NH Blog - Articles on Microsoft

Jan 23, 2021

Master Document in Word - Part 2

In my previous "Working with Styles" blog, we explored the creation of a new Master Document and setting a collection of subdocument links. This allows members [...]

Jan 16, 2021

Insight into the database structure internals

In today’s blog I want to write about what actually happens internally to a database once you start working with the data and how it is stored behind the scenes. [...]

Jan 10, 2021

What can we expect from Microsoft in 2017?

What happens when you stop being afraid? Ask Microsoft! The Redmond-based company that built its fortune on Windows seems willing to break more than a few digital eggs [...]

Nov 11, 2020

SharePoint 2016 Newsfeeds

SharePoint newsfeed page is your go to page for social networking. You can use newsfeed page to see what is going on. Using the newsfeed, you can micro blog, use [...]

Nov 10, 2020

Geek Time is back baby!

Who would have thought – Microsoft has brought back Geek Time, and it’s great to be a bona fide geek again! Microsoft have just announced (October 2016) their latest [...]

Oct 28, 2020

Create a chart with a secondary axis in Excel 2016

If you have two series of data that are on very different scales you can change your chart to have two sets of axes, one on the left hand side (a primary axis) and one [...]

Oct 21, 2020

Define and solve a problem by using Excel Solver

Solver is a Microsoft Excel add-in program you can use for What-If Analysis. You can use Solver to determine the maximum or minimum value of one cell by changing other [...]

Oct 13, 2020

Remove all hyperlinks from an Excel sheet using VBA

You can remove all hyperlinks in an Excel sheet by writing only one statement in VBA and that’s: ActiveSheet.Hyperlinks.Delete Of course if you were to remove [...]

Oct 12, 2020

Working with Styles - Part 5

Previously on Word Styles we looked at creating new styles over a document that will create, in effect, a company style guide. Now the company has a complete style guide [...]

Oct 10, 2020

Make multiple copies of a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet in seconds

Microsoft Excel is one of the most popular and widely used Microsoft applications in businesses worldwide. The capabilities of Excel are limitless if you know how to [...]

Sep 13, 2020

How-to: Promote a Sub-Site to a Top-Site in SharePoint 2013

If you have a sub-site in SharePoint 2013 that you would like to disjoint from its site collection and put it right at the top of a new site collection, here are the [...]

Sep 12, 2020

Excelling in Excel

Microsoft Excel is packed with features, libraries of formulas, and comes with an increasing number of intuitive abilities. Excel is the most powerful spreadsheet [...]

Sep 12, 2020

Automate your website publishing process using Github and Azure

Integrate your source control from Github to Azure. Nowadays, when we are developing web applications, we tend to use repositories such as those provided by GitHub. [...]

Aug 29, 2020

How to use Excel range names efficiently in calculations

A Microsoft Excel user can use range names in calculations which will create meaningful reports to management. While names make calculations easier to understand, [...]

Aug 23, 2020

How-to: Import Appointments from Excel to SharePoint 2013 Calendar

If you have a list of appointments in Excel and you want to append them to your SharePoint calendar follow these steps: In Your SharePoint calendar click on [...]

Aug 22, 2020

The Windows Key

Back in 1994, Microsoft introduced a new product called the Microsoft Natural Keyboard. It was a split keyboard with each half separated and tilted slightly upwards to [...]

Aug 16, 2020

How to get started with Nano Server in Windows Server 2016

Nano Server is a new installation option for Windows Server 2016. It has a significantly smaller hardware footprint than server core. Nano Server is ideal for scenarios [...]

Aug 05, 2020

Is your email inbox overloaded? Use these clever tips to manage it.

Trying to stay on top of emails does not have to be a losing battle. Take charge of your mailbox and efficiently manage your unread emails with below tips from New [...]

Feb 22, 2021

Transparent Images in PowerPoint 2013

Here are two useful options to work with transparency of images in PowerPoint 2013. 1. How to make an image’s background transparent This is useful when you want [...]

Feb 15, 2021

The magic of scrollbar control in Excel

By adding a scrollbar control to a Microsoft Excel sheet you can bind it to a range of values. As you scroll, the values in that range will be returned into a cell. You [...]

Feb 09, 2021

Configuring an internet facing deployment for Microsoft CRM Server

This blog is about how to configure Microsoft CRM Server for access over Internet. If you want your users to access CRM from a browser outside your organisation or [...]

Feb 08, 2021

Custom number formats in Excel

While Excel has plenty of standard formats for dates and numbers, if these don’t suit what you need, you can make use of custom number formats to display your data [...]

Feb 04, 2021

Convert a Column to a Link-to-Item in SharePoint

In a SharePoint List or Library by default, there is a column from which you can edit or view the properties of an item, e.g. column Title in the picture. This [...]

Feb 02, 2021

Text to Columns - First Space Only

I was recently asked how the street number and street name could be split into two cells (eg 344 Queen Street to 344 in one cell and Queen Street in another) using [...]

Feb 01, 2021

Creating an awesome In-Memory Database

Creating your very first In-Memory Database. With the SQL Server 2014, Microsoft unveiled the inclusion of a new type of engine that would supposedly increase the [...]

Jan 21, 2021

Your Future in IT – A “Brave New World” for the IT Professional

I was reading an interesting article the other day called “Major Changes Coming from Microsoft Will Impact Your Career” by Jeffrey Schwartz, and it got me thinking about [...]

Dec 14, 2020

Windows as a Service – The new Update Model

With the release of Windows 10 back at the end of July 2015, Microsoft also brought in a new update model, so out with the old monthly “Patch Tuesday” modality, and in [...]

Nov 30, 2020

Custom Data Validation Rules in Excel

Data Validation is a feature of Excel that can greatly improve the quality of data that is entered into cells by limiting what a user can type. You can create simple [...]

Nov 23, 2020

Ever typed a date into Excel and it turned into a number?

Before I explain why Excel might turn a date into a number I need to discuss how Excel stores data. When you type information into a cell in Excel, the program tries [...]

Nov 16, 2020

The Quick Brown Fox...

To insert sample text in Word 2007, 2010 or 2013, use one of the following methods. Method 1: Use rand() You can control how many paragraphs and lines appear by [...]

Nov 12, 2020

From Rivals to Friends … The rise of a new behemoth – The Red Microsoft Hat.

Yes, our solar system is still heliocentric. Any number multiplied by zero still equals zero. NETFLIX still rocks. Most reality TV is still excruciatingly painful to [...]

Nov 10, 2020

I wasn't meant to send that!

Recall a message in Outlook We've all done it before, we've clicked on Send before proofreading one of our emails, forgotten to upload an attachment into the [...]

Nov 06, 2020

Decorate Your Office

The Microsoft Office applications can be customised to use a different colour scheme and, in the case of Office 2013 and 2016, a background. The background is purely [...]

Oct 30, 2020

Power Map in Excel 2013

If you are using Office 365 Pro Plus or Excel 2013, you can take advantage of Power Map for Excel. Power Map is a three-dimensional (3-D) data visualisation tool that [...]

Oct 29, 2020

What’s new in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015?

In today’s blog, I will talk about the new features in Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2015. Accessing records using voice commands Now Cortana is tightly integrated with [...]

Oct 27, 2020

On the Checkout Option in SharePoint

The Checkout option in SharePoint 2010+ serves two purposes. It controls incrementation of versions It disallows concurrent editing of an [...]

