How to Create an Excel Spreadsheet and Import Data from a Text File: Brief Screencast + Tutorial

Here’s a brief walk through on how to import data from a text file and create an Excel spreadsheet with the data in it.
1. Open Excel
2. Click on the Import button or go to File—>Import
3. Click the Text File option.
4. Click Import—> Choose the text file with the information
5. Click the Get Data button
6. Step one of the Import Wizard–Under Original Data type, choose Fixed Width.
7. Click next
8. Step two-Drag the lines to match up with your data (you should not have to move any lines). Click Next.
9. Step three- Under Column Data format, choose Text. Choose new spreadsheet file.
10. Click Finish

Screencast: How to Create a Spreadsheet from a Test File with Data

-Angel Brady

 

Screencast On Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility Pack

 The link below is to a very brief screencast introducing the Microsoft Office  2007 Compatibility Pack. The Compatibility Pack is for users that receive a new MS Office 2007 document and they are running an older version of Office (97-2003). By default, a user of the older Office 2007 suite can not open a new file format from Office 2007 (docx, xlsx, or a pptx). The Compatibility Pack will allow them to open the file, edit it, and save it out as an Office 2007 file format or an older file format (like doc, ppt, or xls). Check out the link below to learn more.
http://www.screencast.com/t/vWzrWVof

-Angel Brady

Embedding an Excel Spreadsheet in a Word Doc: Brief Tutorial

A co-worker today had a question about embedding an Excel spreadsheet into a Word document file. I looked into it and came up with these steps. The following steps will embed the spreadsheet into the Word document, plus anytime you update the spreadsheet, those changes will be reflected in the Word doc. Here’s the steps:

1. Open the Excel spreadsheet
2. Select the cells you want to be embedded
3. Click the Copy button
4. Switch to the Word document
5. Click the insertion point on the Word doc where you want the spreadsheet to be
6. Click Edit, Paste Special.
7. Select Microsoft Excel Worksheet Object.
8. On the left hand side of the Paste Special box, choose the Paste Link radio button (make sure your Excel Spreadsheet is closed at this time)
9. Click Ok.

-Angel Brady

How to Create a Chart from Data in Excel

MS Excel is software that allows you create spreadsheets. Did you know that with Excel, you can use that data in the spreadsheet to create charts and graphs? You can use charts and graphs as another way to represent and display your data. Follow the brief tutorial below to see how you can create graphs and charts using MS Excel.

1. Create a worksheet that includes the data you want to put in a chart (it’s best to use numerical data like numbers, dates, years vs. things like places, people, products, etc.- you want to show the progress of something over time, for example).

2. Select the cells in the worksheet which you want to use for the
chart.

3. On the Insert tab, Click Charts.

4. Choose a chart type (column, bar, lie, pie, scatter, area and so on)

5. Choose a chart subtype (clustered, stacked, 100% stacked and so on. You also can choose custom type to customize your chart).

 

6. Click Next button..

7. Click Series (you can add or remove series, edit series’ name and value, edit category (x) axis label).

8. Click Next button.

9. Click Title (you can edit chart title, category (x) axis and value (y) axis).

10. Click Axes (you can edit primary axis)

11. Click Gridlines (you can edit gridlines)

12. Click Next button.

13. Choose place of chart, as new sheet or as object in.

14. Click Finish button.

Now you will have a chart that represents your data.

 

Robin Lu

How to convert a .docx file to .doc file

Some instructors and students have been encountering some issues with the new MS Office 2007 .docx file format. They can not open their files in older versions of MS Office or Open Office. If you need to edit or read your .docx file in an older version of MS Word, try converting the file to a .doc by using the tools and directions below.

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats
–Brief Description:
Open, edit, and save documents, workbooks, and presentations in the file formats new to Microsoft Office Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007.

Download: Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint

Works 2000 Converter for Word 97/2000 Users
–Brief Description: The Works 2000 converter allows you to open a Works 2000 .wps file in Word and to save a Word document as a Works 2000 .wps file.

