So, you’re in need of a hard copy from an MS Word file, but you don’t need the entire file.
Maybe you just need a page or maybe even just a section or two.
If that is all you need, why are you printing the entire document?
Good question and unfortunately, there’s no good answer.
So, let’s explore… Continue reading
I’m sure you’re aware of the wonders of the Shift key when it comes to mouseless highlighting, but are you one who isn’t so great with key combinations? I mean, all those keys at once is just not something you’re good with, but on the other hand, you’d still like to use your keyboard more and the mouse less.
If that’s an accurate description for… Continue reading
Are you a user of Word 2007 who also tends to use a lot of text boxes in your documents?
If you’re anything like me then you see this sight all the time…
And what do you get from it?
A plain text box that needs a ton of formatting to become anything that’s visually interesting.… Continue reading
You know those little miniature slides you see on the left side of your PowerPoint program window when in the Normal view?
I don’t know about you but I love them. They make it very easy to jump around the presentation, especially the longer ones, without going through slide by slide.
Well, if you love those then you just may… Continue reading
Did you know that in MS Word, you can edit your document while the Find dialog box is still open?
I know, I know. I hear you!
Every time you’ve ever tried to edit a document while a dialog box (such as the font formatting window) is open, you get nowhere. The dialog box just sits there, open and waiting. You certainly… Continue reading
Ever combine a couple of lists in MS Word?
You know… where you copy and paste one list onto the bottom of another?
Were they formatted the same way to begin with?
Probably not so, I must ask, when you finished did you sit there and wonder who decided what formatting to apply to the combined list?
Ever have a need to bring text from one Word file into another? Maybe, whatever the reason, you need a bulk of the text from one file brought into this one.
What do you do?
The obvious answer is to open the other file, highlight and copy the text needed, switch back to the document you’re working with, paste the text and then finally… Continue reading
If you’re like me, you don’t really mind the automatic numbering and bulleting MS Word does with lists.
You know, when Word realizes you’re creating a list and it helps you along with the same continued formatting.
But, after working with many different people, I have found that some folks just don’t seem to know how to get out of the list. That is… Continue reading
Often I find myself working with a table in MS Word and trying to number each row… whether it be that I’m creating an answer sheet of some sort for my students or just a table of data where I need the entries numbered.
It seems that I’m forever typing 1, down arrow, 2, down arrow, 3, down arrow… and on and on and on…… Continue reading
Do you like the Format Painter in MS Word and MS PowerPoint?
Do you find it frustrating that when you forget to double click the button, it shuts off after just one paste?
Or, have you ever tried to interrupt the process of format painting by editing some text, only to find that the program has “forgotten” the formatting you intended to paint once… Continue reading
Work with MS Word tables?
Ever try to remove cells, rows or columns by highlighting them and then hitting the Delete key?
What happened?
Certainly not what you had hoped for, I’m sure. Instead of deleting the cells, only the data is gone.
Now what?
Well, I suppose you could rehighlight the cells… Continue reading
If you’re like me, there are just times when you need random text inserted into MS Word for demonstrations or just for testing the effects of different features in the program.
Whatever your reason, you need text and just typing random letters usually doesn’t behave like true text. Character strings tend to be too long so wrapping and other things just don’t work as they should… Continue reading
Have you ever come across a situation where you needed to use both Portrait and Landscape page layouts in the same document? I have, especially while creating large reports where the content is mostly in Portrait, but there are a few tables with figures / data which are best represented in a Landscape format.
Under such circumstances, I was forced to explore the possibilities of… Continue reading
Here’s the scenario:
You just finished working on a masterpiece in MS Word and you’re in the Print Preview window taking one last look at it. You know, just to make sure it’s perfect.
Then suddenly, there it is. A mistake!
What do you do?
Close the Print Preview window, taking you back to the document where you… Continue reading
Did you give yesterday’s Date Picker feature for MS Word 2007 a try?
I know that I really love the idea… especially for templates.
Anyway, as I was working with the Date Picker I noticed, as I’m sure so did you, that the date is formatted in a way that I would rarely use…
12/30/2009
This… Continue reading
Do you have a Word 2007 file or template containing a date that you must change every time you use it?
When you get to that point what happens?
I don’t know about you but more times then I’d like I’m either digging out a calendar or going to the one on my computer. Either way, it’s annoying.
And what about… Continue reading
What’s your preferred View when working in MS Word?
If it’s the Print / Page Layout view then you don’t have a clue about what I’m about to ask, but for the rest of you…
Do you find that when working in MS Word you’re constantly scrolling left and right to see all of your text?
Maybe your monitor… Continue reading
Have you ever created a table in MS Word at the beginning of a document, only to find that it was a mistake? I mean, since you began the document, you’ve probably redone the layout and some of the text just has to go above that table.
But, of course, you’re learning the hard way that MS Word isn’t going to cooperate very easily.… Continue reading
If you’re like me, you like to work in MS Word using the Print Layout view.
I simply like to be able to see my whole page, margins and all. I also like to keep an eye on the layout of the document without always jumping to Print Preview.
Now, once in awhile, I find myself working on
Ever find yourself in need of both a left and right alignment of text on the same line in MS Word?
What did you do?
I know some pretty determined people and I’ve seen all kinds of solutions for this. Many included things like a lot of extra spaces and multiple columns and at first, these may seem like a good idea, but they… Continue reading
Have you ever accidentally hit one of the Ignore buttons (especially the Ignore All button) when spellchecking an MS Word document?
How maddening is that?
Now, Word isn’t even noting the problem, and you’ve got to very carefully pick through the document to check for the problem, with no assistance from Word whatsoever.
Do you use MS Word’s Find feature?
Ever discover that the Find window is in the way when you’re trying to locate the same text phrase multiple times?
I mean, it really is easier to leave the window open to use the Find Next button repeatedly than it is to close that window and start over each time. The inconvenience of the open window… Continue reading
To go along with yesterday’s tip, here are a few tidbits for document navigation in MS Word with the mouse on the vertical scroll bar.
The first and easiest is to realize that when you click and hold on the scroll bar, a text box will appear that tells you what page you’re scrolling to and the section title that begins the page (if you have sections… Continue reading
Picture this: You’re working on the ultimate document. I mean, it’s a masterpiece! Too bad the masterpiece is also a nightmare though. It’s easily the longest document you’ve ever edited and the navigation through all those pages is just a huge headache. (Not to mention the back and forth, back and forth between the keyboard and the mouse). I bet you’re looking for some help, huh?!
Well… Continue reading
Ever use the trademark TM symbol in MS Word?
(FYI… you can insert it quickly using “(TM)” – AutoCorrect will switch it out for the superscript TM that we’re looking to have.)
Anyway, back to business, my point is that when I’ve used this symbol I’ve always felt that even though it’s in superscript form it’s still too big.
If you… Continue reading
Have you ever created a section break in MS Word and then afterword realized that you chose the wrong type?
Maybe you chose a continuous section break but now you’re thinking that it should have been a New / Next Page.
What did you do?
Many people I know would work to remove the current break and then go through the process of putting in the new one.
I have… Continue reading
Many of you may be aware of the Change Case text options in the Format menu or Home tab of the MS Word Ribbon. This wonderful feature will allow you to take text and, in one quick swoop, change the case of every letter to match your needs.
From the Change Case options, you can make text all lower case, all upper case, sentence case, toggle case or title case.… Continue reading
