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Add
Excel's Map Button to the Toolbar
If you
find that you often use Excel's Map feature for your charts, you might
like to place a Map button in the standard Excel toolbar. To do this,
choose Tools|Customize. When the Customize dialog box opens, click the
Commands tab. Now, click Insert in the "Categories" list. In the
"Commands" list (on the right side of the dialog box), locate the Map icon
and drag it to the toolbar. When you release the mouse button, the Map
icon will anchor itself in the toolbar. |
|
Adding a Macro to the Word
Toolbar
In the
last tip, we discussed how to record a simple Word macro. This time, let's
look at how to make your macro more useful by placing it into the Word
toolbar.
Run Word and choose Tools|Customize. When the Customize dialog box opens,
click the Commands tab. Now, locate Macros in the "Categories" list. On
the right side of the dialog box, you will see your new macro's name. Use
the mouse to drag the name to the Word toolbar.
With the Customize dialog box still open, click Modify Selection. Set the
name to whatever you would like to use and press Enter. Now, click Close
to close the dialog box.
You can now run your new macro by simply clicking its button in the
toolbar. |
|
Changing Case in a Word
Document
Suppose
you just finished a major Word document. This document has numerous titles
and subtitles and you did them all in uppercase. Now, you've decided that
you really don't like them in uppercase and you'd rather use title case.
You won't have to go through the entire document and change each letter to
the correct case. All you have to do is select each title and choose
Format|Change Case. When the Change Case dialog opens, select the "Title
case" radio button and click OK. |
|
Changing the Font in Excel
If you
don't always want to use the default Excel font (Arial), you can choose
another font. Suppose that you would like to use something like Britannic
Bold in column A. Click the column A label (at the top of the column) and
then choose Format|Cells. When the Format Cells dialog box opens, click
the Font tab. Select Britannic Bold from the Font list and click OK to
close the dialog box and apply your new font selection. |
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Creating Tables in Word 2000
You can quickly create Tables in Word documents using only the plus and
minus signs. Try this: Type
+---+
and press Enter. This creates a single cell table. To create a table with
four cells, you would type
+---+---+---+---+
followed by Enter.
If this doesn't work for you, the option is probably turned off. To
activate it, choose Tools, AutoCorrect. When AutoCorrect opens, click the
AutoFormat As You Type tab. Now select the check box labeled "'Tables" and
click OK to apply your settings and close the dialog box.
|
|
Fill Colors for Word Text Boxes
You know that you can
add color to a Word text box. But what if you would like to add a color
gradient to a text box? Try this. Open a blank Word document and choose
Insert Text Box. Use the mouse to draw the text box. Now, click the text
box to select it and choose Format|Text Box. When the dialog box opens,
under "Fill" click the arrow at the right side of the "Color" list box and
choose Fill Effects.
When the Fill Effects dialog opens, select the radio button labeled "Two
colors." Select your two colors and the orientation you want to use. Click
OK to close the dialog box and apply your settings. Back in Format Text
Box, click OK again to close the dialog box. |
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Back To The Top! |
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Freezing Excel Worksheets
Why would you want to
freeze an Excel worksheet? Well, suppose you have a long worksheet. The
title is at the top of the page and, when you scroll down through the
worksheet, the title disappears. If this is a problem for you, just click
a cell somewhere below the title (and any other information you want to
remain on screen). Now, choose Window|Freeze Panes.
At this point, you can scroll down through your worksheet and the title
(all cells above where you clicked) will remain in place. To undo this
operation and return the worksheet to normal, choose Window|Unfreeze
Panes. |
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Increasing the
Number of Recent Files in Excel
If you often work
with specific worksheets over a period of time, then you probably use the
Recent Files list to open worksheets. By default, Excel (and the other
Office 2000 programs) saves the four most recent files in the list. If you
could use more than four, run Excel and choose Tools|Options. When the
Options dialog opens, click the General tab. Use the "Recently used file
list" spin box to increase the number to as much as nine. |
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Insert a Bitmap into a Word
Document
Let's say that you
want to insert a specific bitmapped picture into a Word document. The file
you want to insert is named mypict.bmp and it's located in \My Pictures.
Click where you want the picture to appear in the document and choose
Insert|Picture|From File. When the Insert Picture dialog opens, locate the
My Pictures folder (if necessary) and then double-click mypict.bmp. This
will insert the picture into the document. Now you can use the mouse to
size and locate the picture as you wish. |
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Inserting Multiple ClipArt
Objects
It's often necessary
to insert more than one ClipArt picture into a Word document or PowerPoint
slide. You don't have to reopen the Insert ClipArt dialog box for each
picture. Just choose Insert|Picture|ClipArt. When the Insert ClipArt
dialog box opens, right-click a picture you want to use and choose Insert.
