Then I took a Microsoft Word 2000 course. I learned of a command that would help in the file conversion project and showed the command to my assistant. She applied it and converted a file in 6-7 hours instead of 12. The command was the boring old Find and Replace command. Have you ever tried the "More" button on this command and seen all of the options in searching for formatting - such as "styles"? That was the part I had not known about.

We used our new knowledge to convert the remaining files and saved nearly two weeks of work time. The bottom line was a savings of well over one thousand dollars on the project. That is a reasonable payback for the cost of a Microsoft Word 2000 course. One command made a difference.

The Find and Replace Formatting Styles command may not be the command that saves you a thousand dollars. But there is one that will. This article will present some favorite commands, discuss a few new features in Microsoft Office 2000^®, and share a few training tips.

Take a Shortcut
Think about a word or phrase that you type over and over and over again. Perhaps it is your name or your company name, such as ABC Industrial Plant, Inc. A feature under Tools called AutoCorrect allows users to type a few letters, which act as an abbreviation, and Microsoft Word 2000 will fill in the entire name. Simply type "ABC" in the Replace box, ABC Industrial Plant, Inc. in the With box, click Add, and try it out.

Microsoft Word 2000 is not the only package in Microsoft Office 2000^® with time saving features. Microsoft Excel 2000 has several shortcut data fill commands. AutoFill is a smart feature that completes the rest of a series, such as days of the week. Just type Monday in the first cell, make the cell active, and drag the bottom-right black plus sign to cover the cells that are to contain the series. The rest of the days of the week will appear. AutoComplete, Fill Series, and Pick from List are just a few more commands you may want to check out if you are a Microsoft Excel 2000 user.

By Way of the Wizard
Make your Microsoft PowerPoint 2000^® presentations special by using a color scheme instead of the same old templates everyone else uses. Check not only the spelling of the presentation, but also the style and readability with the Style Checker. This new feature will check font size and style consistency, capitalization consistency, punctuation, and more.

In Microsoft Access 2000, data entry is made easy by creating forms. Using the AutoForm feature makes creating forms fast, and the data validation or default properties of a field help to increase the accuracy of the database. For example, if today's date needs to be entered in a field each time a record is added, typing "today()" into the default box of the date field automatically enters the date. If you want to edit the date for a range of dates, you can enter the appropriate formula in the data validation property box of the field.

New in Office 2000^®
Microsoft Office 2000^® has several cool new features. The clipboard feature now allows the user to copy, track and manage more than one selection of data at a time. It is also easier to convert documents and spreadsheets to Web pages, whether on an intranet or on a public Web site. Often, this feature is found under the File menu as a Save as Web Page command. One example is the creation of new data access pages in Access 2000. When data in the database changes, so does the data access page on the Web.

Training Tips
Do not overlook the value of desktop training. Often, training dollars are spent on more complicated packages that are not used as often. If we think we know Microsoft Word 2000 well enough, we may never bother taking a formal course in it. But even if an employee spends all day working in Microsoft Excel 2000, chances are there are a few commands that employee does not know that will save time.

Take a training course at least once a quarter in the packages you use every day. Since jobs change, that "thousand-dollar" keystroke may not have triggered in your mind two years ago when you took the course the last time.

Take notes during the course, even if you think you have learned the concept. You may learn several tips, and may not remember them all next week. After the course, review the notes, and pick one tip per week to focus on. Practice it until it is habit; then move to the next tip. That way, you will get the most out of the course and will not lose any good ideas. You will be so productive that you will soon be going home early every day. See you on the golf course.