Formulas In Excel: The Very Basics

Most folk will know what a formula is from their old days sat in maths lessons. It's a basic mathematical tool. Before it sounds complex, it's better to give examples - 1 plus 1 equals two. Ah, that's a formula using addition. Not so difficult or fancy, is it? The only thing to remember with excel is that you are feeding it information - the equals sign appears at the start instead of at the end, because you're telling it what formula should end up in which cell.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-606-formulas-in-excel-very-basics.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Tips On Confident Apostrophe Use

In a previous article I wrote for this site, I mentioned that some manual typewriters did not have a key that would produce an exclamation mark and to create one you had to type an apostrophe, then back space and a full stop. All of this came to an end, of course, with the development of the word-processor, when the exclamation mark was given its own key and the full stop and the apostrophe were free to go about their own jobs in the correct manner. Alas, as far as the latter is concerned, incorrect usage can be seen all around, yet if you want your work to look correct, then there are a couple of very simple rules that will help you avoid misplacing your apostrophes.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-602-tips-on-confident-apostrophe-use.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Simple Ways To Customise Excel

Back in the days of my youth self-expression wasn't the big deal it is today. A couple of go-faster stripes along the side of the car and stickers on the windscreen spelling the first names of the driver and his or her partner were about as adventurous as things got. These days, however, personalisation can be seen all around us, as the desire to express individuality has become an important factor in the lives of many people. On any street today you can see a whole spectrum of hair colours, while fantastically detailed tattoos adorn exposed flesh, and I'm sure you've all seen that TV advert for those packets of chocolates that the manufacturers proudly claim can be eaten 'your way'.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-599-simple-ways-customise-excel.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

The Benefits Of Storing Boilerplate

The term boilerplate has mixed connotations - some may envisage a hot, steamy kitchen with pans hissing and spilling over; for others it conjures up images of durable steel sheets used in the printing process to produce type which was needed to be used frequently, day in and day out and had to be embossed on a long-lasting template.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-592-the-benefits-storing-boilerplate.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Make Sure You're Word Skills Are Future Proof

If you know a smidgen about SmartArt, or a miniscule amount about macros, then you probably think you know enough to cope with any new release to Word. If you're never going to use Themes or share any documents with anyone other than two or three trusted friends, then there's not much more you need to know, is there? Wrong. Now is the time to review just what you do and don't know about Microsoft Word 2007. Then, when the next release comes along you will have the confidence to learn more about a new program.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-591-make-sure-youre-word-skills-are-future-proof.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Regenerate And Recycle With Building Blocks

You have just spent a considerable amount of time tweaking and editing your company's mission statement. Now you want to save this information and use it again in future documents, but you don't want to cut and paste from an existing file each time you need to access the text. There's the problem with time locating the original file and also with accuracy; you need to ensure you have found the correct version of the file to source from. There's also the problem of correct, but different, versions of the same text. How do you store and reuse this information without error?

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-590-regenerate-and-recycle-with-building-blocks.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Using Excel In Any Condition

Microsoft Excel 2007 is a powerful tool that can be used to help analyse vast amounts of complex data. And if you need to present complex data in a format that's easy for anyone to interpret at a glance, Excel's Conditional Formatting function can help with sorting the bears from the bulls.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-589-using-excel-in-any-condition.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Where Is Your Business Heading? Let Excel Help You To Understand!

What does a spreadsheet do? A simple enough question, really. After all, we're all familiar with the idea of a spreadsheet - they've been around for thirty years, more or less, ever since the appearance of VisiCalc in the late 70s. And their purpose is fairly straightforward; they look after (mostly numeric) information, finances, sales figures and such like. Enter in your company's important numbers, maybe set up an equation or two - the spreadsheet did calculations quicker and more accurately than using traditional accounts books, and took up less space on the shelf.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-587-where-is-your-business-heading-let-excel-help-you-understand.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Want To Use Excel To Calculate Your Mortgage Repayments?

If you borrow a lump sum over a number of years at a certain rate of interest then Excel has a financial function to help you calculate the monthly repayments. You might want to just calculate your monthly mortgage repayments or maybe you need to check how your mortgage repayments are affected by interest rate changes or by changes to the loan period? You can use Excel's PMT function to carry out these calculations.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-572-want-use-excel-calculate-your-mortgage-repayments.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Interesting Things About Charts In Excel 2003

If you've built charts in Excel 2003 then you'll appreciate you can use the Chart Wizard to build a great variety of different chart types. But did you know you can also work with charts in other ways.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-571-interesting-things-about-charts-in-excel-2003.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

So Why Are There So Many File Types In Excel 2007?

Once you start using Excel 2007 you'll need to save your normal work files. Or you might on occasions create and save a new Excel template, or you might also add a macro to your Excel file before saving it. For each of these examples Excel 2007 saves your file with a slightly different extension after the filename. (You may need to change your folder options in Windows Explorer so you can view file extensions after the filename).

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-569-so-why-are-there-so-many-file-types-in-excel-2007.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Spreadsheets: What's In A Name?

To quote Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet, "What's in a name that which we call a rose? By any other name would smell as sweet." What the famous play writer is saying is that you can change the name or label given to an object, but it doesn't change what that object is.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-567-excel-spreadsheets-whats-in-name.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Which Office Suite Is Best For You?

A panic usually ensues when you are presented with the dilemma of buying a software package, no more so than when presented with a myriad of versions of MS Office.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-556-which-office-suite-is-best-you.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Word: Speaking Of An Upgrade

"Everything is constant except change", or so the saying goes. Let's face it, most people hate change. Change is scary and takes us out of our comfort zones. No more so than when using software that we know and love. You know how it is - you go through the day happily clicking, short-cutting and winding your way effortlessly around a program because you know where everything is. It's a bit like driving home with your mind on autopilot and wondering how on earth you just got to your house so soon.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-554-word-speaking-upgrade.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Excel: From The Basic To The Advanced

Advanced users of Excel often cannot understand or comprehend why more people aren't using it for more complex tasks. Most spreadsheet software can do more than you'd probably be able to imagine, and Excel is no exception. People will spend several hundred pounds on software and perhaps use 10-20% of its features. Do they just like wasting money? Of course not. It's either because they have never been trained up to intermediate or advanced level, or were just unaware exactly what you can make Excel do for you.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-553-excel-from-basic-advanced.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

Using Word For Basic Desktop Publishing

Word is, as its name suggests, a word processor. Sounds boring, doesn't it? When most of us think of word processing, we might visualise boring reams of data entry, lists, letters, and memos. Yawn.

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-552-using-word-basic-desktop-publishing.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com

The Office Family: More Like The Waltons Than The Simpsons

I suspect that many of those reading this may be too young to answer in the affirmative, but does anyone remember watching the Waltons on television?

The full article appears here:
http://www.microsofttraining.net/article-550-the-office-family-more-like-waltons-than-simpsons.html

Regards,
The Microsoft Training Blog Team
http://microsoft-training.blogspot.com