All about Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Microsoft 365, Office 2021 and earlier versions.
Word’s Calculator tricks and problems
Word can do simple calculations because Word for Windows has its very own built-in calculator. Calculate in Word has some nice tricks but also problems and traps. Type a calculation, hit the button (see below) and the result appears in the status bar AND it’s loaded into the clipboard ready for pasting. Calculate is a […]
Word’s Hidden Calculator
You haven’t heard about it? Don’t worry, even Microsoft has no information about this feature, unless you dig way back into its archives where you’ll find that the calculator – which formerly held a prominent position on the Tools Menu – was driven underground in Word 6.0 to make way for the far more cumbersome, […]
Show currency in Excel with country and symbol
How to show currency amounts in Excel with the country and correct currency symbol included. Excel doesn’t support the standard way that different currencies are displayed with their country codes like this: Dig into the Accounting/Currency Formats and you’ll find these among a VERY long list of currency symbol options. All those options let you […]
Pantone’s 2025 color ‘Mocha Mousse’ in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Pantone’s color of the year for 2025 is “Mocha Mousse”. You can use that exact color in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and Designer using the Hex/RGB color code. And we’ll look at the flowery prose that’s become a hallmark of this annual promotion. The color of 2025 is … Mocha Mousse We make fun of […]
All you can do with PowerPoint Action Buttons
Action buttons in PowerPoint are versatile tools that bring interactivity and control to your presentations. By following a few simple steps, you can insert and customize these buttons to perform tasks such as navigating slides or opening external applications. Incorporating action buttons can greatly enhance audience engagement, making your presentation more dynamic and interactive. Whether […]
Make your own London Tube sign for Word or PowerPoint
The famous London Tube Roundel or station sign is easy to recreate for Word, PowerPoint or other Office apps. The best way to do this is SVG graphics in Microsoft 365, Office 2024/2021/2019/2016. SVG’s let you change the colors and set the text easily. They don’t have to be a railway sign. Use the roundel […]
UK Deal alert: save on Microsoft 365
Amazon UK have a great deal on Microsoft 365 Family. There’s a minor condition which is easily bypassed once you know the trick. Office Watcher, John F, let us know about this offer at Amazon UK. Alas, the original offer didn’t last long but the replacement deal is still worth considering. It’s a good price […]
An Excel shortcut that can speed (or confuse) your day
Enter the Ctrl + – (minus) shortcut in Excel. This powerful shortcut instantly deletes entire rows or columns without any confirmation. But there’s hidden trickery going on and some misleading info online. Ctrl + – is commonly said to “delete the selected row or column” but, as usual, the reality is more complicated. Some online […]
Why Microsoft’s “Connected Experiences” page is not an AI conspiracy
The idea that Microsoft is using Word, Excel or other documents to train their Copilot AI system won’t die. Let’s debunk one too often repeated myth about Office “Connected Experiences” which is not proof of a Microsoft conspiracy to steal customers work. We’ve gone into detail about what isn’t or might be used to train […]
How to look inside an Office document
Dig into a Microsoft Office document file, such as Word, Excel, or PowerPoint, and see its inner workings, here’s a straightforward method. It reveals the small files that comprise an Office document, mostly XML files, which you can easily explore with a text editor. Very occasionally it’s helpful or necessary to dig into the structure […]
Is Microsoft using your data to train Copilot AI – the facts
Social media is full of allegations that Microsoft is spying on customers Word and Excel documents to train their Copilot AI system. Here’s the facts and the ‘gotchas’ that Microsoft leaves unanswered. In this article we’ll go into the possibility of Microsoft ‘spying’ on customers. We’ll start with a summary then dig into the details […]
How to turn off Copilot model training
Microsoft provides almost useless instructions on how to stop your data being used for Copilot AI model training. Here’s how it really works. Like all AI companies, Microsoft uses the interactions with their Copilot system to help improve its responses. That’s called “model training”. Some people, understandably, don’t want their personal or business AI queries […]
Beware Black Friday Scams on Microsoft 365 and Office
Black Friday means many software deals, on Microsoft 365 and especially Microsoft Office. Here’s how to navigate the treacherous waters of Black Friday sales and ensure you get genuine products without falling prey to fraudulent offers and scams. Recognizing Too-Good-To-Be-True Deals It’s easy to be tempted by offers that seem too good to pass up. […]
Deal Alert for Aussie Microsoft 365 users
Australian Microsoft 365 customers have a chance to extend their Family or Personal plan for near the old price, before the recent price hikes. As part of the trial of Copilot with Microsoft 365 Family/Personal, prices in some countries rose by 20-30% overnight. See Copilot comes to Microsoft 365 with many limits and a high […]
Microsoft outage shows how vulnerable the new Outlook is
The latest major Microsoft server outage has shown how vulnerable the new Outlook for Windows is to any breakdown at Microsoft. Outlook (new) is the replacement for the Outlook (classic) for Windows that comes with Microsoft 365 and Office plans. Though the two look similar, Outlook (new) is very different ‘under the hood’ and relies […]
How to add Bates Numbering to Word documents
Bates Numbering is tricky in Word. We’ll explain how to add this special numbering system to Word documents and why it’s not recommended in most situations. What is Bates Numbering? Bates Numbering is a way to add a fixed number or serial number system to each page of a document. It’s often used in legal, […]
