If you struggle with creating and applying templates in OneNote, the Template Manager add-in has been updated to work with OneNote 2010. This unsupported tool from OneNote team member Jeff Cardon lets you create and apply templates with relative ease. Once you install the appropriate version (32-bit...

If you want to design your own postcard, there's no need to start from scratch. You can find some great templates on Office.com, which you can access from inside of Microsoft Word. Here's an example of how to modify a picture postcard template to make it your own. First, if working with high resolution...

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...

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...

A coworker approached me recently with a problem. Her stakeholder was resisting the move to a new Excel template - preferring an out-of-date Word version - because it was proving tricky to print everything out quickly, a step he liked to use to review before submitting requests. I helped her streamline...

If you've ever wanted to pick a theme in PowerPoint but didn't care for its gaudy background, this tip is for you. There's a very quick way to turn off the background in both PowerPoint 2007 and PowerPoint 2010. On the Design tab, select the theme that has the fonts and layout you want to start with...

You probably think of PowerPoint as simply a tool for presentations. But with its powerful layout and design capabilities, you could use it for a lot of different things - from wallpaper and Twitter backgrounds to holiday cards. Even if you have no design sense, you can easily create custom cards from...

We've discussed how to use Outlook OFT files for creating reusable mail templates when you, say, prepare a weekly newsletter to send to customers or deliver regular status reports to your extended team. They're equally useful when creating a mail for someone else - such as your boss - to send. Personally...

If you have an Excel spreadsheet that you want to re-use without all of the data (say, to share with colleagues or use as a generic input form), you'll want to keep all of the formulas and text fields intact but clear the input values. The quickest way to do this is with the Go to Special command, which...

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 has strong corporate branding and use s a specific...

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 . ---- I enjoy writing and creating presentations, but I'm certainly not...

If you want to overlay text over a picture in OneNote, the important thing is that you should NOT paste the picture into a container. You can cut and paste, drag and drop, or use the Insert menu and select Pictures and then the source ( From Files if the picture is on your computer). If you don't see...

If you regularly send the same or similar mails such as a formatted report (say, a weekly team summary), an event invitation, or maybe a newsletter, Outlook templates can be real time savers. It doesn't really take much time to set up. Once it is set up, you can open the file, make any updates or changes...