All about Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Microsoft 365, Office 2021 and earlier versions.
Bald Eagles aplenty in Microsoft Office
There are ten different bald eagles in Microsoft Office alone, as icons, stock images or even a 3D model, plus many other sources for photos and graphics online. We’re focusing here on the bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus) which is native to North America and a US National Symbol. There are many collective nouns for eagles …. […]
Why Microsoft’s slow hacking notices should worry everyone
Microsoft is slowly and discreetly notifying customers who have had their data hacked, more than SIX months after the theft occurred. Even the email notice was poorly worded so some people thought it was a fake. Their response should worry everyone who uses their cloud services. Back in 2023 Microsoft’s systems were hacked by a […]
Outlook for Windows gets a name change, at last
Outlook for Windows is about to become Outlook (classic). We’ll explain why the change is necessary and should have happened last year. The current Outlook for Windows is being renamed “Outlook (classic)” or more properly “Outlook (classic) for Windows”. That will properly distinguish it from the new, still in development, Outlook (new). Despite being a […]
Will Microsoft 365 stop working if the plan is not paid?
How long will Microsoft let you use Microsoft 365 if you don’t pay by the due date? Will the subscription service just stop on the due date or is there a ‘grace period’. We wondered how patient Microsoft would be if a Microsoft 365 Business plan wasn’t paid by the due date? So we held […]
See the world’s top companies in Excel
In Excel 365 you can list the world’s top companies and their market capitalizations including the shortlived leader, NVIDIA. NVIDIA have a lock on the supply of AI related hardware and so their stock price has dramatically risen. ‘Dramatic’ is an understatement because NVIDIA briefly jumped over Microsoft and Apple to become the world’s largest […]
Add Video background to text, objects in PowerPoint
It’s easy to get a video background to a shape, graphic or text in a PowerPoint slide, once you know the ‘secret sauce’. Here’s two examples we’ll show how to make in this article. One uses an Icon/SVG, the other is text, both with a video background. There are various ‘how to’ guides on the […]
Don’t Fall for This Fake Microsoft Email Scam
Here’s the latest example of a fake Microsoft email that slips past their anti-virus and security checks to end up in a Microsoft 365 mailbox. It might look like a real email at first glance but it’s not. The big clue to us was “Office 365” which is a name Microsoft rarely uses these days […]
Copilot comes to some Outlook for Windows
Outlook (classic) for Windows is getting Copilot AI features but only some people will get the summarizing, draft, rewrite and coaching benefits. You might have seen the news that the current Outlook 365 for Windows is getting Copilot but few mentioned the crucial detail that Microsoft put in the fine print. Before we explain what […]
Mobile Phone 📱 emoji in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
How to insert the Mobile Phone 📱 or smartphone emoji into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. How Mobile Phone 📱 symbol looks in different fonts. The mobile phone emoji is available in these standard Windows fonts: Segoe UI Emoji and Segoe UI Symbol. Not surprisingly, […]
Join Tables with Excel Power Query
Excel’s PowerQuery has many clever tricks, one of them is merging and matching data from multiple tables into a single table. Combine, clean, and transform data from multiple sources into the single format you need; a table, PivotTable or PivotChart It’s a simple relational database with relations set to match up the rows in each […]
Busting the myth about Two-Factor Authentication
Don’t fall for the myth that’s stopped you from more secure online accounts. For some years we’ve been banging on about Two-Factor Authentication. ‘2-fac’ is one of the main protections against online hacking and identity theft. Savvy online users have 2Fac for their main online accounts: Microsoft/Office 365 account, Google. Facebook, banking and especially any […]
New Windows 11 option: Update both Windows and Office
A new Windows 11 option will let you update Windows, Microsoft Office and other Microsoft apps at the same time. Is it such a good idea? In the latest Windows 11 Insiders there’s a new choice “Receive updates for other Microsoft products” which defaults on. Find it at Settings | Windows Update | Advanced options. […]
Transform a photo with Restyle Image in Designer
Ever wanted to make a drawing from a photo? Now you can with a new Microsoft Designer feature “Restyle Image”. It turns any photo into an image in a variety of styles. “Restyle Image” lets you upload a photo, choose a drawing style and then the Designer AI system will mash to two together to […]
What’s in and out of the new Microsoft 365 Basic
There’s a fairly new Microsoft product called Microsoft 365 Basic featuring 100GB of OneDrive and a 50GB mailbox for under US$20 a year. There’s a hidden opportunity for anyone with non-subscription Office 2021/2019 too. What’s in Microsoft 365 Basic Stripping away all the hype and marketing blurb, the Basic plan has two main elements: There’s […]
How to select more than one Office document to open
How to choose more than one Microsoft Office file or document to open at the same time. One of the frustrations about the ‘pane’ interface in Office for Windows is the failure to include all the features that customers were accustomed to from the standard File dialog boxes. Microsoft added new and useful features like […]
Rose 🌹 emoji in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
How to insert a Rose 🌹 emoji, symbol or icon into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Use the Rose 🌹 symbol on a romantic card, PowerPoint slide or anywhere that needs a flower icon. How Rose 🌹 looks in different fonts. Two standard Windows fonts have […]
