Note: This blog has moved to http://blog.contextures.com. Please check there for new posts.
Thanks for visiting the Contextures blog, which is focussed on ways that businesses can save time and money. Published Monday to Friday, the blog will feature tips for efficiently using Microsoft Office programs. There will also be suggestions for reducing waste, cutting costs, improving office processes, and the occasional unrelated post.
For a large collection of Excel tutorials and sample files, please visit my web site:
I’m Debra Dalgleish, an independent computer consultant who specializes in Microsoft Office programming and development. Self-employed since 1985, I’ve learned a lot about business efficiency through my own experiences and experiments (some successful, some not so much). I’ve also seen the wide variety of systems and practices that my clients use, and have learned much from them.
In my spare(!) time, I’ve written three books on Excel pivot tables, and you can read the outlines here:
When my business started, it was mainly word processing, and I did everything on a Macintosh (upgraded to 512K), with an external floppy drive, and no hard drive. The first two programs that I used were MacPaint and MacWrite. Soon I got MultiPlan and Microsoft Word, and was excited by all the new things they could do. The next big program I got was Excel, and I expanded my business into that area. There were a few new Macs along with way, including a Mac Plus, a PowerBook and an LC 475.
In the mid 90s, when Windows 3.1 was released, I gradually switched to a PC, because that’s where the money was. I did computer training, wrote training manuals, still did some word processing, and created spreadsheets. In 1996 I was asked to teach an introductory course in Access 2.0, so I learned that too. At the end of that year I created my first database for a client. Since then, we’ve converted the database to newer versions, but it’s still going strong!
Now my working hours are about 40% Excel programming, 40% Access development, and 20% other Microsoft Office stuff. A few clients are still using Office 2000, a couple have upgraded to Office 2007, and the rest use Office XP or Office 2003. It’s tough to remember where the commands are in all those versions!
I’m currently experimenting with Plurk, which is one of the newer social media. (I know, it can be a real time-waster.) It’s interesting to follow some of the computer related topics (click on the magnifying glass icon, then search for Microsoft), and I’ve picked up several interesting tips. You can see my Plurk profile here. If you join through this link you automatically become a fan of mine 
Also, you can click here to see my Facebook profile.
