300 office tips • Special feature

1 Convert
columns
rows to
You can convert rows to columns (and
columns to rows) by highlighting the
cells you want to switch around,

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April 2001 PCAnswers
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 Special feature • 300 office tips

➤ What’s more, if you right-click on the

sum a pop-up menu will appear offering
Screen. Click on it again to return to a
normal window.
Alignment tab, and then drag the Text
pointer in the Orientation window.
additional quick calculation functions.

Excel has two distinct date
calculators: one returns the
13 A quick way to
enter the time
To enter the current date or time click
on a cell and type =today() or =now().
Excel updates the result every time you
17 Fit text
automatically
Make your work look neater by selecting
the relevant column, and clicking on
Format, Column, AutoFit Selection.
25 Zoom in to
your selection
You can have Excel display just the area
you’re working in by highlighting the
relevant cells, clicking on the arrow on
the Zoom box on the toolbar and

current date, the other
returns the creation date.
18 Fast
open the sheet, so it’s always current. copy, no selecting Selection from the list.
clipboard
Pressing [Ctrl] + [‘] is a speedy way to
duplicate the formula or figure in the
cell above the one you’re in.
26 Another default
entry direction
When editing cells the cursor moves

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down when you press [Return]. To

19 Fast and easy

multiple entry
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change the direction click on Tools,

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Options… and select Edit. Click on the

.
If you need to enter a formula in several Move selection after Enter list box and

cells, type your formula as normal and

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cells at once, simply select all the target choose another direction from the list.

press [Ctrl] + [Enter].

p 27 Launch Excel, open

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your file
20 Pick cells for
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Launch Excel, open the file you use

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AutoCalculator most often, and click on File, Save

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You can select unconnected cells by
holding down [Ctrl] while you click on
As… In the Save As dialog, navigate to
the Xlstart folder in your Office folder

14 Enter a fixed time

k .comments to the individual cells. and click Save. Now the file will open
automatically when you launch Excel.
into Excel
21oreduce clutter
Hide
28
o
If you want Excel to enter the current Set decimal points

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date or time and fix it at that point – for You can hide notes and other comments
example, to show the last date the sheet by using the Insert Comment function. Click on Tools, Options… and select

4
was modified – click on a cell and press Highlight a cell, click on Insert, the Edit tab. Place a tick in the Fixed
[Ctrl] + [;] for the date and [Ctrl] + [:] Comment and type your text. Click decimal tick box and use the arrows in
for the time.

o g away from the input box when you’ve the Places: input box to set the number

active cell l
finished. The comment will appear of decimal places.

15 Find the currently

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whenever you pass your mouse over

29 Calculate
/: /
the relevant cell. the
If you’ve been scrolling around your median value
22
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spreadsheet and you lose your place, Re-colouring the To calculate the median value of a
you can jump back to the currently grid lines number of figures, say A1 to A10, enter
active cell by pressing the [Ctrl] + You can change the colour of the grid =median(A1:A10) into the target cell.

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[Backspace] keys. by clicking on Tools, Options…,
selecting the View tab, clicking on the
30 #NAME! and
16 See the
big picture
If you’re working on a large sheet you
Color: list box and choosing a new
colour from the palette. Choosing white
effectively removes the grid completely.
#NUM! errors
Excel returns a #NAME! or #NUM!
error whenever a formula refers to non-
might want to switch to Full Screen existent names or numbers. To sort it
mode: simply click on View, Full
23 Angle your
entries…
out, re-enter the formula correctly.

To make Excel display the text in cells at

an angle of 45 degrees, right-click on
the toolbar, select Chart, and pick either
of the ab icons on the new toolbar.
31 Quick sort your
columns
The quickest way to sort a column into
a hierarchy is to select it and click on
the Sort Ascending or Sort Descending

24 …to any degree

you like
buttons (the ones with the AZ arrows).

