Date: October 5th, 2007

Author: Jody Gilbert

Date: July 10th, 2006

Author: Jody Gilbert

Over the years, successive versions of Word have introduced some solid innovations, some mind-boggling changes-for-change’s-sake, and a few usability-crushing “enhancements.” But through it all, one thing has remained constant: Buried within Word info viagra are lots of cool tricks that not too many users have discovered. These are small things–shortcuts that, in some cases, may not look much more efficient than pulling down a menu and heading for the dialog box you need. But if you perform a certain task a thousand times a week, being able to bypass some steps or automatically slap a change into a document without having to stop and think about it can be a welcome convenience. Depending on how you use Word, I’m betting you (or your users) will get addicted to one or two of these tricks.

This entry originally appeared as an article and as a PDF download. We’re presenting it here as well so that we can build a “10 things” archive.

#1: Move table rows up or down

This tip is probably most useful when you’re working in a table, although you can use it to reorder paragraphs outside a table, too. Let’s say you decide you want the third row of a table to be the top row. Just click within the third row, hold down [Alt][Shift] and press the up arrow key twice. Each time you press the arrow key, Word will move the row up one. You can select multiple rows to move them as a block, and you can use the down arrow key if you want to move text down instead of up.

Using this shortcut gets a little tricky if you’re moving big pieces of text outside a table. It’s easy to lose track of what’s being relocated where, and you might find it easier to take a standard cut-and-paste approach in those situations. But when the text is small and manageable, the shortcut is fairly handy. For example, if you need to move an item up or down within a bulleted or numbered list, you can just click in the item’s paragraph and use the [Alt][Shift] and arrow key combo to move the item to the desired spot.

#2: Go back to your last editing location when you open a document

One of the confounding things about Word is that when you reopen a document you’ve been working on, it puts you back at the top of the document. Unlike Excel, which takes you to the spot where you left off last time, Word’s short-term memory always wants to start you off at the beginning again. You can work around this if you press [Shift][F5] as soon as the document opens. [Shift][F5] is the Go Back shortcut, which cycles you between your four most recent edits during a Word session. But if you can remember to hit it immediately after opening a document, Word will jump to the last thing you changed before saving and closing that doc.

#3: Save changes to all open documents at one time

This simple technique comes in handy when you’re working in multiple documents and want to make sure you’ve saved your changes to all of them. I actually use it most often when I’ve made a change to a template and want a quick way to save that change on the fly (before I’ve had a chance to forget I made a change I want to keep). All you have to do is press the [Shift] key and pull down the File menu. Word will add the Save All command to the menu, above the Save As command. Just choose Save All and Word will prompt you to save each document (or template) that has any unsaved changes. This is more efficient than having to navigate to each document individually and click Save.

#4: Make a vertical text selection

Here’s a trick that seldom appears on the shortcut lists. Most of the time, we select text horizontally–a word, a series of words, a paragraph–from left to right or vice versa. But occasionally, the selection has to be vertical. For instance, suppose you wanted to delete the leading characters in Figure A.

To make a vertical selection, hold down [Alt] as you drag down through the text you want to highlight. Figure B shows the column of unwanted characters selected using this technique. Hit [Delete] and bam, they’re gone.

Although we selected text at the beginning of the lines in this example, you can make vertical selections anywhere on the page.

Update: Some users have reported that the Research pane appears when they try this selection technique. Here’s the secret: Release the [Alt] key before you let up on the mouse button. Word should retain the selection. If you hold down [Alt] but release the mouse button, Word thinks “[Alt]-click” and opens the Research pane in response.

#5: Quickly add a series of numbers

There are plenty of tools you can rely on to perform sophisticated or complex calculations. But Word offers a command that can be handy when you just need to sum a few numbers without dragging out another application. The command is Tools Calculate, and although it doesn’t appear on any toolbars, it’s easy to add.

Once you have access to the Calculate command, here’s how you use it. Simply highlight a series of numbers (either horizontally or vertically) and click your Tools Calculate button. Word will display the sum in the status bar, as shown in Figure D. It will also place that sum on the clipboard, so if you need to paste it into a document, just click in the desired spot and press [Ctrl]V or click Paste.