Now, move to another picture and again right-click and choose Insert. When
you're finished inserting pictures, click the Close box (the X in the
upper right corner) to dismiss the Clip dialog box. |
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Multiple Drawing Objects
in PowerPoint
When you want to draw
an object, say a rectangle, on a PowerPoint slide, you click the Rectangle
tool and use the mouse to make your drawing. So, if you want to make ten
rectangles, do you have to click the Rectangle tool, make your drawing,
then click the rectangle tool again, etc.? Not at all. All you have to do
is double-click the Rectangle tool. Then you can draw as many rectangles
as you wish. This works with Oval, Line, Arrow, and Rectangle. When you're
finished with the drawing tool, press Esc. |
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Back To The Top!! |
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Working with Word Tables
When you have some
data to place in a Word document, you'll find that data looks better if
you place it in a table. As an example, let's say that you have data that
requires four columns across the page and three rows down the page. Choose
Table|Insert|Table. When the dialog box opens, use the spin boxes to set
the number of columns and rows and then click OK to continue. Now, enter
your data into the table. To format the table, select it and choose
Table|Table AutoFormat. Select one of the formats and click OK. |
|
PowerPoint Shortcut Keys
For those who like to
use keyboard shortcuts wherever possible, here is a list of PowerPoint
shortcuts.
Ctrl + M -- Insert new slide
Ctrl + D -- Duplicate the current slide F5 -- Run a slide show
Ctrl + B -- Set text to bold
Ctrl + I -- Set text to Italic
Ctrl + K -- Insert a hyperlink
Ctrl + A -- Select all
Ctrl + C -- Copy
Ctrl + V -- Paste Ctrl + S -- Save
Ctrl + P -- Print |
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Printing Excel Formulas
When you print an
Excel worksheet, you get the result of any formulas. What if you would
like to print a worksheet that displays the formulas rather than the
results? To do this, choose Tools|Options. When the Options dialog box
opens, click the View tab. Under "Window options," select the "Formulas"
check box and then click OK to close the dialog box and save your changes.
The worksheet will now display all the formulas appear. Choose File|Print
and press Enter. The formulas will appear on the printout.
This selection remains in effect in the current worksheet until you change
it by deselecting the "Formulas" check box. When you open a new worksheet,
Excel automatically defaults to displaying the value in a cell rather than
the formula. |
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Recording a Word Macro
Whenever you have a
need to run a group of Word commands, you can shorten the steps by
recording a macro. As a simple example, let's suppose that, at the end of
each day, you always scroll down to the bottom of your document and choose
File, Save to save the document, and then File, Exit to close Word.
To record a macro to perform these steps, choose Tools|Macro|Record New
Macro. When the dialog box opens, type in a name for the macro and click
OK. Now, press Ctrl + End to move to the end of the document, then choose
File|Save to save the document. And finally, choose File|Exit to close
Word. Word will now ask if you want to save the macro. Click Yes and Word
will close.
Run Word again and open your document. With the macro in place, you can
press Alt + F8 to open the Macros dialog box. Double-click your new
macro's name to perform all the steps that you recorded.
Back To The Top
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Changing Your Office Assistant
If you're tired of the paperclip-shaped Office Assistant, you can try one
of the other cartoon characters. Here's how.
Run Word and press F1 to open the Office Assistant and then click Options
to open the Office Assistant dialog box. Click the Gallery tab and click
Next to view the cartoon characters available to you. If you didn't load
them all during your initial Office 2000 setup, you will need to insert
the Setup disc into your CD-ROM drive. Make your choice and follow the
instructions to load your selection. |
|
A bookmark is a location or selected text
on a page that you have marked.
You can use bookmarks as a destination for
a hyperlink. For example, if you want to display a certain section of a
page to the site visitor, add a hyperlink with the bookmark as its
destination. When the site visitor clicks the hyperlink, the relevant part
of the page is displayed, rather than the top of the page.
You can also use one or more bookmarks to
find locations on a page. For example, add a bookmark to each main heading
on a page. When you are editing the page, you can quickly find each
section by going to the corresponding bookmark.
If a location (rather than text) is
bookmarked, the bookmark is indicated by
 . If
text is bookmarked, the text is displayed with a dashed underline.
1.
In Page view, position the insertion point where you want to create
a bookmark, or select the text to which you want to assign the bookmark.
2.
On the Insert menu, click Bookmark.
3.
In the Bookmark name box, type the name of the
bookmark (spaces are allowed.) |
Creating Random Numbers in
Excel
Several people have recently asked if we know a way to generate random
numbers in Excel. Oddly enough, all these people wanted numbers in the
lottery format.
For this to work, you must load the Analysis ToolPak. Choose Tools|Add-Ins.
