- Office Reference Guide
- Table of Contents
- Surrealty: An Organic Case Study
- Working with Microsoft Word
- Branding Yourself with Microsoft Word
- Revising Your Document
- Saving and Using Document Templates
- Formatting with Styles
- Secrets of AutoText and AutoCorrect
- Trying To Remain Normal
- Customing Word with Macros, Menus, and Toolbars
- Document Management: Scanning into Word
- Using the Clip Organizer
- Backing Up Your Office System
- A Testimonial To Tables
- Navigating with Bookmarks
- Using a Document Map
- Creating a User Form
- Introduction to Word 2007
- Blogging with Word 2007
- Using Word 2007 Quick Parts and Building Blocks
- Mail Merge in Word 2007
- Word 2007: Open and Repair
- Styling: Using the New QuickStyles in Word 2007
- Compare and Combine Document Versions in Word 2007
- Accelerating Your Knowledge of Excel
- Getting Started with Excel Worksheets
- Creating and Autofitting Cell Content
- Populating the Worksheet with Data
- Using AutoSum To Create Automatic Calculations
- Using Formulas
- Making Your Worksheet Look Nicer
- Charting the Data
- Completing the Financial Picture
- Getting Fancy With Xcelsius
- Say It With Charts!
- The Effect of Text Entries and Blank Cells on Calculations
- Filtering Your Outlook Contacts
- New Charting and Productivity Tools
- Cataloging Your Backups in Excel
- Using Excel as a Simple Database
- Painless Pivot Tables
- Creating Interactive Spreadsheets Online
- Moving an Excel Macro
- Working with Scenarios and Goals
- Using Excel's Solver
- Emphasizing Sales Data in Excel
- XspandXL for Spreadsheet Analysis
- New Crystal Xcelsius Light (Free)
- Excel Business Analysis Books
- Excel 2007 Sorting, Filtering and Table Enhancements
- Creating an Entrepreneurial Marketing Plan in Excel 2007
- Named Ranges in Excel 2007
- Maintaining a Positive Outlook
- Using Word for Email
- Creating an Email Signature
- Handling Email Efficiently
- Creating an Anti-Spam Filter
- Working with Contacts
- Adding a Contact from Email
- Saving a Contact as a vCard
- Using the Calendar
- Appointments, Events, and Meetings
- Setting Tasks and Making Notes
- Protecting and Exporting Outlook Information
- Creating a Distribution List, and Other Outlook Tips
- Mail-Merge E-mail
- Creating an Outlook Form
- Completing the Outlook Form Solution
- Using Search Folders and Anti-Spam Tips
- Creating an E-Mail Template
- Using Outlook with a Cell Phone
- Stupid Outlook Tricks
- Using Multiple Outlook Calendars
- Using NewsGator for RSS in Outlook
- Review: <em>Conquer Email Overload with Better Habits, Etiquette, and Outlook 2003</em>
- Using Anagram's Artificial Intelligence
- MeetingSense for Enhanced Outlook Productivity
- Introduction to Outlook 2007 and Predictions
- Trying Business Contact Manager
- Outlook 2007 Organization Features
- Taking Your Outlook 2007 Calendar Online
- Going Mobile with My New SmartPhone
- Synching Outlook with Facebook
- Workaround: Create a Private Distribution List in Outlook
- Microsoft Office Outlook Connector
- "Where Are My Socks?" Accessing Your Important Information
- Exploring the Northwind Application
- Access Basics
- Creating Tables
- Using Forms for Data Entry
- Creating a Report
- Querying Your Database
- Creating Relationships
- Using Access for Business Documents
- Customizing an Access Template
- Using Macros and Switchboards in Access
- Creating an Online Data Access Page
- What's New in Access 2007
- Making Your Access 2007 Forms and Reports Look Professional
- Use the Access Label Wizard
- Presenting Professionally with PowerPoint
- Introduction to PowerPoint
- Creating Cool Diagrams
- Using the Diagram Object
- Beginning the Org Chart
- Using the Org Chart Toolbar
- Changing the Org Chart Layout
- Selecting Portions of the Org Chart
- Moving and Formatting the Selection
- Applying Styles to the Org Chart
- Using the Other Conceptual Diagrams
- Adding Our Concepts
- Moving Shapes with the Diagram Toolbar
- Moving or Resizing the Diagram
- Using the Diagram Styles
- Changing Your Concept Diagram
- Turning Off AutoFormat
- Adding a Caption or Title
- Summary
- Q&A
- Customizing Your Presentation
- The Concept of Customization
- Accessing the Master Views
- Understanding the Master Views
- The Power of the Master Views
- Adding Our Logo
- Changing Other Elements
- Slide Master Rules
- Using the Title Master
- Using the New Slide Master Template
- Adding Date and Time to a Footer
- Using Headers and Footers
- The Master View Toolbar
- Using the Handout Master
- Using the Notes Master
- Using Page Setup to Change the Presentation Type
- Summary
- Q&A
- Accessorizing for Presentations
- The Potential Of Photo Album
- Using Broadcast Quality Effects
- The Latest Presentation Gear
- Using PowerPoint, Video and DVD
- Microsoft Producer for PowerPoint
- Expanding PowerPoint with Plug-Ins
- Using Presenter View with a Projector
- Getting Into Your Presentation -- Literally
- The View from PowerPoint LIVE
- Making a PowerPoint Movie (not just for the Mac anymore)
- Making a Self-Running Animated Holiday Card
- Reporting on Databases in PowerPoint
- HD or Not HD, That Is The Question
- Taking On Tufte
- What the Heck Do I Say?
