In this newsletter:•   PAUL'S TIP: Files too big to email? Here's how to shrink them
•One-day workshop: Advanced Excel - Thursday 12 February 2009
•QUICK CLICK - Just get me to the end!
•TIP: Add up in Excel - without using a formula
•VALERIE’s gadget of the week

It’s been a busy week here at the Business and Careers Institute. We’ve been tailoring a number of in-house training courses for small groups - especially in Advanced Word and Advanced Excel. Everyone's on fire to upskill in 2009! If you’d like a course tailored to your needs, click here.

We’re often asked about our location and those of you who have been to a training course here know that we have very modern training rooms in a gorgeous spot. The training room spills onto a terrace with this view. (That’s Valerie’s cat in the picture. He’s taking a break from learning Outlook - just kidding!)

Thanks to all the new subscribers this week as well. We hope you find this newsletter full of tips and useful shortcuts.

I was inserting images into a Word file the other day when I realised it was simply too big. This is the sort of thing that happens to Word files and Powerpoint presentations all the time.

The file size becomes either too big to email or it slows your PC? Murphy’s Law says that will happen with less than 5 minutes before the board presentation - right?

You can reduce the size (Kilobytes) of the image (not the physical height/width - but the FILE size) using the "Compress Pictures" feature of MS Office. Here’s how:

** If you are using Word and PowerPoint 2007, you’ll find this handy icon on the “Picture / Format” ribbon.
** If you are using Word or PowerPoint 2003, it’s on the “Picture” Toolbar. 

You will need to select just one image first, and then you can tell the Compress Pictures option to compress all images in the entire document  - in just one click of the OK button. 
Happy compressing - try it! It’s easy.

Would you like to be a power user of Excel? If you’d like to know how to manipulate data, create different scenarios and sort/filter with ease, our Advanced Excel course will show you everything including:

• Combining multiple spreadsheets into one layout.
• Generate subtotals for groups or categories of data in a list, without entering a single formula.
• "Massage" your data or charts easily by rotating rows, columns or axis so that you can present your statistics in different views.
• Pivot and Filter your statistics by product, sales person, average price or popularity – and change your mind to produce an alternate report quickly.
• Help your readers with "at-a-glance" visual graphics with new formatting techniques.
• and SO much more.
  

If you want to select text from where your cursor is to end of that line, just press:

VALERIE’S GADGET OF THE WEEK:

SUM TOTAL in Excel - without using a formula.You might be familiar with the SUM formula in Excel but did you know you can add up a column or row without using a formula at all. Here’s what you can do:

Highlight the range of cells that you want to add up.
For example, B2:B4 might contain 25, 15 and 30.

 

Now look on the status bar in the bottom right corner of your screen.  You'll see SUM = 70.
That's a quick way to add up, or even audit your formulas.

BONUS: In Excel 2007, you can also see the Count, Average, Maximum or Minimum values on the status bar at a glance.


Upcoming courses:To find out more or to receive a comprehensive course outline, just click on the course you're interested in.

Course: Office 2007 Essentials
Date: Tuesday 20 January 2009 - BOOKED OUT
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Fee: $325

Course: Outlook
Date: Tuesday 27 January 2009 - BOOKED OUT
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Fee: $325

Course: Upgrading to Office 2007
Date: Wednesday 4 February 2009 - BOOKED OUT
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Fee: $325

Course: Writing for the web
Date: Thursday 5 February 2009 - ENROL NOW - 2 PLACES LEFT
Time: 9.30am - 4.00pm
Fee: $325

Course: Microsoft Excel  - Advanced
Date: Thursday 12 February 2009 - ENROL NOW
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Fee: $325

Course: Microsoft Word - Advanced
Date: Wednesday 18 February 2009 - ENROL NOW
Time: 9.00am - 5.00pm
Fee: $325

Course: Excel - Basic to Intermediate
Date: Thursday 19 February 2009 - ENROL NOW
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Fee: $325

Course: Outlook
Date: Wednesday 25 February 2009 - ENROL NOW
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Fee: $325

Course: Word - Intermediate
Date: Thursday 26 February 2009 - ENROL NOW
Time: 9.30am - 4.30pm
Fee: $325


Thanks for signing up to this newsletter. Remember, if you'd like to leave this list at any time just reply to this email letting us know.

Wishing you much success,

Valerie Khoo and Paul Neale
Directors
Business and Careers Institute
Suite 3, 55 Lavender Street
Milsons Point NSW 2061
(02) 8006 2112
courses@bcinstitute.com.au
www.bcinstitute.com.au

Paul Neale is a popular corporate trainer and IT expert. He is a tech-evangelist who has trained and consulted in and a wide range of organisations ranging from medium-sized firms to multinational corporations. Paul has spent his career mastering technology, productivity and learning.

Valerie Khoo is an experienced trainer who also founded the successful Sydney Writers' Centre. She is a sought-after corporate writer and public speaker. Valerie also mentors business owners and professionals on how to use technology to grow their business, improve productivity and get more done – so they can have a life!

Both Paul and Valerie are directors of the Business and Careers Institute in Sydney which offers short courses that will help you upskill, achieve more and get ahead.