Why Javascript support in Excel is both a big deal and little concerning
The news that Microsoft is adding Javascript support to Excel is important for developers and regular Excel user, but also a security concern. Javascript is a programming language that’s used on many web pages to provide the fast interaction we’re used to. Javascript is able to get data from external sources and display in Excel […]
Fixing dates in Excel’s Stock data type
Here’s how to convert the Last Trade time in Excel’s Stock data type into an Excel date/time that’s usable in other parts of Excel. UPDATE: near the end of September 2018, the Last Trade Time date format changed to an Excel serial date. No conversion or text parsing necessary. So this tip isn’t necessary any […]
Check out the new look ribbon coming to Office for Windows
For the first time in a decade, Microsoft is making substantial changes to the Office ribbon interface. But not to worry, the changes don’t appear to be enough to put anyone off Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. The existing ribbon is retained, that’s an important point that’s not emphasized enough in the leaked Microsoft video. […]
Get historical stock price data into Excel
Modern Excel can grab information from multiple files in a single folder. Just open the worksheet, refresh the query and it’s up to date! This article is a condensed version of just one chapter in Real Time Excel – the new 2nd edition has a lot more detail and example files ready to use. […]
June 2018 updates for Microsoft Office 2016 and Office 2013
As usual, Microsoft has released non-security updates and bug fixes for Office 2016 and Office 2013 on the first Tuesday of the month. A few caught our eye: Late last year, Microsoft was caught out leaving a horribly vulnerable Equation Editor in Office for 17 years. A new patch restores the MT Extra font so […]
Indian Banks drop Microsoft Office, revert to calculators
Two Indian banks clamped down use of unlicensed Microsoft Office, leaving staff to use calculators or open-source alternative spreadsheets. Mid-Day.com reported that Bank of India and Saraswat Bank had some licenses for Microsoft Office but not enough for all the computers the bank had allocated to staff. Branches were instructed to uninstall Office from many […]
See the amazing amount of information Microsoft is getting from Windows and Office
Both Windows and Office send an astonishing amount of data from your computer to Microsoft. Here’s how to see what’s being sent. The Diagnostic Data Viewer shows, as it happens, what your computer is sending to Microsoft. The tool does NOT give you the choice to not send your private information. It only tells you […]
Password Protected file sharing links with OneDrive
An overdue and very welcome addition to OneDrive for Office 365 customers is password protected sharing links. Until now, you could send a link to a OneDrive stored file or folder but there was no control over who used that link. If the link ‘escaped’ to other people, they could download or even edit the […]
Compulsory MS Office training for North Carolina lawyers
The North Carolina State Bar is proposing attorneys get an hour of computer training, including Microsoft Office, as part of their annual Continuing Legal Education (CLE). Only one US State, Florida, has a computer component of their current CLE. Amazing! In Florida, lawyers have to get three hours of technical training every three years. That’s […]
PERCENTRANK Excel Functions
Excel has three PercentRank() functions to give you the percent ranking of a value in a list of numbers. It’s different from the Excel rankings we’ve discussed before, because this is a percentage or percentile ranking Let’s start with a simple example. There’s a list of values from 1 to 29 on the left. Column […]
Security bug patches in Office for May 2018
Another month, another set of security bugs in Microsoft Office. It’s Microsoft’s version of Groundhog Day. The May 2018 dump of patches involves 102 updates covering: Office versions from Office 2010 to the latest Office 2016 Core Office features Word Excel Sharepoint and Project server. Most people don’t need to do anything. Windows and Office […]
Make your own Word virus for $40
In case you thought making a Word or Excel virus attack was hard, think again. The ‘Rubella Macro Builder’ will sell you a DIY kit with updates for just US$40 a month. The virus maker will take you through the steps to make a hacked Word or Excel document that can infect a computer and […]
Choose vs VLOOKUP in Excel
It’s easy to get mixed up between two seemingly similar Excel functions – Vlookup() and Choose() . Here’s how to, er, choose between the two. Choose( index_num, value1, [value2], [value3].. ) lets you select one item from a list within the function. For example: Choose(2, “High”, “Middle”, “Low”) will return the second list item; “Middle”. […]
Checking a Word mail merge for bad names or test strings
In the UK there’s been a lot of laughs and some red faces about a money raising letter ‘signed’ by the Conservative Prime Minister to a ” Mr Youmustbe F*ckingjoking ” and sent to a pensioner. It’s easy to laugh but anyone who has done large mailings knows that it’s a case of “There but […]
Warning about *.doc and other wildcards for Office documents.
Will R. an Office-Watch.com reminded us of a trap when dealing with .doc and .docx files. “I opened a command prompt and did a del *.doc. Imagine my surprise when it deleted both .doc and .docx files (I have backups). ” Firstly, a teacher’s gold star plus wise owl stamp to Will for having backups! Yes, it’s […]
Truly exciting new Excel features … we really mean it
Options to easily import live data about stocks and locations into Excel are coming. Microsoft is uncharacteristically quiet about these new features and not using their usual hype. Microsoft is soft pedaling these features by talking about ‘new data types’ which sounds very dry and complicated. It looks more interesting when you see it in […]
