Getting started and staying productive is not easy. The telephone rings, coworkers knock at your door with questions, you have questions, then there's usually one too many meetings that push you over the edge. Before you know it, another day turns into another night at the office to get your work done.

Never fear. With the Microsoft® Office System, your task panes are right there to help. Task panes save you time. Here's ten reasons why, along with more information about how to use them. Read on my friend. The night is young!

1. Options are visible and keep you productive  No more hunting through menus to find the options you need. They are at your fingertips in the task pane located at the right side of your workspace.
2. Microsoft Office Online is one mouse click away  From most of the task panes, you can go to the Office Online Web site and browse for more clip art, templates, and help.
3. Create or locate documents quickly  From the Getting Started task pane, choose the document you need to begin or resume work. You may need a template or helpful hints, all of which are available from this task pane.
4. Search for information, tools, and services you need  Find templates, help, clip art, and lots more from the Office Online Web site including templates, downloads, and the latest news about the products you care about most.
5. Format documents in a snap  See what styles are in use in your open document by referring to the Styles and Formatting task pane. Add, modify or delete styles, and customize your view of styles to show just the ones you want.
6. Cut and paste has never been this easy  Collect up to 24 items and view a thumbnail of any item that can be cut or copied, such as text and graphics. When you're ready to paste, you can paste all at once, one at a time, or change your mind and delete all in one fell swoop.
7. Conduct research as you work  Translate a term, phrase, or document; look up a definition or synonym; search the Web for information you need to build your document, and add new services from Office Marketplace to the Research task pane.
8. Mass mail without confusion  Got hundreds of letters to send? Use the Mail Merge task pane to create form letters, mailing labels, envelopes, and then mass e-mail or fax distributions.
9. Connect with your Office peers  From the <Product Name> Help task pane, share tips and tricks with other Office users. If you have a question, you might just get a great answer from one of Microsoft's Most Valuable Professionals (MVPs).
10. Get automatic updates  Click to get updates sent to your task panes. Keep up on the latest information about the applications and areas you care about most.