Research Options in PowerPoint 365 for Windows

Have you ever wondered why the reference sources that are shown within the Research Task Pane in Microsoft Office programs such as Word, PowerPoint, etc. differ from computer to computer? Some computers may show extra thesauri or more options. Why does that happen? And can you control which sites show up within your Research Task Pane? Yes, you can control to a certain extent via Research options.

Follow these steps to explore Research options in PowerPoint 365 for Windows:

1. Launch PowerPoint. Now, press both the Alt and T keys together, and next press R and access to the Review tab of the Ribbon.


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2. This action opens the Research Task Pane on the right side of the PowerPoint 365 interface, as shown in Figure 1, below. To see the Research tools available, click the All Reference Books option, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 1.
3. 
   Figure 1: Click the All Reference Books option
3. Doing so brings up a drop-down list of Research tools available, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 2, below. To customize what is available, click Research options link at the bottom of this the Research Task Pane, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 2.
4. 
   Figure 2: Research Options button in the Task Pane
4. Doing so brings up the Research Options dialog box, as shown in Figure 3, below.
5. 
   Figure 3: Research Options dialog box
6. Options in this dialog box are explained below, as marked in Figure 3, above:

A. Services

7. You can choose which reference services to show by selecting or deselecting the relevant check-boxes. For example, if you want to include both US and UK thesaurii, select both check-boxes. To find out more about any particular service, select it and click the Properties button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 3, above. This action shows the Service Properties dialog box as shown in Figure 4, below that provides you with details of the selected service. You can also set the selected service as a favorite by clicking the Favorite button, as shown highlighted in blue within Figure 3.
8. 
   Figure 4: Service Properties dialog box

B. Add Services

9. Click the Add Services button to summon a dialog box with the same name as shown in Figure 5, below. Here, you can select any available services (if they do show up). Alternatively, type the web address of the service provider within the Address box, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 5. Next, click the Add button, shown highlighted in blue within Figure 5.
10. 
    Figure 5: Add Services in the Research Pane

C. Update/Remove

11. You can update services, or even remove ones you don't use by clicking the Update/Remove… button. Doing so opens the Update or Remove Services dialog box, as shown in Figure 6, below.
12. 
    Figure 6: Update or Remove Services
13. Select any of the services, and you can update by clicking the Update… button, as shown highlighted in red within Figure 6, above, or remove it altogether by clicking the Remove button, highlighted in blue within Figure 6. Note that the Remove button might be grayed out for some services.

D. Parental Control

14. If you want to prevent any specific content from being available, you can apply a Parental lock by clicking Parental Control button. In some cases, this action may bring up the Parental Control dialog box, shown in Figure 7, below that states that you may not have permissions to save any changes.
15. 
    Figure 7: Parental Control dialog box

Using the information explained on this page, you can enable and disable some services.