Get the Pillars of Creation on your computer or slide
The latest from the James Webb Telescope is wonderful, a new look at the “Pillars of Creation”. A photo from 6,500 light years away which you can add to your computer or PowerPoint slide in seconds from the original source. The image has appeared on many web sites at reduced sizes and resolutions. Far better […]
Ten Microsoft announcements in brief
Last week Microsoft made a series of announcements of new and changed features in Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365. Here’s a brief roundup of what the main ten promises and what they mean for you (if anything). The important word is ‘announcement’. Almost all the statements are about future arrivals, not available now. A lot […]
Microsoft Office and Oreos combine with Clippy – no joke
If you thought the modern world could not get any stranger, we’ve got bad news. Microsoft Office and Oreos (the chocolate cookie) have combined for a marketing stunt with online events (sorry “snack breaks”), special packs, tchotchke and emoji. Poor old Clippy has been dragged in as well. On the practical side, we’ll show how […]
Merge or Split cells in Word and PowerPoint tables
Combine or divide adjacent Microsoft Word or PowerPoint table cells into a merged single cell or split a cell in two. Welcome to ‘Merge Cells’ where you can combine adjacent cells into a single cell. It’s very handy for table formatting tricks and other unusual situations like a longer than common text label. Or a […]
Yen ¥ symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type the Yen ¥ currency symbol into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Yen is used for Japanese currency and the Chinese Renminbi / Yuan. Microsoft Excel also offers the Yen symbol for Mongolia even though the tögrög currency uses another symbol. ¥ symbol is easy […]
PowerPoint ending slide ideas
More ideas and a wish list for ending a PowerPoint presentation with a different slide. After our article on the ending slide options for PowerPoint, Vivian from the UK writes: “… it’s really very easy to do what I always do at the end of PPT presentations. Just add a new blank slide – which […]
Avoid the black slide at the end of a PowerPoint slideshow
The blank black slide which appears usually at the end of a slideshow is a default setting in PowerPoint. But it can be changed. The blank black slide which appears usually at the end of a slideshow is a default setting in PowerPoint. But it can be changed. Open PowerPoint 365, PowerPoint 2021 back to […]
Murphy Brown look in Word or PowerPoint
Recreate the Murphy Brown TV show’s look as a design inspiration for Word and PowerPoint – the fonts, colors and lines. You may not want to use the exact look of the Murphy Brown title card, but it’s a starting point for design variations of your own. We’ll show how to make a similar look […]
Change default slide number in PowerPoint
How to change the PowerPoint slide numbering to a different start number. In PowerPoint, slides are numbered by default from 1 but that’s not always what you need. For example, you’re working on some slides which are just part of a set of slides eg. working on slides from number 15 to 20 separately. To […]
Record Narration and Timings in PowerPoint
In PowerPoint you can record narration and comments during or after a slideshow. This makes the presentation more interesting and interactive. This feature is especially useful when you convert presentation to video. With narration the video would seem complete and the process of doing this is quite simple and easy. This feature is available in […]
Powerpoint: make your mouse like a Laser Pointer
One of the eye-catching features since PowerPoint 2010 right up to PowerPoint 365 is turning your mouse into a virtual laser pointer. A ‘laser pointer’ transforms the boring mouse pointer to something striking and easier to see on the screen. This is especially useful while delivering presentations as it eliminates the need to carry additional […]
What are .tmp files in MS Office document folders?
If you look in folders that contain Office documents (Word, Excel, PowerPoint) you might see the occasional .tmp file. What are they? Could they be useful? How to look inside. Can they be safely deleted? The quick answers are: probably Word or Office document remnants, could be handy to recover a lost document but otherwise […]
File menu change for the better in Office 365
A small but very welcome change to the File menu in Office 365 for Windows to handle the overflow at the bottom of the window. It’s one of those changes that Microsoft doesn’t promote or even mention. Maybe because it’s quite small or perhaps because it fixes an embarrassing design flaw. The File menu scrolled […]
Easily apply the same picture format to many images in Word or PowerPoint
Here’s how to apply the same formatting, borders and picture styles to more than one picture or graphic in Word, PowerPoint or Excel. There’s an unexpected and easy way to do it. Picture Format tools don’t have custom styles (Microsoft please note) only the in-built pre-sets. If you want to apply the same formatting to […]
PowerPoint and video – worth another try
PowerPoint has supported video within slides for many versions. Like many things in Office, the promises took many years to become a practical and easy reality. Here’s how to try again … with PowerPoint 2013 or 2016 for Windows. Easy Video Insert On a blank slide you’ll see the insert icons and there’s one to […]
Reference Mark ※ in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Put the Reference Mark ※ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Reference Mark ※ or reference symbol is used in Asian writing (Chinese, Japanese, Korean) like the Asterix * in western languages. It marks some additional notes to text. It’s called komejirushi (Japan) , chamgopyo (Korea) or […]
