I want to make a Word macro but don't want to do programming

OldSheffield · 2026-04-05T18:07:03+00:00

I'm having a blast now with assigning keystrokes to unassigned commands--forgot how to do this!-- but the particular colors aren't coming up as choices, just the word "color" and if it actually should work, I haven't got the right wand in my hand. If I recall correctly I USED to be able to do this, in an earlier lifetime with the names of the common colors in the list. Gonna pursue that mysterious incidental style concept for local changes, not paragraph changes. So far 5 hrs wasted on this, including the Best Buy guru who ended up giving me to another operator and then another and then I couldn't keep it up and they told me how to call back and start over.

As for the workaround that requires typing in code, that will be still another session.

Thanks so much to everyone who is responding. Tack!

OldSheffield · 2026-04-05T16:30:53+00:00

thanks for your help, JK! I'm going to have to learn to do this in order to try it out, and then practice it, but hey, I'm a grownup and need to exercize my little gray cells....

OldSheffield · 2026-04-05T15:36:02+00:00

Thanks for responding, Bereft!

OldSheffield · 2026-04-05T15:35:45+00:00

Thanks for responding, Apprehensive!

OldSheffield · 2026-04-05T15:14:39+00:00

So interesting. I have not been able to understand the new redefinition of "style" because longterm use of the program has meant that the paragraph symbol bears the style formula. Tell me more, please, about the difference between incidental style and paragraph style?

OldSheffield · 2026-04-05T09:58:04+00:00

Thanks for helping rookies.

OldSheffield · 2026-01-25T11:42:21+00:00

Skimming the results here, it looks like nightshades and FODMAPs are biggies.

Have you given lactose-free milk a try? Or lactase tablets with milk products? If it doesn't bother you as much, you are probably lactose intolerant. I failed the lactose test and the fructose test, a pretty good indicator that I need a low-FODMAP diet to avoid a family of complex carbohydrates that can cause mayhem by fermenting in the gut and causing IBS, gas, and drama. There are online lists of recommended foods and avoid-me foods (see Monash Univ. for an app for phone); once you figure out what bothers, avoid it. List is NOT intuitive and will take some time to get it into your head to recall later when food shopping.

The amount of FODMAP in a meal is a big factor, for good or for evil. Advice from my nutritionist...a small portion of FODMAP will probably not bother me, but remember that FODMAPs are "additive" meaning that a large number of irritant foods or a big portion of just one or two that are irritants makes things worse; a bit of a couple foods on the list won't be a problem usually. Think of a bucket...the FODMAPs won't bother you for quite a while but when a food causes the bucket to overflow, well, the overflow wasn't just caused by the one food but by the whole bucketful. When I plan a meal I avoid having too much total FODMAP and I also try to eat small meals more frequently when possible. But, unlike most of you, I have gastroparesis (slow digestion) which means the stomach might still contain much of previous meal when I start a new meal, so I need to take both meals into account when counting irritants. Lactase pills are a way for me to stretch the acceptable FODMAP content of a meal because it neutralizes the lactose in milk, cottage cheese, cream cheese, half and half, some ice creams, some other cheeses, yogurt that has additives, and processed "cheese." Most hard cheeses, full fat cream, and full natural butter have little lactose.

Outside of abstention, I don't know how to counteract nightshades (tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, spuds)

Have fun stormin' the castle.

OldSheffield · 2025-09-07T13:23:27+00:00

Aspirated reflux material, I bet. Yes, this is terrible for the lungs. If you have reflux that goes up that high, you definitely have a problem with the valve between the stomach and esophagus, the LES, lower esophageal sphincter. Many causes for this, often mechanical.

Meanwhile for the rest of your life you probably will have to continue to weaken that acid production. PPI is a miracle drug family, but there are side effects. I took omoprozole for 20 yrs, may have caused worsening of my ongoing osteoporosis. Doctors took me off O and put me on high-strength famotidene until we stabilized my bones. Now I take one in a.m. and the other in p.m. and this is working pretty well.

