As you enter the New Year, set out to let your software do the work for you by following these tech-related techniques and tips. No matter which one you choose or all of them, you’re certain to discover something that will make work a bit simpler.
Are you looking for more tips like these? Look through the legal-specific software of Affinity Consulting Group’s guides.
Table of Contents
Managing Your Email, Calendar, and Tasks
1. Open Your Calendar in a New Window
It is possible to have your inbox on one screen and your calendar on the other by opening your calendar in a brand new window. Click on the calendar icon with a right click and choose Open in a New Window to open your calendar in a brand new window.
2. Stay Focused With My Day
If you’re using Microsoft To Do as your to-do list, you can add the top tasks of today to the My Day smart list to ensure you are focused on the most important things every day. My Day starts with blank lists each day, letting you pick your priorities each morning.
3. Show Your Calendar Next to Your Inbox
Check your calendar and emails alongside each other in your to-do Bar within Classic Outlook (View Ribbon > To-Do Bar > Calendar) or My Day in the New Outlook.
4. Dictate Everything
Use the keys Windows+HH to launch the Dictate tool. It will allow you to dictate wherever you want to write.
5. Drag and Drop Emails to Appointments and Tasks
Within Classic Outlook, you can drag and drop emails onto the calendar or task icons to create tasks and appointments based on the emails. In New Outlook, you can drag and drop emails into your My Day panel to create tasks and appointments.
6. Process Email Faster With Quick Steps
Create customized quick steps to cut back the time needed to handle emails. Quick Steps allow you to combine several actions (such as forwarding, replying, and archiving email) in a single click.
7. Automatically Process Emails With Rules
Set up your own custom rules to allow Outlook to automate the process of your email for you.
Drafting Documents
1. Double-click on the Format Painter
This format painting tool is a simple method of copying formatting from one section within your documents to another. Select the text that has the format you prefer and then choose the text that you want to format. If you want to apply that same formatting style to different choices of text, click twice on the painter for format. (Click on it again, or press the Escape key to stop formatting and return to the normal mouse back.)
2. Spell-Check Uppercase Words
The default setting is that Microsoft Word and Outlook don’t spell-check words that are in capital letters. This means that your titles aren’t spell-checked! In the File menu, select Options. On the left-hand side, the dialog for options you can click on Proofing. Uncheck the box next Ignore Words in uppercase.
3. Customize the Microsoft Office Quick Access Toolbars
Include frequently used commands in your Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) for quick access to any Ribbon you’re using. Right-click on any button in this ribbon, and then add it to the QAT.
4. Stop Word From Grabbing Your Mouse
Word will assist you in choosing words as well as the space that follows the words. Stop Word in its mouse track-grabbing mode by opening Word’s File menu. On the left side, select Advanced. Uncheck “When selecting, automatically select tll words.”
5. Show the Ruler
The ruler will show the margin, indents, tab stops, and tabs in an instant. To activate it the view ribbon, make sure you check the box that says Ruler.
6. Use AutoText as a Clause Library
If you write text every day, create an AutoText entry to spare your time. Select the text you would like to be able to use. On the ribbon for Insert, click the Quick Parts button. Under AutoText, S selects Save selection for the AutoText gallery. Once the text is saved, you can return to your AutoText gallery to add the text to any document.
7. Type “(c)” Without Getting (c)
Stop Word from substituting the “(c)” with copyright symbols by changing the settings in your AutoCorrect settings.
8. Redact With Confidence
If you’re using an editing program for A PDF that is professional, be sure that you are editing data. If the software you’re using to edit isn’t named redact or redact, the tool won’t make a hole digital within your document, as you’ll need to. Make use of the redact/redaction tools to ensure that no one will locate the content that has been redacted, regardless of the software they use.
9. Export Documents to PDF
To create a high-quality PDF document, make use of Word’s Export feature for converting your Word document into a PDF. The Export button is located within the menu for File.
10. Make PDFs Text Searchable
Convert text-searchable PDFs using optical character recognition (OCR). When you open your PDF editing program, you will see the button that says OCR or Recognize text.
Communicating and Collaborating
1. Rename Teams’ General Channels
You can now change the names of general channels within Microsoft Teams. Click on General Channel, then click the … and then select Rename Channel.
2. Reply to Specific Teams Chat Messages
To reply to a particular email in the Teams chat, you just need to hover your mouse over it, then click the reply button.
3. Forward Teams Chat Messages
To forward a chat message, simply move your mouse over the chat message and then click… and then select Forward.
4. Share Your Whole Screen in Video Calls
When sharing your screen in a video conference, generally, you have the option of choosing between sharing just one window or all in one place. Select a screen or monitor to share everything, and eliminate the necessity to stop and start sharing each time you want to share other things.
Analyzing Data
1. Let CoPilot Do the Work
If you’re looking to create an additional column to sort, filter, or do calculations, begin by giving CoPilot what you require. CoPilot will even assist you to begin using Pivot Tables.
2. Text autofills in Excel
If you’re typing text that is predictable, like a sequence of dates or numbers that follow a pattern, you can let Excel perform all the work for you. Write the first two dates or numbers in your list, and then slide down on the left-hand side of your cell to expand the pattern with AutoFill.
3. Select a Column of Data With Ease
To quickly choose all the cells in a column that contain data, simply click on the cell at the top. Press the keys Ctrl and Shift while you tap an arrow down on your keyboard. Excel will pick everything up until it lands on the blank cell. (You can also utilize another arrow key for selecting the column up or across the row.)
4. Created Banded Rows With Tables
If you’re looking for rows with banding in Excel tables are the most efficient choice. Select your data. After that, on the ribbon for Insert, select Table to transform your data into tables. Tables can also automatically multiply and expand formulas, making it simpler to use your data.
About Affinity Consulting Group
Affinity Consulting Group motivates by empowering, enabling, and encouraging legal teams of any size to perform better from any location. The holistic approach of the company combines process, people, as well as technology. Affinity’s highly-engaged, well-connected industry experts work with you to assist you in improving your understanding of and maximizing the performance of your business, from software to growth strategies and everything in between.
