Customize the Quick Access Toolbar- Office 2007/2010

The Quick Access Toolbar is the place to keep the items that you not only need to access quickly but want to have immediately available regardless of which of the Ribbon's tabs you're working on.  If you put so many items on the Quick Access Toolbar that it becomes too big to fit on the title bar, you can move it onto its own line.

Example of Quick Access Toolbar

Add or Remove Items in the Quick Access Toolbar

1. Click the down arrow at the right of the Quick Access Toolbar.
2. On the Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu, click to select any unchecked items that you want to add to the toolbar.
3. Click any checked items that you want to remove from the toolbar.

OR

1. Right-click any item anywhere on the Ribbon that you want to add to the toolbar, and choose Add to Quick Access Toolbar from the shortcut menu.

If you don't see the command you want on the Ribbon, use this method for additional commands:

1. Click the down arrow at the right of the Quick Access Toolbar, and, on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar menu, click More Commands to display the program's Options dialog box with the Customize category selected in the left pane.
2. Specify the category of commands you want to select from.
3. Click a command from the list on the left that you want to add to the toolbar.
4. Click Add.
5. To remove a command you don't use, select it from the list on the right, and click Remove.
6. To change the order in which commands will appear on the toolbar, click a command, and use the up or down arrow to move the command.
7. Click OK when you've finished.

Move the Quick Access Toolbar
If the toolbar becomes too large to fit on the title bar or if you want easier access to it, click the down arrow at the right of the toolbar, and click Show Below the Ribbon on the menu.

How to "Preview" before you open a file

 Windows 7 & 8 allow you to "preview" a file BEFORE you open it from any folder.

Windows 7 Example

1. Open a folder that contains files you wish to preview.
2. Turn on the Preview Pane by selecting the icon as shown in the screenshot displayed above (for Windows 7). 
   Note: In Windows 8 or RT, the Preview option is available on the View tab of the Ribbon.
3. Click on a file name and the preview appears:

 

   4.  Continue clicking on each file name until you locate the desired file.
   5.  IMPORTANT: Turn off the Preview Pane, by deselecting the Preview icon, after locating the desired file. 



If you don't have Windows 7 or 8, but have Microsoft Office, you can use the Preview option from a specific application.  For example, open MS Word, click the "Open" command, and then click the Preview Pane icon (2007) or click the View icon and select "Preview" (2003).  Currently, this option does not work from Office 2010.

Trouble with aligning numbers in MS Word?

If you’ve used auto-numbers in MS Word you’ve noticed that numbers 1-9 look great when numbering lists, however the number “10” doesn’t align as you would expect.  The “1” aligns under the “9” instead of the “0” aligning under the “9”.  If this just doesn’t look right to you, change the alignment by doing the following In Word 2007 or 2010:

1.  Click anywhere within the numbered data.
2.  From the Home tab, Paragraph group, click the down-arrow next to the auto-numbering command.
3. In the menu, select “Define new number format”.
4. In the Alignment drop-down box, select “Right”
5. Click OK.

Now the numbers should display as shown below:

Shortcut to Save a Website in your Browser

Saving a website as a "Favorite" in Internet Explorer or "Bookmark" in Google Chrome or Firefox is easy!

1. While viewing a website from one of the 3 browsers listed above press Ctrl+D
   (press and hold the Ctrl key, while you tap the D key and then release both keys.)
2. The dialog box will open with the website information.  In Internet Explorer, click the Add button and in Google Chrome or Firefox, click Done.

You have now saved the website for future access. To view your Favorites or Bookmarks, follow the steps for your specific browser:

• Internet Explorer - Click the Favorites icon (gold star) or Favorites menu or button.  Click on the website name in the Favorites list.
• Google Chrome - Click the icon to Customize and control Google Chrome (3-bar icon on the far right at the top of the browser.)  Select Bookmarks > Show Bookmarks Bar to display a bar containing your bookmarks at the top of the browser or just select the website in the menu under Bookmarks.
• Firefox - Click the Star icon in the top right corner of the browser and then select the website from the bookmarks list.  You can also click the Firefox box in the top left corner and then click Bookmarks.

Pin a Folder to Windows Explorer (Windows 7)

This tip is for Windows 7 only:
Do you have a folder that you access frequently?  Why not "pin" it to Windows Explorer for quick access!
Windows Explorer is the directory for all files and folders available to you on your computer.

This is the Windows Explorer icon which appears on the Taskbar in Windows 7:


Right-click the Windows Explorer icon.  If the folder that you use frequently, is listed, hover the mouse over the folder name and click the push-pin icon to pin the folder to the list. The folder name will move from the Recent section to the Pinned section at the top. This will keep the "pinned" folder available at all times.  If there is a folder in the list that you don't want to see, right-click the folder and select "Remove from this list". 

If the folder you want to pin is not displayed in the list, follow the steps below to "pin" the folder to Windows Explorer.

1. Open the current location of the folder you'd like to pin to the Windows Explorer icon.
2. Click and drag the folder name to the Windows Explorer icon on the taskbar.
3. Release the mouse.  You should now see the folder in the Pinned section when you right-click on the Windows Explorer icon.

Rename Multiple Files at the Same Time

If you’ve downloaded pictures to your computer or you have other files that you want to rename, you can quickly rename the files so that each file has the same name with a consecutive number following the name.  For example you could rename all your vacation pictures as “Disney World 2012 (1)”, “Disney World 2012 (2)”, etc.

1. Locate all the files that you want to rename. (Do not open them.)
2. Select all the files to rename. 
   - If the files are in consecutive order, click the first file, hold the SHIFT key down while clicking your mouse on the last file.  
   - If the files are not consecutive, click the first file and then press and hold the CTRL key while you select each of the remaining files.
3. While the files are selected, right-click your mouse on the first file.
4. Click RENAME.
5. Type a name for the files, for example: Disney World 2012.
6. Press the ENTER key.
7. You're finished!  Each file should have the same initial name with a sequential number in parentheses.

3 Other Methods for getting Excel Data to fit in 1 cell

If your data does not fit in the cell, try these other methods if expanding the column is not a good option:

1. Wrap Text -  this option increases the row height and wraps the data within the current column width.  This command is found on the Home tab in Excel 2007 or 2010.  Select the cell you want to wrap and then press the "Wrap Text" command.
2. Shrink to Fit - this option shrinks the cell contents to fit within the cell boundaries.  This command is found by clicking the dialog expander (arrow) in the bottom right corner of the Alignment grouping on the Home tab in Excel 2007 or 2010.  When you click the dialog expander, the Format Cells dialog box displays.  On the Alignment tab, click "Shrink to Fit" and then click OK.
3. Merge - this option merges selected cells into one large cell.  This command is found on the Home tab in Excel 2007 or 2010.  Select the cells that you want to merge into one cell and then click Merge & Center in the Alignment group (to merge and center) or click the down arrow on the right of the Merge & Center command and select Merge.