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).

First, you are probably asking yourself, “What does he mean by selecting text vertically?’

Answer: Selecting text vertically allows you to select the first character in every line of a document (or the first two characters, three, etc.) See the example below.

Now that you know what selecting text vertically is, you are probably asking yourself, “Why would I ever want to do this?”

Answer: While it’s possible that you may never have a need for this unique Word feature, if you ever do need it, you’ll be glad you know how.

I find it useful in two situations:

1. I sometimes receive long back-and-forth emails from people containing several replies and replies to replies, and I need to delete the prefix character (usually a >) in front of several lines of text.
2. I receive a text document that contains leading spaces on every line.

In these situations, I could write a Word macro or do a Find and Replace, but ALT-dragging is much easier (and much cooler).

Here’s how:

1. If you are working with an email message, copy it into Word.
2. Hold down the ALT key, hold down the left mouse button, and simply drag vertically.
3. Here’s an example:

Now you know how to ALT-drag!

Excel provides a Special number format for zipcodes which allows those of us in New England to display our zipcodes properly. However, when you do a mail merge in Word 2002 and 2003, this formatting will not come through. A zipcode of 01040 will display as 1040. You can fix this in Excel by converting the number back to text, but if your list is extensive, you won’t want to do this. This tip will show you how to display 5-digit zipcodes properly in a Word mail merge without having to reformat your data.

After you create the merge document and attach your Excel workbook containing the addresses:

1. Insert the merge field for your zip code where you want it.

2. Press ALT+F9 to display the field codes. The Zip code field will look something like this (the text in quotes will be the name of your zip code field). Ignore any shading that might appear.

{ MERGEFIELD “Zip_code” }

3. Change the field to include a number format, as shown below. Make sure to place it inside the curly braces and include the spaces, etc. Make sure to use a backslash \ and not a forward slash /. Note that the number format is enclosed in quotes (“):

{ MERGEFIELD “Zip_code” \# “00000″ }

4. Press ALT+F9 again and preview the merge.

5. You may have to update the field by selecting it and pressing F9 in order to see the results of your change.