Office 97 - All Tips

Word 97	Excel 97	PowerPoint 97
Access 97	Outlook 97	LANs and the Net

Get some
Assistance The most pervasive (some would say annoying) feature of Office 97 is the Office Assistant. Do you value the help the animated paper clip provides but can't stand the clip itself? Right-click the little bugger for options on what to do with it. The Choose Assistant option lets you pick another helper. (If all that jumping around drives you batty, try the Office logo, the calmest of the Assistants.) The Animate option makes the existing Assistant move around a little (for those short on entertainment). Under Options, you can select what kind of help the Assistant will give you (such as displaying only high-priority tips or showing programming hints).
But the two most useful options are See Tips, which can provide a variety of hints and shortcuts, and Hide Assistant, which puts the helper away. Bring the Assistant back when you need help by pressing the F1 key or clicking on the question mark in the word balloon on the toolbar.
If the Assistant rankles you so much that you don't mind throwing out the baby with the bathwater, you can make it go away for good:

Right-click the animated Assistant, and choose Options.

Select the Options tab, and uncheck the Respond to F1 key.

Exit Office.

Restart Office, and the Assistant will be gone.

When you need help in the future, press the F1 key to bring up a standard Windows Help index. But consider carefully before taking the drastic measure of eliminating the Assistant. The Help index makes you hunt for answers; the Assistant brings them to you.

Open, Delete, Move, and More Office 97 lets you use the File Open and File Save As dialog boxes to manage your files. To delete files, select documents you don't want, and press the Delete key. To rename, move, and more, right-click a file, and pick a function from the list.

Open Everything at Once Like many other programs, Office 97 applications let you open more than one file at once. In the File Open dialog box, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting as many files as you like. Click OK, and they'll all open.

Unhand that Mouse Mouse wrist getting achy? Join the club! It's possible to give your wrist a rest and still navigate any Office 97 File Open dialog box. If you're looking for a file in another folder, press Alt-1 to move one level up the directory tree.

Find Faster Office 97's Find Fast utility creates keyword indexes of Office documents for speedy inquiries using Office 97's built-in search capabilities (located in the File/Open menu item in each application). Once created, Find Fast indexes update automatically during slack system time. To create an index for a network folder or to change an existing index, double-click the Find Fast icon in the Windows Control Panel (choose Start/Settings/Control Panel to get there).
If you want to know more about your Find Fast index--such as its size and the number of documents indexed--click Information in the Index menu's Update Index dialog box. If you're looking for an Office document, don't use Start/Find; use the File/Open dialog box in any Office 97 application, and check the search capabilities there.

Track Recent Files Office 97 takes the standard Recently Opened Files list to its next logical step for an office suite. Right-click the toolbar in any Office 97 app; select the Web toolbar. Click the down arrow next to the name of the current document, and pick any document from the list. Office will open the file in its native application. Office even knows to open your browser to return you to recently visited Web sites.

Save Favorite Searches Don't let new files on a network or in a shared folder pass you by. It's easy to keep on top of new information by saving and reusing a search that matches your interests. Here's how:

Select File/Open from the menu bar. Use the search options in the dialog box to point to the appropriate drive or directory, file type, and document text or property.

Click Advanced.

Click Save Search, and give the search a name.

Next time you want to check for relevant new files, select File/Open from the menu bar.

Click the Advanced button in the dialog box, and then click Open Search.

Pick the name you assigned to the search, and you're rolling.

Place your Toolbars where you want them Don't like your toolbars and menus stacked at the top of your page? Just click and hold the move handle (shown at right) on a toolbar or a menu bar, and drag the bar where you want it. Dragging a toolbar toward the center of the screen creates a floating toolbar you can place anywhere. To dock the toolbar, drag it to any edge of the screen.

Customize your Toolbars If you don't like the layout of Office 97's toolbars and menus, make your own. Move a toolbar's options by holding down the Alt key and dragging the buttons to where you want them. To add new items, right-click the toolbar you want to change, select Customize, and work your way through the options to add new commands and to change the toolbar's appearance.

Resize
Clip Art Changing the size or proportions of clip art (such as Office 97's included OfficeArt) is easy enough: just click the corner of the object, and drag the mouse until the image is the right size. To keep square objects square, hold down the Shift key as you resize.

Navigate Fast
with the
IntelliMouse Microsoft built a better mouse! The new IntelliMouse (priced at $85) sports a combination wheel/button nestled between its two regular buttons. This wheel won't work with a lot of programs, but it speeds navigation through anything in Office 97 that requires scrolling.
In Access, spin the wheel to scroll back and forth through the records in your table.In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, hold down the Ctrl key and turn the wheel to zoom in or out.In Outlook, turning the wheel performs a variety of different functions, depending on each module and view. Click the Office Assistant, and search for IntelliMouse for details.In any Office application, hold down the wheel button, and move the mouse in any direction to scroll the screen as quickly or as slowly as you wish.

Format Painting Want to quickly apply the format of a section of your document to another section? Just use your mouse to highlight the section (a headline, a paragraph, or a word) that has the desired format. Click the Format Painter icon on the standard toolbar, and use your mouse to highlight the section you want to format. The selection is instantly reformatted.
This easy, time-saving solution is a good way to make sure formatting is consistent when you're expanding a document that was created using a heavily formatted template. You can also use this method when you're adding to a document someone else created.