It’s important to note that the Calculate command works differently from the AutoSum button on the Tables and Borders toolbar. To use AutoSum, you have to be in an empty cell and then click the button to insert a formula that will add the numbers in the cells above or to the left of the current cell. It’s a sort of light-duty version of Excel’s =Sum() function. By contrast, the Calculate command gives you a quick total without requiring you to make a place for the results in your document.

#6: Gain fast access to formatting/layout options

If you spend a fair bit of time hopping into dialog boxes to tweak the appearance of your text or documents, there are some double-click tricks you might find useful. Here’s a sampling of the most common ones. (For a more comprehensive list, see “34 timesaving mouse tricks for Word users.”)

• To open the Page Setup dialog box, double-click on the horizontal or vertical ruler.
• To open the Paragraph dialog box, double-click on an indent marker on the horizontal ruler.
• To access bullet or number options, double-click on a bullet character or number in a numbered list.
• To access AutoShape options, double-click on an AutoShape.
• To open the Table Properties dialog box, double-click the Move Table Column marker (those little dotted squares you see on the horizontal ruler when you’re in a table) or the Table Move Handle (the four-headed arrow that appears at the top-left corner of a table in Print Layout view).

#7: Use Replace All to globally reformat text

Most users know how to use search and replace features to make certain types of text replacements on a case-by-case basis or throughout a document. But not everyone appreciates the power and versatility of the Replace All option when it comes to adjusting formatting. Here are just a couple of examples.

First, let’s say you’ve received a document in which someone went a little crazy with italics. Instead of manually removing the formatting from each occurrence:

1. Choose Edit | Replace.
2. Leave the Find What and Replace With text boxes blank.
3. Click in the Find What text box and press [Ctrl]I.
4. Click in the Replace With text box and press [Ctrl]I twice. This will set things up to replace all instances of italicized text with a nonitalicized version (Figure E). (Note: You can click Format | Font in the Find And Replace dialog box to access the corresponding options from a list box, but the [Ctrl]I method is a lot faster.)
5. Click Replace All to unitalicize your document text.

Now suppose you have a document that contains scores of paragraphs that are formatted with some ugly custom style used by another department or external partner. You need the text formatted with your own standard Normal style instead. To make this change throughout the document:

1. Choose Edit | Replace and click More (if necessary) to expand the dialog box.
2. Click in the Find What text box and click Format | Style. Choose the name of the ugly style from the Find Style list box and click OK.
3. Click in the Replace With text box and again click Format | Style. This time, choose Normal from the Find Style list box and click OK. Figure F shows these specifications ready to go.
4. Click Replace All and Word will apply your Normal style to all the paragraphs carrying the style you want to get rid of.

#8: Quickly transfer formatting from one piece of text to another

Word offers a button called Format Painter that provides a slightly clunky way to copy the formatting from one piece of text and then apply it to another piece of text. You select the text whose formatting you want to transfer, click Format Painter, and then select the text you want to reformat. If you have several pieces of text scattered throughout the document that you want to reformat in this fashion, you can double-click Format Painter and then use the little paintbrush mouse pointer to “paint” the formatting onto those pieces of text. But then you have to turn it off (click the button again) so that you can go back to working in the document. And Format Painter will forget the formatting specs it just transferred for you.

A better approach is to use a shortcut that copies formatting characteristics and then remembers them until you close the document. That way, when you come across other pieces of text that need that particular set of formatting attributes, you can use this trick to instantly apply them.

The shortcuts for this technique are easy to remember because they’re cousins to ordinary copy and paste ([Ctrl]C and [Ctrl]V). To copy text formatting, select the desired text and press [Ctrl][Shift]C. To paste that formatting onto other text, select that text and press [Ctrl][Shift]V. If you select part of a paragraph, you’ll be transferring character formats (bold, point size, font, etc.). Select an entire paragraph, you’ll transfer paragraph formats (line spacing, alignment, indents, etc.) as well.

#9: Duplicate selected text or objects using the mouse

This is my favorite technique for copying drawing objects and graphics because you can copy them and drag them into position in one step. Using ordinary copy and paste is often a crap shoot, because objects tend to paste themselves in strange locations depending on the layout options of the original object.

To use this technique, click on the item you want to copy (it can be a selection of text or an object in a document) and hold down [Ctrl] so that the mouse pointer turns into a plus sign. Then drag the item–it will become a copy of the item–to the spot where you want it to go. Figure G shows this technique in progress.