Oct 26, 2020

Selecting Layers in a Visio Flowchart Diagram

Visio enables the creation of a multitude of different types of diagram. Flowcharts, however, are one of the most common types. Formatting a flowchart can be made much [...]

Oct 23, 2020

What is new in Office 2016

In today’s blog I will cover some of the new features of Microsoft Office 2016. Office 2016 is optimised for phones and tablets. Microsoft calls these new apps as [...]

Oct 15, 2020

Save time by using your Document Stencil

Save time, update and reuse Visio Shapes with Your Document Stencil. The Document Stencil is a special stencil that is automatically created in each Visio drawing [...]

Oct 13, 2020

Welcome to the new Edge

Microsoft Edge which was formerly known as Project Spartan is the next generation browser that ships along with Windows 10. In today’s blog, I will be covering some of [...]

Sep 28, 2020

Create a Chart Template in Excel

A picture says a 1000 words… or so the saying goes. Charts are a popular way for people to graphically represent data when trying to emphasise trends and generally [...]

Sep 24, 2020

No need for meeting notes anymore!

OneNote is a program that allows you to keep all your notes in one place, but I find some people in my OneNote courses ask “But why wouldn’t I just use Microsoft [...]

Sep 22, 2020

The best features in Office 2016!

Office 2016 is the latest release from Microsoft’s Office productivity suite. Microsoft has reimagined the traditional Office experience for a mobile-first, cloud-first [...]

Sep 21, 2020

Use a slicer to make better business decisions

Being able to analyse all the data in your worksheet can help you make better business decisions. But sometimes it is hard to know where to start, especially when you [...]

Sep 15, 2020

New security features in Windows 10

In today’s Blog, I will be covering new Windows 10 security features. Windows 10 comes with many new features to protect employees from the hackers and the company from [...]

Sep 14, 2020

All About VLOOKUP() in Excel

Vlookup is a handy function in Excel. It is a quick and easy answer to lookup requests. It does exactly what we humans normally do when we look up something in a table. [...]

Sep 11, 2020

Creating a layout for Word and Excel

How many times have you wanted to test a layout in Word or Excel before actually putting the content in? In this post, I'll show you a couple of simple ways of [...]

Sep 08, 2020

Do the Quick Step in Outlook

In Outlook, what is a quick step? It is a way to make a common action you perform in Outlook 2010 or 2013 take a single click. It isn’t like a Rule that often happens [...]

Sep 07, 2020

OneDrive for Business Gets Some Major Enterprise Updates

OneDrive for Business – along with the rest of Office 365 – is known for Microsoft’s newish business process of delivering new features and updates as soon as they are [...]

Sep 03, 2020

Word Equations

Microsoft Word is not only a great tool for everyday business documents like reports, memos and minutes, it can also be used to produce much more specialised [...]

Sep 01, 2020

Using the WebView Control in Windows Apps

Let's say you are developing a Windows Store App using XAML with C# but you need to display interactive HTML5 content as part of the overall user experience. In [...]

Aug 24, 2020

Multiple Desktops in Windows 10

Whilst support for "virtual" desktops has been around for a while, Microsoft hadn't made it a first-class member of the OS. Now, in Windows 10, you can easily create [...]

Aug 20, 2020

Automate a table of contents in InDesign

A lot of larger documents (and even some smaller ones) require a table of contents so that readers can more easily locate the information they need. Manually creating [...]

Aug 18, 2020

Create a Custom Tracking View in Project 2013

By creating custom tables and views, you’ll import the same data and still be able to switch back to the delivered Gantt chart and standard tables. If you don’t create a [...]

Aug 14, 2020

Excel – Weighted Average Calculation

Calculating an average in Excel is really easy, but sometimes the business requirement calls for a more sophisticated weighted average. For example when analysing a [...]

Aug 13, 2020

Remote Events in SharePoint 2013

Earlier versions of SharePoint provided support for event receivers that allowed server side code to run in response to events like adding items to lists, creating new [...]

Aug 11, 2020

Spellcheck and custom dictionaries in Microsoft Word

Almost everyone who uses Microsoft Word has used spellcheck to fix spelling mistakes in their documents. However, when spellchecking a document you have several choices [...]

Aug 04, 2020

The Many Flavours of Windows 10

OK so Windows 10 has finally been officially released, so what are we actually getting? As usual, Microsoft has released not just one Windows 10, but multiple different [...]

Jul 30, 2020

Introducing Windows 10!

It has finally arrived! Microsoft Windows 10 originally code-named ‘threshold’ is the next operating system from Microsoft. With this operating system, Microsoft aims to [...]

Jul 27, 2020

Unlinking A Pivot Table From Its Source Data

You may have a situation in which you need to send someone a pivot table summary report, but you don't want to include the original data. In other words, you want to [...]

Jul 24, 2020

Create Documents Archive Repository in SharePoint 2013

You can create a Document Library in SharePoint 2013 to manually or automatically transfer your old files to, from any site in a site collection. In order to do this you [...]

Jul 23, 2020

Creating a chart with a secondary axis

Here is how to show two different types of information on the same chart; especially if the two types of information are on different scales (one set of information is a [...]

Jul 21, 2020

Visual creation of a Microsoft Azure SQL Database.

Hi Kids, welcome back for another thrilling, and hopefully edifying, blog post. You may recall that I wrote a blog a little while ago about creating a database using [...]

Jul 16, 2020

Recording Screen Action in PowerPoint 2013

PowerPoint 2013 now has a feature that enables you to take a full-motion screen capture. This could be very useful to demonstrate a process as part of the presentation [...]

Jul 14, 2020

Creating a storage account and container in Windows Azure

We are constantly moving further into the space of using the cloud to host our application and services, so why not use Windows Azure to contain your files as well? [...]

Jul 13, 2020

Selecting Text in Microsoft Word

Before we do anything to the text we’ve written in Microsoft Word, such as formatting or copy and paste, we first have to select the text, or as some people say, [...]

Jul 09, 2020

Using conditional formatting to highlight weekend dates in Excel

When you design an automated calendar in Microsoft Excel, you don’t need to colour the weekends yourself. With the conditional formatting tool, you can automatically [...]

Jul 07, 2020

Autofill to the Last Row Using VBA

Sometimes you require imitating the operation of Autofill to the last cell in Excel VBA. This is when you double click the little dot located at the right bottom corner [...]

Jul 06, 2020

Display the message "Tasks due shortly" in Project

In project management, it is very important to know that a task is due to start shortly because of the following reasons: You have to make sure that the necessary [...]

Jul 03, 2020

Task types and scheduling in Project

One of the hardest aspects of working with Microsoft Project is being able to understand the relationship between the three main units of measurement. Correctly [...]

Jul 03, 2020

Planning and configuring Enterprise Content Management in SharePoint 2013

In today’s blog post, I will talk about the Enterprise Content Management feature of SharePoint. Enterprise content management is a set of process that enables an [...]

Jun 30, 2020

Poodle or terrier – are your systems safe?

System security is something that everybody - System admins, end users and everyone in between - should be ever vigilant about – even if you think you are covered, [...]

Jun 29, 2020

Present a PowerPoint 2013 presentation online

Advancements in communication make distributed office environments and working remotely an ever more practicable option, but what about when you need to deliver a [...]

