The Microsoft Office Blog

The installation of Outlook Social Connector is different from most downloads. Besides downloading Outlook Social Connector (for Outlook 2007 and Outlook 2003; it’s included in Outlook 2010), you must download provider files for each social network you want to connect to. Watch this short video to see how, and see the important links plus an overview of the Outlook Social Connector below.

Note: To use Facebook in the Outlook Social Connector, you must allow a third party application (which is the default setting). If you have edited these settings in Facebook, you may need to edit them again. On your Facebook home page, click Account, and then click Application Settings.

For more help, ask questions at Microsoft Answers.

--Doug Thomas

You book travel, buy your tickets, pack your bags, go to the airport, and then panic begins: did I set my out-of-office reminders? OK, maybe not panic, but I have been on a beach, setting those suckers up because I forgot to before I traveled. With a new add-in, you can set your reminders when you buy the tickets. Nice. Now let me show you how the free add-in works in Outlook 2010 (and 2007) with this short video.

Download the Bing Travel Planner Beta for Outlook. 

--Doug Thomas

Today, the Outlook Social Connector lets you connect with Facebook and Windows Live, and it works for Outlook 2003 and Outlook 2007, along with Outlook 2010. Cool beans. I gotta say that I have been using this and it's quite pleasurable--plus a time-saver. How do you use it? Let me show you in this quick video (complete with a warning) on the Outlook Social Connector.

Learn more about the Connector and the links you need in the announcement. Need to learn about what else I mentioned in the video? Click here for how to work with RSS feeds in Outlook, adding email accounts, and see my earlier video on TwInbox, the Twitter add-in for Outlook.

--Doug Thomas

Let me get out of the office, stretch my legs, and date a very large touchscreen monitor.

Here are three excerpts from our first episode of The Office Show that focused on Design in PowerPoint. A few of these tips are for the latest version of PowerPoint; others can be used in PowerPoint 2007, too.

The design tab

Changing your design to a new look and color is as easy as it looks in the video. In PowerPoint 2007 and later, you can preview changes as you mouse over the icons. You can change them quickly if you are caught in Tina and Laura’s scenario, but often the formatting will be off on some styles. However, you can change the theme color very quickly with no side effects, so no two presentations ever have to look the same. There are at least 20 color changes for each theme design.

See this introduction of themes for PowerPoint.

Remove image backgrounds

When working with images...

Here are a few starting points for when you get a new copy of Office 2010 (or an earlier version). In this short video, I’ll show you how Office.com gives you great information about your new program whether you are a pro and just need to know about the latest bells & whistles, or you're a newbie to these programs in general. Read the full post for links I mention in the video.

When moving sections around in a document—especially big ones—you don’t have to cut-and-paste sections anymore. With Word 2010, the Navigation Pane does the heavy lifting. Let me show you in this short video.

Take a self-paced lesson about the Navigation Pane at Office.com and see a short video introduction on Styles in Word.

--Doug Thomas

For more free resources, visit Office.com

http://twitter.com/dougthomas

Microsoft Office Web Apps are officially here. All you need is a free Windows Live ID, which comes with SkyDrive account (that’s 25GB of free storage) to use these robust online companions to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote. Create, edit, upload, share, even work with others in real time. Here’s my Office Casual take on how to use them. Below the video are some links to get you started.

Read the announcement post from the Windows Live team or just go to Office.live.com to start. We already have help and how-to articles on Web Apps at Office.com and will support these just like the software editions.

--Doug Thomas

Excel 2010 has many new ways show data, like the new Sparklines. Other new features allow you to work with data faster, like Slicers. Here's what I know about them.

--Doug Thomas

Make your inbox less intimidating by switching to the Outlook Conversation View. In this short video, I'll show you how he handles email with the enhancements in Outlook 2010 including the new Ignore button.

Here is how to change your view to Conversation View. Need more help? See our training on Outlook Conversation View or watch a video on another great feature: Clean-up conversation.

--Doug Thomas

Broadcasting has my vote as the coolest feature in Office 2010. Now anyone with an Internet connection can see your PowerPoint 2010 presentation. Simply press a button, have a URL generated you can email and start your slides.

To see and read more about Broadcasting, see this article at Office.com. To see how Broadcasting is another great tool to work from home, see an earlier Office Casual on WFH. Also read Crabby's take on PowerPoint 2010.

--Doug Thomas

A key feature with Office 2010 is the time you save by staying in the program. The best example are the new photo tools in found in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. (Yes, go nuts with photos in Excel). Here's a quick overview of the features:

See an index of articles on the phone tools at Office 2010 including remove background and artistic effects (my favorite is plastic wrap). 

--Doug Thomas

In Office 2010, all suites will contain my favorite program: OneNote. Instead of diving into some the new features, I just want to show you some of things you can do with the program. For more on OneNote, read yesterday's post from our ace OneNote writer or Crabby's take on OneNote. You can download the free Office 2010 Beta (with OneNote included) here; it won't expire until 10/31/10.

--Doug Thomas

We decided to take a little extra time to talk about Office tools that can help you work from home (WFH). Millions do it a day or more a week, many more want to, and some fear the separation from the mother ship, even for a day. If you can WFH, it can come in handy when someone (like yourself) is sick, or, well, just watch the video.  To find out more about the tools mentioned in this video, click the read full post link below.

--Doug Thomas

For Office 2010, the File tab leads you to the new Backstage area. This is where you can save, print, and so much more in every Office 2010 program. Let me give you an overview in this short video.

You can read more on how Backstage works or see it for yourself when you download and try Office 2010 Beta for free.

--Doug Thomas

In Office 2007 or Office 2010 you can place your favorite commands in the aptly named Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) to always have them at the ready regardless what tab or Ribbon you are working in. Let me show you how this works in this short video.  --Doug Thomas