Keep a log with Microsoft Notepad by opening a new text file in Microsoft Notepad or an existing text file in Notepad and adding “.LOG” (without the quotes) at the beginning of the file. Now each time the file is opened in Notepad a time and date stamp will be automatically added.

You can use this tip in any application that supports multiple fonts.

• Select the text you want to change fonts for.
• Select Format, and then click Fonts from the menu and a list of font names appear.
• Select the font you want to use and the font are applied to the selected text.

When using Excel it may be necessary to create a series. A series is different than copying the same cell to many other cells. It is very handy when you want to make a numbered list or a list of dates. To make a numbered list:

• Open Excel and enter ‘1’ or the starting number for your list in a cell.
• Beginning with this cell, highlight all the cells that will be in the list.
• Click Edit on the menu bar, select Fill from the drop-down list and select Series from the menu that appears. A dialog box opens.
• In the ‘Series In’ section, select column or row depending on how your selected cells run.
• In the Type section, choose Linear.
• In the ‘Step value’, choose how you want the list to count:

If you choose a step value of one, each member of the list is incremented by one and the list becomes 1, 2, 3 etc.
If you choose two for a step value, the generated list becomes 1, 3, 5 etc.

• Click OK to generate your list.

Some the text you enter in a cell is wider than the column width setting and it spills over into the column(s) next to it. Autofit adjusts the column width to match the width of the cell with the longest text.

• Select the column you want to adjust by placing your cursor over the column heading and clicking your mouse. The entire column is selected.
• Select Format from the menu bar and a drop-down list appears.
• Select Column from this list and a menu opens.
• Select ‘Autofit Selection’ and the column width changes to match the width of the cell with the longest string of text.

The Fill command enables you to copy the same text or formula in as many cells as you want with just a few simple steps.

For example, copy the number 10 in column A of the first 100 rows of a spread sheet:

• Begin by entering 10 in the cell at row 1, column A.
• Put your mouse pointer over the cell, hold down the left mouse button and drag it down the column to row 100. Release the button and all 100 cells in column A are selected.
• Click Edit on the menu bar and select Fill from the drop-down menu.
• Select Down from the list that appears and 10 is copied into each selected row of column A.

Note: This works across columns too, except that you would select a row step 2 and choose the Right instead of down from the list in step four.

Copy and apply text formatting using the Format Painter in Word, Excel and PowerPoint Located in the Standard toolbar, the Format Painter tool icon (looks like a paint brush) is used to copy the format of a selected object or text to other objects or text.

In Word, for example, if you have text formatted in 10pt, Arial Black, you can easily transfer this text formatting to any other text in the document with Format Painter.

• Select the text that has the formatting that you want to copy and transfer.
• Click the Format Painter icon. It becomes indented which verifies you’ve selected it.
• With your cursor, which now has a paintbrush attached to it, select the target text you want to format.
• The target text immediately changes to match the format of the original text. As soon as you select the target text, the Format Painter icon becomes inactive.

Note: To make the Format Painter icon remain active so that you can continue formatting text, repeat steps 1-3, except this time in step 2, double-click the icon. When you are done formatting you must click the icon again to deactivate it; otherwise you will continue reformatting any text you select.