When the dialog box opens, select the "Analysis ToolPak" check box and
click OK. Close Excel (File|Exit) and run it again. Now, you can generate
random numbers.
Let's say that you want to generate six random numbers, each between 1 and
99. Click in cell A1 and enter
=randbetween(1,99)
Now, click cell A1 again, and this time use the mouse to grab the handle
at the lower right corner of the cell. When the mouse pointer turns to a
crosshairs, drag to the right to cell F1. Each time you press F9, Excel
will generate a new set of random numbers.
Will Excel help you win the lottery? The odds remain the same no matter
where you get your numbers -- similar to the odds in favor of
simultaneously being bitten by a cobra and struck by lightning while
walking down a London street on a clear day in January.
Back To The Top
|
Drawing a Perfect Object
in PowerPoint
Even if you can't draw a straight line on paper, you can in PowerPoint.
Just select the Line tool and then hold down the Shift key while you draw
the line. For a perfect circle, click the Oval tool and hold down Shift
while you draw the circle. And, of course, you can use the Rectangle tool
and the Shift key to draw a perfect square.
This technique also works in Word and Excel.
|
How to Insert a
Picture into a Word Table Cell
If you have a picture that you would like to place in a Word table, open
the picture in a picture editor (Microsoft Photo Editor is included in
Office 2000). Select the picture and then press Ctrl + C to copy it to the
Clipboard. Now, click in the cell that you want the picture to appear in
and choose Edit|Paste Special. When the Dialog box opens, select the
"Picture" radio button and click OK to paste the picture.
|
Look For A Recently Used Word
File
Suppose you're running Word 2000 and you want to open a document that you
used earlier in the day. Unfortunately, you can't remember the document's
name and it's no longer visible in the Recent Files list. No problem --
just choose File>>Open. When the Open dialog box appears, click History
and you'll see a list of the last 20 files that you've worked with.
Double-click the one you want and you're in business.
|
Nesting Tables In Word
You know you can insert a table into a Word document, but did you know
that you can insert a table into the table? Try this: run Word and choose
Table>>Insert>>Table. When the dialog box opens click OK. Now that you've
inserted a table, click in one of its cells and choose
Table>>Insert>>Table. Click OK and you now have a table within a table. If
you wish, you can insert a table within the table within the table.
|
Removing A Hyperlink In Word
Suppose you copy a document from the Internet and paste it into a Word
document. You will often find that there are a few hyperlinks in the
copied document. The problem is that you don't want everyone who uses the
document to click on URLs and head off into the Internet. To turn those
hyperlinks into plain text, select the link and press Ctrl + K. When the
Edit Hyperlink dialog box opens, click Remove Link.
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Repairing Your Office 2000
Files
Nothing can mess up a program more than damaged or missing DLL files.
Since corrupted DLLs are a fact of life, Microsoft has included in Office
2000 a way to solve the corrupt or missing DLL problem. All you have to do
is have your original installation disc ready to use and run any Office
2000 program. Now, choose Help>>Detect and Repair. When the dialog box
opens, click Start. From this point on, just follow the instructions.
Back To The Top
|
Saving And Closing Word
Documents
Suppose that you commonly work with several documents open simultaneously.
When it comes time to save the documents, you can save the active document
by choosing File>>Save. Then you can close that document and choose
File>>Save for the next one. Or, you can save a lot of time and hold down
the Shift key while you choose File>>Save All. This will save all the
loaded documents.
If you would like to close all the open documents, hold down Shift and
choose File>>Close All. |
Selecting a Column of Text in
Word
You know that you can use the mouse to select text in a Word document.
But, what happens if you need to select a column of text? For example, you
may have a multi-column list with the headings "Fruits" and "Vegetables,"
with different examples of each in the appropriate column. Suppose now
that you want to select only the names of the vegetables. Just click to
the left of the first appropriate entry and hold down the Alt key while
you select the rest of the column. |
Text Formatting In Powerpoint
There are times when you may want certain words to stand out in your text.
You can select each word and apply new formatting (bold, Italic, etc.).
Or, you can apply new formatting to one word and then copy that format to
other words using Format Painter.
To see how Format Painter works, run PowerPoint and open a slide show.
Select a word on one of the slides and double-click the Format Painter
button in the Toolbar (its icon is a paint brush). Now you can use the
mouse to click any words to which you want to apply the selected format.
When you're finished, press Esc to turn off the Format Painter.
|
Text Wrapping In Excel Cells
When you enter a long line of text into an Excel cell, the text usually
appears across multiple columns. If you want all the text to appear in a
single cell, you can tell Excel to wrap the text. To do this, all you have
to do is type in a line and then press Alt + Enter to get to the next
line.
Note that Excel will change the cell's height to accommodate the text.
