1
Ctrl + Shift + A
AllCaps
Makes the selection all capitals (toggle)
2
Alt + Ctrl + 1
ApplyHeading1
Applies Heading 1 style to the selected text
3
Alt + Ctrl + 2
ApplyHeading2
Applies Heading 2 style to the selected text
4
Alt + Ctrl + 3
ApplyHeading3
Applies Heading 3 style to the selected text
5
Ctrl + Shift + L
ApplyListBullet
Applies List Bullet style to the selected text
6
Alt + F10
AppMaximize
Enlarges the application window to full size
7
Alt + F5
AppRestore
Restores the application window to normal size
8
Ctrl+B
Bold
Makes the selection bold (toggle)
9
Ctrl + PgDn
BrowseNext
Jump to the next browse object
10
Ctrl + PgUp
BrowsePrev
Jump to the previous browse object
11
Alt + Ctrl + Home
BrowseSel
Select the next/prev browse object
12
Esc
Cancel
Terminates an action
13
Ctrl+E
CenterPara
Centers the paragraph between the indents
14
Shift+F3
ChangeCase
Changes the case of the letters in the selection
15
Left arrow
CharLeft
Moves the insertion point to the left one character
16
Shift + Left arrow
CharLeftExtend
Extends the selection to the left one character
17
Rt arrow
CharRight
Moves the insertion point to the right one character
18
Shift + Rt arrow
CharRightExtend
Extends the selection to the right one character
19
Alt + Shift + C
ClosePane
Closes the active window pane (if you are in Normal View and have,
for example, the Footnote pane open)
20
Alt+Drag (or press Ctrl + Shift + F8 and drag, but Alt + Drag is
far easier!)
ColumnSelect
Selects a columnar block of text
21
Ctrl +Shift+C
CopyFormat
Copies the formatting of the selection
22
Shift + F2
CopyText
Makes a copy of the selection without using the clipboard (press
Return to paste)
23
Alt + F3
CreateAutoText
Adds an AutoText entry to the active template
24
Ctrl+ Backspace
DeleteBackWord
Deletes the previous word without putting it on the Clipboard
25
Ctrl + Del
DeleteWord
Deletes the next word without putting it on the Clipboard
26
Ctrl+W, Ctrl+F4
DocClose
Prompts to save the document and then closes the active window.
(But doesn't intercept the menu command)
27
Ctrl + F10
DocMaximize
Enlarges the active window to full size
28
Ctrl + F7
DocMove
Changes the position of the active window
29
Ctrl + F5
DocRestore
Restores the window to normal size
30
Ctrl + F8
DocSize
Changes the size of the active window
31
Alt + Ctrl + S
DocSplit
Splits the active window horizontally and then adjusts the split
32
Alt + Shift + F9
DoFieldClick
Executes the action associated with macrobutton fields
33
Ctrl + Shift + D
DoubleUnderline
Double underlines the selection (toggle)
34
Alt R, G
DrawGroup
Groups the selected drawing objects
35
Alt R, I
DrawSnapToGrid
Sets up a grid for aligning drawing objects
36
Alt R, U
DrawUngroup
Ungroups the selected group of drawing objects
37
Ctrl+Shift+F5 (Or: Alt I, K)
EditBookmark
Brings up the bookmark dialog
38
Del
EditClear
Performs a forward delete or removes the selection without putting
it on the Clipboard
39
Ctrl+C
EditCopy
Copies the selection and puts it on the Clipboard
40
Ctrl+X
EditCut
Cuts the selection and puts it on the Clipboard
41
Ctrl+F
EditFind
Finds the specified text or the specified formatting
42
F5, Ctrl+G
EditGoTo
Jumps to a specified place in the active document
43
Alt E, K
EditLinks
Allows links to be viewed, updated, opened, or removed
44
Ctrl+V
EditPaste
Inserts the Clipboard contents at the insertion point
45
Alt E, S
EditPasteSpecial
Inserts the Clipboard contents as a linked object, embedded object,
or other format
46
Alt + Shift + Backspc
EditRedo
Redoes the last action that was undone
47
F4
EditRedoOrRepeat
Repeats the last command, or redoes the last action that was undone
(unfortunately, doesn't work for as many commands in Word 2000 as in Word 97 and
below, but this is still one of Word's most useful shortcuts, if not the most
useful)
48
Ctrl+H
EditReplace
Finds the specified text or the specified formatting and replaces
it
49
Ctrl+A
EditSelectAll
Selects the entire document
50
Ctrl+Z
EditUndo
Reverses the last action
51
Alt + PageDn (to select to end of column, use Alt + Shift + PgDn)
EndOfColumn
Moves to the last cell in the current table column
52
Ctrl+Shift+End
EndOfDocExtend
Extends the selection to the end of the last line of the document
53
Ctrl+End
EndOfDocument
Moves the insertion point to the end of the last line of the
document
54
End
EndOfLine
Moves the insertion point to the end of the current line
55
Shift+End
EndOfLineExtend
Extends the selection to the end of the current line
56
Alt+End
EndOfRow
Moves to the last cell in the current row
57
Alt + Ctrl + PgDn
EndOfWindow
Moves the insertion point to the end of the last visible line on
the screen
58
Shift + Alt + Ctrl + PgDn
EndOfWindowExtend
Extends the selection to the end of the last visible line on the
screen
59
F8 (press Esc to turn off)
ExtendSelection
Turns on extend selection mode and then expands the selection with
the direction keys
60
Alt + F4 (<9>)
FileCloseOrExit
Closes the current document, or if no documents are open, quits
Word. Horrible command, as it makes it a long winded business to quit Word. But
there's a simple solution - assign Alt+F4 to FileExit instead.
61
Alt + F4 (Word 97)
FileExit
Quits Microsoft Word and prompts to save the documents (does
intercept the menu item, but not the keyboard shortcut, or the x button. An
AutoExit macro is usually a better way of intercepting this).
62
NOT Ctrl+N!!
FileNew
Creates a new document or template (brings up the dialog). Note
that: Word pretends that Ctrl+N is assigned to FileNew but it isn't, it's
assigned to FileNewDefault You can fix this in Word 2000 by assigning Ctrl+N to
the FileNewDialog command. In Word 97 the only way to fix it is to create a
macro called FileNew (to do this, press Alt + F8, type "FileNew" without the
quotes and Click "Create". The macro will automatically contain the code needed
to make it work).
63
Ctrl+N
FileNewDefault
Creates a new document based on the Normal template.
