Office 2013 For Dummies E-Book

Wallace Wang

• Herausgeber: John Wiley & Sons
• Kategorie: Wissenschaft und neue Technologien
• Sprache: Englisch

Seitenzahl: 375

Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2013

Beschreibung

Office 2013 For Dummies is the key to your brand new Office! Packed with straightforward, friendly instruction, this update to one of the bestselling Office books of all time gets you thoroughly up to speed and helps you learn how to take full advantage of the new features in Office 2013. After coverage of the fundamentals, you'll discover how to spice up your Word documents, edit Excel spreadsheets and create formulas, add pizazz to your PowerPoint presentation, and much more. * Helps you harness the power of all five Office 2013 applications: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Access * Discusses typing and formatting text in Word and easy ways to dress up your documents with color, graphics, and more * Demonstrates navigating and editing an Excel spreadsheet, creating formulas, and charting and analyzing Excel data * Walks you through creating a PowerPoint presentation and adding some punch with color, sound, pictures, and videos * Explores Outlook, including configuring e-mail, storing contacts, organizing tasks, scheduling your time, and setting appointments * Delves into designing Access databases, including editing, modifying, searching, sorting, and querying; also covers viewing and printing reports, and more The fun and friendly approach of Office 2013 For Dummies makes doing Office work easy and efficient!

Leseprobe

Office 2013 For Dummies®

Published byJohn Wiley & Sons, Inc.111 River StreetHoboken, NJ 07030-5774

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Copyright © 2013 by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published by John Wiley & Sons, Inc., Hoboken, New Jersey

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2012956422

ISBN 978-1-118-49715-9 (pbk); ISBN 978-1-118-49714-2 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-62022-9 (ebk); ISBN 978-1-118-62028-1 (ebk)

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

The author, Wallace Wang, currently exists as a carbon-based life form, consuming precious natural resources for his own survival at the expense of the rest of the planet. Despite his dislike of unnecessary complexity, the author actually enjoys what computers can do, even if they tend to fail spectacularly in everyday use at the worst possible time (details, details . . .). Besides writing computer books, the author also enjoys studying movies and performing stand-up comedy just to do something creative that involves human beings as opposed to machines. In addition, the author also refers to himself in the third person in imitation of professional athletes and other personages who like pretending that they’re more important than they really are.

Dedication

This book is dedicated to all those people forced to use Microsoft Office because everyone else uses it so they have to use it too. To all those people searching for mental relief from the collective insanity that results from standards imposed upon the unwilling, this book and its instructions are dedicated to making your life easier and more bearable so you can actually use your computer for a change.

Author's Acknowledgments

I’d like to thank all the friendly people who helped put this book together, especially Pat O’Brien. Additional thanks go to my radio co-hosts (Wes Sample, Dane Henderson, Sherri Diaz, and Joe Shattuck) at My107.9FM in beautifully isolated Alpine, California where we host a weekly radio show called “Notes From the Underground.” Thanks also go to Johannes Gutenberg for inventing the printing press, which is currently being defeated by armies of people dismissing the invention of mass printing by refusing to read any books at all.

Publisher's Acknowledgments

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Office 2013 For Dummies®

Visit www.dummies.com/cheatsheet/office2013 to view this book's cheat sheet.

