Monthly Archive for December, 2015

Microsoft Word Tip: New Years Resolutions

With a New Year lurking around the corner, it’s around that time when people start to make New Years Resolutions, So here’s how you can use Microsoft Word to assist your goals.

 

 

Microsoft has features so that you can bullet point everything that you would like to accomplish, you can also highlight and underscore important sentences. By using Word you can also print out your document so you can tick things off and have it as a reminder to yourself.

Here’s a rough idea… media

 

To be able to create bullet points, select the text you would like to change and just simply click Home and then click the 3 dots to access the bullet point tool.

gnf

 

We hope you found this helpful and that you have a wonderful New Year.

Microsoft Word Tips : Table of Contents

TImagine you’re working with a really long document in Microsoft Word, like an academic paper or a big report. Depending on the project, it might be dozens or even hundreds of pages long! When a document is this large, it can be difficult to remember which page has what information. Fortunately, Word allows you to insert a table of contents, making it easy to organize and navigate your document.

A table of contents is just like the list of chapters at the beginning of a book. It lists each section in the document and the page number where that section begins.

You could create a table of contents manually—typing the section names and page numbers—but it would take a lot of work. And if you ever decide to rearrange your sections or add more information, you’ll have to update everything all over again. However, with the right formatting, Word can create and update a table of contents automatically.

We’ll use Word 2013 to show you how to create a table of contents, but you can use the exact same method in Word 2010 or Word 2007.

Article: Time Management

The Most Important Time Management Technique

Time Management big

 

 

Ever looked at your list of tasks wondering what to do first? Well, you are not alone.

 

 

The Italian economist Vilfredo Pareto (1848–1923) suggested that the results and the causes of those results are unequally distributed in the ratio of 80:20. The Pareto Principle, more commonly referred as the 80/20 Rule, states that:

 

  • 20% of your activities will generate 80% of your success, or
  • 20% of a well time managed effort will generate 80% of the desired results.

 

Although the ratio 80/20 is not always this precise, it is used to put emphasis on how much is lost or how much can be gained with time management. It is not a surprise that identifying the critical 20% is the key factor to success.

 

A simple Time Management course can certainly help you to learn some tips and tricks and teach you using yourtime efficiently. But what can we do NOW to minimise our time wastage?

 

The key in identifying those critical 20% is by prioritising your tasks. You may use the Eisenhower Method to help you with that. It said that former U.S. President Dwight Eisenhower used this method in prioritising his daily tasks.

 

To determine your priorities you will need to use a matrix, where you evaluate each task according to its Importance and Urgency. If you use this matrix then you will need to focus on Important tasks. If your tasks are:

  • Important and Urgent, then do them immediately
  • Important but Not Urgent, then enter them into your calendar to keep track of them
  • Urgent and Not Important, then delegate them to a competent person
  • Not Urgent and Not Important are time wasters, so minimise them

 

This is common sense but you would be surprised how much this method will positively affect your productivity. For more info, read our future blog articles, or come to our Effective Time Management Courses.

Microsoft PowerPoint Tips: Finding Your Most Recent Documents

Finding recent documents has been made easier in Office.  Looking at PowerPoint 2007 and 2013 we will look at the differences between the ease of access.

 

When you need to find a certain document you needed to click Open from Office button then search through your documents looking for the right one.  With Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 you can find everything much easier.

 

If you click on the Office button on the top left and it comes up with the main menu and on it will be your most recent documents that you have worked on and saved.  So if you need to open up one of those documents again you can just click on it from that list and it’s done.  So it saves you looking through your documents trying to find the right one.

 

Recent Documents in PowerPoint 2007

 

This feature can also be done in Microsoft PowerPoint 2013.  All you need to do is click Open from the File Tab and your Recent Presentations can be viewed straight away just like below.  In PowerPoint 2013 you are able to see the first slide, making it easier to remember what presentation you want.

 

blog

 

Read about our Microsoft PowerPoint Courses if you are interested in learning more.

Introducing Sway!

462ae32184d166b666d3270546db7e8fe1744baa

 

In August 2015, Microsoft released a brand new software called, Sway – an online package to create and share your amazing stories, presentations and more!

 

It is a part of the Microsoft Office Online package; similar to Excel, PowerPoint, and Word Online. Sway can be used to create presentation style websites which are great for for telling stories or documenting an event. So how about having a go and documenting your fantastic Christmas and making it a one that no one will forget.

 

In a nutshell, Sway is an updated version of PowerPoint that is more user friendly. At a glance its easy to follow and if you wish to import media into your project then you don’t even need to leave the app.

 

Sway is currently available on Windows 10 and IOS, However it must be a downloaded app. alternatively it can be accessed through Office Online.

 

With Christmas just around the corner most families like to document the celebrations by videoing the special occasion, but using Sway takes it to another level. You can upload videos, pictures, and add text to a family friendly user face and share it directly to social media like Facebook and Twitter.

 

So check it out, and show us your results!

Office Christmas Offer

Since it’s Christmas, we’d like to give a gift back to all new and existing customers. We’re offering 3 courses for 2 people with £100 off.

 

So don’t hesitate as this is a popular deal and won’t be around forever. If interested then give us a call or drop us an email.

 

This offer is only valid till 31st December and is a limited time offer.

 

KODAK Digital Still Camerachristmas

 

 

Microsoft PowerPoint: Presentations Do’s and Don’ts

After much extensive research on Twitter, we worked out that the most used hashtag for PowerPoint was #dosanddonts. It was apparent that a lot of people wanted advice on how to produce a great PowerPoint but didn’t know how to keep it interesting and not too full on at the same time. So here are our best suggestions.

 

#DONTS

 

Minimal might be fashionable, however, no one likes a boring presentation. Creating something interesting is key, so make sure you avoid something like this at all costs.

 

There is nothing worse than black and white for a PowerPoint. It’s important to use the right colours so that it is eye catching and bold. Imagine that every slide is a billboard advertisement. It’s also crucial that you pick the right fonts, design, and layout. No one can take Comic Sans seriously and Times New Roman is is old and boring.

 

Untitled

 

There is nothing more annoying than something that is loud and in your face, so imagine reading a PowerPoint that had that effect. It can put a reader off instantly. Also, make sure that is doesn’t look childish. If it’s for business purposes, then it’s important to keep it looking professional and not look like a child has created it. Something that is definitely a big mistake, is writing too much information on one page so the audience has too much to read. Space your text out across multiple pages, let your PowerPoint ‘breathe’. Bullet points are great at creating easy reading.

 

pic 2

 

 

#DOS

 

Its difficult to say what is a good PowerPoint presentation depending on what it is being used for, However, if it’s for profession business purposes then its easy to pick out what makes it look appealing.

 

pic 3

 

It does look more visually appealing if the fonts are matching and there aren’t a lot of different styles. It can also help if the layout is simple and not to busy; you don’t want distract the audience from what you’re trying to promote. They say a picture is worth a thousand words, so grab the audience’s attention and say what you want with an image instead of lots of paragraphs.

 

We hope this Tip helped, for anymore questions for may have you can drop us a message on Facebook or Twitter.