Default Save

Choose your own location

When you choose to save most Office files, the Save dialog box defaults to the Documents or My Documents folder.

(The following directions work in 2007+, but you need to click on the Office button in the upper left corner of the Window)

Word

you can change the default location by going to Tools>Options. On the "File Locations" tab you can modify the storage location.

Excel

Tools>Options. On the "General" tab change the default location.

PowerPoint

uses Tools>Options and the "Save" tab.

Access

Tools>Options and the "General" tab for Databases and Projects

Publisher

Tools>Options "General".

Outlook

will make you take an underground tour into the Registry to change the location to save e-mail attachments.

FrontPage/Expression Web

appears to require the same sort of spelunking.

Change the folder where e-mail messages and attachments are saved


If you don't want to change the default, but would like to be able to quickly go to an alternate site, open the Save or Save Attachment dialog box. On the left side of the box is the Places Navigation bar. If you click the Desktop icon, that location will be used to save the file.

You can add spots to the bar. Browse to the specific folder. Highlight the folder and click the down arrow beside the Tools option. Select "Add to My Places."

The file or e-mail attachment can then be saved where you want.


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Plain Language

Twaddle free

THE WHITE HOUSE
June 1, 1998

MEMORANDUM FOR THE HEADS OF EXECUTIVE DEPARTMENTS AND AGENCIES

SUBJECT: Plain Language in Government Writing

"The Federal Government's writing must be in plain language. By using plain language, we send a clear message about what the Government is doing, what it requires, and what services it offers. Plain language saves the Government and the private sector time, effort, and money."

The Plain English Network

Plain language can be understood by YOUR reader at first reading. It doesn't mean writing for a certain grade level - it means organizing and writing for your reader. Writing in plain language saves time and money for writers and readers.

Introducing Plain Language

Plain language matches the needs of the reader with your needs as a writer, resulting in effective and efficient communication. It is effective because the reader can understand the message. It is efficient because the reader can read and understand the message the first time.

Also:
LegalWriting.net
Plain language produces clear, concise, and readable documents


And then for no reason ,other than most writing is twaddle, here's a review of:

How Mumbo-jumbo Conquered the World:
A Short History of Modern Delusions
by Francis Wheen.



It's entitled: "Twaddle unswaddled".
Appropriate or not, it is fun to say.


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Labels by Merging

Demos

As part of their series of demos, Microsoft has information on creating mailing labels from a database, or mailing list.

Create labels with mail merge

Here is another entry concerning some of the fine points.

More label info

Also, if you place a graphic in the first cell, it will be duplicated in each box.


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Index Concordance

Order!

Creating a Table of Contents can be easy if you use Styles. Word will automatically insert a TOC when you place the insertion point and then use Insert>Reference Index and Tables and choose Table of Contents.
(2007+  Reference Tab>Table of Contents group)

An Index or Concordance can be more difficult.

In a larger document, you may want the reader to be able to locate key words. You could go through the whole document and mark each word you want included, but there is an easier way.

1. Make a list of the important words.
   
2. Create a two-column table in a new document.
   
3. In the first column, enter the word or phrase.
   
4. In the second column, enter the index entry
   (If you need a sub-category, type the main entry followed by a colon (:) and then the sub category.)
   
5. Save the file.

When it comes time to create the Index, place the insertion point, go to Insert>Reference Index and Tables. Choose Index and then AutoMark. (2007 – Reference Tab>Index group) Browse to the location of your Index file. Word will now automatically use your list to mark the main document and insert an Index.

Also: Word for Word:
An Index or a Concordance for Your Book?
Microsoft KB:
How to create a table of contents and index with field codes in Word


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Publisher Merges

Not just Word

You know that you can send e-mail merges using Word. Try it with Publisher.

Design a newsletter and let it rip.




Merge Publisher


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Troubleshoot Word

Problem solvers

If you have trouble opening a Word document, or it is not working well, try these suggestions:

FIRST
Delete all of Word's temp files.

