Tag: howto

Gmail: Multiple Email Addresses

Today I was learning how to become a Gmail Ninja and I came across a nice addition to Gmail. You can have multiple email address sent to the same address just by adding a plus sign (+). For example, if my email is GmailNinja@gmail.com, I can create:
  • GmailNinja+Spam@gmail.com
  • GmailNinja+Lists@gmail.com
  • GmailNinja+Recipes@gmail.com
All of the above will be delivered to GmailNinja@gmail.com.
Why is this important you say? You can then set up filters based on the incoming email address. When you get dozens or hundreds of emails a day this can be a big time saver.
[Source Gmail]

Excel: Nice Shades

If you are using conditional formatting to highlight cells, you can run into problems when you delete/add rows. Sometimes the conditional formatting rules apply to a strange set of cells instead of one contiguous range of cells.
To get around this issue, you can use a macro to do the highlighting. Open the VBA editor (with Alt-F10) and then add the following code to Microsoft Excel Objects –> ThisWorkbook:
Private Sub Workbook_SheetChange(ByVal Sh As Object, ByVal Target As Range)

‘shade cell with “yes”

If Target.Row > 1 And Target.Column = 2 Then
    If Target.Value = “yes” Then
        Cells(Target.Row, Target.Column).Interior.ColorIndex = 50
    Else
        Cells(Target.Row, Target.Column).Interior.ColorIndex = 2
    End If
End If

This code is run every time you edit a cell. The code makes sure the current cell is not the 1st row (which is usually for headings). It then checks if the cell is in column B (which is column number 2). If the contents of the cell are “yes” it gets green shading, otherwise is gets white shading.

The only downside to this method is that it runs only after editing a cell. Therefore, if you already have  cells with information, you have to re-edit each cell to get the macro to run. This can be done somewhat easily by hitting F2, then the Enter key. For large amounts of data, you need to write a wrapper macro that you can run once on the sheet.

Author-it: Quick Search ‘q’ Bug

I have encountered the ‘q’ bug several times, without any apparent cause. Normally, one needs to type Cntl-q to open the Quick Search dialog. The ‘q’ bug is when typing the letter q opens the  dialog (without holding down the Cntl key). This makes it impossible to use any words with the letter ‘q’.
The solution to the problem (until they come out with a fix for the bug) is to follow this procedure:
  1. Press and release the Cntl key one time. 
That’s it! Operation should then work normally.

Word 2010: Remove Floating Paste Menu

In Word 2010, whenever you paste text you get an annoying little paste options menu next to the insertion point. This menu often covers up other text making it hard to continue reading the document. 
If you actually like that menu but you have finished using it and you want it to go awya, then the easiest way to remove it after pasting is to highlight anything else and copy it (Cntl-c).
If you are like 99% of the population and dislike the menu, you can disable it with the following procedure:
  1. Select File –> Options
  2. Select Advanced
  3. In the Cut, Copy and Paste section, uncheck Show Paste Options button when content is pasted
[Solution from GroovyPost]

MS Word: Paste as Text

To set up a shortcut key to paste as text, do the following:
  1. From the View tab, create a new macro named PasteSpecialAsText.
  2. Replace the contents of the code editor with the following text:

    Sub PasteSpecialAsText()
         Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText
    End Sub

  3. From the File menu, choose Word Options, then Customize Ribbon, and then click the Customize button next to Keyboard shortcuts at the bottom to bring up the Customize Keyboard dialog.
  4. Choose Macros from the categories list on the left, and then your macro in the Commands box on the right-hand side. Now you can enter in a shortcut key (Ctrl+Shift+V or your own), and click the Assign button.
This procedure was taken from LifeHacker and updated for Word 2010.

[Source LifeHacker]

AIT: Removing a Topic from a Version of a Book with Variants

Author-it 5.5 provides a greatly enhanced variant capability. It adds a hierarchy to the variants, which allow it to manage different versions of a book. As an example, we use the variant “designRev” with the following values:

A0
–> A1
    –> A2

This hierarchy allows us to create a book with versions A0, A1, or A2. But, what happens when I add a new topic to version A2? If I put it in the book TOC, then it will show up in versions A1 and A0 as well. 
To solve this problem, follow these steps:
  1. Locate the topic in the library.
  2. Right click on it.
  3. Choose Variant –> Convert to Variant
  4. Select the checkbox next to designRev and then click the checkbox for A2 beneath it.

Now, open the book and select A2 from the variant filter. The topic is shown in the TOC. If you select A0 or A1 from the variant filter, the topic is still in the TOC, but it has a strike-through and will not appear in the output.

Word: Collapse All in the Navigation Pane

I like the Navigation Pane in Word 2010, but there is one problem: Word defaults to showing all of the headings expanded (meaning that it shows all heading levels), and if you have a lot of headings it makes it hard to find the right one. Shouldn’t there be an easy way to collapse all the headings? And then also an easy way to expand them all?
Well, there is. Just right click on any topic and then choose Expand All or Collapse All.