In today’s post, we’re sharing a collection of fun ways to use OneNote outside of the office. The possibilities are endless, but these are our favorites.
Check out some of these awesome videos on how to use OneNote for more than just your business operations.
Making To Do Lists of All Kinds in OneNote
This is certainly a process that helps out in a business setting, but many of us create checklists for all sorts of things in life. Using OneNote to create to do lists can come in handy with things like preparing for your children’s school year, planning a move, and in many of the tips later in this post.
Going Shopping With a Plan on OneNote
Once you’ve mastered the art of OneNote tags, using the to do list function to create shopping lists will become second nature. Office 365 makes it easy to share lists with others, so having a list that all family members makes it easier to keep track of your needs (i.e. you don’t end up with three cartons of milk when you only needed one).
Clipping Content From the Web to OneNote
What do you do when you want to save content from the web? Maybe you have a system of bookmarks, or you use a social tool like Pinterest, or maybe you even copy and paste to a Word document. Instead, try out OneNote! It’s easy to take screenshots and even save an entire page using the OneNote Clipper extension.
This function lends itself well to a work or school setting, but why not try using it in your personal life as well? You can record quick notes for yourself while you’re multitasking and come back to them later.
As written on nhlearninggroup.com
Definitely for the arithmophobic. Thanks to the Live Charts feature in Excel, you can give them an instant makeover with colorful charts. In older versions of Excel, charting was one of the more difficult tasks. It wasn’t only about the time it took, but also about the right chart type that fit the data. Excel 2013 makes it easy as a click with Live Charts. Excel uses a special algorithms to show the chart types you can use based on the data.
Select the data to chart and click Insert — Recommended Chart to see options such as line, bar, and pie charts that Excel feels is right for your data. Click each chart to preview what your data will look like. Pick the right chart and Excel inserts the chart with some page elements to work with styles, colors, and the chart data. Do note: Not every chart type is recommended. Specialized chart types are available from the Insert Chart button on the Ribbon..
From PDF to editable Word documents
One of the best features of PDFs are that they are not editable as a default. It’s also an irksome feature if you want to take information out of it. A whole industry of tools exist that help you be more productive with PDF files. Don’t disregard the new PDF Reflow feature in MS Word 2013. Making it uncomplicated – open a PDF with Word 2013 and it will behave like a normal Word document. You can reuse the content without too much effort. Now, all that rich data locked in PDF files is ripe for picking.
Word creates a copy and opens it as a normal document as you would any other from File – Open. Make any changes - the original PDF is left intact. The conversions are not always perfect, but this is a very handy feature.
Use Share Link As A Quick Presentation Tool
Microsoft Office 2013 brings new collaborative features for Word and PowerPoint which piggyback on a Microsoft Account. With the Office Presentation Service your collaborators do not even need the Office suite at their end. A web browser does the job with the help of the Office web app. Work on your document and begin sharing from File — Share — Present Online. From here, select Office Presentation Service and click Present Online. A share link is created. Send it via Skype, email, or any other online medium. Start your presentation and the recipients get to view it on their browsers when they click on the shared link. Share notes and your team members can follow you through the document. They can also watch the presentation independently. The presenter controls the presentation from this special menu bar.
Refer Wikipedia Within Word
The official Wikipedia app is a quick resource for general research. With the Wikipedia app inside Word. Go to Insert – Apps for Office– Wikipedia. You might have to search for it among the featured apps. The app also allows you to insert a section of a text or an image. Select the text or hover over the image. Click on the insert symbol to insert it into the body of your Word document. The source link is automatically included with the insert. The Wikipedia app can also be used to research something on the side-pane by simply selecting something in your document. Nice.
