Microsoft Office Q&A: General Discussion (Word, Excel, PowerPoint...)

granitenomad said:The second dataset is basically just the first one with some extra stuff tacked on. So they aren't equal, even though they share all the same elements.
It's all numbers, anyway. I can sort them by size if that actually helps.

Look, just go watch some tutorials first and figure out how you can actually use them to fix your own mess.

Could probably work. Conditional Formatting. That's the stuff. Just highlight those duplicates and then wipe 'em out. Sort by color. Somehow.

Maybe you can pull some stuff together to make it work. Unique or Duplicates. Again. Plus the Advanced Sort.

I was wondering, what would you say is the best software for inputting addresses—you know, for homes, businesses, or just building up a solid database? My main goal is to be able to import those addresses into Word 2007 and print them out onto labels for mailing purposes. Is Excel actually a good tool for this, or is there something a bit more robust you’d recommend? I’m looking to set it up with one column for the address, one for the email, and a third for the phone number... and ideally, I want to be able to pull each of those columns into Word to print my labels (may + spies 090217).. thanks so much for any help!

granitenomad said:Hey there! Quick Excel question:

I've got two different "groups" of data sitting in two separate columns.

The thing is, the second group actually includes everything from the first group, plus some extra stuff. So the groups aren't equal in size, but they share those common elements.

Is there a way to "sort" these two columns so that the matching items line up on the exact same rows? And where the second column has those extra pieces of data, could I just have blank rows in the first column?

Or, at the very least, can I get the matching data onto the same rows and just push all the leftovers to the bottom?

It's all numbers, so I could easily sort them by value if that helps anything.

Thanks a million!

Since the second group contains everything from the first, try this: add a helper column with serial numbers for your first group. Copy those numbers over to the second group, but leave the cells blank for any new data you're adding to that second set.
In that second group, you can manually insert cells between the matched data points wherever you need to—just make sure those new spots don't have a serial number assigned.

Then, simply sort both groups based on that serial number column. This should force all those extra entries in the second group to drop down to the end.
It’s pretty straightforward, provided you set up the first group before you start adding the extras to the second one.

Kyle Johnson2 As follows:
To begin with, I would suggest reviewing the tutorials first to determine how they might be applied to your specific situation...

Perhaps you could combine a few elements to see if that yields anything useful... Unique... Either... Duplicates... Along with using Advanced Sort...

I believe this will be helpful, thank you... 🙂

Benjamin Wilson7 said:Since the second group includes all the data from the first, you should set it up by adding a column of serial numbers for the first set. Copy those over to the second group, but leave the serial number column blank for any new entries you add to that second group.
In the second group, you can insert cells wherever you need to between the bolded data from the first group, just don't include a serial number there....

I didn't quite catch what was meant by the bolded part... 🤷

David Flores78 said:I just need to be able to pull addresses into Word 2007 and print them onto labels to mail stuff out.

Just look up a tutorial on using Excel and Word together. You can easily print those addresses onto standard US Letter adhesive label sheets.

- How to make address labels in Word

granitenomad said:I didn't quite catch what you meant by the bolding part.🤷

Anyway, doesn't matter now since you got it sorted! Maybe I wasn't being super clear either?

David Flores78 said:I am trying to figure out which software is actually the best choice for entering addresses—you know, residential ones, business addresses, or anything similar—to build up a solid database. My main priority is being able to import those addresses into Word 2007 so I can print them onto labels for mailing purposes. Is Excel a decent option here, or would you suggest something more robust? Ideally, I’d love to have one column for the physical address, one for the email, and a third for the phone number... and I need to be able to pull each of those columns into Word to print out my labels (may + spies 090217).. thanks for the help!

Well, first off, you didn't specify how you intend to input all this data into your table—are you looking to do this via a web interface (like an online form) or simply through the Microsoft Office suite? If you are planning on sticking strictly to Microsoft Office, then here is what I think:

You could certainly just create a custom table directly within Word if you prefer. Alternatively, you can set up a new document and utilize the mail merge feature to automatically pull all that data from your table into a new page, which you can then easily print out!

David Flores78 said:Is Excel actually the right tool here, or should I be looking at something else?

