Outlook Command Tips

Hello everybody and welcome to another installment of elite’s Tech Tips!  Summer is approaching and everyone is headed in different directions; however, we all will continue to check our e-mail.  Check out some of these command tips that can help you when using Microsoft Outlook.

 

To compose a new message- press CTRL+SHIFT+M

To jot a quick note- press CTROL+SHIFT+N

To create a new contact- press CTRL+SHIFT+C

To go to Mail view- press CTRL+1

To go to Calendar view- press CTRL+2

To go to Contacts view- press CTRL+3

To go to the Tasks list- press CTRL+4

To go to Notes view- press CTRL +5

To reply to a current e-mail message- press CTRL+R

To forward the current e-mail message- press CTRL+F.

To delete the current e-mail message- press CTRL+D.

To reply to everyone who received the selected message- press CTRL+SHIFT+R.

To select all the items in a folder, click one of the items and press CTRL+A.

To send an open message- press ALT+S.

To quickly check spelling in an open item- press F7.

To quickly switch to your Inbox- press CTRL+SHIFT+I.

To quickly switch to your Outbox- press CTRL+SHIFT+O.

To quickly switch to viewing by weeks in Calendar, click in Calendar and press ALT+HYPHEN.

To quickly mark a message as read- press CTRL+Q.

To quickly move between the schedule area and Task Pad view in Calendar- press CTRL+TAB.

To quickly create a new Journal entry- press CTRL+SHIFT+J.

 

Before you depart from Elon for the summer make sure to try out some of these command tips in Outlook!  We wish you all a relaxing and safe summer, and we look forward to successfully continuing to serve our customers in the fall.  In the mean time, if you wish to contact the elite Program over the summer, call us at ext. 5000 or email us at elite@elon.edu.

Until the fall!

The elite Program

 

 

Nudging and Grouping elements in Publisher

This week we are going to continue with our publisher tips with “nudging” and the importance of grouping together elements of your design.

“Nudging” items in Publisher

Are you trying to get that picture or text box in the exact right spot but are going cross-eyed trying to place it in the exact right place? There is a way to be more precise than simply dragging and dropping, and it’s called “nudging.” Nudging an object will make it move only one pixel in the desired direction, so you can get your object in the exact right spot. To nudge an object, hold down the Alt key and press an Arrow button in the direction you want it to move. This can also be done by clicking Arrange in the top ribbon and then highlighting Nudge. You will see the options for the directions that you can nudge the object.

Grouping Elements
After you have a section of your layout positioned very precisely it might be a good idea to select all the items (hold down the shift key and click on each one) and then group them together using Arrange then Group Objects, by holding down Ctrl and Shift and then pressing G, or by just clicking the image that appears (see picture to right) beneath your grouped items. You will notice that when you do this, the boxes around the individual items that you have selected will disappear, leaving only one large box around all of the grouped items. Grouping objects will lock them together in their relative positions. This is especially useful if you will need to duplicate this configuration somewhere else in your layout; copy and paste the group to another page and you will have perfect consistency throughout your layout.

That’s all for now! Until next week,
The elite Program

The Pack and Go Wizard

Hello everybody, and welcome to another installment of elite’s Tech Tips. When reviewing the past year’s blog posts, there seems to be a lack of Microsoft Publisher hints and tips. So, without further ado, here is a huge hint for Microsoft Publisher that will save you a lot of grief when you need to send your publication to a printer or to another computer.

The “Pack and Go” Wizard

When you create a Publication in Publisher, you may find you want to take the publication to another computer for more processing and/or for printing. Be careful, though, because not all computers have the same font packages and art galleries that you used. If it doesn’t, your publication may look much different than your original concept by the time it hits the printer.

In order to prevent this, you can use the “Pack and Go” wizard to pack your files and include both the fonts and the graphics you used with your files. This will allow you to be sure your publication will look the same as it did on your computer where it was created. To use the Pack and Go wizard, select the File menu, then choose Pack and Go, and then select Take to Another Computer. Follow the Pack and Go Wizard each step to go through the packing process.

