New Tech Tips will be posted weekly beginning August 1.
Tech Tip Week #29
More with Google
To see a definition for a word or phrase, simply type the word "define," then a space, and then the word(s) you want defined. If Google has seen a definition for the word or phrase on the Web, it will retrieve that information and display it at the top of your search results.
You can also get a list of definitions by including the special operator "define:" with no space between it and the term you want defined. For example, the search [define:World Wide Web] will show you a list of definitions for "World Wide Web" gathered from various online sources. |
Tech Tip Week #28
Using Google as a Conversion Tool!
Have you ever need a to make a quick conversion, feet to inches, miles to meters??? Just go to Google.com and follow these instructions.
1. In the search window, type the conversion you want to make.
(Be sure to use the word "in".)
Example: 2 feet in inches
1 mile in meters
100 dollars in euros
72 c in f
2. Click the Google Search Button
3. The answer will appear in the next screen.
Tech Tip Week #27
Creating Hyperlinks within Microsoft Word
ANYTHING in Word can be hyperlinked – to another document, to the Internet or to another program by selecting the word(s) or picture(s) to become a link and then clicking on the Insert Hyperlink Button  located on the Standard Toolbar.
Tech Tip Week #26
Creating Interactive Forms using the Forms Tools:
1. Turn on the “Forms Toolbar” (View>Toolbars>Forms) |
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2. Click on your document where you want to have an interactive element (like a check box) |
3. Select this element from the Forms Toolbar  , and the element will be placed there. |
4. To have a Dropdown List  you will follow the same steps (click where it goes in the document and then click on the tool) NOTE: You can then add the contents of the dropdown box (as well as configure it) by
selecting the options tool or by double clicking on the element. |
5. You will need to PROTECT your form for it to be used. This can be done by clicking on the lock on the toolbar or by protecting the document with a password (so students can’t change it) by going to the Tools menu, selecting “Protect Document” and then forms… |
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Tech Tip Week #25
Using keyboard shortcuts to accomplish certain tasks in Microsoft Office can help you me a more efficient user. Learn these basic shortcuts and everyone will think you are a pro!
Aligning Text |
Formatting Text |
Miscellaneous |
Filing/Saving/Printing Documents |
Left Align = CTRL+L |
Bold = CTRL +B |
Double Space = CTRL+2 |
New = CTRL+N |
Right Align = CTRL+R |
Italics = CTRL+I |
Select All = CTRL+A |
Open = CTRL+O |
Justify Align = CTRL+J |
Underline = CTRL+U |
Thesaurus = SHIFT+F7 |
Save = CTRL+S |
Center Align = CTRL+E |
Remove Formatting = CTRL+Q |
F4 repeats the previous action |
Print = CTRL+P |
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Undo = CTRL+Z |
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Editing Text |
Navigating in Document |
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Cut Text = CTRL+X |
Top of Document = CTRL+Home |
Beginning of Line = Home key |
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Copy Text = CTRL+C |
Bottom of Document = CTRL+End |
End of Line = End key |
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Paste Text = CTRL+V |
Switch between open documents = ALT+Tab |
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Tech Tip Week #24
Have you ever wanted to add a slide from one PowerPoint Presentation into another? With PowerPoint, you can do this easily. To insert slides from another presentation do the following:
1. Open the presentation that you would like to insert slides to.
2. Navigate to the slide before the place where you would like to place the inserted slide.
3. Click the Insert menu and select Slides from Files from the menu that appears.
4. Click the Browse… button.
5. Navigate to the presentation that has the slide you want to insert. Click to select it, and click the Open button.
6. From the display of slides, click the slide you would like to insert.
7. Click Insert.
8. Select more slides to insert and click the Insert button, or click the Close button.
Tip: You can click the “Insert All” button to insert all the slides from the presentation
Tech Tip Week #23
When you tell Word to include page numbers in your headers or footers, Word starts numbering from page 1 and displays Arabic numerals such as 1, 3, and 49. If you want to number your pages differently (for example, numbering them as i, ii, iii, or a, b, c), or if you want Word to make 39 the first page number in your document, you have to use the Page Number Format button on the Header and Footer toolbar.
