Tips, Trips & Traps

Outlook 2003 Tip: Displaying Multiple Calendar Dates

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:01:00 GMT

Have you ever wanted to look at multiple, maybe non-consecutive dates in your Outlook calendar? You can access multiple dates side-by-side by clicking on the first date you want to see in the Date Navigator in the Navigation Pane in the upper left corner, and holding the Ctrl key + click on the other dates you want to see. The dates will appear in the Calendar window as separate days.

Outlook 2003 Tip: Open Your Calendar, Contacts or Task List Items in a Separate Window

Mon, 20 Oct 2008 21:00:00 GMT

You’re working through your Inbox, and suddenly you need to look at your calendar or add a task list item. Often people click in the navigation pane to switch to the appropriate area. You can right click on any of the navigation buttons and right click on “Open in New Window” to keep each pane open on its own. You can select Alt-Tab to switch between windows.

Word 2003 Tip: Replacing Text with a Graphic!

Mon, 18 Aug 2008 17:03:00 GMT

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).

2) Single click on your graphic and press Ctrl+X to cut it from your document and into your clipboard.

3) Press Ctrl+H to show the “Find and Replace” dialog box.

4) Enter your placeholder text that you want to replace with the graphic in the “Find what” field.

5) Enter “^c” (no quotes) in the “Replace with” field to pull the graphic from the clipboard.

6) Select the “Find Next” button at the bottom of the dialog box, and “Replace” or “Replace All” (as appropriate).

Excel 2003 Tip: Down-Right Easy

Thu, 31 Jul 2008 12:43:00 GMT

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.

Excel 2003 Tip: Acronyms Are OK

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:51:00 GMT

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.

Excel 2003 Tip: Transposing

Wed, 09 Jul 2008 18:46:00 GMT

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!

Excel 2003 Tip: Freeze!

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:18:00 GMT

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!

Excel 2003 Tip: Make A Cell Bigger

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:15:00 GMT

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!

PowerPoint 2003 Tip: Practice Makes Perfect

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:13:00 GMT

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".

Word 2003 Tip: Remove Hyperlinks

Thu, 05 Jun 2008 21:10:00 GMT

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".