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Questions and Answers
The following are questions we have answered for our clients. There will be lots more useful information coming soon. Click the links on the left hand side to take you to the appropriate section.
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Microsoft Office 2007 (General) | Back to top |
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In any Office 2007 program, click the Help icon and type “reference guide” into the search box. The first topic listed will be Interactive: Excel 2003 to Excel 2007 command reference guide, or Word, PowerPoint etc. Click the link, then near the start of the topic look for the Start the Guide link. This drops you into a Microsoft Online simulation of 2003, where you click on commands to be shown where to find them in 2007. It describes the instructions first, then if you click the command, it shows a 2007 screen and shows you where to go. Give it a try! |
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| Microsoft would probably love you to buy Office 2007, but you don't need to buy it just to open documents you receive. You can download and
install a converter from Microsoft which will allow you to open documents, spreadsheets and presentations prepared in Office 2007.
Click here to go to Microsoft Online, then click the Download button and follow the instructions. Once the software is installed, try opening the document again. Give it a moment for the converter to run, and you should be able to read the contents. |
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| When you are ready to save your document, click the Office button and move your mouse to Save As, then to the right to see the sub-menu. Click on Word 97-2003 Document. You will be prompted for a name as usual, and the document will be saved in "Compatibility Mode" which means it can be opened by people using older versions of Microsoft Office. | ||
| Keeping drawing tools turned on (this works on Word, Excel and PowerPoint) |
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Do you use the Drawing Tools in the MS Office programs frequently? In Word, PowerPoint and Excel 2003 versions it is possible to turn some of the drawing tools on for multiple draws. Double click the circle, rectangle, arrow or line tool...
...and the shape would be turned on for multiple drawings. Then click the button again (or hit the Esc key) to turn it off. On 2007 versions you have to go into insert, shapes and then right click and select lock drawing mode. |
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Print Preview option in MS Word is a very useful feature to check your document layout before you print. You access Print Preview window in 2003 either through the File menu or by using the button on the Standard Toolbar. For Word 2007, the Print Preview is located via the Office button, Print choice or it's a button you can add to the Quick Access Toolbar. However, Ctrl + F2 will open the Print Preview window. Press Ctrl + F2 again to get back to the normal view. |
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Microsoft Word | Back to top |
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If you like setting up abbreviations which Word automatically translates into full expressions, you may wonder where AutoText has gone in Word 2007. AutoText is available in Word Options: Office button, Word Options, Proofing section. Click the AutoCorrect Options button. Use the AutoCorrect tab, and enter your abbreviated text in the Replace field and the full expression in the With field. Whenever you type your abbreviated text, then a space or punctuation mark, it will be replaced by the full expression. However you might like explore the new Quick Parts feature, which is useful if you want to include some formatting in your AutoText. In your document, type the text as you require it, including any formatting. Now select the text, and then Insert, Quick Parts, Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery. In the dialog box which is displayed, ensure the Gallery field says Quick Parts, and the Options field says Insert content only, and click OK. Now when you click the Quick Parts tool a gallery will display your entry, and you can recreate the text and formatting in your document by selecting it from here. |
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Microsoft SharePoint | Back to top |
If SharePoint displays your dates in American format, or perhaps shows your time in the wrong time zone, then you need to adjust your Regional Settings. To get to this option, select Site Actions in the top right-hand corner button, then select Site Settings. In the Site Administration column, you will find a link to Regional Settings. Click this and you will find you can select Language and Time Zone, amongst other settings. Once you have the correct region, your date format should also be correct. |
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Microsoft Excel | Back to top |
Some chart features are just harder to find than others! Fortunately this one is at least fairly easy to find in the Excel Help. To add a secondary axis for a particular data series on your chart, click on the data series to select it, then in the Chart Tools select the Format tab. At the left hand end, in the Current Selection group click on Format Selection. A Format Data Series dialog box opens, with the Series Options category displayed. You will see a set of radio buttons which allow you to select Plot On Secondary Axis. Once you have created this axis, the Chart Tools, Layout tab, Axes tool will include settings for the Secondary Axis. |
