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.
New Outlook does NOT block Exchange Server mailboxes
The new Outlook (in preview) did seem to be enforcing a Microsoft 365 software license in a way that other Outlook software has never done before. Happily that’s been fixed. Here’s what happened, to explain and debunk stories still going around. Outlook (new) is the preview web app that Microsoft is developing. It will eventually […]
How the change to new Outlook for Windows will work
Microsoft has announced some of their plan for the changeover to the newer, totally rebuilt, Outlook for Windows. The changeover plan will be in four stages; Opt-in, General Availability, Opt-out and finally Cutoff. There are no specific dates given, just a broad structure but the whole switch from ‘classic Outlook’ to ‘Outlook (new)’ will take […]
Copilot appears in Word whether you like it or not
The paid versions of Copilot AI in Microsoft Word often appear when it’s not wanted and Microsoft isn’t giving their paying customers any choice. Microsoft is assuming that anytime there’s a blank document or even paragraph that customers want Copilot to jump in. So they’ve put Copilot ‘front and center’ on the screen. This applies […]
Discover the Edit Points bug in Word
An interesting bug in Microsoft Word, thanks to an Office Watch reader. Changing the edit points around a rectangular image can hide some text that should be visible. It appears to be a bug in the code to wrap text around an object in some narrow circumstances. Here’s how to recreate the bug, start with […]
Spreadsheets are a warning about the future of AI
A respected author has a warning about the future of AI using the mixed history of spreadsheet mistakes as an example. Tim Harford is an excellent columnist and author known as “the Undercover Economist”. Check out his “More or Less” podcast for the BBC. In a recent article he argues that the spreadsheet is a […]
Five fast Clear options in Excel
Excel has some nice choices for clearing out cells quickly. You can remove the contents, the formatting only or both contents and formatting plus choices for deleting just notes, comments and cleaning up links. As you can see the drop-down menu Home | Editing | Clear offers options such as: Clear All, Clear Formats, Clear […]
PowerPoint – switch away from Aptos fonts
Here’s how to switch away from the new Aptos fonts in Microsoft PowerPoint and back to the old Calibri fonts or something else. Microsoft has forced a change to Aptos as the new default font in PowerPoint but that change doesn’t suit everyone. In particular, Aptos doesn’t make much (or any) visible difference for bold text. Both the paragraphs […]
Copilot in Office mobile apps for some
Copilot AI services for Word and PowerPoint are now in the Microsoft 365 mobile app for business or education users with the Copilot add-on. The integration is in the Word and PowerPoint parts of the ‘all in one’ Microsoft 365 mobile app, look for the Copilot logo in the bottom row of the app. All […]
Remove that big AutoSave from the Office toolbar
Get rid of the over large ‘AutoSave’ slider on the Word, Excel or PowerPoint status bar. The Autosave button (strictly a label plus slider) takes up a lot of room on the top row of modern Office apps. That space is quite crowded and you need it to fit as many ‘Quick Access Toolbar’ (QAT). […]
Print selection, sheets or tables in Excel
Excel has some useful options for printing less than an entire workbook. Printing a selection, active sheets or just a table. As Office-Watch.com has discovered before, there’s a lot more available in Office than a quick look suggests. See Print options are at File | Print then choose the menu that starts with Print Active […]
Use the world’s ugliest color in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Make an unpleasant point with the world’s ugliest color. A ‘drab dark green’ can be used in any Word document, Excel sheet or PowerPoint slide. And we’ll explain the recommended complement color and font. It’s not our opinion, but the market researched result of an effort to find the most unappealing color. A three-month study […]
What Microsoft Word does with “Drunkonyms”
The British have 546 ‘drunkonyms’ or words for drunkenness according to a new academic study. We could not resist seeing how the Microsoft Word handles them (after we’ve had a quick drink to get us going 😀) We compiled a list of 55 drunkonyms and ran them past the Word 365 spell checker using UK, […]
Copilot gets image background editing
Copilot now has some in-built editing of the background of an AI made image, some borrowed from similar features in Designer. Request an image from Copilot e.g. “Make an image of a koala in the desert”, select one of the thumbnail pictures to see the full size version. Click on the image to select an […]
Buying old versions of Microsoft Office
How can you buy an older version of Microsoft Office to fit in with your other computers? Fran, a loyal Office-Watch.com reader has that problem getting an older version of Office. “ I have Office 2013 on two computers now. Is there a way to get another copy for the new Microsoft Surface I just bought for less […]
How to check if your emails are sent with DKIM
Here’s a way to ensure your outgoing emails include DKIM and SPF details all setup correctly. DKIM email verification is becoming more important for deliverability of emails. This is mostly for anyone using Microsoft 365 email hosting, especially individual or small business users who have change their email verification setup. Once you’ve enabled DKIM for […]
What do fonts say to each other?
Ever wondered what fonts say to each other. How newcomer Aptos treats Calibri? How Dingbats dance and what Comic Sans wears? Elle Cordova answers these and other important typographical questions in two Instagram videos. Fonts Hanging Out part 1 https://www.instagram.com/p/C2cZBIAr24m/ Fonts Hanging Out part 2 https://www.instagram.com/reel/C2sxcszyLnN/ Enjoy … Excel – switch away from Aptos fontsMicrosoft […]
