10 MORE Secret Commands in Microsoft Office

Almost immediately after I posted my Top 10 Favorite Secret Commands in Microsoft Office, so many more came to mind… So without further ado, here are 10 more commands that go above and beyond our usual well-known commands.

Ctrl + K = Hyperlink

This command works in all your Microsoft Office programs, and other programs as well (like OU Campus!). Select your text, and rather than going through a right click menu, press Ctrl + K to access your hyperlink options.

Think about how quick this action can be if you have already copied your hyperlink, you can simply select text, Ctrl + K, Ctrl + V (paste), enter, and you are done.

Ctrl + ; = Insert Date (Excel)

This is different than the =TODAY function we talk about in Excel Advanced Formulas class. This command, Ctrl + ; does not insert a formula; rather, it inserts today’s date as stagnant text.

By the way, a similar command is Ctrl + Shift + ; to insert the current time.

Ctrl + 1, 2, 3… = Outlook Navigation

We have talked before about how Outlook has some incredible time-saving commands, and here is one of my favorites. Ctrl + (a number) will take you through the basic Outlook navigation.

Here are the basic navigation commands in Outlook:

Ctrl + 1 = Mail
Ctrl + 2 = Calendar
Ctrl + 3 = Contacts
Ctrl + 4 = Tasks
Ctrl + 5 = Notes
Ctrl + 6 = Folders
Ctrl + 7 = Shortcuts
Ctrl + 8 = Journal

So the next time you are in your mail module, and want to take a look at your calendar, try Ctrl + 2 to quickly access it!

Ctrl + Shift + < or > = Adjust Text Size (Word, PPT)

Do you want to increase a block of text by exactly one font size? In Word or PowerPoint, select your text, then try the commands Ctrl + Shift + > to increase all selected text by one font size or Ctrl + Shift + < to decrease.

Ctrl + [Drag] = Duplicate

We have talked about Ctrl + [drag] in Acrobat fillable forms, but did you know if works in Microsoft Office as well?

If you would like to duplicate a block of text in Word: select the text, hold down your Ctrl key, and with your mouse click and drag it to a new location. You will have an exact copy of the selected text.

Same story in Excel. Want to copy a block of cells? Select them, hold down the Ctrl key, and with your mouse click and drag them to their new location

One note in Excel, you will want to hover your mouse on the line of selected text, until you see the four headed arrow cursor. Otherwise, Ctrl will simply deselect one of the cells in your group, rather than move them.

Ctrl + Shift + C = Copy Formatting

Almost like the Format Painter in command format… you know that Ctrl + C is copy, but did you know that Ctrl + Shift + C copies formatting?

This will work in most of your Microsoft Office programs. Select the text you would like to copy, and press Ctrl + Shift + C.

Select the text where you would like to copy the formatting, and press Ctrl + Shift + V. The Format Painter as a command, how cool!

Ctrl + Alt + V = Paste Special

Ctrl + V is paste, and we just learned that Ctrl + Shift + V is use when copying formatting… here is another paste option: Ctrl + Alt + V will Paste Special. This will work in most of your Microsoft Office programs.

Frequently used in Excel, but also when transferring Excel data to Word… Select your data and copy (Ctrl + C), select the new location and press Ctrl + Alt + V to access Paste Special options.

Ctrl + Shift + $ = Currency Format (Excel)

There is nothing wrong with selecting a number format from the ribbon, but if you know you want currency, it could speed things up considerably to select your cells and press Ctrl + Shift + $.

Ctrl + Shift + ! and beyond= Number Formats (Excel)

While you are looking at the numbers on your keyboard, try out a few more. Ctrl + Shift + ! will give you a standard Number format. Ctrl + Shift + % will give you percentages, and so on. Test out a few, and see if there are number formats you find yourself reaching for regularly.

Alt + F = File Tab

The Alt commands are a powerful tool in Microsoft Office. Alt will take you to the ribbon in your Office programs, and there are so many paths you can learn and memorize from there. Here is a great one to get you started:

Alt + F will take you to the File menu.

From here, notice the highlighted letters letters on top of popular commands. S for Save, P for Print and so on…

Even if you don’t end up falling in love with all the Alt commands in the ribbon, Alt + F is an easy one to learn and utilize.

Thoughts?

What do you think, will you use these shortcuts to save time in Microsoft Office?

Congratulations, Power Users!