Back To The Top
|
Using Your Old
Powerpoint Presentations
After you've been creating PowerPoint slide shows for a while, you'll find
that you have quite a collection of old shows. Many of these old shows
will contain some slides that you could use again in new slide shows. So,
let's look at how to copy an old slide to a new slide show.
Run PowerPoint and open a blank slide. Choose Insert>>Picture>>ClipArt and
insert any picture that you happen to like. Now, choose Insert>>Slides
from Files. When the Slide Finder opens, click Browse and locate the
PowerPoint file from which you would like to import some slides.
Double-click the file's icon to open it in the Slide Finder dialog box.
Click a slide and then click Insert to insert that slide into your new
show. After you finish importing slides, click Close.
|
When You Need A Synonym In Word
When writing a document, you may often wonder if a specific word is the
right one to use. The problem is that you really can't think of a good
synonym at the moment. So, let Word 2000 help. Just right-click the word
in question and choose (select, pick, opt for) Synonyms. All you have to
do now is select the word you want to use. Even if Word has no synonym to
suggest, you can always select Thesaurus from the right-click menu and go
from there.
Back To The Top
|
|
There
are many more coming!! |
|
Outlook 2000 Tips and Tricks!! |
Change That Font!
To change the Default Font used by Outlook Express simply click on Tools
and then Stationery from the menu bar. Here you can set the Default font
for both Mail and News. Using this technique, you can make your email more
lively and/or individualistic. |
Change That Sound!
Its simple to change the notification sound you hear when new email
arrives. Simply go to Control Panel and open the Sounds applet. From the
list of "Events," choose "New Mail Notification." In Sound, you can browse
for .wav files, and preview them. When you've found one you like, click OK |
Change The Data File Location!
To change the location of your data files used by Outlook Express, first
move the files to the new location. Your old files can be found at
\Windows \ Application Data \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express.
You should simply copy the files first, and make sure OE is correctly
storing your files in the new location. Then you can delete the old files.
* Close Outlook Express
* Start the Registry Editor
* Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express
* Find the value named "Store Root" in the right-hand pane
* Double-click and enter the complete path to the new location
* Close the Registry Editor
Back To The Top
|
Change Your Perspective!
If you’d rather see a list of recurring appointments instead of the
standard Day/Week/Month view that Outlook presents you with, head to the
View menu and its Current View option. Here, you can opt to see events,
active appointments, recurring appointments and more, including your own
personalized views. |
Destination: Mail!
If you want to be certain that a message has been received (and/or read),
go to the Options tab. At the bottom, you will see Tracking Options.
Simply make sure that this box is checked if you wish to be notified when
the message has been delivered, or when it has been read, or both. Now
you'll know whether or not that cute accountant in Payroll is reading your
love notes or simply ignoring you! |
Ditch That Splash Screen!
If you want Outlook Express to start without showing the Splash screen,
then follow these simple steps:
* Start the Registry Editor
* Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Software \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express
* Right-click an open area in the right pane, and select New and then
DWORD Value
* Name it NoSplash
* Double-click this entry and add the value 1
* Exit Registry Editor
To start showing the splash screen again, simply rename the value to 0.
Back To The Top
|
Filter The News!
Newsgroups are usually filled to the brim these days, so you might want to
use Outlook's filtering option to view only the postings in which you are
interested.
Select Tools and then Newsgroup Filters from the main menu. Click Add to
create a new filter. In the Where To Filter section, select the newsgroups
you want to filter, then add your own info to the "Do not show messages
that meet the following criteria" section. For example, if you know that a
certain "nerd" use the same email address for all his postings, enter that
address in the From line. If a certain news thread has become long and
annoying, you can avoid it by typing the subject line in the Subject box.
You may also want to choose to avoid messages over a certain age. |
Mail Back-Up Made Easy!
To back up your mail message files, simply follow these steps:
* First, review your mail message folders and delete any unneeded messages
* Click the File menu, select Folder and then Compact All Folders
* Find the files with the extension .mbx and .idx on your computer. These
files are usually located in a folder under C:\Windows \ Application Data
\ Microsoft \ Outlook Express \ Mail. The files might be in a different
folder if you did not accept the default folders during setup.
* Copy the files to a backup folder on your computer, a floppy disk, or a
network drive. Now you have a 'safe' archive of all your mail messages. |
Make That Link Live!
You can easily make any part of a message a hyperlink. Simply click on
Compose or, if reading a message you want to reply to, click on Reply.
Type in your link and highlight the part you want to be 'clickable.' While
the selection is highlighted, click on Insert on the mail tool bar and
select hyperlink from the drop-down menu. Select what type of hyperlink
you want and then type or paste in where you want to send your reader.
Note: The link won't work until the message has been sent/posted.
Back To The Top
|
Newsgroup Server Time Out!
