Navigating Excel

The cells found in Excel, or any spreadsheet program, are very similar to a table in Word. You can add text or formulas to these cells, and you can manipulate their appearance as needed.

In order to effectively use a spreadsheet, you must be able to access the information and navigate through the cells.

Here are a few basics of spreadsheet cell and page navigation;

Basic Cell Navigation

Action	Key Stroke option 1	or	Key Stroke option 2
Right One Cell	Tab	or	Right Arrow
Left One Cell	Shift + Tab	or	Left Arrow
Down One Cell	Enter	or	Down Arrow
Up One Cell	Shift + Enter	or	Up Arrow

 Basic Page Navigation

Action	Key Stroke
Beginning of the Worksheet	Ctrl + Home (I use this a lot)
End of the Worksheet	Ctrl + End (I use this a lot)
Beginning of the Row	Home or Ctrl + Left Arrow
End of the Row	Ctrl + Right Arrow
Beginning of the Column	Ctrl + Up Arrow
End of the Column	Ctrl + Down Arrow

In addition to using key strokes to navigate through Excel, you can also use your mouse to move to or select individual cells and groups of cells.

Single clicking on a cell, selects the cell, creating a thick black boarder around the cell it’s self.

Double clicking a cell, causes the cell to go into ‘Edit Mode’, inserting an I beam in the cell and allowing for typing directly in the cell.

Another way to navigate to a cell is by using the ‘Name Box’. This is located directly above the Column ‘A’ Heading, and it tells you the name of the cell that you currently have selected.

Selecting multiple cells

Action	Mouse	Mouse & Key Stroke	Name Box
Adjacent Cells	Click in the 1st Cell and Drag to the last Cell	Select 1st Cell, Hold CTRL Key, Select last Cell	Type Range in the Name Box separated by a Semi colon
Non Adjacent Cells	N/A	Select 1st Cell, Hold SHIFT Key, Select next Cell	Type Range, or specific cell, in the name box separated by a Comma
Entire Row	Click on the Row Heading (i.e. 1, 2, 3, etc…)	Click in the cell at the beginning of the Row Hold CTRL + SHIFT + Right Arrow	N/A
Entire Column	Click on the Column Heading (i.e. A, B, C, etc…)	Click in the cell at the beginning of the Column Hold CTRL + SHIFT + Down Arrow	N/A

Also keep in mind that each Workbook can have multiple Worksheets. These sheets are shown as ‘Tabs’ at the bottom of your Worksheet. These ‘Tabs’ are only visible if your Workbook is maximized (small Center button in the top right of your screen, to the left of the close button).

Hopefully this information was beneficial to you. If you need more guidance with Excel Spreadsheets, please contact Office Solutions ^ME!

5 Qualities to look for in a Virtual Assistant

A Virtual Assistant (VA) is an offsite administrative and business professional that can be contracted to assist you and your business needs. Some of the qualities that a business owner or manager should look for in a VA include;

1. References – like any competent professional, a VA should come with quality references that can speak of the type of work they have completed and how satisfied the client was
2. Examples of Work – while some work may be confidential, any competent VA should have examples of projects the they have completed or assisted with
3. Education – if a VA does not have an official degree, the VA industry has many options available for certifications
4. Contract – a relationship with a VA is a professional contract and should be treated as such. A VA should draft a contract that outlines the scope of work and payment that are to be expected by both parties
5. Follow-up – as in any business contract, a VA should have good communication skills and keep their clients informed of progress

The concept of Virtual Assisting is very new to the state of Maine, but it is an idea that could be extremely beneficial to the business community.

Maine is a state full of innovative entrepreneurs that are great at what they do. Many of these companies are owned and operated by a handful of individuals that specialize in the field that they operate. A VA can offer administrative and business expertise as a contracted partner, allowing the company to maximize its resources. A VA also allows the company to avoid expensive, time consuming employment expenses that are generally associated with hiring additional employees.

For more information on Virtual Assistants and to review the education and qualifications of Office Solutions ^ME, feel free to visit our website and learn more!

App of the Month – Meetup

Our application of the month this month is Meetup.

Meetup – the Meetup application allows you to access meetup.com on the go. Meetup is a site that helps people coordinate meetings, both business and/or personal. Meetup allows you to search for local meetings that may be happening in your area and join other individuals that have similar interests. It also allows you to share and comment on meetings. Meetup is great for those event organizers and/or people who have moved and want to mingle.

Cost: FREE

For more information on Meetup, feel free to contact Office Solutions ^ME!

5 Best Features of LinkedIn

LinkedIn is designed for business networking and sharing. This makes LinkedIn a very different type of Social Media platform from sites like Facebook and Twitter. LinkedIn allows professionals to connect and interact on a professional level.

Some of the best features of LinkedIn include;

1. Resume – LinkedIn is a great way to show off your experience and education! Not to mention any awards you may have received or associations that you may belong to.
2. Recommendations – LinkedIn allows people to post public recommendations for you and your services. These recommendations are specific to a company or position and can be of great value to your profile.
3. Groups – LinkedIn groups are a great way to associate you with others in your field or geographic area. Groups are also a great source of information and networking.
4. Events – Linked In allows you to publicize events to your network and collect RSVPs. It also allows you to search for local events and events that others may be attending.
5. Links – LinkedIn allows you to publicize links to websites and twitter accounts at the top of your profile. In addition, LinkedIn has applications that allow you to link to other sites, such as word press, drop box, Slide Share, and more.

