University of Wisconsin - Stout

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The Best Tech: Our Top Tips

Tips provided by Karen Franker, UW-Stout

Email Adobe Acrobat Reader
Microsoft Word MAC OS X
Web Browsers PowerPoint

Email

Q. How do I remove the “greater than” symbols from forwarded email messages?
A. These marks can be easily eliminated. Here's how:

  • Copy and paste the email message into a MS Word document.
  • Place your cursor on the top > (greater than) sign.
  • Hold down the Alt (Windows) or Option key (Mac) and with the mouse drag down to highlight the > greater than) symbols that you want to delete.
  • Press Delete. The "greater than" symbols are gone!

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Adobe Acrobat Reader

Q. How do I edit and copy PDF text?
A. Here’s how to edit the text in a PDF file without re-typing it:
1. Open the pdf file using Adobe Acrobat Reader.
2. Click on the toolbar button that says Select or Text (depending on the version of Acrobat Reader you are using).
3. Highlight the text you want to copy.
4. Go to Edit- Copy.
5. Open a blank word processing document and select Edit – Paste. The text can now be edited as you would a normal word-processing document.

Q. How do I change text and background colors?
A. Often students with learning disabilities have difficulty reading standard black text on white background. Acrobat Reader allows the user to set color preferences for text and background.
In Acrobat Reader, go to Edit- Preferences, and click on Accessibility in the left column.

  • In the center of the window under Color Scheme, pull down to select Custom Scheme.
  • Under Custom Scheme, click on Text Color to select a text color; and click on Page Background Color to select a background color.
  • Press Enter or Return on the keyboard to see the changes take effect.

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Microsoft Word (Most tips are for Word 2003)

 

Q. How do I quickly change the line spacing?
A. To quickly change the line spacing in selected text in Microsoft Word:

  • Press Ctrl-1 to single-space
  • Press Ctrl-2 to double-space

Q. How do I check readability levels in a document or Web page?
A. Here's how to determine the approximate readability level of a document in Microsoft Word:

  1. On the Tools menu, select Options, and then click the Spelling & Grammar tab.
  2. Select the “Check grammar with spelling” check box.
  3. Select the “Show readability statistics” check box, and then click OK.
  4. Go to the Tools menu and select Spelling and Grammar.

When Microsoft Word finishes checking spelling and grammar, it displays information about the reading level of the document. To determine the readability level of other text such as on Web pages, just copy and paste it into Word.


Q. How do I quickly change text from all caps to title case or lower case?
A. When text is accidentally typed in all capital letters and you'd like to change it to either lower case or title case, here is a quick fix:

  1. Highlight the text to change.
  2. Press Shift - F3 on the keyboard to switch the text from all caps to lower case.
  3. Press Shift - F3 again to switch from lower case to title case.

Q. How do I auto-summarize text?
A. Word 2003's AutoSummarize tool can take any document and
immediately highlight all the relevant points right on the screen. This is very useful when helping students to determine the main ideas in a document.
To AutoSummarize a document:

  • Go to the Tools menu and choose AutoSummarize.
  • Click on Highlight Key Points, then OK.

Your document appears on the screen with key
points highlighted in yellow. To return to normal editing mode, click the
Close button on the small AutoSummarize floating palette.


Q. How do I draw quick lines?
A. Here’s how to quickly create three types of lines across your Word document with just a few keystrokes:

  • To get a normal line, type three consecutive hyphens and press Enter.
  • To get a bold line, type three underscores and press Enter.
  • To get a double line, type three equal signs and press Enter.

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MAC OS X

Q. How do I print to PDF format?
A. It’s easy to convert a document to PDF format in Mac OS X without purchasing Adobe Acrobat.

  1. Go to the File menu and select Print.
  2. In the Print window, click on Save As PDF.
  3. In the Save dialog box, title your document and add .pdf at the end of the file name, then click Save.

Q. How do I quickly switch applications in OS X?
A. Mac OS X makes it easy to jump between programs. Use
any of these methods to jump from open application to
application:

*    Press Command+Tab.

*    Click anywhere in the desired application window to
     make it the active window.

*    Click the application icon in the Dock - all
     open applications have an icon in the Dock,
with an up-arrow underneath.

Q. How do I switch mouse button functions for left-handed users?
A. When using a two-button mouse with a left-handed user, it can be awkward to use the left button. Mac OS 10.4 Tiger allows a user to change the mouse button functions, so that the right mouse button takes over the functions of the left one. Here’s how:
1. Go to the Apple menu and choose System Preferences.
2. Click on Keyboard and Mouse.
3. Click on the Mouse tab, and under Primary Mouse button, click on Right.

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Web Browser

Q. Is there a way to alphabetize the Favorites list in Internet Explorer?
A. If your list of Internet Explorer bookmarks or Favorites is growing ever longer, it can be difficult to locate desired sites. To put the list in alphabetical order for quicker site retrieval:

  1. Go to the Favorites menu and highlight one of the sites on the list.
  2. Right-click on the highlighted site and select Sort by Name in the drop-down menu which appears. Your list is now in alphabetical order.

Q. How do I move a frequently-used site to the top of the Favorites menu in Internet Explorer?
A. To quickly change the position of a site name on the Favorites list in Internet Explorer, just press and drag on the name and move it up or down to the desired spot on the list.

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Microsoft PowerPoint

Q. What are some keyboard shortcuts to use during PowerPoint presentations?
A. F5 key: Start presentation.
Right Arrow key: Go to next slide or build.
Left Arrow key: Go to previous slide or build.
Home key: Go to first slide.
End key: Go to last slide

Q. How do I export Powerpoint slides as image files to use in other applications?
A. If you’d like to export a single slide from a PowerPoint presentation to import into other applications such as Movie Maker or iMovie:
1. Highlight the slide you want to export in the Slide Sorter view of PowerPoint. If the Slide Sorter isn't visible, choose View - Slide Sorter from the menu.
2. Next, choose File - Save As. Select a name for the file and change the Save as Type from .ppt to an image format like GIF, JPG or PNG. Click on Save. After you save, PowerPoint will display the option to export the entire slideshow as individual images or only the current slide.

 

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