MS365 Archives | True MSP Ltd

7 Microsoft Add Ins You’ll Never Be Able to Work Without Again

Once we’ve returned to the office this summer, life may feel rather hectic. It may take time to readjust, and your team’s productivity will no doubt take a hit. Thankfully we have a selection of Microsoft Add ins that can easily make your life more productive.

Chances are you’ll enjoy using them so much, they may become a cornerstone of your IT team’s training. Or even become as important as maintaining good cybersecurity and keeping your files organised.

Woodpecker

This Microsoft Add In was originally designed to create templates within legal documents. Today it’s used by a range of industries for any Word doc. Letters, emails, proposals, and reports. If you’re regularly creating slightly varied versions of the same document, Woodpecker is your best friend. Simply highlight the areas that you want editable and set the areas you want to remain constant to uneditable.

DocuSign

All businesses need to regularly sign documents. And this Microsoft Add In will let you sign documents without leaving Microsoft Word. All you need to do is drag and drop the space for a signature to different areas of the document, leaving recipients to fill it with their signature.

FindTime

Scheduling made easy. This Outlook Add-In will show you where the optimum openings in your co-workers’ calendars are. You can view multiple slots, and everyone can vote on their ideal time. Basically, it saves you from sending a bunch of emails or visiting everyone’s desk just to get a consensus.

Polly

Getting a quick response from your team can be a nightmare. Especially in a hectic office. Polly, the Microsoft Teams Add In, lets you create a poll and get feedback from your team rapidly. At the very least it saves clogging up your inbox or overloading Microsoft Teams with notifications.

Boomerang

This Microsoft Add In can help fight the headache that email creates. It has a range of functions including the ability to schedule an email for a later date, an “inbox pause” capability, and the option for creating a visual grid that – similar to FindTime – can display your availability for the week.

Read My Document

Sometimes you need a second pair of eyes to read your work aloud and make sure it sounds right. But sometimes there’s nobody in the office around to help. Read My Document will make your computer read your documents to you. This works for a range of programs including Word, PowerPoint, and Excel.

Template Phrases

If you find you’re using the same phrases in your emails over and over again, Template Phrases can throw them in with just a single click. If you reply to lots of emails on a daily basis this tool is guaranteed to save you time. The more you get to know your technology, the more it’ll look after you. In a sense, treat your technology as you would an employee: with care and constant consideration. The Cloud has a world of benefits to offer your business beyond Microsoft Add ins and Microsoft 365.

So click here if you’re ready to take advantage of everything The Cloud offers.

7 Microsoft Teams Tips and Tricks to Boost Productivity

Your IT can be like an employee: get to know it, treat it well and both of you can do some great work together. This is why we put so much emphasis on training at True MSP.

Microsoft Teams is the cornerstone of collaboration for many businesses. So we’ve compiled a range of Microsoft Teams tips and tricks to make your work as productive as possible.

Get to know the shortcuts

Knowing these shortcuts can save hours in the long run. For many of the most common operations in Microsoft Teams, there’s a method for executing it instantly with a keyboard shortcut.

Use frequent commands

Similarly, you can use frequent commands for jumping to frequently used locations and tasks within Microsoft Teams. Simply type the “ / ” key followed by your desired location and you’ll jump straight to it.

Turn on do not disturb

Microsoft Teams can make communication a little too easy. Notifications pinging all day can drain your focus… And your sanity. When you need to focus on a given task and be free from being contacted by your team, set your status to do not disturb by clicking on your initials in the top right-hand corner.

Filter using your activity centre

Your activity centre gives you a timeline feed of everything you’ve done within Microsoft Teams and your notifications. You can search this activity directly and filter it to show only certain types of activity. E.g., only mentions, missed calls, reactions, etc.

Filter and access your teammates quicker by using @mention

Alternatively, you can jump to find specific conversations from teammates within the activity centre by typing in their @name. This can also be great for quickly messaging them: if you don’t want to leave what you’re doing and find their conversation, you can type @name into the search bar and send a message without leaving what you’re doing.

Pin important channels and apps

Some channels and apps you’ll use a lot more than others. To save you scrolling and searching when you need to find them, pin them so they’re always in the same place, on the left of your Microsoft Teams window.

Use tags to group users

Very often you’ll need to address people as a group. Instead of picking them out one by one and adding them to a group thread, if you’ve grouped them together under a tag, you can address them as one in an instant.

Become more productive with The Cloud

Once you start using these Microsoft Teams tips and tricks, they may start to feel as unavoidable as good backup or cybersecurity. And since any business worth their salt is aiming to be more productive, taking advantage of everything The Cloud and Microsoft Teams has to offer is a no-brainer.