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Get some Assistance	The most pervasive (some would say annoying) feature of Office 97 is the Office Assistant. Do you value the help the animated paper clip provides but can't stand the clip itself? Right-click the little bugger for options on what to do with it. The Choose Assistant option lets you pick another helper. (If all that jumping around drives you batty, try the Office logo, the calmest of the Assistants.) The Animate option makes the existing Assistant move around a little (for those short on entertainment). Under Options, you can select what kind of help the Assistant will give you (such as displaying only high-priority tips or showing programming hints). But the two most useful options are See Tips, which can provide a variety of hints and shortcuts, and Hide Assistant, which puts the helper away. Bring the Assistant back when you need help by pressing the F1 key or clicking on the question mark in the word balloon on the toolbar. If the Assistant rankles you so much that you don't mind throwing out the baby with the bathwater, you can make it go away for good: Right-click the animated Assistant, and choose Options. Select the Options tab, and uncheck the Respond to F1 key. Exit Office. Restart Office, and the Assistant will be gone. When you need help in the future, press the F1 key to bring up a standard Windows Help index. But consider carefully before taking the drastic measure of eliminating the Assistant. The Help index makes you hunt for answers; the Assistant brings them to you.
Open, Delete, Move, and More	Office 97 lets you use the File Open and File Save As dialog boxes to manage your files. To delete files, select documents you don't want, and press the Delete key. To rename, move, and more, right-click a file, and pick a function from the list.
Open Everything at Once	Like many other programs, Office 97 applications let you open more than one file at once. In the File Open dialog box, hold down the Ctrl key while selecting as many files as you like. Click OK, and they'll all open.
Unhand that Mouse	Mouse wrist getting achy? Join the club! It's possible to give your wrist a rest and still navigate any Office 97 File Open dialog box. If you're looking for a file in another folder, press Alt-1 to move one level up the directory tree.
Find Faster	Office 97's Find Fast utility creates keyword indexes of Office documents for speedy inquiries using Office 97's built-in search capabilities (located in the File/Open menu item in each application). Once created, Find Fast indexes update automatically during slack system time. To create an index for a network folder or to change an existing index, double-click the Find Fast icon in the Windows Control Panel (choose Start/Settings/Control Panel to get there). If you want to know more about your Find Fast index--such as its size and the number of documents indexed--click Information in the Index menu's Update Index dialog box. If you're looking for an Office document, don't use Start/Find; use the File/Open dialog box in any Office 97 application, and check the search capabilities there.
Track Recent Files	Office 97 takes the standard Recently Opened Files list to its next logical step for an office suite. Right-click the toolbar in any Office 97 app; select the Web toolbar. Click the down arrow next to the name of the current document, and pick any document from the list. Office will open the file in its native application. Office even knows to open your browser to return you to recently visited Web sites.
Save Favorite Searches	Don't let new files on a network or in a shared folder pass you by. It's easy to keep on top of new information by saving and reusing a search that matches your interests. Here's how: Select File/Open from the menu bar. Use the search options in the dialog box to point to the appropriate drive or directory, file type, and document text or property. Click Advanced. Click Save Search, and give the search a name. Next time you want to check for relevant new files, select File/Open from the menu bar. Click the Advanced button in the dialog box, and then click Open Search. Pick the name you assigned to the search, and you're rolling.
Place your Toolbars where you want them	Don't like your toolbars and menus stacked at the top of your page? Just click and hold the move handle (shown at right) on a toolbar or a menu bar, and drag the bar where you want it. Dragging a toolbar toward the center of the screen creates a floating toolbar you can place anywhere. To dock the toolbar, drag it to any edge of the screen.
Customize your Toolbars	If you don't like the layout of Office 97's toolbars and menus, make your own. Move a toolbar's options by holding down the Alt key and dragging the buttons to where you want them. To add new items, right-click the toolbar you want to change, select Customize, and work your way through the options to add new commands and to change the toolbar's appearance.
Resize Clip Art	Changing the size or proportions of clip art (such as Office 97's included OfficeArt) is easy enough: just click the corner of the object, and drag the mouse until the image is the right size. To keep square objects square, hold down the Shift key as you resize.
Navigate Fast with the IntelliMouse	Microsoft built a better mouse! The new IntelliMouse (priced at $85) sports a combination wheel/button nestled between its two regular buttons. This wheel won't work with a lot of programs, but it speeds navigation through anything in Office 97 that requires scrolling. In Access, spin the wheel to scroll back and forth through the records in your table.In Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, hold down the Ctrl key and turn the wheel to zoom in or out.In Outlook, turning the wheel performs a variety of different functions, depending on each module and view. Click the Office Assistant, and search for IntelliMouse for details.In any Office application, hold down the wheel button, and move the mouse in any direction to scroll the screen as quickly or as slowly as you wish.
Format Painting	Want to quickly apply the format of a section of your document to another section? Just use your mouse to highlight the section (a headline, a paragraph, or a word) that has the desired format. Click the Format Painter icon on the standard toolbar, and use your mouse to highlight the section you want to format. The selection is instantly reformatted. This easy, time-saving solution is a good way to make sure formatting is consistent when you're expanding a document that was created using a heavily formatted template. You can also use this method when you're adding to a document someone else created.