Jun 26, 2020

Code sharing strategies in Windows Universal Apps

I have previously introduced you to the amazing concept of Universal Apps, which essentially means that you can share most of the source code between Windows Store Apps [...]

Jun 25, 2020

Reuse slides in PowerPoint

There are many features of all of the Office Applications that get missed and people only find about when attending one of the many New Horizons Office Applications [...]

Jun 23, 2020

SharePoint permissions on views using workflows

Another method to prevent certain users from viewing some documents or items is to directly apply permissions on the items themselves. Item level permission overrides [...]

Jun 22, 2020

Archiving old emails in Outlook

Quite a few people at my work seem to have trouble with archiving their emails. They get a tech person to set up archiving and then when something goes wrong, they can’t [...]

Jun 18, 2020

For Each loops in Excel VBA

Unlike the traditional For Next loops, the For Each loops do not iterate a ‘set’ number of times. Simply put, this looping structure allows you to iterate through a [...]

Jun 16, 2020

What? Cosmic rays?

Okay, so the title. What's that about? I mean, good gravy, how are cosmic rays in anyway relevant to a blog about SQL Server? Srsly? Have you ever heard of DBCC? [...]

Jun 12, 2020

New features of Microsoft CRM 2013

Microsoft Dynamics CRM 2013 comes with many new features and advancements targeted to improve the overall user experience and satisfaction. In today’s article, I will [...]

Jun 11, 2020

Customising the Project 2013 interface

First time users to Microsoft Project often ask me how to do an initial customisation of the Microsoft Project 2013 interface so I have created these four simple steps [...]

Jun 09, 2020

Managing mobile devices with Windows Intune and SCCM 2012 R2

A lot has changed in the management of your mobile devices in just a short period of time. When the latest main release of SCCM (System Center Configuration Manager) was [...]

Jun 09, 2020

Recording screen action in PowerPoint 2013

PowerPoint 2013 now has a feature that enables you to take a full-motion screen capture. This could be very useful to demonstrate a process as part of the presentation [...]

Jun 05, 2021

A fantastic add-in for OneNote 2013

The ability to add and format tables in OneNote 2013 allows users to create sophisticated tables and store the information required in a very easy to read [...]

Jun 04, 2021

Taking a closer look at Universal Apps

Universal Apps were publicly introduced in Microsoft’s BUILD 2014 conference held in San Francisco in April 2014. With Universal Apps, you can develop one code base and [...]

Jun 02, 2021

Creating Quick Parts in Microsoft Word

Quick Parts are a type of building block in Microsoft Word that allow you to insert a ‘standard clunk’ into your Word documents. They are great for ‘bits of a document’ [...]

Jun 01, 2021

Troubleshooting an upgrade to Exchange Server 2013

So you are thinking of upgrading your existing Exchange Server 2010 to the all new and improved Exchange Server 2013, and you are wondering about those lovely pitfalls [...]

Jun 01, 2021

Troubleshooting Office 365: Real solutions

I had a question not long ago in regards to OneNote and OneDrive not syncing anymore, and no matter what was tried, it didn't work. The problem The [...]

May 29, 2021

Recursive functions in VBA

In programming, you use functions for two purposes. You either want to reuse a piece of code over and over again, therefore you encapsulate it as a function, or you may [...]

May 28, 2021

PivotTable timelines in Excel 2013

Timelines are a new feature in Excel 2013. A timeline lets you filter records in a PivotTable - it works similar to a slicer, but you'll filter by dates. Once you [...]

May 26, 2021

Virtualising SQL Server using Hyper-V 3.0 and SCVMM

In this blog post, I will discuss virtualising Microsoft SQL Server 2012 using Microsoft’s own Hyper-V 3.0 and System Center Virtual Machine Manager (SCVMM). Before [...]

May 25, 2021

Understanding the difference between Office 2013 and Office 365

You’re looking to upgrade from Office 2010, but instead of just a choice between Home and Professional to make, you now have to choose between Office 365 and Office [...]

May 22, 2021

New Hyper-V cmdlets in PowerShell 4.0

Whilst there have some great new features, updates and bug fixes in PowerShell 4.0, I think the new Hyper-V cmdlets added in PS 4.0 have been largely overlooked. [...]

May 21, 2021

Remove those rogue records in Excel

When lists of data are merged, duplicates can be introduced. Fortunately, Microsoft Excel has a Remove Duplicates feature that will eliminate these rogue records. All [...]

May 19, 2021

Managing application settings in Windows Store Apps

Windows 8.1 applications can save and retrieve settings using local storage in a very straightforward way. In today's blog post, I will guide you through the steps [...]

May 18, 2021

Find a filter result without filtering in Excel

You may remember a previous blog post of mine about advanced filters previously. I recently had a student in one of our Excel Courses who was interested in filtering and [...]

May 15, 2021

What is new in Office 365

Office 365 has had a great New Year. Microsoft has delivered Office across more platforms and has been busy adding new features, apps and updates to services across all [...]

May 12, 2021

How to create an e-mail template in Outlook

An Outlook e-mail template is a very powerful feature, although often, it is underestimated. For instance, you may have specific forms you use when you send emails to [...]

May 08, 2021

Round, RoundUp and RoundDown in Excel

This article explains the three functions to round numbers in Excel - the ROUND, ROUNDUP and ROUNDDOWN function. Note: Before your start, if you round a number, you [...]

May 07, 2021

Have you ever...?

Have you ever...? These three words at the beginning of a sentence usually mean that the person asking has done something in the past that they're not quite sure [...]

May 05, 2021

Group data in ranges of values in Excel

Let’s assume you have a column full of numbers, as shown in Figure 1 below. Let's say you need to visually group the Quantity column into 4 groups or ranges as [...]

May 04, 2021

Create a Windows 8.1 Enterprise Reference Image with MDT 2013

So I just finished delivering the 10747 SCCM 2012 R2 Configuration Manager training course and again, I was asked the same question. MDT - is it useful for creating my [...]

Apr 28, 2021

Outlook rules rule!

Rules in Microsoft Outlook are a way to automatically manage emails coming into your inbox. The most common type of rule are those that move certain emails to folders [...]

Apr 27, 2021

Group Managed Service Accounts in Windows Server 2012

Managed Service Accounts (MSAs) were first introduced in Windows Server 2008 R2 (and Windows 7) and what a great leap forward for administrators they were – finally, we [...]

Apr 24, 2021

Automate your table of contents in Microsoft Word

In order to create an automatically generated table of contents (TOC) in Microsoft Word, you need to ensure you apply heading styles throughout your document. That is, [...]

Apr 23, 2021

Windows To Go! Part 3.

In today's third part of the Windows To Go series, we will have a look at 3 critical things for your Windows To Go. Make sure you check out Part 1 and Part 2 before [...]

Apr 21, 2021

Reduce those pesky meeting request response messages in Outlook

If you regularly send out meeting requests in Microsoft Outlook, perhaps on behalf of a number of people, you are probably fed up with the volume of responses that you [...]

Apr 20, 2021

Upgrading and migrating to SharePoint 2013

Upgrading your SharePoint Server 2010 environment to SharePoint Server 2013 is a major undertaking and it requires careful planning. In contrast with earlier versions of [...]

Apr 17, 2021

Create a SharePoint list based on an Excel spreadsheet

You can create a list in Microsoft SharePoint by importing an Excel spreadsheet file, if your data is already in a spreadsheet format. When you create a list from a [...]