1. Go to Edit>Replace
   
2. Make sure to include all of your local drives in the search and that "include subfolders" is checked.
   
3. Search for:
   *.tmp
   
4. Then delete all these temp files.
   

Word leaves shards of temp files wherever the document file was stored. Word's temp files start with a tilde (~), so in most cases you can delete: ~*.* SECOND

1. Use Edit>Find to locate Normal.DOT.
   
2. Rename it (Normal.OLD) or delete it. Word will create a new copy when it restarts.
   

The only caveat here is be careful that you don't have important macros stored in Normal.DOT. If you rename, you can recover them. THIRD
If that does not correct the problem, try this next step:

1. Go to Start>Run and type:
   winword.exe /a
   (Note that there is a space before the /a)
   
2. Then press ENTER. This starts Word without any add-ins, global templates, or Normal.DOT.
   Look in Tools>Templates and Add-ins to see if there are any files that can be un-checked.
   

If you need even more help, go to: 
Knowledge base:

 How to troubleshoot problems that occur when you start Word or when you work in Word


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Word Math

An Add-in, of course

Microsoft has a downloadable add-in for Word called Microsoft Math.

"To use the add-in, open Word 2007+, type Alt-= to create a RichEdit math object, type an equation or expression, and right-click on the equation to see options for solving and graphing within Word."

Math Add-in


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Merge to More Than One Document

Custom content

In the Data Source, include a field for the type of letter the recipient requires.

In the Main merge document, enter IF fields, such as:

{IF {MERGEFIELD "LetterType"=1} {INCLUDETEXT "C:\\Project\\Letter1" \* MERGEFORMAT} ""}
{IF {MERGEFIELD "LetterType"=2} {INCLUDETEXT "C:\\Project\\Letter2" \* MERGEFORMAT} ""}

• The curly brackets { } cannot be entered from the key board. Either use Insert>Field, or Ctrl+F9.
  
• Word uses spaces in the If..Then..Else statement.
  
• The last two quote marks "" are "empty" , so nothing will be entered.
  
• Notice the \\ in the path statement. A path is not needed if the Main document is in the same folder as the letters.
  
• To see the field codes, use Alt+F9 to toggle the view on and off.

Letters 1 and 2 can have completely different texts, formats and layouts. One can be an invitation to a sale, the other can be a dunning letter. (To carry over different formatting, leave out the \* MERGEFORMAT switch)

After setting up the main document for mail merging, insert all of the fields you want to merge.

Copy the individual fields and paste them in the correct locations in Letter 1 and 2.

Go back to the main document and erase all of the text and fields EXCEPT for the IF statements.

Letters 1 and 2 do not have to be set up a merge docs, or connected to a data source. Their text will be inserted in the Main document depending on the field type.


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Curly Quotes be gone

Stop them up front

Word, by default, uses curly (“ ”) rather than straight quotes(" ").

Here's an article that shows how to go into Word options and turn this Auto feature off.

Next we need to turn off Moe and Larry




Curly quotes


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Font Lister

A look see

I haven't seen, lately, how many fonts you can have on a machine, but I know it's a lot more than earlier versions.

Here is a free download that will create an HTML file that will show all the fonts installed on your computer.

"Using FontList, you can change the predefined sample text, exclude seldom used fonts from the list and change the path for the HTML file.

In your browser, you can change the style of a font and zoom in on a font. You can also view the character map of a font. And, for some, maybe the most important feature, you can create a print out of all your fonts.

FontList


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Match Format Paste

Copy/Paste formatting in Word, PowerPoint or Excel

When you copy information from a Web page or another document, the formatting will also be copied.

To match the formatting of the target document, copy the text and place the cursor where you want to insert the copy.

Then, go to Edit>Paste Special, and select the Unformatted Text option.
(Click the arrow under Paste in the Clipboard group on the Home tab in 2007+)

The clipboard text will be pasted to match the target.

Another way when using Word 2002 + is to click on the "Smart icon" that appears at
the lower right corner of the pasted text. You can then choose to keep the original formatting, match the destination formatting, keep text only, or apply a new style.