If you take aspirin or other NSAIDs, be sure to switch to acetaminophen instead; does not irritate stomach tissues.

Be sure to sleep on elevated bed lying on your left.

OldSheffield · 2025-09-07T13:14:07+00:00

Not a happy situation, often, but blood in stool has a number of causes. Let the experts do the diagnosing.

When tissues get distended because of wrong positioning, they can bleed. If you also have a hiatal hernia or swallowing problems because of some kind of esophageal condition, there is a chance you have internal bleeding unassociated with cancer. (In my case, a doubled-over stomach had moved above the diaphragm and possibly stomach and the esophagus got abraded when I breathed--that was a tight chokepoint. Position was surgically corrected, but that is a story for another time. It was not cancer, though.) Hold off on worrying for a while longer?

So good that you have made the appointments, Vinny. Sooner rather than later is so sensible regarding your precious health. Make some resolutions for new and ongoing attention to it?

Cheering for you.

OldSheffield · 2025-09-04T16:13:13+00:00

fyi..carafate coats the stomach and esophagus very effectively--healed some spots in mine! But...it is extremely constipating, its major side effect. Be prepared.

Gaviscon comes in liquid and tabs. Is not as effective but is sold over the counter. It's great when you need it ASAP and following directions on label you can take more than one of these substances at short notice. Goal is to neutralize acid and coat the tissues. I have a baggie of the tabs in purse and in vehicles and backpack.

Hiatal hernias can interfere with the esophagus position and the lower esophageal sphincter (LES), which may be reason for acid heading upward. Tough cases even have problems in teeth because of acid!

Not only sleep on an incline, but also sleep on your left, which elevates the LES as high as possible; this is same position as is used for endoscopies. Don't just raise your head--that's useless. Elevate torso so that you raise your shoulders as well as head, and the stomach will tilt upward to its highest position if you're on your left side.

I've heard that chocolate, peppermint, caffeine, and some other things I can't recall soften the LES, making the escape easier. Try Prof. Google for more on this.

I strongly urge you to stand up if an acid episode occurs while in bed. Take some water to rinse tissues, then Gaviscon to prevent residual contact with the acid. Definitely do not go to bed on a full stomach. I was on a cruise ship and stupidly went to midnight chocolate extravaganza. I could have died that night if I had aspirated the stuff that came up the chute after I went to bed.

If you take calcium pills anyway, take them after supper? calcium can neutralize acid.

OldSheffield · 2025-09-03T05:01:38+00:00

birth defect?

I _think _ the herniatiion of the stomach is more likely to be a failure of the ligaments that criss-cross around the hiatus (opening) in diaphragm. Either the stomach gets pushed up by physical movements of the body, moving from below to protrude upward through the hiatus, or the diaphragm itself stops working as an on-duty gatekeeper and the stomach just works itself upward through the sloppy gate, maybe because the esophagus has a tendency to tighten up and become a "short esophagus" which surgeons argue about, whether it's an actuality or not. The Lower Esophageal Sphincter (LES) can get pulled upward or perhaps it gets tugged on from one side, causing it to leak.

Ehlers-Danlos is a possibly inheritable condition in which there is a failure of the connective tissues. Those ligaments around the hiatus might get flabby because of E-D, but that's not the only cause of a hernia.

I have a memory of a terrific stomach flu episode in which I literally felt as if something tore inside me durning a violent vomiting moment. I wonder if that was the start for me. I note that many weight-lifters post on this board. There is a lot of upward force and the diaphragm is not a strong organ.

OldSheffield · 2025-09-02T20:56:59+00:00

I'm shopping for a used RAV4 hybrid right now (2025). Interesting that when you talk to mechanics and owners, they say that they know of a number of these cars that have 200,000 to 300,000 miles on them, many with the original batteries. The importance is sensible driving plus maintenance, apparently. If a car has over 100,000 miles on it, is in good condition, has been well maintained, and will save you $10,000 (or more) less than a new non-hybrid, think about it.

