Newsletter Archives

• A much better way to manage Excel formulas

  Posted on January 20, 2025 at 02:43 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Excel’s Advanced Formula Environment (AFE) is something that, once you get it, you will wonder how you lived without it.

  AFE gives a Visual Studio–like view of a formula and named elements, which is so much better than the formula bar.

  Even a simple formula can be hard to understand, especially if you didn’t write the formula in the first place.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (22.03.0, 2025-01-20).

  Microsoft 365 Advanced Formula Environment, AFE, Excel, Formulas, Microsoft Office, Newsletters, Python

• Stopping the migration to Outlook (new)

  Posted on December 16, 2024 at 02:45 CST by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 21.51 • 2024-12-16

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  And other annoyances.

  Microsoft is trying to get people to switch over to Outlook (new) sooner, but there’s no need to do as Redmond wants. Here’s how the move from Outlook (classic) really works, how to stop a forced migration to the new Outlook until you’re ready, and why the switchover isn’t the end of the older Outlook.

  The immediate issue is that the Windows Mail and Calendar apps are being discontinued on December 31. That should not affect many Microsoft 365 or Office users, who are presumably using Outlook (classic) or some other email software.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.51.0, 2024-12-16).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft 365 Microsoft Office, Newsletters, Outlook, Outlook (classic), Outlook (new)

• The state of OneNote in 2024

  Posted on December 16, 2024 at 02:42 CST by Mary Branscombe • Comment in the Forums

  ONENOTE

  

  By Mary Branscombe

  Next year the OneNote for Windows 10 app reaches end of life. It’s time to check in on how much progress the desktop OneNote version has made in the last 12 months.

  My oldest notes in OneNote are just over 21 years old, starting from a meeting with Microsoft in July 2003 about the shared source initiative that let OEMs look at the Windows codebase. I still use the software in very much the same way today. I take notes in meetings and interviews, I clip in interesting and useful information, and I search for something I remember saving.

  I have OneNote open all the time on my laptop. (It’s also installed on both my phones, one Android and one iPhone.) Although the interface has changed, the core features are much the same as they were five years ago. Like a swan, that slow glide disguises an enormous amount of effort under the surface. But apart from keeping up with Office and Windows 11, how did Microsoft do on delivering the new features it said OneNote was going to get this year?

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (21.51.0, 2024-12-16).

  OneNote Microsoft Office, Newsletters, OneNote, OneNote for Windows 10, Teams

• 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

• 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

• Dip your toe into Visio Online

  Posted on June 5, 2023 at 02:42 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  I’m going to introduce you to Visio Online which is, in effect, Visio Jr. It’s available to most people with a Microsoft work or school plan.

  Visio for the desktop is very powerful and can seem scary, with all manner of features and connections to databases — and a price tag to match. None of this applies to Visio Online.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.23.0, 2023-06-05).

  Microsoft 365 Microsoft Office, Microsoft Visio, Newsletters, Visio 365 Plans, Visio online

• Microsoft Office’s drawing tools

  Posted on May 8, 2023 at 02:43 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Many people are aware of the powerful program Visio and its drawing powers. Fewer know that a comprehensive, though basic, set of drawing tools is available in Office programs such as Word and Excel.

  Let’s dig into the hidden and more interesting possibilities of Microsoft Office Shapes and its close cousin, Icons. You can use them to make a simple flowchart or diagram, or just add some easy decoration to a document, sheet, or slide.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (20.19.0, 2023-05-08).

  Microsoft 365 Drawing, Microsoft Office, Newsletters

• Solo collaboration: Office’s untold advantage

  Posted on July 25, 2022 at 02:45 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  

  ISSUE 19.30 • 2022-07-25

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Modern Office app “collaboration” features are hyped by Microsoft for businesspeople to share a document. But all those features — comments, tracking, versioning, and multi-computer access — are available and useful for solo, personal work, too.

  Using the collaboration tools on your own is an easy way to become confident with those features without embarrassing yourself — nobody is looking over your shoulder. The same tools are useful to help you manage a complex document by leaving notes and reminders to yourself. The also help you recall deleted text and access the latest version from wherever you are.

  I’ll focus on Word in this article because it has the most comprehensive collaboration features. The same tips apply generally to Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, and even a little bit for Outlook.

  Read the full story in our Plus Newsletter (19.30.0, 2022-07-25).
  This story also appears in our public Newsletter.

  Microsoft 365 Collaboration, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office, Newsletters

• Still emailing documents?