Use Your Ears with Assistive Technologies
With the Office suite, you can take advantage of the built-in screen reader (Narrator) to read and create Word documents, PowerPoint slides, Excel spreadsheets, OneNote notebooks, and Outlook email. Microsoft Support recommends that you become familiar with shortcut keys as well. For example, you can use voice to record your comments on PowerPoint slides or a Word document. If you are short on time, use the Narrator to have it read aloud Outlook emails or a Word doc. Microsoft Office 2013 also comes with an audio-enabled Mini Translator that can take a selected foreign phrase and read aloud its pronunciation. Select a foreign word. Click onReview – Translate – Mini Translator. Hit the Play button.
Go Easy on the Eyes with Read Mode
If you have a touch enabled computer, Office 2013 was designed for productivity with fingers. The Ribbon menu was restyled and made more functional. I will ask you to do one thing if you are still deciding to come aboard (c’mon, it’s been a year now!). Go to View – Read Mode. That’s a bonus point for a distraction free reading experience.
It auto-resizes the document to the full screen and is completely uncluttered. Click on View to see options for tweaking this mode. For instance, the color modes that make it easier on the eyes. You can get rid of the toolbar for a full-screen experience.
Save Time With a Copy
Don’t go hunting for the document to copy. The shortcut for creating a copy of an Office document is not very apparent but it is a huge time saver if you want to work on a copy while keeping the original intact. Click on File – Open – Recent Documents. If the document was opened recently, the filename will be displayed. Right-click on the filename and select Open a copy. Any changes that you make are saved to the copy. You can then save it at any location. This tiny step is a time saver because you are spared from browsing to its location and manually creating a copy to work on.
Work Anywhere With Documents Online
Save your Office documents online via the Microsoft account. Microsoft has the sister suite ofweb apps for Word, Excel, OneNote, and PowerPoint. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint save the last location where you left off work before saving– to the letter, cell, or slide. Pick up where you left off working on a different device while away from your main computer. You can also continue your work on Mobile apps for Office.
Don't Cut and Paste Anymore
There’s this quicker way that uses lesser key presses. Using Cut-Paste (Ctrl-x Ctrl-v) to move text from one place on the page to another within a Word document is fine. But try this. Select any block of text. Press F2. You will notice that the status bar (at the bottom of your screen) says Move to where. Place the cursor at the location where you wish to move the block of text. Press Enter and the selection will be moved.
Searching for Data in Excel
When you search for data, you can use ? to represent any single character or * to represent a series of characters. Example if your data has all the states, you could type “*Dakota” and it will pull up both North and South Dakota data.
Auto Filter in Excel
Too much data to go through? Use AutoFilter to find values, show or hide values, in one or more columns of data. You can filter based on choices you make from a list, search to find the data that you want to see. When you filter data, entire rows are hidden if values in one or more columns don't meet the filtering criteria. Click the Data Tab- Filter to activate.
Save and Auto Recover in Word 2013
It will happen! A computer crash, power goes out or you just close without saving. To avoid losing all your work when this happens, make sure AutoRecover and AutoSave are turned on. Simply click on the File Tab- Options- Save and make sure the SAVE AUTORECOVER INFORMATION IS SELECTED and you can select the number of minutes from 0-120.
Calendar Views in Outlook 2013
Managing and Viewing multiple calendars? By default, calendar groups appear side by side. To make the calendars overlap, click the View in Overlay Mode arrow on the tab of each calendar you want to overlap. In Microsoft 2013 there is a world of cool new things to discover. However, a favorite new feature in Outlook 2013 is located below the Navigation pane where you can have mail, calendar, contacts, tasks and notes.
Extended Clipboard in Microsoft Work 2013
Microsoft Word has a useful "Spike" feature that allows you to cut text and images from multiple locations in a document and paste them all at once to a different location. To use this feature, select the text, images or other objects in your document that would like to move and press "CTRL +F3" to move that selection to the Spike. You can to that same spike using the same key combo shortcut.
Adding Video to Microsoft PowerPoint 2013
Ask any teacher, and they'll tell you nothing captures your audience more than a movie. To add a movie to your PowerPoint Presentation, click "Insert" on the Ribbon. You will see a button for "Video" on the right side of the ribbon. Using the drop-down menu, you can insert a video from YouTube, Facebook or your OneDrive account, or any other video embedding website.