- Broadcasting PowerPoint Video with Serious Magic
- Video Blogging as a Presentation Value-Add
- This Just In: PowerPoint Secedes from MS Office!
- Two New PowerPoint Add-Ins
- Podcasting our PowerPoint
- What We Can Learn from InfoComm 2005
- Putting Yourself in the Show
- What You Can Learn from SIGGRAPH
- Using DVD Video in PowerPoint
- Animating Individual Chart Elements
- The Magic of PowerPoint LIVE 2005
- Making Sure Your Video Plays
- Creating a Timeline Template in PowerPoint
- Creating Transparent Animation and Backgrounds
- Using Advanced Animation Techniques
- Advanced Animation Part 2: Reusing Motion Paths
- Advanced Animation Part 3: Masked Backgrounds and Triggers
- Getting an Ovation with PowerPoint
- Video that Plays For Certain
- Using an Animated PowerPoint Chart on DVD
- Packaging Music Files with PowerPoint
- Say It With Presentations
- Keep Saying It With RSS
- PowerPoint LIVE 2006
- Total Solution: Using Propaganda for a PowerPoint Podcast for iTunes
- Wildform Wild Presenter for Interactive PowerPoint Online
- PowerFrameworks to Stimulate Your Creative PowerPoint Juices
- Distributing Video for iPods and Other Devices
- Converting Bullets to SmartArt Graphics in PowerPoint 2007
- Editing Video in PowerPoint (And a Lot More)
- Enhancing PowerPoint with Stock Photos
- Creating Sticky Documents and Presentations
- Review: Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck
- Using PowerPoint 2003 and 2007 Together: Preparing for InfoComm 2007
- Converting Flash to PowerPoint Video
- Animated Artwork for PowerPoint: PointClips and Vox Proxy
- Cutting Edge Graphics at SIGGRAPH 2007
- The Insert Object Animation Trick in PowerPoint
- Using YouTube Video in PowerPoint
- Using PowerPoint 2007 with Video Online
- PowerPoint LIVE 2007: Presentation Paradise in the Big Easy
- Camatasia 5.0: An Upgrade Worth the Effort
- Solving Video Playback in PowerPoint for Vista
- Review: Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007 Complete Makeover Kit
- Graphic Novels in PowerPoint
- The Ultimate Presentation
- Opazity: PowerPoint for Lazy People
- Using SlideShare for Online PowerPoint with Narration
- Mastering Themes in Office 2007 (and Specifically PowerPoint 2007)
- VIDITalk's New Online Presenter Program
- Using and Converting YouTube Video for PowerPoint
- SlideRocket: Documents in the "Cloud"
- PFC Pro: Use YouTube Directly in PowerPoint and Maybe Get Your Web Cam into a Web Conference
- AuthorSTREAM: PowerPoint with Narration Made Easier Online
- Slide:ology: Nancy Duarte’s Design Secrets and Her New PowerPoint Book
- Mastering the New Slide Masters (and Layouts) in PowerPoint 2007
- Using PowerPoint 2007 to Create Slides That Don't Look Like PowerPoint (Video Update)
- A Treasure Trove of PowerPoint Templates
- Posting a Web Site with FrontPage
- Getting a Web Site
- Creating a FrontPage Web
- Where's My Web?