64
Ctrl+O
FileOpen
Opens an existing document or template
65
Alt F, U
FilePageSetup
Changes the page setup of the selected sections
66
Ctrl + P
FilePrint
Prints the active document (brings up the dialog)
67
Ctrl+F2
FilePrintPreview
Displays full pages as they will be printed
68
Alt F, I
FileProperties
Shows the properties of the active document
69
Ctrl+S
FileSave
FileSave
70
Alt F, A (or F12)
FileSaveAs
Saves a copy of the document in a separate file (brings up the
dialog)
71
Ctrl+Shift+F
Font
Activates the Fonts listbox on the formatting toolbar
72
Ctrl+Shift+P
FontSizeSelect
Activates the Font Size drop-down on the formatting toolbar
73
Alt + Ctrl + K
FormatAutoFormat
Automatically formats a document (or sometimes, automatically
screws it up)
74
Alt O, B
FormatBordersAndShading
Changes the borders and shading of the selected paragraphs, table
cells, and pictures
75
Alt O, E
FormatChangeCase
Changes the case of the letters in the selection
76
Alt O, C
FormatColumns
Changes the column format of the selected sections (brings up the
dialog)
77
Alt O, D
FormatDropCap
Formats the first character of current paragraph as a dropped
capital (must select it first)
78
Ctrl+D
FormatFont
Brings up the Format + Font dialog
79
Alt + Shift + R
FormatHeaderFooterLink
Links the current header/footer to the previous section (but does
not intercept the button on the Header Footer toolbar)
80
Alt O, P
FormatParagraph
Brings up the Format Paragraph dialog
81
Alt O, S
FormatStyle
Applies, creates, or modifies styles
82
Alt O, T
FormatTabs
Brings up the Format Tabs dialog
83
Shift + F5
GoBack
Returns to the previous insertion point (goes back to up to 3
points, then returns to where you started; this is one of the most useful
shortcuts of them all. Also useful when opening a document, if you want to g
straight to where you were last editing it)
84
Ctrl + >
GrowFont
Increases the font size of the selection
85
Ctrl + ]
GrowFontOnePoint
Increases the font size of the selection by one point
86
Ctrl + T (or drag the ruler)
HangingIndent
Increases the hanging indent
87
F1
Help
Microsoft Word Help
88
Shift + F1
HelpTool
Lets you get help on a command or screen region or examine text
properties
89
Ctrl + Shift + H
Hidden
Makes the selection hidden text (toggle)
90
Click on it
HyperlinkOpen
Connect to a hyperlink's address
91
Ctrl + M (or drag the ruler)
Indent
Moves the left indent to the next tab stop
92
Alt + Ctrl + M (or Alt I, M)
InsertAnnotation
Inserts a comment
93
F3
InsertAutoText
Replaces the name of the AutoText entry with its contents
94
Alt I, B
InsertBreak
Ends a page, column, or section at the insertion point
95
Alt I, C
InsertCaption
Inserts a caption above or below a selected object
96
Ctrl + Shift + Return
InsertColumnBreak
Inserts a column break at the insertion point
97
Alt + Shift + D
InsertDateField
Inserts a date field
98
Alt + Ctrl + D
InsertEndnoteNow
Inserts an endnote reference at the insertion point without
displaying the dialog
99
Alt I, F
InsertField
Inserts a field in the active document
100
Ctrl+F9
InsertFieldChars
Inserts an empty field with the enclosing field characters
101
Alt I, L
InsertFile
Inserts the text of another file into the active document
102
Alt I, N
InsertFootnote
Inserts a footnote or endnote reference at the insertion point
103
Alt + Ctrl + F
InsertFootnoteNow
Inserts a footnote reference at the insertion point without
displaying the dialog
104
Ctrl + K
InsertHyperlink
Insert Hyperlink
105
Alt I, D
InsertIndexAndTables
Inserts an index or a table of contents, figures, or authorities
into the document
106
Alt + Ctrl + L
InsertListNumField
Inserts a ListNum Field
107
Alt + Shift + F
InsertMergeField
Brings up a dialog to insert a mail merge field at the insertion
point. (It does not intercept the button on the Mail merge. toolbar)
108
Ctrl + Return
InsertPageBreak
Inserts a page break at the insertion point
109
Alt + Shift + P
InsertPageField
Inserts a page number field
110
Ctrl + Shift + F3
InsertSpike
Empties the spike AutoText entry and inserts all of its contents
into the document
111
Alt + Shift + T
InsertTimeField
Inserts a time field
112
Ctrl + I
Italic
Makes the selection italic (toggle)
113
Ctrl + J
JustifyPara
Aligns the paragraph at both the left and the right indent
114
Ctrl + L
LeftPara
Aligns the paragraph at the left indent
115
Down arrow
LineDown
Moves the insertion point down one line
116
Shift + down arrow
LineDownExtend
Extends the selection down one line
117
Up arrow
LineUp
Moves the insertion point up one line
118
Shift + up arrow
LineUpExtend
Extends the selection up one line
119
Ctrl + F11
LockFields
Locks the selected fields to prevent updating
120
Alt + Shift + K
MailMergeCheck
Checks for errors in a mail merge
121
Alt+Shift+E
MailMergeEditDataSource
Lets you edit a mail merge data source
122
Alt + Shift + N
MailMergeToDoc
Collects the results of the mail merge in a document
123
Alt Shift + M
MailMergeToPrinter
Sends the results of the mail merge to the printer
124
Alt + Shift + I
MarkCitation
Marks the text you want to include in the table of authorities
125
Alt + Shift + X
MarkIndexEntry
Marks the text you want to include in the index
126
Alt + Shift + O
MarkTableOfContentsEntry
Inserts a TC field (but it is far better to use Heading Styles to
generate your Table of Contents instead)
127
Alt or F10
MenuMode
Makes the menu bar active
128
Alt + Shift + F11
MicrosoftScriptEditor
Starts or switches to Microsoft Development Environment
application, allowing you to view the HTML/XML source code that would be behind
the document if it were in .htm format (or that is behind it if it already is in
.htm format).
129
Alt + Ctrl + F1
MicrosoftSystemInfo
Execute the Microsoft System Info application
130
F2
MoveText
Moves the selection to a specified location without using the
clipboard (press Return to execute the more)
131
Tab
NextCell
Moves to the next table cell
132
F11
NextField
Moves to the next field
133
Alt + F7
NextMisspelling
Find next spelling error
134
Alt + down arrow
NextObject
Moves to the next object on the page
135
Ctrl + F6
NextWindow
Switches to the next document window, equivalent to selecting a
document from the Window menu.
136
Ctrl+Shift+N
NormalStyle
Applies the Normal style
137
Ctrl + 0
OpenOrCloseUpPara
Sets or removes extra spacing above the selected paragraph
138
F6
OtherPane
Switches to another window pane in Normal View (for instance, if
you have if you have a Footnotes pane open in Normal view and want to switch to
the main document and back without closing the pane).
