Make Your PowerPoint Slides Interactive

Make Your PowerPoint Slides Interactive

PowerPoint presentations don't have to be a parade of static slides anymore. Interactive Slides uses Copilot to create visual experiences that you and your audience can explore during a presentation.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 26, 2026

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You have probably sat through a presentation where a complicated chart or crowded timeline appeared on screen and everyone was expected to understand it instantly.

Microsoft is giving PowerPoint presenters another option.

Interactive Slides uses Copilot to create slides with visual elements you can explore during a presentation. 

Depending on what Copilot creates, you might expand a step, filter a chart, or move through a timeline instead of simply looking at a finished graphic.

The feature is particularly interesting for dashboards, project timelines, comparisons, business processes, and other subjects where revealing information progressively can help an audience follow the story.

There is one important catch. Interactive Slides are still rolling out. 

The rollout for PowerPoint on Windows and Mac in Current Channel and Monthly Enterprise Channel began in mid-October 2026 and is expected to finish by the end of October. 

The web rollout follows the same schedule.

Here's a Cool Tip: Ask Copilot to turn complicated information into a slide your audience can explore.

Feature Explanation

One Copilot to Rule Them All: Microsoft Combines Its Apps

One Copilot to Rule Them All: Microsoft Combines Its Apps

Confused by Microsoft's collection of similarly named Copilot apps? Microsoft is consolidating its Copilot experiences into one updated app that can handle personal, work, and school accounts and, for eligible users, create Word documents, Excel workbooks, and PowerPoint presentations.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 19, 2026

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If you've ever looked at Microsoft's assortment of Copilot apps and wondered which one you were supposed to open, Microsoft has apparently heard you.

The company is consolidating existing Microsoft Copilot and Microsoft 365 Copilot app installations into a single Microsoft Copilot application experience. 

The updated app can support personal, work, and school accounts while connecting Copilot with Microsoft 365 apps, files, and content.

One clarification is important. Microsoft isn't renaming the entire Microsoft 365 service. 

The Microsoft 365 (Office) app and the standalone Copilot app are now being brought together under the unified name Microsoft Copilot.

There's another benefit hiding behind that name change. 

Eligible users can use Word, Excel, and PowerPoint Agents inside Microsoft Copilot to create actual documents, workbooks, and presentations simply by describing what they need.

For most existing users, the transition should not require much work. 

Most updates happen automatically, and web users are automatically redirected to the updated Copilot experience.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Use the new unified Copilot as your starting point for chat, files, Word, Excel, and PowerPoint.

PowerPoint’s New Design Tools Make Better Slides Easier

PowerPoint’s New Design Tools Make Better Slides Easier

Microsoft PowerPoint is getting new design options aimed at making attractive presentations easier to build. Fresh SmartArt choices, themes and design improvements give you more ways to turn ordinary information into polished slides while spending less time arranging everything yourself.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 12, 2026

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You know what you want to say. 

The hard part is figuring out how to make the slide look good.

Microsoft is tackling that familiar problem with a collection of improvements to the PowerPoint creation experience. 

The company's PowerPoint Craft initiative includes new SmartArt layouts, themes and changes intended to make creating and working with presentations easier.

These additions complement PowerPoint Designer, the established feature that can automatically suggest professionally arranged slide layouts. 

Microsoft now refers to Designer as Design Suggestions for Copilot users.

The result is more choice before you start manually dragging text boxes, pictures and shapes around the screen.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Check PowerPoint’s design tools before building that next slide by hand.

One LinkedIn Post, Multiple Authors, Bigger Reach

One LinkedIn Post, Multiple Authors, Bigger Reach

LinkedIn's new Collaborative Posts feature gives professionals and businesses a better way to publish content together and share visibility across multiple audiences. If you regularly work with coworkers, customers, partners, or creators, this feature can help your posts travel farther without creating duplicate content.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

October 5, 2026

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Ever publish a LinkedIn post about a customer success story, business partnership, conference presentation, or team achievement and wish everyone involved could share the spotlight?

LinkedIn's new Collaborative Posts feature tackles exactly that problem. 

