Word/PowerPoint are not suitable replacements for Publisher
I’m writing following the guidance that Word and PowerPoint can be used as replacements for Publisher. This feedback is based on completing a real production document, not theoretical use Having just completed a fairly complex, layout-heavy technical document, I thought it only fair to share how that works in practice. In theory, I can see the logic: Word handles documents PowerPoint handles layouts Therefore, between the two, everything should be covered Unfortunately, in reality, this appears to be more of a theoretical exercise than a practical solution. Publisher was clearly designed for: Fixed, page-based layouts Precise positioning of objects Efficient alignment of mixed content (text, images, tables) Producing consistent, professional multi-page documents By comparison: Word is admirably committed to reminding you that it would prefer everything to flow freely, regardless of whether you want it to or not PowerPoint, while better behaved, does seem to assume every page is a standalone slide rather than part of a structured document Both tools can, with enough persistence, be persuaded into doing the job. However, this involves a level of manual intervention, workaround, and general negotiation with the software that feels somewhat at odds with modern productivity software. To put it simply: They are not replacements in any meaningful, real-world sense. The end result can be achieved, but the process is unnecessarily time-consuming, fragile, and prone to unexpected layout changes—particularly when precision actually matters. Replacing a purpose-built publishing tool with two applications that were never designed for that role gives the impression that this use case has been… optimistically simplified. I would strongly encourage Microsoft to either: Provide a genuine page-layout solution within the Office suite, or Enhance existing applications so they can support fixed-layout publishing without constant workarounds At present, the gap left by Publisher is very noticeable for anyone producing structured documents beyond basic text. I appreciate the direction of Microsoft 365 overall, but in this particular area, the experience feels less like an evolution and more like working around a missing tool. Regards Andy
Cannot install addins
I am a Microsoft 365 Personal user. When I try to add the Claude for Excel Addin (for the Desktop version of Excel), I get an error: "Error loading add-ins. One or more add-ins failed to load. See your add-ins.". However, this is not specific to the Claude addin, since every addin gives the same error. When I click on the My-Addins option and then "refresh", I get another error: "Access denied to catalog." Signing in and out of Office does not fix the issue. Clearing the Office 365 cache did not fix the problem. The issue extends to Powerpoint and Word as well. I cannot add any addins to the web versions of Office either. Interestingly, if I download an XML manifest file, I can use the "Manage my addins" option in the web versions of Office 365 to manually add the addins. But still no luck with the Desktop versions. Anyone have any thoughts on how to fix this? Do I need to manually reinstall Office 365? I also noticed that the "Get Add-ins" button in "Account" settings is disabled.
Functionality to mark a slide complete
I do not believe this functionality alread exists but I'm quite sure I'm not the only one that would love to have it added. Now when working in a larger powerpoint slide deck I start with adding a "traffic light" to my slides that's red, and when the slide is finished I turn it green. Then, before presenting I have to delete all traffic lights before the deck is truly ready. This way I can keep track of which slides still need attention and prevent myself from spending time on slides I shouldn't. Now I believe it would be very nice if it was a built in feature where you can mark individual slides as "complete / final" or "needs attention" with visual feedback of this status in for example the navigation pane. How do others handle this and is there a trick I do not know of?
