When you think of Microsoft Excel what comes to mind? Accounting spreadsheets? Using formulas to calculate numbers?
Generally, we think of Excel only as a system to manage our numbers, but you might be surprised by some other things that you can do with this program. We are going to look at two uses for Excel that go outside of our assumption of accounting spreadsheets. We will look at a personal use to track a home wine collection and a business use to track marketing campaigns for an ongoing growing contact list.

Learn more about the things Excel can do for you, in both your career and your personal life, with Excel classes from AdvantEdge Training.

Many students come to us wanting to learn how to create macros in Excel to automate their spreadsheets.  However, they often don’t realize that formulas can be used to create most of the automation they want.

Although we can use macros to automate steps, there are limits to macros (especially the simplistic ones that are created by recording steps), and we still need to remember to run the macro. Thus, recorded macros are not full automation.

Full automation would mean not needing to click a button, using a shortcut, or adding a quick step to the Quick Access Toolbar. Fully automated macros can be created but require the use of Visual Basic for Applications (VBA). VBA is a smaller version of Visual Basic, added to each Microsoft application, and is limited to the application in which it is being used to create the modules or macros. This type of automation is very powerful (and is offered in our 2-day VBA course), but you are now talking about learning code to create these macros.  Also, one character out of place in the code can make a macro inoperable, making it not the most efficient way to automate, in some cases.

Using macros is not the only way to automate Excel.   You can often use functions and formulas to fully automate an Excel workbook. Functions and formulas do not require any shortcuts or buttons to make things happen; they only require data. As soon as data is entered, the functions and formulas go to work.

A Different Approach to Automation

Functions and formulas can be built into a template. This means that the areas where data is to be entered is empty and waiting for input. Then the functions and formulas create the magic after the data is entered. Since all the formatting, reports, and pivot tables can be built into the template as well, you can create a template for a finished workbook that will display robust visuals and calculations after a few pieces of data are entered.  This can turn hours of work into mere minutes.

Microsoft has spent many years making Excel more robust, and has added a ton of functionality that can make full automation a reality. However, if you have not read about all the functionality available or had someone show you, then there is a whole world of possibilities you didn’t even know existed.

Let AdvantEdge Training show you what Excel can do for you with an Excel training course.

Let’s face it: Summer just isn’t the time to work on you. With the kids out of school, family gatherings for the Fourth of July, backyard barbecues, and trips to the local pool, the closest you likely could get to working on self-improvement was working on your tan. Now, however, we are settling into the routine of fall; kids are going back to school, Labor Day is the last summer holiday to worry about, and the local pool will soon be drained for the winter. What better time is there to focus on yourself?

AdvantEdge Training & Consulting has classes that are all about working toward a better you. Whether you want to make better use of your time, take the next step forward in your career, learn to better access your emotional intelligence, or even just find and build on your strengths, AETC has the professional development courses for you.

• Our Management 101 class can build your management skills, so that you are ready to take the next step up the corporate ladder into management.
• MCT’s Effective Business Communications course addresses common obstacles to effectively communicating your ideas and needs to others. Effective Presenters 1 and Effective Presenters 2 can help you master the important art of speaking in front of an audience. Our popular Emotional Intelligence course will help you develop the skills to be more effective in communication, manage conflicts better, and encourage more positive response from the people in your life.
• Time Management with Outlook will teach you important concepts toward maximizing your productivity, without increasing the length of your work day, as well as show you how to utilize the powerful organizational tools available through Microsoft’s Outlook application.

Autumn is a great time to make a fresh start. Get the skills you need to build a better you!

Check out AETC’s full online course schedule to see all of the classes we offer.

Register online, or contact our sales office for more information, including private group training, at (303) 900-8963, or info@advantedge-training.com.

Following documents in SharePoint can be an efficient way to keep track of where a work  process is from day to day. This is especially if there are many hands working on the documents, as it allows you to quickly track changes. (This technique outlined here works for sites, as well.

To follow a document, you simply select the document (1) you wish to follow, then click the Follow button(3)  in the Files tab (2)on the ribbon of the library. Remember, you need to do this in the actual library, as you will not have the option if you are viewing documents in a web part.

Once you have done this, you will be able to track any changes to the document from the Newsfeed section of your personal information. To get here, click on your name’s drop-down menu and select About Me (1), then click on Newsfeed on the left (2), to see the documents you are following. If you want to open the document, click on the document link (3) to see changes that have been made.