Instead of relying on tags, mentions, or reposts, multiple people and company pages can co-author a single post and share visibility across their respective audiences. 

For professionals trying to grow their network and organizations seeking broader reach, it offers a more effective way to showcase teamwork and shared accomplishments.

Here's a Cool Tip: Team up on LinkedIn posts to expand your audience without creating duplicate content.

LinkedIn's new collaborative feature allows users to collaborate on posts with up to five collaborators and support formats including text, images, video, documents, polls, events, and links. 

The feature is expanding globally, although availability may vary while the rollout continues.

Stop Guessing What Changed in Excel

Stop Guessing What Changed in Excel

Shared spreadsheets can change quickly, especially when several people edit them throughout the day. Excel Copilot can help you understand what changed, who made the changes, and where to focus your attention without manually reviewing long change logs.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

September 28, 2026

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You open an important spreadsheet on Monday morning and immediately notice that several numbers, formulas, or worksheets look different. 

The workbook was updated while you were away, but figuring out exactly what changed can take time.

Here's a Cool Tip: Ask Copilot to catch you up on Excel workbook changes.

Excel has long offered tools for reviewing changes, but those logs can become difficult to navigate in busy shared workbooks. 

Microsoft has added a Copilot capability that lets you ask questions about workbook changes in plain language and receive summaries of recent activity.

Instead of searching through long lists of edits, you can ask Copilot to explain what happened and highlight the most important updates.

See Spreadsheet Trends at a Glance with Excel Sparklines

See Spreadsheet Trends at a Glance with Excel Sparklines

Need a faster way to spot trends in your spreadsheet without creating a full chart? Excel Sparklines place miniature charts directly inside cells, helping you see patterns, highs, and lows in seconds.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

September 21, 2026

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Large spreadsheets often hide valuable insights in plain sight. 

You may have months of sales figures, budgets, grades, or project metrics sitting in rows and columns, but spotting patterns can still take time.

Here's a Cool Tip: Add mini charts that make trends jump off the page.

Excel Sparklines turn data into tiny charts that fit inside individual cells. 

Instead of scanning dozens of numbers, you can quickly see whether values are rising, falling, or staying consistent.

Microsoft describes Sparklines as small charts that visually represent data trends within worksheet cells, making it easier to identify changes, seasonal patterns, and high or low values.

Add Citations in Microsoft Word Without the Headaches

Add Citations in Microsoft Word Without the Headaches

Microsoft Word can format citations, save source details, and create a bibliography while you write. This guide shows you how to use those tools so you can spend less time managing references and more time improving your document.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

September 14, 2026

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Formatting citations by hand can turn a straightforward writing project into a tedious hunt for punctuation, italics, dates, and author names.

Whether you are writing a school paper, preparing a business report, documenting research, or creating source-based content, consistency matters. 

A missing field or incorrectly formatted reference can make an otherwise polished document look unfinished.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Let Word handle the bibliography while you focus on writing.

Microsoft Word includes citation tools that let you add sources, insert citations, reuse references, and generate a bibliography. 

Word supports several citation formats, including APA, Chicago, GOST, IEEE, ISO 690, and MLA. 

The styles shown can vary depending on your version of Word. 

Turn Spreadsheet Rows into Interactive Apps with Sheets Canvas

Turn Spreadsheet Rows into Interactive Apps with Sheets Canvas

Google Sheets now allows you to convert traditional rows and columns into interactive mini-apps using plain language prompts. Discover how Sheets canvas helps you build dynamic visual dashboards, assignment trackers, and event plans without writing a single formula.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

August 31, 2026

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Most spreadsheet data ends up trapped in dense rows and columns that only make sense to the person who entered them. 

When you want to share progress with team members, plan an event, or track assignments, raw grids often feel stiff, cluttered, and hard to navigate at a glance.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Use Sheets canvas to build interactive mini-apps directly on top of your existing spreadsheet data with a simple prompt.

Google introduced a fresh way to interact with your spreadsheet files called Sheets canvas. Instead of spending hours designing layout grids, nesting formulas, or configuring charts manually, you can tell the built-in Gemini side panel exactly what type of interface you want to see.

