Category Archives: office software

fixed : add total number of pages to page numbers in Word for Mac

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Question :
I am working in Word (from Microsoft Office for Mac) on a multi-page document and I want to include the page numbers including the total number of pages.

How do I do that ?


Answer :
In Word 16 (the current version of the texteditor from Microsoft Office for Mac) it is straight forward to include page numbers. To include page numbers in your Word document, do this :
– have your document open in the Word.app
– click on ‘Insert’, either in the top menu bar or in het document’s menu bar
– then click on ‘Page Numbers’
-and in the small ‘Page Numbers’ popup screen that now opens, set the desired position (Top/Header or Bottom/Footer), the desired alignment (Left, Center, Right, Insides or Outsides) and put a checkmark if you wish to have the ‘Page number shown on first page’ also
– then click ‘OK’ and page numbers will automatically appear on all pages

However… if you also want to include the total number of pages next to the page numbers, you cannot do that this way or any similar way… you will need a completely different method :
– have your document open in Word.app
– first make sure you are on the first page of your document
– now, click on ‘View’ in the top menu bar
– then, in the pulldown menu, click on ‘Header and Footer’
– then, click with your cursor in either the Header or the Footer, depending on where you want the page numbers
– click on ‘Insert’ in the top menu bar
– in the pulldown menu, click on ‘AutoText’
– and in the next pulldown menu, click on ‘Auto-text’
– in the ‘AutoCorrect’ popup window that now appears, click on the ‘AutoText’ tab/button
– then scroll though the alphabetical list and choose “Page X of Y” andd click the blue ‘Insert’ button
– now, eacht page will have both page number and total number of pages in the Footer (or Header) of each page
– so, basically you’re done now
– but… if you want do do some customization, you can…
– to change the font of the page numbering, just select the text “Page 1 of 22” (if your document has 22 pages) and choose the desired font and font size
– to change the “Page 1 of 22” into something like “1 of 22” or “1 ( 22 )”, just select the part of the “Page 1 of 22” text that you want to change and adjust it to your liking [ and if you accidentally delete either the page number or the total number of pages, just redo from start ]

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : MS Auto Updater warning saying I need to upgrade eventhough I am already on the latest version

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Question :
every time I restart my Mac, I get an error message from Microsoft saying that I can’t update, but I can’t find what’s wrong. When I click the link provided for more information, I get a page on the Microsoft website telling that support for MS Office 2019 for macOS has ended and that I should either updagrade to MS Office 365 or MS office 2021 for macOS… but as far as I know I am already running MS Office 2021 for macOS…

What is wrong ?

Answer :
Eventhough there is a very small chance that something completely different is going on, in the majority of cases, your problem will be that you are running the MS Office apps that you primarily use (e.g. Word, PowerPoint and Excel) in the 2021 version and some of the MS Office apps that you never use (e.g. Outlook, OneNote or OneDrive) are still on the 2019 version.

To solve this problem, do this :
– open the Finder
– go to [your Mac] > Library > Application Support > MAU2.0 > Microsoft Autoupdate
– doubleclick on Microsoft Autoupdate to run the MS Autoupdate.app
– click on the pulldown-button (top-right ; the downward-pointing triangular arrowhead)
– now the pulldown list of recent updates will fold out
– in the list, spot the apps that aregiving an error
– then click on the ‘Check for Updates’-button and wait for other updating errors to appear
– if the MS Office apps that you regularly use (e.g. Word, PowerPoint and/or Excel) are giving an update error saying you need to upgrade, your version of MS Office for macOS is outdated and you should buy the newest version or switch to an Office 365 (now called Microsoft 365) subscription
– if you only get updating errors for apps that you never use (e.g. Outlook), open a new Finder window
– then, goto [your Mac] > Applications
– then, type the name of the app you are looking for (e.g. Outlook) in the search field top right
– in the list of applications that appears, select the app you are looking for
– right-click on it’s name and choose Delete from the pulldown menu
– in the warning window that appears, typ your computer password (the password you use to startup & unlock your Mac) and click OK to allow the app to be deleted from you Mac

That’s it !

Enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : delete multiple old mails at once in Mail.app on iPhone or iPad

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Question :
On my Mac, in the Mail.app, I’ve always been fond of the option to select multiple eMails (mostly junk-mail) and delete them at once… but on my iPhone I have to delete each mail one-by-one (swipe left, click More, scroll down, click Delete Message) …that’s no problem if it’s only 5 eMails, but when it’s 10 or 20 eMails that I want to delete, it takes a lot of time and a lot of swiping…
Now a friend adviced me to sart using the Gmail.app to do this… and Gmail.app has this as a standard feature, and Mail.app doesn’t (as far as I know) …but I love using Mail.app and prefer to keep using Apple’s own stuff…

Isn’t there any way to do this in Mail.app ?


