Note that some of these tips
may no longer be valid for some versions of programs or just don't apply any
longer.
2012
FREE MICROSOFT SECURITY ESSENTIALS
Written by Sandy Berger
Microsoft has entered the world of virus and
malware protection.
This is actually something that should be a
part of the operating
system, but if Microsoft made it a part of
the operating system
at this point in time, there would be a ton
of lawsuits and
monopoly claims.
So Microsoft is offering their anti-virus and
anti-malware
product called Security Essentials software
as a free download.
The program has gotten an excellent review
from security
experts and you might expect that it will run
well with
Windows XP, Vista, and/or Windows 7.
The program is small and unobtrusive. It uses
only 11 Mb of
disk space. It is fast and uses minimal
resources. It is easy to
use and to understand. The interface is clean
and uncluttered.
It protects against both viruses and malware.
Download it at the Microsoft website.
Remember that you should only use one
anti-virus program at
any given time. So if you decide to give the
Microsoft Security
Essentials a try, you will want to uninstall
your old anti-virus
program first.
To correctly uninstall your old antivirus
program and install a
new one, you will want to:
- Download the new program
- Go offline. You can do this by unplugging
your modem.
- Uninstall the old program
- Install the new one
- Go back online and perform any necessary
updates
Note from Gini:
This article was printed in Bits and Bytes
e-newsletter published
to members of Seniors Computer Group which
meets at 9:30 a.m.
every Saturday at Wesley Palms -- just
northwest of Hwy 5 at the
Grand/Garnet Exit. Check the SCG website at...
http://home.roadrunner.com/~scg/events.html
...for more details about this great group!
-----
PERMANENTLY MAKE ALL FILE EXTENSIONS
VISIBLE ON YOUR COMPUTER (e.g. .JPG, .DOC,
etc.)
Windows
7/Vista
- Click
Start button - Control Panel.
-
Click to open Folder Options.
-
Click View tab in dialog box.
-
Click (if necessary) to remove checkmark by 'Hide Extensions for
Known
File Types.'
-
Click Apply and OK.
Windows
XP/ME/98
-
Double-click to open My Computer on your Windows Desktop.
-
Click TOOLS - FOLDER OPTIONS; click View tab in dialog box.
-
Click (if necessary) to remove checkmark by 'Hide Extensions for
Known
File Types.'
-
Click Apply and OK.
2011
TOO MANY CHOICES
by Wil Wakely
Choosing a computer used to be relatively
easy: Do you want a
desktop with a tower or a flat unit that fits
under your monitor?
This is no longer true. Now we have a
plethora of choices:
Desktop, Laptop, Notebook, Tablet, Smart
Phone, and smart
e-Book Reader. Perhaps I have missed a late
comer; if so,
forgive me. Let’s review the features, pros
and cons of each.
Desktop For a fixed location, non-portable
computer a Desktop
is the best choice. It is the least expensive
computer and can be
easily customized to whatever your computing
needs might be.
It is a necessity for gamers and heavy-duty
computing such as
photo and video processing, CAD
(computer-aided design), and
data processing. There are wide choices of
software and hardware
which results in lower costs and greater
availability of these items.
Larger displays, multiple ones if desired,
are available along with
specialty multi-function keyboards and a
variety of mice, all of which
can be easily attached. More powerful
computer chips, memory chips,
video processors, large, multiple hard drives
and powerful wireless
adaptors are choices only available with
Desktops. The choice between
proprietary brands such as Dell or HP vs. a
'plain vanilla' custom machine
depends upon your budget and how much
technical support you may need.
Laptop
Portable laptop computers come in a variety
of sizes, prices and
features. Many of the more expensive ones
rival some Desktop
machines in capability. The display screens
are smaller than
Desktops and the keyboards with the integrated
touchpad mouse are
not as user friendly as those on Desktops.
Newer models have built-in
Wi-Fi for connection to the Internet, whereas
older models required a
USB Wi-Fi adapter. Most Laptops have a
built-in video camera for video
messaging with friends via Skype. For
equivalent features, Laptops are
always more expensive than Desktops as are
any repairs or upgrades.
However, if portability of a powerful
computer is a requirement, a Laptop
is a good choice. An auxiliary USB external
hard drive or large thumb drive
(flash drive) is useful for backup and
storage for Laptops.
