Wise Owl training and consultancy - news feed

New blog - Creating a website using CSS - a full worked example

Tue, 15 May 2012 16:22:29 GMT

Sometimes online training in style sheets isn't enough: you need a tutorial which takes you through the thought processes involved in creating styles for a web page, step by step. This blog gives a full worked example (you may find it helpful first to look at the two previous parts of this CSS tutorial, on the principles of CSS and applying styles to HTML tags).

New blog - How to create styles for HTML tags using CSS

Tue, 15 May 2012 10:41:18 GMT

This is the second of a three-part online training series of blogs on CSS style sheets. This blog shows how to create styles for specific HTML tags (the first part covers the principles of CSS style sheets, and the third part gives a worked example of CSS).

New blog - New in SQL 2012 - code snippets and surrounding code

Tue, 15 May 2012 08:46:18 GMT

In a previous blog on new features of SQL 2012, I missed out the ability to insert code snippets, and also to embed or surround code in an IF, BEGIN or WHILE block. This blog rectifies this!

New blog - Creating CSS cascading style sheets for HTML

Mon, 14 May 2012 13:58:26 GMT

This is the first of a series of 3 tutorials showing how to create and use CSS style sheets for HTML web pages. This first part explains how CSS works, a second part shows how to create styles for HTML tags and a final part gives a full worked example of creating a style sheet.

New blog - Controlling the number of rows per page in Reporting Services

Fri, 11 May 2012 13:27:30 GMT

Unfortunately, Reporting Services doesn't have a simple setting that allows you to control the number of rows you see on each page. However, you can control this using a clever combination of an expression with a grouping level. Read this blog to find out how!

SQL Server 2012 reviewed

Tue, 08 May 2012 09:34:50 GMT

SQL Server (code name Denali) has been released by Microsoft. Wise Owl have published reviews of the changes for the SQL language and for SQL Server Reporting Services.

New blog - New features for SQL within SQL Server 2012

Tue, 08 May 2012 08:40:32 GMT

SQL 2012 has 14 new functions, a new FileTable construct and new ways to sequence and fetch records - as this blog explains.

New blog - SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 - What's New?

Tue, 08 May 2012 08:11:10 GMT

SQL Server Reporting Services 2012 (SSRS 2012) has been completely rewritten (it's now called SQL Server Data Tools), and yet looks strangely familiar. This blog explains the new features introduced.

New blog - What is PowerPivot for Excel 2010 - an Overview

Fri, 04 May 2012 15:57:45 GMT

PowerPivot for Excel allows you to crunch very large amounts of data quickly, using pivot tables and slicers and other familiar Excel concepts. It also includes the DAX language, allowing you to create complex calculations.

New blog - Createing master pages, CSS, skins and themes

Tue, 01 May 2012 11:11:17 GMT

How to create the perfect ASP.NET website, including using master pages, CSS style sheets, and whether to use skins and themes or not.

New blog - Introduction to SQL Server Management Studio

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 14:53:29 GMT

Before you get into writing SQL Queries you should take some time to familiarise yourself with the application in which you'll be spending most of your time. This blog shows you the basics of SQL Server Management Studio.

New PowerPivot 2010 for Excel course launched.

Mon, 30 Apr 2012 00:00:00 GMT

PowerPivot is a new application from Microsoft aimed at business users who like Excel pivot tables, but want to do more with them. Read on to find out more!

New blog - Tutorial - creating the perfect ASP.NET website

Tue, 24 Apr 2012 11:20:26 GMT

This free online tutorial shows how to create the perfect website using ASP.NET using Visual Basic or Visual C#, user controls, styles, master pages, gridviews, data classes and stored procedures.

New blog - Wise Owl is 20 years old this year: 1992-2012

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 12:09:04 GMT

To celebrate our 20th anniversary, we thought we'd look back on how software training has changed over the last 20 years.

New blog - Designing databases for SQL Server and Access

Mon, 23 Apr 2012 08:24:35 GMT

Designing relational databases is easy once you learn the few basic rules, and the procedure is identical whether you're using SQL Server or Access. This blog illuminates the subject!

Anyone can now create custom skills tests

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 16:51:00 GMT

The skills assessment site goes from strength to strength. The latest feature is that you can now create your own tests - whether on your particular business, a software application, an accounting package or your family's pets.

New Squidoo lenses published

Mon, 16 Apr 2012 14:12:25 GMT

We're experimenting with Squidoo, and have published 4 new lenses - have a look and let us know what you think!

New blog - Why the Easter Bunny prefers SQL Server to Access

Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:58:12 GMT

The Easter Bunny stores his distribution data in SQL Server, not Access; read why!

New blog - Windows Forms or WPF ? Choosing software.

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:42:34 GMT

If you're developing software, should you use old-fashioned but reliable WinForms, or the exciting new concept, WPF?

New blog - Finding missing WPF controls in the Toolbox

Fri, 23 Mar 2012 14:00:29 GMT

Sometimes the tool you need for a window isn't in the All WPF tools section of the toolbox - here's how to add it.

