Microsoft

OneNote Missing Features

Microsoft have announced the deprecation of the desktop version of OneNote. They claim that the Windows Store version is as good or better. But it really isn’t! Here I try to list the missing features. I will update this post as things change.

Windows 10 1803 Timeline Feature

The May 2018 version of Windows 10 has an updated alt-tab view called the timeline. While it will eventually be more useful, its current implementation is poor.

Office 365 Autosave

I am sure that whoever in Microsoft came up with the idea of an autosave flag, they thought it was a great idea. And indeed it is. However, when they made it default to on, they made a logistical nightmare for the majority of users. This post discusses why and what you could do about it.

DSC vs. GPO vs. SCCM vs. MDM (Intune)

Microsoft Windows administrators now have a number of ways for managing their estates. Group Policy (GPO) Allows very fine-grained control over every aspect of Windows. Primarily aimed at Windows desktops. Requires Active Directory (AD) and very careful configuration. Requires well trained specialist staff to get it right. System Center Configuration Manager (SCCM) Allows central control over software delivery. Also requires AD. Configuration of delivery packages can be complex and very careful change control is required.

Macro to open a web URL from Outlook

Many of us spend most of our work time in a few applications such as Outlook (email) and a web browser. This example macro for Microsoft Outlook will let you add a button to the Outlook Ribbon that will open a specific website URL.

Outlook 2013 URL Protocol Handler

Outlook has a custom URL protocol that allows interaction with different elements such as folders, mail and calendar items and contacts, Since Outlook 2007, this has been restricted for use only within Outlook itself but there are some tremendous opportunities for use from simple web systems. This post explains how to turn it on, even for Outlook 2013 (Office 365 version). It also gives pointers to other articles on how to use the protocol.

Presentation: Security and Governance in the Cloud

Here is a presentation that I did recently for NHS CIO’s and CCIO’s. It is all about how NHS England has followed a journey to cloud services and the IT Security & Information Governance issues we had to deal with along the way. It tries to also show other NHS organisations how they might work towards similar aims.

Why I Still Don’t Use Bing For Searching

Microsoft continue to reinvent themselves for the 21st Century but Bing lags behind compared to its competition.

A simple mail filer for Microsoft Outlook (VBA)

Like many people I receive an unmanageable amount of email each day. Many days I get through only around 1/3 of the email I receive. However, the role I am in professionally requires me to retain a large proportion of correspondence. Some because it relates to ongoing projects, other because of security, audit or compliance reasons. In addition, I work across many projects. It isn’t unusual for me to be involved in two dozen projects at any one time on top of my day-to-day management work.

No Code Business Solutions in Microsoft SharePoint

Resources to show you how to create code-free business solutions in Microsoft SharePoint

Microsoft 64-bit Application Support (lack-of)

Microsoft’s 64-bit support is still sorely fragmented as we find out with a brand new laptop trying to access Microsoft SharePoint.

Low-cost Information Management, Communications and Collaberation Tools

Microsoft’s Facebook Docs.com fails at the first hurdle

Had my first test for Microsoft’s new [docs.com][1] this week – and it failed badly. In case you don’t know, Microsoft recently announced a new beta [Office Live link-up with Facebook][1]. You can log in using your [Facebook][2] login instead of a Microsoft Live Id. So you would think that it would be possible to use [docs.com][1] as a collaborative document editor and I suspect that you are supposed to be able to – as long as your documents don’t contain anything complex – such as comments!