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Category: Office 365

Schedule email in Microsoft Outlook on the web

Microsoft Outlook logoAre you going to be out of the office but need to send an email on a specific day? If so, use the Schedule Send feature in Outlook on the web.

How to Use Schedule Send

  1. Compose your email: Create a new email as you normally would.
  2. Set the time: Click the dropdown arrow next to the “Send” button and select Schedule send.
  3. Pick a date and time: A calendar will pop up. Choose the best day and time for your email to go out.
  4. Confirm: Click Send when you’ve finalized the schedule.

Outlook will send the message at the scheduled date and time.

Rehearse your presentation in PowerPoint

Speaker Coach recording screenDid you know you can practice rehearsing your PowerPoint presentations by using the Speaker Coach feature?

Speaker Coach evaluates your pacing, pitch, your use of filler words, informal speech, euphemisms, and culturally sensitive terms, and it detects when you’re being overly wordy or are simply reading the text on a slide.

After each rehearsal, you get a report that includes statistics and suggestions for improvements.

Get started

  1. Open your presentation in PowerPoint for the web.
  2. On the Slide Show tab, select Rehearse with Coach.
    Note: If you don’t have a
    Slide Show tab, use the View tab to start Speaker Coach. The presentation opens in a full-screen view, similar to Slide Show.
  3. Select Start Rehearsing in the lower-right corner of your screen when you are ready to begin rehearsing.
  4. As you speak, Coach gives on-screen guidance (in the lower-right corner of the window) about pacing, inclusive language, use of profanity, filler words, and whether you’re reading the slide text.
  5. When you’re through, exit the full-screen view. Coach opens a Rehearsal Report that summarizes what it observed and offers recommendations.

Streamline your workflow with Quick Steps in Microsoft Outlook on the web

Quick Steps are shortcuts that allow you to perform multiple actions on an email with one click. Instead of doing each task separately, Quick Steps helps you streamline your work.

How to Set Up Quick Steps

  1. Open Outlook and go to the Home tab.
  2. On the toolbar, click Quick Steps.
  3. Click Add quick step
  4. In the Name box, type a name for the new Quick Step.
  5. Under Choose an action, select the action that you want the Quick Step to do. Select Add another action for any additional actions.
  6. Click Save.

Quick Step Examples

Continue reading “Streamline your workflow with Quick Steps in Microsoft Outlook on the web”

Make your Excel data stand out by using conditional formatting

How to do conditional formatting in ExcelExcel is a powerful tool for managing and analyzing data. Conditional formatting allows you to apply formatting to cells based on specific conditions. This can help you identify important information in your spreadsheet and make your data more visually appealing.

How to apply apply formatting

  1. Select the cells you want to apply the formatting to.
  2. On the Home tab, click the Conditional Formatting menu.
  3. Choose a conditional formatting option, such as Highlight Cell Rules, Top/Bottom Rules, Data Bars, Color Scales, or Icon Sets.
  4. Customize the formatting options to suit your needs, such as choosing the color and font style for the highlighted cells.
  5. If necessary, add multiple conditional formatting rules to a range of cells.
  6. Apply the formatting to the selected cells by clicking the OK button.

Note:

  • Highlight Cell Rules: allows you to highlight cells based on their value. .
  • Top/Bottom Rules: allows you to highlight the top or bottom values in a range of cells.
  • Data Bars: allows you to add a data bar to each cell in a range, which visually represents the cell’s value.
  • Color Scales: allows you to apply a color scale to a range of cells, which will change the color of each cell based on its value.
  • Icon Sets: allows you to add icons to a range of cells, which represent the cell’s value.

For more information on conditional formatting, see Microsoft’s Use Conditional formatting to highlight information article.

Software available for students, faculty and staff

K-State provides free and for-purchase software products to students, faculty and staff. The goal is to make resources available to the K-State community to provide the necessary tools to reach academic, research and work goals.

Microsoft 365 is a popular resource at K-State. This free office collaboration suite includes tools such as email, calendar, applications and file storage space. You can access the suite from your desktop, web browser or phone. For more information, view the Microsoft 365 webpage. Continue reading “Software available for students, faculty and staff”

Use Microsoft Word’s styles feature to help keep the formatting of your documents consistent

Word Styles are a predefined combination of fonts, sizes, colors, and spacing that you can apply to your text with one click. Instead of manually formatting each section of your document, you apply a style to headings, subheadings, body text, and more. This standardizes your formatting and creates a cohesive look.

