Smart Tags

  
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Complete Tasks Quickly with Smart Tags in Office XP

Smart Tags, new for Microsoft Office XP, make it easier for you to complete some of the most common Office tasks and provide you with more control over automatic features.

For example, when you paste text from Microsoft FrontPage® into Microsoft Word, the formatting of your FrontPage Web page might not be what you want in your Word document. In the past, you would have had to paste your text and then apply the FrontPage styles to the new text by going to the Style box, scrolling down, and selecting the style to apply. Now, when you paste content into Word, the Paste Options button appears alongside the selected text that you have just pasted into your destination program. This allows you to quickly choose between keeping the source formatting or pasting in text only.

Paste Options button

You do not have to complete any additional steps to make the Smart Tags appear or disappear in Microsoft Excel, FrontPage, Microsoft Outlook®, Microsoft PowerPoint®, or Word. They appear automatically when you perform certain actions (such as pasting or AutoCorrection) and remain in place until you begin another action. For example, when you  complete a paste operation, the Paste Options button remains in place alongside your text until you begin typing new text.

Smart Tag Actions button 

Smart Tag Actions button

In Word, Excel, and Outlook, the Smart Tag Actions button recognizes your typing (such as a name or address in Word, or a stock ticker symbol in Excel) and lets you associate information and actions with that entry. A Smart Tag is indicated by a series of purple dots under the text. For example, if you type the name James Smith, in Word or Outlook (when using Word as your e-mail editor) you can use the Smart Tag Actions button to create a new Contact in Outlook, send an e-mail message, schedule a meeting, or find driving directions to the address.

For a person's name, the options offered are:

bulletSend e-mail
bulletSchedule a meeting
bulletOpen a Contact
bulletAdd a new Contact
bulletInsert an address
bulletRemove the Smart Tag
bulletSmart Tag options (this brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu)

For an address, the options offered are:

bulletAdd to Contacts
bulletDisplay a map
bulletDisplay driving directions
bulletRemove the Smart Tag
bulletSmart Tag options (this brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu)

In Excel, if you type a stock ticker symbol, the options offered are:

bulletStock quote from MSN® MoneyCentral™ bulletCompany report from MSN MoneyCentral bulletRecent news on MSN MoneyCentral bulletInsert a refreshable stock price bulletRemove the Smart Tag bulletSmart Tag options (this brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu)
To turn off Smart Tags
  1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options....
  2. Click the Smart Tags tab.
  3. Clear the Show Smart Tag Actions buttons check box.
  4. Click OK. 

Note   Turning off any of the Smart Tag buttons will make that action unavailable across all the Office programs where it is an option. If you turn off the AutoCorrect button in Word, the AutoCorrect button will also be turned off in PowerPoint.

Error checking

The Error button appears when an entry in a cell violates a set of rules for formulas. For example, if you enter a calculation that calls for dividing by zero, a green mark appears in the upper-left corner of the cell. When you click the marked cell, the Error button appears.

Error button

When you click the down arrow, you are presented with several options. The first two options are the most likely fix for your error. The other five options are standard actions for formulas.

Error button options

To turn off error checking
  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Click the Error Checking tab.
  3. Clear the Enable background error checking check box.
  4. Click OK.

AutoCorrect Options button

In PowerPoint, Word, and Outlook, the AutoCorrect Options button appears when an automatic correction is made by the program, and you backspace or position your pointer over the automatic correction. For example, you have finished entering a numbered list, but the AutoCorrect feature numbers the next line too, and you then backspace to delete the number. The AutoCorrect Options button appears and offers you three options:

bulletUndo the change (back to original typing) or redo the AutoCorrect. bulletCreate an exception for that particular occurrence. bulletControl your AutoCorrect options by adjusting the selections in the AutoCorrect dialog box.
To turn off the AutoCorrect Options button
In Word
  1. On the Tools menu click AutoCorrect Options....
  2. Click the AutoCorrect tab.
  3. Clear the Show AutoCorrect Options buttons check box.
  4. Click OK.
In PowerPoint
  1. On the Tools menu click AutoCorrect Options....
  2. Click the AutoCorrect tab.
  3. Clear the Show AutoCorrect Options buttons check box.
  4. Click OK.

AutoFit Options button

In PowerPoint, when you type or paste text into a PowerPoint placeholder, PowerPoint will automatically resize the text to fit the placeholder. The AutoFit Options button appears and offers you three options:

bulletAutomatically fit the typed or pasted text to the size of the placeholder. bulletStop fitting text size to the placeholder. bulletControl your AutoCorrect options by adjusting the selections in the AutoCorrect dialog box.
To turn off the AutoFit features in PowerPoint
  1. On the Tools menu click AutoCorrect Options....
  2. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  3. Clear the AutoFit check boxes.
  4. Click OK.

Automatic Layout Options button

If you paste into a slide a picture or some text that doesn't fit the original layout, PowerPoint will then automatically offer you a possible layout that accommodates the inserted object, then the Automatic Layout Options button appears and offers you the choice of undoing the Automatic Layout action, or stopping the Automatic Layout action altogether.

To turn off Automatic Layout in PowerPoint
  1. On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options....
  2. Click the AutoFormat As You Type tab.
  3. Clear the Automatic layout for inserted objects check box.
  4. Click OK.

Paste Options button

In Word, FrontPage, PowerPoint, Outlook, and Excel, when you paste text, the Paste Options button appears and offers you various choices depending on the program. For example, in Word you are offered the choice of keeping the source formatting, matching the destination formatting, or applying a different style or format (the Styles and Formatting box in the Task Pane automatically opens). The available options depend on the type of content you are pasting, the program you are pasting from, and the format of the text into which you are pasting. All these programs offer the choice of keeping source content or matching destination styles.

To turn off the Paste Options button
  1. On the Tools menu, click Options.
  2. Click the Edit tab.
  3. Clear the Show Paste Options buttons check box.
  4. Click OK.

AutoFill Options button

In Excel, when you fill cells, the AutoFill Options button appears and offers you four choices:

bulletCopy cells bulletFill series bulletFill formatting only bulletFill without formatting
To turn off AutoFill in Excel
  1. On the Tools menu click Options.
  2. Click the Edit tab.
  3. Clear the Show Paste Options buttons check box.
  4. Click OK.

More information

For more information about Smart Tags and option buttons see Help for the Microsoft Office program you are using.

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