DATEDIF(), which means Date + Dif, is a compatibility function left over from Lotus 1-2-3 that Microsoft adopted in Excel version 2000, which is the only version that explains how this function works. It’s operational in all Excel versions, but it’s not on the Formulas menu or in the Help menus after Excel 2000. If your spreadsheet experiences began with Lotus, which is true for many thousands of users, you’ll be happy to know that this old Lotus function is still alive and kicking. The purpose of this function is to calculate the time between a user-specified starting and ending date in days ..read more

Spam lives on, despite all our efforts to snuff it out—but Outlook has some features to help slow it down. Here are some things anyone can do, plus some tips for working within a corporate Outlook system.  1. Use Block Sender frequently Use Outlook’s Block Sender feature to add intrusive spam to your Block Sender List, and then move it to the Junk Email folder. This works fine if you receive fewer than a dozen emails a day. Select the spam email, right-click, choose Junk from the drop menu, and click Block Sender. Or, Select Home > Junk > Block Sender. Outlook marks it and relocates ..read more

Excel macros save you time and headaches by automating common, repetitive tasks, and you don’t have to be a programmer or know Visual Basic Applications (VBA) to write one. With Excel, it’s as simple as recording your keystrokes. Use these tips to make macro recording a cinch. Further Excel training If you want to deepen your Excel mastery, a number of online courses exist to expand your knowledge. Here are our top picks to start with: Coursera - Excel Skills for Business: Essentials To read this article in full, please click here ..read more

Word macros are one-click wonders that let you program complex procedures to launch at your bidding. Here are a few examples to get you started. One creates your company letterhead; the second one inserts pre-formatted tables; and the third one defines and designs custom book formats.  NOTE: You’ll see some instructions with strings of keystrokes that are macro instructions for repositioning your cursor. Be sure to copy them exactly as written.  Set up, define, and record macros Step 1: Set up the macro A. Select the View tab, then click Macros > Record Macro. B. In the Record Macro dialog ..read more

Microsoft Word, like all text-based programs, uses a numeric character code called ASCII (American Standard Code for Information Interchange) for each alphabetic, numeric, and special character on your keyboard. This code is the reason we can use open text files in almost any software program, and the reason why some programs' passwords are case-sensitive (e.g., the uppercase ‘A’ is ASCII number 65 and the lowercase ‘ a’ is ASCII code 97). You can insert any or all of these codes/characters (individually) with one easy combination keystroke: the Alt key+ the decimal code on the numeric keypad ..read more

Many of us fell in love with Excel as we delved into its deep and sophisticated formula features. Because there are multiple ways to get results, you can decide which method works best for you. For example, there are several ways to enter formulas and calculate numbers in Excel.  5 ways to enter formulas 1. Manually enter Excel formulas: Long Lists: =SUM(B4:B13) Short Lists: =SUM(B4,B5,B6,B7) or =SUM(B4+B5+B6+B7). Or, place your cursor in the first empty cell at the bottom of your list (or any cell, really) and press the + sign, then click B4; press the plus sign again and click B5; and so on ..read more

Music is a great way to liven up your Google Sheets presentations and keep your audience engaged. Unlike Microsoft PowerPoint, however, Google Sheets doesn’t include support for audio files. But with the following workarounds, you can add a soundtrack to any slide. (Updated July 10, 2019, with a new workaround via YouTube.) Add a link to an online music file The easiest way to add music to your Google Slides presentation is to link to a track from an online music service like Spotify, Soundcloud, or Grooveshark. 1. Open a Google Slides presentation in your web browser and go the slide to which ..read more

The Game Awards sucked up most of the news this week. If you want to watch a dozen “World Premier” trailers, we’ve got ‘em. Or wait, maybe you want to see the next-gen Xbox Series X? We covered that too. But there were some surprises outside Geoff Keighley’s trailer bonanza. 2K confirmed it’s working on a new BioShock for instance, plus Capcom officially unveiled a Resident Evil 3 remake, Henry Cavill read us a Witcher bedtime story, Forza Horizon 4 added a battle royale mode, GOG Galaxy 2.0 went into open beta, and more. To read this article in full, please click here ..read more

Last night was the sixth annual Game Awards, and per usual that means a raft of trailers. Microsoft dropped a bomb on proceedings, announcing the name for its next-gen console—the Xbox Series X—and showing off the new look. Spoiler: It’s basically a PC. But there were also over a dozen “World Premiers,” freshly announced games to look forward to in 2020. Hellblade II, a new PlayerUnknown project, a new Dark Alliance game from Wizards of the Coast, and more. You’ll find all the PC-relevant announcements below. (Though really, check out the new Ghosts of Tsushima footage if you get a chance. I ..read more

Spend enough time with any niche hobby and you’ll start to intuit what’s likely to become mainstream in the future and what won’t. With mechanical gaming keyboards, there are a number of trends I expect to see popularized in the near future. The more resilient PBT plastic is an obvious one, and indeed we see Razer experimenting with that on its latest Huntsman Tournament Edition keyboard. Optical switches are another feature that Razer has toyed with. Low-profile keyboards are also gaining in popularity. Custom keycap designs? Telephone cables? Hell, Topre switches? Maybe, maybe, and maybe. To ..read more