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Top 10 Microsoft Productivity Tips for Assistants using PC or Mac By Vickie Sokol Evans, MCT | @RedCapeCo | www.redcapeco.com

The Tech-Savvy Assistant™ - Core Skills: Productivity, Collaboration, The Cloud, Platforms, Apps &

Gadgets, Privacy & Security, Meeting & Calendar Management, Business Intelligence

Tip 1 - Use Windows keyboard shortcuts to save time Applies to PC only

Figure 1. [Windows] key on a PC's keyboard saves you time!

Here are six Windows tips…

1. [Windows] + E = Launches Windows Explorer

2. [Windows] + D = Desktop

3. [Windows] + Left arrow = Snaps active window to left side of screen

4. [Windows] + Right arrow = Snaps active window to right side of screen

5. [Windows] + L = Locks your computer

6. [Windows] + P = Project your screen when presenting

Expert Tip: Show these tips to your executive! Executives love these tips.

Tip 2 - Use Inspect Document to make global changes to your

documents, spreadsheets and presentations Applies to PC only

Use the Inspect Document feature in Microsoft Office for global content changes in Word, Excel,

PowerPoint. It removes old properties, presentation notes from slides, watermarks in documents and

more! This feature will save you hours of time and reduce the risk of having harmful metadata in your

document.

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In Office 2010 and above

Go to File > Info > Check for Issues > Inspect Document

In Office 2007

Click Office button > Prepare > Check for Issues > Inspect Document

Tip 3 - Use Office Themes to create consistency across programs Applies to PC & Mac

Use Office Themes for consistent colors and fonts throughout your files to stay with brand and save

hours of time. Office Themes consist of Colors, Fonts and Effects. As an assistant, you don’t need to

worry about Effects so just focus on building your knowledge about Colors and Fonts when it comes to

Themes. You can format your document using Colors and Font Sets individually or you can tie them

together and make them a Theme.

To see how I applied a Google-branded Theme to a formatted document using independent color sets

and fonts, view this free video: https://youtu.be/gSHKW0elfhc?t=14m21s. Here are the instructions

based on your version:

In Office 2013 and above

Go to Design tab > Document Formatting group > Themes

In Office 2007, 2010

Go to Page Layout tab > Themes group, Themes

In Office 2011 for Mac

Go to Home tab > Themes group > Themes

In Word & PowerPoint 2016 for Mac

Go to Design tab > Themes

In Excel 2016 for Mac

Go to Page Layout tab > Themes

Recommended Training and Expert Tip

Want to master this skill? Here are the two recommended courses - PowerPoint Slide Masters & Office

Themes in our Academy www.redcapeco.com/academy/courses/

Expert Tip: Want to create a Theme? Always create the Theme in PowerPoint on PC and then

use on Mac.

Tip 4 - Format documents minutes, not hours using Word Styles Applies to PC & Mac

Use Word Styles to structure and format your documents. Using Styles means less formatting time,

you can navigate and move content, and generate Table of Contents in one click. Not only will you save

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hours in your week, your documents will look amazing and will be easy to use! See as side by side

comparison of a styled and un-styled document: https://youtu.be/zlcgPzRiFGU?t=1m15s

Recommended Training

Get free timesaving Word tips in your inbox for PC & Mac http://bit.ly/GetTipsVideos

To master Styles, attend the Styles 101 course in our Academy.

www.redcapeco.com/academy/courses

Tip 5 - Use Excel Tables when possible to save time and reduce

errors Applies to PC & Mac

My favorite Excel feature is TABLES! Your reports will look incredible. You’ll save time and it

significantly reduces risks for errors in your data, not to mention that you’ll be able to manage your data

effortlessly.

Recommended Training

See Tables in action go to https://youtu.be/0XPjB0THUAY

Get free Excel tips for PC & Mac http://bit.ly/GetTipsVideos

Note: Excel is 2nd email in the 3 part series.

Tip 6 - Convert boring bullets to SmartArt in PowerPoint Applies to PC & Mac

You can convert plain and/or boring bulleted slides into compelling visuals using SmartArt in

PowerPoint. Sample visuals include timelines, org charts and much, much more!

Recommended Training

Get free PowerPoint tips for PC & Mac http://bit.ly/GetTipsVideos

Note: PowerPointTips is the 3rd email in the 3 part series.

Tip 7 - Use the magical Reset button in PowerPoint to create

consistency throughout your presentation Applies to PC & Mac

Use the magical Reset button in PowerPoint to fix inconsistent fonts, colors, and positioned elements

on the slide.

Office for PC

Select a slide, on Home tab > Slides group > click Reset

Office 2011 Mac

Select a slide, on Home tab > Slides group > click Layout > Reset Layout

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Office 2016 for Mac

Select a slide, on Home tab > Slides group > click Reset

Recommended Training

PowerPoint Slide Masters in the RedCape Academy:

http://www.redcapeco.com/academy/courses

Tip 8 - Use Time Zone field in meetings and Appointments in

Outlook Applies to PC & Mac

Save your sanity and your job by setting the Time Zones in Outlook when creating a meeting or

appointment versus converting to your time zone.

Outlook for PC

Open the Appointment > on the Appointment tab > Options group > click Time Zones.

Outlook for Mac

Open Appointment > on the Appointment tab > click Time Zone.

Tip 9 - Send links to files versus attachments Applies to PC & Mac

Make life easier and save time, when possible, send links to files instead of attachments. The benefits of

sending a link are:

Reduces back and forth editing.

Everyone always has the latest version.

If you need to make a change after you've emailed the link, you can!

Note: The file needs to reside in a shared drive, on the company intranet, or in a cloud folder (such as

OneDrive, Dropbox, etc.)

Tip 10 - Use OneNote to capture and view notes Applies to PC & Mac, Tablets & Smartphones

Use OneNote to capture and view your notes, passwords, procedures, project information, websites,

and more. You can easily and seamlessly share notebooks with your team and you can access your

notes on any device.

Recommended Training

OneNote for Assistants free webinar http://bit.ly/OneNote4Assistants