Refreshing the Same Query in Access 2013
You may use a report or query with the help of parameters as a filter tool. With this one report of query you filter different departments or dates you need to print multiple reports for different purposes. You may only need your mouse click to click the refresh button to prompt for a new parameter window. You can work much faster by staying on the keyboard and creating a smoother workflow. After running your first query or report stay in the same view (don't switch back to design). Press "SHIFT + F9" to run the report again with a new parameter.
Copy and Paste Tricks in Word 2013
When you copy a passage of text from the web to Word, styles and formatting are retained. However, there's an easy way to remove this styling from any block fo text in Word - just select the text you copied and press "Ctrl+Space Bar". The rich text will be transformed to plain text. Additionally, you can move text in Word without the traditional "Ctrl+X, Ctrl+V" shortcut. Highlight any block of text, press "F2", and place the cursor at the spot where you wish to move that text. Press "Enter" and the selection will be moved! Test it out with this paragraph!
PowerPoint Presentation Tricks
While you are conducting a PowerPoint presentation, if something comes up that you don't want to be seen at that point without having to stop the slideshow, hit the letter 'B' on your keyboard. This will blackout the screen without losing your place. Hit 'B' again, and you'll be back in business. Another cool trick... while in presentation mode, hold 'Ctrl+P' and you will change your pointer into a pen that can write or draw. Hit the 'Esc' key and you will change back to your pointer!
Custom Views in Outlook 2013
In Microsoft 2013 there is a world of cool new things to discover. However, a favorite new feature in Outlook 2013 is located below the Navigation pane where you can have mail, calendar, contacts, tasks and notes.
While working in your inbox, to view your calendar without leaving your inbox, right-click on the calendar and select open new window. You will now be able to stay in your inbox and open your calendar at the same time. You can now actively work in your calendar and read your emails. Tada!
Visually Represent Your Data in Excel
Here is a great Excel trick for all of us out there that like visual representations of our data. You can use this trick with Excel 97-2013. Whenever you have a table of data and want to create a chart, here is what you do. Click in a cell within the table you want to chart. Press the Key on the top row of your keyboard, and say "WOW"! Now you have a new chart of your data on a new worksheet named "Chart 1". Your original table is still on the original worksheet!
Navigate Excel Workbooks Easily
Here's a little-known trick that will allow you to quickly and easily navigate to a specific worksheet in Excel workbooks that contain more than one (Sheet1, Sheet2, etc.). You can display a pop-up list of all worksheet names in your workbook by right-clicking one of the navigation arrows to the left of the worksheet tabs that are located at the bottom of the screen. Simply select a sheet from the list, and you're there in a flash![/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row][vc_row][vc_column][vc_column_text]
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Managed Solution’s In The TechKnow is a Web Tech Series featuring how-to video tutorials on technology.
This series is presented by Jennell Mott, Business Operations Manager, and provides a resource for quick technical tips and fixes. You don’t need to be a technical guru to brush up on tech tips!
Don’t see the technology that you would like to learn? Submit a suggestion to inthetechknow@managedsolution.com and we will be sure to cover it in our upcoming webcast series.
We regularly mention the app launcher in our 365 Ninja posts–it’s where you’ll point to access most Office 365 apps and services, and you probably click on it multiple times a day as you move through your mail, calendar, and other tasks. But did you know you can move the tiles around on the app launcher, and even pin other applications to it?
Administrators can add apps to the My Apps page, which then allows any user to pin to the app launcher. You can view a demonstration of this in the video above, or the steps below.
To add a tile to the My Apps page so it can be pinned to the app launcher:
1.From the admin center, select Company Profile.
2.Choose Custom Tiles.
3.Click the + icon to open the Add or edit a custom tile window.
