Microsoft Upends Pro Excel Meta With Chinese Shortcut Patch

KRAZAM

Standardizing Chinese shortcut latency resets competitive spreadsheet play back to 2003 mechanics and threatens the community marketing that keeps corporate accountants off Google Sheets.

AI-assisted summary of MAKRO | Microsoft Excel Stream Highlights 3/19 — original source. Check the original for full context.

Source published: 2019-03-28

Key ideas

Competitive Excel streamer MAKRO announced a 2019 season sponsorship with Ernst & Young (EY) ahead of BallmerCon 2019, where he aims to reclaim the championship title from rival Vikas. (0:02)
Microsoft's February patch introduced system-wide dark mode and resolved a character spacing bug between Unicode and non-Unicode text, stabilizing competitive emoji macros. (0:02)
A patch addressing Chinese localization removed faster shortcut input timings, sparking intense backlash from MAKRO, who claimed it resets high-level play back to the 2003 era. (1:51)
MAKRO urged Microsoft to employ a dedicated community manager to consult professional streamers before deploying meta-altering balance changes. (1:51)

Detailed notes

## Background Published on YouTube by the comedy channel KRAZAM on March 28, 2019, the video features competitive streamer Makro walking viewers through the latest Microsoft Office 365 update. The video highlights his tournament preparations, corporate sponsorship announcements, and live reactions to the software patch notes.

## TL;DR Competitive Microsoft Excel streamer MAKRO greets his audience to discuss his preparation for BallmerCon 2019 and announce a new competitive sponsorship with accounting firm Ernst & Young. He begins breaking down Microsoft's February patch notes, initially praising dark mode and a Unicode spacing fix that stabilizes emoji macros in tournament play. His enthusiasm quickly turns to outrage, however, when he discovers that a Chinese localization fix removes crucial input latency advantages for keyboard shortcuts. MAKRO furiously lambasts Microsoft for resetting competitive mechanics back to 2003 without consulting pro players, concluding that the developers have alienated the dedicated community keeping Excel relevant over Google Sheets.

## Atmosphere & style The video delivers a deadpan, pitch-perfect parody of esports Twitch streaming culture, seamlessly transposing pro-gamer tropes, sponsor plugs, and meta-gaming jargon onto corporate spreadsheet software. MAKRO transitions smoothly from energetic influencer hype and branded mechanical numpad promotions to unhinged, red-faced gamer rage over balance patches. The result is an absurdly intense and convincing performance that captures the exact feeling of an esports pro watching their competitive livelihood get dismantled by an unexpected software update.

## Bulletin - [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=2s) Competitive Excel streamer MAKRO announced a 2019 season sponsorship with Ernst & Young (EY) ahead of BallmerCon 2019, where he aims to reclaim the championship title from rival Vikas. - [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=2s) Microsoft's February patch introduced system-wide dark mode and resolved a character spacing bug between Unicode and non-Unicode text, stabilizing competitive emoji macros. - [01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) A patch addressing Chinese localization removed faster shortcut input timings, sparking intense backlash from MAKRO, who claimed it resets high-level play back to the 2003 era. - [01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) MAKRO urged Microsoft to employ a dedicated community manager to consult professional streamers before deploying meta-altering balance changes.

## Key takeaways - [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=2s) MAKRO prepares his competitive regimen for BallmerCon 2019 by drilling conditional formatting and refining pivot table mechanics. - [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=2s) MAKRO announces an official sponsorship deal with professional services firm Ernst & Young under CEO Mark Weinberger. - [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=2s) Ernst & Young branded competitive gear includes Microsoft Certified mechanical numpads, jerseys, and privacy screens. - [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=2s) MAKRO reacts sarcastically to the introduction of system-wide dark mode, criticizing Microsoft for trailing OpenOffice by several years. - [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=2s) A character spacing regression fix for mixed Unicode and non-Unicode text is praised for preventing emoji macro input failures in tournament play. - [01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) Microsoft's fix for Chinese localization eliminates an exploit where Chinese shortcut inputs were significantly faster than English equivalents. - [01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) MAKRO contends that removing shortcut speed advantages will force pro players back to clunky Office 2003-era workarounds like file menu bindings or Cortana searches. - [01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) MAKRO criticizes Microsoft for catering exclusively to regional market interests while neglecting Western esports streamers. - [01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) Professional Excel streamers provide vital free marketing that prevents corporate users from defecting to Google Sheets during tax season. - [01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) MAKRO calls on Microsoft to hire a dedicated community manager to vet competitive patches before release.