Congratulations to our newest Power Users! For the full gallery, and more information about the WSU Microsoft Office Power User Program, please visit: wichita.edu/poweruser

Stephanie Versch (Picture coming soon!)

Word: The Spike Feature

Have you ever heard of the Spike feature in Word? If you are shaking your head, you are not alone… it is not well known. This is a handy hidden feature that could be an enormous help to you if you are copying and combining separate pieces of data. It is kind of like your clipboard, but if utilized properly, can be a lot faster. Let’s check it out.

The Scenario

The best uses for Spike involves the need to move and combine separate blocks of text. In the example below, we want all the important, highlighted text to be pulled together at a separate location, removing it from the extemporaneous paragraphs. We could copy and paste three times, or we can utilize the Spike to do it all at once…

Step 1: Cut Content to Spike

Start by selecting the first piece of information to be moved. With that text selected, press Ctrl + F3 on your keyboard.

It will appear that this text has disappeared, but it has been cut to a special location… and if its disappearance bothers you, ctrl+ z (undo) would bring it back.

Repeat this step with the second and third important piece of information. Now you will be left with only extemporaneous information.

Step 2: Paste Content from Spike

There are a several options to paste this content, and none of them involve the usual methods. All of these techniques will paste the entire contents that you previously cut to the Spike.

The First Method: Type “Spike”

Note: This method will not clear out what you have stored in the Spike, and as you cut more items to the Spike, it will be added to existing content.

Place your cursor where you would like the text to go
Type the word “Spike”; you will need to type slowly and you will see some helper text appear above the word.
Press enter to insert the text.

The Second Method: QuickParts

You can also paste content from your QuickParts… this method will also not clear the contents of the Spike.

Place your cursor in the desired location.
Go to the Insert tab
Select QuickParts
Hover over AutoText
Select Spike.

The Third Method: Ctrl + Shift + F3

This method will clear out what has been store in the Spike as well as paste the joined contents in a new location.

Place your cursor in the desired location
Press Ctrl + Shift + F3 on your keyboard.

Remember, if you picked one of the first two methods, at some point you will need to do this last method to clear the contents of the Spike.

Function Keys

It is worth mentioning, as a lot of us are working from laptops at the moment… Since you have to incorporate a function key (F3), remember that you may have to activate your function keys for this, or any function key feature, to work. Many laptops have keys that serve dual purpose as function keys and other features, like volume or brightness.

Look for a key that says “Fn” to toggle on the function keys.

Thoughts?

What do you think? Do you have a use for the Spike feature in your Word documents?

Congratulations, Power Users!

Congratulations to our newest Power Users! For the full gallery, and more information about the WSU Microsoft Office Power User Program, please visit: wichita.edu/poweruser

Susan Norton (picture coming soon!)

Outlook: Free Up Space FAST by Taming Large Emails

Sometimes archiving just doesn’t do the trick. Your mailbox is full, you archive, and still find yourself close to the precipice of another notification that you will need to free up space. So you go through old emails, deleting hundreds of junk mails, only to see the tiniest bit of space free up. What is going on? Well… the culprit is usually not the hundreds of text-only junk emails, but rather a handful of very large emails. Here is how you can isolate those large emails, and free up space FAST by contending with those large beasts in your mailbox.

Method 1: Sort

At the top right of your email list, notice that your default is to sort emails by Date. This is usually what you want, but for the moment, you want to find your largest emails.

Click on this dropdown, and select Size.

Notice how this organizes your mailbox. Your emails are separated into:

Huge: 10-25 MB emails
Very Large: 5-10 MB emails
Large: 1-5 MB emails
Medium: 25KB – 1 MB emails
Small: 10-25KB emails.

This is often an “aha!” moment for people. You might discover, for instance, that a newsletter you receive weekly is the culprit for the size inflation in your inbox. Perhaps you forgot about how a month ago a large quantity of pictures were sent to you, and so on.

Combing through and deleting a handful of your Huge and Very Large emails can free up tons of space in no time.

Method 2: Incorporate a Search Folder

Search Folders are not a new topic in Office Bytes… See this article for more: Outlook Search Folders and Smart Folders. Long story short, you can create a variety of search folders to create a window into a search in your Outlook program, and Large Mail is an excellent option if you want to keep an eye on large emails long term.

1. On the left side of the screen, scroll down to Search Folder. It is usually toward the bottom of your screen.

2. Right click and select New Search Folder.

3. In the popup, scroll down to Large Mail. Customize this folder further by choosing a size at the bottom. Press OK.

4. Now you will have a handy folder on the left side of your Outlook screen that you can access any time to keep track of large emails.

