Daily Tips and Tricks Special Delivery - Microsoft

Use a Voice Command You can use sound in Microsoft Office Word. 1. In the Word document, place your cursor where you want your voice message to go. 2. Click Insert, and then in the Text section, click the Insert Object button. 3. In the Object dialog box, on the Create New tab, in the list of object types, select Wave Sound. 4. Click OK, and then record your own voice note. Use the Floating Toolbar for Formatting You can use a floating toolbar to quickly change document formatting in Microsoft Office. When you use the mouse to select text that you want to change, a floating toolbar appears automatically, giving you easy access to basic formatting commands.

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Task Updates and Timesheet Submittal and Approval Team members update project work in the Tasks, My Work section of Microsoft Office Project Web Access. After they submit their task updates, the project manager approves or rejects their time on tasks in the Approvals, Task Updates section of Project Web Access. At the end of each timesheet period, team members use Import Task Progress to show progress on their timesheets along with any other administrative time spent during the period. Resource managers can review, approve, and reconcile timesheets against reported project work, non-project work, and non-working time. Use the following steps to review and approve timesheets: 1. In Project Web Access, click the Action pane. 2. In the Approvals section, click Timesheet. 3. In Review My Timesheet Summary, click My Timesheet. 4. Click the Review Timesheet Detail page. 5. Click Approve to complete the approval process. 6. In the Approvals section, click Admin Time. 7. Click the Review Admin Time Detail page. 8. Click Approve to complete the approval process. Using Your Outlook Calendar to Schedule Work More Effectively You can allocate time slots for work activities as if they were meetings. For example, after each contact with a customer, you can schedule any resulting tasks in your Microsoft Office Outlook calendar as if they were meetings. That way you'll be less likely to forget anything, and you can allocate sufficient time to complete your follow-ups more efficiently.

Use the Status Bar to Show Range Data In Microsoft Office Excel 2007, when you select a range of numbers, three data counts (Average, Count, and Sum) appear automatically on the status bar. By right-clicking the status bar, you can customize the parameters that the bar displays. There are plenty of parameters to choose from, including minimums and maximums.

2003 to 2007 Custom Slide Layout The Slide Layout task pane in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003 provides a number of different options for structuring your slide layout. But what if you need something a little more customized? You can create a blank slide and manually insert text boxes, charts, and pictures, but there's no easy way to reuse the same layout later in the presentation. In Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007, you can add custom layouts to the slide master, making your new layout available to you any time you need it. 1. Click the View tab, and then click Slide Master in the Presentation Views section. 2. Click Insert Layout, and then use the Insert Placeholder button to add content placeholders to your layout. 3. Right-click the layout and rename it to something easy to remember. 4. Click Close Master View to return to your presentation. 5. To apply your new layout, click the Layout list in the Slides section of the Home tab, and then click your layout. See More in the To-Do Bar The To-Do Bar is extremely flexible; you can customize it to your needs. Click View, click To-Do Bar, and then click Options. From here you can turn elements of the To-Do Bar on or off, and also select how many appointments you want to see. This is useful on busy days with multiple appointments, because you can see them all at a glance.

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See How a Query Is Progressing Because Microsoft Office Excel 2007 can now display more than 1 million rows in a spreadsheet, you can run queries that return a lot of data and therefore take a long time. By setting a query to refresh in the background, you can still work in Excel while data is being retrieved. On the left side of the status bar is a little spinning globe, which lets you know that the query is still running. Clicking the globe opens a dialog box where you can see the queries that are being executed in the background, how long they have been running, and how many records have been returned so far. You can even stop the query if you want to.

Set the Order of Your Tasks and To-Dos You can prioritize your Microsoft Office Outlook tasks and to-dos. To create a task or to-do from an Outlook item, either flag it or simply drag it to the task list or To-Do Bar. Then set the order in which you want items to appear by dragging them up and down the list.

Use Table Styles You can easily improve the look of your tables in seconds by using table styles in Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007. 1. Select the table that you want to format. 2. A set of Table Tools contextual tabs appears on the user interface. Click the Design tab to reach the Table Styles gallery. 3. Browse through the available prebuilt styles by pausing on each table. You’ll see a preview of your table’s appearance with that style. 4. Click the table format that you like, and apply the changes to your presentation. You can use the other features and galleries on the Design and Layout tabs to further customize your table.

