Hiding stuff in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
We’ve completed our series on ‘Hidden’ options in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. How to hide text, images, cells, slides etc within documents. Hiding is a useful option and avoids deleting content that might be needed later. It lets you make a different version of a document/sheet/deck without the hassle of maintaining two very similar documents. […]
Showing 12 o’clock as ‘noon’ or ‘midnight’ in Excel
Excel shows midday or noon as 12:00 PM which doesn’t suit everyone, here’s how to change the defaults to a word such as ‘Midnight’ or any other time label you’d like. ABC News in Australia delves into the argument about showing 12 PM – There is no such time as 12pm. The argument is that […]
Apple command ⌘ symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
The Apple command ⌘ symbol can be typed into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Apple command ⌘ symbol appears on Mac and iPad keyboards but only as a command option, not as a symbol to type. The ⌘ symbol predates Apple computers. It’s a ‘PLACE […]
Excel Formula Bot upgrades and goes pro
The wonderful Excel Formula Bot has a new look, more features and has gone ‘pro’ with paid subscriptions. The whole site https://excelformulabot.com/ has been revamped with a cleaner, clearer look. Excel Formula Bot is certainly up-to-date, as you can see above, it already ‘knows’ about the new Image() function despite still in beta testing. Please […]
Great Periodic Table documents for Microsoft Office
There are some great and editable Periodic Table of Elements options available in Microsoft Office – Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides There are many Periodic Table ‘documents’ on the net but most are PDF’s or images that can’t be changed. We’re looking for editable Word documents and Excel worksheets that you can adapt, […]
North West/Top Left Arrow ↖ in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Insert the North West or Top Left Arrow ↖ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. North West Arrow ↖ or “Top Left Arrow” can be used for directions on a map (naturally) or pointing to ‘top left’ in a Word / PowerPoint table or Excel […]
Excel merge arrays into a single array with VBA
Until late 2022 an annoying omission from Excel and VBA was a simple way to combine or merge arrays into a single array. Here’s how to do it with VBA for older Excel releases. Excel 365 for Windows and Mac now have HStack() and VStack() which will combine dynamic arrays or ranges. The VBA method […]
Six workarounds when your keyboard breaks
Your deadline is in four hours, you’ve got pages to write and BAM! a letter key breaks on your keyboard …. What do you do? There are at least six different workarounds available in Word, Windows and Mac. A broken key happened to Colin Chambers, a University of Buffalo student when a drink spilled on […]
Lambda – strange name for a really good extra in Excel
Excel users are rightly interested in Lambda() a very powerful addition to Excel. Lambda lets you create user-defined functions without VBA. No need for .xlsm files with all the security concerns they entail. A long formula can be written once then referenced anywhere in the workbook by a short name of your choosing. User-Defined Functions – […]
Watch your sort and other Excel traps for the unwary
Sorting numbers in Excel looks easy but there’s traps if you’re not careful. Let’s look at an example of sorting gone wrong, how it’s easy to do but also fix. Finally how modern Excel has several features to warn you not to fall into a common mistake. This table popped up on Twitter (original source […]
Ctrl+F6 mystery revealed in Excel
The Ctrl+F6 shortcut in Excel doesn’t behave the same way as Word or PowerPoint. It changed a few years ago to behave differently from what most Office users expect. Ctrl + F6 will switch (cycle through) the open windows in Word or PowerPoint. It’s a quick way to move between different documents/slides. Since Windows doesn’t […]
Handwrite into docs on Office apps for iPad
Handwrite direct into Office apps for iPad, converting your writing into text right away, courtesy of the iOS Scribble feature. What you’ll need, how to setup and the new thing to look for on the Draw tab of the Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps. Microsoft has integrated the Scribble feature into some Office for iPad […]
Make transparent images in Office for Windows
Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 for Windows can make images transparent in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Text or other graphics can show through the picture. Pictures can be made transparent to reveal what’s behind in lower layers of the document, slide or worksheet. For any image go to Picture | Format | Adjust | […]
Get the Game of Thrones look in Word and PowerPoint
Here’s how to get the Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon look in Word documents and PowerPoint slides. Plenty of people have borrowed the Game of Thrones or GoT look, including a certain US President. All these uses are contrary to various trademarks by HBO. Despite legal complaints there are many ‘tip of […]
Can’t access Microsoft 365 Stock Images …
A Monday morning glitch by Microsoft has accidently disabled access to most Microsoft 365 Stock images and more. At 5:30pm UTC (12:30pm NYC): Microsoft 365 Stock Content is now available on our test machines in the UK and USA. Give your Insert | Pictures | Stock Images a try with fingers crossed! The expired digital […]
Fix Excel when Stock and Geography data types go missing
When the Stock and Geography data types disappear from the Data ribbon in Excel here’s how to fix and restore Linked Data Types. The Data ribbon is missing the entire ‘Data Types’ section. We’ve had several reports from Office-Watch.com readers who start Excel 365 and find that their Stock and Geography linked data worksheets won’t […]
