Selected Software Tips from CompuSavvy

Customize the Quick Access Toolbar:

Do you miss the standard and formatting toolbars that were available in earlier versions of Word? If so, not to worry. You can customize the Quick Access Toolbar so that it works (more or less) like the old toolbars.

First, right-click within the Quick Access Toolbar and then click Show Quick Access Toolbar Below the Ribbon. The advantage of moving the QAT below the Ribbon is that it will expand to a full-length toolbar, one that stretches across your screen —allowing you to add buttons for the commands you use most often.

Once you have moved the QAT, you might want to add icons that show the font size and the style of the text at the cursor position. To add those icons, right-click within the QAT and click Customize Quick Access Toolbar.

When the Customize... dialog box appears, click the "Choose commands from" drop-down and select "All commands." Then navigate to Font Size, and click the Add button in the middle of the screen.

Next, navigate to Style (not Styles...). You should see an arrow to the right of the word "Style," indicating that this command has a drop-down list. Click the Add button, then click OK.

Now, regardless of which tab is active, you can see the font size and the style of the text at the cursor position in the document, which can be very useful.

You can add other icons to the Quick Access Toolbar using the same method outlined above.

To remove an icon from the QAT, right-click and click Customize... then, in the box on the right-hand side of the Customize dialog, click the icon you want to delete and click the Remove button. Note that you can't select more than one icon at a time; you have to remove individual icons serially.

MS Word Tip (all versions)

Date Code:

To insert a date code in your document, press Alt Shift D. (This code will update automatically whenever you open or print the document.)

If the date code format isn't to your liking, click Insert > Date and Time (in Word 2007, click the Insert tab, Text group, Date & Time), select a format you prefer, and click the "Default" button. That format will be used as the default from now on.

WordPerfect Tip (all versions)

Date Text / Date Code:

To insert today's date in your document, press Ctrl D. (Note: This keystroke inserts the date as hard text, not a code. It will not update.) To insert a date code in your document, press Ctrl Shift D. (This keystroke inserts a code will update automatically whenever you open or print the document.)

MS Word Tip (all versions)

Quick Heading Styles:

To apply heading styles quickly, insert your cursor into the paragraph you want to format as a heading and press one of the following key combinations:

• For a Heading 1 style: Ctrl Alt 1
• For a Heading 2 style: Ctrl Alt 2
• For a Heading 3 style: Ctrl Alt 3

There is no built-in keyboard shortcut for heading styles 4 through 9, but it is simple to set up your own.

Windows XP Tip

Burning a Data or Music CD:

You might not be aware that Windows XP comes with a built-in CD burner.

When you insert a blank CD into your CD or DVD drive, a dialog box will pop up, asking whether you want to burn a CD. The prompt typically asks which of several specific tasks you want to perform. One of the tasks is: Open writable CD folder using Windows Explorer.

If you click to select (highlight) that task, then click OK, a window will open. This is a temporary holding place where you can drag and drop (or copy using the Copy command) files you want to copy to the CD. To perform the drag-and-drop function or copy files to the holding area, click the Folders button on the toolbar. That button is a toggle which turns the folder view on and off. If necessary, click the plus sign next to Local Disk (C:) to expand the C: drive so you can see all of the folders on the drive, then a particular folders to see its contents.

Next, simply select the files you want to copy and use your preferred method for copying (click the Edit menu, Copy; press Ctrl C; or right-click the files and then click Copy). Locate the CD Drive icon in the folders pane of the My Computers or Windows Explorer window, click to select the icon, and use your preferred method for pasting (Edit menu, Paste; Ctrl V; or right- click, Paste).

You're not done yet! Remember that you've just moved the files to a temporary holding file before actually burning the CD. In order to start the CD-burning process, you need to click the File menu, then click "Write these files to CD." Doing so initiates the Windows XP CD- Writing Wizard.

When the Wizard appears, type a (short) name for the CD in the box with the blue highlighting, then click the Next button. The Wizard will start writing the files to the CD. This process typically takes only a few minutes. When the CD is finished, Windows ejects the CD and a prompt appears, asking you if you would like to burn another CD using the same files. If you don't want to do so, just click the Finish button.

Another way to burn files to a CD is to open either My Computer or Windows Explorer, select the files, then right-click them and click "Send to... CD Drive."

Windows prompts you that you have files to be written to the CD. To do so, click the File menu, "Write these files to CD." Then follow the steps outlined above to run the CD-Writing Wizard.

MS Word Tip (all versions)

File Name and Path:

To insert a code for the file name and path in Word, position your cursor, then simply type "filename and path" (without the quotation marks, but with spaces between the words) and press F3.

Is there some way to insert the file name and path without typing that long phrase?

I'm so glad you asked. After you have done the above once, select the resulting code, then click Insert > AutoText > New (or simply press Alt F3), and type a short descriptive word, such as "path" or "tag" (without the quotation marks). Then click "OK" or press "Enter." (Note: This step works in versions of Word up to but not including Word 2007. In Word 2007, select the code, then click the Insert tab, Text group, Quick Parts. Navigate to the bottom of the menu, click "Save to Quick Parts Gallery," and when the dialog box opens, type a short name for the code, such as "path" or "tag" without the quotation marks -- and then click OK.)

Now, when you want to insert the file name and path, type your descriptive word, then press F3. And there's your file name and path code!

To insert a name for the file name only (without the path), type "filename" (without the quotation marks, but without a space between "file" and "name") and press F3.

WordPerfect Tip (all versions since at least WP8)

File Name and Path:

To insert a code for the file name and path in WordPerfect, position your cursor, then click Insert | Other | Path and Filename.

Is there an easier way?? Sure.

After inserting the code using the above method, select the code, then click Tools | QuickWords. (If you haven't yet saved your document, you won't be able to see the code unless you turn on Reveal Codes by pressing Alt F3 or clicking View | Reveal Codes.) Type an abbreviation or short word, such as "path" or "tag" (without the quotation marks). But if you think you might use that actual word ("path" or "tag," for example) in a document, be sure to put a character such as a backslash or an asterisk ahead of the word. (Your abbreviation will look something like \tag or *path.)

Now, when you want to insert the file name and path, type your abbreviation (be sure to include the leading character -- i.e., the backslash or asterisk), then press the space bar, the Enter key, or the Tab key. That will insert your file name and path code!

MS Word Tip (all versions)

Indent a Block Quotation:

To indent a block quotation, either insert your cursor into the text you wish to indent or position your cursor at the point in the document where you will type the text to be indented. Then click the Format menu, Paragraph (in Word 2007, click the Paragraph dialog launcher on the Home tab). You should see an Indents and Spacing tab with fields for Indentation left and right. Set the left indentation for 1" and then do the same for the right indentation. OK out of the dialog box.

The paragraph your cursor is in will now be indented 1" from the left and 1" from the right. When you press the Enter key, the next paragraph will retain the same indentation. To remove the indentation, repeat the steps above and set both the left and right indentation to 0". Then OK out of the dialog box. (Alternatively, pressing Ctrl Q will remove the indentation of the paragraph your cursor is in.)

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