I get two responses whenever I mention PivotTables at parties: People either love them or run screaming. Clearly there has to be some way to get the latter group into the former. No one I talk to ever says, "Oh, I totally get how to use PivotTables...

By default, your unread messages in Outlook display the sender and date in bold, but this is a little subtle. You can increase the font size and even turn the text another color to really make them stand out. From the View menu, select Current View and...

Even if you've found the perfect job—where every moment is a thrill, every task is an exciting challenge, every responsibility is a privilege and every coworker is a saint—Windows 7 has found a way to bring more inspiration to your work. I refer, of course...

If you're on a corporate Exchange server, you've no doubt received warnings from time to time that your mailbox is approaching its size limit. It's usually right after the team offsite when everyone sends massive collections of digital photos around instead...

When you open e-mail attachments, Microsoft Word assumes you want to read them so it uses Reading View to make this easier. But perhaps you spend your days mostly editing other people's documents or just prefer the default view. No problem. Click the...

Today, we have a guest blogger. Elyssa is an editor and project manager at Brainstorm , a leading provider of online and onsite software training and one of our partners that provides customized content for your Productivity Hub . ---- Have you ever needed...

If you're using Windows 7, you may not need this tip since the Libraries feature lets you map several folders into one library. But even then, if you want files saved to an external or network drive, it can come in handy. In Word, go to the Office button...

There's a restless spirit in some of us, yearning to be free. A philosopher in some of us, striving for order. An artist in some of us, desperately seeking expression. Once again, Windows 7 is here for us, giving us the tools we need to become fully actualized...

Are you slowed down when you spell-check your documents by words that you use every day that it just doesn't know? You could simply right-click them and select Add to Dictionary . Problem solved. From now on, the words you've added will be known to your...

There's not one but two great keyboard shortcuts in Microsoft Outlook that are based on the V key. First, if you want to create a new message that contains the contents of your clipboard (selected using either the Cut or Copy commands), just use Control...

If you're tired of seeing error messages in your Excel 2007 cells, there's a quick way to change them to whatever you'd like to appear. Just use IFERROR. In this example, the Percent column has four results. In C2 , you can see a correct result. In C3...

If you have Windows Vista or Windows 7, you probably have the default Gadgets on your desktop displaying a handy clock and calendar. But did you know you can show your upcoming Outlook appointments there as well? First, download the Outlook Appointments...

Those of us who dream of a faster, more efficient search experience—and who doesn't?—are seeing our dreams come true with Windows 7. First, we're all waking up to search that runs much, much faster than with previous Windows versions. I could go on and...

My post 4 ways to make your point with PowerPoint has proven to be so popular, it inspired me to revisit PowerPoint presentations and consider the things that go beyond those simple guidelines. Do revise or cut slides that don't work. As with movie-making...

If you're a visual person, you'll appreciate this next tip. Did you know that your Microsoft Office 2007 documents can be saved with thumbnail images? Then, when you view the files in Windows Explorer or the Open dialog box using Medium Icons or larger...

Today, we have a guest blogger. Elyssa is an editor and project manager at Brainstorm , a leading provider of online and onsite software training and one of our partners that provides customized content for your Productivity Hub . ---- If your company...

Have you ever had a wrong or outdated e-mail address appear from Outlook name suggestions when you were typing a name into the To: field? There's an easy way to fix this. Just select the name but don't press Enter. Instead, press the Delete key. There...

If I had a dollar for every hour I've spent navigating to files, folders, and programs I use all the time ... I'd have one heck of a high-value Starbucks card. How many lattes would you be able to buy? To streamline and simplify your computer-based tasks...

Have you ever wondered if people are reading your messages? Perhaps you want to follow-up with a coworker when they start reviewing that document you sent them. Fortunately, Outlook 2007 can provide read receipts that let you know when your mails are...

If you're a visual person, you might appreciate this next tip. You can organize your e-mails visually in Outlook 2007 with color-coded categories. First, click this four-color button on your Outlook toolbar and then select All Categories from the dropdown...

By default, Microsoft Word and PowerPoint print your documents in the background, and most of the time this is fine. Background printing frees you up to do other work while your documents spool. But what if you have a really long document and a deadline...

Someone showed me this trick the other day, and I just had to pass it along. If you ever have had to create placeholder sentences in Microsoft Word 2007, say to show the layout of a newsletter that isn't written yet, you might be tempted to just hit some...