Apr 16, 2021

Odds are you are going to want to know something about this.

Have you ever watched the NRL Grand Final or perhaps the finale of The Block? How about the great race, Bathurst? Some amazing results with such matches and shows. Well, [...]

Apr 13, 2021

Using Yammer as your social network

>A little over a year ago, Microsoft announced you could make Yammer the primary enterprise social experience in Office 365 for everyone in your organisation. This [...]

Apr 10, 2021

How to contour the resources usage in Microsoft Project

The person responsible for updating a Microsoft Project plan file can contour the work using predefined settings. The Work Contour option provides choices for the [...]

Apr 09, 2021

SharePoint permissions on views using [Me]

In a previous blog post, we looked at one way to apply permissions on views and discussed its limitations. If you need a view so that everyone sees items that are [...]

Apr 07, 2021

Copy visible cells only in Excel

I am often asked why it is that sometimes when you copy and paste a filtered or subtotaled range of cells in Microsoft Excel, they expand and paste even the hidden [...]

Apr 02, 2021

Implementing the Search Contract in Windows Store Apps

Windows 8 introduced the concept of contracts. You can think of a contract as an agreement between the app and the operating system (OS). There are a fair number of [...]

Mar 31, 2021

How to create custom lists in Excel

Did you know that Microsoft Excel is very smart? If you type the name of the month (e.g. January), it knows automatically what comes next in the series so that if you [...]

Mar 20, 2021

Managing packages with NuGet

NuGet is an open source package manager for the .NET Framework. NuGet makes it very easy for developers to add, remove and update library references in a project. It was [...]

Mar 17, 2021

Background images in OneNote 2013

OneNote allows you to insert online pictures or pictures from your computer hard drive into your notebook pages. Then you can set the picture as a background, so you can [...]

Mar 09, 2021

Instant calculations in Excel

The ability to create formulas in Excel using worksheet functions is one of the applications' most important features. However, for six of these functions, it’s [...]

Mar 04, 2021

Indexed member initialisers in C# 6

The new C# 6 compiler was released as open source on 1st April, 2014 in CodePlex. It was included in Visual Studio 14 CTP 3 that was released on the 18th August, 2014. [...]

Mar 02, 2021

Windows To Go! Part 2.

In my previous blog post regarding Windows to Go, we looked at the features and possibilities with some of the challenges in implementing it. One of those [...]

Feb 26, 2021

What is a Concordance File?

If you are doing long documents that require an Index to find things quickly for the reader then you need to know about a Concordance file. It will save you from having [...]

Feb 24, 2021

Security Compliance Manager Updated

As server administrators, keeping up to date on the latest security patches is a common task, but have you verified that your servers and workstations actually meet [...]

Feb 19, 2021

Creating custom task alerts in Microsoft Project 2010/13

Microsoft Project 2010 and 2013 have a built in functions which provides the user with powerful tools to monitor their project progress. One of the common issues in [...]

Feb 17, 2021

Windows To Go! Part 1.

With Windows To Go, you can create a copy of Windows on a USB drive and use it wherever you go. If you’re working from home or traveling, insert the USB drive in your [...]

Feb 16, 2021

Innovations in Office 365

The technology industry runs on innovation: new products, new features and new ideas. Innovation is the arena in which technology companies compete to offer products and [...]

Feb 13, 2021

Two DBAs walk into a NoSQL bar

Two DBAs walk into a NoSQL bar and leave rather hurriedly when they can't find a table. Insert geek laugh here. Weak, isn't it? Well at least it gives me an opening [...]

Feb 12, 2021

Manage emails in Outlook using the 4 Ds

In an earlier blog post, I talked about some of the ways to manage the flood of emails in Microsoft Outlook that we all seem to get these days. I spoke about Flags and [...]

Feb 10, 2021

Master mail merge to email in Microsoft Word

Have you ever needed to send the same letter out to 100 clients? It would be very time consuming to have to create each of those on your own. A better option is to [...]

Feb 06, 2021

Introduction to transitions and animations in PowerPoint 2010/13

Today, I’m going to talk about two features of Microsoft PowerPoint that really make PowerPoint a distinctive part of the Office suite - transitions and animations. Both [...]

Feb 03, 2021

Reverse engineering a nested formula in Excel

Sometimes, understanding how a nested formula in Microsoft Excel calculates the final result is difficult because there are several intermediate calculations and logical [...]

Feb 02, 2021

DMOC: The evolution of Microsoft's Official Courseware

I love reading books, especially when they are perfectly-bound. No one can dispute the feeling of opening a newly published book, the smell, the touch and feel of owning [...]

Jan 29, 2021

Windows 10 - Technical Preview

So Windows 10 has arrived, at least the Technical Preview. Installed it, loved it, besides the crashes and glitches that can be expected from the release, it is pretty [...]

Jan 27, 2021

Three really handy Excel keyboard shortcuts

Here are three keyboard shortcuts I find really handy in Microsoft Excel. These shortcuts each do something very useful they and are often hard to achieve using the [...]

Jan 16, 2021

Using cross-domain library with SharePoint 2013 apps

  When you create a cloud-based app in SharePoint, the pages of your app will be in a different domain than the app web that contains lists and libraries to be [...]

Jan 15, 2021

Are you using the right colour?

Computer screens and TVs are capable of displaying up to 16,777,216 colours. This is referred to as True Colour. All the applications in the Microsoft Office suite use [...]

Jan 13, 2021

Using Outlook flags and categories to manage emails

Here are two quick tips for managing emails in Microsoft Outlook. I’m not going to include ‘folders’ as one of the these tips even though they are a useful option for [...]

Jan 09, 2021

Setting up Outlook 2013 to suit your personal needs

When you move to a new version of Outlook, such as Outlook 2013, some of the programs settings and how the screen looks may change. Instead of just ‘putting up with’ [...]

Jan 08, 2021

Designing business continuity management strategies in SharePoint 2013

In today’s blog, I will talk about high availability in SharePoint 2013. High availability describes the steps you take to make your server farm resilient to hardware [...]

Jan 06, 2021

Compact and repair an Access database

Databases can get big. Very big. This can be because they contain a large amount of data, but it can also be because of wasted space taken up by deleted data. When [...]

Jan 05, 2021

Say goodbye to an old friend – and other end of life facts

Say goodbye to an old friend – Windows Server 2003 – a venerable workhorse if ever there was one – is about to be retired. More specifically, Microsoft’s end of support [...]

Dec 19, 2020

Use the Eyedropper tool in PowerPoint 2013

In PowerPoint 2013, there is a handy feature called the Eyedropper that makes matching colour easy. Not only can you match colours within your presentation but also [...]

Dec 18, 2020

Implementing external content types in SharePoint 2013

When we work in a SharePoint environment, we most often use data that is stored within SharePoint, but this doesn't stop us from working with data that is stored [...]

Dec 16, 2020

Excel formulas are not just for numbers

I had a student recently say that she "didn't need to know formulas in Excel" as she "didn't work with financial spreadsheets." Formulas, however, do a lot more than [...]

Dec 12, 2020

Two ways to put a sticky note on your desktop

If you don’t have a pad of post-it notes on your desk but you need to make a quick note, you can create an onscreen reminder in a couple of ways. 1. Use Windows 7’s [...]