139
Alt + _
OutlineCollapse
Collapses an Outline in Outline View by one level
140
Alt+Shift+rt arrow
OutlineDemote
Demotes the selected paragraphs one heading level
141
Alt + +
OutlineExpand
Expands an Outline in Outline View by one level
142
Alt+Shift+down arrow
OutlineMoveDown
Moves the selection below the next item in the outline
143
Alt+Shift+up arrow
OutlineMoveUp
Moves the selection above the previous item in the outline
144
Alt+Shift+left arrow
OutlinePromote
Promotes the selected paragraphs one heading level
145
Alt + Shift + L
OutlineShowFirstLine
Toggles between showing the first line of each paragraph only or
showing all of the body text in the outline
146
Ins
Overtype
Toggles the typing mode between replacing and inserting
147
PgDn
PageDown
Moves the insertion point and document display to the next screen
of text
148
Shift+ PgDn
PageDownExtend
Extends the selection and changes the document display to the next
screen of text
149
PgUp
PageUp
Moves the insertion point and document display to the previous
screen of text
150
Shift + PgUp
PageUpExtend
Extends the selection and changes the document display to the
previous screen of text
151
Ctrl + down arrow
ParaDown
Moves the insertion point to the beginning of the next paragraph
152
Shift + Ctrl + down arrow
ParaDownExtend
Extends the selection to the beginning of the next paragraph
153
Ctrl + up arrow
ParaUp
Moves the insertion point to the beginning of the previous
paragraph
154
Shift + Ctrl + up arrow
ParaUpExtend
Extends the selection to the beginning of the previous paragraph
155
Ctrl+Shift+V
PasteFormat
Applies the previously copied formatting to selection
156
Shift + Tab
PrevCell
Moves to the previous table cell
157
Shift + F11
PrevField
Moves to the previous field
158
Alt + up arrow
PrevObject
Moves to the previous object on the page
159
Ctrl + Shift + F6
PrevWindow
Switches back to the previous document window
160
Sfift+F4
RepeatFind
Repeats Go To or Find to find the next occurrence
161
Ctrl+Spacebar
ResetChar
Makes the selection the default character format of the applied
style
162
Ctrl+Q
ResetPara
Makes the selection the default paragraph format of the applied
style
163
Ctrl +R
RightPara
Aligns the paragraph at the right indent
164
Ctrl + *
ShowAll
Shows/hides all nonprinting characters
165
Alt + Shift + A
ShowAllHeadings
Displays all of the heading levels and the body text in Outline
View
166
Ctrl + <
ShrinkFont
Decreases the font size of the selection
167
Ctrl + [
ShrinkFontOnePoint
Decreases the font size of the selection by one point
168
Ctrl + Shift + K
SmallCaps
Makes the selection small capitals (toggle)
169
Ctrl + 1
SpacePara1
Sets the line spacing to single space
170
Ctrl + 5
SpacePara15
Sets the line spacing to one-and-one-half space
171
Ctrl + 2
SpacePara2
Sets the line spacing to double space
172
Ctrl + F3
Spike
Deletes the selection and adds it to the "Spike" AutoText entry
(which allows you to move text and graphics from nonadjacent locations)
173
Alt + PgUp
StartOfColumn
Moves to the first cell in the current column
174
Ctrl+Shift+Home
StartOfDocExtend
Extends the selection to the beginning of the first line of the
document
175
Ctrl +Home
StartOfDocument
Moves the insertion point to the beginning of the first line of the
document
176
Home
StartOfLine
Moves the insertion point to the beginning of the current line
177
Shift+Home
StartOfLineExtend
Extends the selection to the beginning of the current line
178
Alt+Home
StartOfRow
Moves to the first cell in the current row
179
Alt+Ctrl+PgUp
StartOfWindow
Moves the insertion point to the beginning of the first visible
line on the screen
180
Shift+ Alt+Ctrl+PgUp
StartOfWindowExtend
Extends the selection to the beginning of the first visible line on
the screen
181
Strl + Shift + S
Style
Activates the Style drop-down on the Formatting toolbar
182
Ctrl + =
Subscript
Makes the selection subscript (toggle)
183
Ctrl + +
Superscript
Makes the selection superscript (toggle)
184
Ctrl + Shift + Q
SymbolFont
Applies the Symbol font to the selection
185
Alt A, F
TableAutoFormat
Applies a set of formatting to a table
186
Alt A, H
TableHeadings
Toggles table headings attribute on and off
187
Alt + click
(Alt + drag to select several)
TableSelectColumn
Selects the current column in a table
188
Click in left margin
TableSelectRow
Selects the current row in a table
189
Alt + double-click
TableSelectTable
Selects an entire table
190
Alt + Ctrl + U
TableUpdateAutoFormat
Updates the table formatting to match the applied Table Autoformat
settings
191
Shift + F9 (Alt + F9 toggles all field codes on or off)
ToggleFieldDisplay
Shows the field codes or the results for the selection (toggle)
192
Alt T, C
ToolsCustomize
Allows you to customizes the Word user interface (menus, keyboard
and toolbars) and store the customizations in a template (defaults to
Normal.dot, so be careful!)
193
Alt + F8
ToolsMacro
Runs, creates, deletes, or revises a macro
194
F7
ToolsProofing
Checks the spelling and grammar in the active document
195
Ctr.l + Shift + E
ToolsRevisionMarksToggle
Toggles track changes for the active document
196
Shift + F7
ToolsThesaurus
Finds a synonym for the selected word
197
Ctrl+U
Underline
Formats the selection with a continuous underline (toggle)
198
Ctrl + Shift + T
(or drag the ruler)
UnHang
Decreases the hanging indent
199
Ctrl + Shift + M
(or drag the ruler)
UnIndent
Moves the left indent to the previous tab stop
200
Ctrl+Shift+F9
UnlinkFields
Permanently replaces the field codes with the results
201
Ctrl + Shift + F11
UnlockFields
Unlocks the selected fields for updating
202
F9
UpdateFields
Updates and displays the results of the selected fields
203
Ctrl + Shiift + F7
UpdateSource
Copies the modified text of a linked file back to its source file
204
Hover over comment
ViewAnnotations
Show or hide the comment pane
205
Dbl-click the endnote reference
ViewEndnoteArea
If in Normal View, opens a pane for viewing and editing the endnote
(toggle). If in Page/Print Layout View, switches from the body text to the
endnote or vice versa
206
At + F9
ViewFieldCodes
Shows the field codes or results for all fields (toggle)
207
Dbl-click the footnote reference
ViewFootnoteArea
If in Normal View, opens a pane for viewing and editing the
footnote (toggle). If in Page/Print Layout View, switches from the body text to
the footnote or vice versa.
208
Alt V, F
ViewFootnotes
If in Normal View, opens a pane for viewing and editing footnotes
and endnotes (toggle). If in Page/Print Layout View, switches from the body text
to the footnotes/endnotes or vice versa.
209
Alt V, H
ViewHeader
Displays header in page layout view
210
Alt V, N
(or Alt + Ctrl + N)
ViewNormal
Changes the editing view to normal view
211
Alt V, O
(or Alt + Ctrl + O)
ViewOutline
Displays a document's outline
212
Alt V, P
(or Alt + Ctrl + P)
ViewPage
Displays the page more-or-less as it will be printed, and allows
editing (In Word 2000 the menu item is called Print Layout, but fortunately the
command hasn't changed.
213
Alt + F11
ViewVBCode
Shows the VB editing environment (Tools + Macro + Visual Basic
Editor)
214
Alt + left arrow
WebGoBack
Backward hyperlink (useful if you clicked on a page number
hyperlink in the table of contents and then want to return to the TOC)
215
Alt + rt arrow
WebGoForward
Forward hyperlink
216
Alt W, A
WindowArrangeAll
Arranges windows as non-overlapping tiles
217
Ctrl + left arrow
WordLeft
Moves the insertion point to the left one word
218
Shift + Ctrl + left arrow
WordLeftExtend
Extends the selection to the left one word
219
Ctrl + rt arrow
WordRight
Moves the insertion point to the right one word
220
Shift + Ctrl + rt arrow
WordRightExtend
Extends the selection to the right one word
221
Ctrl + Shift + W
WordUnderline
Underlines the words but not the spaces in the selection (toggle)
Wednesday, June 22, 2011
Friday, May 20, 2011
Camera Tool in MS EXCEL
Introduction
In a nutshell, the Camera Tool, also known as a Picture Link, is very much like a webcam. Anywhere in your workbook, you specify the region you want to monitor, which can contain graphic elements; anywhere else, you show a dynamic image of that range, exactly the way it appears:
Everything is captured by the camera: values, formatting, colours, shapes, even the gridlines. What's more, the image can be altered like any other image: scaled, rotated, dimmed, stretched, etc.
