Microsoft Minutes

One of the stranger things about this whole system (especially Microsoft's part) is that the User Interface will change to some difficult new arrangement—then change back again. A couple of days ago the Outlook icon wasn't showing up in the Apps "Waffle." Finding it required a second-click search. Then it came back again. Other changes stay put, only to be completely revised with a new arrangement in three weeks or so. I'm not sure why all these changes happen. They rarely reflect any true change in function—just cosmetic. What they do mean, though, is that when you open a page and things do not look as you remembered, do not panic. Just engage your Sherlock Holmes Detective side and go looking for the thing you need. Shameless Plug: LibreOffice is a really good free word processor with a UI that doesn't change. It downloads to your computer and stays put. I've used it for a long time and love it. Here is the download link .

Now we have a new look for BlackBoard. The colors are different, and the left sidebar menu is now on the right, but everything seems to still be there and in the same order. In the instructor's view, the little ⊕ for adding material has moved from the center of that horizontal rule to the left edge (but you probably could have figured that out for yourself). I don't remember the previous version having the down caret ∨ for expanding a menu, but maybe I'm forgetful. Anyhow, it's a convenience. The real message is "just cosmetic changes."

I have just rewritten and posted the latest MS Word instructions. (The previous version lasted three weeks.) The most important changes are in the way you get into the program in the first place and where they have stored the MLA template. Here is the link to the newest MS Word How-To .

Microsoft 365 saves everything online in a place called "Documents" (which is not the same as the Documents file on your own computer). One feature which was added recently is the ability to delete things—previously everything you saved stayed there forever (or at least the filename did, even after you deleted the document). Here's how to get rid of something: From the nine-dot "waffle" in the upper left, choose "OneDrive." (It has a picture of a cloud.) Choose "My Files" in the list on the left. This is not the same as "My Content" on the opening page! You will notice that My Files does support file folders, but the rest of the MS 365 system is unaware of your folders. There is a blank area to the left of the icon for each item on the list. If you hover your cursor in that area, a circle with a checkmark appears. Click that to turn it into a dark blue circle with a white checkmark. When you did that, a new menu app...

By default, MS Word online is set to automatically detect the proofing language and adjust. The problem is that, if you type something in a non-English language, it does not like to change back to English. I typed in the title of a piece of 15th century music ("À cheval, tout homme à cheval"), and MS did a great job of figuring out that it was in French. The problem was that I couldn't talk it out of using the French rules for checking my English grammar/spelling in the rest of the document. One bit of good news is that the change to French was only for this document, not for everything I write. If this happens to you, here is your way out of the woods: Look in the lower left of your screen. You will see the page count, the word count, and the proofing language. Click the proofing language. A new window titled Language should pop up, with hundreds of language choices. You need to do two things. The obvious one is to choose the language you really want for the re...

Microsoft is using two-factor authentication to verify your identity for Blackboard and Office 365. This means that after you give your username and password, you must do something else to prove that it’s really, really you. Typically, after you do the usual login stuff, a screen will pop up with a two-digit number that you must key into your cell phone. You need to download an app to your cell phone and key the number in there. Go to your phone’s place for downloading apps and look for Microsoft Authenticator . There are several questions you need to answer when you set up this app, so it will take a few minutes. When you want to get into Blackboard, you will need your phone nearby. You do the usual login routine on your computer, then when that screen shows the two-digit number, grab your phone and open the Authenticator app and key in the two-digit number. That number expires in just a couple of minutes, so if you...

The drop-down menu for sending an attachment in Outlook has moved. Now you can find it by clicking Message at the top. They give you several choices for places to browse, but the only two you need to know are "OneDrive" (if you are attaching a file you made in Microsoft 365) and "Browse this computer" (if you are moving a file you saved some other way).