Did you know Windows quietly swaps out Helvetica font for Arial every time you open certain documents? This subtle substitution affects how text looks in Word, browsers, and more. Learn why Helvetica isn’t included in Windows, how Microsoft handles font replacements behind the scenes, and what you can do to
Microsoft’s default font family, Aptos, isn’t limited to Microsoft 365 or Office 2024. Anyone can download and install the complete Aptos font set directly from Microsoft to use across any app or platform. Whether you’re running Office 2021, older Office versions, or non-Microsoft software like LibreOffice, this quick download ensures
Want to show only the year, month, or day from an Excel date? We explain how to use the TEXT(), YEAR(), MONTH(), and DAY() functions or cell formatting to display or calculate date details efficiently. Learn when to use each method, which is fastest, and how your choice affects Excel
Need an attention-grabbing border for safety notices or urgent messages? Creating a striped border in Microsoft Word isn’t as simple as it seems—but with the right technique, you can design professional-looking emergency or warning signs in minutes. This step-by-step guide from Office Watch shows how to use Word’s background picture
Want to make your Microsoft Word pages or signs stand out? Skip the frustrating page background tool and try this smarter way to add diagonally striped borders. Get full control over stripe position, color, and layout — perfect for eye-catching warning signs, notices, or creative designs that look sharp on
Tired of Microsoft Word flagging your writing with grammar suggestions that don’t make sense? The blue underlines can be more distracting than helpful—especially when Word disagrees with your style choices. Fortunately, you don’t have to put up with the blue underlines. We’ll show you how to customize, disable, or completely
Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365 have several save features, AutoSave, AutoRecover, background saves, and backup copies. Our guide explains the differences, limitations, and best practices so you can avoid losing important work in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and other Office apps. Maybe you’ve seen these two options in Word Options |
Did your Documents, Desktop or Pictures suddenly “live” in OneDrive? If you’re wondering why your files moved to OneDrive, you’re not alone. That wasn’t a ghost—it was Windows’ Known Folder Move. Microsoft tricks people by calling it “PC folder backup”. Here’s what that means, how to stop it safely, and
Why you can’t insert national flag emoji (among many) in Microsoft Office and Windows but can in Office for Mac, macOS, iPhone and iPad. We’ll explain the workaround necessary to insert national flags in Windows and Office for Windows. Apple devices (macOS, iPhone and iPad) show flag emoji properly like
Make sure your Microsoft Word documents look the same everywhere by embedding fonts, just in case the right fonts aren’t installed on recipients’ systems. How to embed fonts in Word on both Windows and Mac plus the options and alternatives for font embedding. Allow anyone opening the document to see
Take control of automatic formatting in Microsoft Word, the AutoFormat and AutoCorrect features. Whether you’re frustrated by Word turning your asterisks into bullet points or want to customize how your documents handle quotes, lists, and spelling corrections, this guide explores every option available. Discover how to manage, disable, and fine-tune
Hiding and protecting an Excel worksheet is NOT the same as full encryption. Protected workbooks can be encrypted and not available without the right password. Worksheets protected or hidden with a password are absurdly easy to view whether you have the password or not. Excel has long had the ability
Calculating the ‘Standard Error of the mean’ or SEM is simple using Excel’s in-built functions. Understanding ‘Standard Error of the mean’ isn’t hard either. We’ll explain the formula and what it all means. To calculate standard error of the mean get the Standard Deviation of a sample (STDEV.S() or STDEV())
Understanding Standard Deviation isn’t hard, especially with Excel’s help. This quick guide shows the difference between sample and population functions so you can choose the right one and get accurate, informative results every time. Standard Deviation in Excel The standard deviation measures the variation from the average or mean of a
In Excel there are various ways to either protect sheets or cells from access, make a them read-only or totally encrypt the workbook with a strong password. It’s important to understand the difference in Excel between Protect and the stronger Encrypt feature. Excel’s password protection is more complicated than in
How did we make a Word table with a picture background for a recent article – asks an Office Watch friend? She meant this table of Zoom shortcuts for toggling audio and video . There’s a similar table for Teams shortcuts. The quick answer is … we cheated! Word can’t
Create awesome retro, classic or original WordArt in Microsoft Word 365, Word 2024 and earlier version. It’s simple, just follow these steps. At the time, WordArt was a big step for Microsoft Word. It was a quick way to add fancy text, not possible before. Alas, like many Office design
Everyone knows that Word checks your spelling with red underlines but do you know everything that’s possible in the spell check menus. Simply click the underlined word to view suggested corrections. Choose the right option, and Word will replace it instantly. So far, so easy. More choices below the suggestions
The BBC has published a good history of the famous “Keep Calm and Carry On” poster from World War 2 but missed what, to us, is the most important 21st Century innovation. When “Keep Calm and Carry On” first became popular, we saw the opportunity to showcase what Word and
If you’re wondering why a contacts address change in Outlook doesn’t stick, you’re not alone—many Outlook users face this frustrating issue. There are three possible reasons starting with a little known quirk in how Outlook saves email addresses. An Office Watch reader asks why Outlook keeps remembering an old email
Transform how you format Word documents with keyboard shortcuts—going beyond the built‑in ones for Headings 1–3 by adding your own for Heading 4, 5, 6 (and beyond) that Microsoft has forgotten. With these simple tweaks, your document structuring becomes faster and more consistent. Word’s in-built Heading styles come with some shortcut keys, but
Microsoft is retiring the Reuse Slides feature, however you can still copy slides manually—and it’s simple. Whether you’re preparing for a meeting, a lecture, or a project presentation, knowing how to quickly and efficiently move or copy slides between presentations can save you both time and hassle. To get started,
When will your version of Microsoft Office stop getting security bug and software bug fixes, what Microsoft calls the “end of support“. This is important because software updates are necessary for Office apps. Mainly because outdated versions are more vulnerable to hackers, particularly in the case of opening malicious emails,
Down in Australia there’s another example of a mistake when redacting a Word document before public release. Make sure you delete any links to redacted text, such as a Table of Contents or summary. What caught our eye was the latest example of an oversight when redacting a document. Aussie