To use the Page Number Format button, follow these steps:
1. Choose View > Header and Footer. The Header and Footer toolbar appears.
2. Highlight the page numbers that appear in your Header (or Footer) text box.
3. The page number appears shaded gray. If page numbers do not appear in your Header (or Footer) text box, click the Insert Page Number button on the Header and Footer toolbar, and then highlight the number that appears.
4. Click the Format Page Number icon on the Header and Footer toolbar.
5. The Page Number Format dialog box appears, offering ways to change the way Word displays numbers or starts numbering in your header or footer.
6. Click in the Number Format list box and choose a page numbering style (such as 1, 2, 3 or i, ii, iii).
7. In the Page Numbering group, click one of the following radio buttons:
*Continue from Previous Section: Numbers pages sequentially.
*Start At: Lets you define the starting page number as a number other than 1.
8. Click OK.
Tech Tip Week #22
In Microsoft Word 2003, you can easily create a tri-fold pamphlet or brochure. It's really just a regular sheet of paper turned long-ways (landscape) and folded twice.
To turn a document long-ways, follow these steps:
1. Choose File > Page Setup.
2. Select the Landscape option from the Orientation area.
NOTE: Make sure that the Whole Document menu option is selected in the Apply To drop-down list.
3. Click OK.
To make the three columns for the brochure, follow these steps:
1. Choose Format > Columns.
2. Select Three from the Presets list. Make sure that the Whole Document menu option is selected in the Apply To drop-down list.
3. Click OK.
Tech Tip Week #21
Converting PowerPoint presentations to Microsoft Word documents is easy, and here are a few reasons to do so.
- To combine the presentation with more detailed content from elsewhere and create a report.
- To send a presentation-in-review document to your boss so that they can send it to their boss.
- To create training materials in Word from existing PowerPoint content.
To make the conversion happen, follow these steps:
1. Open your PowerPoint presentation and choose File, Send To, Microsoft (Office) Word.
2. Select a page layout.
3. If what you need isn't available, just choose the one closest to what you require; you can edit the layout later in Word.
4. Select either the Paste or Paste Link option. The Paste option creates thumbnails of the slides inside Word; the Paste Link option creates links to the actual slides. The Paste and Paste Link options are grayed out if you choose the Outline Only option.
5. Click OK and PowerPoint fires up Word.
6. Word shows you a nicely formatted document that contains the slides or the outline.
7. In Word, Choose File, Save if everything looks okey-dokey.
Tech Tip Week #20
 Paintbrush tool: copies and pastes the formatting of select word or words whose form you wish to replicate. Click the paintbrush tool and load it by dragging across the formatting you wish to duplicate then “paint” the format onto the word(s) whose format you wish to change.
Tech Tip Week #19
Microsoft Office Selection QuickTips:
Double-click will select a word
Triple-click will select a paragraph
Control-click will select a sentence
Tech Tip Week #18
Comments: Comments, either written or verbal can be added using the “add comment” tool. This tool may be accessed from the Reviewing Toolbar as shown below or by clicking Insert > Comment.
Tech Tip Week #17
Printing Tip – Shrink to Fit: To make a couple of “straggling lines” fit on the page:
Go to File > Menu and choose “Print Preview” (or click the Print Preview button on the Standard Toolbar). While in Print Preview, Click on the “Shrinkto-fit” icon  and it will TRY to make it fit on the page.
This is a great tool to use when writing business letters and your closing remarks end up on a seperate page!
Tech Tip Week #16
It's that time of year again and we are all busy preparing our students and families for the big day. Christmas cards and gift tags are two things that 1) take up a lot of time, or 2) I never have enough of. One way to streamline this process is by printing your own gift tags, envelopes or labels. Hopefully these instructions will help make this wonderful season less stressful.
