Welcome to Productivity Portfolio. This website contains hundreds of “how to” articles, computer tips, software tutorials and product reviews. The site mainly helps people using Microsoft Windows, but anyone can benefit from the free content. I like to think the more knowledgeable you are about the tools you use, the more productive you can be. Ideally, I’d like to teach you so you can teach others.

 

Take your time and look around. The most recent article summaries show on this page. You may focus on an area by using the menu to the right. Or, you can use our custom search engine to look for a specific article from us or other respected sites. And if you’re short on time, consider getting notifications via email,  RSS or Twitter.

Home
Displaying Excel Filter Selections
Have you ever received an Excel file and wondered how it was filtered without checking each column’s data filter? Or, maybe you needed to send a file and show your filters. That was a problem I faced recently when I started with a list of 3200 non-profits for the county. I needed a way for the recipients to see my autofilter criteria at a glance. (Includes Excel lesson file and code.)
Learn more...
 
Adding Holidays to Outlook Calendar
When doing some resource planning with colleagues, I noticed that my Outlook 2007 Calendar didn’t show any holidays. For this project, I needed to see US and Canadian holidays, but they were missing. Fortunately, I was able to quickly add these items for the next 4 years.
Learn more...
 
Leveraging Local Resources
Have you ever wondered what’s replaced your phonebook? People still have a need to find a business, but the data sources and retrieval methods have changed. If you’ve got a business or non-profit, you might want to look into these local directories. You might think of them as internet yellow pages on steroids. All offer a free listing and many have additional services for a fee. Even if you don’t plan to use the pay services, you should verify your business listing is correct. Otherwise, your competitor may profit. (Includes resource spreadsheet)
Learn more...
 
Methods to Block Websites
Fall is my favorite season and for some reason it brings in the most reader questions. This year is no different except that there was one dominant question that was asked in many ways. It has to do with how to block websites. The interesting part is that no age group or gender was excluded. I’ve got four solutions that don’t require you part with any funds.
Learn more...
 
Finding Excel Word Count
Recently, I attended an industry summit that had an expert’s panel where people provided their best tips. One Excel tip involved filtering cells with a certain number of words. A nice tip, but it left some attendees wondering where Excel’s word count function was. The program doesn’t have this feature, but you can get the answer by creating an Excel formula to count words. (Includes sample Excel worksheet and formula)
Learn more...
 
Tracking Web Information with Alert Services
I often get questions from readers asking how to keep current or track certain topics. The answer often depends on what you’re trying to monitor and how you want the alerts. The two free notification services I use are Google Alerts and ZapTXT.
Learn more...
 
Outlook Hyperlinks Fail to Work
Sometimes you don’t realize how much you appreciate a feature until it breaks. One example is Outlook hyperlinks in an email. It’s so convenient to click the link in the email and have the correct web page open. What I dislike is when a hyperlink in Outlook doesn’t work and I get some error or no action. Below, I’ve listed 3 solutions to this link problem.
Learn more...