Office 2013 Tip

by Linda Pearson, President of Summit Training

Tip for Excel, Word and PowerPoint 2013

MY ISSUE:

Every time I open Excel, Word, or PowerPoint the Start Window displays. From the Start Window I must choose a template to open. There are multiple templates to choose from including an empty worksheet for Excel, a blank document for Word, an empty presentation for PowerPoint.

MY PROBLEM:

I want to bypass the Start Window and go directly into the application.

THE FIX:

1. Open Excel, Word, or PowerPoint and get to a blank document. 
2. Click on the File tab.
3. From the menu on the left, choose Options.
4. By default the General option is selected.
5. At the bottom of the General window, within Start up options, remove the check from Show the Start screen when this application Starts.
6. Click on OK

ASK AMY: Using Excel's Large and Small Functions

Recently I was asked if there was a way to find the second largest number in a range of cells. Off the top of my head I didn’t know the answer; however, after a little research I discovered the LARGE and SMALL functions.

For example, if you want to find the second largest number in a range of cells in column C the formula would look like:

=LARGE(C5:C305, 2)

Where:

• =LARGE  is the name of the function
• (C5:C305, is the range of cells (data set) of the numbers to be examined
• 2) is the k-th largest number within that data set

The SMALL function works the same way.

Ask Amy: Want to make the background to a picture transparent?

How to make the background to a picture transparent using MS Office

 

In Office 2010, you can do it in PowerPoint, Word, Publisher, and Excel.

• In Word:

Select the picture, click on the Picture Tools Format tab and then within the Adjust group, click on the Color button. From the menu at the bottom, select Set Transparent Color.  The mouse changes shape to something resembling a pencil. Click the mouse on the pictures background to make it transparent.

• In PowerPoint:

Select the picture, click on the Picture Tools Format tab and then within the Adjust group, click on the Color button. From the menu at the bottom, select Set Transparent Color. The mouse changes shape to something resembling a pencil. Click the mouse on the pictures background to make it transparent.

• In Publisher:

Select the picture, click on the Picture Tools Format tab and then within the Adjust group, click on the Recolor button. From the menu at the bottom, select Set Transparent Color.  The mouse changes shape to something resembling a pencil. Click the mouse on the pictures background to make it transparent.

• In Excel:

Select the picture, click on the Picture Tools Format tab and then within the Adjust group, click on the Color button. From the menu at the bottom, select Set Transparent Color. The mouse changes shape to something resembling a pencil. Click the mouse on the pictures background to make it transparent.

Ask Amy: Useful Excel Keyboard Shortcuts

You can use keyboard shortcuts in every office program. Here are four Excel Shortcut Keys that we find extremely useful:

Keys	Action
CTRL + ; (semicolon)	Enters the current date into the selected cell
CTRL + : (colon)	Copies the current time into the selected cell
CTRL + ' (apostrophe)	Copies the data from the cell directly above into the selected cell
ALT + + (plus sign)	Is the same as clicking on the AutoSum tool

Microsoft Excel 2007 Charts and Pivot Tables

Large worksheets filled with numbers do not do a good job of allowing the user to see trends or spot inconsistencies. This is best done with a Chart. Students learn to create a wide range of charts from the basic Column, Pie, and Stock charts through combination (Bar and Line) charts to the more exotic waterfall and floating charts. They polish charts by learning how to refine the chart’s format and then learn how to create and use custom formats to make future charts easier and more consistent.

A Pivot Table is an interactive, customizable way of displaying data that provides flexibility in the way you view and present the data in your worksheet. More than a simple data table, a Pivot Table allows you to group information—by date, value, or by category—and display varying levels of detail. In this class students learn how to take already-existing Excel worksheets and pull useful information from them by creating and manipulating pivot tables.

Microsoft® Excel 2007, Charts & Pivot Tables: October 31, $225 – Beaumont Classroom. Send 3 or more students to the same class, the same day and pay only $200 each.