Saturday 20 February 2010

Subverting the Office 2007 Keyboard Shortcut Time Lag

To access MS Office Button (the moral equivalent of the File Menu), the keyboard shortcut Alt-F takes you there. This (quite often) displays a time lag with respect to the previous versions of Excel. Part of the reason can be attribute to the more intensive graphics (for example when you hit Alt, a bunch of labels get illuminated in the Ribbon). You also need to be au fait with the Escape key to disable any menu selection (for example if you have hit a bad shortcut and want to reset your settings so you can attempt a new k/b shortcut).

One way of dealing with the time lag is to allow for it when you use keyboard shortcuts. For example you can do the following keystrokes: 1) escape, to disable any previous menu selections, 2) hit alt -> pause for 2s, 3) hit F. This is ridiculous but is one way to guarantee successful execution of a k/b shortcut.

The most useful interactions with the Button is access to the "Excel Options" page. To access type: Alt-F-I (Alt-Fixed-Income (Options)). Quick guide to the sections:

1. Formulas - allows you to set automatic calculation on or off.
2. Proofing - enables you to disable autocorrect.
3. Advanced - allows you to configure the supposed multithreaded calculation.
4. Trust Center - followed by Alt-T (Trust Center Settings) allows you to set Privacy Options on your workbook.

Cntrl-F1 allows you to minimise or restore the Ribbon (like an HUD).

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