The Microsoft Pix app has been updated to include more automatic ways to fix photos. Photos of documents magically look like they were scanned in. It’s a ‘Garage’ project, supposedly for trial software and technologies. These days ‘Garage’ projects are presented in a more professional manner and promoted a lot more, blurring the line between […]
With all the gushing over the $1,000 iPhone, it was nice to see a different perspective recommending the cheapest iPhone instead. Ben Gilbert at The Independent points out that the iPhone SE was made $50 cheaper with the release of the iPhone X. From Apple direct, the iPhone SE 32GB model is now US$350 and […]
A new bit of spam or phishing got past our multiple spam filters and into our Outlook 2016 Inbox. It’s a good example of what check in an unexpected message. The message uses the name and link from a real law firm but they’re not to blame. It appears to be sent from the UK […]
Excel 2016 for Windows is getting some welcome ‘under the hood’ performance improvements. It’s great to see some work on the fundamentals of Office instead of the apparent focus on flashy new features that look great in demonstrations. Word and Outlook teams: please follow suit. The Problems The aim is to fix some of out […]
We’re delighted to announce that our champion Office 2016 ebook has been updated, yet again, to include new and added features for the main Windows version of Microsoft Office. A bit like Office itself, Office 2016: the real startup guide is updated to keep pace with the improvements in Office 2016 itself. As an ebook, […]
The US Government has banned Kaspersky security software from Federal agencies – should you do the same? Homeland Security has moved against Kaspersky software due to concerns of links with the Russian government. Here’s the operational directive: “concerned about the ties between certain Kaspersky officials and Russian intelligence and other government agencies, and requirements under […]
Microsoft has released another version of Office 2016 for Windows to be tested by insiders. This one is bought and installed from the Windows 10 Store. Naturally Office-Watch.com dived in to check it out. At the moment, only some Windows Insiders and users of Windows 10S can get Office in the Windows Store. Later this […]
Outlook for iOS and Android has a of plugin with support for animated GIF’s which is very strange indeed. Gfycat has released a plugin for Outlook iOS and Android that lets you choose animated GIF’s to insert into your messages. Source: Microsoft/Gfycat You can add animated GIF’s to emails from the Outlook app, but they […]
Matt Nelson at Specter Ops has found a new way for hackers to use Excel to access your computer. Even disabling VBA won’t fix this security hole. It uses a technique called ‘Lateral Movement‘ within Microsoft’s DCOM (Distributed Component Object Model). Matt explains it all in great detail but for the rest of us it […]
If you love digging into US election details you’ll love these spreadsheets with US Presidential Election results, by County and Party from 1836 to 2016 Unleash your inner Nate Silver, see how your county or state voted over the years, starting at Google Docs There are tabs for each state plus a table of the […]
A hidden trap in the 64-bit versions of Microsoft Office 2016 or 2013, they can’t work with MPEG-4 video .mp4, audio .m4a, nor QuickTime .mov . If you’ve ever seen this error message: “PowerPoint cannot insert a video from the selected file. Verify that the necessary 64-bit codec for this media format is installed, and […]
By Mayurakshi Mohapatra Adding a picture to an Outlook contact is a good way to make the contact more identifiable. If you are bored seeing the initials or boring graphic next to the Outlook contact name, no worries, at all. Outlook lets you add, change or remove an existing picture from any Outlook contact or […]
Logitech has a new Craft keyboard with a control wheel that works with Word, Excel and PowerPoint. It’s a high end keyboard that seems to have a lot of interesting points. Source for all images: Logitech It has more than one wireless connection, instead of the usual one. Either Bluetooth or Logitech’s own Unifying connector […]
Outlook.com Premium (that usually costs either $20 or $50 a year) is being added as another feature of Office 365 Home or Personal bundles. Microsoft said that their top level Outlook.com would become part of Office 365 Home/Personal but haven’t done anything in the six months since that hint was dropped. Now an Outlook.com promo […]
Here’s the latest hacker email we’ve received, a good example of a phishing and infected Word document email. We’ll use it as an example what to watch for and avoid. This message got through various anti-spam filters to arrive in the Office Watch managers Outlook 2016 Inbox. Which brings us to the first important point […]
Office Lens for Android finally has a much desired feature; the ability to take many photos and save them to a single document. As usual, there’s a little ‘gotcha’ that makes the new feature incomplete. Office Lens is a nifty app for iPhone and Android devices that takes photos, especially of documents, receipts, whiteboards etc. […]
There are at least SEVEN different versions of Office 2016 for Windows that are available at any time. Here’s a quick guide to each and how to tell what you have. Microsoft has three different ways to install Office 2016 for Windows plus various preview and feature bundles. If you’re confused, join the club <sigh>. […]
The Office 365 version of Word 2016 for Windows has some nice improvements to LatTex support. LaTeX is the maths boffins preferred way of writing formula in computer code for conversion into the symbols that confuse us mere humans. In Word 2016 (Windows, Office 365 users only), you can see some extras on the Equation […]
Microsoft Australia has done a deal with the Aussie government to pay more corporate tax than they have been in the past. Microsoft, like many other global companies, pays less tax by pretending purchases were made offshore. For example, someone in Sydney buys Office 2016 or Office 365 online using an Aussie credit card. With […]
There are changes coming with both Office for Mac and Apple’s MacOS which Mac users need to be aware of. Office 2011 for Mac Office 2011 for Mac will lose support on 10 October 2017, just over month from now. After that date there will be no more updates, especially security updates for Office 2011. […]
