Pissed At Work - Microsoft Office

[imwjl]

The difference here is you are rolling out the software, group policies, and process for users. You choose to make it easy for them, you choose to do what is best. The company I work for has from hourly lower skilled employees to top level admins and developers. To make it "easy", the set up everything for the lowest common denominator, which leaves all of IT in the lurch and struggling to get things done.

Our company intranet home page is on SharePoint (ugh). When you open a tab, it fills in a URL, takes a second or two, clears the URL, redirects, opens a URL, takes a second or two, clears the URL, then redirects to the page, which takes another 8 seconds to load. The policy is EVERYONE is configured to go to the home page when you open a browser or a tab - no exceptions. The reason? It's easier that way for the lower level staff. For a while, opening a tab would just open a blank tab. I open a tab, type serv and servicenow.com would auto-populate, I hit enter, and I'm in. I now type serv and it gets cleared with the redirection. I have not gotten used to opening a tab then clicking the stop "x" to go somewhere else.

Oh. But wait. If you wait the 12 to 15 seconds, you can scroll to the bottom of the home page, then click "A to Z list", when that comes up, click S for ServiceNow, when that comes up, click the ServiceNow link, which takes you to another help page in SharePoint that finally has the link to get to ServiceNow. This is what the company thinks makes sense.

Could I set favorites? Sure - but I have 410 of them right now for the stuff I need for my job, of which 390 are internal. Then, on occasion, a group policy update wipes out all of our favorites. Could I also do backups of my favorites file? Yes, I do, but now this is just getting silly. I created a delimited text file with columns, descriptions, and links. I then run a Perl or Python program against that which converts that to an HTML file with all my stuff organized how I want it. It backs everything up to a shared drive every time I update it, just in case.

This is the insanity I work with. Everyone seems to be a middle aged white male Microsoft admin here, so if that is not how you think, too bad. You will never be productive. So yeah - MS issues - or better yet, MS peeves - get amplified like they are running through two dimed Twin Reverbs. They. Just. Hurt.

We recently needed to put a single line into a MySQL startup file and restart MySQL on one of our servers. Should take a couple of minutes to do. Between the change request, the testing proof documentation (cut and paste from the change request), attending and discussing this update at three levels of change meetings, and walking approvals through the testing team and the operations team, we tied up over 10 hours over the course of two weeks, then add a one week lead time. Over a man day wasted for a 5 minute change. Yes, we need to protect the company. Yes, we need to improve change quality. But OMG, our sociopath management thinks the more processes the put in our path the better things are. It isn't.

Add an issue like group policies wiping out our settings in office "for the betterment of part time hourly workers", and I just explode. Everything that should be easy becomes a project.

Less than 4 years and I'm done. I can hardly wait.

I get all that, but what creates the eye rolls or palm in face here is when people display very obvious gapminder problems and insist the stuff is all bad.

There are also ways to work around or adjust for some of the problems and we're neck deep in that with all aspects of our acquisition still not done. One example is the Microsoft cloud stuff for web and fat client is full of share to. Share a lot that you need to be portable to your own space in the tenant or OneNote for example.

I also get how frustrations build and I might end it soon.

 

[getbent]

A lot of this is just so laughable. In 2025 you don't even have to install any, much or most of Microsoft Office on your computer and people complain. There are same sorts of matters with the Google haters (I am in a team that administers Workspace for nonprofits).

Earlier @getbent posted correctly how the stuff really does work and he also has eyes and hands over multiple platforms with similar accountability.

Now with most of staff working, nothing in Microsoft's health portal is standing out. Our open help desk tickets for a pool near 1000 people don't show anything but some simple training matters. It's same in parent org with 20,000+ seats.

This stuff is certainly not perfect but as I type, together there are more than 400 million paid tier Microsoft and Google cloud seats. It would be chaos and a hit to the economy if this stuff was as bad as some of you say.

Go pick up a nice plate... you know, a nice, 100.00 a setting plate. How easy is it to stand, hold the plate over your head and smash it to the ground destroying the plate? Well, yeah, it is easy. Not a lot of training needed, not too much finesse... pretty much anyone could do it.

How much effort does it take to make a plate? oh man. a lot. so much that most people couldn't really even imagine it. Now, there are guys who have put together wood plates or maybe molded some plastic plates and they'll saw 'meh, it isn't THAT hard'.

