All about Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Microsoft 365, Office 2021 and earlier versions.
Converting Google Slides to PowerPoint
Google Slides can be handy for sharing and working on presentations with other people, but sometimes you just really need that file in PowerPoint. No problem – it’s actually really easy to convert them. All you have to do is download the file and save it as a PowerPoint file. If the Google Slides File is Open If you have your Google Slides file open, just go to […]
Microsoft revises Clippy history
Microsoft tries to rewrite history on Clippy. It wasn’t their fault, it was us customers! According to this fiction, there was nothing wrong with Clippy but it was ‘ahead of it’s time’ and customers didn’t understand. That’s complete nonsense. Anyone who used Office 97 knows that. Business Insider reports on comments by Microsoft on Clippy […]
April 2020 Office security bug fixes
Microsoft has released about 113 security bug fixes for Windows and Office in their April 2020 dump of patches on ‘Patch Tuesday’. The main change is a block on external references in VBA code, a change that hasn’t been fully documented. These security fixes will be pushed out via Windows Update in the usual way. […]
No change to Office end-of-support dates
Microsoft is being stubborn about the ‘end of life’ deadlines for Office 2010 and Office 2016 for Mac, insisting that both will stop support in six months as planned. That’s in contrast to Windows which has delayed the end of support dates for some versions of Windows 10 to help everyone coping with the unique […]
Three-day Aussie breakdown of Outlook.com
Over Easter there was a three day serious breakdown in Outlook.com for Australian users among many. The problems were first acknowledged by Microsoft about 1pm Sydney time on Saturday 11 April and continued for around three days! Mostly Aussies were affected with pockets of trouble in Europe and USA. A three-day outage is bad at […]
April 2020 updates for Office come with a warning
The April 2020 security fixes for Microsoft Office come with a warning that some VBA code will stop working. There are workarounds to let some references through. The KB4557055 security fix blocks VBA references that link to Internet or intranet sources or have been downloaded from the Internet. That will effect some Office/VBA code which […]
Text Spacing tricks for better PowerPoint slide titles
PowerPoint includes quick access to character spacing features that make slide titles stand out. In PowerPoint there are two useful features to make a slide title jump out at the viewer. Character Spacing is quickly changed on the Home tab. More subtle is Kerning. When it comes to Design, and clarity in Design, Space is almost as important as Content. This is also true when […]
Make coloring in pictures using Office to make an outline
Modern Microsoft Word (Office) has some picture tools which can convert an image into an outline that kids can use for coloring in. We’ll be the first to admit, the image to outline options aren’t great but they are serviceable, quick and easily done with tools you have in Microsoft Word. Print the outline version […]
Sending and Receiving faxes without a fax machine
It is possible to send and receive faxes without a fax machine. At least you can send a fax from your computer without a fax machine because there are online services to do that for you. We’ve noticed some press reports were overwhelmed offices have reverted to faxes because their web systems have broken down. […]
Great price on Office 365 Home in the UK
Amazon UK are selling Office 365 Home for very near their lowest price, saving ₤28 on the usual price. As we type this, the price is ₤51.09 here. That’s as good as you’re likely to get. Microsoft will sell you exactly the same thing for ₤79.99! That’s the Home (soon to be Microsoft 365 Family) […]
Microsoft 365 licences, are you paying too much and for too many?
A new report suggest that many organizations are paying too much for Microsoft 365 (Office 365). The same might apply to some individuals with Microsoft 365 Family/Home. The Coreview report identifies three costly mistakes with Microsoft 365 licencing. Buy too many licenses; ‘err on the side of caution’. Not assigning inactive licenses to new users, […]
Subtle effects with Snap Camera – beyond the potato
Snap Camera is a way to ‘fancy up’ your webcam with fancy effects including the now infamous potato. There are other subtle effects that will work with Zoom, Skype, Teams or any other online calling service. Also a color slider inside some lens effects. Get Snap Camera from https://snapcamera.snapchat.com/ it’s free for Windows and Mac. […]
Lighting, positioning and other tips for your online calls
Some lighting, positioning and other tips for looking your best and more professional during an online call or meeting. Where to put the camera The camera should be about the same level at the top of your head then tilted down a little to your eyes. In other words, have the camera looking down to […]
Add the Indian Flag into Word, Excel or PowerPoint
Find and add the Indian flag into Office documents, Word, Excel or PowerPoint, then use some Office picture tools to enhance the image. The same help applies for any other national flag, just look for a different source. Get the Indian Flag Image There are many, many copies of the Indian flag available. We’ve opted for the Wikipedia site because it […]
Gradient and Rainbow Picture Borders in Word and PowerPoint
Word and PowerPoint allow you to not only put a colored border around a picture, instead try a pretty gradient effect for single color or multi-colored rainbow effects. Like most of the fancier border effects, you can access gradient border settings in the Format Picture pane, by going to Picture Format | Picture Border | […]
Free sign to keep in touch with customers while in lockdown
Many café, restaurants and other businesses are closed due to the pandemic but still missing an opportunity to keep in touch with customers. Here’s a sign and tips to help recover when restrictions are lifted. There’s a lovely café near us which has closed for the duration. It would be nice to know when it […]