Table of Contents

Introduction

Who Should Buy This Book

How This Book Is Organized

Part I: Getting Started with Microsoft Office 2013

Part II: Working with Word

Part III: Playing the Numbers with Excel

Part IV: Making Presentations with PowerPoint

Part V: Getting Organized with Outlook

Part VI: Storing Stuff in Access

Part VII: The Part of Tens

How to Use This Book

Conventions

Icons Used in This Book

Getting Started

Part I: Getting Started with Microsoft Office 2013

Chapter 1: Introducing Microsoft Office 2013

Starting an Office 2013 Program

Introducing the Microsoft Office Ribbon

The File tab

Using the Ribbon

Deciphering Ribbon icons

Identifying Ribbon icons

Displaying dialog boxes

Minimizing the Ribbon

Using the Quick Access Toolbar

Using the Quick Access icons

Adding icons

Removing icons

Moving the Quick Access toolbar

Customizing an Office 2013 Program

Changing the file format and default location

Customizing the Ribbon icons

Exiting Office 2013

Chapter 2: Selecting and Editing Data

Adding Data by Pointing

Selecting Data

Selecting data with the mouse

Selecting data with the keyboard

Selecting multiple chunks of data with the mouse and keyboard

Editing Text with the Pop-up Toolbar

Deleting Data

Cutting and Pasting (Moving) Data

Copying and Pasting Data

Using Paste Options

Dragging with the Mouse to Cut, Copy, and Paste

Undo and Redo

Sharing Data with Other Office 2013 Programs

Using the Office Clipboard

Viewing and pasting items off the Office Clipboard

Deleting items from the Office Clipboard

Chapter 3: Modifying Pictures

Adding (and Deleting) Pictures

Manipulating Pictures

Moving a picture

Resizing a picture

Rotating a picture

Enhancing Pictures

Choosing visual effects

Choosing a picture style

Adding a border around a picture

Chapter 4: Getting Help from Office 2013

Browsing the Help Window

Searching in the Help Window

Making the Help Window Easier to Read

Resizing and pinning the Help window

Enlarging the text in the Help window

Printing the text in the Help window

Part II: Working with Word

Chapter 5: Typing Text in Word

Moving the Cursor with the Mouse

Moving the Cursor with the Keyboard

Navigating through a Document

Navigating with the mouse

Using the Go To command

Finding and Replacing Text

Using the Find command

Customizing text searching

Searching by headings

Browsing through pages

Using the Find and Replace command

Checking Your Spelling

Checking Your Grammar

Viewing a Document

Switching between views

Using Read Mode view

Using Outline view

Chapter 6: Formatting Text

Changing the Font

Changing the Font Size

Changing the Text Style

Changing Colors

Changing the color of text

Highlighting text with color

Using Text Effects

Justifying Text Alignment

Adjusting Line Spacing

Making Lists

Indenting list items

Converting list items back into text

Customizing a list

Renumbering numbered lists

Using the Ruler

Adjusting left and right paragraph margins

Defining indentation with the Ruler

Using Format Painter

Using Styles

Using Templates

Removing Formatting from Text

Chapter 7: Designing Your Pages

Inserting New Pages

Adding (and Deleting) a Cover Page

Inserting Page Breaks

Inserting Headers and Footers

Creating a header (or footer)

Defining which pages display a header (or footer)

Deleting a header (or footer)

Organizing Text in Tables

Creating a table by highlighting rows and columns

Creating a table with the Insert Table dialog box

Creating a table with the mouse

Creating a table from existing text

Formatting and Coloring a Table

Selecting all or part of a table

Aligning text in a table cell

Picking a table style

Resizing columns and rows

Sorting a Table

Deleting Tables

Deleting an entire table

Deleting rows and columns

Deleting cells

Deleting cell borders

Making Text Look Artistic

Creating drop caps

Creating WordArt

Dividing Text into Columns

Editing columns

Removing columns

Previewing a Document before Printing

Defining page size and orientation

Using Print Preview

Part III: Playing the Numbers with Excel

Chapter 8: The Basics of Spreadsheets: Numbers, Labels, and Formulas

Understanding Spreadsheets

Storing Stuff in a Spreadsheet

Typing data into a single cell

Typing data in multiple cells

Typing in sequences with AutoFill

Formatting Numbers and Labels

Formatting numbers

Formatting cells

Navigating a Spreadsheet

Using the mouse to move around in a spreadsheet

Using the keyboard to move around a spreadsheet

Naming cells

Searching a Spreadsheet

Searching for text

Searching for formulas

Editing a Spreadsheet

Editing data in a cell

Changing the size of rows and columns with the mouse

Typing the size of rows and columns

Adding and deleting rows and columns

Adding sheets

Renaming sheets

Rearranging sheets

Deleting a sheet

Clearing Data

Printing Workbooks

Using Page Layout view

Adding a header (or footer)