#10: Create a shortcut to launch Word using a particular template

Ordinarily, Word starts up by opening a new Normal.dot document. But if you routinely create documents based on some other template, a better starting point might be to launch Word using the template you actually need. One easy way to accomplish this is to create a desktop shortcut.

You’ll need to know the path to the Winword.exe program (for example, the default location for Word 2003 is C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office11; for Word XP, it’s C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office10; and for Word 2000, it’s C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office).

You’ll also need the path to the template you want to use on startup. If it’s one of Word’s built-in templates, look in C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates\1033. If it’s a custom template, the default spot is C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates. (If you’ve used Tools | Options | File Locations to specify a different folder for the User Templates item, you’ll need to use that path instead.)

Let’s walk through the process of creating the shortcut. We’ll assume that we’re using Word 2003 and that we have a custom template called DailyReport.dot located in the default folder for custom templates.

1. Right-click on the desktop and choose New | Shortcut.
2. In the Target text box, type the path to the Word program: “C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE”. You need the quote marks because there are spaces in the pathname.
3. Type a space, followed by the startup switch we want, /t.
4. Enter the path to the template, also in quotes: “C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\DailyReport.dot”. You don’t need a space between the switch and this path. The full entry for the Target text box will look like this:

“C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\OFFICE11\WINWORD.EXE” /t”C:\Documents and Settings\Username\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates\DailyReport.dot”

1. Click Next, enter a name for your shortcut, and click Finish.

Date: March 8th, 2007

Author: Susan Harkins

Access stores one of your most important assets–your data–in tables. Now, truthfully, the table you see onscreen is just a graphic representation, but you use this representation to determine how the rest of your database uses and reacts to your data. For this reason, it’s important to spend time up front assigning the appropriate properties and data types to suit the data. If the tables aren’t right, everything else is suspect.

This entry originally appeared as an article and as a PDF download. We’re presenting it here as well so that we can build a “10 things” archive.

# 1: Use table level properties to increase efficiency

Access tables offer several properties that remain with the data. You set the property just once, at the table level, and bound objects inherit those settings:

You’re not stuck with these property settings. At the form or report level, you can override any of these properties for just that form or report. In all cases, you save time and your data exhibits continuity from object to object.

# 2: Name fields appropriately

A field name should reflect a field’s purpose and describe the data it stores. The field names FirstName, LastName, and ZipCode are self-documenting and easy to manage. There’s no guessing. You know exactly what type of data should be in that field. There are, however, a few rules you must follow when choosing field names:

• A field name can consist of up to 64 characters–but only letters, numbers, and spaces.
• Don’t use reserved words to name fields, or any object, for that matter. For a list of reserved words, search Help for “reserved words.”

If you aren’t bound by an in-house naming convention, consider creating one of your own.

# 3: Don’t use spaces in field names

Although you might be tempted to use spaces in your field names, don’t. Spaces can be difficult to work with, especially in SQL statements and VBA code. If you use them, you must remember to enclose the reference in brackets, which is a nuisance. In addition, if you upgrade the database to SQL Server or export the data to use in another application, those space characters most assuredly will cause problems.

If you want field how long does viagra stay in your system headings and subsequent objects (see # 1) to display more natural text, use the field’s Caption property. For instance, if you name a field LastName, use the Caption property to display Last Name. Just remember that the Caption property is for display only. When referencing the field, you must always use the field’s actual name.

Caption properties come with their own set of behavioral problems. If you’re going to use the Caption property, plan for the following pitfalls:

• Access ignores the AS keyword (alias) in a SQL statement if the underlying field has a Caption setting.
• A Caption property setting won’t make it to the results of a Make Table query.
• DAO and ADO field objects return a field’s Caption property and not the underlying field’s name.

# 4: Don’t waste data type effort

When storing numeric data, you might be tempted to assign a Number data type. Before you do, consider the data’s purpose. For instance, you won’t use street number or zip code values in mathematical equations. When this is the case, store the data as Text. You’ll save a bit on memory, but more importantly, the data type is true to the data’s purpose. If you should need to use a text value as a true numeric value, use the Val() function in the form

=Val(field)

where field represents the Text field that’s storing numeric values or a literal value.