Creating Personalized Holiday Return Address Labels - Using purchased labels
1. Open a new Microsoft Word document
2. Go to Tools > Letters and Mailings > Envelopes and Labels > Labels > Options > Select the size labels you have purchased > click OK > check to see that "Entire page of Same Label" is selected > New Document
3. If you want clip art, go to Insert > ClipArt and search for your favorite seasonal graphic.
- Click Insert for your selected graphic.
- Once the graphic is inserted into the first label, click the graphic and change the layout to Square (Use the Picture toolbar)
4. Click immediately to the right of the graphic and type your address information.
5. Go to Tools > Letters and Mailings > Envelopes and Labels > your should see your address information in the text area. Click New Document and it's magic, you now have a full sheet of personalized holiday labels.
6. Be sure your purchased labels are inserted in your printer before clicking print.
Tech Tip Week #15
Printing Tip – Shrink to Fit: To make a couple of “straggling lines” fit on the page:
1. Go to File and choose “Print Preview” (or click the Print Preview button on the Standard Toolbar).
2. While in Print Preview, Click on the “Shrink-to-fit”  icon and it will TRY to make it fit on the page.
Tech Tip Week #14
Simply use the arrow keys to navigate to where you want to go in the document. Press and hold the Shift key down and use the arrows keys to highlight the text you want. Then you can apply formatting to the text, copy it, type over it or delete it.
Tech Tip Week #13
Are you totally irritated each time you insert a drawing object(any graphic you draw or insert and that can be edited) into Word, and the drawing canvas is placed around it! Some people refer to it as a jail but the drawing canvas is supposed to help you arrange your drawing in a document, and it works great if your drawing consists of several shapes. If this canvas irritates you as much as it does me, just turn it off.
To turn off the drawing canvas
1. Go to the Tools menu, click Options
2. Click the General tab
3. Under the General options, deselect the last option, Automatically create drawing canvas when inserting AutoShapes.
Tech Tip Week #12
By default, MSWord aligns tables with your left margin. For the most part, that looks just fine. But sometimes you can get your table a little more attention if you center it on the page. Here's how:
1. Position your cursor anywhere within the table.
2. Choose Table > Select Table. (or click the select table pop up button)
3. Press Ctrl + E, or click the Center Align button on your formatting toolbar.
Word centers the table between the left and right margins. Note that it does NOT center the table text within the table's cells--that's why we selected the table and not just the text within the table.
Tech Tip Week #11
To print out a list of the Web pages listed under your Internet Explorer's Favorites menu, follow these steps:
1. Click Start > Programs >Internet Explorer.
2. On Internet Explorer's File menu, choose Import and Export.
3. In the Import/Export Wizard, click on Next.
4. Click on Export Favorites and then click on Next.
5. Click on Favorites -- the topmost folder -- and click on Next.
6. Click on Export to a File or Address, check the path shown and if necessary, type C:\MY DOCUMENTS\BOOKMARK.HTM in the Export to a File or Address box, and then click on Next.
7. Click on Finish and then click on OK.
8. Quit Internet Explorer.
9. Open the My Documents folder on your desktop and open your newly created BOOKMARK.HTM file. (It opens in Internet Explorer.)
10. On Internet Explorer's File menu, choose Print. Click in the little check box marked Print table of links and click on OK.
Tech Tip Week #10
Windows's Character Map lets you add foreign characters, such as à, [sterling], or even ß, into your document.
Character Map makes it so easy to give your documents that extra shine à la belle étoile. To get there, click Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Character Map and follow these steps to put a foreign character in your work:
1. Make sure that the current font — the name for the style of the characters on the page — shows in the Font box. If the current font is not showing, click the down arrow and click the font when it appears in the drop-down list.
2. Scan the Character Map box until you see the symbol you're after; then pounce on that character with a double-click. The symbol appears in the Characters to Copy box.
3. Click Copy to send the character to the Clipboard.
4. Click the Close button to close the Character Map.
5. Click in the document where you want the new symbol or character to appear.
6. Press Ctrl+V, and the new character pops right in there. (Give it a second. Sometimes it's slow.)
The symbols in the Character Map box are easier to see if you hold down the mouse button and move the pointer over them.
