Maths equation and LaTeX improvements in Word 2016
The Office 365 version of Word 2016 for Windows has some nice improvements to LatTex support. LaTeX is the maths boffins preferred way of writing formula in computer code for conversion into the symbols that confuse us mere humans. In Word 2016 (Windows, Office 365 users only), you can see some extras on the Equation […]
Office ransomware hasn’t gone away
Ransomware hasn’t gone away, it’s just not making headlines. MalwareBytes reports that two more variations of the Locky ransomware have appeared in the last few weeks. Beware DOC and DOCM They spread in ZIP files or the hackers favorite way to infect a computer, Microsoft Office files, most likely Word documents. .DOC or .DOCM files […]
Office Championship winners 2017 – the full list
The Microsoft Office Championships are done for 2017 with talented young people from all over the planet among the winners. We have the full list of winners. The competition is for students 13-22 years with categories for Word, Excel and PowerPoint in 2013 or 2016 versions. Outlook, Access, Visio and Publisher don’t get a spot. […]
British Library images for your PowerPoint presentations
The British Library has a collection of over a million copyright free images for use in Word documents and PowerPoint presentations. They are on Flickr and a good place to start is the albums. A few that caught our eye are: Women of the World Illustrated Letters and Typography – perhaps for unique Drop Caps? […]
Converting between Word and Ebook formats Mobi and Epub
Calibre, the invaluable ebook and e-reader management software, has improved. It now has Microsoft Word document conversion to and from MOBI, EPUB and other ebook formats. Until recently, Calibre could convert from Word .docx files to make .mobi (Kindle) or .epub (other readers) or many other formats. With version 3, Calibre can now convert ebook […]
How Word makes you a worse writer
Jacob Brogan launches a deserved broadside on Microsoft Word’s grammar checker in Slate. ” Microsoft’s grammar and style tools aren’t helping writers understand their work, just arbitrarily imposing anemic pedantry on them. “ He gives practical examples of mistakes in the latest ‘Editor’ English grammar checker. Replacing ‘the majority of’ with ‘most’ is OK but […]
LibreOffice 5.4 has improved MS Office document compatibility
The free office suite, LibreOffice, has released with better Microsoft Office compatibility and a sly dig at their bigger rival. LibreOffice 5.4 has its own Open Document Format (.odt etc.) which is similar to Microsoft’s .docx format. LibreOffice can work with both formats. v5.4 has improvements in the Microsoft Office document compatibility. They’ve also streamlined […]
Delete or reorder PDF pages – free!
Here’s how to delete whole pages or rearrange the page order from a PDF document without paying for PDF editing software. A lot of people never need PDF editing software. Making PDF’s is easy using Microsoft Office or the ‘Print to PDF’ feature in Windows. Simple editing, like deleting pages or rearranging the order of […]
Is Word too complex for us mere humans?
“Word Processing is Dead” makes for a snappy op-ed headline but it doesn’t tell the whole story. The Australian Financial Review has tales of Word woe from the legal community. Badly formatted contracts, especially inconsistent numbering, is the bane of many organizations. “…work was done by dedicated operators with expert training. But this is 2017, […]
Word 2016: how to check for missed numbering or levels
The improved Accessibility Check in Word 2016 for Windows (Office 365) can be some help in the problem of inconsistent levels or numbering. Messed up numbering is an issue in contracts and other legal documents. Go to File | Info | Check for issues | Check for Accessibility and scroll down to the tips section. […]
Make Microsoft Office speak or read aloud
Microsoft Office can read aloud, talk or speak the text of documents to you. It’s possible in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and OneNote. Computer speaking text is mainly suggested for various disabled users under the ‘Accessibility’ name. But ‘Speak’ is also useful if you’re just tired of reading the screen or are proof-reading from another […]
Get the hidden Office Mobile apps for Windows 10
The Word, Excel and PowerPoint apps for Windows 10 computers are hiding from the Microsoft Store. Here’s how to get them. Word, Excel and PowerPoint have ‘mobile’ versions that run on Windows 10 devices for full PC’s, tablets and Windows phones. Here are the links you need, since Microsoft has hidden them. Word Excel PowerPoint […]
How to make a ‘pink text apology’
The Irish are talking about ‘pink text’ used in a court ordered apology. Text that’s so faint it’s almost impossible to read. Here’s how to do it and post on a web site. TheLiberal.ie site was ordered to apologize for copyright breaches and did it by posting an image of the required text in light […]
Word, Calibri font and the possible downfall of a government
A political corruption row is brewing in Pakistan with questions about Word and the Calibri font. We dug into the Office Watch archives for more info than simply checking Wikipedia. A report into possible corruption by the Prime Ministers daughter, suggests that some documents were faked. The documents are dated in 2006 but use the […]
Office ‘Alt Text’ accessibility problems
Microsoft proudly added accessibility features to Office 2016 for Windows, in particular ‘Alt Text’. Pity it’s not been refined and fixed once the hype died down. Earlier this year, Microsoft added an ‘Alt Text’ feature to Office which tries to automatically suggest alternative text for visually impaired readers. Right click on an image and choose […]
New Privacy leakage in Office 2016 for Windows
Images inserted into your Word documents are being automatically uploaded to Microsoft for the accessibility ‘Alt Text’ feature. Even if the image and document are saved on your computer, not cloud storage. It’s a hidden ‘feature’ in Office 2016 for Windows desktop (Office 365 subscribers). Earlier this year, Microsoft added an ‘Alt Text’ feature to […]