Notebook
The Notebook is just a smaller, lighter
version of a Laptop with a
smaller screen and keyboard. It is not
recommended for heavy
duty use, but is fine for travel and is less
expensive than Laptops,
Tablets or Smart Phones. Most of the Laptop
features are also
found in Notebooks. Some Notebooks come with
electronic memory
instead of hard drives. This memory is faster
and lighter, but holds
much less data than hard drives. The Chrome
by Google is a Notebook
that utilizes the Cloud for much of its power
and capability.
Tablet
A Tablet has no external keyboard, but the
screen is touch sensitive
so a virtual keyboard on the screen is
provided instead. However,
the touch-screen eliminates much of the
standard keyboard activity.
The availability of software for Tablets is
growing rapidly, but there
are nowhere near the number of titles
available for the computers
described above. For casual use, Tablets are
fine for email, Web
browsing, limited word processing and
spreadsheet work. Most
Tablets are less expensive than Laptops, but
often cost more than
Notebooks. Tablets also have e-Book reading
capability. They have
no hard drive but Cloud storage via the Internet
somewhat replaces
this function. The iPad
by Apple seems to be the leader in Tablets, but
many competitors are coming on-line with
similar features at lower prices.
Smart Phone
There are two major varieties of Smart
Phones: iPhone and Android.
The iPhone is a proprietary operating system
by Apple and is more
expensive than other Smart Phones, but is
claimed to be more user
friendly. The Android phone is an 'open
source' operating system
developed by Google and as such has many more
Apps, (software
applications). The major drawback to these
phones is the small display
screen. They have touch screens in lieu of a
keyboard. However, they
are cell phones, which none of the above are.
They are also connected
to the Internet for email and Web browsing and
can play music and video.
The phones can be quite inexpensive because
the carriers (Verizon, ATT,
etc.) require signing a two year contract for
the reduced cost. Breaking the
contract early can be very expensive. There
is a basic cost for the phone
service and an equivalent monthly charge for
Internet service. There also
can be an additional service charge for data
usage. Look for unlimited
data-use contracts, if available.
Smart e-Book
Older e-Book readers were just that —
monochrome digital book
readers, e.g., early models of the Amazon
Kindle. Newer Readers
such as the Amazon Fire and Barns&Noble Nook have full color
touch screens with Wi-Fi along with their
e-Book reader function.
The Fire also has free Internet connectivity
via Sprint. So the e-Books
are now competing with the Tablets, having
similar features but with a
display size intermediate between Tablets and
Smart Phones. Look for
e-Book Readers to become even smarter in the
near future.
So what’s next?
I predict expanded speech recognition and
generation will soon be
incorporated in most computers, as an
alternate to touch-screen, mouse
and keyboard. A larger selection of Apps will
become available as software
programmers jump on this lucrative bandwagon.
Faster Internet connections
are already available in selected locations
and will come to your area soon.
Look for LTE, 4G, 5G and even faster connections. Better displays that don’t
wash out in sunlight are being developed and
we should see them soon.
Lower prices and enhanced features due to
competition favor the consumer
and should happen very quickly. Decisions,
decisions… Stay tuned!
Note from Gini:
This article was printed in Bits and Bytes
e-newsletter published to
members of Seniors Computer Group which meets
at 9:30 a.m. every
Saturday at Wesley Palms -- just northwest of
Hwy 5 at the Grand/Garnet
exit. Check the SCG website at
http://home.roadrunner.com/~scg/events.html
for more details about this great group!
-----
USE PRE-DESIGNED TEMPLATES IN WORD
Office
2010:
a.
Click FILE -
b.
Click on one of the template choices at the bottom of the screen.
Office
2007:
c.
Click OFFICE BUTTON -
left
of dialog box.
d.
Click to make template selection and click Create button.
Office
2003:
e.
Click
and
click OK.
Office
XP:
f.
Click
and
click OK.
Office
2000/97:
g.
Click
h.
Click to make a selection and click OK.
Note: You can find additional templates
online at…
http://office.microsoft.com (click
Templates).
-----
USING WINDOWS 7 TO RECORD PICTURES
OF THE SCREENS YOU SEE WHEN YOU
DO A SEQUENCE OF STEPS
(shared by Dick Lennon of Senior Computer
Group)
This tip only applies to Windows 7 systems.
You can use
it to 'document' a sequence of steps you are
trying to
share with someone. These steps could either
show
someone how to accomplish a sequence of tasks
-- or
to show someone what your screens look like
as you
struggle to accomplish a task.
Although this 'recording' method only can be
done only
on Windows 7 systems, the file it generates
can be read by
all computers.
