8th January 2002

The last time I had time was... a long time ago. When someone sends me a Word document over 2 pages long, I often ask for a synopsis. But I don't ask the document's author, I ask Word. "Word," I say, "show me a summary." It might need a little nudging at this point. Click Tools | AutoSummarize. Then, select how you want it to parse your document: Highlight key points, Insert an executive summary, Hide everything BUT the summary, or Create a new document with only the summary. Tweak the percentage before running it through the wringer (I wouldn't recommend anything more than 25 percent). Granted, Word won't rewrite the document for you, but it'll at least provide (what it believes to be) the key points from the original structure. Use this feature to reverse engineer just about anything you've ever written. Forget to read that book chapter for today's Classic American Literature quiz? If it's available in an electronic format somewhere, all hope may not be lost.