Microsoft held a special OneDrive and Copilot event today where it announced a number of new features for the cloud-storage service. Buried in the announcements is one change that Microsoft is soon making to Word that might ruffle some feathers among those who are still pushing back against OneDrive and the cloud.

"Starting today, new documents in Word desktop on Windows (Insiders) now save directly to OneDrive, with autosave enabled," says Microsoft. This means that creating new documents in Word in the future will automatically save said documents to your OneDrive storage, with autosave enabled from the get-go.

The change is designed to make it easier for users to back up and access their documents across devices, but some might find Word attempting to automatically upload documents to the cloud by default to be a privacy concern. Many will likely not even notice that Word's behavior has changed, as the entire saving and backup process is automatic.

Of course, users will be able to turn off this behavior if they prefer saving files manually or locally, but going forward, Word will default to automatically saving all new documents to the cloud. Until now, Word's default behavior has been to create a new document that is in an unsaved state locally and prompt you to save the document to OneDrive to enable auto-save.

In addition to the automatic file saving to OneDrive in Word, Microsoft announced lots of other improvements that are coming to OneDrive, including new Copilot integration features that make accessing Copilot and learning about, managing, or editing files and photos easy and quick using AI.

The company also confirmed that it's working on a dedicated OneDrive app for Windows 11, which will make viewing and editing photos easier and quicker. Let us know in the comments what your thoughts are on these improvements and changes being made to OneDrive.

The words I write for this website are virtually all written inside a terminal window, including everything on this page right here. I've been doing it for years, and my colleagues have always thought I'm some form of raving lunatic.

I love it, though, and I don't think I could ever change. I look at something like Microsoft Word or Google's equivalent in Docs, and I shake my head so hard it almost detaches from my shoulders.

Why do I do this? It's the perfect distraction-free environment to actually get stuff done. It's just me and my words until I need to build them into a post. In all the years I've been writing for a living, I've never found anything that suits me quite as well.

A two-pronged if imperfect setup

My current preferred setup is two-pronged, and I'll explain why. I mostly use Neovim, out of habit more than anything. During the lockdown of 2020, I started exploring Linux and ultimately started using Neovim. This then progressed to using Neovim inside WSL, and then, when I finally realized it had a proper Windows version, onto that.

I have my custom configuration, which is nothing fancy, but makes it look how I want it to look and adds all-important auto-save. Out of the box, Neovim is pretty bare-bones, but usable. The fun comes from poking around in the documentation and other folks' config files on GitHub to build your own custom text editor. Neovim also supports Markdown, which is a format I am unreasonably attached to using.

Adding plugins such as a file manager — which didn't really work out well in my workflow — it's perfectly possible to just live inside Neovim and work away.

Neovim isn't perfect, though. There's a definite learning curve for the keyboard shortcuts, and (correct me in the comments if I'm ill-informed) it's not connected to the Windows 11 clipboard. There could be a way I simply haven't found, but that's where I'm at with it.

Which is where the second app comes in, a more recent addition to my writing arsenal and, if it ever added support for Markdown syntax, would probably become my go-to: Microsoft Edit.

Brought back to life recently, Edit is another terminal-based text editor, this time from the people who brought you Windows 11. It's not as extensible as Neovim, but it's connected to the Windows clipboard. So I can actually get the text out of it easily and onto the website.

Eventually, I'll likely convince myself to just suck it up, let go of the syntax highlighting, and go all-in on Microsoft Edit. I really like everything else about it. It's basic, distraction-free, and it has a built-in word wrap feature.

That's why I like both so much. I can close the browser, I can close any other forms of distraction, and just focus on putting words down. I am never more productive than when it's just me and a text editor.

Isn't it harder to open files, though?

This is a question I've had. It might be better for actually writing, but isn't it a pain to actually open the files? No, not really.

Windows Terminal loads up whenever I boot my PC, and I'm always in and out of there throughout the day. Be it tinkering with Ollama or WSL, or trying (and I mean trying) to teach myself about PowerShell, Windows Terminal is the app I use the most. Especially if you add in the time I'm in there writing.

All of my writing work goes in the same location, and getting there takes seconds with a cd command into the directory. With PSReadLine history set up on my PowerShell profile, all files I've been recently working on will appear as soon as I start typing to launch the text editor to choose from. Making a new file is as simple as using the ni alias and giving it a filename.

I love keyboard shortcuts. If I have to use the mouse, I'm less productive. It's the primary reason I use PowerToys Command Palette (and PowerToys Run before that). I can get more done if I just keep my hands on the keyboard instead of having to engage one hand on the mouse. Backing out of either text editor into PowerShell is also done with keyboard shortcuts.

The added bonus is that I have a module on my prompt of choice — the excellent Starship — which tells me how long a process took (shown in the image above). In this case, the process is the time I spent inside the text editor writing. It doesn't change anything, but I like to know how long I've spent working on a piece during any given session.

Try it, you might like it

I'm not suggesting that this is a suitable solution for everyone. Writing a novel, for example, might not be best suited, but I bet you could do it if you put your mind to it.

But I've been writing in plain text since I started doing this for a living 12 years ago. I tried so many different apps in that time, and in the end, a text editor inside a terminal turned out to be the best one.

No matter how many 'distraction-free' writing apps I tried, I was never happy, and I ended up spending too much time hunting for the perfect one when all I really needed was something bare-bones.

You might like it as much as I do, too. If you want to try either Microsoft Edit or Neovim, both can be installed via the Windows Package Manager. If you try Neovim, though, definitely stop by the documentation if you're a newcomer.

winget install neovim.neovim winget install microsoft.edit

If you're already a terminal text junkie, or you decide to give it a look yourself, share your experience with me in the comments below!

Microsoft Word now saves files to the cloud automatically. AutoSave has been around for a while, but until recently it was an opt-in feature. Now, anything you create in Word will be saved to the cloud by default.

The change rolls out with Word Version 2509 (Build 19221.20000) or later.

When AutoSave is enabled, Word will save a document to the cloud right away. The name of that document will be based on the date. You can then change that file name or the location where the file is saved through "Save" within Word (also accessible through Ctrl + S shortcut).

That setup could result in several files with similar names if you are not careful, but it also prevents files from getting lost if you forget to save or your PC crashes.

Microsoft lists the following advantages to saving items to the cloud in a Tech Community post:

• Increased security and compliance: Files saved in the cloud are automatically protected by your company’s security rules and labeling, so you don’t have to take extra steps to keep them safe and compliant.
• Never lose your progress: You don’t have to worry about losing your work – creation in the cloud means your document is automatically saved for you as you go.
• Flexible file control and storage: You’re in charge of your files – you can choose what they’re named, decide where they’re saved, and organize them your way. Store them in OneDrive, SharePoint, or other locations to keep everything just where you want it.
• Access from anywhere: Files you create in Word for Windows are instantly available on your Android or iOS device, or in a web browser. When you make changes on one device, they sync everywhere.
• Easy collaboration: It’s easy to work with others – just share your cloud file to start collaborating right away, add comments, and make changes together. AutoSave keeps your work updated in real time.
• Copilot and Agent support: From the moment you create a file, you can use Copilot and Agent features right away. This lets you get AI-powered help whenever you need it as you create or update your documents (NOTE: A Copilot Chat or Microsoft 365 Copilot license is required).

All of my Word documents are saved to the cloud. I've used AutoSave for years, and it has always served me well.

I jump between several devices, including two different PCs, a tablet, and my smartphone. I also frequently share files to collaborate.

I don't think any of Microsoft's arguments for using the cloud will surprise anyone. But one specific sentence stuck out. When discussing the flexibility of cloud storage, Microsoft said:

"You’re in charge of your files – you can choose what they’re named, decide where they’re saved, and organize them your way. Store them in OneDrive, SharePoint, or other locations to keep everything just where you want it" (emphasis added).

Microsoft did not specify where else you could save your files by default, but it seems likely you could use cloud storage services made by companies other than Microsoft.

Word allows you to change the default location of where files are automatically saved. I haven't been able to test the feature yet, but it seems likely that you could set Google Drive or Dropbox as the default location in Word.

While I personally use OneDrive as my primary cloud storage solution, it's always nice to have other options. A workplace or organization may use Google Drive or Dropbox primarily, making flexibility important.

User backlash

The change to AutoSave was only announced this week, so there's limited feedback at this point. I have seen some complaints, however.

User ViliusS shared the following comment in response to Microsoft's Tech Community post:

"You are completely out of touch on how your customers are using Word. Ever saw a desktop of simple user with tens of zero byte documents named "New Word Document1.docx", "New Word Document2", etc.? What we will get with this "feature" is 100s of empty documents in our OneDrives which are never deleted.

This feature is such a poor design from user perspective that I can think of another ten ways how it breaks and produces unforeseen consequences. Not to mention legal and compliance implications."

Another comment simply states, "NO!" in capital letters.

Where do you fall on the change? Let us know in the comments below.

Microsoft 365 is bringing one of the best recent additions to OneNote over to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. Those apps now include a fountain pen and a brush pen, giving you more options for taking notes.

Both pens rolled out to OneNote last year and can now be added to the Draw tab in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. They became popular for adding artistic flourishes to notes and annotations.

Unlike standard digital pens, the fountain pen and brush pen produce strokes with natural variation, mimicking the feel of writing on paper and avoiding the “too perfect” look of many digital tools.

"We know that many of you loved the Fountain pen and Brush pen introduced in OneNote on Windows a year ago, and we’re excited to bring them to Word, Excel, and PowerPoint," said Microsoft in a Tech Community post.

"Now, you can unleash your expressiveness and creativity with the Brush pen when adding ink and annotations in PowerPoint or Excel, or write your notes in Word with a bit more flourish using the Fountain pen."

The fountain pen replicates its real-world equivalent by allowing you to draw thin lines for detailed lettering. You can control how thick a line is with speed or pressure.

The brush pen is directional, meaning the thickness of your pen strokes depends on the angle of your stylus.

Mike Tholfsen, who is a product manager on the Microsoft Education team demonstrated the fountain pen in OneNote last year. That same pen is now available in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

To use the new pens in Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, you need to be running Version 2508 (Build 19127.20000) or later of those apps. At least for now, the functionality is limited to Windows.

Considering macOS lacks pen support, the feature may not ever ship to that platform. But we could see the tools added to the Microsoft 365 apps on iPadOS or Android.

How to add pens to the Draw tab

Even if you don't use the fountain pen or brush pen, you may appreciate the additions. The new tools can make the drawing section of apps feel crowded, so Microsoft added the ability to add or remove different input methods.

You can also drag drawing tools around within that section to reorder them.

Here's how you can add the new pens to the Draw tab in supported Microsoft 365 apps:

• Open the Draw tab in Word, Excel, or PowerPoint.
• Select "Add" to add the fountain pen or brush pen.
• Click or press and hold any drawing tool and then drag it left or right to reorder your tools.
• To delete any drawing tool, press and hold or right-click, then select "Delete."
  • Alternatively, you can expand the options for a specific tool and select "Delete Tool."

While you're in that section, you can add multiple copies of specific tools. For example, you could add two highlighters set to different colors.

Microsoft Word and the rest of Microsoft 365 now come with AI credits for Copilot, but there's one thing they now lack. In news that will shock, astonish, and horrify many, Word no longer has a built-in thesaurus. Honestly, I'm flummoxed. I don't know what I'll do without the feature. At a minimum I've reached my limit for synonyms of shocked that I can think of off the top of my head.

The thesaurus was removed from Word when Microsoft retired Smart Lookup at the start of this year. That feature allowed you to look up the definition of a word or search for synonyms for a word by selecting text and right-clicking. Now, you'll have to use a different tool, such as Copilot within Word. Alternatively, you can use your web browser to search for definitions and synonyms. None of the alternatives are as quick or smooth as Smart Lookup, but they're functional.

Microsoft did not seem to make a big deal about the feature going away. A support document for Smart Lookup now states, "Important: Smart Lookup will be retired starting on January 1, 2025."

Oddly, at first glance it looks like you can still use the feature within Word, but trying to do so shows a message that says the feature has been deprecated.