Use angled text to add

visual interest to your lists
and graphs.
If you want custom angles right-click on
the cell and select Format Cells…
From the pop-up menu, click on the
32 Quickly change
cell dimensions
The quickest way to change a column’s

PCAnswers April 2001

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 300 office tips • Special feature

width or a row’s height is to place your

mouse pointer close to the join between
two columns or rows, then click and
hold down the mouse button, and drag
the column or row to the desired size.
in the Category: pane, click on the
Type: input box and press [M]
Handy keyboard tips
repeatedly until the desired format is 30 shortcuts to speed up your calculations.
displayed in the Sample area above.
Select the current column [Ctrl] + [Space]

40 Quick
Select the current row [Shift] + [Space]

33
Edit the active cell [F2]
Erasing entries column copy Move to the beginning of the worksheet [Ctrl] + [Home]
while typing You can fill out the cells in a column by Move to the last cell on the worksheet [Ctrl] + [End]
If you mistype your formula, press double-clicking on a cell’s handle. Paste a name into a formula [F3]
Paste a function into a formula [Shift] + [F3]
[Esc] to erase the cell’s content. Excel will place copies of the clicked
Alternate value/formula view [Ctrl] + [`] (on key [1])
cell in each cell below, stopping when

34 Enter
Calculate all sheets in all open workbooks [F9]
number it reaches a cell with blanks either side. Display the Go To dialog box [F5]
sequences (Confused? Try this: enter a figure in Display the Find dialog box [Shift] + [F5]
Enter the first number in a cell, press cell A1, then enter figures in cells B1 to Display the Format Cells dialog box [Ctrl] + [1]
Create a chart [F11]

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the [Ctrl] key, and then click, hold and B5, then double-click on A1’s handle.)
Insert a new sheet [Alt] + [Shift] + [F1]

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drag the cell’s handle until you’ve

41 Merge
Repeat the last action [F4]
cell
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reached the desired number of cells. Repeat Find [Shift] + [F4]

.
Release the mouse button first, and contents Open [Ctrl] + [F12]

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then the [Ctrl] key. To merge the contents of cells A1 and Exit [Ctrl] + [F4]

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Check spelling of current cell [F7]
B1, click on cell C1 and enter =A1&B1.

35 p
Activate the menu bar [F10]
See formulas at a The result is not a sum but a text Display the Macro dialog box [Alt] + [F8]

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glance string, so merging 10 and 7 will return Apply outline to active cell [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [&]

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You can view all of your formulas at 107, rather than 17. Convert to a percentage [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [%]

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once by clicking on Tools, Options…, Select all filled cells around active cell [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [*]

42 Use l
Move to next sheet [Ctrl] + [Page Down]
selecting the View tab, and placing a dynamic

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Move to previous sheet [Ctrl] + [Page Up]
tick in the Formulas tick box. formatting
.
Complete a cell entry and move up [Shift] + [Enter]
You can set Excel to alert you to critical

36 Highlight k
Complete a cell entry and move right [Tab]
cells of figures in cells by setting it up so the Complete a cell entry and move left [Shift] + [Tab]
a kind
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colour or size of text in a given cell Edit a cell comment [Shift] + [F2]

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You can select all the cells of a certain changes whenever a certain condition is

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type by using the Special functions. reached. Select a cell (say, the cell

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Click on Edit, Go To…, click on the containing the total of your bank be, so this isn’t practical for small cells

4
Special… button, choose the cell type balance) and click on Format, with lots of content.
from the dialog box and click on OK. Conditional Formatting… Choose the

37 g
conditions in the pop-up dialog (say

o 45 Create hyperlinks

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Switch off ‘Cell value is less than 0’) and click on to support files
the zeroes the Format… button. Now choose a To place links in cells that enable you

/: /
You can prevent zeroes from cluttering new colour in the Color: list box and to load other documents with one click,
your sheets by clicking on Tools, click on OK. Click on OK again to enter a name for the link in a cell and

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Options…, selecting the View tab, and finish. From now on Excel will display press [Ctrl] + [K]. Click on the File…

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unticking the Zero values tick box. your chosen figure in the new colour button. Navigate to the file you wish to
whenever the figure falls below zero. link to. Double-click on it and click

38 Protect
your work h
Open the sheet you wish to protect and 43 Border
cells
connected
OK. From now on, whenever you click
in that cell, Excel will jump to the file.

