Archive for November, 2008

Are you like me and love to have more control over your formatting?  Or do you simply want to get rid of those stupid “Backwards P’s” all through your Word document?

Well information is power… and Word 2007 (just like its predecessors) can give you plenty of information about how your document is formatted.  The problem is, by default, all that information is hidden.  And sometimes you can accidentally turn it on when you don’t want it there!

So… if you want to turn your formatting codes on or off in Word 2007, it is really simple.

1) Make sure you are on the “Home” tab in the Ribbon

2) Look for the “Paragraph” group

3) You will see a funny looking symbol that looks like a backwards “P” (… click on that.

Or, you could just use the shortcut, which is…

“Ctrl+*”

So there you go – how easy is that!

’till next time!
TNP

The other day a friend of mine called up and asked… “I know the new file format for Word 2007 is .docx, but today I came across a file with the .docm extension.  Do you know what it is?”

Here is the answer I gave him…

In Word 2007, you can save your work as a .docx, which is just a standard Word 2007 document.  However, if you have built macros into your document, you are best to save it is a Word Macro Enabled Document, or a .docm. 

So to answer your question… a .docm file is a special Word 2007 document that contains a macro

(for those who are unfamiliar with macros – they are a set of recorded actions that you might regularly use in Word 2007, that you can play back at any time, therefore increasing your productivity)

Just a word of warning though.  If someone you trust sends you a .docm file, and you know what it is, you should be fairly safe opening it.  However if you don’t know who is sending you the document, and don’t know what you should expect when you do open it, the safest thing to do is not open it.  Some unsavory people out there try to do malicious things with macros – so best be on the lookout.

‘till next time!
TNP

So you want to insert an image in your PowerPoint presentation… but there is one BIG problem.  The image you want to insert has an ugly blue background, but you really want it to be white just like the slide!  How can you turn this graphic design disaster around?

Well it is very simple – as long as that background is a solid colour.  Here is how…

1) Insert your image onto your PowerPoint 2007 slide

2) Click on your image

3) Notice the “Picture Tools – Format” tab has now appeared in the Ribbon.  If it is not already selected, make sure you click on it now.

4) Look for the “Adjust” group

5) Click on “Recolor”

6) Click on “Set Transparent Color”

7) Click on the Colour in your image that you want to be transparent

That is it!  Now your pictures and other graphics can look really nice on your PowerPoint slides… and not amateurish like they might have before!  And you can impress your boss

Talk about a quick win!

‘till next time!
TNP

Do you have Office Communicator at work?  Ever wonder how some of your colleagues get that little “note” icon beside their name that has some witty comment like “Working Hard”, “Leave me alone I have a tender to finish”, or “Working from home today”?

Setting a note in Office Communicator is very easy.  In fact, there are only 3 steps

1) Think of the note you want to use!

2) Look just underneath your name in the Office Communicator 2007 window – specifically for a little bit of italic text with the words “Type a note”

3) Click there, type your note, and hit enter

There you go, now you can let your colleagues know what is going on.  Think of it as your FaceBook status if FaceBook has been banned in your organisation!

’till next time!
TNP

Ever wanted the users of your spreadsheets to fill in cells using only a certain number of options.  Say you had a list of States… maybe numbers from your General Ledger… or Product Categories.  Wouldn’t it be fantastic, instead of making people remember the correct names (and spelling) of each… that we could just give them a nice little list of options to pick from to populate the cell?

Well in Excel 2007, that is really easy!  Here is how to go about it.

Using Data Validation to create look up lists in Excel 2007

There are two ways to go about this… the simple way, if you only have a few options… or the less simple way

The Simple Way 

1) Click on the cell you want the look up / drop down list to appear in

2) Go to the “Data” tab in the Excel 2007 ribbon

3) Look for the “Data Tools” group

4) Click on “Data Validation”

5) In the box that appears, on the “Settings” tab, set the Validation criteria to allow “List”

6) In the “Source” text box, type in the options you want to make available (and remember to separate them with a comma!)

7) Click ok

8) Check out how unreal your drop down box in Excel 2007 looks!  And go tell your friends how easy it was!!!!

The Less Simple Way

I call this less simple simply because it is still pretty simple.  This method is best if you will have a long list of options that might already exist in your spreadsheet, or a list that you would want to regularly update.

