Office tips
Outlook Tip: How To Turn Off “Top Results”
When you search your email in Outlook, you might see three messages chosen as “Top results” by sophisticated AI & machine learning algorithms.
Well, it’s supposed to be smart algorithms. At the moment, the three “Top results” appear to be chosen by a roomful of monkeys throwing dung at the screen. […] continued
Read moreHow To Use The Archive Button In Outlook
Outlook has an Archive button, right next to the Delete button. You haven’t noticed it because we have trained ourselves for twenty years to let our eyes slide over anything in Outlook that we don’t use. The Archive button appeared a couple of years ago without any fanfare and, I’ll be damned, it’s pretty useful. […] continued
Read moreMicrosoft Has Improved AutoSave For Office Documents (But Not For Everybody, And With One Bit That Might Make You Curse)
Have you ever lost hours of work in a Word document because you closed it without saving? Of course you have. It’s happened to everyone.
That has never happened to you if you use Google Docs. In fact, you’ve forgotten about that problem because Google Docs automatically saves everything continuously. Now that you think about it, you’re feeling a bit superior, aren’t you? […] continued
Read moreOutlook Tip: Paste Your Way To A New Email Message (And A Few Other Random Bits)
Outlook is full of hidden surprises and shortcuts. Here are a few tips for Outlook junkies that range from obvious to obscure. I know the first one (sent in by good friend BillG) took me by surprise, and I’ve been scouring lists of Outlook tips for a long time.
Create an Outlook message from the clipboard
When you’re at the Outlook Inbox, a tap of the Ctrl-V key instantly copies the contents of your clipboard into a new email message. […] continued
Read moreOffice Tip: How To Make Outlook Easier To Use On A Touchscreen
This tip is for anyone who uses the desktop version of Outlook on a laptop with a touchscreen. We few, we happy few, we band of brothers, this is for you. If you’re not a touchscreen user – well, frankly, I like Outlook better with this turned on anyway, but you can go back to killing time with Instagram if you’re bored. […] continued
Read moreListen To Your Computer: New Read Aloud Options In Outlook, Word
When you’ve finished talking to your computer, you can sit back and listen to it instead. Microsoft has improved the speech features in Word and Outlook for Office 365 subscribers, so the computer will read documents and messages out loud with more natural inflection and pauses. It’s still mechanical but it’s better mechanical. […] continued
Read moreTalk To Your Computer: Speech Recognition In Windows 10 And Office
Microsoft has quietly improved the speech recognition features in Windows 10 and in the Office programs. They’re still not great but you might want to give them a try if you haven’t talked to your computer in a while.
One fundamental truth has not changed: If you are serious about dictating on a computer, there is no alternative to the Dragon Naturally Speaking products. […] continued
Read moreHow To Use Google Maps In Outlook
Here’s a tip for a few select people. Wonderful people. The best people. My people. All of you who use the desktop version of Outlook.
You also use Google Maps, because everyone uses Google Maps. That’s obvious, right? It has become so valuable, so rich, so far ahead of the competitors, that you are doing yourself a disservice if you use anything else. […] continued
Read moreOffice 365 Tip: How To Turn Off Focused Inbox And Turn On Clutter
I don’t like Focused Inbox. I want my Clutter back.
Focused Inbox is Microsoft’s new method of filtering mail for Office 365 business accounts. Here’s more info about Focused Inbox.
The short version:
• Clutter and Focused Inbox are both ways to separate important messages from messages that are less likely to be important to you – newsletters, notifications, marketing and ads. […] continued
Read moreOutlook Disconnected From Office 365? Try Disabling IPv6
(This tip is for IT pros. Non-technical readers should still read this article because it involves a thrilling mystery, it teaches important lessons for healthy living, and it has a fresh minty aftertaste. But if you’re not sure, don’t do anything to your computer without the support of your trusted IT support person.) […] continued
Read moreImproved Calendar Sharing For Office 365 Users
Here’s a tip for business Office 365 users that I wish I’d known about sooner. Early this year, Microsoft significantly improved the experience of sharing Outlook calendars. The secret is to share your calendar in webmail instead of doing it from the Outlook desktop program.
Office 365 webmail (aka Outlook Web Access, OWA, “Outlook on the web,” and too many other names) can be viewed at https://mail.office365.com […] continued
Read moreA Possible Fix For The Excel Slow File Opening Bug
Previously: What To Do When Excel Opens . . . Very . . . Slowly . . .
Windows is weird.
A year ago I wrote an article about an Excel bug: occasionally there is a 30-60 second delay after clicking on an .XLSX file before the Excel logo appears and the file opens. […] continued
Read moreHow To Use Office Online For Fun And Profit
A difficult part of using technology in 2016 is simply remembering what tools we have at our disposal. It’s all well and good for me to report on all the swell new programs and services that are available, but that doesn’t do any good if you don’t remember which one will help you when you’re trying to get work done. […] continued
Read moreWhat To Do When Excel Opens . . . Very . . . Slowly . . .
Followup 07/2017: A Possible Fix For The Excel Slow File Opening Bug
This bug only affects a small number of people, but it’s an interesting one because it’s been a problem for almost a year and there’s still no clear understanding of what’s going on.
It happens on Windows 10 computers running Excel 2013 or Excel 2016. […] continued
Read moreOutlook 2016 And The Mysterious Disappearing Folder Pane
Here’s the story of an odd Outlook 2016 bug that you might run into.
Microsoft has been urging everyone with an Office 365 license for the Office programs to update to Office 2016. It’s a modest upgrade at best, as the programs are virtually identical to the 2013 versions, but it feels good to get the latest version for free, right? […] continued
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