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Change Word's default picture editor |
When you want to edit a picture in a Microsoft Word
document, you right-click on the picture and select Edit Picture from the resulting shortcut menu.
Word opens a special editing window in which you can modify the picture to whatever specifications you
desire.
However, you may find either Word doesn't offer the
editing features that you're looking for, or you're more
accustomed to editing pictures using a different application. If
either is the case, you can change the default picture-editing
program that Word uses to edit imported pictures. To do so, select
Tools/Options from the menu bar, then click on the Edit tab. The
Picture Editor dropdown list contains picture editors installed
on your system that Word can use as its default picture editor.
Select the program you'd like to use as Word's default picture
editor from the Picture Editor dropdown list, then click OK.
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| Remove a document from Word's Recent Files list |
| If you share a computer with other users, you may find the
Recent Files list, located at the bottom of Word's File menu,
betrays your privacy. This list itemizes the
four most recently opened documents; and, if you click on an
item in the list, Word opens it for you. If you've recently
worked on a private document that you don't want others who use
your computer to know about, you can remove it from the Recent
Files list. To do so, first press [Ctrl][Alt][-]. When you do,
the pointer changes to a minus sign. Select File from the menu
bar, then click on the item in the Recent Files list that you
want to remove. This action removes the item from the list,
reducing it to three items; however, the next time you open a
new file, it will be added to the list so that the list will
again contain four items.
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| Customize the Document Map |
In Word, the Document Map gives you a quick outline
of your document. To view the Document Map, click the Document Map
button on the Standard toolbar or select View/Document Map from
the menu bar. Word opens the Document Map pane to the
left of the document workspace. The Document Map displays any items
in your document to which you've assigned styles that specify an
outline level.
When you select an item in the Document Map, Word automatically
jumps to the corresponding location in the document.
The Document Map's default selection bar colour is Dark Blue
but,
when you select an item in the Document Map, it can be difficult to see
the item through such a dark selection bar.
You can change the colour
of the Document Map's selection bar by modifying the Document Map
style. Select Format/Style from the menu bar, then select
All Styles from the List dropdown list. Next, select Document Map
from the Styles list box, then click Modify. Select Format/Border
in the Modify Style dialog box, then click on the Shading tab.
Select a colour from the Fill colour palette, then click OK to return
to the Modify Style dialog box.
To save the modified Document Map
style to the active document template, select the Add To Template
check box. Click OK to close the Modify Style dialog box, then
click Close to exit the Style dialog box. When you do, the
selection bar in the Document Map reflects your changes.
When you close the active document, you'll be prompted
to save changes to the template the document is based
on; click Yes to save the changes. |
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| Use a desktop shortcut to create a new document based on a
Word template |
To create a new document based on a template other than Word's
global template, Normal.dot, you must start Word, select File/New
from the menu bar, locate and select the template you'd like to
use in the New dialog box, and then click OK. One way to
streamline this process is to record a Word macro that performs
these steps automatically. However, in order to run the macro,
you need to start Word first. If you aren't usually running Word
on your system and use it for little more than creating documents
based on one specific template, consider creating a custom desktop
shortcut instead. By incorporating the /t switch in the shortcut's
command line, you can cause Windows to launch Word and create a
new document based on a specific template, all in one step. To
do so, right-click on the Windows desktop and select New/Shortcut
from the resulting shortcut menu. Enter the following in the
Command Line text box:
"WordPathname" /t "TemplatePathname"
where WordPathname is the pathname to Microsoft Word and
TemplatePathname is the pathname to the template on which you'd
like to base your new Word document. For example, to create a
new document based on Word 97's Professional Letter template,
your command line might look like this:
"C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\Winword.exe" /t"C:\Program
Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\Letters Faxes\Professional Letter.dot"
When you've finished, click Next. Type a name for the shortcut
in the text box provided, then click Finish to add the shortcut to
your desktop. Double-click on the shortcut and Windows launches
Word and creates a new document based on the template you specified
in the shortcut's command line.
If Word is already running
when you double-click on the shortcut, Windows opens a new instance
of Word to create the new document. In addition to the Windows desktop,
you might also find it convenient to store your template
shortcut in the Windows Start menu or the Office
toolbar.
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| Prevent macros from running when you start Word |
You can customise what happens when you launch
Word by creating an AutoExec macro which runs
automatically each time you start Word. You can use this type of
macro to do anything from opening certain files automatically to
setting your screen preferences.
However, sometimes you might want
to prevent an AutoExec or other automatic macro from running when
you start Word. You can do so by adding the /m switch to the
Target line of a Word shortcut or at the end of the command line
in Windows' Run dialog box, but this method can be tedious as it
involves a number of steps.
The quick way to prevent Word from running
automatic macros during start up, is simple. Hold down the [Shift] key
while you start Word. If you start Word from the Microsoft Office Shortcut
Bar, click Word's shortcut button first, and then hold
down the [Shift] key while Word starts. |
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| Entering tab characters in a Word table |
When you create a table in Word, the Tab key takes on some
special functions. First, pressing Tab when the insertion
point is in the last table cell creates a new row. In addition,
pressing Tab in any other cell moves the insertion point into
the next cell. You can press Shift/Tab to reverse direction.
However, if you want to insert a tab mark within a table,
simply hold down the Ctrl key as you press Tab. Word
then enters a tab mark just as if you'd pressed Tab outside
the table.
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|
Find synonyms in Word |
Word can help you find alternative words
for your writing by using its Synonyms feature.
To find synonyms for a word you've typed, simply right-click on
it and then choose Synonyms from the resulting shortcut menu.
