March 9th, 2010
If you’ve been using Microsoft Excel 2007 for a while, you might have noticed the button on your Ribbon referring to tables. Tables are a new feature in Microsoft Excel 2007 and are useful in a few different ways.
When you convert a range of cells into a table, you can manipulate and format it separately from the rest of the worksheet. And formatting it is extremely easy using the themes and styles built into Excel 2007!
When you convert a range into a table, you will notice drop-down arrows at the top of each column. This makes filtering and sorting very easy! You can also easily add additional rows or columns of data into your table and know that it will be included in the previous data.
Instead of selecting an entire range, you only need to click in any cell within a table to select the entire table.
Tables cannot have blank rows or blank columns, but applying the various themes and styles provide formatting to help differentiate the different data contained within your table.
Finally, if you use SharePoint, it is a simple step to export a table into a SharePoint list which means you don’t have to share an entire workbook!
For more tips and tricks on using Microsoft Excel, please visit one of our classes. We’re looking forward to helping you learn more about this great piece of software.
Tags: Excel 2007
Posted in Excel | No Comments »
March 5th, 2010
Microsoft has just announced that if you purchase Microsoft Office 2007 between March 5, 2010 and September 30, 2010, you will be eligible to receive Office 2010 at no additional cost when it is released later this year.
If you’ve been holding off on upgrading from 2003 because you heard 2010 was coming — you don’t need to wait any longer. It is expected that Office 2010 will be released to consumers in June, 2010.
You shouldn’t worry about learning how to use Office 2010, as our instructors are busy learning all the new features and will be ready to share them with you at our training center as soon as it releases!
Tags: Tech News
Posted in Tech / Gadgets | No Comments »
February 25th, 2010
One of the neat uses of Microsoft PowerPoint is the ability to create an interactive quiz. Use the hyperlink feature to display correct (and incorrect) answer slides.
Create a slide for your question, including possible answers. Then, create a slide for each possible answer.
On the question page, add a hyperlink for each answer. You can add an image, or hyperlink the text of each answer. To add a hyperlink, select the text or image and press CTRL + K. When the hyperlink dialog box appears, choose to link to another page and choose the page with the information about the answer.
This is a great way to include additional information for the user. On each answer page, be sure to include a hyperlink to the next question, or back to the question answered. This presentation can be done from a presenter’s viewpoint, or even individually.
This is a great way to expand the usual, boring presentation. For more great tips on how to use PowerPoint, visit one of our classes. We look forward to helping you learn more about Microsoft PowerPoint.
Tags: PowerPoint
Posted in PowerPoint | No Comments »
February 23rd, 2010
In our Time Management class, one of the topics we talk about is “168 Hours.” You may wonder what that means, but it’s fairly simple. Every week, you have 168 hours to do whatever it is you need to do. There is no way to add more hours to a day, or a week! Everyone is given the exact same number of hours, but it sometimes appears that others get much more done in their allotted time!
Are you wasting time? Are you using it to your best advantage? One tool to help you figure out where 168 hours are going is to simply plot it out! Of course, you have to devote a certain number of hours to sleep each day, but the rest of the hours are there for you to work on fulfilling your dreams and meeting your potential.
Even when you consider blocking out the hours for work and commuting, you are still left with a large chunk of time. How are you using it? You can use Microsoft Excel to create a spreadsheet with the days of the week across the columns, and each hour down the rows. Then, take 10 minutes and fill in the hours for this week. Where can you find more time? Where are you wasting time? What can you rearrange?
I’ve even created a spreadsheet for you! If you are familiar with Google Docs, you can view and copy this spreadsheet immediately and map your own 168 hours.
This exercise is just one of the tools we look at during our Time Management class. We’d love to help you develop strategies to help you be more successful. Check out our website for our class schedules!
Tags: 168 hours, time management
Posted in Business Skills, Tips | No Comments »
February 16th, 2010
When creating a Microsoft Word document, you sometimes copy and paste information that is a hyperlink, or you add hyperlinks to your document. Hyperlinks always show up in a different color and underlined, to make it clear that they are hyperlinks to another document or a site on the Internet.
If you want to quickly remove all hyperlinks from a document, follow these steps:
- CTRL + A to select the entire document
- Press CTRL + SHIFT + F9
That will remove all hyperlinks from your document, and leave you with a cleaner look when the document is printed.
For more great tips, sign up for one of our Microsoft Word classes! We look forward to welcoming you to our training center.
Tags: Word
Posted in Tips, Word | No Comments »
February 11th, 2010
Microsoft Visio is the tool to use when trying to create diagrams that will allow pictures to tell a story. If you find yourself in need of geographical maps, you can easily download them from Microsoft’s website.
You will find a collection of 10 templates with maps already created that are ready to download and add complexity to your Visio documents.
To learn more about Microsoft Visio, attend one of our classes. You’re bound to come away with some new tips & tricks that will make your job easier!
Tags: templates
Posted in Visio | No Comments »
February 9th, 2010
Valentine’s Day is this Sunday! You didn’t forget, did you?
Microsoft can come to your rescue even if you did forget with an awesome collection of Valentine templates that will work in Word, PowerPoint, and Publisher. You will find cards as well as activity sheets that can be quickly downloaded to your computer, personalized and printed.
Just in time for Valentine’s Day!
If you’re looking for a unique gift, why not give the gift of computer training? Our sales staff would love to give you the details about buying gift certificates to help your loved ones brush up on their computer skills.
Tags: templates
Posted in PowerPoint, Publisher, Word | No Comments »
February 4th, 2010
When you create a diagram in Microsoft Visio, you can add screen tips to any of the shapes in your diagrams. This is useful if you want to show extra information for users, but don’t want it permanently to show on the document. Screen tips will only appear when users hover their mouse over the shape.
To add screen tips to any shape, follow these steps:
- Select your shape
- Go to INSERT / SHAPE SCREEN TIP
- A dialog box will pop up where you can fill in the appropriate information
- Click OK
For more useful tips on using Microsoft Visio, attend one of our classes. We look forward to seeing you soon!
Tags: Visio
Posted in Tips, Visio | 1 Comment »
February 2nd, 2010
Microsoft Word 2007 has made it even easier to cite sources with the REFERENCES tab on the Ribbon. If you remember the days of creating bibliographies and works cited from scratch, you’ll appreciate how easy Microsoft has made it in Word 2007!
The first step is to choose the style you want to follow. On the REFERENCES tab, in the CITATIONS & BIBLIOGRAPHY group, click on the arrow by STYLE. This will give you many choices to choose from, and will determine what information is available when you create your citations.
When you’re ready to add a citation, click on the INSERT CITATION button on the REFERENCES tab. You will see a list of all sources already created in your document, and also buttons to allow you to create new sources.
If it is a new source, choose ADD NEW SOURCE. A box will pop up allowing you to enter pertinent information about your source. If you don’t have all the information yet, you can choose INSERT PLACEHOLDER and return to add the citation later.
Once you’ve added your citations and their sources to your document, choose the INSERT BIBLIOGRAPHY button to insert a bibliography into your Word document.
To learn more about all that you can do in Microsoft Word 2007, attend one of our many classes! We look forward to teaching you some great tips & tricks!
Tags: Word
Posted in Tips, Word 2007 | 1 Comment »
