Zip! Create a table of contents in two steps

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Word makes it really easy to create a Table of Contents (TOC). It's a two-step process:  first you assign a "style" to each heading in your document, and then you tell Word where to create the TOC.

Let's say you're creating a sales proposal to convince Fabrikam, a medical-device distributor, that they need your line of ultrasound products. You have sections for product specifications, a product catalogue, pricing, and more. You need to roll all of them up into one TOC, so Fabrikam's CIO can see at a glance what you'll cover at the pitch meeting.

A style is a set of formatting instructions that you apply to a heading such as its font, size, and color.

Let's start by assigning a style to the top-level heading in your document.  Select the heading, and then go to the Styles group on the Home tab, and click Heading 1.

 Now select all sub-headings and apply the Heading 2 style:

After you've assigned styles to all headings and sub-headings in your document, you are ready to create the TOC.

 Place the cursor in your document where you want to create the TOC. Then on the References tab, click Table of Contents and choose Built-In Automatic Table 1 or Automatic Table 2. (The only difference is the name for Automatic Table 1 is Contents, and the name for Automatic Table 2 is Table of Contents.)

You're done!  Word has built the TOC and put it just where you want it.

Now that you've defined and created your TOC, it's easy to update it if you make changes, such as adding new sections or changing section titles.

Check out these additional resources:

Training: Create and customize a table of contents

Video: Word of the week: TOC (changing levels and formatting)  

Video: Manage your long documents in Word

Add a table of contents for each section of your document

Add sections to your table of contents

Create a table of contents for multiple documents

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2 Steps that change the world with PowerPoint

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This is the first in an occasional series of posts by Mike Parkinson discussing how you can use PowerPoint in different industries and for diverse audiences. Mike is an internationally recognized visual communication expert and multi-published author, and he operates BizGraphics On Demand (editable PowerPoint graphics for download).

Love it or hate it, PowerPoint is everywhere and is changing how we communicate. It's one of the few software packages with a diverse graphic capability that is easy to learn. Business professionals, many of whom have no design background, are making PowerPoint their visual forum to communicate their solutions to potential clients.

So, why are more professionals using visual communication -- and PowerPoint -- to reach their audiences?

Good presenters use PowerPoint to simplify, prioritize, organize, and communicate information, via two important steps of effective communication. They provide the foundation for creating and using visuals in PowerPoint.

I recently asked Rick Altman, author of Why Most PowerPoint Presentations Suck and How You Can Make Them Better, about a common mistake presenters make when designing their presentations. He replied simply, "Too much crap."

And Altman is completely right. Many times, presenters believe the adage that more is better. Perhaps too much is a good thing when enjoying a piece of homemade apple pie; however, in visual communication, the opposite is true. If your audience is too distracted with your vibrant color scheme, opposing graphic styles, and long bulleted lists, then they will miss your message.Here is a slide from a sales presentation that compares televisions. At first glance, can you tell which television is better?

By setting the information on top of each other with bars comparing life expectancy, quality, and cost, you can see the difference, which wouldn't be as compelling if I had just listed the numbers. I also placed a trophy as an icon for "best in class" and used a checklist to summarize the findings of the presenter's product to further highlight the better television.

Connie Malamed, author of Visual Language For Designers: Principles For Creating Graphics That People Understand, found that we can only process around four bits of visual information at one time. Clean, clear, and easy-to-understand graphics create a visual hierarchy and allow viewers to focus on the most important information. A pyramid graphic, like the one below, is a great visual to use for hierarchy. In the graphic, training provides the foundation for the other steps that lead to a "win" for the organization.

PowerPoint gives you the right tools to turn slides of text and graphic clutter into clear visuals to create visual hierarchy. It includes many easy-to-use tools (SmartArt graphics used to create the pyramid graphic shown above, theme colors, charts, shapes, custom animation, etc.) to help you generate effective graphics. You can quickly insert clip art, photographs, and template artwork into your presentation to add impact to your message and help audiences remember your company, your solution.

Still wondering how distilling your information into simple visuals can help you? Consider the following research when creating your next PowerPoint presentation. Using graphics in presentation, educational, and marketing materials

improves learning 200% (University of Wisconsin)takes 40% less time to explain complex ideas (Wharton School)improves retention 38% (Harvard University)increases your likelihood of success by 43% (3M and University of Minnesota School of Management)

Besides making your solution more memorable to your audience, another byproduct of a clear visual-which Malamed uncovered in her research-is that the easier it is for your audience to processes your information, the more positively they feel about it.