There you go. it is easier to destroy stuff than to make it.

If you made it, you know the mistakes, the flaws, when people point them out, it is maturity that makes you smile and say, thanks for pointing that out, while you already know about it and, well, we'll do our best (again) next time.

I think it was harder to write 'The Son Also Rises' than to write the review. That doesn't I discount the talent and courage of the reviewer, just that in some grand scheme, we all have our role. Some are builders, creators, ballplayers and some are in the stands wondering when the beer guy is coming...

Know your role, if you are a creator, take the criticism with grace. They are buying your stuff and paying attention to you. I used to do a lot of public speaking for work. It was common for people to stop me in the airport or hotel or whatever and comment on my presentation/speech whatever. Sometimes they were touching and sometimes they would have some asinine comment or say something genuinely hurtful and personal. In those cases, I'd smile broadly and thank them for the input and express how grateful I was that they attended... and then poof... off you go.

Some of those people keep grinding! They can't let it go... for me, to survive, thrive and be happy, I learned to let it go.

 

[schmee]

Now that the company I work for uses Office 365, I am always pissed. Well, I have been for a while, but...

We get automatic updates. Yay. We get them often. Yay. Things are up to date. Yay.

However, every update wipes out the defaults I have set. You want single line spacing in a Word document? You have to go re-set it, and save it as a default. Then update margins and save them as a default. Turn rulers back on, save them as a default.

Then a week later, we get another update, and all my defaults are gone.

I don't know if this is the company I work for or Microsoft. Probably both. I hate them both, so plenty to go around.

This is like my Wife's laptop - every time she gets a Windows 11 default, all her settings to back to Microsoft defaults. Because they know better, right? They are all knowing and know what we want to do better than we do, right? She comes to me, and I have to help reset all of her settings. Every. Freakin'. Month.

[Long strings of expletives] I hate them so much. This is why my home PC is Linux Mint and I use Libre Office. Microsoft can just [long string of expletives].

Yep auto update last night and I dont use the 365 suscription. I had several things open and it took me a half hour to recover them properly this am.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO STOP AUTO UPDATES NOW DAYS?

 

[ChicknPickn]

That's one or both of a "RTFM" or daft IT staff problem but you are free to be pissed off and have product biases.

Saying you have regular updates has me assume current and a cloud able or enabled licensing. You can store your preferences in the cloud. If Windows you also have options for where your profiles are stored.

You are correct that Linux is wonderful but it's highly limited or impossible as an end point for some and especially in an enterprise.

I too was a Microsoft admin for many years. Despite my appreciation of all things Unix and Unix-like, there was nothing for larger-scale network management like Active Directory. You couldn’t be a knucklehead and keep it flying straight. And, boy, could it wreak havoc when it wasn’t well managed.

That said, how wonderful for me to be 1) retired from IT; and 2) back to Linux (Mint) as my personal OS. Though I do keep a Windows 11 VM on standby. For what, I don’t know. But I had a license lying around, so . . . .

 

[imwjl]

Yep auto update last night and I dont use the 365 suscription. I had several things open and it took me a half hour to recover them properly this am.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO STOP AUTO UPDATES NOW DAYS?

The Windows Professional license vs home includes granular updates or you can control them. That's a retail $100 update anyone can do at anytime. Keep in mind we have the Windows 10 end of support date coming so don't spend money on something that will lose support.

That taking a long time is more a matter of the computer resources and setup. Older systems with spindle drives definitely take longer.

 

[imwjl]

I too was a Microsoft admin for many years. Despite my appreciation of all things Unix and Unix-like, there was nothing for larger-scale network management like Active Directory. You couldn’t be a knucklehead and keep it flying straight. And, boy, could it wreak havoc when it wasn’t well managed.

That said, how wonderful for me to be 1) retired from IT; and 2) back to Linux (Mint) as my personal OS. Though I do keep a Windows 11 VM on standby. For what, I don’t know. But I had a license lying around, so . . . .

Yes, I remember a period when enterprises would look at other directory services solutions, that people wanted end points that do a lot, and it was part of the Microsoft market share growth.

The point of management is still a big issue many probably don't understand. VDI can let people run the desktop of their choice but oh wow would that get some of the complaints here going - customization.

Now directory services and management are more important than ever because of the security world people have to be in.