Prevent cell
click on File, Save As… Click on the You can place a border around a group content from
General Options… item in the Tools of related cells – all the totals, for overlapping
menu (in the top right corner of the example – by selecting them and neighbouring
cells by shrinking
Save As dialog) and enter a password clicking on Format, Cells…, then it to fit.
in the Password to open: input box. selecting the Border tab and clicking
Finally, click on the Save button. You on the Outline button.
might want to make a note of the
password before continuing.
44 Shrink entries to
fit their cells
39 Customise
your dates
You can customise the format of a date
You can force Excel to display the full
text of a cell by using the Shrink to fit
option. Click on Format, Cells…, click
in a cell using the Custom cell formatter. on the Alignment tab and place a tick
To do this, enter a date in a cell, click in the Shrink to fit tick box. Obviously,
on Format, Cells…, click on Custom the more text you have, the smaller it’ll
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April 2001 PCAnswers
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 Special feature • 300 office tips

➤
Outlook, PowerPoint,
Bringing up the rear are Microsoft’s email client, presentation, and
DTP software. Here are the hottest 15 tips and 35 shortcuts…
Outlook separate spell-checking options – tick
each box for the optimal spelling 7 Quickly adjust font
sizes, no mouse!

1
system. If you want to switch the whole Getting the font sizes right is paramount
Find the contact thing off, you should untick the second to a well-designed layout, and if you’re
you’re after quickly box in the list. constantly shifting and resizing frames,

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To locate a contact from just a fragment it can become a bit of a headache.
use the Find a Contact input box on
4 Automatically
addressed email
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However, there is a speedy method for

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the main toolbar. Just click on the box switching font sizes without any mouse

and enter what you remember of the
contact’s name. Outlook will find the
contact and open his or her details in a
.
Click on Folder, Contacts, select the operations: highlight the text you wish
contact you want to email and click on
Actions, New Message to Contact. A

o t to change and press [Ctrl] + [right

square bracket] to increase the font size

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dialog box. new message pane will open with the by a point, and [Ctrl] + [left square

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contact’s address details already bracket] to decrease it by one point.

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entered for you.

your maillo
5 Track
. b
You can find out when your mail is read

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by sending a receipt request with your
messages. Click on Tools, Options…

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and select the Preferences tab. Click on

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the E-mail options… and Tracking

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Options… buttons on the following
dialog. Finally, place a tick in the You can use the design gallery to store your
Request a read receipt for all own page elements.

o g messages I send tick box.

8 Build
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Find a Contact brings up your own
2 Shred your waste,
the Contact Properties.
Design Gallery

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Here you can add, edit or
remove the contact from don’t bin it Publisher The Design Gallery is Publisher’s library

p:
your address book. Outlook doesn’t really delete messages, of professionally-designed elements and
it places them in the Deleted items
6 Resize objects using objects that help to bring consistent

t t central origin
folder. To delete them click on Tools, design to your projects. It’s handy for
Options..., select the Other tab, and To keep the centre of an object dabblers but pretty useless for

h
place a tick in the Empty the Deleted
Items folder upon Exiting tick box.
in the same place while you
resize it, hold down [Ctrl]
while you are dragging the
more committed users. To
get the best from the
Design Gallery, you should

3 Spell check your

outgoing mail
To spellcheck your email before you
object’s handles.

Let Publisher solve your layout

send it, click on Tools, Options… and
then on the Spelling tab. There are five
use it to store your own
objects. To add an object
to the Gallery, select it and
problems for you with the click on Insert, Add
Design Checker.
Selection to Design Gallery…
Enter a name and category in the input

Outlook shortcuts boxes and click OK.

Five email shortcuts no one should be without,.

