Turn on or off the new look Office 365 for Windows
The new look Office 365 (and Office 2021) is coming. For the moment you might have the option to try it or not. Here’s how. Look for the megaphone If a megaphone appears on an Office app title bar, you can try the new look Office for Windows. Click on the icon to open the […]
2001: A Space Odyssey and font kerning
We’ve looked at design and typography in 2001: A Space Odyssey and how to use the ‘2001’ look in Microsoft Office. Two readers asked about some curious kerning in our version of the title font.Maybe you’re not interested in the fine detail of the text in a fifty year old film? Fair enough. We’re going […]
Grabbing audio only from online sources like YouTube
There are many ways to add common sound effects and background music to your PowerPoint videos. But what if you wanted audio from an online source like YouTube? You can copy from online to an audio file, save it to your computer then link into a slide deck. There are many tools to ‘rip’ a video with audio from YouTube that’s against the YouTube terms […]
Up Down Arrow ↕ symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type the Up Down Arrow ↕ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Up Down Arrow ↕ symbol is a vertical line with arrowheads on both ends, pointing up and down. How Up Down Arrow ↕ looks in different fonts. Here’s some examples of how Up Down Arrow ↕ looks in common Office fonts. Up Down Arrow ↕ codes These are the […]
Pantone 2022 color in your Word, Excel and PowerPoint
Pantone has announced their “Color of the Year” for 2022 and, as usual, we’ll explain how to use those exact colors in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. For 2022, the new color will also be appearing in Microsoft products with a nice PowerPoint template with extra color palettes. The color of 2022 is … Very […]
Black Chess Queen ♛ symbol in Word, PowerPoint and Office
Insert the Black Chess Queen ♛ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Black Chess King ♛ symbol is useful for users that want to represent the chess piece as a symbol, rather than an image. Or just a generic crown icon. How Black Chess Queen ♛ looks in different fonts. Examples of how Black Chess Queen ♛ looks in common […]
Action Pen is editing by drawing in Microsoft Word
The Ink Editor button in Word 365 has gone, replaced with the ‘Action Pen’ on the Draw tab in Word 365. Some of the ink gestures have quietly changed since the original release of the Action Pen. The ‘Action Pen’ is now on right-side of the Draw tab | Drawing Tools. The Word 365 for […]
Who and how to get the new look Office for Windows
The gradual rollout of the new look Office for Windows (Microsoft 365 and Office 2021) continues. More users, but not all, can now try the revamped Office interface. We’ve had a lot of feedback from Office Watchers about the new look. Some approve, others definitely don’t. Some users are eager to try the new look […]
Approximately Equal To ≅ symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Type the Approximately Equal To ≅ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Approximately Equal To ≅ symbol with a curvy line above the usual = symbol is commonly used within Mathematics to refer to approximate equality between two values, congruence or isomorphism. Not to […]
Thunderbirds are go, get the look in Word and Office
Thunderbirds are go! They live on in Microsoft Office, ready to serve as a retro look in your Word documents or PowerPoint slides. The passing of Gerry Anderson was sad news. Mr Anderson enthralled millions of kids (and more than a few adults) with his groundbreaking shows like Captain Scarlet and the Mysterons, UFO and, […]
Add opening and closing music for a PowerPoint presentation
Would you like some music to play before your PowerPoint ‘show’ begins? Most people do this by playing music separately from PowerPoint then clumsily switching over when they start speaking. There’s a better way. The more elegant method is adding repeating music to an opening slide. Add the audio file then change these options on the ribbon at […]
Play audio only when clicked on a PowerPoint slide
Audio on a PowerPoint slide can be played when you click on the audio icon on a slide. Choose the audio icon then on the Playback pane, choose Start: when clicked on. You can have multiple audio tracks on a slide, each one plays when you click. This slide has two sound effects for either a correct or […]
Inside the new look and defaults in Office 365
The look of Microsoft Office 365 for Windows is changing with new features beyond the simple design changes. Here’s what you can do with the new look, mostly changes to the Quick Access Toolbar and important changes to Office default settings. Note: what you see in Office 365 might not match our description. The Office […]
Approximately Equal or image of ≒ in Word and Office
How to insert the Approx Equal or the image of symbol ≒ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Approximately Equal To or the Image Of ≒ symbol is commonly used Japan, Korea and Taiwan to indicate two values are approximately equal, but not exactly equal. How Approximately Equal ≒ looks in different fonts. Here are some examples […]
Common Sound effects for PowerPoint
A PowerPoint presentation sometimes needs that extra oomph, such as an occasional sound effect. Here are a few common ones that you’ve heard from movies and TV shows. You can use them as a trigger sound, or novel background noise. It’s all about the sounds: Wilhelm Scream – stock sound effect used in several TV shows and movies, originally from the […]
How to download YouTube videos
PowerPoint videos have more options and work better if they aren’t streamed from an online source like YouTube. How can you copy an online video to a separate video file, saved on your computer? To download or ‘rip’ a YouTube video, you have to enter the world of YouTube downloading. It’s possible to save a […]