The only thing Excel can't help me with is in the bedroom... what a shame! If I could just program one "macro" onto a button, I'd be a total legend. But hey, for managing your addresses? Honestly, I'd give anything for that kind of utility.

Benjamin Wilson7 said:It doesn't really matter now that you've sorted it out. Perhaps I didn't fully grasp the situation myself...

Regardless, thanks 🙂

So, how do you actually write above the top page borders? Like, I want the book title on the left page and the chapter title on the right side.
Is it just a matter of inserting a text box?

Ethan Palmer69 said:How can I get text to sit above the top page borders—basically, I want the book title on the left-hand pages and the chapter title on the right?
Should I just use a text box?

You really need to brush up on some terminology here—specifically headers and the "different odd and even pages" setting.

And, honestly, you’re probably going to have to wrestle with sections too, which—if I’m being perfectly honest—isn't exactly the most intuitive feature in Microsoft Office. 🙂

Ethan Palmer69 said:how do I get text above the top page borders? like, book title on the left page and chapter title on the right?
should I just use a text box?

If you want a specific chapter title showing up on every page, you’ve gotta mess with section breaks like @LordByron suggested. Honestly? It’s a massive headache.
There's an easier way to pull chapter names into the Header using a FIELD, then you can just toss the book title in there normally. Check this link out:

- How to insert chapter titles separately into a document header

Quick question about Word.
I need to turn in my senior thesis tomorrow, but I'm totally stuck on the actual content.
I can't get these numbers to align at the end. It looks like a complete disaster and it's honestly an eyesore.
I tried getting Word to automate this for me, but it just won't cooperate. My main headache is trying to get the numbers to line up perfectly on the right side. They’re always wonky—either one number sticks out or they're all indented weirdly—even when I try using the exact same amount of periods everywhere. Hopefully, someone can figure out what I'm struggling with. 🙂

Thanks in advance. 😁

My bad. It was set to Justify, and I just needed to align it to the left.

Kyle Johnson2 won't be offended 😉
- he actually laid everything out perfectly right here

Quick question about Excel:

I’ve got a massive amount of data sitting in tables in Excel. It's all organized by columns—so you have column one, then column two, then column three, and so on. I need to take all of that and stack it into one single, massive column. Any idea how to do that? 😁

I run a small print shop here, and I keep running into these random Word docs that just refuse to print. This one today—it was downloaded from a government site—and the lady actually paid the clerk $1.25 via text just to get the file...
but nothing. Absolutely nothing. She ended up absolutely losing it on me...
The thing is, my printer works perfectly fine with everything else I throw at it.
Does anyone have any idea why this happens?

p.s.
Just to be clear—I can open it on my computer, read it, even copy and paste text from it... but it just won't print!

Amanda Doyle74 said:I run a small print shop, and I keep running into these Word docs that just refuse to print. This one today was downloaded from a government website, and the lady actually paid me $1.25 for the service...
but nothing. Absolutely nothing. She ended up losing it and flying off at me like a hurricane...
My printer works perfectly fine with everything else I throw at it.
Does anyone have an actual explanation for this?

p.s.
Just so we're clear, I can open the file on my computer and I can even copy and paste text out of it... but it still won't print...

Maybe you're running an older version of Word 🤷, maybe it was downloaded as read-only 🤷, or maybe there's some kind of security encryption on it 🤷

darksailor2 said:Quick question about Excel:

I have a ton of data organized in tables in Excel! Everything is laid out in columns—so you've got column one, then column two, then three, and so on. Now, I really need to move all those data points into one single, massive column. Any idea how to do that? 😁

12 a 44 b
- If these four pieces of data are each in their own column (A1 through D1), both of these formulas in E1 will give you the exact same result: 12a44b

Formula 1 in E1: =A1&B1&C1&D1 or maybe
Formula 2 in E1:=CONCATENATE(A1;B1;C1;D1)
- Once you type it into E1, just click and drag it down the column.

- With that first formula, if you want some breathing room, you can add spaces like this: =A1&" "&B1&" "&C1&" "&D1 => 12 a 44 b

Amanda Doyle74 said:pulled it off a government site and my wife actually paid $1.25 just to get the SMS code to download it......

Can you just upload that document here on the forum so we can see what we're dealing with?