Microsoft Office Blog by Chris Menard

Quick tutorials, how-tos, articles, guides and resources on everything Microsoft Office 365, Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook and more!

Microsoft Teams - Create customized backgrounds for Meetings

Microsoft Teams - Create customized backgrounds for Meetings
Posted by Chris Menard on 05/12/2020

Workaround for adding your own images to a Teams meeting as a background. Simply add images or pictures to the Teams Upload folder in Explorer.

Workbook Statistics in Excel for Microsoft 365

Workbook Statistics in Excel for Microsoft 365
Posted by Chris Menard on 05/09/2020

Excel for Microsoft 365 subscribers now have Workbook Statistics. Workbook Statistics is a window that shows a summary of the workbook statistics including the number of sheets, tables, formulas, charts, and pivottables.

Google Meet premium HD video conference will be available for free to everyone starting in May 2020

Google Meet premium HD video conference will be available for free to everyone starting in May 2020
Posted by Chris Menard on 05/02/2020

Google Meet premium HD video conference will be available for free to everyone starting in May 2020

How to use the Waiting Room in Zoom

How to use the Waiting Room in Zoom
Posted on 04/26/2020

The Waiting Room feature in Zoom is a great security feature. The Waiting Room allows you, the host, to control when a participant joins your meeting.

Multiple signatures in Gmail

Multiple signatures in Gmail
Posted by Chris Menard on 04/24/2020

Gmail now supports multiple signatures in the free Gmail and Gmail that comes with GSuite.

Invite guests to a Teams Meeting

Invite guests to a Teams Meeting
Posted by Chris Menard on 04/22/2020

Inviting guests to a Microsoft Teams meeting is very easy using the Teams app. Click the Calendar, and click a date for the appointment.

Virtual Backgrounds in Microsoft Teams

Virtual Backgrounds in Microsoft Teams
Posted on 04/18/2020

Microsoft Teams now has 24 virtual backgrounds to chose from in meetings.

8000 royalty-free images are available in Office 365 - April 2020 update

8000 royalty-free images are available in Office 365 - April 2020 update
Posted by Chris Menard on 04/16/2020

Microsoft brings 8000 royalty-free images and icons to Office 365. These images work in Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Outlook. Right now, these are only available to Office 365 Fast Insiders.

Zoom - Security icon is now part of Meeting Controls

Zoom - Security icon is now part of Meeting Controls
Posted on 04/09/2020

Zoom had a major update on April 7, 2020. The Meeting toolbar in Zoom now contains a SECURITY icon. The Security icon replaces the Invite icon which moved to the Participants panel.

Zoom Meetings April update - Password are now required for all meetings

Zoom Meetings April update - Password are now required for all meetings
Posted on 04/05/2020

Passwords are now required for all Zoom meetings. This Zoom update is effective on 4/4/2020

Troubleshooting Zoom Virtual Background not working

Troubleshooting Zoom Virtual Background not working
Posted by Chris Menard on 03/28/2020

Zoom virtual backgrounds are extremely popular. Many users have commented on my channel that their virtual background is not working.

Zoom Free Virtual Video Backgrounds - behind the scenes video

Zoom Free Virtual Video Backgrounds - behind the scenes video
Posted by Chris Menard on 03/22/2020

We will release 20 virtual video backgrounds that work with Zoom video conferencing on 3/24/2020.