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Microsoft Office
Mark Kaelin
TechRepublic Staff
Mark Kaelin
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Understand Excel 2010s new RANK.AVG() function
Excel 2010 has three RANK() functions, which might confuse your users. Learn the difference so you can help your users choose the right function for the job.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 20, 2011, 12:31 PM PDT | Latest comment by jody.burton@...
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Office challenge: What's the easiest way to migrate your customized Word 2003 Normal.dot file to Word 2007 or 2010?
In this week's Office challenge, test your upgrading skills and share the quickest way to save your template customizations with other readers.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 19, 2011, 1:10 PM PDT | Latest comment by cblapp
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Office solution: What's the quickest way to find Word's templates?
Learn two three-click routes to the default Office templates folder from Word. You'll also learn a quick route via Windows Explorer.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 19, 2011, 1:09 PM PDT
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Use color to identify mail messages to and from specific people
Want to respond to important people more efficiently? Assign color to their incoming messages so they'll stand out in your crowded Inbox.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 14, 2011, 11:17 AM PDT | Latest comment by spierren@...
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Assign a keystroke shortcut to insert a symbol or special character
If you insert the same symbol or special character often, you should use a custom shortcut to bypass the ribbon route and save yourself time.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 13, 2011, 7:23 AM PDT | Latest comment by czytacz
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Office challenge: What's the quickest way to find Word's templates?
Susan Harkins issues another Microsoft Office Challenge to TechRepublic members. What's the quickest way to find Word's templates?
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 12, 2011, 12:21 PM PDT | Latest comment by Big Bro
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Challenge solution: Where's the message interval setting in Outlook 2010?
Last week, we asked you to help a user find an old favorite, setting the mail interval, in Outlook 2010. This week, we supply two ways to access this feature.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 12, 2011, 12:18 PM PDT
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Use Word's no-width optional break character to facilitate wrapping
Long text at the right margin usually gets wrapped to the next line, leaving a gap. Word's optional break character offers a helpful workaround that lets you, not Word, control the break.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 11, 2011, 7:06 AM PDT | Latest comment by simon.freeman@...
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Increase your communication efficiency using a draft message as a template
With some careful use of draft features found in Outlook, you can increase your efficiency when it comes to sending repeat emails.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 8, 2011, 11:02 AM PDT | Latest comment by yanm
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Office challenge: Where's the message interval setting in Outlook 2010?
As stragglers continue to upgrade to 2010, you're bound to see a few oddball problems occasionally. Here's one that's easy to solve, if you know where to look!
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 7, 2011, 11:59 AM PDT | Latest comment by dlarsen@...
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Challenge solution: Why won't Word print the right mathematical symbols?
Learn some possible solutions to last week's Word printing problem - and learn a few ways to skirt the problem if you can't fix the problem right away!
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 5, 2011, 12:17 PM PDT
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Use Find and Replace to globally apply a Word style
Quickly changing formatting, globally, is an easy task, if you use Word styles and take advantage of Search and Replace options.
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 5, 2011, 6:21 AM PDT | Latest comment by lars.staurset@...
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Use Word 2010's Navigation pane to increase productivity
Finding specific strings and items in Word can be difficult and the larger the document the harder that task becomes. Use 2010's new Navigation pane to find things quicker and easier.
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 30, 2011, 11:24 AM PDT | Latest comment by ssharkins@...
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Office challenge: Why won't Word print the right mathematical symbols?
Word's Equation Editor does a good job of displaying mathematical symbols, but that information doesn't always transfer correctly to the printer. What to do when the screen says one thing and the...
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 28, 2011, 12:03 PM PDT | Latest comment by ssharkins@...
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Placement is everything when using aggregate functions in Access reports
The same aggregate function will return different results in the same report. It's important that you understand how placement determines how an aggregate evaluates values in an Access report.
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 27, 2011, 11:27 AM PDT
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Copy Excel subtotals without making a mess
After using Excel's Subtotal feature, you can quickly collapse the outline to view only the subtotal rows. You might get a surprise if you try to copy them though - here's how to avoid a Subtotal...
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 24, 2011, 8:57 AM PDT | Latest comment by HmmmLyssa
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Harness the power of Subtotal in Excel to count grouped items
Excel's Subtotal feature can render quick results when you need simple grouping calculations. Susan Harkins shows you how this powerful feature works.
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 22, 2011, 8:14 AM PDT | Latest comment by danny@...
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Office challenge: Why can't I use Excel's Subtotals feature?
In this week's Office challenge, test your Excel skills by solving a disabled feature mystery and learn the solution to last week's Excel custom view error challenge.
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 21, 2011, 8:16 AM PDT | Latest comment by pclneal
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Use an Excel style to identify data input cells
Susan Harkins shows you how to format and unlock input cells in Excel at the same time by assigning a modified style.
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 20, 2011, 12:38 PM PDT | Latest comment by art777
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How to protect cells in a Word table using a Text Form Field
Protecting data in a Word table isn't as simple as turning a protection feature on, but it's possible using Text Form Field controls.