## Detailed walkthrough ### [00:02](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=2s) BallmerCon Prep, Ernst & Young Sponsorship, and Initial Patch Impressions

Professional Microsoft Excel streamer MAKRO greets his audience of "SheetHeads" on what he frames as a massive day for competitive Excel. Microsoft has just dropped the February patch across Office, Office for Mac, and Office 365. Beyond planning to review the update notes on stream, MAKRO outlines his training regimen for the upcoming competitive circuit, noting that he will be drilling conditional formatting and refining his pivot table tech to stay in peak form for BallmerCon 2019, the premiere tournament on the competitive calendar. Confident about his trajectory, he proclaims his intention to reclaim the championship title from his rival: “I'm taking that trophy back from Vikas!” With his sights set on bringing the trophy home to Delaware, he transitions to personal sponsorship news, revealing that he has officially signed with Ernst & Young for the 2019 competitive season. He gives a shout-out to EY CEO Mark Weinberger and plugs their team merchandise store, offering viewers a 20% discount with promo code "MAKRO" on gear such as branded jerseys, mechanical numpads, and privacy screens, all pitched as Microsoft Certified and Windows 10 compatible essentials for high-level play.

Diving into the patch notes, MAKRO reacts with disbelief and sarcastic indignation at the arrival of system-wide dark mode across the entire Office suite. He remarks that Microsoft is finally catching up to OpenOffice, demanding to know where the feature was five years ago. However, his mood brightens when reading the second line item: a fix for a regression in character spacing when mixing Unicode and non-Unicode text. MAKRO explains that this exact bug previously tripped him up during tournament matches when switching character encodings to insert emojis. He expresses genuine enthusiasm for what this fix means for the competitive landscape, predicting that it will stabilize emoji macros and provide a healthy shift for the high-level meta, directly praising Microsoft for resolving the issue.

- MAKRO is sponsored by professional services firm Ernst & Young (EY) under CEO Mark Weinberger for the 2019 season. - Promo code "MAKRO" yields a 20% discount on EY competitive gear, including jerseys, mechanical number pads, and privacy screens. - Practice focus for BallmerCon 2019 centers on pivot table optimization and conditional formatting. - The character spacing fix between Unicode and non-Unicode text is praised for making emoji macro executions viable in tournament play.

---

[01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) The Chinese Localization Patch and the Impact on the Pro Excel Meta