# 5: Use the most appropriate field size

With today’s powerful systems, assigning the most appropriate field size isn’t as urgent as it once was. However, as a matter of good practice, developers still limit field size. It’s your first step to validating data. For instance, let’s say you store state abbreviations in a Text field with Field Size setting of 2. If the user enters ARK instead of AK, Access will reject the entry. Of course, the field size property rejects only entries that are too big. It can’t spot typos or other mistakes. The field would still accept other invalid entries, such as “A” or “K6.”

This works with numeric fields too; it just isn’t as obvious. For instance, a Byte field accepts values 0 through 255, while the Long Integer accepts values from -2,147,483,648 to 2,147,483,647.

Choose the appropriate data type and field size property for each field. Always choose the smallest data type and field size that will accommodate the largest possible value in that field.

# 6: Choose indexes carefully

Access uses an index to sort data in logical order, according to data type. The right indexing can improve performance. The wrong index will slow things down. By far, the most common mistake is to set too many indexes. Because Access updates the index each time you add or change a record, too many indexes will affect performance. Fortunately, you can apply a few indexing guidelines that will help:

• Remember that a primary key automatically sorts–that’s an internal action you can’t control. In most tables, it’s the only index you really need. It’s called a unique index because every value in the field must be unique.
• As a general rule, consider indexing a table’s foreign key.
• Avoid an additional index on a table that you’ll be frequently updating, unless one of the above conditions applies.
• If the table has a primary key, consider an index on a second field only when you’re working with large amounts of data, you plan to search or sort by that field often, or the field contains mostly unique values.

In short, index any field you want to sort, search, or join to another table to speed up tasks. Just remember that each index increases the size of the database, and too many indexes will slow things down. If you’re working with small to reasonable amounts of data, indexes–beyond the primary key–usually aren’t necessary.

One final word on indexes: Don’t use an index to sort. That isn’t their purpose and you might not end up with the results you need.

# 7: Beware of AutoNumber limitations

Use an AutoNumber field to generate a unique number for your records. Many people use these fields as the table’s primary key, which is fine. This type of key is called a surrogate key. In later versions of Access, you can generate an incremental or random value. Incremental values are fine for most tables. You probably won’t use random values unless you’re using replication to synchronize multiple databases.

Remember that a table can have only one AutoNumber field. That might limit the way you can use that table later. For instance, if you need to merge two tables with AutoNumber fields in a Make Table query, you might run into trouble. It’s important to keep this limitation in mind when adding an AutoNumber to a table.

# 8: Change the starting value of an AutoNumber field

By default, an AutoNumber field starts with the value 1 and increments by 1 for each record. Occasionally, you may need to start a new table with an AutoNumber value other than 1. There’s no built-in property that lets you do this, but you can force a value:

1. Create the table and add an AutoNumber field but don’t enter any records.
2. Create a second table with one Long Integer Number field. Give the field the same name as the AutoNumber field in the data table (step 1).
3. In the single field table (step 2), enter the value that is 1 less than the value you want the AutoNumber field to begin with. For instance, if the first AutoNumber value must be 100, enter 99.
4. Run an append query to append the record in the single-field table to the data table.
5. Delete the single-field table.

When you enter the first record into your data table, the AutoNumber field will generate a value that is 1 more than the value you entered into the single-field table (step 3).

# 9: Use analysis tools

Access has two tools that will help you refine your design. First, the Table Analyzer Wizard reviews a table and recommends changes where appropriate. Second, the Performance Analyzer reviews your entire database and makes suggestions for improving the design. Usually, you’ll want to apply the wizards’ advice.

To run either wizard, choose Analyzer from the Tools menu and choose the appropriate item.

# 10: Don’t forget table properties

Like fields, tables have properties that define the table’s purpose. Most are self-explanatory, and the defaults are usually adequate. To access these properties, open the table in Design view and then choose Properties from the View menu. Here are a couple you should know about:

• Order By: Specifies a sorting order that Access applies when you open the table. Simply enter the name of the field by which you want to sort the records. If you don’t use this setting, Access sorts by the primary key. If there’s no primary key, Access displays records in data entry order. It won’t matter much at the table level, since users don’t view tables. However, like many field properties, bound objects inherit the property.
• Subdatasheet Name: Determines whether subdatasheets display related records. Many people find subdatasheets annoying. If that’s you, set this property to [None] to disable it.