If you ever get an error message that says your connection has timed-out
and that you have been disconnected from the News Server, adjust your
timeout settings by following the steps below.
* In Outlook Express News, select Accounts from the Tools menu.
* Select the appropriate account.
* Press Properties and select the Advanced tab.
* Adjust the Slider to set your Server timeout. |
Don't Forget The Holidays!
You can easily add holidays from dozens of countries to your calendar.
Simply click Options from the Tools menu and select the Preferences tab.
Then, after clicking the Calendar Options button, find the Add Holidays
button, place check marks in the appropriate boxes, and click OK. |
Save And Use Those Cool Images!
Did you know you could easily save cool images you encounter while surfing
the Web and then reuse them in your email? Simply right click on the image
you want and choose "Save Image As." Either accept the default name, or
give it one of your own. Save the image to your hard drive, and when you
want to send it to someone else, simply copy and paste into the body of
your email text.
Back To The Top
|
Save That Sound!
Saving sounds you encounter on the Web or that have been emailed to you
couldn't be easier! Just right click on the sound file you want to save
and choose the "Save As" option. With OE5, the correct graphic extension
will be applied automatically. |
Save That Stationery!
Outlook makes saving a file as stationery very easy. While reading the
mail message or news message with the stationery you'd like to keep,
simply click on "File" in the Outlook Express tool bar and select "Save As
Stationery."
You will be prompted to provide a name for the file. |
Send That Mail HTML!
Did you know Outlook Express allows you to create and view email in HTML
instead of plain text? To create an HTML message, click the Compose
Message button on the main menu. In the New Message window, select Rich
Text (HTML) from the Format menu. A new toolbar appears that contains
standard HTML formatting buttons for fonts, lists, bullets, lines, links
and images. You can use these buttons to create slick HTML email that your
recipients can view either in HTML-ready email programs or in a Web
browser.
You can permanently change the settings (to send all your email (or news)
in HTML or Plain Text) by selecting Tools > Options from the menu, on the
Send tab you can choose how you want to send your email and news.
Back To The Top
|
Sending An Excel File Via Email
If you like, you can send an Excel workbook through email directly from
Excel. You must, however, be using Microsoft Outlook or Exchange. Just
follow these simple steps.
* From the File menu, select Send To.
* Click Mail Recipient.
* Now, address the blank email form that appears and send it.
Back To The Top
|
View Those Replies!
If you would like to view only those replies to your posts in a newsgroup,
then use this simple process. From the View menu, choose Current View >
Replies to My Posts. This makes it easy to see only the responses to your
posts, which is especially helpful if you're seeking answers to specific
questions from the users in a particular newsgroup. |
You Too Can Become A
Journalist!
Did you know there's a virtual diary that can track projects; contacts; or
categories, including e-mail messages, meetings, and task requests? It's
called the Journal, and although the Journal icon appears right in the
Outlook bar, it must be turned on and told what to do. Simply open the
Journal icon, click Tools, then Options. In Outlook 97, click the Journal
tab; in Outlook 98, click the Preferences tab, followed by the Journal
Options button. Outlook 2000 users will find the main Journal icon under
the My Shortcuts area of the Outlook bar.
Back To The Top
|
Abbreviate Those Suckers!
When entering appointments in the Calendar, you can save lots of time by
typing abbreviations and allowing Outlook to fill in the rest.
For example, if you want to enter a 6:00 P.M. meeting in the Calendar,
open a new appointment window and type 600p. You can also use phrases such
as "tomorrow" or "next Monday," and Outlook will automatically insert the
correct date. |
Change Your Title Bar!
You can easily change the text on the Title Bar by following the steps
below.
* Start the Registry Editor
* Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Outlook Express
* Select Edit from the menu
* Select New and then String Value
* Call it WindowTitle
* Now double-click this entry and insert your text
* Close the Registry editor and restart Outlook
Be Very Careful
With This One!!!
Back To The Top
|
Delayed Mail
Did you know you could ask Outlook 98 to hold a message in your Outbox
until the date and time you specify?
* Simply compose your new message as usual, but before sending it off
click the Options button.
* Select "Do not deliver before," then click the down arrow and select a
date.
* Click Close.
Outlook will send the message as soon as the specified date and time
arrive. |
Import Those Addresses!
With Outlook, you can import address books from other mail programs
quickly and easily. Simply follow the steps below.
* Open the File menu.
* Select Import.
* Click Address Book.
* Select the program you wish to import from.
* Click the Import button. |
Import Those Messages!
With Outlook, you can import messages from other mail programs quickly and
easily. Simply follow the steps below.
