With a few simple formatting tweaks, you can make your Access reports far easier to read and interpret.

You can make your Access reports easier to read by adding controls, such as lines and rectangles, and using back color to group records visually. For example, say you have a report that lists each customer’s order balance. To make it easier to interpret, you have grouped the customers according to their assigned Intern and included a Total Balance for each group. However, as you can see in Figure A, the results are difficult to read.

Figure A

To improve this situation, follow these steps:

Figure B

1. Click in the Back Style box of the Rectangle Property Sheet and select Transparent (Figure C).

Figure C

1. Click the Detail bar to select the Detail Report section.
2. Click in the Back Color box of the Detail property sheet and click the Build button.
3. Click a light blue color swatch (Figure D).

Figure D

Now when you run the report, the added controls visually organize the data to make it much easier to read, as shown in Figure E.

Figure E

When you need to flip-flop data in an Excel worksheet, don’t waste time doing it manually. Excel offers a handy Transpose option that will quickly take care of the task.

Here’s a tip that eliminates the need to rekey data. Suppose you’ve entered your data with three column headings running across Row 1 and four row headings running down Column A, like the ones shown in Figure A.

Figure A

After working with the data for a while, you decide you’d rather have the current set of row labels (months) running across the columns. Whatever you do, don’t even think about rekeying the data.

You’ll find the best solution on the Paste Special menu. Start by selecting and copying your entire data range. Click on a new location in your sheet, then go to Edit | Paste Special and select the Transpose check box, as shown in Figure B. Click OK, and Excel will transpose the column and row labels and data, as shown in Figure C.

Figure B

Figure C

Note

You aren’t limited to using the Paste Special | Transpose option to rearrange multiple rows and columns of data. It works just as well when you need to turn a single row of labels into a column, or vice propecia generic online versa.

Sometimes, there may be variations in the appearance of your text, even if it carries the same style. Luckily, Word’s Reveal Formatting feature can help you ferret out any discrepancies.

Both of the headings on the page are formatted in the Heading 1 style, so why don’t they look alike? Rather than try to guess what the differences are, use Reveal Formatting and have Word figure it out for you. Follow these steps:

Figure A

1. Select the second heading.

Word will display the formatting differences in the task pane. In this example, the difference is that the second selection‘s propecia for women font size is slightly larger than the first (Figure B).

Figure B

Crowded slides are guaranteed to send your audience scrambling for the exits. Luckily, PowerPoint makes it easy to scoot excess text onto a new slide.

Sometimes, you just can’t fit everything you want one slide. If that text is in a placeholder, you don’t need to cut and paste part of the text into a new slide. In Outline mode, PowerPoint can push text along with just a few clicks.

First, display the Outlining toolbar by choosing Toolbars from the View menu and choosing Outlining. Next, click the Outline tab to display the presentation text in the Outline pane. Position the cursor at the end of the last line you want to keep on the current slide (Figure A).

Figure A

Then, press Enter and click Promote (the arrow at the top of the Outlining toolbar that’s pointing left). Doing so will insert a new slide for all the text you just split from the previous one (Figure B). Just enter a new title for the new slide and continue to adjust the text as necessary.

Figure propecia for receding hairline B

This method also works in PowerPoint 2007, but you don’t need the Outlining toolbar. Just press Enter at the appropriate spot to insert a new slide.

If your documents contain e-mail addresses or URLs, the spell checker will stop at every one, and that’s going to annoy you. Well… propecia for cheap I know it annoys me. You can inhibit this behavior by simply telling Office to ignore Internet addresses as follows:

If you’re using Office 2007, do the following:

1. Click the Office button and then click Word Options (or whatever application you’re using).
2. Select Proofing in the left pane.
3. Check Ignore Internet And File Addresses.
4. Click OK.

This permanent change affects all documents.