BlogOffice

New, free ebook on career skills! :)

2010-03-03T15:18:00.006-06:00

I'm excited to let you know about the publication of my newest book, called Own Your Future: Update Your Skills with Resources and Career Ideas from Microsoft. My editors and I were excited to put this book together because it's one way we can contribute to the need for retooling and polishing tech skills in today's economy. And Microsoft Learning completely underwrote the project, so it can be made available for free, which makes it even better.

Written with community college students in mind (though it's got good stuff for anyone who wants to brush up job prep skills), the book includes lots of "test yourself" activities, links, and resources for learning. Here's the link to the free download: http://go.microsoft.com/fwlink/?LinkId=184952.

Feel free to download it yourself or share it with friends, family, or anyone who is thinking through career-related issues. I'd love to hear what you think, too--so feel free to leave a comment here or drop me a note.

What we do matters

2010-01-21T07:32:00.002-06:00

This is a great time to be working in technology. Instead of being the geek that works quietly on who-knows-what in the cubicle at the end of egghead row [yes, that's where my office was years ago :)], what we do on a daily basis helps connect people to disaster relief, enabling us to send donations--instantly--via text message, making collaboration possible on climate change, and much, much more.

I heard something on NPR this morning that shined a light on the importance of something very simple--like spell check. You can visit the NPR site for the full article, but this idea elicited a "wow" from me on my predawn drive taking my son to school:

One reason, State Department official Patrick Kennedy told the Senate Judiciary Committee, was because someone misspelled the suspect's name after his father reported concerns about his son to the U.S. Embassy. As a result, the concerns were not added to Abdulmutallab's visa information. Kennedy said the State Department now has a version of spell-check software available to check names after visas are granted."Lives at risk because of a misspelling? That's what it sounds like. Thank goodness the plan was thwarted and people are now looking at the situation from all possible angles. It has become a teachable moment: a big one. But it does underscore the importance of the work we do on a daily basis and shows that even those tiny, seemingly unimportant details can make a much larger impact than we may know at the time. (The Word equivalent to a butterfly flapping it's wings in China, I guess.) Something to think about, at any rate. :)

Telling Word 2010 what to do

2010-01-20T09:51:00.005-06:00

Okay, this is really cool. A few years ago Word promised speech recognition (I can't remember which release that was now...maybe Office XP) and, as those of us who tried it soon realized, we spent more time teaching Word how to recognize our voices than we actually spent accomplishing anything. Not too surprisingly, speech recognition as a feature within Word faded away with a subsequent release as "a good idea, but..."

Yesterday as I was working on a new chapter in the upcoming Microsoft Word 2010 Inside Out, I tried using Windows Speech Recognition in Windows 7. After a little tutorial and a couple of how-tos (a total of about 10 minutes), I was dictating content directly into my chapter. Very cool, and almost completely pain free. I won't dictate text as a matter of course (as a piano player, I like to type), but it was exciting to see the feature working so well. It's also a nice backup in case I wipe out on my cross-country skis sometime this winter and need to give a banged up wrist a little rest. :)

If you haven't yet tried speech recognition in Windows 7, give it a try. All you need is a suitable microphone, and Windows 7 does the rest. There's still some training involved, and every once in a while the thing won't know what to do with your words (the software still translates "as you can see" as "as you can C"), but the feature is worlds better than it was a couple of years ago. It just may save you a little time and trouble--and perhaps breathe some freshness and fun into that Word content you create day in and day out. :)

Download the (free) First Look Microsoft Office 2010 ebook

2009-12-09T19:32:00.002-06:00

Houston, we have lift-off! :) I just got word that First Look Microsoft Office 2010 is live on the Microsoft Press blog. Please feel free to download and find out about the latest and greatest features in Office 2010.

Over the next few weeks I'll be posting a few pieces about favorite Office 2010 features. You may have heard about the video editing features in PowerPoint, sparklines in Excel, Artistic Effects throughout, the customizable Ribbon (wahoo), and much more. Good stuff! And I think the features will appeal both to new users and those who've been at this a while (and like their UI the way they like it).

Enjoy First Look Microsoft Office 2010, and if you haven't yet downloaded the beta, you can get it here.

