Recently, I volunteered to help a friend on a project which required delivering a weekly Excel summary. When I asked my friend how the spreadsheet looked, he hesitated. He looked me in the eyes and said, “It’s too complicated”. My immediate reaction was disappointment. I knew the one I produced was simpler, but I didn’t know what “too complicated” meant. It turns out the data was fine. I simply needed to show him how to freeze the Excel columns to make scrolling easier.
Tutorial Listing
These pages include all the site tutorials regardless of category. These mainly cover Microsoft and Google products. In addition, there are some posts that provide information about key terms. Presently, the categories include:
Microsoft Excel
Microsoft Word
Google - (Includes Chrome, Gmail, Docs & Search)
Terms - Articles about different technologies
This section is several pages long so be sure to use the blue Next Page >> button at the bottom or the search box to the right.
Some reader favorites include:
How to use VLOOKUP
How to clean up your Gmail account
How to remove Chrome Extensions
How to create a Gmail distribution list
How to create a Cornell Notes template in Word
How to Review Your Google Security Settings
We’re living in an interconnected world which offers a lot of conveniences. We can use Google, Facebook, OAuth to connect us to online services and apps. The downside is that there are more “bad actors” trying to trick us and gain access to our info.
Customizing the Excel Ribbon for Your Needs
One issue I run into with this site is software updates. I’ll be updating an article and low and behold, something is missing or changed. Usually, this is a result of software changes. The area that is impacted the most is the Excel Ribbon. In two articles, I noticed I was missing the Forms button and in the other case, the Excel Developer tab. Both issues are easily fixed when you know how to customize the ribbon.
How to Learn Gmail Shortcuts with TinyCards
Keyboard shortcuts are a great way to enhance your productivity. The benefits are compounded the more you use a program like Gmail. The problem is learning them and committing them to memory. In the case of Gmail, there are quite a few and some don’t seem intuitive to me. I decided to test the TinyCards system and build a card deck to help me learn them faster. And you can get it too.
Easy Ways to Make a Google Docs Letterhead Template
People often think Google Docs isn’t full-featured. However, it can handle many of the tasks of commercial programs. But sometimes, you just have to know how to work around the system. In this tutorial, I show how to make a letterhead template with a logo.
Word Spell Check Woes
Ever have one of those days where you're trying to get out an important document, but you find the spellchecker in Word isn't working? Sometimes you can't check a specific document and other times you can't spell-check any documents. Either way, you might try some of these suggested solutions.
The Hidden Strengths of Excel Tables
One of my favorite quotes comes from Yogi Berra who said “You can observe a lot by just watching”. In this case, I was watching someone work with Excel and doing various tips to make the spreadsheet more usable. In fact, I’ve written about many of those tips. I suggested to my co-worker that he could reduce steps by using Excel Tables. And no, I’m not talking about pivot tables but something simpler and equally powerful. (Includes sample Excel file.)
Using Browser History to Find Elusive Pages
Ever had the situation where you need to go back to a web page you visited but can’t recall the URL or site? This happened to me this week. I knew the site name, but not the specific page. My attempts to find it using the site’s search didn’t work well. I couldn’t recall the right words and got too many results. And then I remembered I could find the page using my browser history.
An Easy Way to Learn Excel Macros with the Recorder
If you’ve ever wanted to dabble with Excel macros, this tutorial and video on the macro recorder will get you started. Includes a sample workbook link so you can follow along.
The Basics of the Excel IF Function
One way to make your Excel spreadsheets smarter is to use the IF function. The program will evaluate one field to see if it’s true and enter a new value based on whether the condition was met. This article and sample worksheet shows a simple example of calculating an allowance.