Complete tasks quickly with Smart Tags in Office XP

Smart Tags, new in Microsoft Office XP, make it easier for you to complete some of the most common Office tasks and provide you with more control over automatic features.
For example, when you paste text from Microsoft FrontPage® into Microsoft Word, the formatting of your FrontPage Web page might not be what you want in your Word document. In the past, you would have had to paste your text and then apply the FrontPage styles to the new text by going to the Style box, scrolling down, and selecting the style to apply. Now, when you paste content into Word, the Paste Options button appears alongside the selected text that you have just pasted into your destination program. This allows you to quickly choose between keeping the source formatting or pasting in text only.

You do not have to complete any additional steps to make the Smart Tags appear or disappear in Microsoft Excel, FrontPage, Microsoft Outlook®, Microsoft PowerPoint®, or Word. They appear automatically when you perform certain actions (such as pasting or AutoCorrection) and remain in place until you begin another action. For example, when you complete a paste operation, the Paste Options button remains in place alongside your text until you begin typing new text.
Smart Tag Actions button



In Word, Excel, and Outlook, the Smart Tag Actions button recognizes your typing (such as a name or address in Word, or a stock ticker symbol in Excel) and lets you associate information and actions with that entry. A Smart Tag is indicated by a series of purple dots under the text. For example, if you type the name James Smith in Word or Outlook (when using Word as your e-mail editor), you can use the Smart Tag Actions button to create a new Contact in Outlook, send an e-mail message, schedule a meeting, or find driving directions to the address.
For a person's name, the options offered are:

• Send e-mail
  
• Schedule a meeting
  
• Open a Contact
  
• Add a new Contact
  
• Insert an address
  
• Remove the Smart Tag
  
• Smart Tag options (This brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu.)
  

For an address, the options offered are:

• Add to Contacts
  
• Display a map
  
• Display driving directions
  
• Remove the Smart Tag
  
• Smart Tag options (This brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu.)
  

In Excel, if you type a stock ticker symbol, the options offered are:

• Stock quote from MSN® MoneyCentral™
  
• Company report from MSN MoneyCentral
  
• Recent news on MSN MoneyCentral
  
• Insert a refreshable stock price
  
• Remove the Smart Tag
  
• Smart Tag options (This brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu.)
  

To turn off Smart Tags

1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.
   
2. Click the Smart Tags tab.
   
3. Clear the Show Smart Tag Actions buttons check box.
   
4. Click OK.
   

Note Turning off any of the Smart Tag buttons will make that action unavailable across all the Office programs where it is an option. If you turn off the AutoCorrect button in Word, the AutoCorrect button will also be turned off in PowerPoint.
Error checking


The Error button appears when an entry in a cell violates a set of rules for formulas. For example, if you enter a calculation that calls for dividing by zero, a green mark appears in the upper-left corner of the cell. When you click the marked cell, the Error button appears.

When you click the down arrow, you are presented with several options. The first two options are the most likely fix for your error. The other five options are standard actions for formulas.

To turn off error checking

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
   
2. Click the Error Checking tab.
   
3. Clear the Enable background error checking check box.
   
4. Click OK.
   

AutoCorrect Options button


In PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook, the AutoCorrect Options button appears when an automatic correction is made by the program and you backspace or position your pointer over the automatic correction. For example, you have finished entering a numbered list, but the AutoCorrect feature numbers the next line too, and you then backspace to delete the number. The AutoCorrect Options button appears and offers you three options:

• Undo the change (back to original typing) or redo the AutoCorrect.
  
• Create an exception for that particular occurrence.
  
• Control your AutoCorrect options by adjusting the selections in the AutoCorrect dialog box.
  

To turn off the AutoCorrect Options button


In Word

1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.
   
2. Click the AutoCorrect tab.
   
3. Clear the Show AutoCorrect Options buttons check box.
   
4. Click OK.
   

In PowerPoint

1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.
   
2. Click the AutoCorrect tab.
   
3. Clear the Show AutoCorrect Options buttons check box.
   
4. Click OK.
   

AutoFit Options button


In PowerPoint, when you type or paste text into a PowerPoint placeholder, PowerPoint will automatically resize the text to fit the placeholder. The AutoFit Options button appears and offers you three options:

• Automatically fit the typed or pasted text to the size of the placeholder.
  
• Stop fitting text size to the placeholder.
  
• Control your AutoCorrect options by adjusting the selections in the AutoCorrect dialog box.
  

To turn off the AutoFit features in PowerPoint

1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.
   
2. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
   
3. Clear the AutoFit check boxes.
   
4. Click OK.
   

Automatic Layout Options button


If you paste into a slide a picture or some text that doesn't fit the original layout, PowerPoint will then automatically offer you a possible layout that accommodates the inserted object, then the Automatic Layout Options button appears and offers you the choice of undoing the Automatic Layout action or stopping the Automatic Layout action altogether.
To turn off Automatic Layout in PowerPoint

1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.
   
2. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
   
3. Clear the Automatic layout for inserted objects check box.
   
4. Click OK.
   

Paste Options button


In Word, FrontPage, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel, when you paste text, the Paste Options button appears and offers you various choices depending on the program. For example, in Word you are offered the choice of keeping the source formatting, matching the destination formatting, or applying a different style or format (the Styles and Formatting task pane automatically opens). The available options depend on the type of content you are pasting, the program you are pasting from, and the format of the text into which you are pasting. All these programs offer the choice of keeping source content or matching destination styles.
To turn off the Paste Options button

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
   
2. Click the Edit tab.
   
3. Clear the Show Paste Options buttons check box.
   
4. Click OK.
   

AutoFill Options button


In Excel, when you fill cells, the AutoFill Options button appears and offers you four choices:

• Copy cells
  
• Fill series
  
• Fill formatting only
  
• Fill without formatting
  

To turn off AutoFill in Excel

1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
   
2. Click the Edit tab.
   
3. Clear the Show Paste Options buttons check box.
   
4. Click OK.
   

More information


For more information about Smart Tags and option buttons, see Help for the Microsoft Office program you are using.

what an information...
too long to finish... sniffle

good info maa...