New blog - Why VB trumps C#, and how trolls don't agree!

Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:03:49 GMT

I recently wrote a blog on why (I believe) VB is a better programming language than C# - I wasn't prepared for the flames this would unleash.

Video tutorials section of Wise Owl site created

Thu, 08 Mar 2012 16:48:36 GMT

Rather than having to go to YouTube, Vimeo or the like, you can now browse for and view our training videos on our website.

New blog - Capture Excel application events - event sinks

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 12:34:38 GMT

It's not for the faint-hearted, but there is a way to capture application events (such as someone trying to create a new workbook) in Excel, using something called an event sink. This blog explains how you might go about creating an event sink.

New blog - How to Delete Digital Certificates from your Computer

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 10:18:14 GMT

Creating a digital certificate for your VBA projects is easy, but deleting them is somewhat less obvious. This blog shows you how to use the certificate manager to remove certificates that you no longer need.

New blog - Macro Security and Digital Certificates in VBA

Tue, 06 Mar 2012 09:22:14 GMT

Understanding macro security is essential if you want the code you've written to run when it's supposed to, and at the same time protect yourself from potentially malicious code. This blog explains how to change your security settings to an appropriate level and discusses the ins and outs of digital certification.

New blog - Collections of class object using Excel VBA

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 16:27:31 GMT

If you've learnt how to create your own objects using classes in Excel VBA, the next step is to learn how to group them together into collections. This on-line tutorial will show you how.

New blog - Using Excel Add-Ins to Share VBA Code

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 15:18:17 GMT

If you've written a killer function, you'll want to be able to share it between workbooks. The best way to do this is using an add-in.

New blog - Creating classes in VBA - class modules

Mon, 05 Mar 2012 12:06:10 GMT

Those who want to add spice to their VBA programming can learn how to create classes, or class modules, and become object-orientated programmers. It's difficult, but fun - and this multi-part blog will guide you along the way.

New blog - Using Calendars in Microsoft Project 2010

Fri, 02 Mar 2012 14:42:35 GMT

You can't do much in Microsoft Project without understanding how calendars work. Calendars control when work is allowed to happen, so it's important to set them up properly before you start planning your tasks. This blog teaches you how.

New blog - Protecting Worksheets and Workbooks in Excel

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 16:05:49 GMT

If you've ever been annoyed by somebody else changing parts of your Excel workbooks it's a good idea to learn about protection to prevent them from doing it again!

New blog - Using Data Validation in Microsoft Excel

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 14:45:36 GMT

If you're constantly frustrated by other people entering the wrong values in your spreadsheets why not learn how to use data validation to prevent them? This blog series explains how you can control what other people can do to your spreadsheet.

New blog - Advanced controls in userforms with VBA macros

Tue, 28 Feb 2012 13:57:49 GMT

The two previous parts of this mini-blog have shown how to draw forms and how to write code to handle form events. This final part shows how to add some of the more exotic controls to user forms, like combo boxes, list boxes, multipage controls, spinners and option buttons.

New blog - Writing VBA macros to work with user forms

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 17:16:58 GMT

The previous part of this three-part series showed how to draw user forms; this part shows how to write macros to get them to work (the final part shows how to use some of the more advanced controls, such as combo boxes and MultiPages).

New blog - Scheduling Data Imports in SQL Server

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 16:22:12 GMT

If you frequently import data into a SQL Server database from the same source you'll probably be sick of going through the import wizard again and again. So why not learn how to schedule an automatic import of your data using SSIS packages and the SQL Server Agent? This blog explains how to do exactly that!

Better skills assessment test charts

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 14:44:28 GMT

Our skills assessment tests were great, but the comparison chart at the end was always a bit basic. We've updated this now to a full-blown chart - read on for an example.

New blog - Using Scenarios in Microsoft Excel

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:17:15 GMT

Scenarios are incredibly useful when performing "what-if analysis". They allow you to quickly swap a range of input values to test different possibilities without having to retype any values. Read on to find out how they work!

New blog - Drawing UserForms in the VBA code editor

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 11:04:58 GMT

Learn how to create your own custom dialog boxes in VBA, using UserForms. This is the first part of a three-part series (the other parts are on Writing Code for UserForms and Creating Advanced Controls).

New blog - Goal Seeking in Microsoft Excel

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 15:19:21 GMT

Goal seeking in Excel allows you to approach calculations from the "result end" and get Excel to tell you what inputs you need in order to hit a specific target. Read on to find out how it works!

New blog - Writing functions for Excel using VBA

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:14:29 GMT

On-line training in writing functions using VBA, for use either within other VBA programs or within Excel itself.

New blog - Using enumerations in VBA

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:14:17 GMT

Excel and other MS Office applications make extensive use of enumerations - and you should too!

New blog - Arrays in Visual Basic for Applications macros

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 11:14:03 GMT

You can use arrays (multiple variables) in VBA to speed up code - and they are also invaluable for processing CSV files and the like.

