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.
Converting Text with month and year into Excel dates
Ronny, a loyal Office Watch reader asks “OK, I now understand that entering dates in Excel as plain text isn’t a good idea. How do I convert my cells with MM/DD text into proper Excel dates?” It’s a trap for Excel novices. Typing in a date as plain text seems simple and easy … until […]
Share a video, even a large one, in an email
These days it’s quite simple to share a video or any large file via email, here’s how. You’ll need a cloud storage service, Google, iCloud or OneDrive. We’ll use OneDrive because it comes with Microsoft 365 and it’s well integrated with Outlook. The same steps apply to any large file you want to share via […]
Quicker file attachment selection in Outlook 365
In Outlook 365 for Windows there are alternatives to the usual ‘upload then link’ option for sharing large files via email. The principles are the same but the whole task can be done quicker inside Outlook with the choice of an email attachment or sharing a link to a file on OneDrive Insert | Attach […]
Easy Visa calculator for European visitors – with Excel
Here’s a handy Excel worksheet for visitors to Europe, including UK citizens. It’ll help you stay within the legal limits for ‘short stays’ by visitors to the EU Schengen zone. Most visitors to Europe are allowed to stay in the Schengen group of countries for 90 days out of the previous 180 days. It’s a […]
Outlook the way you like with Custom Views
It’s easy to make your own views for email, calendar and contacts and switch between them with Outlook Custom Views. Outlook does not have to look the way it does ‘out of the box’. Perhaps you’d prefer a different color scheme for read and unread messages? Maybe with more lines of message preview? Or a […]
Pray / Thank You 🙏 emoji in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
There’s a Pray / Thank You 🙏 emoji you can drop into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Pray / Thank You 🙏 symbol in Western cultures can be used to show prayer or devotion more generally as well as thanks or appreciation. The official Unicode […]
Limit editing and collaboration within a Word document
There are options in Microsoft Word to limit access a document in different ways. It’s more fine-grained control of what people can do in the document rather than the entire Word document permissions options we’ve mentioned before. Restrict Editing options let you collaborate on a document more broadly without the risk that important parts will […]
Three ways to stop people changing your Word document
Word, Excel and PowerPoint have options to stop people from changing a document, making them ‘read only’ in tech speak. These options protect your documents from unauthorized editing or even reading them at all. There are different levels of protection, they are all under File | Info | Protect Document. While they are mostly talked […]
Stop copying of your signature as a picture
There’s no way to stop someone copying a picture of your signature (or any image) but there are some tricks to stop the image being misused. Thanks to Office Watch reader, Tim P. for the excellent question: “I liked your article on inserting signatures. In relation to inserting a picture of my signature, I was […]
Insert a signature picture into a Word document
There are some nifty tricks to inserting a picture of your signature into a Word or other document. Tips that make the result look realistic and professional. We’ve already explained the many ways to get a picture of your ink signature into Office. Now you have a picture of your signature, it’s ready to be […]
All the ways to sign a digital document in Word and more
Adding your signature or signing a document digitally is possible in different ways using Microsoft Word or other Office programs. Before we start, let’s clarify some terminology because ‘signing a document’ can mean several things in the computer world: Adding a signature to a document. Inserting a copy of a human written signature into an […]
15-Month Microsoft 365 Subscription: Smart Deal or Marketing Gimmick?
Microsoft’s 15-month Microsoft 365 offer looks like a bargain at first glance, promising extra value compared to standard annual plans. But when you break down the pricing, renewal terms, and fine print, this “bonus” subscription may not deliver the savings many users expect. Here’s what you need to know before buying an extended Microsoft 365 […]
Stock images or premium content in Microsoft 365
Word, Excel, Outlook and PowerPoint in Microsoft 365 have image and icon libraries plus stock images or ‘premium creative content’. Despite the ‘Stock Images’ name there are four types of extra content; Images, Cutout People, Icons and Stickers. We’re told there are ‘over 8,000’ images and icons with ‘more to come’. Insert Pictures The Insert […]
Plus or Minus sign ± in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type the ‘Plus or Minus sign’ ± into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Plus-Minus ± symbol isn’t just used for equations, it’s also used as a shortcut for ‘plus or minus’. In statistics you’ll often see results given as being “ ± 3% ”. How […]
Faster Quick Notes in OneNote for Windows
A new feature in OneNote for Windows is a good time to remind you of all the fast ways to make a Quick Note and control where those notes are saved. To make a new Quick Note fast do one of these things in OneNote for Windows: Press Win + Alt + N Click on […]
Peek inside the code that makes Microsoft Office
Here’s a rare peek inside the C++ programming code that makes Microsoft Office possible. Zachary Henkel gave a speech at CppCon 2022 titled “Microsoft Uses C++ to Deliver Office – Huge Size, Small Components” which is now available on YouTube. Mr Henkel speaks from experience, he’s worked at Microsoft for the last eight years and […]
