Table of Contents

Chapter 1 Lighten Your Workload with General Office Techniques

Shorten the AutoRecover Interval 4

Learn Shortcut Keys Faster 6

Customize the Quick Access Toolbar 8

Embed TrueType Fonts While Saving 10

Preview a Document Before Opening It 12

Customize the Places Bar 14

Manage Computer Files from Any Office Program 16

Store Files in a Different Default Location 18

Make Documents Private 20

Save a Document as an XPS File 22

Turn Scanned Documents into Text 24

Diagnose Office Problems 28

Customize Clip Art with the Ungroup Command 30

Position Clip Art Using Text Boxes 32

Chapter 2 Timesaving Tips for Word

Utilize Status Bar Shortcuts 36

Register a Blog Account 38

Post a Blog Entry 40

Remove a File from the Recent Documents List 42

Conserve Paper When Printing with the Zoom Options 43

Navigate Long Documents Using a Table of Contents 44

Navigate Long Documents Using Bookmarks 46

Compare Two Documents Side by Side 48

Using AutoText to Automate Repetitive Typing 50

Keep Words Together with a Non-Breaking Space 52

Control Sentence Spacing 53

Using the Research Pane to Translate Text 54

Add Line Numbers in the Document Margin 56

Set Off a Paragraph with a Border 58

Resume Numbering in an Interrupted Numbered List 60

Insert Quick Horizontal Lines 61

Emphasize Paragraphs with Drop Caps 62

Customize Comment Text 64

Add Captions to Your Graphics 66

Insert a Table from the Keyboard 68

Keep Table Column Headings in Sight 69

Place a Table Within a Table 70

Align Shapes with Gridlines 71

Add Gradient Fills to Text Boxes 72

Create a Watermark 74

Chapter 3 Increase the Power of Your Spreadsheet with Excel

Automatically Open Your Favorite Workbook 80

Increase the Size of the Recent Documents List 81

Set a New Default Font and Size 82

Change the Gridline Color 84

Increase Readability by Printing Gridlines 85

Center Align Printed Data 86

Print Formulas Instead of Formula Results 87

Organize Worksheets by Color-Coding Tabs 88

Label Rows and Columns in R1C1 Style 89

Keep Cells in View with a Watch Window 90

Protect Cells from Unauthorized Changes 92

Freeze Headings for Easier Scrolling 94

Wrap Text in Worksheet Cells 95

Add Visual Interest with Slanted Text 96

Magnify a Selection of Cells 98

Add Pizzazz with a Background Picture 99

Center Text Across Columns Without Merging Cells 100

Add Comments to Formulas 101

Turn Excel Data into a Pasteable Picture 102

Analyze Data with Conditional Formatting Graphics 104

Generate Random Numbers in Your Cells 106

Prevent Excel from Converting Fractions 107

Retrieve a Stock Quote 108

Count the Number of Days Between Two Dates 110

Join Text from Separate Cells 111

Copy Page Setup Settings from One Worksheet to Another 112

Find Data on Multiple Sheets with VLookup 114

Chapter 4 Enhance Your PowerPoint Presentations

Turn a Word Outline into a PowerPoint Presentation 118

Convert a Slide into an Image 120

Repeatedly Draw the Same Shape 122

Create Evenly Spaced Duplicate Shapes 123

Add Connector Lines to Objects 124

Save File Size by Compressing Pictures 126

Create Better-Looking Shadowed Text 128

Turn a Photo into a Slide Background 130

Create a Custom Color Theme 132

Enhance Presentations with Movies 134

Create Scrolling Credits 136

Launch a Mini Slide Show Window 140

Make Your Slide Show Start Automatically 141

Create a Custom Slide Theme 142

Chapter 5 Customize and Optimize Outlook

Send Message Replies to Another Recipient 146

Customize a Personal Distribution List 148

Create a Custom Signature .150

Clean a Mailbox of Space-Stealing Files 154

Print a Master Copy of an Address Book 156

Insert a Contact Address on an Envelope or Label 157

Display a Map to an Outlook Contact 158

View a Calendar with Nonconsecutive Dates 159

Display Two Time Zones 160

Chapter 6 Improve Your Database Productivity Using Access

Personalize a Database with a Custom Splash Screen 164

Customize the Database Title and Icon 166

Make a Database Window Work Like a Web Browser 168

Zoom Entries for Easy Editing 169

Make Form Values Stand Out with Conditional Formatting 170

Automatically Open a Form at Startup 172

Change a Form’s Tab Order 173

Make a Form Interesting by Adding a Picture 174

Automatically Open a Specific Record 176

Set Up Forms to Close Automatically 178

Add Ampersands to Caption Labels 180

Save Time with Default Table Values 181

Move Automatically to the End of a Field 182

Copy a Previous Record into a New Record 183

Print a Table Relationships Map 184

Using the Navigation Pane to Append Records 186

Optimize Performance by Reducing Database Size 187

Using Input Masks to Control Users’ Table Data Entry 188

Force Page Breaks after Report Sections 190

Avoid Widowed Data in a Report Section 191

Export Data to a Web Page 192

Appendix: Office Shortcuts 194

Index 202

About the Author

Paul McFedries ( Toronto, Ontario) is the president of Logophilia Limited, a technical writing company. He has been programming since he was a teenager in the mid-1970s, has programmed everything from mainframes to desktops to bar code scanners, and has worked with many different languages, including Fortran, assembly language, C++, and, of course, JavaScript. Paul has written more than three dozen books that have sold more than two million copies worldwide. These books include Teach Yourself VISUALLY Windows XP, 2nd Edition, Excel PivotTables and PivotCharts: Your visual blueprint, VBA for Office 2000 Unleashed, Windows XP Simplified, 2nd Edition, and The Complete Idiot's Guide to Creating a Web Page. Paul encourages all readers to drop by his Web site, www.mcfedries.com.