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A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.


 

开云体育

Hello Everyone,

?

Before I make my final decision if I want to pay $30.00 more a year for Copilot I would greatly appreciate if someone can tell me what I could do by using Copilot with MS 365? Outlook?

What could I use Copilot for when I use MS Word?

I am currently using MS 365 personal.

?

Kindly,

?

Janet.

?

?

?


 

Janet,
?
This feature is so new that almost no one is going to be able to answer your question any better than Microsoft does in its materials on using Copilot in the various office suite apps.
?
Have a look at:
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.
?
If you web search on the phrase [Use Copilot in {Office Program}] you will get scads of information returned about each.? If you want more screen reader focus, then add "with a screen reader" to the previously noted search phrase.
?
This is a case where a regular web search is likely to return more useful results than many AI searches will because the entire arena is quite new.? But it wouldn't hurt to use Copilot, Google Gemini, ChatGPT, Perplexity.ai, or similar to do the same search.? An AI search might turn up a thing or two that a conventional web search does not.? It only takes seconds to do either a web search or AI search.
--
Brian? · ♂? · ???? · ?Virginia, USA?- Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.10.0)

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.

?????? ~ Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881


 
Edited

Also, and although it's clearly as much Microsoft Marketing as anything else, this document from Microsoft Enablement gives some examples of using Copilot in various Office suite programs: ??
?
Addendum:? The download claimed that file was a PDF, but it's a single page PowerPoint presentation.? It may be easier to look at the example in the webpage from which that file can be downloaded: ?
--
Brian? · ♂? · ???? · ?Virginia, USA?- Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.10.0)

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.

?????? ~ Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881


Leo Bado
 

开云体育

I used Copilot within Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for 8 months. Advantages for using Copilot in this context highly depend on your workflow. Here’s what I used to do:

in MS Word:

?

  • Drafting. A precise prompt is absolutely pivotal to get a good result in this regard. For instance, you can tell Copilot to help you create a draft of an article or composition explaining a specific concept. It is really helpful if you write an outline and give explicit orders such as, “for each category or subcategory related to this concept, provide clear and detailed illustrative examples in the context in which one should apply actions.” Remember that you have 2000 characters, so you can pretty much specify your instructions.
  • Creating a table. You can actually ask Copilot to create a table containing specific information. You can specify numbers of columns and categories. For instance, “create a table containing all the screen readers widely used in Windows; include characteristics, short history, hardware requirements, worldwide usage statistics, advantages and disadvantages.”
  • Organize a table. This option is pretty similar to the previous one, but you should already have the information that Copilot is going to organize contained in a document, then you just highlight or select the information and push alt plus I to bring up the options or organize it in a table.
  • Rewrite. This basically rephrase the text that you previously selected.
  • Resume and ask questions about a document. This is basically the process of looking for ideas and how they relate to other ideas in the document or in general.
  • Proofreading. Yes, select the text and ask Copilot to proofread your selection. You can specify what kind of errors or mistakes you want to focus on. For instance, sometimes, being a non native speaker, I ask Copilot to correct any expression in terms of pragmatics, but one can actually do it for any other linguistic category, world-choice, refined vocabulary, punctuation, etc.

?

In PowerPoint:

?

  • Creating presentations from a document.? Now, when you launch Copilot and choose a blank template, PowerPoint will prompt you to choose among two or three options, one of these being create a presentation from a file. The Copilot pane will pop up, so all you have to do is completing the instruction that reads, “create a presentation from the following file,” or something like that. Followed this instruction, I paste the link of the document. This file must have been saved in OneDrive.

?

There are many other ways in which Copilot in M365 is helpful, but it is for the user to be discovered according to their own needs.? Remember that Copilot will give you back what you asked for, so prompts are quite essential to get the results you expect.

?

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of janet gross via groups.io
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2025 6:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hello Everyone,

?

Before I make my final decision if I want to pay $30.00 more a year for Copilot I would greatly appreciate if someone can tell me what I could do by using Copilot with MS 365? Outlook?

What could I use Copilot for when I use MS Word?

I am currently using MS 365 personal.

?

Kindly,

?

Janet.

?

?

?


 

Hi all,

A couple of points. First, as I understand, Copilot only works with the New Outlook, not Classic. Second, regarding Word, yes you? can give it prompts to create documents, but you can create similar prompts with a whole bunch of free AI apps. You can then copy results to the clipboard and paste into Word. You will have to touch up formatting using one of these, while Word with Copilot does a good job of formatting, including inserting headings. But if you are comfortable formatting Word docs, this is not much extra work. Regarding a number of things Copilot can purportedly do with Excel and PowerPoint, no free AI app has the capability to do most of this.

