It’s taken too long but Microsoft has finally realized that OneNote is a good product but overpriced. The retail price is now $99.95 but you can find it for less than that. It’s taken too long but Microsoft has finally realized that OneNote is a good product but overpriced. The
With the release of the Windows XP Service Pack 2 it makes updating to Office 2003 Service Pack 1 even more worrying than usual. With all the talk about the Windows XP update there’s almost no talk about the other large update from Microsoft – for Office 2003. The last
There’s a new update for Office 2003 called Service Pack 1. We tell you what is supposed to be in SP1 and how you can install it. There’s a new update for Office 2003 called Service Pack 1 (SP1 to its friends). As regular Office Watch readers know, updates to
OneNote 2003, the great notetaking program, is getting some improvements in an upcoming Service Pack 1. OneNote 2003, the great notetaking program, is getting some improvements in an upcoming Service Pack 1. While other parts of Microsoft mess around with their products, the OneNote team continues to show the way
Desktop are being infested by a particularly deceptive pop-up browser window which might mislead you into downloading something you don’t want or need, so here’s a warning. Desktop are being infested by a particularly deceptive pop-up browser window which might mislead you into downloading something you don’t want or need,
We show you how you can change the Junk mail filters you’ve made for Outlook 2003. In the last issue of Office Watch we showed you a quick way to delete a message and mark it as Junk. At the time we warned that it’s easy to hit the new Junk
Spam blocking is not a ‘one size fits all’ affair, despite what some anti-spam proponents will have you believe. Outlook 2003 has a Junk Mail filter and we get mixed reports on its effectiveness. Some people think it’s great (usually on the High setting) while others think it’s lousy. Part
There’s a security problem in Word where an SQL query to get addresses for a mail merge can be misused by a bad guy. In the last issue of Office Watch we mentioned a strange message from a Microsoft staffer in a public forum. This message detailed the fix for an undocumented
Office XP Service Pack 3 does fix some problems and patch some security lapses but it can also be a minefield of problems either with the installation itself or various conflicts with other programs. It’s like deja vu all over again – another Office service pack is released – on
There is no Office Shortcut Bar in Office 2003 – and your choices aren’t very good. I get at least one message a week from someone who’s upgraded to Office 2003, and discovered that they can’t use the Office Shortcut Bar. Alas, there is no Office Shortcut Bar in Office
Looks like the Prime Minister of Denmark won’t be sending out press releases in Word DOC format any more. Looks like the Prime Minister of Denmark won’t be sending out press releases in Word DOC format any more. He got stung by embarrassing data hidden in the DOC files. Henceforth,
One reader informs us of an error when trying to modify the Outlook 2003 contacts form. Here’s a strange one, sent to me by Office Watch reader JC. In Outlook 2003, open a Contact. Click Tools | Form | Design This Form. You would expect that a copy of the
We look at the different ways to print Word macro key assignments. Office Watch reader Jim Harris writes: “I have written quite a few MS Word macros, and assigned them to key combinations. Of course, I forget the key assignments of ones I seldom use, and I see no way in MS
Most of the original 12,000 beta testers thought they’d get a copy of Office 2003 in return for their participation. Instead, they got a cheesey clip-on radio. Many Office 2003 beta testers are carping about the slap-in-the-face “gift” they received for testing. Most of the original 12,000 beta testers thought
Piecemeal Office 2003 patches continue to roll in at a breathtaking pace. Piecemeal Office 2003 patches continue to roll in at a breathtaking pace. In addition to the Excel 2003 RAND() function patch that you have to beg for, there’s a raft of Word 2003 patches, all bundled into one
There is an even-easier way to bypass “Password for Forms” passwords in Word. Last week I told you about the bogus “Word security exposure” that made it into the computer press, when writers should’ve known better. In a nutshell, a very bright guy discovered that he could zap out a
A reader problem tells us the symptoms of and solution to an unusual problem in Word 2002 related to having too many fonts installed. Office Watch reader Francine Millman, founder of PROMPT Consulting, writes: “Recently, I had a problem in Word 2002 whereby every single time I went to insert
The debate is on as to whether or not Microsoft “borrowed” the Word 2003 Reading Layout View from Eric Wilson. You tell me. Take a look at the screen shots and tell me if you think Microsoft, uh, “borrowed” Word 2003’s Reading Layout View from Eric Wilson. I dunno how
Microsoft’s “Remove Hidden Data” add-in is currently a mess. I warned ya last week. Microsoft’s “Remove Hidden Data” add-in is a mess. The add-in is supposed to strip all that potentially embarrassing hidden text out of Office files. In fact, it does a pretty good job most of the time,
The folks in Redmond have finally released a program which apparently removes hidden data from Word documents, Excel spreadsheets and PowerPoint presentations. After months – or is it years? – of kvetching from this corner, and dozens of documents that Microsoft posted on its own website laden with potentially embarrassing
PDF isn’t a perfect format. But it beats the living daylights out of the DOC format for any files posted on the Internet. In the course of my DOC File Dumpster Diving (I like the ring of that phrase!), I recommended using PDF for any files posted on the Internet.
Microsoft has posted the program that removes the two swastikas from the Office 2003 Bookshelf Symbol 7 font. Microsoft posted the program that removes the two swastikas from Office 2003’s Bookshelf Symbol 7 Font that I mentioned in a previous article in Office Watch. In fact, the tool does more than
We try to uncover why Outlook 2003 won’t quit for some users and why the icon remains in the System Tray. In a previous article, Office Watch reader BT told us about his problems getting Outlook 2003 to quit. BT clicked the “X” in the upper right corner, he clicked File
No doubt you’ve heard by now that Office 2003 ships with a font that contains two swastikas. (I think Reuters first published the story, but apparently Microsoft itself fed the story to the press). Apologies have been made all around, MS has promised a tool for removing the offending characters
