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.
PowerPoint trim video reaches the web
The long-standing Trim Video feature in PowerPoint desktop has now reached the browser based version as well as in the desktop Windows and Mac versions. If you’ve ever used Trim Video in either PowerPoint for Windows or Mac, this ‘new’ feature will be familiar in PowerPoint on the web. Any video saved with the presentation […]
PowerPoint video audio compression tricks and traps
PowerPoint offers compression embedded video and audio files, reducing the overall file size. But these options aren’t where you might expect to find them, aren’t selective and need to be used with care. There is compression option for media files (video or audio) to a suitable quality level and make it compact. This feature will […]
What is ‘grounding’ in Copilot?
Microsoft talks about ‘grounding a prompt’ in their Copilot AI system. What do they mean by ‘grounding’ and how it can help anyone get more from AI magic. Grounding simply means telling Copilot to use a specific document or file to answer a question … as opposed to using general knowledge from the Internet or […]
Import EML MSG and OFT files with Outlook (new)
The new Outlook for Windows can now import messages saved in single files as .eml .msg or .opt formats. Like most ‘new’ features in new Outlook for Windows, it’s really a catch-up feature to match something in the existing Outlook for Windows. All three formats are ways to save emails to single files containing the […]
In person vs virtual event option in Outlook
It’s possible to RSVP to an event or meeting and say whether they’ll be attending in the old fashioned way (aka “face to face”) or virtually. Look for an ‘in-person’ event option to appear just above the location line. An event can also be a Teams meeting, making it what Microsoft calls a ‘hybrid’ meeting. […]
Tag your In-person events in Outlook
Outlook can now mark the difference between a virtual and ‘in-person’ event in your calendar. It’s part of Microsoft’s “Hybrid” features intended for the modern world where people mix remote and in-office working. For any calendar event/appointment you might see a switch ‘In-Person Event’. Turn that on for any occasion where you’ll have a physical […]
Get smarter PivotTable recommendations in Excel
The existing Recommended PivotTables feature is now smarter in Excel 365 for Windows with more options and flexibility. For some time Excel has been able to suggest PivotTables based on the current Table. Recommended PivotTables is in Excel 365, Excel 2021, 2019, 2016 and earlier. Now in Excel 365 for Windows, Recommended PivotTables has more […]
Eye 👁 emoji in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
How to insert the Eye 👁 emoji into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Eye 👁 symbol is used for decoration “Look Here” or “See this”. Even as a fancy bullet point in Word or PowerPoint. How Eye 👁 looks in different fonts. Two Windows fonts […]
Better Bullets in Word with SVG Icons
Get better and more creative bullet lists in Word using an Icon or SVG graphic in Word or PowerPoint, you just have to be a little sneaky. Icons (Microsoft’s name for SVG graphics) would seem to be ideal for creative bullets. SVG’s can be resized, colored and adjusted without loss of quality. They are available […]
Get rid of Teams buttons from your Office ribbon
Teams button creep into Office and Outlook ribbons because Microsoft tries to promote itself. Here’s how to get rid of it or any other Office buttons you don’t want. Teams icons prominently appear on Office ribbons, like this one on the Outlook Calendar ribbon. or this with Meet Now video conferencing included as well. Or […]
How to count unique items in an Excel PivotTable
Excel PivotTable can show a count of unique items if you know where to look. Handy to see the number of customers, products or students from a long data list. What is the count of unique customers who made purchases in each region? How many unique products were sold in each store? How many different […]
Straighten handwriting in OneNote
OneNote for Windows can straighten handwritten, digital ink, text so it’s nicely even across the screen. We tested Straighten to see how it really works … and it’s not bad. Microsoft doesn’t provide a working example of straighten just a mockup with grey lines and nothing like the real OneNote interface. So we made our […]
Ink to Text tool in Microsoft 365 for Windows
Word, PowerPoint and OneNote 365 for Windows have digital ‘ink to text‘ feature to not only handwrite into documents but also edit text and add bullet or numbered lists. Ink to Text requirements Before we explain the new feature, we’ll detail the specific requirements of the new ‘Ink to Text’ Word feature. Microsoft buries these […]
Microsoft Office font spacing mystery and how to fix
A strange case of letter spacing with a Microsoft font showing differences between Word and PowerPoint. Here’s the anomaly with three possible fixes for it and similar situations. Office Watcher Paul B noticed this peculiar spacing between a fullstop/period and digit 1 with the Tenorite font. In PowerPoint, the two characters are very close together […]
Steganography used to hide Word and Excel attack
Computers are being infected with at least eight different viruses in an attack that uses steganography to hide nasty code in images linked from Word and Excel documents. But there’s good news for most Office users. Steganography is a way to hide text or code in an image or object. It’s a trick that’s been […]
Microsoft 365 instant account switching
Quickly switch accounts while using Microsoft Office 365, Office 2019 and Office 2021 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 […]