My first two points are not meant to disparage Copilot. I have MS 365, like the integration they have introduced, and personally, will have no problem paying the extra $30 when my subscription renews.

David

?

?


Leo Bado
 

开云体育

Quote

but you can create similar prompts with a whole bunch of free AI apps

Unquote

?

Yes you can, but if the user intends to create a sophisticated and original text, Copilot in Ms Word is highly convenient at least in two aspects that I have noticed using this AI features for over 8 months. Firstly, it is customized to provide relevant information based on frequent interaction, e.g., if you frequently ask for information related to second language education in the specific context of Spanish as a foreign language, the model learns and provide more accurate responses. This also includes asking for summarization and explanation of key concepts within documents opened in MS Word. Secondly, the AI doesn’t take the information contained in the documents to train the model, which grants privacy. ?Let’s put it in context. Let’s say I wrote an essay, I can ask Copilot to infer logical implications for the classroom drawing on the conclusion and main ideas of my essay in conjunction with the principles of the communicative approach to language learning and James–Lange’s ?theory of emotions. The relationship among such theoretical corpus is still my original idea although processed by Copilot; therefore, I wouldn’t want that content available for AI training in any other Chatbot on the web.

?

As for Copilot not being available in Outlook Classic, well, I have just asked Copilot to draft an e-mail in which explains the advantages of using AI capabilities in Outlook classic, and guess what? I’m using Outlook classic.

Hello there,

I hope you're having a wonderful day! I wanted to take a moment to share with you some of the fantastic advantages of using Copilot in Outlook Classic. As you may know, Copilot is a powerful tool that can significantly enhance your email management experience.

Firstly, Copilot helps you save valuable time by automating repetitive tasks. Instead of manually sorting and responding to emails, Copilot can intelligently prioritize your inbox, flagging important messages and even drafting responses for you. This means you can focus more on strategic tasks rather than getting bogged down by routine email management.

Another great benefit is Copilot's ability to improve your productivity. With features like smart scheduling and reminders, Copilot ensures that you never miss a deadline or forget a meeting. It seamlessly integrates with your calendar, helping you stay organized and on top of your commitments.

Additionally, Copilot enhances your email security. It can identify and filter out potentially harmful emails, reducing the risk of phishing attacks and spam. This added layer of protection ensures that your inbox remains safe and secure, giving you peace of mind.

Lastly, Copilot offers personalized insights and analytics. By analyzing your email patterns and behaviors, it provides valuable feedback on how to optimize your communication strategies. This can help you build better relationships with your contacts and improve your overall email efficiency.

I believe that incorporating Copilot into your Outlook Classic experience can bring numerous benefits, making your email management more efficient, secure, and productive. If you have any questions or would like to learn more about Copilot, please feel free to reach out.

?

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of David Kingsbury via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 9:21 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hi all,

A couple of points. First, as I understand, Copilot only works with the New Outlook, not Classic. Second, regarding Word, yes you? can give it prompts to create documents, but you can create similar prompts with a whole bunch of free AI apps. You can then copy results to the clipboard and paste into Word. You will have to touch up formatting using one of these, while Word with Copilot does a good job of formatting, including inserting headings. But if you are comfortable formatting Word docs, this is not much extra work. Regarding a number of things Copilot can purportedly do with Excel and PowerPoint, no free AI app has the capability to do most of this.

My first two points are not meant to disparage Copilot. I have MS 365, like the integration they have introduced, and personally, will have no problem paying the extra $30 when my subscription renews.

David

?

?


 

On Sun, Jan 19, 2025 at 10:21 AM, David Kingsbury wrote:
First, as I understand, Copilot only works with the New Outlook, not Classic.
-
Although Leo has already put this to bed, think about it.? Copilot is Microsoft's latest and greatest product push.? Outlook Classic is in support through 2029 and that UI is part of M365.? All the other principle Office suite programs in M365 have integrated Copilot.? There is no way, given the size of the embedded user base, that Microsoft would ever, for a single second, have thought of omitting Copilot integration from Outlook Classic 365.? It's one of the biggest ways to market this feature that they've got, particularly on the business side of the equation.
--
Brian? · ♂? · ???? · ?Virginia, USA?- Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.10.0)

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.

