11th June 2002

Going nuts is not a part of my daily routine. I inadvertently tripped an alternative layout option in Microsoft Excel the other day. According to the help file, "in A1 style, columns are labeled alphabetically, and rows are labeled numerically. In R1C1 style, both columns and rows are labeled numerically." Of course, I had no idea this could be toggled. Bill Simoni came to my rescue, telling me to go through Tools | Options | General and uncheck R1C1 reference box. I don't mind interface annoyances, provided I can find my way around them. While you're in the office, let's say we have an image that we want to place within a PowerPoint presentation. Click Insert | Picture | Clip Art, then select a category and subsequent graphic. Make sure the Picture toolbar is on (right-click on an existing toolbar and place a checkmark next to Picture). The fourth icon from the right should give you the option to "Recolor Picture." Change the blues to reds, the blacks to browns, or the yellows to greens. It's all up to you now. Double-click the image to turn it into a drawing object; rearrange elements at will. Fun!