- Adding Navigation
- Applying a Theme
- Publishing Your Site
- The Old MHT Trick
- Taking Over A FrontPage Web
- Expression Studio 2.0: A Worthy Successor to FrontPage
- Publish or Perish
- Creating Publications for Print
- Publisher Web Sites
- Creating an E-Mail Newsletter
- E-mailing Holiday Cards
- Publisher 2007
- Get Visual with Visio
- Creating a Visio Flowchart
- Connecting Shapes
- Examining the Shapesheet
- Creating a Report
- Moving In With Visio
- Expanding Visio with Third-Party Stencils
- Playing Well with Others Using Visio
- Creating Interactive Diagrams with Visio's Layers
- Creating a "Virtual Database"
- Creating a Visio Dynamic Solution Template
- Visio 2007
- Visio 2007 Professional IT Toolbox
- Project Management with Visio 2007 Gantt and Pert Charts
- Review: Using Microsoft Office Visio 2007
- Tools That Integrate Your Office Applications
- Creating Video E-Mail with MovieMaker
- Managing Pictures with Microsoft Office Picture Manager
- New Year's Predictions: 2005
- Office Predictions for 2006
- Favorite Books List
- Using Excel as a Database Conversion Tool for Outlook
- Oh, Brother, I Love Labels (and other Office Tips)
- Planning for Disaster
- Using OneNote with Outlook
- Web Resources for Microsoft Office
- Simple 3D in Microsoft Office
- Creating Dynamic Database Links
- Using an Access Query for Mail Merge
- Displaying Database Links with Xcelsius Enterprise
- An Office 12 Sneak Preview from PDC
- My Big Fat Office Vacation
- What CES 2006 Means to Office Users
- Using "Send To" Between Office Applications: Word and
- Running (and Surviving) a Web-based Conference
- Running an Online Office with HyperOffice and Writely
- Preparing with Index Cards
- Creating Meeting Agendas
- Collecting Data with New Technologies: ARS, SMS and RFID
- Using Application Sharing in a Web Conference
- Running an Online Notes or Windows Media Session
- Trying Out Live Meeting
- Creating a SharePoint Team Website
- Using and Customizing a SharePoint Team Website
- Creating a Trip Planner in Excel and Outlook
- Crystal Graphics’ Excel and Solutions and Chart
- GoToMeeting Instant Webinar Tool
- Checking Out Office Live
- Using Quindi Meeting Capture
- Using Excel to Link to Other Databases
- Trying Out Mind Manager Pro to Brainstorm with Office Programs
- The 13th Thing I Hate About Office
- Introduction to Office 2007
- What's New in Excel and PowerPoint 2007
- Take a Look at InfoPath 2007
- Office's Groovy New Collaboration Program
- Using Office Accounting Express
- Printing to PDF or XPS in Office 2007
- Getting Adjusted to Office 2007 Changes
- Using SnagIt for IT Training
- Providing Help with Go To My PC
- Vista Meeting Space and People Near Me from Microsoft
- Trying Expression Web
- Migration Issues to Word and Outlook 2007
- Vista – Are You Kidding Me?
- Making Office 2007 (and Vista) Work Properly
- Office and the Enterprise
- Survey Says – Use Web Surveys with Excel and Access
- Uninstalling Office 2007 in Windows XP Pro
- Using Excel for Tables in Office 2007
- VIDITalk – Video in SharePoint and Beyond
- Career Advancement for Office Professionals
- Online Database that Rivals Access?
- Web 2.0 2008 in San Francisco
- Going Virtual for MS Office
- Going Virtual Using Mobile Apps
- Managing Your Contacts Across the Office Suite
- Charts in PowerPoint and Excel 2007 (Video Update)
- Outline View: The Document Planning Bridge between Word and PowerPoint
- Using Document Inspector in Office 2007
- SmartDraw: A Powerful Communications Tool to Supplement MS Office
- Visio 2007's New Pivot Diagram
- Using the Macro Recorder in Visio 2007 (Video Update)
- Compatibility Pack: Challenges of Using Office 2007 Documents in Previous Versions
- Microsoft Office Live Small Business Beta
- No One Asked Me But... What I Want (and Don’t Want) in the Next Office and Windows
- Late New Year's Resolution: Keys to Effective IT Communication
- SmartDraw Extras: Healthcare and Legal Templates
- Interesting Upgrades: Camtasia 6 and SnagIt 9
- Addressing the Office 2007 Read-Only Runaround
- Getting Organized with OneNote
- Flagging OneNote Information
- Recording and Organizing with OneNote
- Recording and Organizing Video in OneNote
- OneNote 2007
- Using OneNote 2007 Efficiently with Other Office 2007 Apps
- Using OneNote as a Voice Recorder
- Video Tutorials
- Charts in PowerPoint and Excel 2007
- Using PowerPoint 2007 to Create Slides That Don't Look Like PowerPoint
- Using the Macro Recorder in Visio 2007
- Playing a CD Audio in a Self Running Presentation
- Textboxes, QuickParts and Building Blocks in Word 2007
- Working Between PowerPoint and PDF
- Additional Resources
- Exploring Twine and the New Semantic Web
- A Tale of Two Tech Supports — OfficeLive and Zoho
- Digital Hollywood 2008
- Infocomm 2006
- InfoComm 2007
- Judging a Disc By Its Cover
- Surviving the Office 2007 Beta
- The Latest Word from CES 2007
One of the most frustrating things that happens to me is that I get asked all the time about something relating to email by a novice. Then it turns out that the user has a web mail account of some kind that does not integrate with what I consider “normal” email, namely a POP account set up and run from Outlook.