Answer :
YES, there is !
Okay – it’s slightly more complicated than in the Gmail.app for some unknown reason… but the option is there – to use it, do this :

in iOS / on iPhone :
– open Mail.app
– if you’re not already in the mailbox that you want to delete the eMails from, open the proper mailbox in the Mailboxes list window
– in the window where all eMails are listed, click Edit (top-right)
– now all eMails will slide slightly to the right and at the left, a round checkbox will apear in front of each eMail
– then, check all eMails that you want to delete (or move)
– when all are selected, click Move (bottom-centre)
– from the popup, select Move Message
– then, on the next screen click on Bin (or Trash) to delete all selected eMails
– the screen will automatically close and go back to the previous screen (your selected mailbox)

in iPadOS / on iPad :
– open Mail.app
– make sure you are in the right mailbox, if not, click the menu icon (top-left) and select the desired mailbox from the list that appears on the left, and click on the menu icon (top-left) again to close the list of mailboxes that had appeared on the left
– in the window of your desired mailbox, the list of eMails will be visible on the left and the preview of the selected eMail will be in the middle and right
– then click on Edit (top-right-in-the-left-column), above the list of eMails
– now all eMails will slide slightly to the right and at the left of them, a round checkbox will appear in front of each eMail
– then, check all eMails that you want to delete (or move)
– when all are selected, click Move (bottom-centre-in the left-column)
– from the popup, select Move Message
– then, in the list that appears on the left, click on Bin (or Trash) to delete all selected eMails
– the slide-in menu will automatically close and you will be back in the regular screen of the active mailbox

Note : both on iPhone and iPad, you can also use this method to move multiple eMails to the junk-mailbox or archive them to any desired mailbox

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : import Google Calendar events in Apple Calendar ( iOS & macOS )

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Question :
I am using an online service that can set all appointments I have with them in my Google Calendar… but not in my Apple Calendar… and even though I have a Gmail-account, I never use Google Calendar…

Is there any way to sync or transfer the Google Calendar appointments into my Apple Calendar on iOS and macOS ?


Answer :

YES there is ! And it’s rather simple, but you have to enable your Google Calendar :
– on the online service’s website, click on the ADD TO CALENDAR (or similar) option
– let them set the appointment in your Google Calendar (you might have to login with your Gmail account for that)
– then, on iOS (on your iPhone), open the Settings.app
– scroll down to “Calendar” and click on the triangle on the right
– in the Calendar Settings page that opens, go to “Accounts” and click on the triangle on the right
– in the Accounts page that opens, under ACCOUNTS, go to your Gmail address and click on the triangle on the right
– then, on the settings page of your Gmail account, go to “Calendars” and make sure that the slider is ON (Green)
– then exit the Settings.app
– now, on macOS (on your Mac), open the Calendar.app
– then, in the top menu bar, click on “Calendar” and select “Accounts” from the pulldown menu
– now, in the “Internet Accounts” window that opens, click on your Gmail account’s Gmail address
– in the Gmail account’s settings page that opens, make sure taht at “Calendars” the slider is set to ON (Blue)
– then exit the Settings
– now, in the Calendar.app, you will see the appointments from your Google calendar appear
– then, click on the calendar icon on top of the menu list on the left so all your different calendars are listed on the left
– now, scroll down to the chapter the has the name of your Gmail account, and uncheck (deactivate) the Birthdays, Family and Holidays options (these are the presets from Google Calendar)
– if needed, you can also change the color of the Google Calendar appointments by right-clicking on your Gmail address (that is your main Google Calendar) and selecting a preset or custom color
– if needed, you can also choose “Get Info” from the popup menu to change the name (“Description”) of the calendar or the alerts or how thes appointments effect your availability (as seen by others with whom you share your Calendar/appointments)

That’s it !

enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : XLOOKUP function not available in latest version of MS Excel

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Question :
I am running the latest version of MS Excel, but even though it should include the XLOOKUP function, it is not appearing when I want to use it in a formula.

What can I do to fix this ?


Answer :
The problem is that even though you have the latest version of MS Excel installed, the active license you have is one for MS Excel 2019 or earlier…
So, make sure you have a license for a newer version of MS Office for Mac, then do this :
– in Excel, click on “Excel” in the top menu bar
– from the pulldown menu, select “About Microsoft Excel”
– in the “About Excel” window that opens, at “License:” you will see “Office … 2019” (or something alike)
– now, go to the Microsoft website and download the License Removal Tool for Mac
– when downloaded, run the .pkg file and follow the online instructions
– when done, move the downloaded .pkg file to the trash
– then, open any MS Office app (e.g. Excel, Word, PowerPoint or Outlook)
– when prompted, typ your MS Office for Mac license code (for Office 365 or 2021 or newer)
– when done, restart your Mac to activate the license code
– then open Excel after startup and check : XLOOKUP will now be available under “Formulas” > “Lookup & Reference”