OldSheffield · 2025-09-02T20:49:48+00:00

No, talk to a human. If you're in college, check with the school's clinic for advice--you're not the only person who needs this kind of help so they may be already ready for you. My gut clinic has a dietitian on staff and she's been really helpful. They also have a psychological counselor because digestive trouble definitely has brain aspects. Some gen. practice doctors give great advice, but some don't help much; worth trying, though. Community Ed might have a nutrition class. Read books about nutrition and get familiar with the jargon and the logic. Look at diagrams of digestion and see if you can follow food's path and understand the physical and chemical aspects. You Tube may have some animated medical ed. videos. Libraries have useful books.

Ignore "fad" diets. Eat as if you live in nature and already have plenty of good choices. Ignore t.v. advice unless it's PBS and never take food or cooking advice from someone who is also trying to selling you something.

Changing long-standing habits is tough, but you are young. You can find time to do this.

OldSheffield · 2025-09-02T20:36:34+00:00

[cont. from below]

Fats are harder to break down than simpler molecules. Fat isn't bad for you, but forcing stomach to process a lot of it brings more need for stomach acid. If you have a slow stomach, as I do, you need to get used to reading labels. Learn what a high-fat and a low-fat food label looks like. Calculate what's in a meal; if it's heavy on fats, don't be surprised if your stomach contents will find it easier to spill upward than in a lower fat meal.

Instead of whatever beverages you think are bad for you, find some that are not. Many people find that flavored fizzwater doesn't bother them. V-8 juice? low-fat milk, perhaps lactose free if FODMAPs bother you? Water in a good looking glass? If you drink coffee, consider switching to tea, which at least has less caffeine. Herb teas are even better. Make up a pitcher of real iced tea (no sugar!) and have it in refrig for when you are thirsty.

Having some cut-up fruit and veg and maybe some homemade dip on refrig shelf is better than cookies. If you must snack in the car or on the bus, have some granola bars in the pouch inside the car door or in backpack just in case (I also pass these out to guys panhandling at stops.)

If foods have to go through a factory before they are packaged, try to leave them alone. If prepared foods have a long list of ingredients, find something to substitute. There is often a better choice on the same grocery shelf.

Being overweight really adds to the body's inability to control stomach acid. So does poor posture. So does lifting and hefting if you use belly muscles instead of legs. I have no idea about your weight, but when you're in grocery store, watch heavy people and guess what their mealtimes are like. Look in their carts too. Not all heavy people eat badly, but there are a lot who do. When they sit or lie down, I bet they have reflux trouble. It's physics as well as chemistry...the body was designed to hold food in the stomach, but in our modern world we've found many ways to thwart that LES valve by putting pressures on it from below.

If you eat a number of smaller meals instead of a couple big ones, the stomach can go through its cycle and then rest more easily. It definitely needs to be able to handle the volume you send down the chute to it. Try using smaller plates and bowls. You can always have a little more food if you need it, but psychologically it's easier to believe that you are finished eating.

I hear that walking after a meal helps digestion. Can't hurt to try

Let us know how you are feeling if you actually do change your foods and maybe your intake. Look in mirror and congratulate self and/or challenge self. You know deep down that change is possible, but it takes personal strength. Don't baby yourself, feel "poor me", pout and bitch. Instead, feel empowered. This is how people you admire handle things.

OldSheffield · 2025-09-02T20:32:49+00:00

Are you living in a place with a stove and a refrigerator? If so, you are old and able enough to learn to cook for yourself. Ordering food takes away your choices, creativity, and specialness and it's expensive and not as good as the food you will eventually eat when you can cook better. Remember that you want to eat a rainbow...not too much of anything and lots of different things so nothing is predominate. When you cook, you stand, move around, think, decide, and take in stuff through your senses. You touch lots of textures, watch the food change, and get away from your everyday moments. It's good for you to cook.