?????? ~ Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881


 

开云体育

I have a question about the proofreading feature. I clicked the "prompt" button after selecting my text, but I'm not sure how it's supposed to work, as I didn't notice any changes in my text after going through my five pages of notes. I'll read the article later since I'm not quite alert enough to fully understand what I'm reading right now. Haha. I'm really enjoying what I've seen so far. Yes, I need to correct a few things, and that's okay. It saves me hours of work when I'm taking notes.



Thanks and happy Sunday.


Sarah Alawami | Salesforce Administrator | Accessibility Consultant | Educator

Follow me on

On 1/19/2025 7:05 AM, Leo Bado via groups.io wrote:

I used Copilot within Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for 8 months. Advantages for using Copilot in this context highly depend on your workflow. Here’s what I used to do:

in MS Word:

?

  • Drafting. A precise prompt is absolutely pivotal to get a good result in this regard. For instance, you can tell Copilot to help you create a draft of an article or composition explaining a specific concept. It is really helpful if you write an outline and give explicit orders such as, “for each category or subcategory related to this concept, provide clear and detailed illustrative examples in the context in which one should apply actions.” Remember that you have 2000 characters, so you can pretty much specify your instructions.
  • Creating a table. You can actually ask Copilot to create a table containing specific information. You can specify numbers of columns and categories. For instance, “create a table containing all the screen readers widely used in Windows; include characteristics, short history, hardware requirements, worldwide usage statistics, advantages and disadvantages.”
  • Organize a table. This option is pretty similar to the previous one, but you should already have the information that Copilot is going to organize contained in a document, then you just highlight or select the information and push alt plus I to bring up the options or organize it in a table.
  • Rewrite. This basically rephrase the text that you previously selected.
  • Resume and ask questions about a document. This is basically the process of looking for ideas and how they relate to other ideas in the document or in general.
  • Proofreading. Yes, select the text and ask Copilot to proofread your selection. You can specify what kind of errors or mistakes you want to focus on. For instance, sometimes, being a non native speaker, I ask Copilot to correct any expression in terms of pragmatics, but one can actually do it for any other linguistic category, world-choice, refined vocabulary, punctuation, etc.

?

In PowerPoint:

?

  • Creating presentations from a document.? Now, when you launch Copilot and choose a blank template, PowerPoint will prompt you to choose among two or three options, one of these being create a presentation from a file. The Copilot pane will pop up, so all you have to do is completing the instruction that reads, “create a presentation from the following file,” or something like that. Followed this instruction, I paste the link of the document. This file must have been saved in OneDrive.

?

There are many other ways in which Copilot in M365 is helpful, but it is for the user to be discovered according to their own needs.? Remember that Copilot will give you back what you asked for, so prompts are quite essential to get the results you expect.

?

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of janet gross via groups.io
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2025 6:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hello Everyone,

?

Before I make my final decision if I want to pay $30.00 more a year for Copilot I would greatly appreciate if someone can tell me what I could do by using Copilot with MS 365? Outlook?

What could I use Copilot for when I use MS Word?

I am currently using MS 365 personal.

?

Kindly,

?

Janet.

?

?

?


--
----------

Sarah Alawami, owner of flying Blind.???to read my story.?

Microsoft Windows Windows 11 22H2 (10.0.22621) workstation AMD64 [64 bit]
NVDA 2023.3 [32 bit]
Microsoft Office?16.0.17029.20028 [64 bit]


Leo Bado
 

开云体育

Step by step:

  • Select the portion of text. I have never done it by selecting a large portion of text.
  • Push alt plus I to bring up Copilot’s options.
  • Choose write a prompt.
  • Provide detailed instructions on what you want to focus, e.g., “proofread this text and change any clumsy phrase by natural phrases according to pragmatics in American English.

?

Remember!? The more direct, specific, and detailed the instruction, the better results you will get.

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Sarah k Alawami via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 11:07 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

I have a question about the proofreading feature. I clicked the "prompt" button after selecting my text, but I'm not sure how it's supposed to work, as I didn't notice any changes in my text after going through my five pages of notes. I'll read the article later since I'm not quite alert enough to fully understand what I'm reading right now. Haha. I'm really enjoying what I've seen so far. Yes, I need to correct a few things, and that's okay. It saves me hours of work when I'm taking notes.



Thanks and happy Sunday.