Technology's getting smarter :)

2009-09-27T08:48:00.003-05:00

Well, as you can probably imagine, I've been up to my eyeballs in Office 2010 for some time now. I love the new features--very smart, very flexible, and they make your work look better faster than ever before. I was always a big fan of the Ribbon (love the open, artsy changes) but this Office puts it a little more under our control. Nice. Plus a number of the features bring some big-impact effects directly into my favorite apps, which is a great perk and timesaver. If you've been on the fence about upgrading from Office 2003, take a close look when the public beta becomes available--the features here are smart, flexible, and freeing. (No kidding--I'm all about working on the fly so I can have free time when I want it.) :)

In the meantime, be sure to visit these blogs from the in-house folks at Microsoft. There's lots of good info on new features, both background and how-to:

Microsoft Office 2010 Engineering (not as boring as it sounds)
Word team blog
Excel team blog
Powerpoint team blog
Publisher team blog
Outlook team blog
OneNote blog from David Rasmussen (tired yet? lol!)
SharePoint Workspace team blog
Access team blog
Office Web Apps (oh yes they are!)

Enjoy the links and get a glimpse at the beta as soon as you can. It's worth a good solid test drive and a few trips around the block.

Wake up your folders!

2009-06-20T12:56:00.004-05:00

I am working on something that is just too fun and creative for the boring folders I usually have littered all over my desktop for easy access. I know, I know--don't lecture me. :)

I decided to change out the folder icon to reflect something a little more lively. The project is called Kids Love the Earth, so I went looking for some kind of Earth image (and found one). Here's the process, in case you want to shake up your own ho-hum folders and make things a bit more interesting:

much

Now you're creativity is really going to ramp up. Be ready! :)

Where'd the styles go?

2009-05-12T08:59:00.003-05:00

Have you ever started working on a new document (or one a colleague sent you), only to discover that some of the styles usually in the Styles gallery are missing? This is a simple fix--they are really still there, but they're hiding. Display them by following these steps:

The style is now in the Styles gallery and will show up like normal for you when you need it. :)

Office 14 wish list item #23

2009-04-19T08:37:00.005-05:00

It's possible that I'm a bit of a pushover, but I really do love Office 2007. I've worked with Office since Word was DOS-based (no kidding--and at the time I thought the Windows version would never catch on!) and Office 2007 really does live up to a lot of the promise we heard about when it first came out of the blocks.

But. I've been working on a presentation this morning (something I enjoy doing but don't get the chance very often) and I'm almost done, but the chart legend on a new custom chart I created is giving me fits. For all the easy, find-what-you-need context-driven features in Office 2007, the text controls for charts need to be welcomed into the new, inclusive Office UI. I'd rather not have to select each individual element and go through a different text process for changing and applying custom formats.

To get the kind of font change you want in the legend, for example, you have to right-click the text item (there's no Legend Text choice in the Format Legend dialog box, for some reason), choose Font, and then make your choices from an imposter Font dialog box. The whole thing just seems weird to me. And it wouldn't let me select all the legend items at once--I had to do it one at a time.

Yes, it may seem like small potatoes, but the process is clunky and counter-intuitive, and I just spent way too much time trying to get the chart legend to look the way I want (and now, complaining about it. LOL!)

Leaning into the next is an important part of human progress, though, so I guess it's time well spent. :)

Special projects call for special fonts

2009-04-10T07:37:00.009-05:00

I'm working on something really fun right now and wanted a special look for a couple of elements, and Word's regular fonts--while fine for most things--just weren't doing it for me. It's been a while since I added any new fonts to my system, so I had to remember how to find what I needed and install the fonts so they'd be available in Word. Here's a quick refresher in case it's not something you do often, either:

Find and download the font(s) you want to add.

Note: With just a little searching online this morning I found Fontspace, which has thousands of free fonts of all different types.
Unzip the font file to whatever folder you'd like. (Just make sure you can find them when it's time to install.)
Display the Control Panel and go to the Fonts window. In Windows XP SP2, it's easier to find Fonts by using Classic View; in Vista, just type Fonts in the search box and you're there.
Click File and choose Install New Font.
In the Add Fonts dialog box, navigate to the folder where you saved the files when you unzipped them, click the fonts you want to install in the List of Fonts (in the top portion of the dialog box), and click OK.

Windows installs the fonts and then takes you back to the Fonts window. Close it and go take a look in Word. Yup, they're there.

Simple, right? Enjoy your new look! It's spring, after all. :)

Sorting a list

2009-03-18T11:46:00.004-05:00

I'm working on some web content for our new site and wanted to alphabetize a simple article list on a page in Word 2007. No biggie, right? After looking through all the tabs on the ribbon, I realized that in order to alphabetize the 12-item list, I'd have to first convert the list to a table, use the Sort command (in the Layout area of Table Tools contextual tab) to sort the list, and then convert the list back to text again. I know, it's a lot of trouble for a simple alphabetical list. But just in case it's helpful, here are the steps:

Type and then highlight the list.
Click the Insert tab and click Convert Text to Table.
When the Convert Text to Table dialog box appears, click OK.
In the Table Tools tab, click Layout.
In the Data group, click Sort.
In the Sort dialog box, click OK. This alphabetizes the list.
In the Data group, click Convert to Text and click OK.

