Project Monarch is now called just Outlook
Microsoft’s attempt at making a version of Outlook entirely as a web application is continuing but is now called just ‘Outlook’. Like we don’t have enough different ‘Outlook’ products already. Outlook is Microsoft’s name for all email/calendar/contacts software and services, often without clear distinction between each one. Project Monarch is an attempt to make an […]
Stop or change new email notifications from Outlook
New email notifications in Outlook can be quite distracting, especially in Windows. Here’s how to stop them or change the notices to make them less distracting and suit you better. Or just change the new email sound to something you prefer. The default email notification appears in the bottom right corner. If you’re trying to […]
Meet Now buttons where you need them in Outlook
Outlook 365 for Windows has a Meet Now button on the calendar views, why not elsewhere? Meet Now is Microsoft’s calling & meeting service. It’s officially part of Teams but is getting a life of its own for computer-to-computer calling and online meetings by individuals. It has features like screen sharing and chat which are […]
Beware the Mackenzie Scott (Bezos) scam email
It was predicable that the Bezos divorce would lead to scam emails pretending to come from the former Mrs Bezos, now Mackenzie Scott. Mackenzie Scott is now the fourth richest woman in the world, following the divorce settlement with the Amazon founder. Though show might not hold that position for long as she gives away […]
Immersive Reader coming to Outlook for Windows
Immersive Reader, already in Word, is coming to Outlook 365 for Windows. It’ll help people who have trouble reading on the screen or more generally. It’s part of Microsoft’s Accessibility drive to make Office documents available to as many people as possible. With Immersive Reader, an Outlook email is reformatted to a narrower column, background […]
How to type the Ghana Cedi symbol
How to type Ghana Cedi currency character in Windows or Office, especially Word. After our article about inserting Numero and other symbols into Office – trust an Office Watch reader to find a character not available in a supplied Windows / Office font: ” The currency in Ghana is the Cedi. The symbol used is […]
Email invoice scams, protect yourself and don’t lose money
A sad story from rural Australia where a local netball group lost AU$150,000 (US$115,000) when they were tricked into paying an invoice to the wrong bank account, one run by cyber-hackers. Here’s what happened and how to protect money you’re responsible for. The volunteers didn’t know their email accounts had been hacked, giving criminals enough […]
Find your place in the company with Outlook’s Org Explorer
Org Explorer is a new part of Outlook for Windows that shows where you fit in an organization. Who is ‘above’ and ‘below’ or near your place in the company? For Microsoft 365 hosted accounts, Org Explorer appears on the Home tab, on the right-side under the Find chunk. Microsoft says the new app is […]
Useful shared calendar improvements in Outlook
Microsoft Outlook is in the final stages of a major improvement in the ‘plumbing’ behind synchronizing calendars across an organization. Leaving aside a particularly outrageous Redmond boast, the changes are welcome enhancements. Outlook and Exchange Server can have difficulties coping with fast changing appointment and meeting arrangements. When several people are editing a shared event […]
Make Google Maps work with Outlook appointments
Google Maps is invaluable for getting around, especially in an unknown city. Corporate rivalry means there’s no proper integration between Microsoft Outlook and Google Maps There’s not even a mapping button in the Outlook appointments view. Contacts have a ‘Map it’ button but not ‘Location’ in an appointment – for reasons passing understanding. Our workaround […]
Microsoft’s mistake sends Outlook messages to Junk Email
Microsoft’s Exchange Server system had another snafu late last week, for a few hours all Inbox messages were sent to Junk Email instead! The problem affected users of Microsoft 365 mail hosting. It was caused by a ‘change’ that was applied to Exchange Server hosted by Microsoft. As with other times, the update had unforeseen […]
It only costs $2k for a Microsoft Office hack
For just US$2,000 you can buy a way to hack into a computer via Microsoft Office. All you need to make your own malware is the money and a willing seller on the dark web. A recent survey by Trend Micro and reported by Dark Reading searching posts that advertised software exploits that hackers use […]
Outlook now shows most recent login
Outlook 365 for Windows is getting an important security reminder, a message showing the last time someone logged into that account. Most Recent Login messages are a little security feature. It shows when and where the last sign-in to that account happened. A glance at that might be your first hint that someone has hacked […]
Drawing in all sorts of places Microsoft Office apps
Microsoft has been getting serious about drawing features in Office so we thought it was time to look at what’s available and possible across all the Office applications. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and some nice drawing stuff in OneNote Once upon a time, drawing onto a Word document or Excel worksheet was only possible with a […]
Share Draft Outlook emails on Apple, Android and desktop
Make a draft email on a phone or tablet (maybe some quick notes) to later revise and send from Outlook for Windows/Mac. Once that was a problem but not any more, as long as you’re using Outlook mobile apps. Syncronizing the Drafts folder is really useful. You can write a partial message or reply on […]
Faster ways to Outlook’s Choose Forms or Templates
Getting to Outlook Forms and Templates is a hassle, hidden deep down in the menus. It’s possible to bypass all those clicks and open the Choose Form dialog directly and even a specific library. See Email templates give you faster messages in Outlook The published way to access templates and forms is long-winded, Home | […]