MS Office 101

The Leading Zero

Constantly frustrated with MS Excel because it keeps removing that leading zero from your inventory number? (Or any leading zero on any piece of data?)

Yeah, me too.

The problem is that Excel automatically sees the data as a number and leading zeros have no value in numbers, so it gets rid of them.

Convenient when you're actually dealing with numbers, but a pain when it's a part number or id number.

Here's a quick way to get Excel to leave your zeros alone: change the cell format to text.

There are a few ways to make the change—let's cover a couple of them.

One way to handle the situation is to first highlight the cells to change.

Then go to the Format menu, Cells choice. (Ctrl + 1 works too.)

On the General tab choose Text from the Categories list.

Click OK.

Voila—leading zeros are safe.

If you only have a few cells to change you could just type an apostrophe before entering the data (ie. instead of typing 0123 in the cell type '0123).

When you hit the Enter key the change is made instantly—for that cell only—and once again your zero is safe and sound.

Office Tip of the Day

Creating Custom PowerPoint Handouts In MS Word

Have you ever found yourself trying to create handouts to a PowerPoint presentation and wish you had a way to add questions or extra info next to the slide picture?

Maybe it's a presentation for a seminar or class you're teaching and the handout with complete slide pictures is great but you need a place ask the important questions that go along with each slide.

I'm a teacher and we use question worksheets during videos and presentations all the time. It helps the students focus their attention on the important stuff that's going on.

So... if the material is delivered in a PowerPoint presentation, then we often just give them the handouts with a complete set of slides and a space to take notes.

The problem with that situation is that they figure it's all on the slides and don't bother to listen at all.

Really defeats the purpose of the handouts.

What can help?

Well, we could put additional questions to answer on the handouts then we'd be back in business.

Also, sometimes you have just a few extra things to convey that you don't want "cluttering" up the slide.

Where do you put that?

You could work in PowerPoint and go from slide to slide using the Notes Page feature—but then you can only print one slide per page and that eliminates the possibility of using the notes feature for your own speaking notes.

What now?

I have a quick answer to all of that: MS Word.

Yep, it's that simple—MS Word.

Once your presentation is complete you can send it to MS Word then add questions or extra notes to your heart's content.

Ready to learn how?

Yes?

OK—then let's get started.

The first thing you need to do is to open the PowerPoint presentation.

Now we need to go to the File menu, Send To submenu, Microsoft Word choice.

The Write-Up window will open offering you several setup options for the Word document that will be created.

The top section allows you to choose the layout of the Word document—the pictures pretty much show you how it will look.

At the bottom you can decide how you want the slides added to the new Word document.

If you choose to Paste the slides into the document then any changes you make to the presentation will not affect the Word file. However, you can edit a slide in the Word document by double-clicking it. When the changes are complete simply click outside the slide.

On the other hand, if you choose the Paste link choice the slides will be linked to the presentation. The file will be updated each time it's opened to reflect slide changes made in PowerPoint.

When you've made your choices click OK.

Word will open and your document—slides and all—will be created.

Once the document is complete you can click into the notes areas to enter that extra information or questions you need to make your handouts the best that they can be!

Custom handouts at your fingertips.

~ April