* Open the File menu
* Select Import
* Click Messages
* Use the wizard to complete the process
Back To The Top
|
Move Backwards Shift-Spacebar
Simply press Shift-spacebar to jump to the beginning of the current or
previous message. If this tip doesn't work, select Tools, Options. Select
the Other tab, click the Preview Pane button, and make sure "Single key
reading using space bar" is selected.
|
Page Down With The Space Bar
Try this next time you're viewing multiple messages in the preview pane:
To scroll down through the message a page at a time, press the spacebar.
From the end of a message, press spacebar, and you jump to the beginning
of the next message.
If this tip doesn't work, select Tools, Options, select the Other tab,
click the Preview Pane button, and make sure "Single key reading using
space bar" is selected. |
Re-size Those Columns!
Tired of sizing the columns of your email folders manually to accommodate
wide entries? Don't waste time clicking and dragging; instead, let Outlook
autosize your columns for you.
Right-click any column, select Best Fit, and Outlook enlarges (or shrinks)
the column to fit the widest entry. |
Send Someone A Page!
Instead of sending a link to someone through email, why not send the whole
Web page? You can easily send the entire HTML source code to an email
recipient with an HTML capable mail client, and they can view the entire
Web page. In Internet Explorer, simply select Mail and News under the
Tools pulldown menu from the toolbar. Select Send Page.
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|
Talk To The Hand!
Sending out a message to lots of recipients, but don't want to deal with
the replies? Outlook 98 can help direct responses to someone else:
* Compose the message as usual, but before sending it, select View,
Options.
* Under Delivery Options, select Have Replies Sent To.
* Click the Select Names button, select a recipient, and click the Reply
To button.
* Click OK, then click Close and send the message off as usual.
No more nasty replies! Tastes great with Spam, and keeps all those "I'm on
vacation," automated responses from messing up your inbox!
|
View That HTML!
Did you know you could easily view the source code of any HTML message you
receive with Outlook? To quickly view the HTML source code of the message
you are currently viewing, press Ctrl + F2. Now you can see any hidden
comments or formatting, or find embedded image/sound titles for later
reference. |
Work Offline!
Did you know that if you're working offline in Internet Explorer, working
in Outlook Express will be offline as well? Give it a try! You can compose
drafts, read email, or re-arrange and organize your inbox
|
Working The Swing Shift
If you're not working 9 to 5, Monday through Friday, and you'd like to
change the "working hours" in Outlook, give this a try:
* Choose Tools/Options from the menu bar and click Calendar Options.
* Select the days of the week you work and change the Start Time and End
Time
Now Outlook works when you do!
Back To The Top
|
Adding And Removing Toolbar
Buttons
All the Office 2000 programs have toolbars. And, each of these toolbars
contains a number of buttons. Some of the buttons are very useful to you,
and some are not. If you wish, you can easily eliminate the buttons that
you never use. And, don't worry, you can always put them back later if
necessary.
At the far right side of every toolbar in every Office 2000 program,
you'll see a small down arrow. Click the arrow and an Add or Remove
Buttons menu will open. Hold your mouse pointer over the menu to open a
list of buttons. Now you can select or deselect buttons to get just the
right mix you need for your toolbars in each Office 2000 program.
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Autosum In Excel
Did you know that you can just click a button to sum a column of numbers
in Excel? Try this: run Excel and enter numbers in cells A1 through A5.
Now, click in cell A7 and click the Autosum button in the Excel toolbar
(its icon is the Sum symbol--the Greek letter Sigma). Now, just press
Enter and there's your sum. |
Changing Text Size In
Powerpoint
Do you have some text in a PowerPoint slide that you'd like to make either
larger or smaller? The traditional way to change text size is to select
the text and choose Format>>Font, then change the size when the Font
dialog box opens. But, there is also a quicker way. You can select the
text and then press Ctrl + ] to make the text larger. To make the text
smaller, select it and press Ctrl + [. Each time you press the appropriate
key combination, the text will get larger or smaller. Just keep pressing
until the size is what you want. |
Collect And Paste In Excel
All Office 2000 programs can use the new Collect and Paste feature. Let's
use an Excel worksheet for our example. Run Excel and enter numbers or
text into a few cells. Now, click one of the cells and press Ctrl + C to
copy its contents to the Office Clipboard. Move to another cell and copy
its contents as well. At this point, the floating Clipboard toolbar should
open. If it doesn't, choose View>>Toolbars>>Clipboard. Now, click an empty
cell and then click the first Excel icon on the left side of the floating
Clipboard toolbar. The first cell you copied will now appear in the new
cell. Click in another empty cell and click the next Excel icon to paste
its contents into the cell.
After you've finished with the Clipboard contents, you can click the Clear
Clipboard button to clear the contents. Click the Close box (the X in the
upper right corner of the Clipboard toolbar) to exit Clipboard.
