MS Word Pro Tips

Quickly insert symbols

• Turn on Math AutoCorrect.
• On Windows, go to File → Options → Proofing → AutoCorrect Options... → Math → Check both boxes.
• On MacOS, from the main menu bar go to Word → Preferences → AutoCorrect → Math AutoCorrect → Check both boxes.
• After doing this, you can create symbols in Word by simply typing the listed codes. Examples of some the most useful:

 

• Additional MS Word and MacOS keyboard shortcuts.

         * MacOS users can replace the Control key with the Command key (⌘) to use the native MS Word keyboard shortcuts.

• Make your own symbol shortcuts in Word:  You can also make custom shortcuts to Greek letters and symbols. In MS Word, Insert → Symbol (in the Symbols area) → More Symbols. In the pop-up window, select "Greek and Coptic" under "Subset." Highlight the symbol of interest, e.g. "μ." Then select "Shortcut Key." Now you can press any combination of keys (or even a series like the series for the "°" symbol above). For example, I like to use Control-Alt-m for "μ," Control-Alt-b for "β," etc.
• My symbol shortcuts in Windows: I prefer to use AutoHotKey so that my own keyboard shortcuts work in every app in Windows. Install AutoHotKey. In your "Documents" folder, locate the AutoHotkey.ahk file and replace it with my AutoHotkey.ahk file (right-click the link and select "Save Link As... to download). Restart your computer and now you can use my keyboard shortcuts. For most of the Greek letters, hold down [Windows]+[Control] and press the equivalent letter. Open the AutoHotkey.ahk file with a text editor like Notepad to see the complete list of my shortcuts (I have about 70 of them!).
• Make your own symbol shortcuts in MacOS:  Go to System Settings > Keyboard > Text. In the "Replace" column, type a shortcut that is different from a dictionary word (e.g., "llambda", "mmu"). In the "With" column, paste the symbol (e.g. lambda symbol, λ) from another source. Now, whenever you type "llambda" (or your chosen shortcut), it will automatically be replaced with the lambda symbol.

Equations: Using Microsoft Equation Editor

• You can enter equations in MS Word with the Equation Editor. Press [Alt] + [=] or select it under Insert Equation (in the Symbols area).
• Although, it is very intuitive to click on symbols, you can do everything in the Equation Editor without touching your mouse! Visit equations.maresh.info for a list of Equation Editor keyboard shortcuts.
• Useful keyboard shortcuts to get you started:
• Type [_] (underscore) to subscript the next text.
• Type [^] (carat) to superscript the next text. 
• Use parentheses to group symbols with spaces between them that require the same formatting, e.g. they all need to be in the numerator or they all need to be a subscript together.
• Use the <space> bar to translate shortcut text into formatting.
• For example, type ((212 m)^2/(35 s)) then [space] and the text will be converted to $$ \left(\frac{(212 \text{ m})^2}{35 \text{ s}}\right) $$ Place parentheses around (212 m) so the entire term is squared and localized to the numerator, around (35 s) so the entire term ends-up in the denominator, and around the entire expression to put large parentheses around the entire expression. Experiment with this system for a while and soon the rules shoul become second nature.
• Importing equations from websites into Microsoft Equation editor:
• Equations and math text displayed using MathJax (e.g. any equation in these Writing Guidelines and the example above) can be copied into other programs. If you find an equation on a webpage, right-click (or Control-click in MacOS) on it to check if it is displayed using MathJax. If it is, select Show Math As → TeX Commands → Copy to Clipboard. In Word, insert an equation ([Alt] + [=]) and select { } LaTeX  in the Conversions category (on the left) in the Equation menu. Next, paste the text you just copied and press [Ctrl] + [=] to convert the LaTeX code into a Microsoft equation. When you are finished, be sure to change the Conversions mode back to \ Unicode to return to normal equation entry.

• This Word document demonstrates three effective ways to center your equation and identify it by right-justified numbers.

Formatting in MS Word

• Superscript formatting: [Control] + [Shift] + [=]

• Subscript formatting: [Control] + [=]

• Captions: An easy way to add a caption to a table or figure is to right click it and select the "Add caption" action. This will add a caption to your figure that will stay grouped with it throughout the document and will prevent it from ending up on a separate page.

MS Excel Pro Tips

Shortcuts for absolute cell references (dollars signs \$)

When you use a dollar sign (\$) before the cell reference (such as \$C\$2), you’re telling Excel to keep referring to cell C3 even when you copy and paste the formula. The keyboard shortcuts below will add the dollar signs after you add a cell reference for you, saving even more time.

• On Windows, the shortcut is F4
• On MacOS, the shortcut is [⌘]+[t]

After you type/click a cell reference, press the above keyboard shortcut to toggle dollar signs in front of column+row, row, column, or neither.
For example, pressing the key will convert A1 ➔ \$A\$1 ➔ A\$1 ➔ \$A1 ➔ A1 etc.

Use LINEST to fit your data to a polynomial equation

This spreadsheet demonstrates how to use LINEST to fit data to a polynomial equation of any order.  

Google Docs Pro Tips

Keyboard shortcuts

The following are useful keyboard shortcuts for Google Docs:

• Subscript: [Control] + [,]

• Superscript: [Control] + [.]

Quickly insert symbols

The following is a method for creating custom shortcuts that work like Math Autocorrect in Word (see above). I recommend defining your auto-replace shortcuts the same as MSWord does so that you do not have to memorize multiple shortcuts.

1. Open a Google Docs file.
2. Insert the symbol by clicking the [Insert] and selecting Special Characters . Simply type the name of the symbol you want and click it to insert it into the document.
3. Select the symbol and press [Ctrl] + [c] (or [⌘] + [c] in MacOS)
4. Click Tools in the menu and select  Preferences. A dialog box appears. Click the Substitutions tab.
5. Click in the With box and press [Ctrl] + [v]   (or [⌘] + [v] to paste the symbol.
6. Click in the Replace box and enter the combination of letters and symbols you want to replace such as \mu to generate μ or +- to generate ±.
7. Click OK. These shortcuts will be available every time you open a Google Doc in the current account.

Screenshots

Windows:

• Press [Windows key] + [w] to bring-up the Windows Ink Workspace apps in the lower right of your screen. Click  Fullscreen Snip and Windows will take a screenshot and open an editor for you to edit, crop, save, and share the screenshot.
• If you are in a hurry and want to take multiple screenshots to edit later, press [Windows key] + [Print Screen], the screen will flash, and a screenshot will be saved in your Pictures > Screenshots folder for you to find later.
• If you want to edit a screenshot in a specific app, simply press the [Print Screen] key. This will copy the current screen image to the system buffer. Next open an image editor such as MS Paint or Photoshop, create a new document, paste the image, edit, and save.

MacOS:

• Press [⌘] + [Shift] + [3] at the same time and a screen shot of your entire desktop will be saved to your desktop.
• To capture a portion of the screen, press [⌘] + [Shift] + [4] at the same time, a cross-hair cursor will appear, click and drag to select the area you wish to capture. When you release the mouse button, the screenshot will be automatically saved on your desktop.