Sentence spacing in Word – one, two or don’t bother?
Is there one space or two between sentences? Word lets you check the sentence spacing or ignore it completely. It’s a useful option for those of us who learnt on manual typewriters where double sentence spacing was standard. Switching to single spacing is hard for your fingers to remember. One Space or Two People can […]
‘Punctuation required with quotes’ in Microsoft Word
‘Punctuation required with quotes’ is the most commonly changed Microsoft Word grammar and style setting. It checks is for the location of commas etc. when used with a quotation. Here’s two similar sentences to demonstrate: In US usage, the sentence punctuation mark go inside the quotation marks. In standard British /Commonwealth usage, the comma is outside […]
Why Word’s Alphabetical order is different from a dictionary
Which version of alphabetical order does Microsoft Word use? I thought that alphabetical order was, well, alphabetical order. That’s what I was taught at school and apparently I was taught wrong. There are at least three ways, two used by dictionaries, another by Microsoft and that’s for English alone! Reading Sue Butler’s delightful book ‘The Aitch […]
Sharing Outlook appointments – the right way
There’s a right way and wrong way to send invitations from Outlook. ” I tried your tip about sending calendar appointments to other people but it doesn’t work. I write an email invitation then add a calendar item. The receiver doesn’t see the Accept, Decline etc buttons above the message, instead they have to save […]
Outlook for Mac gets ‘View Source’ plus a big dose of humbug
Sometimes Microsoft gets over-enthusiastic about some ‘new’ feature. Other times they treat their customers like fools. Redmond chose the latter approach to promote a mere ‘catch up’ feature in Outlook for Mac. We were intrigued by this boast on an official Microsoft Twitter account about a new Outlook for Mac feature. “ Easily check to […]
Handwrite into docs on Office apps for iPad
Handwrite direct into Office apps for iPad, converting your writing into text right away, courtesy of the iOS Scribble feature. What you’ll need, how to setup and the new thing to look for on the Draw tab of the Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps. Microsoft has integrated the Scribble feature into some Office for iPad […]
Deceptive ads now in Outlook mobile apps
Microsoft is now showing deceptive, disguised ads into Outlook Mobile apps for Apple and Android. There are ways to, partly, get rid of the ads. The ads appear for people using the free Outlook mobile apps, not Microsoft 365 subscribers like this: The ads appear in the Inbox or the ‘Other’ messages if using the […]
Make transparent images in Office for Windows
Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 for Windows can make images transparent in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Text or other graphics can show through the picture. Pictures can be made transparent to reveal what’s behind in lower layers of the document, slide or worksheet. For any image go to Picture | Format | Adjust | […]
Get the Game of Thrones look in Word and PowerPoint
Here’s how to get the Game of Thrones or House of the Dragon look in Word documents and PowerPoint slides. Plenty of people have borrowed the Game of Thrones or GoT look, including a certain US President. All these uses are contrary to various trademarks by HBO. Despite legal complaints there are many ‘tip of […]
Why do old addresses remain in Outlook?
Old email addresses or people have an annoying habit of appearing in Outlook, even after you’ve deleted the address or person from the Contacts list. Here’s why obsolete emails keep appearing and how to remove these unwanted and dangerous strays. Here’s an example of Outlook’s problem with ‘sticky’ and unwanted addresses or names. Make a […]
Presidential passport details leaked – Outlook is blamed
Microsoft Outlook was blamed for a 2015 leak of passport details of world leaders, including President Obama, according to a report in The Guardian. Here’s what happened then, how it can still happen now and what you can do to avoid the same trap. The details where emailed to the wrong person by the Australian […]
Orthodox Cross ☦ in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type the Orthodox Cross ☦ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Orthodox Cross or Russian Othodox Cross ☦ symbol is widely seen in Russia and in particular the Russian Orthodox Church. There’s also a Christian or Latin Cross ✝ symbol available. How Orthodox Cross ☦ […]
Marriage Symbol ⚭ in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type the Marriage Symbol ⚭ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Marriage Symbol ⚭ symbol is two interlocked circles with obvious symbolism. It can be used for any situation you like, perhaps when two items or groups merge or an alternative bullet symbol. How Marriage […]
Latest Outlook 365 breaks receiving emails like Uber
A new embarrassment for Microsoft as they scramble to fix a bug in Outlook 365 for Windows which crashes when trying to display some emails, most commonly receipt emails from Uber. Office Watch goes into detail of this bug. It’s more serious than just blaming Uber for a bug in Office 365 for Windows. The […]
Office 2019 and Office 2016 losing important connections in 2023
Microsoft 365 services are stopping for Office 2019 and Office 2016 two years before their announced software end dates Microsoft is being especially cruel to Office 2019 customers. In October 2023 (i.e 14 months from now) services like Exchange Online, SharePoint Online, and OneDrive for Business will not be supported for connections from Office 2016 […]
Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Smiling Eyes 😄 emoji in Office
Type the Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Smiling Eyes 😄 into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Smiling Face with Open Mouth and Smiling Eyes 😄 emoji is used to express genuine joy, laughter, or excitement. It’s just one of the many ‘Smiling’ or ‘Grinning’ […]