- Click Start button.
- Type psr.exe in the Search field
immediately above the
Start button.
- Double click to open psr.exe in the
Programs section
that appears on your screen.
Note: A small rectangle should appear that
says 'Problem
Steps Recorder' in the blue title bar of this
box.
- Click Start Record.
- Perform the steps you want to record.
- Click Stop Record when done.
- In the Save As dialog box, click in the
blank File Name
field and type a simple file name (e.g. abc).
- On the left side of this dialog box, click
Desktop
(or choose a different location to save this
file).
- Switch to the location of the saved file
and double click
to open it.
- Scroll through the document that appears to
see pictures
of each screen you saw as you performed the
steps above.
- Send this file as an attachment.
-----
NEED A COMPUTER TECH?
Go to http://www.iteachyou.com and click
Resources link.
-----
APPLY A THEMED DESIGN TO A SLIDE SHOW
IN POWERPOINT
Office
2010/2007:
a. Click DESIGN and click one of the design
options in the
THEMES section of Ribbon Bar or click the
down-facing
arrow to the right of the THEMES section.
Office
XP/2003:
b.
Click FORMAT - SLIDE DESIGN.
c.
Click on a design style in Task Panel on right side of screen.
Office
97/2000:
d.
Click FORMAT - APPLY DESIGN TEMPLATE.
e.
Click on a design style; click Apply.
-----
PREPARE A POWERPOINT PRESENTATION FOR
TRANSFER TO OTHER STORAGE DEVICE THAT
INCLUDES THE POWERPOINT VIEWER
Office 2010:
- Click FILE - SAVE
AND SEND - PACKAGE PRESENTATION
FOR CD.
- Click PACKAGE FOR
CD.
- Click Options
button and make choices to continue.
Office 2007:
- Click OFFICE BUTTON
- PUBLISH - PACKAGE FOR CD.
- Click Options
button and make choices to continue.
Note: Test the CD to confirm that all images,
sounds, movies,
fonts, etc. are included since PowerPoint on your computer may
have linked to a file instead of embedding
it. If any are missing,
you may need to re-do the package and, after
completing first step
above, click Add Files button to also include
these items on the CD.
Office
97/2000/XP/2003:
- Click FILE -
PACKAGE FOR CD -- or -- FILE - COPY TO CD --
or -- FILE PACK AND
GO (depending on the version of Office you
are using).
- Click Options button
and make choices to continue.
Note: Test the CD to
confirm that all images, sounds, movies, fonts, etc.
are included since
PowerPoint on your computer may have linked
to a file instead of
embedding it. If any are missing, you
may need to
re-do the package
and, after completing Step a above, click Add Files
button to also
include these items on the CD.
-----
PUT THE FOLLOWING ICONS ON YOUR WINDOWS
DESKTOP
SCREEN IF NOT ALREADY PRESENT
#1 Documents (or My Documents in some
versions of Windows)
#2 Computer (or My Computer in some versions
of Windows)
#1 Documents
- Click Start button.
- Right-click on reference to Documents (or
My Documents in
some versions).
- Click Copy.
- Right-click on a blank portion of your
Windows Desktop screen.
- Click Paste Shortcut.
#2 Computer
- Click Start button
- Right-click on reference to Computer (or My
Computer in
some versions).
- Click 'Show on Desktop' in the list.
-----
CHANGE SETTINGS IN WINDOWS
7 AND VISTA
SO MENU BARS (File, Edit,
etc.) ARE ALWAYS VISIBLE
1. Click Start - Control
Panel.
2. While holding down the
ALT key on your keyboard,
press the T key and
release both.
3. Click Folder Options in
the list.
4. Click View tab in
dialog box.
5. Click to place a
checkmark by Always Show Menus.
6. Click Apply and then
click OK.
-----
CREATE SPECIAL TEXT
EFFECTS IN WORD
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Highlight text.
b. Click FORMAT - FONT.
c. In Effects box, choose type of effect and click OK.
Office 2010/2007:
d. Highlight text.
e. Click HOME and make your selection in the PARAGRAPH
section.
-----
CREATE SPECIAL TEXT
EFFECTS IN WORD
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Highlight text.
b. Click FORMAT - FONT.
c. In Effects box, choose type of effect and click OK.
Office 2007/2010:
d. Highlight text.
e. Click HOME and make your selection in the PARAGRAPH
section.
