Newsletter Archives

• The state of OneDrive

  Posted on February 5, 2024 at 02:43 CST by Ed Tittel • Comment in the Forums

  ONEDRIVE

  

  By Ed Tittel

  Microsoft OneDrive is a cloud-based file storage service that dates all the way back to 2007.

  It has become more tightly integrated into Windows since the Vista days, through Windows 7, 8.x, 10, and now 11. OneDrive is also available for MacOS, iOS, Android, and Xbox.

  And, of course, Microsoft 365 apps also work directly and automatically with OneDrive.

  This article seeks to describe OneDrive’s status as of early 2024 and to illuminate some specific issues or potential gotchas that OneDrive can present — at least, for some users.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.06.0, 2024-02-05).

  OneDrive Documents, Excel, Microsoft Office, Newsletters, OneDrive, Pictures, PowerPoint, Videos, Word

• My 2023 rear-view mirror and 2024 crystal ball

  Posted on December 26, 2023 at 02:45 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.52 • 2023-12-26

  Look for our BONUS issue on January 1, 2024! Happy New Year!

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Let’s first check the 2023 rear-view mirror to see what good, and not-so-good, things happened with Microsoft 365.

  I’ll look at just some of the changes, perhaps not the most-hyped-but-possibly-overlooked ones in the never-ending road that is Microsoft marketing. Then I’ll peer over the steering wheel to see what will or might happen in 2024.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.52.0, 2023-12-26).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft 365 Aptos, Excel, Microsoft 365 Copilot, Microsoft Designer, Newsletters, Office 2016, Office 2019, Office 2021, Outlook (new), Python, Windows Copilot

• New fonts and templates, but with traps

  Posted on September 4, 2023 at 02:45 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 20.36 • 2023-09-04

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Whenever you start a new document by clicking “Blank” (or “New”) in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or Outlook, you’re almost certainly using Microsoft’s default templates and fonts.

  Microsoft has started pushing changes to those starting “blanks” for Microsoft 365 in a very special way that adds little compatibility traps for Office 2021/2019 as well as earlier versions.

  You’ve probably heard about the change in default templates and the arrival of the new Aptos font family. What I’ll explain here is the true scope of those changes and how they are quite different from past Office template and font changes.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.36.0, 2023-09-04).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft 365 Aptos, Cloud Fonts, Excel, fonts, Microsoft Office, Newsletters, Outlook, PowerPoint, Styles, Word

• Microsoft 365: Year in review

  Posted on December 26, 2022 at 02:44 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Let’s take a minute to check the rearview mirror and review what’s happened this year with Microsoft Office. We’ll also peer over the horizon to speculate about 2023.

  There were obvious (and not-so-obvious) changes to Microsoft Office and Microsoft 365. I’ll look at just some of the changes. They might not be the most hyped changes coming from the never-ending road that is Microsoft marketing, and some of them might be overlooked but yet interesting.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.52.0, 2022-12-26).

  Microsoft 365 Clipchamp, Designer, Excel, Microsoft 365, Newsletters, Office 365, PowerPoint, Sketchup, Teams, Word

• Why would you use OneNote at all?

  Posted on November 21, 2022 at 02:42 CST by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  ONENOTE

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  If you’ve never seen the point of a digital shoebox for notes, here are some ways of putting OneNote to use that could change your mind.

  From the feedback I get when I talk about OneNote, it’s clear that there are plenty of devoted fans and heavy users out there. But I also get questions asking why you should use OneNote, and what it’s good at.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.47.0, 2022-11-21).

  OneNote Excel, Newsletters, Notes, OneNote, Organization, Word

• Windows 11’s unique bug

  Posted on August 15, 2022 at 02:42 CDT by Susan Bradley • Comment in the Forums

  PATCH WATCH

  

  By Susan Bradley

  Whenever Microsoft releases a new version of Windows, it invariably introduces new bugs as a side effect.

  KB5016629 includes a fix for a server message-block (file-sharing) bug that is unique to Windows 11. In a peer-to-peer network, an attacker could trick you by using web-based sharing links such as Azure or other data centers. Windows 10 and earlier are not affected.

  This month’s Windows 11 updates also include fixes for issues where File Explorer fails to work when you use the Star menu’s context menu and an external monitor, or when you use the Play and Pause keyboard buttons.

  Not to be outdone, the Windows 10 security update this month, KB5016616, includes fixes for an issue that affects printing. Let’s hope it fixes those problems we’ve been seeing with USB-based printers.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.33.0, 2022-08-15).

  Patch Watch Adobe, Excel, Microsoft Outlook, Newsletters, Patch Lady Posts, Print Spooler vulnerabilities, Windows, Windows 11

• JavaScript equations coming to Excel. What on earth are they thinking?

  Posted on May 9, 2018 at 13:28 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  I was going to let this one fly by, but I just can’t.

  If you’re in the Office Insider program, you can now use custom functions in Excel that are written in… my sweet lord… JavaScript.

  The Office Dev Center describes the functions thusly:

  Custom functions (similar to user-defined functions, or UDFs), enable developers to add any JavaScript function to Excel using an add-in. Users can then access custom functions like any other native function in Excel (such as =SUM()). … Custom functions are now available in Developer Preview on Windows, Mac, and Excel Online.

  My jaw dropped when I heard that in the aftermath of a Build presentation yesterday. In fact, I figured I heard it wrong. But no.

  What’s wrong with making JavaScript available as an in-the-sheet programming language? As Lawrence Abrams at BleepingComputer notes, “within hours” a security researcher, Chase Dardaman, figured out a way to put the CoinHive in-browser JavaScript miner inside a spreadsheet.

  As if 25 years of macro malware wasn’t enough.

  Office Patches/Security Excel, JavaScript

• Excel bug fixed: Renamed HTML files now open properly.

  Posted on August 11, 2016 at 13:01 CDT by woody • Comment in the Forums

  Reversing a bug that was intentionally introduced last month. It isn’t a complete solution, but it is a decent compromise.

  InfoWorld Woody on Windows

  Windows Patches/Security Excel, HTML renamed as XLS

• New Excel 0day

  Posted on February 25, 2009 at 02:29 CST by woody • Comment in the Forums

  This hasn’t yet hit the main news feeds, but Microsoft just released Security Bulletin 968272, which discusses another 0day that takes advantage of a security hole in all modern versions of Excel, and the Excel Viewer.

  Yes, you read that right. The Excel Viewer is vulnerable too.

  Microsoft’s suggested fix for the moment? “Do not open or save Office files that you receive from un-trusted sources or that are received unexpectedly from trusted sources. This vulnerability could be exploited when a user opens a file.”

  The Security Bulletin goes on to give a lengthy set of manual instructions, which includes editing the Registry, that may or may not fend off the worm. Or you can block opening files from Office 2003 or earlier.

  Oh boy. In other words, bend over and kiss your keester goodbye.

  Symantec has encountered an infected file, Trojan.Mdropper.AC, that’s easy to block. It remains to be seen if the exploit folks are smart and fast enough to morph the Trojan so it isn’t so easy to thwart.

  Today would be a very good day to avoid opening any Excel file that you don’t know well.

  Office Patches/Security 0day, Excel
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