Sadly, most people shy away from graphics or choose the wrong graphic due to time constraints, lack of resources, or inexperience. Use the following Graphics Cheat Sheet (click the image to go to a larger, PDF version) to choose the best graphic for your next presentation and get graphic ideas from BizGraphics On Demand (editable PowerPoint graphics):

PowerPoint helps distill information into the most salient points, thereby connecting content to our audience's goals that which they care most about. Great communicators know this leads to a critical second step affecting emotions. Independent research shows that people care if the information shared can benefit them. Legendary philosopher Harry Overstreet wrote in Influencing Human Behavior, "Action springs out of what we fundamentally desire." When we show how we can help our audience, they become cognitively and emotionally invested in the presentation. Ultimately, it is the emotional element that carries the greatest weight. Emotions are a driver in every decision.

But how does PowerPoint help you affect the emotions of your audience and motivate them to choose your solution? As we discussed, using effective visuals that connect features to benefits even when dealing with complex or dry content will help you achieve your goals. The slide below simplifies a complex solution (software and marketing tools working together) and ties it to a direct benefit to the target audience (faster distribution to satisfied customers).

I also found the personal touch to be just as important and PowerPoint allows you to do just that.

Altman told me another secret to effective PowerPoint presentations: "People come to a room to hear what you have to say." Many presenters forget that they are a major component of the presentation. Their ideas and words are more important than even the slides. PowerPoint, when used correctly, aids and empowers the presenter. When used incorrectly, the presenter reduces the benefits that PowerPoint offers.

Understand and embrace PowerPoint's tools. Apply best design and presentation practices from industry experts. Then you, too, can evolve the world around you. Powerful presentations convey the "point" of your message and affect your audience's emotions and, ultimately, their decision to use your solution or product or buy into your idea.

-- Mike Parkinson

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Photoshop for beginners - 6 most important first steps

Most people want to do special effects with Photoshop but as all tools capable of advanced work, pay get the essential bases under your belt first. Here is my list recommended the gist of Basic 6 that should learn any beginner Photoshop:

1 Learn the analysis image - histogram, the Info Palette and the eyedropper tools

These three tools provide you essential information on your image or a photograph. The histogram tell you everything you need to know about the exhibition of photography, it is under or over exposed and the range of tones. The eyedropper tool will give you valuable information on the colors of the image. especially if there is a color cast (color cast is a generally undesirable dominant color) you need to correct. The Info palette (or window) will provide a digital feedback when using the eyedropper tool and also the use of other tools. It is an important reference for advanced work is getting to know at the beginning.

2 Learn how straighten an image skewed - use the sovereign to find the angle of inclination.

Learn how to use the sovereign tool will allow you to precisely determine the angle of a tilted horizon, and this can then be used with command rotating canvas quickly correct a slanted image. No guesswork necessary! With so many people using cameras with only display screens back rather than a proper viewfinder, it has become it all to common for images out of the camera with a severe tilt their. Learn how to use the sovereign and rotate the canvas combination makes correcting these photos really easy!

3. Learning to crop the picture - the use of the crop tool

Reframing is the process of removing all around the edges of a photo that adds nothing to the impact of the photo. The crop tool should be learned then cropping is a very important creative process. There are very few photos that cannot benefit from being cropped. Too many Photoshop beginners just to accept the content of the photo that it comes from the camera without reflection on the question of whether the image can be improved visually by cutting unnecessary edges. The additional advantage of cropping of the photo at the beginning, it is that you also reduce the size of the file which provides additional changes to the image of running faster because you use less disk space and memory.

4 Learn how to remove dust marks and stains - use the healing brush and Clone Stamp Tools

Even with modern dust integrated, you can find your image contains trademarks of dust or other defects. Often, these will be in the areas of your smooth as a clear sky. They should be removed by the tool correction, especially useful on smooth color and tones as the sky and the Clone Stamp tool. The Clone Stamp tool is essential for the deletion or correction of the areas of detail which the correcting tool mess often enough just place. Quickly a grip on these two important tools you can really cleans up your important pictures.

5 Learn how to correct the tonal values - use the levels command

The next logical step is to correct exposure problems or issues of the tonal range. If the image is too dark or light now is the time to remedy. To make tonal corrections, you need to learn how to use the levels command. The levels command uses a histogram to display tones so your previous learning of step 1 above will help you really now. I told you it was a logical sequence of learning!

6 Learn to remove color casts - using the color Balance command

Although modern cameras represent a reasonable job of interpretation of the colour of the light reaching the sensor, they also often get wrong results in a photo with an obvious dominant color. It is known as the color cast, and to remove the command Balance colors. Once a dominant colour has been corrected, you are ready to make creative improvements of color if desired.

There, the things you learn the most important six for a beginner to Photoshop. Each of these steps can be mastered quite quickly and the knowledge acquired will provide a solid basis for all your future work of Photoshop; If you simply want to improve a family snap or produce a work of art of advanced special effects.

Now you can go to learn skills more in Photoshop by joining me and other like folk minded, free of charge to members of the Zone2Tone and after you join us, you will receive a free professional quality video tutorial.

Copyright (c) 2010 Meehan.

The Meehan is the author of seven books published digital photography and as a qualified instructor teaches workshops for more than 20 years.