Microsoft Project Training

DECEMBER 2011 UPDATE:  We are getting renewed interest in Project training.  Please contact us if you are interested.


There is some interest in Microsoft Project Training, both in Bakersfield and in Oxnard.

Experience and Excellence in Project Training

We should let you know that we offer some of the best training for Microsoft Project in the entire state.  All recent versions, from Project 2003 and 2007…all the way through the latest Project 2010 software are available.  We have provided Project training for a wide variety of organizations, ranging from independent construction companies, to Fortune 500 firms and the U.S. military plus numerous Federal agencies.

Our Project Classes

Our Project training consists of two levels.  MS Project is a fairly complicated piece of software, so both levels are designed to give the student a sound background in creating, updating, and administering projects.

Project Level 1

The Project Level 1 class covers the basics of creating a Project plan file and all the concepts you need to understand in order to develop an effective computer-based system for tracking your projects.  Prime considerations and configuring the software is covered, followed by a discussion of how to effectively build the Project file and add the tasks associated with the project.  

Adding resources such as people, equipment, and materials is discussed, along with the pros and cons of using resources in your project.  How to assign the resources to tasks and the associated impact is then covered.  Finally, we cover the best practices for troubleshooting the project plan file and finalizing the project.

Project Level 2

Project Level 2 continues the project plan development process.  We go over numerous methods for updating the project and making global changes.  

Customization is an important area of learning that covers how you can sort through the vast amounts of data associated with your projects and monitor plus report on the project.  This is followed by a discussion of how to re-use your project data in similar projects.  Finally, we show you how to exchange data between Microsoft Project and other programs you use.

Project Management Fundamentals

Training in the Microsoft Project software is very popular among our clients.  But if your people need to learn about key concepts in project management, we also offer our Project Management Fundamentals class.  Even experience project managers have commented on how useful they find this class.  

We discuss the elements of planning for and measuring success in your projects.  Risk management, scheduling, and budgeting are several key areas covered.  We also discuss tracking, reporting, and controlling the project.  And our discussion of properly closing out a project is quite useful.

If you are interested in our Project Management Fundamentals class, please contact us for more information.

Project Training Your Way

Microsoft Project is a powerful program for administering even large-scale projects.  Many companies require their contractors to use this program.  

In addition to our open enrollment Project classes, we also specialize in dedicated and onsite classes, both in our training centers and your location!

 

If you are interested in these classes, please post a reply here indicating how many students you would like to send and when are the best dates for you. Please don't post anonymously...log in so that we can contact you to enroll your students. Or email info@diamondtechsolutions.net

Access 2007 Level 2

We just finished an Access 2007 Level 1 class in Oxnard and now we have clients in need of Access 2007 Level 2.  We would like to see who’s interested in this class, both in Bakersfield and in Oxnard.

This class is frequently referred to as the “Querying Class” because there is an emphasis on learning the various types of queries.  Students will also learn more about additional controls on both forms and reports.  There is also a detailed discussion of relationships and lookup fields.

Topics include:

• Normalization, referential integrity, and relationships
• Lookup fields
• Advanced queries
• Advanced from design
• Advanced reports
• Charts
• PivotTables and PivotCharts

If you need to learn about how to pull specific data and do large-scale updates to your databases, you need to take this class!

If you are interested in this class, please post a reply here indicating how many students you would like to send and when are the best dates for you. Please don't post anonymously...log in so that we can contact you to enroll your students. Or email info@diamondtechsolutions.net

Word 2007 Level 2

We mentioned on our previous blog post (just a few minutes before this one) that clients were calling us about Word 2007 Level 2 training.  And not just people on our regular mailing list…new clients and clients we haven't heard from in a long while are asking.  

Here's what you'll get in this class:

Styles

This is probably the most important tool you can use to create consistent formatting throughout your documents.  This is directly related to a post we put up of Facebook, well before this blog even existed.

Sections and Columns

How to add 2 or more columns to your documents.  Indispensable if you are writing newsletters.  More importantly, sections helps you apply formatting (like columns, landscape orientation, headers and footers, etc.) to only certain pages in your document.

Table Formatting

Did we mention that old post on our Facebook page?  It was specifically about how tables create formatting issues when copying and pasting from other documents.  (Copy and Paste into Word - Watch Those Tables) And you can also use tables to control the location of items on your pages.  Yes, tables are very versatile!

Printing Labels and Envelopes

Word has some great tools for helping you print essential items that do not use letter or even legal size paper.  If you are creating labels and envelopes, these are things you should know about!

Templates and Building Blocks

You can use templates for a wide variety of things.  From letters to resumes to reports, proposals and email messages.  If you need to regularly create similar documents with specific formatting…you need to use templates in Word.

Graphics

You don't have to work at a magazine to use graphics in your documents.  We obviously use them for training, but a lot of other organizations use illustrations in this age of digital cameras.  Do you maintain machinery?  Then you probably are adding pictures of parts to your documents.  Are you writing proposals or marketing materials?  You'll want to use Office 2007's new Smart Art to illustrate complex concepts.

