How to use Microsoft Office Efficiently...

Did you know proficiency in Microsoft Office is ranked among the top three skills required for high-wage positions? In fact, it’s the only software package to appear in a recent top-20 list of proficiencies necessary for career growth.
And this productivity suite isn’t just for professionals. From planning budgets to creating cookbooks, there are literally thousands of uses for Microsoft Word, PowerPoint and Excel (not to mention Outlook, Publisher, OneNote and Access). Even if you forgot to add an Office suite to your PC when you bought it, all Lenovo systems come with a Microsoft Office trial you can use to explore the latest features.
Whether you’re just starting your trial or have been using the productivity suite for years, you probably haven’t yet tapped into all that Office has to offer. For example, many users don’t realize you can:

1. Make Artistic Creations in EXCEL

Number-crunching spreadsheets, colorful charts, illustrative graphs and…art? Believe it or not, there’s a movement to use Excel as an alternative to more expensive graphic editing software. Granted, most of us aren’t likely to produce share-worthy masterpieces. But there are plenty of ways to use this versatile software to create visually-appealing planners, budgets, calendars, schedules, inventories and other productivity-boosting tools. Although they may not all be works of art, Excel can be a great way to enjoy work as art.

“I manage all of our personal finances, rental properties and my business—including cash flow and tax accounting—in Excel,” says photographer Holly Baumann Ambuehl, who uses bar graphs and pie charts to visualize progress. “I've created templates that can be reset every year.”

2. Plan a Party in WORD

When was the last time you made an invitation using a template from the Office collection? How about decorative banners? The latest versions of Microsoft Word are packed with an abundance of fill-in-the-blank layouts for menus, place cards, thank-you cards and more. And the options are far from limited to event planning designs. Pre-loaded versions of Word come with professional-looking templates for everything from reports to resumes to trip planners. Once you get comfortable customizing pre-set patterns, you might even discover your own methods for moving text boxes, adjusting fonts and merging shapes into polished, professional-looking documents. That’s what MBA prep coach Shannon Demko does:
“It's not as easy, but Word [can be used] for doing a short business process analysis/flowchart if you don't have access to Visio or another program for it.”                                                       

3. Edit Photos and Graphics in POWERPOINT

Most photos—even compositionally good ones—can benefit from a few touchups, but not everyone has the time to learn advanced photo editing software. That’s where PowerPoint can help. Once you’ve inserted an image, it’s relatively easy to sharpen it, brighten it, crop it, change colors, adjust contrasts and add artistic effects—all within PowerPoint. If you want to get really creative, you can even use the built-in Shapes tool to combine, color, shade and shadow different shapes to create your own custom illustrations.
 “When I'm in a pinch for time and need a flyer fast, I use PowerPoint (instead of designing in Photoshop),” says business owner Ashley Thiesen Caldwell. “The features make it pretty easy to create something on the go...and it always looks great!”

4. Enhance Your Experience with Apps

Do you need a way to easily create and share interactive web videos? Mix is designed especially for that. Are you looking for a faster way to add real-time stock prices to your spreadsheets? That’s what Stock Tile is for. From translating in Word to integrating your LinkedIn network with Outlook contacts, there are dozens of ways to add even more functionality to your standard Microsoft Office account.
You can easily sync, save and share in the cloud, too. Microsoft Office fully integrates with popular storage solutions including OneDrive, DropBox and Google Drive—all of which can be searched in seconds using Lenovo REACHit.

How to Get All the Best Microsoft Features on Your Lenovo System

If you’re still on the fence about an upcoming renewal or upgrade, answering the following questions can help you decide between a lifetime software license or yearly subscription:

Who will be using the software?

If you’re already using Excel and Word on your other PCs, another Microsoft Office license for your new system may be all you need. In that case, you can get started right away by purchasing a product key.
On the other hand, an Office 365 Home subscription offers up to five different users access on as many as five devices—a good option for home-based businesses and families with school-aged children. If you’re using a trial version, you’ll get a pop-up notice when it’s time to renew.

How will you use it?

If you rely on Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote and Outlook but don’t need Publisher or Access, Office Home & Business 2013 will likely provide everything you need.
But if you’d like to publish your own business cards or have instant access to software updates, an Office 365 subscription may be the way to go.

What devices do you use?

Do you spend most of your time on a desktop or laptop with plenty of hard drive space? Paying a one-time fee to install Office 2013 will give you lifetime access to the software on your favorite system.
Do you travel with a tablet or work remotely from a virtual office? An Office 365 subscription would give you access on multiple devices as well as a terabyte of OneDrive space to help save precious real estate on smaller systems.

Source: Lenovo Companion