Wednesday, May 2nd, 2012
Office 2010 – how to save files as templates
Each of the Office applications allows you to configure a look for a document, spreadsheet, publication or presentation and then save it as a template so that you can reuse it anytime.
Templates in PowerPoint 2010
In PowerPoint you’ll create your presentation and then save it using File > Save As and select from the Save As Type list choose PowerPoint Template (*.potx). Give your presentation template a name and click Save.
In future you can locate this presentation by choosing File > New > My Templates and click on the template to use it as the basis of a new document.
Templates in Word 2010
In Microsoft Word choose File > Save As and from the Save As Type dropdown list choose Word Template (*.dotx). In the top left of the dialog click the Templates option to make sure that the template will be stored in the correct location and give the template a name.
In future choose File > New > My Templates and select the template to use.
Templates in Excel 2010
In Microsoft Excel, you can save the look of your document so that it can be used as the basis of a new document by choosing File > Save as and choose Excel Template (*.xltx ) as the file type. Type a name and save the template file.
In future you can base a new worksheet on this template by choosing File > New > My Templates and select it from the Personal Templates list.
Templates in Publisher 2010
In Publisher you’ll choose File > Save As and then select Publisher Template (*.pub). Type a name for the template and click Save.
In future you can access this template by choosing File > New > My Templates, select the template and click Create. You may need to close and reopen your software before the new templates are available.
Labels: Excel, Excel 2010, Helen Bradley, how to, PowerPoint, PowerPoint 2010, publisher, Publisher 2010, save as a template, templates, tips, Word, Word 2010
Monday, April 30th, 2012
Save an Excel Chart as a Picture
You can save a chart as a picture from inside Excel so you can use it elsewhere such as in a report or on the web.
To do this you will use a workaround and the simplest way to do it is to size the chart on the worksheet so it is a good size. Choose File > Save As, select the location to save the file in and from the Save As Type dropdown list choose Web Page (*.htm;*.html), type a name and click Save.
This converts the worksheet to an html file and because html files cannot contain images the chart is saved as a separate png image file and linked to the html file.
You can find your chart in the folder that you saved the html file into. So, if your file was called sales.htm then the images will be in a folder called sales_files. Of course, you’ll also need to save your Excel worksheet if you want to save the data and chart to work on in Excel in future.
Labels: Excel 2010, gif, graph, Helen Bradley, png, save chart as image
Thursday, April 26th, 2012
Harness the power of Business Information sets in Publisher
Publisher’s Business Information Sets make it easy to populate documents with information about people and businesses. You only need type the text once and you’ll know it is always correct wherever it happens to be used.
To use these sets, in Microsoft Publisher use File > Info and select the Edit Business Information. Here you can view the information sets that you have available. While they’re called Home/Family, Other Organization, Primary and Secondary Business, you can make them anything you want them to be.
So select an option and click Edit. Enter the information for your business including the person’s name, address and information. Click Add Logo to add a your company logo.
You can also type a new set name in the set name box. By adding to the business information sets details you use frequently, you can use this information in any document later on such as business cards and brochures.
To do this, select the business card template to use and then select the business information set to use with it. You can choose to include your logo or not as circumstances demand. Click Create and the business card will be created for you with all the details already in place.
You can also use business information in regular documents by choosing Insert and then from the Business Information dropdown list select the items that you want to use in a document. For example, you can drag and drop telephone information into any document from the business information set.
You can also change the business information in a document. So, if you’ve created a business card and want to do the same thing for another person for whom you have a business information set created, just choose File > Info > Edit Business Information and select the set to use and click Update Publication. This allows you to quickly change information in documents and create flyers for multiple businesses or business cards from multiple people.
Labels: business information, documents, Helen Bradley, how to, populate, publisher, tips
Tuesday, April 24th, 2012
Add Custom Keyboard Shortcuts in Word 2010
In Word 2010 you can set keyboard shortcuts for ribbon buttons using the program options. Choose File > Options and click Customize Ribbon. Click the Customize button at the foot of the dialog – this is available in Word 2010 but not in Excel 2010 curiously.