Sarah Alawami | Salesforce Administrator | Accessibility Consultant | Educator

Follow me on

On 1/19/2025 7:05 AM, Leo Bado via groups.io wrote:

I used Copilot within Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for 8 months. Advantages for using Copilot in this context highly depend on your workflow. Here’s what I used to do:

in MS Word:

?

1.????? Drafting. A precise prompt is absolutely pivotal to get a good result in this regard. For instance, you can tell Copilot to help you create a draft of an article or composition explaining a specific concept. It is really helpful if you write an outline and give explicit orders such as, “for each category or subcategory related to this concept, provide clear and detailed illustrative examples in the context in which one should apply actions.” Remember that you have 2000 characters, so you can pretty much specify your instructions.

2.????? Creating a table. You can actually ask Copilot to create a table containing specific information. You can specify numbers of columns and categories. For instance, “create a table containing all the screen readers widely used in Windows; include characteristics, short history, hardware requirements, worldwide usage statistics, advantages and disadvantages.”

3.????? Organize a table. This option is pretty similar to the previous one, but you should already have the information that Copilot is going to organize contained in a document, then you just highlight or select the information and push alt plus I to bring up the options or organize it in a table.

4.????? Rewrite. This basically rephrase the text that you previously selected.

5.????? Resume and ask questions about a document. This is basically the process of looking for ideas and how they relate to other ideas in the document or in general.

6.????? Proofreading. Yes, select the text and ask Copilot to proofread your selection. You can specify what kind of errors or mistakes you want to focus on. For instance, sometimes, being a non native speaker, I ask Copilot to correct any expression in terms of pragmatics, but one can actually do it for any other linguistic category, world-choice, refined vocabulary, punctuation, etc.

?

In PowerPoint:

?

1.????? Creating presentations from a document.? Now, when you launch Copilot and choose a blank template, PowerPoint will prompt you to choose among two or three options, one of these being create a presentation from a file. The Copilot pane will pop up, so all you have to do is completing the instruction that reads, “create a presentation from the following file,” or something like that. Followed this instruction, I paste the link of the document. This file must have been saved in OneDrive.

?

There are many other ways in which Copilot in M365 is helpful, but it is for the user to be discovered according to their own needs.? Remember that Copilot will give you back what you asked for, so prompts are quite essential to get the results you expect.

?

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of janet gross via groups.io
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2025 6:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hello Everyone,

?

Before I make my final decision if I want to pay $30.00 more a year for Copilot I would greatly appreciate if someone can tell me what I could do by using Copilot with MS 365? Outlook?

What could I use Copilot for when I use MS Word?

I am currently using MS 365 personal.

?

Kindly,

?

Janet.

?

?

?


--
----------

Sarah Alawami, owner of flying Blind.???to read my story.?

Microsoft Windows Windows 11 22H2 (10.0.22621) workstation AMD64 [64 bit]

NVDA 2023.3 [32 bit]

Microsoft Office?16.0.17029.20028 [64 bit]


Leo Bado
 

开云体育

Oops, I forgot to mention ?that once you hit enter on the generate button and wait a few seconds, then the focus of the cursor will fall onto the Copilot window, so you will have to push F6 two or three times to get to the body of the text. At this point, if you move up or down, you will notice that there is a duplicate of the portion of text you selected, but somehow containing the modifications if any. To jump onto the dialogue again, you push F6.

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Leo Bado via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 2:50 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Step by step:

??????????????? Select the portion of text. I have never done it by selecting a large portion of text.

??????????????? Push alt plus I to bring up Copilot’s options.

??????????????? Choose write a prompt.

??????????????? Provide detailed instructions on what you want to focus, e.g., “proofread this text and change any clumsy phrase by natural phrases according to pragmatics in American English.

?

Remember!? The more direct, specific, and detailed the instruction, the better results you will get.

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Sarah k Alawami via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 11:07 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

I have a question about the proofreading feature. I clicked the "prompt" button after selecting my text, but I'm not sure how it's supposed to work, as I didn't notice any changes in my text after going through my five pages of notes. I'll read the article later since I'm not quite alert enough to fully understand what I'm reading right now. Haha. I'm really enjoying what I've seen so far. Yes, I need to correct a few things, and that's okay. It saves me hours of work when I'm taking notes.



Thanks and happy Sunday.


