My Favorite Graphic Design Editors

CANVA and CRELLO! 

Why are these my favorites?

• Cost.  It can be free if using the free templates and photos (or your own).  Many more are $0.99.
• Templates are arranged by size so you can get the perfect size for each social media platform you use such as Facebook or Instagram.  The templates are fantastic!!
• Much easier to use than others.

The next time you need to create something for social media, try one out!

Balancing Columns in Word

Many times when you type magazines articles or anything else in columns, when you reach the end, the last page has one long column and one short column that may look like the page below:

To balance the columns, please complete the following:

1. Click the PAGE LAYOUT tab.
2. In the PAGE SETUP group, click the down arrow by BREAKS.
3. Under SECTION BREAKS, click CONTINUOUS.

Your page should now look like this page.  Much better!

Word Count

This week, our Medical Office class will write a 500-word paper on Medical Identity Theft.  Word will automatically count your words as you type (which is much easier than you counting them).  At the bottom left of your screen, you will see the image below (status bar).

If you don't see the word count in the status bar, right-click the status bar, and click Word Count.

Automatic Line Numbering in Word 2010

Word can number each line in a document and is very useful when you need to refer to specific lines in a particular document.  Examples of when to use line numbering would be manuscripts or legal contracts.  To number lines in a Word document, complete the following steps:

1. Click the PAGE LAYOUT tab.
2. Look in the PAGE SETUP group and click the down arrow by LINE NUMBERS.
3. There are several options to choose from.  In a legal document for our class (100-74), you would choose RESTART EACH PAGE.

An explanation for line numbering options is below:

• To number consecutively throughout the document, click CONTINUOUS.
• To start with number 1 on each page, click RESTART EACH PAGE.
• To start with number 1 after each section break, click RESTART EACH SECTION.

Templates in Microsoft Office

The purpose of a template is to to make formatting a document easier.  With templates, you are just inserting information into a pre-made document.  This is efficient by cutting down on design time, helps you make fewer errors, and assists with document layout.  You can also change things about a template, such as, colors, layouts, and fonts.  If there are items that are not needed, you just delete them, and it is very easy to add items if needed.

If you have never tried a template, I highly recommend it.  My favorites include brochures, flyers, and newsletters since those are difficult to create from scratch.

Keyboard Shortcut to Insert Current Date

Whenever you type a business letter, you will almost always use the current date to begin the letter.  To quickly insert the date into your document, press ALT + SHIFT + D.  When the date appears but it is not in the correct format, right-mouse click on the date, click EDIT FIELD, and choose the desired format.

Change the Sentence CASE in Word

SHIFT + F3 is a great shortcut to know when using Word.  Sometimes I type things and would like them in uppercase, lowercase, or sentence case without retyping.  SHIFT + F3 will change this for you.  Highlight what you would like to change, then press SHIFT + F3 until your work is corrected to whichever case you want (uppercase, lowercase, or sentence case).

UPPERCASE
lowercase
This is sentence case.

Spell Checking Capitalized Words

By default, Word does not run capitalized words through its spell checker.  To change your settings and allow Word to spell check those capitalized words, complete the following steps:

1.      Click FILE.

2.      Click OPTIONS.

3.      Click PROOFING on the left side.

4.      Make sure the box by “Ignore Words in UPPERCASE” does not have a check.

Now when you run spell check, capitalized words will be examined.

Removing Table Borders

Tables are a great way to organize documents like itineraries, agendas, and meeting minutes.  Many times you do not want the table borders to show.  To remove table borders, complete these steps:

1. Insert the table by clicking the INSERT tab.  Click TABLE to draw the number of rows and columns needed.
2. Click anywhere in the table to activate it.  You will notice two extra tabs (Layout and Design) under TABLE TOOLS are now showing.
3. Click the LAYOUT tab, choose SELECT, and then click SELECT TABLE (or click the four-sided blue arrow in the upper left corner that we learned about last week).
4. Click the DESIGN tab, and click the down arrow to access the BORDERS menu.
5. Click NO BORDERS.  All borders in the table should disappear.  If they do not, the entire table has not been selected.
6. If your gridlines are not showing (and it is much easier to work in a table when you know where the boundaries are), click your LAYOUT tab and click GRIDLINES.