Document Revisions

Tracking changes is important for any document where multiple people collaborate on content, so this is a popular topic from this class.  Along these lines, have you ever received (or worse yet, sent out) documents where all the markup from changes was visible?  Word 2007 has some new features that will help you prevent this.

Web Features and Hyperlinks

In this topic, adding hyperlinks to a document is a useful feature.  From within Word, you can link to other files, web pages, and email addresses.  This also includes linking to specific sheets on an Excel workbook, slides on a PowerPoint presentation, or even a specific view on a Project plan.

So as you can see, our Level 2 class has a lot to offer if you work with Word documents on a regular basis!

Update: Word 2007 Training

We are getting more requests for Word 2007 Training, both in Bakersfield and Oxnard.  Clients are asking about both Word Level 1 and Word Level 2.

We wish we could say it was the post on Word training, but these are coming in from new clients and clients we haven't contacted on a regular basis.

For more information on the Level 1 class, click here.  (Well, OK, it was the last post before this one, so you can just scroll down from the blog home page...)

We are posting info on the Level 2 class next...

Word 2007 Level 1

We had a nice article (well at least it was informative, we think) last week on the need for Word training.  

 

Since then, we've been asked to do Word training.  Both in Bakersfield and in Oxnard.

 

Here's a link to the original article:  

"It's just Word. Why do I need training?"

 

And here's what's in our Level 1 class:

 

• The Word interface (and what's new in Office 2007)
• Navigation
• Formatting Text
• Tables
• Page Layout

And lot of other useful things. (Like how to do add the bullets to this list.)

 

If you are interested in this class, please post a reply here indicating how many students you would like to send and when are the best dates for you. Please don't post anonymously...log in so that we can contact you to enroll your students. Or email info@diamondtechsolutions.net

PowerPoint 2007 Level 1

There is some interest in holding a PowerPoint 2007 Level 1 class in Bakersfield.  (And of course, we'd love to have one in Oxnard too!)

 

This class covers the basics of building a PowerPoint presentation.  We will cover formatting slides, graphics, using drawing tools, and everything you need to start creating your own slide shows.

 

• Getting Started
• Building Presentations
• Formatting
• Drawing Tools
• Grapics
• Tables and Charts
• Templates
• Delivering Presentations

 

…and much more!

 

If you are interested in these classes, please post a reply here indicating how many students you would like to send and when are the best dates for you. Please don't post anonymously...log in so that we can contact you to enroll your students. Or email info@diamondtechsolutions.net

Excel 2007 Level 3 in Bakersfield

We have a request for an Excel 2007 Level 3 class in Bakersfield.

It’s a great chance to learn about the advanced capabilities of Excel 2
007. This class does not run very often. So if you are interested, please take advantage of this course offering!

We will cover the advanced capabilities of functions in this class, including lookups and database functions.  PivotTables are a very popular topic in this class.  And since many of us deal with databases, coverage of Excel's importing and exporting capabilities is a key topic.

Topics include:

• Advanced Functions
• Lookups and Data Tables
• Advanced list management
• PivotTables and PivotCharts
• Exporting and importing Data
• Analytical options
• Macros and custom functions
• Conditional formatting and SmartArt

There's also the Excel 2007 Level 3 class in Oxnard on June 7, 2011.  

If you are interested in these classes, please post a reply here indicating how many students you would like to send and when are the best dates for you. Please don't post anonymously...log in so that we can contact you to enroll your students. Or email info@diamondtechsolutions.net

Word 2007 Training

"It's just Word.  Why do I need training?"

If we had a nickel for every time we heard this…well we probably wouldn't be in the business of computer training.

The reality is that everyone needs Word these days.  Pretty much anything beyond minimum wage requires a resume.  And what's the best way to write a resume? With Word!  And if you get into large documents, contracts, proposals, and pretty much any situation where you are creating documents...you need Word.  And not just as a glorified typewriter.  No, need to know about outlining, paragraph formatting, text formatting, bullets and numbering.  Etcetera, etcetera, etcetera. I think you get the picture.

If this has been an eye-opener, here's a quick overview of our Word classes:

Word Level 1

Covers the basics:  

• The Word interface (and what's new in Office 2007)
• Navigation
• Formatting Text
• Tables
• Page Layout

And lot of other useful things. (Like how to do add the bullets to this list.)

Word Level 2

More detail on formatting and layout:

• Styles
• Sections and Columns
• Labels and Envelopes
• Templates
• Tracking Changes

And a whole lot more!

Word Level 3

Covers using advanced features to streamline your workflow:

• Mail merge
• Forms
• Macros
• Large document tools (table of contents, index, bibliographies, etc.)

So there you have it!  Word is more than just banging away at keys.  It is a powerful tool to help you create the documents you need to do your work.  Or even help you find work.

