Susan Harkins

Microsoft Access may not be right for all situations, but it does have its place — at least according to database expert Susan Harkins. Here’s her take on some of the more common complaints she’s encountered from IT pros who like to kick Access around.

Bullets are easy to insert in all Office applications, but the default bullet might not make the right impression in a PowerPoint presentation. Change bullets quickly and easily.

Outlook is flexible enough to send e-mail to cell phones. You just need the cell phone’s 10-digit number, the carrier’s domain, and a cell phone that supports SMS.

By holding down the Ctrl key, you can copy a Word table’s row or column to create a new row or column.

The Recordset object is an essential component in Access development, but it often trips up even experienced developers. Susan Harkins explains 12 common Recordset pitfalls you can anticipate and avoid.

Word’s default number alignment is Left, which presents an awkward list if the numbers reach double digits. Fortunately, you can force proper alignment — if you know where to find the correct option.

When adding endnotes to a Word document, you can position them at the end of a section instead of at the end of the document.

Number Word table rows and columns

We tend to view spreadsheet data as a whole, and that’s as it should be. Seldom does a single column of values mean much to us without some related data to define it. Together, seemingly useless values become information. In fact, that’s the definition of data and information. Information is an aggregate — a collection …

Multitasking is the name of the game anymore. Computers haven’t made things easier for us. Instead, they made it easier for us to accomplish more. For instance, you may find yourself trying to answer e-mail, schedule meetings, and log calls at the same time. If you’re using Outlook, you don’t have to close one task …

Running totals are used to update totals within a series in Microsoft Excel. For instance, you might use a running total to track an account balance, enrolling students, or even inventory. Usually, a simple expression that adds the previous total to the latest value does the trick. Susan Harkins shows you what to do when a business rule throws a monkey wrench into the works, requiring the use of conditional running totals.

A custom AutoFill series is a list of values you enter frequently. This list might consist of employee names, department names, and so on. The problem is that you enter them over and over. You can save time by creating an AutoFill series in Excel 2003 as follows: Enter the values and then select the …