That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰

Note :
Microsoft’s website has further details that you can find here : “How to remove Office license files on a Mac”

fixed : contact Microsoft Office Helpdesk

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Question :
I have questions about Microsoft products that go beyond regular issues that are documented in the FAQ. Previously, I would contact the Microsoft telephone Helpdesk ( NL 020-5001500 ), but if you call that number nowadays, you just get a voice message telling you to go online since the Helpdesk is no longer supporting direct contact to callers…

But on the website mentioned, I am getting stuck in a loop… any progress I make sends me back to the same page were I can only typ a question, but there is no chat option given, even when specifically asking for β€œtalk or chat to helpdesk”…
Even Google searches or searching anywhere else on the Microsoft website, doesn’t get me to a page with a chat option… Even the Microsoft-owned chatbots ChatGPT or BingChat AI can’t help me…

What can I do ?

Answer :
Microsoft’s telephone helpdesk used to be great… but the options for contacting Microsoft are a complete mess… unbelievable !
But there is a chat helpdesk, but finding and contacting it is very complex… here’s how to :

  • Do this on a computer (it can be done on an iPhone, but the web chat interface is not really suited for that)
  • Go to the Microsoft website using this link :
    https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/home/contact
  • Β in the search field typ β€œtalk to agent” and (click β€œDone” and) click the blue β€œGet Help” button
  • scroll down and click the blue β€œContact Support” button
  • on the next “Tell us a little more about your problem” page, select your product or service from the pop-up list (activate the list by clicking on the triangular arrow on the right of the selection box)
  • when the second pop-up list appears, select your support category
  • then click the blue β€œConfirm” button
  • on the next page, click on β€œChat with a support agent in your web browser”
  • on the next page check if the email address shown corresponds to the one of the Microsoft account you are having problems with, if not typ the correct account email address first, the click the β€œConfirm” button
  • now, wait for the live chat will start

    NOTE :Β 
  • If you would prefer to chat in your local or native language, you need to tell this in the chat to the English speaking agent…
    (unfortunately, at the time of writing, the autoranslate service is not working and waiting queues for local language chats are extremely long, so chatting in English is about your only option…)

    That’s it !
    enjoy πŸ˜‰

fixed : how to increase the playback speed of a QuickTime video

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Question :
I have some MP4 videos of online courses that contain a lot of blabla… if they were Youtube videos, I would be able to increase the playback speed to 1.5x (150%) or even 2x (200%) to increase my efficiency. However, these online courses were delivered to me for offline playback in QuickTime on macOS, but now I can’t find the button (or maybe ‘the trick’ ?) to increase the playback speed… so I seem to be stuck on having to watch them at the ‘normal’ s…l…o…w… playback speed…

Is there any way to speed this up ?

Answer :

Yes, there is !
Even though it’s a little more hidden than you are used to with YouTube videos, QuickTime is able to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in three ways, that differ in the range and number of playback speeds available :

1. the basic method :
– when de video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then click on the >> button (top right on the control panel)
– from the popup list that appears, select “Playback Speed“
– then, select the desired speed from the 5 options that appear :
   0,5x  ( half speed )
   1,0x  ( normal speed )
   1,25x ( 25% faster )
   1,5x  ( 50% faster )
   2,0x  ( double speed )

2. the precise method :
– when the video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then hold down the ALT-key (on your keyboard) while clicking on the DoubleArrow-button (the FastForward-button on the right or the SlowBackward-button on the left) to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in small steps of 10% :
   1,1x  ( 10% faster / slower )
   1,2x  ( 20% faster / slower )
   1,3x  ( 30% faster / slower )
   1,4x  ( 40% faster / slower )
   1,5x  ( 50% faster / slower )
   1,6x  ( 60% faster / slower )
   1,7x  ( 70% faster / slower )
   1,8x  ( 80% faster / slower )
   1,9x  ( 90% faster / slower )
   2,0x  ( double speed / half speed )

3. the hyper speed method :
– when the video is open in QuickTime, click on the screen to make the control panel appear
– then hold down either the CMD-key or the SHIFT-key or the CTRL-key (on your keyboard) while clicking on the DoubleArrow-button (the FastForward-button on the right or the SlowBackward-button on the left) to increase (or decrease) the playback speed in huge steps :
   2x  ( double speed forward or backward )
   5x  ( 5x faster = 5 seconds per second forward or backward )
   10x  ( 10x faster = 10 seconds per second forward or backward )
   30x  ( 30x faster = half a minute per second forward or backward )
   60x  ( 60x faster = one minute per second forward or backward )

That’s it !
enjoy πŸ˜‰