November 26, 2007

What Grammar Rules Are You Using?

Have you ever found yourself wondering about the rules MS Word is using to make its grammar recommendations when you check your documents?

Ever wish you had a little peek into the madness behind it all?

Wish you could tell Word to stop checking a few things that just drive you crazy?

If any of this sounds familiar, read on to take a look into the grammar rules used to check your documents.

In older versions of Word, you need to start with the Tools menu, Spelling and Grammar choice.

At the bottom of the Spelling and Grammar window, click the Options button.

This will take you to the Spelling and Grammar tab.

In Word 2007, you can get there directly through the Office Button, Word Options button, Proofing choice.

Once there, you can select and deselect a variety of options. One to pay attention to is the Writing Style choice.

Using the drop down list, you can choose to have Word check either the "Grammar Only" or "Grammar & Style."

Interested in what the specific differences are between the two choices?

No problem!

Click the Settings button.

The Grammar Settings window will open, displaying the choices for Grammar checks.

When you select "Grammar Only," you only get the grammar portion of the list. In contrast, the "Grammar & Style" choice will have items from both parts of the list selected. (Notice that you can toggle between the two Writing Style choices at the top of the window, allowing you to easily compare the two).

Scroll through the list.

You're free to check or uncheck items as you see fit.

When you're done, click OK and then OK again. cialis normal dose (If you're in an older version of Word, you'll also have to close the Spelling and Grammar window).

That's it! You now know where to find Word's control over the Grammar check. It looks like it's time to customize and make it your own!

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November 7, 2007

Picture Perfect Envelopes

Do you print a lot of envelopes with your MS Word documents?

Ever wonder how to dress up your envelope with a picture or business logo?

If you're thinking that might be a wonderful way to give your mailings that extra "punch," you're in the right place, because that's exactly what we're going to discuss today!

So, let's get down to business of turning this:

Into this:

Or, any design that suits your needs (or your mood of the moment).

In older versions of MS Word, you need to begin in the ever handy Envelopes and Labels window (Tools menu, Envelopes and Labels choice).

In Word 2007, you need to go to the Mailings ribbon and click the Envelopes button on the far left.

Once in that window, enter your delivery and return addresses as normal and then click on the Add to Document button.

You will then be returned cialis generic best price to your document, but with one major difference. You should see an envelope at the top of your document (before the first page).

If you don't see the envelope, you probably aren't in the Page Layout or Print Layout view (the name depends on the version of Word you're using). To switch your view, go to the View menu/ribbon and select the correct view.

Now, you can click into the envelope and use the Insert menu/ribbon, Picture choice to insert the picture you'd like to use (you know, the exact same thing you'd do in any document).

It can be moved, resized, etc. just like clipart in all Word files. Right clicking on the picture will allow you to adjust its properties in the Format Picture choice. (I found that I had to change the wrapping style and text alignment to get the text to start next to the top of the picture, instead of the bottom).

You can also highlight the addresses to change the font or text content, using the menus the same as you would for any Word document.

Now, I find it useful to have an envelope saved in a blank document. That way, I can simply keep changing the delivery address on the envelope. (For printing just the envelope, I make sure I've got the cursor on the envelope and I then choose Current Page in the Print window).

This method will really allow you to spice up your envelopes. So, go on, be creative and have fun!

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November 5, 2007

Do you use the Preview/Reading Pane in MS Outlook?

Are you tired of using your mouse to jump between the Inbox cialis for sale and the Preview Pane to select an e-mail, move down and scroll through the preview, then go up to the Inbox again and back to scrolling, etc., etc. It just goes on and on and on!

Wish you had an easier way to preview the entire message without all the mouse games?

If you're thinking this is what you've been looking for, you're in luck, because I have just the trick for you!

You can trade in your mouse for one little (or not so little) key. The space bar is all you need to scroll through your e-mail previews.

Once you're in the Inbox with an e-mail highlighted, simply hit the space bar and zoom, zoom! You should see the message in the Preview/Reading Pane, scrolling right before your eyes.

Reached the end of the e-mail?

Don't reach for that mouse!

Hit the space bar again and you should find that the e-mail selection jumps down one message and you're ready to use the space bar to scroll through that one too.

Did you give this tip a try and have no luck?

Then maybe you need to make some adjustments to your Outlook settings to enable this feature.

Try going to the Tools menu, Options choice.

In the Options window, click to the Other tab.

In Outlook 2007, you're looking for the Reading Pane button:

In older versions of Outlook, you need the Preview Pane button:

In any case, another window will open where you can alter the Preview/Reading Pane options.

Make sure the "Single key reading using space bar" choice is checked.

Click OK.

Again, in the Options window, click OK.

With that accomplished, you should find that you are able to use the space bar for e-mail scrolling in the Preview/Reading Pane.

It's a one key wonder that puts an end to the time consuming process of reading your e-mails with your mouse in hand. It doesn't get any better than that!

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November 1, 2007

Limit your Style list in Word to your favorites

Most users use only a few of the available Word document styles. For example, you might use only three custom heading styles and one table style from the Style list for all your Word documents. Instead of scrolling through all the styles associated with your Word document, you can save yourself time by limiting the list to only those styles you frequently use. Follow these steps:

  1. Go to View | Task Pane.
  2. Click the drop-down arrow cialis dosage side effects and select Styles And Formatting.
  3. Click the drop-down arrow in the Show box at the bottom of the Styles And Formatting window.
  4. Click Custom.
  5. Select Available Styles.
  6. In the Styles To Be Visible box, click to select the check boxes of the styles you use.
  7. Clear the check boxes of the remaining styles listed.
  8. Click OK.

You no longer have to scroll through a lengthy list to apply a style — only the ones you need will be visible in the task pane. If you need to view them all again, press [Shift] and click the Style box in the Formatting toolbar.

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Use Access menus to add page numbers, dates, and times to your reports

While the Report Wizard automatically adds page numbers to your Access report, it does not add a date and time stamp. And, if you create a report in Design view, you have to add the controls for the page numbers as well. Access provides menus so that you don’t have to know the code for setting these controls.

For example, to add page numbers to the bottom of your report, follow these steps:

  1. Open your report in Design view.
  2. Go to Insert | Page Numbers.
  3. Click Page N Of M under Format.
  4. Click Bottom Of Page [Footer] under Position.
  5. Click the drop-down arrow under Alignment and select Center. Click OK.

If the first page of your report is a title page and you do not want the number to appear on that page, clear the Show Number On First Page check box before clicking OK in step 5.

The Page Numbers dialog box gives you a number of options for positioning the number in the header and footer. For example, if you are printing the report on both sides of the paper, you can select Inside or Outside in step 4.

To use the menus to insert a date and time stamp in your report’s footer, follow these steps:

  1. Open your report in Design view.
  2. Go to Insert | Date And Time.
  3. Select the Date format you want to display under Include Date.
  4. Select the Time format you want to display under Include Time. Click OK.
  5. Drag the Time And Date fields to where you want to position them in the page footer section.
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