-----
VIEWING AND ADJUSTING YOUR
WEB
BROWSER'S HISTORY FOLDER
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/history.htm
------
FLASH DRIVE GOT WET?
Very Important: Don't insert the wet flash
drive into your
computer until it has completely dried or you
may have a
short circuit.
After water has evaporated completely, insert
the flash
drive into your computer. If you are able to
access files on
this flash drive, be sure to copy these files
to another flash
drive (or other media) since most water
contains deposits
that can corrode the metal portions of the
flash drive.
-----
SORT A LIST IN WORD
a.
Highlight items to sort.
b.
Click TABLE -
section
in Office 2007 or 2010)
c.
Make choices.
-----
HOW TO FIND FILES ON YOUR HARD DISK DRIVE
I've updated these instructions that you can
print if you wish…
http://www.iteachyou.com/find.htm
-----
Notes from Gini:
- The following article is long but VERY
informative about
digital cameras.
- I am a member of this great group and
highly recommend
them to people of all ages and all levels of
technology knowledge.
This group is well known for helping
beginners with computer
and Internet skills. You can attend their
weekly Saturday sessions
and, if interested, join for only $15 for the
first year and $12 per
year thereafter. They meet nearly every
Saturday at a great facility
just off the Hwy. 5 (Balboa exit). Check their
website at
http://www.scgsd.org for more details.
- In addition, at North City Center, we have
excellent digital
camera/photo classes.
-----
21st Century Photos
By Wil Wakely, President
Seniors Computer Group
The advent of the digital camera, about 1990,
marked the
demise of the film camera, much to the
displeasure of
Eastman Kodak. Digital technology allows the
average
amateur photographer the ability to
manipulate the image
very easily with his computer, even better
than the skilled
dark-room professional of yore.
Each digital pixel is a tiny area of the
picture, so the more
pixels available, the more detail the picture
contains. Modern
cameras have 10 megapixels or more (10 million
pixels) which
provide pictures almost as detailed as film,
a difference hardly
discernable
by the naked eye. Also, the picture is shown on the
LCD display on the back of the camera so you
know immediately
whether the shot is what you wanted. Automatic
focus and
exposure settings are welcome features of
modern cameras
and eliminate the confusing settings of film
cameras. Small
'Point-and-shoot' cameras now take great
pictures with no
operator skill required. Even cell phones now
come with
built-in digital cameras.
Unlike film cameras, many more pictures are
taken since
the cost of each digital image is zero. As a
result, the size
of photo albums has exploded with the greater
number of
photos being stored on DVDs for posterity, or
on a free
Internet web site to be shared with friends.
There are now many computer programs
available for
modifying the image, from simple ones like
'Picture-it' to
powerful ones like 'Photoshop', with many
others in between.
Perhaps the most common one is Picasa, a free
program from
Google. It provides common photo fixes like
cropping,
brightness and contrast adjustments, along
with many other
more subtle controls. It also categorizes and
stores your photos
for rapid retrieval. Be sure to download this
marvelous program
from the Google web site.
We can now digitize older photos so they can
be modified and
stored with ease. There are many scanners on
the market to
convert your photo to a digital file, whether
it is from a photograph,
35mm
slide, or film. A scanner will also let you convert a page of
text to a digital file that a word processor
can read and edit.
A separate program called an OCR (Optical
Character Recognition)
is necessary to make the conversion from
image to computer
readable text file. These programs usually
come bundled with the
purchase of a scanner. A word of caution:
scanning can be a very
slow process so plan to do it while watching
TV. A bevy of
commercial scanning companies will convert
your photos for
prices ranging from five cents to fifty cents
each, depending upon
volume. Once they are in digital form, you
can modify them at will
and store them on DVDs.
Another word of caution: digital image files
(JPG) can be huge
and sending them by email can cause you to lose
a lot of friends
when their computer is tied up for a very
long time while the large
file is being received. Several programs are
available that will
reduce the file size suitable for email
(<200KB) without losing much
quality. One free program you can download
that does this is called
IrfanView:
terrible name – wonderful program. Ain’t technology
great!
2010
ADJUST HOW TASKBAR BUTTONS DISPLAY OPEN
PROGRAMS, FILES, ETC.
Windows
7/Vista:
-
Right click on Start button.
-
Click Properties.
-
Click Taskbar tab in Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.
- Click (if necessary) to place a checkmark
by Group Similar
Taskbar Buttons.
Windows
XP/2000/ME/98:
-
Right-click on Start button and click Properties.
