If your Word document looks like a wall of text and you have no pictures, tables, or diagrams to break up all of the gray, try adding some pull quotes. Find short statements to emphasize that will draw your readers deeper in to the document. Once you have your quote in mind, go to the Insert tab and...

If you spend a lot of time working with styles, this next tip is for you. And it works in both Word 2007 and Word 2010. To view the active style and quickly change it or modify the base style, you can use the Ctrl+Shift+S shortcut to open the Apply Styles dialog box: Best of all, you can dock this so...

There are a few different ways to create horizontal divider lines in Word 2007 and Word 2010. The most commonly used one is done by typing three hyphens ( --- ) and then pressing Enter : If you want a dotted line, use three asterisks ( *** ): Three equal signs ( === ) gives you a double line: Three underscores...

If you want to limit the use of styles and themes in a Word document that you and your teammates are collaborating on, there's a tucked away feature that does just that - and it works in both Word 2007 and Word 2010. First, click the tiny launcher button below the Change Styles button on your Home tab...

How many times have you started a PowerPoint presentation and then realized you needed to use a different template? Fortunately, there's an easy way to copy over the theme from one presentation to another. This works in both PowerPoint 2007 and PowerPoint 2010. First, open both your source and destination...

If you color-code the text in your Word documents, you may feel constrained by the 15 Highlight Color choices: Fortunately, there's another command available if you want to expand your color palette: Shading . The button is not far from the Highlight Color selector on the Word toolbar: It's just about...

It's easy to create an Outlook signature. Just click on the Signature button in a new message, select Signatures and then click New and start typing. The only problem with this approach is that the signature editor is fairly limited. A better option is to use the new mail message itself. You'll have...

When authoring in Microsoft Word, the default template automatically skips a line between paragraphs - which is visually pleasing and does make it easier to read. But what if you're authoring in Word for another destination, such as a blog or social media site? When you cut and paste your text into your...

If you're working on a report and want to add a cover page before printing or sharing it, just go to the Insert tab in Word 2007 or Word 2010 and click the Cover Page button: There are a number of designs built in, or you can download more from Office.com. Once you've selected a page design you like...

There are many ways to clear and adjust formatting in Microsoft Word 2007 and 2010. You can use smart tags when you cut and paste, select styles from the toolbar, search and replace formats , and even pick up and copy styles you like with the Format Painter . But if all you want to do is clear all unwanted...

If you want your mail to stand out a little from the pack of messages invading your coworkers and clients Inboxes, you can always add a background color. Just be careful not to choose a color that is so dark it affects readability or so garish that it impedes your perceived professionalism. If you just...

You probably already use the highlighter pen tool to mark up favorite phrases or passages needing work in your Microsoft Word documents. But did you know that you can quickly select and copy all of your highlighted text to a new document? In Word 2010, click the small arrow next to the Find button on...

Have you ever noticed that glowing button on your ribbon in Word 2010? It’s the gateway to a number of Text Effects that you can use to dress up your documents: Let’s say you’re making a flier for the company picnic. A nice bright sunny theme might brighten things up! Select a suitable style (like the...

Do you spend a lot of time making your slides uniform in PowerPoint? If so, perhaps you’re not familiar with the Slide Master. No, that’s not what people call me. It’s a feature that lets you edit all of the master slides in your deck. Then all slides based on the different types will be updated to match...

It's 2011, and if you're like me, you know there are some things you should have mastered last year that you didn't get to - so you resolve to tackle them when the calendar rolls over. Here are 65 popular tasks we frequently hear that customers want to learn - and which Productivity Hub can help you...

If you had to choose a program to use for changing case (UPPERCASE, lowercase, Sentence case, etc.) Microsoft Word works best in most cases. It has several options available, and the changes you make are retained if you copy and paste them. But Excel can be useful at this task too, if you understand...

If you're trained in design or typesetting, you'll be thrilled to know that Word 2010 offers even more control over your type including options for kerning of letters, ligatures, number spacing, and more. Simply select the text you want to adjust, right click, choose Font , and go to the Advanced tab...

One significant improvement to OneNote in Office 2010 is the addition of styles, which can be used to apply six levels of headings, body text, quotes, citations, and even code samples. Simply select the text you want to change and then pick the style from the dropdown list on the Home tab: Styles are...

If you create your own custom styles or just want a quick way to view and modify existing ones, you should turn on the style area pane in Microsoft Word. The option is tucked away: Go to File , Options , Advanced , and then scroll down to the Display section. Now enter a value in the text box next to...

Clearing out cells of font mismatches, fill colors, hyperlinks, comments, and conditional formatting doesn't have to be tedious. There's a much easier way. First select the cells you want to clear. In Excel 2007, you need to go to the Edit menu and select the Clear command to access Clear Formats . In...

ou've probably seen books that started each chapter with a large letter. If you want that same effect for your work documents (say, an annual report or brochure), this is easy to accomplish in both Word 2007 and Word 2010. Simply select the paragraph where you want the drop cap (as these giant letters...

If you spend a lot of time removing the formatting from text that you copy into Office documents (say, text from emails or web pages into Microsoft Word), you should adjust your default paste options. The quickest way to do this in Office 2007 or Office 2010 is just to paste some text into your document...

You've probably printed wide Word documents in landscape mode, and you may have even changed a whole document to Landscape using the Page Layout tab's Orientation button. But did you know that you can selectively create individual pages in landscape mode for that really wide chart, table, or image? By...

The default rectangular comment boxes in Excel are fine for your typical business use case scenario, but when you're working on spreadsheets for home (such as the allowance chart we shared), you might want to cut loose a little! Here's how to change the shape of your comments to a comic-style word balloon...

If you want to add a quick table in a Microsoft Word document or Outlook message without having to switch to the Insert Table tool or even dragging your mouse, try this little text trick. Just outline how many cells you want across using this format: +_+_+_+ Then press Enter to convert the underscores...