A quick tip should you need to demonstrate some formatting or anything else that involves a chunk of sample text in Microsoft Word. I used this recently when performing some Word 2003 training and needed to show how to format paragraphs and fonts.

In Word 2003 you can type =rand() anywhere in a document and you will be presented with the following text.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog.

You can also use a modifier by placing numbers in the brackets. e.g. =rand(2,3) would place 2 paragraphs of 3 lines of the above text.

In word 2007 you can use several different functions. =rand() in word 2007 inserts the following text.

On the Insert tab, the galleries include items that are designed to coordinate with the overall look of your document. You can use these galleries to insert tables, headers, footers, lists, cover pages, and other document building blocks. When you create pictures, charts, or diagrams, they also coordinate with your current document look.

You can easily change the formatting of selected text in the document text by choosing a look for the selected text from the Quick Styles gallery on the Home tab. You can also format text directly by using the other controls on the Home tab. Most controls offer a choice of using the look from the current theme or using a format that you specify directly.

To change the overall look of your document, choose new Theme elements on the Page Layout tab. To change the looks available in the Quick Style gallery, use the Change Current Quick Style Set command. Both the Themes gallery and the Quick Styles gallery provide reset commands so that you can always restore the look of your document to the original contained in your current template.

=rand.old() inserts the same sample text as in word 2003. =lorem() inserts the following.

Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetuer adipiscing elit. Maecenas porttitor congue massa. Fusce posuere, magna sed pulvinar ultricies, purus lectus malesuada libero, sit amet commodo magna eros quis urna.

Nunc viverra imperdiet enim. Fusce est. Vivamus a tellus.

Pellentesque habitant morbi tristique senectus et netus et malesuada fames ac turpis egestas. Proin pharetra nonummy pede. Mauris et orci.

Again the same modifier as before can be used to edit the number of paragraphs and lines you wish to insert. The modifier is =function(p,l) where function is the sample option you want to use and p and l are the number of paragraphs and the number of lines respectively.

Ben

If you experience a teeny tiny cursor in Microsoft Word 2003 then I have a very simple fix for you! (Probably so simple you will curse yourself for not thinking of it earlier!)

On the Standard toolbar – Select the zoom option and set it to 500% and then set it back to 100%.

Your tiny cursor should now be blinking away in all its full size glory!

Ben

Another small problem that I came across recently. A team of 10 people all use a public folder shared calendar to track appointments/commitments. An item was added to the calendar lacking details and no one owned up as being the creator. Unfortunately for them I found a way of identifying who was responsible by looking up who created the calendar item. I did this using the following steps from Microsoft help (KB Article 257492)

1. On the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Active Appointments.

If you are using Outlook 2003, point to Arrange By on the View menu, point to Current View, and then click Active Appointments.
2. Move the mouse pointer to one of the column headings (such as Subject), and then right-click that heading. Click Field Chooser in on the shortcut menu.
3. In the Field Chooser, change from Frequently-used fields to All Appointment fields.
4. Click Organizer, and then drag Organizer to the column heading area. You see red arrows appear that indicate the column heading’s position. Release the mouse button when you have the field where you want it.
5. In the Field Chooser, change from All Appointment fields to Date/Time fields.
6. Click Created, and then drag Created to the column heading area. You see red arrows appear that indicate the column heading’s position. Release the mouse button when you have the field where you want it.
7. Close the Field Chooser, and then expand the columns if needed.

Recently I came across a problem whereby a blackberry users handset would synchronise with all elements of exchange except for their calendar. Below are the steps I used to troubleshoot the issue and an additional step as a last resortt, which thankfully I did not have to use!

Step 1 > Go to Calendar on the handset and then options. In the options menu check that Wireless Synchronization is turned on.

Step 2 > If the above fails, In the calendar switch to Events view. Customise the view by pressing Filters button, go to Advanced, and delete the filter. Go to the Events list, which at this point should show everything in the calendar. Look out for a yellow icon in the left hand column. This indicates that there is a conflict. Double click on the yellow icon to resolve it. Perform the same steps with the Address book.

After performing the above do a full reboot (remove the battery and replace) and leave 30 minutes or so for syncing.

Step 3 > If the above 2 options fail, go to Settings/Tools > Options > Advanced Options > Service Books. Find the Desktop[CICAL] service book. Resend this service book (or get your BES admin to do it!). If you have desktop manager available, simply plug your blackberry in and it should pull down automatically.

Drastic Option 1 > Wipe the device by going to Settings/Tools > Options > Security Options > General Options. Click and select “Wipe Handheld”. Once this has finished do an Enterprise Activation.

Drastic Option 2 > Perform Drastic Option 1 but before activating/Turning wireless on, delete and re configure/setup the account on BES.

Hope this helps!

Ben

Welcome to our new tech blog! We will be posting useful fixes when we find them in our tech support jobs.