On retirement, I just keep having some stuff lingering where I suppose I should consider it a complement. It's 7/11/25 after I was first told I'd be dismissed more than a year ago.

 

[schmee]

The Windows Professional license vs home includes granular updates or you can control them. That's a retail $100 update anyone can do at anytime. Keep in mind we have the Windows 10 end of support date coming so don't spend money on something that will lose support.

That taking a long time is more a matter of the computer resources and setup. Older systems with spindle drives definitely take longer.

I'm win 10! Does that mean they will stop soon?

 

[schmee]

The Windows Professional license vs home includes granular updates or you can control them. That's a retail $100 update anyone can do at anytime. Keep in mind we have the Windows 10 end of support date coming so don't spend money on something that will lose support.

That taking a long time is more a matter of the computer resources and setup. Older systems with spindle drives definitely take longer.

Well, I didn't close a bunch of files, Excel, Publisher, Word. So when I booted up this morning a bunch opened up on my screen, but many of them were older files that I don't think I even had open. So I just had to go through and decide what to keep open and close some I was done with. But really, DONT UPDATE MY COMPUTER IF I HAVE OPEN FILES!
Is there a way to turn off my computer at night such that they cant open it and update?

 

[TomBrokaw]

I'm win 10! Does that mean they will stop soon?

October:

Windows 10 support ends on October 14, 2025 - Microsoft Support

Windows 10 support ends on October 14, 2025. Upgrade to Windows 11 now to ensure continued security and feature updates. Learn more about the transition.

support.microsoft.com

Your OS will continue to function normally, but when (not if) a exploit is discovered, Microsoft will not patch it (for free).

 

[Jupiter]

If we're going to question nitpicking and grievance I don't know what any of us is doing on this or any internet forum.

Now now, the questioning is just as central here as the nitpicking and grievance! That’s what helps keep the wheel turning: after that come the justifications!

 

[getbent]

Yep auto update last night and I dont use the 365 suscription. I had several things open and it took me a half hour to recover them properly this am.
IS THERE ANY WAY TO STOP AUTO UPDATES NOW DAYS?

leaving documents open and unsaved at the end of the day is like going to a bar mitzvah with your fly down. Save, close, log out. It is the way to avoid the frustrations of the IT guys trying to keep you from getting hijacked.

 

[Jupiter]

leaving documents open and unsaved at the end of the day is like going to a bar mitzvah with your fly down. Save, close, log out. It is the way to avoid the frustrations of the IT guys trying to keep you from getting hijacked.

The beauty of googleland is not only can I leave all of my 88 tabs open (I am not even exaggerating), I can leave em open on several different devices, and if a computer updates or restarts (or crashes), all’s I gotta do is hit “reload tabs”. All the laptops at my school have MSWord, Excel, etc installed on em but I haven’t created a MS file of any kind for maybe three years. It’s GREAT! I guess it’s like going to a bar mitzvah buck nekkid?

I generate a fair number of docs, ss’s, slides, etc., but my needs are generally pretty simple, and I will never need 80% of the functionality of those MS apps.

I feel for you IT guys and guys who are under the thumbs of IT guys…

 

[AliceAngelTele]

"Hey, Peter. What's happening. Did you get the memo?"

Yeeaaaaaahhh I'm going to need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too, m'kay?

 

[Nogoodnamesleft]

Yeeaaaaaahhh I'm going to need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too, m'kay?

The printer they destroy? We had one of those… I don’t remember what happened to it.

That movie is so tragically accurate, I worked with a guy who insisted everyone from team lead above had to watch it as part of their new staff orientation. Sadly, the upper echelons didn’t see the value.

 

[RoscoeElegante]

Yeeaaaaaahhh I'm going to need you to go ahead and come in on Sunday too, m'kay?

"Since you're already down here, it would be great if you could get a can
of pesticide and take care of the cockroach problem we've been having
in here."

 

[Nogoodnamesleft]

I too was a Microsoft admin for many years. Despite my appreciation of all things Unix and Unix-like, there was nothing for larger-scale network management like Active Directory. You couldn’t be a knucklehead and keep it flying straight. And, boy, could it wreak havoc when it wasn’t well managed.

That said, how wonderful for me to be 1) retired from IT; and 2) back to Linux (Mint) as my personal OS. Though I do keep a Windows 11 VM on standby. For what, I don’t know. But I had a license lying around, so . . . .