It will first ask you to save your file before completing the Pack and Go wizard. Click Ok to do so. Then click Next. Now, choose what destination you want to save your finished product to by choosing one of your options. To save it on to your desktop, click Browse and choose the folder from there. From this window you can either choose Finish to export all of your files or Next to choose more specifically what from your publication you want to save. For most cases, clicking Finish should be fine. Your computer has now made a compressed (.zip) folder containing all of the necessary files to make your publication free to be viewed on any computer.

That’s all for now! Until next week,

The elite Program

Locking Rows and Columns in Excel

In Microsoft Excel, users often use the top row or first column to create headers for their document, labeling what the data is in the corresponding cells. Have you ever done this only to be frustrated to not be able to see them when you scroll down? Wouldn’t it be nice to be able to see certain rows or columns in your document, regardless of where you are on the page?

Well guess what?

Locking Excel Rows and Columns

You can view two areas of a worksheet and lock rows or columns in one area by splitting or freezing panes (A pane is a portion of the document window bounded by and separated from other portions by vertical or horizontal bars.). When you split panes, you'll be able to scroll in both areas of the worksheet, while rows or columns in the non-scrolled area remain visible. This is comparable to the split screen in Microsoft Word.

When you freeze panes, you select specific rows or columns that remain visible when scrolling in the worksheet. For example, you would freeze panes to keep row and column labels visible as you scroll.

To split viewing panes, do the following:

1. To lock rows, select the row below where you want the split to appear. To lock columns, select the column to the right of where you want the split to appear. To lock both rows and columns, click the cell below and to the right of where you want the split to appear.
2. On the Window menu, click Split.
3. To remove the split, click Remove Split on the Window menu.

To lock the rows by freezing the panes, do the following:

1. Select the rows and/or columns that you want to be frozen at the top of the page.
2. On the Window menu, click Freeze Panes.
3. To unlock rows, click Unfreeze Panes on the Window menu.

Now you can see which columns and rows you’re referring to without having to scroll up and down.

That’s all for now! Until next week,
The elite Program

Entering Repetitive Data in Excel, Quiet Time in Outlook

Entering Repetitive Data in Excel

If you need to type repetitive data such as some numbers or dates into a worksheet, you can use the AutoFill feature in Excel to help you. Here's an exercise you can try to practice entering repetitive data quickly.

First, quickly fill a group of cells with the names of the calendar months:

1. Start Excel. A new, blank workbook appears.
2. In cell A1, type January and then press ENTER.
3. Click anywhere inside cell A1, and rest the mouse pointer on the square at the lower right-hand corner of cell A1. The mouse pointer changes into a plus sign (+).
4. Press and hold the right (alternate) mouse button, drag the mouse pointer to cell A12, and release the right (alternate) mouse button. A menu appears.
5. Click Fill Months. The names of the months February, March, and so on appear in cells A2 through A12.

Next, quickly fill in several cells with the same value:

1. In cell B1, type 1999 and press ENTER.
2. Click anywhere inside of cell B1 and rest the mouse pointer on the square at the lower right-hand corner of cell B1. The mouse pointer changes into a plus sign (+).
3. Press and hold the right (alternate) mouse button, drag the mouse pointer to cell B12, and release the right (alternate) mouse button. A menu appears.
4. Click Copy Cells. The value 1999 appears in cells B2 though B12.

Finally, quickly fill in several cells with a range of numbers:

1. In cell C1, type 10000.
2. Click anywhere inside of cell C1 and rest the mouse pointer on the square at the lower right-hand corner of cell C1. The mouse pointer changes into a plus sign (+).
3. Press and hold the right (alternate) mouse button, drag the mouse pointer to cell C12, and release the right (alternate) mouse button. A menu appears.
4. Click Series.
5. In the Step value box, type 125 and click OK. The Series dialog box disappears, the value 10125 appears in cell C2, and the number increases by 125 in each cell in column C up to an ending value of 11375 in cell C12.