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Getting
Paragraph Formatting Information In Word
Suppose that you have a Word document that someone else created. You would
like to know what kind of formatting was used. What do you do? Just press
Shift + F1 to open "What's This?" The cursor will turn to a pointer with a
question mark. Now, click in any paragraph that you want to learn about.
"What's This?" will open a dialog box that displays all the paragraph's
formatting information. When you're finished, press Esc to exit.
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Going Home In Excel
Let's say that you're working around the H345 area. You would now like to
move to cell A1. Just press Ctrl + Home and Excel will take you to cell
A1. Suppose that you would like to select all the cells from the current
cell to A1. In this case, you would press Ctrl + Shift + Home.
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Inserting A Blank Line In
Powerpoint
When you're entering text into a PowerPoint entry box, each line is
preceded by a bullet. This is fine most of the time, but what happens when
all you want is a simple blank line -- no text, no bullet -- between two
bulleted lines? Here's how.
Let's say that you want to enter a bulleted line followed by a blank line,
followed by another bulleted line. Enter the first line, then hold down
the Shift key and press Enter. Release the Shift key and press Enter
again. Now you can enter the next bulleted line.
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One Way To Speed Up
Scrolling In Word 2000
If you create a Word document that includes numerous pictures, you may
find that the document scrolls more slowly than you would like. You can
speed up the scrolling if you hide the graphics. To do this, open your
document and choose Tools>>Options. When the Options dialog box opens,
click the View tab. Now, deselect the check box labeled "Drawings" and
click OK to close the dialog box.
The pictures are still there, but will not appear until you select
"Drawings" again.
Note that this selection applies to all Word documents. So, to see
graphics in any of your documents, you will have to open the Options
dialog box again and select "Drawings."
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Opening Multiple Files In Excel
Many Excel users work with four or five worksheets open at the same time.
When you run Excel, you can open each worksheet individually, or you can
use an Office 2000 feature to open them all. Run Excel and choose
File>>Open. When the Open dialog appears, click on the first file you want
to open. Now, hold down the Ctrl key while you click on the other files
that you want to open. After you select all your files, click Open.
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Previewing Word-Web Pages
Do you create Web pages with Word 2000? If so, you might like to know that
you can see how your Web page looks in a browser without having to leave
Word and run the browser. All you have to do is choose File>>Web Page
Preview. This will open your default browser with your current page
loaded. |
Print Word Document Properties
To print a Word document, all you have to do is choose File>>Print. But
what about the document properties? What if you would like a hard copy of
the document's styles, comments, key assignments, etc.? Just choose
File>>Print. When the Print dialog box opens, click the arrow at the right
side of the "Print what" list box and select what you want to print.
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Selecting Massive
Amounts Of Text In Word
It's easy enough to use the mouse to select text in Word -- as long as all
the text you want to select is on the screen. But, if you use the mouse to
select several pages of text, you'll find that it isn't an easy task.
There is an easy way to select a lot of text though -- just click where
you want to start your selection. Now, use Page Down, or the scroll bars,
to move to the end point of your selection. Hold down the Shift key and
click at the end point. This will select all the text between the two
points.
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Short And Long Menus In
Office 2000
By default, all Office 2000 programs display shortened menus. Some people
like this, and some don't. We have had a number of ex-Office 97 users ask
how to make Office 2000 display only the long menus. Here's how to do
this.
Open an Office 2000 program -- Word will do -- and choose
Tools>>Customize. When the dialog box opens, click the Options tab. Now,
deselect the check box labeled 'Menus show recently used commands first'
and then click Close to dismiss the dialog box and save your selections.
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Using Word's Spike
Remember those deadly-looking spikes that you used to see on some desks?
You would finish a paper and then impale it on the spike. This was a good
way to keep track of the paperwork, and people very seldomly impaled their
hands. Anyhow, Word has a spike too. It isn't as sharp and dangerous as
the old time spike, and it's primarily used to move text from one place to
another in a Word document. To test Word's spike, select some text in a
Word document and then press Ctrl + F3. This will cut the text and place
it on the spike. If you like, select some more text and then press Ctrl +
F3.
Now, let's recover the text. Click where you want the text to appear and
press Ctrl + Shift + F3. All the text you placed on the spike will appear
at the new location. |
Working With Caps Lock In Word
Almost everyone accidentally hits the Caps Lock key now and then. Then you
start typing and the case is all reversed. But, not when you use Word
2000. To see how this works, run Word and press the Caps Lock key. Now,
type in "WORD." All caps just as you would expect. Now hold down the Shift
key and type "word" again. All lowercase -- still just as expected.
Finally, hold down Shift and type "W," then release the Shift key and type
"ord." This time, Word will turn off the Caps Lock and produce "Word" with
the correct capitalization.