An additional way to transfer just the formatting between documents is to highlight the text with the formatting you wish to copy and then hold down the Ctrl key and the Shift key and press the C key (Ctrl+Shift+C). Release the keys. Select the text you want to have formatted. Hold down the Ctrl key and the Shift key and press the V key (Ctrl+Shift+V). Only the formatting is copied, not the text.
In Excel use Edit>Paste Special and select the "Formats" option.


What's So Special About "Paste Special"? Video

Paste Special can also be used with graphics.

You can change Word's default behavior; choose whether to paste Inline or Floating.

Microsoft Word MVPS FAQ


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Page Breaks

Demo tutorial

You can control when Word decides to break for a new page.
Ctrl+Enter is the keyboard shortcut, but there are a number of variations.

This MS link has both Demos and text tutorials.
Page breaks

BTW, a merged document is made up of Section breaks, not Page breaks.

For ease of printing, Replace ^b with ^m


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Word News (Still)

Here's another good newsletter

Editorium

Jack M. Lyon, a book editor who got tired of working the hard way and started creating programs to automate editing tasks in Microsoft Word. He's been editing more than twenty years and started working on the computer in 1985.

(Unfortunately has not published recently, but still full of good information)


A few back issues of Editorium Update arranged chronologically:

• Deleting Unused Styles
  
• Pasting Tracked Revisions
  
• Indexing with a Two-Column Concordance
  
• Fancy Sorting
  
• Editing by Concordance
  
• Making a Concordance
  
• Numbers by Chicago
  
• Fixing Typos Automatically

And more.


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Office VBA Tips

Video + Free code

"Learn tips and use sample code for several Office applications. These tips can help you to be more productive and can also be a starting point for developing your own tools, utilities and techniques."

• Update Word Document Statistics in the Title Bar
  
• Create Outlook Rules Programmatically
  
• Delete Repeated Text Throughout a Word Document
  
• Run Macros Based on the Value of One or More Excel Spreadsheet Cells
  
• Disable Related Controls on a PowerPoint Slide After a User Clicks an Input Control
  
• Display Reminder Information When a User Opens an Office Document
  
• Synchronize an Access Main Form to a Subform and Vice Versa
  
• Log Worksheet Changes to an XML File
  
• Merge Body Text from Multiple Outlook E-mail Messages to a Word Document
  
• Use the Office Assistant as an Alternative to Displaying and Retrieving User Input

Ten Tips for Office VBA Developers

VBA Tips & Tricks

Getting Started with VBA in Office 2010

Download Office 2013 VBA Documentation


(VBA is VBA and is, in most cases, usable in all versions of Office)


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Drawing Canvas

More than I want

The Draw layer has been around since about Word 97, but it has not been as intrusive as it is in Word 2002+.

Try to place an AutoShape on a page and the Drawing Canvas pops up by default.

To turn off this feature, go to:
Tools>Options.
On the General tab, remove the check mark from
"Automatically create drawing canvas when inserting AutoShapes"

To just dismiss it each time, choose your AutoShape and then touch the Delete or Esc key before drawing the object.

Here's some more information.


Knowledge Base
General Information About Floating Objects
(a discussion of Word's floating objects and layers)

As I understand it, the Drawing canvas is not really a new layer. The following illustration shows the classic layers. It is from the Knowledge base article:
How to Place Text over a Graphic

___________________
/                   /
/   <SURFACE OF     /
/       PAPER>      /
/                   /  /
Front drawing layer  -------------------  /
MAIN TEXT LAYER  =================== / /
Back drawing layer  -------------------/ / /
/ /
Front drawing layer  -------------------/ /
(Header/footer) BOTTOM TEXT LAYER  =================== /
Back drawing layer  -------------------/

You can dump the layer in 2007 in the Office button Word Option equivalent of Tools>Options:



Smart Art 2013


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Keyboard ALT Codes

Quick inserts

Here is a collection of Alt codes. There is also a free download that you can post near your computer.