When you do, you'll see a list of synonyms for the word you've
selected; simply click on the one you'd like to use, and Word
replaces the selected word with the synonym you chose.
Occasionally, Word will even offer you antonyms to the word
you select (this will be followed by the word "Antonym" in
parentheses). If you don't find a word you like, select
Thesaurus at the bottom of the list to access Word's thesaurus. You can
always go straight to the Thesaurus by pressing the
Shift and F7 keys |
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| Change the shape of a text box in Word |
| You can add visual variety quickly to your documents by changing
the shape of a text box. Since Word considers a text box to be a
drawing object, you can easily change the shape of a text box by
changing the AutoShape that's assigned to it. By default, a text
box uses the Rectangle AutoShape. To change the AutoShape assigned
to a text box, select the text box you'd like to modify, then
select Draw/Change AutoShape from the Drawing toolbar. Select an
AutoShape category from the resulting submenu, and then select
the AutoShape tool you'd like to use from the group's submenu.
When you do, Word changes the text box shape to match the
AutoShape you specified.
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MS EXCEL TIPS
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Copy adjacent data in Excel with shortcut keys |
If you have a formula or data
that you want to copy to cells down to the right, you can do so
easily without the fill
handle or copying and pasting. The [Ctrl]D combination copies the cell contents from the active cell down and [Ctrl]R copies it
to the right. For example, let's say you have a formula in cell E3 and you want to copy it down through cell E23. Just select
cell E3, hold down the [Shift] key and scroll down to highlight the appropriate range. Then, just press [Ctrl]D. |
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| Centre text across Excel columns without merging |
Excel's merged cells feature often
helps enhance the appearance of worksheets. This is
especially useful when you want to centre text across
several worksheet columns, such as for a range heading.
However, a drawback is that you can't copy or cut rows
or columns that intersect with merged cells. If this is
a requirement, you can get around the problem by
reverting to a technique from Excel's pre-97 days. Enter
the text in the leftmost column of the range of columns
you're working with. Select the cell with the text and
extend the selection across the remaining columns.
Then, choose Format/Cells from the menu bar. Click on
the Alignment tab, choose Centre Across Selection from
the Horizontal dropdown list, and click OK. |
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| Alter how long Excel maintains its audit trail |
When you set up a workbook to be
shared by multiple users, Excel maintains a trail of
changes to data so that you can resolve conflicts or
selectively revert back to previously existing values.
However, this trail is only maintained for the past 30
days.
If you want to change the length of time that Excel
stores change information, select Tools/Share Workbook
from the menu bar. Then, click on the Advanced tab and
change the number in the Keep Change History For spinner
box. Note that you can also disable change tracking
completely from this dialog box. After you've made your
changes, click OK and save the file. |
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| Change Excel's default number of worksheets |
By default, Excel creates three worksheets in every new workbook.
If you find that you routinely don't use all three or that you
require more, change the default number that Excel creates. To do
so, select Tools/Options from the menu bar. Then, click on the
General tab and change the number in the Sheets In New Workbook
spinner box to the number of desired sheets
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| Create bare-bones comments in Excel |
If you use Excel's comment feature, it's
likely that you spend time
erasing the author information that's automatically inserted
at the beginning of each note. Unless you're working on a
collaborative project, you probably don't have a need for this
information - you just want to display your comment.
You can change the name by changing
Excel's User Name setting. (To do so, select Tools/Options from
the menu bar and edit the User Name data on the General sheet.)
However, if you completely delete the User Name value and close
the dialog box, Excel just changes the username back to the
original name registered on your PC. To get around this, you can
use the macro below instead of inserting comments like you usually
do. The macro prompts you for your comment text and then inserts
your note in a new comment attached to the current cell.
Sub NewComment()
On Error Resume Next
strComment = InputBox("Enter your comment: ", "Add Comment")
ActiveCell.AddComment
ActiveCell.Comment.Visible = False
ActiveCell.Comment.Text Text:=strComment
End Sub |
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| Spell-checking in Excel |
Spell checking worksheets helps you catch typos but it can be
cumbersome. For instance, if a worksheet contains acronyms,
abbreviations, or field names, you may find yourself repeatedly
hitting the Ignore button.
Excel can be configured
to skip some words that you may not want checked by ignoring all
upper-case words. To do so, run the spell checker on data that
causes the Spelling dialog box to be displayed. Then, select the
Ignore UPPERCASE check box and click OK. This setting carries through to all subsequently spell checked
workbooks until it's specifically disabled.
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| Convert an Excel chart object to its own sheet |
| Sometimes you'll find that a chart
is too difficult to work with as an object in a
worksheet. Converting the chart object to a dedicated
sheet provides more space to view and manipulate the
chart. Fortunately, it's easy to convert an existing
chart object to a chart sheet. To do so,
right-click on the chart and select Location from the
shortcut menu. Then, select the As New Sheet option
button and type a name for the chart sheet in the
adjoining text box. You can use the same general
technique to convert chart sheets to chart objects in
other worksheets. |
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| View Excel PivotTable source data quickly |
| PivotTable reports provide a convenient and powerful summary of Excel data.
However, there may be times that you want to see the detail behind a particular
summary. To see the source data quickly, double-click on the cell containing
the summary you want to examine. Excel creates a new worksheet and lists the
appropriate data. This feature works even if the worksheet with the source data
is hidden. You can disable this feature if you want to prevent users from seeing
the detail behind a PivotTable. To do so, select a cell in the PivotTable and
then choose Table Options from the PivotTable menu on the PivotTable toolbar.
Clear the Enable Drilldown check box. Finally, click OK. |
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Pratt
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