New blog - Using Styles in Microsoft Excel

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:52:24 GMT

Constantly formatting cells in the same way can be one of the most tedious and time-consuming tasks in Excel. This blog teaches you how to use styles so that you can quickly apply consistent formatting across a range of cells.

New blog - Reporting Services date parameter formats

Fri, 24 Feb 2012 10:49:12 GMT

How do you get dates to look sensibly formatted in SSRS parameters? This blog considers the issues, and appeals for help!

New blog - Writing recursive programs in VBA

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 12:55:03 GMT

In certain cases in VBA (displaying the contents of folders, listing hierarchical data) writing a program which calls itself is by far the easiest way to go - this blog gives worked examples of 3 such recursive programs.

New blog - How to Edit all Records in a SQL Server 2008 Table

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:49:14 GMT

This blog explains how you can get access to all of the records in a SQL Server 2008 table when you try to edit them, rather than just the top 200.

New blog - Calculating Age in SQL with a User-Defined Function

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:41:19 GMT

A common requirement in SQL queries is calculating a person's age. The expression you need to do this accurately is relatively long, so why not replace it with a user-defined function? This blog shows you how!

New blog - Changing Settings in SQL Server Management Studio

Thu, 16 Feb 2012 07:16:26 GMT

If you've spent time in the SQL Server Management Studio application you'll probably have noticed that it's not the most user-friendly environment for writing SQL queries. This blog explains how to change a few settings to make your query writing just a little easier.

New blog - SQL Server Tutorial

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 15:08:49 GMT

This article provides a comprehensive tutorial in Microsoft SQL Server, taking you from the basics of writing SELECT statements all the way through to creating complex stored procedures.

New blog - Dates and Times in SQL Server

Mon, 13 Feb 2012 13:31:11 GMT

Dates and times can be the most frustrating data types to work with in SQL Server. Learn everything you need to know about the way dates work with this handy blog series and enjoy happier times!

Advanced Visual Basic and C# courses launched

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:46:33 GMT

We've revamped our entire VB and C# training, amalgamating two existing courses to make one, more useful longer course covering object-orientated programming and LINQ.

Visual Basic for the under-16s (Small Basic)

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 15:29:13 GMT

Small Basic is the cut-down version of Visual Basic designed to ensnare even schoolchildren in the Microsoft web, but we have to admit it is very good.

Reporting Services - maps added to course

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:56:28 GMT

We've added a new chapter to our SSRS course on maps: all 22 pages of it! The rest of this news item gives a flavour; we might blog on this impressive feature soon in more detail.

WPF (Windows Presentation Foundation) courses

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 14:34:28 GMT

WPF stands for Windows Presentation Foundation, and is a new way of creating forms-based applications. You can create 2-D and 3-D graphics and animations, but the system is still basically about creating clickable buttons and datagrids.

New blog - Passing arguments to subroutines in VBA

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 11:47:19 GMT

To become an efficient programmer, you need to stop writing one long subroutine and start writing lots of small ones instead - and to do this, you're going to need to know everything there is to know about passing arguments.

New blog - Linking to ADO databases with VBA

Mon, 06 Feb 2012 15:20:10 GMT

Learn how to write VBA macros to add, edit and delete data in Access, SQL Server and other databases, using something called ADO.

New blog - Making Reporting Services reports refresh automatically

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 08:36:36 GMT

A little nugget of information - how to arrange it so that a report written using SQL Server Reporting Services will keep refreshing automatically, to display the latest data.

New blog - Copy, rename, delete and move files and folders

Mon, 23 Jan 2012 07:58:39 GMT

By referencing the unintuitively named Microsoft Scripting Runtime object library you can write VBA code to access files and folders on your hard disk. This blog explains how, and gives a couple of worked examples.

New blog - Reading and writing to/from a text file using TextStreams

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 17:09:49 GMT

The easiest way to work with text files in VBA is using TextStream objects - this blog explains how they work.

New blog - Linking to the Microsoft Scripting Runtime library

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 16:27:51 GMT

In order to work efficiently with files and folders you first need to create a FileSystemObject. This blog explains how to do this!

New blog - How to choose files and folders in VBA

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 15:07:10 GMT

To make it easier for users of your VBA systems to choose files, you can show FileDialogs on screen. This blog explains what these are, and how to customise them.

Update to VB and C# 2010 for WinForms complete

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:42:50 GMT

All of our Windows Forms courses have now been completely updated to Visual Studio 2010, .NET 4.0, Visual Basic 2010 and Visual C# 2010

New blog - Customising Microsoft Project

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 15:31:08 GMT

There are many things that you can customise in Microsoft Project to mould it to the way you work. This blog summarises the main useful things that can be customised along with links to detailed articles explaining how to modify each one.

New blog - Custom Reports in Microsoft Project

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 14:50:06 GMT

Reporting on progress is an essential part of running a successful project. It's a shame that the preset reports in Microsoft Project are so limited. This blog explains how to create your own custom reports so that you can see the data you need.

New blog - Custom Views in Microsoft Project

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 11:45:35 GMT

If you find that you have to continuously rearrange the preset views every time you create a new file in Microsoft Project, why not try creating your own custom view? This blog explains how to do exactly that!

