Earlier this week, a friend posted on Facebook about the ease of inserting a line in a Microsoft Word and the difficulty of removing it.  It seems to be a headache for many people, and I am unsure why Microsoft ships Word with the default autoformatting options to make that line.  However, once it is inserted, it is easy to remove with a couple of clicks.  If you never want that line to appear again, you can set Microsoft Word to not create the lines anymore.

Remove Existing Line From A Word Document

Microsoft Word creates those lines as borders.  To remove the line:

1. Place the cursor in the line immediately above the line.
2. On the Home tab, click on the Border formatting menu.
3. Click on No Border.  See the screenshot below for the click path.

Alternatively, if you notice the line immediately after Word inserts it, you can click on the Smart Tag to see further options.  These include undoing the border line, and stopping automatic border line creation.  See the screenshot below for the Smart Tag button and its menu options.

Set Word To Never Create Those Lines Again

In Word 2010 and 2007

1. In Word 2010, click on the File menu, and choose Options.  In Word 2007, click the Office button, and choose Word Options.
2. In the left column, click on Proofing.  Then click the Autocorrect Options button.
3. Click on the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
4. In the Apply as you type section, uncheck the box next to Border lines.  See the screenshot below.
5. Click OK, and OK again, until you return to your document.

In Word 2003

1. Go to the Tools menu, and choose AutoCorrect Options.
2. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
3. Uncheck the box next to Border lines.
4. Click OK until you return to your document.

Related Posts

• Nonbreaking Spaces and Hyphens in Microsoft Word
• Replacing with a Special Character in Microsoft Word
• Fractions in Microsoft Word

I often tell people that deleting email, especially large emails, is the best way to keep their mailbox under its size limit. But occasionally, people (myself included) delete an email or other Outlook item, then realize it was important. If you haven’t emptied your Deleted Items folder yet, then getting the item back is a breeze– just find it in the Deleted Items folder and drag it to the folder it belongs in. But if you’ve already emptied the Deleted Items folder, things get a bit trickier.

Some items can be recovered even after the Deleted Items folder has been emptied, depending on the kind of item and how long it has been since you emptied the folder. The amount of time you have to recover an item depends on your Exchange Administrator.

Recover Deleted Items in Outlook 2010

1. Select your Deleted Items folder.
2. Go to the File tab on the ribbon.
3. In the Clean Up group click Recover Deleted Items.
4. Select the item(s) you would like to recover.
5. Click Recover Selected Items.

Recover Deleted Items in Outlook 2007 

1. Select your Deleted Items folder.
2. Go to Tools > Recover Deleted Items…
3. Select the item(s) you would like to recover.
4. Click the Recover selected items button.

Please note: These instructions only apply to items sent to the Deleted Items folder and then emptied from it. If you deleted an item using the Shift + Delete shortcut (not recommended), or if you deleted an attachment but not the email, you cannot recover them through this method.

Related Items

Outlook 2010′s Clean Up Feature

Reduce Inbox Spam in Outlook

Keep Under Your Mailbox Limit by Deleting Attachments

Keeping Track of Where You Save Outlook Attachments

Send Email Without Saving It in Outlook 2007 & 2010

This week Ben came across a great article about best practices for using the Out of Office messages. I recommend it for any of you who use Out of Office messages or who are considering it.

8 Tips for Using Outlook’s Out of Office Assistant

When Ben sent me this article, I was shocked to realize that we didn’t have a post on the blog about how to set up the Out of Office Assistant in Outlook, so here goes:

Set Up Out of Office in Outlook 2010

You can choose to schedule when your message will begin and end sending, and whether you send only to people inside your organization or whether you send to people inside your org and out.

1. Go to the File tab.
2. Click on the Automatic Replies button.
3. In the window that opens, select Send Automatic Replies.
4. If you’d like to schedule your out of office message to start and stop automatically, check the Only send during this time range box. Set the start date and end date below.
5. Select the Inside My Organization tab. In the box below, type and format the message you’d like people on the same exchange server to receive.
6. Click the Outside my Organization tab. To send an Out of Office message to people outside your organization, check the Auto-reply to people outside my organization box. Type and format the message below. If you don’t want to send an Out of Office message to outside people, leave the box unchecked.
7. When you’ve finished writing messages, click OK.

