Unofficial Microsoft Office Stuff

Wipe it Clean

2009-11-09T03:48:00.000-08:00

Works, but dangerous

"Cipher.exe is a command-line tool. Microsoft has developed an improved version of the Cipher.exe tool that provides the ability to permanently overwrite (or "wipe") all of the deleted data on a hard disk.
This feature improves security by ensuring that even an attacker who gained complete physical control of a Windows computer would be unable to recover previously-deleted data."

Support.microsoft.com:
Cipher.exe Security Tool

Using cipher.exe

File Shredder

Permanently delete data from your hard drive

[Edited entry from 10/31/2006]

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No Read Receipts

2009-11-08T03:45:00.000-08:00

Shut them down

Email that includes a Read Receipt request can be a bother. You could click no when Outlook asks to send the reply, or you can set up a more permanent solution.

Go to Tools>Options.
In the Options dialog box, select the Preferences tab.
Click the E-Mail Options button.
In the E-Mail Options dialog box, click the Tracking Options button.
Choose the option Never send a response.
Click OK.

(In 2007+ click the Office button and go to Options>Mail)

[Edited entry from 10/30/2006]

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Go Back 23 Hours

2009-11-07T03:13:00.000-08:00

Really save useful time

"Therefore, let us keep the fall ritual as it is. However, one Sunday each Spring, let us set our clocks not one hour forward, but TWENTY-THREE HOURS BACKWARD.

Think of all the advantages. We will not lose an hour of sleep; we will gain (almost) a day of rest. It will be Saturday all over again. You will never again miss Confession, or an airplane, or the Redskins game.

Naturally, if this were the whole plan, our calendars would fall behind one day in each year. However, the second part of the Revised DST Plan deals with this. Every four years, instead of adding a day, let us SUBTRACT THREE DAYS.

Furthermore, let these be Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, which according to recent polls are the least popular days.

Stop Daylight Saving Time

Daylight Saving Time

About Daylight Saving Time

Wikipedia Daylight Saving Time

Saving Time and Energy

Daylight Savings Google News

As a result of the U.S. passing the Energy Policy Act of 2005, Daylight Saving Time in the U.S. will change starting in 2007. DST will begin on the second Sunday of March and end the first Sunday of November.

[Edited entry from 10/29/2006]

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Journal

2009-11-06T03:42:00.000-08:00

or not

When you are poking around in Outlook, you may click on the Journal icon.
A dialog box will appear asking if you want to turn Journal on:

Resist the temptation. Every Word/Excel/PowerPoint and Access file will be placed on a time line.

Every e-mail sent to a Contact will be indexed. This will slow down your machine. It is a massive overkill.

If you are involved in a project, you can use Journal to track specific documents.

Here is a Microsoft Knowledge Base article on how to Disable Journaling for All Users.

Here are some Journal Issues.

If you still want to use Journal, here are some references from Slipstick.com.

[Edited entry from 10/28/2006]

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Change Code to Comments

2009-11-05T03:39:00.000-08:00

Fast solution

When you're testing procedures, you can temporarily convert a block of VBA code to comments that will be ignored during a trial run.

Doing so manually by inserting an apostrophe before each line of code can be a real chore.

To simplify this task,

Open any module in the Visual Basic Editor (VBE)
Choose View >Toolbars>Edit from the menu bar to display the Edit toolbar.
Select the lines of code that you want to turn into comments.
Click the Comment Block button on the Edit toolbar (it's the sixth button in from the right end of the toolbar).

Each line of the selected code is now preceded with an apostrophe. To convert the comments back to executable code, select the appropriate lines and click the Uncomment Block button, which is immediately to the right of the Comment Block button.

[Edited entry from 10/27/2006]

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Paste is Special

2009-11-04T03:04:00.000-08:00

Versatile functions

If the data you brought into Excel comes through as text rather than numbers, Paste Special can fix it.

Go to an empty cell.
Copy it
Select the "corrupted" data.
Go to Edit>Paste Special and choose Add.

This works better than multiplying by one. Empty cells remain empty

What's So Special About "Paste Special"?

Excel Paste Special function

Pasting Using Paste Special

[Edited entry from 10/27/2006]

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Pen Trix

2009-11-03T03:59:00.000-08:00

Be cool in the office

You've seen people twirl pens in their hands; rolling around their fingers. Here's how to do it.

What is Pentrix? Pentrix is the new and improved version of Pentix - The Art of Pen Spinning web site. Pentix has been around since January, 2000 and has grown in popularity among pen spinners ever since. The mission of Pentrix is to teach people how to spin their pens.