Printing gridlines

Defining a print area

Inserting (and removing) page breaks

Printing row and column headings

Defining printing margins

Defining paper orientation and size

Printing in Excel

Chapter 9: Playing with Formulas

Creating a Formula

Organizing formulas with parentheses

Copying formulas

Using Functions

Using the AutoSum command

Using recently used functions

Editing a Formula

Conditional Formatting

Comparing data values

Creating conditional formatting rules

Data Validation

Goal Seeking

Creating Multiple Scenarios

Creating a scenario

Viewing a scenario

Editing a scenario

Viewing a scenario summary

Auditing Your Formulas

Finding where a formula gets its data

Finding which formula(s) a cell can change

Checking for Errors

Chapter 10: Charting and Analyzing Data

Understanding the Parts of a Chart

Creating a Chart

Editing a Chart

Moving a chart on a worksheet

Moving a chart to a new sheet

Resizing a chart

Using the Chart Tools

Changing the chart type

Changing the data source

Switching rows and columns

Changing the parts of a chart

Designing the layout of a chart

Deleting a chart

Using Sparklines

Creating a Sparkline

Customizing a Sparkline

Deleting a Sparkline

Organizing Lists in Pivot Tables

Creating a pivot table

Rearranging labels in a pivot table

Modifying a pivot table

Filtering a pivot table

Summing a pivot table

Slicing up a pivot table

Creating PivotCharts

Part IV: Making Presentations with PowerPoint

Chapter 11: Creating a PowerPoint Presentation

Defining the Purpose of Your Presentation

Creating a PowerPoint Presentation

Designing a presentation with Slide view

Designing a presentation with Outline view

Working with Text

Typing text in a text box

Formatting text

Aligning text

Adjusting line spacing

Making numbered and bulleted lists

Making columns

Moving and resizing a text box

Rotating a text box

Chapter 12: Adding Color and Pictures to a Presentation

Applying a Theme

Changing the Background

Choosing a solid color background

Choosing a gradient background

Choosing a picture background

Adding Graphics to a Slide

Placing picture files on a slide

Placing clip art on a slide

Creating WordArt

Capturing screenshots

Resizing, moving, and deleting graphic images

Rotating graphics

Layering objects

Adding Movies to a Slide

Searching for a video on the Internet

Searching for video on your computer

Trimming a video

Coloring a video

Formatting the shape of a video

Adding Sound to a Slide

Adding an audio file off the Internet

Adding audio from a file

Recording audio

Chapter 13: Showing Off a Presentation

Spell-Checking Your Presentation

Organizing Slides in Sections

Adding a section

Expanding and collapsing a section

Deleting a section

Adding Visual Transitions

Adding slide transitions

Text and graphic transitions

Using the Animation Painter

Adding Hyperlinks

Creating web page hyperlinks

Creating hyperlinks to external files

Running a program through a hyperlink

Viewing a Presentation

Creating a custom slide show

Hiding a slide

Organizing with Slide Sorter view

Creating Handouts

Part V: Getting Organized with Outlook

Chapter 14: Managing E-Mail with Outlook

Configuring E-Mail Settings

Creating E-Mail

Creating a new e-mail message

Replying to an e-mail message

Using a stored e-mail address to create a new e-mail message

Attaching Files to Messages

Reading and Organizing E-Mail

Grouping messages into categories

Changing the appearance of the Reading Pane

Retrieving a file attachment from a message

Deleting E-Mail Messages

Chapter 15: Calendars, Contacts, and Tasks

Setting Appointments

Making an appointment

Viewing appointments

Deleting an appointment

Storing Names and Addresses

Adding a name

Viewing names

Searching names

Managing Tasks

Storing a task

Searching tasks

Viewing tasks

Part VI: Storing Stuff in Access

Chapter 16: Using a Database

Understanding the Basics of a Database

Designing a Database

Editing and Modifying a Database

Naming a field

Adding and deleting a field

Defining the type and size of a field

Typing Data into a Database

Using Datasheet view

Using Form view

Creating a form

Viewing and editing data in a form

Editing a form

Closing and Saving a Database

Closing a database

Exiting Access

Chapter 17: Searching, Sorting, and Querying a Database

Searching a Database

Searching for a specific record

Filtering a database

Sorting a Database

Querying a Database

Creating a simple query

Creating a crosstab query

Creating a query that finds duplicate field data

Creating an unmatched query

Viewing, renaming, closing, and deleting queries

Chapter 18: Creating a Database Report

Using the Report Wizard

Manipulating the Data in a Report

Switching a report to Layout view

Counting records or values

Sorting a field

Filtering a field

Editing a Report

Resizing fields

Deleting fields

Making Reports Look Pretty

Applying themes

Creating conditional formatting

Deleting a Report

Part VII: The Part of Tens

Chapter 19: Ten Tips for Using Office 2013

Saving Office 2013 Files

Password-Protecting Your Files

Guarding against Macro Viruses

Customize the Ribbon

Save to SkyDrive

When in Doubt, Right-Click the Mouse

Freezing Row and Column Headings in Excel

Displaying Slides Out of Order in PowerPoint

Reduce Spam in Outlook

Setting up Outlook’s junk e-mail filter

Creating a Safe Senders list

Creating a Blocked Senders list

Using Office Web and Windows RT

Chapter 20: Almost Ten Ways to Make Office 2013 Easier to Use

Build Your Own Apps for Office

Collaborating with the Review Tab

Using Word’s References Tab

Using Excel’s Data Tab

Saving and Sending Files

Encrypting a File

Checking File Compatibility

Ignoring the Silly Office Ribbon

Cheat Sheet

Introduction

Welcome to the most popular office productivity software in the world. If you’re already familiar with Microsoft Office 2007 or Microsoft Office 2010, you’ll find that the new Microsoft Office 2013 is familiar enough to use right away with minimal training, but comes jam-packed with additional features to make Office even more useful than ever before. If you’ve been using a much older version of Office (such as Office 2003 or earlier), you’ll find Office 2013 to be a radical leap forward in both features and its new user interface.

