Inserting Text in Word 2007

Word 2007 includes a feature known as INSERT mode. When INSERT mode is enabled, a user can place their cursor anywhere within their document, press the INSERT key and automatically type over the current text.

Before you can use this feature, it must be enabled using the steps described below:

1. Click the Microsoft Office button and click Word Options.
2. Select Advanced.
3. Click the option to Use INSERT key to control overtype mode.
4. Click OK.

Excel 2007 - Zooming or Scrolling with the Mouse Wheel

Summary: Excel allows your mouse's center wheel to be used for two different purposes. Here's how to throw the switch that indicates which purpose should be used.

If you have a mouse that has a wheel between its two buttons, you may know that Excel recognizes the wheel and allows you to use it for different purposes. The default behavior of the wheel is to scroll your worksheet up and down. You can modify how Excel reacts to moving the wheel by following these steps:

1. Click the Office button, then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box.


2. At the left side of the dialog box, click Advanced. (See a related figure below.)


3. Scroll through the available options until you find the Editing Options area.


4. Select the Zoom On Roll With IntelliMouse check box.


5. Click on OK.

Now when you use the mouse wheel, Excel zooms your worksheet in and out. If you decide you again want to use the wheel to scroll, simply repeat the steps but clear the check box.

Excel 2007 - Deleting Every X Rows in a Worksheet

Summary: Do you need to delete every third, fourth, or seventh row in a worksheet? There's an easy way to do it without even resorting to macros—just use the technique described in this tip.

When working with data retrieved from another source—such as another user or from an external program—you may have a need to remove certain rows from the data. It is not unusual, for instance, to have the need to remove every third row or every fifth row. The following general steps allow you to delete every X rows without using a macro.

1. Insert two columns (A and B) on the far left side of the worksheet.
2. In the new column A, use AutoFill to sequentially number the rows from 1 to the end.
3. In cell B1 (assuming you have no header row), enter the formula =MOD(A1,3). (This formula assumes that you want to delete every third row. If you want to delete some other multiple of rows, substitute that number in place of the 3 in the formula.)
4. Copy the formula downward to all the other cells in the B column.
5. Display the Data tab of the Ribbon and, within the Sort & Filter group, click the Filter tool. Small drop-down arrows appear at the top of each column in the worksheet.
6. Using the drop-down list in column B, select the 0. Now, only those rows with a zero in column B appear.
7. Select all the displayed rows and delete them.
8. Turn off AutoFilter. (Repeat step 5 to do this.)
9. Delete columns A and B.

Excel 2007 - Accessing the Formula Bar without the Mouse

Summary: Hate to take your hands off the keyboard while working on a worksheet? Here's one way to activate the Formula bar without the need of using the mouse.

The Formula bar, just above the work area in Excel, shows the formula or value in the currently selected cell. You can click on the formula bar to edit information within a cell, if desired. What if you want to activate the Formula bar by using the keyboard, however?

The quickest way to do this is simply to press F2. This tells Excel that you want to edit the contents of a cell. When you press F2, it is highly possible that Excel will simply expand the information in the cell and allow you to edit the information directly in the cell itself. If you don't like this behavior, but instead want F2 to activate the Formula bar, follow these steps:

1. Click the Office button and then click Excel Options. Excel displays the Excel Options dialog box.
2. Click the Advanced option at the left of the dialog box. (See a related figure below.)
3. Make sure the Allow Editing Directly In Cell check box is cleared.
4. Click on OK.

Now, whenever you press F2, the Formula bar is selected and you can edit the formula there.

Word 2007 - Automatic Lines in Word

Want an easy way to add lines in your document? You can do it by making sure Word is using one of its AutoFormat features.

Word includes a sometimes-helpful little feature that allows you to add lines in your documents, without removing your fingers from the keyboard. All you need to do is start at the left margin of a new line, type at least three characters, and then press Enter. The result is a line based on the characters you typed. You can use the following characters:

• Type three DASHES --- and you get a single line.


• Type three UNDERLINES _ _ _ and you get a bold single line.


• Type three EQUAL SIGNS === and you get a double line.


• Type three ASTERISKS *** and you get a heavy dotted line.


• Type three POUND SIGNS ### and you get a heavy solid line between two skinny lines.


• Type three TILDES ~~~ and you get a nice wavy line.