Copilot in Word

Microsoft's support page for Smart Lookup does not mention a specific replacement, but I suspect Microsoft wants people to use Copilot now. The tech giant has aggressively added Copilot to Windows 11, Microsoft 365, and other Microsoft services.

Microsoft raised the price of Microsoft 365 for the first time in 12 years recently. The tech giant did not list the addition of Copilot credits to Microsoft 365 Personal Family subscriptions as the cause of the price increase, but it's difficult to not connect the two. Microsoft added hundreds of features to Microsoft 365 over the last decade. The company even added entire apps to the subscription in that time. But no addition made Microsoft raise the price of Microsoft 365, that is, until Copilot came along.

The Microsoft 365 app also got a new logo recently. At first glance, the Microsoft 365 app icon looks like the Copilot logo, but it has "M365" over it. Well, unless you have a lower resolution screen in which case the icon has a janky mess of indiscernible characters.

It's clear Microsoft's higher ups want people to use Copilot. Smart Lookup being removed from Word could encourage people to migrate to Copilot.

Microsoft's suite of Office tools — available as a one-time purchase through Office 2021 or as a subscription service through Microsoft 365 — contains some of the most powerful productivity software around, and it's a go-to collection for countless Windows users (myself included) and beyond.

Whether you buy Office 2021 once or subscribe to Microsoft 365 on a monthly/yearly basis, you're paying for a full set of apps, including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. But what if you don't need anything beyond Word?

The good news is that you can buy standalone Office apps like Word instead of investing in the entire suite. There are some arguments for and against this approach, which is what I'm delving into here to help you make the right decision.

Can I buy Microsoft Word as a standalone app?

Microsoft is quick to advertise its 365 subscription service, but paying every month or year doesn't work for everyone. While it might be cheaper initially to enter a subscription agreement, the cost over time can add up.

Those looking to buy only a specific Office app, like Word, aren't out of luck. Microsoft sells its Word, Excel, and PowerPoint apps as standalone pieces. You might think that this can help students headed back to school save some money, but it's not always the case; each app sells for about $160. The app is yours to keep forever, but it only works on one PC (or Mac) and doesn't come with the same feature updates as the apps contained within the Microsoft 365 bubble. I reached out to a Microsoft support rep to confirm, as the product page is unclear.

There are some clear downsides to buying Microsoft Word as a standalone app. Security updates and bug fixes are guaranteed, but major feature updates are a no-go. There's also the matter of cost, where Word on its own costs more than the entire Office 2021 suite. You can usually find Office 2021 Home & Student, with Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, for about $150. That's $10 cheaper than one app. 

Office 2021 doesn't receive the same feature updates as 365 versions either, but at least you have Excel and PowerPoint standing by should you ever need them. Word is the Office app I use the most, but that doesn't mean I haven't found the unexpected occasion to use Excel and PowerPoint.

Bottom line? Even if you only need Word, it's cheaper to buy Office 2021 with Excel and PowerPoint also included.

What's the difference between Office 2021 and Microsoft 365?

Our Windows expert, Mauro Huculak, wrote a great article comparing Office 2021 and Microsoft 365, and I urge you to check it out for a detailed breakdown between products.

To summarize, Microsoft 365 is a better option for those who regularly use all Office apps across multiple devices. Microsoft 365 grants access to 1TB of OneDrive storage, it now comes with a built-in VPN, Copilot can help with various tasks, and it receives free feature upgrades as they're released. It costs as little as $70 per year (or $7 monthly) for a Personal account, and up to $100 per year (or $10 monthly) for a Family account. 

The difference between Personal and Family is how many users are included. Family allows for up to six accounts (each with 1TB of OneDrive storage) while Personal is for one user.

Office 2021 includes the core Office apps only, and it comes with a single license to be used on one PC. It receives security and bug updates, but it doesn't receive feature updates. Keep in mind that Office 2024 is expected to launch at some point this year. Office 2021 will continue to work fine, but the next release will have updated core Office apps.

Before you buy an Office subscription, be sure to check out our up-to-date list of the best prices for Microsoft 365. It's a great way to find the best deals without scouring the internet.

What about Word for the web?

Microsoft offers its core Office apps for free online. Word for the Web, as it's called, might be enough for those who are strictly looking for a basic word processor. As long as you're signed in with a Microsoft account, it's a straightforward process to get going.

The downsides? You always need to be connected to the internet to use it, and it lacks some of the same functionality as its paywalled siblings. Depending on how large your document gets, it can also affect performance. It's running in a browser, after all, which is usually already a system hog.

Free alternatives to Word

Microsoft Word might be the app that most Windows users think of when they need to write, but it's certainly not the only software out there. In fact, there are a bunch of free word processors available that can do just about everything that Word can do.

The main offering that I've had much success with in the past is Apache OpenOffice, but LibreOffice Writer seems to have taken over as the best by online consensus. It has more features and a more modern UI, and it covers everything that the average user needs to create written projects.

WPS Office is another outstanding free choice, especially if you're already familiar with the look and layout of Word. You get 1GB of free cloud storage to store your documents, it has a ton of modern formatting features, and you can unlock AI help.

What you need to know

• Microsoft is adding a new way to interact with recently used Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents on iOS.
• You can access recently used files directly from the home screen through the new Recent Files widgets for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for iOS.
• The feature is rolling out to Microsoft Insiders but is expected to ship to broad availability soon.

Microsoft has announced a new and easier way to interact with recently used Word, Excel, and PowerPoint documents on iOS. You access recently used files directly from the home screen via the Recent Files widgets for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for iOS.

Users can either view or open recently accessed files by adding the Recent Files widgets for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint to the home screen on their iPhone or iPad.  It's worth noting the Recent Files widget is available in different sizes (small, medium, and large) to accommodate your needs based on the device you're using. 

What's more, you can use the widget to launch the app's home page by tapping anywhere on the widget outside the file cards. It's worth noting that the feature is rolling out to Microsoft 365 Insiders running iOS Version 2.85 (Build 24042818) or later.

It's possible that you might not be able to access the new feature immediately, as it's rolling out in waves. Microsoft uses this precautionary measure to ensure everything runs smoothly before shipping a feature to broad availability. 

What you need to know

• Losing unsaved files in Microsoft Word can be a pain, especially if you hadn't enabled the autosave option or synced Office 365 to the cloud as backup.
• There's a cool trick that can help you retrieve lost and unsaved Word documents by searching for .asd in the File Explorer under My/This PC.
• It's a great alternative if you fail to retrieve the unsaved Word file via Word's in-built the Document Recovery or Recover Unsaved Documents methods.

Throughout my school-going years, losing assignments was one of my biggest phobias. I know I'm not the only one who's lost important and time-sensitive work while using Microsoft Word. 

There are several ways that you can use to retrieve unsaved Word documents, including Word's Document Recovery feature or its Recover Unsaved Documents option. 9 out of 10 times, both of these methods usually work (even if you lose a bit of progress at times). But sometimes, these efforts might be rendered futile. It's especially worse if you've not enabled the autosave feature.

Interestingly, while scrolling through X(formerly Twitter) I stumbled on a cool tip from the @cooltechtipz page to help out with this specific issue:

"If you accidentally close a Word file without saving, no autosave either. Just search .asd into the File Explorer under My/This PC. The document will be there, Windows has your back!"

While this trick isn't new, it seems to have caught many users (including me) by surprise going by the reactions on the post. To retrieve unsaved Word documents, click on the Start icon on your Windows 11 taskbar and enter .asd in the search bar. Voila! You'll now have access to the lost and unsaved Word document, saving you time and resources that would've been spent doing the project all over again.

Once you find any Word file with the .asd extension, head back to Microsoft Word and click on the File option at the top and select the Open and Browse tabs. Next, select the All files option in the drop-down menu to find the unsaved .asd file.

What you need to know

• Microsoft has changed the default paste option in Word for Windows.
• The default paste option was previously set to Keep Source Formatting but has been changed to Merge Formatting.
• Microsoft says user feedback prompted this change, but users can navigate to the settings to restore the previous setup if they prefer it.
• The new default paste option change isn't available for web and Mac users.

If you've been a longtime Word user, you must be familiar with its annoying default paste option, which retains the source formatting. It not only consumes a lot of time but also interrupts the flow of your work. Copying and pasting is one of Word's top user actions.

However, a new Word update has finally fixed this annoying issue. According to Microsoft:

"We’ve heard from many of you that the current Keep Source Formatting default setting is not meeting your needs, and you would prefer for the default option to be Merge Formatting when pasting from other programs."

This much-needed change is available for Word for Windows users running Version 2405 (Build 17624.20000) or later. Additionally, this neat change is shipping exclusively to Windows users. It's not available for web and Mac users.

It's worth noting that Merge Formatting is now set as the default paste option on Word, though you can change it back by navigating File > Options > Advanced > Cut, copy, and paste in the settings and selecting the Pasting from other program option on the drop-down menu. Finally, select the Keep Source Formatting option. 

In case you missed it, the Merge Formatting option has been available in Word via the pasting menu. This was also complemented by the Ctrl + Shift + V keyboard shortcut that lets users paste content on Word without formatting.

This news comes months after Microsoft finally decided to change the default font for its Office apps from Calibri to Aptos. The change was received with mixed feelings, but luckily, users can revert to Calibri. It's worth noting that Microsoft has renamed the old Office theme Office Theme 2013 – 2022.

What you need to know

• Omar Shahine, the head of Microsoft Word, recently shared his experience with the Apple Vision Pro while flying to Dubai.
• He says the headset provides an immersive and superior experience compared to In-flight entertainment.
• He added that the headset is quite heavy, which makes it uncomfortable to wear for a long duration of time, and that it also strained his eyes.

When Apple announced that it would be dipping its foot into the VR landscape with its Vision Pro headset, users received the news with mixed feelings. Rumors hitting the windmill at the time indicated that the entry might be a flop even before it ships, especially after several reports surfaced online stating that Apple might not be able to deliver 1 million Vision Pro units by early 2024.

Fast forward to its debut, the augmented reality headset with spatial computing technology is becoming a hit among users. Despite the exorbitant $3,499 price tag, Apple sold approximately 200,000 Vision Pro headsets on pre-order, as spotted by MacRumors.

I know I'm not the only one baffled by the hundreds of viral videos of people using Apple's Vision Pro headset as they go about their errands. Some have even attempted dangerous stunts like driving while wearing the headset. 

Even the head of Microsoft Word, Omar Shahine, isn't being left out of the craze. According to a spot by Luxurylaunches, Omar recently shared his experience with Apple's VR headset while on a 16-hour flight from Seattle to Dubai. He primarily used the headset to entertain while flying business class in Emirates' Boeing 777 aircraft.

Post by @omarshahine

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Most aircraft feature In-flight entertainment systems with a TV screen fitted to each seat. This might be enough for some, while others feel the need to complement this setup with their phones and laptops. But as it now seems, this experience can be raised a notch higher with the Vision Pro. As echoed by the Microsoft Word lead while expressing his experience with the Vision Pro as an entertainment companion  on the flight, "This is wild!"

You might already know that the headset lets users run multiple programs simultaneously from reviews and first impressions of the Vision Pro. This is precisely what Omar meant when he said, "I am watching movies and browsing the Web using the entire cabin as my screen."

Omar further stated how impressed he is with how much in-flight entertainment systems have improved over the years. With a stable internet connection and a "sizable" screen display, you can catch up on some of your favorite shows and documentaries as you head to your destination. And while this is impressive, Omar indicated that the Apple Vision Pro provides a superior and unmatched experience. He added that the in-flight entertainment setup stacks miles behind the user interface and experience you'll find on the Vision Pro.

The headset ships with in-built speakers, though Omar pointed out that he used his Air Pods Pro for a better listening experience while flying to Dubai. He added that he preferred using them instead of Air Pods Max headphones. This is because the Vision Pro headset is quite bulky. Therefore, wearing the chunky Air Pod Max headphones simultaneously with the Vision Pro would make the whole experience uncomfortable.

According to Omar:

"I don't find the Vision Pro that comfortable to wear. It's heavy. And it strains my eyes a bit. Hopefully I get used to it."