Like most software, the real challenge is figuring out where to find the commands you need to do something useful. While this book won’t turn you into a Microsoft Office 2013 expert overnight, it will give you just enough information so you can feel confident using the new Office 2013 and get something done quickly and easily without tearing your hair out and losing your mind in the process.

In this book, you find out how to master the “Ribbon” user interface along with discovering the dozens of new features that Microsoft added to your favorite program in Office 2013. More importantly, you find a host of shortcuts and tips to help you work faster and more efficiently than ever before. Whether you rely on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, or Outlook, you’re sure to glean something new from this book to help you master Office 2013 on your own computer.

Who Should Buy This Book

This book is targeted toward three distinct groups. First, there are the people already familiar with Microsoft Office 2007 or Office 2010 who want to catch up with the new features of Office 2013. For these people, this book can serve as a handy reference for finding out how to use the latest features.

Second, there are people upgrading from an older version of Microsoft Office, such as Office 2003 or Office XP. For these people, this book can serve as a gentle guide to help you make a less-painful transition from traditional pull-down menus to the new “Ribbon” user interface.

Finally, there may be people who may have rarely (if ever) used any version of Microsoft Office at all. For those people, this book can serve as a guide through word processing (Microsoft Word), number calculations (Microsoft Excel), presentations (Microsoft PowerPoint), database management (Microsoft Access), and managing your personal resources such as time, appointments, and e-mail (Microsoft Outlook).

No matter how much (or how little) you may know about Microsoft Office, this book can show you how to use the most common and most useful features of Office 2013 so you can start being productive right away.

How This Book Is Organized

To help you find what you need, this book is organized into parts where each part covers a different program in Office 2010.

Part I: Getting Started with Microsoft Office 2013

To use Microsoft Office 2013, you need to know how to find the commands you need. This part of the book focuses on showing you how to use the Ribbon user interface that appears in all Office 2013 programs. By the time you finish this part of the book, you’ll feel comfortable using any program in Office 2013.

Part II: Working with Word

Word processing is the most popular use for Office 2013, so this part of the book explains the basics of using Word. Not only will you find out how to create and save different types of documents, but you’ll also master different ways to alter text, such as using color, changing fonts, adding headers and footers, checking spelling and grammar, and printing your written masterpiece so it looks perfect.

Part III: Playing the Numbers with Excel

If you need to manipulate numbers, you need Microsoft Excel. This part of the book explains the three basic parts of any spreadsheet, how to format data, how to create formulas, and how to create different types of charts to help you visualize what your spreadsheet numbers really mean. Not only will you discover how to calculate and “crunch” numbers, but you’ll also find how to analyze the results and turn them into eye-catching charts to help you understand trends that may be buried within your data. If you want to find out how to use Microsoft Excel to create, format, and display spreadsheets, this is the part of the book for you.

Part IV: Making Presentations with PowerPoint

Throw away your overhead transparencies and clumsy whiteboard and pads of paper. If you need to give a presentation to a large group, you need to know how to create colorful and visually interesting presentations with PowerPoint instead. With PowerPoint, you can organize a presentation into slides that can display text, pictures, animation, and even video. By mastering PowerPoint, you can create presentations that grab an audience’s attention and emphasize the points you want to make while holding their interest at the same time.

Part V: Getting Organized with Outlook

Almost nobody feels that they have enough time to stay organized, so this part of the book explains why and how to use Microsoft Outlook. With Outlook, you can read, sort, and write e-mail, keep track of appointments, store names and addresses of your most important contacts, and even organize your daily to-do tasks. By using Outlook to manage your busy schedule, you can turn your computer into a personal assistant to make you more productive than ever before.

Part VI: Storing Stuff in Access

If you need to store large amounts of information, such as tracking inventories, organizing customer orders, or storing names and addresses of prospective customers, you may need to use a database program like Microsoft Access. In this part of the book, you see how to use Access to store, retrieve, sort, and print your data in different ways. With Access able to slice and dice your information, you can better analyze your data to understand how your business really works.

Part VII: The Part of Tens

Almost every program offers multiple ways of accomplishing the same task, and Office 2013 is no exception. After you get familiar with using Office, take a peek in this part of the book to read about different types of shortcuts you can use to work with Office even faster than before. By the time you get to this part of the book, you’ll be much more comfortable using Office 2013 so you can feel comfortable exploring and experimenting with different features on your own.

