Outlook Send a Message to a Category

I've shown how to use the Category feature in the past; but other than sorting, some users aren't sure how else to use this feature.

Let's say you've setup a Category for your son's sports team.  When you need to send a message to the team, simply filter your Outlook Contacts by typing the Category name in the "Look For" field and press "Enter."



When the names in the Category appear, press "CTRL A" to select all of the contacts.  Choose "Actions" from the menu and select the "New Message to Contact" option.

All email addresses within the Category appear in the "To" field of a new email message window.

Type your Subject Line and email message and press the "Send" button.

It's that simple!

Excel Quick Tip

Press "CTRL ~" to display all formulas.

Not only does this provide a quick view of the formula in the first cell, but it shows all formulas in the entire spreadsheet.  This can be used to quickly see information without having to scroll to the cell and view the formula in the formula bar.

Press "CTRL ~" again to hide the formulas and return to the standard view.

Outlook Calendar Tip

I've shown many different ways of changing the appearance of Outlook; but this one is easy and used by many people I've trained over the years - I just had to share it with everyone.

When using the Calendar in Outlook, the default time periods are 30 minute intervals.  But, what if you have appointments or other scheduled items that need to be broken down into 15 minute intervals?

Follow this tip to learn how.

With the Calendar open, simply right-click in any blank area.

Select the "Other Settings" menu item.



Click on the "Time Scale" drop down arrow and select the time interval you want to appear.

Notice the interval options are from 1 to 60 minutes.  Personalize Outlook's Calendar to fit your needs.

Click on the "OK" button to save the changes.

It's that simple.

NOTE:  The only views that show the new time intervals are the "Day" and "Work Week."  Or any other personalized views that show the default intervals.

Word 2007 Spacing Tip

Joe, of Aeroflex asks, "I have a Word 2007 document and I want to see the spacing above the first line at the top of each page.  Some of the pages show the space and some do not."
Thanks for your question Joe!

Yes, Word 2007 is a bit different than previous versions of Word and the best way to add spacing above the first line at the top of each page is to use Styles.

The styles are located on the "Home" tab.  Preset styles, such as Headers, will add spacing above the line.  If you do not like any of the preset styles, simply click on the drop down arrow (the very bottom on the scroll bar - it says "More" when you hover the mouse over it) and select "Apply Styles."

In the window that appears, you may select a style to base your new style on and then select the "Modify" button.

This takes you to the old window for Style Formatting.  Change any formatting you would like by clicking on the "Format" button at the bottom of the window.

Click "OK" until you return to the document and the new style will be added to the Style Gallery.

There is the possibility of using paragraph formatting as well.  I'll cover this in next week's email.

I hope this helps!
If you have a question, simply click here to send me your questions.  I'll post as many answers as I can in the following Tips e-mail.

Excel 2007 Watch Window

If you're like many Excel fanatics, you probably deal with large spreadsheets and multiple cells containing formulas.

Excel 2007 has a great new feature that lets you "watch" cell contents as they change.  If numbers are added, subtracted, and changed, these specific cells are probably something you'd have to remember to review in previous versions of Excel.

To turn on the "Watch Window," follow these steps.

Highlight the cells you want to "Watch."

Click on the "Formula" tab and select the "Watch Window" button in the "Formula Auditing" group.

Click on the "Add Watch" button.

Since the cells were highlighted, simply click on the "OK" button and the cells will be added to the "Watch Window."



Now when you make changes to the spreadsheet, the "Watch Window" shows you the changes to the cells you added to the list.

If you accidentally close the "Watch Window," simply click on the "Formula" tab and then the "Watch Window" button to open it again.

Word 2007 Tip

Do you use the Highlighter in Word? Highlighting in Word can be helpful for pointing out certain words and phrases; but it doesn't print very well.

There is a somewhat simple way to hide the Highlighter for printing.

Click on the "Office" button and select the "Word Options" button.

Click on "Display" on the left menu.

Clear the "Show Highlighters" checkbox.



Click on the "OK" button to save the changes and return to your document.

The Highlighters are now hidden.  Print as needed.

Remember to repeat the steps above to unhide the Highlighters.  This time select the "Show Highlighters" checkbox.

Excel 2007 Quick Tip

Many of you have seen the improvements made in Excel 2007; but most users have still not learned all of the handy new features.

One of these new features is located in the "Recent Documents" area.

We've all seen the recent documents list and I've shown ways to change the number of recent documents as well as turning them on and off.

But, did you know you can "Pin" specific documents to the "Recent Documents" list?

To do so, simply click on the "Office" button to bring up the "Recent Documents" list.

Move the mouse to the spreadsheet you want to keep on this list permanently and click on the "Pin" icon on the right side of the spreadsheet name.

See image below.



The spreadsheet will remain on the list as more spreadsheets are added.

HINT:  This is an Office 2007 feature and may be used in Word 2007, PowerPoint 2007, etc.

To "unpin" the spreadsheet, simply click on the "Pin" icon again to "unpin" the spreadsheet from the list.