One of the most common word processing chores is changing the case of text in a document. You can greatly streamline the process if you learn a couple of Word’s most useful keyboard shortcuts.

Do you find yourself continually pressing the Caps Lock key to change from uppercase to lowercase, and vice versa, as you type? While the Caps Lock key is better than having to search for the Change Case commands with the mouse, you can’t use it to change the case of text that has already been typed.

Word does provide a couple of toggle key combinations you can use to change the case of selected text without retyping. For example, say you typed the following text and want to change it to all uppercase:

Caution! To avoid injury, please read all instructions first.

Just select the text and press Ctrl + Shift +A.

You can also use this key cialis buy online combination to change case as you type. Follow these steps:

Another helpful key combination is Shift + F3, which lets you toggle case from lowercase to uppercase and then to initial caps. For example, say you just typed Tcp/Ip. To change it to all uppercase, select it and then press Shift + F3. To change the phrase “All’s well that ends well” to initial caps, select the text and then press and hold the Shift key while you press F3 three times.

Word can’t automatically produce a numbered list that counts down instead of up. But with the help of a bookmark and some fields, you can work around that limitation.

Numbered lists are one of Word’s best features. Click a button, type a few items, and like magic, you’ve got a numbered list. What this feature can’t do for you is generate a list of descending numbers. For instance, if you want a Top 10 list, don’t try Word’s numbering feature. You could enter the numbers manually, but updating such a list is messy. If you insert or delete an item, you must update all the numbers from that item to the end of the list. A more flexible solution is to use a sequential field. Doing so requires a bit of planning, but it’s worth it.

Note: This information is also available as a PDF download.

About the sequential field

In Word, the term field refers to special codes that perform specific tasks, such as inserting data, returning values, and so on. In the case of this technique, you can use the sequential field, SEQ, to return a list of sequential numbers. Used in a list, you can add, delete, or move an item and the field code updates automatically.

The sequential field code has one required parameter:

{ SEQ identifier [bookmark ] [switches ] }

where identifier is the name you assign to a series of items you want numbered. This name must start with an alpha character and be 40 characters or less. You can use alpha and number characters and the underscore character to complete the name. Use bookmark to refer to an item somewhere else in the document. In addition, the switches in Table A add flexibility.

Table A

Using just the SEQ field code, you can create and then sort the results to get a descending list. However, similar to a manual descending list, you must update and resort the list if you insert an item. For example, the short list in Figure A uses SEQ.

Figure A: Sort a list of SEQ fields to generate a list of descending numbers.

To create this list, do the following:

Figure B: Update the SEQ code by identifying the list items.

1. Enter the first numbered item.
2. Repeat steps 1 through 4 until you complete the list. Or copy and paste the field instead of manually creating a new one for each item. Don’t worry if the copied fields don’t generate a sequential list — they will.
3. Highlight the entire list and press F9 to update the field codes.
4. Highlight the entire list (if necessary) and choose Sort from the Table menu.
5. In the resulting dialog box, click Descending in the Sort By section, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C: Choose the Descending Sort By option.

Using sequential fields, you don’t have to identify the total number of list items, but inserting or deleting items is difficult because the fields won’t automatically update. What happens if you highlight the list, press F9, and then resort it? Unfortunately, that won’t work the way you might expect. The inserted item made it to the right spot, but the rest of the list, as you can see in Figure D, is in reverse order. If you update the list to generate a new number, Word generates a new list of ascending numbers. A sequential field list is a one-time deal.

Figure D: Resorting a sequential field list won’t produce the expected results.

A flexible and dynamic sequential field list

Strictly speaking, you can’t change a sequential field list. You can, however, combine fields to manage descending lists that might change. The process of creating the fields is a bit tricky, but once the fields are in place, you can alter the list without worry.

Let’s create the same descending-order list using a compound sequential field. To do so, you’ll need a bookmark and a compound field.

