Carol Bratt

Sorting data refers to organizing the records in a data list so that they are presented in a certain order. If data is arranged in a list structure, data can be automatically sorted by choosing one individual cell within the list to define the sort ... criteria. All corresponding data will be repositioned on sort order. The Sort Ascending and Sort Descending button on the Standard toolbar can be used to quickly sort a list by one column. Follow the steps below to sort by one column: Select one cell anywhere within the field (column) upon which the sort will be based. Click on the Sort Ascending ... (view more)

One of the fastest ways to run a macro is to create a shortcut key for it. You don't need to put a button on your toolbar or even click anywhere. As a matter of fact, your hands don't even have to leave your keyboard! You can create a shortcut key ... to run a macro before you even record it. Follow the steps below to learn how. Choose Tools | Macro | Record New Macro or double-click REC on the Status bar. Enter the name for the macro. Click Keyboard to see the Customize Keyboard dialog box. Choose the macro name. Click the Press New Shortcut Key box. Press the key combination you want to use. If ... (view more)

I bet you didn't know that you could have a button for any command or macro did you? Well the good news is that you can! Follow the steps below to create one! Choose View | Toolbars | Customize and select the Toolbars tab. Click to place a check ... next to the name of the toolbar to make certain the toolbar is currently on the screen. Click the Commands tab. Under Categories, choose the one containing the command you want, or Macro for a macro you created yourself. Choose the command or macro name and drag to the toolbar location. Choose Modify Selection, actions and continue as before. Your ... (view more)

You can add buttons for existing commands to your toolbar using the steps below. Click the More Buttons button on the toolbar where you want to add a new button. This appears on the right edge of a docked toolbar (a toolbar that appears along the ... edge of the window), or on the top-left corner of a floating toolbar (a toolbar that appears on top of the document, that has its own title bar and close button). Click Add or Remove buttons. Word offers buttons from which you can choose that appear on the toolbar. Click the buttons you want to add or remove. A new button now appears on the toolbar ... (view more)

You can customize Word by creating a button on a toolbar for a macro or command that you find yourself using more and more often. It is more efficient and much easier to use a toolbar button than to choose a macro from the dialog box or to choose a ... command from a menu, don't you agree? You can quickly create a button for a macro before you even begin recording. Follow the steps below to learn how: Choose Tools | Macro | Record New Macro or double-click REC on the status bar to begin recording a macro. Enter the name you want to call the macro. Click the Toolbars button to see the Customize ... (view more)

In my last article I told you how to Delete a Macro and how to Edit a Macro . In this article, as promised, I will show you how to rename a macro and copy a macro. To rename a macro, follow the steps below: Choose Tools | Macro | Macros. Select the ... macro you would like to rename. Choose Edit. This opens the Visual Basic editor. When the Visual Basic editor pens, change the name of the macro to what you would rather it be. Close the window. It's really pretty simple to do isn't it? To copy a macro, follow these steps: Access the Macros dialog box by choosing Tools | Macro | Macros. Select the ... (view more)

Sometimes after you have recorded a macro, you can't remember the name or it doesn't do exactly what you wanted it to do or you want another macro that is almost the same. Luckily, all of these things can be taken care of. You can change an existing ... macro by changing its name, making a copy of it, deleting it or changing the actions of the macro. Macros are recorded in a programming language called Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). The VBA program can be changed to modify the action of the macro. The language may be confusing at first, but a closer look will show you that the code echoes ... (view more)

Many times you find yourself doing the same task over and over and sometimes a task is very difficult for a new user or it's a task that is used so infrequently that even an experienced user has to take the time to figure out exactly how it's done ... again! Luckily MS Word enables you to record the steps to accomplish your tasks and store them as a macro. A macro lets you run the steps quickly by pressing a shortcut key or by clicking a customized button on your toolbar. Macros are automatically stored in the Normal template. When you exit Word, you will see a prompt asking whether you want to ... (view more)

After you have completed a form template in MS Word , you can use it to fill in the blanks. You can also print the form and have folks fill it out with a pen or pencil. This makes it easier for whomever does the data entry to follow, because the ... printed form matches what they see on the screen. Below is the easiest way to fill out a form and print the results. Click on File | New. Select the custom from template that you have created by selecting On my computer under Templates in the Task pane, which will open up the Template area and you can scroll to select your form there. Fill in each ... (view more)

Use the easy steps below to create a customized drop-down list field on a form in MS Word. Open the template and remove protection from the form. Click the Drop-down Form Field button. Double-click the field to see the dialog box. Type each choice ... for the drop-down list and click Add. Arrange them in the order you prefer. Click OK. The form displays the typical arrow next to the field. When you click it, the choices are displayed. You can use these same techniques to create an online form for the Web. In this case, however, use the tools on the Web Tools toolbar to create the form fields, ... (view more)