Display Inbox
Check for new mail
[Ctrl] + [Shift] + [I]
[F5]
9 Check your design
for problems
Once you’ve finished your project it
Reply to selected mail [Ctrl] + [R] pays to run it through its paces in the
Create new mail [Ctrl] + [N] Design Checker and check it for flaws:
Send mail [Ctrl] + [Enter] select Tools, Design Checker… and
click on Options… Select the Check

PCAnswers April 2001

08
 300 office tips • Special feature

and Publisher
all problems radio button and then and slides to the new button will appear
both OK buttons. Publisher now checks once you’ve released the mouse button. Publisher shortcuts
the integrity of your frames, bringing
attention to any potential problems, Five essential DTP shortcuts.
and suggesting remedies by way of a Toggle frame opacity [Ctrl] + [T]
pop-up dialog box. Nudge frame [Alt] + [Arrow] (any of the four directions)
Format copy [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [C]

10 No
Format paste [Ctrl] + [Shift] + [V]
need to Toggle current/actual page view [F9]

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cut and paste

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To copy an object simply select it,

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press [Ctrl] and drag it to a new the same place as the line. This

.
location. The copy is left behind in the means you can align all the
original position.
Adding buttons is a simple two-step process.

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pieces of your document with
very little effort. Once your

p
elements are in position you
PowerPoint
13 Just pack
s
can drag the Guides to new

g
and go locations or you can disable

11 Get the most from If you want others to be able to watch

o
them. The frames are
your videos
If you’re using a video clip in your
your presentations and you’re not sure
whether they have PowerPoint, use the

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unaffected. To activate the
Guidelines click on View, Guides.
presentation, make sure it’s in the same
folder as the presentation, otherwise it
File, Pack and Go… command. This
Pack and Go Wizard enables you to
k . PowerPoint shortcuts
will display a Find Files dialog when
run. Once you’ve loaded your film you
collate all of the presentation elements

o
into one standalone, portable program.
o Five shortcuts to increase your speed.

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can access its properties by right

14
Insert slide [Ctrl] + [M]

e
clicking on it and selecting Edit Movie Make your text Move to the next pane [F6]
stand out
4
Object… from the pop-up menu. The Move to the previous pane [Shift] + [F6]
dialog displays the clip’s total playing To add instant pizzazz to your headings

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Insert a hyperlink [Ctrl] + [K]
time and playing options. go to WordArt on the Drawing Tools Start slide show [F5]

l o
menu. You can configure WordArt text

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to run in a line, around a circle or in any

//
other shape. It can be multi-coloured,
Generic shortcuts

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3D or textured. Used sparingly,
WordArt can be an eye-opener. These shortcuts work in all Office applications, as

t t 15 Use Guides to
well as some third-party software.

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Open [Ctrl] + [O]
place frames Exit [Alt] + [F4]
Guidelines are non-printing lines that Save [Ctrl] + [S]
enable you to align frames with ease. Print [Ctrl] + [P]
When you drop a frame close to a Select All [Ctrl] + [A]
Add impact to your presentation with a Guideline it automatically snaps into Cut [Ctrl] + [X]
movie object. Copy [Ctrl] + [C]
Paste [Ctrl] + [V]

12 Add
Undo [Ctrl] + [Z]
buttons to Redo [Ctrl] + [Y]
your slides Help [F1]
Buttons make your presentation look Open pop-up menu [Shift] + [F10]
Open window control menu [Alt] + [Space]
and feel professional. Activate the
Scroll one page length down [Page Down]
Action Buttons sub-menu on the Slide Scroll one page length up [Page Up]
Show menu and hover your mouse Delete [Delete]
pointer over each of the available Switch applications [Alt] + [Tab]
buttons to view their descriptions. To Activate menus [F10]
Close menu [Alt]
use one. click on the button and draw
Select first/last menu item [Home]/[End]
a square on your slide. A dialog that Share your presentations more easily with

➤
enables you to link sounds, programs Pack and Go.

April 2001 PCAnswers

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