Switching Cases in Word Microsoft Office Word offers several case options: lowercase (hello), title case (Hello), and uppercase (HELLO). You can switch between them very easily. Select a piece of text, and then press SHIFT+F3. Add Rows and Columns to Spreadsheets To add a row or column: Select any row or column, and then press the CTRL key at the same time as the PLUS SIGN (+) key on the numeric keypad. To delete a row or column: Select the row or column, and then press the CTRL key at the same time as the MINUS SIGN (–) key on the numeric keypad.

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Answering Routine E-Mail Quickly via IM Instant messaging is the quick way of replying to non-essential e-mail. You can save valuable time by answering routine messages with instant messages instead of e-mail. Click Reply on the toolbar, and then select Reply with Instant Message from the drop-down menu. This will start Microsoft Office Communicator, which you can then use to send an instant message in less time than a conventional e-mail message.

Avoid the Unnecessary Use of Menus in Excel and Word 1. In your Microsoft Office Excel and Microsoft Office Word programs, place the mouse over the status bar at the foot of the program window. 2. Right-click to reveal the Customize Status Bar menu, and then select which options you want to appear on the bar. Let Your Audience Drill Down to Excel Data 1. Select the Microsoft Office Excel table that you want to import to your Microsoft Office Visio diagram. On the Ribbon, under Export, click Create Diagram. 2. In the Add Total area of the PivotDiagram panel, select the number of columns that you want to include in your Visio diagram. 3. Select the diagram in your Visio presentation for which you want to create a drill-down facility, and then select the category for your drill-down levels. 4. Add shapes to the categories. a. Select your diagram, and then click the Apply Shape button in the PivotDiagram panel. b. Select the shape you require, and then click OK. 5. Filter the data by clicking Configure Column on the Category menu, and then clicking the arrow next to the category name.

Modifying Data Types To view or change the data type: 1. Click a cell. 2. In the Datasheet contextual tab, the Data Type and Formatting section displays the data type. 3. To change the data type, in the Data Type box, click the arrow, and then select the type you want. (Note: You may need to retype the value in your cell or cells if the type is not compatible.) 4. In the Format box, click the arrow to format how the data is displayed. 5. Select Is Required if you need to make this field mandatory. To make table and field definitions easier, Microsoft Office Access has a set of predefined templates. Set Up the Calendar Quickly You can customize your Microsoft Office Outlook calendar quickly. When viewing the calendar, press ALT and the number of days that you want to show (for example, ALT+3). Outlook will redraw the calendar to show the selected number of days.

Add Professional Charts You can quickly add impact to your slides by using the Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 charting tools. Use charts to better illustrate, compare, and communicate data to your audience. 1. Go to the Insert tab and click the Chart icon. 2. Select the type of chart that best suits your needs—for example, a line, bar, pie, area, or surface chart. 3. If you have Microsoft Office Excel 2007 installed, the program will open and enable you to change the data behind your chart. 4. Explore and use the options in the contextual tabs under Chart Tools to alter the design, format, and layout of your chart. 2003 to 2007 Structured References Working with formulas and functions has not always been the most intuitive process. In Microsoft Office Excel 2003, multiplying gross revenue by the profit margin might mean typing something like =B7*E14. In Microsoft Office Excel 2007, structured referencing enables you to use the column headers in table data to build your formulas. Instead of cryptic cell locations, you can simply multiply =[Gross Revenue]*[Margin]. To use structured referencing, you first need to format your data as a table. 1. Click Format as Table in the Styles section of the Home tab. 2. Select the My table has headers check box. 3. After you have a table, click the cell where you want to insert the formula, and then type the left bracket ([). 4. Select the column that you want to use from the list that appears, press the TAB key, and then close it with the right bracket (]). 5. Repeat as you build out your formula.

Drawing Lines in Word You can create a line across the page of your Microsoft Office Word document or Microsoft Office Outlook e-mail message by using just a few keystrokes. • To create a normal line, type three consecutive hyphens, and then press ENTER. • To create a bold line, type three underscores, and then press ENTER. • To create a double line, type three equal signs, and then press ENTER.