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| If you’re familiar with using the fill handle to continue a sequence in Excel or to populate all cells in a column with the same formula, you might be interested in this fill-handle shortcut. If you have a column of data, and in the next column you create a formula, which you want to copy to every populated row of the sheet, instead of dragging the fill-handle all the way down the column, you can double-click it. Your formula will be automatically copied all the way to the bottom of the data. |
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| Dates |
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| Do you find typing dates a pain? If you want to quickly enter today’s date into an Excel worksheet or an Access database, just type Ctrl and Semi-colon together (CTRL+;). | ||
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If the column headers in your worksheet scroll out of sight after you have entered a number of rows, select the row below your header (click on the number at the start of the row), then 2003 - Select Window, then Freeze Panes. The header row(s) will now stay visible, while the lower part of the screen scrolls. 2007 - use the view ribbon, select freeze panes, then click freeze top row. |
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Microsoft PowerPoint | Back to top |
You can save your PowerPoint slides to create a report in word by saving as an RTF (Rich Text Format) file and then open in word. The PowerPoint slides remain formatted. You can then save as a Word document. |
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Although PowerPoint has no built-in way to copy a custom animation from one slide to another, here’s an undocumented trick that lets you reuse custom animations: Make a copy of the slide, and then change the title and bullets on the copy. The copy includes all the custom animation settings of the original. |
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| To jump to any slide while giving a presentation, simply enter the slide number and then hit the Enter key. | ||
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You can brand your presentation with your company logo so that it appears in the header of all slides. In 2003, select View, Master, Slide Master. Select Insert, Picture, From File and navigate to your logo file. Position your picture by clicking and dragging with the move cursor (4-way arrow). Resize your picture by clicking and dragging a corner with the resize cursor (2-way arrow). Close the Master, and your logo will appear on all slides. In the 2007 version of PowerPoint this only works on slides of the same type. For example you will need to have one master for all the slides which are titles, and another one for all the slides that are titles with content etc. |
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Create your slide with bullet points and select all your bullet points. In 2003, select Slide Show, Animation Schemes. Now select an effect from the Animation Task Pane ( Appear is the simplest). Your bullet points will now appear one at a time when you click the mouse or press a key. To adjust the animation effects, select Slide Show, Custom Animation and explore the options. In the 2007 version you use the animation ribbon and then use the animate box on the far left hand side to select an animation. It will show a demonstration which will show how this effects the bullet points, select one that suits you. |
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Package your presentation neatly into a PowerPoint show, so that the audience never sees the design view of your slides, and you can’t make accidental changes. Select File, Save As, and in the Save As Type box, select PowerPoint Show (.pps). Make a shortcut to this file on your desktop. To show your presentation, double-click the shortcut, and your show will begin. When you finish, the view will return to your desktop. |
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Have you ever found yourself giving a presentation with MS PowerPoint and wishing for a mouse pointer? Press the the " A " key. Your pointer will appear. |
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Microsoft Project | Back to top |
| If you have saved a baseline for your project, and used that as a point of reference for seeing planned versus actual, you might find you need to record another baseline when circumstances have changed in your project. To save another baseline go to Tools, Tracking, Set Baseline and select the next one on the list. However to view your new baseline you will need to do one of the following: Select Views, More Views, Multiple Baselines Gantt. This will show you all the baselines you have saved. If you prefer the Tracking Gantt view, you could tell it to show you Baseline1 instead of Baseline. Select Format, Bar Styles. Scroll down to the Baseline entry in the field list. Edit the From and To columns using the drop down list to select Baseline1 Start and Baseline1 Finish. Click OK, and your new baseline will be displayed. |
