How often have you been in MS Word (2003 upwards) and wanted to add, multiply, divide, subtract or add a column of numbers? You would normally either load the “Accessories Calculator” or whip out your trusty big button calculator and type in the results – right! Word has a build in Calculator!! Here is how you can find it.
This is such a secret that Microsoft don’t speak about it, not even in the help documentation! It is pretty well hidden so don’t beat yourself up about not knowing about it – even though we all know we only use about 10% of the features in Word every day 😉
Here is how to set it up:
In Word 2007
- Right click on the Quick Access Toolbar – the grey space on the right of the toolbar – then click on “Customize Quick Access Toolbar” on the menu
- Then click the drop down selection on the “Choose commands from” and change it to “All Commands” and browse until you find “Calculate”, select it and click “Add”.
- Make sure you have the check box “Show Quick Access Toolbar below the Ribbon” selected – this will show the Quick Access Toolbar.
- Done
In Word 2003
- Right click on any of the toolbars and click on “Customize”
- Select the “Commands” tab, in the “Categories” select “Tools” and in the “Commands” list select the “Tools Calculate”
- Drag this selection to any of your toolbars (obviously remember which one you choose as it will only be available in that toolbar!)
- Done
Example:
When shopping today I bought a new plastic drill bit for R 57, a compact disposable hammer for R 69 and a silent speaker for R 99, and the total spend for the day was……. R
Select the text (start with the first number and select the text through to the last number) and click the green button on the Quick Access Toolbar – the total will display at the bottom left of your display. To insert the result just Paste (Ctrl V). In our example “R 225.00”
There you have it, a simple quick way to calculate numbers. Columns in tables work just as well – would imagine that in a “Bills of Costs” it could be quick useful.
Contributed by:
Malcolm Pearson
www.Tech4Law.co.za