Tips and Tricks

Improved Out of Office Assistant in Outlook

Going on vacation?  Outlook's Out of Office Assistant will send automatic responses to emails with a message of your choice.  If you are using Microsoft Exchange Server 2007 with Outlook 2003 or Outlook 2007, an improved Out of Office Assistant allows you to send separate replies to internal and external contacts. You can also schedule when your out-of-office replies turn on and off. That way, you won't forget to turn them on when you leave, and your coworkers won't have to remind you to turn them off once you return.
To use the improved Out of Office Assistant, click the "Tools" menu, and then click "Out of Office Assistant."

Changing Default File Locations in Microsoft Office

Many users find that they tend to open files from the same folder on their computer. If that Windows Vista folder isn't Documents (My Documents in Windows XP), you can change the folder that displays when you want to open or save a file in Microsoft Word, Excel, or PowerPoint 2007. Here’s how:

1. Click the “Office” button.
2. Click the "[Word/Excel/PowerPoint] Options” button.
3. In the left column, click “Save.”
4. Browse to the desired location in the “Default file location” box.

Smarter Navigation in Microsoft Word

You might already know that in Microsoft Word, the up-and-down double arrows below the vertical scroll bar will page up and down through an open document. However, you might not know that you can use the “Select Browse Object” button (the little dot) below the vertical scroll bar to change the function of the double-arrow buttons as well as the CTRL+PAGE UP and CTRL+PAGE DOWN keyboard shortcuts. You can, for example, choose to browse by heading, meaning that the buttons will automatically move the cursor up or down to the next heading. Other choices include browsing by footnote, endnote, comment, graphic, or table.

Upgrade Old Documents to Office 2007 Versions

If you are running Office 2007 and receive a document from a colleague who is not yet running Office 2007, it will automatically open in Compatibility Mode. However, not all of the new features will be available to you. When you close the document, it will be saved in its original format, not in the format of the 2007 release.

To upgrade the file to Office 2007 format:

1. Click the “Office” button, and then click “Convert.”
2. In the dialog box that appears, click “OK.”
3. Click the “Office” button and select “Save.”

Note: You should make a backup copy of the file before you upgrade it. Also, to see when you are working in Compatibility Mode, look at the top of the screen. The phrase “Compatibility Mode” will appear in brackets to the right of the file name.