Whether you are reading this article looking for a solution to a specific problem or just to enhance your knowledge of Excel, please take an hour or so to play with it. You will find no demo file here, only some guidelines to get you started in your own exploration and one advanced exercise.
A Well Hidden Tool
The best way to access the camera tool is to find it in the toolbar's or ribbon's customize menu. Up to Excel 2003, use:
* menu (Tools | Customize), or right-click a toolbar and choose "Customize"
* tab [Commands]
* category: Tools
* scroll down until you locate the Camera
* drag and drop to any existing toolbar
* close the customize dialog
As a side note, almost an Easter egg, you will find close to the camera tool two other icons labelled "Custom", one showing a deck of cards, the other a calculator. These are meant to be customized and assigned to a macro of your own. However, if you don't, they will attempt to launch respectively the Solitaire game and the Windows Calculator...
In Excel 2007, it's still hidden but you can find it following one of these paths:
* office button (Excel Options | Customize (left pane)),
or right-click a toolbar and choose "Customize Quick Access Toolbar..."
* choose commands from: All Commands or Commands Not in Ribbon
* scroll down until you locate the Camera
* click "Add >>" or double-click to add to toolbar
* close the customize quick access toolbar dialog
If the tool isn't installed, you can also use a little-known menu modifying trick. Up to Excel 2003, the menu shows slightly different items when the Shift key is pressed. To obtain the camera feature, you can thus follow these steps:
* Select the range you want to monitor;
* choose (Edit | Copy) or press Ctrl+C;
* select a destination cell;
* press and hold Shift while selecting (Edit | Paste Picture Link).
In Excel 2007, the Shift modifier is no longer used, and the options "Paste as Picture" and "Paste Picture Link" are directly available in the copy-paste process. So the Camera Tool, under a different name, is now more easily discoverable.
Static Pictures
When you copy and paste a range or an object, you can also choose to "Copy as Picture" and "Paste Picture". Up to Excel 2003, this is available using the Shift key while navigating the menu. However, the result is quite different.
A static picture is disconnected from the copied area, and becomes an independent object. You can rotate it, stretch it, and otherwise format it as picture, and produce spectacular layouts not easily achieved otherwise. Furthermore, you can directly copy graphic elements such as charts, and paste them as picture. But if you need the picture to update automatically with the source range, the link needs to be preserved.
It's easy to distinguish between static pictures and "picture links", produced by the camera tool. Both are rectangles containing a vector graphics picture, but picture links also have a formula. Simply select the picture and look in the formula bar. If it contains a range reference, it's a picture link.
Incidentally, if you add such a formula to an existing static picture, say "=A1:B3", it becomes a "picture link". Conversely, deleting the formula makes the picture static.
How it Works
In order to truly understand the tool, it's important to know about the internal mechanisms. Let's start with something more familiar: open a scratch workbook with some data, select a region of cells, and copy. Then switch to another program like Word, and use "paste special". One of the options will be "Picture (Windows Metafile)". Once that picture has been pasted, you can try to edit it, using the context-menu. By playing in edit mode, you will discover that the region you copied has been converted to a series of elements, namely shapes and text boxes, which you can drag around, resize, overlap, etc. It's no longer a worksheet range, it's a vector image of the pasted range.
The camera tool uses the same intermediate format. The target area is converted to a metafile, which is in turn displayed in the viewing box. But let's try it.
* Select a region, possibly containing shapes or a graph
* Click on the Camera Tool
* Click anywhere else, or use the pointer to draw a rectangle
You have basically created a rectangular shape, which we will call the "screen", displaying not only the selected range, but also any shapes or charts overlaying it. Let's call this range the "frame".
Notice that you can manipulate the screen just like any other rectangle. Try to resize it or to rotate it. When stretching the rectangle, the underlying metafile structure becomes apparent. When stretching text, the characters themselves are stretched to match. Likewise, all elements are rotated with the container.
Also notice that the image is dynamic. Any change made to the frame region is immediately visible in the screen. Again, this includes formatting, and any overlayed object. Thus, it's much like a webcam, and not just a snapshot image.
Finally, when the screen is selected, you see a formula indicating the address of the frame. When you double-click the screen, the frame region is automatically selected.
The Problems
If you have played long enough, you will have already encountered the main problem with the camera tool: it's slow. One-second delays in screen refresh are frequent, whether your are manipulating the screen or changing information in the frame. This is because Excel needs to recalculate the intermediate metafile (or metafiles) after each and every modification.
These delays are especially problematic when VB macros are used to modify the workbook's contents. Normally, the macro can turn off "screen updating" to speed up processing, but this has no effect on "picture links". If you want to use the camera tool to create a dashboard or a report for a VB intensive workbook, you will need to create it in a different file. "Picture links" work across files, so you simply need to make sure the "dashboard file" is closed while you run the macro. When done, open the file and refresh the links.
Another problem occurs when the frame is overlayed with the screen. It's much like when you are filming a monitor showing what you are filming. The result can be spectacular, but it isn't fast. Something similar occurs when a "screen" is part of the frame of another camera. Anyway, when you reach a dozen frames and screens visible at the same time, your worksheet becomes unusable.
As fun as it is (and it really is), the exercise is quite ridiculous. Why would you place a screen so close to the frame for any serious reason? In real-life situations, you should follow this simple rule of thumb:
Always place the "screen" in another worksheet than the "frame", possibly in a different file
This removes the main problem: the redraw cycle. When working on the frame, Excel will leave the screen alone, because it's not visible at the time. When working on the sheet with the screen, its content doesn't need to be recalculated, since it comes from another static sheet.
A lesser problem is that many users are not familiar with shapes. A shape is anchored in the cell under its top left corner, and can move and resize with the cells underneath. Since a camera screen shape can also automatically resize according to the frame, this can become very confusing. The same can be said about image controls: brightness, contrast, transparency, etc. This leads to the second guideline:
If you intend to use the camera tool, it's very useful to acquire a good understanding of shapes and pictures.
Finally, the camera tool isn't exposed to the macro recorder. Manipulating "Picture Links" from code is of course possible, but it requires advanced knowledge of the Shapes Object Model. Going into details would be beyond the scope of this article, but here is a tiny primer. When run on an empty sheet, without any existing shapes, the following code will create a picture object aligned with the cell D2, linked to the range A1:B4.
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
Sub CameraTool()
Range("A1").CopyPicture ' place any picture on the clipboard
Range("D2").PasteSpecial ' paste it on the sheet
ActiveSheet.Shapes(1).DrawingObject.Formula = "=A1:B4" ' create the link
End Sub
Toggle HighlightingOpen in New WindowSelect All
Applications
Once you know the tool, you will find that it can be used to solve many typical problems.