PenTrix.com

There's also Glowsticking:

GlowSticking.com

[Edited entry from 10/23/2006]

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Emperer of Scent, The

2009-11-02T03:46:00.000-08:00

By Chandler Burr

ISBN 0-375-50797-3
Random House 2002

About the Author
Has contributed to The Atlantic, New York Times Magazine, and the Washington
Post among others.

Book Description
A Story of Perfume, Obsession, and the Last Mystery of the Senses. Luca Turin proposes a new theory of smell. Vision is perceived by light vibrations; Sound as well. Turin proposes that the same is true of Smell.
The science gets a little deep, but the human story is compelling.
Whether he is right or not has not been universally decided. The fights between branchs of science are like civet fights.

Quote
One scientist, Richard Doty, says

"You may have noticed that if you breath through your nose, you tend to breathe through only one side of it for a while, then for a while through the other. . . When you smell information on the right side, you send it to the left side of the brain and vice versa, and you find a statistically significant increase in verbal scores when you breathe through the left side of your nose."

October, 2004
"The Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine this year goes to two Americans who have puzzled out the sense of smell. Richard Axel and Linda Buck will split $1.4 million for discovering how chemicals in the air trigger thousands of recognizably different odors."

National Public Radio
Also:

Olfaction

"Doty's comment is incorrect. Actually, it might be from Chandler Burr's book, that was unclear.
The olfactory receptor sites do not switch recognition to the opposite brain hemisphere. What is breathed in through the right nostril goes directly to the right side of the brain, the left to the left."

Anonymous

[Edited entry from 10/19/2006]

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Paper Art

2009-11-01T03:49:00.000-08:00

Fold it all up

Caterpillar on a leaf PDF

Origami.com

Here are a couple of sites that provide templates and instruction about Origami; paper folding:

Animated lesson

OrigamiHeaven.com
David Mitchell is internationally known for his ground-breaking origami designs and publications. He is a particular specialist in the field of modular origami but is also a prolific inventor of one-piece paperfolds, novelties, flexagons, puzzles, visual paradoxes and magical effects.

This site sells paper and provides templates:
Paper and More

[Edited entry from 10/19/2006]

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Hiding Duplicates in Query Results

2009-10-31T03:10:00.000-07:00

Once is enough

It's easy to hide duplicate entries when you run a query, even though Access doesn't go out of its way to call attention to this ability.

Set up a query as usual using the design grid.
Choose View>Properties from the menu bar to display the Query Properties dialog box.
Change the Unique Values property to Yes.

Access displays unique records based on each field returned by the query.

[Edited entry from 10/17/2006]

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Thumbnail Views

2009-10-30T03:09:00.000-07:00

Little pages

The Thumbnail view can be used to see the layout of a page or to jump from one page to another.

With Word 2003 and 2007, Thumbnail views are available in Normal, Print Layout, Outline, and Reading Layout views. Go to View>Thumbnails to display the Thumbnail pane to the left of your document. In 2007+ go to View>Navigation tab>Show.

Thumbnail versions of your document will appear in a new pane to the left of your current document. Click on a thumbnail page and Word 2003/7 will automatically jump to the selected page.

[Edited entry from 10/16/2006]

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Hep Me

2009-10-29T03:11:00.000-07:00

It's EZ

Thomas Brunt's Outfront.net has a number of web developer tips.

Shirley Wood wrote an article about "Spell checking your web site"

FrontPage uses the same dictionary as Word and Excel.

A spell checker, however, only goes so far:

Eye halve a spelling checker
It came with my pea sea
It plainly marcs four my revue
Miss steaks eye kin knot sea.
Eye strike a key and type a word
And weight four it two say
Weather eye am wrong oar write
It shows me strait a weigh.
As soon as a mist ache is maid
It nose bee fore two long
And eye can put the error rite
It's rare lea ever wrong.
Eye have run this poem threw it
I am shore your pleased two no
Its letter perfect awl the weigh
My checker tolled me sew.

[Edited entry from 10/14/2006]

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Pig Psych [Flickr]

2009-10-28T11:05:14-07:00

Doug Klippert posted a photo:

PPT Secrets No More

2009-10-27T03:57:00.000-07:00

Tutorials and downloads

Here's an exceptional collection of animation techniques as well as sample file you can use to emulate their brilliance.

