Hints and Tips

As somebody who uses Microsoft Office all day long I often found myself hunting for answers to my (and my course participants') burning questions. For a while my top 10 of tips was listed on my website only, but as course participants often told me that they came away with new tricks, tips and shortcuts that they never would have found on your own I decided to start writing weekly tips, offering free subscription.

Click here to see an archive of tips I've cranked out so far.

If you would like to start the week with a free computer tip covering ideas that help you make the most of your computer send a blank email to subscribe@roem.co.uk. I never sell or share the list, so you can rest assured your details will be kept in strict confidence.

I'm committed to sharing the best of what I know with others so please don't keep me a secret. If you enjoy the tips, please let me know. Got a tip to share? Submit it by emailing karen@roem.co.uk - if your tip is selected, I'll publish it along with your name; the bragging rights will last a lifetime.

(To see this week's tip, please click here.)

1. Microsoft Windows
Setting an audible warning if you hit CapsLock
2. Microsoft Word 2000
Quickly changing the case of text
3. Microsoft Excel 2000
Quickly alternating between viewing the values and formulas
4. Microsoft Outlook 2000
Removing errant semicolons in the To, Cc or Bcc fields
5. Microsoft PowerPoint 2000
Quickly opening a PowerPoint Slide Show
6. Microsoft FrontPage 2000
Removing formatting when pasting text
7. Microsoft Access 2000
Automatically entering the current date in a table
8. Microsoft Office 2000
Ways to share information between Office programs
9. General
Keyboard shortcuts
10. General
Get trained

1. Microsoft Windows - Setting an audible warning if you hit CapsLock
   If you find yourself unknowingly pressing the CapsLock key sometimes, then having to correct what you've just typed, you might want to activate the ToggleKeys feature, one of Control Panel's Accessibility Options.
   • Click Start, point to Settings, clicking Control Panel, and then double-click Accessibility Options.
   • Under ToggleKeys select the Use ToggleKeys check box.
   ToggleKeys instructs your computer to play a high sound when the CapsLock, NumLock, or ScrollLock key is switched on and a low sound when any of those keys are switched off. back to top
2. Microsoft Word 2000 - Quickly changing the case of text
   If you want to quickly change the case of existing text (perhaps you forgot to activate the ToggleKeys feature) select the text you want to change and press SHIFT+F3. Each time you press the F3 key, the text case switches between UPPERCASE, lowercase and Title Case. back to top

3. Microsoft Excel 2000 - Quickly alternating between viewing the values and formulas
   To toggle between viewing the values in the cells and displaying the formulas press CTRL+` (single left quotation mark; on most keyboards this key is directly to the left of the "1" key). back to top

4. Microsoft Outlook 2000 - Removing errant semicolons in the To, Cc or Bcc fields If you've rearranged the names of the people receiving a message by dragging their e-mail addresses between the To, Cc, and Bcc address fields you might end up with errant semicolons in the To, Cc, or Bcc fields. You can quickly remove all of them by pressing ALT+K. back to top

5. Microsoft PowerPoint 2000 - Quickly opening a PowerPoint Slide Show
   If you want to quickly open a PowerPoint presentation as a slide show you might want to save it as a PowerPoint Show (.pps) file. From the Save As dialog box choose PowerPoint Show from the Save as type list. When you open this file, it will automatically start as a slide show. PowerPoint closes when the show ends, and you return to the desktop. If you start the show from within PowerPoint, the presentation can be edited as normal. back to top

6. Microsoft FrontPage 2000 - Removing formatting when pasting text
   When you copy text from Word or from another Web page into FrontPage it often contains unwanted formatting. To quickly remove all such formatting and revert to the default FrontPage settings select the text and choose Remove Formatting from the Format menu. Alternatively, press CTRL+SPACEBAR. back to top

7. Microsoft Access 2000 - Automatically entering the current date in a table
   Access can automatically enter the current date for you. To set this default value open the table in Design View and select the Date's Field Name. In the Field Properties section of the Design View window click on Default Value and type =Date(). back to top

8. Microsoft Office 2000 - Ways to share information between Office programs
   There are many different ways to share information between Office programs. Most people I meet are unaware how easy it is to copy information from another file and keep the copied information up to date if the original data changes in the source file. For instance to copy data from Excel to Word:
   • Select the cell(s) containing the entry to be copied
   • Choose the Edit, Copy command or click on the Copy button on the Standard toolbar
   • In Word move the insertion point to the location where the information is to appear and choose the Edit, Paste Special command
   • Select the Paste link radio button and click OK
   Paste link creates a shortcut to the source file. Changes to the source file will be reflected in your document. back to top

9. Keyboard shortcuts
   Do you find that using the keyboard is sometimes quicker than using your mouse? For a comprehensive list of shortcuts click on the Help button on the Standard toolbar and type keyboard shortcuts. back to top

10. Get trained
    Get the most out of your software and book a course. Even if you believe you have mastered Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office I guarantee you go away with new tricks, tips and shortcuts that you never would have found on your own. back to top

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