Add borders to text in Word with a few keystrokes
Thursday, September 15, 2005 10:45 AM
Microsoft Word
Do you want to add a simple, black border above or below a paragraph in your Microsoft Word document without having to go through the menus? Using your keyboard, you can add a border in a couple of quick steps and eliminate much of the mouse clicking involved with using the Format | Border And Shading menu or the toolbar.
Here's how to create a border above your paragraph:
- Position the pointer at the beginning of the line where you want your border to occur.
- Press the hyphen key [-] three or more times and then press [Enter].
While the keyboard method doesn't give you the same options to create a custom line as you would have with the toolbar or menus, you are not limited to a simple black line. You can vary the shape and thickness of the border by substituting any one of the following keys for the hyphen:
- Underline [_]: produces a bold black line
- Equals sign [=]: produces a double-line border
- Asterisk [*]: produces a dotted border
- Tilde [~]: produces a wavy border
- Number symbol [#]: produces a thick, solid black border with a thin line above and below it.
Microsoft Excel
Convert Excel formula cells to values in four steps
You might think that the process of converting Microsoft Excel formula cells to values is a one step copy-and-paste job; however, this method will likely leave you with an error. Learn how to copy values from formula cells to another worksheet or document.
Microsoft Excel let's you convert formula cells to values with a couple of mouse clicks. For example, suppose you want to copy your students' final grades to a new worksheet. If you try to copy and paste the column with the formulas that computes their grades, you will get errors. You first need to convert the formulas to their final grades.
To do so, follow these steps:
- Select the range of cells whose values you want to copy and click the copy button.
- Move the mouse pointer along the border of the selection until the mouse turns into a cross with double-headed arrows.
- Right-click and drag the selection to a blank area of your worksheet that is large enough to hold the range.
- Release the mouse button and choose Copy Here As Values Only.
Now you can easily copy the grades to any other Word or Excel document.
Microsoft Access
Find information fast in Access with the Simple Query Wizard
Creating reports can be a laborious process, but it doesn't need to be with this Microsoft Access trick. Discover how to create a report in minutes by using the Simple Query Wizard to find summary information on two or more joined tables.
You can use Microsoft Access' Simple Query Wizard to quickly find summary information on two or more joined tables. For example, suppose at the end of each month you need to create a report summarizing each employee's average, minimum, and maximum hours worked per week for the month of June. You can find the information in two tables, Employees and Hours Worked, which are joined by Employee ID number.
In order to produce the report in minutes, simply follow these steps.
- In the database window, click Queries under Objects.
- Double-click the Create query by using the wizard.
- Under Tables/Queries, select Employees, and move Employee ID, First Name, and Last Name fields from the Available fields column to the Selected Fields column.
- Under Tables/Queries, select the Hours Worked table and move the Hours and WeekEnding fields from the Available Fields column to the Selected Fields column.
- Click Next and select Summary.
- Click the Summary Options button, then click the Avg, Min, and Max check boxes, and click OK.
- Click Next, select Month, and click Finish.
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