Click the tab that you’re interested in and locate the button on the tab that you want to customize. For example, if you choose the Home tab and click Bold as the command you’ll see that there are already keyboard shortcuts associated with that command.
Many other commands do not have keyboard shortcuts associated with them and if you want to add them you can do so.
For example, there is no keyboard shortcut for the Font Color Picker. Select Home tab and then Font Color Picker and press a new shortcut key. For example the shortcut Alt + Ctrl + Shift + C is not currently assigned.
Click in the box and press that keyboard combination. If you want to use that for the Font Color Picker, you can do so by clicking Assign. This assigns this keystroke to the Font Color Picker tool.
To test this, click Close and then Ok. Now when you select a piece of text you can apply the currently selected font color to it by pressing Ctrl + Alt + Shift + C.
Labels: customise, customize, Excel 2010, Helen Bradley, key shortcuts, keyboard assignments, Keyboard Shortcuts, keystroke short cuts, short cut key, Word 2010
Friday, April 20th, 2012
Must know Windows 8 keystrokes
Windows 8 makes a lot of use of keystrokes - more use than other versions of Windows ever has. Here is a list of handy keystrokes, you won’t use all of them but some are totally awesome for getting around. My fave? This week it is Windows + E! yeah instant access to My Computer – you gotta love it!
Windows key display the Start menu
Windows + tab display the task switching panel
Windows + C reveal Charms
Windows + D switch to the desktop
Windows + M switch to the Desktop
Windows + H Share charm
Windows + I Settings charm
Windows + K Devices charm
Windows + L Lock the screen
Windows + P shows second monitor options
Windows + Z display an app’s application bar
Windows + T Cycle through small images of open apps – press Enter to switch
Windows + Q Open Metro search charm
Alt + Tab Cycle through open apps
Windows + , (comma) Show desktop (temporarily)
Right click an application window reveal the application bar
Windows + PrtSc Capture a picture and save it to the Pictures folder
Windows + Space change input language and keyboard
Windows + R Display the Run dialog
Windows + T Cycle through programs on the taskbar
Windows + F Find other computers on your network
Windows + E Open Windows Explorer and show My Computer
Windows + left arrow Dock a desktop app to the left of the screen
Windows + right arrow Dock a desktop app to the right of the screen
Windows + Shift + Up arrow maximize desktop app’s height (width is unchanged)
Windows + Shift + Down arrow restore/minimize desktop app’s height (width is unchanged)
Windows + 1 (or 2, 3…) Launch or switch to the application at this position on the taskbar
Windows + Shift + 1 (or 2, 3…) Launch a new instance of the application at this position on the taskbar
Windows + + (plus) Magnifier – zoom in
Windows + – (minus) Magnifier – zoom out
Labels: Helen Bradley, help, how to, keystrokes, must know, short cut, shortcut, tips, Windows 8
Wednesday, April 18th, 2012
Unhide Hidden PowerPoint 2010 animations
Sometimes when you’re working in PowerPoint you’ll notice that an animation is not available and it is greyed out.
For example add an image to a slide and then try to select the drop animation from the Entrance Effects. It’s not available because what you’re trying to select is a tool that is used to animate text and you are using an image.
However you can use this animation on an image, you just need to know how to do so. To do this, place the image inside a shape. So, add a shape to the slide – a plain rectangle will do, and as the shape background add the picture by right-clicking the shape, choose Format Shape and then from the shape Fill options select Picture and fill it with a picture.
Right click the shape and choose Edit Text and press the spacebar a couple of times so that you add some text to the shape – spaces won’t show but they are text. It’s critical that you do this because without the text the shape will not be able to be animated using text animation tools.
Now when you select the Animate options and the Entrance Effects you’ll find that the effects that you couldn’t use before like Drop, Flip and Whip are now available because you’re working with PowerPoint deems to be a text object.
