What to do when Word won't let you redo
Thursday, December 14, 2006 03:05 PM
Did you know that if you use the cut command in Word, it can take away all the redos you've done up to that point? Mary Ann Richardson explains how to backtrack even when Word won't let you redo.
Microsoft Word
What to do when Word won't let you redo
IT pros often assume they can do almost anything to Word documents and then fall back on undo and redo if they get into trouble. Whatever we try to do with our document, it seems that undo can always get it back to where we want it; that is until one day we click on the redo button and it tells us "Can't redo." While you can have an unlimited number of undos and redos, Word's Cut command can wipe out all redos in a second.
For example, suppose you click the Undo button five times on a page. Then, you cut and paste a paragraph from another page. You change your mind and decide to redo everything to get it back to where it was before the cut and paste. Unfortunately, the Cut command totally clears the Redo list. If you saved the file before you performed the undo operations, you can close the file without saving, and then open the saved file with all your past edits intact. If you haven't saved the file up to the last cut and paste, you will have to begin all over again. The bottom line is: Even with "unlimited" undos and redos, don't forget to save your documents on a regular basis.
Microsoft Excel
Make Excel data easier to read with these tips
Reading figures in Excel across long rows of data and columns can be difficult. By spending a few moments sprucing up your worksheet, you can make it easier for your users to read your spreadsheet on the screen or on a printout. Here are a few methods for putting an end to hard-to-read data.
One way to make column data easier to read is to have the column labels stand out from the rest of the data, such as using bold white type on a dark background. Follow these steps:
- Select the column header cells.
- Click the Fill button in the Formatting toolbar and select Dark Gray.
- Click the Font Color button and select White.
Too many gridlines can distract the eye from the actual data. To remove them, click the Sheet tab and follow these steps:
- Go to Tools | Options.
- Click in the View tab and clear the Gridlines check box under Window Options.
- Click OK.
Once you remove the gridlines, you can distinguish the formula cells from the data cells by adding borders to the cells. For example, to differentiate the Total cells, select the cells in the Total row, click on the Borders tool in the Formatting toolbar, and select the last border in the second row.
Finally, to make those long rows of data easier to read, add a light background color to every other row. Follow these steps:
- Press [Ctrl] as you select every other row of data.
- Click the Fill button in the formatting toolbar and select Light Blue.
Microsoft Access
Easily create report snapshots of your Access files
When clients review your Access reports, they often want to be able to immediately distribute relevant information to their colleagues. One way they can do this is to e-mail their colleagues a snapshot of the report. You can create a macro that will allow them to do just that. Follow these steps:
- Open the database containing the report.
- Click on the macro object in the database window.
- Click New.
- In the first cell of the Action column, select OpenReport from the drop-down list.
- In the Argument section, select the name of the report from the Report Name drop-down text box.
- In the second cell of the Action column, select Output To.
- In the Argument Pane, select Report in the Object Type text box.
- Click in the Output Format text box and select Snapshot Format from the list.
- Close and save the macro as Snapshot Output To.
To create the snapshot, your clients can simply right-click the Snapshot Output To macro icon in the Database Window. The macro will display the Snapshot Report, along with a dialog box that allows the user to create and save the snapshot file; the user can then e-mail it as an attachment.
Access automatically installs the Snapshot Viewer the first time users create a report snapshot. If a user receives a snapshot and cannot open it, he or she may not have the Snapshot Viewer installed on their machine. If the user has Access, she can install it from the Setup program; if the user does not have Access, she can install it from the Microsoft Office Developer's Web site.
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