If you’re sick of staring at that Microsoft Word or Excel splash screen every time you start up the program, this little trick will keep it from popping up before the main window. More »
We told you last week about the 2012 calendar templates for Word. Now its Office siblings Excel and PowerPoint have joined the party with their own free downloadable 2012 designs. More »
Full-blown project management demands dedicated software, but for simpler tasks a spreadsheet can do the job. Microsoft presentations and spreadsheet expert Glenna Shaw is sharing a project plan template which lets you plan your project and track milestones. More »
In many presentations, there’s one key image or message which you want people to remember. You can ensure that slide has maximum impact by ensuring that the ones either side of it are less interesting. More »
Images in PowerPoint presentations look much more effective if you give them the “Polaroid effect”. PowerPoint expert Bruce Gabrielle walks through how to do that in the video above. More »
If you’re using an older version of PowerPoint and are regularly getting updates from Windows (which you should be for security reasons), a recent security update might play havoc with your existing presentations. Hit the Microsoft link below for full details and to download a hotfix which should eliminate the problem. [Microsoft Office Blog]
PowerPoint has a lot of animation effects, which means that many presentations use them far too often. This video is cheesy, but it makes a good central point: if an animation or transition doesn’t help convey information, it’s just time-wasting eye candy. [via Microsoft Office Blog]
The King’s Speech won critical praise, along with a Golden Globe last night, for its telling of the story of King George VI and his efforts to overcome a stammer. There are lessons to be learned from the film, and not just about British accents. More »
PowerPoint 2010 offers a host of image cropping options, but where to find them isn’t always obvious. Office blogger Helen Bradley walks through image cropping in the latest version of Microsoft’s presentation application, including how to handle making images fill the available size. More »
