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There are a lot of really cool ways to use Office--both obvious and not so obvious. In this chapter, we've selected ten cool things you can do with Office that we haven't explicitly described elsewhere in this fine tome. Enjoy!
Automate simple but annoying tasks
As with any programme, there are probably certain actions that you do frequently in Office. In all likelihood, you don't want to do the same mindless task over and over again, but Todd isn't always around to do them for you. Consequently, Microsoft has built macro recorders into the Office applications. Using macros, it isn't difficult to create automated processes--little robots, in effect--that can run off and do your bidding for you.
To create a macro in Word, do this:
1. Choose Tool Macro Record New Macro.
The Record Macro dialog box appears.
2. Give your new macro a name.
If you want the macro to work with all your Word documents, choose All Documents (Normal.dot) in the Store Macro In drop-down menu. Otherwise, select the There are a lot of really cool ways to use Office--both obvious and not so obvious. In this chapter, we've selected ten cool things you can do with Office that we haven't explicitly described elsewhere in this fine tome. Enjoy!
Automate simple but annoying tasks
As with any programme, there are probably certain actions that you do frequently in Office. In all likelihood, you don't want to do the same mindless task over and over again, but Todd isn't always around to do them for you. Consequently, Microsoft has built macro recorders into the Office applications. Using macros, it isn't difficult to create automated processes--little robots, in effect--that can run off and do your bidding for you.
To create a macro in Word, do this:
1. Choose Tool Macro Record New Macro.
The Record Macro dialog box appears.
2. Give your new macro a name.
If you want the macro to work with all your Word documents, choose All Documents (Normal.dot) in the Store Macro In drop-down menu. Otherwise, select thespecific document that you want it to work with.
3. If you want the macro to be deposited in the toolbar, click the toolbar button and then switch to the commands tab. Select the macro on the right side of the dialog box and drag it to the location in the toolbar where you'd like it to appear.
4. If you want to assign the macro to a particular keyboard shortcut, click on the keyboard button on the Record New Macro dialog box or click on the keyboard button at the bottom of the toolbar box.
Choose a keyboard combination that isnt already in use.
5. When you close the dialog box, the cursor changes and looks like a little cassette tape.
Every mouse movement and keystroke you make is now recorded to the macro file.
Before you start recording your macro, you should figure out exactly what mouse clicks and keystrokes the macro needs--and "script" it on paper so that you dont make mistakes.
6. When you're done, click the Stop Recording button in the dialog box.
Macros have almost unlimited use. Youcan use a macro, for example, to automatically open a document template and simultaneously open several toolbars that you use all the time.Launch your favourite programmes from the shortcut bar
If you have the Professional edition of Microsoft Office, you can add your favourite programmes, folders, and even data files to the shortcut bar. This is a handy way to start programmes like QuickBooks, a paint programme, an HTML editor, or other software you need frequent access to. Not only that, but you can add spreadsheets or databases you need immediate access to every day--and even a folder that's buried deep in your hard disk that you need to open all the time.
To add new programmes and data files to the bar, just open the appropriate folder, find the programme or data file in question, and drag it to the shortcut bar. You can then right-click the button and choose Rename to give the icon a more descriptive name. You can also right-click the bar and choose Customise, click the Buttons button, andrearrange icons or add a space between them.
Convert a PowerPoint Presentation into a Word Document
Your PowerPoint presentation looks great but now the boss needs a written report based on the pitch you gave the other day. And you thought no one recognised excellence.
Its easy to take the presentation from PowerPoint and drop it into Word in a single mouse click. With the slide text as an outline, you can then craft a nifty report that captures all of the report's main ideas and overall pacing. All you need to do is open your presentation and choose File Send To Word. A dialog box offers you a choice of ways to export the data, but choose the bottom option--Outline.
This technique is great for writing student guides based on an existing PowerPoint presentation. Also, this process works both ways. You can export a Word document directly to PowerPoint using the Send To command.
Publish Training Documents Online
If your job description includes training new employees, perhaps you'vegrown tired of constantly clear-cutting forests just to reprint and distribute welcome books, corporate policy binders, and company benefit primers. There's an easier way: Take your Word products and publish them on the company LAN (local area network). You can do it in either of two ways:
Convert the documents to HTML and save them as Web pages.
