As a writer and editor, I spend a lot of my work day researching information on various topics. Little did I know that a great research tool was sitting right under my nose, and, until recently, I wasn't taking advantage of it. Now I'm hooked on this tool for both business and personal use.

The Research task pane is available in the Microsoft Office 2003 programs, including Word, Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, Visio, and OneNote, and it really is useful, whether you're trying to find the perfect word in your e-mail message, checking a definition for a PowerPoint presentation, or looking up a piece of financial data to plug into an Excel spreadsheet. It even travels with you to the Web and is displayed on the left side of your screen as you browse Web pages (if you are running Microsoft Internet Explorer 5.01 or later). With a little configuration, you can even link it up to search your intranet.

The research pane is easy to open. In any of the Office programs mentioned above, on the Tools menu, click Research. Or simply click the Research button on the Standard toolbar.

Here are some cool ways I've been using the Research pane:

1. The basics: Look up definitions and synonyms
2. Get a quick translation for a foreign word or phrase
3. Research financial information

1. The basics: Look up definitions and synonyms

This is an easy one. To find a definition or synonym, press ALT and click a word in a document. You may then have to go to the research pane and select which reference book you want to use?Encarta Dictionary for definitions or the thesaurus for synonyms. (You can also right-click a word and click Look Up, or point to Synonyms and click Thesaurus.) I was already using this in Word, but it's cool for getting precisely the right word in a PowerPoint presentation or important piece of e-mail.

2. Get a quick translation for a foreign word or phrase

This is nifty. Let's say you're reading along in a document and you come to a few words in another language. Perhaps a potential client sends you an e-mail message inviting you out to a place with terrific gelato di fragola. Sounds Italian. To avoid sounding ingnorant, you can simply click on the words and then in the Research pane, make sure the From field says "Italian" and the To says "English" and click the arrow next to the Search for box, and you have your answer?.strawberry ice cream. Now you can respond intelligently to the request.

3. Research financial information

Sometimes I'm asked to do competitive research. Let's say I have an Excel spreadsheet open and need to find out the number of employees that Microsoft has, as well as the company's annual revenue. I can do this right from within Excel.

To search for basic facts about a company, such as number of employees, revenue, revenue per employee, and so on:

1. Type the company's name in the Search for box.
2. Click the arrow in the drop-down box and then click Gale Company Profiles.
3. Copy and paste the information you need into the appropriate cells.

These are just a few of the neat things you can do with the Research pane. Try it and see if it makes your work go a bit faster.

?Laurie Pritchard