Did you know that Word's Find and Replace feature can not only find text in your document but it can also find and replace formatting? And spaces and carriage returns?

Need to quickly highlight terms or phrases in your document? Who knew that Find and Replace would do the trick? It truly is a powerful tool for instantly transforming your content.

In the next several posts, I will provide a handful of useful techniques for making the most of this underutilized feature.
 
Here is a sneak peek of what's to come:

• Part 1: Find and replace text
• Part 2: Highlight all instances of a word or block of text
• Part 3: Find and replace formatting
• Part 4: Remove extraneous carriage returns
• Part 5: Reformat a list of emails separated by carriage returns to a list of emails separated by a semi-colon.
• Part 6: Surprise/Bonus Example

Before we begin Part I, here's a helpful hint: Always be sure your cursor is at the location in your document where you'd like to start. If you need to start at the beginning, hit [Ctrl]+[Home] on your keyboard.

Part I: Find and replace text

Before we get to the advanced stuff, we have to start with the basics. Suppose you need to replace all instances of the word Moogle with Moogle, Inc. in your 10 page document. Use the keyboard shortcut [Ctrl]+[Home] to get to the beginning of your document. Then go to the Edit menu and click Replace. You'll get the following Find and Replace window.

In the Find what: field, type Moogle. In the Replace with: field, type Moogle, Inc. Then click the Replace All button. It's that simple!

If you want to Undo the global change, then use the [Ctrl]+[Z] keyboard shortcut.

Note: Don't want to "Replace All"? You can step through each change instead of performing the global "Replace All" function. Instead of clicking the Replace All button, click Find Next. If the highlighted text is one that needs to be replaced, then click the Replace button, which not only replaces the highlighted text, it also goes to the "Next" instance of the original text waiting for you to confirm it needs to be replaced. Continue clicking Replace or Find Next until Word reaches the end of the document.

Next session: Part II - using Word's Find feature to electronically highlight specific text within your document.

Here are a few of my favorite navigation tips for the BlackBerry to save you time and to save your thumb from tooooo much scrolling!

• Red phone button - Takes you back to the Home screen anytime... press the red phone button that typically ends a call.
• "T" - to get to the first message in your messages list or if you're reading a message, "T" will get you to the beginning of the message.
• "B" - to get to the bottom of your messages list or the bottom of a message while reading it.
• [Spacebar] - within the messages list, the [spacebar] will page down thru your messages. This also works when reading messages so that you don't have to use the track wheel to scroll down to the next screen.
• [Alt] key - takes you in the opposite direction. Suppose you are scrolling up and down thru a message or contact card. If you need the track wheel to instead go right to left while you scroll, then hold the [Alt] key while you scroll.

This just in...Here's what I just learned a few days ago about the Home screen... you can move icons around so that you have the most frequently used applications at the top. AND you can actually HIDE icons you rarely use.

• To Move Icons - While on the Home screen, scroll to select the icon you want to move. Press the [Alt] key and then click the track wheel. You should see the option 'Move Application' (you can let go of [Alt] now). Click 'Move Application.' It draws a thin box around the icon and you can then use the track wheel to move it to the location of your choice. Then click the track wheel again to exit it "move" mode.
• To Hide Icons - While on the Home screen, scroll to select the icon you want to hide. Press the [Alt] key and then click the track wheel. You should see the option "Hide Application" (you can let go of [Alt] now). Click 'Hide Application.'
• To Show Hidden Icons - While on the Home screen, press the [Alt] key and then click the track wheel. You should see the option 'Show All' (you can let go of [Alt] now). Click 'Show All.'
• To disable Show All - While on the Home screen, press the [Alt] key and then click the track wheel. You should see a check mark next to 'Show All' (you can let go of [Alt] now). Click 'Show All' to remove the check mark. Your icons are hidden again.

If you have a favorite navigation tip for the BlackBerry, feel free to send me a comment. I thank you and my thumb thanks you!

P.S. I use the BlackBerry 8703

Welcome to RedCape's blog... where you can find very easy and quick technology tips from someone who's been using desktop applications for 15 years and has been teaching desktop applications for over 11 years to information workers (like you), who in the eyes of their employers, clients, team, family, etc...are superheroes. That's right, I think of you as a superhero, performing amazing feats every day for those you serve, and using technology to get it all done.

But at times, technology can leave you powerless. And that's where RedCape comes in. Check out our website at www.RedCapeCo.com. And let us know how we can outfit you...the superhero. Need a personal technology coach? Need to streamline the technology you already have? Are you carrying too many mobile devices? Want to know the best way to get something done? Give us a call. If we can't resolve your issue, we will find someone who can and work side by side to get it done.

Not ready to take the leap? Well, just visit this blog for extremely simple tips, tricks and traps that will produce jaw-dropping results or save you from disaster.

Thank you for visiting and enjoy the flight!