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| If you import Microsoft Project task information from Excel or from another version of Project, you will see your tasks listed with all their start and finish dates, and depending on your source information you may also have links in place between the tasks. However, your plan may not behave as you would expect when you make adjustments to it, because the tasks have been scheduled with Must Start On constraints, so they cannot be moved. You can clear this type of constraint on individual tasks by going to the Task Information box, Advanced tab, and selecting Constraint Type: As Soon As Possible. You also need to clear the Constraint Date box. To do this for a number of tasks in an imported plan, in the Task list display the Constraint Type field as follows: Right-click in the column headers, and select Insert Column. From the Field Name list, select Constraint Type and click OK. The column will be displayed with Must Start On showing as the type. Change the top entry to As Soon As Possible, then select the remaining cells in the column, right-click on them and select Fill Down. This will populate the whole column with As Soon As Possible. Beware that you may have some tasks which genuinely need to have fixed dates, however to get your plan working you need to remove the Must Start On constraints from the flexible tasks. |
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Using the internet with Internet Explorer | Back to top |
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| Go to the Sounds and Audio Device control panel and click the sounds tab. Scroll down to the 'Start Navigation' option in the Windows Explorer section, select it and change the sound to None. Peace at last! | ||
| In Internet Explorer, go to Tools, then Compatibility View. If your website used to display OK in IE7 or earlier, this should solve the problem. You can also go to the next menu option Tools, Compatibility Settings and add your site to a list of sites you want to see in Compatibility View. | ||
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Microsoft Outlook | Back to top |
Select Tools, Options then click on the Mail Format tab. Look for the section which says Signatures, and click the Signatures button. If you have any existing signatures set up, they will be listed here and you can edit them by selecting the title in the top box, and altering the text in the lower box. You can also create a new signature by clicking on New and giving a name for this signature. When you OK the name, you can enter the text in the Edit signature box. Once you have the text you want, you need to use the options in the top right corner to define when your signature should be used. Select the email account with which you want to associate it, then select your signature name in the New Messages box to have it appear when you create a message, and select it in the Replies/forwards box if you also want it to appear on replies. When you click OK the next message you create should show your signature. |
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Do you find yourself frequently navigating through the Outlook folder list? Here are some basic shortcuts to help you get around from anywhere in Outlook: Jump to the Inbox (Ctrl + Shift + I) or the Outbox (Ctrl + Shift + O). What about an all keyboard method of getting to any folder? Begin by using Ctrl + Y. This will open the Go to Folder window. From here you can navigate using up and down arrow keys, Home and End keys, or better still, by typing the start of the folder name you need, and allowing auto-lookup to take you there. When you've highlighted what you need, hit the Enter key to both exit the window and to be returned to Outlook in the designated folder. |
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You can use Outlook Categories to identify groups of Contacts, or types of calendar appointments or emails. For example, mark email messages as personal or business, or create Contact groups like members of a club, a committee, etc. There are some preset Categories but you can create your own. In Outlook 2003, open a Contact, then click the Categories button in the bottom right corner. You will see the preset categories. To alter these or add your own, click the Master Category List button. Type the name of a new category in the New box, then click Add. Click OK to return to the Category list, and your new one should have been added. In Outlook 2007, click the Categorize button on the toolbar, then click All Categories. You can rename the default colour categories, or add your own new categories, selecting a colour from the palette. To use categories effectively you have to get into the habit of remembering to categorise every new Contact, or every personal email, etc, depending how you have decided to use them. If you apply contacts consistently you will find they can be a great tool for organising things in Outlook. |
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If you have applied categories to your messages, contacts or appointments, you can filter your view of these items to show only a selected category. In this example we will use contacts. I am in Contacts view, and want to show only those Contacts in my Suppliers category. In the left hand navigation pane, click on Customise Current View. Now click on the Filter button, then the More Choices tab. Click the Categories button to see a list of all your categories. Tick the one(s) you require, in this case Suppliers, then click OK. Click OK twice more to be returned to the Contact list, and you should see only those Contacts which you have categorised as Suppliers. Outlook reminds you that you have applied a filter by showing Filter Applied in the bottom left corner of the Outlook window. To remove your filter again, click on Customise Current View, then Filter, then click the Clear All button. |
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