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

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Category Archives: Office 365

Office 365 Articles

Use Built In Search Feature In Outlook 365

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You know I am all about saving time and key strokes and this is no exception.

You can search your email for a single word or phrase, but Outlook also includes a number of built-in searches.

To find a message based on one of these built-in searches select the Filter Email button on your Ribbon.

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Follow the steps below to learn how:

From any email folder, select Filter Email from the Find group on your Ribbon.

Once you have selected a filter, Outlook will search your mailbox based on that filter. You will also see the shorthand for the filter in the search box. (i.e., if you would like to display all emails that have attachments, you can select Has Attachments or key in hasattachments:yes in the Search box.

To clear the search filter and view all items in your selected mail folder, simply click in the Search box, or on the Search tab, and select Close Search.

 

Quick Keys in Excel 365

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One of the most important things I can stress is learning the basic quick keys. It is  a skill set  that will help you the most.

Your mouse navigates around your screen easily, but if you can move around without taking your hand off your keyboard you can do things even faster.You all know I just love to save time and keystrokes!

Follow the steps below to improve your speed and efficiency:

 

  • Copy: Ctrl+C
  • Cut: Ctrl+X
  • Paste: Ctrl+V
  • Select all (highlights all your data): Ctrl+A
  • Move quickly across data: Ctrl+arrow
  • Highlight groups of data: Ctrl+Shift+arrow

 

Presenter View in PowerPoint

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As anyone who reads my posts or knows me, you should know that I am all about saving time and keystrokes.  I hate to waste a minute!

In that vein, below is a very handy, dandy little shortcut that will do just that for you – save time and keystrokes!

To start a presentation in Presenter View even if you have only a single display, press Alt+F5.

If Presenter View does not start automatically with two displays, go the Slide Show tab, select the Use Presenter View checkbox, and select the preferred monitor.

I hope this has been helpful to you!

How To Insert Pictures Into Documents

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Every now and then you may have a reason to put a picture in your documents. Maybe you just want to spice it up some or perhaps you need a picture to make your point more clear. Whatever the reason, you will be happy to learn that it is very easy to place a picture in your document.

Follow the steps below to learn how:

  1. In the Insert tab go to Illustrations.
  2. For our purposes we will use a photo that has been saved locally on your computer.
  3. Click on Pictures and a small menu will drop down with three options:

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  • Under this drop-down menu, you will see different options for where you would like to place a picture.
  • This Device will open your File Explorer and allow you to select a picture stored anywhere on your computer.
  • Stock Images will open a library of royalty free images, icons, cutout people, stickers, and illustrations that you can select and use in your document. These images are copyright free. Be aware though, that this option is only available to Microsoft 365 subscribers.
  • Online Pictures will open a selection of pictures from online sources that you can search through. Be aware that pictures from online sources may be subject to copyright restrictions. You can access your OneDrive from here as well.

So once you have selected the picture you would like, click Insert in the lower right-hand corner.

You will do this for all three options.

The picture will then be added to your document.

How To Set As Default in Paragraph Settings

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You most likely have noticed the Set As Default option when you were in your Paragraph Settings window when adjusting tab stops or indention.  It’s not a big deal really. It is actually quite easy to miss because there is a lot of other information in that window as well.

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If you look toward the bottom of your window, in between Tabs and OK, you will see a Set As Default button.

Whatever you have set in your preceding window, when you click on Set As Default, will be your default setting in the future.

Once you click on Set As Default, you will find two more options that will appear in a new window:

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Now, from this vantage point, you are able to choose whether you would like to apply these settings to this document only or whether you would like to apply these settings to your Normal.dotm template. Applying them to your Normal.dotm means that from now on every new blank document you create on your computer will have these settings applied to it.

This is actually a great way to apply settings to custom templates or different workplace or academia documents, which have much different styles than the norm. It will say you lots and lots of time when you are formatting your documents.

I hope this has been helpful to you!

How To Create Section Breaks in Word 365

Posted on by Posted in Office 365, Word 365

In an earlier post I explained how to create page breaks in Word. This time I will explain how to create section breaks.

Ok, you know there are page breaks and there is another category of breaks as well, called section breaks. So in addition to the continuous section break, which creates a new section and continues your text on the same page, there are several other section breaks, including a Next page section break,  a continuous break, ane Even page section break, and an Odd page section break:

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If you are wondering why all these section breaks would be necessary, it is because section breaks are useful at times when you would like a part of your document to look different from the rest of your document.

