Opening Word Specific File Formats October 22, 2007
Posted by iawalsh in : Tips, downloads , add a comment
Q: I created Word files using a trial version of Word 2007. The trial period has expired and now I can’t open the files. Is there a way to open the files without having to buy the complete edition?
Hello,
It depends on the file format you saved them in. If you saved them as .doc files, you should be able to open them with MS Word.
However, if you used one of the Word-specific formats, I’d ask a friend to download the trial version, open the files and then resave them as .doc files.
You can also take a look at MS Office Live
This lets you:
- Access Word files from almost any computer with a Web browser
- Avoid having to use flash drives or sending yourself documents via e-mail
- Stop manually merging versions from multiple people
- Open and save files directly from Word, Excel, and PowerPoint
http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/officelive/fx102394081033.aspx
Shortcut to View All Word Toolbars March 27, 2007
Posted by iawalsh in : How do I ?, Tips , add a commentHere’s a great trick to make Word easier to use.
You can customize Word so that is shows all the different toolbars on your screen. This saves you time looking for those special fuctions you’re always after. Of course, you can also turn off the ones you dont want later.
Here’s how to view all the toolbars.
1. Press ALT. Then let go of the ALT key. 2. Press SHIFT+F10.
This displays a list which shows you all toolbars available in MS Word.
Choose the ones you want. If you use Word frequently, experiment with the toolbars that best suit your needs.
How to go back to your last edit March 27, 2007
Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Writing, Troubleshooting, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a commentYou can tell Word to undo a mistake you’ve made and to change it back to what you wrote a few minutes ago.
If you’ve made a mistake when writing, for example deleted a few paragraphs by accident, the first reaction may be to panic. How do I get it back? Do I have to write it all again?
One way to do this is to use the Undo feature in Word. This lets you go back in time, step by step, until you find the first version of the text you wrote.
Here’s how it works: 
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In the Word document, press Ctrl and Z. This performs one Undo. It undoes the last edit you made to the document.
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Press Ctrl and Z. This performs another Undo. It undoes the second last edit you made.
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Continue to press Ctrl and Z to undo as many edits as you want.
When you’ve found the text that you were after, save the document, preferably with some naming convention that makes sense to you, for example, June Report Draft 2.
Rather than keeping one version of a document, especially one you’ll re-write many times, save it with a different version number as you work on it. This avoids losing all your work if the document crashes, which can happen if you repeatedly format a document and make changes to its layout.
At the end of the project, delete the initial drafts, then create a Gold Copy of the final draft and save it in the Archives.
Adobe Acrobat Reader Tips January 25, 2007
Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, Adobe Products, Tips , add a comment
Acrobat Reader is a standard Windows application, with pull-down menus as a top row, a tool bar as a second row, and scroll bars at the side and bottom of the screen.
Searching for text
You can search for text by selecting “Find” from the “Tools” pull-down menu or by
clicking the “binoculars” button on the tool bar.
Navigating through a document
Acrobat Reader has a number of tools to let you move through a document. Hand Cursor
The “hand” cursor lets you quickly move around the page. Press the left mouse button and the hand becomes a fist, grabbing the page. With the mouse button held down you can “drag” or “push” the page anywhere on the screen.
Vertical Scroll bar
The vertical scroll bar on the right of the screen lets you move up or down by line (arrows), by half-page (click in the scroll area), or by user-selected distances (drag the scroll button).
View drop-down
The “View” pull-down menu lets you move to defined (first, last, etc.) or selected pages.
Arrow Keys
The arrow keys in the tool bar let you move to first, previous, next or last page.
Page Button
The “Page” button at the bottom of the screen displays a page icon and the text “n of m” showing your current page and the total pages in the document. Click on it to select a “go to” page.
Resizing a document.
The “View” pull-down menu has five pre-set sizes (Actual, Fit Page, etc.) as well as a “Zoom to…” option which lets you select a variety of magnifications for the document.
The second block of buttons in the tool bar contains 4 buttons for setting the cursor. The default “hand” cursor is for navigation use only. (see above) The “+” and “-” magnifying glass buttons provide zoom in and zoom out capability, respectively.
When you select the “+” button, the cursor will change to a “+.” Click with the cursor in the document and the displayed document will double in size. Each succeeding click will again double the document size, to a maximum of 800%.
The three buttons on the tool bar let you select from predefined document settings. The rightmost button of the three will set the document to fill the screen. Magnification will vary by screen size. The middle button will shrink the document to display the full page. The leftmost button will set the document at 100% magnification.