4.Enter a Name, URL, Description, and Image URL. The name will appear on the tile, and the description will be shown when you select the tile from the My apps page to pin to the launcher. The URL is the location where users will go when they select the tile. If you want to direct users to a SharePoint site, copy the URL here; the format may appear like https://.sharepoint.com. The Image URL, according to Microsoft, “The image should be 50×50 pixels, stored in SharePoint Online, and shared with everyone. You can, for example, put it in a library on your team site then generate an anonymous guest link and use that as the URL. If you can’t generate an anonymous link, make sure external sharing is enabled in SharePoint Online.”
5.Click Submit.
To pin a tile to the app launcher:
1.Select the app launcher and click the My apps link.
2.Choose the tile/app to add, and click the …
3.Click Pin to app launcher.
When you record a Skype for Business Meeting, you capture audio, video, instant messaging (IM), screen sharing, PowerPoint slides, whiteboard activity, and polling. Any of the presenters can record a meeting and save it on their computers.
Record your Skype meeting
1.Click the Options button, and choose Start Recording.
If the recording option is dimmed, your audio might not be connected. Click the mic icon to connect audio, then try again.
2.Use the controls at the bottom of the meeting to pause, resume, or stop the recording.
3.To see who else is recording, point to the red recording button.
4.When you’re done, click Stop Recording.
5.Skype for Business automatically saves the recording in MP4 format that plays in Windows Media Player.
You can exit the meeting while the recording is being processed.
Play and share a recording
When your recording has been processed, you can access it to play or send to others. Skype for Business displays a message when the recording is ready. You can click the alert to open Recording Manager, or if you miss that, click Tools on the Skype for Business main window, then Recording Manager.
In the Recording Manager window:
1.Click your recording to highlight it, then click Play on the right side of the window.
2.You can also rename or delete your recording here.
3.To share your recording with others, click Browse to locate it, then copy the file to post on a shared location, such as OneDrive or an internal SharePoint site.
If you cannot post the recording, check to make sure you have enough space on the page.
Tip: Recordings are saved in the Videos/Skype for Business Recordings folder on your computer.[/vc_column_text][/vc_column][/vc_row]
A new focus on the desktop brings new keyboard shortcuts for desktop users, so rejoice! Here are all the new keyboard shortcuts you need to know in Windows 10.
From window management with Snap and Task View to virtual desktops and the Command Prompt, there are lots of new goodies for keyboard users in Windows 10.
Window Snapping
Windows 10 offers improved support for Snap — known as “Aero Snap” on Windows 7. You can now snap windows vertically — one on top of each other, instead of side-by-side — or snap windows to a 2×2 grid.
Windows Key + Left – Snap current window to the left side of the screen.
Windows Key + Right – Snap current window the the right side of the screen.
Windows Key + Up – Snap current window to the top of the screen.
Windows Key + Down – Snap current window to the bottom of the screen.
Combine these shortcuts to snap into a corner — for example, Windows Key + Left and then Windows Key + Up would snap a window into the top-left quadrant of the screen. The first two keyboard shortcuts aren’t new, but the way they work with the 2×2 snapping feature is.
(You can also use the mouse — drag and drop a window to the left or right edges of your screen, or drag and drop them into one of the four corners to snap into quadrants.)
Task View / Window Management
The Task View is a new interface that combined an Exposé-like window switching and virtual desktops — an awful lot like Mission Control on Mac OS X. In addition to clicking the “Task View” button on the taskbar to open it, you can use these keyboard shortcuts:
Windows Key + Tab – This opens the new Task View interface, and it stays open — you can release the keys. Only windows from your current virtual desktop will appear in the Task View list, and you can use the virtual desktop switcher at the bottom of the screen to switch between virtual desktops.
Alt + Tab – This isn’t a new keyboard shortcut, and it works just like you’d expect it to. Pressing Alt+Tab lets you switch between your open Windows. Tap Tab again to flip between windows and release the keys to select a window. Alt+Tab now uses the new Task View-style larger thumbnails. Unlike Windows Key + Tab, Alt + Tab lets you switch between open windows on all virtual desktops.
Virtual Desktops
There are also some keyboard shortcuts for quickly managing virtual desktops.
