A recent Windows update is causing VBA code to fail in Excel, Access and other VBA parts of Office. The culprit isn’t Office, but the version of Windows that it’s running on. After the 2019-08 Cumulative Update KB4511553 is applied, some VBA code will stop working. The patch bug is in Windows 10, 8.1 and […]
At last! After months of delay, Microsoft has released product icons for Access, Project and Visio. Yawn, ho hum. We know Microsoft customers have been desperate to see these graphics (not). Back in March we first saw the Word, Outlook, Excel and PowerPoint graphics. As before, when it comes to changed Office icons; if we […]
It’s now possible to quickly switch accounts while using Office 365 for Windows and even have different logins in separate programs. Many people wear different ‘hats’ while using Office. There’s a Work ‘hat’ or ‘hats’ with more than one job. Plus your personal or home role. Sometimes even more hats/roles like a volunteer task running […]
Finally, and quietly, Microsoft Access has been given a new icon. We know people have worried about this omission <not>. A few months ago, Microsoft released new icons for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook to a collective yawn across the globe. Now they’ve slipped the MS Access icon into the latest Office Insiders build. No […]
Microsoft has never been great about documenting patches and bug fixes but this month they have sunk to a new low. Maybe it’s a delayed April Fool’s prank with Microsoft ‘taking the Mickey‘ or treating Office customers with contempt? Sustained Engineering isn’t sustained Maintaining Office software is the thankless job of the Office Sustained Engineering […]
Among the usual grab bag of non-security updates this month is an important Access 2016 update and bug fix for Outlook 2016 This patch only applies to Office 2016 with a stand-alone .msi installed – NOT Click to Run installs. It’s a single patch KB4462214 that applies to both Outlook 2016 and Access 2016. Access […]
Feature updates for Microsoft Office 2010 have been withdrawn but Redmond won’t tell customers why, beyond the usual vague platitudes. The KB4032217, KB4461627, KB4032225, and KB4461616 updates for Office 2010 released 2 January 2019 were withdrawn after a few days after complaints. Microsoft won’t admit what the problem is beyond saying customers “may experience difficulties in Microsoft Excel or […]
Office Watch reader, Meredith M. asks a question we’ve heard many times before. Why can’t you buy individual Office programs instead of paying for an Office bundle with programs you don’t need? “My issue: I need ONLY Word, Excel and Access–but I NEED them. I know that I cannot buy them separately but does anyone […]
The Windows clipboard is quite limited but there’s a better one hiding inside Microsoft Office for Windows. It can collect more items, paste in any order and be cleared when you like. We’ll also show how to keep the sometimes annoying pane out of the way. You’re about to hear more about the clipboard because […]
Microsoft has announced some truly important improvements in what you get with Office 365 Home, Personal and University plans. The Home plan will be available for six family members instead of five. How Microsoft calculates use of Office software is changing and for the better. All these changes apply from 1 October 2018 onwards for […]
Here’s what we know about the Office 2019 for Windows. There’s a matching page about Office 2019 for Mac. Before you get too excited Do NOT buy Office 2019 if you have Office 365 like Office 365 Home, Office 365 Personal or an enterprise plan. In other words, you pay for Office as an annual fee. […]
Here’s what we know about Office 2019 for Mac. There’s a matching page about Office 2019 for Windows. We’ll update this page as new information becomes available. Before you get too excited Do NOT buy Office 2019 if you have Office 365 plan like Office 365 Home, Office 365 Personal or an enterprise plan. In […]
The latest Office 2016 Insiders release version 1808, Build 10730.20030 shows off some upcoming additions to Outlook, Access, Project and Visio Outlook – block forwarding in meeting invitations When making a meeting invitation in Outlook, go to Response Options and deselect ‘Allow Forwarding’ to stop that invitation being forwarded to others. ‘Allow Forwarding’ defaults on. […]
Microsoft seems to be moving towards a name change for ‘Office 2016’. They haven’t announced anything directly, but their documentation is changing for Windows and perhaps Office for Mac as well. If you’re confused, don’t feel bad because Redmond isn’t making it easy. They are moving gradually towards naming Microsoft Office as a service instead […]
Patch Tuesday included the usual bug fixes for more security holes in Microsoft Office plus an important Adobe PDF reader update. The Microsoft Office updates should be applied automatically but the Adobe Reader might need a manual update, instructions below. Windows bug fixes are available for Windows 10, 8.1 and 7. Overall, it’s Microsoft continuing […]
This article describes several more variations of combo boxes, making them even more useful. Linked Combo Boxes You can use a set of linked combo boxes to filter a list, making it easier to get at the specific item you want to select. As an example, in the sample database (Specialty Combo Boxes, Part 2), […]
A regular combo box that gives you a choice of an item from a list (usually displaying items from a query or table) is very useful, but sometimes you need something more. This article describes several ways to expand the utility of a combo box. Hard-Coded List Combo Box When you have a small number […]
Back in 2002 I wrote an Access Archon article dealing with reference issues, among them the problem of certain references being upgraded when a database is opened in a higher version of Access, but not downgraded when it is again opened in a lower version. You might think that over the last 16 years Microsoft […]
A new report confirms what most Microsoft Office customers know; there’s more security patches in Microsoft products, despite years of promises. Not just the latest Word, Excel and Powerpoint but even new products like the Edge browser are increasingly vulnerable. An Avecto report shows 87 vulnerabilities in 2017 – a record high. A dozen of […]
After a seven month testing period, Microsoft Office desktop programs are available for Windows 10, especially Windows 10 S users via the Microsoft Store. Until now, the cheaper Windows 10 S machines could only run the ‘Mobile’ or UWP apps not the full-featured Office desktop programs. Now Word 2016, Excel 2016, PowerPoint 2016, Outlook 2016, […]
