Keep a close eye on the increase/decrease decimals buttons on the Excel ribbon because Microsoft is changing them without warning. Increase / decrease decimals is a very common Excel feature to change the visible accuracy of a number. For example, choosing Currency or Accounting style (which defaults to two decimal
Excel on the web has a new look and some nifty extra features like better ways to arrange rows/columns – move, resize, insert. A clever Freeze Pane option too. Some of these we’d love to see in desktop Excel. Overall, the web version of the Office apps now look more
Once upon a time there was just one ‘Microsoft Outlook‘ but these days there are at least eleven current programs or services under the ‘Outlook’ name * and two programs called “Outlook for Windows”. That’s before counting past versions that are still supported. You’re totally excused for being confused because
Presenter Coach or Rehearse in PowerPoint for Windows helps polish your presentation before going before an audience. This cloud-based feature is PowerPoint Online (web browser) and PowerPoint 365 for Windows If you don’t have Coach in your version of PowerPoint, try it from the web version of PowerPoint. Getting Started
With a simple trick, you can use Copilot to summarize and query Word documents without paying for an expensive Copilot plan. In theory you need an expensive Copilot plan to sum up or ask questions about Word document with Microsoft’s AI system. The Copilot side-pane is only available in Copilot
More common Excel desktop features are being added to the browser based version too. Drag and Drop pasting, Autofill, right-click for more Paste options and also export to text file (CSV) format. All these features will be familiar to Excel desktop (Windows/Mac) users and work in much the same way.
Make a ‘clickable’ checklist in Microsoft Word for the web that you can mark off tasks as they are done. The checklist feature is mostly for a list of tasks to be marked as done when completed. A checklist in Word could be handy for a small group of people
Three more familiar Microsoft Word features have reached the ‘on the web’ or browser based version of Word. Editing header/footer, columns and line numbering. Headers/Footers Word for the web has been able to view headers/footers for some time but now they can be added or edited as well. Go to
Word in a browser now has nicer web link preview that the plain ones in other versions of Word plus obvious choices for copy, edit or deleting a link. Hover over a web or internal link in Word on the web and you’ll see a better tooltip with buttons to
WhatsApp can send any file, photo, video or text notes to yourself, in other words between your computers or devices. Files up to 2GB can be moved quickly and securely between machines. Sometimes you need to copy something between two computers or devices you have. That could be a little
Microsoft is ending Wordpad on Windows 11 … not right away but sometime soon. Here are your options for a replacement. WordPad has been in Windows since 1995 as a basic word-processor with Word document compatibility. It was never much loved but still has an important place. It’s the only
Anyone can view and even edit a Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Onenote file on your computer by using Office in a browser. It’s free for anyone. Even if you have Microsoft Office software, the browser based apps are worth keeping in mind. They let you keep working even if
Catch Up is Microsoft’s new way to present the latest changes, comments, mentions and tasks in a collaborated document, sheet or slide deck. When a document is being managed by many people, there can be a lot happening. Edits to the doc, sheet or slides, comments and @mentions including tasks
There are special web links to make a new Office document (Word, Excel or PowerPoint) with a single click. Microsoft has bought some .new domain names like https://word.new . When you click on a .new link, a fresh document is created for you. Word, Excel or PowerPoint files are created
Word online has a simple, quick way to add emphasis and a little engaging styling to text you’d like to highlight. It’s only in Word online but can be used in other versions of Word. It’s called ‘Visual Emphasis’ and is only available in the browser-based version of Word. At
The Microsoft 365 browser extra for Edge and Chrome is being ‘retired’ from January 2024 though not for any good or explained reason. Maybe it’s because Microsoft’s Edge browser has an in-built alternative? From 15 January 2024, there’ll be no more updates or support for the Microsoft 365 browser extension.
Excel’s web version now has some better ways to insert functions direct from the function search window. Also easily see the open/close bracket pairs. Insert Function ‘wizard’ Insert Function has expanded into a little ‘wizard’ (remember those?) after finding the function, a second pane lets you insert parameters with some
Word Designer is a really fast way to reformat a document into something very interesting and professional. Here’s how to use it properly and add extra tweaks to make your Word doc look really great. All these documents were transformed from a plain document with a few clicks. Word Designer
The Editor part of Microsoft Word has a feature that should have been in the Windows and Mac versions many, many years ago. Changing the style of writing that’s being recommended. Word’s Editor pane sometimes lets you choose the style of writing that suits the document. We were delighted to
Excel 365 for Windows and web have a different font for the formula bar. The monospace font should be easier to read and understand. For as long as there’s been Excel, formulas have been shown in a proportional font. Probably to fit as much text into the available screen space.
Excel 365 for Windows and Web is getting a great new feature called Value Preview. You’ll be able to see the current value of any formula part just by hovering over it. It’s simple and most people won’t even notice it except by accident. Just hover the mouse over part
There’s a nice little Excel function that will calculate the rate of return on any asset like a stock or fund including income/dividends with purchases and sales over time. The secret sauce is XIRR() a function which calculates an internal rate of return with uneven interest or dividend payments. In
Can you scan a picture or document directly into Word, Excel, PowerPoint or Outlook? Certainly, but these days we’re spoiled for choice and have fantastic features like using a smartphone as a simple scanner. Back in the day, you could click a button in Word 2003 to scan a document
Comments in Word documents can now have a quick response from others just by clicking a ‘Like’👍button. Why just one button when other Microsoft apps have more? Instead of writing a short reply adding to a Word comment thread, you can now just click a Like👍button on an existing comment