• Alt Codes for Letters with Accents for Languages
  
• Alt Codes for Bullets, Symbols and Other Special Characters
  
• Alt Codes for Mathematical Symbols - Symbols used in Mathematics
  
• Alt Codes for Currency Symbols
  
• Alt Codes for Drawing
  
• Alt Codes for Characters from the Greek Alphabet
  
• Alt Codes for "Additional" Letters particularly for Nordic / Scandanavian Languages
  
• Alt Codes for Spanish
  
• Intellectual Property Right symbols.
  
• Alt Codes for Arrows
  
• Alt Codes for Punctuation and Editing
  
• Alt Codes in Computer Programming

Alt Codes


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Word to PP

Send outline to PowerPoint

That old 2003 version allowed you to send a Word file to PowerPoint and have it create a slide show.

After styling with Heading 1, 2, etc, go toFile > Send To > Microsoft Office PowerPoint.

2007+ is a little different (duh!)

For Microsoft Office 2007+

Word 2007+ doesn't allow you to publish to PowerPoint 2007 by default.

Here's the solution:

After you are done in Word 2007+, save it as a Word document.

Now open PowerPoint 2007+.

Click on the Office Button at the top left hand corner.

Click Open.

Under Files of type, select All Outlines.

Now select the Word document and click Open.

Alternately,

In Word 2007+, right click on the ribbon.

Select Customize Quick Access Toolbar.

Under "Choose commands from:", select Commands not in the ribbon.

Look for "Send to Microsoft Office PowerPoint".

Click OK.

The command will then be added onto the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT).

Word to PowerPoint

Word 2010 to PP 2010


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Single Space +

2007+ gives you more than you ask for

This quote from The Microsoft Office Word Team's Blog explains their thinking behind making line spacing "looser" in 2007 than it was earlier.

"(A) lesson here for me is that lots of people seem to think of Word as a typewriter (remember typewriters?). There are many examples of this, in the way people construct a table of contents for their Word documents, use the TAB key to align columns, and the way they always hit ENTER twice after typing each paragraph (for those who are fans of extra space between paragraphs).

Many, many of the feedback comments on the line-spacing issue had to do with wanting "single spacing." But, of course the line spacing in the new template is single spacing. It's just that it's a little bit "more" than single spacing used to be: 1.15, instead of 1.0.

But what is 1.0? You might think that if you're using an 11-point font that line spacing of 1.0 would be 11 points. But if you lay out paragraphs that way - depending on the font you're using - the parts that stick below one line will crash into the parts that stick up from the line below. You need to allow some extra space between lines.

In a former life when I set type on a Compugraphic phototypesetting machine, the convention we used was about 20% extra space, so we'd set 10-point type on a 12-point line. Larger fonts demanded more breathing room. This was at a newspaper, so we spaced things a bit tighter than you'd expect to see in, say, a report or a brochure (or, dare I say a professional looking document).

What does single spacing really mean anyway?



How to fix it:
Default line spacing in Word 2007 differ from earlier versions of Word


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2003-07-10-13 Compatbility

Exchange the future and the past

"Microsoft has added new file formats to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007+. To help ensure that you can exchange documents between Microsoft Office releases, Microsoft has developed a Compatibility Pack for the Office Word, Office Excel, and Office PowerPoint 2007+ File Formats"

Use earlier versions of Excel, PowerPoint, and Word to open and save files from 2007-13 Office programs

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint


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Tab Leaders

You can lead a tab to ...........

Setting Tab Leaders in Word

Fred Smith.........................$44.59

This makes your list easier to read

1. Select the line on which you want to create a tab
   
   
2. Click on the Format menu and click on the Tabs menu item
   (you will see the Tabs dialog box)
   
   
3. In the Tab Stop Position field enter the distance to the last column: 5", 6" or what ever is appropriate
   
   
4. Then select the tab alignment; Decimal, Right, Center or Left
   
   
5. Select the type of leader to use
   
   
6. Click Set and then OK
   

Enter the name, or first entry, and then touch the Tab key. Word will automatically enter as many leading characters as required. When you can type the amount, it will be aligned on the decimal or any other alignment you might have chosen.
Here's what it looks like in Word 2007+:



Also:

About.com:
Creating Tab Leader Lines


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