The Microsoft Office Blog

So...speaking of security, a fellow named Mike wrote to me this week and asked me the following question. It seemed like something many people maybe have wondered about so hopefully this will be helpful to the lot of you. "Hey Crabby, How can I lock templates to ensure that those who use them, do so...

Tip #1 comes from Elizabeth S. who liked my tip from February about how to make a slashed zero so much that she came up with her OWN way to make cents symbol. (Note that this tip is for Word ONLY.) Elizabeth writes: "The Ctrl +/ then Ctrl +O (letter O) works great to give you a ø (a slashed zero...

When you use Office Web Apps (convenient little companions to the desktop versions of Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote), all your documents are created, edited, and stored on a server...a server located somewhere near...in the clouds... This is where the term " cloud computing " comes in: web apps...

First, you may or may not be familiar with iStockphoto . It's a collection of royalty free images and other media that you can use, for a fee. Cost is dependent on several factors, including the size and complexity of the file. You can purchase a subscription, where you set your own daily credit limit...

What used to be considered “collaboration”—taking turns scribbling on a whiteboard; back and forth emailing of documents; playing good-cop-bad-cop—is now obsolete. (Well, maybe not that last one; it still seems to work on Law & Order although not for long .) And although this...

To use the PowerPoint 2010 co-authoring feature, you don't need to install any specific modules or add-ins; it's seamlessly integrated. One version of the file exists in a shared network location, and you and your co-authors can edit, save, print and present from that one location. When you save locally...

But first...a very short admission: Some of you may know that this isn't the very first version of Producer. The previous version had a few bugs (a.k.a. issues, problems, nuisances) and we needed to fix a couple of incompatibilities with current browsers. And now it's ready for prime time. Here's what...

If you know me (and many of you do), you know I'm about customizing. All of us are like snowflakes, each one a unique and special individual. We have our individual tastes, likes, dislikes, fashion sense, lack of fashion sense, love for the ribbon just as it is, want to make it our own... The Quick Access...

In 2006, cartoonist Scott McCloud had a new book coming out, Making Comics , and had the unique idea of making a 50-state tour (plus a country or three) with his family. This meant speaking engagements, meetings with comic creators all over, occasional video podcasts, and blogs from the road, involving...

Ah, the ribbon. Yes, the ribbon...again. It's such a hot cocktail party topic (too hot for water cooler chitchat not that offices have water coolers anymore). But I digress. However much I tout the value and adorableness of the ribbon, love does not always come quickly; love does not always come at first...

Organize your slides into sections You can made those large, unwieldy slide decks more manageable and easier to navigate by using sections. You can also collaborate with others to create a presentation by labeling and grouping your slides into sections. For example, each colleague can be responsible...

There are a couple of ways to make sure that everyone is able to read, view, and work with Office 2007 documents, presentations, and workbooks. If you are the one who created the Office 2007 file, you can save a copy of it that is compatible with Word 97-2003, PowerPoint 97-2003, or Excel 97-2003. Read...

So you're planning a birthday party...well, let me tell you, there are many things to think about beyond what kind of cake to make (or buy and pretend you made). I've picked out what I think are the critical steps to making sure your party is a success, for the birthday boy or girl and for their guests...

PowerPoint 2010, in Slide Show view or in Reading view: Do one of the following: To use the laser pointer in Slide Show view, on the Slide Show tab, in the Start Slide Show group, click either From Beginning or From Current Slide to start your slide show. To use the laser pointer in Reading view, on...

Sometimes you need to increase the default size for sounds you can embed (and therefore not have to link to). Here's how you do this in PowerPoint 2007: Click the embedded sound icon . Under Sound Tools , on the Options tab, in the Sound Options group, increase the maximum sound file size by entering...

In Word or PowerPOint: You can animate your entire PowerPoint SmartArt graphic or one particular shape within it. Three steps: figure out which animation works best for your graphic; decide if you're going to animate each shape individually or as one; then get the timing down. The basics are this: Click...

To convert a diagram that was created in an earlier version of PowerPoint (prior to 2007) to a SmartArt graphic or to a group of shapes: Open the document that contains the existing diagram that you want to convert, and then double-click a shape within the diagram. Do one of the following: To convert...

PowerPoint 2007 enables you to embed only the specific characters actually used in the presentation, (which is baggage you packed yourself). See, when you embed a font into your presentation, the file size grows by as much as the font file (which is usually a lot — some of the new Unicode fonts...

You're giving an awesome presentation until you realize that you've used up 75 percent of your time and have only covered half of the material. So you start tearing through it the slide show and maybe, in your haste, accidentally skipping over some of the critical parts. What started out as perfection...

No, you CANNOT get rid of the Ribbon. However, you CAN make it smaller. Full Ribbon Minimized Ribbon Click Customize Quick Access Toolbar . In the list, click Minimize the Ribbon To use the while it is minimized, click the tab you want to use, and then click the option or command you want to use. For...