Microsoft Excel can be very intimidating especially when you’re not an expert, like me. I was asked to write a blog on a topic I was not familiar with. I chose to challenge myself and learn more about Excel and the creation of PivotTables. What is a PivotTable? A PivotTable is a tool that helps … Read more
Microsoft Teams and SharePoint Here at Crestwood we’ve been using Microsoft Teams for approximately a year now and we’ve become very familiar with its features. Saying that, doesn’t mean we know it all, because we don’t, or at least I don’t. I can honestly tell you we learn something new just about every other week. … Read more
Crestwood Associates has been using Microsoft Teams for a while now, but I still get calls and questions every day about where something is located. Teams is great for collaborating, meetings, etc., but even I forget where something is at times. This article is going to show you tips and tricks for searching in Teams. … Read more
There’s no doubt that working from home can be challenging, especially if you don’t have an office full of equipment. If you don’t possess a printer, how do you execute documents that need a signature? If you are running Acumatica, you can integrate the signed documents directly into your system where they belong. There are … Read more
When your business relies on technology, it is good to know what you’re doing or at least have someone handy in IT that can help. I recently conducted an online Teams training, to which the client requested that the meeting be recorded so that it can be shared with other team members who were unable … Read more
Did you know that every time you add an image to your Word document, it automatically generates “Alt Text?” Do you know what Alt Text refers to? Alternative Text or Alternative Descriptions are written copy that describes the image. This text also helps screen-reading tools describe images to visually impaired readers. It will appear in … Read more
With so many of us working from home, what would have been a conversation over a cubicle, now requires a scheduled meeting. Here are some tips for getting more out of your Microsoft Outlook Calendar and how to get a meeting on the right calendars, fast! 1. Quickly View Calendar without Switching Screens Tired of … Read more
Just when I started to get along with my Outlook search, Microsoft went and changed it. “Top Results” arrived in my searches and didn’t work well for me. The messages at the top were NOT the most recent, even though I had my inbox sorted by date range. The most recent email in a thread … Read more
Update from January 2020 Post: No Better Way to Collaborate Other than Chat Microsoft is eliminating the ability to initiate a chat directly with a co-author of Word, Excel, and PowerPoint document. This change will take affect mid-April (across the web, Windows, and Mac versions of Microsoft Office). Moving forward, users can communicate with others … Read more
Have you ever used Track Changes in Microsoft Word, or received comments on your spreadsheets in Excel, or even PowerPoint, then questioned why a certain change was made? You try to contact the person who made the edit, but can’t locate them, they’re either in a meeting, or on vacation. So, now you’re stuck until … Read more
Microsoft Teams has many great collaboration features for sharing files. At times, you might receive one or more of the following issues, all regarding file locking. If you encounter one or more of these messages, try following the resolution steps below. Problem Messages in Teams: Other messages include warnings that you cannot delete or move … Read more
Microsoft is set to update Tasks in Outlook on the web at the end of October, with the full rollout be completed by December 2019. What does this mean to you? Nothing really, just a new name, from “Tasks” to “To Do.” Personally, I’ve never used the Tasks feature to its fullest potential. I’ve added … Read more
It’s been a long time since I’ve found something this cool in Microsoft PowerPoint, so I had to share! Motion paths for animating objects in PowerPoint. Using power point animations to move objects is a great way to stand out in your presentations. PowerPoint Motion Path : My manager came to me one morning with … Read more
My goal this year is to become more efficient. To work toward that goal, I started using a tool called Rocketbook. It’s a physical notebook that can be written in with a special pen, scanned and uploaded, then erased and reused. It allows me to take notes at client meetings, snap a picture, and then … Read more
As I was searching for a new topic for our Productivity Tips & Tricks, I came across this nifty tool called Dictate. Similar to voice to text on your mobile phone, this feature allows you (actually your fingers) to take a break from typing. What’s not to love about that? First thing, Dictate is only … Read more
If you’re a visual person like I am, and you like things color coordinated, then you need to check out Color Categories in Microsoft Outlook. This feature has been around since 2010 and it’s a great way to get organized, and keep track of your emails. It helps me to sort and find my messages … Read more
Did you know that you can track your Skype chat conversations in Outlook, track call history, and durations? It can be a useful tool in regard to tracking time with clients or projects. Here’s how I use it. First make sure your Skype Options are set properly. For some companies this is controlled by your … Read more
Our Marketing department here at Crestwood decided to try out Microsoft Teams. I was leery at first, but I have to say, overall, it’s AWESOME! The more I use Teams, the less time I spend searching for emails, files, or switching between screens. Microsoft Teams has brought almost everything into one window. It truly is … Read more
It’s that time of the year again, we are all scrambling to close out 2018 while planning for 2019. There’s a lot of new technology and tools to help, but most of us still resort to the tried and true – Microsoft Excel. If you’re not a pro with formulas, and auto fill – then … Read more
One of my favorite new features of Office 365 – 2016 is the get started quickly with the Start screen. This feature runs across the board with Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Publisher. The Start screen gives you quick access to the most recently used documents, or open other documents from local or cloud storage … Read more
You now can ask Microsoft what you want to do in the search box on the ribbon. This new feature runs across the board in the Office 365 suite of apps. All you have to do is type a keyword or phrase into the “Tell me what you want to do” and bingo, the tools … Read more
Maximize your research time with the integrated Smart Lookup in Microsoft Office products. Smart Lookup is a cool new feature I wish I had back in college. It makes research quick and easy. If you haven’t tried this out, you need to today! What is Smart Lookup? Smart Lookup is a way to research words … Read more
1. Automatic Updates to Well-Known Apps First, your company will always be on the latest version and will not need to worry about upgrading to latest and greatest. Office 365 Enterprise E3 is straightforward to use; most you have been using these products throughout your professional careers. Only difference is your data will be in … Read more
Make my agenda come to me… I love the quote from the overly-ambitious Senator Underwood in “House of Cards.” He was talking to Freddy, a blue-collar owner of a restaurant. Freddy was telling him about his ride to work when he had to swerve to avoid a refrigerator that fell out of the back of … Read more