So far, the Apple Vision seems like an instant success, with most users sharing their experience with the entry and how it fits perfectly into their workflow and other use cases like entertainment. However, some safety concerns need to be addressed.

Microsoft's idea, Apple's execution

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman recently praised the entry as the "second most impressive tech" since the iPhone. Microsoft was well on its way to achieving greatness with its military-grade HoloLens headset, arguably better than the Apple Vision Pro. However, the tech giant's failure to make the product more consumer-friendly points out why XREAL's Air 2 Ultra AR glasses and Apple Vision Pro are quickly gaining traction and enjoying a high adoption rate among casual users.

RELATED: Apple Vision Pro vs. XREAL Air 2 Ultra

Maybe Microsoft might ship HoloLens 3 in the future, offering consumers a more affordable and app-forward unit. This might help the company reclaim its spot in the fast-evolving AR/VR landscape.

Are you willing to spend $3,499 on the Apple Vision Pro and use it to replace most of your gadgets? Omar says it's "cheaper than my 77-inch OLED TV, Receiver, Speakers, and Apple TV and much better, more capable, and more fun." 

What you need to know

• Microsoft is incorporating a Like button into Word. 
• It's designed to make it easier for users to respond to comments.
• The feature is currently available to all Word for the web users and Beta Channel users.

If you often collaborate on projects with other users via Microsoft Word, you must be familiar with how tedious it can get. Especially when it comes to keeping up with comments and responding to them in a timely manner.

Sometimes, the comments might not actually require a response. A simple reaction would do the trick, just to notify the user that you've seen their comment or agree with what's being said.

Like the reactions feature in Outlook, Microsoft is introducing a new feature in Word that will let users react to comments.

To react to a comment in Word, you'll need to open a document and head to the comment section. Next, head to the comment section and click the Like button in the top right corner. Presumably, this document should already have comments, if not, you'll need to create a new one first. 

Microsoft has also listed several ways through which you can make use of the feature, as highlighted below:

• To react to a comment without using your mouse, navigate to the text in the document with an associated comment and press Alt+F12. From there, press the Tab key to select the Like button. You can press Enter or Spacebar to click the Like button, and then press the Alt+Down arrow keys to expand the user list. Move through the list using the Up and Down arrow keys. The Esc or Alt  keys can be used to dismiss the list.
• To react to a comment below the top comment in a thread, press the Down arrow key to move through the list of comment replies until you get to the desired comment, then repeat the steps above to “like” that particular reply.

It should be noted that there are some instances where you might not be able to access the feature. That is, if the document is in read-only mode or if you're in the process of drafting a new comment.

Microsoft has also indicated that the feature ships with two known issues. First, iOS and Android users won't be able to see comment reactions. Next up, the feature might not be available when editing older documents. However, you should be able to react to newer comments added to the document.

The feature is rolling out to Current Channel (Preview) users running Version 2305 (Build 16501.20152) or later and is already available for Word for the web users and Beta Channel users. Microsoft added that the feature should be available to Word for Mac users in the next few weeks.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Word just gained the ability to export documents to the Amazon Kindle.
• The feature lets users choose to have the document converted to the Kindle format, so the document is like a Kindle book.
• The feature was first announced in September 2022 as coming in “early 2023.”

Microsoft kept its promise as it worked with Amazon to let users export Microsoft Word documents to any Kindle. The feature is now rolling out to Word users, according to Microsoft’s Joe Belfiore (who is also retiring soon).

I checked my version of Word, which is on the Microsoft 365 Insider program set to the Current Channel (Preview), and sure enough, under File > Export, the ‘Send documents to Kindle’ option is now present.

The exportation feature works as you’d expect. Hit the button and sign into your Amazon account through a pop-up dialog. Once signed in, you can choose to export the document “Like a Kindle book” or “Like a printed document:”

*Like a Kindle Book: This option “makes font sizes and page layouts adjustable” and supports handwritten sticky notes with the Kindle Scribe. Microsoft says this is best for reading on smaller screens and text with “simpler formatting.”

*Like a printed document: This choice “keeps page layouts and formatting as-is” and supports “writing directly on the page with the Kindle Scribe.” Microsoft states this option is “good for text with more complex formatting and elements like embedded tables.”

The document takes only a few minutes to convert and arrive on the Kindle, where you’ll need to download it.

The “Like a Kindle book” option looks nice as it shows up, well, like a Kindle book, whereas the “printed document” looks just like the full Word version, including all the formatting for graphics, titles, and more, and, as noted above, it lets you write directly to the document using the Kindle Scribe, which is quite nifty. Of course, the Kindle book option enables you to take handwritten notes, but they appear as sticky notes that pop up, and you can’t write directly to the page.

Overall, this is a good feature for those who live both in Word and like reading longer documents on their Kindle. It’s even better for those with the Kindle Scribe as you can now markup and take notes directly, although, unfortunately, they cannot sync back like during collaboration.

The only thing cooler than this is if Microsoft made its own E-ink device that worked directly with Word, Office, OneDrive, and more. 

Maybe someday.

Microsoft held an event titled "The Future of Work with AI" today. During the presentation, the company introduced Copilot, a tool that uses AI to generate content across apps, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. Copilot is also available in Viva and a new experience called Business Chat.

You can watch Microsoft's AI event to catch up, but we've also broken down the highlights. Microsoft shared a blog post recapping today's announcements as well.

Copilot in Word

Copilot in Word can summarize documents and suggest edits as you write. The tool also has the ability to generate a draft of a document based on information from an organization. Copilot in Word supports picking between tones, such as professional or casual, and can help improve documents in other ways.

Copilot in Excel

Using Copilot in Excel should make it easier to make complex spreadsheets. The tool allows you to ask questions in natural language and will then suggest formulas to use. Copilot in Excel can find correlations in data, generate models based on questions, and find trends. It can also create visual aids, such as charts.                                    

Copilot in PowerPoint

PowerPoint's Copilot features focus on creating presentations. You can have the tool gather information from a Word document to create slides, including speaker notes and sources. You can also compress preexisting presentations to be much shorter with the tool.

Like Excel, PowerPoint will let you use natural language to enter commands, such as timing animations and reformatting text.

Copilot in Outlook

Copilot in Outlook will use AI to read through emails. It can then write replies for you, which should save some time. Like Word documents, text generated by Copilot in Outlook can be edited, so it's more helping you with a draft than creating something set in stone.

You'll also be able to create messages from notes that prompt the AI. The tone can be adjusted to fit specific emails as well.

Copilot in Teams

If you're late to a Teams meeting, Copilot will be able to help you out by creating a summary of what's been said so far. The tool can answer specific questions regarding a meeting as well.

Copilot will also be able to generate meeting agendas based on chat history, suggest who should follow up about specific items, and recommend a time to schedule check-ins.

Business Chat

Business Chat is a new experience that extends across different apps and data sources. It uses Microsoft Graph and AI to gather information from documents, presentations, emails, notes, calendars, and more.

Here are some commands shared by Microsoft as examples:

• Summarize the chats, emails, and documents about the [customer] escalation that happened last night.
• What is the next milestone on [project]. Were there any risks identified? Help me brainstorm a list of some potential mitigations.
• Write a new planning overview in the style of [filename A] that contains the planning timeline from [filename B] and incorporates the project list in the email from [person].

Copilot in Viva

Copilot will integrate with Microsoft Viva in several areas, including Viva Engage. The tool will highlight trending topics from workplaces to help leaders better interact with colleagues. It will share suggestions for posts and will have the ability to add images and adjust the tone of text as well.

Copilot within Viva Engage will also suggest responses to help conversations continue and provide prompts to spark communication.

What you need to know

• Microsoft 365 Copilot was just announced at The Future of Work with AI event presented by Microsoft.
• The tool uses artificial intelligence to generate content across a range of applications, including Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and Teams.
• Microsoft's approach to AI connects apps, allowing users to generate content in one program by gaining insight from specific documents.

Microsoft just unveiled AI features for its Microsoft 365 suite of applications. Microsoft 365 Copilot brings artificial intelligence to a range of programs, including Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Teams. They center around the same concept, using AI to generate content intelligently.

An Microsoft 365 blog post outlines everything Copilot can do. Copilot is in testing with 20 customers, eight of which are Fortune 500 companies. More customers will be able to test Copilot in preview over the coming months.

Microsoft showed off a variety of features during today's event, including asking Microsoft 365 Copilot to prepare for a meeting, AI generating meeting notes for a Teams call someone joined late, and PowerPoint creating a presentation based on a specific document.

Copilot can use insights and information from one Microsoft app to generate content in another. For example, Details from a Word document can help create a PowerPoint presentation.

It's also possible to use Copilot to prepare for and catch up on Teams meetings. If you join a meeting late, Copilot can make meeting notes for everything you've missed. It can also help create a meeting agenda based on chat history and suggest which people should follow up with specific tasks. 

Business Chat is a new experience from Microsoft that brings together information from your documents, files, emails, and other areas. The feature is accessible through Teams and Microsoft365.com.

Within Outlook, Copilot can read an email sent to you and generate a reply.

Microsoft has made several AI announcements this year, including launching the new Bing powered by ChatGPT and features for Microsoft Teams.

This is a developing news story, and we will update it as more information becomes available.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Word will soon support pasting plain text with a keyboard shortcut.
• The functionality has been available in Microsoft Teams, Microsoft Word for the web, and several other apps for quite some time.
• Support for the new keyboard shortcut is available now for Microsoft 365 Insiders in the Beta Channel.

Microsoft Word will soon support the option to "Paste Text Only" through a keyboard shortcut. The word processor will allow users to paste text without any formatting by using Ctrl + Shift + V on Windows or the Cmd + Shift + V on Mac. That combination of keys already pastes plain text in Microsoft Teams, Word for the web, Gmail, and some other applications. It's now making its way to the desktop versions of Word.

The Plain Text Only shortcut is now available for Microsoft 365 Home and Microsoft 365 Business Standard Insiders running Windows version 16.0.15831.20174 or later or Mac version 16.67.1113.0 or later. As a reminder the Office Insider Program was renamed to the Microsoft 365 Insider program earlier this year.

Microsoft announced the feature in an Insider Office blog post. There, the company outlines the steps to use the shortcut:

1. Select a range of text from your current document, or another document or
2. In your Word document, place the cursor where you want the text to appear.
3. Press Ctrl + Shift + V (Cmd + Shift + V on Mac). Notice how the pasted content matches the neighboring text formatting, rather than preserving its original font size, color, etc.

It's possible to fine-tune what happens when you paste plain text, such as keeping bullet points when using the Keep Text Only option. This can be done through the Advanced section of Word Options.

Microsoft Word on Windows and Mac already supported pasting plain text, but it's now easier to do so.

Microsoft also announced the following changes to shortcuts:

If you don't like the new keyboard shortcuts, you can revert to previous settings. Microsoft has a support document to walk you through that process.

If you're a fan of pasting plain text, it's possible to do so anywhere on Windows. A recent update to PowerToys added the option to paste plain text into any app. That has the benefit of working anywhere but the downside is that using that utility replaces any copied text with reformatted text within the clipboard. That means you are unable to paste text with formatting in some documents and without formatting in others.

What you need to know

• Microsoft will reportedly demo OpenAI integration with the Office suite in the near future.
• The company has tentative plans to show off artificial intelligence in Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, according to a report.
• Microsoft recently unveiled a new Bing powered by ChatGPT that has drawn dramatic interest from the general public and the media, including 1 million people signing up to try it out within 48 hours.

Microsoft just announced that ChatGPT and AI will integrate with Bing and the tech giant already looks set to roll out artificial intelligence to more of its products. According to The Verge, Microsoft will soon demonstrate OpenAI technology in the Office suite. Specifically, the report mentioned Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook.

Microsoft will reportedly detail how it plans to integrate OpenAI's AI tech and Microsoft's own Prometheus Model within the coming weeks. An announcement is "tentatively" planned in March, according to The Verge.

The Prometheus model is Microsoft's proprietary way of using OpenAI's model. When implemented in Bing, the Prometheus model allows the search engine to show "more relevant, timely and targeted results, with improved safety," as explained by Microsoft.

