Tame your computer – clever copying

There is a variety of ways to copy all data from one sheet to another. Perhaps you simply copy and paste everything? Or perhaps you right-click the sheet that contains all the data you want to copy and select “Move or Copy”?

Well, during last week’s Excel training session Yvonne reminded me of the quickest way… drag. (Thanks, Yvonne!)

Here’s how:

1. Open the workbook that contains the sheet you want to copy.

2. Hold down the CTRL key while you drag the worksheet to its new location. 

3. When the small page (which moves with the pointer) appears, release the mouse button.

This also works if you want a copy of the worksheet in another workbook, as long as you arrange the two workbooks, say, side by side. Have a look at  http://www.roem.co.uk/tip_162.html for some additional information.

Tame your computer – tick all the boxes

During last week’s Word Advanced course we were looking at the quickest way to insert check boxes in a document to create a survey that could be printed and completed on paper.

Various options were brought to the table (the handouts method to insert a Check Box Form Field; Vicente’s idea to create a table with a single cell and make that cell tiny; Zuleika’s suggestion to use the bullets). But we all agreed my idea (to assign a keyboard shortcut to a check box) was the fastest.

Here’s how:

1. In version 2003: use the Symbols command from the Insert menu. In version 2007-2010: On the Insert tab, in the Symbols group, click Symbol, followed by More Symbols.
2. On the Symbols or Special Characters tab click the check box that you want to use.
3. Click on the Shortcut Key button.
4. The keyboard shortcut that is currently assigned to that symbol or character appears in the Current keys box. Press the combination of keys that you want to assign. For example, press ALT + C to assign an intuitive (at least, to me) keyboard shortcut to insert a check box, yet not overriding the useful keyboard shortcut to copy (CTRL + C).
5. Press the Assign button.
6. Press Close twice.

In future, you simply press the keyboard shortcut that you assigned rather than having to open the Symbol dialogue box.

By the way, if you need to create a form that needs to be viewed and completed in Word, it would be wise to work with form fields. If you want to know how to do this, why not book yourself a place on our next Word Advanced course scheduled for 5 August.

Tame your computer – wicked ways with Windows

Windows 7 introduced a fun new way to quickly arrange windows side-by-side, which is also very useful if you move text between applications.

Here’s how:

1. Press the Windows key + left arrow: snap the window to the left side of the screen
2. Press the Windows key + right arrow: snap the window to the right side of the screen

The Windows key is the key with the Windows/Start button logo on it, to the left of the ALT key. (Microsoft nowadays refers to it as the “Windows logo key” so I guess it’s about time I started using this new name.)

If you don’t like keyboard shortcuts as much as I do, you can simply drag the title bar of a window to the left or right side of the screen. As soon as you see an outline of the window appear you release the mouse button.

To maximize the window, press the Windows key + up arrow. (By the way, the old trick – double-clicking anywhere in the title bar – still works as well!)