Tables in a Document

When inserting a table in a document, you will center the table horizontally and double space above it and below like you would for a numbered or bulleted list.  One way to center a table horizontally is to follow these two steps:

1. Move your cursor around the upper left corner of your table until you see a blue four-sided arrow like the one below.  Click that arrow.
2. Press CTRL + E which is the center keyboard shortcut to center and will center the table horizontally.

Page Numbering with Business Letters

When typing letters that are longer than one page, you must insert page numbering on all pages after the first page.  You do not insert page numbering on page 1.  So, how do you do this?

1. Click INSERT, PAGE NUMBER, choose TOP OF PAGE, and then click PLAIN NUMBER 3.
2. When the page number inserts in your header, a new tab will appear, HEADER & FOOTER TOOLS.  On that tab is a box that reads, "Different First Page" which you will click.  This will allow page numbers (or a header) on all pages but the first one.

More Than One Word Document Open

If you have more than one WORD document open at a time, you can switch between them by using the CTRL + F6 keys.

To view two documents on the screen at once, click VIEW and then choose VIEW SIDE BY SIDE.  This allows you to easily compare two documents that may have some of the same information.

You can also view two or more documents on the screen at once by clicking VIEW and then choosing ARRANGE ALL.

Open Word Quickly

Press your Windows key (shown below) and the R key.  This will open your RUN box.  You will then type winword and press enter.  Word will launch immediately.

Removing Table Borders in Word 2010

Many time when you create tables, you do not want the borders to show.  If you want to remove table borders, complete the following:

1. Under TABLE TOOLS, click LAYOUT, SELECT, SELECT TABLE.
2. Under TABLE TOOLS, click DESIGN, BORDERS, click NO BORDER to remove all your borders.

In some tables, you will want to leave some borders and remove others.  You can also remove top, bottom, left, and right borders along with other options shown below.  Once you remove all borders, you can also go to Step 2 to view your gridlines which allows you to see your invisible borders and makes it much easier to move in the table.

HIPAA Violations

According to Christine Meyers' article, Most Common HIPAA Violation? Small-Scale Snooping dated August 14, 2012:

"Small-scale snooping is actually far more common than large scale theft or dramatic losses of equipment containing PHI. In fact, in the 2011 Survey of Patient Privacy Breaches*, about 70% of the survey respondents reported that they had experienced a HIPAA breach of some level—with the majority of those violations occurring as a result of snooping activity. Insiders were responsible for the majority of breaches, with 35 percent snooping into medical records of fellow employees and 27 percent accessing records of friends and relatives. More than half of the respondents stated that they lacked the appropriate tools for monitoring inappropriate access to PHI."

Since OFA 205 is currently working on medical documents, I thought I would post the civil violations and enforcements from the AMA website.  After reviewing these, you can see that your curiosity at work is not worth the consequences.  Medical offices have employees log in each day.  Based on your login, your employer can see how many records you access each day and who they were.  If you have no business lurking in a patient's file, you will eventually be caught.  You are given a great amount of responsibility with patient health information.  Please don't abuse it.

HIPAA Violation	Minimum Penalty	Maximum Penalty
Individual did not know (and by exercising reasonable diligence would not have known) that he/she violated HIPAA	$100 per violation, with an annual maximum of $25,000 for repeat violations (Note: maximum that can be imposed by State Attorneys General regardless of the type of violation)	$50,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $1.5 million
HIPAA violation due to reasonable cause and not due to willful neglect	$1,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $100,000 for repeat violations	$50,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $1.5 million
HIPAA violation due to willful neglect but violation is corrected within the required time period	$10,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $250,000 for repeat violations	$50,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $1.5 million
HIPAA violation is due to willful neglect and is not corrected	$50,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $1.5 million	$50,000 per violation, with an annual maximum of $1.5 million

Selecting Text in Word

There are a few shortcuts you have in Word that make selecting text very easy.  The ones I use most are:

To select a word, double-click the word.

To select a sentence, press CTRL and click anywhere in the sentence.

To select an entire paragraph, triple click anywhere in the paragraph.

To select your entire document, press CTRL + A.

International Addresses

Unfortunately, there is not one international format for addressing correspondence.  Each country differs in the layout, hierarchical alignment, and items to include.  So, how will we know how to send three identical letters to three different countries?  Anything I don't know (and if you know me well, that's quite a bit), I always go and ask using my search engine of choice (and if you have ever sat through one of my classes you know that my favorite is Google).  There are several good sites that will help you with the layout, alignment, and items.  Those sites are:

• http://www.addressdoctor.com/en/countries-data/address-formats.html
• http://bitboost.com/ref/international-address-formats.html#Formats
• https://www.usps.com/send/international-addressing-tips.htm

You may even be wondering why we are learning how to address letters with the popularity of electronic correspondence.  For some situations, nothing can replace snail mail/formal correspondence.  

