Great PowerPoint heading with picture fill
Adding a picture to PowerPoint text background look great and is easier than you might think. Even better, are many hidden options to adjust the image and position it exactly as you want. Curious about how to create text effects like in the image below? Look no further—if you have PowerPoint, you can easily do […]
Straight lines and neater drawn shapes in Office
If you’ve used OneNote recently, you’re probably aware of the feature allowing you to draw shapes and make lines straight. Then Word for Windows got “Draw and Hold”. Now Excel and PowerPoint can draw straight lines and draw neat shapes (circle, square and more). We’ll explain how it works and how it’s different to the similar […]
Office 2024 is now on sale
The new version of Microsoft Office 2024 is now on sale to the general public all around the world. This is the ‘perpetual licence’ or single purchase release with no subscription fee. Office 2024 is now available direct from Microsoft.com and some retailers at the same prices as Office 2021. See All about Office 2024 […]
Famous logos with the fonts they use
Ever wondered what font is used in a famous logo? There’s a fascinating collection of familiar brands with their names replaced with the font name. Emanuele Abrate has made Logofonts, for example the Starbucks logo with the font name, FreightSans Black. Nike uses Futura. WhatsApp with HelveticaNeue. YouTube uses AlternativeGothic and Instagram has Billabong. Once […]
How to correctly spell Brontë in Microsoft Word with the diaresis
An 85-year-old blunder has just been fixed at Westminster Abbey to change the spelling to Brontë with the important diaresis. Here’s how to type an ë in Word and other matters arising. Here’s how the memorial to the Brontë sisters looked in Poets Corner until a few days ago. For 85 years this memorial, seen […]
Audio tricks and traps in PowerPoint
There are plenty of audio and music options available in PowerPoint if you want to give your audience a break from your voice. We’ll go beyond the simple ‘adding music’ help to give some practical advice for audio in presentations: You will find the audio basics at Insert | Media | Audio Choose a music/audio file […]
Add genuine BBC Sound Effects to PowerPoint
The BBC has a great collection of over 16,000 sound effects that you can add to your PowerPoint presentations. Use them as a trigger sound for a click on a presentation, as a novel background noise or even an alert sound on your computer or smartphone. Sound Effects Galore Exploring the 16,000 sound effects available […]
Microsoft Office and the “Dialog from Hell”
A short video which brings up some interesting points in the early development history of Microsoft Office, some might surprise you. Microsoft Office started as separately sold products (Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook) and only gradually did they become an integrated package with shared components, consistent interface and some interconnections. See the whole video on […]
Great macOS Sequoia features for Office users
The latest version of the macOS for Apple Mac computers, Sequoia v15, is out now. Here’s a few features and settings that might interest Microsoft Office users plus a few tips from real use of macOS Sequoia. macOS Sequioa is available now and works quite well for us. More cautious people might want to wait […]
Copilot Wave 2 – watch out for the fine-print
A new collection of Copilot features have been released under the banner “Wave 2” with inclusions for Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, Word and Teams. Don’t get too excited because there’s ‘fine print’ that limits who can catch this wave. Before we explain a little of what’s in the new set of Copilot features, let’s look at […]
Pay less for Microsoft 365 with the Workplace Discount Program
The Workplace Discount Program (formerly Home Use Program) offers 30% discounts on Microsoft 365 to employees of many organizations and government agencies. Here’s how the Workplace Discount Program (WDP) works, the tricks and traps. What is the Workplace Discount Program – WDP? Organizations (companies, governments etc.) that have Microsoft 365 volume licenses can get Software […]
Koalas galore in Microsoft Office
We went hunting for koalas in Microsoft Office. Found more than 18 of the cuddly marsupials for Word, PowerPoint or Outlook. There are emoji, Office icons, SVG, online images and more making a colony or cling of koala (either can be the collective noun for koala). None of the endangered species where harmed in the […]
Office crashes while typing – the problem and workaround
Microsoft 365 for Windows might crash while someone is just typing (you read that right). All the Office apps, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook or OneNote can be affected according to Microsoft, which knows about the problem and offers some workarounds. The problem is caused by an out-of-date language pack which has all the spelling and […]
Quicker ways to Zoom in Microsoft Office
There are quicker ways to use the View Zoom slider in Microsoft Word and one little-known trick that works in other Microsoft Office apps, Excel and PowerPoint. Plus a related Windows volume tip. Scroll to View Zoom Hover the mouse pointer over the Zoom slider (bottom right in Word, Excel and PowerPoint) then use the […]
British Isles, United Kingdom etc. explained in a simple diagram
Understanding the difference between the United Kingdom, Britain, and England can be quite confusing. Here are some “simplified” “diagrams that might clarify things. Use this or make a SmartArt version for your PowerPoint or Word document. The late Michael Flanders had warning about usage of the terms. If it’s something good then it’s “Another triumph for Great […]
BBC TV backgrounds for PowerPoint and online meetings
The BBC has released some high-quality images from their famous TV shows to be used as online meeting backgrounds or in PowerPoint slides. Pick from Doctor Who (old or new), Fawlty Towers, Yes Minster, Match of the Day, Eastenders and more. Consider using these BBC TV backgrounds in PowerPoint for a unique touch. Called ‘The […]
