CHAPTER 2 |

Productivity Tools
Productivity software
- is composed of computer programs that are used
mainly for generating information, such as documents,
presentations worksheets, databases, charts, graph,
digital paintings, electronic music and videos.

Productivity tools
- can be a
o freeware; or
o shareware

freeware
- is copyrighted, can be
used for free and for an
unlimited time; while

shareware
- is commercial software that is
copyrighted, can be copied for trial
but needs to be purchased for
continued use.
Microsoft Office
- Is one of most popular productivity suit developed by
Microsoft.
- This includes
o Word processing software,
o electronic spreadsheet,
o presentation software,
o database; and
o desktop publishing program.
- These tools will help you create organize, and present
information to an audience for a more effective
communication.
 Reports nowadays demand to well-presented and
dynamic away from the usual ways of presenting
information, simulation. A lot of presentation software
available whether online or offline. The same way, financial
reports are calculated and tabulated using electronic
spreadsheets because of the automatic formulas and
functions available.
These programs are also made available to mobile
devices which are also downloadable from the web.
Pre-learning Check
Identify the shortcut keys of the following commands
Copy –
Close application window -
Select all -
Refresh desktop / window –
Help –

MS Word
- is one of the software of the
Microsoft Office 2013 suite offers
a set of tools that are advanced
compared to its previous
versions.
- Along with its new features are
the advanced techniques including hyperlinks, macros,
and mall merge
MS PowerPoint
- allows you to create slide
show presentations wherein
you can format the texts and
images; adding also
animations and other
multimedia components
interactively.
 MS Excel
- is one of the applications created by
Microsoft, used to simulate a paper
worksheet. It is composed of cells
that are represented in rows and
columns designed to perform basic
arithmetic operations. It is widely
used in accounting and financial applications, as well
as statistics and engineering calculations.

Advanced Techniques Using MS Word: Hyperlinks

A hyperlink
- is a link that will direct you
to another page or part of
the same. document.
- it can be a word, a phrase,
symbol or image, a different element in the document,
another hypertext document, a file or a script. It is
activated by clicking on the linked element usually
underline and of a different color.

MS Word creates a hyperlink when you type the address

of an existing Web page, such as www.google.com, if the
automatic formatting of hyperlinks has not been turned off.
 You can create a hyperlink to a new or existing
document or web page, an e-mail address, a specific
location to another document or web page, a location.

Creating a Hyperlink to an Existing Document

Suppose you are to link a part of your document to an
existing document.
1. Click your mouse on the location in the document where
you want to insert the hyperlink.
2. On the Insert Tab, click the Hyperlink button on the Links
group).
3. On the Insert Hyperlink dialog box, click Existing File or
Web Page and select the Filename where the source file
is located and then Hyperlink will be created on your
document.
4. Press Ctrl + click on the Hyperlink to open the linked file.

Mail Merge
- is a useful tool that allows you to quickly produce and
send information, newsletter, resumes, or brochures to
many people.

Creating a Maid Merge

In creating a Mail Merge, you need a data source that
contains the basic information to be merged into your Word
document. A data source may contain name, address,
telephone, and other information you want to include. A data
source must be created first to be able to use Mail Merge for
mass mailing.
1. Open the Word document that you want to Mail Merge.
2. On the Ribbon, click the Mailings tab, go to the Start Mail
Merge group and click Start Mail Merge and select Step
by Step Mail Merge Wizard.
3. The Task Pane will show the Mail Merge steps 1 to 6

Step 1: Select document type

1. Choose from the options such as Letters, E-mail
messages, Envelope, Labels, or Directory.
2. Click Next.
Step 2: Select starting document
1. Choose from the options such as Use the current
document. Start from a template, or start from existing
document.
2. Click Next.
Step 3: Select recipients
1. If you have not created yet a recipient list, choose the
Type a new list and click Create, and the New Address
List dialog box will appear where you can type in the
names and data of your recipients.
 2. Click New Entry to add additional names and after
typing, click Cancel to close the dialog box.
3. After you have entered your list, the Save Address List
dialog box will open.
4. Type your file name and click Save.

Step 4: Write your letter

1. Click the Address block to specify the Address elements.
2. Click the Greeting line to set the greeting line format.
3. Click Next.
4. Type your file name and click Save.