You can delete emails from either your sorted inbox view, or from the Search Folder you created.

Don’t Forget to Empty Deleted Items!

Don’t forget, those items you delete will sit in your deleted items folder and continue to take up space in your Office account until you empty the folder.

One way to do this is to right click on the Deleted Items folder, and select Empty Folder.

Remove Large Attachments

Perhaps you have found a large email; and while you still wish to hold on to the email itself, the attachment is no longer necessary, or has already been downloaded. Another option you might consider is removing the attachments from large emails.

1. Select the email message.

2. Click on the dropdown next to the attachment, or click on the attachment. Do not double click, as this will open the attachment, just a single click to select it.

3. In either the dropdown, or in the Attachments contextual tab that appears when you select the attachment, select Remove Attachment.

Thoughts?

What do you think? Will this clear up some space in your Inbox? I did this last week, and cleared out almost 2 GB in about fifteen minutes. I was shocked to discover that an image laden newsletter I had been receiving weekly was the primary culprit.

Congratulations, Power Users!

Congratulations to our newest Power Users! For the full gallery, and more information about the WSU Microsoft Office Power User Program, please visit: wichita.edu/poweruser

Excel: Remove All Blank Rows in a Document

There are two things that are the kryptonite in an otherwise perfect Excel document: merged cells and blank rows. We have already tackled merged cells, so today I want to focus on blank rows. People commonly insert blank rows for stylistic reasons, but here’s the thing: don’t. It may feel like you are making your document more readable, but really you are making it less functional. Let’s take a look.

The Trouble with Blank Rows

If you are plagued by blank rows in your documents, you may be experiencing a variety of issues. Look at the example below… this is the concert promoter example we use in our PivotTables session.

In this scenario, however, the concert promoter has decided that it would help him/her visually to separate out each event with a blank row.

So, what’s the problem? For one, when Excel arrives at a blank row, it thinks you have finished your thought. This manifests in many inconveniences. For instance:

AutoFill Issues

What if we decide to insert a formula in a subsequent column? We learn about utilizing AutoFill with formulas in Advanced Formulas, so we hover our mouse in the lower right until we see the AutoFill Handle and double click…

… Only to find that Excel stops at the blank row. In a document with 5,000 rows and numerous blank rows, you probably don’t want to have to manually autofill every time you insert a new formula…

PivotTables and Tables

How about creation of Tables and PivotTables? We know to put our cursor in the middle of the data and let Excel select all the information that will create our PivotTable or Table, but look what happens when we have a blank row… the Table selection will stop just shy of that first blank row. And even if you override this, you are stuck with numerous “blank” results. Not fun.

Other Examples

Sort and Filter, chart creation, and many more features will just not work properly with blank rows. When you really want to work with your data, you will discover so many more examples. Usually people call me at this point, thinking they are “bad at Excel,” when really they are doing everything right to create a PivotTable, or sort data, it is just those blank rows getting in their way.

So now that you want to remove all the blank rows in your document, what should you do?

Removing All Blank Rows

Of course, you could highlight each row by hand and delete them one by one, but an example that came up last week was a person with a 2000 row document that contained numerous blank rows sprinkled throughout. If this is the case for you, here is how you can remove all blank rows in your document in one fell swoop:

1. Select all the data in your document. There are several ways to do this, but one quick was is to click on the Select All button: the triangle above your first row (pictured below).

2. On your Home tab, Editing group, select the Find & Select dropdown. Select Go To Special

3. In the Go To Special screen, select the radio button next to Blanks. Press OK.

4. This will highlight all your blank rows. Quick note: if you see too much content selected, hold down your Ctrl key and click to deselect. For instance, sometimes this feature will select the blank column to the right of your data, and you can deselect the entire column of data this way (Ctrl + select column).

5. With these blank rows selected, go to the Home tab, Cells group. Select the Delete dropdown, and select Delete Sheet Rows.

All the selected blank rows will be deleted. So much better! You can now enjoy a happy and carefree life, now that you are free from the restrictions of blank rows!

Thoughts?

Will this save you some trouble in any of your documents? I would love to hear how you use this!

Congratulations, Power Users!

Congratulations to our newest Power Users! For the full gallery, and more information about the WSU Microsoft Office Power User Program, please visit: wichita.edu/poweruser

Faye O’Reilly
(Picture coming soon!)