Microsoft is about to cause a problem for a small subset of computer users, and I need to explain it in detail. Most of you won’t be affected by this, but it is awful enough and portentious enough that I think many Office users should take heed. Follow me into these weeds: I’ve previously mentioned … Read more
PC users have used the Windows Notepad program for decades. It’s a barebones text editor that came out in the 80’s to help introduce user to the “computer mouse”. Over the years, it’s seen some modest tweaks and upgrades, but now I think Microsoft has gone too far. Their AI now appears inside of our … Read more
Publisher users, take note! Microsoft retires their beloved Publisher app in October 2026. If this affects you, here’s what to know and do in preparation: What You Will See Happen For now, absolutely nothing changes. If you have MS Publisher installed on your PC, it will work as expected up until October 2026. In October … Read more
If you subscribe to Microsoft 365, you may have seen their significant price increase in January 2025. Oh, you didn’t notice? Microsoft 365 Personal jumped from $70/yr to $100/yr, while Microsoft 365 Family increased from $100/yr to $130/yr. If this came in below your radar, that’s because Microsoft did it on the QT. And that’s … Read more
Divider lines, in Microsoft Word, are something special. Here are a few tidbits that may help you use them. The Basics To insert a divider line in Microsoft Word, press Enter to start a new line, type three dashes and press Enter again. You’ll have a horizontal line across your document. It looks really good, … Read more
Not everyone owns a scanner. And sometimes, the scanner you have becomes difficult or impossible to use (I’m looking at you, HP). If you’re called upon to scan an important document or photo, you do not need a working scanner. You can create a great-looking scan with your smartphone or tablet. Free PDF Scanning Apps … Read more
Speak to your computer and have it type what you’re saying! Windows and MacOS have voice-to-text typing tools built-in and you just have to launch them for your speech to flow into whatever document you’re creating. Windows Users would press Win + H to open the dictation tool. Apple users can press the Fn button … Read more
If you use Microsoft Publisher, you might be interested to know that Publisher is not available for Apple users. Anyone using an iMac or MacBook is free to buy and install Microsoft 365, like anyone else. But after the install, the Apple computer will offer Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc., but NO Publisher. It’s not such … Read more
This freebie does what it says on the tin: it checks your spelling and grammar for you, within your web browser. Install Microsoft Editor: Spelling & Grammar Checker and it will underline spelling errors or grammar mistakes as you type. For the most part, this will help with typing email. But it should also red-line … Read more
There are too many handy shortcuts within Microsoft Word, but I’m going to try to list out the easier ones for you to review. This is not to say that you should memorize all of them! Rather, check them out and see if a few would be especially useful to the way you use your … Read more