How to Use This Book

Although you can just flip through this book to find the features you need, browse through Part I for a quick refresher (or introduction) to the Office 2013 user interface Ribbon. After you understand the basics of using this new Ribbon user interface, you’ll be able to master any Office 2013 program in no time.

Conventions

To get the most from this book, you need to understand the following conventions:

The mouse pointer usually appears as an arrow and serves multiple purposes. First, you use the mouse pointer to select data (text, numbers, e-mail messages, and so on) to change. Second, you use the mouse pointer to tell Office 2013 which commands you want to use to change the data you selected. Finally, the appearance of the mouse pointer can reveal the options available to you at that moment.

Clicking means moving the mouse pointer over something on the screen (such as a menu command or a button), pressing the left mouse button once, and then letting go. Clicking tells the computer, “See what I’m pointing at? That’s what I want to choose right now.”

Double-clicking means pointing at something with the mouse pointer and clicking the left mouse button twice in rapid succession.

Dragging means holding down the left mouse button while moving the mouse. Dragging typically moves something from one onscreen location to another, such as moving a word from the top of a paragraph to the bottom.

Right-clicking means moving the mouse pointer over something and clicking the right mouse button once. Right-clicking typically displays a shortcut menu of additional options.

In addition to understanding these terms to describe different mouse actions, you also need to understand different keystroke conventions too. When you see an instruction that reads Ctrl+P, that means to hold down the Ctrl key, press the P key, and then let go of both the Ctrl and P key at the same time.

Finally, most computer mice offer a scroll wheel that lets you roll it up or down, or press on it. This scroll wheel works to scroll windows up or down, whether you’re using Office 2013 or nearly any other type of program as well. In Office 2013, the scroll wheel doesn’t serve any unique purpose, but it can be a handy tool for rapidly scrolling through windows in any Office 2013 program.

Icons Used in This Book

Icons highlight important or useful information.

This icon highlights information that can save you time or make it easier for you to do something.

This icon emphasizes information that can be helpful, although not crucial, when using Office 2013.

Watch out! This icon highlights something that can hurt or wipe out important data. Read this information before making a mistake that you may not be able to recover from again.

This icon highlights interesting technical information that you can safely ignore but may answer some questions about why Office 2013 works a certain way.

Getting Started

The best way to master anything is to jump right in and start fiddling with different commands just to see what they do and how they work. In case you’re afraid of breaking your computer or wiping out important data, play around with Office 2013 on a “dummy” document filled with useless information you can afford to lose (like your boss’s income tax returns — kidding!).

Here’s your first tip. Any time you do something in Office 2013, you can undo or take back your last command by pressing Ctrl+Z. (Just hold down the Ctrl key, press the Z key, and release both keys at the same time.) There, now that you know about the powerful Undo command, you should have a surging sense of invulnerability when using Office 2013, knowing that at any time you make a mistake, you can turn back time by pressing Ctrl+Z to undo your last command.

If you get nothing else from this book, always remember that the Ctrl+Z command can save you from yourself. See? Mastering Office 2013 is going to be easier than you think.

Part I

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In this part . . .

Starting an Office 2013 program

Using the pop-up toolbar

Modifying pictures

Opening and browsing the Help window

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Chapter 1

Introducing Microsoft Office 2013

In This Chapter

Starting an Office 2013 program

Learning the Ribbon

Customizing an Office 2013 program

Exiting from Office 2013

Microsoft Office 2013 consists of five core programs: Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Access, and Outlook, where each program specializes in manipulating different data. Word manipulates text; Excel manipulates numbers; PowerPoint manipulates text and pictures to create a slide show; Access manipulates organized, repetitive data such as inventories; and Outlook manipulates personal information such as e-mail addresses and phone numbers.

Although each Office 2013 program stores and manipulates different types of data, they all work in similar ways. First, you have to enter data into an Office 2013 program by typing on the keyboard or loading data from an existing file. Second, you have to tell Office 2013 how to manipulate your data, such as underlining, sorting, arranging it on the screen, or deleting it. Third, you have to save your data as a file.

To help you understand this three-step process of entering, manipulating, and saving data, all Office 2013 programs offer similar commands so you can quickly jump from Word to PowerPoint to Excel without having to learn entirely new commands for each program. Even better, Office 2013 organizes commands in tabs to make finding the command you need faster and easier than ever before.

If you’re already familiar with computers and previous editions of Microsoft Office, you may want to browse through this chapter just to get acquainted with the appearance and organization of Office 2013. If you’ve never used a computer before or just don’t feel comfortable using Microsoft Office, read this chapter first.

