Break out: 20 new uses for software

Most people only use a tiny proportion of the features on offer in any particular PC application, and they're usually the most boring ones.

Microsoft Word? Good for writing letters. Excel? Helps to add things up. PowerPoint? Lets you create hours of dreary presentations. AutoRoute? At least you won't get lost.

With a bit of ingenuity, however, you can use even the most mundane PC applications in interesting ways to do manifold things and without necessarily having to get to grips with the trickier features that lurk under the bonnet of software such as Word and Excel.

Expanding the uses of a particular piece of software is more a case of applying what you already know in slightly different ways. We've come up with 20 suggestions to get you started and you're bound to discover a few more yourself.

1: PowerPoint quiz
As well as creating questions to torment your family, you can use PowerPoint's ready-made templates that combine text and pictures for name-this-famous-person picture rounds.

You can even add song clips to include name-that-tune style questions by choosing Insert, then Movies and Sounds and selecting a file stored on your computer.

PowerPoint works with a number of audio file formats. Use an audio editing application such as Audio Edit Deluxe, which you can download here, to amend sound clips if necessary.

2: Alphabet art
Use your word processor to create a unique email signature made up of letters of the alphabet, punctuation, symbols and so on. Visit www.ascii-art.de for inspiration.

3: Picture show
So your friends thought that they'd never have to sit through another slideshow of your holiday photos after you bought a digital camera.

Well, here's your chance to prove them wrong. You can use PowerPoint to create a digital slideshow and this time you can even add you own witty captions and narration.

4: Crossword companion
It won't solve every tricky crossword clue you come across but, if you're stuck on a clue, replace the letters you don't know with an 'x' and then use Word's spell checker for suggestions.

5: Make CD case inserts using Word tables
To do this you need to select Page Setup from the File menu in Word. Under Paper Size, click on Landscape, and then OK. Choose Insert Table from the Table menu.

Create two columns with a fixed width of 12cm and one row. Then click on OK. Right-click on the table and choose Table Properties. Click on the Row tab, check the Specify Height option and set it to 12cm. Click on OK.

That's the front cover. Repeat for the back cover but use three columns - the centre column needs to be 13.7cm wide and the two outer columns should be 0.7cm. Then simply add your own content.

6: Create a multimedia greetings card
Create a single slide in PowerPoint with a message, add an animation and sound file, then use the program's Pack and Go feature to bundle the whole lot up with the PowerPoint Player, so that anyone can watch it. It could save your skin on someone's birthday.

7: Print multiple documents on one page
If you need to see the layout of a long Word document but don't want to waste paper, you can print several pages of a document on a single sheet of A4 paper. Simply choose the number of pages you'd like from the drop-down list in the Zoom section of the Print dialogue box.

8: Travel journal
Been on a memorable trip somewhere and want to share the experience? Annotate an AutoRoute map of your journey with pushpin markers, adding descriptive text and web links to local attractions, places to stay, pubs, restaurants and so on. Then save it as an AutoRoute file that can be opened by anyone else who has the application.

9: Annotating text
Sometimes you need to edit a document the old-fashioned way, circling the bits you think need changing, crossing out those you don't like, and so on. Open Microsoft Paint, click on the Text tool and draw a large box.

Copy text from Word into this text box and use Paint's pencil and paintbrush tools to annotate it before printing out the edited version.

10: Sound reminder
If your calendar program plays Windows WAV files for its alarms, record your own voice memo using Sound Recorder.

11: Party planner
Use Microsoft Excel to list party costs, such as food and drink per person, using the AutoSum feature to tally them as you go. Keep a list of everyone you're inviting on the same worksheet and, as they accept, write a formula that keeps a running total of your party costs.

12: Everlasting signature
Busy sending out the same letter to lots of people? Fed up with signing them all? Try scanning your signature and saving it as a picture. Once that's done, open Word, choose Insert, Picture and then From File. Locate your signature and simply drop it into the document.

13: Currency conversion
If you have Excel 2002 or a later version, click on View, select Task Pane and then Templates on Microsoft.com. When the website loads, type 'currency' into the search box and press return. When the Currency rates and calculator option appears, click Download Now.

Once you've gone through the confirmation dialogue boxes, you'll have a foreign currency converter you can update whenever you like.

14: Cheat with address labels
Don't address all those greetings cards by hand, use address labels (either from Word or Windows Address book) instead. You can even print out another set for when you go on holiday and use them on postcards.

15: We are here
If you're planning a get together, use AutoRoute to create a how-to-find-us map. Use a nearby major town that everyone can find as the starting point and your house as the end point. Maps can be printed and posted, emailed or put up on your website.

16: I'll be back
If you have to go out unexpectedly, tell everyone where you've gone by leaving a message on your PC's screen. If you have Windows XP, right-click on the Desktop, choose Properties, click on the Screensaver tab and choose Marquee. Click on the Settings button and type in your message.

17: One note is enough
Write a single thank-you note and then mail-merge it with your address list. Make it feel more personal by using a handwriting style font for the body of the note.

If this feels too impersonal, write the main body of your letter and save it as a template. Just change the name of the person you're sending the letter to each time and attach the document to an email.

18: Repeat yourself
If you have a selection of paragraphs that you need to use over and over, put them all in a single document. Highlight each one in turn and then drag it out onto the Desktop. The icons you see are 'document scraps' which can be renamed, stored in a folder and dragged back into documents whenever you need them.

19: Can opener
Use Internet Explorer to open pictures and photos even when you don't have the right image editing software. Just choose File and Open and then select Browse to find your file.

20: Word web pages
Turn a Word document into a web page by choosing Save as Web Page from the File menu. Transform text into hyperlinks and email addresses by right-clicking on them and choosing Hyperlink from the pop-up menu.

Try your luck
Hopefully, these ideas will make you look at your applications in a different light, and help you get more from the ones you use on a daily basis.

Just working your way through the menus once and experimenting with different features is a great way to start.

There are lots of unusual Office templates at office.microsoft.com/templates and you can also get inspiration from the regular workshops in Computeractive.