Set Up Out of Office in Outlook 2007

You can choose to schedule when your message will begin and end sending, and whether you send only to people inside your organization or whether you send to people inside your org and out.

1. Go to the Tools menu and select Out of Office Assistant.
2. Select Send out of office replies.
3. If you’d like to schedule your out of office message to start and stop automatically, check the Only send during this time range box. Set the start date and end date below.
4. Select the Inside My Organization tab. In the box below, type and format the message you’d like people on the same Exchange Server to receive.
5. Click the Outside my Organization tab. To send an Out of Office message to people outside your organization, check the Auto-reply to people outside my organization box. Type and format the message below. If you don’t want to send an Out of Office message to outside people, leave the box unchecked.
6. When you’ve finished writing messages, click OK.

Set Up Out of Office in Outlook Web Access

You can choose to schedule when your message will begin and end sending, and whether you send only to people inside your organization or whether you send to people inside your org and out.

1. Log-in to Outlook Web Access.
2. In the top right corner, click the Options button.
3. In the left column, click Out of Office Assistant.
4. Select Send out of office replies.
5. If you’d like to schedule your out of office message to start and stop automatically, check the Only send during this time range box. Set the start date and end date below.
6. In the box labeled Send an auto-reply once to each sender inside my organization with the following message, type and format the message you’d like people on the same Exchange Server to receive.
7. To send an Out of Office message to people outside your organization, check the Auto-reply to people outside my organization box. Type and format the message in the box below.
8. When you’ve finished writing messages, click OK.

Related Post:

Google+

No circular references (when a formula or function references itsself) was one of the essentials in my Five Formulas and Functions Essentials post. Generally, if you have a circular reference, you’ll get an error message warning you about it. But the message doesn’t tell you where your circular reference is. And if you click Cancel on the message, it leaves the circular reference in the spreadsheet. So the question becomes, how do you find a circular reference in Excel?

Find a Circular Reference in Excel

Excel has built in error checking tools that will help you locate circular references.

1. Go to the Formulas tab.
2. In the Formula Auditing section, click the drop down arrow to the right of the Error Checking button.
3. In the menu that drops down, hover over Circular References. A window will pop out to the side telling you which cells contain circular references.

Need to Use a Circular Reference?

In some cases, you may need to use a circular reference. If you do, Chandoo.org (a great Excel resource) has a really useful post all about how to use circular references. Read Chandoo’s post on circular references.

Short notes like this are a great opportunity for the Notes feature in Outlook. It is often overlooked, but very useful. It allows you to easily access bits of information you don’t want to write on a sticky note or save to a Word doc.

Access Notes in Outlook

In the Navigation pane on the left, click on Notes or use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + 5. (Learn more keyboard shortcuts to change views in Outlook.)

Don’t see Notes in the Navigation pane? Look for the yellow notepad icon in the bar across the bottom of the Navigation pane.

Create a New Note

Here are three ways to start a new note:

• Go to the Notes view and click the New button.
• In any view, click the drop down arrow beside the New button and select Note.
• Use the keyboard shortcut Ctrl + Shift + N.

Once your new note has opened, click in the body. The first line you type will be the name displayed below your note. Below that, type or paste information. When you’ve finished, no need to save. Just click the X in the top right corner to close it. It will appear in the Notes section of Outlook.

Organize Notes

To organize your notes, just click and drag them around the white space in the Notes view. Use the buttons on the toolbar/ribbon to view them with large icons, small icons, or as a list.

Delete a Note

When a note is no longer useful, you can always delete it.

1. Go to the Notes view.
2. Click on a note.
3. Click on the Home tab of the ribbon.
4. Click the Delete button (a black X).

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. Click the Slide Number button.
3. On the Slide tab, check the Slide Number box.
4. Click Apply to All to make the slide number show on all slides, or Apply to make the slide number show on just the current slide.

But what do you do if you follow the process above and the slide number still doesn’t appear on the slide?

Check to make sure your slide master has a slide number placeholder.