Here is another tip to help you get your miscellaneous work done like reading e-mails and various other small tasks that always gets pushed back for those bigger projects.

Avoid Constant Interruptions for Quiet Work Time
How many interruptions do you get every day? It's nearly impossible to complete anything when you allow constant interruptions from the phone, people stopping by your office, and instant messaging.

In Microsoft Office Outlook, you can book yourself a recurring appointment for an hour a day to process e-mail, and mark the time as Busy. During this time, don't answer the phone or permit interruptions, and work only on dealing with your Inbox.

At first, keeping these appointments will take discipline. But over time, it will become a habit. And after you get to zero e-mail in your Inbox, you'll see the value of this one hour a day and stick to it.

Tasks in Microsoft Outlook and the Help Button

Tasks in Microsoft Outlook
One of the most useful yet most overlooked feature in Microsoft Outlook is the Task Pane. In the task pane of Outlook, you can have your “To Do” list right there on your computer screen. You can put whatever you want on there, from finishing that report to feeding the cat. And it’s very simple to use!

In the bottom right corner of the screen in the “Mail” or “Contacts” view, there is a little window that says “Type a new task.” Whenever you remember something (or get assigned something) that you need to get done, just type it into where it says Type a new task. A little flag reminder will show up next to what you typed in as the task name. Whenever you get that task done, click on the flag and the task will disappear.

There is also a little box next to the flag, and this is where you can categorize your tasks. Just like in your e-mail and on your calendar, you can categorize your tasks by color to remind you what type of task it is. For example, you can have a color for work and one color for work to be done outside of your job, like doing taxes or cleaning the attic.

By default, tasks appear in your calendar on the date when they are due. You might prefer to have them appear on the date when you should begin to work on them instead. There are several different ways to view your tasks, including “By Start Date” and “By Category.” To change the order in which your tasks appear, click where it says Arranged By: Due Date, and a dialog box will open that shows all of the different options for viewing your tasks.

Getting Help











If all of these tips still aren’t helping you, don’t forget that you have your own tech tutor right at your fingertips! As a reminder of how easy it is to access Help in Office, just look for the question mark at the top of each program’s window or the “Help” menu in the ribbon. Click on the question mark to get the latest online assistance. Help is contextual, so wherever you are, it will give information on that topic. Don’t dismiss this tool, it is very, very useful.

That’s all for now! Until next week,

The elite Program

Transposing Data Columns to Rows in Excel

Transposing Data Columns to Rows in Excel

Here’s a scenario: You have an Excel spreadsheet full of data, hundreds of data points all in a column. There’s only one problem: they’re in different columns, and you need them in different rows. No, you don’t have to re-type the whole thing! Here is a quick and easy way to transpose data from columns to rows.

1. On the worksheet, do the following:
• To rearrange data from columns to rows, select the cells in the columns that contain the data.
• To rearrange data from rows to columns, select the cells in the rows that contain the data.
2. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click Copy, or just click Ctrl + C.

Note: You can only use the Copy command to rearrange the data. To complete this procedure successfully, do not use the Cut command.

3. On the worksheet, select the first cell of the destination rows or columns into which you want to rearrange the copied data.

Note: Copy area(s) and paste area(s) cannot overlap. Make sure that you select a cell in a paste area that falls outside of the area from which you copied the data.

4. On the Home tab, in the Clipboard group, click the arrow below Paste, and then click Transpose.
5. After the data is transposed successfully, you can delete the data in the copy area.

Quick Note: If the cells that you transpose contain formulas, the formulas are transposed and cell references to data in transposed cells are automatically adjusted. To make sure that formulas continue to refer correctly to data in non-transposed cells, use absolute references in the formulas before you transpose them.

No more headaches just because you want your Excel data displayed differently. With a couple clicks of the mouse you can transpose data from rows to columns, and now you know how to do it.

That’s all for now! Until next week,
The elite Program