The fact that Microsoft will integrate AI into its products is not new information. Company Chairman and CEO Satya Nadella has said that Microsoft will integrate artificial intelligence into all of its products in the future. The big takeaway here is the timeline.

A source told The Verge that Microsoft wasn't going to unveil the new Bing until later this month, but that the company bumped up its plans to compete with Google. Bard, a competitor to ChatGPT, was teased the day before Microsoft's Bing announcement and shown off in more detail the day after Microsoft's AI event.

The rapid rise of interest in ChatGPT likely also played a role. That chatbot reportedly reached 100 million users in January and set growth records.

Google may have also moved up its announcement plans, given the fact that an advertisement for Bard had a factual error that resulted in the company losing 100 billion in stock value.

Although Microsoft Word documents are not usually large in size, sometimes, you may need to compress a file to make it more manageable when sending it over the internet or have to comply with file size upload requirements.

Whatever the case, the popular word processing application from the Office suite includes several options to reduce the size of the document without third-party compression tools. For example, you can compress images by deleting cropped areas. You can also lower the resolution that the app uses to save documents. And it's possible to exclude fonts you used in the document from saving on decreasing the file size. 

This guide will walk you through Microsoft's recommended methods to reduce the size of Word documents in Office from Microsoft 365, Office 2021, and older versions that you may be running on Windows 11, 10, or older versions 

How to compress Word documents

If you use Microsoft Word, you can compress and lower the resolution for images and excludes font embeds to reduce the size of documents.

Compress images

To compress images added to a Word document, use these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Open a document.
3. Select the image embedded in the document.
4. Click the Picture Format tab.
5. Under the "Adjust" section, click the Compress Pictures button.

6. Under the "Compression options" section, clear the "Apply only to this picture" to allow the same setting to apply to all images in the document.
7. Check the "Delete cropped areas of pictures" option.

8. Click the OK button.

Save at lower resolution

To lower the resolution of images to make a Word document smaller, use these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Open a document
3. Click on File and select Options.
4. Click on Advanced.
5. Under the "Image, Size and Quality" section, check the Discard editing data option to remove data that enables the restoration of the image from its original state.
6. Clear the "Do not compress images in file" option.
7. Select 150 or lower ppi using the Default resolution setting.

8. Click the OK button.

Remove fonts 

To prevent including special fonts to reduce the size of a Word document, use these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Open a document
3. Click on File and select Options.
4. Click on Save.
5. Under the "Preserve fidelity when saving this document" section, clear the "Embed fonts in the file" option.

6. Click the OK button.

Alternatively, you can check the "Embed fonts in the file" option, but if you do so, then select the "Embed only the characters used in the document (best for reducing file size)" and "Do not embed common system fonts" options.

Once you complete the steps, the Microsoft Word document will have a smaller footprint, making it easier to send over the internet or comply with the requirements if you must upload the file to a specific service.

More resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10 and Windows 11, visit the following resources:

• Windows 11 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know

What you need to know

• Microsoft Word will soon have a bottom bar with commonly used options.
• People will be able to access the Mobile View, Read Aloud, and Heading options through the bottom bar.
• The feature is currently in testing with insiders on iOS.

Microsoft is testing out a new bottom bar for Word on iOS devices. The bar will include commonly accessed features, such as Mobile View, Read Aloud, and options for Headings. The aim of the relocated bar is to make it easier to use some of the most popular features in Word without having to dig through menus.

The bottom bar is in testing for Insiders using Word on iOS. Specifically, the feature is available in version 2.59 (22022802) of Word.

"When you're working in Word on your iOS device, you don't want to stop your flow and hunt for commands," reads the feature's description from Microsoft. "So, we've placed some of the most commonly used options in a convenient bottom bar. Access the Mobile View, Read Aloud, and Headings options with one tap in this easily accessible bar at the bottom of your Word screen."

Finding options within Word can be a bit tricky at the moment. Different settings and features appear within separate menus and sections of the app. The new approach with a bottom bar should make popular options easier to find, though it would be more useful if the bar was customizable. Being at the bottom of the app should also make the features easier to access with a single hand, especially on larger phones.

Our guide on how to sign up for Microsoft's iOS and Android beta programs can help you become a beta tester for Word on iOS.

What you need to know

• Microsoft has been taking increasingly large steps over the past few months to put a stop to macro-induced security risks in its apps and services.
• Its latest move is to block internet macros by default in five major Office apps: Word, Access, Excel, PowerPoint, and Visio.
• The new default change's rollout will begin in early April 2022 and is, at a date yet to be determined, set to come to versions of Office stretching as far back as Office 2013.

Microsoft's been taking a harder stance against macros in recent times, such as with its crackdown on Excel 4.0 macros. Now, the company's going even further.

Five Office apps will soon see internet macros blocked by default. The apps in question are Word, Visio, Access, Excel, and PowerPoint. Expect the default change rollout to hit Office beginning with version 2203 via an early April 2022 Current Channel (Preview) release. It will come to other channels, including Current Channel, Monthly Enterprise Channel, and Semi-Annual Enterprise Channel, at a later date. The change will also make its way to Office LTSC, Office 2021, Office 2019, Office 2016, and Office 2013, though dates for those rollouts have yet to be provided.

As to why Microsoft is doing this, the short answer is that the change adds an extra layer of security for users. Here's an excerpt from Microsoft's announcement: "For macros in files obtained from the internet, users will no longer be able to enable content with a click of a button. A message bar will appear for users notifying them with a button to learn more. The default is more secure and is expected to keep more users safe including home users and information workers in managed organizations."

The idea is that even with the previous disclaimers Office apps have offered, it was still too easy for someone to enable an internet macro and inadvertently expose their device to malicious payloads. Now, Microsoft is upping the barrier separating internet macros from Office apps to shield users from bad code.

What you need to know

• Microsoft is testing out the mica blur effect on Word on Windows 11.
• Mica requires fewer system resources than an acrylic blur because it only samples from a PC's background.
• The mica effect has been spotted by Office Insiders in the Beta Channel but is rolling out gradually.

Microsoft's mica blur effect is one step closer to rolling out in Microsoft Word. Mica is the new blur effect available in Windows 11. An Office Insider in the Beta Channel spotted the new style of blurring in Microsoft Word and shared a screenshot on Reddit.

Mica is an effect similar to the acrylic blur, but it's less resource-intensive because it samples from a PC's wallpaper rather than any apps behind an active window. The effect is seen on several apps on Windows 11, including the File Explorer and the Settings app.

Here's Microsoft's description of mica from a support document (emphasis added):

It appears that the mica effect is rolling out gradually, even to Insiders. Some Insiders have not seen it even after receiving the most recent update to Word.

If you'd like to check out the mica blur in Word and other preview features in Office, follow our guide on how to enroll in the Office Insider program.

What you need to know

• Microsoft is testing natural-sounding voices on Word for Windows.
• The same improved voices are available on Microsoft Edge and some other Microsoft services.
• Microsoft briefly tested the same voices on Outlook but has temporarily disabled them.

Office Insiders can try out more natural-sounding voices in Microsoft Word for Windows. Microsoft started rolling out the feature in testing earlier this week. The improved Read Aloud functionality is already available on Microsoft Edge, and it's now making its way to the desktop Office apps.

The Read Aloud feature can be used to proof documents. Sometimes people miss things with their eyes as they skim over content. Listening to text out loud can make mistakes more obvious. The natural-sounding voices in testing sound less robotic than alternatives. Some people also just prefer listening to content over reading it.

There are 64 new natural-sounding voices available, bringing the total number of voices to 142.

To use the natural-sounding voices, you have to be a Microsoft 365 subscriber and be connected to the internet. Previously available voices do not require an internet connection. You can access the feature by going to Review the clicking Read Aloud.

Microsoft tested the new Read Aloud voices on Outlook as well, but that feature has been temporarily disabled. The new voices are still available in Word for Office Insiders. The natural-sounding Read Aloud voices are available to Office Insiders running Beta Channel Version 2109 (Build 14427.20000) or later or Current Channel Version (Build 14430.20000).

Even for Windows Insiders, some features roll out gradually. As a result, you may not see the new natural-sounding voices at this time.

If you aren't an Office Insider yet, you can check out our guide on how to enroll in the Office Insider program.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Word online will soon support a Simple Markup view.
• The desktop version of Word already supports the feature.
• Simple Markup view reduces the clutter created by comments and tracked changes.

Microsoft Word on the web could soon have an option that makes tracking changes look less cluttered. An entry on the Microsoft 365 roadmap describes a "Simple Markup view" the makes it easier to focus on a document that includes suggestions. The tracked changes and comments are still visible within the view but are arranged in a way that doesn't interfere with the rest of the document.

Here's the description from the Microsoft 365 roadmap:

The feature is listed as in development and could arrive as soon as October 2021, but dates on the Microsoft 365 roadmap are always subject to change. The offline version of Word has had this option for quite some time, but the feature may prove more valuable on Word for the web. With online collaboration, documents can get crowded with tracked changes, comments, and people hopping around within a shared document.

The Simple Markup view on the online version of Word will likely work the same way as the same feature on the desktop version of Word. You can enable the feature within the desktop version of Word by clicking the Review tab and selecting Simple Markup.

TechRadar compares the new markup view to Google Docs, which has a less cluttered setup for comments. Google's online suite of applications was created with collaboration in mind, so they do a good job of handling several people working on the same document. Now, Word online should work the same way.

What you need to know

• Office Insiders can now review selected text with Editor in Word.
• The new feature came as a result of feedback through UserVoice.
• Reviewing selected text is an option for Office 365 subscribers in the Current Channel (Preview).

Reviewing a specific part of a Word document just got easier for Office Insiders. A new feature recently rolled out that allows you to review selected text in Microsoft Word for Windows. The option is available for Office 365 subscribers in the Current Channel (Preview) version 2103 (Build 13929.20216) or later.

Microsoft Editor allows you to review a Word document for spelling and grammar. If you've already reviewed the rest of a document and want to just check a portion of it, you normally have to manually skip to that part of the document. With the new option to proof selected text, you can highlight any content, right-click, and select "Review selection in Editor."

Microsoft's program manager on the Word team, Shruthi Ramesh, explains the feature fully in an Insider blog post.

Ramesh highlights that features roll out over time, so you might not see the option yet, even if you're on the Current Channel.

The change is based on feedback Microsoft received through UserVoice. The feedback is quite old, dating all the way back to November 2018. It received a relatively small number of votes, so it may not have been flagged as a high priority by Microsoft. In any event, the feature is rolling out now to Insiders and hopefully will make its way through Insider channels and out to general release.

Our guide on how to enroll in the Office Insider program can help you out if you aren't an Insider yet.

Microsoft Word allows you to create custom keyboard shortcuts to quickly use a combination of keys to execute a command or macro, apply a style, and insert a symbol without the need of extra steps utilizing a mouse.

In addition to creating new shortcuts, whether you use the version of Office from Microsoft 365 or Office 2019, Microsoft Word also lets you modify existing shortcuts or remove those you do not want.

In this Windows 10 guide, we will walk you through the steps of creating a custom keyboard shortcut for your most frequent Word commands. In addition, we will also outline the steps of removing a specific shortcut and resetting all custom settings to their defaults.

• How to create custom keyboard shortcut in Word
• How to remove custom keyboard shortcut in Word
• How to reset custom keyboard shortcut settings in Word  

How to create custom keyboard shortcut in Word

To assign a custom keyboard shortcut to a command or item in Word, use these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click on Options from the bottom-left corner.Quick note: If you have a blank document open, click the File menu to access the Options button. Alternatively, you can also right-click anywhere in the Ribbon and select the Customize the Ribbon option to access the settings.

3. Click on Customize Ribbon.
4. Under the "Customize the Ribbon and keyboard shortcuts" section, click the Customize button for "Keyboard shortcuts."

