10+ keyboard shortcuts for entering special characters in a Word document
Thursday, September 03, 2009 11:40 AM
If you prefer to enter special characters yourself on a case-by-case basis, it's handy to know a few keyboard shortcuts.
Microsoft Word
10+ keyboard shortcuts for entering special characters in a Word document
In 10 Word annoyances (and how to turn them off), we looked at how to shut down a number of Word’s automatic changes.
Turning off certain options relieves you of some of the unexpected and often unwelcome replacements and insertions that Word is likely to impose on you. But even though you may not want Word to, say, always convert a pair of hyphens into an em dash, you might sometimes want to insert an em dash yourself.
Here are 15 useful shortcuts that let you quickly insert special characters in a document--on your terms.
The shortcuts| Character | Shortcut |
| A line break | Shift+Enter |
| A page break | Ctrl+Enter |
| A column break | Ctrl+Shift+Enter |
| An optional hyphen | Ctrl+- (hyphen) |
| A nonbreaking hyphen | Ctrl+Shift+- (hyphen) |
| A nonbreaking space | Ctrl+Shift+Spacebar |
| A copyright symbol | Alt+Ctrl+C |
| A registered trademark symbol | Alt+Ctrl+R |
| A trademark symbol | Alt+Ctrl+T |
| An ellipsis | Alt+Ctrl+. (period) |
| An em dash | Ctrl+Shift+\ |
| An en dash | Ctrl+- (on numeric keypad) |
| The page number | Alt+Shift+P |
| The current date | Alt+Shift+D |
| The current time | Alt+Shift+T |
Microsoft Access
How to populate an Access list control with report names
Populating a list or combo box with all the reports in a database is an easy way to present all the reports. By choosing a report from the control, users can quickly view or print a report without knowing how to do so from the Database window.
Fortunately, the task requires just a bit of code behind the form. To populate a list control in this way, do the following:
- Add a list or combo box to a form and name the control lstReports.
- Set the control's Row Source Type property to Value List.
- Click the Code button to launch the form's module.
- Enter the following code:
Private Sub Form_Load()
‘Populate lstReports with the name
‘of all the reports in the database.
Dim ao As AccessObject
For Each ao In CurrentProject.AllReports
lstReports.AddItem (ao.Name)
Next
End Sub
Opening the form in Form view executes the form's Load event. The For loop cycles through the reports in the AllReports collection, which contains objects that describe instances of all the reports in the database.
Microsoft Excel
Hide Excel sheets--really hide them
You can hide an Excel sheet, but users can unhide it just as quickly. If you want a more securely hidden sheet, hide it in the Visual Basic Editor (VBE). Fortunately, the technique is simple for you--and users won't suspect a thing.
First, let's look at the traditional method for hiding a sheet:
- Open a new workbook.
- Click Sheet2's tab to select it.
- From the Format menu, choose Sheet.
- From the resulting submenu, choose Hide. Excel hides Sheeet2 and its tab.
To unhide Sheet2, you'd choose Sheet from the Format menu and select Unhide. Then, you'd select Sheet2 in the Unhide dialog box and click OK. (For now, don't unhide Sheet2.) Even users with just a little experience might find this dialog box and unhide a sheet.
Excel has a more secure setting known as "very hidden". A very hidden worksheet can't be unhidden using the Excel user interface because it doesn't appear in the Unhide dialog box. The average user won't even know the sheet exists, let alone know how to unhide it.
You'll need the VBE to apply this property as follows:
- Switch to Excel's VBE (press [Alt]+[F11]).
- In the Project Explorer, select the sheet you want to hide. This time, hide Sheet3.
- In the Properties window, select 2 - xlSheetVeryHidden from the Visible property's drop-down list. When you do, Excel applies the property and then selects the first sheet, Sheet1, which is a bit distracting. That behavior is normal, so don't let it bother you.
When you return to Excel, Sheet3 isn't visible. Nor does Excel list Sheet3 in the Unhide dialog box. In fact, Excel dims the Unhide command if the only sheets hidden are very hidden sheets. Sheet2 is visible because (earlier) we used the Hide command from the Format menu to hide it.
The result is a very stealthy sheet, but it's still vulnerable to savvy users who know the technique. To unhide Sheet3, return to the VBE and choose -1 – xlSheetVisible. (That's a negative 1, which denotes the constant's value.)
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