Uncovering Office’s Hidden Gems

Uncovering Office’s Hidden Gems

Microsoft Office is chock full of helpful features and functions to aid workplace productivity. But some of the most useful Office tools remain relatively unknown, buried behind menus and complex settings. In this article, we’ll shine a light on some of Office’s hidden gems – obscure yet handy features to give your workflow a boost. Read on to unlock the full power of Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more!

Freeze Panes for Easy Excel References

• Microsoft Excel allows creating expansive, data-rich worksheets. But large tables often mean constantly losing track of which columns represent what values. Excel’s Freeze Panes tool solves that headache.
• By freezing the top row and/or first column on a sheet, those headings stay locked on screen while you scroll through the rest of the data. No more endlessly panning back to check what each column means. Freeze Panes lets you reference column names at a glance, greatly easing analysis and reporting.
• It takes just a few clicks to freeze part of your worksheet. Select the cell below/to the right of where you want freeze and go to View > Freeze Panes in the ribbon. Customize your Freeze Panes, then scroll unfettered while referring to frozen headers. This obscure Excel trick simplifies data analysis immensely.

Morphing Object Transitions in PowerPoint

• For truly engaging slide transitions in PowerPoint, look beyond simple fades and wipes. The Morph transition lets you animate seamless movement and transformation of objects across slides.
• You can morph shapes, text, images, and charts into completely different objects. For example, morph a photo of a golf ball into a flying airplane across slides. The morphing happens fluidly with graphics transforming naturally.
• After selecting corresponding objects on two slides, go to Transitions > Morph to link the animation. Get creative with multi-object and multi-slide morph sequences to take PowerPoint transitions to the next level. Just don’t overdo it – subtlety is key for morphs.

Outlook Quick Steps to Automate Workflows

• Managing high volumes of email often involves repetitious workflows in Microsoft Outlook. Quick Steps allows creating multi-step rules to automate common actions like moving messages to certain folders.
• Build Quick Steps workflows such as:
  – Flag message from boss and move to Follow Up
  – Categorize support emails into cases and assign status
  – Tag external newsletters and move to newsletter folder
• Access Quick Steps under Manage Quick Steps on the Home tab ribbon. Configure the triggers and actions, then execute your automated workflow in one click. Eliminate repetitive manual email processing with Outlook Quick Steps.

Customize the Ribbon in Microsoft Word

• The ribbon interface in Word provides quick access to functions through tabs and icons. But the default ribbon arrangement isn’t always ideal for your specific needs.
• No problem – Word allows extensive customization of the ribbon so you can tailor it to your workflow. You can add new tabs, remove inactive ones, and rearrange icons within groups.
• Right-click on any ribbon tab and select Customize the Ribbon. From here, change existing tabs or build new ones containing just the features you use frequently. Get to your most-used Word tools faster by custom crafting the perfect ribbon.

Merge Shapes Creatively in Word

• Need a shape that Word doesn’t offer pre-built? No worries, you can merge existing shapes to create custom graphics.
• Under Drawing Tools > Format, select Merge Shapes. Choose two or more defined shapes, and Word will unite them into a new uniquely shaped object. Merge circles, triangles, arrows, lines, and rectangles to produce elaborate graphics for documents.
• This trick enables crafting shapes perfectly tailored for your purposes in Word, beyond the basics. Make organizational charts, flow diagrams, Venn diagrams, and other illustrations without relying on clip art.

Visualize Data Trends in Access Reports

• Microsoft Access allows easily visualizing database table contents through built-in charting tools.
• When designing an Access report, simply add a chart control object from the toolbox and pick the data to plot. Whether area, bar, column or pie charts, illuminate trends and relationships graphically without exporting data elsewhere.
• Toggle chart types and customize colors, labels, scale and other options. Insert data breakdown charts directly inside reports for clearer insights from Access data.

Conclusion

While just a sampling, these examples showcase the potential productivity gains from mastering Office’s lesser-used features. Beyond the basics, Office offers an endless depth of tools and customization if you take time to dive deeper. Keep exploring menu options and researching obscure functions to mold Word, Excel, PowerPoint and more to your exact work needs.

Have you discovered any hidden Office gems? Share your favorite underused features and productivity tips in the comment