Microsoft Office Blog by Chris Menard

Zoom Free Virtual Video Backgrounds - behind the scenes video

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

Zoom Meeting - Ten keyboard shortcuts for host and participants

Zoom meeting is an easy to use video conference platform. Here are ten of my favorite keyboard shortcuts for hosts and participants.

Teams: Announcements and Post in multiple channels

Announcements allow you to post either an image or a heading with a background color. With Post in multiple channels, you now have the ability to post a conversation or announcements to multiple channels at one time.

Future Value Function in Excel

The Future Value Function will give you the answer to the future value on investment. Compound interest is interest on interest vs. simple interest that interest only on the principal.

Annual Percentage Yield (APY) vs. Interest Rate

The annual percentage yield takes the interest rate and compounding periods to show what your money could earn in a year. The Future Value (FV) and EFFECT functions are shown.

Excel for Office 365: Fuzzy Matches with the Power Query Editor by Chris Menard

Power Query in Excel will now handle to do approximate matches (fuzzy matches). This is handy since you can't use VLOOKUP or XLOOKUP since you don't have exact matches.

Use the Command Box to master Microsoft Teams

The command box in Microsoft Teams is always at the top of the screen. Use slashes to access shortcuts in Teams.

DeKalb Chapter of The Georgia Society of CPAs - Chris Menard to speak on PivotTables and data analysis

Chris Menard will speak at the DeKalb Chapter of CPAs on February 25, 2020. Menard will cover PivotTables and data analysis in his 50-minute presentation.

Create a dynamic two color column chart in Excel to show increases and decreases

A dynamic column chart in Excel will allow you to show increases and decreases in two colors. This is great for showing the monthly trends for one year of sales data.

Send an email to a channel in Microsoft Teams

Send an email to a channel in Microsoft Teams by using the channel's email address.

5 ways Microsoft OneNote works great with Outlook and other Office apps

I share 5 great productivity tips for OneNote and Outlook that show the tighter integration Microsoft has built into the Office apps ecosystem.

Keyboard shortcuts for Paste Values in Excel

Paste Values in Excel is an excellent feature. It copies only the value of a cell, not the formula. When you copy a cell with a formula and paste, the formula gets pasted. Frequently, you want just the value.