Sarah Alawami | Salesforce Administrator | Accessibility Consultant | Educator

Follow me on

On 1/19/2025 7:05 AM, Leo Bado via groups.io wrote:

I used Copilot within Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for 8 months. Advantages for using Copilot in this context highly depend on your workflow. Here’s what I used to do:

in MS Word:

?

1.????? Drafting. A precise prompt is absolutely pivotal to get a good result in this regard. For instance, you can tell Copilot to help you create a draft of an article or composition explaining a specific concept. It is really helpful if you write an outline and give explicit orders such as, “for each category or subcategory related to this concept, provide clear and detailed illustrative examples in the context in which one should apply actions.” Remember that you have 2000 characters, so you can pretty much specify your instructions.

2.????? Creating a table. You can actually ask Copilot to create a table containing specific information. You can specify numbers of columns and categories. For instance, “create a table containing all the screen readers widely used in Windows; include characteristics, short history, hardware requirements, worldwide usage statistics, advantages and disadvantages.”

3.????? Organize a table. This option is pretty similar to the previous one, but you should already have the information that Copilot is going to organize contained in a document, then you just highlight or select the information and push alt plus I to bring up the options or organize it in a table.

4.????? Rewrite. This basically rephrase the text that you previously selected.

5.????? Resume and ask questions about a document. This is basically the process of looking for ideas and how they relate to other ideas in the document or in general.

6.????? Proofreading. Yes, select the text and ask Copilot to proofread your selection. You can specify what kind of errors or mistakes you want to focus on. For instance, sometimes, being a non native speaker, I ask Copilot to correct any expression in terms of pragmatics, but one can actually do it for any other linguistic category, world-choice, refined vocabulary, punctuation, etc.

?

In PowerPoint:

?

1.????? Creating presentations from a document.? Now, when you launch Copilot and choose a blank template, PowerPoint will prompt you to choose among two or three options, one of these being create a presentation from a file. The Copilot pane will pop up, so all you have to do is completing the instruction that reads, “create a presentation from the following file,” or something like that. Followed this instruction, I paste the link of the document. This file must have been saved in OneDrive.

?

There are many other ways in which Copilot in M365 is helpful, but it is for the user to be discovered according to their own needs.? Remember that Copilot will give you back what you asked for, so prompts are quite essential to get the results you expect.

?

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of janet gross via groups.io
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2025 6:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hello Everyone,

?

Before I make my final decision if I want to pay $30.00 more a year for Copilot I would greatly appreciate if someone can tell me what I could do by using Copilot with MS 365? Outlook?

What could I use Copilot for when I use MS Word?

I am currently using MS 365 personal.

?

Kindly,

?

Janet.

?

?

?


--
----------

Sarah Alawami, owner of flying Blind.???to read my story.?

Microsoft Windows Windows 11 22H2 (10.0.22621) workstation AMD64 [64 bit]

NVDA 2023.3 [32 bit]

Microsoft Office?16.0.17029.20028 [64 bit]


 

On Sun, Jan 19, 2025 at 03:49 PM, Leo Bado wrote:
Remember!? The more direct, specific, and detailed the instruction, the better results you will get.
-
I'll take issue with this assertion, but only "at the edges" rather than its core truth.
?
When it comes to AI prompts to do anything, generally speaking, what you say is true, without question.? But, and it's an important one, it is possible to, at times, get overly specific, and that gets you a result not precisely like you wanted.
?
You have to then play with the prompt to remove what you suspect was "overly specific" to allow a freer hand.
?
It's not at all unlike what one does to craft a good web search or a good AI search prompt.? Sometimes you start broad and then narrow down by adding specificity.? Sometimes you start with extreme specificity and then remove bits that restrict one at a time until the necessary results appear.
?
Depending on exactly what it is I'm trying to accomplish, I will start out with fewer specifics than I think I'll ultimately need, or with more specifics than I suspect I'll ultimately want.? It's an art crafting these prompts, rather than a hard science.
--
Brian? · ♂? · ???? · ?Virginia, USA?- Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.10.0)

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.

?????? ~ Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881


Leo Bado
 

开云体育

Well, I agree. Sometimes I explicitly recommend this because users tend to be vague.

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Brian Vogel via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 2:57 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

On Sun, Jan 19, 2025 at 03:49 PM, Leo Bado wrote:

Remember!? The more direct, specific, and detailed the instruction, the better results you will get.

-

I'll take issue with this assertion, but only "at the edges" rather than its core truth.

?

