There are simple and traditional color choices for Chinese New Year graphics and text plus some Microsoft Office graphics tricks to make them look a lot better in Word and PowerPoint. Simple design done in a few moments with just the icons and tools in Word 365 or PowerPoint 365.
Word 365 is getting another improvement to the Search feature, now you can speak your question or search. Look at the Search box on the title bar, now or soon there’ll be a microphone button at right. Click on the microphone icon and speak your search terms. Assuming your microphone
Microsoft loves tinkering with WordArt and in Word 2010 the entire feature was expanded to Text Effects and split into two features on different tabs. Here’s how to find all the old WordArt features plus a lot more. Back in Office 2007 there was one WordArt feature on the Insert
We’ve looked at design and typography in 2001: A Space Odyssey and how to use the ‘2001’ look in Microsoft Office. Two readers asked about some curious kerning in our version of the title font.Maybe you’re not interested in the fine detail of the text in a fifty year old
Microsoft is offering a discount price on Microsoft 365 to people with pirated or illegal Microsoft Office. As usual with Microsoft, there are ‘gotchas’ and unknowns with their special offer. People using illegal or pirated Microsoft Office might be seeing a message like this in their Office apps. The message
The Drop Cap function in Microsoft Word provides a simple way of capturing the ornate look of an old book or manuscript. There are many options that can be used to change the look, positioning and behavior of any drop cap to suit your formatting needs or taste. Drop Caps have been in Microsoft
NewEgg has a promising 15-month deal for Microsoft 365 Family charging $69.99 instead of over a hundred dollars. It’s a good deal and, we’ll show you the trick to save another $10 on their headline price. Office Watcher, Richard H, sent us a tip about a good Microsoft Office deal.
There are some good and practical changes coming to the main web portal for Microsoft Office users, Office.com plus some features already available you might not realize. These changes are either happening now or in the coming months. As usual, there’s a gradual rollout to Microsoft server farms across the
Microsoft has added 77 more images to their Office 365 Stock Images collection, just in time for Halloween. Just a few days ago, searching for ‘Halloween’ at Insert | Pictures | Stock Images showed just four pictures in Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Stock images or premium content now in
A recent attack on Microsoft 365 organizations has highlighted the danger of ‘password spray’ attacks that try to get into your account and perhaps get a foothold into an organization. There’s a simple fix that can protect you and your organization. Regular Office Watch readers will know what we’re going
All about Windows 11 software and accessory compatibility, promises of better and fewer updates and our view on whether Windows 11 is worth switching. See all the Office-Watch.com coverage of Windows 11 Software and accessory compatibility Underneath the changed desktop lies much the same core technology that’s in Windows 10.
The September 2021 release preview has a lot more than usual new and updated features in Office 365 for Windows. Almost as if Microsoft has been saving them up for a bumper surprise! It’s all in the ‘Current Channel (Preview)’ release v2109 build 14430.20088 that’s out now. This is the
The new Widgets pane in Windows 11 has three widgets for Outlook and Microsoft 365 users. Calendar, To Do and one only for Enterprise users. Widgets are a pop-up window of configurable small panes. The selection of widgets is quite limited, at least for now; Weather, Traffic, Stocks, Sports, Entertainment
Chromebooks are low cost alternatives to regular laptops with great battery life. They can run Microsoft Office in different ways – two and a half by our count. There were two more, but Microsoft dropped support for them in September 2021. Quick Chromebook buying tips Web apps Chromebooks come with
Importing genetic codes into Excel is still a problem despite widespread reports of the problem. And still Microsoft is blamed, despite the real solution is with the lazy scientists who need to learn how to use Excel. A new report in the journal Nature shows that Autocorrect errors in Excel
Modern Excel has a danger zone that hackers increasingly use to get into your computer. It’s been there for well over twenty years but is being abused a lot more in 2021. Here’s how to disable it. The problem is in a very old method of Excel automation called Excel
Word’s Advanced Find has many special codes to help locate or replace hidden or unusual things in a Word document. Here’s a complete and searchable list of all the ^ codes and what they are for Under Find | Advanced Find | More | Special there’s a list of special
Qantas, the Australian airline, as released some nice background images for virtual meetings, calls and beyond. Though some of the picture choices are strange. There are photos in the cabin, outside and cockpit (especially nice because public access is barred these days). The preview doesn’t do the images full justice,
Microsoft has now revealed all the details of their Windows 365 cloud based PC service. Here’s what it will cost, some pricing traps and some hidden ‘features’ to consider. Windows 365 is a ‘PC in the cloud’ service that lets you run a Windows 10/11 machine from any Internet connected
Chromebook users are getting unexplained messages when they use some Office apps, leading to rumors about Microsoft Office support of Chromebooks. Microsoft isn’t helping by their silence but the signs are not good for paying Office customers with Chromebooks. It all started when Chromebook users reported getting pop-up messages and
PowerPoint can show slides on a screen as a high-tech signboard, using a self-running presentation known as Kiosk display. Here’s how to do it plus all the settings and tricks available. We’ve all seen screens displaying information on a series of slides – maybe in a shop or conference. Maybe
Microsoft has announced their plans for later this year with additions to Teams, Whiteboard and an expansion of their Fluid components concept. None of these things are available now. It’s all future promises, nothing substantial customers can use today. Let’s strip away all the hype about ‘hybrid’ workplaces that are
We have a new COVID-19 statistics workbook with a new automatically updating Excel spreadsheet that shows the latest cases and vaccination rates by country and region. All our Office Watch readers can get the entire workbook today. We’ve made this workbook as a practical and timely example of some important
Microsoft is expanding the reach of their Teams service with more personal and family related features available at no charge. Teams for Home is a repurposing existing Teams business features so they can bring together families and friends. All these features are free (there are some call limits). There are
