Line Spacing in Microsoft Word
A few days ago I discovered a new shortcut to changing the line spacing in Microsoft Word. This shortcut should work with whatever version of Microsoft Word you own or use. It is very simple. There are a couple of ways that you can do it. First, you can place your mouse pointer at the start of the paragraph that you wish to change line spacing. Let’s say that we currently have single line spacing and we want to change it to double line spacing. After placing your mouse pointer at the beginning of the paragraph, press the “CTRL” key and “2″ together. This should change the line spacing from one line to two lines. Another method you can use is by highlighting the text you wish to change and pressing the same key combination. To make text single line spacing press the “CTRL” key and “1″. Try it for yourself…it works! It saves a lot of time by not having to use the menu or toolbars.
Converting .docx files to .doc
We have many people who come into the computer center wanting to open a file that was created by Microsoft Word 2007. The new version of Microsoft Word came with a change in extension format. Before the 2007 Word the extension ended in .doc. With Microsoft Word 2007 it now ends in .docx. This creates a problem because we still use Microsoft Word 2002 which uses the old extension. So Microsoft Word 2002 can’t open a Word 2007 file. However, there are some things which can be done to correct this or override this problem.
First, if you have any version of Microsoft Office besides 2007, there is a compatibility pack that can be downloaded to your computer which will allow you to open a .docx file in a older version of Word. The website for that compatibility pack is Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.
There is also a website called Zamzar which can convert files to different formats. It is a fairly easy tool to use. Basically you find the file you wish to convert and choose the format in which you want it in and then enter your email address. As soon as the conversion is complete, an email will be sent to you. Sometimes this only takes a few minutes but at other times it can take hours.
There are other programs available on the Internet that can be used to convert files. Just do a Google search for “file conversion” or something similiar and you should be able to find other resources which might prove to be helpful.
Alternatives to Microsoft Word
In recent days my computer as decided that it is time to shut down when I open up Microsoft Word or try to open up any kind of Word document. Until the problem is solved there are several remedies that I could use temporarily. First there are portable office suites that you can install on your flash drive. It isn’t Microsoft Word but they work basically the same way. One portable app is called Open Office. It is also available for download to a computers hard drive as well. Open Office is one alternative office suite that is most similar to Microsoft Word and it is compatible with Microsoft Word.
Another method of using office suites is to use online office suites like Google Docs or Zoho. Both of these office suites are free to use. You must first create an account. The downside to using online office suites is that there is not guarantee that the Internet service will always be available. Things happen and when things happen you lose power which means you lose your Internet connection. On the other hand, online apps are pretty much available at any Internet connected computer. You don’t need to download any special package in order to use it.
Microsoft Office Alternative
When purchasing both my desktop PC and laptop, I wasn’t given many options in regards to a word processing suite. If you wanted Microsoft Office there was an additional cost to have it added to the PC. With both my computers I was given Microsoft Works, which is basically a watered-down version of the Microsoft Office suite. To be honest with you, I am not that fond of Works. First of all, it doesn’t have all the features of Microsoft Office. Second, I don’t like the interface of Works. Third, sometimes it is not compatible to other programs.
Without going into debt, there are other alternatives to Microsoft Office and Microsoft Works. There are online programs such as Google Docs that is capable of handling most formats. There is also alternate office suites which can be downloaded to your computer at a very reasonable price…free! Open Office is one such example of free word processing. The multiplatform and multilingual office suite is free to download, use and distribute. For Open Office 2 the system requirements for a Windows-based system are as follows:
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Windows 98, Windows ME, Windows 2000 (Service Pack 2 or higher), Windows XP, Windows 2003, Windows Vista (enhanced Vista integration from version 2.2)
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128 Mbytes RAM
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At least 800 Mbytes available disk space for a default install (including a JRE) via download. After installation and deletion of temporary installation files, OpenOffice.org will use approximately 440 Mbytes disk space.
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800 x 600 or higher resolution with at least 256 colours
Other system requirements can be found by going here.