New blog - Custom Tables in Microsoft Project

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 09:54:43 GMT

If you find yourself constantly deleting and inserting columns every time you create a new project it might be time to consider creating a custom table that you can share between projects. This blog shows you how to do exactly that!

New blog - Creating references programmatically in VBA

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 15:21:49 GMT

Did you know that you can create and manage references from within VBA code? This article gives you ideas on how to do just that.

New blog - Importing Bank Holidays into the Outlook Calendar

Tue, 03 Jan 2012 12:47:43 GMT

A quick guide to adding public holidays to the Calendar in Outlook 2010.

New blog - Ten Useful Applications That You Can Get For Free

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 15:10:54 GMT

As Christmas 2011 approaches we thought it would be a nice idea to list some geeky gifts that you can give to yourself. And the best thing is that they're all completely free!

New blog - 10 reasons why Santa Claus does not use Project

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 10:58:54 GMT

Santa Claus has decided not to use Microsoft Project to manage the present distribution process - read this blog to find out why!

New blog - Using CreateObject and GetObject to create references

Fri, 09 Dec 2011 13:02:38 GMT

Although it's usually easiest to create references to other applications using Tools -> References as described in an earlier blog, you can use the method shown in this blog instead.

New blog - Referencing Word and other applications in Excel VBA

Mon, 05 Dec 2011 09:32:50 GMT

Even if you're writing Visual Basic macros within Excel, there's nothing to stop you inserting text into Word documents, manipulating PowerPoint slides or sending Outlook emails. This blog explains how to reference other applications, and write macros in Excel to link to other Microsoft Office software

New blog - 10 Excel Quick Tips

Fri, 02 Dec 2011 15:21:25 GMT

Some tasks in Excel always seem to take longer than they should - if only you knew a bunch of quick shortcuts to speed up the simple things. Read on to see how much time you could save!

New blog - Error-handling and error trapping in Excel Visual Basic macros

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 08:31:07 GMT

What happens when your macros go wrong? That depends what error-handling you have in place. Learn how to use ON ERROR and other commands to trap errors in a structured way.

New blog - Debugging macros in Excel Visual Basic / VBA

Fri, 25 Nov 2011 08:32:03 GMT

This series of blogs is intended to provide online training in how to debug in Visual Basic for Applications, including using breakpoints and the immediate window.

New blog - Event-handling macros in Excel Visual Basic

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 11:12:50 GMT

Want to do something when a user opens a workbook, or stop them clicking on a particular cell? You need to learn how to attach code to Excel workbook or worksheet events!

New blog - Looping in Visual Basic for Applications macros

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 16:53:17 GMT

There are 4 types of loop in Visual Basic for Applications - this blog shows how and when to use each type of VBA loop structure.

New blog - Conditions in Visual Basic for Applications - IF and SELECT CASE

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 11:59:36 GMT

This part of the Excel VBA training series of blogs shows how to use IF / ELSE / END IF within VBA, and also how to use the alternative SELECT / CASE syntax within macros.

SEO consultancy for managers available

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:28:41 GMT

Wise Owl have learnt a fair few things about search engine optimisation (SEO) over the last few years, and would like to help guide you through the SEO minefield.

New Advanced Reporting Services 2-day course

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:22:32 GMT

Our SQL Server Reporting Services training continues to expand with the launch of this two-day advanced SSRS course.

New blog - How to Create Custom Charts in Microsoft Excel

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:26:12 GMT

One of the most time-consuming things when creating charts in Excel is having to format them. This blog shows you how to save and reuse custom charts to ensure that you'll never have to format a chart again!

New blog - Setting the Default Chart Type in Microsoft Excel

Thu, 10 Nov 2011 16:13:41 GMT

When you create a chart, by default Excel always tries to give you a boring old column chart. If you primarily create pie charts it can be really annoying having to change the chart type every time you create one. This blog shows you how to set Excel to always create the type of chart that you want.

New blog - Collections, objects, methods and properties in Excel VBA

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 17:00:27 GMT

Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) is what's called an object-orientated programming language. This blog explains what this means!

Report Builder 3.0 training course launched

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:31:23 GMT

To go with our existing Reporting Services courses, we've now published a two-day training course showing how to create reports using Report Builder 3.0.

SharePoint 2010 end user course available

Wed, 09 Nov 2011 13:28:58 GMT

Wise Owl have today launched a two-day end user SharePoint 2010 course, designed to show people how to use a SharePoint site which has already been set up.

Skills Assessment tests averaging 150 per day

Tue, 08 Nov 2011 11:03:54 GMT

The skills assessment site allows you to test the IT skills of your current or prospective staff - on average over 150 people a day are now answering all 20 questions in tests.

New blog - Differences between Report Builder and Reporting Services

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 11:25:57 GMT

Report Builder and BIDS (the Visual Studio add-in for creating Reporting Services reports) are essentially the same underneath their very different looking skins. This blog lists the small number of differences.