There you have it--your alphabetized list. Much better than having your coworkers look at you strangely while you sing the ABCs in your office, right? :)

3-Minute Quick Guide to Creating a Glossary in Word 2007

2009-03-01T07:07:00.004-06:00

Good morning, and happy March! I hope wherever you are in the world, the changing of the seasons brings you beauty and refreshment. Here in the U.S. we are looking forward to spring!

Verissimo in Portugal wrote recently to ask how to create a glossary for a long Word project, and I put together this quick guide (3-Minute Quick Guide for Creating a Glossary in Word 2007), thinking it might be helpful for others as well. A well-developed (and consistent) glossary is one of the marks of a well-produced project, and having a glossary you can update easily and automatically (with just a little format editing at the end) can make your good document really stand out.

Download the PDF:

Right-click here

Save Target As

If you have a question or process you'd like to see covered in a 3-Minute Quick Guide, I'll do my best. Drop me a note.

Unlink em all

2009-02-14T06:57:00.002-06:00

I've been writing about Word for oh, a dozen years or more now, and I was temporarily tripped up by a very simple thing yesterday. I've just submitted a new book to a publisher, and in order to give them the whole scope and feel of the project at once, I use Word's master- and subdocument feature to combine the chapters into the whole. I then added the TOC and so forth. When I e-mailed the file to the editor, I quickly got a note back. "Errrr...sorry, but all that's in this file is your Intro and a bunch of links."

What? I took a look at the file and sure enough, they were right. When I was working with the full document everything looked expanded and fine, but the file hadn't saved that way. So I expanded all the documents, clicked Unlink, and resaved and sent the document. Except. "Well, Kathy, this time I can see the Intro and Chapter 7. But the rest of the chapters are still links."

So, the moral to this story for me is that (1) even though your document may appear to be whole and complete with all subdocs expanded, you have to unlink them before you can share the doc with someone else; and (2) press Ctrl+A to select the whole document before you click Unlink or you'll only unlink the subdocument at the cursor position.

It's simple, but one of those things you can forget if you don't do it very often. Now, I hope they like the book. :)

Make friends with PowerPoint

2009-01-09T05:57:00.002-06:00

I'm working on something very cool right now for our nonprofit--creating a low-cost, low-footprint e-learning initiative that has several different components, all set in SharePoint and using PowerPoint for the basic coursework. After just a day's worth of work, it's really coming into shape!

I've always loved PowerPoint and years ago, wrote a couple of books about it (not sure why I haven't written any PowerPoint books lately, but I'd love the chance if it rolls around again). I do have a pet peeve though. Do you know how AutoFit compensates with your text to fill whatever space is available on the slide? As an editor, that just drives me crazy because you might have four different sizes of text on four different slides, depending on the amount of content on each slide. Inconsistencies wound the soul (not really; it just sounded good).

If that bugs you too, you can turn off AutoFit by clicking the Microsoft Office Button and choosing PowerPoint Options. Then, click Proofing and click AutoCorrect Options. In the AutoFormat as You Type tab, under Apply as You Type, click to clear the AutoFit checkboxes for the title and body text areas.

Ahhhhhh....much better. Happy Friday!

3-Minute Quick Guide for Mailing Labels in Word 2007

2009-01-03T09:58:00.020-06:00

Happy New Year! Heather from Australia wrote last night and asked me a question about mailing labels, and as I began to write out my response, I thought I'd just capture the process and post it as a simple quick-guide for others who may be struggling with the same thing. Mailing labels are one of those Word tasks that if you do it regularly (say monthly or weekly), it's pretty simple and intuitive. But if you just try to do it once a year or so--or perhaps you're trying it for the first time--the process can be frustrating. This simple 3-Minute Quick Guide: Mailing Labels in Word 2007 gives you the simple steps so you can get on with things that are more fun. Download away! It's free. :)

Download PDF only:

Right-click here

Save Target As

Download PDF and sample files:

Right-click here

Save Target As

Thanks for the inspiration, Heather, and I wish you the best as you good-heartedly continue to help your friend with her business.

If you have a question or process you'd like to see covered in a 3-Minute Quick Guide (can't promise I can fit all Office basics into three minutes...some have taken me hours to figure out!), but I'll do my best. Drop me a note.