# 11: Be aware of the limits

Although you may never reach any of the limits set for tables, you should know they exist:

• Table names can contain up to 64 characters.
• Field names can contain up to 64 characters.
• Each table can contain up to 255 fields.
• Table size is limited to 2 gigabytes minus the space needed for the system objects.
• A Text field stores up to 255 characters.
• A Memo field stores up to 65,535 characters when you enter data via the user interface. It’ll accept up to 1 gigabyte if you enter the data programmatically.
• An OLE field supports up to 1 gigabyte.
• Each table can have up to 32 indexes.
• Each index can comprise up to 10 fields.
• A Validation Rule expression stores up to 2,045 characters; the Validation Text property can have up to 255 characters.
• The Description property stores up to 255 characters.
• Each record can store up to 4,000 (for 2003) characters. (Version 2002 is 2,000.)

Susan Sales Harkins is an independent consultant and the author of several articles and books on database technologies. Her most recent book is Mastering Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, with Mike Gunderloy, published by Sybex. Other collaborations with Gunderloy are Automating Microsoft Access 2003 with VBA, Upgrader’s Guide to Microsoft Office System 2003, ICDL Exam Cram 2, and Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Access 2003, all published by Que. Currently, Susan volunteers as the Publications Director for Database Advisors at http://www.databaseadvisors.com. You can reach her at ssharkins@setel.com.

Date: August 28th, 2007

Author: Katherine Murray

Tell the truth, now. When you see a new worksheet arrive in your Inbox, your pulse doesn’t exactly quicken, does it? I’m guessing that you don’t lean forward in your chair, eager to open the file and see what exciting new numbers the worksheet is likely to present.

Or maybe you do have a pulse-pounding reaction how long does it take for viagra to work to worksheets, but it’s due to anxiety, not excitement. What am I supposed to see in all this data? How hard is this going to be to decipher? Am I really smart enough to figure all this stuff out? What time is lunch?

You can lessen this type of math anxiety for those who view your worksheets by using some simple techniques in Excel to get your data message across clearly. Here are a few tips to get you started.

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

#1: Give your worksheet a good title

The ultimate goal of your worksheet is to present information in a way others will understand, right? Give readers a head start by titling your worksheet clearly. A good title lets readers know immediately what the content of the worksheet is going to show them — that way, they won’t have to work so hard. “2008 Projections” isn’t bad, but it leaves a lot of things out. What kind of projections? Sales? Hired Employees? New Store Openings? Be as clear as you can and, if necessary, add a subtitle. And if you plan to circulate the worksheet by e-mail, be sure that you title the worksheet file with something that reflects the content of the sheet itself. That way, when people open the file, they’ll know what to expect.

#2: Wake people up with color

Sure, black and white does the trick. But. It’s. Boring. For those of us who aren’t numbers people to start with, pouring over a black-and-white grid stuffed with an ocean of numerals is torture. Jazz it up by splashing a little color on the page. Choose an energizing color — green, orange, purple — for your column heads. Do something special with the title — maybe format it in a complementary color, add a picture at the top, put a background behind it to make it pop. Just be sure the color you add doesn’t actually detract from the readability of the page. You want the color and design of the worksheet to draw people into the page, not make them forget what they’re looking at.

Excel makes it easy to add a picture to the background of the worksheet as well. This is really a neat effect, if you have a reason to use it. As a general rule, don’t put pictures behind your data just for the fun of it — readers have to work harder to see what’s in the foreground. But if you want to promote something fun, such as a summer sales competition, you can raise the energy by adding a special picture behind the scenes.

#3: Let the format lead the eye

Have you ever felt your heart sink because you’ve got five minutes to prepare for a meeting and the worksheet you’re looking at makes no sense? Chances are, the problem is one of three things:

The way in which you format your worksheet can solve all three of these potential problems for you. As a general rule, the largest items on your page will get the first look. Then, the eye will look for the next largest, and the next largest after that. The actual content — the data in the cells — is likely to be what your readers see last.

You can use this idea to your advantage when you plan the format of your page. Make the title stand out, good and bold, and make sure it says something clearly about the content you’re showing. Next, enlarge the column and row heads just a bit and put them in a second color. Readers will quickly scan the column and row headings to get a sense of how the information on the worksheet is organized. This will help them see what’s most important on the page and where they should begin.