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Add Background Images
With Outlook Express 5, you can add background images to any e-mail:
* In the New Message window, choose Format + Background + Picture.
* In the Background Picture dialog box, click Browse and choose a picture
from your disk drive.
* Click OK. |
Create E-Mail Messages Offline
To create e-mail messages quickly, without loading Outlook, try this:
* Select Start>>Run.
* Type "mailto:" (without quotes) in the Open box.
* Click OK.
* Compose as usual, and click Send.
No bother, no fuss! |
Delete Those Holidays!
Want to delete all those old Holidays at once? Here's how:
* Choose the View menu and select Current View, Events
* Click the Location column and sort the holidays by country
* Click the first holiday you want to delete, then hold down Shift as you
click the last
* Right-click the selection and choose Delete
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Don't Open Suspect Attachments!
Outlook is notorious for being susceptible to viruses spread in the form
of attachments, and then using your address book to automatically forward
the virus to everyone you regularly email. For your own safety (and the
safety of your friends and business associates) be extremely leery of
opening email attachments with strange suffixes (.vbs, .exe, etc.) even
from people you know.
If you receive an attachment that you're not expecting, double check with
the sender before detaching it or opening it. If you receive an attachment
that you know to be a virus, delete it immediately! It also pays to stay
abreast of new viruses and other issues by checking frequently at the
Microsoft Outlook web site.
Sure, you might miss the latest joke and/or naughty .gif photo, but at
least you and your data will be safe!
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Drafted!
If you try to close a message without sending it, Outlook Express asks
whether you want to save it to the Drafts folder. You can return to this
draft any time by following these simple steps:
* Click the Drafts folder.
* Double-click the message you're interested in.
* Edit the message, then click Send. |
Email Follow Up
Did you know you could tell Outlook to remind you later to respond to an
important e-mail? Simply follow these easy steps:
* Right-click the message.
* Select Flag For Follow Up from the shortcut menu.
* Select the type of action you want to perform from the Flag To drop-down
list.
* From the Reminder drop-down calendar, select the date Outlook should
remind you.
* Click OK. |
Holiday Madness!
Did you know you can type the word "tomorrow" in a date field and Outlook
will automatically insert the correct date? It's like magic! You can also
type words like "yesterday," "today," "next Friday," or even "Christmas"
and Outlook will insert the correct date. However, this trick only works
with holidays that fall on the same date every year.
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Limit That Download!
Don't want to download huge attachments while on the road? Who does? Try
this instead:
* Choose Tools + Inbox Assistant.
* Inside the Inbox Assistant, click the Add button.
* Select the Larger Than box and set this number to the desired limit (800
KB, for example).
* Select Do Not Download from the Server.
* Click OK twice.
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Peek Under The Hood
While the Properties command is not available when you right-click a
message in Outlook 98, it IS available from an open message window. To
view a message's properties, double-click the message to open it (in a
separate window), then pull down the File menu and select Properties.
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Quick Toggle
Do you keep a folder list hidden, to allow for maximum viewing of your
message list? If you want the folder list back on the desktop, you don't
have to go to the View menu. Simply click the name of the folder currently
open to display the drop-down folder list -- it'll have a small down arrow
next to it. When the folder list opens, click the pushpin in its
upper-left corner to make it stick. When you're done, click the "X" in the
folder list's upper-right corner to send it back into hiding.
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Save That Space!
To save space on your hard drive, you can have Outlook empty the Deleted
Items folder automatically each time you close Outlook. To activate this
option, select Tools>>Options>>Other. In the General section select the
checkbox for Empty the Deleted Items Folder Upon Exiting.
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Size Those Folders!
Here's an easy way to see how much space an e-mail folder is eating up on
your hard drive:
* In the Folder Bar or Outlook Bar, right-click the folder.
* Select Properties.
* Read the size (in parentheses) next to the number of files in the
folder. |
Slide Show!
When someone sends you a message with multiple pictures attached, why
bother with opening and closing them one by one? Simply view the pictures
as a slide show:
* Choose Tools>>Options, and click on the Read tab.
* Select Show Multiple Pictures as a Slide-Show.
* Make sure that Automatically Show Picture Attachments in Message is also
selected.
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Turn Down The Sound
Want to turn off the annoying sounds in Outlook? Try this:
* Select Tools>>Options, and then choose E-mail Options on the Preferences
tab.
* Select Advanced E-mail Options, then uncheck Play A Sound.
* Click OK until you exit all of the dialog boxes.
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Viewing Attachments
Without Opening Them
When you attach a text file to an e-mail message, you may sometimes want
to check that the file you're sending is the one you wanted to send.
Here's how to take a quick peek:
* In the New Message window, right-click the Attachment file.
* Choose Quick View from the pop-up menu.
Now you see it, now you don't! |
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