2008-12-16T13:07:00.003-06:00

Note to Self: Check AutoArchive Settings

One quick glance at my Outlook 2007 Inbox will tell you that I'm not a big fan of AutoArchive. I do use folders (lots of folders), but I like the idea that I have instant access to projects, ideas, and people from oh, one, two, four years ago. :) I usually don't have any trouble finding just what I want with just a click or two of the mouse.

It didn't occur to me until I was searching my office desktop computer for a file a little while ago that I was unaware of the mysterious archiving practices my workplace computer may use. When I couldn't locate a submission I knew I'd received in March, I went looking for it. Suddenly I realized that I wasn't finding any e-mail more than six months old. I e-mailed our IT department and discovered there's no company policy on archiving. I checked the AutoArchive settings on this system, and DOH! The settings caused AutoArchive to run every 14 days and to delete all mail older than six months. (As a managing editor I work with lots of authors and never delete anything.) Luckily I was able to locate the file I was looking for, but this was a great lesson for me--and now, maybe, for you. If you have inherited a work system from someone else or you share a system, be sure to find out what AutoArchive settings are in play. Here are the steps:

It takes only about 60 seconds to check, and it's a lot better than going through the heartache of trying to recover lost messages six months from now. :)

2008-10-20T12:43:00.002-05:00

Wanted: Tech Support Grins & Groaners

Do friends and family call you regularly for help with tech support issues? Do you have funny stories or timely tips that can help new users avoid trouble spots? I'm writing a new book for Microsoft Press that includes real-world stories (and fun stuff) for experienced computer users who find themselves supporting others in their world (or office). If you have a story, tip, or head-thumper to share, leave a comment or e-mail me. If I use your tip or story I'll quote you directly and include your name & business, if you like. This is a fun (and practical, and timely) book. No wonder I love what I do. :)

2008-10-14T10:40:00.002-05:00

Another Formatting Headache Solved

Omigosh, I have been using Word for about a gazillion years and I just spent 10 frustrating minutes trying to figure out why the bullet lists in a document my colleague sent me wouldn't reformat. I changed spacing half a dozen times, doctoring this and tweaking that, and nothing I did made any difference (including setting the After spacing to 18 points!).

Then something caught me eye. Wait a minute, I thought--I don't remember ever seeing that option before. The Don't Add Space Between Paragraphs of the Same Style checkbox was selected. How strange! I've never noticed it before and obviously don't use it. Don't do me any favors, Word--I like to control the spacing of my paragraph, thank you very much.

So if you have formats that aren't working properly and Word seems to ignore you when you make spacing changes, check to make sure that dastardly checkbox isn't checked. :)

2008-09-07T09:47:00.003-05:00

Top Three Reasons I use Office Live Workspaces

Okay, so Office Live Workspaces contines to win me over. At first I was a bit skeptical--I wondered whether I'd use it, I wasn't sure I'd trust it, and I thought maybe it would be just another thing I'd have to remember to update. None of my hesitancies proved true. :)

I'm glad I use Office Live Workspaces because...

1. It reminds me when I forget.

2. It makes transferring files easy.

3. It's easy, even for people who aren't too keen on the whole workspace scene.

If you haven't tried Office Live Workspaces yet and have a need for easy-to-access file storage; simplified collaboration; and flexible design and organization (oh, I didn't even mention that part), check it out. It's free, and all you have to lose is a few minutes online. And you may just find something that really helps streamline your document-and-group-management tasks.

2008-08-20T09:15:00.003-05:00

Disappearing Fonts?

If you work collaboratively and find that the beautifully formatted document you created, complete with all its custom Quick Styles and building block content, goes kablooey (that's a technical term) when your coworker opens the file on her computer, here's a sanity-saving tip for you: Embed the fonts.

Here's how to do it:

1. Open the document on your system, and click the Microsoft Office button.

2. Choose Word Options and click Save.

3. In the Preserve Fidelity When Sharing This Document area, click Embed Fonts in This File.

4. Click the down-arrow and choose whether you want to embed fonts for all new documents or the currently open document.

5. Click OK, and save the document.

Now you can share the document's beauty without worrying that your Calibri gets changed to Times Roman. :)

2008-08-13T09:30:00.002-05:00

Help Your Readers Help You

I've been up to my eyeballs in SharePoint 3.1 this week (and I'm loving it). I'm designing a new comprehensive site for the pilot of a new program our nonprofit is launching later this month. SharePoint 3.1 is even more flexible than previous versions, and I'm looking forward to really putting the data list capabilities to work and integrating them seamlessly with reporting and analysis in the Office aps. (It's nice to be in a place where I can building solutions that incorporate so many aspects of the technology I write about. Fascinating!)