Labels: amimation pane, animate, animations, drop, entrance effects, flip, grayed out, greyed out, Helen Bradley, hidden animations, PowerPoint, PowerPoint 2010, timeline, whip
Monday, April 16th, 2012
Making Groups in Windows 8
In Windows 8 Metro you can name groups of tiles so they have headings on the Start screen and you can drag groups around. Pity that nothing on the screen makes it clear that this is something you can do.
To do this, first use the semantic zoom to shrink the start menu tiles so they are very small.
Then right click a tile in the group of tiles you want to name.
A dialog pops up where you can type the group name. This only appears when you are zoomed out making it hard to find.
When you’re done, zoom out and you’ll see the group named. You can now drag and drop tiles into the group to help keep things nicely organized on the Windows 8 Metro Start screen.
Labels: groups, Helen Bradley, how to, Metro, name a group, naming groups, semantic zoom, start menu, start screen, tip, trick, Tutorial, Windows 8
Thursday, April 12th, 2012
Customize the Quick Access toolbar in Word 2010
The Quick Access Toolbar or QAT runs across the top left edge of the Word 2007 and 2010 window. It also appears in other ribbon compatible programs like Excel 2007 & 2010, PowerPoint 2007 & 2010.
The QAT is a handy place to put icons that you use all the time. It can be customized through this Quick Access Toolbar option.
Click this icon to show the QAT editing options. Click Show Below the Ribbon to place the Quick Access Toolbar below the ribbon – I think most people will find its current position acceptable but if you want to move it that’s how to place it elsewhere.
Choose More Commands to add more commands to the Ribbon. From the Choose Commands From list you can select commands to view. These include Popular Commands, Commands Not In The Ribbon, in other words commands that are available in Microsoft Word but for which you have no other easy way of accessing, All Commands or Macros. The remainder of the dialog gives you access to the individual tabs in Word so that you can get access to icons listed there.
Some options you may want to add to the Quick Access Toolbar include the Close/Close All Button, Quick Print and I like to add Switch Windows which is available from the All Commands list. Other tools that you use frequently can be added to the Quick Access Toolbar making them instantly accessible.
You should note that you can set the features for all documents or for just an individual document so that you can, for example, set a different toolbar for a specific document. When you choose this option the specific document will get all the tools on the standard quick access toolbar plus those that you’ve added to just its toolbar.
Labels: Excel 2007, Excel 2010, Helen Bradley, mini toolbar, OneNote 2010, Outlook 2010, PowerPoint 2007, PowerPoint 2010, Qat, quick access toolbar, Ribbon, Word 2007, Word 2010
Tuesday, February 21st, 2012
Excel – conditional sums
In some instances you may want to sum a column of numbers depending on the contents of that column. For example, if you want to total the sales figures in the range B3:B35 but only where those values are greater than 10000, this SUMIF formula will do the work:
=SUMIF(B3:B35,”>10000″)
The Sumif function takes first the range to sum and then the condition to match. In this case you will be summing all values in column B from rows 3 to 35 inclusive which contain values greater than 10000.
The SUMIF function can also sum a different range than that used for the test. Here it sums all values in the range D2:D19 where the corresponding values in the range C2:C19 are Produce.
=SUMIF(C2:C19,”=produce”,D2:D19)
Labels: conditional sum, Excel 2010, sumif
Sunday, February 19th, 2012
DIY Excel functions
With a little bit of coding experience it is possible to create your own functions in Excel 2010 and earlier.
In Excel 2010, make sure the Developer toolbar is visible – if it is not, follow this post to make it so.
Now choose Developer tab and click the Visual Basic button. In the Project – VBAProject pane, select the current file and choose Insert > Module.
Type this function into the dialog and then close the VB editor and return to your worksheet:
Function Commission(Sales) As Currency
Commission = Sales * 0.05
If Commission > 1000 Then
Commission = 1000
End If
End Function
To test your function type this formula into a worksheet:
=COMMISSION(20000)
or as shown here:
=COMMISSION(B3)
The function calculates commission at 5% of the amount of sales. If the 5% value is more than $1,000 then the commission is pegged at this amount – to check this, test the function with a very large number. Functions created this way are only able to be used in the current workbook.