The Power Of "Ping"
Let The Good Times Roll
4 Picture Animations
Master Linking Presentation
Formatting Best-Practices
Stars Wars Style Credits
Animation Sample
Scrolling Credits
Movie Across Slides
"PPTLive" Animation Tutorial
Motion Paths

TLC Creative Services:
PPT Tutorials

[Edited entry from 10/12/2006]

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Office 2010 Blogs

2009-10-26T03:27:00.000-07:00

A collection of sources

Here is a list of Blogs put out by Microsoft developers and proselytizers:

Official MS 2010 Office Blogs

Microsoft blogs about everything:
Team Blogs

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Hep Me

2009-10-25T03:06:00.000-07:00

Help topic locations

This from Ron de Bruin:

"Using the Help Context IDs

To make use of this file(s), locate the help topic of interest and make a note of its context ID.

Then, write a VBA subroutine that displays the topic.

You can attach the subroutine to a button, or provide some other way for the user to execute the sub.

For example, if you'd like to display the help topic that show the Date/Time Functions List,
you'll find that the context ID for that particular topic is 5199659.

The following VBA procedure displays that help topic."

Sub ShowHelp() Application.Help "XLMAIN" & Val(Application.Version) & ".CHM" ,5199659 End Sub

Help Context IDs for Excel

[Edited entry from 10/15/2006]

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Export Formatted Sheets

2009-10-25T03:05:00.000-07:00

Access to Excel

Access provides an easy way to export data to Excel through the Office Links feature.

To use this feature, simply select a relevant database object and choose Tools>Office Links> Analyze It With Excel.

The worksheet Excel creates includes some minor formatting applied to the field headings that appear in row 1. Some formatting in your original Access database affects the worksheet cell formatting as well. For example, if you're exporting from a datasheet, gridline and font attributes are carried over to Excel. If you use the Office Links feature to export data behind a form, text box shading and font properties are applied.

The final result in Excel may not exactly match your Access data; however, you'll probably find that less work is required to get your Excel version of the data into an easily readable state.

In Office 2007-10 it's External Data>Excel

[Edited entry from 10/10/2006]

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Dark-Henge [Flickr]

2009-10-24T09:41:44-07:00

Doug Klippert posted a photo:

What's in Your Head(er)?

2009-10-24T03:03:00.000-07:00

See it all

There are ways to see an email header.

See:
Email Headers
Outlook-Tips.net shows a way to do it:

. . . you can view the header and source together in the options dialog, if you edit a registry key. This works on mail downloaded from Internet mail transports only, not Exchange server mailboxes. However, if you access the mailbox using an Internet transport, you'll see the full source.
Open the registry editor and navigate to:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\11.0\Outlook\Options\Mail
Right click on the right pane and choose new DWORD:

Parameter: SaveAllMIMENotJustHeaders
Value: 1

Viewing Headers

[Edited entry from 10/9/2006]

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Grass [Flickr]

2009-10-23T14:40:47-07:00

Doug Klippert posted a photo:

Calculation Tool in Word

2009-10-23T03:05:00.000-07:00

Select and Add

In Excel an instant answer is displayed on the Status bar, when a series of numbers is selected.

If you would like to calculate lists or columns of numbers in Word, look at ToolsCalculate. It will display the answer AND let you paste the result in your document.

ToolsCalculate can be added to a menu or tool bar. Pre-2007, it is available through Tools>Customize.

On the Commands tab, select All Commands in the Category list, then scroll down the Commands list until you find ToolsCalculate.
Drag it to the menu bar and hover the mouse over "Tools" until the Tools menu drops down.
Drop Tools Calculate somewhere on the menu or drop it on a toolbar.
Close the Customize box.

For directions see:
MVPS.org FAQ

Type the numbers you want to calculate, along with the appropriate mathematical operators.

Word can calculate numbers in a line, in a column or row in a table, or in a column separated from other columns with tabs. Word can also calculate numbers interspersed throughout the text in one or more paragraphs if you include a space on either side of each number.

Select the numbers and operators.

From the Tools menu, choose Calculate.

Word calculates the result and displays it for a few seconds in the status bar. The result is stored on the Clipboard.

To insert the result into your document, position the insertion point and choose Paste from the Edit menu (CTRL+V) or click the Paste button on the Toolbar.

This is left over from the halcyon days of Word 2.0 when Woody Leonard and Ed Bott were but children.

In 2007-10,

Click the Office logo
Go to Word Options on the bottom of the box.
Go to Customize.
Select All Commands and find Calculate.

The Calculate icon will now appear on the Quick Access toolbar.

