Clippy is My (Ribbon) Hero

It's a fact. I'm a Ribbon Hero. I took the test to prove it, too. If you don't know what I'm talking about, you should check out Ribbon Hero 2 from Microsoft. It's an add-in that will watch what you do and you earn points as you work. You can also launch the game-based learning and it will open the Microsoft programs (OneNote, Excel, PowerPoint and Word) where you perform the tasks asked of you. Best of all, it's the return of Clippy. If you think he got a bad rap back in 1997-2003, he is back to redeem himself. You start by helping him with his resume.

It's really kind of fun and a great example of game-based learning. If you don't know how to perform a task, you can ask for a hint to help you. If you are a "power-user" you'll find this easy. Too easy. If you are a casual user and want to explore a little more of what you might not know, this is definitely for you.

I'd recommend Ribbon Hero 2 for anyone who needs to brush up on their skills because it does have varying levels from beginning to advanced and covers a variety of tasks. You also can pick and choose your tasks and still progress through the levels so everyone can have a sense of accomplishment. For example, I'm not a OneNote user, so I chose the tasks for Word, Excel and PowerPoint and was able to work through the levels. When I was done, I was able to go back and tackle the tasks I skipped in those programs, too. I look forward to learning more about OneNote and taking on those challenges as well.

Have fun, and let me know if you're a Ribbon Hero like Clippy and me!

Microsoft Access: Web Browser Control

I love how on websites you can click to view a map. Somehow the address fields are set to map to a mapping program, such as Google Maps or Mapquest, and you’ll see a map to your destination. You can now replicate this on your Access forms using the Web Browser Control.

First, go to your favorite map site (I found deciphering Map Quest was easier), type in your address (you'll delete this later) and locate it on the map. Copy the URL.

1. On the Form Layout Tools|Design ribbon, in the Controls group, select the Web Browser Control, and then click to place it on the form. Access opens the Insert Hyperlink dialog box.
   
2. Paste the URL of the web page into the Address: field of the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, and then press TAB on the keyboard to move to the next field. Access clears the Address: field and separates the URL into the appropriate fields.
   
3. To set the control so that its URL changes based on the data that is displayed on your form, you must replace the appropriate URL components with expressions that refer to the appropriate controls on the form. Here's where having your address helps you locate the correct areas for your fields.
1. Click the path or parameter that you want to replace, and then click the Build button.
2. In the Expression Builder, double-click the control that contains the data you want.
3. Click OK to close the Expression Builder.
4. Click OK.

Microsoft PowerPoint: Broadcast Your Presentation over the Internet

At UNL, we have an Adobe Connect server, which really helps us share our presentations remotely. I’ve used it and it works great, but I don’t always want to use this options for presentations over the phone and on the fly. If you have found yourself emailing a presentation to someone and then asking them to walk through it with you as you explained on the phone, you’ll like the Broadcast option.

Before you begin, you must have a Windows Live, Hotmail, MSN or Xbox Live email account. No, gmail won’t work. You must also have access to the Internet which is how the presentation will be broadcast.

1. With your presentation open in PowerPoint, go to the Slide Show ribbon, Start Slide Show (Play Slide Show on the Mac) group, and the click Broadcast Slide Show.
2. Click the Start Broadcast button (Connect... on the Mac). 
3. If you are not already logged in, you must log in with your Windows Live ID credentials.
4. PowerPoint will create URL for you to email or copy into a a messaging service to whomever you want to join the broadcast. Be aware that this is not a secure or closed connection. Anyone with the URL can access your broadcast. You should also recommend the audience disable their screen saver or power saving options as this will disrupt their viewing.
5. When your audience is ready, click the Start Slide Show button (Play Slide Show on the Mac).
   You are in full control of the presentation. When you advance the slide, your audience will stay on track with you.
6. After presenting, press Esc (Escape) on the keyboard to end Slide Show view. You must then press the End Broadcast button on the yellow bar under the ribbon.

Currently, only Internet Explorer, Firefox and Safari for Mac is the supported version. I've used Chrome without incident, but it's not an official supported browser.

Some things to be aware of when broadcasting:

• All transitions will be shown as the Fade transition only.
• Audio or video is not transmitted with the presentation through the browser.
• Website hyperlinks will not work.
• You cannot make ink annotations on screen during the presentation.

Microsoft Excel: Sparklines

Available in both 2010 for Windows and 2011 for Mac, Sparklines can be a nifty little option. If you love the dynamic line charts for your data, but wished it was available to put at the end of a row/column right next to your data, you’re in luck. Sparklines are for you.

1. Place the cell selector on the cell(s) to display the Sparkline.
2. On the Insert (Charts on the Mac) ribbon, Sparklines (Insert Sparklines on the Mac) group, select the type of trend to display.
3. Enter the range of data to be included.
4. The Location Range should be the cell you selected in step #1.
5. Click OK

Happy Geek Valentines Day

Here is a special Valentine message for you.

x^2+(y-(x^2)^(1/3))^2<1

 Have trouble figuring it out? Plug it in to WolframAlpha.

Migration Guides

How is it that I have not come across these before? Apparently, around the time of the release of Microsoft Office 2010, a few of Microsoft's bloggers created migration guides for Access, Excel, OneNote, Outlook, PowerPoint and Word. For some reason, I'm just now finding these fantastic guides. So, here are the Microsoft Office 2010 Migration Guides. ENJOY!

Microsoft Word: Quick Parts

As a toddler, I’m sure many of you played with building blocks. As we get older, we can continue to play with building blocks. To make it sound more efficient, let’s call them Quick Parts. I’m all about being lazy (for the polictically correct, efficient), and Quick Parts works for me.

Words comes with many of these built in Quick Parts (cover page, header, footer, etc.) You can use one of the built in cover pages, headers or footers, but I really prefer my own. NU Central Administration provides some nice letterhead templates where the header and footer are already done for you. You can use one of these or open a document that already has the header, footer or cover letter you want. The point is, you need something to copy or save for use later.

Got it? Now select it. Next, go to Insert ribbon, Text group, click Quick Parts and select Save Selection to Quick Part Gallery… Add the necessary information in the dialog box. Be sure the name is something you’ll remember, like “UNL Header.” You will also need to select the appropriate category, like “Headers.”

To insert your new Quick Part, place the insertion point where you’d like the part to appear. Go to Insert ribbon and select the item, like “Header.” In the gallery of optoins, you’ll find your part neatly alphabatized with the rest. Select it and there you go.

Did you know you can also do this with boilerplate text? If you remember AutoText but didn’t know where it disappeared to in 2007-10, you’ll be happy to know it’s a Quick Part, too.