When it comes to AI prompts to do anything, generally speaking, what you say is true, without question.? But, and it's an important one, it is possible to, at times, get overly specific, and that gets you a result not precisely like you wanted.

?

You have to then play with the prompt to remove what you suspect was "overly specific" to allow a freer hand.

?

It's not at all unlike what one does to craft a good web search or a good AI search prompt.? Sometimes you start broad and then narrow down by adding specificity.? Sometimes you start with extreme specificity and then remove bits that restrict one at a time until the necessary results appear.

?

Depending on exactly what it is I'm trying to accomplish, I will start out with fewer specifics than I think I'll ultimately need, or with more specifics than I suspect I'll ultimately want.? It's an art crafting these prompts, rather than a hard science.

--

Brian? · ♂? · ???? · ?Virginia, USA?- Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.10.0)

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.

?????? ~ Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881


 

开云体育

I would like to add a couple things to what David said.

?

Besides the new CoPilot working with the new Outlook, it only works with Microsoft addresses.? Hotmail.com, outlook.com, msn.com, live.com.

?

Second, if you have an agreement between your employer and Microsoft, I would recommend signing up for the ? My employer offers this and you get 30% off M365 subs.? This would take your family sub down to $90 annually, so you would actually be paying a bit less than you did before the price hike.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of David Kingsbury via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 10:21 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hi all,

A couple of points. First, as I understand, Copilot only works with the New Outlook, not Classic. Second, regarding Word, yes you? can give it prompts to create documents, but you can create similar prompts with a whole bunch of free AI apps. You can then copy results to the clipboard and paste into Word. You will have to touch up formatting using one of these, while Word with Copilot does a good job of formatting, including inserting headings. But if you are comfortable formatting Word docs, this is not much extra work. Regarding a number of things Copilot can purportedly do with Excel and PowerPoint, no free AI app has the capability to do most of this.

My first two points are not meant to disparage Copilot. I have MS 365, like the integration they have introduced, and personally, will have no problem paying the extra $30 when my subscription renews.

David

?

?


 

开云体育

I think I did that correct when I was playint with this. I'm curious to run my notes from a class I took through this as I didn't spell check or nothign, ok I did, but i transcribed the lectures and have about 10 pages for 6 hours of classes. I'm very interested now. or take a? transcript and run that through. Hmm. tomorrow as I'm very, very tired.

Happy sunday all.

On 1/19/2025 12:49 PM, Leo Bado via groups.io wrote:

Step by step:

  • Select the portion of text. I have never done it by selecting a large portion of text.
  • Push alt plus I to bring up Copilot’s options.
  • Choose write a prompt.
  • Provide detailed instructions on what you want to focus, e.g., “proofread this text and change any clumsy phrase by natural phrases according to pragmatics in American English.

?

Remember!? The more direct, specific, and detailed the instruction, the better results you will get.

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of Sarah k Alawami via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 11:07 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

I have a question about the proofreading feature. I clicked the "prompt" button after selecting my text, but I'm not sure how it's supposed to work, as I didn't notice any changes in my text after going through my five pages of notes. I'll read the article later since I'm not quite alert enough to fully understand what I'm reading right now. Haha. I'm really enjoying what I've seen so far. Yes, I need to correct a few things, and that's okay. It saves me hours of work when I'm taking notes.



Thanks and happy Sunday.


Sarah Alawami | Salesforce Administrator | Accessibility Consultant | Educator

Follow me on

On 1/19/2025 7:05 AM, Leo Bado via groups.io wrote:

I used Copilot within Microsoft Word and PowerPoint for 8 months. Advantages for using Copilot in this context highly depend on your workflow. Here’s what I used to do:

in MS Word:

?

1.????? Drafting. A precise prompt is absolutely pivotal to get a good result in this regard. For instance, you can tell Copilot to help you create a draft of an article or composition explaining a specific concept. It is really helpful if you write an outline and give explicit orders such as, “for each category or subcategory related to this concept, provide clear and detailed illustrative examples in the context in which one should apply actions.” Remember that you have 2000 characters, so you can pretty much specify your instructions.

2.????? Creating a table. You can actually ask Copilot to create a table containing specific information. You can specify numbers of columns and categories. For instance, “create a table containing all the screen readers widely used in Windows; include characteristics, short history, hardware requirements, worldwide usage statistics, advantages and disadvantages.”