Of course, you could use formulas:
MicroSystems.com

[Edited entry from 10/8/2006]

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Quarry-henge [Flickr]

2009-10-22T19:22:22-07:00

Doug Klippert posted a photo:

UP Golf course (with a little more restraint)

Move Using Alt

2009-10-22T03:55:00.000-07:00

One sheet to another

To move data from one worksheet to another, highlight the data.

Hold down the ALT key and move the mouse until the pointer arrow is on the border of the selection.

Drag the selection down to the destination worksheet tab.

When the arrow touches the tab, Excel switches to the desired worksheet.

Now drag the selection to the correct position. Let go of the mouse and then the ALT key.

To copy data hold down the CTRL+ALT keys and perform the steps above.

BTW the screen will not scroll while you hold the ALT key down.

[Edited entry from 10/6/2006]

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Halloween on One Slide

2009-10-21T03:05:00.000-07:00

Scary trick

Kathryn Jacobs, PowerPointAnswers, has created a single slide presentation with a Halloween theme.

Through the clever use of animation, AutoShapes, and witchcraft. A whole show is contained on just one slide.

Pumpkin Time!

Brainy Betty also has some free templates
Halloween Backgrounds

Also see Indezine:
Halloween Templates

[Edited entry from 10/4/2006]

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Display Data Once

2009-10-20T03:34:00.000-07:00

Report Trick

Sometimes, you may have data that needlessly clutters a report.

For instance, suppose your report is listing the fields strCompany, strFirstName, and strLastName.

If there are multiple names listed for each company, and the report is sorted by company name, repeating the company information is unnecessary.

You may want to set a group header based on the company name, but there's an easier way to hide the redundant data.

Open the report in Design view.
Select the control that displays repetitive information.
Display the control's Property sheet.
Set the Hide Duplicates property equal to No.
Finally, Save and preview your report.

If the data in the modified control is the same as the data from the previous record, the control is hidden.

[Edited entry from 10/2/2006]

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Re-search Research

2009-10-19T03:30:00.000-07:00

Look again

Outlook has a feature functionality for "Search Folders".

Henrik Walther, at Outlook Exchange, has written a description of how to use this tool:

Using Search Folders in Outlook

Search Folders are a kind of new user interface for the Advanced Find functionality, which has been with us through several Outlook generations. The thing that makes Search Folders new and unique is the possibility for defined search criteria to be saved and represented through a kind of virtual folder in the Outlook client. What this means is it gives us a virtual folder view of the content in one or more "normal" folders, for which a search criteria has been defined.

Also:
Office.microsoft.com:
Search Folders

[Edited entry from 10/1/2006]

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Theses by the Numbers

2009-10-18T03:55:00.000-07:00

Colour or Color?

The University of Calgary has a step by step tutorial on how to write a thesis.

Choose a template
Download a template
Guidelines
Styles & their Relevance
Saving your files
Writing - hints & tips
Creating the Front Matter
Assembling Chapters
Page Numbers
Printout & Submission

Included are Word Thesis Templates

Some of the hints may provide you with some help even if you use the letter "U" in a more parsimonious manner.[Edited entry from 9/30/2006]See all Topics

Shortcut Borders

2009-10-17T03:26:00.000-07:00

Keyboard trick

Use Ctrl+1 to bring up Excels Formatting dialog box. Shift+B will take you to the Borders tab.

Now you can use the following key strokes (2002+):

ALT+T: Apply or remove the top border.
ALT+B: Apply or remove the bottom border.
ALT+L: Apply or remove the left border.
ALT+R: Apply or remove the right border.
ALT+D: Apply or remove the downward diagonal border.
ALT+U: Apply or remove the upward diagonal border.
ALT+H: Apply or remove the horizontal interior border.
ALT+V: Apply or remove the vertical interior border.
ALT+O: outlines the cells.
ALT+I: give interior (vertical and horizontal).
ALT+N: removes all borders.
ALT+C: brings up the color palette.

Shortcuts for Applying Borders

Ctrl+Shift+7 will outline a cell without having to display the Format dialog.

[Edited entry from 9/29/2006]

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Plan for your Site

2009-10-16T03:13:00.000-07:00

Outline then do

Always a good idea. Pre-plan and then do. Too often projects are started without a plan and too often plans are made and not carried through.

"When creating a website there are several different tools and methods available, but it is important to plan the steps. This guide will help outline the important steps required for website creation and promotion. Information in this document should help readers avoid many pitfalls and save time throughout the process."

Inception and Planning
Design
Construction
Promotion

CompTechDoc.org:
Website Creation Tutorial

[Edited entry from 9/26/2006]

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Teddy BW [Flickr]

2009-10-10T12:08:38-07:00

Doug Klippert posted a photo: