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Microsoft Office
Mark Kaelin
TechRepublic Staff
Mark Kaelin
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Office challenge: Can you help a user who wants all workbooks to default to R1C1 referencing?
This week, text your Excel skills by providing a permanent solution for a user's R1C1 referencing preference.
Posted by Susan Harkins | May 2, 2012, 7:35 AM PDT | Latest comment by hkammann
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Create easy access to the subscript and superscript font effects
Users have two efficient methods for applying superscript and subscript fonts. They can use a keyboard shortcut or add the effect to the Quick Access toolbar.
Posted by Susan Harkins | May 1, 2012, 7:27 AM PDT | Latest comment by Deadly Ernest
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Change Word's default table properties to suit the way you work
By default, Word inserts a table with borders. If that's not your preference, change these default settings.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 27, 2012, 10:45 AM PDT | Latest comment by ssharkins@...
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Office solution: How to get percentages from integer values
This week, learn the simple solution to last week's challenge: Can you avoid re-entering integer values that are supposed to be percentages.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 26, 2012, 8:17 AM PDT
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A clever trick for filtering odd and even rows in Excel
If you want to see only odd or even rows in an Excel worksheet, use this quick filtering trick.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 26, 2012, 8:12 AM PDT | Latest comment by sanjyn
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A few ways to customize Excel to increase your productivity
Working with Excel's out-of-the-box defaults can waste your time. Change default settings to work more productively and efficiently.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 25, 2012, 9:05 AM PDT | Latest comment by sawriters@...
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How to find the latest (or earliest) date and a corresponding value
Use this combination of Excel functions to find the latest date and return a corresponding value.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 24, 2012, 7:25 AM PDT | Latest comment by DBlayney
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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@...
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Office challenge: Can you avoid re-entering integer values that are supposed to be percentages?
In this week's challenge, test your Excel skills by helping a user avoid re-entering integers that should be formatted as percentages.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 18, 2012, 10:32 AM PDT | Latest comment by v_balaj@...
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Adjust settings to print index cards using Word
Word can quickly adjust to printing index cards. Simply choose the right document size and format as needed.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 18, 2012, 10:27 AM PDT | Latest comment by ssharkins@...
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Troubleshoot page and section breaks in Microsoft Word
Word's page and section breaks often confound users. They often enter them when they don't mean to, creating structural problems that the user doesn't know how to eliminate.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 17, 2012, 11:57 AM PDT
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Add a pie chart to a Word document without opening Excel
You can bypass Excel and insert a pie chart into a Word document, from inside Word. Susan Harkins explains.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 13, 2012, 10:47 AM PDT | Latest comment by dhays
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Insert a shortcut that will quickly end your PowerPoint presentation
If rushed for time, you can use this technique to quickly end a presentation, without looking like you've shortchanged the audience.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 13, 2012, 10:41 AM PDT | Latest comment by ssharkins@...
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SharePoint Online makes PowerPoint slide libraries available via the cloud
Slide libraries are a SharePoint Online feature which allows you to work with PowerPoint slide decks stored in the cloud.
Posted by Brett Hill | April 12, 2012, 12:35 PM PDT | Latest comment by rtozman
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Office solution: Why Excel sometimes displays dates instead of values
This week, learn the possible solutions to last week's challenge: Why is Excel displaying a date instead of a numeric value?
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 11, 2012, 1:43 PM PDT
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Avoid this potential gotcha when using add-ins to distribute Excel macros
Learn how to easily avoid this gotcha when distributing Excel macros via an add-in.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 10, 2012, 10:51 AM PDT | Latest comment by ssharkins@...
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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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Office challenge: Why is Excel displaying a date instead of a numeric value?
This week, test your Excel skills by solving this common but peculiar and annoying formatting snafu.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 5, 2012, 8:31 AM PDT | Latest comment by Marshwiggle
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Get the latest version of Microsoft Office for $12 per month
With the release of Office 365, Microsoft introduced an entirely new way to buy Microsoft Office – with a monthly subscription.
Posted by Brett Hill | April 4, 2012, 10:54 AM PDT | Latest comment by office365guy
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Accommodate different headers and footers in a Word document
To change a document's header or footer in a Word document, you should add a section break first.
Posted by Susan Harkins | April 3, 2012, 12:36 PM PDT
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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 manishdhir
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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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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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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 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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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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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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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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Convert your Word documents into PowerPoint 2007 presentations
If you need to make a PowerPoint presentation from a Word document, don't worry about endless cutting and pasting. Mary Ann Richardson shows how you can use Word's built-in formatting to make an...
Posted by Mary Ann Richardson | April 1, 2008, 12:00 AM PDT | Latest comment by nor12345
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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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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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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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10 things you can do to give your PowerPoint presentations a heartbeat
This information is also available as a PDF download. Imagine this: You've just returned to your seat for this afternoon's training seminar. The morning session was pretty interesting, providing...
Posted by Katherine Murray | July 10, 2007, 2:44 PM PDT
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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@...
