your favourite ms office process or tool

[StealthPolarBear]

I expect this thread to run to thousands of posts :)

Access compact and repair. Lovely.

Powerpoint 2007 has a superb function where you can use any image as the 'colour' of the text. It's awesome for displays, signs, cards, scrapbooks... Primary teachers adore it.

Format
Text Effects
Picture or Texture Fill

So Microsoft removed it from Powerpoint 2010

My DH will never be allowed to upgrade his PC as it's the only one in the house with this capability!

You know you can fill a chart with pictures, don't you?

Just used that on my 2007 PowerPoint, eco - it's brilliant! You have to use WordArt though, don't you?

Imperial Ooh no, didn't knowabout the charts - will have a play!

The Powerpoint text fill works on any text, not just WordArt. It's great for big fat letters for school displays, bedroom walls, birthday 'bunting', etc. I'm doing my own Jubilee lettering with the Union Flag.

I know about remove duplicates in excel but can someone tell me how to highlight duplicates?

Imperial I'm talking about sumifS not sumif which has indeed been ariun forever. Sumifs allows you to use multiple criteria.

*around. Terrible typing sorry! Why does autocorrect only replace words if you don't need it to, but misses words when you do!!!

trixy, don't tell me that just before I go to sleep! Now I have to go and experiment.

Sorry, I thought the S was a plural.

Please tell me you're not looking at functions in excel at 11.45 on a Friday night?

Really? This thread? 136 posts? Madness......

I feel I am missing something and should spend more time on spreadsheets/tables/word processing......

nooo don't do it, you'll be hooked :o

I love excel but don't get to use it much at work

In word I love

Mailmerge

having the clipboard at the side of the screen

but best of all for me in my current job is autotext. if there is a phrase or block of text you use repeatedly you highlight it and save it as a building block in autotext. Then whenever you type the first few letters of that text, word offers the rest to you and enters it if you press enter. Or you can open the autotext box and find it quickly.

I write to hundreds of different companies but often the same ones crop up again and again and this means I can get enter the address v quickly and also there is no chance of error. I also use it for different signatures at the end of letters - I just put the first four letters of the name and press enter and the whole thing appears.

also meant to say this is an excellent thread

ooh going to try autotext

there are a number of words we use that Word doen't recognise so every time I use them I have to doube check I'm spelling them right (I'm not able to add to dictionary). This would help.

Ah, pencils, that autotext thing brings back memories of workplace hilarity when you'd sabotage your boss's pc by creating some subtle but annoying autotexts while he wasn't looking!

My favourite is F12 for 'save as'. All you nerds will know it already but I'm always amazed by how many people don't.

I didn't
and in fact when we got 2007 with a button instead of a file menu I spent HOURS looking for sodding save as

Please please move to geeky stuff so this doesn't disappear

Then I'll share mine ...,

Too many.
the one that really annoyed me when it went missing in Word 2007 was Clipboard. Worked out how to add it back in though.
I also prefer to do any layouts in Word 2003 than 2007 because it's easier to control the pictures.
The Draw toolbar - Edit points. Means you can actually create the shape you need to!
Ctrl Z - set options to 99 - makes drawing stuff much easier.

I spent a lot of time learning how to use Word to create diagrams and do layouts - this was in Office 98 (or whatever incarnation was pre-2003) - it was time well spent in the end.

SPB - if it's any consolation - it took me ages to work out that the windows button was how you got to your drop-down list of files...

Ah, my spiritual home too.
Pivot tables - tick
Vlookup - tick
Concatenate - tick
Mail merge - tick

Need to try some of the ones I've not heard of, though.

My most recent sad triumph was figuring out how to print two of each label before moving onto the next record (move the field). Made a job SO much easier!

yes ,I didn't realise that was a proper button you could use - assumed it was just a pretty squiggle

I remember being infuriated by that button instead for the File menu in 2007 too SPB. We're on 2010 now, I've got all the save etc on a toolbar, but can't remember if they were there by default or I had to customise the view.

The one I need to put back up is the Create New Blank Document Button, I find it irritating having to go through several clicks now instead of just one button. I also don't like the process for printing. I'm going to have to go and put my laptop on in a minute and have a play (on a Mac right now). I also don't find it as easy to customise toolbars etc as it used to be. Having said all that, if you can find what you need, the functionality of 2010 is far better than 2003, 2007 was my least favourite, worst of both worlds.

I have been on various threads saying I'm not particularly smitten with my Mac (this has generally been greeted with gasps of horror). I think partly it's because Word and Excel for Mac are so dire compared to the PC Versions. Also I love all this tweaking and tinkering and Macs just don't seem to be intended to be used that way. .

Ctrl-N creates a new blank office document

Ooh! Autotext. I've not needed it for a while, but loved it when I did. Whole phrases in a few keystrokes!