Microsoft Office Smart Tags - Microsoft Office Help Tips

Microsoft is always adding new features and functionality to its Office suite. Sometimes it's hard to keep up with these new features and you may not even know they are there until you stumble across them or until someone tells you about them.

Smart Tags, which started with Office XP, are small icons that appear automatically above or below data when an action is possible. They make it easier for you to complete some the common Office tasks and provide you with more control over automatic features. To turn on the Smart Tags option or to see a list of available smart tags, select AutoCorrect Options in the Tools menu in your Office application and click on the Smart Tags tab. Make sure the Label text with smart tags box is checked.

Here are some of the things you can do with Smart Tags.

Paste options
After pasting data in any Office application, clicking on the Smart Tag (clipboard icon) will open up a menu with numerous formatting choices to help you quickly format your data.

Address Smart Tags
Certain Smart Tags can perform many different actions. For example, if you type the name of one of your Outlook contacts into a Word document, a Smart Tag will provide options to send e-mail, schedule a meeting or inserting the person's address. Or if you type an address the Smart Tag can provide you with options such as driving directions or showing a map.

Excel error checking Smart Tags
Error checking Smart Tags in Excel appear when data in a cell violates a set of rules for a function or formula. Smart Tags help users spot possible errors in calculations and enable them to correct the errors or change the error checking options.

AutoCorrect Options button
In Word, PowerPoint, and Outlook, the Auto Correct Options button appears when an automatic correction is made by the program and you backspace or position your pointer over the automatic correction.

Automatic Layout Options button
In PowerPoint if you paste into a slide a picture or text that doesn't fit the original layout, the Smart Tag will then automatically offer you a possible layout that accommodates the inserted object.

Related Tips:
Changing Your Word Options
Microsoft Excel Tips
Microsoft Office Templates
Office Tips and Tricks
Office Shortcuts

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