Microsoft 365 – the subscription / annual fee plan for Microsoft Office on Windows, Mac, iPhone, iPad and Android.
Includes Word 365, Excel 365, PowerPoint 365, Outlook 365 and many other ‘365’ programs, apps and services.
Change Word Zoom to custom fixed settings
This is how to change Word’s Zoom to your preferred Zoom settings instead of the defaults. Ray R writes … “I have been having some vision problems lately and have found that using Word’s zoom dialog to increase the displayed font size without changing it in the document or email (I use Word as my […]
Don’t trust Excel’s Linked Data Types, always verify
Excel 365’s Linked Data Types are technically impressive. However, the reliability of the data is a problem Microsoft doesn’t talk about. We discovered mistakes with the data without actively looking for them. In general, the data sources are ‘scraped’ from sites like Wikipedia which explains some, but not all, of the omissions and oddities. Stock […]
UK vs Great Britain and problems with Excel’s Geography
Excel 365’s Geography data type isn’t totally reliable or accurate. Looking at its results for the UK (United Kingdom) vs Great Britain is just one example of the problems you need to watch out for. If you’re not clear on the difference between United Kingdom and Great Britain, see below. Here’s the current results from […]
BBC TV backgrounds for PowerPoint and online meetings
The BBC has released some high-quality images from their famous TV shows to be used as online meeting backgrounds or in PowerPoint slides. Pick from Doctor Who (old or new), Fawlty Towers, Yes Minster, Match of the Day, Eastenders and more. Consider using these BBC TV backgrounds in PowerPoint for a unique touch. Called ‘The […]
How to fix an imported appointment in Outlook
Some imported Outlook calendar items can’t be changed, here’s why and how to make the imported appointment editable. Understanding issues with an Outlook imported appointment can help you manage calendar inconsistencies. Usually an imported appointment (via a downloaded .ics file) can be edited just like most Outlook calendar items. Often that’s necessary to add more […]
Outlook (new) is NOT ready, ignore what Microsoft says
Microsoft says that the new Outlook for Windows is now generally available, but everyone should ignore that. Outlook (new) isn’t truly ready. It lacks vital features and has serious security shortcomings which are likely to frustrate anyone who relies on it. On 1 August 2024, Microsoft declared that Outlook (new) for Windows is now ‘generally […]
Beware the privacy trap in the Outlook (new)
Microsoft’s eventual replacement Outlook (new) for Windows supports Gmail, Yahoo and other accounts but there’s a privacy trap that Microsoft does its best to hide. Outlook for Windows privacy is a major concern. According to Microsoft, it’s easy to add Gmail, Yahoo and other accounts to the new Outlook, all they show is entering an […]
Olympic medal comparisons in Excel
We’ve expanded our live Paris Olympics medal table to compare countries’ performances to their population or wealth. Along the way we explain how to cope with some problems that can arise when Excel theory hits the Real World. Our newsletter readers get a working example workbook to try themselves. We compared population and GDP (Gross […]
Microsoft Office highlights in latest company results
Microsoft shareholders should be happy with the company’s latest financial results for the quarter ending 30 June 2024 (Q4). Here’s a few highlights from an “Office Watch” point of view. Office 365 Commercial Revenue growth was up 13% possibly due to the new Copilot for Microsoft 365 fees. (All these % figures are comparisons with […]
Dictation leaves Outlook mobile apps
The Dictation feature in Outlook for iPhone, iPad and Android will leave the apps in September for no reason Microsoft will share. The announcement was made discreetly so that only Microsoft 365 non-consumer accounts with Admin access are notified. Message MC841218 “We will be retiring the Dictation feature from Microsoft Outlook for iOS and Android […]
Major benefit removed from Copilot Pro
Paying Copilot Pro customers have lost a major part of what they pay for. Say goodbye to Copilot GPT Builder in early July 2024. It’s only been a few months since Microsoft launched their paid AI plans including Copilot Pro and they are already removing a major component. Copilot GPT Builder was being dropped from […]
Saving Word document with automatic Document Inspector
Here’s how to save a Word document with the private and hidden details automatically removed. Normally, you’re expected to manually go to File | Info | Inspect document to check/remove things like comments, hidden text, header, footers or watermarks. What if you want it to happen automatically, whenever you save a file or just make […]
Make your own Medal Table for the 2024 Olympics
Use Excel to get your own automatically updating Medal Table for the 2024 Paris Olympics then make charts and maps too. Our newsletter readers get a working example workbook to try themselves. Not interested in the Olympic medal count? This article and download are a good, working example of how to automatically download from a […]
Replace Word document with anonymous text – complete Step by Step
Here’s the complete step-by-step manual method of replacing text with filler or anonymous words in Microsoft Word. This is quite easy, the main thing is to be careful with the Find and Replace expressions. It will work with any version of Word that has the ‘wildcards’ / Regex option which means Word 2003 or later […]
How a file name can reveal your secrets
A US government department has accidentally revealed a secret by overlooking the obvious in Office document security, the file name. Microsoft Office helps you scrub documents of private or secret information before sending. It’s easy to overlook the obvious data leaks that ‘Inspect Document’ doesn’t cover. ‘Inspect Document’ checks for hidden information in the document […]
Paris 2024 Olympics complete calendar in Outlook
Add to your Outlook a special Paris 2024 Olympics calendar shows all the events plus opening/closing ceremonies with times in your location and search for favorite events. A special Olympics calendar shows all the events plus opening/closing ceremonies with times in your location. This calendar shows the Olympic calendar in US Central time with the […]