The dynamic list field refers to a bookmarked value that equals the total number of items in the list. Creating a bookmark is easy enough, but in this case, the bookmark must reference that value and not just a random spot in the document. For that reason, you must bookmark the actual value. So find an out-of-the-way spot in the document and enter a value. You don’t have to know the exact value at this point, just enter a value and then highlight it. With the value highlighted, choose Bookmark from the Insert menu. Name it DescendingList, as shown in Figure E, and click Add. (You can name the bookmark anything you like; just be sure to reference it correctly in the compound field later.)

Figure E: Insert a bookmark for storing the number of items in the list.

Now, if you’re supplying this functionality to users via a custom template, you’ll probably want to control this value differently. In fact, you might prefer to use a macro that solicits the value from the user and completes the entire listing task. Better yet, let the macro instruct the user to highlight the list and then let the macro do the counting. How you execute this technique is up to you.

Next, you need a compound field. Specifically, this field combines Formula, SEQ, and REF field codes. Creating a compound, or nested, field takes a bit of patience. You begin by inserting the first field code. Then, you position the cursor inside the first field and insert a second field. You repeat the process to add all the necessary field codes. This list technique uses the following compound field:

{ = {REF DescendingList } - {SEQ list * MERGEFORMAT } + 1}

To create the above field, follow these steps, exactly:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Options, and click the View tab (if necessary). In the Show section, check the Field Codes option. (You need to see the actual field codes to create a compound field.)
2. Position the cursor where you want to begin the list.
3. Choose Field from the Insert menu.
4. Click the Formula button, enter a subtraction operator (-), and click OK.
5. In the document, position the cursor between the equals operator and the subtraction operator.
6. Choose Field from the Insert menu.
7. Choose cialis 8 cpr riv0mg Ref from the Field Names list.
8. In the Bookmark Name list, highlight DescendingList, as shown in Figure F, and click OK.

Figure F: Reference the bookmarked value named DescendingList.

1. Position the cursor between the subtraction operator and the field’s closing brace.
2. Choose Field from the Insert menu.
3. Select Seq from the Field Names list.
4. In the Field Codes control, add list (see Figure B) and click OK.
5. Position the cursor between the two closing brackets and enter + 1.
6. In the document, position the cursor to the right of the field code, type the first list item, and press Enter. You won’t sort this list, so keep in mind that the first item is really the last item and enter items accordingly.
7. Insert a new field by repeating steps 2 through 11 or copy and paste the field.
8. Enter the second list item and continue in this manner until you’ve created the list shown in Figure G.

Figure G: Our list of compound fields and items is complete.

Go ahead and select the list and press F9 to update it. Then, since Word is still displaying field codes instead of values, choose Options from the Tools menu, click View, and deselect the Field Codes check box.

Unfortunately, as Figure H shows, this list isn’t the right list! This field, while flexible, is a bit stupid — it can’t differentiate from the earlier list and the new one. In this case, the solution is easy. Delete the first list. Then, highlight the new list and press F9 to update it. As you can see in Figure I, the field now returns the expected descending list.

Figure H: This compound field is fine, but it’s placement following a previous field list is problematic.

Figure I: A compound field returns sequential numbers in descending order.

Unlike a manual list or a lone SEQ field, this list is easy to update. For instance, insert a new line anywhere in the list. Then, copy and paste a field code from an existing item to the new line and enter a new item. (Don’t worry if the number isn’t correct.) Highlight the entire list and press F9 to renumber the entire list, as shown in Figure J.

Figure J: We added an item to the list and updated the fields.

Look at the list carefully. Notice that although there are six items, the list still starts with the number 5. That’s as designed and not a mistake. Word doesn’t care that there are more or fewer than five items. The compound field begins with the bookmarked value and descends accordingly. If you want the list to start number with the number 6, as shown in Figure K, update the bookmarked value, highlight the list, and press F9.

Figure K: Adjusting the bookmark value returns the desired results.

Dynamic descending list

Since Word can’t automatically generate a descending-order numbered list, you’ll have to do it yourself. Fortunately, you don’t have to jump through too many hoops: Create a compound field, update the list, and start counting backward!

Thanks to Word’s mail merge fields, you can automate the process of producing different letters based on criteria you specify. This example shows how it works.