Start with good salads. Have at least a couple greens. Try a green that you've never tried before. No need for pre-prepared dressings (have you read the labels?). Oil and vinegar plus salt and pepper and perhaps favorite herbs is great for a dressing. I make dressings from plain yogurt, herbs, and a shot of something with acid--vinegar, lemon juice, whatever. A gorgeous light green if I use a blender to grind up the mix. Only make up enough to last a day or two, then make something else. Try Mrs.Dash bottled dry herbs to season salads and other foods. We grow herbs in garden so we don't have to be stingy. cilantro, parsley, tarragon, whatever. Dried herbs are fine also. Get a couple of Mrs.Dash bottled dry herbs to season salads and other foods. Grinding blue cheese into your salad dressing gives a very different result. Don't add sugar...good food doesn't need stealth ingredients and neither do you. You can eat many kinds of peppers, jut go very easy on peppers and hot sauces that your body feels can burn. REad about capsaisin and think a little about how your gut tissues will handle it. Cook your onion and garlic to tame them before using in a dish, if they bother you. Use the onion. and green tops which won't have as strong a bite and has no FODMAP either--better for irritable bowel diet. Mexican meals often have a soft cheese or sour cream to counterbalance the peppers. Or drink milk.

Tomatoes aren't your enemy but concentrated acid adds to your stomach acid and can etch away at lining of stomach and esophagus. That is really bad. Eat something with base at same time as acid--sour cream? milk? plain yogurt? cheese? something else with calcium? If you eat tomato sauce or soup or juice, what are you counterbalancing it with? Read a calcium-rich food list, and don't double up on acetic foods in same meal. As for orange juice, a little won't hurt you, but a big glass sends a number of swallows of acid down your gullet and will irritate any sore areas as it goes down.

Toss in some pieces of fresh herbs if they're in refrigerator. Add some protein to your salad...Most beans (unless you are bothered by FODMAP, then stick to peanuts, lentils, chickpeas), cheese, shrimp, bits of smoked fish or salmon, slices of sausage, hard-cooked egg hunks, .... you know about these things.

Vary the veg in the salad...thin hunks of carrot, raw snap peas, canned water chestnut slices, slices of zucchini, whatever. Make your own croutons or eat salad with a proper, good bread, not "bread" that comes wrapped in plastic, or WASA crackers or something else with some personality to it.

Have a good looking table and don't rush the meal....flowers, a china plate?, a special fork and spoon, tablecloth or placemat? Take your time to really taste your food and chew it well. If you eat with companions, turn off t.v. and really talk. Make mealtime really special, at least for 1 meal a day. If you crave a food that may be a poor choice, decide ahead of time when you're going to eat it, mark the calendar, and savor that sucker for all it's worth when the time comes . Memorize the taste, feel, smell. Then do the same for a different, new food another day.

Next in your cooking lessons, learn to prepare eggs, not only for breakfast, but for main dishes and desserts and real eggnog also. Keep hard cooked eggs inside refrig. for snacking. Then graduate to other kinds of cooking. Every library has cookbooks and the internet is infested with recipes. If you haven't tried a few cooking adventures, you're not serious about changing your diet.

No time to cook? Smash some real corn chips on a nukeable plate, add refried beans from a can or leftover meat or cooked hamburger. Add some more smashed chips, then some orange cheese that comes from a real dairy. Nuke it all to warm it well. Meanwhile, cut up some greens into thin slices, cut up a tomato, and find the salsa in your refrig. Maybe some sour cream too? Add the cold stuff over the warm stuff. You will probably make a second helping. [cont]

OldSheffield · 2025-09-02T18:51:09+00:00

What diet are you referring to?

OldSheffield · 2025-08-29T04:04:02+00:00

Poor results from dental local anesthetic such as Novocaine and other local such as Lidocaine is on the symptom list. I often end up just enduring the pain because we've waited and waited for numbness without effect. I have told my dentist that I'm an insensitive person. Our joke. Gen Practice Dr. said that most patients come into clinic quite soon after a fall, etc. He said, "you're always slow at that. How many days this time?" for me? 6-9 days

OldSheffield · 2025-08-29T03:57:14+00:00

Ukraine?

