Tired of blue? Give Excel 2007 a new color scheme

Excel 2007 gives you a lot of new visual options when it comes to building a spreadsheet. You can apply themes to your data and use new shape effects and conditional formatting looks. But what about your Excel application itself? Believe it or not, you don't need to stick with Microsoft's traditional blue color scheme.

Scroll through multiple images simultaneously (Photoshop CS2/CS3/CS4/CS5)

When you're working with multiple images at once, especially if you're comparing similar photos from a shoot, you may want to scroll through the images at the same rate. First you need to arrange the images on your screen so you can preview all the images you need at once. Then, select the Hand tool from the Tools panel, press [Shift], click on one of the images, and move the cursor around to scroll through the images. Photoshop moves through all of your open images simultaneously!

Save time and typing when you re-enable AutoComplete (Internet Explorer 6/7)

Many Internet Explorer (IE) users turn off AutoComplete for passwords and later regret it. Maybe you hastily selected the Don’t Offer To Remember Any More Passwords check box. Or maybe you intentionally disabled the feature for security reasons. However AutoComplete became disabled, if you want to re-enable it for passwords you can do it with another simple check box.

Use your PageMaker user dictionary in InDesign

You can’t use PageMaker’s user dictionary in InDesign, but there’s a way to add your exceptions to the InDesign user dictionary. It’s still a fairly slow process, but it beats starting from scratch, especially if you have quite a few exceptions to add. Just follow this two-part process.

Stop micromanaging your table — balance row and column sizes in 3 clicks (Word 2007)

Working with tables can mean a lot of tweaking and fine-tuning while you adjust the look and fit of your rows and columns. To balance your table's appearance, click on the table and then select the rows or columns you want to adjust. Select the Layout tab from the Ribbon, if necessary, and choose Distribute Rows or Distribute Columns on the Cell Size panel. These commands uniformly distribute the sizes of the selected rows or columns without affecting the size of the table itself.

Swap styles in a flash (InDesign)

Styles are a real boon to productivity, and we found yet another reason you should use them in InDesign. Let's say, for example, that you format a considerable amount of text throughout your document with a paragraph style. Then, you realize you applied the wrong style. No problem! In a flash, you can use the Find/Change command to reformat the text with the correct style.

Parse and validate XML offline with XML Catalogs

When working with XML, you often see references to external files or entities, either parsed or unparsed. According to the XML Catalogues committee specification (http://www.oasis-open.org/committees/download.php/14810/xml-catalogs.pdf), XML Catalogs provide an “interoperable way to map the information in an XML external identifier into a URI reference for the desired resource.”

Move a table row without all the fuss (2003/2007)

If you've been inserting a new row, then cutting and pasting every time you need to move a table row to another location, you've been taking the long way. Here's our shortcut:

Avoid headaches while writing queries by using this column-naming method

One common practice that can cause you lots of frustration is to use the same column names in different tables. For example, you may have a Services table with a column Name for the name of the services a company performs, and a Company table with a column Name for the company name. Moreover, to help keep track of foreign keys, the Company ID may be CompanyID in both tables.

New Horizons brings the most courses in Cyber Security

Take advantage of a unique opportunity to get your IT Security Bootcamp, which can be put together for a discounted price of Certified Ethical Hacker v7, Computer Hacking Forensic Investigator v8 and CISSP. You can save up to 350 EUR (or 8 000 CZK). New Horizons courses are available in the first half of 2013 in Bratislava or Prague as a class led by an accredited trainer. If you do not meet class dates, you can choose from a wide range of courses dates with a trainer in the virtual classroom.

Center data on your printout (2003/2007)

Printouts look best when they're centered both vertically and horizontally. If you've been playing around with column widths and margins to center your data, try this easy shortcut instead:

1. Choose File | Page Setup from the menu bar to open the Page Setup dialog box. (In 2007, click the Office button, then select Print | Print Preview. Click on Page Setup.)
2. Click on the Margins tab.
3. Select both the Horizontally and the Vertically check boxes in the Center On Page panel.
4. Click OK to accept your changes.

When you look at your print preview, you’ll see that your data is now in the center of the page.

Avoid bugs later on by using appropriate joins

One of the most fundamental development principles is that it isn’t good enough if code works for the current situation; you must also consider how to design it so future situations don’t cause it to break. A common T-SQL practice that can lead to future errors is to divide tasks into several queries to approximate a set theory operation—that is, to avoid using a join.

Avoid death by PowerPoint with these tips

The phrase Death by PowerPoint has become more popular than we’d like, because of the way people misuse both PowerPoint and their audience’s time. You can break down Death by PowerPoint into three sections.

Force your executable into debug mode with the Stop command

You’ve probably placed physical breakpoints in code while debugging hundreds of times. However, you may not be aware that you can programmatically do the same for your executables with the Stop command. This statement is most useful when you’re trying to debug applications that don’t have a visual interface or that generate an error only when you run the executable.

Disable the Close button to ensure your dialog box gets the attention it needs

When you create a dialog box with VBA, it’s frustrating to think that anyone can dismiss it in one click. This means that the hard work you spent on creating a dialog box that serves an important purpose (often to the user’s advantage!) goes to waste. For instance, in the accompanying article “Tailor your workbook’s data while ensuring a clean slate for coworkers,” a colleague can sidestep the dialog box we create by clicking the red Close button.

Getting gradients with spot colors to import and print (InDesign)

Getting gradients with spot colors to import and printA nice feature of InDesign is its ability to integrate with native files of other Adobe design products. As with all siblings, though, harmony doesn't always prevail. One such example is when you drag and drop or place a native Adobe Illustrator file that contains a gradient with spot color into InDesign. In doing so, you'll probably notice a color change in the gradient. This is because the spot color doesn't import into the Swatches palette and, therefore, separates to CMYK. The solution is to save the Illustrator file as an EPS file. This will ensure the spot color in the gradient separates and prints properly.

Clean up your toolbox for more efficient forms development

Visual Studio provides tons of controls that you can use to develop Windows forms. However, if you regularly use only a handful of the controls or you just don’t like the way they appear in the toolbox list, you can rearrange the toolbox so that it’s easier for you grab the controls you need. Here are some of the options you have and how they’ll help you.

Save tons of time with fast-acting Function key combinations

As demands on your time continue to rise, anytime you find a shortcut that helps you create or edit a presentation in less time and with more ease, you should commit it to memory. Or, just cut out our handy clip-n-save page to put dozens of useful shortcuts at your fingertips.

Navigate through your tables in half the time (QuarkXPress 5/6/7)

Navigating through QuarkXPress tables can seem awkward at first, but it’s simple if you keep a few things in mind. You’re probably used to pressing the [tab] key to send your cursor to the next table cell, but in QuarkXPress this doesn’t work. Instead, it creates a tab stop in the active cell. To navigate your cursor to the next cell in QuarkXPress without using your mouse, press [control][tab]. It works for both the Mac and Windows, but doesn’t work in version 6 if you’re in a linked cell.