Technology Tip #13: Find How To Do Things Online

The internet is a vast expanse of knowledge that is immediately at your disposal! There is only one problem with that....it isn't organized very well. You can find almost anything you want online *if* you know how to look for it.

In today's blog I am going to show you how to use keywords and boolean to use a search engine like Google help you find how to do tasks in Microsoft Office programs. I have driven myself to the brink of insanity on a few occasions trying to figure how to do a specific task. The chances are if you have had a problem, somebody else has already had the same one. Let's go through how to find instructions on how to do certain tasks in Microsoft Office programs.

Example 1: My teacher requires the pages of my book reports to have pages. How do I do that?

Step 1: Break the problem down into specific key words:

A: You need the program name and year of the program: Microsoft Word 2007

B: Identify the specific task you are trying to do: create page numbers

C: Any additional describing information you may want: on the bottom of the page.

Step 2: Rewrite your question to be a little more concise using your key words:

"How do I create page numbers on the bottom of the page in Microsoft Word 2007?"

Step 3: Write that question into a search engine like Google.com and analyze your results.

Based on your question and choice of key words you will likely get a lot of different responses. The best choices to use are the websites created by the program you are using (like Microsoft's website) or a discussion support board (like howtogeek.com). For this example I found the answer on Microsoft's website, Office.com. To check out the answer click here.

Example 2: (A little more complex) How do I change my settings in Microsoft Office so I don't have automatic formatting for my document?

Now it is up to you to find the answer...or click here.