Thesaurus in Word

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Have you ever been at a loss for the right word when you write a letter? Did you know that your computer can help? Most people don’t know this, but Microsoft Word has a built-in thesaurus that can help you find the right word with just a click of the mouse. Best of all, it’s really easy to use. Just click on a word you want to change, then simply hold down the shift key and hit the F7 button. We also call this a Shift-F7. After you’ve done that a window will pop up with a list of other words you might use instead of the current one. Now here’s a Peter Kay pop quiz: If you need more help, what should you do? Hit the F1 key, right? RIGHT. Word’s thesaurus has become a valuable tool for me when I write and I’m sure it will work well for you to. Try it!

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Speed up Browsing with Multiple Windows

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Do you spend lots of time surfing the Internet? How would you like to increase your productivity by 2-3 times for free? One of the best ways to do that is by opening more than one web browser window at a time. By having several windows open, you can be working in one while the other one loads new pages. It also makes going back to previous screens many, many times faster and is perfect for navigating large, complex Web sites. Here’s how you do it: the next time you want to click on a link, use the right mouse button instead (we call this a right-click) and a menu will pop up. Click on the choice that says “open link in new window” or something to that effect and you’ll notice that a second window will open and show the new page, while the existing page will stay in your original window. Practice this technique because once you get the hang of it, you’ll be a “pro surfer” when it comes to the Web.

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Slow is Good

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Does learning new software stress you out? I’ve noticed that for some reason, most people feel like they have to operate the computer quickly. This pressure to move fast creates stress because you really need to move slowly in order to learn things properly. Now, the funny part is that there is absolutely no reason that you should feel rushed. One of the wonderful things about computers is that they are infinitely patient. A computer has absolutely no problem waiting for an entire day for you to press one button; it does not get upset because you are taking a lot of time to figure something out. In fact, I have a Peter Kay Zen rule for you to remember: To learn quickly, move slowly. Use that tip the next time and you’ll see great results.

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Set Word to show your revisions

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When someone emails you a word document and asks for your review, how do you make changes and communicate them back? Most people put their changes in bold or underline but that really kinda messes up the document right? I’ll be you didn’t know that there’s a super cool feature in Word that is specifically designed for making and approving changes to documents. Hit the F1 key, and search for “Track Changes”. This really awesome feature automatically highlights all the changes you make to a document without any extra effort. This way when you send the file back to the original author, they have the chance to either approve or reject any of your changes. Once you get the hang of using the “track changes” feature you’ll wonder how you ever got along without it. It’s the best way to work on a document together.

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Replace the home page on your Web browser

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When you fire up your favorite Web browser, what’s default home page? Is it your favorite site? No? Did you know you could change it? It’s really easy and here’s how: Hit the F1 key for online help and do a search for “home page”, follow the instructions, and from then on you’ll get the home page you want to see every time you start your browser. I’ve seen some people create a simple Web page consisting of links to their favorite sites and then make that their default. You can actually use something like Word to create this file, save it on your hard drive, and then make it your default home page. A business can set the default home page in all the company browsers to show the latest announcements. This little trick will amaze your friends, inspire your coworkers, and change your life forever (well, not exactly but it sure is cool).

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