Recent Discussions
How to Send a Welcome Message to New Employees with Attachments for Calendar Events
ICS files are a useful method to send information about calendar events between different IT systems. This article discusses using PowerShell to create ICS files for Teams Online meetings as part of a project to send welcome messages to new employees that contain information about upcoming corporate events that the new people might like to attend. Suffice to say that formatting the ICS files to Outlook’s satisfaction takes some effort. https://office365itpros.com/2026/05/25/online-meeting-ics-files/Microsoft 365 PC: The Modern Windows Experience for Work and Business
In today’s workplace, a computer is no longer just a machine used to write documents or browse the internet. Modern businesses need devices that are secure, connected to the cloud, easy to manage remotely, and powerful enough to support hybrid work. That is where the concept of a “Microsoft 365 PC” comes in. https://dellenny.com/microsoft-365-pc-the-modern-windows-experience-for-work-and-business/
a table but not really a table
I have this word document that has an addin that linked to financial system in terms of extracting values. so usually we will create an excel report with excel table in the financial system where it will populate the figures in the excel table and then in the word document, we just use the addin to extract the entire table into the document - we called it a table object. It is not an embedded excel table instead it behaves just like inserting a word table in the document. The benefit of this is user just need to refresh or update the extraction parameters to update the figures in this table object. so now, we need have a weird request where it is not possible to do this excel table but we can extract exact amount from the system instead - they called it an amount object. this amount object can also be refresh and updated like table object. BUT we cannot insert an amount object as "nested" in a table drawn in word document. In usual case, amount object is inserted in text content....like CEO words about performance of business in an annual report. I need to be create a "table like" visual in word document so that I can insert several amount objects. The final visual of these will look as if I use a table. Like below: As long as it is inserted as a table, I can insert amount object in the respective "cells". Does anyone have a creative way to do this?
Automate Copilot in Excel
Hi, Is it possible to automate opening Copilot in Excel and send a prompt using VBA? Currently, Copilot in excel seems to work only through the UI, where we have to manually click the Copilot button in the ribbon section and paste the prompt. I want to automate this process so that, with a single click, Excel opens Copilot and enters the prompt automatically. If this is not possible, are there any alternative approaches to achieve similar automation?Switching Data Loss Prevention Client-Side Checks for OWA
Purview Data Loss Prevention (DLP) rule checks can happen client-side and server-side. This change updates the Exchange Online organization configuration to instruct OWA to stop using Exchange Online to detect potential DLP rule violations before users send email. Instead, OWA will use the workload-neutral Data Classification Services (DCS). Using a workload-neutral service comes with some consequences in terms of OWA being unable to evaluate Exchange-specific predicates. https://office365itpros.com/2026/05/22/data-loss-prevention-dcs/
Access selecting specific date on a calendar
I'm pulling my hair out because everything I've found through my research says my VBA code should work, but it doesn't! Here's the story. I have a calendar (form) that shows events going on for each month. What I want is for a person to click on a specific day and have a pop-up form appear showing more details of the events for whatever day they clicked on. I used the below code, which mostly works... When I click on a date, the month and year will be correct, but not the day of the month. The day of the month is always today's day. For example, let's say I click on the day Feb. 2, 2024 and today's date is May 21, 2026. My pop-up form will show the events for Feb. 21, 2024. This is the code I have: Private Sub lblTue3_Click() Dim txtSelectDate As Date (probably don't need this) Dim iDayOfMonth As Integer Dim iMonth As Integer Dim iYear As Integer Dim dSelectDate as Date iDayOfMonth= Format(Me.txtSelectDate.Value, "d") iMonth = Format(Me.txtSelectDate, "mm") iYear = Format(Me.txtSelectDate, "yyyy") dSelectDate = CDate(iMonth & "/" & iDayOfMonth & "/" & iYear) DoCmd.OpenForm "frmThatContainsMyData", acNormal, , "[DateOnFormUsedForFilter]=#" & dSelectDate & "#", , acDialog Instead of Format, I've tried using the code Day(Me.txtSelectDate), but that didn't work either. It always defaults to the day of the month that's today. Can anyone tell what I'm doing wrong? I've checked the formatting, and everything is set to 'Short Date'... I'm just at a complete loss! Any help is greatly appreciated!Peer recognition program in M365. Has anyone done this without a third-party tool?