Labels: calculate commissions, diy functions, Excel custom functions, Macro, vb editor, vba code
Thursday, February 16th, 2012
Excel 2010 – quick and easy calculations
One of the handiest calculation tools in Excel isn’t a function and instead it appears automatically on the Status Bar.
Select a series of numbers and in the Status Bar you will see, by default, the Sum of those numbers.
Right click the Sum and you can select from other calculations such as Min, Max, Count Items, Count and Average. These calculations are useful when you need to quickly check a calculation. It doesn’t get any more convenient than this.
Labels: average, Excel 2010, formulas, functions, status bar, sum
Tuesday, January 10th, 2012
Pattern fills for your Excel 2007 charts
In Excel 2003 and now in Excel 2010 , there are pattern fills which you can use to fill chart bars so your charts print just great in black and white.
Unfortunately the same feature was removed from Excel 2007 – wtf? I have no clue why but it was but it has to be a very silly thing to have done.
If you are using Excel 2007 and you need to use pattern fills with a chart you are out of luck – well not really – you just need to read the rest of this tip because I can tell you how to put the fills back into Excel 2007.
To begin, download this handy add-in: http://officeblogs.net/excel/PatternUI.zip
The zip file contains a single file patternUI.xlam which you need to extract and place somewhere you will find it easily and where it won’t get deleted by accident. You could make an Excel add-ins folder for it, for example.
Once you’ve done this, open Excel 2007 and choose the Office button > Excel Options > Add-ins and from the Manage dropdown list, select Excel Add-ins and click Go. This opens the old Add-ins dialog from earlier versions of Excel. Click Browse and locate the .xlam file that you just unzipped and placed somewhere safe. Select it and click Ok. Ensure that the PatternUI option appears in the Add-ins available list and that it is checked and click Ok.
Now create an Excel chart. Once you have you chart, click on the data series to fill with a pattern – if you have a single series plotted then select just one of the columns at a time. Select the Chart Tools > Format tab and notice that you now have an option called Patterns available. Click the Patterns option and select a pattern to apply to the currently selected chart series or column. Click on each series or column in turn and apply a pattern to it. When you are done, you can print your chart as usual.
Installed add-ins are managed automatically by Excel so you will find that the add-in will still be there and accessible next time you use Excel.
If you are using Excel 2010 you don’t need this add-in as the pattern fills are back where they should have been all the time.
Labels: add-in, black and white, charts, download, Excel 2007, Excel 2010, free, pattern fills
Wednesday, December 28th, 2011
Quickly access Excel 2010 formula requirements
Ok.. so you want to use an Excel formula and you know it is, say, SUMIF that you want to use, but what data does it need and where?
Before you go searching through help or cranking up your browser, let Excel do the work for you. Just type =SUMIF in a cell and press Control + Shift + A and Excel will give you the list of data required. It’s dead simple and it saves heaps of time.
Labels: arguments, Excel 2010, formula, function, quick find
Thursday, November 17th, 2011
Save space – Compress your images in Word
A reader just asked if they added 50 images to a Word file would that blow out the file size when they send it to their colleagues. Answer: Yep! big time.
Most specially if you use your your beaut iPhone to capture the images, or a good compact camera or if you just insert big pictures. You see, unless you do something those big pictures will be inserted in the file and included in it when you save it – you can end up with a monster Word file (think 5Mb x 50!)
The solution to the problem is to compress the images. To compress all the images in your Word 2010/2007 file so that they take less room, click on any image and choose Picture Tools > Format tab. Locate the Compress Pictures button and deselect Apply only to this Picture so all images will be compressed.
If there is an Options button click it to see the sizing options (this appears in Word 2007 but not in Word 2010). Then choose the Target output – typically Screen or Print are good options as they will view well and print just fine. Check the Delete Cropped Areas of Pictures checkbox so cropped data won’t be saved. Click Ok. Then save the document.