Dec 11, 2020

The changing face of the Office 365 plans

Since Office 365 was first released in Australia back in 2011, Telstra have had a virtual monopoly on anyone in the small to medium business category (up to approx. [...]

Dec 09, 2020

Change the Spell Check Language on all slides in PowerPoint using VBA (2007 onwards)

One limitation of PowerPoint is that you can only change the Spell Check Language for a one text box at a time; there is no way to set it for the entire presentation. [...]

Dec 02, 2020

Using the 'Flash Fill' feature to apply the desired formatting in Excel 2013

Excel 2013 has the wonderful new feature called Flash Fill. This feature allows the user to split and combine text string as well as format the split or combined text [...]

Dec 01, 2020

'CONNECT ANY DATABASE' in SQL Server 2014

Today, I'd like to have a look at a new permission added to SQL Server 2014 that gives us a couple of interesting possibilities. So, hang in there while we have a quick [...]

Nov 28, 2020

Scheduling Rostered Days Off (RDO) in Project 2013

I am often asked how to schedule non-working time for resources in Project 2013 who have a nine day fortnight so I have put together this little set of instructions. It [...]

Nov 27, 2020

Apply permissions on web parts in SharePoint

In Microsoft SharePoint, the only straightforward way to hide a view from public is to set it as a "Personal View." This way, only you can see the view and others can’t. [...]

Nov 24, 2020

Comparing and combining two lists using VLOOKUPs

You may remember that in my last blog post, I talked about how to do a VLOOKUP in Microsoft Excel. Today, we are going to use VLOOKUPS to compare and combine two lists [...]

Nov 21, 2020

The Windows Server 2012 R2 Desktop Experience

Where are the goodies on Windows Server 2012 R2? That may seem like a silly question for an Advanced Operating System like Windows Server 2012 R2, but let’s break it [...]

Nov 20, 2020

Removing the background from a picture in Microsoft Office

If you have a picture that you want to insert into a Microsoft Office document that is perfect except for the photo-bomber or other unwanted content in the background, [...]

Nov 18, 2020

Using SharePoint to create a 'Team Based Master Calendar'

Your team can now have a master calendar that can overlay up to 10 calendars over one another to create a calendar that the whole team can view, and each calendar is [...]

Nov 14, 2020

Charts that aren't charts

In Microsoft Excel, there are a couple of ways to create a 'chart that isn't a chart.' Each produces a graphical representation of data, but using different [...]

Nov 13, 2020

Using Delegates in .NET

We can think of the concept of delegates in the .NET framework as a type-safe implementation of callback functions. In today’s post, I’ll dig deeper into this definition [...]

Nov 11, 2020

Active Directory Administrative Center (ADAC) Updated

OK all you budding server administrators, have you checked out ADAC (the Active Directory Administrative Center) lately? Now ADAC has been around for a while now, but if [...]

Nov 10, 2020

How to create a template in Microsoft Outlook 2010 and 2013

Microsoft Outlook 2010 and 2013 have predefined templates you can use to maintain consistency in your emails to clients and people you interact with email messages. They [...]

Nov 06, 2020

Evolving Office 365 plans

Making Office 365 even better for small and mid-sized businesses. On October 1, 2014, Microsoft released three new Office 365 plans tailored to meet the needs of [...]

Nov 04, 2020

Duplicate animations with ease using PowerPoint's Animation Painter

Adding animations to our PowerPoint presentations can add visual interest and help emphasise information being presented. It can also be quite time consuming getting [...]

Nov 03, 2020

SQL Server in Microsoft Azure virtual machines

You know that virtual machine you’re using that’s hosted on Windows Server 2012 R2 or System Center 2012 R2? Well, that same virtualisation technology is now available [...]

Oct 31, 2020

Doing a VLOOKUP that finds exactly what you want

A VLOOKUP in Microsoft Excel looks up and finds a piece of information in a list, a list like the one below: The V in VLOOKUP stands for vertical because you are [...]

Oct 30, 2020

Designing business continuity management strategies in SharePoint 2013

In today’s article, I will talk about high availability in SharePoint 2013. High availability describes the steps you take to make your server farm resilient to hardware [...]

Oct 28, 2020

Use Office 2013 at home with an Office 365 subscription

If you find the Microsoft Office 2013 applications essential at work, then why not at home? Kids, especially, require access to applications like PowerPoint and Word for [...]

Oct 27, 2020

Extension methods in C#

In today’s blog post, I will address the issue of extending an object definition when you don’t have access to the source code or you can’t inherit from the original [...]

Oct 24, 2020

Use the master slide to save time in PowerPoint 2013

So you need to make a new presentation quickly and only have a half an hour!! Eek! Have no fear the Master Slide is here! Open a new presentation in Microsoft [...]

Oct 23, 2020

Business process flows in Microsoft CRM 2013

Business process flows guide people and help them align their procedures to fit in with standard operating procedures of an organisation. This lets the end user to [...]

Oct 21, 2020

Inserting an online video in Word 2013

Microsoft Word 2013 introduces a new feature which I think is pretty great: the ability to insert a link to an online video. The most likely source of the video would be [...]

Oct 20, 2020

How to install and configure integration packs for System Center Orchestrator

Did you know that you can download the System Center Orchestrator Integration packs directly from the Microsoft website? Alternatively, most of the third party [...]

Oct 17, 2020

The mystery of mail merge in Microsoft Word

There seems to be some mystery surrounding the process of performing a mail merge in Microsoft Word. People are often daunted by the thought of having to use this [...]

Oct 16, 2020

Get into the cloud with Visual Studio Online

Did you know there's such a thing called Microsoft Visual Studio Online now? You didn't?! Let's have a quick look, shall we? Alright, so you know the whole world is [...]

Oct 14, 2020

3 easy ways to send a standard e-mail in Outlook

I was speaking with a Learning Solutions Advisor, Sean, at New Horizons about being able to efficiently respond to his clients through email. While discussing, I came up [...]

Oct 13, 2020

Enhancements to Transact-SQL for SQL Server 2014

Did you know that Microsoft has released a new version of SQL Server? (Of course you did!) Well, a new version means new stuff! It is a Microsoft product, so there are [...]

Oct 10, 2020

Why use section breaks in Microsoft Word?

So you just got told that you are going to have to write the next training manual for your job. No problem. Just type everything up and then print it out, right? Hold [...]

Oct 07, 2020

Virtual machine migration in Windows Server 2012 and the heyday of blaxploitation cinema

I am so excited about the options for virtual machine migration in Windows Server 2012 and the heyday of blaxploitation cinema that I just had to write and tell you all [...]

Sep 26, 2020

Dynamic charts in Microsoft Excel

Charts in Microsoft Excel are a great way of representing data graphically, but sometimes that data is subject to change and when it does change, we need our charts to [...]

Sep 23, 2020

Asynchronous programming in C#

One of the most interesting new features in C# 5.0 is the support for asynchronous functions with the introduction of the new keywords, async and await. Writing [...]

Sep 22, 2020

All about autofill in Microsoft Excel

You all agree that Microsoft Excel’s Autofill feature is one of the most popular and versatile features in Excel, however not a lot of people know about its full [...]

Sep 19, 2020

All about abstract classes in C#

In today's article, I will review one of the most exciting object-oriented programming (OOP) features of C#, namely the concept of abstract classes. An abstract class is [...]