5. In the Categories section, select the category that contains the command, macro, or style you want to customize.
6. In the Command section, select the item to which you want to add a custom keyboard shortcut.Quick note: If the command has a shortcut already assigned, it will be listed under the "Current keys" section. You can always add more shortcuts for the same command or remove shortcuts as needed (see steps below).
7. In the Press new shortcut key box, confirm the keyboard shortcut you want to use.Quick tip: You can use a number of key combinations. For example, you can use a function key, such as F3 and F4, Alt and/or Ctrl + other keys like Alt + Ctrl + F7. If the shortcut is already in use, you can still use it, but the keyboard shortcut will no longer be available for the other item.
8. In the "Save changes in" option, select the Normal.dotm option to make the keyboard available for all documents.

9. Click the Assign button.
10. Click the Close button.

Once you complete the steps, you can now start using the keyboard shortcut to quickly run command, macro, style, font, or symbol.

While the ability to customize shortcuts is available in older versions, you should consider upgrading to Office from Microsoft 365. The subscription-based service offers a free upgrade and other benefits, such as sharing the apps with up to six family members and friends, and you get access to services like Microsoft Teams, Family Safety, Microsoft Editor, and 1TB of OneDrive storage.

How to remove custom keyboard shortcut in Word

To remove a keyboard shortcut in Word, use these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click on Options from the bottom-left corner.

3. Click on Customize Ribbon.
4. Under the "Customize the Ribbon and keyboard shortcuts" section, click the Customize button for "Keyboard shortcuts."
5. In the Categories section, select the category that contains the command you want to customize.
6. In the Command section, select the item from which you want to remove a custom keyboard shortcut.
7. Under the "Current keys" section, select the shortcut you want to remove.
8. Click the Remove button.

9. Click the Close button.

After you complete the steps, the shortcut will no longer be available in Microsoft Word.

How to reset custom keyboard shortcut settings in Word

To reset all the shortcut settings in Word, use these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Click on Options from the bottom-left corner.

3. Click on Customize Ribbon.
4. Under the "Customize the Ribbon and keyboard shortcuts" section, click the Customize button for "Keyboard shortcuts."
5. Click the Reset All button.

6. Click the Yes button.
7. Click the Close button.

Once you complete the steps, the keyboard settings will reset to their original configuration.

More Windows 10 resources

For more helpful articles, coverage, and answers to common questions about Windows 10, visit the following resources:

• Windows 10 on Windows Central — All you need to know
• Windows 10 help, tips, and tricks
• Windows 10 forums on Windows Central

What you need to know

• You can now turn Microsoft Word documents into PowerPoint presentations.
• The feature is available on Word and PowerPoint for the web for Microsoft 365 subscribers.
• At the moment, the feature only supports text content.

You can now easily convert Word documents into PowerPoint presentations using a new feature from Microsoft. The feature is available in Word and PowerPoint for the web for people with a Microsoft 365 subscription.

The feature uses AI to make slides based on the headers in your documents. It also looks at key words in your document to suggest images, icons, videos, themes, and fonts for your presentation. The feature only works with text content for now, but you can add your own media after it converts things over.

Here's Microsoft's description of the feature from a Tech Community post:

Since the feature converts documents into a PowerPoint presentation, you can easily enhance or tweak the presentation in case things don't port over as you'd like.

The first comment on the Tech Community post is a fun demonstration of the feature in action. Microsoft MVP John Moore pasted the article about the feature into Word and exported it to PowerPoint.

From what we can see, the feature seems to do a good job of creating a functional presentation from a Word document. I tried doing the same thing and saw similar results.

What you need to know

• Office Insiders can now convert Word documents into PowerPoint presentations.
• The feature adds imagery, icons, videos, themes, and fonts using AI.
• First Release Insiders using Word for the web are the first people who can test it out.

Microsoft is testing out a nifty new feature for creating PowerPoint presentations. The company recently announced the ability to transform Word documents into PowerPoint presentations. The feature is rolling out gradually to Insiders. First Release Insiders using Word for the web are the first people who can try it.

According to Microsoft's Insider blog post, the Transform command will create a presentation based on the summarized sections of a document. It will also add images, icons, videos, themes, and fonts using AI.

If you're an Insider with this option available, you can try it using these steps outlined by Microsoft:

1. Open any document you want to convert into a presentation in Word for the web.
2. Click File > Transform > Transform to PowerPoint presentation.
3. When prompted, choose a design theme for your presentation.
4. Click Open presentation to review the results in PowerPoint for the web.
5. The presentation will be created in the OneDrive root folder of the user who used this option.

The feature hasn't appeared on my system yet. Even if you are an Insider, you may have to wait for a bit to test it out.

If you aren't an Office Insider but would like to be, you can follow our guide on how to enroll in the Office Insider program on Windows 10.

What you need to know

• A new text prediction feature should roll out to Microsoft Word next month.
• The feature is similar to Google Docs' Smart Compose option.
• Microsoft Outlook gained text predictions earlier this month.

Microsoft Word for Windows will soon support text predictions. According to the Microsoft 365 roadmap, the feature is in development and could roll out as soon as next month (via Neowin). The Microsoft 365 roadmap is a guide for feature rollout, not a set of firm release dates, so we may have to wait a bit longer to see the feature.

The text predictions feature works similarly to Google Docs' Smart Compose option or text suggestions on some smartphone keyboards. It uses machine learning to predict what words should appear next within a sentence. Authors can then accept the suggestions by pressing the Tab key or reject them by pressing Escape.

If you prefer that predictions don't show up at all, you can just completely disable the feature. The option to turn it off is especially handy if you're creating a document in which suggestions are less likely to be accurate.

Microsoft already started rolling out text predictions to Outlook for Windows earlier this month. Text prediction is also available for Outlook for the web and Outlook for Android.

Since the predictions use machine learning, they should get better over time as you use them more.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Word's dark mode now inverts the colors of your documents.
• Previously, the app just inverted the colors of its menus.
• The change is currently available in the Insiders Beta channel.

Office Insiders on the Beta Channel have an improved dark mode to try out. Now, when you set Microsoft Word to its black theme, the app will invert the colors of your document. Previously, when you used the black theme, the app would invert its menus but leave the document alone.

The change was spotted and shared by Hayden Barnes, an engineering manager for Ubuntu on Windows Subsystem for Linux at Canonical.

If you open up the non-Beta version of Office and switch to black mode, you'll see a bright white document and dark menus. The contrast is quite stark and doesn't result in a very black "black mode."

The updated black mode is more of a true black mode and would fit in on a system with other elements set to dark mode.

Here is the current black mode for comparison:

While the theme is called "black" within Microsoft Word, you can also get it by setting Word to "Use system setting" if your PC is set to dark mode.

We have a guide on how to change the color theme of Office apps if you'd like to try out Word's black mode or other themes.

And here's how to enroll in the Office Insider program on Windows 10 (sign up for Beta Channel) to get started.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Editor for Windows has a simplified new look.
• The new look and features are available for the Current Channel (Preview) on Windows.
• The new interface takes inspiration from the web version of Microsoft Editor.

Microsoft Editor is a built-in assistant that helps you correct grammar and spelling in your writing. It's available within Microsoft Word, Outlook, and on some of Microsoft's services on the web. Now, Microsoft is testing a new way to interact with Editor on Word for Windows. The new look should be easier to use and cleaner than before.

The new look and features are available to Current Channel (Preview) users running version 2010 (Build 13328.20000) or later.

Here are the changes that Microsoft is introducing to Editor, as found in an Insider blog post:

• The ability to view spelling, grammar and other intelligent suggestions with one click- either left or right-click any underlined word. In addition, you can also select an underline word and then press Shift+F10 or Alt+Down to display Editor suggestions.
• Microsoft Editor  *  A dedicated and simplified view of Editor's suggestions with a flexibility to display more information if required.
• An upgraded Editor pane that allows for more contextual and accessible review experience.

Microsoft cites four key reasons for these changes in its blog post:

• Clean interface: simplifies the process of reviewing suggestions.   
• Dedicated experience: allows a quick, focused review that is free from distractions of non-Editor commands.
• Primary click-to-view experience: more common and convenient than a right-click.
• More contextual review experience in the Editor pane with suggestions appearing closer to the error in the document.

Microsoft Editor is built into Microsoft Word. You can also download it for Microsoft Edge or Google Chrome. You need a Microsoft 365 subscription for premium features and to use it on Word on PCs.

What you need to know

• You can download universal versions beginning today.
• This includes Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote.
• The new Outlook for Mac remains in beta.

Mac users of Microsoft's popular suite have been rewarded, especially those using an Apple M1 device.

Microsoft 365 users who happen to have an Apple M1 computer have received an early holiday gift. The popular Office suite now runs natively on Macs using Apple silicon. The news means the flagship Office apps, Outlook, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote, will run faster and offer performance improvements. It's not the only news Microsoft announced on Tuesday for Mac users.

The universal Office suite update, available on the Mac App Store and through Microsoft AutoUpdate, has also been redesigned to match the look of macOS Big Sur. Microsoft Teams, now used by more than 115 million daily active users, has not yet been given the universal apps treatment. However, Mac users can still use the software through Apple's Rosetta 2 emulation mode on Macs with M1 and the browser.

The first three Macs to include Apple silicon are the MacBook Air (M1, 2020), 13-inch MacBook Pro (M1, 2020), and Mac mini (2020).

In other news, the new Microsoft Outlook for Mac (finally) now supports iCloud accounts. It will become available in the coming weeks. The company also highlighted innovations for its Mac apps, making it simpler to get work done. One of these, Tell Me, is now available on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote for Mac. The search box lets you enter words and phrases about what you'd like to do next.

Microsoft also noted the new Outlook for Mac, which launched in November after months of testing, will soon support shared calendars for customers subscribed to the Office Insider Mac Beta Channel. The option arrives in the first months of 2021. There's also a new commenting experience launching in Word for Mac in 2021.

You can access Microsoft 365 updates from the Mac App Store or by going into the Microsoft AutoUpdate app by accessing an Office app's Help menu and choosing Check for Updates.

What you need to know

• HelloSign now integrates with Microsoft Word.
• HelloSign allows you to request signatures from other people and to self-sign documents.
• You can add HelloSign integration with Microsoft Word with an add-in.

Microsoft Word now has an add-on available for HelloSign. The add-in makes it easy to request signatures from other people for legal documents or anything else requiring a signature. You can also use it to self-sign documents. You can easily add HelloSign to Microsoft Word through the Office Add-ins section within the Microsoft Ribbon.

HelloSign is a popular service for requesting signatures for documents. It has a web interface and works with Dropbox, but with an add-in for Microsoft Word, you don't have to leave your document to sort out signatures.

You can send up to three signature requests per month without having to pay anything, but requesting more per month requires a subscription. The Essentials plan costs $15 per month and gets you unlimited signature requests. There are also Business and Enterprise plans if you need more than one sender and things like HIPAA compliance.

A blog post from HelloSign details the add-in further and outlines how to install it on Word. Here are the steps shared by HelloSign:

1. Log in to your Microsoft 365 account and select the Word option
2. Open a Word file
3. Navigate to the Insert tab on the ribbon, and then select the Office Add-ins option from the Add-ins section of the Ribbon
4. An Office Add-ins page opens. Select the Store option
5. Type HelloSign in the search field, and click the search icon
6. Once you find the HelloSign for Word add-in, click the Add button to the right of the listing
7. When the add-in is installed, HelloSign will appear as a tab on the ribbon. Clicking the tab will display three options:
8. Self-Sign - For documents you need to sign and fill out
9. Send for Signature - Documents in which you are requesting others to sign
10. My Account - Access to your HelloSign account, Help Center, and to log out

What you need to know

• Microsoft has new updates out for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint for iPad.
• The three apps now fully support trackpads.
• There are updated Start Screens and Ribbons as well.

Microsoft today announced a suite of updates for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iPad. The company says that this is part of its commitment "to making sure Microsoft 365 users have the best experience possible on any technology platform they use."

Even if it's iPad.

The standout change is the arrival of full trackpad and mouse support, allowing for easier document control and editing across all three apps.

Microsoft has also updated the Start Screens and Ribbons of the apps, making the experience cleaner and "more modern" than before.

Some people will already have seen these updates as part of a phased rollout but everyone else will see them arrive within the next few weeks, the company says.

