Office 97 Tips #1



*1.   Decimal-aligning numbers in a table using Microsoft Word

If you enter a column of numbers in a table-and they consist of 
varying numbers of digits-you may want to set a decimal tab to 
align them. This is a very simple procedure, but it doesn't 
work quite like setting decimal tabs outside a table.

To decimal-align a column of numbers, start by highlighting the 
column. Then, click the tab icon at the end of the ruler until 
it changes to a decimal tab icon. Now, click on the ruler where 
you want the decimals to align. (If the numbers don't include a 
decimal point, just imagine that one exists to the right of the 
last digit-thats where you want to align the numbers.)

As soon as you click on the ruler to set the decimal tab, Word 
will align the numbers in the selected column. You don't have 
to insert a tab character (-) in front of each number to push 
it into alignment as you do outside a table. In fact, if you do 
enter a tab character before a number, it will throw off 
the alignment. 


*2.   Changing color scheme of selected slides using PowerPoint

You can quickly change the color scheme of several slides in 
your presentation without having to change it for all of them. 
To do so, switch to the Slide Sorter View and while holding the 
Shift key down click on each slide that you wish to modify. 
Next, choose Format/Slide Color Scheme from the main menu and 
make all of your changes. When you are satisfied with your new 
scheme, click Apply to effect the changes to selected 
slides only. 


*3.   Use DLookup() in Access to show unique data

Sometimes on a form, you may want to display data that's not 
available in the form's underlying query or table in a 
calculated field. For instance, if your form is an inventory of 
goods, you may want to provide a field showing what percentage 
of gross sales the current product was, which you've already 
tallied in a separate query. To use the DLookup() function, 
you'd enter

= DLookup("[GrossSales%Field]","GrossSales","[ProductIDinQuery] = [Forms]![FormName]![ProductIDinForm]")

as the field's control source. The first argument tells Access 
what you're looking for, in this case, the percentage of gross 
sales figure. The next argument lets Access know where you want 
it to look for the data: in the GrossSales query. The last 
argument is the criteria that the function uses to find the 
right data. This argument is optional, but in our example, we'd 
want the percentage for the current product only. 


*4.   Activate horizontal scroll bars using Outlook 98

If you're using Outlook 98 and you've customized the view by 
adding more columns, you can see the information in your view 
more clearly and without the columns being crowded if you add a 
horizontal scroll bar. For example, if you would like to add 
the scroll bar to the Last Seven Days view of your Inbox, 
select Inbox from the Outlook Bar. Next select View/Current 
View/Last Seven Days. Now, select View/ Current View/Customize 
Current View.... In the View Summary dialog box, click Other 
Settings... to display the Other Settings dialog box. In the 
top section, Column Headings, de-select the Automatic Column 
Sizing check box and click OK. Click OK in the View Summary 
dialog box. The current view will now have a horizontal 
scroll bar. 
  