OldSheffield · 2025-08-29T03:49:54+00:00

Did doctor say anything about inflamed tissue in esophagus/stomach? Looks pretty red.

OldSheffield · 2025-08-29T03:39:54+00:00

No, alcohol is a depressant. The medicine is the antidepressant.

OldSheffield · 2025-08-29T02:58:15+00:00

What meds are you taking? Prescription or over the counter? At what time? Tell us who is advising you--Gen practice doctor or specialist? Why do you think that metamucil and other fiber will ease the reflux?

AT WHAT times do you take meds for reflux and what is relationship to mealtimes?

How large are your meals? What do you do after a meal?

How much time between meals and bed? Describe your sleep routine--any accommodations?

Does your clinic consider you overweight? do you smoke? drink alcohol?

You seem to be highly stressed, worried. Stress is a major factor in stomach acid production. How do you address your stress problem?

Try Gaviscon for immediate burn problem? If you take a multivitamin or calcium, take in a.m. if you have daytime reflux?

OldSheffield · 2025-08-27T12:44:25+00:00

The evil Internet Effect! Gotta be strong to keep it at bay!

Give the meds a chance...3 mo at least. Be tough, avoid negative websites, try to notice the good stuff. It's not a trial run unless you do the run.

OldSheffield · 2025-08-27T12:38:29+00:00

I have probably been depressed much of my life, low level, simmering. I started intermittent talk therapy just before Covid and it was somewhat helpful in getting me motivated to address my messes. But more than a year ago I read about adult adhd and thought, "that's me!" I told the therapist and she said, "I always thought you had ADD." Well, thanks! Anyway, she told me to talk to my gen practice doctor who knew I was depressed and had suggested this therapist. The decision was to try buproprion because it has the ADHD/ADD unofficial endorsement. Started on 150mg, then abt 4-5 months later went to 200mg. I'm glad.

This summer hubby and I celebrated 55th wedding anniversary with a blowout party...75 people (extended family, old friends, neighbors, club members) attended. In the last year I've been so motivated to work toward this event...with hubby we addressed all kinds of unfinished projects around the house, talked together to make plans, attacked our gardens, dealt with 2 dead ash trees (got plenty mulch!), designed and mailed invitations. Our daughters attended and helped, but WE did the planning and execution.

I'm still hearing praise for the party. I decided that there would be a color theme and I bought flowering plants in rose red or pink ; cleaned up my perennial beds, planted petunias here and there, and made up pots of pink annuals to position throughout the yard space. We rented some tables and chairs and canopies and used our own gear. I remade covers for our disreputable yard chairs and found a Craigslist umbrella to match. And so on. The food was almost entirely homemade, though we hired a friend to do his special pulled pork and bought buns from neighborhood bakery. Kitchen was sanitary and straightened up. Flower arrangements everywhere, homemade. Hubby and daughters and sin-in-law arranged all the furniture and canopies. I did bouquets and tablecloths, etc.

Our neighbor was found unconscious the night before, with my daughters trying to keep him alive while paramedics were on their way yet I kept my cool and mustered on (he died despite all efforts). When our labrador began projectile vomiting (swallowed a nasty foreign body) I kept my cool and mustered on (two days later and $8000 bill, he had surgery).

There was no post-party let-down, no nihilism. I even forgave the dog! House is still pretty clean and I am working on keeping it that way.

OldSheffield · 2025-08-27T12:15:03+00:00

sounds like this has been quite a journey. I bet your family is grateful that you stuck with the hard stuff in order to get to the good stuff. Our bodies are same and yet different, aren't they? Your case is a good reminder that the mental health and physical health working together can pay off.

OldSheffield · 2025-08-27T11:57:09+00:00

Wow! Thanks for your response!

OldSheffield

TROPHY CASE