If you have extra information you want to be sure readers see — for example, a note explaining why you’re displaying projected 2008 data even though it’s only 2007 — you can set it off by enclosing it in a border or using a second color. This will draw the reader’s eye to the note after they’ve taken in the most important items on the page.

#4: Apply a theme

Excel 2007 benefits from the hip new (or should I say, expanded and improved) themes feature that has been added throughout the core Office 2007 applications. Themes exist in Office 2003, but they were limited in design and functionality (and much less fun).

When you apply a theme to your Excel 2007 worksheet (by clicking the Page Layout tab and choosing Themes), you make a design choice that includes the font, color, table style, and effects of the information on your worksheet. The great thing about this feature is that you can dramatically change the look and feel of your information simply by opening the Themes gallery and clicking another choice.

#5: Don’t cram your charts

What would we do without charts in Excel? Charts are a saving grace for those who need to provide their information in the easiest possible way for readers to understand. A chart quickly shows readers what’s most important in your data (or at least, what’s most important in what you want to show right now) and presents each data item in relation to other items in the chart.

One mistake that Excel chart novices often make is to try to show absolutely everything under the sun in a single chart. You’ve got one shot, right? The best way to ensure that your readers will keep viewing your information is to make sure they understand what they’re looking at. And that means paring your chart down to the essentials and not littering the bars or pie slices with all sorts of labels and percentages and other nonessential items. Show what you need to get your point across and no more. Your readers will thank you for it.

#6: Diagrams are helpful

Excel 2007 includes another way to show your data visually. Now you can use SmartArt to create professional-looking diagrams for flowcharts, org charts, and much more. Creating a SmartArt diagram is similar to creating a chart — you choose the type of diagram you want to use, add your text, and then add bars, lines, suns, moons, whatever. You can tailor the diagram in an almost unlimited number of ways (including adding pictures to the shapes in the diagram).

#7: Take advantage of conditional formatting

I admit that I am easily amused by simple, colorful things. So I love the improved conditional formatting in Excel 2007. This is another feature that’s been dramatically enhanced and made easier to use in the newest version. Now you can use a variety of visualizations to help show trends in the data you’re presenting. You can use symbols, color bars, and more. To add conditional formatting to your worksheet, select the cells you want to showcase and click Conditional Formatting in the Styles group of the Home tab. Select the style of formatting you want to apply, and Live Preview will show how the formatting will look on your data. Nice.

#8: When in doubt, spell it out

If you are working on a complex worksheet and just can’t see how everyone will understand what you want them to focus on without a note or two, you can easily add comments to cells in the worksheet. Simply select the cell or range you want to add a note to, right-click, and choose Insert Comment. A small text box opens on top of your worksheet so that you can type the note you want to add. Your readers will know a comment exists at that point in your worksheet because a small red triangle appears in the upper-right corner of the cell. When a reader hovers the mouse pointer over the triangle, the note opens.

#9: Frame it

It’s an old trick, but it still works — if you want to draw a reader’s eye toward something on the page, box it. Newspapers do it, magazines do it, Web pages do it. If the design is done well, readers think they are getting something “extra” in that little box — and we all love getting something extra.

Select the cells you want to border and right-click on your selection. Choose Format Cells and select the Border tab. Test out different border styles and choose one that frames but doesn’t overwhelm your worksheet design. Click OK when you’ve found the style you want to use.

One caveat: Use the box idea sparingly. If you create more than one box on the page, readers might get confused about which one to read first and maybe even give up on reading any of it.

#10: Invite feedback

Finally, if you really want to make sure people are getting the message of your worksheet, ask. E-mail one or two coworkers and ask them to take a quick look at your data; then find out whether:

• It was easy to understand what the worksheet is about.
• They could clearly see what was most important on the page.
• They have any suggestions for ways you could make it easier to understand.

So what’s the result of all this? People will smile at you more when they pass you in the hallway, because you made their day easier — and helped them feel smarter — by making your information easier to understand. And who knows, you might even get a free lunch out of the deal.

Katherine Murray is the author of many computer books (including the in-the-box documentation for Microsoft Office 2007 Professional and Small Business Editions). Her most recent book, Microsoft Office Word 2007 Inside Out, with coauthors Mary Milhollon and Beth Melton (Microsoft Press, 2007), has just hit the stands. She also writes digital lifestyle articles for various Microsoft sites and publishes a blog called BlogOffice that shares Microsoft Office ideas, how-tos, and tips.