This is a tiny tip but cool and flexible. If you are adding contact threads to a site and want to know in advance what types of messages you're receiving from your site visitors, customize the mailto line by adding the following info:

?subject=

If you have a dozen reasons customers and vendors will be contacting you, identify who wants what by preloading your Subject line helps you prioritize and respond quickly to that barrage of incoming messages.

That's it for now--back to work for me. Kind regards,

Kathy

2008-07-27T09:04:00.002-05:00

RSS Feeds in Outlook

For some reason my RSS feeds jumped from one place to another recently and made the feeds on a couple of my blogs null and void. (I think this was due to a folder reorg on my server, but oh well.) I was sleuthing out the problem and trying to get everything working again and realized I hadn't yet added a couple of my blogs to Outlook 2007. It's pretty simple but to save you the trouble of looking for it, here's the process:

You can make sure your RSS feeds in Outlook 2007 contine to be sychronized with your Common Feeds List by choosing Tools > Options > Other > Advanced Options. In the General Settings area, make sure the option Sync RSS Feeds to the Common Feed List is checked. (If not, click to select it.) Click OK to save your settings.

Now all your favorite posts will come directly to your Inbox, ready for you to scan at your leisure. Nice. :)

2008-07-25T09:57:00.003-05:00

Solving the Gray Column Mystery

I am currently working on preparing a curriculum that brings together the work of university faculty from all across the country. The breadth of thought is fascinating and I'm loving it. But, like anything in life, it's the little things that can hang us up. I just spent about 30 minutes trying to get rid of a mysterious gray column that appeared along the right side of the document whenever I copied one person's work into the master document I'm using for the curriculum draft. I tried adding content a paragraph at a time and all would be going well until...there's that dratted column again! It appeared in Print Preview and Print Layout view.

Through trial and error, I discovered the culprit. Buried deep within the hundred-page document was one tiny little comment, and that created the gray column throughout the entire file.

If you want to do away with balloon comments so that gray column never appears, click the Review tab and click the Balloons arrow. Choose Show All Revisions Inline. Now you can display the comment by hovering the mouse pointer over it; or you can display comments and changes in the Reviewing Pane, which you can display at the bottom of along the right side of your document.

There. Now I can get back to being productive again.

Have a good weekend!

2008-05-27T14:40:00.002-05:00

Adding the Path to Your Filenames

If you work with content development team like I do, chances are that you are continually sharing versions of files and improving on each other's work. Content management at its best enables you to all work with a single document without duplicating or accidentally replacing or losing earlier changes. One simple way to manage versions is to ensure that everyone is drawing their file from the same place. (Yes, there are more sophisticated ways of doing this, including using Office Live Workspaces or SharePoint to check files in and out, but when you work in an office that is slowly deploying and warming to high-end features, sometimes simple is best.)

Here's a simple little technique that has saved us a lot of hassle. Add the file path to the filename in the footer of your document. That way you can ensure that people are using the same file and any stray versions can be weeded out. Here are the steps:

There. Now you're one step closer to that smooth content development process you've been dreaming about. :)

2008-05-14T07:53:00.002-05:00

Single Labels in Word 2007

Here's a super simple tip, just in case you're getting ready to do one-off labels in Word 2007. When I opened the label template yesterday, Word 2007 shows me a blank screen. Oh great, I thought. How do I tell where one label area stops and another starts?

Suddenly a little whisper of intuition said, "Turn on paragraph marks."

So I clicked the Show/Hide tool in the Paragraph group on the Home tab, and clicked inside the little label marker (after the open bracket and before the end-of-paragraph mark) and typed the data for the label. All things should be so easy!

2008-05-13T12:25:00.002-05:00

Fresh Out of Properties

As the managing editor for a professional journal, I work with lots of versions of manuscripts in all sorts of states. Early submissions, revisions, reviewer copies, and so forth. I need to be able to easily discern which versions are which. Although our numbering system is reliable and effective, I always want to double-check versions before they go out to reviewers. Today I went to do that second look and had to go on an adventure hunt to find Properties. Just in case you're wondering where they went too, here you go:

The Properties header appears so that you can find things like author, title, location, and so forth. But if, like me, you want to check the creation date. You have one more step. Click Document Properties at the top of the Properties header area and choose Advanced Properties. This pops open the old-fashioned Properties dialog box so that you can get the rest of the story.