Author Archives: Jack Lyon

Creating Toolbars

A few weeks ago, we talked about how to create toolbar buttons to activate your macros, but the fact is, you can create your own toolbars as well. Then you’re not stuck with the toolbars that come with Microsoft Word. Here’s how: In Word 97 or later: 1. Click the “Tools” menu. 2. Click “Customize.” […]

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Customizing Microsoft Word

When you first install Microsoft Word, it’s set up for the “generic” user–someone who employs only the most basic features of this powerful program. For example, it displays the Standard and Formatting toolbars but not the AutoText or Reviewing toolbars. But if you’re editing or typesetting in Word, you’re not a generic user–far from it. […]

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Macros on Menus

In our last newsletter, we talked about putting macros on toolbar buttons, but you may prefer putting them on menus instead. Here’s how: In Word 6 or 95: 1. Click the “Tools” menu. 2. Click “Customize.” 3. Click the “Menus” tab. 4. In the “Categories” list, on the left, find and click “Macros.” 5. In […]

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Macros on Buttons

If you’ve been recording your own macros (as explained in past issues of Editorium Update), you may be interested in putting them on toolbar buttons for easy access. Here’s how: 1. Make sure the toolbar you want to use is showing. (You may need to click the “View” menu, click “Toolbars,” and then put a […]

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Creating Add-in Templates

If you’ve been recording your own macros, as explained in our past several newsletters, you’ve probably been saving them in your Normal template, where they’ll be available to use with any document. The Normal template may not be the best place to save them, however. Since it’s used a lot, it can become corrupt. (You […]

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Adding a Template Automatically

In upcoming issues of Editorium Update, I’ll explain how to run macros by adding your own toolbar buttons, menu items, and keyboard combinations to Microsoft Word. If you want to get a head start, however, be sure to read today’s Readers Write column, where subscriber David M Varner explains the importance of using keyboard combinations […]

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Using "Found" Macros

Over the past few weeks we’ve been talking about recording macros to automate repetitive tasks in Microsoft Word. You can read the newsletters here: http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706651129 http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706748016 http://www.topica.com/lists/editorium/read/message.html?mid=1706832239 What you may not know is that there are lots of “prerecorded” macros that will do all kinds of neat things. For example, subscribers to the Word-PC email […]

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Recording a Complex Macro

[Editor’s note: This week’s article is the third in our series on macros, and I’m honored to have written it with Dan A. Wilson, proprietor of The Editor’s DeskTop (http://www.editorsdesktop.com/). The example in the article is intentionally contrived. It’s a nightmare task of repetitive processes. And it’s long. But it’s designed to teach you some […]

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Recording a Find-and-Replace Macro

Today’s article is the second in our series about recording macros. It covers basically the same procedure as last week’s newsletter, but with an emphasis on finding and replacing problem items in an electronic manuscript. Watch for a complex (and useful) example of recording a macro in next week’s article, coauthored with Dan A. Wilson, […]

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Macro Recording: The Basics

Over the next few weeks Editorium Update will explain how to record macros and use them to simplify repetitive editorial tasks in Microsoft Word. I’d like to thank subscribers Meg Cox, Allene Goforth, and Dan A. Wilson for suggesting this topic. I’m especially grateful to Dan, who is an editor’s editor and Microsoft Word expert, […]

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