Date: November 13th, 2007

Author: Susan Harkins

PowerPoint is a powerful presentation package, but most of us don’t use it often enough to learn its many timesaving tricks. The good news is that you don’t have to be an expert to get more mileage out of PowerPoint features. Here’s a look as some of the shortcuts and tricks you can use to put PowerPoint to work for you.

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

#1: If you don’t like the design, pick another

You can build a presentation from scratch, but most of the time a design template is more than adequate. These templates apply consistent design and formatting attributes from the first slide to the last. Click the Slide Design button on the Formatting toolbar to open the Slide Design task pane to get started. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose a design template from the Design group.)

You’re not stuck with a design once you choose it. At any time, even after the presentation is complete, you can choose another design. Simply select the one you want; you won’t lose any content.

You can also change the design for only selected slides, without actually removing the template from your presentation. In the Slide pane or Slide Sorter View, select the thumbnails that represent the slides you want to change. Next, click on the drop-down arrow beside the desired design in the Apply A Design Template list and choose Apply To Selected Slides (Figure A). (There’s no drop-down arrow in PowerPoint 2007; just right-click on the design.) PowerPoint will immediately update the selected slides.

Figure A

#2: Hone for focus

Resist the urge to crowd as much text as you can onto a single slide. If a busy slide doesn’t overwhelm your audience, it will most certainly distract them. Instead of listening to you, they’ll read ahead.

Once you have a rough draft of your presentation, review it with the following goals in mind:

By following these steps, you may reduce content by as much as half, and your presentation will be more focused.

#3: Don’t forget The end!

When you come to the end of your presentation, what comes next? If you click out of Slide Show View, your audience will get a behind-the-scenes peek at your work, and you probably want to avoid that. Instead, end your presentation with a slide that maintains the presentation’s master slide details but displays a simple message such as Thank you for your support or Thank you for coming.

Of course, the end slide doesn’t have to display a message. A blank slide might be adequate. You might even consider combining two end slides: Display a short thank you, or otherwise appropriate message, and follow it with a blank slide. That way, if you click out of the message slide, you’re still covered.

Professional presentations include a slide dedicated to ending the presentation. It protects you and cues your audience.

#4: Create your own AutoContent template

The AutoContent Wizard is a great place to start when you’re not sure what a presentation should cover. This wizard creates a new presentation using built-in templates, and you can customize the results.

What you might not know is that you can add an existing presentation to the AutoContent Wizard’s library. To do so, complete the following steps:

1. Launch the wizard by choosing New from the File menu.
2. Click the From AutoContent Wizard link in the New Presentation task pane.
3. Click Next in the wizard’s first pane.
4. Choose the most appropriate content template category and click Add (Figure B).
5. Locate your presentation file and click OK.

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6. Quit the wizard.

At this point, the presentation you added is available to use as a content template. Don’t let a good, generic presentation go to waste. Most likely, you’ll have to customize it, but that’s true of any content template you choose.

The AutoContent Wizard isn’t available in PowerPoint 2007. Instead, use a themed template. Choose File from the Office menu and select New to get started.

Microsoft offers more free templates.

#5: Send a presentation to Word

PowerPoint can print views, but you can’t modify the results much. For instance, you can print handouts or even individual slides, but PowerPoint just prints a hard copy of your exact slides. If you want to enhance or format handouts, send the presentation to Word, which offers more flexibility. To do so, complete the following steps:

1. Choose Send To from the File menu.
2. Select Microsoft Office Word from the resulting submenu.
3. In the Send To Microsoft Office Word dialog (Figure C), choose one of the many send options. The Outline Only option sends only the content.
4. Click OK.

Figure C

Once your content is in Word, you can apply formatting and printing options that aren’t available to you in PowerPoint.

In PowerPoint 2007, you use the Publish command to send content to Word. Choose Publish from the Office menu and then choose Create Handouts In Microsoft Office Word.

When you do supply handouts, consider handing them out at the end of the presentation instead of at the beginning. Some people will pay more attention to your handouts than your presentation.