This compression feature will reduce your file to a better size for sharing without compromising the quality of the document. And the changes affect only the images in the document not the originals on your disk.
Labels: compress images, Picture, reduce file size, reduce size of files, shrink, squash, Word 2003, Word 2007, Word 2010
Tuesday, October 18th, 2011
How to set up your PC and your iPad for the free iWork and iCloud
If you have an iPad and if you have upgraded to the new iOS 5 then you can take advantage of the free iCloud and iWork tools for synching files and storing them in the Cloud. iCloud allows you to synch not only photos but also data such as files across your devices. So you can use this new technology to share Microsoft Office documents with Numbers, Keynote and Pages on your iPad. And you do this on your PC using a browser and by passing iTunes – something I for one am really glad about.
So, if you’re using a Windows PC, you can automatically access documents that have been sent from the iPad to the iCloud without needing to plug your iPad into your computer or use iTunes. It is a long over due technology and it provides a more professional approach to the task of file exchange – not to mention it will solve the problem that some users experience where their network administrators block iTunes.
Getting this all configured is simple but it is far from intuitive. Nowhere could I find step by step instructions so I had to piece this stuff together bit by bit. Hence this post – it will explain all you need to do. From start to finish, I’d allow about 1.5 hours – if you finish early that’s a bonus but none of this stuff is totally trivial so allow time to get it all done.
Start by updating iTunes to 10.5 on your PC. If you haven’t done this – you do this from inside iTunes. Then, connect your iPad to your PC and update the iPad to iOS 5 – this might take some time depending on how much data you have on your iPad as everything will be backed up – then reinstalled once the operating system is updated.
While iTunes is updating and iOS 5 is being configured, you can – on your PC – visit the Apple site at http://support.apple.com/kb/DL1455 and download and install the iCloud control panel for Windows.
Back on your iPad when everything is running again, go into Settings and create your iCloud account.
On the iPad, in Settings > iCloud you can set up syncing for email and other items such as your Photo Stream and Documents & Data. For Documents & Data you have a choice of using your cellular data plan to upload or Wi-Fi only – for your Photo Stream you can only synch this using Wi-Fi.
If you have Numbers, Pages and/or Keynote installed, in Settings select these each in turn and enable the Use iCloud option – you need to turn this On before any of these apps will access iCloud.
iCloud can be accessed on your PC by opening the system tray and clicking on its icon – if it isn’t there, choose the Start menu and type iCloud. Use the settings to configure how and what you want your iCloud and iPad to share. For example, click Photo Stream and configure a folder for images to upload to the iPad and one to use to download into. On the PC you can select whether email, contacts and Calendars & Tasks should be shared with Outlook. I suggest you backup your Outlook pst file before you even consider enabling this!
So far you have everything working except your documents. For this, confusingly enough, you head back to your PC and crank up your browser and visit www.icloud.com. Sign in using your Apple ID. If prompted you should download and install the browser plug-in.
Here you will find links for Keynote, Numbers and Pages. Click on one of them to view the documents synched from your iPad – first time you do this it might take a while as the synching takes place.
In future, every time you create a document on your iPad or edit one it will be synched automatically and will appear in this list.
Although it is not obvious that you can do this, you can also drag and drop a document, spreadsheet or PowerPoint document into the appropriate panel and it will be synched with your iPad. You can double click a document in the list to download it to the appropriate application on your computer – here I’ve chosen a Pages document which will open in Word.
You can also now share documents with others who have Apple IDs using iWork. So, on your iPad, open a document, spreadsheet or presentation and click Share and Print (it looks like a spanner) and choose Share via iWork.com. Type the email address of the person you want to share it with and they will receive an invitation to view the shared document:
Labels: cloud sharing files, excel cloud, file sharing, free apps, free iwork, icloud, ios 5, ios5, itunes 10.5, iwork, keynote, MSWord cloud, numbers, pages, powerpoint cloud