Carol Bratt

When you create a chart, MS Excel will check the number of rows and columns. In a chart created automatically, by clicking F11, rows from the data table are created on the category axis. You may, however, sometime later decide that you would like to ... switch from rows to columns in the category axis. Fortunately, this is not difficult to accomplish. Follow the steps below to learn how: Select the chart. From the Chart menu, select Source Data. In Series in, select Columns. Told you it was easy! When you become a member at CarolsCornerOffice.com, you have access to this and many, many more ... (view more)

If you are working on a document with lots and lots of heavy formatting, and you want to get rid of the formatting and start from scratch, there is an easy fix for you. Follow the steps below to learn how: Highlight your text selection, whether it ... be a paragraph or the entire document. Cut or copy the selection to the Office clipboard. Open the Notepad by clicking on Start | Programs | Accessories | Notepad. Paste the text you previously copied to the Clipboard. The Notepad can only work with unformatted text and so all formatting for your text selection is removed. You can now copy your text ... (view more)

As you are all aware, I am all about saving time and keystrokes and setting the tabs in my documents is no exception. Simply double-click on the ruler just below the markings. Make certain that you double-click at the bottom of the ruler instead of ... the top. If you double-click at the top, you might be surprised to see the Page Setup dialog box appear. Please take care that you do not inadvertently set a tab stop when you double-click on the ruler, but if you do so, you can delete the newly created tab stop at the Tabs dialog box or simply drag it off the ruler. When you become a member at ... (view more)

If you want to see exactly how your document will look when you print it, you are in luck because MS Word has a very useful function that allows you to do just that. Follow the steps below: Place the insertion point on the page you would like to ... preview. Click on File | Print Preview or click on the Preview icon on the toolbar. In version 2007, click the Office button and select Print and Print Preview. You still have the capacity to move around in your document using Print Preview. You can use the PgUp and PgDn keys to do so. Once you are finished previewing your document you can exit the ... (view more)

Recently a reader wrote to me with this problem: " When using MS Word the program at times changes font size while typing an article. Thanks for your consideration. " My reply: The one piece of information that would be very helpful with this ... inquiry is missing -- namely, which version of MS Word the reader is using. Generally speaking, MS Word will not change the size of your fonts in a document unless you specifically tell it to. If you are using version 2003 or earlier, it sounds to me like you could be using a style that has a different font size or you are copying and pasting text ... (view more)

Recently a reader wrote with an inquiry regarding his missing graphics in MS Word: " I am using MS Word 2003 on a Windows XP Pro Service Pack 2 machine. Until recently I was able to copy and paste a tutorial or article that contained pictures and ... text into a Word doc. Last week when I attempted to copy and paste, the text went in put not the pictures. I have done several searches (including changing word options and reducing the accelerator) but have yet to find the fix that works. " My reply:First, make sure that you are in Print Layout View. If that solves your problem, great! Secondly, ... (view more)

A reader recently wrote with this inquiry: " Please, tell me how to identify the style used in a document developed by someone else. They sent me the style *.dotx and I saved it in my Microsoft QuickStyles Folder. However I have several similarly ... named styles -- thanks to Mr. Murphy and his law of 'if it can go wrong...'! Thank you. PS your article on displaying the paragraph styles is very helpful, now I need to know how to display the name of the style set! " My reply: Display the Home Ribbon if it is not already visible. Right-click on the tiny arrow at the lower right-hand end ... (view more)

A reader recently wrote to inquire: "Does Word 2007 provide a destination barcode for printing envelopes? If not, is it available from elsewhere?" My reply: You cannot simply check the barcode box in the Envelope dialog any longer, but you can still ... manually insert the { BARCODE } field on your envelope. Having said that, please know that the option has been removed from Word 2007 because the POSTNET codes produced by the BARCODE field were no longer compliant with USPS regulations. See: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=897290 There are other software add-ins out there both free and paid ... (view more)

There may be times when you would like to share most of a document, but not all of it. There are many different reasons why you might like to do this, such as hiding the technology jargon in a software rollout document being sent to customers. You ... might like to include the technology jargon in the document that is being sent to the customer's IT department, but you do not want to overwhelm your customer with too much technical detail. Fortunately, you can accomplish this task in MS Word rather easily. Follow the steps below to learn how: Select the text in your document that you would like to ... (view more)