Tips - December 8, 2010

Make Faster Deletions in Word Using the Control Key
"Print to Fit" in Excel 2007
Enter Text the Easy Way in PowerPoint 2007!
Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

Make Faster Deletions in Word Using the Control Key

When deleting text from documents, some users select the text and press "Delete," while others simply hold down the "Delete" or "Backspace" keys until the unwanted text disappears. If you are in the latter group, you might be interested in the following shortcut.

To speed up your deletions, you can press "Ctrl + Delete" to delete text from the insertion point to the end of the next word. For instance, if you want to delete four words to the right, place your cursor at the end of the word you want to keep, and press "Ctrl + Delete" four times. Likewise, pressing "Ctrl + Backspace" will delete words to the left of the insertion point.

"Print to Fit" in Excel 2007

Need to fit a printout onto a certain number of worksheet pages in Excel 2007? Follow these steps:

  1. Click the "Page Layout" tab on the Ribbon.

  2. In the "Scale to Fit" section, in the "Width" box, type or select the number of pages you want the printout to span horizontally.

  3. In the "Height" box in the same section, type or select the number of pages you want the printout to span vertically.


Try this useful tip for printing a long spreadsheet! If you set the width equal to 1 and the height to "Automatic," the spreadsheet will span as many pages as necessary lengthwise, but will be restricted to one page in width.

Enter Text the Easy Way in PowerPoint 2007!

Here is a simple way to enter text onto your PowerPoint slides:

  1. Start a new presentation or insert a new slide into an existing one.

  2. Press "Ctrl + Enter" to select the Title placeholder for editing. Enter your title text.

  3. Press "Ctrl + Enter" again to select the Body Text placeholder for editing. Enter your body text or bullet points.

  4. Press "Ctrl + Enter" again. Since there are no more text placeholders on the current slide, this will create a new slide and select the Title placeholder for editing, allowing you to immediately enter the new title.


Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

If you have recently switched from Windows XP to Windows 7, you will have noticed that things look different, and some things aren't where they used to be. To help with the transition, here are a few tips for the new Windows 7 interface:


  • Taskbar: In Windows 7, the Taskbar for running programs has been combined with Windows XP's "Quick Launch" toolbar. Programs can be "pinned" to the Taskbar for quick access by
    1. clicking on the Windows Start menu (looks like an "orb"), 
    2. locating the program in All Programs,
    3. dragging it to the Taskbar (or by right-clicking on the program and selecting "Pin to Taskbar"). When the program is open, you will see a highlighted square or "glass window" around it in the Taskbar.

  • Jump Lists: When you right-click on an icon in the Taskbar, whether for a program that is open or closed, you will see a "Jump List," which is a list of recent documents or sites opened by that program. "My Recent Documents" no longer appears under the Start menu as it did in XP, but Jump Lists are even better! If you want a site or a document to always appear in a Jump List, click the pushpin icon to the right of the item to pin it to the top of the list.

  • Search: Search is available from the Start menu and in any open folder. Just type a word or phrase in the Search box, and within seconds, a list of folders and files containing the search term will appear. The scope of the search is shown in the search box before you start typing. For instance, the search box in the Documents library says "Search Documents." The Start menu search box says "Search programs and files," and serves as a good starting point for finding anything on your computer, including the "Run…" application.
  • Shortcut Keys: Most key combinations that worked in Windows XP, such as "Alt + Tab" to switch between open windows, still work. But many new shortcuts have been added, including "Windows key + Tab," which switches between programs using the "Aero Flip 3D" interface. Visit http://windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/Keyboard-shortcuts  to see a complete list of keyboard shortcuts.

Stay tuned for more tips on Windows 7 and Office 2010!