Starting an Office 2013 Program

Microsoft Office 2013 runs on both Windows 7 and Windows 8.

To start Office 2013 on Windows 7, you can go through the Start menu. To start Office 2013 on Windows 8, you must click the Office 2013 tile that represents the program you want to run.

To load Office 2013 in Windows 7, follow these steps:

1. Click the Start button on the Windows taskbar.

A pop-up menu appears.

2. Choose All Programs.

Another pop-up menu appears.

3. Choose Microsoft Office.

A list of programs appears on the Start menu.

4. Choose the Office 2013 program you want to use, such as Microsoft Word 2013 or Microsoft PowerPoint 2013.

Your chosen program appears on the screen. At this point, you can open an existing file.

To load Office 2013 in Windows 8, follow these steps:

1. Open the Windows 8 tiles by either pressing the Windows key on your keyboard or moving the mouse pointer to the bottom-left corner of the screen and clicking when the Start preview window appears.

The Windows 8 tile interface appears.

2. Scroll sideways until you see the Office 2013 tiles that represent the program you want to start as shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1: The tile interface of Windows 8 displays the Office 2013 programs as individual tiles.

3. Click the tile that represents the Office 2013 program you want to run, such as Microsoft Word 2013 or Microsoft PowerPoint 2013.

Your chosen program appears on the screen. At this point, you can open an existing file.

Introducing the Microsoft Office Ribbon

In older Windows programs, such as Microsoft Office 2003, the program displayed pull-down menus at the top of the screen. To find a command, you had to click a pull-down menu and then search for a command buried in the menu. Since this can get tedious and confusing, later versions of Microsoft Office introduced a Ribbon interface.

The basic idea behind this Ribbon interface is to store commonly used commands under separate tabs. Clicking each tab displays icons that represent related commands. Now you can see groups of related commands at a glance.

Although every Office 2013 program displays different tabs, the three most common tabs are the File tab, the Home tab, and the Insert tab.

The File tab lets you open, save, and print your files. In addition, the File tab also lets you exit out of the program and customize an Office 2013 program as shown in Figure 1-2.

Figure 1-2: The types of commands available through the File tab.

The Home tab displays icons that represent the most common commands for that particular Office 2013 program, such as formatting commands (as shown in Figure 1-3).

Figure 1-3: The Home tab displays common formatting commands.

The Insert tab displays icons that represent common commands for adding items to a file such as pictures and tables, as shown in Figure 1-4.

Figure 1-4: The Insert tab displays common commands for adding items to a file.

In addition to the File, Home, and Insert tabs, every Office 2013 program also includes tabs that contain commands specific to that particular program. For example, Excel contains a Formulas tab that contains commands for creating a formula in a spreadsheet while PowerPoint contains a Transitions tab for adding transitions to your presentation slideshows.

The File tab

The various commands available on the File tab include

Info: Protects your file from changes, inspects a file for compatibility issues with older programs, and manages different versions of your file. The Info command also lets you view the details of your file such as the file’s size and the date you created it, as shown in Figure 1-5.

Figure 1-5: The Info command on the File tab lets you protect or inspect a file.

New: Creates a new file.

Open: Loads an existing file.

Save: Saves your file. If you haven’t named your file yet, the Save command is equivalent to the Save As command.

Save As: Save the current file under a new name and/or in a different location such as a different folder or computer.

Print: Prints the current file.

Share: Sends a file as an e-mail attachment or posts it online.

Export: Saves the current file in a different file format.

Close: Closes an open file but keeps the Office 2013 program running.

Account: Displays information about your SkyDrive account.

SkyDrive is Microsoft’s cloud computing service that lets you store files online so you can access them from other types of devices such as a smart phone, a tablet, or another computer.

Options: Displays various options for customizing the way each Office 2013 program behaves.

Exit: Closes any open files and exits the Office 2013 program.

In Word, a file is called a document. In Excel, a file is called a workbook. In PowerPoint, a file is called a presentation. In Access, a file is called a database.

Creating a new file

Each time you create a new file, you have the option of choosing different types of templates that are already formatted and designed for specific purposes, such as a calendar, newsletter, sales report, or corporate slide-show presentation, as shown in Figure 1-6.

Figure 1-6: The New command displays a variety of files you can create.

To create a new file, follow these steps:

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click New.

A list of templates appears (see Figure 1-6).

3. Double-click the template you want to use.

Office 2013 creates a new file based on your chosen template. For some templates, you may need access to the Internet to download the templates from Microsoft’s website.

Opening an existing file

When you load an Office 2013 program, you may want to edit a file that you created and modified earlier. To open an existing file, you need to tell Office 2013 the location and name of the file you want to open.

