PowerPoint

Alicia Keys gives PowerPoint presentation to BlackBerry

It would be easy to think that no one, no one was buying BlackBerrys right now.

Somehow, the brand -- at least in the U.S. -- appears to be enduring a soporific phase. Why, only the other day, some highly unreliable research suggested that it was the phone that people least wanted to buy.

BlackBerry, though, believes bigger and brighter days are ahead. Recently, it hired Alicia Keys as its creative director.

Some pointed out, to BlackBerry's discomfort, that Keys was an iPhone user with an iOS app.

Just as that information reverberated, Keys was seen tweeting from … Read more

Microsoft serves up 60-day trial version of Office 2013

People who want to take Office 2013 for a spin can download a 60-day evaluation edition.

The version available is the full Microsoft Office Professional Plus 2013 suite, which includes Word, PowerPoint, Excel, Outlook, OneNote, Access, Publisher, and Lync. The software contains all the features in the paid edition, so you won't miss out on anything.

You will need a Microsoft account in order to access the download page, but otherwise there are no strings attached.

Here's how you can grab the free trial version:

Head over to the Office Professional Plus 2013 download page on TechNet. Click … Read more

Microsoft Office for iOS, Android could debut early next year

iOS and Android users may finally see a mobile version of Microsoft Office designed for their devices.

Citing "several sources close to Microsoft's plans," the Verge said today that the new apps are set to pop up early next year.

Office Mobile, as it's dubbed, would let Microsoft account users view Word, PowerPoint, and Excel files on their mobile devices. But, the Verge added, editing the documents would require an Office 365 subscription. The apps would reportedly provide basic editing functionality but nothing close to that of their desktop counterparts.

Last month, a press release from … Read more

Address document-handling frustrations in OS X

When using current programs on your Mac to manage files generated from an older system, you may run into some errors in which the libraries and services used in the current program cannot properly interpret details of the files. This usually results in a formatting issue similar to a missing font, but it can also result in crashes or hangs.

Recently MacFixIt reader John wrote in regarding such an issue:

I have been trying to work with some PowerPoint presentations in Keynote in order to covert them to a Keynote presentation. I keep receiving an error that PICTD has quit. … Read more

Office 2013 Web Apps final version now live on SkyDrive

Microsoft's Office 2013 Web Apps suite is now a final and official part of SkyDrive.

The online Office suite has been available for SkyDrive users since July. But it's been in a customer preview mode still being tweaked by Microsoft. A tweet yesterday from Omar Shahine, a SkyDrive group product manager, confirmed that the final edition is now live.

SkyDrive users who create or open a Word, Excel, PowerPoint, or OneNote file will see it pop up in the completed 2013 edition of Office Web Apps. Opening a file created under the previous version triggers a message that … Read more

Free PowerPoint viewing software

PowerPoint Viewer 2007 is free software you can use to view your presentations from Microsoft PowerPoint 97 and beyond without opening the program. It's a quick and convenient way to view PowerPoint files on your computer.

There isn't much to be said about the interface, since there is almost nothing there: as soon as you open the program, it opens a window to select the file you want to view. It's just like viewing a presentation in Microsoft PowerPoint except you can't alter or edit anything. You can print the presentations, which is a bonus. PowerPoint … Read more

Microsoft touts touch in Office 2013

Microsoft is aiming Office 2013 at touch-screen devices as well as PCs. So the company is starting to pull out the stops to convince tablet users that the new Office is just right for them.

In a blog post yesterday, Clint Covington, a lead program manager for Microsoft's User Experience team, explained how touch works in the new suite. Products such as OneNote and Lync have been redesigned from the ground up to fully support touch. The other applications in Office have been "touch-enabled," which means they support certain touch features but remain true to their roots … Read more

Microsoft releases Office 2011 SP2 for OS X

Microsoft announced on its Office for Mac Blog today that it has made its Service Pack 2 for Office for Mac 2011 available for download. This update addresses a number of problems users have been having with Outlook, but also fixes some aspects of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

The update is available via Microsoft's included Autoupdate utility, but can also be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site. The update is about 110MB in size, and after installing the version of your Office installation will be 14.2.0.

With the release of Office 2011 Microsoft replaced its old Entourage … Read more

Priest's PowerPoint to parents takes risque turn

Many people enjoy it when technology works automatically. Sometimes, though, a little stick-shift principle might be the wiser course.

I make this entirely free suggestion on having heard about Father Martin McVeigh, a priest in County Tyrone, Ireland.

McVeigh was making a presentation to parents of children preparing for Holy Communion. Like any modern pastor would do, he prepared a PowerPoint and carefully inserted his USB stick into a computer.

For reasons that seem not entirely clear, scenes of gay pornography appeared on the screen. Yes, in a slideshow.

The Associated Press offers that the parents at St. Mary's … Read more