At one point I did a bit of AD admin. With great power comes great responsibility. Tinkerers who dreamt up all sorts of juicy control in Group Policy sometimes found themselves hated - especially when someone else had to maintain things later. Good times…

 

[Nogoodnamesleft]

When I started as a new employee at a university, the central administration, which I reported to, had also just hired a new computer tech. I kind of knew what I was doing on a computer, so this new guy gave me a profile that allowed me to install stuff on my computer and configure stuff the way I wanted. Those permissions lasted through 21 years. No subsequent tech ever modified them. I still had to use Windows or Mac. I asked about Linux, but they said no.

Now I am retired and using Linux Mint and LibreOffice. Retirement is good. Microsoft is not.

How did you fly under the radar for 21 years? Teach me your ways…

 

[Metacaster]

I used to grumble about MS365. Then I worked at a Google shop. Man, if I never have to use that buggy crap through a clunky outdated (updates managed at a corporate level) Chrome browser again, I'll die a happy man. You get the added benefits of the barebones IT team not keeping up with Google's monthly product rename/discontinue/merge/overhaul, and then a bunch of "not founds" and "not alloweds" on your end. Then a bunch of "gmail" bosses, who are a genre slightly distinct from the dreaded LinkedIn boss. They don't know what the cloud is, only that they fear it. (And keep asking utter nonsense like, "Well, the email was on my phone; how do I get it on my laptop?") And they are paid more than you, so they won't listen to you explain it.

 

[getbent]

I used to grumble about MS365. Then I worked at a Google shop. Man, if I never have to use that buggy crap through a clunky outdated (updates managed at a corporate level) Chrome browser again, I'll die a happy man. You get the added benefits of the barebones IT team not keeping up with Google's monthly product rename/discontinue/merge/overhaul, and then a bunch of "not founds" and "not alloweds" on your end. Then a bunch of "gmail" bosses, who are a genre slightly distinct from the dreaded LinkedIn boss. They don't know what the cloud is, only that they fear it. (And keep asking utter nonsense like, "Well, it was on my phone; how do I get it on my laptop?) And they are paid more than you, so they won't listen to you explain it.

and see, I came to a place where they standardized on Google Workspace and it works fine. We buy add ons, if someone is in need of MS Office, we provide it... it is amazing if you give people what they ask for, they will still struggle if they suck, but they pretty much shut up and get to work.

 

[imwjl]

and see, I came to a place where they standardized on Google Workspace and it works fine. We buy add ons, if someone is in need of MS Office, we provide it... it is amazing if you give people what they ask for, they will still struggle if they suck, but they pretty much shut up and get to work.

Yes, the products do basically work. My point in this thread and others for bringing up the scale to folks is show that problems for things not working are usually a "look in the mirror" scenario. Adding up the Alphabet and Microsoft seats for paid/pro/first tier products is usually 400+ million people at them while we complain. Headlines would be different if 400 million and most businesses could not work.

A lot of those integrations and add ons are same if you are a Google or Microsoft tenant. Even consumers mostly here should know the stuff in Google's and Microsoft's "stores" means the products are vetted and typically easy to manage. Again, that matter of hundreds of millions using it all the time.

There are not good answers for some of the complaints brought up here for how IT staff works except my suggestion to approach it with attitudes that don't make people defensive. There are great tutorials on that. Have AI draft your messages LOL. That often insures best ways to state a message.

I'm win 10! Does that mean they will stop soon?

There's a lot of simple and good instruction plus options put out by Microsoft and more on handling the upcoming end of support and end of life scenarios. In addition to my point that Pro version gets you more control, the pro or first tier level hardware overall is fewer headaches and better performance. Unless you by some cheap loss leader crappy thing, they don't cost much more. Often the cost is that about $100 for Pro version of Windows.

You do want to keep up at security updates and basic training for it. Our former ownership policy of much support to staff would illustrate the importance and how much better people did when they did not buy cheap craptops from department stores. The absolute most no nonsense works well if you want to stay a Windows user is consider the Microsoft Surface line. Consider it a lot like getting Pixel brand for Google stuff or how Apple stuff is.

Security underpins most of this change. Your mindset needs to be security incidents are "when" and not "if" or "not me".