Automating dates and times in a Word document

Letting Word enter a date or time for users is easy, but that can lead to frustration when Word doesn't perform as expected. Teach users about the less obvious aspects of these features or give them a macro.

Microsoft Word
Word offers a couple of features for entering the current date and time, but they can confuse users. With just a little training, you can eliminate that confusion.
Or you can provide a couple of macros that do exactly what your users need, without the confusion the built-in features sometimes cause.
You can use the Date And Time command or AutoComplete to enter the current date or time anywhere in a document. First, let's take a look at the Date And Time command.
Basically, you just choose Date And Time from the Insert menu, choose a format, and click OK. However, there are a few things you need to know:

• If you want the date to automatically update, you must check the Update Automatically option in the Date And Time dialog box.
• The Update Automatically setting is a toggle switch. Once you select it, it stays enabled until you deselect it--and that can create confusion for users. They think they know what the setting is, so they don't check. Later, they're frustrated when the inserted value doesn't perform as expected.
• The term automatically update is a bit deceptive. The inserted date will reflect the current date or time when you open the document. But if the date changes while the document is open, Word won't reflect that change. You can force the change by right-clicking the value and choosing Update Field from the context menu, but most users won’t know that. Even if you tell them, they might not remember that detail when they need it.

A bit of spot-training can help, but unless this feature is something users rely on frequently, they are apt to forget all the above details.
The other option is AutoComplete. You can enter the month or the current date and that alone confuses users. Again, just a bit of training can help:

• Enter the first four letters of any month and press [Enter], and Word will complete the month. For instance, if you type Janu and press [Enter], Word will enter January for you.
• To enter the current date, enter the full month, type a space, and press [Enter].

If AutoComplete doesn't work, someone has probably disabled the feature. To enable AutoComplete, choose AutoText from the Insert menu. Then, select AutoText and click the AutoText tab. Select the Show AutoComplete Suggestions option.
If users know what to expect from both features, they're more apt to apply them correctly. Despite that, you might find users prefer a quick macro. The idea might seem like overkill--but if a simple macro eliminates user confusion and mistakes, a macro is worth the effort. The following macros insert the current date and time, respectively.
Sub DateStamp()
'Insert the current date.
Selection.InsertDateTime "MMMM dd, yyyy", False
End Sub
Sub TimeStamp()
'Insert the current time.
Selection.InsertDateTime "hh:mm", False
End Sub
You can change the format to suit your needs. The False value enters the date or time as a string. If you change that argument to True, Word will treat the inserted date or time as a field value. Add a couple of custom buttons for both macros and take all the guesswork out of entering the current date and time.


Microsoft Excel

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Four handy Excel keyboard shortcuts Formatting cells takes just a few clicks--it couldn't get much simpler than choosing Cells from the Format menu and clicking the appropriate setting.
However, you can also format a cell or range from the keyboard. For quick formatting tasks without a menu or mouse, use the following keyboard shortcuts:

• Date: [Ctrl] + #
• Number: [Ctrl] + !
• Time: [Ctrl] + :
• General: [Ctrl] + ~

You can test these shortcuts quickly enough by entering a value and toggling through the different formats. First, enter the value 123 into any cell. Then, with that cell still selected, press [Ctrl]+# (but don't press Enter). Excel expresses the value 123 as the date 2-May-00.


Next, press [Ctrl]+! and Excel formats the cell contents as a number, defaulting to two decimal places. Press [Ctrl]+: and Excel formats 123 as a time value.
These keyboard shortcuts aren't huge time-savers, but if you prefer using the keyboard, they're certainly handy.


Microsoft Powerpoint

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Turn PowerPoint slides into image files to use in other apps Recently, Stephen Lange, a longtime friend, asked know how to get individual PowerPoint slides into a video. For better or worse, we tend to think in "exporting" terms when a task like this comes up--we want to export data from one application to another. Unfortunately, you can't do that in PowerPoint.
What you can do is save individual slides as separate files. When you want to use a slide in another medium, save the slide in a compatible format. For instance, to drop a slide into a video, first save the slide as an image file. Fortunately, that's simple:

1. From the File menu, choose Save As. In PowerPoint 2007, click the Office button and choose Save As.
2. In the Save As dialog box, locate a folder for saving the new image file.
3. Give the new image a name.
4. Now, here's the important part. From the Save As Type drop-down list, choose an image format--.gif, .jpg, and so on--one that's compatible with your video software.
5. Click Save.
6. PowerPoint will ask if you want to save just the selected slide or all of the slides in the presentation. Respond accordingly.

Once you have the slide(s) in an image file format, simply follow your video software's specifications for inserting the image file.
PowerPoint's part in the process is simple. It's knowing where to look that stumps most people.