3.????? Organize a table. This option is pretty similar to the previous one, but you should already have the information that Copilot is going to organize contained in a document, then you just highlight or select the information and push alt plus I to bring up the options or organize it in a table.

4.????? Rewrite. This basically rephrase the text that you previously selected.

5.????? Resume and ask questions about a document. This is basically the process of looking for ideas and how they relate to other ideas in the document or in general.

6.????? Proofreading. Yes, select the text and ask Copilot to proofread your selection. You can specify what kind of errors or mistakes you want to focus on. For instance, sometimes, being a non native speaker, I ask Copilot to correct any expression in terms of pragmatics, but one can actually do it for any other linguistic category, world-choice, refined vocabulary, punctuation, etc.

?

In PowerPoint:

?

1.????? Creating presentations from a document.? Now, when you launch Copilot and choose a blank template, PowerPoint will prompt you to choose among two or three options, one of these being create a presentation from a file. The Copilot pane will pop up, so all you have to do is completing the instruction that reads, “create a presentation from the following file,” or something like that. Followed this instruction, I paste the link of the document. This file must have been saved in OneDrive.

?

There are many other ways in which Copilot in M365 is helpful, but it is for the user to be discovered according to their own needs.? Remember that Copilot will give you back what you asked for, so prompts are quite essential to get the results you expect.

?

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of janet gross via groups.io
Sent: Saturday, January 18, 2025 6:16 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hello Everyone,

?

Before I make my final decision if I want to pay $30.00 more a year for Copilot I would greatly appreciate if someone can tell me what I could do by using Copilot with MS 365? Outlook?

What could I use Copilot for when I use MS Word?

I am currently using MS 365 personal.

?

Kindly,

?

Janet.

?

?

?


--
----------

Sarah Alawami, owner of flying Blind.???to read my story.?

Microsoft Windows Windows 11 22H2 (10.0.22621) workstation AMD64 [64 bit]

NVDA 2023.3 [32 bit]

Microsoft Office?16.0.17029.20028 [64 bit]


--
----------

Sarah Alawami, owner of flying Blind.???to read my story.?

Microsoft Windows Windows 11 22H2 (10.0.22621) workstation AMD64 [64 bit]
NVDA 2023.3 [32 bit]
Microsoft Office?16.0.17029.20028 [64 bit]


 

开云体育

Hi William,

I did sign up for it, but looks like I lost the discounted rate because it says I will be charged $69 in 2025 for personal.? Can you confirm you lose it when switching to O365 personal classic?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of William James via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 9:38 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

I would like to add a couple things to what David said.

?

Besides the new CoPilot working with the new Outlook, it only works with Microsoft addresses.? Hotmail.com, outlook.com, msn.com, live.com.

?

Second, if you have an agreement between your employer and Microsoft, I would recommend signing up for the ? My employer offers this and you get 30% off M365 subs.? This would take your family sub down to $90 annually, so you would actually be paying a bit less than you did before the price hike.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of David Kingsbury via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 10:21 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hi all,

A couple of points. First, as I understand, Copilot only works with the New Outlook, not Classic. Second, regarding Word, yes you? can give it prompts to create documents, but you can create similar prompts with a whole bunch of free AI apps. You can then copy results to the clipboard and paste into Word. You will have to touch up formatting using one of these, while Word with Copilot does a good job of formatting, including inserting headings. But if you are comfortable formatting Word docs, this is not much extra work. Regarding a number of things Copilot can purportedly do with Excel and PowerPoint, no free AI app has the capability to do most of this.

My first two points are not meant to disparage Copilot. I have MS 365, like the integration they have introduced, and personally, will have no problem paying the extra $30 when my subscription renews.

David

?

?


 

Hi all,

I stand corrected on my comment that Copilot only works with the New Outlook. But it appears this only works from within Microsoft email accounts such as outlook.com. If I am right this time, it seems to be of limited value if your primary email account is Gmail or something other than an MS account. When I tried to start up Copilot from my Gmail account, nothing happened. When I asked it to summarize my Gmail messages from within my Outlook email account, it said this was not possible. I can still draft messages from my Outlook.com account and send from another of my email accounts, so this is useful.?