#6: Reverse those points

You probably know that you can display bullet points one at a time by choosing an animation scheme in the Slide Design task pane. Specifically, choose Fade In One By One from the Subtle section. What you might not know is that you can display bullet points in reverse order. The easiest way to reverse point order is to choose Show In Reverse in the Moderate section of the Animation Scheme task pane.

It’s a good idea to spend some time viewing all of the Animation Scheme options. It won’t take long, just a few minutes. Being familiar with all the effects is the key to using each appropriately. In addition, where animation is concerned, less is better than more — go easy and use animation only when you have a specific reason to and not just because you like a particular scheme.

You’ll find animation options on PowerPoint 2007’s Animations tab in the Animations group. Use the Animate drop-down list to choose the desired effect. The interesting advantage in 2007 is that as you choose an effect, PowerPoint displays it, so you can see it at work before you select it.

#7: Beware of busted GIFs

PowerPoint 2000 was the first version to support animated .gif files, but the viewer didn’t. (PowerPoint Viewer is a support application that lets others view your PowerPoint presentation, even if they don’t have PowerPoint installed locally.) Unfortunately, the older viewers don’t support .gif files. This limitation has the potential to spoil your otherwise flawless presentation.

The good news is that more recent viewers do support .gif files. In fact, they offer full-feature support all the way back to PowerPoint 97. If you’re still using an older version of PowerPoint — 97, 2000, or XP — the latest viewers will run your presentations, .gif’s and all. Microsoft offers a list of the different PowerPoint Viewer versions.

#8: Reverse slide print

Most printers allow you to print in reverse, but you can’t always get to individual printer options — especially with networked printers that are configured for all users by an administrator. If printing options are limited, you can still have PowerPoint print your slides in reverse order, with or without help from your printer:

1. Choose Print from the File menu. (In PowerPoint 2007, choose Print from the Office menu.)
2. Click the Slides option in the Print Range section.
3. Enter the range of slides in reverse order. For instance, if you want to print slides 1 through 10 in reverse order, enter 10-1 instead of 1-10. It’s an easy solution to implement.

PowerPoint will remember this setting until you change it or exit the presentation. Even if your printer has a reverse option available, you might find the PowerPoint route easier to take if you consistently print the same range of slides during the same work session, as your printer might not remember the setting.

#9: Reduce file size

PowerPoint files can be huge. If you send them via e-mail, you might find it takes a while to upload and download a presentation, especially if you or a recipient is still using a dial-up connection.

You probably use special software to compress the file before sending. You can also reduce the size of the original file by deleting the slide thumbnails. To do so:

1. Choose Properties from the File menu.
2. Click the Summary tab.
3. Locate the Save Preview Picture check box at the bottom of the dialog box (Figure D) , deselect it, and click OK.

Figure D

Doing this will save a huge hunk of KBs, even before you compress the file. If you disable the thumbnails, you can’t preview the file in the Open dialog box, but that seems like a small tradeoff for the KB savings.

This option is harder to find in PowerPoint 2007. From the Office menu, choose Prepare and then Properties. From the Document Properties drop-down list, choose Advanced Properties to find the Summary tab. You’ll still save some space, but not as much.

# 10: Control the pointer from the keyboard

During a slide show, PowerPoint hides the pointer five seconds after you display each slide, and then it disappears. When you click to view the next slide, the pointer becomes visible for another five seconds. You can control pointer display by clicking the icon in the bottom-left corner of the screen, but that’s a bit distracting in the middle of a presentation. Instead, consider controlling pointer visibility from the keyboard:

• Ctrl + H hides the pointer immediately.
• Ctrl + A displays the pointer immediately.

Once you use Ctrl + A to display the pointer, it’s fixed. There’s no five-second delay. You must use Ctrl + H if you want it to go away.

Susan Sales Harkins is an independent consultant and the author of several articles and books on database technologies. Her most recent book is Mastering Microsoft SQL Server 2005 Express, with Mike Gunderloy, published by Sybex. Other collaborations with Gunderloy are Automating Microsoft Access 2003 with VBA, Upgrader’s Guide to Microsoft Office System 2003, ICDL Exam Cram 2, and Absolute Beginner’s Guide to Microsoft Access 2003, all published by Que. Currently, Susan volunteers as the Publications Director for Database Advisors. You can reach her at ssharkins@gmail.com.