2nd January 2002
Let me give you a little background. No, really. Let's spice up some of those Microsoft Office files. There's (virtually) nothing wrong with the way Excel handles numbers; a formula here, a little multiplication there. When you go to show this quarter's revenues to the boss, why not give 'em a little panache? Especially if you had a lousy year. Click Format | Sheet | Background. Now, browse for an appropriate picture. Suggestion? Try a photo of your office building or the company's logo. In either case, make sure that the image has been brightened (so that it doesn't wash out the foreground data). But don't let your brownnosing stop there! Let's spruce up your accompanying PowerPoint presentation. You've seen Artsy, Checkers, and Network Blitz - they're default templates. Create something fresh with a unique color dither. Click Format | Background. Open the drop-down color field and select Fill Effects. By default, you'll land on the Gradient tab. From here, you can choose One Color, Two Colors, or a Preset gradient. Then, you can select a different type of shading style below. Why create a killer graphic by hand when PowerPoint will do it for ya?