Get the skills you need to master this important information platform, with a SharePoint  class from AdvantEdge Training.

When you loaded you backpack for the first day of school, do you remember feeling that sense of excitement and endless possibilities opening in front of you? While we may not have been able to put it into words, we understood that, with everything we learned, with every concept or skill we mastered, we were changing the trajectory of our lives. Education opens doors to the future, to taking your destiny in your own hands, to undiscovered opportunities. As adults, it is easy to settle into our routines, to accept that today’s status quo was our yesterday and will be our tomorrow. But what would you do if you could recapture that sense of a new future unfolding before you? It is possible to, once again, use the opportunity to learn new skills and to open the door to new prospects.

AdvantEdge Training & Consulting is here to help you develop the skills you need to ramp up your career trajectory.

AETC’s computer training classes can give you the skills to compete in today’s business world. You can become a master of spreadsheets with our Excel classes, or even learn how to automate some of your daily tasks with our Excel Macros class, freeing up your time for more interesting and rewarding tasks. Our Access classes can teach you to set up and manage basic to complex databases. SharePoint training can show you how to set up and administer your company’s information platform. And Time Management with Outlook can give you the tools you need to maximize your productivity, without adding time to your work day.

AETC also offers professional development courses that can help you step into a new role at work or polish your skills to be ready to take the next rung up the corporate ladder. Interested in learning the skills to be a Project Manager? We have courses for that. AETC can also help you develop in management. We also offer a full slate of communication classes to help you get your ideas across effectively, and successfully navigate interoffice relationships.

Just like when you were a child, the fall is the perfect time to seek out the skills you need to open new doors for your career and your future.

Register for classes online, or contact our sales office for more information, including private group training, at (303) 900-8963, or info@advantedge-training.com

Presentations don’t happen in a vacuum, and there are many things that can occur to sway your presentation away from how you planned it to run.  For presenters, the key is flexibility and control.  You must be flexible enough to adjust quickly to any shift in your presentation plans. This can mean calling for a break earlier than you had scheduled, or adding another exercise for a group that just doesn’t seem to be getting the material.  Simultaneously, you must always stay in control of the proceedings, from keeping the session on time and on track, to keeping control of your audience in the event of disruptions (cell phones, a noisy training location, interruptions, etc.).

Distractions can also arise when you have to deal with “hidden agendas” of participants.  Each participant may have things on his or her mind other than your presentation, such as an upcoming vacation, or the angry customer they need to call back; they even may simply be tired from a previous night of little sleep.  They may have personal issues, like feeling insecure about themselves, needing to prove to everyone that they know more than you do.

We are not saying you need to get your psychology degree to deal with your audience, but there are some quick tricks you can utilize to manage the audience, ensuring that you get as few disruptions as possible.

Dealing with hidden agendas and disruptions

There are often times when your audience just doesn’t play along like they should. How do you handle that, while still keeping control of the rest of your audience and maintaining the professional expert demeanor?  If you handle these people like a school teacher (e.g., Hey, be quiet, pay attention, stop talking, etc.), you will damage your rapport and professional persona with the audience and, ultimately, lose more control.

Let’s identify some of the types of disrupters you may encounter, and how to handle them:

• Talkers or Non-participators – These are the people that talk during your presentations, creating background noise, or are phone gazers who are not paying attention
• • Subtly walk over to stand right next to them as you are addressing the rest of the audience – Get in their space. However, the trick is to do this while ignoring them, so that you are not actually being confrontational.  You just happen to be standing near them.  This technique directs all eyes of the audience to the talker, as they will be paying attention to you.  More than likely the non-participators will stop their conversation or put their phone down, as they are now inadvertently center stage.
  • Ask them a direct question – If you can find a way to ask them a question, they will have to come back to the content at hand. If they were not paying attention and can’t address the questions, they will feel embarrassed, and be more apt to pay attention moving forward, so that they don’t get caught again.
  • Address the chatter, but with humor, so they can save face: Is that the voices in my head again, or is it getting noisy in here?
• Hecklers – There can be those that want to prove to the group that they are smarter than you, asking “stump the presenter” questions, even though they probably already know the answers.
  • These people generally want to be the center of attention, so bring more of it to them. Ask the group a question, but then direct it to the heckler:

So, who knows how X works – I bet Rick does.  Or, I know that Rich already knows, is there anyone else? 