Word's New Link to Location Feature Ends the "Scroll Down" Problem

Word's New Link to Location Feature Ends the "Scroll Down" Problem

Microsoft Word now lets you create a direct link to a specific location inside a document. If you work with long reports, proposals, research papers, or shared team documents, this feature can eliminate a surprising amount of friction.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

August 24, 2026

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If you've ever reviewed a long Word document with coworkers, clients, or classmates, you've probably heard some version of this request:

"Scroll down a little farther."

"No, keep going."

"You're almost there."

Finding a specific paragraph in a lengthy document often takes longer than discussing the content itself.

Here's a Cool Tip: Share the exact paragraph, not the page number.

Microsoft is trying to solve that problem with a new feature called Link to Location. 

Instead of telling someone where to look, you can create a direct link to a specific section of a Word document. 

When an authorized recipient opens the link, Word takes them straight to the content you selected. 

The feature is designed to make reviewing, discussing, and collaborating on documents easier.

For anyone who spends their day reviewing reports, policies, proposals, contracts, or research papers, this is one of those small improvements that can remove a recurring annoyance.

Turn Words into Visuals Instantly in Google Docs with Gemini

Turn Words into Visuals Instantly in Google Docs with Gemini

Creating custom graphics, diagrams, and infographics no longer requires switching between separate design tools and text editors. Google Docs now lets you generate and edit high-quality visuals right inside your document using Gemini.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

August 3, 2026

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Writing a comprehensive document often hits a wall when it comes to visual presentation. 

You finish drafting a project proposal or research report, only to realize that readers need charts, process diagrams, or engaging infographics to digest the information quickly. 

Up until now, that meant opening graphic design software, building a graphic from scratch, exporting it as an image file, and pasting it into your document.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Use Gemini in Google Docs to build custom diagrams and edit graphics without leaving your document.

Google is changing the normal workflow by integrating visual creation and editing tools directly into Google Docs powered by Gemini. 

Instead of leaving your document, you can ask Gemini to analyze your text and create a matching diagram or infographic on the spot. 

If the graphic is not quite right, you can tweak its style or aspect ratio using simple chat commands.

Turn Big Projects Into Finished Work With ChatGPT

Turn Big Projects Into Finished Work With ChatGPT

ChatGPT Work gives complicated assignments a dedicated workspace where source files, research, instructions, and revisions remain connected. Powered by the GPT-5.6 model family on eligible plans, it can help produce documents, spreadsheets, presentations, reports, analyses, and, on supported web and desktop experiences, interactive Sites.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 20, 2026

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A regular ChatGPT conversation works well when you need an answer, an explanation, or a quick draft.

The experience becomes less efficient when an assignment involves several files, multiple research steps, a required template, outside services, revisions, and a finished document that must be ready to share.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Use ChatGPT Work.

ChatGPT Work is designed for those larger assignments. 

Instead of treating every request as another conversational response, Work can research a topic, analyze information, create editable files, follow reference material, and move through a multi-step workflow while you review its progress.

Users can answer questions, redirect the assignment, and approve important actions while Work proceeds. 

It can also handle scheduled or recurring tasks when those capabilities are available to the account.

Stop Losing Your Place in Large Excel Spreadsheets

Stop Losing Your Place in Large Excel Spreadsheets

Microsoft Excel's Focus Cell feature highlights your active row and column, making large spreadsheets easier to read and navigate. If you regularly enter data, review reports, or analyze tables, this simple tool can help reduce mistakes and improve accuracy.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

July 13, 2026

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If you've ever worked in a spreadsheet with hundreds or thousands of rows, you've probably lost track of where you are. 

One misplaced click can leave you reading the wrong row, updating the wrong record, or comparing the wrong numbers.

Here's a Cool Tip: Turn on Focus Cell Before Working with Large Spreadsheets.

Instead of forcing your eyes to trace across a busy worksheet, Excel highlights both the active row and the active column, making your current position much easier to follow.

