 April 2010 Issue #57 |
| | Greetings! | Great Graphics in Office 2007 There's a reason we still hear the old expression, "A picture is worth a thousand words"--graphics often communicate complex ideas and processes much better than just lengthy paragraphs of text. Share Your Quick Access Toolbars Windows 7 Training Video Now Available Does your new computer have Windows 7? Is your company or organization upgrading to Windows 7 this year? Find out how to make the most of this latest version of Windows with your own video of my Windows 7 Tips, Tricks & Techniques training program. From your own desktop, in just an hour, you can learn great tips and shortcuts for customizing and organizing your work in Windows 7. |
|  | | | | Feature Article | SmartArt: One of My Favorite Features in Microsoft Office 2007 Switching to Microsoft Office 2007 is a big change for most people. Fortunately, the struggle of learning a dramatically different interface and tracking down the new look and location of important commands is often offset by improved or added features. Among the many useful and long overdue upgrades to Office 2007, one of my favorites is SmartArt, a significant improvement to the Diagram feature in Office 2003. You will appreciate this great tool if you have ever wasted hours of your valuable time trying to manually create a good looking diagram with drawing shapes, lines and arrows. Easy to use, a SmartArt graphic is an excellent choice to illustrate a concept such as a process, organizational or other relationship chart, or cycle diagram. Available in Word 2007, Excel 2007, and PowerPoint 2007, a SmartArt graphic is a much better choice than, for instance, one more PowerPoint slide with bullets. To add a SmartArt graphic to an Office 2007 document: - From the Insert tab, choose SmartArt from the Illustrations group.
This example is from PowerPoint 2007.
- Select a category of SmartArt for the concept you want to visually describe. Navigate through your choices to see examples and explanations of the available graphics. Keep in mind you can add or remove graphics, change colors, and re-size and move the SmartArt object.
- Once you create a graphic, you can add text to the shapes using the optional SmartArt Text pane or by clicking directly into the placeholders on the shapes. Some layouts even support adding pictures. Shapes can be added or removed from the graphic and the layout will adjust accordingly. Do you need six shapes but your graphic has only five? Just press [Enter]. Use [Delete] to remove extra shapes.
- Click into your document to finish the SmartArt. Click back into the graphic as needed to modify your work.
Start adding SmartArt graphics to clarify and improve your communications. |
| Quick Tips & Tactics | How to copy (or backup) Microsoft Office 2007 Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) settings from one computer to another
So you've painstakingly set up your customized Quick Access Toolbar in every Microsoft Office 2007 program. You have your favorite shortcuts for sorting and formatting Excel worksheets, responding to Outlook e-mails, and locating those Not in the Ribbon icons you need in your Word documents. What if you want to share these preferences with a co-worker or your home computer? Do you have to re-create all of the steps you worked so hard to get the first time? Let's look at an easy solution to transfer your Quick Access Toolbar settings to another PC. One technique to copy your settings is with transfer or migration tools which require administrative access--darn! Fortunately, you can skip the help desk ticket or the costly visit from your IT support guru and simply copy a few files. Your Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) settings are stored in your Application Data folder. Example of the Your Office 2007 Quick Access Toolbars Files | The files are named Access.qat, Excel.qat, PowerPoint.qat, and Word.qat. Outlook may have multiple .qat files if you have customized the toolbars for multiple actions such as creating a new e-mail message or adding a new calendar entry. Here are the locations:Windows 7 & Windows Vista:
C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Local\Microsoft\Office\*.qat Windows XP:
C:\Documents and Settings\<username>\Local Settings\Application Data\Microsoft\Office\*.qat Simply copy the QAT file associated with the program which has the customized Quick Access Toolbar from your source computer to the same location on the other computer. Easy--all of your efforts are saved! |
| Windows 7: Tips, Tricks & Techniques Video Training | Did you miss the recent Windows 7 Tips, Tricks & Techniques webinars? The video is now available to learn what you need to know about Windows 7 and take away great secrets, shortcuts, tips and tactics. Plus, the training takes place right at your desktop! Windows 7: Tips, Tricks & Techniques Training Video  Windows 7 is new from the ground up. Whether you're already using Windows 7 or planning on making the switch, watch and learn to uncover many of the ways Windows 7 is different from earlier versions. In this tips-packed training session, you will learn techniques in Microsoft Windows 7 to customize and organize your work, and streamline your business productivity including: - Explore the new and enhanced features on the Windows 7 desktop
- Make the most of the enhanced Taskbar
- Find out how to manage files, folders, new Libraries, and user controls in Windows 7
- Discover fun and useful tricks with Aero Peek, Snap and Shake
- ...and much more!
Who Should Watch and Learn: This video, recorded live from my popular Windows 7 webinars, is designed for anyone familiar with Windows XP or Windows Vista who wants to upgrade to the new and improved features of Windows 7. Ideal for desktop users, IT support, and help desk staff. The Windows 7 training video is only $37. To grab your own copy on CD or as a download, go to www.Win7Videos.com. |
| Mouse Bytes | Easy Buzzword or Meeting Bingo Cards  Tired of meetings filled with over-used business phrases such as paradigm shift or outside the box? Maybe it's time for a round of buzzword bingo. As described on John Walkenbach's (he's a leading Microsoft Excel author) spreadsheet site, buzzword bingo is:A bingo-style game where participants prepare bingo cards with buzzwords and tick them off when they are uttered during an event, such as a meeting or speech. The goal of the game is to tick off a predetermined number of words in a row and then yell "Bingo!".
Create your own meeting bingo card from a list of 186 terms (you can add your own). It's all in a no-cost Excel worksheet that generates random custom cards for your next boring meeting. Download your own copy at: The Spreadsheet Page-Generate Meeting Bingo Cards. (Hint: the list is on Sheet1, the card is on Sheet2). |
| About Dawn | Dawn Bjork Buzbee is The Software ProŽ with over 20 years experience transforming geek speak into people friendly. A professional software speaker, trainer, consultant, and author, Dawn has helped more than 100,000 individuals to learn smart, easy, and productive ways to use software and technology more effectively.
Microsoft has awarded Dawn with the certifications Microsoft Certified Trainer (MCT), Microsoft Office 2007 Master Instructor, and Microsoft Certified Application Specialist (MCAS) Instructor for her expertise in Microsoft Office 2007 and Windows Vista. Dawn also holds the distinctions as a Certified Microsoft Office Expert and a Certified Microsoft Office Specialist Master Instructor with a proven track record in Microsoft Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, and Access. Training and coaching is also available on many other popular desktop programs. >>Find out more |
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