There's no denying that data is not the most inherently pretty thing to behold. An Excel spreadsheet, after all, is not exactly a Monet. Even if you have a thoroughly organized spreadsheet, there are definite benefits to making it more visually appealing. Beyond simply adding color or editing fonts, this effort should be focused on making your data more digestible for your audience. This way it can be easily shared with and understood by your higher-ups and end users, and in turn they can use it to drive actions and provide the basis for smart decisions. Enter: PowerPivot.

KnowledgeWave hosts a live remote session for Administering Windows Server 2012, Microsoft Course, MS 20411 weekly. This is an authorized Microsoft Official Curriculum (MOC) course and is eligible for Software Assurance (SA) Voucher redemption.  Please contact a KnowledgeWave representative at 800-831-8449 to enroll. 

If you've introduced an organizational software platform before, you've probably heard the associated grumblings from your fellow employees. There are several reasons why they could be on auto-disgruntle mode: taking time out of their already busy schedules, being treated as masses instead of individuals, not finding the interface adaptive, and more. The truth is if you operate with a certain mindset, however, you can encourage your employees to follow suit.

Chances are if you've used a computer in a work setting, you've probably used the Microsoft Word application. While some may use it for simple word processing alone, others take advantage of the whole breadth of the software, including some handy tools that can help organize what you've created on the page.

A library of training resources puts valuable information at your employees' fingertips. In addition to providing them with the knowledge they need to succeed in their roles, it also lets them return to the lessons if their skills need a brush up. Since they put their trust in you to provide this system, it's important you accumulate the right sources of information. We've compiled a methodology of what to consider for your library, along with some of the benefits of videos vs. slides, to make this process easier.

As an IT professional you understand that businesses deploy SharePoint for many different reasons. Intranets, document management, collaboration and workflow automation are a few of the most popular reasons. End-users on the other hand, often times are confused, unwilling or have little to no desire for change. Providing users with some basic knowledge about SharePoint can assist businesses with user acceptance.

There's no denying the fact that training employees on new software can take a tremendous amount of time and effort. This problem is only compounded when the software you're dealing with isn't particularly popular and there aren't that many resources out there to help you. The solution for this predicament could be to create a custom curriculum. While this sounds like it could take a lot of work, you'll reap some major benefits in the end. In this post we'll take a closer look, so you can feel empowered in putting together a custom training agenda for your employees.

For those implementing new software programs at their businesses, time is always a concern—the time it will take to develop what kind of training you want to use, the time it takes to research the best methods to set this up, the time it takes for everyone to complete the training, and so on. The good news is that if you take the time to create the right process from the beginning, you can expect a lot of these actions to fall into place efficiently and within your deadline.

A corporate learning initiative is no small endeavor. There are, however, a few adjustments to your corporate learning system that can set you up for success in the long run. We've culled some tips to help you accomplish this.

Working with a touch-screen device can present a challenge when working with the Ribbon in Microsoft Office Applications. You may wonder how to enable Touch Mode in Word, for example. Can you make the buttons bigger? Absolutely. You can create more open space on the Ribbon so commands are easier to tap.

So you've chosen a new software platform to roll out at your company and identified and segmented the employees who will be using it. However, the idea of organizing your own training program for a whole group of people in various roles is understandably a bit daunting. Luckily for you, this is something that's best left in the hands of the experts anyway.

How do you enter the same text repeatedly in a Word document? You can easily insert blocks of preformatted text using what is called AutoText, or what is sometimes referred to as Quick Parts. Check out the quick and easy way to create AutoText entries by adding selected text to the AutoText gallery. This is an awesome feature that allows you to drop in common text and saves you time by not having to type it in every time!

It's probably obvious that when you introduce a completely new software platform at your company you should have a training plan ready. But what you might not have realized is the importance of establishing such a plan when you're rolling out a newer version of something familiar—such as Office or email software.

 Changing the case of text in a Word document can be done with the click of a button. There are times when you either write or inherit a document or list that is not exactly in the format that you’re looking for. We can quickly and easily change case. Here’s how.

You don't need us to tell you it would be great if new employees could learn your policies, procedures and software usage by osmosis. You also don't need us to tell you that this is a rather unlikely scenario. The good news is, however, that by coming up with an established plan for training your new employees, you're equipping them for success in both the onboarding process and beyond.