Dashboards -- Consider a complex workbook used to synthesize information in many ways: pivot tables, charts, consolidations... You might want to create a cover sheet presenting the essentials in as little space as possible. Without the camera tool, you can either create the dashboard manually (every month? every week?) or recreate all the necessary elements, which becomes quite tedious if it involves pivot tables and charts, and very difficult to maintain. Using the camera tool, you simply regroup snapshots of every interesting range of the workbook on the front page. If more details are required, the reader can simply double-click on any screen to view the original information in context.
Reports -- This is a similar problem. How to print information from several worksheets on a single page? How to reconcile the requirements of the users of the workbook (readable screen font, easy navigation, intermediate calculation sheets) and those of the printed report (professional layout, small font, grouped information)? Again, by using the camera tool, you can easily create one sheet for your report, controlling alignment, rotation, individual resizing of charts, adding text boxes, etc.
Special Layouts -- The intermediate metafile format allows for many spectacular (and sometimes useful) tricks. Can I show text at a 30° angle? Can I have a table including formulas, but vertical? Can I stretch the characters of the total to be double width? Can I have a tiny icon of my chart, showing the actual chart? Can I make my chart look disabled, greyed or washed out? Can I create a linked cell, but linking the background colour as well as the content? Can I show an enlarged detail of my chart next to it?
Advanced Camera
Many spectacular results can be achieved with the tool as it is. For example, use the context menu on a screen and try the various formatting options. Since it shows a picture, the picture toolbar is available as well, including gray-scale, black-and-white, and washed-out modes (all quite useful for reporting).
Again, since it's a picture, you can crop the visible area. This is useful if what you want to show does not perfectly align with the gridlines, or if you need to fine-tune the internal margins. The screen has its own border and its own background (which can be transparent or semi-transparent).
The resizing of the screen is tricky. If you haven't modified the size, it will automatically resize depending on the frame. In other words, if you enlarge a column of the frame, you will see the screen resize to match. Once you have modified the size in any way, the behaviour changes: the screen will remain at the same size, but the contents will be stretched accordingly. Sometimes, you need to simply delete the screen and recreate it, but that takes only seconds.
When you select a screen object, you have already noticed that the formula bar shows the reference of the frame. If we can manipulate this expression, it becomes possible to go one step further, namely conditional screens. This is explained in in the exercise below.
Exercise: The Semaphore
The idea is to show one of three shapes, depending on a value (which can be the result of any formula). The exercise is quite short.
* Open a new sheet
* Enlarge the cells B10 to B12
* Place different shapes in these three cells
* Change their background colour for effect
* Select cell B10
* Use the camera tool to create a screen close by
You notice that the formula of the screen reads =$B$10. You can change it manually to show instead =B11 or B12, with the expected result. The idea is now to use a conditional statement instead, namely
=CHOOSE(A1,B10,B11,B12)
Unfortunately, Excel will not accept a formula here, but there is a way around that. We will create a named formula.
* Choose (Insert | Name | Define...)
* Type "SOURCE" in the first box, without the quotes
* Type "=CHOOSE($A$1,$B$10,$B$11,$B$12)" in the "refers to:" box
* Close
The $'s are not really necessary, but they make the formula more readable, as it won't adjust depending on the current active cell. Now select the screen again, and change the formula to:
=SOURCE
Finally, change the value in A1 to 1, 2, or 3, and observe how the screen displays the expected shape, or rather the expected cell containing a shape. If you want only the shape, you can use a transparent background and no borders.
You have it!
In this exercise, we have created a graphical semaphore. But if you remove the shape from the cell B12, you can now conditionally show a shape, or nothing (if you use a transparent background). Replace the shapes by charts, and you can conditionally show one of several charts, depending on a formula. The same is true for any information from your workbook. All this without one line of VB.
In short: conditional formatting of (or selection of) shapes and conditional layout of reports...
In a nutshell, the Camera Tool, also known as a Picture Link, is very much like a webcam. Anywhere in your workbook, you specify the region you want to monitor, which can contain graphic elements; anywhere else, you show a dynamic image of that range, exactly the way it appears:
Everything is captured by the camera: values, formatting, colours, shapes, even the gridlines. What's more, the image can be altered like any other image: scaled, rotated, dimmed, stretched, etc.
Whether you are reading this article looking for a solution to a specific problem or just to enhance your knowledge of Excel, please take an hour or so to play with it. You will find no demo file here, only some guidelines to get you started in your own exploration and one advanced exercise.
A Well Hidden Tool
The best way to access the camera tool is to find it in the toolbar's or ribbon's customize menu. Up to Excel 2003, use:
* menu (Tools | Customize), or right-click a toolbar and choose "Customize"
* tab [Commands]
* category: Tools
* scroll down until you locate the Camera
* drag and drop to any existing toolbar
* close the customize dialog
As a side note, almost an Easter egg, you will find close to the camera tool two other icons labelled "Custom", one showing a deck of cards, the other a calculator. These are meant to be customized and assigned to a macro of your own. However, if you don't, they will attempt to launch respectively the Solitaire game and the Windows Calculator...
In Excel 2007, it's still hidden but you can find it following one of these paths:
* office button (Excel Options | Customize (left pane)),
or right-click a toolbar and choose "Customize Quick Access Toolbar..."
* choose commands from: All Commands or Commands Not in Ribbon
* scroll down until you locate the Camera
* click "Add >>" or double-click to add to toolbar
* close the customize quick access toolbar dialog
If the tool isn't installed, you can also use a little-known menu modifying trick. Up to Excel 2003, the menu shows slightly different items when the Shift key is pressed. To obtain the camera feature, you can thus follow these steps:
* Select the range you want to monitor;
* choose (Edit | Copy) or press Ctrl+C;
* select a destination cell;
* press and hold Shift while selecting (Edit | Paste Picture Link).
In Excel 2007, the Shift modifier is no longer used, and the options "Paste as Picture" and "Paste Picture Link" are directly available in the copy-paste process. So the Camera Tool, under a different name, is now more easily discoverable.
Static Pictures
When you copy and paste a range or an object, you can also choose to "Copy as Picture" and "Paste Picture". Up to Excel 2003, this is available using the Shift key while navigating the menu. However, the result is quite different.
A static picture is disconnected from the copied area, and becomes an independent object. You can rotate it, stretch it, and otherwise format it as picture, and produce spectacular layouts not easily achieved otherwise. Furthermore, you can directly copy graphic elements such as charts, and paste them as picture. But if you need the picture to update automatically with the source range, the link needs to be preserved.
It's easy to distinguish between static pictures and "picture links", produced by the camera tool. Both are rectangles containing a vector graphics picture, but picture links also have a formula. Simply select the picture and look in the formula bar. If it contains a range reference, it's a picture link.
Incidentally, if you add such a formula to an existing static picture, say "=A1:B3", it becomes a "picture link". Conversely, deleting the formula makes the picture static.
How it Works
In order to truly understand the tool, it's important to know about the internal mechanisms. Let's start with something more familiar: open a scratch workbook with some data, select a region of cells, and copy. Then switch to another program like Word, and use "paste special". One of the options will be "Picture (Windows Metafile)". Once that picture has been pasted, you can try to edit it, using the context-menu. By playing in edit mode, you will discover that the region you copied has been converted to a series of elements, namely shapes and text boxes, which you can drag around, resize, overlap, etc. It's no longer a worksheet range, it's a vector image of the pasted range.
