Excel 2007 Quick Access Toolbar macro buttons

I ran into a strange issue today when attempting to add Excel 2007 macro shortcuts to a Quick Access toolbar saved in a shared template.  I could add the buttons and save them to the template, but as soon as I closed and re-opened Excel the buttons disappeared.  Standard built-in Excel functions worked just fine when saved to the shared template.

Even if I added a few built-in buttons, and just a single macro link, the buttons would all disappear the next time Excel was closed and re-opened.

Turns out there’s a glitch in the way Excel stores the macro name in one of the stored XML files in the template.  To correct this I needed to extract the template file (just rename the Excel macro-enabled template to a zip file then extract as you would any other compressed file), then remove the path information from the CustomUI.xml file.  Specific steps can be found in the thread here:

http://www.pcreview.co.uk/forums/thread-3834831.php

Hopefully this will be corrected by Microsoft.  Of course with the new Ribbon bars that may be easily edited in Office 2010 this may be less of an issue.

Useful Excel Shortcuts

At the speed in which business moves today, useful productivity enhancers can make the difference between getting work out the door on time and fighting with endless tight deadlines.  Certainly, we’ve all heard about software tools and programs that promise to make us twice as productive as we already are.  Oddly enough I’ve never really had one of those programs do anything but waste my time.  However, one timesaving tool I’ve never had fail me is learning how to use quick and simple keyboard shortcuts.  So, because I’m a big fan of Excel (and wanted to learn a few new keyboard shortcuts) I thought I’d share a few with you.

Another method I’ve used in the past to help me learn the “ins” and “outs” of a program is to use a quick reference guide.  For Microsoft Office programs, I’ve found the ones at Brainstorm.com to be quite good, however, you can find them at many different resellers.

E-mail Scams to Watch Out For

I ran across this article written for Tech Republic (a great source of all things technology) by  Debra Littlejohn Shinder and thought it would be helpful to many businesses. Being in IT, I’m all too familiar with the scams businesses see in their e-mail boxes every day, but I know some (many) people still get confused. So, here’s a little quick information on what to look out for when you’re reviewing your e-mail in the morning…
1. Fake Facebook “friend” messages – these are e-mail messages that look the same as when someone posts to your Facebook wall or sends you a private message.
2. Fake Messages from “The Administrator” – these are messages that come from “The Administrator” of any number of given organizations (facebook, your bank, credit card, etc.).  Here, there are two things that give away these “false” e-mails.

• First beware of the “To” address – it will be incorrect and you most likely won’t recognize any of the domain name(s).
• Secondly, if it’s not from your local IT administrator, you should immediately be wary.  Because honestly, when is the last time you had an “administrator” send you anything valid that wasn’t as simple as “server reboot tomorrow” or “turn your system off tonight”?

3. Messages that play on our fears – these are emails that feed off of current events or high profile media events a good example would be the (H1N1 virus ) Swine flu, etc.  Don’t panic, just don’t click on it.
4. Cancellation of an account Emails - these may show up even if you don’t have an account with them!  These messages are usually chocked full of spelling/grammar errors and are often sent from another country.
5. Fake “Holiday Cards”- these cards are usually very generic, rather than saying that they are from a specific person’s name they say it is from “a friend”. Be careful, because when you open them, you could be putting your computer at risk without every being aware of it! To be on the safe side, only open Holiday Cards from friends, or better yet just don’t open them at all.
6. Notice of the “Mysterious” package message – these are e-mails saying that you have an UPS, FedEx or perhaps DHL package that was undeliverable due to incorrect/incomplete address information with an attached form that they need you to complete in order to get the package to you. Just as you may suspect, there really isn’t a package at all! They want you to open the attachment so they can infect your computer with a virus. Because some people may be aware of this kind of scam, they will try and infect your computer by sending you an email with a link to a Web page to open instead.
7. Government “Threat” Emails – these can be sent to you to notify you that either the FBI or Homeland Security has been notified of your alleged involvement in terrorist activities or money laundering. Just as you may suspect from a hoax like this… they have an offer for you to avoid prosecution, which could be a payment of a few hundreds made to the Economic Financial Crimes Commission Chairman. If it would be an official threat, they would contact you in person, without asking for a payoff to buy your way out.
8. Fake “Census Survey” email – here again they will use the Federal Government to get you to respond to their emails. The Federal government does require you by law to fill out a census survey every 10 years, and yes, they may send you an online request for your participation in a census surveys, but they don’t ask for your personal information unlike email scams.
9. Abuse of “Trust” in software and hardware manufacturers – these e-mails are basically fake security warnings with a “quick fix” attachment, dubbed to look like it was sent from Microsoft or another familiar company. These “quick fixes” are really malware to fake special offers to payment requests which require you to download and install a transaction inspector module if you want to decline to have payment charged to you credit card.
10. The “Fake” You-are-a-Winner E-mail – You just won a prize, how awesome is that?  Well, the only problem is you didn’t enter into any contest to win the prize. These e-mails want you to fill out a form to claim your prize, complete with your social security number so “the value of your prize can be reported to the IRS.” Remember to check out the legitimacy of any email notification. If you need to send any sensitive information, remember to email it encrypted if you don’t have an alternative method in which to submit it.

Keep in mind, if you’re unsure just don’t open it.  It’s just that simple.  Instead, call your helpdesk, administrator, or IT manager and let them figure out whether it’s valid or not.  Trust me, they’d rather you call them than open it.

Microsoft Office 2010 – What’s New

Earlier this year Microsoft announced that Office 2010 will be released sometime in the first half of 2010 – very likely in the first quarter of 2010. With so many businesses dependent on the Office suite of products I thought it would be good to post a quick preview of what Microsoft expects to deliver in this new iteration of Office. Additionally, I’ll be posting regularly on the features and changes of each application – Word, Excel, Outlook and the rest as the weeks roll on. Presently, I thought I might provide a quick overview of the general concepts and goals behind the upcoming new version

Design – Office 2010 will make use of the familiar “ribbon” navigation tools found in Office 2007. Unlike ’07, however, Outlook will also take on the ribbon look and feel. Additionally, the “file” button (the Microsoft symbol in the upper left hand corner of the interface in Office 2007) will be incorporated into the toolbar – hopefully avoiding some of the confusion the file button caused in the 2007 line of products.

Access – Office 2010 will ship with what are called Office Web Apps. Essentially, these are lightweight versions of Word, PowerPoint, Excel, and OneNote that are all accessible via desktop, mobile devices, and Web browser. Clearly, Microsoft thinks Google is onto something with their Google Docs and it will be interesting to see how the two compare.

Collaboration – Just like in the 2007 product, significant emphasis was put on the ability to collaborate with other people on documents. This includes a number of updates to the core product (enhanced security, deeper integration with SharePoint, and obviously the integrated use of Office Web Apps.

Social Media? – Okay, this is entirely unfounded – well almost entirely unfounded – but in writing this post I found information stating that Word 2010 will include functionality that allows users to integrate with social media tools such as Facebook and twitter. Interesting? Yes. Confirmed? No.

Stay tuned for more posts on the upcoming Office 2010 release. Definitely more good stuff to come.