1. Formal correspondence (snail mail) will earn more respect and time from the addressee.  How many times have you deleted an e-mail without looking at it just based on who the sender is where letters addressed to you (that aren't junk mail) usually are opened and at least skimmed because you believe that few people will spend the time and money to send an item through the mail unless there is an important reason.
2. E-mail correspondence is referred to as informal correspondence.  We tend to use abbreviations, texting slang, etc. when writing them.  E-mail does not carry the same clout as formally written letters on paper.

Spell Check in Word

You have spell checking options to choose from when using Word.  By default in Word 2010, the program is set to not spell check words that are in uppercase.  That means when you type a word incorrectly and it is in all caps, Word will not flag it as incorrect.  If you want Word to recognize uppercase words that may be spelled incorrectly, do the following:

1. Click FILE.
2. Click OPTIONS.
3. Click PROOFING.
4. Choose what you want Word to ignore or flag.

Aligning Dollar Signs in 68-70

Lesson 68-70 is a block style business letter with a table in the body.  The table lists stationery types and the cost of each. 

When you look at the numbers you will want the dollar signs aligned perfectly.  Turn on your show/hide button to see your spacing, and perform these steps:

1.    Right-align numbers using the right-align button or highlight your numbers and press CTRL+R.
2.    For each number space 2x and for each comma, space 1x.  So, it will need to look like the following graphic.  Since we only have one number longer than the first number we would space 2x between the dollar sign and the 8.

Make sure you center the table horizontally and double space above and below the table in the letter.

Page Numbering

When you type a multipage letter, you need to insert a page number on all pages AFTER the first one.  To insert page numbering, click Insert-Page Number-Top of Page-Plain Number 3. (See below)

To have a page number not print on the first page, click Different First Page under Header and Footer Tools tab. (See Below)

When you close a tab accidentally . . .

When you are surfing the Internet and accidentally close a tab, press CTRL + SHIFT + T to reopen the tab.

Tabs in Tables

If you have a tab set in a table and press the TAB key, your cursor will move to your next cell, not your next tab stop.  So, to use tabs in a table, press CTRL+TAB to move the cursor to your tab stop.

Balancing Uneven Columns in Word

Placing your Word file into columns is very easy in Word.  Just click PAGE LAYOUT and choose COLUMNS.  Once your file is placed in columns, who knows how those columns will align.  If you want your columns to align at the top and the bottom of the page, you just need to know which break to insert.  I want the last column (shown in the picture below) to equal out on the page.

To equal out the column into two columns, position your cursor at the end of the column on the last page, click PAGE LAYOUT-BREAKS-CONTINUOUS.  Your column will now look like the photo below.

Creating a Logo in Publisher

1. Open a blank Publisher document.
2. I went to INSERT-WORDART and chose something I liked for the words in my logo, changing the line and fill colors.  I then went to INSERT-CLIPART and chose a piece of clipart I liked.  Now we will put these together.

3.  Drag your two items together so we can make the two work as one.  Once you place one item on the other, you may have to play with your send backward, bring forward, as shown below on the right side of the screen, to make them work as you want (my York Dental was originally behind the giraffe and was not showing, so I clicked the giraffe and clicked the SEND BACKWARD button).

4. Now let's combine them as one by taking your mouse (hold down the left mouse key and drag the dotted marquee around the items) and surrounding the two items.  It will resemble the photo below as you draw around it before you let off the left mouse key.

5. Once you let off the mouse, it will look like the photo below. Both items should now be selected.  Notice how both have sizing handles shown indicating they are both active.

6. Right-mouse click on the two and click GROUP.

7. Now when you move your picture around, the two items will move as one.  Right-click your new clipart and click SAVE AS PICTURE.  Save as whatever you wish.  Now you can insert your picture into a Word file, Publisher file, or use it in any way that you use it as any clip art file.  Try inserting this file into a Word document by clicking INSERT-FILE once you open Word.  If it works, you are ready to place the item in the dropbox.

No PRTSC button on your keyboard?