The four options for finding an existing file include

Recent Documents/Workbooks/Presentations: Displays a list of files you recently opened.

Someone’s SkyDrive: Displays a list of files stored on another person’s SkyDrive account. (You may need to get permission from that other person to access certain files.)

Computer: Lets you browse through the folders stored on your computer to find a file.

Add a place: Lets you define a new location for storing files in the cloud such as your SkyDrive account.

To open a file, follow these steps:

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click Open.

An Open pane appears, as shown in Figure 1-7.

Figure 1-7: The Open pane lets you change drives and folders to find the file you want to use.

3. Choose an option such as Recent Documents or Computer.

You may need to click the Browse button to access different folders.

4. Click the file you want to open.

Your chosen file appears.

If you deleted or moved a file, Office 2013 may still list that filename under the Recent category even if that file no longer exists or has been moved.

Saving files

Saving a file stores all your data on a hard drive or other storage device (such as a USB flash drive). You can also save your files to a SkyDrive account so you can access that file anywhere you have Internet access. The first time you save a file, you need to specify three items:

The location in which to store your file

The name of your file

The format in which to save your file

The location can be any folder on your hard drive or in your SkyDrive account. It’s a good idea to store similar files in a folder with a descriptive name, such as Tax Evasion Information for 2015 or Extortion Letters to Grandma. If you save your files to your computer, Office 2013 stores all your files in the Documents folder unless you specify otherwise.

You can give a file any name you want, but it’s also a good idea to give your file a descriptive name, such as Latest Resume to Escape My Dead-End Job or Global Trade Presentation for World Domination Meeting on October 29, 2014.

The format of your file defines how Office 2013 stores your data. The default file format is simply called Word Document, Excel Workbook, PowerPoint Presentation, or Access Database. Anyone using Office 2013, 2010, or Office 2007 can open these files.

For a quick way to save a file, click the Save icon that appears above the File tab or press Ctrl+S.

Saving a file in other file formats

If you need to share files with people using older versions of Microsoft Office or other word processors, spreadsheets, or database programs, you need to save your files in a different file format. To share files with people using older versions of Microsoft Office, you need to save your files in a format known as 97-2003, such as Word 97-2003 Document or PowerPoint 97-2003 Presentation.

This special 97-2003 file format saves Office 2013 files so that previous versions of Microsoft Office 97/2000/XP/2003 can open and edit your files.

When you save files in the 97-2003 format, Microsoft Office 2013 saves your files with a three-letter file extension, like .doc or .xls. When you save files in the Office 2013 format, Microsoft Office 2013 saves your files with a four- or five-letter file extension, such as .docx or .pptx, as shown in Table 1-1.

Table 1-1 File Extension Names Used by Different Versions of Microsoft Office

Program

Microsoft Office 2013 File Extension

Microsoft Office 97-2003 File Extension

Microsoft Word

.docx

.doc

Microsoft Excel

.xlsx

.xls

Microsoft PowerPoint

.pptx

.ppt

Microsoft Access

.accdb

.mdb

To save your Office 2013 files in the 97-2003 format, follow these steps:

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click Export.

The middle pane displays different options.

3. Click Change File Type.

A list of different formats appears, as shown in Figure 1-8.

Figure 1-8: The Export pane lets you choose a file format.

4. Click the 97-2003 format option, such as Word 97-2003 Document or Excel 97-2003 Workbook.

5. Click the Save As button near the bottom of the screen.

The Save As dialog box appears.

If you want to share your file with different types of programs, you may need to choose a different file format, such as Rich Text Format or Text.

6. (Optional) Click in the File Name text box and type a descriptive name for your file.

7. Click Save.

Closing a file

When you’re done editing a file, you need to close it. Closing a file simply removes the file from your screen but keeps your Office 2013 program running so you can edit or open another file. If you haven’t saved your file, closing a file will prompt you to save your changes.

To close a file, follow these steps:

1. Click the File tab.

2. Click Close.

If you haven’t saved your file, a dialog box appears asking whether you want to save your changes.

For a faster way to choose the Close command, press Ctrl+F4.

3. Click Save to save your changes, Don’t Save to discard any changes, or Cancel to keep your file open.

If you click either Save or Don’t Save, Office 2013 closes your file.

Using the Ribbon

The Ribbon interface displays tabs that contain groups of related commands. For example, the Page Layout tab displays only those commands related to designing a page, and the Insert tab displays only those commands related to inserting items into a file, such as a page break or a picture.

Using the Ribbon is a two-step process. First, you must click the tab that contains the command you want. Second, you click the actual command.

