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.
25 new languages added to Microsoft Office Dictation
Not only has Microsoft just added 25 more languages to the Dictation feature of Microsoft Office 365, they’ve also promoted six languages from ‘Preview’ to full dictation status. Microsoft has been unusually quiet about all the improvements in Dictation, focusing on the new languages while not even mentioning that six languages which were labelled ‘Preview’ […]
Microsoft 365 semi-annual users forced to monthly updates
Organizations which choose the Semi-annual update for their staff have been told by Microsoft that they are being forced to the monthly update schedule. Here are the details and a look at the nonsense that Microsoft is sprouting to explain the switch. Until now, organization administrators had two choices for regular (non-Insiders / Beta testing) […]
Starting Word Page numbers from a specific page number
Here’s how to start page numbering at any point in a Word document. There’s no rule which says that visible page numbering has to start with Page 1, there are many situations where the first page in Word isn’t ‘Page 1’ as labelled in the header or footer. Some opening pages like a cover page, […]
OK Hand sign 👌 emoji in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook
Type the OK Hand sign 👌 into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. OK Hand sign 👌 emoji is mostly used to symbolize approval, agreement, all that is well but there are other meanings. Scuba Divers use 👌 hand sign to confirm they are ‘OK’ and […]
How to embarrass an airline with PowerPoint
A little tale of lost luggage, a frustrated customer, Apple Airtags and using Powerpoint to publicly embarrass the airline and their courier partners. AviosAdventurer and partner flew from Frankfurt to London Heathrow via Dublin on Aer Lingus. The airline managed to leave all three of their bags (perhaps others?) beside the plane in Frankfurt but […]
Excel Sheet View solves a collaboration problem
Excel Sheet View is Microsoft’s fix for a problem when sharing an Excel list or table among many people. We’ll explain how it works and what’s happening behind the scenes. A shared Excel list can be sorted or filtered in many different ways. It’s quite possible that two people can look at the same worksheet […]
How to avoid the Clippy Paperclip emoji in Windows
Microsoft replaced the Paperclip emoji with their dreaded Clippy in Windows 11. Here’s how to get a proper paperclip symbol instead of the Microsoft branded alternative. We’ve already explained how the Windows 11 emoji panel has a paperclip with eyes and a smile. Which might be OK, but what if you need a plain, old, […]
Beware! Clippy is hiding in Windows and Office
The dread Clippy, the paperclip with eyes, is still hiding in Windows and Office. The Windows 11 emoji panel and Segoe UI Emoji font have Clippy instead of a plain old paperclip that other apps use. Use the Emoji Panel in Windows 11 (Win + . ) and search for ‘paper’ you’ll see various options […]
Converting MP3 to MP4 audio for PowerPoint
It’s not necessary to convert MP3 audio to the better MP4 format for PowerPoint but, if you want to, there are various ways to do it. MPEG-4 audio (.mp4 .m4a ) is recommended by Microsoft for PowerPoint 2016 (Windows and Mac), PowerPoint 2013 and Powerpoint for mobile devices. MP4 audio gives you better sound and, […]
LucidChart in Microsoft Office
LucidChart is a very nice diagramming and flowchart tool which is integrated with Microsoft Office for Windows or Mac. Office has diagram tools via Insert | Shapes but they aren’t very elegant. They serve for simple uses but not a lot more. LucidChart is better than the inbuilt Office diagram tools and not as expensive […]
Why can’t Word connect shapes?
The Shapes feature in Microsoft Office looks the same in all the major Office apps but it’s not. The important connectors feature, essential for flowcharts, is obvious Word or Outlook but works automatically in Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint. Update: We’ve updated this article after some clever readers reminded us of the Windows only Word trickery […]
Microsoft raises prices for non-profit organizations
Microsoft has generous price discounts for non-profit organizations but that hasn’t stopped them raising the cost of Microsoft 365 plans up to 28% The new prices start in September 2022, Microsoft announced them as monthly price changes to make them appear lower than they really are. Redmond does that knowing most media will just copy […]
More price rises ahead for Microsoft Office?
Some Microsoft 365 plans have already increased in price and there’s likely more to come after an analyst’s report led to a drop in the Microsoft stock price. A UBS research note, as reported by Barrons, expressed concerns about the growth in sales of Microsoft 365/Office 365. That led to a drop in the MSFT […]
Passover images and more in Microsoft Office
Add some Passover images and icons to your documents, slides or emails from right inside Word, PowerPoint, Outlook and Excel. If you know where to look there are images from the Jewish tradition related to Seder, Matzah and Menorah among many, Icons The SVG Icons collection (Insert | Illustrations | Icons) has only one option, […]
Cat Face 🐱 emoji in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
How to insert the Cat Face 🐱 into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Cat Face 🐱 emoji is a variant of the grinning face emoji, usually depicted as yellow on all platforms. How Cat Face 🐱 looks in different fonts. Here’s some examples of how […]
Fast screen shot or clipping in Office
There’s a simple way to copy a screen image into Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook or OneNote. Word, PowerPoint and other Office apps for Windows (Office 2010 and later) has a Screenshot option to paste an image from any open program window into a document or email. Go to the Insert tab of the programs, there’s a Screenshot […]
