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Author: Senior Instructor Created: 5/26/2006 6:06 PM
Tips & Traps from MicroAssist's Instructors and Staff

By Senior Instructor on 8/18/2008 11:03 AM

Have you ever wanted to use text as a placeholder in a document to later replace it with a graphic you created?  Here’s an easy way:

 

1)      After you’ve completed it, place the graphic somewhere in your document (location is not important, as you will cut it from the document to place it on your clipboard).

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By Senior Instructor on 7/31/2008 6:43 AM

To have Excel move you to the cell to the right of the one you are working on, rather than the one below it, try this. Go to the Tools menu, and select Options. Hit the edit tab in the box. Below the "Move selection after Enter", go through the pull-down menu right by "Direction". Change this to "Right". Hit OK, and now you can perform data entry along rows instead of columns.

By Senior Instructor on 7/9/2008 12:51 PM

They are not words, but when spellchecking a document in Excel, uppercase acronyms often appear to be misspellings. To fix this minor problem without adding numerous words to your dictionary, you can simply click Tools, and select Options. When the menu appears, hit the tab marked "Spelling". Check the box next to "Ignore words in UPPERCASE", and hit OK.

By Senior Instructor on 7/9/2008 12:46 PM

Have you started a spreadsheet and then decided you wished your columns were where your rows were, and your rows were where your columns were? There is a much easier way to do just that, and WITHOUT retyping all the data you spent time recording. Simply select all of the cells you'd like to change (click on the upper left-most corner, then hold shift and click the lower right-most cell), and copy them (either through the edit menu, or by holding Ctrl+C). Click a new place on your spreadsheet and right click. Select Paste Special. A menu will come up, and by checking the box next to "Transpose" in that menu, Excel will paste in a rearranged chart for you!

By Senior Instructor on 6/5/2008 3:18 PM

When working with a large worksheet, losing sight of your headings can make it difficult to navigate your document. Luckily, Excel 2003 provides a helpful tool to solve this problem. To freeze your headings so they can be seen while you work on any other row in your worksheet, simply click on the row that is below your headings and select Window at the top menu, then Freeze Panes. You can also click the rows after the second one instead to freeze several of the first rows at once!

By Senior Instructor on 6/5/2008 3:15 PM

Sometimes the amount of data that needs to fit in a cell seems to be just too much. If you need more space, try this tip! Type up all the data you want to be in that cell, hit Enter, and click that cell once more.  Select Format, then Cells, then Alignment. Select Wrap Text. Hit OK. Everything fits!

By Senior Instructor on 6/5/2008 3:13 PM

Getting your timing down in an important presentation can be difficult, but PowerPoint can help make it easier! To set new timings in the show mode, press "T". To revert back to original timing ideas, press "O".

By Senior Instructor on 6/5/2008 3:10 PM

When printing some documents, a bright blue underlined hyperlink can look unprofessional and out of place. In order to remove hyperlinks, go to Tools, then AutoCorrect Options. In the tabs marked "AutoFormat" and "AutoFormat As You Type", remove the check from the box next to "Internet and Network Paths with Hyperlinks".

By Senior Instructor on 5/29/2008 8:44 AM

To spice up a spreadsheet, or simply to organize one better visually, you can change the color of the sheet tabs at the bottom of the screen. Right click on the tab you'd like to change, and select "Tab Color". There is a fairly large selection of colors to choose from. To change the color of many tabs at once, hold the control key while left-clicking each tab.  Select Format, then Sheet, then Tab Color to display the color palette and pick your color.

By Senior Instructor on 5/29/2008 8:40 AM

      Ctrl + :                            Enters the current time

      Ctrl + ;                            Enters the current date&l ... Read More »