Mona SteeleMicrosoft 365 tips, tutorials & troubleshooting
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Fresh tips, tutorials and fixes — updated weekly.

Teams

Teams notifications are silent: the four toggles that actually control them

monasteele.com

Teams·

Teams notifications are silent: the four toggles that actually control them

When Microsoft Teams stops alerting you to messages or meetings, four overlapping settings — across Teams, Windows, Focus Assist, and your channel preferences — are usually fighting each other. Here is how to untangle them.

8 min read·By Mona Steele
Outlook

Outlook Search returns nothing: rebuild the index without losing email

monasteele.com

Outlook·

Outlook Search returns nothing: rebuild the index without losing email

When Outlook Search stops finding emails you know exist, the Windows search index is almost always the culprit. Here is the safe way to rebuild it — and what to do if that doesn't fix it.

9 min read·By Mona Steele
Excel

Excel is slow: 7 hidden settings that actually fix it

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Excel·

Excel is slow: 7 hidden settings that actually fix it

If Excel takes ten seconds to open a 200-row sheet, the culprit is rarely the file. Here are the seven settings — most of them buried — that bring Excel back to life.

8 min read·By Mona Steele
Word

'Locked for editing by another user' — when no one else has the document

monasteele.com

Word·

'Locked for editing by another user' — when no one else has the document

Word's ghost-lock error is one of the most common and least-explained Microsoft 365 frustrations. Here is what is actually holding the lock and how to release it without losing changes.

7 min read·By Mona Steele

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