The following are some of the benefits of using styles:

  • Consistency Across Documents – One of the biggest benefits of using Word Styles is ensuring consistency across all of your documents.
  • Saves time – Using stylesIt  saves you time by not having to manually apply formatting in your documents.
  • Easily generate a table of contents – Using styles allows you to generate a table of contents. Word can recognize your headings and automatically organize them into a clickable list, helping readers jump to specific sections without scrolling through the entire document.
  • Global Updates – If you need to change the appearance of your entire document—like switching to a different font or adjusting heading colors—you can do so easily with Word Styles. Instead of updating each section manually, simply modify the style, and Word will update all instances of that style in the document.
  • Supports Collaboration – When multiple people are working on the same document, using Word Styles ensures everyone adheres to the same formatting rules. This keeps the document uniform, no matter how many people are involved.
  • Customizable to Your Needs – While Word comes with built-in styles, you can also customize them to match your specific needs. This flexibility allows you to create documents that align with your unique preferences.

To learn more, see Microsoft’s article on how to customize or create new styles.

 

Explore the OneDrive homepage

The OneDrive homepage isn’t just for simple file access; it’s a central hub for efficiently managing your files across Microsoft 365, regardless of their source. Think of it as a one-stop shop for all of your files. Plus, you can easily access OneDrive within Outlook and Teams (left navigation pane), streamlining your file management process.

Homepage LayoutMicrosoft New Homepage Layout

The homepage features:

  1. Add New: add new documents/folders or upload existing documents/folders.
  2. Left navigation pane: various ways to browse your files.
  3. For you: file recommendations designed just for you.
  4. Recent: recent files where you can view all files or filter by application or person.

Continue reading “Explore the OneDrive homepage”

Install Microsoft 365 Apps for free

K-State faculty, staff, and students can download Microsoft 365 Apps for free. Apps can be installed on up to five PCs or Macs, five tablets, and five phones. There are both desktop and mobile versions.

Installation instructions

  1. On the App Launcher, click the Microsoft 365 button.

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  2. In the upper-right corner, click the Install and more button.
  3. Click Install Microsoft 365 apps.
  4. Under Office Apps and devices, click Install Office.
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  5. Click Allow to allow downloads.
  6. Open the file that is downloaded to your Downloads folder.
  7. On the Do you want to allow this app to make changes to your device page, select Yes to begin installation.

See Microsoft’s instructions to install the apps on your mobile device.

If you have any questions, contact the IT Service Desk:

Microsoft’s Create Platform offers customizable templates for various Microsoft 365 apps

Microsoft Create offers an extensive variety of templates beyond the default options available within Microsoft’s applications. Whether creating a presentation, planning a project, or working on documentation, the Microsoft Create platform offers professionally designed customizable templates to meet your needs. There are Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Loop templates, and more.

Note: The Designer and Clipchamp apps aren’t currently available at K-State. However, you can access them for free using a personal Microsoft account.

Don’t worry if you don’t have design expertise. Microsoft Create is designed to be user-friendly, allowing you to easily create professional-looking content. Simply explore the templates and get started. Using these templates will not only enhance your levels of efficiency, creativity, and collaboration but also make your work look polished and professional.

If you have any questions about Microsoft Create, submit them to the KSU Teams Support channel.

Get a jump start on your semester by organizing your inbox

Microsoft Outlook logoA well-organized inbox can decrease email overwhelm and significantly boost your productivity. Incorporate these tips to keep your inbox organized and clutter-free.

Use Categories to quickly locate specific types of emails

You can assign color-coded categories to your emails based on topics, projects, priorities, and more. To assign a category:

  1. Right-click an email and select Categorize.
  2. Choose or create a category.

Using categories makes it easier to sort and find related messages at a glance.

Create rules to automate email management

You can automatically sort, flag, or move emails based on specific conditions. The following are a few ways you can use rules::

  • Move emails from a specific sender to a folder
  • Categorize emails with specific keywords in the subject
  • Flag important emails for follow-up
  • Automatically forward emails from a specific sender
  • Move newsletters to a “Reading” folder
  • Delete emails with specific words in the subject
  • Mark emails as read from a mailing list
  • Move emails with attachments to a “To Review” folder

See Use inbox rules in Outlook to learn more.

Filter emails for efficient searching

Quickly find specific emails by filtering your inbox based on keywords, sender, or other criteria. To use a filter:

In the Search box in the top navigation, type your filter criteria. Also, notice you can choose to filter emails by specific folders.

A few filter examples:

  • Filter by specific sender or domain.
  • Filter with keywords in the subject line.
  • Filter emails with attachments only
  • Filter unread emails to quickly view messages you haven’t opened
  • Filter by category (e.g., “project,” “priority”)
  • Filter by importance level (e.g., “High Importance”)
  • Filter by received date (e.g., within the last week)

Questions?

Submit any questions to the KSU Teams Support team.