HR wants to launch a peer recognition program where employees can give kudos to each other. They want it visible to the team, maybe tied to company values, and ideally something that feeds into performance reviews at year end. I looked at Viva Engage but its more of a social feed and theres no way to categorize recognitions by company values or pull them into reviews. Has anyone built something like this using M365 tools or found an app that handles it?VLookup returning incorrect results
I can't understand why this small section of a spreadsheet returns the wrong values. Tried Lookup and Vlookup and get the same result. =LOOKUP(A23+0.01,'FA Devices'!$B$8:$B$710,'FA Devices'!$C$8:$C$710) 20 Unit 53 Clipso 21 Unit 52 Mr Simms 22 Unit 54 Dental Surgery 23 Unit 54 Dental Surgery 24 Unit 54 Dental Surgery 25 Unit 37 Bakers & Bari This is the FA Devices Sheet 123 21.0 Unit 52 Mr Simms 124 21.02 UNIT 52 FIRE 125 21.02 UNIT 52 FAULT 126 22.0 Unit 54 Dental Surgery 127 24.02 UNIT 54 FIRE 128 23.0 Unit 51 Waffle Wands 129 23.02 UNIT 51 FIRE 130 23.02 UNIT 51 FAULT 132 24.0 Unit 50 Elements by Nature 133 24.02 UNIT 50 FIRE 139 25.0 Unit 37 Bakers & BariUse a SharePoint List to Store Weekly Open Tasks Statistics
Creating a PowerShell script to send details of open tasks to users for follow up is a good thing. Storing open task statistics in a list for analysis of open task burndown over time is even better. This article describes how to update the script that sends email about open tasks to add the code necessary to use a list in a SharePoint Online site to store details about open tasks. https://office365itpros.com/2026/05/21/open-task-statistics-planner/
Microsoft 365 Apps SHOULD NOT overwrite Office 2019/2021 one-time retail installs
I want to raise a serious concern about Microsoft 365 Apps being imposed over existing Office 2019/2021 installations that were activated with legitimate one-time installation retail keys. In our case, these are not Microsoft 365 subscriptions and they are not licenses we can simply deactivate and reactivate freely. They are one-time installation retail keys. Once the product has been installed and activated, removing Office and reinstalling it later can make the original key unusable or trigger “already used” activation problems. That is precisely why the current behavior is so damaging. We have PCs with legitimate Office 2019/2021 installations. These machines did not request a migration to Microsoft 365 Apps. However, after internet connection, Office update activity, or Microsoft account interaction, Office appears to silently update, convert, or replace the existing retail installation with the Microsoft 365 Apps version. This is not a minor inconvenience. It creates a serious licensing and operational problem: -A valid one-time Office 2019/2021 installation is replaced by Microsoft 365 Apps without clear, explicit consent. -The original retail installation is no longer cleanly usable. -Fixing the issue requires uninstalling Office, removing Click-to-Run/licensing/account leftovers, and reinstalling the previous Office 2019/2021 version. -But because these keys are one-time installation keys, that reinstall process can render the original key unusable or create activation failures. -In practice, a forced Microsoft 365 conversion can destroy the value of a legitimate one-time Office license. From a user’s perspective, this looks less like a normal software update and more like an exploitative commercial strategy: using Microsoft’s control over Office updates, account sign-ins, Click-to-Run, and activation systems to push already-paid retail users toward Microsoft 365 subscriptions. Even if Microsoft does not intend that result, the practical effect is that users who already paid for Office 2019/2021 can lose practical access to their licensed product and are then nudged toward paying again through a subscription. This should not happen. A perpetual or one-time installation Office license and Microsoft 365 Apps are different products with different licensing models. Microsoft should not silently replace or convert one into the other because a Microsoft 365 account exists on the PC, because the user signs into Office, because OneDrive is present, or because Office updates are enabled. At minimum, Microsoft should provide: -A clear opt-in confirmation before replacing, converting, upgrading, or rebranding Office 2019/2021 retail installations as Microsoft 365 Apps. -A supported way to block Microsoft 365 Apps from taking over one-time installation Office versions. -A clean removal tool that fully removes Microsoft 365 Apps, Click-to-Run leftovers, licensing remnants, and account-based activation conflicts. -A reliable way to restore the original Office 2019/2021 retail installation without invalidating or losing the original one-time key. -Clear separation between Windows account sign-in, OneDrive sign-in, Microsoft 365 entitlement, and local Office retail activation. Users who purchased legitimate one-time installation Office licenses should not be forced into Microsoft 365 Apps by unclear update behavior. If Microsoft wants users to move to Microsoft 365, that should be a deliberate, informed choice — not a silent process that leaves the user cleaning up the installation and losing access to a paid retail license. I am not asking how to install Microsoft 365. I am asking Microsoft to stop Microsoft 365 Apps from taking over valid one-time Office 2019/2021 installations without explicit consent.Please allow this foundational concept for algorithms
