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.

         * For MS Word shortcuts, MacOS users should replace the Control key with the Command key (⌘).

• Make your own symbol shortcuts:  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.

Equations

• 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.
• Two 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 .
• In the above example, you needed parentheses around (212 m) so that the entire term was squared and localized to the numerator, around (35 s) so that the entire term ended-up in the denominator, and around the entire expression because you wanted large parentheses around the entire expression. Experiment with this system for a while and soon the rules will be second nature.

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

Shortcut 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. Using the keyboard shortcuts below will save you time by adding the dollar signs after you add acell reference to a formula.

• 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.