• If they throw out a “stump the presenter” question, you can:
  • Try to over-inform them with your answer – Go into more detail than they probably were looking for. This lets them know that you know your stuff, and they then will be less likely to ask any more questions in an effort to stump you, as you might make them look stupid.
  • Turn it into humor to let them know that their question is ridiculous, and you know it, but you will let them off this time. The group will laugh, but the heckler will get the point without losing face:

“Do you use brass or tin simm chips?”  Why?  Do you want to make jewelry?  Actually, we use metal that is compatible, and will not corrode.

Managing Questions

Questions can be a good thing, because it means our audience is engaged in your presentation.  However, if you don’t manage them, they can get out of control and derail your presentation.  Here are some ways to manage them:

• At the beginning of a presentation – You can gather questions at start of the presentation. This works especially well if you have limited time, need to eliminate disruptions to keep the presentation on schedule.
• During a presentation – Have participants write down questions on Post-it notes or 3×5 cards, then put them in a designated location, letting them know there will be a period within the presentation during which you will review and answer all these questions.
• To close the presentation – Ask your audience to hold questions until the end of the presentation, as it will help the presentation stay on track and on time, and that some of the questions they have at the beginning are likely to be answered during the presentation.
• If you can’t answer a question, here are three responses you can use:
  • See me later – That’s a great question that will require some more in-depth discussion, so why don’t you come see me at the end of the presentation. (They usually won’t.)
  • Ask the audience – Good question! Does anyone know the best way to answer that one?
  • Expert consultation – I don’t want to give you only a partial or incorrect answer on that one, so give me your contact info and I will talk with X directly, and get back to you.

All of these techniques can help you maintain control over audience issues that may arise during your presentations.  This will help your presentations run smoother, and keep you looking like the expert.

Want to learn more about the art of public speaking and effective communication?

Take a class from AdvantEdge Training’s Public Speaking courses.

There are certain best practices for databases that are not widely known. One of these best practices is using forms to add, browse, or edit records. Often, we use the Datasheet view to do all of these things. There is nothing inherently wrong with doing things this way, but using the datasheet view for all of these things can lead to user error, as this view is not the friendliest view. It is a view that makes users nervous, even though they probably won’t admit it, because a user is looking at too many records at the same time. If the user clicks on the wrong records (which can easily happen when there are numerous columns of information) to make a change, then the data is corrupted, which may go undiscovered for a long period of time. This can lead to important decisions being made based on corrupt data.

Best Practice: Forms

Instead, we should use forms for adding, browsing, and editing records, so that the user knows they are looking at the correct records before any changes are made to them. If we need to review many records at once, then the Reports functionality should be used. This would include printing numerous records. By using Queries and Macros, along with forms for displaying the records, the process can be automated, and an extremely user-friendly interface can be created, ensuring users feel comfortable using a database, instead of hating the very thought of entering a database.

Forms are so easy to create, and there are several ways the create them. Once you have created the form, you can alter it to fit the needs of the users. Follow these steps to create a basic form:

1. Select or open the table you want to create the form for in the Navigation pane, on the left side, once the database is opened. In this case, we selected the Contacts.
2. Select the Create tab, and, in the Forms group, click the Form command. This will create an instant form, based on the fields of the table.

There are several other options for creating forms. Form Design and Blank Form create an empty form allowing you to create the form any way you desire. Just open the empty form in Design view or Layout view, respectively.

Using the Form Wizard

The Form Wizard walks you through the steps to add only the fields you want on the form, which can limit what areas are filled in by users. It also gives you options for displaying the fields.

The Navigation drop-down gives you options for a more dynamic look to your forms. Choosing a familiar view, or something that is easy to use, is a great way to ensure user-friendliness.

The More Forms drop-down gives you additional options, based on need. Remember, just because you see Datasheet as an option, doesn’t mean it is best practice. However, it is available if needed.

Forms are the best way to ensure user-friendliness is captured in a database, and, perhaps more importantly,  they ensure efficiency and confidence with the everyday user.

Learn the best ways to make sure your databases are easy to use and your data is easy to find with an  Access class from AdvantEdge Training.

MS Project has many pieces of functionality that are not well known, or just not often used, because many users are not sure how to use them properly. Resources is one of those tools not widely used. However, it is useful to help the Project Manager and company decision makers keep costs in line with the projections, or help to adjust future plans moving forward. A ton of data is not available for these projections, when only portions of MS Project’s functionality is used by the Project Manager.

