All about Microsoft Office Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook, Microsoft 365, Office 2021 and earlier versions.
PowerPoint video audio compression tricks and traps
PowerPoint offers compression embedded video and audio files, reducing the overall file size. But these options aren’t where you might expect to find them, aren’t selective and need to be used with care. There is compression option for media files (video or audio) to a suitable quality level and make it compact. This feature will […]
Import EML MSG and OFT files with Outlook (new)
The new Outlook for Windows can now import messages saved in single files as .eml .msg or .opt formats. Like most ‘new’ features in new Outlook for Windows, it’s really a catch-up feature to match something in the existing Outlook for Windows. All three formats are ways to save emails to single files containing the […]
The Outlook setting everyone should check
After setting up Outlook for Windows (classic) maybe your older messages aren’t showing up quickly? That might be because of a hidden default set to suit Microsoft which should be changed to benefit you. For most mailboxes (Outlook.com, Exchange Server etc) Outlook for Windows (classic) can synchronize a copy of some or all your messages, […]
In person vs virtual event option in Outlook
It’s possible to RSVP to an event or meeting and say whether they’ll be attending in the old fashioned way (aka “face to face”) or virtually. Look for an ‘in-person’ event option to appear just above the location line. An event can also be a Teams meeting, making it what Microsoft calls a ‘hybrid’ meeting. […]
Tag your In-person events in Outlook
Outlook can now mark the difference between a virtual and ‘in-person’ event in your calendar. It’s part of Microsoft’s “Hybrid” features intended for the modern world where people mix remote and in-office working. For any calendar event/appointment you might see a switch ‘In-Person Event’. Turn that on for any occasion where you’ll have a physical […]
Generative ‘Smart’ Erase returns to Designer
Smart or Generative Erase in Microsoft Designer has returned after an unexplained absence. Use it for graphics or just to fix a photo. Designers’ Generative Erase can remove people or objects from an image, replacing it with the surroundings. It does a good job doing something that, a few years ago, was only in high-end […]
Eye 👁 emoji in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
How to insert the Eye 👁 emoji into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Eye 👁 symbol is used for decoration “Look Here” or “See this”. Even as a fancy bullet point in Word or PowerPoint. How Eye 👁 looks in different fonts. Two Windows fonts […]
Better Bullets in Word with SVG Icons
Get better and more creative bullet lists in Word using an Icon or SVG graphic in Word or PowerPoint, you just have to be a little sneaky. Icons (Microsoft’s name for SVG graphics) would seem to be ideal for creative bullets. SVG’s can be resized, colored and adjusted without loss of quality. They are available […]
Get rid of Teams buttons from your Office ribbon
Teams button creep into Office and Outlook ribbons because Microsoft tries to promote itself. Here’s how to get rid of it or any other Office buttons you don’t want. Teams icons prominently appear on Office ribbons, like this one on the Outlook Calendar ribbon. or this with Meet Now video conferencing included as well. Or […]
Stop Teams opening at startup Windows or Mac
How to stop Microsoft Teams opening automatically when the computer starts – Windows or Mac. Microsoft wants to push their Teams software to as many people as possible. Part of that is making Teams (free or paid) really obvious or intrusive, depending on your point of view. Teams doesn’t take up a lot of resources […]
How to count unique items in an Excel PivotTable
Excel PivotTable can show a count of unique items if you know where to look. Handy to see the number of customers, products or students from a long data list. What is the count of unique customers who made purchases in each region? How many unique products were sold in each store? How many different […]
How to get the Office 2024 preview and why not to bother
Microsoft has released a preview version of Office 2024 LTSC. Here’s how to get it, what’s in the preview and why not to bother with the preview software. Office 2024 is the next fixed price or perpetual license version of Microsoft Office that will be released later this year. The newly released preview is for […]
Straighten handwriting in OneNote
OneNote for Windows can straighten handwritten, digital ink, text so it’s nicely even across the screen. We tested Straighten to see how it really works … and it’s not bad. Microsoft doesn’t provide a working example of straighten just a mockup with grey lines and nothing like the real OneNote interface. So we made our […]
Ink to Text tool in Microsoft 365 for Windows
Word, PowerPoint and OneNote 365 for Windows have digital ‘ink to text‘ feature to not only handwrite into documents but also edit text and add bullet or numbered lists. Ink to Text requirements Before we explain the new feature, we’ll detail the specific requirements of the new ‘Ink to Text’ Word feature. Microsoft buries these […]
Microsoft Office font spacing mystery and how to fix
A strange case of letter spacing with a Microsoft font showing differences between Word and PowerPoint. Here’s the anomaly with three possible fixes for it and similar situations. Office Watcher Paul B noticed this peculiar spacing between a fullstop/period and digit 1 with the Tenorite font. In PowerPoint, the two characters are very close together […]
Steganography used to hide Word and Excel attack
Computers are being infected with at least eight different viruses in an attack that uses steganography to hide nasty code in images linked from Word and Excel documents. But there’s good news for most Office users. Steganography is a way to hide text or code in an image or object. It’s a trick that’s been […]
