6 Features to Make you More Productive in Microsoft Office

by | Jul 12, 2017 | MS Office Tips and Tricks

Microsoft Office is a software which is running on almost every computer.  It is a valuable tool that is used by many on a daily basis. You need it whether you are a professional, a retiree or a student.

When Microsoft releases new versions of Office, it always comes with new and improved features.  So, if you want to take full advantage of this tool it is important that you stay up-to-date and familiarize yourself with its many new features.

Here’s a list of some good tools that I think you will find very useful.

1. The Smart Lookup Feature:

This is a feature which makes it easier to find facts through search engines.  This feature is available in Word, PowerPoint, and Excel. This will launch a pane, which is powered by Bing, Microsoft’s search engine. Articles, definitions, images etc. will appear in the pane.

  1. Select the portion of text you want to look up.
  2. Right Click, Select “Smart Lookup” or go to Review > Smart Lookup  for Office 2016
  3. Right Click , select “Search with Bing” for Office 2013

2. Helping you with Recent Documents:

  • Click File > Open > Recent Documents

This feature is turned on by default, but you can turn it off, turn it back on, or adjust the number of files that it displays. So, if you want to change the number of files that appear in the list of recently used files:

Directions for Word 2016

  1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Options.
  2. Click Advanced.
  3. Under Display, in the Show this number of Recent Documents list, click the number of files that you want to display.

Directions for Word 2013

  1. Click File > Options > Advanced
  2. Make changes desired under “Display”
  3. Click okay

3. The ‘Tell Me’ Feature: (in Office 2016)

You’ll notice a text box on the ribbon in Office 2016 that says ‘Tell me what you want to do.’ This is a text field where you can enter words and phrases about what you want to do next and quickly get to features you want to use or actions you want to perform. You can also use Tell Me to find help about what you’re looking for, or to use Smart Lookup to research or define the term you entered.

4. Using Date Fields:

Microsoft Office offers the feature of adding the latest date and time to the document. When you use the document on any other date, then you can put the current time and date on it. It only takes seconds. It is possible that you may forget to update the date and time, so Word offers a feature which helps in updating it automatically.

  1. Click in the document where you want to insert the date.
  2. Click Insert > Date and Time.
  3. Choose the correct format.
  4. Check the box: Update Automatically (optional).
  5. Click OK.

 

5.  Creating Graphs from Tables is as Easy as 123:

If the document that you are writing has a lot tables in it and you need to create graphs, the new Word feature has made it easier to convert the tables into graphs.

  1. Select the table to be converted.
  2. Click on Insert > Chart
  3. Select the chart type and click OK

6. Translation Options:

You can translate the document into different languages by using the translate feature.  You can translate just a word or as many sentences as needed.

  1. Right Click > Translate
  2. Select the Language of choice in the Research window
  3. Click Insert and the text you selected will be translated.

These are just a few of the many features offered in Microsoft Office.  I hope they are helpful!

Manzoor, Adnan. ” 7 Things You Should Know About Microsoft Office to Make Work Easier” Lifehack June 2017