Author Archive for Shaun

Microsoft Word Tips: Keyboard Shortcuts

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by
Shaun
on November 15, 2014
in Microsoft Word Tips and Tips and Tricks
. 0 Comments

Whilst using Microsoft Word, there are a number of keyboard shortcuts which you can use so that your attention isn’t taken away from the keyboard to use the mouse. Here are some of the most useful ones:

Bold text: Ctrl + B

Italic text: Ctrl + i

Underlined text: Ctrl + U

To bring up the thesaurus: Shift + F7

To undo any action such as typing etc: Ctrl + Z

Select all the text in the document: Ctrl + A

There are more available for viewing through the Microsoft Office Help Menu which can be accessed by pressing the F1 button and typing in the search bar: Keyboard Shortcuts and then selecting: Keyboard Shortcuts for Microsoft Word. 

Microsoft Outlook Tips: Redirecting Email Replies

Published
by
Shaun
on November 5, 2014
in Microsoft Outlook Tips and Tips and Tricks
. 0 Comments

When you are charged with sending e-mails for someone else in your office, you may not want the replies to be directed to you. For instance, your boss asks you to send an e-mail to a client after they have requested information about a particular service.

 

If the client sends chooses to reply to that email asking something which you have no knowledge of, you will then have to forward the e-mail to your boss and start acting as a middle-man in the conversation which could distract you from your other duties. So, to save time and resources, why not have the reply to this e-mail directed to your boss rather than you?

 

It is possible and extraordinarily easy to set up. Just follow the steps below to learn how:

 

  • Click the Options tab and select the Direct Replies To option in the More Options group.
  • From the Dialog box, set the reply to address for this e-mail.
  • Click OK.

 

Now you can send the e-mail on behalf of your boss, but the reply will go to your boss, and not you, leaving you free to get on with more important tasks.

 

If you would like to read more Outlook tips, please visit our Microsoft Outlook Tips page.

 

If you would like to learn more, you should book yourself on one of our Microsoft Outlook Training Courses

Microsoft PowerPoint Tips: Colour Options for Picture Backgrounds

Published
by
Shaun
on October 17, 2014
in Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tips and Tricks
. 0 Comments

Are you tired of using the same old plain backgrounds in your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations? Well now there is a way where you can use your own captured images to great effect as custom backgrounds in your slides.

In this Microsoft PowerPoint tip, I will explain how you can use a photo to its maximum potential as a background and edit it without the need for expensive photo editing software such as Adobe Photoshop, using a simple PowerPoint tool for instant effective results.

To begin, follow these simple steps:powerpoint colour

  1. Display the slide or the slide master.
  2. Insert a photograph by going to Insert and select Picture. Here you can choose to use a digital photo that you took yourself or any other image that you have saved on your machine. If, however you choose to use an image from the Clip Art collection, go to Insert and select Clip Art.
  3. With the photo selected, resize it or use the Crop button on the end of the Picture Format toolbar to crop it so that it fits the slide.
  4. With the picture still selected, select the Recolor option and select Washout from the options available, as you see here encircled.
  5. Your image will now be lighter meaning that your text will now show above it clearly. There you have it; your image will now serve as the perfect background to your slides.

 

If you think that the image is too light/dark, just use the Brightness & Contrast controls until you have it to your liking.

 Logo Before and After Change

If you would like to read more tips, visit our Microsoft PowerPoint Tips page.

 

If you would like to learn more about Microsoft PowerPoint, you ought to book yourself on one of our Microsoft PowerPoint Training Courses.

Microsoft Access Tips: Adding Custom Shortcut Keys

Published
by
Shaun
on September 24, 2014
in Microsoft Access Tips and Tips and Tricks
. 0 Comments

Welcome to another Microsoft Access Tip. As we have discussed in previous articles, shortcut keys are a great way of saving time whilst working with different programs. In this tip, we will explain how you can add your own shortcuts to use to navigate your database

 

To assign a shortcut key to a field, follow these simple steps:

 

  • Edit the caption property of the label of the particular control you want to jump to, adding an ‘&‘ before the letter you want to act as the shortcut key.

 

For example, if you wish to be able to jump to a ‘Name’ field you could edit the ‘Name’ label accordingly: N&ame

 

  • In Form View the label will be displayed with the ‘a’ in name underlined: Name
  • Pressing ALT + A will switch the focus to the ‘Name’ field.

 

This technique can be used on any object that has a caption property and can make navigating your database a breeze.

 

If you would like to read about some of the keyboard shortcuts already available on Microsoft Access, take a look at our previous article: Speed up Access with Keyboard Shortcuts.

 

If you would like to read more tips, feel free to read our Microsoft Access Tip page.

 

If you would like to learn more about Microsoft Access, you should book yourself on one of our Microsoft Access Training Courses.