Since cost, time, and scope dictate the success of a project,  tracking these constraints should be a regular part of project management, especially since all of these can be tracked in MS Project.

Resources help us track costs, but we must fill in the appropriate information, or link to the desired information. Depending on the needs of the company, creating templates with predefined resources, or linking to another file where the resources reside can be viable options. Both have advantages and disadvantages.

Filling in the resources every time you start a new project is time consuming, but it is important to know how to add this information. First, let’s look at how to find this area in the application:

Under the Task tab, within the View group, click the Gantt Chart drop-down menu, and select Resource Sheet. From here, you add all the resources, so that they can be allocated to the individual tasks.

While inputting this information can seem time consuming, templates can be used to help alleviate this monotonous task. Adding all resources to a template allows the same resources to be added to a project across the board, giving the Project Manager the capability to add or remove resources as needed.

Linking to a separate resource file ensures that resources are not overbooked, which is especially important when several projects are running at the same time.

Keeping track of the time each resource will be used in MS Project does a number of different things, but the two most important are the sum of the cost of resources used, and knowing when resources are over allocated. By using our resources correctly, we can see issues that are coming down the pipeline, allowing us to make critical decisions about how to rectify such issues. Note that the picture below shows us when resources are over allocated by placing red symbols in the Indicators column. You can hover on the indicators, in case you forget what they represent.

Knowing the resources you have available to you also allows the scope to remain consistent, which can be beneficial for future projects that are similar in structure. By tracking resources, as well as where issues have occurred, it is possible for the Project Manager to alleviate issues by being able to pinpoint when and where they regularly occur, and then make decisions in future projects to keep the same thing from recurring.

MS Project has so many tools that it can feel overwhelming to remember all of them. However, all of these tools are designed to work together to ensure successful projects. Resources tends to be the most underused functionality in MS Project, but when used properly, it can be one of the most important tools to keep issues to a minimum.

Learn all of the tools and functionalities of Microsoft Project with a training course from AdvantEdge Training.

In the business world, when we talk about workflows, we are usually talking about how the flow of paperwork moves through the company, or the sequence of tasks we use for various processes. Workflows are a systematic process based on a business activity. However, when we talk about SharePoint Workflows, it is all about automating reoccurring tasks or processes, so that these tasks or processes are not forgotten,  or are completed automatically for efficiency.

SharePoint Workflows can be built to handle many different tasks every time an item or document is created, or edited. When SP Workflows are combined with calculated columns, they can be extremely dynamic.

What kinds of automation can a SharePoint Workflow be built to handle? There are  too many to be listed here, but they can definitely be used to facilitate some of the more annoying or easily forgotten tasks.

Imagine that every time you finish writing a document  it needs to be distributed to three different department heads for approval. Procedures dictate you send emails to the department heads, indicating that the document is ready. At times, though, you are so swamped that you forget. When your boss asks you about the document, because the department heads are asking when you will be done, you say that you advised everyone last week, but you soon discover that was not the case, this time. If you had established a SharePoint Workflow, you could choose Completed from a drop-down menu, and, as soon as you hit save, the SharePoint Workflow sends the emails out immediately, with embedded links that go directly to the document. Crisis averted!

That is just one scenario that SharePoint Workflows can make easier for you. The possibilities are only held back by your imagination. Need items updated when an employee changes an option in the drop-down menu? Done! Need alerts to go to individuals until they complete the tasks they are responsible for completing? Done! Need to build a vacation request system that can make the process more precise and easier for everyone in the office? Done! Need a checkout system that can keep track of equipment that is being used, when it needs to returned by a certain day, and automatically sends you info about the equipment status, without having to enter the system to check? Done!

These are just a few scenarios that can be made more efficient with SharePoint Workflows. With SharePoint Designer, a free software application, a power user can build workflows for the entire company, as well as continue to fine tune existing workflows, when additional steps need to be added to the policies or procedures. Automation is extremely valuable to a company, saving both time and money, as it requires less time to complete processes with fewer steps; it ensures fewer errors, since tasks are automated and happen on time, whether an individual remembers the task or not; and efficiency increases, due to less human error. The more we automate, human error goes down; the more we try to do ourselves, the more chances something will be overlooked.

SharePoint Workflows are free to create, with the help of SharePoint Designer. Help yourself and others take a bite out of the daily grind by automating your processes.

Learn to automate you organization’s tasks with a SharePoint class from AdvantEdge Training & Consulting.