Word isn’t limited to horizontal text, with a little digging on the ribbon you can put text vertically, at an angle, on a curve or even around a shape or picture. In this article we’ll show how to make: Vertical Text Vertical Text reversed Text at any angle Text along a curve And in Put text […]
Continuing from our look at putting Word text vertically, at an angle or curved here’s how to put text around an object; image, chart, shape or other Word object.. Text around a Box Putting text around a box requires four separate text boxes, positioned and grouped around the object. Here’s a chart with four text […]
“More of the same” in August 2018’s round of security fixes for Microsoft products including Windows, Office, Word, Excel and PowerPoint. Overall there a sixty security flaws fixed this month alone, including two ‘zero-day’ bugs not previously known to the public. We’ve all become accustomed to this never-ending stream of security fixes for known exploits. […]
There are a dozen bug fixes for the Windows versions of Word 2016 buried among the non-security updates for Microsoft Office this month. And an extra feature for PowerPoint 2016 and 2013 for Windows. We’ll look at this important Word 2016 update first before listing the other bug fixes for Office 2016 and Office 2013 […]
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 […]
You can quickly apply some Word styles from the Quick Access Toolbar we’ll show how to add the classic Style menu, buttons for Headings and Normal style. And we’ll explain a better alternative. The Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) can have a more useful Style menu than the one Microsoft puts on the ribbon. It’s the […]
Here’s how to add a keyboard shortcut for any Microsoft Word style including Headings and Normal style. A shortcut is faster than clicking on the ribbon anytime you want to apply a style. For commonly used styles it’s easier and faster to use a keyboard shortcut. Microsoft even supplies a few with Word, but not […]
The August Insiders update for Word and PowerPoint for Android have improved Zoom features plus another option is entirely missing! We’ve tested these features to see how they really work, assuming the promoted features are there at all. Office Watch hasn’t taken Microsoft at their word. We’ve tried out the software to see how the […]
The Navigation Pane was a great addition to Word (for Windows … our Mac friends have yet to get it) but there’s more in that pane than the obvious. Doing a Find appears in four different ways, three on Navigation Pane. Heading view has controls over which heading levels appear. You can move the Navigation […]
There are better ways to move about a document than scrolling up and down. Word has some nifty navigation tricks that’ll have you moving around a document like a city bicycle courier! We’ll skip the more obvious ones that are covered in most texts and explain the navigation tips less traveled. Go Back Go To […]
Here’s how to make a custom ribbon tab in Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook and how Microsoft has left customers shortchanged for the last decade. We’ve already talked about customizing the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) for certain documents. You can make the QAT adapt according to the document you’ve opened. Alas, that’s not possible […]
Grammar checking is finally coming to Google Docs and maybe it’ll be better than the long-standing Microsoft Word feature. We’ve had blue squiggly lines in Microsoft Word for a long time. Google Docs has noticeably not had a similar feature, until now. Source: Google According to Google their grammar checking is different. They don’t mention […]
Not all Word documents need the same tools. Some special documents are easier to make with tools added to the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) just for the occasion. Changing the Quick Access Toolbar has been around since Office 2007 but it’s less well-known that you can change it for certain types of documents. The QAT […]
Android users can get some extra features like Word count and landscape editing of PowerPoint slides in the July 2018 updates to Office for Android apps. Version 16.0.10325.20043 of the apps are now available. Most likely, Google Play will update your device automatically. Word Count in Word for Android The document word count appears as […]
Microsoft Teams truly is for everyone, now there’s a free plan available. Of course it’s aimed at businesses, ‘coz that’s where the money is. But with Teams now available free it’s open for small business and non-business uses. Small business Small or even tiny business can use Microsoft Teams for specific projects like a new […]
Microsoft Teams or rivals like Slack or Workplace by Facebook, aren’t really anything new. They are a combination of (probably) familiar online services into a single system. In corporate speak, Teams is a cloud-based set of team collaboration tools and services combining workplace chat, meetings, notes, and attachments. So much for that gobbledygook. Bringing chat […]
There’s a somewhat confusing range of parts inside Microsoft Teams, here’s a guide to things like Teams, Channels, Chats, Wiki and other goodies. In How Microsoft Teams fits together we explain the Microsoft Teams structure from an teams. The Best Way to learn Microsoft Teams Dive in and try it. Teams is a collaboration service so […]
It’s taken Microsoft some time but their collaboration service Teams is now available for free to all comers. The popular collaboration service, Slack, built its business on their free offering. Many businesses adopted Slack after discovering their staff had setup Slack groups of their own. A lot of short term projects, startups, etc use Slack […]
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 […]
Here’s a list of the non-security aka bug fix updates to Office 2016 for Windows, released for July 2018. These updates should come to you automatically via Microsoft Update or you can patch individually from the links provided. Here’s Microsoft’s list with their explanation of each update. Office 2016 Excel 2016 KB4022229 “Assume that you […]