The camera tool uses the same intermediate format. The target area is converted to a metafile, which is in turn displayed in the viewing box. But let's try it.
* Select a region, possibly containing shapes or a graph
* Click on the Camera Tool
* Click anywhere else, or use the pointer to draw a rectangle
You have basically created a rectangular shape, which we will call the "screen", displaying not only the selected range, but also any shapes or charts overlaying it. Let's call this range the "frame".
Notice that you can manipulate the screen just like any other rectangle. Try to resize it or to rotate it. When stretching the rectangle, the underlying metafile structure becomes apparent. When stretching text, the characters themselves are stretched to match. Likewise, all elements are rotated with the container.
Also notice that the image is dynamic. Any change made to the frame region is immediately visible in the screen. Again, this includes formatting, and any overlayed object. Thus, it's much like a webcam, and not just a snapshot image.
Finally, when the screen is selected, you see a formula indicating the address of the frame. When you double-click the screen, the frame region is automatically selected.
The Problems
If you have played long enough, you will have already encountered the main problem with the camera tool: it's slow. One-second delays in screen refresh are frequent, whether your are manipulating the screen or changing information in the frame. This is because Excel needs to recalculate the intermediate metafile (or metafiles) after each and every modification.
These delays are especially problematic when VB macros are used to modify the workbook's contents. Normally, the macro can turn off "screen updating" to speed up processing, but this has no effect on "picture links". If you want to use the camera tool to create a dashboard or a report for a VB intensive workbook, you will need to create it in a different file. "Picture links" work across files, so you simply need to make sure the "dashboard file" is closed while you run the macro. When done, open the file and refresh the links.
Another problem occurs when the frame is overlayed with the screen. It's much like when you are filming a monitor showing what you are filming. The result can be spectacular, but it isn't fast. Something similar occurs when a "screen" is part of the frame of another camera. Anyway, when you reach a dozen frames and screens visible at the same time, your worksheet becomes unusable.
As fun as it is (and it really is), the exercise is quite ridiculous. Why would you place a screen so close to the frame for any serious reason? In real-life situations, you should follow this simple rule of thumb:
Always place the "screen" in another worksheet than the "frame", possibly in a different file
This removes the main problem: the redraw cycle. When working on the frame, Excel will leave the screen alone, because it's not visible at the time. When working on the sheet with the screen, its content doesn't need to be recalculated, since it comes from another static sheet.
A lesser problem is that many users are not familiar with shapes. A shape is anchored in the cell under its top left corner, and can move and resize with the cells underneath. Since a camera screen shape can also automatically resize according to the frame, this can become very confusing. The same can be said about image controls: brightness, contrast, transparency, etc. This leads to the second guideline:
If you intend to use the camera tool, it's very useful to acquire a good understanding of shapes and pictures.
Finally, the camera tool isn't exposed to the macro recorder. Manipulating "Picture Links" from code is of course possible, but it requires advanced knowledge of the Shapes Object Model. Going into details would be beyond the scope of this article, but here is a tiny primer. When run on an empty sheet, without any existing shapes, the following code will create a picture object aligned with the cell D2, linked to the range A1:B4.
1:
2:
3:
4:
5:
6:
7:
Sub CameraTool()
Range("A1").CopyPicture ' place any picture on the clipboard
Range("D2").PasteSpecial ' paste it on the sheet
ActiveSheet.Shapes(1).DrawingObject.Formula = "=A1:B4" ' create the link
End Sub
Toggle HighlightingOpen in New WindowSelect All
Applications
Once you know the tool, you will find that it can be used to solve many typical problems.
Dashboards -- Consider a complex workbook used to synthesize information in many ways: pivot tables, charts, consolidations... You might want to create a cover sheet presenting the essentials in as little space as possible. Without the camera tool, you can either create the dashboard manually (every month? every week?) or recreate all the necessary elements, which becomes quite tedious if it involves pivot tables and charts, and very difficult to maintain. Using the camera tool, you simply regroup snapshots of every interesting range of the workbook on the front page. If more details are required, the reader can simply double-click on any screen to view the original information in context.
Reports -- This is a similar problem. How to print information from several worksheets on a single page? How to reconcile the requirements of the users of the workbook (readable screen font, easy navigation, intermediate calculation sheets) and those of the printed report (professional layout, small font, grouped information)? Again, by using the camera tool, you can easily create one sheet for your report, controlling alignment, rotation, individual resizing of charts, adding text boxes, etc.
Special Layouts -- The intermediate metafile format allows for many spectacular (and sometimes useful) tricks. Can I show text at a 30° angle? Can I have a table including formulas, but vertical? Can I stretch the characters of the total to be double width? Can I have a tiny icon of my chart, showing the actual chart? Can I make my chart look disabled, greyed or washed out? Can I create a linked cell, but linking the background colour as well as the content? Can I show an enlarged detail of my chart next to it?
Advanced Camera
Many spectacular results can be achieved with the tool as it is. For example, use the context menu on a screen and try the various formatting options. Since it shows a picture, the picture toolbar is available as well, including gray-scale, black-and-white, and washed-out modes (all quite useful for reporting).
Again, since it's a picture, you can crop the visible area. This is useful if what you want to show does not perfectly align with the gridlines, or if you need to fine-tune the internal margins. The screen has its own border and its own background (which can be transparent or semi-transparent).
The resizing of the screen is tricky. If you haven't modified the size, it will automatically resize depending on the frame. In other words, if you enlarge a column of the frame, you will see the screen resize to match. Once you have modified the size in any way, the behaviour changes: the screen will remain at the same size, but the contents will be stretched accordingly. Sometimes, you need to simply delete the screen and recreate it, but that takes only seconds.
When you select a screen object, you have already noticed that the formula bar shows the reference of the frame. If we can manipulate this expression, it becomes possible to go one step further, namely conditional screens. This is explained in in the exercise below.
Exercise: The Semaphore
The idea is to show one of three shapes, depending on a value (which can be the result of any formula). The exercise is quite short.
* Open a new sheet
* Enlarge the cells B10 to B12
* Place different shapes in these three cells
* Change their background colour for effect
* Select cell B10
* Use the camera tool to create a screen close by
You notice that the formula of the screen reads =$B$10. You can change it manually to show instead =B11 or B12, with the expected result. The idea is now to use a conditional statement instead, namely
=CHOOSE(A1,B10,B11,B12)
Unfortunately, Excel will not accept a formula here, but there is a way around that. We will create a named formula.
* Choose (Insert | Name | Define...)
* Type "SOURCE" in the first box, without the quotes
* Type "=CHOOSE($A$1,$B$10,$B$11,$B$12)" in the "refers to:" box
* Close
The $'s are not really necessary, but they make the formula more readable, as it won't adjust depending on the current active cell. Now select the screen again, and change the formula to:
=SOURCE
Finally, change the value in A1 to 1, 2, or 3, and observe how the screen displays the expected shape, or rather the expected cell containing a shape. If you want only the shape, you can use a transparent background and no borders.
You have it!
In this exercise, we have created a graphical semaphore. But if you remove the shape from the cell B12, you can now conditionally show a shape, or nothing (if you use a transparent background). Replace the shapes by charts, and you can conditionally show one of several charts, depending on a formula. The same is true for any information from your workbook. All this without one line of VB.
