Microsoft Office Tips

These expert-tips will help you with your Office productivity.

Selecting Text

It can be very difficult to select more than a few paragraphs of text at once using only the mouse, particularly if you have a fast PC, as the text will shoot past before you notice. But you can select large amounts of text easily by clicking where you want your selection to start, then navigating to the end of the intended selection using the mouse wheel or scroll bars. Then just hold down Shift and click again to select the block of text.

What if you want to select only one word or letter at a time and the mouse keeps slipping away from you? Here is a simple solution to that problem. Place your cursor in front of the word that you want to select by clicking your left mouse button, then hold down the shift key and use the arrow keys to select one letter at a time. This will prevent you from picking up punctuation or a word that you do not want to copy or cut from your document.

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Saving Grace

If you are working on several documents at once, you can save them all without closing Word in the process. Just hold down Shift and click on the File menu. You will see a new option Save All. There is also an option to Close All if you want to do so without closing Word.

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Microsoft Excel 2003  Informative Printout - Excel Tip

Many of us have spreadsheets that spread over more than a page. If you want your column titles to print on every page, go to the File menu, click on Page Setup and go to the Sheet tab. Click on the red arrow in the box marked 'Rows to repeat at top' and select the rows that contain your column titles, then click on OK.

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Microsoft Outlook 2003  More Room to Read - Outlook Tip

Outlook 2003 has a handy three-column format, with the reading pane on the right, which makes it easier to read mail without opening each message. But sometimes you need more room for reading. Alt-F1 toggles the navigation pane on and off, giving the extra space to the reading pane. Try this once and you'll probably use it regularly.

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Microsoft Outlook 2003  What's That Flag Mean? - Outlook Tip

If you use each flag color in Outlook 2003 to mean something different but sometimes forget which flag means what, here's a handy trick:

  1. Put the flags on a toolbar and give them custom names. Not only do the buttons tell you what each flag is for, but you can also use the buttons to add flags to messages quickly.
  2. Start by choosing View | Toolbars | Customize. In the Customize dialog box, choose Toolbars and then New. Enter "Flags" as the name, and click on OK.
  3. Drag the new toolbar onto Outlook's toolbar area. Next, choose the Commands tab in the Customize dialog box.
  4. From the Categories list, choose Actions, and find the entries for Red Flag, Blue Flag, and so on.
  5. Drag each flag command to the new toolbar. Also drag the Clear Flag command, which lets you clear flags from messages.
  6. Right-click on each flag button, enter a name in the Name box, make sure the Image and Text option is checked, and then close the Customize dialog box. Next time you want to flag an item, simply select the item and click on the appropriate flag button in the toolbar.
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Microsoft Outlook 2003  Permanently set the font type and size to your email - Outlook Tip

If you find the size of email to be smaller than you would like, here is how to change what you see and what you send. Sorry, you can’t change the appearance of what someone sends your way!

  1. First, open a New Message in Outlook.
  2. Then, up on the tool bar, in the same line as the command SEND, find Options...
  3. At the end of Options... is a down arrow. Click on the arrow.
  4. Click on Stationery.
  5. In the area of the screen called New email messages, click on the Font button. Choose the font and size you want to use when you are typing a message. Click OK.
  6. If you want, you can also change the size and font when you are Replying or Forwarding email. Again, do those same steps: Options…> down arrow>Stationery>Replying or Forwarding messages>select Font button. Select your desired font and size, then click on OK.

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Microsoft Word 2003  Add Places to the "Places Bar" - Word Tip

Add a folder to the Places Bar in Word 2003's Open and Save boxes to help you find files quickly. Find the folder you require in Windows Explorer, highlight it and then click on the Tools menu. Now click on the option marked Add to My Places. This will give you quick access to your most used folders.

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