Microsoft Office Tips, Tricks, and How-to's to help you use MS Office like a pro!

Carol's Corner Office

Monthly Archives: June 2014

Carol’s Thoughts

Posted on by Posted in Carol's Ramblings

We have just had a rainy spell and I am longing for sunshine.  It has been cloudy, overcast and raining every day this week.  As I write this I can see a tiny glimmer of sunshine.  I know we need rain to grow food and flowers, etc., but I am a sunshine kind of girl.  I can move mountains when the sun shines – not so much when it is dreary outside my window.

I try to take a two to three mile walk every morning before I start my work day.  It energizes me and gets me in the mood to tackle whatever task is on my desk.  It also helps me to sleep soundly at day’s end.  With the rain, I have not been able to walk outdoors this week and instead I have to rely on the treadmill, which I find boring and tedious.  It will do, but I love to be outside when I walk.

Notwithstanding the rainy weather, the days are getting warmer and the landscapes are full of flowering trees and plants.  It is absolutely my time of year!

I am having lots and lots of fun with my grandchildren and doing lots and lots of knitting as well. Here is a sample of some little comfort blankets/loveys I have made this month.

1 Ozzie 1

Whatever your hobby, job or lot in life, I do hope that you are enjoying yourself as much as I am!

Quote of the month: You were given this life because you are strong enough to live it – Robin Sharma

I love that quote! The reason I love it is because there have been many times in my life when I have felt that I could not go on.  We all have those moments – strife, loss and tragedy do not discriminate – they visit all of us.

So the next time you have one of those unwelcome visitors in your life, please try to remember this quote and draw strength from it.  You ARE strong enough to live your life! Just keep telling yourself – make it your mantra and sooner rather than later, you will come to know that you can indeed move on with your life, regardless.

Please remember that everyone has something going on in their lives oat any given moment, so try to be kind to one another as often as you can.  You never know when it can be YOU who gives that total stranger the will to keep on going.

Until next time…

Carol

 

Subscribers: Display Negative Percentages in Red in Excel

Posted on by Posted in Subscribers Excel 2010

I think you will agree that it is easy to use the built-in  number formats in Excel to display negative values in red.  However, it is not so obvious how to display negative percentages in red. The reason for this is that Excel does  not provide a default built-in format to address this. Follow the

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Diversify your Dashes in Word!

Posted on by Posted in Word 2010 1 Comment

Were you aware that there are different types of dashes that you can use in Word?  And why would you use them?

Well, typographers use different dashes for different things! Actually the only difference between the dashes is their width.

If you click on your minus key, the result is a very narrow dash.  A longer dash is called the en dash, but it still is not very wide in my humble opinion.  The reason it is called an en dash is because it is the same width as a lowercase n. It is typically used to denote a range of numbers.

The wider dash, which I prefer, is the em dash.  You guessed it – it got its name because it is the same width as a lowercase m.  Now the em dash is usually used in sentences (i.e., between clauses).

So now that you know the difference between these dashes and how they are used you can diversify and there are two ways in which you can access these tabs.

Follow the steps below to learn how:

  • To insert an en dash in your document, hold down your Alt key while on your numeric keypad, clicking 0150.
  • To insert an em dash, hold down your Alt key and click 0151 on your numeric keypad.

Another quicker way to accomplish the same thing is to use the minus key on your numeric keypad:

  • CTRL + – will insert an en dash
  • CTRL + ALT + – will insert an em dash

 

Precision Rule Adjustment in Word

Posted on by Posted in Word 2010 1 Comment

Sometimes in your document, you may want to do some precision formatting using your mouse rather than going through different dialog boxes to get the same result.

The only caveat is is the formatting element has to be displayed on your Ruler.

All you need to do is hold down your ALT key as you use your mouse to draft different items around on your Ruler.

When you do this, Word will display distances on your Ruler very precisely, which will allow you to adjust positioning to a hundredth of an inch.

 

 

Subscribers: Assign a Macro to a Button in your Word Text

Posted on by Posted in Subscribers Word 2010

I know I have covered assigning a macro to a button on Quick Access Toolbar (QAT), but did you know that you could also add buttons in the text of your document?? These buttons have a macro or Word command assigned to them and you can control what happens when the button is clicked in

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Subscribers: Assign Macros to your Ribbon & QAT in Excel 2013

Posted on by Posted in Subscribers Excel 2013

Everyone wants to save time and I am a big proponent of that!  I love to save time and keystrokes because it allows me more time to do the things I enjoy, like riding my bike, or knitting, or playing with grandchildren! So, one thing that has always saved me time is macros.  I use

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Not a Subscriber? Please Consider becoming one today for ONLY $20/yr. Your subscription supports the site and gives you access to many exclusive resources not available to non-subscribers, as well as substantial discounts on Carol's Microsoft Office books.

  • Exclusive in-depth content ONLY for subscribers. Use Microsoft Office like a Pro!
  • Large color screenshots illustrate the instructions so following along is easy!
  • Email notification of each new exclusive post for subscribers!
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Ignore the Year and Sort by Month and Day in Excel

Posted on by Posted in Excel 2010

A reader asked me recently if he could sort dates in his Excel worksheet without including the year in the sort.

The short answer is yes! When you sort dates in a column they are sorted by year, month and day by default.  If you have multiple years in your worksheet and want to sort by month, there is not solution that I am aware of but, there is a workaround method you can try.

Follow the steps below to learn how:

  1. In a blank column in your worksheet, enter the formula below. For our purposes in this article we will assume your first date is in cell B6.
  2. =TEXT (B6, “MMDD” )
  3. Copy the formula down to the end of your data.
  4. Now, sort your data on this column.

As in most scenarios in Excel, there are other ways to accomplish this task, but this one is quick and easy and you know how I love that!

 

Subscribers: Outline Numbering Word Tables??

Posted on by Posted in Subscribers Word 2010

A subscriber recently inquired whether she could use Outline Numbering in the table she had created in Word 2010. The answer is yes, you certainly can. The problem she was encountering was that when she wanted to promote or demote a level, she would tab. Of course, every time she tabbed she was taken to

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Not a Subscriber? Please Consider becoming one today for ONLY $20/yr. Your subscription supports the site and gives you access to many exclusive resources not available to non-subscribers, as well as substantial discounts on Carol's Microsoft Office books.

  • Exclusive in-depth content ONLY for subscribers. Use Microsoft Office like a Pro!
  • Large color screenshots illustrate the instructions so following along is easy!
  • Email notification of each new exclusive post for subscribers!
  • Exclusive discounts on Office books and other products!

Subscriber: Change Page Numbers in Different Sections in Word 2013

Posted on by Posted in Subscribers Word 2013

Word has mainly two kinds of breaks that we use in our documents: Page Breaks and Section Breaks. When you want to change the numbering in a section, you must insert a Next Page Break, which creates a new page/Section in your document. So, it follows, that every time you would like to change your

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This content is exclusively for Carol's Corner Office Subscribers.
If you are a Subscriber please Log In below.

Not a Subscriber? Please Consider becoming one today for ONLY $20/yr. Your subscription supports the site and gives you access to many exclusive resources not available to non-subscribers, as well as substantial discounts on Carol's Microsoft Office books.

  • Exclusive in-depth content ONLY for subscribers. Use Microsoft Office like a Pro!
  • Large color screenshots illustrate the instructions so following along is easy!
  • Email notification of each new exclusive post for subscribers!
  • Exclusive discounts on Office books and other products!