In short: conditional formatting of (or selection of) shapes and conditional layout of reports...
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
History of Microsoft Offcie
1983
September: The first version of Microsoft Word 1.0 for MS-DOS is released. It becomes the first word processor to make extensive use of the computer mouse.
Word 1.0 for MS-DOS
1985
January: Microsoft Word 1.0 for Macintosh and Word 2.0 for DOS are released.
September: Microsoft Excel 1.0 for Macintosh is released. It is designed to take advantage of the enhanced power of the Macintosh. Excel offers features such as interactive spreadsheet linking and two-way file compatibility with Lotus 1-2-3.
1986
September: Microsoft announces Microsoft Works for Macintosh, which integrates word processing, spreadsheet, database, communications, and drawing functions into a single program.
October: Microsoft Word 3.0 for Macintosh (there was no version 2.0) and Word 3.0 for DOS are released.
1987
July: Microsoft Corp. acquires Forethought, the original application software company behind PowerPoint 1.0, for $1.4 million.
September: Microsoft PowerPoint 1.0 for Macintosh is announced. In its first year of sales, PowerPoint 1.0 for Macintosh hits $1 million.
1988
May: Microsoft ships PowerPoint 2.0 for Macintosh.
1989
June: Office 1.0 for the Macintosh debuts on both standard disks and CD-ROM. It includes newly available Word 4.0, Excel 2.2 and PowerPoint 2.01. This release is a significant step toward the seamless application integration that becomes the hallmark of later versions of Office.
1990
May: PowerPoint 2.0 for Windows is announced. This first version for Windows offers color options.
October: Office 1.0 for Windows is available and includes Excel 2.0, Word 2.1 and PowerPoint 2.0.
Microsoft becomes the first personal computer software company to exceed $1 billion in sales in a single year, with revenues of $1.18 billion.
1991
January: Microsoft announces the availability of Microsoft Excel for Windows 3.0 — the first major release to include toolbars.
October: Word 2.0 for Windows is the first version to offer drag-and-drop capabilities.
1992
August: Office 3.0 for Windows is available and includes recently released Microsoft PowerPoint 3.0 in combination with Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0 and Microsoft Excel 4.0.
November: Microsoft Access 1.0 for Windows is announced at Fall COMDEX. The new full-featured and fully relational database management system (DBMS) provides transparent access to data, usability-tested tools and a robust development cycle.
1993
September: The millionth copy of Access ships. Access 1.1 leads retail sales for PC databases for Windows, according to PC Magazine.
November: Office 4.0 for Windows ships. The integrated suite includes new versions of Excel and Word as well as new wizards that give users step-by-step guidance through difficult tasks.
By the end of the year, there are more than 10 million Word users worldwide.
1994
May: Access 2.0 for Windows is the first desktop database to bridge the gap between user and developer needs.
Office 4.3 Professional for Windows is available, featuring the new Access 2.0.
1995
August: Office 95 is the first complete suite of 32-bit applications available for Windows 95. This is the first time all the products are on the same development schedule with the same milestones. This is the first time all the core Microsoft Office products share the same development and release cycle.
By the end of the year, more than 30 million people worldwide now use Microsoft Excel, making it the most popular spreadsheet of all time. This figure averages more than five new users of Microsoft Excel per minute since the product’s introduction in 1985.
1996
April: Exchange Server 4.0 is released. This is the original version of Exchange Server and was introduced as an upgrade from Microsoft Mail 3.5.
1997
January: Microsoft Outlook 97, code-named “Ren and Stimpy,” is available.
March: Exchange Server 5.0 is released. Introduces Web-based e-mail through Exchange Web Access (the younger generation of Outlook Web Access), two varieties — standard or dedicated.
November: Office 97 becomes the fastest-selling business application in PC history. In less than one year, Office 97 sells more than 20 million licenses, at an average rate of 60,000 per day.
November: Clippy, the helpful paperclip, is introduced as part of Office 97.
1998
January: Office 98 Macintosh Edition is the first suite to fully integrate the ease of intelligent application with Web functionality for Macintosh customers. Office 98 includes Word 98, Excel 98, PowerPoint 98 and Outlook Express.
March: Outlook 98 is introduced.
May: More than 1 million people have Outlook 98 on their PC.
1999
March: Access 2000 is released. Highlights include data access pages, a fundamental technology breakthrough allowing HTML pages to be bound to data, and Access client/server capability (enabling integration with Microsoft SQL Server).
June: Microsoft Office 2000 is launched. It takes users beyond the desktop and brings an unprecedented level of Web integration to the desktop suite.
2000
October: Exchange 2000 Server is released. Server consolidation rate of 25 percent benefits IT pros and unified messaging integrates e-mail, voice mail and fax.
2001
March: Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2001 is released to the market as a way for information workers to create corporate Web portals with document management, enterprise content indexes and team collaboration features.
May: Microsoft Office XP launches, promising to unlock hidden knowledge and unleash the next wave of productivity gains.
2003
October: Microsoft launches Office 2003, with Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003. Microsoft Office OneNote and Microsoft Office InfoPath are introduced as part of the Office 2003 system. In addition, Windows SharePoint Services is offered as a free addition to Windows Server 2003.
October: Microsoft updates the Office Logo from the puzzle to its current form.
October: Exchange Server 2003 is released. Features Outlook Mobile Access support and offers customers improved disaster recovery and remote connectivity.
2005
March: Microsoft Live@edu, a new hosted e-mail service, begins a pilot program with five institutions: Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland, Indiana University Alumni Association, Ball State University in Indiana, South Dakota State University, and University of Texas - Pan American.
April 2005, Microsoft completes the Groove Acquisition. Announces plans to add Groove’s collaboration software products to the lineup of Microsoft Office System products, servers and services.
2006
April: Microsoft Live@edu is made available to students at all higher education schools in the United States.
December: Exchange Server 2007 is released. Offers employees a single universal inbox from which to access all their important communications — including voice mail, fax and e-mail.
2007January: Microsoft Office 2007 is available to consumers. It includes a new redesigned “ribbon” interface and Office SharePoint Server 2007.
2008
March: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server becomes one of the fastest growing products in the company’s history. It reaches the milestone of a $1 billion (U.S.) business with 100 million licenses sold.
March: Microsoft announces the worldwide availability of Office Live Workspace beta. Customers get immediate access to the new service that extends Microsoft Office, provides anywhere access to documents and enables sharing functionality.
July: Microsoft Live@edu becomes available to students at all K–12 institutions.
September: Only six months after public availability, the beta release of Microsoft Office Live Workspace reaches the 1 million customer signup milestone.
October: Microsoft announces plans to deliver Office Web applications — lightweight versions of Office — through Web browsers. This flags off a companywide shift toward Web-based solutions.
2009
February: More than 3 million people are now using Microsoft Office Live Workspace to share, store and work together. (In all, 4 million are using Office Live services.) The service is now available in 28 languages.
February: Live@edu services is expanded to include faculty and staff. Exchange Labs is renamed Outlook Live.
April: Exchange 2010 is launched into beta. Represents a new generation of Microsoft server technology that is built from the ground up as an on-premises and an online service. Includes a new e-mail archive and features to battle inbox overload.