Sep 16, 2020

Certificate Error, go back to start, do not collect $200

Recently, I had a friend contacting me who got this nagging message the other day with Office 365: The name on the security certificate is invalid or does not match the [...]

Sep 09, 2020

Cloud computing with Microsoft Azure

In my previous blog post (The basics of cloud computing), I explained the concept of cloud computing, cloud services, types of cloud and the Microsoft cloud technologies [...]

Sep 05, 2020

Passwords and alternative credentials in PowerShell

On a number of PowerShell courses, I have been asked by students what is an easy way to use or save alternative (usually Administrator) credentials when remoting into [...]

Sep 04, 2020

Create an advanced filter in Excel

Filtering is a common task in Microsoft Excel and the normal filtering (the ‘autofilter’) can do quite a lot of what you will need. However, there are some filters that [...]

Sep 02, 2020

Voice Resiliency Features of Lync Server 2013

Voice resiliency is a great feature of Lync Server 2013 which ensures the voice functionality (ability to make and receive calls) is available to users in the event of [...]

Sep 01, 2020

Heading styles in Microsoft Word

Recently, one of the students in a Microsoft Word training course asked me whether it was a good idea to use the existing Heading styles (Heading 1, Heading 2 Heading 3, [...]

Aug 28, 2020

5 steps to create a custom field in Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project 2010 and 2013 allows end users to customise their application views by creating custom fields. Not every industry has the same type of information [...]

Aug 22, 2020

Xbox, oh Xbox, give me media!

Do you have Windows Vista, Windows 7 or Windows 8? Then, provided you have an Xbox with a wired or wireless home network, you can add broadband Internet to the mix and [...]

Aug 21, 2020

Dress up and present your data with Power View

Power View is a feature of Microsoft Excel 2013 that allows you to create stunning interactive visual presentations of data from multiple sources.  In this tutorial we [...]

Aug 19, 2020

The basics of cloud computing

The term "cloud computing" covers a wide range of concepts, technologies, and techniques for creating scalable, flexible, and manageable IT infrastructure solutions. [...]

Aug 18, 2020

How to create a simple Waterfall chart in Excel

Microsoft Excel comes with a whole heap of different chart types and it is amazing to see that Waterfall chart is not one of them. A Waterfall chart is a column chart [...]

Aug 15, 2020

An epiphany about the cloud

I’m going to take you on a short journey, back a couple of years where we’ll find a younger version of myself, bright-eyed, enthusiastic…nah, really not a lot different. [...]

Aug 14, 2020

Networking requirements planning in Lync Server 2013

In today's article, I will shed light on the area of network requirements planning in Microsoft Lync Server 2013 with a strong focus on Quality of Service and bandwidth [...]

Aug 12, 2020

The enhanced Presenter View in PowerPoint 2013

There are two ways that you can run a slideshow in Microsoft PowerPoint. One way is to run it with the same image on both the projected screen and the presenter’s [...]

Aug 11, 2020

Synchronising concurrent access to data in C#

It’s fairly straightforward to start new threads in C# to run sections of code concurrently in a multi-core machine. Done properly, multithreading can dramatically [...]

Aug 08, 2020

Easily delete blank rows from your data using Excel VBA

Quite often, you'll be required to remove non-contiguous blank rows to join ranges of data together. This is quite tricky to do in Excel, but I've explained how to do [...]

Aug 07, 2020

Run the Runbook Tester in System Center 2012 R2

In my opinion, System Center 2012 R2 Orchestrator is the ultimate automation tool in the System Center stack. More specifically, in today's article, I will go through [...]

Aug 05, 2020

Keep your Excel formulas in place with dynamic named ranges

So, you have developed an exciting formula somewhere that works perfectly by extracting some value from a specified range and you are quite proud of it. Then one day, [...]

Aug 04, 2020

Get online with Lync Online

What is Lync Online and how do I migrate on-premise users to it? In today's blog post, I'll give you the answer to this great question. Lync functionality is [...]

Aug 01, 2020

Creating multiple signatures in Outlook

For many years people have had two signatures in Microsoft Outlook; one for new messages and one that gets used when replying and forwarding. The latter is generally [...]

Jul 31, 2020

Become an ace in Microsoft Azure SQL Database

In my last post, Crash course in Microsoft Azure SQL Database, I discussed the Azure SQL Database platform, its role and key features. So now that we're across this, [...]

Jul 29, 2020

Returning multiple lookups using Excel's VLOOKUP

Excel's #vlookup function, like every other Excel function, returns only one value from a table. It looks up a table to find a row that has a key value in its first [...]

Jul 28, 2020

Get your head into the cloud for free!

I know many of you have been hearing about cloud computing for quite a while now. Some of you have already made the change, and a lot of you want to check out this whole [...]

Jul 25, 2020

Remove excess spaces from data in Microsoft Excel

When data is imported into Excel, excess characters sometimes come with it. Non-printing characters are the hardest to detect as they are, of course, invisible. Spaces [...]

Jul 24, 2020

Crash course in Microsoft Azure SQL Database

Microsoft Azure SQL Database (formerly known as SQL Azure) is an easy to provision and manage cloud-based database management solution based on SQL Server [...]

Jul 22, 2020

Access your Access files in Microsoft Project

As mentioned in my previous blog posts (3 settings that will increase your efficiency in Microsoft Project & Automatically reach your deadlines with scheduled tasks [...]

Jul 21, 2020

Networking architecture in Lync Server 2013

Lync Server 2013 is suitable for small organisations and for testing purposes where all functions run on a single box. The enterprise version of Lync Server 2013 allows [...]

Jul 17, 2020

Remove blank rows in Excel with this VBA code

Quite often, you will find that you may have several table ranges in your Excel worksheet separated by blank rows that are undesirable. You also might even have a big [...]

Jul 15, 2020

Cross-site publishing with SharePoint 2013

SharePoint 2013 introduces cross-site publishing as an alternative to content deployment paths and jobs. The cross-site publishing feature enables content to be reused [...]

Jul 11, 2020

Use SCCM 2012 R2 to manage Linux machines

System Center 2012 R2 provides administrators with the option to manage Linux machines, just like managing Windows Operating Systems. It's simple to do, and I'll show [...]

Jul 08, 2020

The “New” Exchange 2013 Edge Transport Server

When Microsoft released Exchange 2013 RTM back in December 2012, without an Edge Transport Server Role, many people thought that that was just Microsoft’s [...]

Jul 07, 2020

3 settings that will increase your efficiency in Microsoft Project

In my last blog post (Automatically reach your deadlines with scheduled tasks in Microsoft Project), I explained that there are a number of global settings in Microsoft [...]

Jul 04, 2020

4 steps to establish a SQL Server connection

Almost all applications that are developed these days will, at some point, connect to an external data source like SQL Server. When this need arises, you will have to [...]

Jul 03, 2020

Combine MATCH and INDEX in Excel for a powerful tool

If you have used Excel for comparisons, reconciliations, validations or have attended our Microsoft Excel Level 2 course, you will have encountered "VLOOKUP" before. [...]

Jul 01, 2020

Monitoring communication sessions in Lync Server 2013

In Microsoft Lync Server 2013, the monitoring role is required to collect performance metrics about the communication sessions. Previously, monitoring required an [...]

Jun 30, 2020

How to populate tables in Excel VBA

There may be occasions where you need to populate an existing table with more data, and in such occasions, the first thing you would generally think would be "Where [...]

