WORD: Selecting to Edit

Here's the easiest way I've found to edit words in a sentence:

Hold down the Control key (Cntrl) and use your arrow keys (left or right) to maneuver to the first letter of each word in your sentence.  For instance, if I realized I'd just spelled "maneuver" wrong, I would hold down Cntrl and use my left arrow key to get to that word and then correct it. 

If you hold down the Shift (Sh) key while you are control-arrowing left and right, it selects every word between where you started and where you stop.  For instance, if I hold down Cntrl and Sh and use my left arrow key, I can select every word in this sentence and then edit it (using the underline, for instance).

These maneuvers are kind of awkward at first but force yourself to use them and you will be amazed at how fast you can edit sentences/words in WORD!

Outlook: Toolbar "Norms"

The two toolbars you can't live without in Outlook are:

• Standard 
• Formatting

To be sure you are showing both, right click in the dead area (gray area) somewhere to the right of whatever toolbars you have showing, and be sure Standard and Formatting are chosen.  You pretty much can't live without the Standard toolbar and will be amazed what you are missing if you don't have the Formatting toolbar shown.

Internet Favorites, Bookmarks, etc.

Here's another great way to store information you want at your fingertips...

www.

Examples:

• You are on your favorite supply store's website and want to remember their phone number.  While setting the website as one of your Favorites, you can name the Favorite whatever you want, so just include the phone number in the name you create.  For instance, you would name this Favorite "Staples (800) XXX-XXXX".
• You want to remember the drive through business hours for your bank.  While setting the bank's website as one of your Favorites, include the hours in the name you create.  For instance, you would name this Favorite "XYZ Bank 7:00AM-7:00PM".

There, their (and they're)

Another common grammar problem:  the use of there, their and they're.  Using the wrong word in business writing undermines you as a pro.  Here are examples of correct usage:

"I put the newspaper down over there" (meaning a place)

"Their home is beautiful" (this is the possessive use)

"They're not coming with us"  (meaning "they are" not coming with us)

WORD: Where Was I?

Typical problem.... you are keying in a huge document in WORD and want to check something you keyed earlier in the document, maybe a number you placed in a chart or the spelling of a person's name, so you scroll up, find the information and want to go directly back to where you were last typing.  Here's the tip:

To return back to the exact position where you last edited the document (or were keying information), hold down the Shift key and hit F5  (Shift-F5)

This will take you right back to your last position before you scrolled up to find that person's name!  This is a very simple tip but rarely used (rarely known)... and saves you a ton of time!

Outlook: Contacts Has Other Uses!

Outlook Contacts is the place we store our information on businesses, personal and professional people (contacts). 

Another use for this warehouse of information is to store ANY information you want to remember.  For instance, the tip from yesterday on how to properly use It's vs. Its.  If this is something you want at your fingertips, simply create a new contact called It's vs. Its and save the information in there. 

The next time you aren't sure about which word to use, simply go to your Outlook Contacts and view the "It's" item

Its vs. It's

Common problem, I see it almost daily... people use the wrong form of "it".  Here's your answer:

It's:  Means "it is", or "it has". Example:  "It's in the laundry"

Its:  Is the possessive form. Example:  "That dog is its own enemy".

Even in today's era of texting, email, etc., it's important to stick to correct grammar and punctuation in letter writing... more on that another day!

Organize & Prioritize: Hanging File Folders

Here's a tip to make finding those really important hanging file folders in an instant:

• Remove the white label from the folder and use a highlighter to draw a line of color across the top of the label, right above the label's name.  (Yellow highlighting works great for this).  Don't let the color get on the label's name.
• Let it dry for a few seconds and slip it back into the clear label's sleeve and insert it back on the folder.

Next time you need that important file, the highlighted label will catch your eye.

WORD: Removing Words in Custom Dictionary

Let's say you are spell checking a document and accidentally  hit the "Add to dictionary" button on a misspelled word.  Here's how to remove that word:

• Open WORD
• Tools
• Options
• Spelling & Grammar
• Custom dictionaries
• Select the word from the list 
• Delete
• OK, OK, OK

While you are there, review the list of words you had previously added and remove as needed.
These specific steps pertain to MS Office 2003 version but are similar in other versions.

Outlook: Trying to Find an Inbox Message

Here's a quick way to find an email message from a particular person when your Inbox is extensive:

Left click on the column titled "Sender"; this will put all Inbox messages in alpha order (click again for reverse alpha).

Now you should be able to find that message.  This is also a great way to browse your Inbox for messages you want to delete during clean-up time.

This tip also works in your Sent Items and with the other column titles.

Outlook: O-O-O No-No's (Out Of Office Assistant)

When you create your Out of Office message on Outlook, be sure NOT to include the following information:

• "I'm on vacation until... "    Someone with bad intentions now knows they can get into your house without being caught by you.
• "Call me on my cell number of ..."  Only if it's a company-issued cell phone and everyone who sees this message is a business partner.
• "Contact Joe in my absence..."  Only if you have cleared this with Joe and you provide his contact information.

Also remember to keep the message brief and to the point.  No one wants to read your journal but you.

EXCEL: Bottom of List.... Fast!

Okay so you have entered a lot of figures into an Excel spreadsheet and you figure you can either scroll down to get to the bottom or... here's the tip of today:

Position your cursor at the very bottom edge (line) of one of the cells that you have entered figures into and double left click.   Immediately this will take you to the next empty (blank) cell, which will be at the bottom of the list of figures you entered!