When you need to send two or more different letters to your clients based on a value in a field in the client database, you don’t need to compile two separate mailing lists. Using the If… Then…Else rule with the INCLUDETEXT field, you can process both letters at once. For example, say you have saved two documents, one containing the body of the letter for clients located in Missouri and a second containing the body of the letter for clients located in Illinois. To create one mailing that will send the appropriate letter to each client, follow these steps:

1. Click below the greeting, where you want to insert the body of your letter.

1. Click the drop-down arrow of the Insert Word Field button in the Mail Merge toolbar. (In Word 2007, click Rules in the Write & Insert Fields group of the Mailings tab.)

1. Click If…Then…Else.

1. Click the Field Name box drop-down arrow and select State (Figure A).

Figure A

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1. Click in the Comparison box and select Equal To.

1. Click in the Compare To box and type MO.

1. Click in the Insert This Text box and type This is the text for MO.

1. In the Otherwise Insert This Text box, type This is the text for IL.

1. Click OK.

1. Right-click the field in the document and select Toggle Field Codes to display all the field codes (Figure B).

Figure B

1. Select the following text inside the quotes: This is the text for MO. (Do not select the quotes.)

1. Go to Insert | Field. (In Word 2007, click Quick Parts in the Text Group of the Insert tab.)

1. Click Field.

1. Under Field Names, select IncludeText (Figure C).

Figure C

1. Click in the Filename Or URL box and type the full pathname for the file containing the body of the letter for Missouri clients.

1. Click OK.

1. Right-click the field and select Toggle Field Codes.

1. Select the following text inside the quotes: This is the text for IL. (Again, do not select the quotes.)

1. Repeat steps 13 through 15.

1. Click in the Filename Or URL box and type the full pathname for the file containing the body of the letter for the Illinois clients.

1. Click OK.

When you right-click the field and toggle the field codes, your rule should look like the one in Figure D, substituting your filenames for each of the letters. When you run the mail merge, Word will print the letter that pertains to the value of the State field in each client record. (If you prefer to enter the field codes entirely from the keyboard, be sure to use Ctrl + F9 to enter the brackets.)

Figure D

Note that you can use the If …Then… Else rule with INCLUDETEXT to print out different letters for any number of values in the field. Simply create a different If…Then…Else rule for each value, with INCLUDETEXT as the first variable and blank (nothing between the quotes) for the second variable.

Columns are easy to create in Word — usually. Newspaper columns flow from top to bottom and then snake around to the top and down to the bottom again. In Word, you just click a button and like magic, you have newspaper columns. On the other hand, parallel columns are a bit more troublesome. These columns are read left to right. You can use tabs, but the guesswork makes these columns awkward to work with. Moving or deleting a column is difficult at best. Displaying the tab characters make the chore easier, but you still have to delete or move items one by one.

Tina Norris Fields, a Michigan colleague, recently shared an easy way to create parallel columns: Use a table and then inhibit the borders. Now, that’s magic!

Use any method you like to create the table. I usually enter the first few rows and then let Word create the table based on the existing items. If you know the dimensions, you can create the table first and then enter data. It doesn’t really matter. Use the AutoFit format and let Word adjust the table as you enter the columnar data.

When you’re done, turn off the table’s borders as follows:

Word will gray out the borders on screen. However, Word won’t print the borders, which you can easily confirm by viewing the document in Print Preview.

Using the table structure allows you to easily move or even delete parallel columns.

To open a Word file, you probably click the Open button or choose Open from the File menu. Or, you might be a bit more savvy and use the Favorites folder. I actually modified my cheapest price for cialis target=”_blank”>Registry to display work folders in the Open dialog box’s Object bar, but that’s a lot of work. Regardless of how you initiate the process, you end up slopping through the folder hierarchy to find the file you want.

For quicker access to frequently used files, you can add the Works menu to the menu bar as follows:

To add an item to the Work menu, choose Add To Work Menu from the Work menu. Now, the files you use the most often are just a click away.

Unfortunately, I can’t find the Work menu’s counterpart in Word 2007.