Can you believe it? Clippy, the unloved spawn of Office 97 is returning. Eros Fratini is a developer with, presumably, a perverse sense of humor. He’s created a Visual Studio add in which lets developers make Clippy part of their projects. Get it from GitHub. Oh joy, we can hardly wait. According to Microsoft’s revisionist history, […]
Organizing your time at a busy conference, arts festival or other composite event is easier with Microsoft Outlook. Either for yourself or coordinating with others. Here’s how. These are ‘real world’ Office suggestions you can use for any busy conference, festival or event. Not just the official Microsoft advice but practical ways to use their […]
Google Maps is invaluable for getting around, especially in an unknown city. Corporate rivalry means there’s no proper integration between Outlook and Google Maps There’s not even a mapping button in the Outlook appointments view. Contacts have a ‘Map it’ button but not ‘Location’ in an appointment – for reasons passing understanding. Our workaround is […]
Microsoft is adding a way to convert Office icons / SVG graphics and let them be changed in more ways than before. Office 2016 for Windows, Office 365 subscribers have an ‘Icons’ feature in Word and PowerPoint which is really the addition of scalable SVG graphics. One of the limitations of the original SVG feature […]
Yet again, Microsoft sent customers a faulty Office update which needs fixing. This time it’s Office 2016 perpetual licence customers affected or, strictly speaking, anyone who has installed Office from a .msi file instead of ‘Click to Run’. Click to Run is the standard option for Office 365 subscribers,. The latest debacle started with an […]
Ransomware hasn’t gone away, it’s just not making headlines. MalwareBytes reports that two more variations of the Locky ransomware have appeared in the last few weeks. Beware DOC and DOCM They spread in ZIP files or the hackers favorite way to infect a computer, Microsoft Office files, most likely Word documents. .DOC or .DOCM files […]
It’s back to school time in the USA, rushed parents in stores with long lists of supplies. Here’s some tips for getting Microsoft Office for less. Do you already have Office? Maybe you’ve already got Microsoft Office? Before buying, make sure you’re not already entitled to use Office. Some schools have bought a school-wide licence […]
Visio is adding a really useful tool for web site developers – wireframes. Web wireframes are a way to create a rough draft or mockup of a web page. Each page element can be dropped onto a web page, standard or mobile. Source for all images: Microsoft There are Visio shapes for a wide range […]
Office Watch has a presence on Facebook, finally, https://www.facebook.com/OfficeWatch/ Our new Facebook page has the very latest Office related news posted to it as soon as we publish. Go to https://www.facebook.com/OfficeWatch/ and click Follow to see our posts in your timeline. Admittedly, we’ve been slow to adopt social media. We’ve focused on quality Office journalism, […]
Some readers know that Peter Deegan (our editor-in-chief) is an eclipse chaser. The USA eclipse next Monday will be his tenth Total Eclipse of the Sun. Here’s his tips and links for anyone heading for the totality zone and for people who can’t make it. A total eclipse of the Sun is definitely worth seeing. […]
The New York Times has a nifty new calendar of upcoming space related events including eclipses, meteor showers, launches etc. Here’s how to add the NYT Astronomy and Space Calendar into Outlook software. The service is directly linked to Google and Apple iOS devices (iPhone / iPad ) with Outlook software and Outlook.com relegated to […]
Outlook can link to external, shared, calendars and copy any updates to that calendar. Like many parts of Outlook for Windows, it hasn’t changed much for many years. An Internet calendar can be for public events, holidays, sporting fixtures etc. They aren’t a one-time copy, you can setup Outlook to check for updates to the […]
Amber Rudd, the British Home Secretary was tricked into an email exchange with someone posing as her own communications chief. It’s very embarrassing because Ms Rudd is responsible for cyber security as well as MI5 (the UK equivalent of the US FBI). The Minister was using an Outlook.com account which is pretty amazing, even for […]
Microsoft is changing the names of the various Office 2016 for Windows releases (Office 365) including Insider editions. They say it’s ‘simplified’ but we’re not so sure. Insider Fast level becomes just ‘Insider’ Source: Microsoft While the old Insider Slow becomes Monthly Channel (Targeted) – how that’s ‘simplified’ is anyone’s guess. The new name does […]
Can you believe it, PowerPoint is 30 years old? Originally called ‘Presenter’, in 1987 it was renamed to ‘PowerPoint’ by Robert Gaskins. Later in 1987, Microsoft bought the software out of petty cash (i.e. $14 million). 22 May 1990 was the first release of Microsoft PowerPoint for Windows, the birthday that Redmond officially recognizes. In […]
The Microsoft Office Championships are done for 2017 with talented young people from all over the planet among the winners. We have the full list of winners. The competition is for students 13-22 years with categories for Word, Excel and PowerPoint in 2013 or 2016 versions. Outlook, Access, Visio and Publisher don’t get a spot. […]
India has seen Office 365 prices go up by almost 18% since the start of this year, a combination of both Microsoft and the Indian government grabbing some money. According to ndtv.com Office 365 Home cost 4,199 rupees last year, now the same product costs 5,450 rupees! How did that happen? Microsoft takes 10% more […]
Office users often want a second screen, especially when using a laptop. We’ve discovered Duet, an efficient and elegant way to use an iPad as an extension screen for a Windows or Mac machine. Mac users get the bonus of the new ‘TouchBar’ for older Macs. Duet impressed with the useful resolution and power saving […]
Where does Outlook hide its main data files? The .PST or .OST files which have your email, calendar, contacts and more. Outlook data files can be anywhere on your computer, but the default location is usually in a hidden folder: \Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Outlook \Users\<username>\Roaming\Local\Microsoft\Outlook The location can vary a lot, depending on the Outlook version, Windows version, […]
A common Windows Indexing / Search problem is Outlook itself. Windows Search stops while indexing Outlook data and never reaches the end. Here’s some suggestions on how to fix it. An indexing problem means your Outlook data can’t be searched or not everything has been indexed (partial search results). Even if Windows Search says it’s […]