New blog - Multivalue parameters in Reporting Services

Mon, 07 Nov 2011 09:20:55 GMT

This blog shows how to create multivalue parameters based on dropdowns, whether in SQL Server Reporting Services or Report Builder 3.0.

New blog - Install Report Builder 3.0 despite .NET 3.5 Framework error

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 15:15:24 GMT

Struggling to install Report Builder 3.0 because of a message about the .NET 3.5 framework? The problem is more likely to be to do with Internet Explorer 9.0, as this blog explains.

New blog - How To Create Custom Date Formats in Microsoft Excel

Mon, 31 Oct 2011 08:52:20 GMT

When you enter dates into cells in Microsoft Excel you're initially limited to a short list of fairly boring formats. Using custom date formats means that you can display your dates in almost any way you like!

New blog - Common Table Expressions (CTEs) - SQL Training

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 14:27:18 GMT

This blog gives training on writing CTEs in SQL, or Common Table Expressions to give them their full title. The blog also includes a section on creating recursive CTEs.

New blog - Temporary Tables in SQL - a Training Blog

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 12:25:54 GMT

If you want training in how to use temporary tables in SQL, read on! This blog shows how to create temporary tables and how to drop them safely whether or not they exist. Finally, the blog lists the pros and cons of using temporary tables in SQL.

New blog - Using Icon Sets for conditional formatting in Microsoft Excel 2007

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 16:41:43 GMT

This article looks at one of the new features in Conditional Formatting in Excel 2007/2010 which we can use to make our boring lists more interesting!

New blog - Conditional formatting with Data Bars in Microsoft Excel 2007

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:29:59 GMT

Following on from the article discussing simple conditional formatting in Excel, this blog shows you how to add Data Bars to your lists for that extra bit of pazazz!

New blog - How to apply Conditional Formatting in Microsoft Excel

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 15:18:04 GMT

This short article looks at the basic settings for creating conditional formatting rules in Excel.

New blog - How to Remove Duplicates from a List in Microsoft Excel

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 15:13:20 GMT

If you've ever had the tedious job of manually scrolling through a long list of data to remove the duplicate entries in Excel then this blog is for you! Discover how to hide or delete duplicated data in Excel 2003, 2007 and 2010.

New blog - Why you should program in Visual Basic, not Visual C#

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:04:29 GMT

If you're beginning .NET application development with a clean slate, you'll need to choose a programming language. VB or C#? This opinionated blog gives you some guidance!

New blog - Using ClientIdMode to name web server controls

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 08:01:35 GMT

ASP.NET is great at server-side processing, but how can you refer to ASP.NET web server controls at the client? The answer is to use the new(ish) ClientIdMode property to fix the controls' names.

New blog - Using the InputBox Function in VBA Macros

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 17:14:54 GMT

The InputBox function in Visual Basic for Applications allows you to get - as the name suggests - input from the user. This blog shows how to use it!

New blog - Using Fractions in Microsoft Excel

Mon, 03 Oct 2011 11:25:30 GMT

If you've ever tried to enter fractions in Microsoft Excel you'll probably have become frustrated when Excel insists on converting them into dates! Read this blog to see how to prevent this from happening.

New blog - Using MsgBox to Display Messages in VBA Macros

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 08:46:55 GMT

The MsgBox command in Visual Basic for Applications allows you to display basic messages, but you can also make it prettier, and even use it to ask questions or display multiple-line messages! Read on to find out more about this versatile VBA command.

New blog - How To Make Part Of An Image Transparent In Microsoft PowerPoint

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 15:18:44 GMT

If you've ever inserted a company logo or other image onto a slide with a coloured background in Microsoft PowerPoint you'll probably have been really annoyed when the image looks as though it's contained in a white box. Read this blog to find out how to remove the box and make your image appear transparent.

New blog - Choosing Colours In Microsoft Office Applications

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 13:54:39 GMT

Have you ever been asked to reproduce your company's brand colours in your latest PowerPoint presentation, or wanted to use your corporate font colours in your latest Word report? This blog will show you how to pick your colours accurately in any of the standard Microsoft Office applications.

New blog - Overview of Data Controls in ASP.NET 4.0

Mon, 19 Sep 2011 12:15:06 GMT

With the introduction of the ListView data control in ASP.NET 3.5, there are now 4 separate tools for displaying multiple rows of data in ASP.NET. Which one is best - GridView, Repeater, DataList or ListView?

New blog - Changing Form Appearance in Access 2007 and 2010

Wed, 07 Sep 2011 10:53:17 GMT

If you've upgraded from Access 2003 to either Access 2007 or 2010 you might be wondering why your forms don't look like forms any more. Read this blog to see how to change a simple setting that will return your forms to their normal state!

New blog - Variables and Constants in Excel Visual Basic

Mon, 05 Sep 2011 09:41:50 GMT

This blog explains the nuts and bolts of Excel VBA variables, including how to declare them, how to set their scope and all sorts of other tips and tricks. The blog also covers constants in Excel macros.

