Percentages that look right in a Word Mail Merge
How can you put percentages into a Word mail merge? There are several methods including the one we like because it’s reliable and simple. Following our article on importing Excel data into a Word mail merge, here are the options for using percentages. Excel might show a percentage but the number stored is a fraction. […]
Faster SumIFS in Excel 365 for Windows
Microsoft has made some ‘under the hood’ improvements to the combo ‘IF’ and ‘IFS’ functions like SumIFS(), SumIF(), CountIF() to make them faster than before. Just don’t believe Microsoft’s excessive boasts. The functions themselves behave the same but they now have a cached index for the range. That index is retained for any later combinations […]
SUMIFS Excel SUM with filters galore
Consider switching to SumIFS, it’s much the same as the older Excel function, SumIf() but easier to expand as your needs change. It can add up values according to more than criteria like a name and date range. We’ve talked about SUMIF and how its parameter order is a little strange. SumIF has filter/criteria first […]
Easily learn and make Office VBA with AI
ChatGPT or Copilot can be used to learn the basics of Microsoft Office VBA coding with examples made to order. Here’s some VBA made by ChatGPT for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook and some of its mistakes. ChatGPT or Copilot will take a simple request and returns some text. People have used it to write […]
Type Infinity ∞ symbols in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type Infinity ∞ and similar symbols into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. In Office for Windows and Office for Mac you can enter Infinity, Incomplete Infinity, Tie over Infinity and Infinity negated. Infinity ∞ symbol is used for anything that has no end or boundless. Of course, it’s in mathematics where Infinity was first […]
Installing older Office on Windows 11
Can Office 2007 and other older versions of Office (Office 2010, Office 2013) be installed on Windows 11? What are the licensing, activation problems? How about moving documents? There are four issues to consider; licencing, compatibility, support/patches and migrating documents: Officially only these versions of Microsoft Office are supported on Windows 11: But that’s just […]
Installing older Office on Windows 10
Can Office 2007 and other older versions of Office (Office 2010, Office 2013) be installed on Windows 10. What are the licensing, activation problems? How about moving documents? Eileen G asks a common question to Office Watch: “I got a new HP desktop computer, but can I install the old MS orig office, “Home and […]
Dagger † symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Insert a Dagger † into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Dagger † symbol is used to indicate a footnote if an asterisk has been already used. Footnotes and Endnotes in Word Formatting Footnotes and Endnotes Dagger is a different look (depending on the font) but […]
What’s changing or ending in 2023 for Microsoft Office
Microsoft Office has plenty of important changes and end dates coming in 2023, starting with two in January. Here’s a list of what Microsoft has in store for their paying customers. Microsoft 365 app coming in January 2023 The Office mobile app (the ‘all in one’ app) is being changed and renamed to become the […]
Even more Airplane and related symbols in Microsoft Office
There are a lot more airplane symbols available in Microsoft Office including ones for landing, takeoff and even pilots. Also how to get plane graphics for specific models like a 747 Jumbo. If you know where to look, Office has plenty of ‘airplane’ related graphics beyond the simple Airplane ✈ symbol in Unicode. Office Icons […]
Gradient Effects and Text in Word – in depth
Adding color gradient effects to your text, shapes and borders is a good way to give it a bit more zing to Microsoft Word, PowerPoint or other Office docs. The gradient feature is quite sophisticated, with a wide range of options and adjustments available but not obvious. To add a gradient effect to text, select […]
Year Planner calendar, Improvements and Extensions
Our Year Planner Excel workbook download is just the start. Here are many suggestions for changes to improve or customize the download. Tips for changing the headings, overall look, change financial year, highlight public holidays, change the look of a day in the week, change weekend shading or day label. We’ll even show how to […]
Two new Excel formula helpers
Microsoft has two new formula helpers in Excel. One to suggest the right function (Formula Suggestions) and the other to automatically insert copies of a formula (Formula by Example). For the moment, these two features are in Excel on the web but are likely to spread to other Excel’s during 2023. Formula Suggestions Excel will […]
How to put a calendar on a Windows or Mac desktop
How to add a calendar as quick reference to your desktop on Windows or Mac. It can be a yearly, monthly or weekly calendar, just like the old paper calendar / blotting paper on an office desktop in olden times (i.e. 20 years ago)! A handy place to put a calendar is on your Windows […]
Yearly Planner / Calendar for Office Watch readers
Here’s a great Excel yearly planner that we’re delighted to share. It works for 2024 or any other year you like and highlights Public Holidays in a simple and elegant way. Office Watch friend David Peel from the UK made this workbook and let us share with our readers. He’s now added an extra so […]
What’s the deal with Excel’s Calendar Creator?
Excel has a Calendar Creator template which might work or might not. Why it doesn’t work is a little mystery but we have an alternative for our readers. The ‘Calendar Creator (any year’) template sounds great … a one-page year calendar. Find it from File | New then search for calendar creator. When the template […]
