When Microsoft’s AI takes over, watch out
When Microsoft announced it was firing news human editors and replacing them with ‘Artificial Intelligence’, it was only a matter of time before the AI system would get it wrong. No-one expected it to happen so soon, even before all the humans had left the building. There’s a lesson in that for all Microsoft Office […]
What’s new in Office for Windows – May 2020
Some useful new features have now been rolled out to the public versions of Microsoft 365 (Office 365) for May 2020. Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook all have improvements. Two we’ve already told you about, the other is new. Stock Images, Cutout People and Stickers Or what Microsoft calls “New images to bring your documents […]
Recovering lost Word for Mac documents
If you’ve lost or accidently deleted a Word for Mac document (or Excel or PowerPoint) there are various places to look for it some might not occur to you. This article is also helpful if you’re trying to find and delete any files or documents that must be removed for privacy reasons. Time Machine MacOS […]
More Rounded Corner tricks for Office
Some more tricks for improving or fixing rounded corner boxes in Office. Change the corner angle or roundness even to a stadium shape. Alter the border line a little or a lot. Make a Word text box with rounded corners explains the basics of making the rectangular box into something with ‘soft’ corners. This article […]
‘Tell me’ help now in Mac Office 365 with the same limitations
‘Tell me’ help box is now in Microsoft/Office 365 for Mac as a way to find features on the ribbon. However it continues to have the same limitations that are in the Windows version. Look for the lightbulb and ‘Tell me’ box beside the ribbon tabs. Type in a phrase and Office will show relevant […]
PowerPoint’s ‘Zoom out’ animation option
PowerPoint has an option to ‘zoom out’ on a still image from a close-up view to a wider look at the same picture. It’s not a great option and Microsoft could make it a lot easier. Here’s how to do a ‘Zoom out’ on an image This is an endnote on our series about adding […]
PowerPoint Ken Burns Effect complete – part 3
We continue our look at the options for the ‘Ken Burns Effect’ in PowerPoint by combining the pan and zoom animation features into a complete effect. It adds interest and movement to a still image with two separate animation effects available, in part, in PowerPoint. Ken Burns Effect in PowerPointThe zoom in or zoom in/out […]
Pinned Save folders in Microsoft 365
Word, Excel and PowerPoint 365 for Windows are getting better control over what appears on the new-style Save dialog. Folders can be ‘pinned’ to always be show up in the list and a quick way to share a document. But a major annoyance remains unchanged. On the ‘Save this file’ dialog under Choose a location […]
Combined Drawing Tools in Word 365 and other Office programs
The Drawing Tools in Word 365 is now larger with separate tools like Lasso and Eraser now in a single combined gallery. There are other changes and new limitations on the Drawing Tools gallery, some of them undocumented. Compare that to the old Draw tab where the Lasso, Eraser and Add Pen were separate from […]
Pan across a still image in PowerPoint – Ken Burns effect part 2
Give a still image some interest and movement by adding a simple ‘pan’ animation across the photo. This continuing our look at making the Ken Burns or ‘pan and zoom’ effect in PowerPoint. We’ve already shown how to add a Zoom to a still photo – PowerPoint calls it ‘Grow/Shrink’. Now let’s look at the […]
Ken Burns Effect in PowerPoint
The ‘moving picture’ or Ken Burns effect can be done in PowerPoint for Windows or Mac. It converts a still image into a slowly moving ‘pan and zoom’ over the photo.. There are several ways to apply a ‘Ken Burns effect’ which we’ll explain starting with a very simple option which only takes a few […]
PowerPoint Background Animation or Ken Burns Effect in Mac only!
PowerPoint 365 for Mac has a background animation or ‘Ken Burns effect’ feature that’s not available in other PowerPoint’s. We have hidden tricks to improve Animate as Background beyond the simple defaults. Animate as Background adds a slow ‘zoom and pan’ effect to a still image, making it a moving ‘Ken Burns’ effect. We’ll show […]
Blur and Virtual Background choices for any online meeting
You can have a blurred or virtual background for any online video call, not just ones that have those in-built features. Zoom has blur and virtual background options. Teams is getting them with some limitations. Other online calling software either don’t have them or they are configured in different ways. What would be ideal is […]
Open multiple docs in Word or PowerPoint for iPad
It’s now possible to open two Word docs or PowerPoint decks side-by-side on an iPad. iOS has multiple window or side-by-side support already, but Word and PowerPoint didn’t allow more than one document open at a time. That meant you could have a Word document open alongside another app but not another Word doc. Now […]
X Æ A-12 in Microsoft Word and Office
Elon Musk and partner have named their child X Æ A-12 (no kidding) how do you type Æ in Microsoft Word and Office generally. The child’s name doesn’t trigger any spelling or grammar errors in Word. No squiggly lines. What is Æ ? Æ or æ is a a-e ligature that was used in English […]
Muting and other online call etiquette
Make online group calls better for you and others on the call. Muting, watching your look and the background. We’ll use Zoom as our example but the same etiquette applies to Teams, Meet, Facetime or any other group calls. Mute if you’re not speaking Group online calls are great but a horrible mess if everyone […]
