Strikethrough hotkey

A number of attorneys in my office work with amending legislation, which means they need to use the strikethrough font a LOT! One of them asked me, "Isn't there an easy way to do this using a shortcut or something?" As it turns out, there is--and here's how (courtesy WordTips):

1. Press Ctrl+D or choose Font from the Format menu. (If you are using Word 2007, press Ctrl+D or click the Home tab of the ribbon, then click the small control at the bottom-right of the Font group.) Word displays the Font tab of the Font dialog box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
2. Hold down Alt+Ctrl and, at the same time, press the plus sign on the numeric keypad. The mouse pointer turns into a clover symbol.
3. Click on the Strikethrough check box in the Font dialog box. (As you move the mouse pointer to get ready to click, the mouse pointer may change back to an arrow instead of a clover; this is OK.) When you click, Word displays the Customize Keyboard dialog box with the insertion point blinking in the Press new Shortcut Key box. (Click here to see a related figure.)
4. Type whatever shortcut key you want to use for the strikethrough format. Just hold down whatever combination of the Alt, Ctrl, and Shift keys you want, and then press the desired key to go with that combination. If the combination is already taken, that information shows just below the Customize Keyboard dialog box, and you can then change to a different shortcut key. (A good combination to consider is Alt+Shift+S or Ctrl+Alt+S, neither of which are used in a default installation of Word.)
5. Click the Assign button. The shortcut key is now assigned to apply strikethrough formatting.
6. Click Close to dismiss the Customize Keyboard dialog box.
7. Click Cancel to dismiss the Font dialog box.

Great Microsoft Office Site

This is almost all technology and no law, but I just came across a GREAT site to help Microsoft Office users at all levels: microsoft at work. In particular, the article 12 tips for creating better documents is chock-full of great suggestions, and links for more detailed help. Bookmark this site!

Automate Your References!

I write a lot of briefs, edit still more, and most of them contain multiple cross-references. A cross-reference might be to a page (supra at 13); a section (as discussed more fully in Point II) or a combination thereof.

Yet, the vast majority of attorneys and their word processors manually type these cross-references. This means that with every editing change, each such reference needs to be reviewed to make sure that it is still accurate.

These attorneys seem unaware or afraid of Microsoft Word's ability to automate that process, so that no matter how much editing occurs, your cross-references will stay accurate. A great and thorough explanation of that ability is in the current article, Cross Referencing in Word, at the Office Watch site.

Autocorrect

Here's a good post on creative ways to use autocorrect in MS Word. To summarize the list:

• judgement=judgment
• dd=Δ
• pp=Π
• ss=§
• court=your mom (Alright, this last one is only as a practical joke to put on someone else's computer (and to make sure you're paying attention).)
  

Personally, I prefer hotkeys for the section and paragraph symbols (Ctrl+s and ctrl+p, respectively), and use autocorrect not only for spelling mistakes, but also for phrases (e.g., vty = very truly yours; mdc = Miami-Dade County, etc.) What does autocorrect do for you?

Word's Hidden Calculator

Very informative piece on Office Watch on how to use the hidden calculator in Word.