If you are interested in these classes, please post a reply here indicating how many students you would like to send and when are the best dates for you. Please don't post anonymously...log in so that we can contact you to enroll your students. Or email info@diamondtechsolutions.net

Excel 2007 Level 1 in Bakersfield

We have even more requests to run Excel Level 1 in Bakersfield.  At the moment, we have nearly enough people to run the class, so we're probably going to schedule it for the last two weeks of June or possible the beginning of July.  When would you like to have the class?

We've split this post off from the Oxnard class, which we're about to schedule.

If you're curious about what the class covers:

Students will learn the basics of building a spreadsheet and pick up useful tips on increasing their productivity.  This class consistently gets rave reviews…even from veteran Excel users!

This class will cover:

• The Office 2007 Interface
• Excel Basics
• Calculations
• Formatting
• Charts

.…and more

Wrap Text in an Excel Cell

This applies to all versions of Excel.

Have you ever had a problem with your text in a cell being truncated?  By default, Excel will simply cut off text that does not fit in a cell, particularly if the next cell to the right contains data.

You can resolve this issue by formatting the cell to Wrap Text.

In Excel 2007/2010, you can find the Wrap Text button on the Home Tab, in the Alignment group:

To help position you text within the cell, there is a set of Vertical Alignment commands, just to the left of Wrap Text:

If you have Excel 2003 or an earlier version, open the Format menu.  Cells is a the top of the Format menu.  (You'll also find it in the right-click menu as Format Cells.  Note the shortcut is Ctrl+1.)  

Cells/Format Cells will open the Format Cells dialog box.  Go to the Alignment tab and you will find both Wrap Text and the Vertical Alignment properties:

Do note that the Format Cells dialog box and even the Ctrl+1 shortcut are also found in Excel 2007/2010.  

Use these commands to control the behavior of the text in your cells.  You'll find this opens up many possibilities!

Classes in Santa Barbara

We have requests for classes in Santa Barbara.  We're building and refining our database to reach out to people in this area.  Are you interested?  How about your friends and colleagues? Let us know!

Excel 2007 Level 1

We are pleased to announce that we now have enough students to schedule an Excel 2007 Level 1 class in Oxnard!  The class date will be Monday, July 18, 2011.

If you're curious about what the class covers:

Students will learn the basics of building a spreadsheet and pick up useful tips on increasing their productivity.  


This class consistently gets rave reviews…even from veteran Excel users!

Topics include: 

• The Office 2007 Interface
• Excel Basics
• Calculations
• Formatting
• Charts

...and more!

If you're in Bakersfield, we've split this off to another post: http://diamondtechnet.blogspot.com/2011/05/excel-2007-level-1-in-bakersfield.html

Excel 2007 Level 2 in Bakersfield

There are requests to run this class in Bakersfield (in addition to the class coming up in May in Oxnard.)

 

Our intermediate Excel class covers working with data.  Topics include linking formulas, subtotals, sorting/filtering, charts…and more.  If you use Excel to tabulate and analyze lots of information, this class is a must!

 

Topics:

• Multiple Workbooks

• Outlining and Subtotals

• Advanced Charts

• Tables

• Formula Auditing

• Templates

 

…and more!

Computers Made Easy

Do you have employees who need training in basic (yes, really BASIC, as in they're not even using the internet) computer skills?

 

This class is for people who are new to computers and want to learn the basics of using them. Students will learn to use the mouse, surf the web, and use applications programs. Internet safety is also discussed.

If there is enough demand, we will also offer this class in Spanish! 

Excel 2010 Level 1

We have requests for Excel 2010 Level in Bakersfield, Oxnard, and Santa Barbara.  We'd love to offer training on the latest version of Microsoft Office!

Students will learn the basics of building a spreadsheet and pick up useful tips on increasing their productivity. This class consistently gets rave reviews…even from veteran Excel users!

The class will cover:

• The Office 2010 Interface
• Excel Basics
• Calculations
• Formatting
• Charts

...and more!

PowerPoint 2007 Level 2 in Oxnard

We are getting more requests for this class.

This class covers customization of PowerPoint presentations.  Topics include slide masters, multimedia files, animation, navigating in a slide show, integration with other Microsoft Office programs...and much more!


If you are interested in this class, please post a reply here indicating how many students you would like to send and when are the best dates for you. Please don't post anonymously...log in so that we can contact you to enroll your students. Or email info@diamondtechsolutions.net

Access 2003 Level 1 Training in Bakersfield

We have a request to have an Access 2003 Level 1 class as soon as possible. This is a two-day class, but we don't necessarily have to hold it 2 days in a row.

This class covers:

Database Basics
An Introduction to Database Objects
The Access Interface
Database Structure
...and more!

If you are interested in this class, please post a reply here indicating how many students you would like to send and when are the best dates for you. Please don't post anonymously...log in so that we can contact you to enroll your students. Or email info@diamondtechsolutions.net