September: The first version of Microsoft Word 1.0 for MS-DOS is released. It becomes the first word processor to make extensive use of the computer mouse.
Word 1.0 for MS-DOS
1985
January: Microsoft Word 1.0 for Macintosh and Word 2.0 for DOS are released.
September: Microsoft Excel 1.0 for Macintosh is released. It is designed to take advantage of the enhanced power of the Macintosh. Excel offers features such as interactive spreadsheet linking and two-way file compatibility with Lotus 1-2-3.
1986
September: Microsoft announces Microsoft Works for Macintosh, which integrates word processing, spreadsheet, database, communications, and drawing functions into a single program.
October: Microsoft Word 3.0 for Macintosh (there was no version 2.0) and Word 3.0 for DOS are released.
1987
July: Microsoft Corp. acquires Forethought, the original application software company behind PowerPoint 1.0, for $1.4 million.
September: Microsoft PowerPoint 1.0 for Macintosh is announced. In its first year of sales, PowerPoint 1.0 for Macintosh hits $1 million.
1988
May: Microsoft ships PowerPoint 2.0 for Macintosh.
1989
June: Office 1.0 for the Macintosh debuts on both standard disks and CD-ROM. It includes newly available Word 4.0, Excel 2.2 and PowerPoint 2.01. This release is a significant step toward the seamless application integration that becomes the hallmark of later versions of Office.
1990
May: PowerPoint 2.0 for Windows is announced. This first version for Windows offers color options.
October: Office 1.0 for Windows is available and includes Excel 2.0, Word 2.1 and PowerPoint 2.0.
Microsoft becomes the first personal computer software company to exceed $1 billion in sales in a single year, with revenues of $1.18 billion.
1991
January: Microsoft announces the availability of Microsoft Excel for Windows 3.0 — the first major release to include toolbars.
October: Word 2.0 for Windows is the first version to offer drag-and-drop capabilities.
1992
August: Office 3.0 for Windows is available and includes recently released Microsoft PowerPoint 3.0 in combination with Microsoft Word for Windows 2.0 and Microsoft Excel 4.0.
November: Microsoft Access 1.0 for Windows is announced at Fall COMDEX. The new full-featured and fully relational database management system (DBMS) provides transparent access to data, usability-tested tools and a robust development cycle.
1993
September: The millionth copy of Access ships. Access 1.1 leads retail sales for PC databases for Windows, according to PC Magazine.
November: Office 4.0 for Windows ships. The integrated suite includes new versions of Excel and Word as well as new wizards that give users step-by-step guidance through difficult tasks.
By the end of the year, there are more than 10 million Word users worldwide.
1994
May: Access 2.0 for Windows is the first desktop database to bridge the gap between user and developer needs.
Office 4.3 Professional for Windows is available, featuring the new Access 2.0.
1995
August: Office 95 is the first complete suite of 32-bit applications available for Windows 95. This is the first time all the products are on the same development schedule with the same milestones. This is the first time all the core Microsoft Office products share the same development and release cycle.
By the end of the year, more than 30 million people worldwide now use Microsoft Excel, making it the most popular spreadsheet of all time. This figure averages more than five new users of Microsoft Excel per minute since the product’s introduction in 1985.
1996
April: Exchange Server 4.0 is released. This is the original version of Exchange Server and was introduced as an upgrade from Microsoft Mail 3.5.
1997
January: Microsoft Outlook 97, code-named “Ren and Stimpy,” is available.
March: Exchange Server 5.0 is released. Introduces Web-based e-mail through Exchange Web Access (the younger generation of Outlook Web Access), two varieties — standard or dedicated.
November: Office 97 becomes the fastest-selling business application in PC history. In less than one year, Office 97 sells more than 20 million licenses, at an average rate of 60,000 per day.
November: Clippy, the helpful paperclip, is introduced as part of Office 97.
1998
January: Office 98 Macintosh Edition is the first suite to fully integrate the ease of intelligent application with Web functionality for Macintosh customers. Office 98 includes Word 98, Excel 98, PowerPoint 98 and Outlook Express.
March: Outlook 98 is introduced.
May: More than 1 million people have Outlook 98 on their PC.
1999
March: Access 2000 is released. Highlights include data access pages, a fundamental technology breakthrough allowing HTML pages to be bound to data, and Access client/server capability (enabling integration with Microsoft SQL Server).
June: Microsoft Office 2000 is launched. It takes users beyond the desktop and brings an unprecedented level of Web integration to the desktop suite.
2000
October: Exchange 2000 Server is released. Server consolidation rate of 25 percent benefits IT pros and unified messaging integrates e-mail, voice mail and fax.
2001
March: Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2001 is released to the market as a way for information workers to create corporate Web portals with document management, enterprise content indexes and team collaboration features.
May: Microsoft Office XP launches, promising to unlock hidden knowledge and unleash the next wave of productivity gains.
2003
October: Microsoft launches Office 2003, with Microsoft Office SharePoint Portal Server 2003. Microsoft Office OneNote and Microsoft Office InfoPath are introduced as part of the Office 2003 system. In addition, Windows SharePoint Services is offered as a free addition to Windows Server 2003.
October: Microsoft updates the Office Logo from the puzzle to its current form.
October: Exchange Server 2003 is released. Features Outlook Mobile Access support and offers customers improved disaster recovery and remote connectivity.
2005
March: Microsoft Live@edu, a new hosted e-mail service, begins a pilot program with five institutions: Glasgow Caledonian University in Scotland, Indiana University Alumni Association, Ball State University in Indiana, South Dakota State University, and University of Texas - Pan American.
April 2005, Microsoft completes the Groove Acquisition. Announces plans to add Groove’s collaboration software products to the lineup of Microsoft Office System products, servers and services.
2006
April: Microsoft Live@edu is made available to students at all higher education schools in the United States.
December: Exchange Server 2007 is released. Offers employees a single universal inbox from which to access all their important communications — including voice mail, fax and e-mail.
2007January: Microsoft Office 2007 is available to consumers. It includes a new redesigned “ribbon” interface and Office SharePoint Server 2007.
2008
March: Microsoft Office SharePoint Server becomes one of the fastest growing products in the company’s history. It reaches the milestone of a $1 billion (U.S.) business with 100 million licenses sold.
March: Microsoft announces the worldwide availability of Office Live Workspace beta. Customers get immediate access to the new service that extends Microsoft Office, provides anywhere access to documents and enables sharing functionality.
July: Microsoft Live@edu becomes available to students at all K–12 institutions.
September: Only six months after public availability, the beta release of Microsoft Office Live Workspace reaches the 1 million customer signup milestone.
October: Microsoft announces plans to deliver Office Web applications — lightweight versions of Office — through Web browsers. This flags off a companywide shift toward Web-based solutions.
2009
February: More than 3 million people are now using Microsoft Office Live Workspace to share, store and work together. (In all, 4 million are using Office Live services.) The service is now available in 28 languages.
February: Live@edu services is expanded to include faculty and staff. Exchange Labs is renamed Outlook Live.
April: Exchange 2010 is launched into beta. Represents a new generation of Microsoft server technology that is built from the ground up as an on-premises and an online service. Includes a new e-mail archive and features to battle inbox overload.
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