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Even though most of you know how to format text in a Word document, MS Word allows you to handle text in tables in two neat ways. First, within the cell of a table, you can specify not only whether you want text left aligned, centered, right ... aligned, or justified. You can also have text centered vertically within the cell or rest on the bottom edge of the cell. You can even rotate the text in a cell to vertical, like a title on the spine of a book! You will want to use the alignment feature often with your tables. For example, when the content of one cell is short and the adjacent cell is ... (view more)

You may think you can delete a row or column by selecting it and pressing Delete. But what that does is remove the text, leaving empty cells behind. To remove a row or column completely, you must select it and then choose a menu selection. Choose ... Table | Delete, and then specify Table, Columns, Rows, or certain cells. Right-click and choose Delete from the shortcut menu. If you have a row selected, the shortcut menu will say Delete Row; if you have a column selected, it will say Delete Column. When a column is deleted, the column widths may adjust themselves. The easiest way to delete an ... (view more)

Creating a document is as easy as starting Word and typing text. If you choose, you can work with Word's default settings. However, many documents require different layouts. It's important to know how to change the settings so that you can change ... the way the text looks on the page. If you haven't changed the settings in your Normal template, you'll find the defaults (in the U.S. version of Word) to include top and bottom margins set to 1 inch, left and right margins at 1.25 inches, header and footer margins at .5 inches, gutter position left, paper size is 8.5X11 inches, portrait page ... (view more)

How many times have you been asked to give a presentation based on an existing report or other document? If you can import the document into MS Word and convert its headings to Word's default "Heading 1" style, the rest is a piece of cake. Outlines ... in Word can be imported directly into PowerPoint in either of two ways: From inside Word, choose File | Send To | Microsoft Office PowerPoint. From inside PowerPoint, choose File | Open and in the Files of Type box, choose All Outlines. When you import an MS Word document, Level 1 headings (formatted "Heading 1" in Word) turn into the titles of new ... (view more)

In most applications, you're stuck with whatever the software company decides to put on its shortcut menus (the set of commands that appear when you right-click your mouse). For instance, Mr. Gates must have considered hyperlinks very important ... because in Word 2003, you can insert a hyperlink from 26 of the 62 shortcut menus. The shortcut menu that the majority of people use is the Text shortcut menu, which appears when you right-click within the text of a document. Luckily, you are able to rearrange any of the 62 shortcut menus in Word according to what you find to be important. For instance ... (view more)

The Office Assistant provides help when you need to know how to do something in Excel. This help is available at the click of a button and in every dialog box. You can ask a question, or you can look through the table of contents or index for ... relevant topics. Sometimes the Office Assistant suggests ways to help before you even ask for it. You can get help four ways: Click the Office Assistant, if it's available. Click the Help button on the toolbar or in the dialog box. Choose an item from the Help menu. Press the F1 key. When you're looking for an answer, you don't have to ask someone else ... (view more)

In your documents, sometimes you have to include symbols other than the standard letters, numbers and characters that appear on the keyboard. MS Word has many interesting symbols for you to use: everyday items such as the degree symbol (98.6°),  ...Greek letters (ΦΒΚ or ψ), letters needed in foreign words (such as résumé or Senõr), and even cute little pictures (such as  and §). You must use these symbols when they're needed in the text, but the pictures, sometimes called "dingbats," can be used for decoration. To begin, click to the insertion point where you ...view more)

You're about to start your first novel -- "Once upon a time..." Those beginning words just beg to have fancy lettering to evoke the feeling of your story don't they? Word has two features that let you create interesting lettering that goes beyond ... just changing the font and size. Those features are WordArt and Drop Caps. WordArt is an element of Word that allows you to define the shape, fill and text of decorative text -- everything from rainbow-colored and shaped words to the gleam of chrome on 3-D block letters. Many predefined effects are available for you to choose from, but you can ... (view more)

Many people utilize the Envelopes and Labels feature of MS Word to create their own envelopes. One of the most often overlooked features of this tool, however, is Word’s ability to print delivery point bar codes on your envelopes. The delivery point b ...arcode is used by the sorting machines at the United States Postal Service to help route mail more efficiently. Depending upon what you’re mailing, you can save money on your postage by printing the delivery point barcode on an envelope. To learn more about saving money using this feature, you may visit the US Postal Service website ...ref="/news/1148/print-delivery-point-barcodes-envelopes-ms-word" class="more-link">view more)

This is the second installment of a two part series on good password practices (part 1 is here ). You may recall that I previously discussed some poor and all-too-common password practices that people use. And while it's good for us to know what not ... to do, we also need to educate ourselves about the right way to choose and manage passwords. So without further ado, let's get started! How Passwords are "Cracked" To begin, a good password is difficult to guess. A good password will not be tied or related to any publicly known information about you, including your kid's names, pet's ... (view more)