Strip away unwanted formatting

Have you ever tried to copy text from a website or document but you want to paste it in your own document without carrying the formatting with you? The secret is already on your PC and it has been there for a very long time. It has been included in all versions of Microsoft Windows since Windows 1.0 in 1985. Yes I'm talking about Notepad.

1. Simply copy the text from the desired location. (CTRL+C)
2. Open Notepad (Win XP: Start>Programs>Accessories) (Vista/Win 7: Start, search for "Notepad")
3. Paste the text into Notepad (CTRL+V)
4. Highlight all of the text you just pasted in Notepad (CTRL+A)
5. Copy the text youfrom Notepad (CTRL+C)
6. Paste the text in the desired location

If you try to copy text straight from one place and paste to another without stripping the formatting you will have to go in and change the fonts, bold, underlines, and any other formatting present. This is a easy and effective solution.

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Microsoft Outlook Search Tips

I often see Outlook users struggling to find that one email in their inbox that is crucial to continue their day. Let's talk about the search tools and features in Microsoft Outlook.

(If you currently use the Instant Search tool, skip to #3.)

1. Download the Instant Search Tool

If you have never used the search tool before when clicking in the search bar you may see a message like this:



Click that highlighted message and Microsoft Office should prompt you to download the Instant Search tool. You must install this to enable the full functionality of the search tool.

2. Allow your emails to index

After the Instant Search tool is installed it may take minutes or even hours for Outlook to index all of you emails (this means Outlook has to add each email to the search database). If you leave Outlook open overnight it should finish completely indexing depending on the amount of emails you have.

3. Search the most efficient way

When clicking in the search bar the defaulted tab should be the "Search" tab. Always take advantage of the tools that are available within the Search tab.













I haven't done a study on this but I say that at least 50% of searches are attempted to find an attachment in an email. The easiest way to do this is:
1. Type any keywords related to the attachment you are searching for in the search box
2. Click on the "Has Attachments" button" and wait for your results

To search for an email from or to a certain person or email address use the following logic (if you are searching an email you sent to someone make sure you click on your "Sent" folder in your inbox before searching):
from:john doe
from:jdoe@gmail.com
to:john doe
to:jdoe@gmail.com
The same result can be achieved by clicking the "From" or "Sent to" button and then typing the name or the email address you are searching within the "( )".


For a more advanced search click the "Search Tools" button >Advanced Find

For more tips on Microsoft Outlook check out this article http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2387023,00.asp or click on my "Featured Articles" tab at the top right of this webpage (time sensitive content).


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5 Google Search Tips

To try these tips for yourself go to www.google.com and type the following in the search bar (see images):

1. Get the Local Time Anywhere

2. Convert Currency

3. Convert any Unit of Measure

4. Calculator

4. Get a Flight Status

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Excel Tip: Merge 2 columns together

Have you ever wondered how to merge 2 columns together in Excel like a "First Name" and "Last Name" column? I often see people entering information cell by cell which is a HUGE time waster. There is a simple formula you can use merge 2 columns in the format you need.

Lets say we have 2 colums, "First Name" and "Last Name". Create a third column to the right of the "Last Name" column and call it "Full Name". In the 2nd cell (1st cell would be the header) of the new column type the following formula:
A2&" "&B2 and press Enter

You are telling Excel:

= (this starts the formula)

A2 (this is the first cell you want to merge)

& (this is the combining character, think of it like glue)

" " (this is adding a space between the First and Last name, notice there is a space between quotations)

& (another combining character is added because you separated the first cell by a " ")

B2 (this is the last cell you want to merge)

Once you enter the formula and press Enter you can copy that formula down the column by clicking the bottom right corner of cell C2 and dragging it down.

Be careful not to delete the "First Name" and "Last Name" columns or your results will disappear because you have taken away the variables that make up your formula. If you do not need the "First Name" and "Last Name" columns, copy the "Full Name" column, and "Paste Special: Values Only" in a new column.

Happy time saving!

Ctrl+F: Find

Coming out of college I assumed everyone knew about the Ctrl+F shortcut. I ventured into the workplace and discovered I was wrong. Many of you will know this trick but some of you will not so I feel I need share it. Don't fee bad if you are the later, I didn't learn it until my freshman year of college.

If you are looking for a keyword, phrase, sentence, number, etc. on a webpage or document hold down the Ctrl button and press the f key. A little box will appear in your window, usually in the top right corner but it can be in any corner of your window. Type the text you are searching for inside of that box and press the Enter key. If the text you entered is found in the window it will automatically scroll to and highlight the first result. If you didn't find what you were searching for, continue pressing the Enter key until you find the result you are searching for.

You can save tons of time using this shortcut. If you don't like using shortcuts, make this the 1 shortcut you do use. If you are a Mac user press Command-f for the same functionality.

Navigate between windows in Windows

This Microsoft Windows function was created way back for Windows 3.0, can you guess? I was about 4 years old so I had no clue. I am talking about the Alt+Tab function. This old school function allows you to switch between open windows without using your mouse.

To use this feature hold down the Alt key and press Tab, continue pressing Tab to switch to the window you need to open (or press Shift+Tab to go backwards) and then let go of both keys.

This does take a little time to get used to but once your comfortable with it you can fly.

Speed up browsing time

One of the biggest time wasters during the work day is waiting on your browser to load. It's very important to keep your browser lean and clean. There are a few different ways to do this.

1. Choose a light browser for regular web surfing

I realize that you need to use Internet Explorer for some things but IE is not a light browser you should be using for everything. I suggest downloading Google Chrome google.com/chrome for regular use. If you are in love with IE for some reason use "Internet Explorer (No add-ons)". This is available on all PC's.


2. Toolbars and Add-ons slow your browser start-up time

If there are multiple toolbars installed at the top of your browser (the most common are Yahoo, Google, Ask Jeeves, and Windows Live) uninstall them, you probably don't need them. If you like to use a specific search engine, go to your browser settings and choose a default search engine.

Go to your browser settings and see what add-ons are installed. You will probably find some you never use.


3. Clear your browsing data often

You can clear your browsing data by going to your browser options. You will see something like this:

Instructions for clearing browsing data for Google Chrome: http://support.google.com/chrome/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=95582

Make sure you read carefully before checking a box, you may delete information you needed like saved passwords. You can even clear browsing data automatically on some browsers. To find out how, well just google it.