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.

techworktips.com

techworktips.com is intended to give tips and advice on how to improve workplace productivity using technology.

This information is based on personal experience and opinions. We are not to be held liable for any third party websites or other outside information.

If you would like a personal consulting session please contact Tyler Haynes at thaynes@techworktips.com