The Shapes feature in Microsoft Office looks the same in all the major Office apps but it’s not. The important connectors feature, essential for flowcharts, is obvious Word or Outlook but works automatically in Excel, Publisher and PowerPoint. Update: We’ve updated this article after some clever readers reminded us of
The main Office.com page has an updated look for Business and Enterprise customers. There’s a Create pane, My Content section and Quick Access buttons plus some more useful features hiding away under obscure buttons that are easy to overlook. This is the overall Home https://office.com look if you’re logged into
Microsoft Word has a ‘profanity’ check to warn you about rude, offensive or swear words in some places. In others, the same word won’t get any special marking. We’ll explain how to setup and use Microsoft Word’s Profanity check then show its limitations and traps. The Profanity, offensive or swear
As long time space and SF nerds, Office Watch can’t resist putting the look of 2001: A Space Odyssey into Word documents and PowerPoint slides. We’ll show you how to make a ‘close match’ using just the fonts and features in Microsoft Office. We’ll also explain the details behind that
Microsoft 365 does an online licence check at least every 30 days. If your device will be offline for weeks, how can you make sure you have a full 30 days licence before disconnecting from the Internet? Here’s how to update your Microsoft 365 licence before going offline. Office 365
Samsung phones have a hidden service which is slowing down Microsoft Office apps including the mobile apps for Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and the Office ‘all in one’ app. Inside some of the new S22 Galaxy smartphones is a Games Optimization Service, or GOS. Cynical techies know to be wary
Slipped into the bottom of a long Microsoft announcement was news about which versions of Microsoft Office would not be supported on Windows 11. According to Microsoft, Office 2013 is not supported on Windows 11. With that little snippet of news, here’s the list of Office releases that ARE supported
Get the best quality images in a PDF file made from Microsoft Word for Windows by changing some simple settings. There are also options in Word for Mac, Excel and PowerPoint. Better quality images in the PDF file are possible, starting with Word’s settings for saving images within the document.
A clever techie, Rudy Ooms, has found a worrying bug in Windows 10 and Windows 11. The Wipe and Fresh Start options are supposed to remove all user data from a computer but leave really obvious files behind and unencrypted. The problem is the Windows feature which is advertised as
Microsoft has released a preview anti-virus and security apps for Apple iPhone / iPad, Android plus Windows and Xbox called, confusingly, Defender. Trial apps are available for personal use now but in future you’ll need a Microsoft 365 Personal or Family plan. Defender was the name of Windows protection parts
Three ways to insert or import an EPS (Encapsulated PostScript) graphic into Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook. There are two a ‘quick and dirty’ options and a way that allows some editing. Microsoft Office did support EPS files for many years but dropped them in 2017/2018 because the EPS format
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
