Create process diagrams in less time
Thursday, August 23, 2007 10:05 AM
Prior to Word 2007, adding process diagrams to Word documents required a lot of resizing of both the graphics and the text.
Microsoft Word
Assemble professional documents with Word 2007's building blocks
Prior to Word 2007, adding process diagrams to Word documents required a lot of resizing of both the graphics and the text. If you applied a different format and decided you did not like it, you had to undo it.
Word 2007's SmartArt feature automatically resizes text and graphics for you, eliminating much of the redrawing, clicking, and dragging. In addition, you can now preview a new format before you apply it. Follow these steps to create a process diagram for the six phases of program development:
1. Click the Insert tab.
2. Click the SmartArt button in the Illustrations Group.
3. Click Cycle.
4. Click Block Cycle, the third graphic in the first row.
5. Click OK.
6. Click the tab with the arrows on the left border of the drawing canvas (Figure A).
| Figure A |
 |
10. Press the down arrow key and type Step 4. Program Test.
11. Press the down arrow key and type Step 5. Program Documentation.
12. Press [Enter] and type Step 6. Program Maintenance.
13. Click the Close button on the Text pane.
14. Click the graphic border, and then click the Change Colors button in the Ribbon.
15. Click the first graphic under Colorful.
16. Click the More Button in the SmartArt Styles section.
17. Point to the Polished graphic in the 3D section and click on it.
18. Click the Home tab.
19. Click the drop-down arrow of the Font Size list box and select 9.
Microsoft Excel
Create an Excel data entry form that includes check boxes
Excel provides a simple data form to enter data into an Excel database. The form only only contains text box controls, which can be cumbersome when entering certain types of data.
For example, you want to create a table that lists the educational level of your latest batch of job applicants. Rather than typing high school, college, or graduate school, you can create a form that allows you simply to check a box to indicate the education level. Follow these steps:
1. Open a blank worksheet of your workbook.
2. Press [Alt][F11].
3. Go to Insert | User Form.
4. If necessary, press [F4] to display Userform1 properties.
5. Click in the Caption property box and change the name to Get Name and Education.
6. Click the Label control and drag it to the form.
7. Click in the Label's Caption property box and type Name:.
8. Click the Text Box control in the Control toolbox and drag it to the form. Locate it to the right of the Label control.
9. Click in the Name property of the Text Box control and type TextName.
10. Click and drag the Frame control from the Control toolbox to the form and locate it below the text box.
11. Click in the Caption property of the Frame control and type Education Level:.
12. Click and drag the Check box control from the Control toolbox to the form and locate it within the frame.
13. Change the Check box Name property to OptionHS.
14. Change the Caption property of the Check box control to High School.
15. Click and drag the Check box control to the form and position it below the first check box.
16. Change the Check box Name property to OptionCollege.
17. Change the Caption property of the Check box control to College.
18. Click and drag the Check box control from the Control toolbox to the form and locate it below the second check box.
19. Change the Check box Name property to <'>OptionGrad.
20. Change the Caption property to Graduate School.
21. Click and drag the right border of the form to increase the form's size.
22. Click the Command Button control in the Control toolbox, drag it to the form, and locate it next to the TextName control.
23. Change the Caption property of the Command button to OK.
24. Change the Name property to OKButton.
25. Click in the Default Property box and select True.
26. Click and drag the Command Button control to the form from the Control toolbox and locate it below the OK button.
27. Change the Caption property to Cancel.
28. Change the Name property to CancelButton.
29. Click in the Cancel property box and select True.
30. Press [Alt][F11].
31. Right-click a toolbar and select Control Toolbox.
32. Click the Command tool in the Control Toolbox.
33. Click and drag to create the command button in your worksheet.
34. Right-click the Command button, point to Object, and then select Edit.
35. Select the default name and change it to Data Entry.
36. Click outside the button to deselect it and then double-click the button.
37. Enter Userform1.Show at the prompt.
38. Double-click Userform1 in the VBA Project Window. (To open the form so you can add code to the rest of the form objects. Double-click the name of the form -- Userform1 -- listed under the Forms folder in the VBA Project window.)
39. Double-click the Cancel button.
40. Enter Unload UserForm1 at the prompt.
41. Press [Shift][F7].
42. Double-click the OK button.
43. Enter the following code at the prompt:
Sheets("Sheet1").Activate
NextRow =Application WorksheetFunction.CountA(Range("A:A"))+1
Application.WorksheetFunction.CountA(Range("A:A")) +1
Cells(NextRow, 1)=TextName.Text
If OptionHS Then Cells(NextRow, 2) ="High School"
If OptionCollege Then Cells(NextRow, 2) ="College"
If OptionGrad Then Cells(NextRow, 2)="Grad School"
TextName.Text =""
TextName.SetFocus
44. Press [Alt]Q.
45. Click the Exit Design Mode button in the Control toolbox.
To enter the data into the blank worksheet, press the Data Entry button, fill in the name, click the Education Level, and then click OK. The data will automatically be entered in columns A and B. When you finish entering data, click Cancel to close the form.
Microsoft Access
Print mailing labels using the Label Wizard in Access
You don't need to import your Access data to an Excel worksheet to create mailing labels in Word; Access provides a Label Wizard for creating mailing labels from your data. The Label Wizard supports a large variety of labels and allows you to specify your label's dimensions.
For example, you have a table that contains these customer fields: Firstname, Lastname, Middlename, StreetAddress, City, State, and PostalCode. To use the wizard to create mailing labels for use with standard Avery 8160 1″ x 2-5/8″ labels, follow these steps:
1. To access the Label Wizard, click the Reports object in the Database Windows, click New, select Label Wizard, select the table, and then click Next. (In Access 2007 in the Navigation pane, click the table that contains your mailing list data. Click the Create tab and click the Labels button in the Reports section.)
2. Scroll to and select 8160 in the Product Number List.
3. Click Next.
4. Change the font, weight, size, and/or color as necessary.
5. Click Next.
6. Double-click Firstname, press [Space], double-click Middlename, press [Space], double-click Lastname, and press [Enter]. Double-click StreetAddress, and then press [Enter]. (While your tabled fields don’t have to be in the same order that you will use them in your report (or mailing labels), for this tip you can put them in the same order if you think it would make it easier to understand.)
7. Double-click City, press [Space], double-click State, press [Space] twice, and then double-click PostalCode.
8. Click Next.
9. Double-click the Lastname field.
10. Click Next.
11. Enter Summer Promotion Mailing List.
12. Click Finish.
If you get an error that not all of your records will fit across the page, try printing a sample page of labels on draft paper. If you still have trouble fitting all of the records across the page, click the Page Setup button, click the Columns tab, and under Column Layout select Down and then Across. This may clear up the error. You can also decrease the font size and weight to compress the data so that it fits across the page.
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