Guidelines For Writing Webpage Titles January 25, 2007
Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Recommended, Tips , add a commentWeb page titles describe the content of your web page. They are essential to get right if you want reader to visit your page, as well as search engines and RSS newsreaders to index them correctly.
The web page title should explain (at least) three things:
Purpose of the webpage.
Knowledge offered by its content
Benefits to the reader if they visit this specific page
This means that you need to write your web page titles with two things in mind.
- Search engines index these titles. So, write your title in anticipation of how the search engine will understand the text.
Don’t write: “Welcome to our award-wining company site.”
Do write: “XYZ Corp provides Wireless Content Management Solutions”
Which of these helps the reader the most?
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People searching through search engines see this title in the results section. The page title is the sentence that gets displayed here so it’s important to make it relevant to the reader.
Don’t write: “Your browser doesn’t support this site. Download Flash to continue”
Do write: “Wireless Content Management Solutions tutorials for IT Managers”
Which of these companies do you NOT want to do business with?
Common mistakes
Common mistakes when writing web page titles are:
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Adding unnecessary words or phrases to the title.
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Writing overlong descriptions that dilute the page contents
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Using clichés, jargon or terminology that the reader will not understand
Writing tips:
Emphasis how the reader will benefit by visiting this page. However, avoid sales pitches and corporate speak. No-one likes reading this stuff.
Make headings that will be easy to read when viewed as a bookmark. If your readers do bookmark your site, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to find you from their list of bookmarks, Highlight the page’s location within the context of the overall website, for example, if the page is one in a series of tutorials, then consider introducing it as follows, “Tutorials | Project Management | How to manage deadlines”. After reading this you can tell three things about the page, even before you visit it:
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It offers a series of tutorials
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Project Management tutorials are available on this site.
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The subject of this specific page is how to manage deadlines.
Writing headlines in this manner (or along these lines) gives the reader confidence in your site. The feel that you site will be organized and built with their needs in mind rather than for the company’s own self-satisfaction.
How To take Screenshots of Floating Windows January 25, 2007
Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a commentScreenshot Tutorial
- To copy the active window, press ALT+PRINT SCREEN.
This is the part of the screen that’s active, i.e. that you’re working on. - To copy the entire screen, press PRINT SCREEN.
This prints everything that appears on your monitor.
To paste the image into a Microsoft Office program, open a file and press Ctrl + V.
Changing the background to blue with white text December 7, 2006
Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Formatting, Style, Templates, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a comment
From the Tools menu, choose Options.
In the General tab, select the Blue Background, white text checkbox.
How to go back to your last edit December 4, 2006
Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Writing, Troubleshooting, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a comment
Did you know that you can tell Word to undo any mistake you’ve made and go back to what you wrote a few minutes ago? If you’ve made a mistake when writing, for example deleted a few paragraphs by accident, the first reaction may be to panic. How do I get it back? Do I have to write it all again?
One way to do this is to use the Undo feature in Word. This lets you go back in time, step by step, until you find the first version of the text you wrote.
Here’s how it works:
-
Press Ctrl and Z. This performs one Undo. It undoes the last edit you made to the document.
-
Press Ctrl and Z. This performs another Undo. It undoes the second last edit you made.
-
Continue to press Ctrl and Z to undo as many edits as you want.
When you’ve found the text that you were after save the document, preferably with some naming convention that makes sense to you, for example, June Report Draft 2.
Rather than keeping one version of a document, especially one you’ll re-write many times, save it with a different version number as you work on it. This avoids losing all you work if the document crashes, which can happen if you repeatedly format a document and make changes to its layout.
At the end of the project, delete the initial drafts, then create a Gold Copy of the final draft and save it in the Archives.
Change the spacing between letters December 4, 2006
Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Formatting, Templates, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a commentSelect the text you want to change. Click Format, Font, and then the Character Spacing tab.
Choose one of the following:
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In the Spacing box click Expanded or Condensed and enter the amount in the By box. This adjusts the space evenly between all selected characters.
Or -
Select the Kerning for fonts checkbox. Enter the point size in the Points and above box.
Tip: Expanded or Condensed alters the spacing between all selected letters by the same amount while Kerning alters the spacing between specific pairs of letters.
Change the Windows Desktop Theme November 29, 2006
Posted by iawalsh in : How do I ?, Writing, Troubleshooting, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a comment
Like its brother-in-arms, the Screensaver, the Windows Desktop Themes eat away at your computer’s memory. Unless you really need them, uninstall! You’ll have a much quicker and more reliable machine.To change or remove desktop themes, follow these steps:
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On the Desktop, right-click and click Properties.
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Click the Themes tab.
3. In the Theme box, select the theme you want or click None.
Tip: if you have to use a theme, select one with few graphics.