The tone shifts dramatically when MAKRO reaches a patch note detailing a resolved issue with Chinese localization. Although only documented under the release notes for Word and Outlook, MAKRO points out that the fix has already been confirmed live in Excel. Furious at what he considers a devastating blow to high-level play, he erupts: “Microsoft is obviously aware of the importance of the Chinese translations of shortcuts being significantly faster to access than their English counterparts, and the importance that has on the pro scene, and Microsoft just goes and shits all over it?” He argues that altering these input timings will set competitive play back sixteen years directly to the 2003 era, leaving players stranded with clunky legacy workarounds like binding hotkeys to file menus or resorting to Cortana search queries.

```mermaid flowchart TD accTitle: Chinese Localization Patch Impact on Pro Meta accDescr: Diagram illustrating how patching Chinese shortcut latency disrupts competitive Excel mechanics.

subgraph PrePatch["Pre-Patch Competitive Meta"] A["Chinese Localization Input"] --> B["Reduced Keystroke Latency"] B --> C["Optimal Macro & Shortcut Execution"] end

subgraph PatchChange["February Patch"] D["Patch Applied across Office Suite"] --> E["Chinese Localization Fixed"] end

subgraph PostPatch["Post-Patch Consequences"] E --> F["Meta Reset to 2003 Era"] F --> G["File Menu Hotkey Rebinding"] F --> H["Cortana Search Inefficiencies"] end

PrePatch -.-> PatchChange PatchChange --> PostPatch ```

MAKRO laments the callousness of Microsoft dropping such a meta-shifting change into a single patch note without consulting professional players or employing a dedicated community manager. While acknowledging from a business standpoint that Microsoft is catering strictly to the lucrative Chinese market, he warns that neglecting Western pro streamers is a strategic mistake. He emphasizes that the competitive community provides critical free marketing year-round at tournaments like BallmerCon, driving software sales and ensuring that corporate accountants reach for Excel over Google Sheets when tax season arrives. Disgusted that the change went through without competitive community oversight, he calls the rollout a disgrace before slumping back in defeat with a quiet "ah fuk."

- The Chinese localization fix standardizes shortcut speed, removing an exploit where Chinese keyboard shortcuts executed significantly faster than English equivalents. - MAKRO warns the change effectively resets competitive spreadsheet execution back to Microsoft Office 2003 mechanics. - MAKRO demands Microsoft hire a dedicated community manager to liaise with competitive streamers before issuing global balance changes.

## Notable quotes > [01:51](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY&t=111s) Microsoft is obviously aware of the importance of the Chinese translations of shortcuts being significantly faster to access than their English counterparts, and the importance that has on the pro scene, and Microsoft just goes and shits all over it? — MAKRO

## Mentioned MAKRO, Microsoft Excel, Microsoft Office, Office for Mac, Office 365, BallmerCon, Vikas, Ernst & Young, Mark Weinberger, Windows 10, OpenOffice, Microsoft Word, Microsoft Outlook, Cortana, Google Sheets

## Video description Makro walks you through the latest Microsoft Office365 update.

// more krazam scenes: https://www.patreon.com/KRAZAM

// merch: https://merch.krazam.tv

// https://www.instagram.com/krazam.tv

// https://www.twitter.com/krazamtv

[Source](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xubbVvKbUfY)

中文简报

微软发布中文快捷键补丁，彻底颠覆职业Excel竞争格局规范中文快捷键延迟使竞技电子表格玩法倒退回2003年的机制，并危及阻止企业会计转用Google Sheets的社区营销。微软Excel竞技主播MAKRO向观众问好，讨论了他备战BallmerCon 2019的情况，并宣布获得安永会计师事务所（Ernst & Young）的新竞技赞助。随后他开始分析微软2月的补丁说明，起初称赞了深色模式以及一项解决Unicode间距问题的修复，该修复稳定了锦标赛中的表情符号宏。然而，当他发现一项中文本地化修复移除了键盘快捷键的关键输入延迟优势时，他的热情迅速转为愤怒。MAKRO愤怒地痛批微软在未咨询职业选手的情况下将竞技机制重置回2003年，并总结称开发者疏远了那个让Excel抗衡Google Sheets、保持活力的核心社区。 Excel竞技主播MAKRO在BallmerCon 2019前夕宣布获得安永（EY）的2019赛季赞助，他计划在本次大会上从老对手Vikas手中夺回冠军头衔。 (0:02) 微软2月补丁推出了全局深色模式，并解决了Unicode与非Unicode文本之间的字符间距问题，使竞技表情符号宏更加稳定。 (0:02) 一项针对中文本地化的补丁移除了更快的快捷键输入延迟，引发了MAKRO的强烈不满，他声称这让高水平玩法倒退回了2003时代。 (1:51) MAKRO敦促微软聘请专职社区经理，以便在部署改变游戏环境的平衡性调整前咨询职业主播。 (1:51)

Reading summary