  Posted on September 13, 2021 at 02:43 CDT by Peter Deegan • Comment in the Forums

  MICROSOFT 365

  

  By Peter Deegan

  Online collaboration with Microsoft 365 is a lot easier — and faster, too.

  Document collaboration is now possible and practical in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. By “practical,” I mean that the features work well in the real world, not just in Microsoft marketing’s fantasyland. Let’s look at the basics of using Office sharing with other people and, especially, with yourself.

  Read the full story in the AskWoody Plus Newsletter 18.35.0 (2021-09-13).

  AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Microsoft 365 AskWoody Plus Newsletter, Collaboration, Microsoft 365, Microsoft Office

• January 2018 Office Non-Security Patches are Available

  Posted on January 2, 2018 at 15:44 CST by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  Microsoft has released the January 2018 Office non-security patches. These are NOT covered under the MS-DEFCON 4 blanket. You do not want to install them yet (unless you want to be the Beta tester).

  Office 2013

  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB3172510)
  Update for Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 (KB4011635)
  Update for Microsoft Project 2013 (KB4011640)
  Update for Skype for Business 2015 (KB4011638)

  Office 2016

  Update for Microsoft Access 2016 (KB4011221)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB3178662)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011146)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011569)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011625)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011630)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011631)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011644)
  Update for Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 (KB4011564)
  Update for Microsoft Project 2016 (KB4011633)
  Update for Microsoft Visio 2016 (KB4011215)
  Update for Skype for Business 2016 (KB4011623)

  There were no non-security patches for Office 2007 or Office 2010.

   

  Office News, Office Patches/Security Januauy 2018 Office patches, Microsoft Office, Office 2013, Office 2016, Office patches

• Office non-security patches for October 2017 are available

  Posted on October 3, 2017 at 14:00 CDT by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  These are October patches. They are NOT covered under the current MS-DEFCON 3 umbrella for September patches. You do NOT want to install them yet (unless you want to be an unpaid Beta tester).

  Office 2013

  Update for Microsoft Access 2013 (KB3172543)
  Update for Microsoft Excel 2013 (KB4011181)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB4011148)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB4011169)
  Update for Microsoft Project 2013 (KB4011156)
  Update for Microsoft Visio 2013 (KB4011149)
  Update for Microsoft Word 2013 (KB4011150)

  Office 2016

  Update for Microsoft Access 2016 (KB4011142)
  Update for Microsoft Excel 2016 (KB4011166)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011036)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011135)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011139)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011144)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011158)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011167)
  Update for Microsoft PowerPoint 2016 (KB4011164)
  Update for Microsoft Project 2016 (KB4011141)
  Update for Microsoft Visio 2016 (KB4011136)
  Update for Microsoft Word 2016 (KB4011140)

  Office 2007 is on extended support. It no longer receives non-security updates. There were no updates listed for Office 2010. Security patches for all current supported versions of Microsoft Office are released on the second Tuesday of the month (Patch Tuesday)

  Office Patches/Security Microsoft Office, October 2017 Black Tuesday, Office 2013, Office 2016, Office non-security patches, Office patches

• Office non-security patches for September 2017 are available

  Posted on September 5, 2017 at 12:39 CDT by PKCano • Comment in the Forums

  These are September patches. They are NOT covered under the current 9/5/2017 MS-DEFCON 3 unbrella for August patches. You do NOT want to install them yet (unless you want to be an unpaid Beta tester).

  Office 2013
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB3172484)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB3172512)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB3203486)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB3213536)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB4011087)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2013 (KB4011106)
  Update for Microsoft Project 2013 (KB4011109)
  Update for Microsoft Visio 2013 (KB3191936)
  Update for Microsoft Word 2013 (KB4011105)

  Office 2016

  Update for Microsoft Access 2016 (KB4011032)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB3191923)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB3191924)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB3203478)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB3203482)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011093)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011099)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 (KB4011102)
  Update for Microsoft Office 2016 Language Interface Pack (KB4011098)
  Update for Microsoft OneNote 2016 (KB4011092)
  Update for Microsoft Project 2016 (KB4011101)
  Update for Microsoft Visio 2016 (KB4011096)
  Update for Microsoft Word 2016 (KB4011039)

   

  Office 2007 is on extended support. It no longer receives non-security updates. There were no updates listed for Office 2010. Security patches for all current supported versions of Microsoft Office are released on the second Tuesday of the month (Patch Tuesday)

  Office Patches/Security Microsoft Office, Office 2013, Office 2016, Office patches, September 2017 Black Tuesday
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