Windows Key + Ctrl + D – Create a new virtual desktop and switch to it
Windows Key + Ctrl + F4 – Close the current virtual desktop.
Windows Key + Ctrl + Left / Right – Switch to the virtual desktop on the left or right.
Sadly, there’s not yet a key combination that will move the current window between virtual desktops. How about Windows Key + Shift + Ctrl + Left / Right — please, Microsoft?
Command Prompt
The new Command Prompt keyboard shortcuts may not be enabled by default, so be sure to open the Command Prompt’s properties window and enable them first.
Copying and Pasting Text / Ctrl Key Shortcuts
Ctrl + V or Shift + Insert – Pastes text at the cursor.
Ctrl + C or Ctrl + Insert – Copies the selected text to the clipboard.
Ctrl + A – Select all text in the current line if the line contains text. If it’s an empty line, select all text in the Command Prompt.
Selecting Text / Shift Key Shortcuts: Many of the standard Shift key shortcuts for text editing now finally work in the Command Prompt! These include:
Shift + Left / Right / Up / Down – Moves the cursor left a character, right a character, up a line, or down a line, selecting the text along the way. Continue pressing arrow keys to select more text.
Ctrl + Shift + Left / Right – Moves the cursor one word to the left or right, selecting that word along the way.
Shift + Home / End – Moves the cursor to the beginning or end of the current line, selecting text along the way.
Shift + Page Up / Page Down – Moves the cursor up or down a screen, selecting text.
Ctrl + Shift + Home / End – Moves the cursor to the beginning or end of the “screen buffer,” selecting all text between the cursor and the beginning or end of the Command Prompt’s output.
More Shortcuts
Ctrl + Up / Down – Moves one line up or down in the Command Prompt’s history — it’s like using the scroll bar.
Ctrl + Page Up / Page Down – Moves one page up or down in the Command Prompt’s history — it’s like scrolling even farther.
Ctrl + M – Enter “mark mode,” which helps for selecting text. Previously, the only way to do this was by right-clicking in the Command Prompt and selecting Mark. Thanks to the new Shift key shortcuts, this mode is no longer as important.
Ctrl + F – Opens a Find dialog for searching the Command Prompt’s output.
Alt + F4 – Closes the Command Prompt window.
Microsoft will hopefully add even more keyboard shortcuts as they continue developing Windows 10. For now, the new keyboard shortcuts are very useful — especially to Command Prompt users!
Save your Office documents online via the Microsoft account. Microsoft has the sister suite of web apps for Word, Excel, OneNote, and PowerPoint. Word, Excel, and PowerPoint save the last location where you left off work before saving– to the letter, cell, or slide. Pick up where you left off working on a different device while away from your main computer. You can also continue your work on Mobile apps for Office.
Don't Cut and Paste Anymore
There’s this quicker way that uses lesser key presses. Using Cut-Paste (Ctrl-x Ctrl-v) to move text from one place on the page to another within a Word document is fine. But try this. Select any block of text. Press F2. You will notice that the status bar (at the bottom of your screen) says Move to where. Place the cursor at the location where you wish to move the block of text. Press Enter and the selection will be moved.
Searching for Data in Excel
When you search for data, you can use ? to represent any single character or * to represent a series of characters. Example if your data has all the states, you could type “*Dakota” and it will pull up both North and South Dakota data.
Auto Filter in Excel
Too much data to go through? Use AutoFilter to find values, show or hide values, in one or more columns of data. You can filter based on choices you make from a list, search to find the data that you want to see. When you filter data, entire rows are hidden if values in one or more columns don't meet the filtering criteria. Click the Data Tab- Filter to activate.
Save and Auto Recover in Word 2013
It will happen! A computer crash, power goes out or you just close without saving. To avoid losing all your work when this happens, make sure AutoRecover and AutoSave are turned on. Simply click on the File Tab- Options- Save and make sure the SAVE AUTORECOVER INFORMATION IS SELECTED and you can select the number of minutes from 0-120.