Sections in Word may have their own look, including their own page orientations, layouts and even their own headers and footers and other formatting as well.

As you can see in the image above, you have only to click exactly which section break you would like.

It does not get any easier than this!

How To Create Page Breaks in Word 365

Posted on by Posted in Office 365, Word 365

I know this is old news to some folks, but there are newbies out there who do not know how to do this and so I will now enlighten them.

So once you decide what sort of break is appropriate for your document, save your document and:

Follow the steps below to learn how:

  1. You will first need to move your insertion point to where you would like your break to begin.
  2. Now, navigate to the Layout tab and click Breaks, which will open the Breaks menu.

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  1. Toward the top you will see Page so now go ahead and click on that to insert your page break.

That is all there is to it!  Easy Peasy!

 

How To Turn On The Ruler in Word 365

Posted on by Posted in Word 365

You get a new version of Microsoft Word and boom! Nothing is the same as it was before! You cannot find your ruler! Try as you might, it just seems to have disappeared. Or, you never had your ruler showing in your older version of Word! I cannot tell you how important I feel it is to have the mighty ruler in view. Suffice it to say that I would not dream of not having my ruler available to me all the time.

Having said that, in the newer versions of Word, the Ruler is, by default, hidden. Please do not ask me why! It is a mystery to me why anyone would have made this silly decision. Sometimes I think the powers that be sit there and think “hah, I bet this will drive them crazy!” But the Ruler is so useful for formatting, etc. that I always have it on and suggest that you do the same.

So let’s get to it, shall we?

Follow the steps below to learn how:

  1. Go to the View tab on your Ribbon.
  2. In the Show group, check Ruler.

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Now that your Ruler has been enabled, you should see two rulers along the top and left-hand side of your document. In the upper left corner, you should also see a box where you can click through a variety of different tab and indent options that you can place on your ruler to set different tab and indent marks.

I hope this has been helpful to you!

How to Use the Search Bar in PowerPoint 365

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PowerPoint has so many powerful features it can be difficult to remember where to find all of them. PowerPoint 365  has made it easier with the Search bar, which can put even buried tools or those you rarely use in easy reach.

To use it, click the Search bar — for some folks, it is located on the Ribbon to the right of all the tabs; for others, it is  above the Ribbon in the red title area. (If, like me, you prefer the quickest method, you can simply press Alt-Q to go to the Search box. Key in a task you would like to use,( i.e.,  change handout orientation”) A menu will appear, showing potential matches for that task.

You will find, in this example, the top result is a Handout Orientation listing that when clicked gives you two options — one to set the orientation to horizontal and the other to vertical. Just click the one you would like to use.Should you want more information about your task, the last two items that appear in the menu let you select from related Help topics or search for your phrase using Smart Lookup.

How To Add PowerPoint Subtitles 365

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Why you might ask ” Why would you use subtitles in PowerPoint presentation?” A very good question and I will answer it here.

Subtitles are a great way to reinforce your ideas, break up large amounts of text, and make your presentations more accessible to folks who may not speak the same language as you. They can also be used to help viewers better understand more complex ideas and keep them engaged in your presentation. Also and more importantly, PowerPoint Subtitles can help increase comprehension of key speaker points.

So you have not heard of subtitles? Well let me introduce you:

PowerPoint Subtitles have been available as a feature in the Microsoft Office Suite since 2016. According to a study conducted in 2020, over 60% of users have adopted PowerPoint Subtitles as a way to improve their presentations, which  means that the  majority of people are taking advantage of great feature and are  helping make their presentations more accessible and engaging.

Ok, so now that you have the skinny on PowerPoint Subtitles, let’s learn how to use them. PowerPoint Subtitles should be used sparingly and only when necessary.

Follow the steps below to learn how:

  1. Click the Insert tab and select Video from File.
  2. Select the video you would like to add subtitles to and click Insert.
  3. Click the Playback tab, then select subtitles from your  Ribbon.
  4. Select Create New Subtitles or Transcript and then click the drop-down menu to select a language.
  5. Key in the text for each of your subtitles, add timing information, then click OK.
  6. Click the Playback tab and select Subtitles from the ribbon to customize how your subtitles appear on screen.

Go ahead and experiment with it.  I think you will very quickly grow fond of this feature if you were not already aware of it.