TemplatesEvery Microsoft Word document is based on a template which is nothing but a file that contain the structure and tools for shaping such elements as the style and page layout of finished files. A template determines the basic structure for a document and contains document components and settings, such as fonts, key assignments, menus, page layouts, special formatting, and styles. Word has several templates routine tasks which help the user save time in creating documents. User can create customized templates and re-use them. Additional templates are available on Microsoft web-site which can be downloaded.
Table of contents, index and cross- referenceA table of contents is a list of the headings in a document. User can use a table of contents to get an overview of the topics discussed in a document. Creating a Gujarati book with index at the end of the document and the table of contents at the beginning is possible for the first time now. If additional text is entered in between and the pages get reorganized, the table of contents and the index get updated to reflect these. One does not need to add any manual indexing. This feature would prove a great help to the Gujarati publishing industry. Even the figures in a document can be listed as table of figures. Word can also create a table of authorities for a legal document. This feature will be a boon for the Gujarati legal fraternity. Gujarati research scholars can make use of the cross-reference feature.
Smart tags
Smart tags are data recognized and labeled as a particular type. User can save time by using smart tags. Take the case of a bank which has to send letters in Gujarati. The employee may not be conversant with all Gujarati banking terms. An English-Hindi-Gujarati smart tag can be developed and installed. User can type any term in English, the smart tag will recognize it and will pop-up the equivalent Gujarati/Hindi word. User can choose to replace the English word by Gujarati/Hindi word. There are several other possibilities. For example, converting English date into Gujarati date. Word has some built-in smart tags. Additional smart tags are available for download on Microsoft web-site. Information Technology professionals can develop more smart tags.
XML features are available in Word 2003. Smart documents are the documents which use XML and are programmed to help the user use them. Smart documents are especially effective when used throughout a process. For example, your company may have a process for filling out annual employee review forms, and you may already be using a Microsoft Word template for this purpose. If that template is turned into a smart document, it can be connected to a database that automatically fills in some of the required information, such as your name, employee number, manager's name, and so on. When you fill up the form, the smart document can display a button that allows you to send it on to the next step in the process. Since the smart document knows who your manager is, it can automatically route itself to that person. And, no matter who has it, the smart document knows where it is in the review process and what needs to be done next. Smart documents can help you reuse content. For example, attorneys can use existing boilerplate when writing contracts and journalists can insert bylines and other commonly used text. Smart documents are created and distributed by developers and Information Technology professionals. Word document is converted into a smart document by attaching an XML expansion pack.
Excel 2003
Microsoft Office Excel 2003 is the Office spreadsheet program. This can be used to organize, calculate, and analyze data. The tasks can range from preparing a simple invoice to creating a 3-D chart. This includes support for XML and has a new feature that makes analyzing and sharing information simple. User can define a portion of a spreadsheet as a list and export it to other applications. Smart tags in Excel 2003 are more flexible. Enhancements to statistical functions enable the user to analyze information better. Some salient features are given below. All these features are now available for the Gujarati computing community.
Excel document called workbook contains worksheets. A worksheet is an Excel document containing rows and columns of information that can be formatted, sorted, analyzed and charted. Gujarati text and numerals can be entered and used for analysis like sorting and mathematical calculations. Generating a salary slip in Gujarati is just one example. Excel provides with many formatting
features such as font settings, color, border, headers and footers, etc., to enhance the worksheet.
Working with dataExcel provides effective features to the user. The entered data can be sorted in ascending or descending order. The data can be Gujarati characters or numerals. Gujarati user can create a number format like રૂ ૧૨,૩૪,૫૬૭.૮૫ for currency. User can create a custom list for automatically filling the cells. This could be month names, weekday names, or even be the names of the cities in Gujarat, all in Gujarati.
Charts and graphs are visually appealing and make seeing comparisons, patterns, and trends in data easy. For instance, rather than having to analyze several columns of worksheet numbers, you can see at a glance whether birth rates are falling or rising over
the years, or how the actual usage of the funds released for developmental activities is varying from district to district. Charts can be created on its own sheet or as an embedded object on a worksheet. Excel provides many designs for charts like column, bar, line, pie, etc. The chart can have legends and titles in Gujarati.
TemplatesEvery Microsoft Excel workbook is based on a template which is a file that contains the structure and tools for shaping, calculating and analyzing, currency and date formatting, etc. Excel comes with many templates needed for routine tasks which help the user in managing his time economically in workbooks. User can create customized templates and re-use them. Additional templates are available on Microsoft web-site which can be downloaded. Those include greetings, calendars, invoice and purchase order generating, etc.
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