Download: Works 2000 Converter for Word 97/2000 Users

Office File Converter Pack–Brief Description
This download provides file converters and image filters for Microsoft Office programs, from Microsoft Office 97 to Microsoft Office 2003.

Download: Office File Converter Pack

For Mac OS X users, you can download the following converter tools to convert a .docx file into a readable format:

Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter 0.2

This will convert the file into a rich text format.

Microsoft Office Open XML File Format Converter for Mac 0.1.1 (Beta) This will convert the file into a rich text format.

–Robin Lu

Audio: LeMasney on How to use Powerpoint at Rider University Media Server

Audio: LeMasney on How to use Powerpoint at Rider University Media Server
I gave a presentation on How To Use Powerpoint today to a semi-packed room in the new Faculty Staff Training center in FA 113. Powerpoint was discussed in some detail, but of course, we talked about alternatives to Powerpoint, ways to avoid death by Powerpoint, Google Docs newest addition, Presently, and related topics. Take a look at Rider technology training site (log in as a guest if you wish) at http://www.rider.edu/training and click on the How to Use Powerpoint course to follow along with the audio if you want the whole effect. - John.

Audio: LeMasney FOSS Presentation to Brookdale Computer Users Group

Here is the audio from my presentation on Friday night on Free and Open Source Software to the Brookdale Computer Users Group. We had a fantastic time, and I can’t wait to go back. We had a lot of laughs, we all learned a lot, and I feel like I have a lot of new friends out by the shore. Thanks to BCUG for being so welcoming!

http://media.rider.edu/authors/lemasney/2007_lemasney_bcug_foss.mp3

RedDot 6.5: New Features Extend Usability and Simplify Content Delivery

I quite literally almost choked when I saw this. Saving to CMS from Word? Editing from Firefox interface!! Yay!

New Features Extend Usability and Simplify Content Delivery

RedDot, Now Even More User-Centric

With RedDot’s improved SmartEdit, content contributors and other business users can create and edit content using Microsoft Word and save changes directly to CMS, eliminating the need for any CMS training.

A new Mozilla Firefox user interface allows RedDot CMS users to work on any platform supported by the open-source browser, including Macintosh, Linux and Unix based systems.

OpenDocument Fellowship - Resources - FAQ

Given all of the hullaballo over MA’s decision to use OpenDocument rather than MS Word’s Document format, I thought it might be nice to give a link to a FAQ about OpenDocument. Enjoy!

OpenDocument Fellowship - Resources - FAQ

What is OpenDocument?

OASIS Open Document Format for Office Applications (OpenDocument or ODF) is:

* An open, XML-based file format.
* An open standard from the OASIS standards group.

OpenDocument covers the features required by text, spreadsheets, charts, and graphical documents. Some background information on the format can be read in “History of OpenDocument, From birth to world movement”, by Daniel Carrera. A non-technical overview of the format is found in “Everybody’s Guide to OpenDocument” by Marco Fioretti.

The short name of the format is OpenDocument.

Jonathan Schwartz’s Weblog: The World Changes this Week

Sun is about to make a major announcement about a partnership with Google. This blog entry from Sun’s CEO is mouth watering for lovers of Open Source.

Jonathan Schwartz’s Weblog

But there are a couple of trends running counter to this looming force - especially among consumers. The trend is away from the upgrade cycle that benefits this traditional notion of distribution. For example, when’s the last time you upgraded your set top box? The answer’s probably never, and suggests that at a certain level, convenience has more value to consumers than the hassle of upgrading. Or ask a teenager which they’d rather have, a new iPod Nano, or a new PC, I’ll bet you money it’s the former (underlying the global trend that suggests more of the world will experience the internet through handsets than PC’s).

Or finally, as I did last week at a keynote, ask the audience which they’d rather give up - their browser, or all the rest of their desktop apps. (Unanimously, they’d all give up the latter without a blink.) All these trends show a slowing upgrade appetite calling into question the power of traditional distribution. In stark contrast to the value of volume, community and participation

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