Step 5: Preview your letters

1. The name, address, and greeting line will show in the
document,
2. You can click the Forward and Back arrows to view other
recipients in the list.
3. You can also Edit recipient list.

Step 6: Complete the merge

1. To print directly, select Print.
2. If you want to make adjustments on individual recipients,
select Edit individual letters.
Advanced Techniques Using MS PowerPoint:
Animations and Hyperlinks Adding a Slide Animation
Slide Animation is a moving computer graphic effect
that can be added to the text, object, or the entire slide itself.
1. Click the Animation tab and go to the Advanced
Animation group.
2. Select the animation from the list of options grouped as
Entrance, Emphasis and Exit.
3. You can add animation to any element in the slide-you
could select a title, bulleted list, or graphic. Click the Add
Animation drop-down button to preview the effects.
4. As you click one effect, a menu appears with a list of
effect categories. Entrance effects animate the element
as it enters the slide. Emphasis effects make the
element do something after it enters the slide. Exit
effects animate the element as it leaves the slide. Motion
paths allow you to specify specific paths on how the
element will be animated in the slide.
5. The Animation Pane, will show the details about the
effect
6. Use the Start field to. select an event which will trigger
the animation.
Remember:
With Previous animation, will occur, at the same time as
the previous animation on the slide while After Previous
animation will occur after the previous animation.
Adding a Slide Transition
Slide transitions control how your presentation moves
from slide to slide.

Adding Action Button

Action button allows you to play sounds, animate or run
a program. It allows you to move from one slide to another
without using the usual next button in a slide show.

Advanced Techniques Using MS Excel: Formulas and

Functions
MS Excel uses Formulas to calculate values. The equal
sign typed in the cell signifies that a formula is created or the
AutoSum function is used to build a formula
An Excel formula always begins with an equal ( = ) sign.
Aside from Formulas, Excel also offers predefined
operations called Functions to make the worksheet
construction easier.
Functions are built-in formulas that help in worksheet
operation The following are the common Excel Functions:
=SUM
- Calculates the sum of the values of a range of cell.
=AVERAGE
- Calculates the arithmetic mean of a range of cell
=MAX
- Gives the maximum value in a range of cells
=MIN
- Gives the minimum value in a range of cells
=COUNT
- Counts the number of cells in a range of cells

Android Apps
One of the most popular software today is Android app.
It is an application used for devices running on Android OS
usually on mobile like smartphone or a tablet PC.
Research on the different Android apps used as productivity
tools:
• Google Apps
• Evernote
• Pocket
Benefits of Online Software
The internet has offered a lot of free software that are
readily available. Free e-mail and cloud software are
beneficial to people but some businesses are still having a
hard time in taking the advantages of what these programs
offer.
Here are some benefits that can be considered when using
online software for businesses:
Ease of use
The applications should be intuitive and easy to use to
ensure everyone can use them without spending a lot of time
learning them.
Scalability
The applications should be able to be used in all areas
of your business and also work effectively no matter how
much demand there is to use them or how much your
business grows.
Safety
All the applications should be safe to use with all existing
sys terns and should have the ability to fully integrate with all
other soft i ware and not inhibit the worker ability to do their
job.
Sustainability
All consumer-based software! should be flexible and
adaptable and have the ability to last for up to 10 years, but
they must be able to expand functionality with other
developments in software and operating systems.

SUMMARY
Productivity software is application software used for
creating digital content.
Freeware is copyrighted software and is made available for
use free of charge for an unlimited time.
Shareware is commercial software that is copyrighted, but
which may be copied for others for the purpose of their trying
it out with the understanding that they will pay for it if they
continue to use it.
MS Word, MS PowerPoint, and MS Excel are some
examples of the common productivity tools used for creating
content.
A hyperlink is a connection between an element in a
hypertext document and a different element in the document,
another hypertext document, a file or a script.
Mail Merge is a useful too that allows you to quickly produce
and send information, newsletter, resumes or brochures to
many people.
Slide Animation and Transition makes your presentation
more dynamic and interactive.
Formulas and Functions help you generate electronic
spread- B sheet and computations easier.