SUE’S TOP 10 “TIPS OF THE WEEK”
WHY IS THE TEXT DISAPPEARING AS I TYPE?
By default, any new text you enter in the middle of a line is inserted between existing text.
If existing text disappears as you type, it means that Overtype mode may be turned on.
Overtype replaces existing characters with newly typed characters.
When overtype mode is turned on, you’ll notice that OVR appears in the status bar.
You can double-click the OVR on the status bar to turn overtype on or off.
You can also use the Insert key on your keyboard and the change will be reflected on the Status bar.
PLEASE NOTE
* In Excel, you must double-click a cell or press F2 to turn Overtype mode on or off.
PREVENTING UNWANTED AUTOCORRECT CHANGES
The AutoCorrect feature is designed to help automatically correct common spelling errors and capitalization typos. However, you may find that there are certain words, or abbreviations that you'd prefer AutoCorrect not change at all. Rather than disabling the AutoCorrect feature or using the Undo feature, you can avoid unwanted corrections by creating exceptions.
Select Tools | AutoCorrect from the menu bar, and then clicking on the AutoCorrect tab.
There’s a check box that automatically capitalizes the first letter of a sentence. Deselecting this will stop that pesky problem of the first line of every manual line break being capitalized.
You can add a word to AutoCorrect's exceptions list by choosing the Exceptions button. In the AutoCorrect Exceptions dialog box, choose the tab that corresponds to the type of correction you'd like to prevent. In the Don't Correct text box, enter the text that you want to prevent AutoCorrect from changing, and then click Add. Next, click OK to close the AutoCorrect Exceptions and AutoCorrect dialog boxes. AutoCorrect no longer changes the word you added when you type it in a document.
MY PLACES
When you’re opening or saving a document, do you select the drop down menu to get to the My Documents folder? Well, when you select either File\ Open, or File\ Save As, look to the left and you’ll see several shortcut icons on the “My Places” bar (The My Places bar - that’s the bar on the left side of certain dialog boxes (such as Open, Save As, or Insert Picture) which contains shortcuts to the Desktop, My Documents, My Computer, and My Network Places folders.).
No need to select the drop down menu, you can access right from those shortcuts.
Would you like to add a specific folder (maybe a subfolder within My Documents) to My Places? Do the following:
On the File menu, click Open.
In the Look in (or Save In) list, select the folder that you want to create a shortcut to in the Click the desired folder, click Tools (to the right of the Look In box), and then click Add to "My Places". Your shortcut appears in the My Places bar to the left of the folder and files list.
SAVE A SERIES OF OUTLOOK MESSAGES IN A TEXT FILE
Select the messages you'd like to save in the text file from the list in your Inbox; Hold down your CTRL key to select several items at the same time. If possible, select them in the order that you'd like them to appear in the text file. Then, choose File |Save As and enter a name for the file in the space provided in the Save As dialog box. Select what location you'd like to save the file to, and then select Save.
Check the text file to be sure it contains all the information you needed to save and then
Delete the email messages since you no longer need them! They're now all contained in a single text file for easy reference.
CHANGING CASE – Keyboard Shortcut
Highlight your text to be changed and hit Shift + F3. (that’s the F3 key, NOT the F key and the # 3 key)
Don't like the case format you get?
No problem. Hit Shift + F3 again. (If you’re still not satisfied, then keep up with the Shift + F3. It will just keep rotating through the Change Case options until you find the one you need).
Wait, there's more! Here's a special bonus!
There's actually two different types of all caps. That is, if you know how to tap into the other set, known as small caps.
NEW LINE WITHOUT A BULLET
When you're creating a bulleted or numbered list in Word or PowerPoint, you might want an item to appear on the list without a bullet. You can start a new line without a bullet by pressing Shift-Enter. The next time you press the Enter key, the new line will continue the bulleted or numbered list.
Another useful trick: In Excel, you can press Alt-Enter to start a new line within a cell.
RESIZING THE FONT – keyboard shortcut
To resize a the font you’re currently working with, select the text by highlighting it (a word, a line, a paragraph, whatever)Hold down your CTRL key and select the bracket key. The left key will enable you to make your font smaller
The right, will make your font larger.
CHANGE SUBJECT LINE IN OUTLOOK
Even though the subject line seems untouchable in the gray area above the message, don't be intimidated--you can edit it. Open the message and place your cursor in the subject text, click and drag to highlight it, then add or change the text as needed. Now, close the message and click “yes to save the changes.