When working with foreign words, keep the Character Map handy as an icon, ready for consultation.
For some fun symbols, switch to the Wingdings font. It's full of little doodads to spice up your work.
You can grab several characters at a time by double-clicking each of them and then copying them into your work as a chunk. You don't have to keep returning to the Character Map for each one
Tech Tip Week #9
Do you want to get to the desktop in a flash? Hold down the Windows Key ( next to the Ctrl and Alt key on most keyboards) and press M. You may also use the Quick Launch Tool Bar if it is active. The Quick Launch Tool Bar is located to the right of the Start button. Click the desktop icon to minimize all open windows and return to your desktop. This immediately minimizes all windows you have open and brings you to the desktop.
Tech Tip Week #8
Do you have a web site you visit often? You can easily create a shortcut on your desktop for it. Locate the web page in Internet Explorer and find the small blue "e" icon next the the site's address (URL). Drag the icon to your desktop and you have an instant shortcut.
Tech Tip Week #7
By default, Word aligns tables with your left margin. For the most part, that looks just fine. But sometimes you can get your table a little more attention if you center it on the page. Here's how:
1. Position your cursor anywhere within the table.
2. Choose Table + Select Table.
3. Press Ctrl + E.
Word centers the table between the left and right margins. Note that it does NOT center the table text within the table's cells--because that's not what we wanted it to do.
Tech Tip Week #6
Want to add a little personality to your Windows documents? One of the easiest ways is to use the Wingdings font included in the operating system. Instead of letters, the Wingdings font has PICTURES, which you can "type" into your text the same way you type letters. For example, suppose you'd like to add a "smiley face" at the end of a line of text. You only have to do the following:
1. Position the cursor where you'd like the smiley face to appear.
2. Switch to the Wingdings font ( how you do this varies by application.)
3. Press Shift + J.
Following are some other useful Wingding characters and their corresponding keystrokes. Experiment with Wingdings to find other possibilities.
To Get... |
In Wingdings type... |
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Smiley face |
Shift + J |
J |
Serious face |
Shift + K |
K |
Sad face |
Shift + L |
L |
Peace sign |
Shift + A |
A |
A-OK |
Shift + B |
B |
Thumbs up |
Shift + C |
C |
Thumbs down |
Shift + D |
D |
Skull & crossbones |
Shift + N |
N |
Tech Tip Week #5
Do you want to get to the desktop in a flash? Hold down the Windows Key ( next to the Ctrl and Alt key on most keyboards) and press M. This immediately minimizes all windows you have open and brings you to the desktop.
Tech Tip Week #4
Quickly Change Letter Case
Problem: Students often don’t realize Caps Lock is on until they have typed several lines; they also forget to capitalize titles and proper nouns.
Problem: Correcting capitalization errors can take valuable teacher time and frustrate students.
Solution: Use Shift F3 to switch between Title Case, Upper Case and Lower Case
Tech Tip Week #3
Shortcut Keys in Windows
Turning the Shortcut Keys in Windows XP back on.
Older versions of Windows had underlined letters in their menus. Instead of clicking the mouse on menu items, you could press Alt and the underlined letter to activate that menu item-a shortcut key, if you will. Although Windows XP leaves them out, here’s how to turn them back on: Right-click the Desktop, choose Properties and click the Appearance tab. Click the Effects button and remove the check mark from the line, Hide Underlined Letters for Keyboard Navigation Until I Press the Alt Key. The underlines all appear, ready for shortcuts.
Tech Tip Week #2
Shut Down
ALT +F4 at the same time will close 90% of all windows and programs.
Tech Tip Week #1
Closing All Word Documents
Have you ever needed to save or close multiple documents at the same time in Word?
Hold down the Shift key while clicking the File menu option. This will bring up two hidden options in the File menu: Save All and Close All. Select the appropriate option for the task you need to perform.
When you select Close All, Word will ask you if you want to Save your changes. Choose this option if you want to save all your work and close out of Word quickly.
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