For tips and suggestions on how to best use and establish a LinkedIn profile, contact Office Solutions ^ME for a personalized consultation and tutorial.

Also feel free to view my LinkedIn profile: LinkedIn profile of Kathrine Farris

App of the Month – Drop Box

Our Application of the Month is Drop Box.

Drop Box – The Drop Box application allows you to easily and efficiently share files on multiple computers, mobile devices (such as smart phones and tablets), and via a web-based system. When files are added to Drop Box, they become instantly available in all locations where the app has been downloaded, and via the Drop Box website. Files can also be shared with others, even if they do not have a Drop Box account. This is a great tool for efficiency, collaboration, and productivity! Perfect for virtual professionals!

Cost: Free

For more information on Drop Box, feel free to contact Office Solutions ME!

App of the Month – Dragon Dictation

Our Application of the Month is Dragon Dictation.

Dragon Dictation – The Dragon Dictation application is a great tool for recording notes and transferring them to text. This text can then be sent directly via e-mail, text message, to Facebook, Twitter, or just copied for general use. The dictated text can be easily corrected and added to by additional dictation or typing.
This is a great tool for those who like to brainstorm while driving!

Cost: Free

App of Month – WordPress

Here is our Smart Phone Application of Month for August:

WordPress – The WordPress application allows you to manage multiple blogs from your smart phone! This application let’s your write, edit, add pictures, view comments, publish, and more from virtually anywhere. Plus, any changes made via the application are also saved on the traditional site.

Cost: Free

3 Excel (2007) Formatting Tricks

Excel is a great business tool! Although, it has many features the common user is unaware of, but could greatly benefit from!

Here are a few tips on formatting that I use regularly;

1. Table Formatting – Formatting your information as a table gives you added features such as; predesigned templates, filters, and easily adding rows or columns. 
   • To do this: Select the information in your spreadsheet. Navigate to the Home Ribbon, where you will find the ‘Format as Table’ button in the Styles Group. Choose your preferred style.
2. Print on 1 Page – Adjusting your printing options to 1 page width is easily done and can make a huge difference in readability!
   • To do this: Navigate to the Page Layout Ribbon, where you will find the ’Scale to Fit’ group. In that group, you can choose how to alter how your spreadsheet prints widthwise or lengthwise by choosing the number of pages you wish to span.
3. Hide Cells – Hiding confusing (or unnecessary) information can make your spreadsheets much more user-friendly! You can hide columns, rows, or even whole spreadsheets in a workbook.
   • To do this: Right click on the column heading, row heading, or page tab that you would like to hide. From the shortcut menu, choose ‘Hide’.
   • To unhide, simply right-click and choose ‘Unhide’.

 

For more tips and tricks with using Excel, please feel free to contact us at Office Solutions ^ME!

App of Month – TweetDeck

Our Smart Phone Application review for the Month of July:

TweetDeck – TweetDeck is a social media application for Twitter

Why we like TweetDeck ?

1. It allows the user to update and manage multiple social media sites and profiles simultaneously.
2. It allows the user to arrange information from different profiles, topics, and sources into easily viewed columns.
3. It makes it easy to add pictures and videos to your social media sites.
4. It makes it easy to ReTweet or Reply in Twitter, follow, and also monitor what’s said about or to you or your business.
5. It notifies us of how many new messages we have in column.

What’s it missing?

1. The ability to delay posts.
2. The ability to view (retweet, reply, etc…) to posts that are not in a column (i.e. when viewing someones profile)

Cost: Free

Need help learning how to use TweetDeck or any other Smart Phone Applications? Please Contact Office Solutions ^ME .

5 Cool Tools for Business

Every business (and business owner) needs tools to get the job done. Small businesses need especially versatile tools, that they can easily master and that offer the necessary value.

Office Solutions ^ME provides Virtual Administrative Support, so many of the tools that we use are software based or allow us to access the software that we use.

Here are 4 of the tools that we use most often, and really couldn’t operate without;

1. Smart Phone – Not just a phone, but a miniature computer! We use the iPhone. It allows us to access the Internet, e-mail, social media sites, and so much more from almost anywhere! We can download applications that allow us to view and alter Microsoft Office documents, make calls via VOIP, scan QR Codes, and an endless number of other geeky yet useful things.
2. Laptop – A notebook computer is really essential for any company, but completely unavoidable for a virtual assistant! To be able to complete client work virtually, you have to be accessible and able to respond efficiently. A laptop ensures that it is possible to meet your client’s demands from (almost) anywhere. This was our most recent purchase, as we upgraded from a 6-year-old Averatec to a Sony Vaio.
3. Scanner – Green is gold! Being able to scan and e-mail documents, instead of faxing or snail mailing is another necessity. This improves productivity and creates less waste. Plus you can then store your documents electronically and save valuable office space. We choose the Canon MX860.
4. External Drive – Back-up is King! With all of our electronic documents and important e-mails, we need to make sure we are protecting our assets appropriately. With an external hard drive, we can create protected and encrypted back-up files quickly and easily. We chose the Western Digital My Passport Elite.
5. Blue Tooth Headset – Multi-tasking is easier when your hands are free, so our 5th and final cool tool for this post is the hands-free blue tooth headset. There are many versions, at various prices, but they are an essential for note taking, typing, driving, and other tasks without missing a call. We have a very basic Jabra that does the trick.

Please feel free to share if you have any other business tools that you can’t live without, or if you have questions about any that we have listed.

For product reviews and prices, we recommend cnet.com.

Need help getting organized and being productive? Please Contact Us for help with Administrative Support and Business Developement!