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

Walter Jackson48, I can't thank you enough! 😘

nimblenomad said:Look, I’m absolutely hopeless when it comes to managing my time, so I wasn't exactly planning on starting a whole thread about this... but here we are. I've been scouring the internet and various forums looking for tutorials on how to handle formulas in Word... basically, I'm working on my senior thesis and I know how to type a vector like "a" with that little arrow sitting over it... but how on earth do you write a vector like "ab" where the arrow is centered perfectly between the 'a' and the 'b'? I hope you guys get what I'm driving at, because if I don't figure this out soon, I am actually going to lose my mind... THANKS SO MUCH!

Check out this

If you're feeling up for a little workaround: just pop "ab" into a text box, then go into the Drawing tool, grab an arrow, and float it right over the "ab" inside that same box—after that, you can just hide the box borders by setting the fill/line color to white.

nimblenomad said:I’ve always been pretty terrible when it comes to managing my time—not that I was looking for a specific topic here—but I’ve been scouring all sorts of online tutorials and forums regarding how to write formulas in Word... essentially, I’m working on my senior thesis and I know how to denote a vector like "a" with that little arrow sitting right above it... however, how on earth do you write a vector "ab" where the arrow actually spans the middle, positioned perfectly between the a and the b? I really hope you guys get what I'm asking, because I feel like I'm going to lose my mind if I can't figure this out... THANKS SO MUCH!

In the Equation editor, you should find vector notations in two different toolbars. One (where the derivatives are located) has the notation for a single-letter vector, while the other one (usually the bottom row, to the right of the integrals—at least that's how it looks on my screen) features the notation for a vector like AB.

Nicholas King said:If you look in the Equation editor, you'll find vector notations tucked away in two different toolbars. In one section (the part where you handle derivatives), there's a notation for a single-letter vector, while in another spot (on the bottom row, to the right of the integral—at least, that's how it shows up on my screen), you can find the notation for a vector like AB.

I actually stumbled upon something, though it doesn't quite look like a proper arrow since it lacks that little arrowhead tip, but it might still be useful in a pinch...

I really don't feel like messing around with 🤣, and honestly, I'm just not sure what I'm going to do about this as time goes on

Thanks so much, everyone!

I'm sure you've got it with the arrow key too. Just give it a quick search.

nimblenomad said:...but seriously, how do I write vector "ab" so the arrow is centered perfectly between a and b? Hope you guys get what I'm asking, because I'm losing my mind here if I can't figure this out... THANKS A TON!

You didn't say which version of Word you're using, but Equation has exactly what you're looking for. If that's the case, just put in a little effort and you'll find it. 😉

nimblenomad said:I finally tracked one down, though it doesn't quite look like an actual arrow—it's missing that specific pointed tip—but I suppose it'll get the job done somehow...

I honestly can't bring myself to mess around with 🤣 right now, and frankly, I have no idea what my long-term plan is for this whole thing
.
Thanks a million, everyone

Just click that gray box to select it, then grab the corner and drag it down and to the right. That should give you the proper arrow shape you're looking for.

Hey, we're all just riding on someone else's coattails here, so the least we can do is say hello to the author, right?

I've got a massive headache on my hands. I'm running Microsoft Office 2003, 2007, and 2010 all at once (and honestly, don't even ask me why that's happening). I finally decided to just stick with 2003, but for some reason, 2007 and 2010 are being total jerks and won't uninstall. I've tried every trick in the book that I know of and nothing is working. Any ideas? Help!