The latest Office for Android preview has a few additions that might be of interest. We’re talking about build 16.0.10325.20010, the July 2018 insiders preview that’ll later be available to all Office for Android users. Word Count The document word count should appear as you scroll through the document, alongside the page position and total pages […]
How to type the Per Thousand (or it’s official name ‘Per Mille’) sign ‰ into Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint. Per Thousand / Per Mille sign codes Decimal: 8240 Hex: 2030 Use the Hex code in Word as a shortcut to enter any symbol. The Hex code lets you find the Per Thousand/Per Mille symbol […]
How to type the degree symbol (Fahrenheit, Celsius, Kelvin, latitude, longitude) into Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint. Degree Symbol codes Decimal: 176 Hex: 00B0 Web: ° ° ° Word The degree symbol ° has an inbuilt shortcut in Word. Ctrl + @ or Ctrl + Shift + 2 followed by a space will enter a […]
Here’s how to add files to your OneDrive account by emailing them as attachments. Saving direct from emails is easier and faster than uploading. If you’ve received an Office document, PDF or other file as an email attachment, it’s simple to just forward the email to OneDrive. If you’re on a slow Internet connection, it’ll […]
A new Office ‘Garage’ option is ‘Student Tools’ an extra ribbon featuring the tools Microsoft thinks are most appropriate for students. It’s only available to students in USA, Australia or New Zealand for Office 365 for Windows or Office 2016 ProPlus. Word Student Tool Garage is where Microsoft tries out plug-ins and features. Dictation started […]
Transform to Web Page is a new Word Online feature which promises more than it delivers. The deliberate implication of ‘Transform to Web Page’ is that you can save the document to web page to be hosted anywhere. It’s actually a link to Microsoft Sway, another online service. You can’t save a standalone web page. […]
Office Online is a slimmed down version of Word for Windows or Mac. What’s possible in a browser interface is impressive from a technical point of view but it will never compete with Word for Windows or even Word for Mac. Anyone familiar with Office for Mac or Windows should be able to use the […]
Continuing from Your free and standby Microsoft Office alternative: Office Online to start go to https://www.office.com/ , login to your MS account (if not already logged in). Click on the buttons for Word Online, Excel Online, PowerPoint Online or OneNote Online. Also, a link to OneDrive where all the Office Online documents are saved. Scroll down […]
Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote are always available for you, even if the main Office for Window/Mac are broken or missing. Office Online is the alternative that you have as a standby when regular Office fails or isn’t available. As long as you have a browser and decent Internet connection, you can use Word Online, […]
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 […]
While North Korea’s leader, Kim Jong Un, was busy in Singapore, his government hackers were busy with new malware called TypeFrame and delivered by, you guessed it, a Microsoft Word document. Typeframe has eleven different elements bundled with a Word document. As usual, the hackers send the document and try to trick people into running […]
For the first time in a decade, Microsoft is making substantial changes to the Office ribbon interface. But not to worry, the changes don’t appear to be enough to put anyone off Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. The existing ribbon is retained, that’s an important point that’s not emphasized enough in the leaked Microsoft video. […]
As usual, Microsoft has released non-security updates and bug fixes for Office 2016 and Office 2013 on the first Tuesday of the month. A few caught our eye: Late last year, Microsoft was caught out leaving a horribly vulnerable Equation Editor in Office for 17 years. A new patch restores the MT Extra font so […]
Both Windows and Office send an astonishing amount of data from your computer to Microsoft. Here’s how to see what’s being sent. The Diagnostic Data Viewer shows, as it happens, what your computer is sending to Microsoft. The tool does NOT give you the choice to not send your private information. It only tells you […]
Office Watch reader, John Hoffmann has some more detail on variable fonts, now supported in Windows 10. Variable fonts are a single package that includes many variations (Light, Heavy etc), instead of having separate font files for each variant. That takes up less disk space (important on tablet devices) and, as John explains, are easier […]
It’s time again to put the mighty brains and resources of Microsoft against the best and brightest of American youth. Yet again, the kids put Microsoft Word to shame. Each year, Office-Watch.com get the word lists from the finals of the US Scripps National Spelling Bee and runs them through the Microsoft Word dictionary. There’s […]
An overdue and very welcome addition to OneDrive for Office 365 customers is password protected sharing links. Until now, you could send a link to a OneDrive stored file or folder but there was no control over who used that link. If the link ‘escaped’ to other people, they could download or even edit the […]
With the sale of fonts via the Microsoft Store, there’s now a complication in the familiar way fonts are managed in Windows 10 and how Office for Windows handles new fonts. For as long as anyone can remember, all Windows fonts where in a single folder: /Windows/Fonts But not anymore … Fonts installed from the […]
New and improved ‘Pro’ fonts are a lesser known part of the April 2018 update to Windows 10. You can install, free, updated alternatives for Windows standard fonts like Arial, Georgia, Gill Sans and Verdana. Windows 10 now supports ‘Variable Type’ fonts where a single font file contains many variations like bold, italic, regular, condensed […]
The North Carolina State Bar is proposing attorneys get an hour of computer training, including Microsoft Office, as part of their annual Continuing Legal Education (CLE). Only one US State, Florida, has a computer component of their current CLE. Amazing! In Florida, lawyers have to get three hours of technical training every three years. That’s […]