It is a small addition, but for anyone who spends time in large spreadsheets, it can make everyday work noticeably easier.

Make Word Finish Your Sentences Faster

Make Word Finish Your Sentences Faster

Microsoft Word can anticipate what you’re about to type and suggest text in real time. Used well, it helps you write faster, cut repetition, and keep your momentum.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 29, 2026

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You begin typing a familiar phrase like “Please let me know if you have any…” and pause. 

Word quietly suggests “questions” before you finish the sentence.

That small assist adds up. 

Over the course of a long document or a day full of emails, predictive text reduces friction and keeps you moving. 

Here’s a Cool Tip: Let Word suggest the rest of your sentence.

The feature is built into Microsoft Editor, yet many users overlook it or leave it turned off.

Make Excel Copilot Work Your Way Every Time

Make Excel Copilot Work Your Way Every Time

Stop repeating the same formatting instructions in Excel. Copilot personalization lets you define your preferences once and get consistent results every time.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 22, 2026

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If you use Copilot in Excel often, you have likely run into this. 

You ask for a report, then spend time correcting formatting, adjusting formulas, or rewriting outputs to match your usual style. 

The work still gets done, but it rarely looks the same twice.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Teach Copilot Your Style Once and Reuse It Automatically.

Microsoft is starting to close that gap with personalization. 

Instead of retyping the same instructions, you can define how you want results to look and let Copilot follow those preferences automatically.

Let Copilot Build Better PowerPoint Decks

Let Copilot Build Better PowerPoint Decks

Microsoft PowerPoint’s Copilot Agent features can help you turn a prompt into a polished presentation, then refine slides, visuals, tone, and structure without starting over. The real trick is knowing where the feature appears, who can access it, and how to guide it with better prompts.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 8, 2026

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A blank PowerPoint deck can still stop a smart person cold.

You know the topic. 

You know the audience. 

You may even have the data. 

But turning that into a clean, well-structured presentation takes time, judgment, and more slide cleanup than anyone wants to admit.

Here's a Cool Tip:  Microsoft PowerPoint Copilot Agent.

Microsoft is trying to reduce AI friction with Copilot in PowerPoint. 

The feature has appeared in Microsoft documentation under names such as **Agent Mode** and **Edit with Copilot**, but the direction is clear. 

Copilot is becoming more than a chat helper. It can help create, revise, reorganize, summarize, and improve presentations inside PowerPoint.

That does not mean you should let AI deliver your final deck. 

It means you can use Copilot to get past the blank page, build a stronger first draft, and spend your time improving the message instead of wrestling with slide structure.

Edit PowerPoint Images Without Leaving Your Deck

Edit PowerPoint Images Without Leaving Your Deck

PowerPoint now includes a stronger built-in image editor that helps you clean up photos, screenshots, and slide visuals without switching apps. Use Edit Image to remove backgrounds, erase objects, upscale low-resolution pictures, enhance lighting, and update the image directly on your slide.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

June 1, 2026

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A good presentation can stumble over one bad visual. 

Maybe the product photo has a messy background. 

Maybe a screenshot includes private information. 

Maybe an image pulled from an older report looks blurry when stretched across a slide.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Fix Slide Images Inside PowerPoint.

PowerPoint has long offered basic picture tools, but Microsoft is now pushing image editing much closer to the slide-building workflow. 

Its newer Edit Image experience lets users adjust pictures directly inside PowerPoint, with tools such as Remove background, Erase, Move, Upscale, Auto enhance, Add text, Edit text, and Effects. 

Let ChatGPT Do the Spreadsheet Heavy Lifting

Let ChatGPT Do the Spreadsheet Heavy Lifting

ChatGPT can now work directly inside Excel and Google Sheets, helping users build, clean, explain, and update spreadsheets without leaving the workbook. It is especially useful for budgets, reports, trackers, financial models, messy data, and formulas that need a second look.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

May 18, 2026

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Few productivity tasks create more quiet frustration than opening a spreadsheet you did not build.

The formulas are buried. The labels are inconsistent. 

