It’s been a while since I posted a techie entry so here’s one. I’m so glad I did it!

Do you know that annoying window that opens whenever you press Ctrl+C twice? Yes, that is the Office clipboard. All Office applications have that and it’s pretty annoying. I work with Excel sheets a lot in my job and I use the copy command often. I tried hiding the clipboard through its Options but it keeps on returning after I restart my machine.

Today I was determined to get this annoying window out of my life for good.

WARNING: The procedure below includes modification of your computer’s registry. Serious problems may occur when you modify it incorrectly. Make sure to back it up before you do any changes. For the complete procedure, check this MS article.

1. Go to Start > Run. In the pop-up window, type regedit.
2. Once your registry is open, navigate to this section: HKEY_CURRENT_USER > Software > Microsoft > Office > 11.0 > Common > General.
3. Look for the AcbControl key in the right panel of the window and double-click it.
4. In the window that opens, change the value data from 0 to 1 and then select Decimal. Click OK.

If you do not see the AcbControl key, do the following first before performing steps 3 and 4.

1. Right-click anywhere on the right panel of your registry window and select New > DWORD Value.
2. Give it a name of AcbControl and press Enter in your keyboard.
3. Double-click AcbControl.
4. In the window that opens, change the value data from 0 to 1 and then select Decimal. Click OK.

Now, using any MS Office Application, copy and paste stuff and you should not see the clipboard ever again.

The other day, we were planning a surprise baby shower party for our teammate, Janelle. Since it was a surprise one, we cannot plan it on meetings, everything was coordinated and decided through emails and instant messages for two days. When we were deciding on the food, I wanted a poll, similar to what our different committees use during events. I know it is possible through email but I’m clueless. So I went to Mr. Google and asked.

Here is what I found.

1. 1. Open a new message.
2. In the toolbar section, look for Options… and click it.

   A new dialogue box will open.

3. Look for the Voting and Tracking options header.
4. Tick the Use voting buttons: check box.

   The default values are Approve;Reject. If you want a custom one, delete this, enter your choices separated by a semicolon (;).

   You’re technically done at this point. But if you want to send your recipients’ replies to another mailbox, continue with the steps below.

5. Look for the Delivery options header.
6. Tick the Have replies sent to: check box.

   Your name is the default value. Change this to the person or address where you want the replies to go. If you are unsure, you can click on Select Names… button and select the address from there.

7. Click Close.

   You should be back to your email body.

8. Type your email message and when you are done, click Send.

There, you just sent a poll using Microsoft Outlook 2003.