This Microsoft Office alternative has basically the same features of Microsoft Office, just without the high price.
There are several components to Open Office. In some ways I believe that Open Office is a better program than its competition. Here are the components:
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Writer
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Calc
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Impress
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Draw
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Base
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Math
Each of these components can be examined further by visiting: http://www.openoffice.org/product/product.html.
Homewood Public Library’s Online Tutorials
The Homewood Public Library offers online tutorals for both Microsoft Word and Microsoft Excel. Each tutorial has three sections. I just finished taking Part 1 of the Microsoft Excel tutorial and it is an excellent tutorial for a beginner. Here is the link to the tutorials: http://www.homewood.lib.al.us/CSD/trainingLab.html#onlineTutorials.
Autosummarize in Word
Last night I discovered something new on Microsoft Word. Since I have Microsoft Office 2003 I thought that it was a new feature for this version. As I was working on Word today, I checked to see whether the same feature was on the 2002 version. And guess what! It was and I would have never known it was there if I hadn’t been working on my project last night.
It is a pretty neat feature. Especially for those who write for a living. It is called “Autosummarize”.
It allows you to create a summary, highlighting the keypoints of the message. You have a lot of control over what you create. Here is a screenshot of what you will see after you select Autosummarize.
After you decide how you want it to summarize you will automatically be given the new page with the changes on it. The “autosummary” is at the top of the page.
Scanning Capabilities
The RLCC has scanning capabilities available to the general public. If you need assistance with scanning a document or image you may ask any staff member in the RLCC. You will need to have a floppy disk to save your information once you have completed your task. If you don’t have a floppy disk, the RLCC does sell floppy disks for $1 each. Also, we charge a $1 per scan. The scanning capabilities include the ability to scan a document directly onto a software program file such as Microsoft Word. Also, when you scan you can choose to have the image or document scanned directly onto the location in which you want it saved. So if you are wanting it to be saved to your floppy disk, you would simply choose the floppy disk from the drop down menu of items. You also need to select what format you want the item to be saved as. If it is a text file you can save it as a simple text file, html file or even a PDF file. For images, you may save it as a JPEG, GIF, or BMP. If you have multiple pages to scan and you want them in the same document, then we can assist you with that as well.
Kathy’s Tip of the Day
How do you turn a scantly filled two-page resume into a abundant one-page resume?
Trick question!? No, it is just a question that requires some thoughtful consideration and some handy computer skills that you will be able to use for a lifetime.
Well, today I am going to use a real life example that I encountered today. This person had a resume that she was trying to submit online to a job bank. The person who she was working with before she came here told her that she needed to redo her resume because there was a huge gap between sections on her resume. Needless to say this lady didn’t want to do this and I don’t blame her. First of all, there is no need to redo a resume because there is a gap within the resume. You simply make changes to the document so that there isn’t a gap anymore. So here are some tips and tricks you can use to make a two page resume into a one page resume.
- Check the size of your font. The standard size font for most business papers is a size 12. If it is larger than a size 12 then shrink it to a size 12. You will find that this will help in the majority of cases. Sometimes, though, the changing of the font size does not make any difference. On to tip 2 then…
- Change your font style. Sometimes even though your font size is on size 12, different fonts will appear smaller even though they are the same size. Take in mind, though, that you don’t want something totally outlandish for a resume. Keep in tame but look for a font that could possibly make the entire body of the resume smaller.
- You could also try condensing your resume body by eliminating anything that could possibly be left unsaid. Today, I was not successful in doing that but for some people you might find something that could be eliminated.
- Change your margins, if they can be changed.
- With this last tip make sure that your formatting symbols are showing. For formatting symbol, resize each one until you get all your information on that one page.
By using a combination of all the above mentioned methods we were successful in making a two page resume into one page. Now I would not try this with a resume that clearly had enough information to fill two pages. This particular persons resume was just a “tiny, tiny” bit over the one page. In this particular case we were able to help her and send her away very happy.
Stay tuned for more helpful tips.
Birmingham Public Library
