All about Diaeresis or Umlaut in Microsoft Word
How to typing words with a diaeresis or umlaut in Word for Windows, Mac, Apple or Android plus the shortcuts on Mac computers. They aren’t normally needed in English except some organizations that require diaeresis for words like: naïve coöperate reëlectBrontëNoëlNoël Coward Or you might be typing in another language where the umlaut makes a difference to […]
Hiding stuff in Word, Excel and PowerPoint
We’ve completed our series on ‘Hidden’ options in Word, Excel and PowerPoint. How to hide text, images, cells, slides etc within documents. Hiding is a useful option and avoids deleting content that might be needed later. It lets you make a different version of a document/sheet/deck without the hassle of maintaining two very similar documents. […]
Automatically Update Document Styles in Microsoft Word
Deep in Microsoft Word is the choice “Automatically Update Document Styles“. What does that do and which documents are affected? There are several similarly worded options to do with ‘Style’ and ‘Automatic’ so let’s be clear … we’re talking about File | Options | Add-ins | Manage | Templates | Go | Templates and Add-ins […]
Apple command ⌘ symbol in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
The Apple command ⌘ symbol can be typed into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. Apple command ⌘ symbol appears on Mac and iPad keyboards but only as a command option, not as a symbol to type. The ⌘ symbol predates Apple computers. It’s a ‘PLACE […]
Great Periodic Table documents for Microsoft Office
There are some great and editable Periodic Table of Elements options available in Microsoft Office – Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint slides There are many Periodic Table ‘documents’ on the net but most are PDF’s or images that can’t be changed. We’re looking for editable Word documents and Excel worksheets that you can adapt, […]
Word got a To-Do list … but not for long
After more than a decade of apathy, Word users were supposed to get a document To Do list feature. In 2018 Microsoft listened to customers – but not for long. Update: Word’s To Do list ended up as a ‘dead end’. The feature appeared in Word 365 beta/Insiders releases in late 2018 but was dropped […]
North West/Top Left Arrow ↖ in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook
Insert the North West or Top Left Arrow ↖ into Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. Both in Office for Windows and Office for Mac. North West Arrow ↖ or “Top Left Arrow” can be used for directions on a map (naturally) or pointing to ‘top left’ in a Word / PowerPoint table or Excel […]
Six workarounds when your keyboard breaks
Your deadline is in four hours, you’ve got pages to write and BAM! a letter key breaks on your keyboard …. What do you do? There are at least six different workarounds available in Word, Windows and Mac. A broken key happened to Colin Chambers, a University of Buffalo student when a drink spilled on […]
Sentence spacing in Word – one, two or don’t bother?
Is there one space or two between sentences? Word lets you check the sentence spacing or ignore it completely. It’s a useful option for those of us who learnt on manual typewriters where double sentence spacing was standard. Switching to single spacing is hard for your fingers to remember. One Space or Two People can […]
‘Punctuation required with quotes’ in Microsoft Word
‘Punctuation required with quotes’ is the most commonly changed Microsoft Word grammar and style setting. It checks is for the location of commas etc. when used with a quotation. Here’s two similar sentences to demonstrate: In US usage, the sentence punctuation mark go inside the quotation marks. In standard British /Commonwealth usage, the comma is outside […]
Oxford Comma in Word 2016 isn’t as good
Microsoft Word can check for the Oxford Comma in your lists and it now uses that name in Word 2016 for Windows or Mac. Sadly, Word 2016’s options have been degraded from earlier versions. Word 2016 can only warn you if the Oxford Comma is NOT there … good for people who prefer the ‘Comma required […]
Why Word’s Alphabetical order is different from a dictionary
Which version of alphabetical order does Microsoft Word use? I thought that alphabetical order was, well, alphabetical order. That’s what I was taught at school and apparently I was taught wrong. There are at least three ways, two used by dictionaries, another by Microsoft and that’s for English alone! Reading Sue Butler’s delightful book ‘The Aitch […]
Opening Office documents from removable storage
Can or should you open Office documents directly from removable storage like portable hard drives, USB ‘memory sticks’ or even floppy disks? Since we wrote about removable drives and drive letters we’ve had long time Office users asking about opening documents directly – should it be done at all. Many years ago, it wasn’t a […]
Handwrite into docs on Office apps for iPad
Handwrite direct into Office apps for iPad, converting your writing into text right away, courtesy of the iOS Scribble feature. What you’ll need, how to setup and the new thing to look for on the Draw tab of the Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps. Microsoft has integrated the Scribble feature into some Office for iPad […]
“Word Window” in trouble with Microsoft
Microsoft has dropped down hard on a UK teacher with a little bit of plastic helping dyslexic students read. It seems the company can’t learn from past mistakes. “Word Windows” is a small plastic reading tool which makes a little window so readers can focus on a word or letters without distraction. All great until […]
Make transparent images in Office for Windows
Microsoft 365 and Office 2021 for Windows can make images transparent in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Text or other graphics can show through the picture. Pictures can be made transparent to reveal what’s behind in lower layers of the document, slide or worksheet. For any image go to Picture | Format | Adjust | […]