Basically all you need to do is follow “The Simple Way”, and when you get to step 6, instead of typing in the options you want to make available, simply select the cells in your spreadsheet that contain the values.

So there you have it – drop down boxes… look up lists… whatever you call them… made easy in Excel 2007.

’till next time!
TNP

You may have read about it a few weeks ago, but last weekend yours truly had the opportunity to present at an event called OfficeDevCon08, in Sydney Australia.

I delivered two presentations – and because I am such a nice guy I have decided to share them with you all

The first presentation I delivered was about comparing all the different business productivity suites that are out there in the market.  I called it the “Office Suite Smackdown!”

The second presentation I delivered was all about the frustrations that we all face when we first move to Office 2007, and how to avoid them.  I called it (funnily enough) “The 10 Most Common Office 2007 User Frustrations, and how to avoid them”.

Make sure you check the presentations out (thanks to SlideShare.net!) – however due to my presentation style they might seem a little confusing without your old friend The New Paperclip jumping around in front of a projector!

So… you like what you see and want to see one of the presentations delivered at your next conference / training day / birthday party?  Make sure you get in touch with TNP’s alter ego (Paul Woods) via email – paul@paul-woods.com

’till next time!
TNP

PS. A big hello to Microsoft MVPs Lucy Thomson and Glen Millar, as well as Microsoftie Alistair Speirs for their sparkling repartee over beers on Saturday night

Are you a small business person who wants to create a great looking business card?  It is really easy with Microsoft Office Publisher 2007.

Here is how you do it!

1) Open Publisher 2007

2) On the “Getting Started with Microsoft Office Publisher 2007″ page, look on the left hand side.  You will see a column with the heading “Publication Types” at the top.  Look down the list and about 6 down you will see “Business Cards”.  Click on it

3) In the main part of the window you will now see a variety of designs for your business card.  There are newer, more contemporary designs at the top, and more classical designs down the bottom.  Take a good look at each, and pick your favourite.

4) In the right hand column, there are a number of options for your business card.  You can customise it with a different colour scheme, and a different font scheme.

5) Still in the right hand column, look for the “Business information” drop down box.  If this is the first time you have created a business card, your only option will be “Create new…”.  Select “Create new…” and a box will appear for you to enter your business card information.  Once you are happy with all your details, click save.

6) If you are happy with all your decisions, click the “Create” button in the bottom right hand corner of the screen.

7) Once your card is created… check all the details, and then hit print!

Now you have a business card you can be proud of!

’till next time!
TNP

So you have opened up Groove 2007 for the first time.  Well before you can start collaborating you have to create a new account.  So lets see how we do it!

First – Open Groove 2007
Hmmm… seems obvious doesn’t it!

Second – Unblock your firewall (only once)
Chances are you are on Windows Vista, you will be running Windows Firewall on your machine. If this is the first time you have opened Groove 2007, (and Windows Firewall is on) a dialog box will appear asking you to unblock Groove.  Trust me when I say it is in your best interests to do so (if you want to use Groove that is!)

Third – Create your new Groove Account
By now you should see the Microsoft Office Groove Account Configuration Wizard.  Click on the “Create a new Groove account” radio button then hit next.

The next screen will ask you if you have a Groove Account Configuration Code.  If you are using Groove at work your systems administrator may have a Groove Account Configuration Code for you.  Best that you check with them before going any further.  If you are using Groove at home, or only a few of you in your organisation are using Groove, you can select the third option “I don’t have a Groove Account Configuration Code” and click next

On the next screen, simply enter your personal details – name, email address, password and password hint.  When you are ready to proceed, click next

A dialog box will appear telling you to hang on a second whilst Groove configures your account.  This should only take around 10 seconds.

On the final screen of the Microsoft Office Groove Account Configuration Wizard you will be asked if you want your account to be included in the Public Groove Directory.  Basically this enables you to be discovered by other Groove users all around the world.  Select your preferred listing level, and then click “Finish”.

If you want to get up to speed quickly on the in’s and out’s of Groove, make sure you click “Yes” on the box that appears asking if you want to watch the “Getting Started Movie”.

So there you have it – How to set up your new (non-corporate) account in Groove 2007.  Easy!

’till next time!
TNP