Use an Excel command to quickly separate first and last names
When importing data into a worksheet, it is often necessary to separate the cell contents into two columns.
For example, say you've imported the list of names shown in Figure A.
Figure A
For your mailing program, you need to separate the first and last names into two columns. Follow these steps:
- Select A2:A10.
- Go to Data | Text To Columns. In Excel 2007, click the Data tab and then click the Text To Columns command in the Data Tools group.
- In Step 1 of the Convert Text To Columns Wizard, click Delimited (Figure B).
Figure B
- Click Next to advance to Step 2 of the wizard, then select the Space check box and clear the Tab check box in the Delimiters section (Figure C).
Figure C
- Click Next to advance to Step 3, then click Text under Column Data Format (Figure D).
Figure D
- Click on the second column in the Data Preview window and then click Text under Column Data Format (Figure E).
- Enter D2 in the Destination text box and click Finish.
Figure E
Figure F shows the results.
Figure F
Microsoft Word
How to delete space above a column to even up the text
Word often adds paragraph spacing where you least expect it.
For example, say you've typed a page of text and used the Columns command to format it into two columns. When you do, you notice that the first column doesn't quite line up evenly with the top margin (Figure A).
Figure A
This happens when the paragraph is formatted with space above it. Clicking to the left of the first word in the first line of the column and pressing the backspace key won't eliminate the space. Instead, you will need to turn off the paragraph line spacing for the first paragraph.
Follow these steps:
- Click anywhere in the first paragraph.
- Go to Format | Paragraph. In Word 2007, click the dialog box launcher in the Paragraph group to open the Paragraph dialog box (Figure B).
Figure B
- Click in the Spacing Before text box, enter 0 and then click OK.
- With the extra line spacing turned off, the first line of the first column lines up evenly with the text in the first line of the second column (Figure C).
Figure C
Microsoft Access
Quickly save the current record in Access using code
There are a number of ways to save data via an Access form. The easiest way is to let a bound form take care of it.
However, sometimes even a bound form loses data, unexpectedly. For instance, if a user forgets to press Enter after changing or entering a value and code takes over, VBA won't consider that unsaved value in any processing. In addition, some developers like to bypass the bound behaviors and control the save process using code. Either way, the Dirty property is usually the most efficient way to save the current record.
The Dirty property applies to both the Form and Report objects. When a user changes a record but hasn't saved it, the Dirty property returns True--the object is dirty. When the record hasn't been changed, Dirty returns False. This Boolean structure makes it easy to save a record quickly--or not--as needed.
Simply drop the following statement into code:
If Me.Dirty Then Me.Dirty = False
Setting the object's Dirty property to False forces Access to save the current record. If the object isn't dirty, the statement does nothing.
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