The slide master is the template for the entire presentation. If the slide number placeholder does not appear on your slide master, then it will not appear on your slide, even if you try to insert it through the process above.

1.  Check to see if the placeholder appears on your slide master.

1. Go to the View tab.
2. Click on the Slide Master button.
3. Click on the outdented slide in the panel on the left. It should have a 1. next to it.
4. Look at the slide in the enlarged view on the right and see if it has a box along the bottom (or anywhere, really), that has a # sign in it. This is the slide number placeholder (circled below).

2.  Add the slide number placeholder, if you do not see it.

1. Go to the Slide Master tab.
2. Click on the Master Layout button.
3. Check the box next to Slide Number.
4. Click OK.

3.  Check the indented slide masters for each individual slide layout.

In the left pane of the Slide Master view, you’ll see a different slide representing each possible layout. See the screenshot to the right for examples. You’ll need to check each individual layout slide master to see that the slide number placeholder is visible in that layout (assuming you want to see a slide number when you use that layout).

1. Click on one of the individual slide layout masters. If the slide number placeholder appears, check the next individual slide layout master. If not, continue reading.
2. Go to the Slide Master tab on the ribbon.
3. Check the Footers box in the Master Layout section of the ribbon. The slide number placeholder should appear.
4. Repeat for each layout on which a slide number should show.

4.  Add slide numbers to your slides.

When you are finished working with the slide master, click the Close Master View button on the Slide Master tab of the ribbon so you can continue to edit your presentation. Then follow the instructions at the top of this post to insert slide numbers on your slides.

Is your slide number covered by a shape or other object?

If you’ve you’ve inserted slide numbers, you’ve checked that your slide master has a slide number placeholder, and you still cannot see slide numbers on your slides, check to make sure there is not an object on your slide covering up the slide number.

To see all objects on the slide click once on your slide and the press Ctrl + A on the keyboard. This will select all objects on the slide, even the ones you might not see because they are the same color as the background. See if there is something in the bottom right corner of the slide, where the slide number usually appears, that might be covering it. If so, deselect the objects by clicking once in the grey area outside your slide, then select the covering object by clicking where you saw it on the slide. Either delete it, by pressing the Backspace key on the keyboard, or move it by clicking and dragging the object.

Didn’t find anything? Check again on the slide master (View tab > Slide Master button). Be sure to click Close Master View when you’re finished working in the slide master.

Do you have more than one slide master?

It is possible that your slides use multiple slide masters. This happens when additional slide masters are created. It can also happen if you paste slides that use a different slide master from another presentation into your presentation.

To see if your presentation is using multiple slide masters, go back to the slide master (View tab > Slide Master button). In the left pane, scroll down and see if you have more than one set of slide masters (each set will be numbered). Either determine which slide master your presentation uses and add the slide number placeholder to that master and each layout, or add the slide number placeholder to every slide master and every layout. You can determine which presentation slides use which slide masters by hovering over the slide master.  A pop-up note appears telling you the name of the slide master and which presentation slides use it.  The screenshot below indicates that the Office Theme Slide Master is used by slide 1 of my presentation. Be sure to click Close Master View when you’re finished working in the slide master.

Have you ever needed to sort your Excel column headings?  In the data set above, I have sales figures for four products, each listed in no particular order.  What if I wanted to see those columns sorted alphabetically, from Apples to Zooms.  To do that:

1. Select the column headings you wish to sort and the complete data below them.  Do not select any columns on the left or right that you do not want to be sorted.  In the screenshot below, columns A and F are not selected, as I want to keep in place the Month and Total columns.

2. On the Home tab, click on the Sort & Filter button.  From the menu, choose Custom Sort… 

3. In the Sort window, click on the Options… button.

4. In the Sort Options window, click the option next to Sort left to right.  Then click OK.

5. Back in the Sort window, click on the drop-down box next to Sort by, and select the appropriate row that contains your headings.  In this example, Row 1 is selected because that is where the column headings are located.

6. Make sure that the Order option is correct.  The default given is A to Z.  However, if you want your headings sorted in reverse order, choose Z to A from the drop-down menu.