What you need to know

• Microsoft is testing trackpad support for iPad.
• Specifically for Word and Excel.
• It has rolled out the feature in betas of both apps through TestFlight.

Microsoft has started testing trackpad support for both Word and Excel on iPad through TestFlight for iPadOS.

As reported by MacRumors:

Apple released trackpad support for its entire iPad range back in March with iOS 13.4. From that release:

The feature supports Apple's Magic Mouse and Keyboard, as well as Apple's Magic Keyboards for iPad, and some third party offerings with options for both USB and Bluetooth connectivity.

As noted, the new trackpad compatibility for Word and Excel on iPad is currently only available to TestFlight users on the beta. As per the report, Microsoft has previously noted that it would bring trackpad support to Word, Excel, and indeed PowerPoint in the fall of this year.

How to use a trackpad or mouse with your iPhone or iPad

What you need to know

• Microsoft Word for the web just gained a transcription feature.
• The feature allows you to transcribe audio from your microphone or from recorded audio files.
• The feature requires a Microsoft 365 subscription.

Microsoft Word for the web has a new feature that makes it easy to transcribe audio (via The Verge). The feature is currently available for Word for the web, but Microsoft plans to bring it to its iOS and Android apps in the future. You can use the tool to record audio live or transcribe audio files you previously recorded.

The feature is available for Microsoft 365 subscribers. Microsoft has a support page that breaks down the feature and outlines how you can use it. You can transcribe up to 300 uploaded minutes per month. There is not a way to increase that limit at this time, which is notable as a competing software, Otter.ai, provides up to 600 minutes for free each month.

Word doesn't compress audio when it transcribes it, instead saving it as a WAV file. The recorded WAV file is then uploaded to a folder in your OneDrive storage.

The feature supports transcribing audio from a microphone, and audio from .wav, .mp4, and .mp3 formats up to 200MB. Microsoft Word separates speakers in the conversation using artificial intelligence, which makes it much easier to follow along with a conversation.

At the moment, you can only store one audio transcription per document. This should be fine if you plan to transcribe an entire interview or lecture but is restrictive if you plan to put multiple segments of a recording into a document.

You can use the transcription feature now by opening a Word document online, clicking the arrow next to "Dictate" to open a dropdown menu, and then selecting "Transcribe."

To try the new feature yourself head to Office.com and login with your Microsoft account to get started.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Word online can now suggest rewrites of entire sentences.
• The feature previously worked with just phrases but has been expanded.
• To use the feature, you need a Microsoft 365 or Office 365 subscription.

Microsoft recently updated a feature within Microsoft Word online that helps you rewrite sentences. Previously, the Rewrite suggestions feature for Word online only suggested rewrites to phrases. Now, you can highlight an entire sentence and see several suggestions that improve the flow of a sentence. The feature is available now for Word online and requires a Microsoft 365 subscription or Office 365 subscription. Microsoft announced the feature and discussed how it works in a recent tech community post.

Microsoft first showcased the Rewrite suggestions feature at Build conference in 2019, though at the time it could only suggest rewrites to phrases. The feature utilizes a neural network and machine learning models that have been trained with millions of sentences.

Microsoft 365 brings work, life, and family together under one subscription

To use the feature, you just select a sentence and click "Rewrite Suggestions." If suggestions are available, Word shows you several suggestions to choose from. The feature focuses on making sentences concise, readable, and fluid.

At least for now, the feature is only available for Word online.

What you need to know

• Grammarly is now available for Word on macOS and online.
• Grammarly was already available for Word on Windows.
• Microsoft recently announced Microsoft Editor, which competes with Grammarly.

Grammarly announced today that you can now add Grammarly to Microsoft Word on macOS and Microsoft Word online. The tool will allow you to check your spelling, grammar, and word choice directly within Microsoft Word on your Mac or online. Grammarly was already available as an add-on for Microsoft Word on Windows.

Grammarly works similarly on all platforms. As you type, you see prompts and suggestions to improve your writing. In addition to general grammar and spell checks, Grammarly will suggest words that might fit into a sentence better than what you currently have written.

Microsoft recently announced a major update to Microsoft Editor, which makes it more of a competitor to Grammarly. Microsoft Editor will perform spelling and grammar checks and suggest improvements to your word choice and writing. It will be available on Word and Outlook online and within Microsoft's desktop applications.

Grammarly has been around for a long time, and many rely on its proofreading and suggestions. Its availability within Word on macOS and online makes it more accessible and useful to people who work across platforms.

There are free and paid versions of Grammarly. The free version gives you basic writing corrections while the Premium and Business versions of Grammarly provide advanced suggestions and corrections.

What you need to know

• Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries can now be opened directly within Microsoft Word and PowerPoint.
• The integration makes it easy to add logos and images from the cloud.
• The integration also works with type styles.

Adobe announced a new integration with Microsoft Word and Microsoft PowerPoint. Now, Adobe Creative Cloud Libraries can be opened directly within the popular Office programs. This makes it easy to add logos, images, and type styles to Word documents and PowerPoint presentations.

Creative Cloud Libraries is a tool used by many creators and organizations to organize brand elements and images. For example, an organization might store brand-approved logos that can now be easily used as a watermark or signature within a document. Additionally, a presenter might use it to add images to a presentation using Creative Cloud Libraries to illustrate their points.

Adobe states that this integration will streamline workflows. Now, people don't need to jump in and out of the File Explorer to grab assets. Additionally, assets can be shared on the cloud that works well with the Adobe Creative Suite and is used throughout an entire organization or group of creators.

What you need to know

• Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and OneNote are now testing dark mode on iOS 13.
• The move is part of an overall dark mode rollout across the Microsoft 365 ecosystem.
• Insiders beta testing each app through TestFlight can grab an early look at dark mode across all four apps on iOS 13 now.

More apps in the Office ecosystem across iOS 13 are picking up a fresh dark mode look today — at least for beta testers. Microsoft revealed today that the dark modes, which were announced earlier this summer, are now rolling out for Office Insiders testing Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote on iOS 13.

These dark modes mostly look as you'd expect, with black backgrounds highlighted by white text across each app. There's also plenty of each app's brand color throughout, which pops against the black background. Dark mode can be enabled in each app by toggling your iOS 13 system appearance settings from light to dark.

These rollouts are part of a larger push from Microsoft to roll out dark mode across its Microsoft 365 app lineup. We've seen dark mode roll out to Outlook and OneDrive so far, along with Microsoft To Do earlier today. In August, Microsoft released a video offering an early peek at what dark mode will look like across its lineup.

Assuming testing goes well, Microsoft is planning to release dark mode across these apps to everyone on iOS 13 next week.

All of Microsoft's iOS and Android beta programs, and how to sign up

What you need to know

• A new update rolled out to Office Insiders in the Monthly Channel (Targeted) ring.
• The update brings a couple of new features, including the option to save PowerPoint slides and objects as SVG files.
• All of the new features rolled out to Fast ring Insiders previously.

Office Insiders in the Monthly Channel (Targeted) ring have some new features to play with following a recent update. New features are available for Word and PowerPoint. The update brings the version number to 1908 (build 12026.20108). An Insider Office post fully breaks down the update. The same features rolled out to Insiders in the Fast ring in August.

PowerPoint gained several new features related to saving items as SVG files. SVG (Scalable Vector Graphic) files can be scaled up and down without losing details. PowerPoint now has the ability to save objects as SVG files. This is handy if you need to scale up a chart or graph to make a poster or large graphic. Insiders can also save an entire slide or presentation as an SVG. As you would expect, raster images such as PNGs and JPEGs will still render as raster images. These file formats are not vector files and cannot scale the same way as SVGs.

Word gained a Rewrite feature that gives suggestions to help you rephrase sentences. You can select a phrase up to seven words and have Word suggest several ways to rephrase it.

What you need to know

• Word, Excel, and PowerPoint gained a sparkle animation for inking on iOS.
• Word also gained a new eraser size.
• Excel gained a new "Focus on What's Left to Do" feature.

Microsoft Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on iOS all have new updates. The updates bring a sparkle animation for ink strokes as well as a couple of smaller features for Word and Excel. The updates are available to all users through the App Store.

In addition to the sparkle animation, Word on iOS now has two erasers so users will have more precision when correcting mistakes. Additionally, Excel on iOS will "collapse comments and make open items stand out" when "Focus on What's Left to Do" is selected.

Microsoft shipped several updates to apps this week, including the option to draw with your finger in OneNote on iOS. Microsoft To Do got a design refresh as well as a slight name change that dropped the hyphen from the app name.

What you need to know

• Microsoft is bringing a dark mode to Outlook and the rest of its Office mobile apps.
• Outlook and Office.com will see the updates today, while the rest of the Office mobile suite will be updated alongside iOS 13's launch.
• This brings the mobile apps in line with the rest of Microsoft's Office suite on other platforms.

Microsoft announced today that it's finally bringing a dark mode to Outlook mobile, the rest of the Office mobile suite, and Office.com. Outlook mobile and Office.com are the first to get the treatment starting today, while the rest of the Office mobile apps will follow once iOS 13 launches later this year.

"A cross-company design collaboration propels us to seamlessly bring Dark Mode to the broader M365 product suite, and today marks the initial rollout of Dark Mode on Outlook for iOS and Android, as well as Office.com," Microsoft said in a blog post announcing the new design. "The upcoming launch of iOS 13 will then extend this rollout to Word, Excel, PowerPoint, SharePoint, OneDrive, Planner, and To-Do on mobile."

Microsoft says that it conducted research into the contexts in which people might use dark mode, specifically looking to avoid experiences where dark mode "can be neon or overly bright." The design they settled on for Outlook was met with a positive response, with people describing it as "crisp, clear, and aesthetically pleasing."

One of the benefits of dark mode is that it can reduce eye strain, but Microsoft is also focused on reducing battery consumption as well. When you engage battery saver mode on Android today, it will automatically switch Outlook to dark mode. In the next updates to iOS and Android, Outlook will automatically switch over to dark mode according to your OS preferences.

Another goal, Microsoft says, was to align all of the Office apps in terms of design. The teams settled on a single palette, along with details like contrast and brand color saturation to produce a sense of consistency across apps.

Word, Excel, and PowerPoint on mobile are set to pick up their dark mode treatments alongside the launch of iOS 13 later this year. Dark mode for Planner and OneDrive on the web are also in the works, but there's no hard timeline available for those updates just yet.

What you need to know

• Microsoft Word reached 1 billion installations on Android over the weekend.
• Several other Microsoft apps have over 500 million installations.
• Microsoft has dozens of apps on Android.

Microsoft Word reached over 1 billion installations on Android over the weekend. Microsoft's flagship document editor is arguably Microsoft's greatest success story on Android. With over 1 billion downloads, Microsoft Word is one of the most used productivity apps on the platform.

Microsoft has continued to push Office on Android along with other apps like Your Phone, Microsoft Edge, and Microsoft Teams. The shift has helped Microsoft stay relevant in the mobile space despite the death of Windows 10 Mobile. Microsoft has similar efforts on iOS in an effort to have its services available to as many users as possible.

Some around the web have pointed out that Microsoft Office comes preinstalled on many Android phones in an effort to discount Word's milestone of 1 billion installations. While it is true that Microsoft's Office applications come preinstalled on many devices, the fact that Word recently hit 1 billion installations and other Office apps like Excel have "only" hit 500 million shows that quite a few users have downloaded Word from the Google Play Store.

It is worth pointing out that an installation does not equal an exact user. Some users will download Word on devices using different Microsoft accounts and there are other ways that an installation doesn't equate to a unique user. But regardless of preinstallation statistics and any duplicate installations, this is an accomplishment for Microsoft. Android is by far the largest mobile platform on Earth, and Microsoft's efforts to push Office to these devices has proven successful.

Portable (and affordable) power accessories we love

Each and every one of these charging gadgets will keep your favorite gear and gadgets going for longer, and none of them costs more than $30.

VisionTek 8,000 mAh micro-USB power bank ($13 at Dell)

This compact dual-output powerbank can speedily recharge any and all your devices, thanks to a two-amp "fast charge feature," using its micro-USB out port. Its simple design includes an LED indicator, and it costs about as much as a single ticket to the movies.

