Recent Discussions
Index tab leaders don't reflect tab leaders in the Index Style
Contex: 700 page word document with multiple indexes - about 1500 index items in each of three indexes Issue: Indexes appear with dotted tab leaders in front of page number. Index 1 style (and the other levels as well) have a tabs without dotted leaders. Question: How to get rid of the dotted tab leaders if they don't follow the relevant index style when the index is updated. Note that I have tried clearing the index style changing the index style creating a clean document with good styles and copying the index definition from that document creating a clean document template with good styles and adding that (and activating it) to the document And numerous other methods that I have not documented. Any thoughts on how to address this (other than applying the style every time I update)?How to Fix Common OneNote Issues A Complete Troubleshooting Guide
Microsoft OneNote is a powerful tool for organizing notes, collaborating, and keeping track of ideas. But like any app, it isn’t without its quirks. From syncing errors to disappearing sections, many users experience issues that can disrupt productivity. The good news? Most of these problems have straightforward fixes. https://dellenny.com/how-to-fix-common-onenote-issues-a-complete-troubleshooting-guide/Suggestion: Add =IMAGE() function to Excel 2016 & 2019
Hi Microsoft Team, I’m an Excel 2016 user and really appreciate the product. However, I’ve noticed that the =IMAGE() function is available only in Microsoft 365 and the web version. Many of us who are using perpetual versions (Excel 2016 / 2019) would love to see this function back-ported. It’s a small but powerful feature that makes dashboards, catalogs, and reports much more useful. Not everyone can move to 365, but we still look up to Excel for improvements. Adding =IMAGE() to 2016 and 2019 via update would make these versions more practical and user-friendly. Please consider including this in a future update. Thanks for listening and for continuing to improve Excel!What’s the Best Way to Manage Guest Accounts?
Guest account management should be a part of every Microsoft 365 tenant administrator’s checklist, unless the tenant has no guests. That’s possible but given the way that workloads like Teams and SharePoint Online create new guest accounts, the average tenant is likely to have quite a few guests. The question is how to manage guests – with Microsoft’s tools or using tenant-designed PowerShell scripts? https://office365itpros.com/2025/09/18/guest-account-management/
MS Excell application for Client database working under Windows XP.
Hi all, In my company we have a MS Excell application for Client database working under Windows XP. For Windows 10 it wrks now under a virtual box. I want it to work with Windows 11! How is the best and efficient way to do that? Hope someone can help me out. Thanks for cooperating. Eric
Is hsprotect.net a Microsoft property? Graph authentication
Running connect-mggraph, I get the IE "Sign in to your account/Verify your identity" windows. The first time through, it presents several of the "Trusted Sites" dialogs, to add various MS URLs to the trusted zone. One of them is https://iframe.hsprotect.net. The WHOIS for this domain does not list Microsoft. It's NameCheap, with "withheld for privacy" addresses in Iceland. Microsoft does not document this domain anywhere, though A.I. claims/hallucinates that MS uses it for protection-related telemetry and is certain it's in the Defender API guide. Can anyone confirm what's going on here?
Problems sharing files with users outside Tenant
An additional Sign In window appears for external users with whom we share files or folders through OneDrive and/or SharePoint. The window for entering the email appears (to validate that it's the intended recipient), but before entering the verification code, the Organization Sign In window appears. This sometimes requests a password, which can cause issues or even prevent users from sharing these folders with external users. Authentication flow example: Normally, step 2 is followed by step 4, but in my case, it's taking me to step 3 where I have to re-enter the email address I'd already entered in step 2. This isn't normal. In this case, there's no major problem with this email because it then asks for the verification code, and I log in without a problem. But for example, when I tried another email address, also from Gmail, it asks for a password to authenticate: Then I realized it's asking for my password because that email is associated with my GitHub account, and it's trying to authenticate with a password. However, this flow is incorrect because for authentication to SharePoint files shared with external users of the Tenant, it should only ask for the username and verification code. The fact that it asks me to enter my email twice, as in step 3 of each example, and that it occasionally asks me for a password, is incorrect in the flow, and I don't know how to change that.How to Build a No-Code Business Workflow in Microsoft 365
In today’s fast-paced digital workplace, organizations are constantly looking for ways to optimize processes without heavy reliance on IT or expensive developers. Luckily, Microsoft 365 offers a robust ecosystem of no-code tools that empower anyone—from business managers to project leads—to design and automate workflows with ease. With tools like Power Automate, Power Apps, SharePoint, and Teams, you can streamline tasks, improve collaboration, and boost productivity without writing a single line of code. Here’s a step-by-step guide to building your first no-code workflow in Microsoft 365. https://dellenny.com/how-to-build-a-no-code-business-workflow-in-microsoft-365/Staying Connected on the Road How Travelers Can Make the Most of Microsoft Teams
Traveling is exciting—new places, new cultures, and new adventures. But if you’re someone who works remotely, studies while traveling, or just needs to stay connected with your team, staying productive on the road can be tricky. That’s where Microsoft Teams becomes a true travel companion. Here’s how I’ve been using Teams to balance work and adventure while hopping across cities and time zones—and how you can do it too: https://dellenny.com/staying-connected-on-the-road-how-travelers-can-make-the-most-of-microsoft-teams/
Partner lockout of Microsoft 365 tenant – looking for advice on next steps
Hello all, I’d appreciate some guidance from the community on a serious situation we are facing. On 12 September 2025, our Microsoft partner unilaterally locked us out of our Microsoft 365 tenant. They retained exclusive Global Administrator / Partner Delegated Admin rights, which means: All staff and directors are unable to access email, Teams, SharePoint/OneDrive, or even log into their Azure AD-authenticated workstations. Our corporate and staff personal data is now inaccessible to us as the controller. Access restoration has been explicitly conditioned on payment of a disputed invoice (not related to Microsoft licence pass-through). This raises several concerns: Operational: we are effectively paralysed. Security/IP: the partner still has exclusive access to proprietary source code and other confidential business data. Compliance: we cannot meet our GDPR/UK DPA obligations on availability of personal data while locked out. We contacted Microsoft Business Conduct on Friday evening with full details of the incident, but so far no human response has been received to those emails. Questions for the community From a Microsoft tenancy perspective – what’s the fastest/most effective way to remove a partner’s delegated admin access if they refuse to release it voluntarily? Has anyone experienced or seen a similar scenario where access was conditioned on disputed payments? Are there formal Microsoft Partner Code of Conduct provisions that directly address this type of misuse of delegated admin rights? Any practical lessons on balancing the technical fix (regaining control of the tenant) with the legal approach (injunction, regulatory notifications)? My focus is on regaining secure access, protecting data/IP, and ensuring compliance. Any experience, insight, or links to Microsoft policy/resources would be greatly appreciated.Entra ID’s Keep Me Signed In Feature – Good or Bad?
