Do you need to add a Table of Contents (hereafter referrred to as TOC) to a document? It’s much easier than you think. And there’s certainly no need to type it out the long way.

However, there is something you must do before you create the TOC: Use heading styles throughout your document. To format text as a heading style, just select the text and then select the heading style (Heading 1, Heading 2, etc.) from the Style drop-down list (located to the left of the Font drop-down list–it probably says “Normal”).

After you have formatted everything in the document that you want to appear in the TOC as a heading style, move the insertion point to the top of the document (since this is probably where you want to put the TOC). Then select Insert | Reference | Index and Tables… The following dialog box will appear:

Make sure you have the Table of Contents tab selected. Add checks to the appropriate checkboxes if you want to show page numbers in the TOC (which you do–otherwise, what is the point of a TOC?), and if you want to right align the page numbers. Select the type of tab leader you want to connect the heading and the page number (usually a dotted line). Then select the format you want. Finally, tell Word how many heading style you want to include in the TOC. For example, you may have used Headings 1-5 in the document, but you may only want Headings 1-3 to show up in the TOC.

When you click OK, a TOC will be inserted at the insertion point.

Updating a Table of Contents

Great, you say, now that I have a spiffy TOC, what happens if I edit the document, add and delete text, and move sections to different pages?

No problem. Simply click into the TOC, and press the F9 function key on the top row of the keyboard. Word will display the following prompt:

Select the option you want. If you have inserted and/or deleted sections, select Update entire table; otherwise, you can just update page numbers. Word will regenerate the TOC, with the correct headings and page numbers.

Why would you want to generate random text in Word? I have no idea. As trainers, we use this trick all the time in our classes to demonstrate Word features. Many of our students think it’s cool.

You may need to generate several pages of text to practice using some Word features used in long documents, for example, headers and footers, section breaks, page numbers, etc. Or you may want to general random text just because you can.

Here’s how:

Type =rand(P,S) and then press ENTER (no spaces allowed). For P, substitute the number of paragraphs you want. For S, substitute the number of sentences you want.

For example, =rand(10,6) generates 10 paragraphs with 6 sentences in each paragraph. The text generated by this trick is the same one you used to practice in typing class (if you are old enough to have taken typing class): The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog. This sentence is used because it contains every letter of the alphabet.

How would you like to insert someone’s address into a Word document with one click? If he/she is one of your Outlook Contacts, you can do it with a Smart Tag.

Before you try the next tip, select Tools | AutoCorrect Options… and click the Smart Tag tab. Make sure there is a check in Person Name (English) and Person Name (Outlook e-mail recipients). While you’re at it, make sure Address (English) is also checked.

If you type the name of one of your Outlook Contacts into a Word document and then press ENTER, the name will appear with a dotted purple underline. When you point to the underlined text, a Smart Tag will appear with a drop-down menu. By selecting the appropriate item from the menu, you can (1) insert the person’s address into the Word document, (2) generate an e-mail message to the person, (3) schedule a meeting with the person, or (4) open the person’s contact information directly in Word.

After you insert the address, it will also appear with a dotted purple underline. You can use a Smart Tag that appears next to the address to display a map or get driving directions (at Microsoft’s Expedia Web site).

To view the next 4 days in your Outlook calendar, press ALT+4.

To view the next 8 days, press ALT+8.

And so on…

If you receive several attachments in one e-mail message, there’s an easy way to save them all at once.

1. With the e-mail message open or selected, select File | Save Attachments…



2. Select All Attachments…
3. Outlook will display a dialog box with a list of the attachments:



4. Click OK.
5. Navigate to the folder where you want to save the files.
6. Click OK.

The Outlook Calendar lets you view any number of consecutive days by simply dragging across the days in the Date Navigator (the small calendar that shows the current month). For example, if you wanted to check your schedule for the first two weeks in December, you would switch the Date Navigator to December and drag across the first two weeks.

But suppose you need to check your schedule for every Friday in December? It’s easy, if you hold down the CTRL key while you select the individual dates in the Date Navigator. Outlook will display your schedule for only the selected dates in the main window. To remove a date, keep the CTRL key held down, and click it again.

Microsoft Outlook includes electronic sticky notes that are great for jotting down miscellaneous information. I use these for reminders, usernames and passwords, CD’s I want to buy, Check Engine error codes, and other crucial information that you can’t afford to lose, but don’t know where else to put.

However, the coolest way I have found to use an Outlook sticky note is to drag it to your desktop. Even when Outlook is closed, you can double-click the note, and read it or edit it at any time. (When you drag it to your desktop, Outlook saves it as a separate file.)

To create a note in Outlook:

1. Select File | New | Note.
2. Type the text of the note.
3. To close the note, click the × in the upper-right corner of the note.

To drag a note to your desktop:

• Make sure you can see the note in Outlook. (The note does not have to be open.)
• Resize Outlook so you can see the desktop in part of your screen.
• Drag the note from Outlook to the desktop. (Outlook will copy the note.)
• Close Outlook and double-click the note to read it or edit it.

When you are done with the note, drag it to the Recycle Bin.

Instead of sending users away from your Web site when they click on an external link, you can force a new browser window to open. When the size of the new window doesn’t matter, simply select the _blank option in the Target field of the Property Inspector.

This options adds target="_blank" to the link in the source code.

If you want to control the size of the browser window that opens, add the Open Browser Window behavior in the Behaviors panel.

The Open Browser Window dialog will appear:

With this option, you can control the width and height of the window, as well as which toolbars appear in the new window, such as the Navigation Toolbar, the Location toolbar, or Menu Toolbar. You can also control whether scrollbars and resize handles are available to the user.

When you’re sizing tables or images, it’s helpful to have the horizontal and vertical pixel rulers showing.

To turn on the pixel ruler, select View | Rulers | Show. Be sure Pixels is selected on the Rulers submenu.

Dreamweaver’s interface can feel claustrophobic at times, esp. if you are working on a small monitor. With the Insert Panel and the Document Toolbar at the top, the Property Inspector at the bottom, and multiple panels on the right, sometimes it’s hard to find enough space to work on your page!

To hide all the toolbars and panels, press the F4 function key on the top row of the keyboard. To bring all the panels back, press F4 again.

This is one shortcut you’ll want to remember!