New blog - Review of VB.NET Data Storage Structures

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 14:30:29 GMT

There are a bewildering array (excuse the pun) of data storage structures available to you in Visual Basic. Choose from arrays, ArrayLists, SortedLists, Dictionaries, HashTables, Lists and DataTables, among others. This blog gives an example of each type of structure, and benchmarks them to show which perform best and worst.

New blog - Using the VLOOKUP Function in Excel to Calculate Exam Grades

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 14:51:16 GMT

The VLOOKUP function in Excel is perfect for categorising a continuous range of numbers. This topical example shows you how to calculate an exam grade based on a numerical score.

New blog - Using Range Names in Excel

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 12:21:58 GMT

Did you know that you don't have to use cell references in calculations in Microsoft Excel? You can use range names to create sensible, plain English names to refer to your cells and use those in your formulae instead. Read this blog to find out how.

New blog - Select All The Text In A PowerPoint Presentation

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 14:19:42 GMT

Have you ever needed to change the font that you've used for a PowerPoint presentation and laboriously clicked through each slide to change it one-by-one? Well the next time you find yourself in this situation you'll be able to do this in one go. Read on to find out how.

New blog - Stop Text Changing Size in PowerPoint

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:58:28 GMT

Do you get annoyed when you see the font size shrinking automatically as you type text into a PowerPoint slide? Us too! Turning off the AutoFit options is an easy way to stop this from happening. This blog explains how to do exactly that in PowerPoint 2003, 2007 and 2010.

New blog - Free Excel Visual Basic Tutorial - VBA Macros Online Training

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 09:04:07 GMT

Use this free online training in Excel Visual Basic for Applications (VBA) to learn how to program macros within Excel. The tutorial covers everything from basic recording through to creating classes - something for everyone!

New blog - Relative Selection using Excel VBA Macros

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 08:39:00 GMT

This blog shows the various techniques within Excel Visual Basic for moving around and selecting cells relative to the active cell or selection. The blog includes a discussion of the Offset, End, Resize, Range, EntireRow, EntireColumn and CurrentRegion methods.

New blog - Selecting Cells using Excel VBA Macros - Absolute

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 17:58:25 GMT

This blog gives the various possible ways to select cells, ranges, columns and rows using Visual Basic for Applications in Excel. Useful for the VBA newbie, but even gurus might find one or two commands they'd missed!

New blog - Gradient Fill Colours for SSRS 2008 Chart Data Series

Mon, 08 Aug 2011 09:52:21 GMT

You can change the fill colour of data series in Reporting Services in a number of different ways, as explained in this article - but none of them allows you to set gradient or other effects. This blog is a rare appeal for help!

New blog - Changing Visual Studio default settings for ASP.NET

Tue, 02 Aug 2011 11:49:10 GMT

Visual Studio is a great tool for developing websites using ASP.NET - it can be made even greater by tweaking some default settings. Use this blog to change the default start-up options, assign a navigate backward key, insert attribute quote marks and open pages in HTML view by default.

New blog - Using the Organizer in Microsoft Project

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 15:12:30 GMT

If you've ever spent time customising the same calendar or the same field every time you create a new file in Microsoft Project, you'll definitely want to know about the Organizer. This handy tool lets you copy any customised content into the Project Global template so that it will be available to every new project that you create!

New blog - Custom Fields in Microsoft Project

Mon, 01 Aug 2011 14:36:08 GMT

Have you ever been frustrated when you can't find a suitable field for entering the data you want in a Microsoft Project plan? Well why not customise your own field and enter anything from simple text, to drop down lists, to complex calculations and even graphical indicators!

New blog - Creating animation triggers in PowerPoint

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 11:38:13 GMT

PowerPoint isn't all about naff transitions and clichéd effects - add a touch of class to your presentation with some bespoke animation triggers!

New blog - Number format bug in SSRS 2008 R2

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 13:51:38 GMT

Are we alone in continually coming across this bug? When you choose to change the number format in SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 R2 reports, the relevant dialog box vanishes!

New blog - Repeating Page Headers in Reporting Services 2008 R2

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:26:07 GMT

Getting rows of a table to repeat at the top of each page of a report in SSRS 2008 R2 is anything but straightforward. This blog shows the red herring to avoid and a way to solve this thorny problem.

New blog - Fixing page titles during scrolling in SSRS 2008 R2

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 11:25:05 GMT

As you scroll down a report, the titles at the top of the page will disappear - this blog shows how to prevent this happening. It's not as easy as you would think!

New blog - Exporting SSRS Reports to Excel using RenderFormat

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 17:03:26 GMT

SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 R2 includes (among many other features) the ability to detect a report's rendering format, together with a facility for naming report pages. You can combine these two features to create Excel workbooks with individually named worksheets for each member of a group, as shown in this blog.

New blog - Free tutorial - Gauges in SSRS Reporting Services

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 14:46:18 GMT

SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 introduced gauges, in all their dazzling compexity. This free tutorial blog shows how to create gauges, format their pointers and scales, add labels and much else besides.

New blog - Free Tutorial in Indicators in SSRS 2008 R2

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 11:20:47 GMT

Indicators are one of the nicest new features of SSRS 2008 R2 (or SQL Server Reporting Services, to give the software its full name). This blog shows how to add indicators to a table, format them and set scaling correctly.

