Inserting or linking other files into Word documents
Word allows you to insert other files with data and functionality from another document or program directly into your Word document. Microsoft calls these additions ‘Objects’ which makes it sound overly technical and difficult but it’s not. Don’t get fazed by all the nerd talk about ‘objects’, that’s programmer speak that’s leaked out into the […]
Opening Office file hyperlinks in Office desktop apps not browser
A new option in Office 365 for Windows is the ability to choose how hyperlinked Office files are opened. Inside Word, Excel or PowerPoint or in the default browser. The new option is at File | Options | Advanced | Link Handling Open supported hyperlinks to Office files in Office desktop apps. An Office document […]
Making Word work for Jacob Rees-Mogg’s style rules
A newly promoted UK politician has his own special style guide for staff, here’s some Word features that can help ensure your documents are approved by the boss. The Right Honourable Jacob William Rees-Mogg (to give his new full title) proudly affects an old-fashioned demeanor and has been described as “on secondment from the 18th […]
Accessible PDF advice in Microsoft Word
Word is getting reminders for accessibility before making a PDF. When Word makes a PDF version of a document, it includes accessibility tags. These tags help screen readers (spoken for blind and the visually impaired) and also adjusting the PDF for small and large displays. When saving a PDF (File | Export or File | […]
Clippy still lives, now as a dating meme
Yea, gods. Clippy is a persistent little beggar. Over 20 years since it infested our screens and it’s now being used as a dating meme by people not born when Office 97 annoyed us. The infamous Office paperclip, Clippy, continues to pop up just like it did in Office 97. Now it’s become a meme […]
Office Online becomes ‘Office’, just to confuse everyone
Microsoft says we should stop calling the browser-based version of their apps ‘Office Online’. It’s now just ‘Office’. ‘Word Online’ is now just ‘Word’. ‘Excel Online’ is ‘Excel’, ‘PowerPoint Online’ is merely ‘PowerPoint’. Make sense? No, we don’t understand either. Microsoft’s explanation of the name change doesn’t help. According to Microsoft they are doing this: […]
Word for Android reaches a real billion milestone
Microsoft Word for Android has reached a billion installs. That’s a real Billion not a Microsoft hype billion. It’s even more impressive than it seems. The billion number is counted by Google on Google Play. Microsoft loves quoting high numbers especially ‘Billion’ even when it makes little sense. But this is different. The statistic comes […]
Complete guide to adding placeholder or filler Text in Word
Microsoft Word has several ways to quickly insert placeholder text into documents. Sometimes you want to add some random text to a document as filler, but don’t want to think of something to write yourself. While there are websites that will generate placeholder text for you, it is also possible to do this directly within […]
Now … Sketchy Shapes the video!
Sketchy Shapes, the new line option in Office 365 now has a little video to go with it. Sketchy line option in Office for Windows and Mac Sketchy or wriggly lines in Icons and SVG graphics Source: Microsoft
Word can understand acronyms
An upcoming feature in Word 365 for Windows (commercial editions) will be able to detect and define acronyms. When Word ‘sees’ an acronym it will try to show a definition based on it’s context in the document and how other people use the same acronym in the organization. Source: Microsoft plus some extra edits That’s […]
Why Venice invented italics … you can use that trick in Microsoft Word.
Back in the 16th Century, italic fonts were invented and that trick can still be used today in Microsoft Word. Italics let you fit more text into the same space. An innovative Venetian publisher, Manutius, needed to make small and affordable books. Paper was expensive so anything that put more text on the page was […]
Font gives away fake document but it’s blamed on time travel
Here’s another case of someone trying to backdate fake documents and being caught by hidden details in the file. The font is the giveaway but not in the usual way. It’s the ongoing saga of Craig Wright, once a big name in the cyber-currency game. He’s now involved in a court case about the alleged […]
Translate a whole Word document to another language
Word lets you translate an entire document in one go, either right click anywhere in the document, right click and select Translate, or go to Review | Translate | Translate Document. As with translating a selection, the Translator will open in a sidebar, where you can select the languages to translate from and to. Generally, […]
Translating selected text in Word
Word has a feature to translate text from one language to another. Whilst the translation may not be perfect, it does give you a starting point to understanding what the text says. You can either translate a selected piece of text, or the whole document. Translate works slightly differently depending on which you choose. Choosing […]
Make a distraction free Microsoft Word
If you’re the sort of person who’s easily distracted, or just want to focus on the content of your document without worrying about formatting, there are a number of ways you can clear the distractions from Microsoft Word, so you can focus on the text you’re writing. Minimize the Ribbon Remove the entire ribbon from […]
Office 2016/2013/2010 bug fix lists for July 2019
Here’s a summary of the July non-security updates for Office 2016, Office 2013 and Office 2010. These updates should be automatically installed via Microsoft Update or you can apply them manually. Install them now if there’s a listed bug you need fixing, otherwise play it safe. Leave some time for any bugs in the patches […]
