Impact Tech Tips, Part 1 – Microsoft Office
In today’s enterprise, computers and the internet are so ingrained with our day to day that it’s difficult to keep up sometimes. Impact Tech Tips is a new series designed to bring you all the technical insights and tidbits that every company should know.
Part 1 of our series is focused on the most widely used productivity software today: Microsoft Office.
Templates
The “Copy/Paste Shuffle” is a common method for starting new documents. Users usually want to keep a standard format for their documents, and, to do so, they browse to a document that’s already formatted, duplicate it with “Copy” and “Paste,” clear out all the old stuff, and start fresh. This takes some time and can sometimes result in costly mistakes, such as overwriting old data.
When you start a new document in Office, you’re presented with a variety of default templates to suit your needs. Letterheads, memos, expense and income spreadsheets, and colorful presentation themes are all available to help you get started with your document.
Did you know that you could make your own?
Let’s start with the basics: a company letterhead.
Voilà, you have your first blank, reusable letterhead template! So where is it? Go to File > New and you’ll see a new “Personal” tab above the default templates. Inside, you’ll find all your saved templates.
Now, next time you need to write a letterhead, you won’t have to find the old one. Just open Word, and start a fresh document by clicking Personal and choosing your letterhead. The process is the same for all Office applications. Just make a blank version of your document, save it as a template, and you’re all set!
Have Windows 7 or higher? If you keep the Office applications pinned to your task bar, you can right-click the icon to see all the most recently used templates. If it’s one you use all the time, just click the little Pin icon that appears when hovering your mouse over it, and it’ll be available for quick and easy access.