Identify Duplicate Values in an Excel Table In Microsoft Office Excel 2007, you can easily highlight duplicate values with conditional formatting. 1. Select the list in which you want to identify duplicates. 2. Click the Home tab on the Ribbon. 3. In the Styles section, click Conditional Formatting, point to Highlight Cells Rules, and then click Duplicate Values. Pairs of duplicates will then be highlighted, and you can choose which of each pair to delete.

Save and Reuse Tables Do you frequently create the same type of complex table, such as a financial table or tables to use for custom page layouts? If so, you can easily save that table for easy insertion into any document. Just select a completed example of your table and save it to the Quick Tables gallery. Here’s how: Select the table and press ALT+F3 to open the Create New Building Block dialog box. Type a name for your table, and then in the Gallery list, click Tables. You can set other options as well, such as choosing or creating a category for your table, which will affect where in the Quick Tables gallery it appears. You can also choose an available template in which to store the table. But if you retain the default Save in location, Building Blocks.dotx, your table will be available for you to use in any document. To access your saved table, on the Insert tab, click Table, and then point to Quick Tables.

Gain Greater Control over Your Out-of-Office Message If you use Microsoft Office Outlook 2007 with Microsoft Exchange Server 2007, you have the increased capability to set distinct out-of-office messages and to schedule the time period when you want your messages to be sent. You retain greater control over the type of information your contacts receive, helping to ensure that it’s relevant and appropriate to their needs. 1. To open Out of Office Assistant, click Tools, and then click Out of Office Assistant. 2. Explore the options. You can set the date range and time frame, and set one message for people inside your organization and a separate one for people outside your organization. Note: Your organization must be using Exchange Server 2007 for you to see these options.

Find the Correct Format for Excel Formulas You can use Microsoft IntelliSense technology in Microsoft Office Excel 2007 to create formulas. If you want to type a formula in Excel 2007, start by typing the first few characters of the formula (for example, an equal sign and then a letter) to view a list of available formulas. Excel 2007 makes it easy to see all the available types of formulas; the enhanced tooltips in the 2007 Office system provide a detailed explanation of each formula. Create a Project Proposal By using proposals, you can define high-level project plans to provide key project information, milestones, and resource demands. 1. In Microsoft Office Project Web Access, click Proposals and Activity Plans in the left Action pane. 2. On the New menu, click Proposal. 3. In the New and Import section, click New. 4. Enter the name of the project, description, start date, finish date, and plan owner. You can also add details about tasks or resources with a resource plan or build team. 5. Click Publish. You have now created a complete Project proposal, pending approval.

Using the Ribbon You can think of the Ribbon of tools and commands in the 2007 Microsoft Office system as your visual gallery to create professional and visually interesting documents. In the 2007 Microsoft Office system, there are no dialog boxes for formatting text and images. The formatting tools that you are used to using still exist, but they are integrated into the Ribbon. You can use the new tabs to move across various sets of commands or Ribbons that make up the Microsoft Office Fluent user interface. Additionally, while you are working on a document, the Ribbon automatically presents you with the right formatting tools at the right time and place. It reveals a visual gallery to help you quickly and easily format documents. For example, if you want to change the positioning of a picture you have imported into a Microsoft Office Word document: 1. Double-click the image. A Picture Tools tab opens a gallery that displays options to choose from. 2. Select the Position option from the gallery on the Picture Tools tab to easily define where the photo will sit within the text. Create an Electronic Business Card for Your Signature In Microsoft Office Outlook 2007, you can create and share customized electronic business cards, giving you a personalized way to communicate your information. You can customize your contact information by using electronic business cards that include logos and photos, making contacts more personally relevant and easier to locate. 1. Click the arrow next to New, and then click Contact. 2. Type your personal contact information, such as name, title, company, work phone, and work fax number. Note: As you type, a preview of your business card appears in the business card box in the upper-right corner. 3. Click the Business Card button on the Ribbon to open the Edit Business Card dialog box. 4. In the Card Design section, click the Change button next to Image to add your photograph, company logo, or other pictures. Click the Background Color button to change the background color of your business card. In the Edit section, you can change the size, justification, or color of your text. 5. To use your customized electronic business card as your signature, click the Business Card button on the Message tab of the Ribbon.