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The Ultimate Tech System for VAs
The Ultimate Tech System for VAs Congratulations! You have started out in business. You have decided what to call yourself and now your thoughts turn to how you are going to work and what you need to work with/on. I am often asked : What kind of computer should I get...
Virtual Assistants – How to sort your data – FAST
You have a mega spreadsheet. Loads and loads of data. It has taken you ages to compile it for your client. As you finish, panic sets in. Adding the data was easy. What if the client asks you to provide it sorted in a particular way? What is the fastest way to sort...
Help! Word ate my document? Did it Autosave?
Recently I have been asked about getting back lost documents a few times. It is all to do with AutoSave, OneDrive and Office 365. Let me set the scene. You are working on a project and have a series of documents to create. You create the first one, save it and then go...
Virtual Assistants – Do you get asked to research things?
Research So your client has asked you to research a topic. Maybe it is to find out about a particular item or perhaps they need you to research freight or Excel You can use Researcher in Word to get started. Using Researcher in Word If you have an Office 365...
Why I became a VA
Guest post Series Hi, I’m Jacqueline Leake and I am a VA based in Nuneaton, North Warwickshire. Generally, most VA’s have chosen to be a freelancer to fit our lifestyles around the need to work. I am no different, I am a carer for my Mum who lives with me and...
How to use Smart Lookup
Why use Smart Lookup? When you are working on a document and want to get a definition or some more information about something, use Smart Lookup to add that extra dimension. In Word you will find Smart Lookup on the References Ribbon in the Research group (I will talk...
How to control spacing after paragraphs
Today's Tip– Space after Paragraphs Before I dig in, this tip is the same for both Windows and Mac versions of Word. Let me set the scene. You are doing some work in Word, and you need to have more line spaces between each paragraph. What we tend to do, is to press...
How to Draw on your Word Document
How to draw on your Word document Today's tip is for those of you who use a touch screen device. That may be a touch screen laptop like a Microsoft Surface or Surface Pro, or an HP with a touch screen or a Lenovo – you get the idea. A laptop that can be used with a...
How to use Find and Replace Formatting in Word
How to Use Find and Replace in Word Now most people know that you can use Find and Replace in Word to find a word and replace it with something else. Particularly useful if you have misspelled a word throughout your document and need to correct it everywhere. Did you...
VAs – Create Word Templates to speed things up!
Templates Templates help speed up work. A template will hold formatting such as Styles and Margins plus any standard text that is needed. Templates can be created for many purposes, a standard letter, a letter of engagement, anything that will save you time if you...
VAs – Tired of switching between documents? Show them Side by Side
You know the drill. You are working on a document or rather there are two. You need to copy some things from one to the other maybe its text or a picture. Normally you would have the two documents open and use the task bar to switch between them. Did you know you can...
VAs – Start a presentation from a template
Templates In PowerPoint Now you may be thinking – I know you can start a presentation from a template, but did you know that Microsoft provides lots of ready made design templates both locally on your computer and online? No? Well let me show you. In PowerPoint click...
VAs – Conditional Formatting can show the way in Excel
You are a busy VA – that's a given! A client has asked you to show her what her data means. What is the top value in the list of sales? Can you see values that meet a condition? Conditional Formatting will show the way. What is Conditional Formatting? Conditional...
Cell formatting in Excel – things a VA needs to know!
I was recently asked about formatting cells in Excel, specifically about changing the colour of the cells. This made me think that perhaps it's time to write a blog post about cell formatting, so here goes. Why Format? Formatting does several things: Makes certain...
How I became a VA
Guest Post Series Today's guest post is from Jo Brianti of JLB Support Solutions -continuing my series of posts by VAs for VAs. In today's post Jo tells us how it all began and what she does. You can get in touch with Jo by visiting her website JLBSupport Solutions or...
VAs- Customise the Quick Access Toolbar to save time!
What is the Quick Access Toolbar (QAT) ? Customise the Quick Access Toolbar to save time - it is a big statement. Read on to see why. The Quick Access Toolbar is one of my all-time favourite things in Microsoft Office. You can build your own toolbar for quick access...
9 Questions VAs ask about Office 365
I was recently interviewed for an online summit. It was a great Q & A session about Office 365. Here are some of the questions I was asked along with my answers. What is Office 365 ? Simply put, Office 365 is a way of getting access to Microsoft Office software...
About Shelley