Hello dear friends of Excel. Please let me begin by thanking you all for giving us the excellent tool that Ms Excel is. I've being working practically my whole Computer Engineer career (~18 years) with this awesome tool, and I cannot imagine doing my work without it. It really is excellent, and has been enhancing a lot in the last years. In this occasion I would like to ask you to consider including in Excel, native support for "empty arrays", that is, arrays that have "0" (zero) items. This feature would help a lot in the following type of algorithms: When you have to scan a range of cells that hold the items of a set named "S", and from that set you have to select only the items that satisfy a given condition { ALL i | such that CONDITION(i) = TRUE }, and with those selected items (i) you have to construct a new vector named "V" In this case you usually need to begin with an "empty array", that is the initial value before adding any selected item, and at some point as you process the algorithm, maybe you will find the 1st. item to add to the "empty array" Maybe you won't find any item that satisfy the condition, and at the end of the algorithm, you will end up with an "empty array" as a result. To illustrate this type of algorithm, let me put an example: =LET( vector; SEQUENCE(10); new_vector; REDUCE( 0; vector; LAMBDA(building_vector;vector_i; IF(RESIDUO(vector_i;2)=1; VSTACK(building_vector; vector_i); building_vector ) ) ); INDEX(new_vector;SEQUENCE(ROWS(new_vector) - 1) + 1) ) This "algorithm", scans a set S = { 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10 } from S, it selects only the "odd numbers" { ALL i | such that "i is odd" }, it takes every odd number and adds it to the array named "building_vector", "building_vector" begins as a non-empty-array, holding "1 sentinel item" at the beginning of the algorithm (the number "0"), at the end of the algorithm, I have to do a work-around, to remove manually the 1st. sentinel item from the array The cons of this approach are: sometimes the resulting array will not have any selected item, that is, it will be an "empty array", and as such, Excel will generate an error showing #CALC! as Excel doesn't currently support empty arrays, I have to do this workaround to add an initial sentinel item at the beginning of the algorithm, and then I have to remember to remove it at the end of it Dear friends of Excel, I consider empty arrays to be a "foundational concept for algorithms". It's like the "zero" for numbers, but for arrays. It would be nice to be able to write this kind of algorithms with the aid of Excel, being able to natively support "empty arrays" without me having to do the extra work of handling a simulated situation of an empty array. I present you this request, and I ask you to please consider the importance of this feature. Thanks in advance!Page cplor Blocking Header
Hi, I have a specific page in the document that needs to have a page color. I know the workaround for this is to create a shape filled with the color to cover the entire page but set it to hide behind text. I managed to do that. But the document has a header that look like below: first row of text: ABC Pte Ltd second row: black rectangle shape to look like separator (it is set to wrap as "tight") When the page shape was stretched the entire page, it did not block the page content but it block the header (both text and rectangle). How do I fix this so that the page color shape does not block the header?Page color and do not block header
I know that in order to set a specific page with page color in word, I need to use a workaround where I draw a rectangle filled with color and then stretch to fill the entire page and set it to hide behind text. I did that but this page also has a header where it shows the name of company and then next row is just a long black rectangle. The black rectangle was set to "tight". but now I have a problem because "page color" rectangle does not block content in the page but it block the header (both text and black rectangle). I don't understand why it is blocking both the text and shape in the header. How can I fix this?
Forcing Gridlines to print through shaded cell formatting
I know how to force gridlines to print but if any cells are formatted with a fill shading in them, the gridlines will not print through them. Is there a way to print gridlines in formatted cells which are filled? No gridlines will print through the shaded cells.Error del complemento. No pudimos conectarnos con el servidor de catalogo "{0}" para este documento
Estoy usando Word Online (Office 365) y al abrir complementos como Mendeley Cite aparece el error: “Error del complemento. No pudimos conectarnos con el servidor de catálogo {0} para este documento.” En general, este error aparece en todos los complementos existentes, como si en mi cuenta los mismos no estuvieran habilitados. Ya probé: Cambiar de navegador (Edge, Firefox, Google). Limpiar datos de navegación. Reiniciar sesión y el computador. Permitir cookies y permitir permisos de los navegadores Hasta ahora no hay forma de que los complementos funcionen en Word Online. ¿Alguien sabe cómo resolverlo? El flujo concreto es: Entro a un documento en word online -> oprimo el botón de complementos -> se abre la lista de complementos -> elijo cualquier complemento y me aparece el error del titulo de esta discusión. Hace una semana si me funcionó en edge, ahora no hay formas.
Recent Blogs
- Learn about updates we're making based on your feedback to give you more control over how Copilot appears in your favorite apps.May 21, 2026
- If you’ve ever typed an equation into Microsoft Word, copied math from the web into a document, or relied on a screen reader to understand an equation, you’ve benefited from Murray Sargent’s work, ev...May 21, 2026