David


 

On the subject of subscription rates:? Most of us can only comment on Microsoft's rates for "the general public" based on our place of residence.? Programs like the mentioned by William James are negotiated between the employer and Microsoft and are supposed to be (in theory, anyway) only available to employees.? I say in theory mostly because most who subscribe through these do not terminate their own subscription through such arrangements if they change jobs, and I've never know of one to be terminated by Microsoft or the now-former employer.
?
If you've got a rate below what's offered to the general public through any of Microsoft's discount programs I'd await some sort of communication from Microsoft about what rate changes, if any, will occur at your next renewal date and/or whether or not Copilot will become part of your subscription.? Since Copilot remains a "per seat" subscription for business, I am doubting that the subscriptions offered through Workplace Discount are going to have Copilot AI integration, as it would probably still be an add-on.
--
Brian? · ♂? · ???? · ?Virginia, USA?- Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.10.0)

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.

? ? ? ?~ Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881


Leo Bado
 

开云体育

Quote

it appears this only works from within Microsoft email accounts

Unquote

?

Yes David, you’re right! In my case it only works in my main Hotmail.com? account, a year ago I thought this could change in the future , but apparently Microsoft thinks otherwise.

?

Cheers,

Leo Bado.

?

"Beware of he who would deny you access to information, for in his heart he dreams himself your master."

Pravin Lal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of David Kingsbury via groups.io
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2025 9:48 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hi all,

I stand corrected on my comment that Copilot only works with the New Outlook. But it appears this only works from within Microsoft email accounts such as outlook.com. If I am right this time, it seems to be of limited value if your primary email account is Gmail or something other than an MS account. When I tried to start up Copilot from my Gmail account, nothing happened. When I asked it to summarize my Gmail messages from within my Outlook email account, it said this was not possible. I can still draft messages from my Outlook.com account and send from another of my email accounts, so this is useful.?

David


 

开云体育

When I checked on the sub, it appears to only be for the new subscription price, not classic.? I only saw two listed, one for family and one for personal.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of enes saribas via groups.io
Sent: Monday, January 20, 2025 1:05 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hi William,

I did sign up for it, but looks like I lost the discounted rate because it says I will be charged $69 in 2025 for personal.? Can you confirm you lose it when switching to O365 personal classic?

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of William James via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 9:38 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

I would like to add a couple things to what David said.

?

Besides the new CoPilot working with the new Outlook, it only works with Microsoft addresses.? Hotmail.com, outlook.com, msn.com, live.com.

?

Second, if you have an agreement between your employer and Microsoft, I would recommend signing up for the ? My employer offers this and you get 30% off M365 subs.? This would take your family sub down to $90 annually, so you would actually be paying a bit less than you did before the price hike.

?

From: [email protected] <[email protected]> On Behalf Of David Kingsbury via groups.io
Sent: Sunday, January 19, 2025 10:21 AM
To: [email protected]
Subject: Re: [M365-Accessibility] A Question Regarding Copilot in MS 365 Please.

?

Hi all,

A couple of points. First, as I understand, Copilot only works with the New Outlook, not Classic. Second, regarding Word, yes you? can give it prompts to create documents, but you can create similar prompts with a whole bunch of free AI apps. You can then copy results to the clipboard and paste into Word. You will have to touch up formatting using one of these, while Word with Copilot does a good job of formatting, including inserting headings. But if you are comfortable formatting Word docs, this is not much extra work. Regarding a number of things Copilot can purportedly do with Excel and PowerPoint, no free AI app has the capability to do most of this.

My first two points are not meant to disparage Copilot. I have MS 365, like the integration they have introduced, and personally, will have no problem paying the extra $30 when my subscription renews.

David

?

?


 

On Mon, Jan 20, 2025 at 11:51 AM, Leo Bado wrote:
I thought this could change in the future , but apparently Microsoft thinks otherwise.
-
I am not going to test it right now, but it probably has, or will, in New Outlook.
?
Microsoft does not have direct access to any of your email data stores under the Outlook Classic IMAP access method, particularly not to summarize content.? New Outlook hosts all email in an "intermediate holding tank" on Microsoft servers to allow Copilot access for those who choose to use it.? IMAP is not "bi-directional" in terms of RW access to existing email messages.? They can be snagged, one at a time, for downloading purposes.
?
For any Microsoft owned email service, they've got carte blanche as far as read-write access for something like Copilot when the user requests it.? It's all on their servers to begin with.
--
Brian? · ♂? · ???? · ?Virginia, USA?- Windows 11 Pro, Version 24H2, Build 26100; M365 Family; Android 13 (Xiaomi HyperOS 1.0.10.0)

It is much easier to be critical than to be correct.

?????? ~ Benjamin Disraeli, 1804-1881