What Is A Macro? Does Anyone Really Care?Written by Rafael Van Dyke
Some of you have never heard of term “macro”; and if you have, you may not know what it means. First, we’re going to share with you what a macro; and afterwards, we’ll share with you why you may or may not need to start using them. In early stages of word processing programs, macros were used to record a series of keystrokes that can be reused quickly in all of your documents. Macros were an excellent way to automate tasks that you needed on a regular basis like signing letters, recalling a paragraph used often, or setting up special page settings. When these programs came out with Windows versions, you could record mouse clicks in addition to keystrokes; Microsoft Word 97-2002 can even memorize commands whether you use a button, a menu, or a keystroke. Sounds cool don’t it? Let’s make one in Microsoft Word. To start, go to Tools menu ~ Macro ~ Record New Macro. Give you macro a name that describes what macro will do; then make it a button or a keystroke by clicking on Toolbars or Keyboard button. Your mouse arrow with have a tape attached to it to let you know that you’re recording; when you’ve done everything you wanted to save, click on Stop button. And when you’re ready, try out your macro with your button or keystroke and it will repeat commands that you recorded previously. Definitely cool, right? So if they’re so cool, why aren’t more people using macros? As we mentioned before, a lot of users just aren’t familiar enough with macros to use them on a regular basis. And even if you’re a power user of Microsoft Word, most of time macros aren’t necessary because of new tools that are available.
| | Picking the Right Font Face for your DocumentWritten by Rafael Van Dyke
Picking good fonts are not usually a high priority when it comes to preparing a document; and most of time, it probably shouldn’t. It’s easy just to stick with reliable default fonts, like Times New Roman, Arial, Helvetica, CG Times, or Universal. And why not? They’re great fonts that are readable, simple, and extremely versitile (which is why they’ve been chosen as default fonts for many software programs). But remember, goal of creating a better document is make it stand out amongst other files; therefore, it only makes sense to steer away from default fonts as a general rule. That’s easy enough, right? Well, most people fall under one of two categories: either you don’t have enough fonts to choose from or you have too many fonts to choose from. If your font selection is limited, then your problem is easy to resolve - you just simple buy or download more fonts. The other problem of having too many fonts to choose from takes a little more knowhow. How do you know which font to use with a particular document? At this time, I would like to offer to you my guidelines for choosing fonts, broken down by document type. Legal Documents When it comes to legalise, it’s good to be safe side. That why default fonts are actually perfect solution for legal documents, especially Times New Roman. But if you need a change of pace try these: Perpetua is slightly smaller than Times New Roman and gives a softer feel; Book Antiqua is slightly bigger, and has a strong presence. Letters & Memos In business, letters & memos should still make an impression that’s professional. The default fonts are fine (particularly Arial & Helvetica), but we can definitely afford to spice up these documents for extra appeal. Consider following fonts for business letter & memos: Bell MT, Calisto MT, Franklin Gothic Book, or Garamond. When it comes to personal letters, you should pick your favorite font, whichever one that might be. If you don’t have, feel free to use my personal favorites ... Tahoma & Footlight MT Light. Presenting to Clients and Potential Prospects Documents to placed in front of a client, it is an absolute must that they look their best and stand out. Therefore, you are forbidden from using a default font in this situation! Also, you’ll want to select two fonts; one for all of your headings (preferably one that is thicker and looks good when font size is 14 and above), and other for your regular paragraph text (something that’s as readable as default font, but better looking. Be consistent - make sure all of your subheadings are same font size.
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