Well, you definitely took the wrong turn there 🤣

So, tell me—what exactly have you tried so far, and why isn't the uninstall working? What kind of error message are you getting?

man, stop messing around with that ancient stuff, just pick 2010 😁

I ended up sticking with 2003 because it loads faster than anything else—and honestly, I’m not one of those people who gets all worked up about a new UI or whatever, plus I’m clearly having a nightmare trying to get 2010 to work.
"The language of the installation pack is not supported by this system," if I remember my typing correctly... yeah, same exact headache with both 2007 and 2010.
Man, I'd kill to actually get 2010 running, so please, someone help me out! 😁

Look, just pass this off to a buddy who actually knows their way around this stuff, or maybe a friend of a friend? It shouldn't be this hard to find someone who can help—I mean, in a place like America, everyone seems to know someone, right?
Working with version 10 is honestly so much smoother.

p.s. try typing that error code straight into Google and see what comes up. There are probably a dozen different ways to fix it.

Benjamin Wilson7 said:Walter Jackson48, we're basically riding on someone else's coattails here; the least we can do is give credit where credit is due.

Look, I just finished reading your post, and frankly, I have no idea whose "coattails" I’m even riding if all I did was point someone toward the right arrow... But while we're on the subject, let me tell you something: true knowledge isn't about memorizing every little detail until you can recite it from memory; real knowledge is knowing exactly where to find the answer when you need it. And being helpful? That means offering up that solution to someone else. We shouldn't be obsessing over who originally came up with an idea, because this forum isn't some high-stakes competition—it's a place for people to help one another out. At least, that’s how I see it. Anyway, if I stepped in the wrong on this one, I’m more than willing to admit it.

Does Microsoft Office (either the 2003 or 2007 versions, doesn't matter) have a built-in template or some kind of option for designing and printing CD labels?

If not, what’s the easiest software out there to just whip up a CD or DVD label?

You can actually grab some templates directly through Microsoft Office online.

Though, wait—didn't you get a template or maybe a web address on those stickers to download the same thing?

Walter Jackson48 said:"Knowledge isn't about memorizing everything to know it; true knowledge is knowing exactly where to find the answer."
And if I ever mess up, I'm always ready to apologize.

That definitely isn't what knowledge means. People who think like that usually barely scrape by with Cs in college. "Omnia mea mecum porto" basically just means you're carrying your whole library around with you.

You're just spreading bad vibes with an attitude like that. Just relax and take a page out of Julius Caesar's book. What apology? To whom? Who even asked for one? Do you even know who wrote these instructions? Try digging through the PDF history—that's where the solution is (just like on the linked page). But hey, look at me, being all smart now! Not really! And don't get so worked up; it’s honestly not worth it.

I could really use some help here.

I'm trying to put together a presentation that involves multiple categories. Each category needs its own subcategory and then a block of explanatory text. For instance, I have seven main concepts, each with three sub-points, and each of those needs a longer description.

So, here's the thing. I tried mapping everything out in Excel, but it’s just become way too massive and cluttered to look at. Does anyone know of a program that uses drop-down menus or maybe those little pop-up info bubbles? I wonder if something like this can be built within PowerPoint or perhaps another Microsoft Office tool.

Anyway, I'd be super grateful for any suggestions you might have! If I haven't quite made myself clear, please let me know what else you need to know and I'll try to be more specific.

Thanks, everyone!

Austin Young6 said:I need to build a presentation with multiple categories. Each category needs its own subcategory and some explanatory text.

You didn't mention what this thing is actually for. Is someone presenting this to a crowd, or is it just for you to use personally?

You could whip up a PowerPoint presentation using hyperlinks directly in PowerPoint, or just build a classic HTML webpage with a sidebar menu and links. You could use Dreamweaver or even FrontPage for that, then package it all into a Website like THIS example.

The main thing is making sure your hierarchy is solid.

I’ve been tinkering with this one document for over two years now—constantly deleting, rewriting, and reshaping it—and it’s starting to get a bit cluttered. Every time I go to Select Style, I’m greeted by a massive list of styles I used months ago and then discarded, yet they stubbornly cling to the menu.
How can I scrub those ghost styles from my list?
I took a look in Format/Style (in use), where it shows me this mess: Header, Normal, and Heading 1 through 9
How do I get rid of the ones that aren't actually being used right now?
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