New blog - Inserting in-line keys in HTML using CSS

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 15:27:11 GMT

Getting keyboard keys to display properly in HTML can be hard. This blog shows two ways which don't work, and one way (using CSS, inevitably) which seems to do the trick.

New blog - Compressing pictures in Microsoft PowerPoint 2007

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:36:29 GMT

Do your Microsoft PowerPoint presentations contain lots of pictures? Are the files taking up a lot of space and refuse to email? This short blog shows you how to compress your pictures and save lots of space, and headaches!

New blog - Using VBA in Microsoft Project to Set Up Unusual Calendars

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 15:33:06 GMT

Setting up a pattern of working time in a Project calendar is simple enough when your week runs from Monday to Sunday, but when you have an unusual working pattern setting up the calendar is a pain! This article explains how to use VBA to create a detailed calendar at the click of a button!

New blog - Introduction to Visual Basic for Applications (VBA)

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 12:57:56 GMT

If you've heard people in your office talking about macros or VBA but don't understand what they mean, this blog series will make everything clear. It's an introduction to the most basic skills you'll need to start creating your own programs in any of the Microsoft Office applications.

New blog - Assigning short-cut keys to VBA macros in Excel

Fri, 01 Jul 2011 08:39:46 GMT

This short blog shows how to assign short-cut keys to macros in Excel 2010, Excel 2007 and Excel 2003. So if you've written a whizzy macro in VBA and want to be able to run it with a single keystroke combination, read on!

New blog - Displaying the Developer Ribbon in Excel 2010

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 16:17:41 GMT

This short blog shows how to display the Developer ribbon in Excel 2010 (it's different from Excel 2003 and Excel 2007!).

New blog - Recording macros in Excel Visual Basic - VBA Macros

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 09:25:40 GMT

If you're not sure what the Excel Visual Basic for Applications language is, or how it can help you, this blog attempts to explain! Learn what VBA is, and how you can record macros and then replay them again and again to automate work in Excel.

New blog - Top 15 Short-Cut Keys in Microsoft Word

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 10:10:25 GMT

This isn't a comprehensive list of every short-cut key in Word - just a summary of the ones I'd consider most important.

New blog - Baseline Taskbar bug in Microsoft Project 2010

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 12:42:23 GMT

Have your Baseline Taskbars ever disappeared when using the Tracking Gantt view in Microsoft Project 2010? If so, this short blog explains why!

New blog - Creating a Picture Frame Effect for Images in Microsoft Publisher

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 16:50:50 GMT

Are you bored of all your inserted pictures appearing in a rectangle in Microsoft Publisher? Read this blog to see how you can create a much more interesting frame shape for any picture you insert!

New blog - Creating Custom Stencils and Custom Shapes in Microsoft Visio

Wed, 15 Jun 2011 15:37:03 GMT

One of the most time-consuming things in Microsoft Visio is continually formatting shapes in the same way every time you create a new diagram. If only you knew how to create a custom collection of shapes that you could reuse in every diagram you create… Read this article to find out how to do exactly that!

New blog - How to Draw a Jigsaw Puzzle in Microsoft PowerPoint

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:45:56 GMT

This blog series shows you how to use some advanced drawing techniques in Microsoft PowerPoint to create a set jigsaw puzzle shapes. If you've ever wondered how pedantic a person can get about aligning objects in PowerPoint, read this article to find out!

New blog - How To Create a Self-Running PowerPoint Presentation

Tue, 14 Jun 2011 17:37:57 GMT

Have you ever sat at a trade show or business exhibition clicking the mouse button every ten seconds to advance your company's promotional PowerPoint presentation? No, of course you haven't! And neither has anybody else, because they know how to create a presentation that runs itself. Read on to find out how you can do the same.

New blog - Adding data labels to a chart using VBA

Wed, 08 Jun 2011 10:56:45 GMT

Adding basic data labels to a chart can be done without using any programming code. This blog, however, shows you how to fine-tune Excel chart labels using VBA (Visual Basic for Applications) macros.

New blog - Changing the Legend in a Microsoft Project Gantt Chart

Mon, 06 Jun 2011 09:24:09 GMT

Have you ever wondered how to change the items that appear in the legend when you print a Gantt Chart in MS Project? Did you even know that you could?! It isn't the most intuitive method, but this blog shows you how to apply a little more control to your printed Gantt charts.

New blog - Conditional Formatting in Microsoft Project Gantt Charts

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 11:13:47 GMT

Formatting Gantt Charts in Microsoft Project is a time-consuming process. This blog series explains how to create task bars that format themselves as you change information in the table.

New blog - Using sheet codenames in Microsoft Excel VBA

Wed, 01 Jun 2011 10:57:30 GMT

Do your macros keep falling over due to users renaming their worksheets in Excel? Read this article to find out if sheet codenames could be the solution you need.