WORD: Word of Warning: Passwords

Just a quick reminder that when you create a password for a WORD document, you have to remember the password or you will never be able to open the document again.

When creating a password for a WORD doc, use something specific to that document.  For instance, if you are creating a password for a document regarding an employee, it may be helpful to use that employee's name as the password, i.e. JOHNSON.  Making passwords on WORD docs too specific will only make it more difficult to remember when it comes time to open it.

Here's how you save a document with a password on WORD:

1. File, Save As...
2. Type the name of the document in the File Name window
3. Choose Tools, (upper right corner), Security Options
4. Enter the password in the "Password to Open" window
5. You will be asked to enter it again
6. Then hit Save

EXCEL: Resize Columns

Here's the quickest way to resize a column in Excel:

1. Position your cursor on the line between column A and column B, right up there at the top (you are not in the actual spreadsheet, but up in the column head where it shows column A, B, C,...)
2. When your cursor turns into a double headed arrow, double left click

This tip works great when you have data in a column that is too large for the column, you can quickly resize columns using these instructions to accommodate any size data.

WORD: Using a Quick Table

You are in WORD, typing away, and have to insert a set of dates and numbers.  You have lots of options, but one I use a lot is to insert a quick table.  Using a table will line up your dates and numbers like magic! Here's how:

1. Position your cursor where you want to insert the data.
2. On the toolbar, choose Table, Insert Table
3. Choose how many columns & rows you want to include in your table.  For this example, I am choosing of 2 columns and 2 rows.  Choose OK.

Your quick table is inserted:  now you just enter your figures and you've got a readable table which adds a little professionalism to your document!  It's also a great way to line up dollars and cents without setting up decimal tabs.

January 3, 2011	34,001
February 3, 2011	44,220

WORD-EXCEL: Search & Destroy (aka Find & Replace)

Here's how you can search a document or spreadsheet (Word/Excel) for a word(s).  There's two parts to this:

To Find:

• In your document/spreadsheet, hit Cntrl F (hold down the Control key and hit the F key)
• In the Find & Replace window, on the Find tab, key what you want to find in the document/spreadsheet, for instance, Find Chicago
• Click the Find Next button to scroll through your document/spreadsheet

To Replace (here's the bonus section):

• Hit Cntrl F to get the Find & Replace window
• In Find What, type Chicago
• In Replace With, type New York (for instance)

With this option, you can choose to replace while scrolling through OR you can choose to Replace All.

This tip comes in handy if you have a letter you have already typed and you want to make a form out of it.  You can use the Find & Replace to find the (variable) spots you want to replace with a blank spot.


Another way to use this tip is if you want to count the number of times you used a certain word in your document/spreadsheet... just use the word you want to count for both Find and Replace!

Chaos to Calm

Okay, let's face it.  Ten years ago you thought you couldn't possibly keep up this pace, yet here you are, day in and day out, juggling a hundred different items, never seeming to finish anything.  It's time to try a new approach:

During the chaos of the day, reset your brain to view all these items that you are juggling as excitement; as facing and dealing with challenge after challenge, as if you were hitting a tennis ball in a rigorous game.  Give yourself plenty of credit for playing a strategic game each day, and convince yourself to look forward to what's in store for tomorrow.

Believe it or not, this approach will help your stress level and put you more in control than ever.

Undo Key

This is one of the most used keys by those who know about it and the one key everyone should know about... the undo key.  Most MS programs have it on the toolbar, easily accessible, looks like an arrow that swoops up and to the left.  (It is not the back button on your browser).

This key will undo your last action, keystroke, etc., and is great when you make an error and want to "undo" that error.  It will also undo the last several actions (accessible through it's drop down menu).

Don't you wish we had an undo key for our lives?  Call someone by the wrong name... undo!   Pull out in front of that car... undo!

EXCEL: Column Headings, Auto Input

Here's the fastest way to auto-fill those column headings like January, February, March...

• Type JAN or January in the first cell
• Select that first cell and position your cursor in the lower right corner of that cell, so your cursor turns into a solid black crosshairs (or plus sign +), hold down your left mouse button and drag to the right

The months will automatically fill the rest of the months, so you will see something like this.  (This also works for Mon, Tue, Wed & other common sequences):

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

JUL

WORD: Double Line (Section) Break

Here's a quick way to get a double line in your Word document when you want a clear separation between sections:

• Position your cursor where you want the double line
• Hold down the equals sign (=) for just a few seconds
• Enter

There's your double line break!  It should look like this:

=========================================================

Outlook: Ticklers, Bring-Ups and Diarying Ahead...

Let's say a message comes into your Inbox regarding something that you want to remember to do next Tuesday.  One option you have is to use that message as a "tickler" on your calendar.  Here's how:

• From your Inbox (or Sent Items, or Deleted, for that matter), select the message (left click)
• Hold down your (left) mouse button and drag the message to your Calendar, (let go)
• Once it's been dropped onto your Calendar, it will automatically think you want this as a new appointment, (perfect), so ensure the Subject field is what you want it to be (detailed), then
• Set the date for next Tuesday (when you want to be reminded)
• Save and Close

Next Tuesday, when you are checking your calendar, up pops this message to remind you!  This is a great way to keep that Inbox clean and organized.