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 […]
Lambda upper Λ or lower case λ in Word and Office
Type the Lambda upper case Λ, and Lambda lower case λ symbols (aka Lamda) in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Lambda/Lamda (uppercase Λ / lowercase λ) is the 11th letter of the Greek alphabet. The uppercase symbol has various uses, it is used for the likelihood ratio […]
Delta upper Δ or lower δ symbols in Word, PowerPoint and more
The Delta upper case Δ or Delta lower case δ symbols in Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Delta (uppercase Δ / lowercase δ) is the fourth letter of the Greek alphabet. It’s the “d” sound in Modern and Ancient Greek. Delta uppercase Δ symbol is used […]
Great Christmas images and clipart in Microsoft Office
Looking for some Christmas images, pictures or graphics? Microsoft Office has some in-built Xmas options for the festive tide of Yule. Add these images into Word documents, Outlook emails, PowerPoint slides or even Excel worksheets. Unsubtle Hint: Christmas Cheer with Office has a collection of festive cards, letters, gift tags, emails ready to open, edit […]
Airplane ✈ symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type the Airplane ✈ symbol, icon, emoji into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Airplane ✈ symbol is often used for signs, directions or an itinerary, possibly in combination with symbols for other transport like train, car, walking. For more ‘airplane’ related graphics see Even more […]
Lambda() downsides and their workarounds
The Lambda() feature in Excel 365 is great, when you try using it the downsides quickly become obvious. Happily there are workarounds. Lambda() itself is fine. It’s a welcome addition which more advanced users will make Excel do amazing things or simplify complex formulas. See Lambda – strange name for a really good extra in […]
What is RGBA color and how to use in Microsoft Office
RGBA color codes are an extension of the RGB (Red, Green, Blue) color system which you can use in modern Microsoft Office with a little trickery. There’s an annoying difference (reversal) in settings on Office for Windows vs other Microsoft services and Office for Mac. RGB colors have been around for a long time to […]
Add the Excel Formula Bot into Excel itself
The excellent Excel Formula Bot is now available as an Excel addin for subscribers to the Bot service and now can explain a formula in plain language. Excel Formula Bot is a wonderful service which converts human-speak into Excel formula-speak or vice-versa. Since we last reported, David Bressler has added an ‘Explain’ option which takes […]
How to fix #BLOCKED! errors in Excel
What to do if you see a #BLOCKED cell error message in Microsoft Excel. The fix is simple, if you can get past Microsoft’s unhelpful, er, ‘help’. Open uṗ a workbook and see #BLOCKED in some cells. The message ‘Check privacy settings’ is typical Microsoft message. It’s strictly correct but not very helpful. There are […]
Set your own Shape default settings in Microsoft Office
You’re not stuck with the Microsoft automatic settings when inserting a new shape. Change the defaults to whatever you like for faster shape formatting in Office; Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. When you Insert | Shape, something like this probably appears. Blue fill, 1pt black single line outline, no effects and Text Wrapping in front […]
Bypass Office Backstage and get to ‘real’ Open or Save dialogs
If you don’t like the large Office Backstage pane, the older and more powerful Open and Save dialog boxes are still available via shortcuts or changing a Microsoft Office setting. Microsoft has spent a lot of time and effort changing the Word, Excel and PowerPoint File panes to add more features and unsubtle hints to […]