7. Press OK.

Now, the headings have been sorted alphabetically, and the data underneath has moved with the column headings.  Both the Month and Total columns remain unmoved.

Related Posts

1. Sort by Last Name When the Cell Contains the Full Name

2. Sort it Out in Excel

A sheepish look comes across the faces of a lot of people I talk to when I ask if they’re backing up their files. A lot of people know that they should be backing up their files, they’re just not sure what that means. So here are answers to the most common questions about backing up files.

What is backing up?

Backing a file up means saving a copy of a file to another physical location. That way if something happens to your computer–a hard drive crash, a fire, a puppy with a small bladder–you have another copy of your file somewhere else. Saving a copy to another folder on your computer does not count as another physical location.

What files should I back up?

Anything you don’t want to lose. The report you’ve been slaving over for weeks. Yes. Pictures of your daughter’s second birthday? Absolutely. Your entire music collection? You bet. Writing the great American novel? Back that puppy up!

Where should I back up?

This question is a bit trickier. You can back up to a physical location you keep in your home or office. A few examples are:

• External hard drive – this is a larger initial investment, but they can hold much more data than a CD or DVD.
• CD/DVD – keep in mind, these can easily be lost or corrupted (You know how annoying it is when your favorite DVD skips because it’s scratched? What if that happens to your files?)
• USB drive/thumb drive – these can also easily be lost or corrupted

The problem with backing your files up to physical location in your home or office is that if a flood, fire, tornado, or thief, wipes out/runs off with your computer, it’s likely that they’ll also destroy/steal your backup location.

You can also back your files up to online resources. If you’re backing up work files, check with your IT department to make sure that the location is acceptable.  

Services that will sync selected files with an online location:

• Dropbox*
• Google Docs*
• Microsoft Skydrive*
• Apple iCloud*

Services that will back up your entire computer:

• Carbonite*
• Crashplan*
• Mozy*

* If you work at The University of Texas, these are not acceptable places to back up your work documents. Read the UT section at the bottom for a great, secure location.

Keep in mind that if you back up online, you won’t be able to get to your files without an internet connection. Also, your important files could be compromised if the company’s servers are compromised. How would you feel if someone else got hold of your files? You should research how your files are protected and backed up if you choose an online file syncing or back up service.

How often should I back up?

This depends on how far behind you can afford to get. If you lost all the data on your computer today, would you be okay with your backed up files being versions from two weeks ago? Some people choose to back up daily or weekly. Other people choose to back up each time they finish working on a file. For example, each time you save and close an important spreadsheet, you can quickly save it to your backup location.  If you have already backed up a file, and you haven’t touched it in months or years, there is no need to back it up regularly. Just back it up if you change it again.

Does my organization do this for me?

Maybe. Some organizations have automatic back up systems in place. Others rely on their employees to back up their own files. If you don’t know what your organization does, ask someone in your IT department. If you work at The University of Texas at Austin, read the section at the bottom.

Are there any services out there to make this easier?

Yes, there are programs you can use that will sync your files for you, and there are companies that will automatically back up your computer for you through an internet connection (mentioned above). Do your research before choosing to use one of these. Make sure they are a reputable company (or piece of software) and check how your files are protected and backed up.

Do you work at The University of Texas at Austin?

UT has a great service called UTBackup that will back up your files for you. To learn more about it, go to www.mccombs.utexas.edu/tech/help and use the search term UTbackup.

Generally, when someone asks how to sort by last name in a cell that contains both first and last name, I advise people to use the Text to Columns feature, but I’ve always wondered if there was another option. Today I found this video about how using the replace feature can isolate the last name in a separate column, making it easy to sort.

Before you watch the video, here are a couple of things to note:

1.  This video is in a pre-2007 version of Excel. The Sort and Replace tools in 2007 and 2010 are on the right side of the Home tab on the ribbon. Everything else works the same.

2.  This method assumes that you do not have any Jr’s or III’s or PhD’s tacked on to the end of your names. If you might, you should scan the Sort Name column afterward to check for these and correct them as needed, or do a Replace for the common ones and replace them with nothing.

Here’s a link to the post and video:

Sort by last name in a column that contains the full name.