Panasonic eneloop AA batteries (From $13 at Dell)

Panasonic's rechargeable batteries are among the best available, and just a couple of them will keep your favorite remote, mice or other peripherals powered up when you need them. They're also eco. And the company's affordable charger fits and charges both AA and AAA batteries at the same time.

Belkin Qi Wireless Charging Pad ($30 at Dell)

This unobtrusive Qi wireless charging pad looks good (and kind of like a UFO …) and easily charges all your Qi-compatible device up to 5W. Its LED indicator lights up when you're charging. And it costs just $30.

On Windows 10, when using the Microsoft Word app, pasting content from a web browser, another document, or any other program will include the text along with the source formatting, whether you use the "Paste" option from the "Home" tab or the "Ctrl + V" keyboard shortcut.

Although you can always right-click to open the context menu and select the "Keep Text Only" option to perform a clean paste without formatting, these are additional steps you probably won't remember every time you copy content from the web or another app.

Fortunately, just like in OneNote, if you're using an Office 365 subscription or the standalone version of Office, Word 2019, 2016, and older versions include settings to set the default paste behavior to keep only the text without any weird formatting.

In this Windows 10 guide, we walk you through the steps to change the default paste settings of Microsoft Word to paste text from other programs without formatting.

How to set default paste settings for Microsoft Word

To paste text directly into a Word document without source formatting, use these steps:

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. Create a blank document.Quick tip: You can save the extra steps to create a blank document using this tip to skip the start screen in Office.
3. Click on File.
4. Click on Options.

5. Click on Advanced.
6. Under the "Cut, copy, and paste" section, use the "Paste from other programs" drop-down menu and select the Keep Text Only option.

7. (Optional) Use the "Pasting between documents" drop-down menu, and select the Keep Only Text Option.Quick tip: We're only setting a new default for pasting content from the web, between documents, and other programs, but Microsoft Word also allows you to keep only the text as the default option when pasting within the same file as well as when there's a styling conflict between documents.
8. Click the OK button.

Once you complete the steps, when copying fragments from the web, between documents, or another app, you can use the "Ctrl + V" keyboard shortcut or the "Paste" button from the "Home" tab to paste only the text without the source formatting.

If you need to keep or merge the formatting of the content, you can still open the context menu in Word and select the pasting option.

Portable (and affordable) power accessories we love

Each and every one of these charging gadgets will keep your favorite gear and gadgets going for longer, and none of them costs more than $30.

VisionTek 8,000 mAh micro-USB power bank ($13 at Dell)

This compact dual-output powerbank can speedily recharge any and all your devices, thanks to a two-amp "fast charge feature," using its micro-USB out port. Its simple design includes an LED indicator, and it costs about as much as a single ticket to the movies.

Panasonic eneloop AA batteries (From $13 at Dell)

Panasonic's rechargeable batteries are among the best available, and just a couple of them will keep your favorite remote, mice or other peripherals powered up when you need them. They're also eco. And the company's affordable charger fits and charges both AA and AAA batteries at the same time.

Belkin Qi Wireless Charging Pad ($30 at Dell)

This unobtrusive Qi wireless charging pad looks good (and kind of like a UFO …) and easily charges all your Qi-compatible device up to 5W. Its LED indicator lights up when you're charging. And it costs just $30.

What you need to know

• "Ideas in Word" to launch in Word Online this fall.
• The feature will suggest gender "inclusive" language edits.
• Backed by AI to make your prose more concise and easier to digest.
• From $50 at Amazon - Office 365 Personal

As part of its Build 2019 announcements last week, Microsoft announced a new feature for Word that flew a bit under the radar. Called "Ideas" the feature uses AI to suggest edits for your documents that will make them more professional, concise, and inclusive (via The Telegraph).

Ideas in Word taps into machine learning and the Microsoft Graph to, ultimately, make your prose more "polished."

"Here's something where we say, 'Hey, we understand the structure of your document. We can make it navigable, or we could create a table of contents on your behalf,'" said Kirk Gregersen, a partner director of program management in Microsoft's Experiences and Devices group, in a blog post announcing the feature.

One of the biggest additions with this feature is suggestions to make the language you use more inclusive for people of all walks of life. In an example given by Microsoft, Ideas may recommend changing the word "policeman" to "police officer" to be more gender-inclusive.

In addition, the AI-powered feature can tap into the Microsoft Graph to help you gain insights on the estimated time to read your document, highlight extraction, "familiar fixes for spelling and grammatical errors," and recommended acronyms. Overall, though, the feature aims to make your writing more concise and, as Microsoft puts it, "better."

The Ideas is feature is expected to ship starting this Fall in Word Online.

Cheap PC accessories we love

Take a gander at these awesome PC accessories, all of which will enhance your Windows experience.

Anker 4 port USB 3.0 hub ($10 at Amazon)

Whether on a desktop or laptop PC, you always need more ports to connect things to. This hub gives you an additional four USB 3.0 Type A ports.

Ikea Fixa Cable Management System ($11 at Amazon)

This IKEA cable management kit is your ticket to a clean setup. It's simple and functional.

NZXT Puck ($20 at Amazon)

This clever little accessory has powerful magnets on the rear to make it stick to any of the metal panels on your PC case or anything else. It's great for hanging accessories like headsets.

It looks as if picking the perfect color for inking in the Word Mobile app for Windows 10 is about to get a little more interactive. As first spotted by Twitter user Ajith (via Windows Latest), Microsoft is testing a new radial color picker for inking in Word Mobile. The Word Mobile app is the free version of the app built for tablets and phones with a screen size of 10.1 inches or smaller.

The radial color picker would replace the flat palette currently used in the app. Judging by the example provided, you'll be able to quickly use the picker to scroll through several default colors, then rotate a dial through varying hues of the selected shade.

For now, it's unclear if this is an A/B test, or whether it will eventually make its way to the release version of the app at all. Microsoft performs all kinds of tests of features in its apps (and Windows) that may never make it to production. Still, it looks like a useful method of color selection that adds a little more pizazz to the app. If it does make it through the testing phases, it will be interesting to see if the radial picker eventually spreads to other ink-enabled apps in Microsoft's stable.

In its day two keynote for Build 2018, Microsoft showed off a brief demonstration of how it is planning to bring the power of machine learning to Word. In a future version of the office app, Microsoft will tap machine learning to help writers improve their grammar.

Microsoft was pretty light on details of what to expect, but what it showed off looked promising. On stage, Kevin Gallo, head of the Windows developer platform, displayed an older version of Word compared to the newer version with a machine learning-powered grammar checker built in. While the older version missed several grammar issues, the newer version found them all.

The system is trained on Windows ML, the new AI platform Microsoft introduced in March and it will be able to work offline, Microsoft says.

The demo was relatively short and there's no word on when to expect the Windows ML features in Word, but it's an interesting, albeit small, look at how Microsoft is using machine learning in its own apps.

For more from day two, you can check out the full keynote right here.

The difference between AI, machine learning and digital assistants

The next time you need to work on your resume in Word, you can get a little help from LinkedIn. Microsoft's latest LinkedIn integration, since acquiring the professional network in 2016, will see it leveraged in Microsoft Word to help Office 365 subscribers craft their resumes.

Called Resume Assistant, the feature combines data from LinkedIn with a little AI assistance to provide suggestions on how to make resumes stand out. Resume Assistant can pull in data directly from LinkedIn to jazz up resumes in a number of different ways. From Microsoft:

• Leverage relevant examples—See how top people in a field represent their work experience and filter by industry and role for a personalized experience.
• Identify top skills—Find the most prominent skills for the type of job you're seeking so you can more easily increase your discoverability.
• Customize a resume based on real job postings—People can see relevant job listings from LinkedIn's 11 million open jobs and customize their resume to appeal to recruiters.
• Get professional help—Easily connect to ProFinder, LinkedIn's freelance platform, to get additional hands-on resume writing, interview, and career coaching.
• Let recruiters know you're open—Candidates can quietly let recruiters know they are open to new opportunities with Open Candidates.

Microsoft has been working to bring more and more LinkedIn integrations to its products since acquiring the network. Most recently, Microsoft integrated LinkedIn profiles into Outlook.com, allowing users to view more information about the person with whom you're corresponding.

Resume Assistant is currently rolling out to Office 365 subscribers in the Office Insider program on Windows. The feature will hit general availability and roll out more broadly in the coming months.

With the continuing trend of apps and services offering online solutions, it's difficult to stay committed to desktop versions. That being said online versions may not necessarily be as robust. Unless you are comfortable sitting on the fence, here's how Word Online stacks up against its local counterpart.

We'll take a look at some of the benefits and shortcomings of Microsoft Word Online to help you choose. Who knows? Perhaps you can find harmony between the two.

We are looking at Word Online as a standalone service, part of office.com from a free perspective, rather than part of the Office 365 subscription-based service. For an analysis detailing whether you should buy Office 2016 or Office 365, you can read this buyer's guide.

• Sharing documents
• Table of Contents
• Ink annotations
• Document templates
• Auto-save
• Portable documents
• Real-time collaboration
• Back to basics
• Switch between Word apps
• Closing thoughts

Sharing documents

Being an online version, one would think that you would have more options for sharing available. Depending on your computer and Microsoft products, Word 2016 offers several options for sharing. You could save to OneDrive to use its sharing services, send through Outlook as an attachment, present online using a presentation service or even post to an online blog.

Word Online currently offers you the choice inviting people to view and/or edit though either and email invite or through a shared link. For your purposes, those options may do well enough for you.

To share through Word Online:

1. Click on File.
2. Click Share.
3. Click Share with People to choose one of the following:
   • Invite people: Choose to share through an emailed link directly.
   • Get a link: Create a link to copy and paste anywhere.
4. Click Embed to generate HTML code that will allow you embed the file on a web page or blog.

Table of Contents

Your document may require a table of contents for an enhanced navigation experience, allowing readers to jump to important sections. Word Online does not allow for the creation of a table of contents, or other advanced document elements for that matter. If you are using Word Online to access an existing document that already contains some of these reference tools, they will display normally while in View mode. The same cannot be said for Edit mode as the reference tools will only be seen as untouchable placeholders.

To add Table of Contents in Word 2016:

1. Highlight text that is to be added to the table of contents.
2. Click Home.
3. Click Heading 1 under Styles. The headings are listed in the Navigation pane to the left.
4. Click on the document where you want the table contents to be.
5. Click References.
6. Click Table of Contents.
7. Select an Automatic Table of Contents type from the presented list.

Ink annotations

At the time of this article, Word Online is lacking the option to use Ink on a document. Okay, you can print onto paper and attack it with a ink pen, but digital inking provides a unique way to convey thoughts on a document. It allows for quick signature capturing on touch screens or the homework grading/editing finesse of a high school teacher.

To access Ink in Word 2016:

1. Click on Review on the top ribbon.
2. Click Start Inking under Ink.
3. Choose Pen, Highlighter or Eraser for the appropriate function.
4. Choose Pen color and thickness.
5. Use stylus or mouse to draw on the document.

Document templates

Templates are one of the best features for Microsoft users who are just starting out. They help to save time and effort formatting your document. Both Word Online and Word 2016 offer free templates sorted by categories such as Calendar, Resume, or General notes. The difference between the two is that Word 2016 simply has a larger selection of templates which contains much more professional themed entries.

To Access Templates in Word Online and Word 2016:

1. Click File on the top ribbon.
2. Click New.
3. Choose from the presented grid of templates.

Benefits of Word Online

Word 2016, being a paid-for service, obviously has more options and features than its free online counterpart. This doesn't mean that Word Online doesn't have advantages of its own mind you. Besides the cost factor, and not having to necessarily subscribe to Office 365, here is what Word Online can offer.

Auto-saving

If you have a Microsoft account, you also have a OneDrive account. When working on documents in Word Online, you may notice some dialog appearing next to the file name at the top of the screen. As you type, you'll see the word "saving". This indicates that your document is being automatically saved to OneDrive. How often have you been working on a report and have forgotten to hit save for a while? As a Word 2016 user who may have even adopted the constant CTRL+S habit while typing, you have to agree that the auto-save feature is rather convenient. This leads to the next advantage.