This renders all of my “normal” solutions to the user’s problem moot — because they all depend on which web mail service is being used and its feature set. For example, including an attachment (common issue) is different on Yahoo, Google or Hotmail.
To my mind, Outlook is the logical place to run email, particularly if you are a major user of MS Office, because it integrates so well with the rest of the Office suite. In addition, the presence of my calendar and contacts, not to mention tasks in the same program makes Outlook like my personal secretary.
I’ve also gotten used to Outlook as my pal; for example I use a program called Anagram to quickly import contacts and calendar items into Outlook with a hot key.
But up until now getting it to work with web mail applications has not been easy. Generally it’s still easier to access web mail through the browser, where you can also have a calendar and contacts, but then you need to synchronize them with Outlook to keep things up to date.
That’s why I decided to take a shot at the beta version of the new MS Outlook Connector, which promises to integrate my Hotmail web and Microsoft Office Live Mail accounts with my desktop Outlook application.
In the past I’ve been critical of the new Office Live because of its lack of integration with the “real” Office. The Outlook Connector actually works with Hotmail which part of Windows Live (not to be confused with Office Live, which has its own email also connected using the Outlook Connector) but promises to potentially herald the type of integration that the web and desktop versions of Office may have in the future.
(I’m anticipating another look at the new Office Live beta in the near future to get a sense of whether real integration is already present or just on the horizon).
In any case, I decided to give the Outlook Connector for Hotmail a try. After downloading and installing the beta, and opening Outlook, as you might expect, I was prompted to add the Hotmail account to Outlook.
The obvious next step, after reopening Outlook, is to add the particulars of your Hotmail (Windows Live) account.
With the connection properly set up, Outlook can send and receive email through your old account as well as Hotmail.
Notice that Outlook Connector is also available as a new menu item directly within Outlook, allowing you to set options for Hotmail and to access Hotmail through the browser from directly in Outlook.
That’s one way of working with the online email account—by using the Outlook Connector you can set Hotmail options and see email that’s in your Inbox.
But that’s really not what I was after; instead, if you take a look at the Personal Folders in the left panel, you will now find a set of mail folders for your Hotmail account, and you can access and process your email there from within Outlook.
If you switch to the Calendar view, you will also find that your Hotmail Calendar is set up along with your regular Outlook calendar, and you can view them side by side.
I’ve covered multiple calendars in a previous update.
By clicking on Sharing in the Office Connector menu in Outlook, you get the option to set up the beta Calendar sharing capability between Hotmail Calendar and Outlook.
You can also decide whether to keep your online Calendar private or share it with others. If you forego setting up the beta Calendar synchronization capability, you can still send appointments from your Outlook calendar to Hotmail’s online calendar via email.
Are contacts synchronized to coordinated yet? There is an import option for uploading a current set of contacts as a CSV text file and also, under Contacts in Outlook, there is a direct connection to your Contacts on Hotmail through your email address.
So it looks like there is hope for integrating Outlook and the web — but so far it’s in Windows Live and also for email in Office Live, although all of the buzz out of the last Product Development Conference was that the next version of Office will feature full web integration.
But for now, you can finally use a web mail app directly within Outlook, by downloading the Outlook Connector and working with Hotmail on Windows Live and Microsoft Office Live Mail accounts.
InformIT Articles and Sample Chapters
A Tale of Two Tech Supports — OfficeLive and Zoho
Books and eBooks
Using Office Live (Digital Shortcut)
Getting Email from a Hotmail Account (Safari snippet from Taming the Information Tsunami)