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 17, 2011, 6:40 AM PDT | Latest comment by RowenaT
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Two ways to add checkbox controls to a Word document
Use a customized bulleted list or a content control to insert checkboxes into a Word document, depending on how you are going to use it.
Posted by Susan Harkins | February 22, 2012, 8:16 AM PST | Latest comment by ian@...
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How to add a drop-down list to an Excel cell
Drop-down lists can greatly facilitate data entry. Here's a look at how to use Excel's data validation feature to create handy lists within your worksheets.
Posted by Susan Harkins | June 12, 2008, 12:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by dhivya.vasu01@...
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Transpose Excel data from rows to columns, or vice versa
When you need to flip-flop data in an Excel worksheet, don't waste time doing it manually. Excel offers a handy Transpose option that will quickly take care of the task.
Posted by Jeff Davis | June 23, 2009, 12:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by excelinexcel
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Use SUMIFS() to sum by multiple conditions in Excel
Excel's SUMIF() lets you sum values, conditionally. It's new sibling, SUMIFS() lets you sum values by multiple conditions.
Posted by Susan Harkins | November 14, 2011, 11:25 AM PST | Latest comment by peter.r7
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How to use Excel 2010's new conditional formatting with references
Excel 2010's new referencing option makes conditional formatting more powerful than ever before!
Posted by Susan Harkins | August 30, 2010, 8:40 AM PDT | Latest comment by jeboy.06
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Add horizontal lines to a Word document
Susan Harkins shows you two easy ways to insert a horizontal line into a Word document.
Posted by Susan Harkins | September 29, 2010, 12:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by Shrike49
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A quick and dirty way to compare columns of Excel data
Using this little-known feature in Excel, you can quickly compare one column of data to another.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 6, 2012, 11:41 AM PDT | Latest comment by HAL 9000
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Four ways to insert an em dash in a Word document
When you need an em dash, you can let Word enter it for you the easy way. If that approach doesn't suit your needs, try one of three manual methods.
Posted by Susan Harkins | March 1, 2010, 12:00 AM PST | Latest comment by Marshwiggle
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Use COUNTIFS() to evaluate multiple count and criteria ranges
Excel's COUNTIFS() function is flexible enough to handle different ranges and data types.
Posted by Susan Harkins | May 21, 2012, 10:37 AM PDT | Latest comment by jbenton@...
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How to Alphabetize Lists In Word
I learned something new the other day—Word can alphabetize a list. I’m sure many users already know this, but it’s brand new to me. Years ago, I could do this with WordPerfect, but I’ve...
Posted by Susan Harkins | May 29, 2007, 12:13 PM PDT
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The secret to unhiding column A in an Excel worksheet
After you hide column A, it might seem like it's gone forever. Fortunately, there are two simple tricks for unhiding it.
Posted by Susan Harkins | March 16, 2009, 12:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by fallon.stuart@...
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Quickly fill blank cells in Excel
Blank cells can spell trouble. Here's an easy way to fill in those blanks and protect the validity of your data.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 26, 2010, 10:50 AM PDT | Latest comment by Midhunmj
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Use Word's Vertical Alignment settings to center a page
Centering text vertically isn't difficult; you just have to know where to look!
Posted by Susan Harkins | July 28, 2010, 6:30 PM PDT
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Build a simple timesheet in Excel
Excel makes it easy to set up a system for tracking time. Follow these steps to create your own or download our sample timesheet template and customize it to fit your needs.
Posted by Susan Harkins | January 26, 2010, 9:43 AM PST | Latest comment by raj_as
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Create an Excel data entry form that includes check boxes
You can keep a lot of information on an Excel data entry form, but you can make it easier for your users -- and yourself -- to create tables by adding check boxes. Here's how to set up check boxes...
Posted by Mary Ann Richardson | July 31, 2007, 12:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by Corbybhoy
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Use a formula to trigger Excel's Conditional Formatting feature
If you need a visual clue to hype a worksheet, use Excel's Conditional Formatting feature to help values stand out.
Posted by Susan Harkins | January 5, 2009, 1:07 PM PST | Latest comment by JNirvaha
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Use a custom format in Excel to display easier to read millions
Use a custom format in Microsoft Excel to reduce the number of digits in a large number without losing its scale.
Posted by Susan Harkins | March 14, 2012, 11:16 AM PDT | Latest comment by jeng02@...
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A quick way to delete blank rows in Excel
Deleting blank rows in an Excel data range is easy with this technique, but watch out for unintended consequences.
Posted by Susan Harkins | January 5, 2012, 11:48 AM PST | Latest comment by jbenton@...
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Delete a stubborn page break in Word
Sometimes, Word won't let you delete a page break. The fix is usually simple -- although the cause might surprise you.
Posted by Susan Harkins | January 8, 2010, 7:13 AM PST | Latest comment by kramer22
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Two ways to build dynamic charts in Excel
Users will appreciate a chart that updates right before their eyes. In Excel 2007 and 2010 it's as easy as creating a table. In earlier versions, you'll need the formula method.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 19, 2012, 11:48 AM PDT | Latest comment by chip_long@...