You can actually type more than three of each character, if you desire. Word doesn't care that much—the only requirement is that there is at least three of them with no spaces, and they begin at the left margin. What Word does is to add a border of the specified type to the bottom of the paragraph. If you want to later delete the line, the only way to do so is to remove the paragraph, or choose Borders and Shading from the Format menu.

If you can't automatically add lines on your system, follow these steps:

• Click the Office button and then click Word Options. Word displays the Word Options dialog box.


• At the left of the dialog box click Proofing.


• Click AutoCorrect Options. Word displays the AutoCorrect dialog box.


• Make sure the AutoFormat As You Type tab is selected. (See a related figure below)


• Make sure the Border Lines check box is checked.


• Click on OK to close the AutoCorrect dialog box.


• Click on Cancel to close the Word Options dialog box.

Excel 2007 - Using Data Validation to Limit Data Entry

Summary: When creating a worksheet, you may need to limit what can be entered into a particular cell. Using data validation you can easily limit input to numeric values within a certain range.

Gary has a worksheet that people in his office use for data entry. He wants to make sure that in a particular cell they can only enter a numeric value. He wonders how to stop them from entering other entries—like text or dates or times—in the cell.

The easiest way to do this is to use Excel's data validation feature. This feature allows you to define the parameters of what can be entered in a cell. Follow these steps:

1. Select the cell you want used for inputting a value.
2. Display the Data tab of the ribbon.
3. In the Data Tools group, click the Data Validation tool. Excel displays the Data Validation dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
4. Using the Allow drop-down list, choose either Whole Number or Decimal, depending on which type of numeric input you want to allow. Excel changes the controls available in the dialog box.
5. Using the Data drop-down list, make sure Between is selected.
6. Enter in the Minimum and Maximum boxes the lower and upper bounds of what you want users to enter in the cell.
7. On the other tabs of the dialog box, enter an input message and an error message, if desired.
8. Click OK.
   

People can now enter only a numeric value within the range you specified. The one exception to this is dates and times. Since they are maintained internally, by Excel, as numbers, it is possible to enter a date, provided the date is parsed into a numeric value that is within the range you specify.

For instance, if you set up data validation to only allow values between 20,000 and 21,000, then someone could enter a date of 6/11/1956 because Excel parses the date to the whole number 20,617. The best way to handle dates and times is to format the cell so that it uses a numeric format, which will stop Excel from displaying dates and times.

How to Speed up a Sluggish Computer

Introduction: Are you frustrated by your sluggish computer? With regular use, even the newest PC will slow down significantly. Here are some suggestions to get that PC back in shape!

Things You'll Need

• Spybot Search and Destroy
• CCleaner
• AdAware
• EasyCleaner

Simply click the name of the program you wish to download and follow the on-screen instructions and remember:

• Be careful when deleting files from your computer.
• Be sure to make a backup of your registry before editing it.
• These steps should be repeated from time to time to ensure that your computer continues running well.

Steps

1. Delete old programs: get some of that unused space back. In Windows XP go to start -> control panel -> add/remove programs. Highlight any program that you do not use and click REMOVE.
2. Get rid of adware and spyware: these two parasites threaten your privacy, expose you to unwanted advertisements and most importantly, slow down your computer. Free programs such as Spybot S&D and AdAware make it easy to remove adware and spyware. Simply install these programs, update them, run a scan and remove the intruders!
3. Clean your start up files. These are files that run automatically as soon as you boot up your computer. Many of them are unneeded and are only taking up space! Besides removing spyware, Spybot S&D can also help you clean your start up files. With Spybot S&D running click the "tools" button on the left. Then click "system startup" on the left. Uncheck any entries that are highlighted in red, as they may be malicious files. Uncheck any entries of any color that are unwanted. Your computer will speed up as soon as you restart your computer!
4. Clean your registry. Easy Cleaner is a program that can help you accomplish this. Make a backup of your registry before deleting registry entries.
5. Clean your junk and temporary files. You might be surprised at how many junk and temporary files your computer is storing! Programs such as CCleaner can help you delete these files quickly and easily.
6. Defrag your hard drive. Over time, files become misplaced and this can slow down your computer. Defragging puts files where they belong! In Windows XP, go to windows explorer and right click your hard drive. Scroll down and select properties. Click the tab named tools, and then click defragment now. Finally, select your hard drive and click defragment. Let your computer do the rest!
7. Reboot your computer, and fulfill your need for speed!

Great tips for keeping your computer up to speed. One more thing to keep in mind is that music and photo files can use up a lot of space and should be removed to a disc.