Just publish the documents as Word files.
We've already talked about how to turn Word documents into HTML. Publishing them as native Word documents is easy to do as well, though. You can still add hyperlinks to make it easy for the readers to find their way around your document, but you'll also want to protect the document from changes. Just choose ToolsProtect Document and choose Comments. Enter a password, and no one can change the text without your permission.
If your company moves to Internet Explorer 4, you can use the Active Desktop to put hyperlinks to online documents right on the desktop screen. That way, employees are one click away from thecorporate policy binder and cafeteria lunch menu at all times.
Insert Auto-Updating Charts into Reports and Presentations
Already have a chart or graph in one document that you'd like to use elsewhere? There's no need to re-create it from scratch--just use OLE to drop it in place in the document you're writing. If the source data changes and it affects the original chart, the copy will change automatically, too! Now thats a time-saver.
OLE stands for Object Linking and Embedding, and it is the standard way Windows documents share data. OLE can be a "cold" link (once you paste the data in a new document, its relationship to the old document is severed) or a “hot” link (if you change the original file, changes are automatically updated in the new one too). Thats the kind we're using in this example.
To take a chart from Excel and drop it into Word, do this:
1. Open the Excel file with your nifty graphic and elect the chart. Choose Edit Copy.
2. Switch to Word. Choose Edit Paste Special.
3.Click on the button marked Paste Link and click OK.
Thats it. Now you can test the link by returning to Excel and changing some of the data that effects the chart. The chart should change automatically. Switch back to Word -- the new chart is changed, too.
Add Visual Warnings to your spreadsheets
Often, the data you store in a spreadsheet needs to stay in a certain range. Say that you can only afford to pay an employee for a certain amount of overtime each pay period--Excel can flag the overtime cell if it exceeds whatever pittance you're paying. Let's say you're monitoring overtime hours and you want to flag any value greater than 10. Here's how to do that:
1. Select the overtime cell.
2. Choose Format Conditional Formatting.
The Conditional Formatting dialog box appears.
3. Make sure that the dialog box reads "Cell Value Is," "Greater Than," and "10."
4. Click on the Format button and change the text colour to red.
5. Click OK.
If you had other constraints--like an upper and lowervalue--you can add other conditions using the Add button. One condition is enough for us, though. Experiment by putting different numbers in the cell and watch how the colour changes.
Store Matching Letterhead and Envelopes in the Same File
Imagine storing a matching letter and envelope in a Word file. Think of the convenience; picture the hours you'll save every day; envision the long, carefree vacations it'll earn you. Well, maybe not.
But it is convenient to store your company's letterhead and matching envelope in the same Word file. That makes it easy to customise and print letters. You probably already have a letterhead template, so open it up. Then do this:
1. Choose Tools Envelopes and Labels.
2. Fill in some text and then choose Add to Document. The envelope appears at the top of your letterhead.
3. Finally, copy the graphic from the letterhead and paste it into the envelope. You may need to resize the graphic so that it looks appropriate to the size of the envelope.
Add MailMerge fields to the addressee part of the envelope, and you're, like, totally cooking.
Make a Template for your Most Common Projects
If you create the same kind of project in Word often, you might want to save a template that contains just the formatting you use. Try this:
1. Choose File New to start with a fresh document.
2. Choose Format Style.
The Style Sheet dialog box appears.
3. Pick an existing style--like Normal--and click on the Modify button. Change the style formatting (like Paragraph and Font settings) to suit your needs.
Repeat for as many styles, like headings and captions, perhaps, as you need in your template.
4. When you're done, save the file as a new template.
When you need to invoke a style using the template, just place the cursor on the text you want to change and select the appropriate formatting from the drop-down Style picker in the toolbar.
MS Office 97 For Dummies
ByDave Johnson & Todd Stauffer
Published by Comdex Computer Publishing
Price:Rs 250 (with CD)
Copyright © 1998 Indian Express Newspapers (Bombay) Ltd.
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This story was printed from Net Express located at http://www.expressindia.com. Net Express provides a portal to India, with news from The Indian Express and The Financial Express along with sites on travel and tourism, the entertainment industry, the power sector, the environment and much more.
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