UIS Tip of the Week: Using the Task Pane in Word

I was working on a document the other day and had to perform lots of different tasks in it. Only thing is, it was taking forever to go from one task to another. I had to remember which menus to select to get to the new task. And switching between tasks was taking forever. I just wanted those tasks I was using frequently to be there for me in one place, and to help me be more productive, even if at the same time I needed to make phone calls, attend meetings, and answer or ask questions from colleagues.

Well, I found out there is such a beast to help me----it's called the Task Pane.

The Task Pane displays right at your fingertips many of the things you might do or check regularly. When you open the Task Pane, just click on the down-pointing arrow located at the top of the pane. In one click, you'll see a plethora of tasks you can choose from. Just click the task you want to perform, and you're off and running. All those things I need to do and ONE MENU! Life is good.

Here's some of the things you can do in the Task Pane:

• Search on a help topic
• Quickly open a document
• Create a new document
• Open an existing document
• See all the formatting styles currently in your document
• Apply formatting styles in a snap
• Browse for clip art
• See the most recent content you've placed in your clipboard

To open the Task Pane, simply select Task Pane from the View menu.