Jun 27, 2020

Protecting content in Microsoft Word with 'Restrict Editing'

I often ask people "what is the main reason for converting a Microsoft Word document into a PDF?" One of the most common answers is “to stop people from changing the [...]

Jun 26, 2020

Data Quality in SQL Server 2014 for dummies (Part 2)

In my last blog post, we had a mini crash course on data quality and the three elements essential to data quality - knowledge base, domain, and Reference Data Service [...]

Jun 25, 2020

Customise the weather forecast in Outlook 2013

A nifty new feature in Outlook 2013 is the built-in weather forecast now available on the calendar.  This allows you to see what your day has in store for you from a [...]

Jun 25, 2020

Customise the weather forecast in Outlook 2013

A nifty new feature in Outlook 2013 is the built-in weather forecast now available on the calendar.  This allows you to see what your day has in store for you from a [...]

Jun 24, 2020

Manage your administration with ADAC and PowerShell

You may find that during your day to day administration, you will be creating, renaming, and moving objects from one Organisational Unit (OU) to another. Now, this [...]

Jun 23, 2020

Automatically reach your deadlines with scheduled tasks in Microsoft Project

In order to work more efficiently in Microsoft Project 2010 and 2013, there are a number of global settings you must change. If you don't change these global [...]

Jun 20, 2020

Data Quality in SQL Server 2014 for dummies (Part 1)

Data quality is a major concern for anyone building a data warehousing solution. As organisations consume more data from more data sources, the need for data quality [...]

Jun 17, 2020

Taking the shortcuts in Windows 8

For many years, there has been a split between those who prefer the mouse and those who prefer the keyboard. Often, shortcut keys were realised as the more efficient [...]

Jun 16, 2020

Multi-level sorting made possible in Microsoft Word

Did you know that in Microsoft Word, you can sort your information up to 3 levels? This means that when all things are equal in the first column then it will do a second [...]

Jun 13, 2020

Spring clean your PC with Windows ‘Disk Cleanup’

It’s not a secret that the longer we use a computer, the more we mess them up. We have temporary internet files, log files, errors and other files that effectively [...]

Jun 12, 2020

Pinpoint your 3D chart's data points with drop lines in Excel

One of the frustrating things I find about Microsoft Excel, particularly when you're producing a chart, is the huge quantity of formatting options that are available. [...]

Jun 10, 2020

4 tips to make you a Windows 8.1 pro

In one of my previous blog post, I went through 3 tips for Windows 8 - how to use multiple monitors with more flexibility, hide recent files from your jump list, and [...]

Jun 06, 2020

Sorting made easy with custom lists in Excel

Sorting is a common task in Microsoft Excel, but it does have a few specific, sophisticated options that not too many people know. One of these is the ability to sort in [...]

Jun 05, 2021

TechEd 2014 – Australia’s largest Microsoft IT exhibition is evolving!

The word has gone around, and the faithful have been called to the annual technical pilgrimage. Yes, Microsoft TechEd Australia 2014 has opened its doors for bookings by [...]

Jun 03, 2021

Reliability Monitor in Windows 8

Windows' Reliability Monitor is a tool built into Windows Vista, Windows 7 and Windows 8 that is definitely worth mentioning. Whether it’s something the user did, or did [...]

Jun 02, 2021

Borders and shading in Microsoft Word 2010

Don’t you hate it when you can’t get the borders to appear on all sides? Or when the frame of the border goes all the way to the edge of the margin when you really want [...]

May 30, 2021

Implementing security in SQL Server 2014

Today, I want to discuss some of the security enhancements in SQL Server 2014, but before I do, have you ever considered how SQL Server compares to other database [...]

May 29, 2021

3 programming tips in Visual Basic

As per the Microsoft Developer Network website, Visual Basic is engineered for productively building type-safe and object-oriented applications. Here are 3 tips I've [...]

May 27, 2021

Mobilising SharePoint 2013

The traditional corporate culture is based on the workforce working from and interacting face-to-face in the office. People arrive at the office, use their pre-allocated [...]

May 26, 2021

VBA Excel: Finding the last row of a worksheet (Part 2)

In my last blog post, VBA Excel: Finding the last row of a worksheet (Part 1), I explained how to use the control arrows to find the last row of a worksheet in VBA [...]

May 23, 2021

How to set up a Windows 7 and 8 HomeGroup

Anyone who has ever attempted to share files or printers between computers on a home network knows how problematic the procedure can be. This apparently straightforward [...]

May 20, 2021

Hyper-V – Enhanced

Why can’t I attach my USB stick to my Virtual Machines (VMs)? Why can’t I simply drop a file or retrieve a file to/from my Virtual Machines that don’t have a direct [...]

May 19, 2021

Use slicers to filter table data in Microsoft Excel

Slicers were first introduced in Excel 2010 and gave us a nice easy way of filtering PivotTable data. Instead of the typical drop-down list filtering in Excel, slicers [...]

May 16, 2021

Implementing Big Data Solutions in SQL Server 2014

Hadoop. Hadoop. Hadoop. Big Data. Big Data. Big Data.  How many times have you heard the above terms in the last six months? How many times do you think one or the [...]

May 15, 2021

VBA Excel: Finding the last row of a worksheet (Part 1)

When creating macros in Microsoft Excel, you often want to find the last row of data in a worksheet to be able to choose the correct area so the macro can do things with [...]

May 13, 2021

How to create fillable forms in Microsoft Word

When you create a form in Microsoft Word to capture information that is to be entered by another user, a few problems may arise. The problem that occurs will depend on [...]

May 12, 2021

The Exchange Admin Center (EAC) of Exchange 2013 - It's new!

Exchange Server 2013 has a new management console!  It's web-based and optimised for on-premises, online, and hybrid Exchange deployments. The Exchange Admin Center [...]

May 06, 2021

Calculate the Resources Standard Rate in Microsoft Project

In my previous blog post, I explained how to use custom fields to calculate GST in Microsoft Project. Now that we know how to do that, we can now use this custom field [...]

May 05, 2021

An introduction to cloud computing

The term cloud computing is everywhere! In simplest terms, it is a mechanism to storing and accessing your data and applications over the internet instead of your [...]

May 01, 2021

How to access Office Applications from within VBA

Did you know you can access and manipulate any Office application from within Visual Basic (VB) code? In today's blog post, we'll go through the basic steps to connect [...]

Apr 28, 2021

What's new in Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 SP1

In today's post, I'll give a rundown on some of the main features and improvements that I like in Microsoft Exchange Server 2013 SP1. Before I start my list [...]

Apr 22, 2021

PowerShell is for infrastructure types...right.

In today's post, I would like to have a little discussion about PowerShell. Now I can already hear a number of you saying "What are you doing talking about PowerShell? [...]

Apr 17, 2021

Insert an online video into Word 2013

A picture says a thousand words and now in Microsoft Word 2013, we can say it with moving pictures. The new Online Video button found in the Insert tab makes it possible [...]

Apr 15, 2021

Designing Exchange Server 2013 Unified Messaging Integration with Lync Server 2013

In this blog post, I will cover the unified messaging (UM) integration between Lync Server 2013 and Exchange Server 2013. In Exchange Server 2013, the UM platform is [...]

Apr 14, 2021

'Revise Contents' – Outlook's hidden gem

Have you ever wanted to highlight information or make notes in a received email? Or make the email contents easier to recognise or find in the future? Or perhaps even [...]