Three tabs seem important, two tabs appear abandoned, and one cell is throwing an error that breaks the whole report.

That is exactly where ChatGPT for Excel and Google Sheets becomes useful. 

OpenAI’s spreadsheet add-ins place ChatGPT in a sidebar inside Excel or Google Sheets, where it can help build, update, clean, and explain spreadsheet work using plain-language instructions. 

OpenAI says the feature is available globally to ChatGPT Free, Go, Plus, Pro, Business, Enterprise, Edu, and K-12 users, with usage limits depending on plan type.

Here’s a Cool Tip: Use ChatGPT as your spreadsheet co-pilot before you touch the formulas.

AI Image Editing in PowerPoint

AI Image Editing in PowerPoint

PowerPoint now includes a full AI image editor that can clean up photos, remove objects, and enhance slides without leaving the app. It’s one of the most useful upgrades Microsoft has shipped in years.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor  

April 20, 2026

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Every presenter knows the pain of scrambling to fix a photo minutes before a meeting. 

Maybe the lighting is off. Maybe there’s a stranger in the background. Maybe the image looks fuzzy on a big screen. 

Until now, you had to jump into a separate app to fix it. 

Here's a Cool Tip:  Edit PowerPoint Images with AI.

PowerPoint’s new AI image editing tools turn the app into a capable photo editor that handles the most common fixes with surprising accuracy.

Excel’s GROUPBY Function: Pivot Table Power In A Single Formu

Excel’s GROUPBY Function: Pivot Table Power In A Single Formula

Turn messy Excel lists into live summary tables with one formula. GROUPBY gives you Pivot Table style insight without the Pivot Table overhead.

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

April 6, 2026

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Have you ever built the perfect Pivot Table, only to break it the moment someone adds a new row of data? 

If you live in Excel all day, you know the pain of refreshing, rearranging, and reformatting the same reports over and over.

Here's a Cool Tip:  Use Microsoft Excel's GROUPBY Function.

GROUPBY is Microsoft’s quiet answer to that problem. 

It turns a single formula into a dynamic summary table that updates itself whenever your source data changes. 

If you work in sales, finance, operations, education, or any role that lives in spreadsheets, this is the kind of feature that quietly saves you hours every month.

Feature Explanation

At its core, the Excel GROUPBY function creates a summary table by grouping rows and aggregating values. Think of it as a Pivot Table written as a formula. You choose what to group by, what to calculate, and how to sort or filter, and GROUPBY spills out a clean, dynamic result.

The syntax looks like this:

=GROUPBY(row_fields, values, function, [field_headers], [total_depth], [sort_order], [filter_array], [field_relationship])

In plain language:

• row_fields: The column or columns you want to group by, such as Region, Product, or Manager.
• values: The numeric data you want to summarize, such as Sales or Quantity.
• function: How you want to summarize it, such as SUM, AVERAGE, COUNT, or PERCENTOF.
• Optional arguments: Control headers, totals, sorting, filtering, and how multiple fields relate.

Why it matters:

• You get a live summary table that recalculates automatically when data changes.
• You do not need to maintain a separate Pivot Table layout.
• You can combine GROUPBY with other dynamic array functions for advanced dashboards.

How To Create QR Codes In Microsoft Word (So People Actually Scan Them)

How To Create QR Codes In Microsoft Word (So People Actually Scan Them)

Turn any Word document into a scannable, mobile-friendly experience with built-in QR codes. No add ins, no sketchy websites, just a smart field code hiding in plain sight.  Creating QR codes directly in Microsoft Word lets you turn reports, handouts, and invoices into interactive documents. 

By Rodger Mansfield, Technology Editor

March 23, 2026

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You have probably seen QR codes slapped on posters, menus, and invoices that no one actually scans. 

Often they are too small, too blurry, or point to a link that is already out of date.

Here's a Cool Tip:  Create QR Codes in Microsoft Word.

Microsoft Word has a built in way to generate QR codes that update with your document, without uploading anything to a third party site. 

Once you know the trick, you can drop a QR code into a template in seconds and keep it in sync with your latest URL, form, or contact info.