Reviewing Microsoft's February Office patch, competitive Excel streamer MAKRO outlined his preparation and corporate sponsorship for BallmerCon 2019 while evaluating how recent software updates impact high-level execution mechanics. BallmerCon Training and Ernst & Young Sponsorship (0:02) In preparation for the premiere competitive tournament BallmerCon 2019, MAKRO announced a training regimen focused on optimizing pivot table tech and drilling conditional formatting. Stating his goal to reclaim the championship trophy from rival Vikas and bring it home to Delaware, he also revealed an official 2019 season sponsorship with professional services firm Ernst & Young under CEO Mark Weinberger. As part of this partnership, MAKRO promoted team merchandise, offering a 20% discount on gear such as branded jerseys, mechanical numpads, and privacy screens billed as Microsoft Certified essentials for tournament play. Dark Mode and Character Spacing Fixes (0:02) Examining the general patch notes across Office, Office for Mac, and Office 365, MAKRO reacted with sarcastic indignation to the arrival of system-wide dark mode, remarking that Microsoft had taken years to match OpenOffice. Conversely, he praised a bug fix addressing character spacing regressions when mixing Unicode and non-Unicode text. MAKRO explained that the issue had previously disrupted his execution when inserting emojis mid-match, predicting that the patch will stabilize emoji macros and positively influence tournament play. Localization Patch and Competitive Shortcut Latency (1:51) MAKRO expressed severe frustration over a Chinese localization fix that eliminated an input discrepancy where Chinese keyboard shortcuts executed significantly faster than their English equivalents. Although documented only under Word and Outlook, MAKRO confirmed the adjustment was live in Excel, asserting that standardizing these input timings effectively resets high-level play back to the 2003 era and forces players to rely on clunky workarounds like file menu hotkey rebinding and Cortana search queries. MAKRO argued that Microsoft erred by enacting major balance changes without consulting professional players, warning that neglecting Western streamers damages valuable grassroots marketing that drives corporate adoption over rivals like Google Sheets, and urged the company to hire a dedicated competitive community manager.

精炼阅读摘要

职业Microsoft Excel主播MAKRO在直播中评测了Office二月更新补丁，并宣布与安永（Ernst & Young）达成2019赛季赞助以备战BallmerCon锦标赛；同时，他强烈抨击微软修复中文快捷键延迟的决定，认为此举重创了高阶电竞选手的操作体系。 BallmerCon赛事备战与安永商业赞助 (0:02) 在面向其“SheetHeads”观众的直播中，职业Excel选手MAKRO宣布已与专业服务机构安永（Ernst & Young，EY）正式签约出战2019赛季。MAKRO向安永首席执行官Mark Weinberger致谢，并向粉丝推荐战队联名装备，观众使用折扣码“MAKRO”可在购买队服、机械数字小键盘及防窥屏等微软认证且兼容Windows 10的高级比赛装备时获得20%的折扣。针对即将到来的核心职业赛事BallmerCon 2019，MAKRO表明了自己的备战策略。他的训练重点集中于数据透视表技术的优化以及条件格式化的高强度操练，目标是击败主要竞争对手Vikas夺回冠军奖杯，并将其带回特拉华州。二月更新初评：深色模式与Unicode间距修复 (0:02) 在评估微软面向Office、Office for Mac及Office 365推送的2月补丁时，MAKRO首先对全套件实装系统级深色模式进行了讽刺性评价，指责微软在这一功能上严重滞后，只是在追赶OpenOffice五年前的脚步。相比之下，MAKRO高度肯定了针对Unicode与非Unicode文本混合时字符间距退化问题的修复。MAKRO透露，过去在锦标赛中切换编码插入Emoji表情时频繁触发该漏洞，他预测此项修复将稳定Emoji宏的执行逻辑，对高水平竞技环境带来正向改善。中文快捷键修复引发的竞技平衡争议 (1:51) 本次直播的焦点在于中文本地化补丁带来的争议。尽管该项修复仅记录在Word和Outlook的更新说明中，但MAKRO确认其已在Excel端实装上线。在此之前，中文翻译版本的快捷键响应延迟明显快于英文原版，使高阶选手可以通过利用语言包的按键延迟优势执行高效宏与快捷键连招。微软修复此输入时序后，MAKRO抗议称该调整将职业竞技操作环境倒推了16年，使选手被迫重回2003年Office时代的陈旧操作模式，不得不重新依赖文件菜单快捷键映射或借助Cortana搜索查询等低效率手段维持操作。他严厉指责微软在知晓选手依赖该机制的情况下擅自移除该优势。对微软社区治理与商业策略的质疑 (1:51) 除平衡性变动外，MAKRO对微软的社区运营方式提出批评。他指责微软在未设立专职社区经理、未提前征询职业主播意见的情况下单方面推送颠覆性的机制改动，称此种更新发布缺乏社区监管，令人难以接受。在商业层面，MAKRO承认微软此举在商业考量上是为了迎合庞大且具高利润的中国市场，但他警告漠视西方职业选手是一项战略失误。MAKRO指出，职业电竞生态在BallmerCon等赛事中全年为微软提供免费品牌营销，正是职业选手建立的软件壁垒确保了企业会计在报税季坚持选用Excel，而非转向竞争对手Google Sheets。 MAKRO的言论反映了软件通用本地化维护与硬核专业电竞选手对输入延迟追求之间的矛盾。目前尚无信息表明微软是否会针对此类竞技平衡诉求设立专门的社区沟通渠道或调整补丁发布机制。

Source quotes

[1:51] MAKRO: Microsoft is obviously aware of the importance of the Chinese translations of shortcuts being significantly faster to access than their English counterparts, and the importance that has on the pro scene, and Microsoft just goes and shits all over it?

Original transcript

[0:02] What's up SheetHeads, it's your boy MAKRO coming at you, yet again, [0:06] Obviously a huge day today for the pro Excel scene, [0:08] Microsoft just dropped the February patch for Office, Office for Mac, Office365, [0:14] Ton of crazy stuff in there, [0:15] we're going to be breaking it down on stream. [0:17] I got some opinions about this stuff. [0:19] Microsoft. [0:20] Beyond that, you know, we're gonna be working on some conditional formatting today, [0:24] you know, some pivot table tech, [0:25] just making sure we're in tip-top shape for BallmerCon 2019. [0:29] Biggest Excel tournament of the year, it's right around the corner [0:32] I'm feeling good this year, I'm feeling like this is gonna be my year. [0:35] I'm taking