July 30 2007
Hidden characters are included in every Word document.  Every time you press the Tab key, Spacebar, and Enter key a character for each is placed into your Document just all the other alphanumeric characters, but these are usually concealed from view.

These Hidden Characters sometimes cause formatting problems like when you can't align your text horizontally on the page or when an extra blank page prints at the end of your Document (see March 14 2005 Tip).

You can quickly troubleshoot these problems, but only if you can see these hidden characters.  Here's how:

In Word 2003 or older
In the Toolbar:
1. Look for the Hidden Character button
If you don’t see the Hidden Character button, click on the  in the Toolbar and find it there
2. Click it
-The hidden characters are revealed in your Word Document.

In Word 2007
In the Toolbar:
Under the Home tab in the Paragraph section
1. Click the  button
-The hidden characters are revealed in your Word Document

Now you can delete the extra Tab, Space, or stray Paragraph to get your formatting right!

July 23 2007
One of the most common questions I get about ACT! is if there is a way to print labels.  If so then how?

In all versions of ACT! 5.0 - 2007
**Be sure to complete a Lookup of the contacts you want to print before starting these steps
1. File > Print...
-Under 'Printout Type' in the left column
2. Select 'Labels'
3. Select your label type according to Avery standard
-Office Max and Office Depot labels will state their equivalent Avery type on the package if you are using those brands
4. Click 'Print'
5. Select 'Current Lookup'
**Best practice is to leave 'Preview' as the selected output in case something is wrong with the selected contacts
**If printing on an incomplete sheet of labels, you can select the starting position of labels under the 'Position' tab
6. Click 'OK'
-Review your Labels
**Load your printer with labels
7. Click the Printer button to print
You're done!

The Print Label feature isn't easy to find - even in the latest versions of ACT!.  But, it does exist and is very handy when completing a mail merge.

July 16, 2007
Lately I have been doing a lot of training in Outlook. One of the most popular hints that I have been sharing is how to resend a sent email - Usually, saving time spent trying to cut & paste an email into a new email in order to resend.

In Outlook 2003 and older:
1. Open your Sent folder
2. Find and Double click on the email you want to resent to open it
-In the Toolbar
3. Actions > Resend This Message...
-Your message is re-queued
4. Click Send to resend

In Outlook 2007:
1. Open your Sent folder
2. Find and Double click on the email you want to resent to open it
3. Click 'Other Actions' in the Actions portion of the toolbar
4. Click 'Resend This Message...'
-Your message is re-queued
5. Click Send to resend

This is helpful especially if you send an email with an attachment  and forget the attachment (like that never happens)!