Microsoft Office 2003
The Office 2003 Environment
The Office 2003 environment includes features that are aimed at making all of the Office programs more user-friendly and efficient. The following features will be explained in this document:
Task Pane
Upon starting any Office 2003 program, the Task Pane is present along the right side of the window. This eliminates the need for frequent trips to the menu bar by putting commonly used functions all in one area. With the Task Pane, you can easily and efficiently create a new document, open an existing document, add clip art, or apply styles.
Showing/Hiding the Task Pane
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From the View menu, select Task Pane
The Task Pane is showing if the menu choice is checked.
Viewing Other Task Panes
Depending on what feature you are using, you may want to view another Task Pane.
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On the current Task Pane, click the down arrow
The Other Task Panes pull-down list appears. -
From the Other Task Panes pull-down list, select the desired Task Pane
Moving the Task Pane
By default, the Task Pane is located on the right side of the window in a docked state, but it can be easily moved to another location.
The Task Pane can be either docked or floating. When the Task Pane is docked, it becomes part of the program window. When the Task Pane is floating, it is contained in its own window.
To move the Task Pane:
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Hold your cursor over the title bar
The pointer now becomes a crossbar.
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Using the crossbar pointer, click and drag the Task Pane to the desired location
OPTIONAL: To dock the Task Pane, drag it off the left or right edge of the screen -
Release the mouse button
Smart Tags
Like the Task Pane, Smart Tags put commonly used functions within easy reach. A Smart Tag is a button containing a menu that appears after you perform a certain action. For example, after you paste text, a Smart Tag appears with formatting options for that text; however, the tag will disappear when you begin typing text. Smart Tags also appear with the AutoCorrect feature and when errors occur in Excel formulas. Overall, Smart Tags help to inform you of the options available in different situations when using Office 2003.
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To reveal your Smart Tag options, click the tag
OR
Press [Alt]+[Shift]+[F10]
Smart Tags and AutoCorrect
When Word AutoCorrects your text, a Smart Tag allows you to change or turn off the AutoCorrect feature. Your options and the implications are listed here using the example of automatically capitalizing the first letter of sentences. (For more information on AutoCorrect, see AutoCorrect: Corrections & Replacements.)
| Option | Implication |
|---|---|
| Undo Automatic Corrections | Selecting this option affects only this AutoCorrect occurrence in the current document. |
| Stop Auto-capitalizing First Letter of Sentences | Selecting this option corrects only this occurrence and turns off this option for all other occurrences in all documents. |
| Control AutoCorrect Options... | Selecting this option takes you to the AutoCorrect dialog box, where you can make choices from multiple AutoCorrect options for all documents. |
Save As and Open Dialog Boxes
The Save As and Open dialog boxes include a Places Bar containing shortcuts to locations where you are likely to save files. Using the Places Bar, you may go directly to a save location rather than navigating through layers of folders. The list within the Places Bar includes the following:
My Recent Documents
Displays recently used folders and files in your profile on the C: drive
Desktop
Selects the Desktop in your profile on the C: drive
My Documents
Selects the Documents folder on your H: drive
My Computer
Displays all hard drives and network drives
My Network Places
Selects the My Network Places folder in your profile
To select a shortcut from the Places Bar:
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From the list of locations in the Places Bar, click the appropriate icon
The Help Task Pane
The Office 2003 Help system includes BACK and FORWARD buttons and a text-based Assistance pane. To get to the Help system, open the Help task pane. For information on using Office 2003 Help, refer to Using Microsoft Office Help.
Displaying the Help Task Pane: Keyboard Option
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To open the Help task pane, press [F1]
The Help task pane appears.
Displaying the Help Task Pane: Button Option
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To open the Help task pane, on the Standard toolbar, click MICROSOFT OFFICE HELP
The Help task pane appears.
Displaying the Help Task Pane: Menu Option
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From the Help menu, select Microsoft Office Word Help
The Help task pane appears.
Displaying the Help Task Pane: Office Assistant Option
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From the Help menu, select Show the Office Assistant
The Office Assistant appears. -
Click the OFFICE ASSISTANT
The What would you like to do? dialog box appears.
NOTE: The Help task pane does not appear until you submit a search question. Then, search results are displayed in the Help task pane.
