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.
Zero-day security hole in Word, Microsoft very slow to act
A large security risk has appeared in Microsoft Word, a zero-day security problem which can infect even fully updated Word. Microsoft has taken at least 14 months and still hasn’t fixed the security hole. We’ll explain the problem and what you can do. It’s a relatively simple hack which takes advantage of gaps in Word, […]
Dictation controls in Word 365 move and get smaller
The Dictation controls in Word 365 for Windows are moving to another place and getting a lot smaller. The new Dictation toolbar appears on top-right of the document, often just below the Dictate button. That’s the same location as the Read Aloud toolbar. Dictate – when dictation is ‘listening’ the button is a solid blue […]
Five ways to turn text into Excel dates
Sometimes you need to convert a date from the Excel cell saved format to a particular format. There are at least five ways to do that. DateValue(), Date() or converting Unix dates to Excel. Simply typing dates into a cell also works but there are traps for the unwary. Excel’s trap when typing in dates […]
Text to Excel Date conversion by adding Zero with Paste Special
Another way to convert text to dates is by adding zero to the text. This is a trick which forces Excel to convert the text into an Excel value so it can then add the zero. Since adding zero doesn’t change the value, you end up with text converted to an Excel value. It’s a […]
Excel Conditional Formatting, beyond the presets
Excel has some nifty and simple options for color highlights the extremes in a list of values. It’s called Conditional Formatting and you can do all sorts of clever things with it. First let’s look at the simple presets that Microsoft has given us, some of the obvious choices they’ve left out and how to […]
Make a PivotTable direct from PowerBI data
It’s now possible to make an Excel PivotTable directly from PowerBI data in Excel 365 for Windows and Excel on the web. Microsoft PowerBI is a cloud-based data accumulation then reporting and visualization (dashboards etc). BI stands for “Business Intelligence”. PowerBI is a separately licensed product for businesses so it’s only available if your organization […]
Microsoft Office license info coming to Windows
Windows 11 is getting a way to view your Microsoft 365, Office 2021 and Office 2019 licence details within the Windows Settings app. At Windows Settings | Accounts | Your Microsoft account … it shows a lot of the details from the Office.com account web pages. Windows 11 for Microsoft Office users is your independent […]
Three Microsoft Word modes now on a single menu
Microsoft Word has many different ways to view a document and now three primary options are available on a single menu; Editing, Reviewing plus Viewing which is a simple ‘read only’ mode to stop accidental changes while reading. The new menu appears on the top-right between the existing Comments and Share buttons. Editing The standard […]
Elizabeth Line designs for Word, PowerPoint and Office
The Elizabeth Line (aka Crossrail) is now open in London, a major new tube line crossing the city. Here’s the roundel and color scheme for the new line in a format ready for Word, PowerPoint and Office. The same design elements can be used for any other London Tube line (real or imaginary) or totally […]
“Gaps” or missing features in the New Outlook
What Microsoft euphemistically calls ‘gaps’ in the beta release of the New Outlook should really be called ‘enormous chasms’ of missing features and core functions. Let’s look at what Microsoft admits is missing plus other obvious omissions. As the supposedly ‘new’ features of the New Outlook are being hyped, these are basic features not yet […]
Otter 🦦 emoji in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type the fun Otter 🦦 emoji into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Otter 🦦 emoji represents a light-brown otter (a member of the weasel family) on its back with its paws held together. But the emoji can just be used for a bit of fun. […]
Dictation (speech to text) is now in OneNote
OneNote is finally getting the Office Dictation (speech to text) feature that’s already in other Office programs. That’s in addition to the long-standing Look for Dictation in OneNote for Windows Home tab, way off at the right-side. Also, in OneNote in a web browser … Dictation and Read Aloud in Office is our comprehensive guide […]
First look at the new Microsoft Outlook – New Outlook
A first look at the new “New Outlook” which Microsoft (deliberately?) leaked ahead of an official announcement. It’s interesting but with one major and very disappointing omission. This article has been updated now “New Outlook” (as it’s now called) has been released to Office 365 Insider users. As you can see, it looks like the […]
Two ways to try New Outlook
There are two ways to try New Outlook — either as a Office 365 Insider on the beta track or direct download (Intel and ARM based devices). Here’s how to do it and the hidden ‘gotchas’. Beware the New Outlook because it’s VERY crippled. Only Microsoft hosted commercial or education mailboxes are supported – no […]
Interesting and ‘new’ in the New Outlook
Let’s look at the good or at least interesting parts of the New Outlook that Microsoft are calling ‘new’. As we’ll explain, Loop Components, fast @document links, My Day, Board views, RSVP options, pinned messages and Sweep aren’t really new. We’ve already noted the severe limitations in New Outlook, core technologies that should not be […]
Beware the new Outlook for Windows
Microsoft has released a new Outlook for Windows which is so limited that we feel it’s necessary to warn people about trying to use it. Beware! Even for Insiders on the ‘beta’ channel this new Outlook is no replacement for the real Windows version of Outlook – not even close. As usual, Microsoft pushes the […]