Tabs act exactly like traditional pull-down menus. Whereas a pull-down menu simply displays a list of commands, tabs display a list of icons that represent different commands.

Deciphering Ribbon icons

Each Ribbon tab displays commands as buttons or icons, organized into groups. There are four types of icons displayed on the Ribbon:

One-click icons: These icons do something with a single click.

Menu icons: These icons display a pull-down menu of options you can choose.

Split-menu icons: These icons consist of two halves. The left or top half lets you choose a command like a one-click icon, and the right or bottom half displays a downward-pointing arrow, which displays additional options.

Combo boxes: These display a text box where you can type a value in or click a downward-pointing arrow to choose from a menu of options.

Using one-click icons

If you’re in too much of a hurry to double-click, Office 2013 offers you two types of one-click icons (as shown in Figure 1-9).

Figure 1-9: The two types of one-click icons.

The most common one-click icons are the Cut and Copy commands, which appear on the Home tab of every Office 2013 program.

Using menu icons

A one-click icon represents a single command. However, there isn’t enough room on the Ribbon to display every possible command as a single icon. As a result, menu icons display a pull-down menu that stores multiple options within a single icon, as shown in Figure 1-10.

Figure 1-10: A menu icon displays additional options you can choose.

Selecting an option in the pull-down menu immediately manipulates your selected data.

Using split-menu icons

Split-menu icons give you two choices:

If you click the top or left half of a split-menu icon, you choose a default value. For example, the left half of the Font Color icon lets you choose the currently displayed color.

If you click the bottom or right half of a split-menu icon, a pull-down menu appears, letting you choose a new default option, as shown in Figure 1-11.

The Paste and Font Color icons, found on the Home tab of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint, are typical split-menu icons.

You can identify split-menu icons because only half of the icon appears highlighted when you move the mouse pointer over that half.

Figure 1-11: A split-menu icon gives you a choice between either a menu or the currently displayed option.

Using combo boxes

A combo box gives you two ways to choose an option:

Type directly into the combo box.

Click the downward-pointing arrow to display a list of options, as shown in Figure 1-12.

Figure 1-12: A combo box lets you choose a menu or type data in yourself.

The Font and Font Size combo boxes, found on the Home tab of Word, Excel and PowerPoint, are typical combo boxes:

If you click the left side of the Font Size combo box, you can type your own value in for a font size.

If you click the downward-pointing arrow on the right side of the Font Size combo box, you can choose a value from a pull-down menu.

Identifying Ribbon icons

While some icons include descriptive text (such as Format Painter or Paste), most icons simply look like cryptic symbols from an alien language. To get additional help deciphering icons on the Ribbon, just point the mouse pointer over an icon, and a short explanation appears, called a ScreenTip, as shown in Figure 1-13.

ScreenTips provide the following information:

The official name of the command (which is Format Painter in Figure 1-13)

The equivalent keystroke shortcut you can use to run the command (which is Ctrl+Shift+C in the figure)

A short explanation of what the command does

Figure 1-13: A ScreenTip explaining the Format Painter icon.

To view the ScreenTip for any icon on the Ribbon, move the mouse pointer over that icon and wait a few seconds for the ScreenTip to appear.

Shortcut keystrokes let you choose a command from the keyboard without the hassle of clicking a tab and then clicking the icon buried inside that tab. Most shortcut keystrokes consist of two or three keys, such as Ctrl+P or Ctrl+Shift+C.

Displaying dialog boxes

On each tab, the Ribbon displays related commands in a group. For example, the Home tab groups the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands within the Clipboard group and the text alignment and line-spacing commands within the Paragraph group.

Although you can choose the most commonly used commands directly from the Ribbon, Word often contains dozens of additional commands that don’t appear on the Ribbon. To access these more obscure commands, you need to open a dialog box.

In the bottom-right corner of a group of icons on the Ribbon, you’ll see the Show Dialog Box icon, which looks like an arrow pointing diagonally downward, as shown in Figure 1-14.

Figure 1-14: The Show Dialog Box icon appears in many groups on the Ribbon.

Not every group of icons on the Ribbon displays the Show Dialog Box icon.

To open a dialog box that contains additional options, follow these steps:

1. Click a tab on the Ribbon, such as the Home or Page Layout tab.

2. Click the Show Dialog Box icon in the bottom-right corner of a group such as the Font or Paragraph group found on the Home tab.

Office 2013 displays a dialog box, as shown in Figure 1-15.

Figure 1-15: Clicking the Show Dialog Box icon displays a dialog box.

3. Choose any options in the dialog box, and then click OK or Cancel when you’re done.

Minimizing the Ribbon