

11. Click on the Download buttons under "Download language pack" and "Speech." Wait for both to set up. It could take a few minutes and you'll need to click on the button again to restart one of these whether it provides you with a note that it failed.

12. Click Settings under Speech.

13. Choose the new language from the Speech language menu.

14. Check "Recognize non-native accents . . . " That should help improve speech recognition, particularly if you are an American but using the British English Cortana.

15. Restart your pc.

The next time you launch Cortana, you'll be asked to set the voice assistant up by providing it your name, just like would for any language.

16. Improve your keyboard should you still want the standard U.S. QWERTY layout. The British layout is comparable but moves some important symbols around (ex: the @ sign is no longer on the 2 key). To change your keyboard, click on the button to the left of your system clock and select "US Keyboard" in the menu that appears. The laptop keyboard button is going to be called "ENG," "ESP" as well as other abbreviation that represents the currently-selected keyboard.

Change the Date Format, Location

Whenever you change the region and language, you not only change Cortana's voice but also set the time and date so that it appears the actual way it would for your country. For example, changing to United Kingdom makes the time display inside a 24-hour clock and formats the date with as day / month / year. If you wish to use U.S. date formatting instead, adopt these measures.

1. Search for "Region" in the Cortana / Search box and click "Region Ccontrol Panel" in the results.

2. Select "English (United States)" from the Format menu.

3. Click Ok.

You've Windows 10 on your laptop. It had been there yesterday. However, whenever you switch on your computer, you're greeted with error code 0xc0000034, "The Boot Configuration Data file is missing."

The good news is that your data isn't lost, and you may get it all back (we'll demonstrate how). Unhealthy news is the fact that you'll have to do some try to restore that missing file. Here's how to fix a 'configuration data file' boot error in Windows 1o:

First, you'll need a DVD or USB stick containing Windows installation media. You can download a utility from Microsoft here that will create that for you. Next, follow these steps:

1. Insert your installation media into the computer.

2. Boot to the media. We'd to press F12 during bootup on the Dell we fixed up to achieve this menu, though these keys may differ depending on your laptop's brand name.

3. Click Next around the Windows Setup menu.

4. Click "Repair your computer."

5. Choose Troubleshoot.

6. Select "Advanced options."

7. Pick "Command Prompt."

8. Type Bootrec /fixmbr and press the enter key.

9. Type Bootrec /fixboot and press the enter key.

10. Type Bootrec /scanos and press the enter key.

11. Type Bootrec /rebuildbcd and press the enter key.

12. Type "A" to add the installation to the boot list and hit enter.

13. Exit the command prompt using the X button on top of the window.

14. Click "Continue" to go to your desktop.