The Entra ID Keep Me Signed In (KMSI) feature creates persistent authentication cookies to allow users to avoid sign-ins during browser sessions. Is this a good or bad thing and should Microsoft 365 tenants enable or disable KMSI. I think KMSI is fine in certain conditions and explain my logic in this article. Feel free to disagree! https://office365itpros.com/2025/09/17/kmsi-good-or-bad/Avery Word Template – Text Boxes Not Linked, But Typing in One Moves Content in Others
Hello, I’m helping a client who has been using a Word document with an Avery name tag template for years. Recently, she noticed some unusual behavior: The document is built with multiple text boxes laid out for name tags. The text boxes are not linked (we checked, no “create link/break link” settings). However, when she types in one text box, the content in other text boxes shifts around or moves. It’s not duplicating the text, but it’s disrupting the alignment/layout of all the tags on the page. This happens even with brand new text boxes created in this document on her computer. If we create a brand new document with text boxes on a different computer, it works normally. But once that file is opened on her computer, the same issue occurs again. So far we’ve tried: Resetting Word settings (renaming Normal.dotm and Word registry keys). Testing with a new blank document. Checking for linked text boxes. Saving as a new file/template. The problem seems isolated to this one computer/Word installation, but it affects both old and new documents once they’re opened here. Other computer with the same template doesn't do this. Has anyone seen this before? Any advice on what else we can try, or how to ensure her Avery templates work normally again, would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Cheers! - Colin
Unformatting Header/Tables on WORD after Updated Build 2508
Unformatting Header/Tables on WORD after Updated to Microsoft® Word for Microsoft 365 MSO (Version 2508 Build 16.0.19127.20192) 64-bit (Current Channel) with OS Windows 11 Pro Version 10.0.26100 Build 26100 Hi Community, I am writing to you today regarding a critical and widespread issue that is currently paralyzing our operations. Over the past two weeks, all of our Microsoft Word documents, including those created as far back as 2014, are displaying significant unformatting problems across every machine in our company. This issue affects our entire document repository and prevents us from reliably converting documents to PDF for our clients, since then we have been manually formatting the headers, tables, with the help of a feature called Gridlines. We have performed extensive internal troubleshooting and have been unable to resolve the issue. Our tests show that this problem is not present in previous versions of the software. We have isolated the issue to our current operating environment, as it affects all user profiles and machines uniformly.Advanced Excel Formulas for Business Analysis
Microsoft Excel remains one of the most powerful tools for business analysis. Beyond simple data entry and arithmetic, Excel’s advanced formulas help analysts uncover trends, automate reporting, and drive better decision-making. Mastering these formulas can save hours of work and unlock insights hidden within raw data. In this blog, we’ll explore some of the most impactful advanced Excel formulas for business analysis, complete with practical use cases. https://dellenny.com/advanced-excel-formulas-for-business-analysis/Automating Data Entry in Excel Using Power Query
Manually entering or cleaning data in Excel can be one of the most repetitive and error-prone tasks in any workflow. Whether you’re consolidating sales reports, transforming survey results, or pulling in system-generated exports, you often spend more time preparing the data than actually analyzing it. That’s where Power Query comes in. Built right into Excel (and also available in Power BI), Power Query allows you to automate data entry, transformation, and consolidation. Instead of repeating the same copy-paste and formatting tasks every week, you can set up a process once and reuse it whenever new data arrives. https://dellenny.com/automating-data-entry-in-excel-using-power-query/Best Practices for Sharing Community Updates with Microsoft 365
Hello, I manage an online community and use Microsoft 365 to keep members informed by posting announcements in Teams, storing patch notes and FAQs on SharePoint, and automating alerts with Power Automate. This workflow worked well for our latest update (shared on [https://nullsbrawl.tech/](https://nullsbrawl.tech/)), but I’d appreciate suggestions on improving SharePoint design for better engagement, automating updates more efficiently, and tracking which members read the announcements.
Recent Blogs
- SharePoint agents are useful for tasks like answering sales questions or onboarding new hires.Sep 18, 2025
- We’re making changes to the Microsoft 365 Copilot app for iOS that put key AI-driven capabilities and experiences front and center.Sep 17, 2025
