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 […]
Make your own ‘Time’ magazine cover
Yes, you can make your own ‘Time” magazine cover, to put up in your house, office, den, golf clubs or whatever. Our Eye-Catching Signs with Word includes over 50 Word documents ready to use as signage. Two of them are magazine covers complete with title, border, sub-titles even a ‘date’. You can change the photo, […]
What you must do about Petya ransomware (if anything)
We won’t bore you with yet another article about today’s Petya ransomware attack We do have some notes and reassurance that arise. Security Patches Microsoft have this one covered. Back in April 2017 they released relevant patches for Windows Vista and Windows 7, 8.1 and Windows 10 plus server editions Also important patches for Office […]
How does Office handle the last word?
The Oxford English Dictionary has new last entry on the final page of the ‘Z’ chapter. As Office nerds, we immediately went to see how Microsoft Office handles this obscure word and its predecessor. Turns out Office handles the ‘last word’ very well. The new last entry is Zyzzyva (“zih-zih-vah”) which replaced the previous finalist. […]
Unique image source for your PowerPoint or Word documents
The Royal Shakespeare Company has made its image archive available online, adding another resource for PowerPoint and Word users. The pictures go back 80 years of the company’s history and features images from (now) famous names like Sir Patrick Stewart, Dame Judy Dench and many more. Beyond the stage You could certainly use the images […]
Spelling Bee winners 2017 vs Word
Each year Office-Watch.com has a little fun seeing how Microsoft Word’s dictionary compares to the winners of the Scripps (US) National Spelling Bee. Word did better in 2017 than past years. Still, no chance of Word reaching the finals in 2013, 2014, 2015 , 2016 and now 2017 despite being much older than any of […]
Why ‘Office in the Windows Store’ isn’t really Microsoft Office
It’s expected that today (15 June 2017), Microsoft will release ‘Office in the Windows Store’ as a new way to buy Office. Understand the differences between it and ‘Office 2016 for Windows’ or the Windows 10 / Modern apps for Word, Excel, PowerPoint and OneNote. The new release is not just a different way to […]
Secret printer tracking dots
Most color printers have a secret tracking or forensic code added to every page that lets governments and others know when and where the page was printed. It’s just one result of last week’s NSA leak and later arrest. One piece of evidence against Reality Winner was the secret code on the pages she allegedly […]