Apr 10, 2021

Dual boot Windows 8.1 on Windows 7 using Virtual Hard Disk (VHD)

Many IT guys and girls may know the way to dual boot Windows 8.1 on Windows 7 by creating a new partition, but that way has some disadvantages and is riskier than the [...]

Apr 08, 2021

Scripting in SQL Server 2014

Today, I'm going to go into a little more detail with a topic I've previously covered, that is, scripting. There have been a few blog posts about PowerShell and I very [...]

Apr 04, 2021

Configure Windows Intune for SCCM 2012 R2 – Part 2

In my last blog post (Configure Windows Intune for SCCM 2012 R2 - Part 1), I mentioned the need to have a common interface to manage mobile devices, company servers and [...]

Mar 31, 2021

Enhance your presentations with PowerPoint's Slide Zoom

One of the more useful features that has been introduced with Microsoft PowerPoint 2013 is the new Slide Zoom feature available in Presenter View. If you are trying [...]

Mar 28, 2021

Configure Windows Intune for SCCM 2012 R2 – Part 1

We all need a common interface to manage our mobile devices, company servers and computers. Since System Center Configuration Manager 2012 SP1, it has been possible to [...]

Mar 27, 2021

How to convert text to columns in Microsoft Excel

Have you ever needed to sort or filter data in Microsoft Excel but couldn't because the data have been combined into a single column rather than multiple columns? A [...]

Mar 25, 2021

Creating a drop-down list in Microsoft Excel

Nothing looks more clever than a drop-down list of options for people to choose from in your Microsoft Excel spreadsheet. Drop-down lists also makes data entry [...]

Mar 20, 2021

SQL Server 2014: In-Memory Database Capabilities

Do you remember my blog about 'Hekaton'? You don't? Well, you can click here to have a look. What I want to do now, though, is update you on that. 'Hekaton' was a [...]

Mar 18, 2021

What's new in SharePoint 2013 for developers

SharePoint 2013 is the fifth release of SharePoint since SharePoint Team Services and the SharePoint Portal Server was first introduced in 2001. In all these years, [...]

Mar 17, 2021

Enhancing the IF function with nested IF functions in Microsoft Excel

Out of all the Microsoft Excel's worksheet functions, the IF function is one of the most useful and versatile functions. Its purpose is to decide, based on a [...]

Mar 13, 2021

What's new in SQL Server 2014 Database Development

Are you excited yet? SQL Server 2014 is just around the corner. The actual release date is vague, but it's generally believed to be in the first half of this year, and [...]

Mar 11, 2021

Monetise your Windows Store Apps

There are different ways to monetise your Windows Store apps. The simplest way is to require your customers to pay for your app before they download it. The price range [...]

Mar 10, 2021

Using custom fields to calculate GST in Microsoft Project

Microsoft Project allows you to customise fields for several purposes including; to save time, avoid typing errors, meet stakeholders' expectations and needs, warn you [...]

Mar 06, 2021

Data Deduplication in Windows Server 2012: The Solution for Ennui!

Do you frequently feel listless and bored? Do you find yourself doing the same things over and over again, day in and day out? Are you performing tasks simply because [...]

Mar 04, 2021

Creating Building Blocks in Microsoft Outlook

Building blocks are a feature in Microsoft Word that are simply pre-made snippets of content that can be inserted into any document. Quite a number of building [...]

Mar 03, 2021

A Closer Look at Excel PowerPivot and Power View

I'm sure that we can all agree that Microsoft Excel is an incredible application. You can do so much with it, but broadly speaking, there are 3 main functions that Excel [...]

Feb 25, 2021

Get-Help – the PowerShell Way

Some of you may have noticed in a number of my previous blogs that I am a big fan of PowerShell and you are right. I have followed PowerShell from its early days of [...]

Feb 21, 2021

The new “share” feature in SharePoint 2013

SharePoint 2013 introduces a new share feature known as “Sharing a Site.” In today's blog post, I'll go through what this feature is and how it can be used for different [...]

Feb 18, 2021

PowerPivot and Analysis Services Tabular Data Models

Have you tried using Excel's PowerPivot? For those of you who have, it's awesome, isn't it? If you haven't, have a crack, you'll find the experience rewarding. What I [...]

Feb 17, 2021

Time saving tips in Microsoft Outlook

Microsoft Outlook is probably the most widely utilised Microsoft Application in the world and in my opinion, it is also the application that should have the most [...]

Feb 14, 2021

Disaster Recovery in Lync Server 2013

Lync Server 2013 contains a number of new disaster recovery features. It can be used for branch site resiliency, and there are specific tools for backing up and [...]

Feb 13, 2021

Master PowerPoint design with Slide & Layout Masters

Whether your PowerPoint deck is two slides or two hundred slides, wouldn't it be great to be able to modify the layout and format of your slides as well as add new [...]

Feb 05, 2021

3 helpful tips for Windows 8

Windows 8 was released in 2012 and offered users a completely redesigned operating system (OS). The new OS was developed taking into consideration touchscreen use and [...]

Feb 03, 2021

Become a pro in SharePoint 2013 with master pages

Designing SharePoint master pages shouldn't be a challenge! When it comes to designing a new SharePoint site, we get a default theme that essentially does not represent [...]

Jan 28, 2021

Configuring users and rights in Lync Server 2013

Just like any other server products, Lync Server 2013 offers a Role Based Access Control (RBAC) solution. RBAC is a method of granting a specific group of users the [...]

Jan 06, 2021

Work offline with SharePoint Workspace 2010

If you are a SharePoint site member or a site owner who occasionally works from home, you may find it difficult to maintain a site or a library up to date simply because [...]

Dec 18, 2020

High Availability in Lync Server 2013

High Availability, as defined by SearchDataCenter, “refers to a system or component that is continuously operational for a desirably long length of time.” After [...]

Dec 16, 2020

PowerPivot's CALCULATE function to the rescue

One of the most commonly used DAX functions in PowerPivot is the ‘CALCULATE’ function, and in my opinion, it's one of the most interesting functions because it’s a very [...]

Dec 13, 2020

Manipulate dates with custom number formats in Excel 2010

Imagine you’re in a situation where you want to send a list of the employees’ birthdays so that everyone in the company will know when to send their regards to others in [...]

Dec 12, 2020

The Pros and Cons of SSAS Tabular Models in SQL Server 2012

I’m a BIG fan of the new SSAS Tabular Models, which is a new data model that Microsoft has introduced in SQL Server 2012. In many ways, it’s a technology competing with [...]

Dec 10, 2020

Deploying Web and Service Applications to Windows Azure

Windows Azure brings an additional option to the old question of where you will host your web application or your services. Traditionally, you would pick the in-house [...]

Nov 22, 2020

What's New in Lync Server 2013

Lync Server 2013 is a completely revised unified communication product from Microsoft. It offers a set of features that are not available in any previous versions of [...]

Nov 04, 2020

Open Code in Visual Studio

Visual Studio 2012 integration with Git is great news for the developer community - not only for the enthusiasts of Open Code but for any team looking for a solid source [...]

Oct 16, 2020

Hello, my name is Hekaton - it's nice to meet you!

Alrighty then, so, you've had a bit of a look at SQL Server 2012, you may even have taken one or two of their superb MOC courses, and you’re probably asking yourself, [...]

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