Portable documents

Saving to OneDrive means you can access your files from any device. You could start working on a document at work and then access it at home. There's no need to waste time emailing attachments to yourself or manually upload to OneDrive, it's done for you. The convenience is augmented exponentially if you include access to your files through a mobile browser, saving space on your mobile device and making your transit more productive.

Real-time collaboration

Collaboration with Word 2016 is not available unless you count tagging in your colleague to trade off using the keyboard. If your files are saved to OneDrive, you can send links to your co-workers and invite them to edit right along with you. As you work, you can actually witness co-authoring first hand as their input is marked by colored flags with their names. They could be working on the introduction to a speech while you are adding in the closing remarks 10 pages later. Couple this with a Skype call and you can power through a document quickly.

Back to basics

While Word Online may not be as feature-filled as Word 2016, sometimes, you just need a word processor to capture information with. Power users would see and feel the difference, but to the average user Word Online has enough functionality. You still have the essentials such as choosing styles, reviewing your spelling and checking for accessibility. Too many choices may lead to too many bad decisions after all.

Switch between Word apps

While using Word Online, you may feel the need to continue your efforts on Word 2016. At any point, you can go back to Word Online and resume editing from there. Keep in mind that if you revert back to Word Online, any unsaved changes made in Word 2016 will be lost.

To switch from Word Online to Word 2016:

1. Click on Edit in Word. The file will automatically open in Word 2016, with your cursor in the same position as where you last left it.
2. Click Resume Editing Here in the popup to return to using Word Online

Closing thoughts

What you should keep in mind is how you choose to use Microsoft Word and if some lacking functionality is truly important to you. Word, in any form, is a powerful word processor built to help make your documents to be seen and read as they are intended to be. Essentially, those who are looking for the basics can rely on Word Online; those who are going to a fully-fleshed out presentation should lean towards Word 2016.

With varying levels of features and quality, mobile Office 365 apps are now available on Android and iOS, in addition to Windows 10 Mobile. On Windows 10 Mobile and Samsung Galaxy DeX-enabled phones, Office 365 apps offer a PC-like experience while docked, tied to a larger monitor and a keyboard. Office on iOS devices such as the iPad Pro also offers a PC-like experience, complete with full keyboard capabilities.

All of these scenarios, however, rely on larger screens and external keyboards. Sometimes it just isn't feasible or even desirable to carry a larger device, and thankfully, Word, Powerpoint, and Excel are all available for Windows, Android, and iOS phone devices too.

But there's a problem.

Despite advancements in touchscreen technology, shape writing algorithms and predictive messaging, touch screen typing still totally sucks. It's designed for quick messaging scenarios, rather than long drawn-out sessions of word processing. While shape-writing systems like Word Flow on Windows 10 Mobile have helped improve the situation, at least in English (UK), my Lumia 950 XL still makes far too many grammatical mistakes while shape writing, selecting completely irrelevant words and adding capital letters where they're not wanted.

Recently, I got my hands on a BlackBerry KEYone, which runs Android. As much as I dislike Android, there are things about the KEYone that make i far superior for using mobile Office apps than Windows 10 Mobile, iOS, and many other Android phones. Why? It has a really good QWERTY keyboard.

• See the BlackBerry KEYone at Amazon
• See the BlackBerry KEYone (Verizon) at Amazon

BlackBerry and Windows phones are kindred spirits

BlackBerry has many things in common with Windows phones. Its user base is collapsing, but it enjoys a bustling fandom of techies who appreciate its unique features. Our sister site, Crackberry.com, still retains a vibrant community, and many of its members are currently celebrating the launch of BlackBerry's KEYone.

The KEYone is a QWERTY Android phone that focuses on productivity above all else. It sports industry-grade security, positively insane battery life (bolstered by a power-efficient chipset and a comparatively smaller display), and of course, that "physical" QWERTY keyboard. This isn't just a bunch of mechanical keys squashed into a phone — it's something special.

The keyboard on the BlackBerry KEYone rocks some unique features that make word processing on mobile, dare I say, a pleasant experience. Combine that with Microsoft Office on Android and you have a winning combination.

The BlackBerry KEYone keys are quite resistant and will require double thumbs to get the most out of it, but with a bit of practice, you'll be word processing like a boss, far beyond what shape writing can offer. A long press gives you a capital letter, and the KEYone also has Shift and Alt keys, for special characters and numbers. It also has a dedicated button for even more symbols, and, if you need it, emoji access. None of this is what makes the KEYone keyboard truly special, though.

The KEYone keyboard is touch sensitive. The space bar acts as a lightning-fast fingerprint scanner, and you can even scroll up and down documents or web pages by swiping vertically. Best of all for word processing is the ability to swipe left to delete a word, which mimics the cross-out action of the Surface Pen. A double-tap of the keyboard lets you enter cursor mode, allowing you to move the cursor between letters effortlessly. It's far superior to the tap-and-drag cursor implementation that smartphone apps apologetically use in place of a real mouse. Windows 10 Mobile's touch cursor in apps like Outlook, Word, and OneNote, is simply terrible in comparison.

Simply put, all of the KEYone's features coalesce to make Word, OneNote and Excel incredibly easy to use on mobile. Combine that with crazy battery life, the fingerprint scanner, and customizable keyboard shortcuts and the BlackBerry KEYone emerges as a mobile productivity powerhouse.

I wish there was a similar QWERTY option for Windows 10 Mobile.

Microsoft Office: Android vs. Windows 10 Mobile

Windows 10 Mobile has unrivaled security, perhaps in part because of its small market share. The lack of users decreases the likelihood nefarious groups will even bother to break through the phone's security measures, and Windows 10 Mobile also enjoys device encryption, similar to Android.

When it comes to how Microsoft's flagship productivity suite functions across both platforms, there are some key differences Office fans should consider when deciding between Android and Windows 10 Mobile.

While Android has the BlackBerry KEYone and other QWERTY keyboard phone options, Windows 10 Mobile has Continuum, which allows you to connect the phone to a larger display and enjoy a true PC-like Office experience. You can connect a Bluetooth keyboard and mouse, and use Office as you might expect on your desk at work. The HP Elite x3 even comes with an HDMI-capable dock, allowing you to plug your phone into a hotel TV to use Office when out of the, well, office.

However, the BlackBerry KEYone, due to its keyboard, potentially renders the travel scenario of Continuum (or Samsung DeX) docks, extra cables, and peripherals, a little pointless. Why bother carrying all that extra equipment around for simple word processing if you can do it to a satisfactory degree on your phone's built-in keyboard?

Additionally, Android Office is at least slightly better than Windows 10 Mobile's Universal Windows Platform (UWP) Office. When you upload files to OneDrive on Android, you get a progress bar right in the action center. I find OneDrive on Windows 10 Mobile to be a little inconsistent with uploads. OneNote on Android has a home screen badge which gives you quick access to new notes, camera notes, and more. Word and Excel, however, are largely identical, which is fairly impressive. But that QWERTY keyboard simply elevates the whole experience.

Wrapping up

The BlackBerry KEYone is arguably the best way to use Office on the go right now. For quick commutes, it beats whipping out a tablet, laptop, or 2-in-1 PC, and it doesn't ask you to suffer docks or extra cables for that Continuum experience. Everything is in one, tidy, pocketable device, and it's a little frustrating as a Windows 10 Mobile fan that Microsoft hasn't really considered ways in which it could improve the typing experience on the OS, considering the company claims Windows 10 Mobile is an enterprise-focused endeavor now.

The HP Elite x3 is the BlackBerry KEYone's closest rival in the Windows 10 Mobile world, sporting similar battery life. However, the KEYone's keyboard and battery are simply unbeatable for Office on the go. If you're a Microsoft Office fan and frequent commuter, you have to consider this device.

• See the BlackBerry KEYone at Amazon
• See the BlackBerry KEYone (Verizon) at Amazon

Your thoughts

I'd love to know what you think of Office for Android and Windows 10 Mobile. Also, let me know if you would be interested in hearing more of my thoughts surrounding Android versus Windows 10 Mobile. Sound off in the comments!

Whether you're writing a report that needs references to other sources, doing research for the next great Hemingway-esque novel, or just creating a printed list to organize and navigate your ridiculous collection of vintage hats — with references to where you purchased them, as well as outfit pairing suggestions — Microsoft Word 2016 for Windows has a number of "reference" features that make it easy to insert footnotes and endnotes quickly.

• How to add a footnote in Microsoft Word
• How to add an endnote in Microsoft Word
• Additional Microsoft Office 101 tutorials

How to add a footnote in Microsoft Word

Before getting into the tutorial, a definition of "footnote" could be useful, to help explain when and where you want to use them. Here's a definition, from Dictionary.com:

• An explanatory or documenting note or comment at the bottom of a page, referring to a specific part of the text on the page.
• A minor or tangential comment or event added or subordinated to a main statement or more important event.

Here's how to add a footnote in Word 2016 for Windows:

1. Navigate to the location in your document where you want to add a footnote.
2. Click the References tab at the top of your Word display. (It's the seventh tab in from the left.)

1. Click the tiny box in the bottom-right corner of the Footnotes tab, to customize your footnote settings. (The box looks like an arrow pointed down and to the right at a 45-degree angle.)
   • In the Location box, make sure the circle next to Footnotes is filled in, and the in the corresponding drop-down menu, choose whether you want your footnotes to appear at the Bottom of page or Below text.
   • In the Footnote layout section, click to open the drop-down menu next to Columns and choose the number of columns you'd like to use for footnotes. If you choose 3 columns your footnotes automatically break into three evenly-spaced columns, and subsequent footnotes stack on top of each other, in the three-column format.
   • The Format section lets you change the footnote numbering scheme from digits to letters; use custom marks for numbering; and customize the way you otherwise organize footnotes.
   • After you choose all the footnote settings you want, click the Apply button to save the changes.

1. When you're ready to insert your first footnote, again make sure your cursor is in the proper position on the page, and in the Footnotes box, within the References tab, hit Insert Footnote.

1. A new footnote appears either at the bottom of your page or directly below your text, based on your settings, and you can begin typing your footnote immediately. Click anywhere else on the page to "save" the footnote.
   • You can edit existing footnotes at any time by navigating to them and then clicking within the text.
2. When you're ready to create an additional footnote on the same page, repeat the steps above. Subsequent footnotes appear below previous footnotes at the bottom of the page, or directly below the corresponding text, based on your settings.

How to add an endnote in Microsoft Word

What exactly is an "endnote," and when should you use one? From Dictionary.com:

So while footnotes are used to provide quick, as-you-go information throughout a document, and endnote should be used to provide pertinent information at the finish, or "end," of a document, to provide some sort of context or conclusion, not unlike a form of written punctuation.

Here's how to add endnotes in Word 2016:

1. Click the References tab at the top of your Word display. (It's the seventh tab in from the left.)
2. Click the tiny box in the bottom-right corner of the Footnotes tab, to customize your endnote settings. (The box looks like an arrow pointed down and to the right at a 45-degree angle.)
   • In the Location box, make sure the circle next to Endnotes is filled in.
   • The Format section lets you change the endnote numbering scheme from digits to letters, use custom marks for numbering, and customize the way you organize endnotes.
   • After you choose all the endnotes settings you want, click the Apply button to save the changes.

1. When you're ready to insert an endnote, again make sure your cursor is in the proper position on the page, and in the Footnotes box, within the References tab, hit the Insert Endnote button.

1. You can add multiple endnotes, and place them throughout your documents, but they'll all appear on the final page at the end of your text. This is unlike footnotes, which appear on the same pages to which you add them.

More Microsoft Word and Office tutorials

For more Microsoft Word help, how-tos and tutorials, read:

• 13 easy-to-remember Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts
• How to change 'smart' quotes to 'straight' quotes in Microsoft Word, Outlook and PowerPoint

Or check out our full Office 101 page:

• Microsoft Office 101: Help, how-tos and tutorials