New blog - Using SQL UNION queries to populate the first Item in a list type control

Tue, 31 May 2011 16:18:32 GMT

Adding a first or default item to a list control which gets its data from a table can be tricky. This blog gives an elegant solution using UNION queries, which works equally well for ASP.NET dropdown controls, Windows Forms dropdowns or Access combo boxes.

New blog - Rolling Up Tasks in Microsoft Project

Tue, 31 May 2011 14:31:35 GMT

When you collapse a group of tasks in a Microsoft Project schedule you lose the ability to see the detail of when individual tasks start and finish. The solution is to roll up your subtasks so that you can see them even when the task group has been collapsed.

New blog - Shortcuts for changing Project 2010 task types

Tue, 31 May 2011 13:02:19 GMT

Fed up with hunting around on the ribbon for commands? This article shows you a quick way of changing task types in Project 2010.

New blog - Problems with Outlining in SSRS 2008 R2

Tue, 17 May 2011 15:50:24 GMT

Outlining grouped data in Reporting Services 2008 should be straightforward: you just set the ToggleItem property of rows, and away you go! Unfortunately this owl can't get this to work - along with a lot of other people it seems - so we offer this solution.

New blog - Data Structures in SQL Server Analysis Services

Mon, 16 May 2011 13:46:31 GMT

This series of blogs introduces the basic data structures for storing data, including OLTP and OLAP databases.

New blog - Visual Studio - Recent Projects not Showing Up

Tue, 10 May 2011 13:03:23 GMT

It's been irritating the author for a long time now that some websites weren't showing up as recent projects in the Visual Studio File menu. The reason is that they didn't have an associated solution - this article shows how to create a blank solution and add your project to it, thereby removing the irritation!

Wise Owl blog goes live!

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 12:20:24 GMT

The Wise Owl blog is now live. As yet there are only a few blogs, but we're hoping to share our knowledge and solutions with the world more and more over the next few months and years.

New blog - Commenting out code in VBA

Thu, 28 Apr 2011 11:32:17 GMT

Commenting code is an art form! This series of blogs explains why, how and when to comment in VBA.

Wise Owl Blog ready for testing

Tue, 22 Feb 2011 16:48:40 GMT

We've been meaning to develop a blog for some time now, and have finally found the time to make it happen. We're aiming for an April release, with comments addable from the summer.

January 2011 newsletter sent out

Tue, 04 Jan 2011 00:00:00 GMT

The tri-annual Wise Owl newsletter will begin hitting inboxes on 4th January 2011.

New blog - Access project ADP file extended properties error

Tue, 21 Dec 2010 16:47:45 GMT

When you try to view data for a table in an Access project with an ADP extension, Access can throw a wobbly. Here's why!

New skills assessment site launched

Fri, 17 Dec 2010 15:24:47 GMT

After 2 years of development, our new skills assessment site is launched today (the site is also great for training needs analysis, or TNA, whether for prospective or existing staff)

New blog - Capturing text using SnagIt

Sun, 28 Nov 2010 10:48:30 GMT

SnagIt is great for capturing text, but we hadn't realised it was also good for OCR (optical character recognition).

Intermittent downtime problem sorted

Tue, 02 Nov 2010 11:55:50 GMT

For a month or so the Wise Owl website has been experiencing annoying intermittent downtime (usually for periods of about 10 minutes at a time). This has now been solved - the explanation is included!

Facebook "Like it" button added

Fri, 29 Oct 2010 14:59:00 GMT

The Wise Owl website now includes a Facebook "Like it" button on each page. This allows you to share pages that you like with other Facebook users quickly and easily.

Twitter launched

Thu, 30 Sep 2010 10:25:40 GMT

Wise Owl are now on Twitter! The problem is, we're not sure what to do now. We know owls tweet, but what about? Suggestions please!

RSS news feed created

Tue, 14 Sep 2010 13:00:08 GMT

Our news now forms part of an RSS feed, so you can keep up to date with everything happening at Wise Owl more easily.

September newsletter sent out

Thu, 02 Sep 2010 13:16:52 GMT

Our September newsletter includes the launch of our new website, our new Office 2010, Visual Studio Tools for Office and Reporting Services 2008 R2 courses and the launch of our Facebook page

Wise Owl are on FaceBook

Wed, 01 Sep 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Not before time, Wise Owl Business Solutions have a Facebook page!

Credit card payments online

Tue, 31 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We now take credit card payments online, although businesses can still choose to pay for Wise Owl computer training after the course as before

Office 2010 courses launched

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

We are now running Office 2010 training courses, including training in Access 2010 and Excel 2010

Website revamp

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

The Wise Owl website has been completely revamped - every single page has been rewritten. The new site should be clearer to use and easier to navigate.

Visual Studio Tools for Office course launched

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

Our new 3-day Visual Studio Tools for Office course covers how to create Microsoft Office applications within Visual Studio - the successor to VBA?

SSRS 2008 R2 course launched

Mon, 30 Aug 2010 00:00:00 GMT

SQL Server Reporting Services 2008 R2 is the latest version os SSRS, and is very different from its predecessors - we launch a new course to reflect this.