that trophy back from Vikas! [0:37] It's coming back with me baby, taking it back to Delaware. [0:40] But before we get into all that, just personal news... [0:42] Extremely excited to announce I have been picked up [0:45] by Ernst & Young for the 2019 competitive season. [0:48] Big shout out to Mark Weinberger for this incredible opportunity, [0:51] big shout out to E&Y, it's a great organization, [0:53] and actually guys if you go over there right now, [0:55] their merch is 20% off when you use promo code "MAKRO". [0:58] Pick up a jersey, mechanical numpad, a privacy screen, [1:01] you know it's all high quality gear, Microsoft Certified, Windows 10 compatible... [1:05] Everything you need to take your game to the next level. [1:07] Anyway let's get into these patch notes cause honestly Microsoft, this is OUT-RAGE-OUS! [1:12] So first we have dark mode... [1:14] looks like they're finally rolling out a dark mode to the whole office suite, [1:19] Microsoft finally catching up to Open Office. [1:21] All I can say is it's about time, Microsoft. [1:23] Honestly, where was this five years ago, you know? [1:25] Next we have this: "fixed a regression in character spacing when mixing Unicode and non Unicode." [1:30] This was actually something that tripped me up a couple times in tournaments, [1:33] when I went non-uni and then I switched back to Unicode to throw an emoji in there. [1:37] With this fix, I think this is finally gonna make emoji macros viable, [1:40] which is something I'm really excited to see. [1:41] A lot of the pro players out there already pushing this to the boundaries. [1:44] I think it's gonna be really healthy for the meta overall. [1:47] So I think this is a really good change, and big shout out to Microsoft for this one. [1:51] Now we get to the big one, [1:52] we get to this: "fixed an issue with Chinese localization." [1:57] And it's actually, if you look at it, [1:59] listed only under the Word and Outlook release notes, [2:02] but it has been confirmed to be fixed on Excel as well. [2:08] Microsoft, WHAT the FUCK? [2:10] I'm honestly speechless. [2:12] Microsoft is obviously aware of the importance [2:14] of the Chinese translations of shortcuts being significantly faster [2:18] to access than their English counterparts, [2:20] and the importance that has on the pro scene, [2:22] and Microsoft just goes and shits all over it? [2:24] with one sentence in a patch note that's not even for the right program?! [2:28] This is gonna set the meta back, 11, 12... [2:32] 16 years! Back to the '03 days! [2:34] It's outrageous! [2:35] I don't know what to do, we're gonna be back to binding hotkeys on file menus [2:39] and I don't know what else... Cortana searches? [2:42] What do you want from us? [2:43] For Microsoft to totally disregard the pro scene like this, in such a callous way... [2:47] Honestly it's very disheartening to see. [2:48] It makes you feel like... [2:50] like it's not even worth supporting this kind of community. [2:53] and the Excel scene has meant so much to me, [2:56] and that's why I put in the time and the grind that I do, [2:58] but is clear that Microsoft doesn't care about, you know, real people like me, [3:01] they only care about the China market, it's where the money is, [3:03] it's where the scene is going, [3:05] you know, as a business perspective, I get that, [3:07] and I've crunched the numbers myself, [3:10] of course, and I see the mathematics of it, [3:12] but as a streamer and as a pro player, [3:14] I think it's a strategic error in the long term for Microsoft. [3:17] The pro community is the ones who are out here supporting Microsoft, [3:21] making sure that, we give them free publicity on the global stage. [3:25] Every year we go to BallmerCon and you can see top streamers compete. [3:29] What does that do for your game, Microsoft? [3:30] That gets sales up. That gets revenue up. [3:33] Come busy season, during tax season, [3:35] What are you reaching for? You're not reaching for Google Sheets. [3:37] You're going for Excel. [3:38] And that's directly tied to the professional community that's developed around this program. [3:44] So I hope Microsoft really gets their heads out of their asses, [3:46] and starts giving the pro community the respect that we deserve. [3:49] Get a proper community manager, talk to pro streamers before you release these kinds of changes, [3:54] because to see this go through without any kind of input from the pro scene, [3:59] It's a... disgrace. [4:01] It shouldn't happen. It shouldn't ever happen. [4:20] ah fuk