Some of you may not have a PRTSC (print screen) button on your laptop, and you're asking why you really need one.  Well, since our 205 class is now blogging for the semester, screen shots that demonstrate what you are writing about will be helpful (a picture is worth a thousand words).  If you don't have a PRTSC button, screen shots may be difficult to capture.  In Windows 7, you can use an on-screen keyboard (screen shot below).  You may need to size it or move it around to capture the shot you want, but it's a simple way to obtain your screen  shot.  The steps are:

1. Click your office button from your desktop (lower left screen for most of us)
2.  Type on-screen keyboard in the box that says SEARCH PROGRAMS AND FILES
3. Click the on-screen keyboard when it appears in the list
4. Once you have the screen shot you want (you may have to move the on-screen keyboard around or make it smaller to get the screen shot you want), press the PRT SCN button then go to Word or another program and paste (CTRL+V) it there.  You can right-mouse click on the screen shot and choose SAVE AS PICTURE.  You can then upload that picture into your blog.

PowerPoint Presentation Tips

My Top Tips for Creating a PowerPoint Presentation:

1. 7 x 7 rule.  That means no more than seven words per line with no more than seven lines per page.  If you are presenting with your PowerPoint, every word you say shouldn't be on the slide.  
2. Do not type in complete sentences.  Use keywords only.
3. No flashy designs.  It's distracting.  Watch your colors.  Pink words on a yellow background do not work!  PowerPoint has preset colors and designs for a reason.  There are also numerous designs online for free.
4. Be consistent.  Use the same font and sizes throughout.  
5. Watch your animations and sounds.  If viewers have PTSD from the noise in your PowerPoint presentation, that is not a good thing!  If you have things flying in from all directions, that distracts from you and the PowerPoint has replaced you.  Not good!
6. If you are presenting to a group, practice, practice, practice. 

Week 10 Assignments

99-73:  Line numbering.  Click PAGE LAYOUT tab and then LINE NUMBERS.
99-93:  Review Memo R-4, Letter D in the front of your book.  When you see dots under a proofreading symbol, that means ignore that symbol and let it stand.  Review proofreader's marks on R-14.
99-53:  The colors you use do not matter to me.  Make sure you right-justify numbers in the last column.

Facebook Settings

I am teaching BUS 120 this semester.  One thing we do in that class is create a LinkedIn profile and view our other social networking sites to ensure our privacy settings are set so anyone who is not a friend cannot view our information.  Employment opportunities have been lost due to what possible future employers have found online about an applicant.  I have even gone so far as to recommend that you have your friends list set so that no one can view your list.  Many of us have "friends" or family that are not the most upstanding individuals in our community.  You do not want to lose a position because of "guilt by association."  To close your friends list, perform the following steps:

1. Click your name in the upper-left corner.
2. Click the blue FRIENDS link under the picture of six of your friends.
3. Click EDIT at the top.
4. Click the down arrow.
5. Choose ONLY ME.  The only thing your other friends will be able to see is who you have in common as friends.  No one will be able to view your entire friends list.

Have a great fall break!

Aligning Dollar Signs in a Table

Exercise 80-40

The column titled "Interior" has $599 at the top and $1,299 at the bottom.  When you look at the numbers you will want the dollar signs aligned perfectly.  Turn on your show/hide button to see your spacing, and perform these steps:

1.    Right-align numbers using the right-align button or highlight your numbers and press CTRL+R.

2.    For each number space 2x and for each comma, space 1x.  So, it will need to look like this:

How to Use Columns in Word 2010

If you want your entire document to be placed into columns, it is very easy.  Just click the PAGE LAYOUT tab, click the down arrow under COLUMNS, and choose how many columns you want.

If you don't want your entire document in columns, you want different column widths, a line between your columns, etc., you will need to click MORE COLUMNS when you click the down arrow under the word COLUMNS.  After reviewing the photo below, you can see that you can manually change your column widths, the spacing between them, and if you don't want your entire document in columns (like a title for a magazine or newsletter), you would click THIS POINT FORWARD next to APPLY TO (just make sure you know where your cursor is when you do this--this point forward begins your columns wherever the cursor is located at that time).  There is also a box to check if you want a line between your columns to better divide them.

You can also put just sections of information in a document into columns.  To do this, highlight what you would like to put in columns, go to PAGE LAYOUT, click the down arrow under COLUMNS, and click MORE COLUMNS.  Your screen should look like the one below.  Next to APPLY TO you will see SELECTED TEXT.  Also, notice the preview on the right side of the dialog box that shows you what the document will resemble.