Technology Q&A.

Handling "widows" and "orphans" ... Those underlined letters in the toolbar ... A fast way to bookmark ... Getting to your favorites quickly ... Inserting or deleting Excel cells

Q. When I prepare a text presentation for clients, I want it to look professional. I don't like the way a document looks when the last line of a paragraph is the first line on a page and, worse, doesn't fill the width of the page. I also don't like getting a really short line at the bottom of the page. I can fix these problems by tinkering with the text, but it's a slow process. Is there a better way?

A. There is a very simple, automatic way to fix the problems. But, first, let's agree on some terminology. What you're talking about, in typographic terms, are "widows" and "orphans," which are related (no pun intended). A "widow" is the last line of a paragraph left by itself at the top of a page, and an "orphan" is the first line of a paragraph left by itself at the bottom of a page.

Word has a way to control both of them so you don't have to go through the entire text and tinker with the lines.

Here's what you do: Highlight the paragraph for which you want widows and orphans eliminated and either right click on the mouse button or click on Format in the toolbar (see the screen shot). Then select Paragraph. Click on the Line and Page Breaks tab, then check the Widow/Orphan control box and click OK. That's all there is to it.

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Q. I notice that each word in the toolbar has one underlined letter. What is the significance of this?

A, Those underscores are very useful because they give users an alternative way--without the mouse--to activate many commands. You access the commands directly from the keyboard. If you hold down the Alt key while pressing a keyboard letter corresponding to one of the underlined letters in the toolbar, it will trigger that command in the menu. For example, notice that the word Format has the letter "o" underlined. If you hold down the Alt key and press O (not the numeral 0) on the keyboard, the Format menu drops down. And then, if you want to activate one of the commands in the Format menu, keep holding down the Alt key and press the underlined letter in the menu list.

The underlined letter convention is not limited to Word. It extends to many Windows applications--not just Microsoft. And it's a handy shortcut.

Q. When I'm working on several documents during the day, I place a Bookmark in each file to indicate where I left off. I know there are multiple ways to do things in Office Suite applications. Is there a faster way to leave a Bookmark to indicate the place you last worked in a document?

A. There's an extremely simple way. In Word, when you reopen a document, just press Shift+F5 and you'll be taken to where you were in the document before you closed it. You can even use the shortcut to return to the last place you were editing in the same session.

Q. I have to switch between several different folders (subdirectories) during the day because I keep client files in separate folders. I can use the mouse and the Favorites function to get to each one, but I have so many, that's not convenient. Do you know of a better way?

A. Sure do. Just click on File, Open (shortcut: Ctrl+O). You'll notice on the bottom of the screen that a box for File name appears. Click on the arrow to the right and the screen will display a list of your most recently opened folders. To add a file path, just type it in and hit Enter for each one; it will be there the next time you activate it.

Of course, if all you want is fast access to a file (not a path), you also can click on File in the toolbar, and at the bottom of the screen your most recently opened files will appear. That list has only the last nine files and you must have opened each file at least once.

If File on the toolbar fails to bring up this list, it means you haven't set Word to that default. That's easy to correct. Go to Tools, Options, General. Place a check in the Recently used file list box. You can adjust the function to display from 0 to 9 files.

Q. Is there a fast way to either insert or delete cells in an Excel worksheet? The conventional way--using the mouse and right clicking--is awkward and slow.

A. There is a fast way. Place your cursor where you want to insert a cell and then press Ctrl and a plus sign (+) either on the numeric keypad or above the equals sign (=). To delete a cell, press Ctrl and a minus sign (-). The screens those commands generate will look like this:

[ILLUSTRATION OMITTED]

Even Better Way

Some time ago we provided a tip for applying the same formatting or style to multiple parts of a Word or Excel file. We suggested first setting the format or style, highlighting it and then, when you move to the other places where you want to use the same format, pressing Ctrl+Y or F4. Reader Kenneth S. Germany, a CPA who works for the Department of Defense and has a small private practice, suggested an even simpler way: Double-click (rather than single-click) the Format Painter in the toolbar. You'll notice it does not disengage after you highlight a range; it will remain in effect until you click on it again. That way, you can format as many ranges or cells as you like without having to hit F4 or Ctrl+Y or continuing to click on the Format Painter. But don't forget to disengage it when you're finished.

Do you have a technology question for this column? Send it to Senior Editor Stanley Zarowin via e-mail at [e-mail] or regular mail at the Journal of Accountancy, Harborside Financial Center, 201 Plaza Three, Jersey City, NJ 07311-3881. We regret that we cannot answer letters individually. If a reader's question is deemed to have sufficiently broad interest, we will answer it in a forthcoming Technology Q&A column.

--The editors