-
Click Taskbar tab in Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.
-
Check or uncheck Group Similar Taskbar Buttons and click OK.
-----
PREPARE A PRESENTATION FOR TRANSFER TO
ANOTHER STORAGE DEVICE THAT INCLUDES THE
POWERPOINT VIEWER
Note for all
versions: Test the CD to confirm that all images, sounds,
movies, fonts, etc.
are included since PowerPoint on your computer
may have linked to a
file instead of embedding it.
Office 2010:
- Click FILE - SAVE AND SEND - PACKAGE PRESENTATION
FOR CD.
- Click Package for CD button.
- Click Options button and make choices to continue.
Office 2007:
- Click OFFICE BUTTON - PUBLISH - PACKAGE FOR CD.
- Click Options button and make choices to continue.
Office
97/2000/XP/2003:
- Click FILE -
PACKAGE FOR CD -- or -- FILE - COPY TO CD --
or -- FILE PACK
AND GO (depending on
the version of office you are using).
- Click Options
button and make choices to continue.
-----
INSERT A FOOTNOTE IN WORD
Office 2003/XP/2000/97:
a. Position cursor at location for footnote in document.
b. Click INSERT - REFERENCE - FOOTNOTE.
(click INSERT FOOTNOTE in Off 97/2000) and click Insert
(or OK).
c. Type footnote text; when done, click in body of document.
Office 2007/2010:
d. Position cursor at location for footnote in document.
e. Click REFERENCES - INSERT FOOTNOTE
(in FOOTNOTES section).
f. Type footnote text;
when done, click in body of document.
-----
DEFINITIONS OF CONFUSING
INTERNET TERMINOLOGIES
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/jargon.htm
-----
APPLY A THEMED DESIGN TO A SLIDE SHOW
IN POWERPOINT
Office
2007/2010:
Click DESIGN and click one of the design
options in the THEMES
section of Ribbon Bar or click the
down-facing arrow to the right
of the THEMES section.
Office
XP/2003:
Click
FORMAT - SLIDE DESIGN; click on a design style in
Task
Panel on right side of screen.
Office
97/2000:
Click
FORMAT - APPLY DESIGN TEMPLATE; click on a
design
style; click Apply.
-----
VIEWING AND ADJUSTING YOUR WEB
BROWSER'S HISTORY FOLDER
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/history.htm
-----
OPEN A DOCUMENT CREATED IN AN
UNKNOWN WORD PROCESSOR INTO WORD
Office
2010/2007/2003/XP/2000/97:
a. Click FILE (or
OFFICE BUTTON in Office 2007) - OPEN.
b. Click down arrow
in Files of Type box; click Recover Text
from Any File.
c. Click file you
want to open; click Open.
Note: The opened file
will be stripped of formatting, pictures, etc.
-----
CHANGING YOUR BROWSER'S SETTINGS
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/browser.htm
-----
SAVE A WORD DOCUMENT IN ANOTHER FORMAT
OR IN AN OLDER VERSION OF WORD
a. Click
b. Click down arrow
in Save As Type box.
c. Click format for
saving this document and click Save.
Note: Use Text Only (or Plain Text) if you
are unsure of format
you’ll need. The RTF (Rich Text Format) may
maintain some of
the text formatting but may not be readable
by others.
Note: User Word 97-2003 to save this document
into an
older version of Word.
-----
INSERT AN ACCENTED
LETTER WITHIN ANY PROGRAM
Note: You will not
actually SEE the accented 'e' below because
special characters
are often stripped out when you use them in
an email message you send.
You may see it when you type it
within the email
message but it MAY not appear as typed when
some recipients open
and read the email message at their end.
The following tip
allows you to automatically insert a letter with
an accent mark in one
step. For example, if you want to type 'Jose'
with the accented 'e' try the following:
a. Click Start - All
Programs - Accessories - System Tools -
Character Map
b. Click on accented
e in the chart and note the keyboard
shortcut of ALT+0233
in the bottom right corner.
Note: Thereafter,
after you type 'Jos' portion, type ALT+0233 and
you will see Jose
with an accented 'e' on the screen.
Note: Use the numbers on the numeric keypad
portion of your
keyboard -- not the numbers that appear
horizontally across
the top of the letters near the top of the
keyboard. Many laptops
embed the numeric keypad with the letters.
For example,
the number '0' may share a key with the
letter 'M.' To use the
'0' variation, you will probably need to
press the NumLock key
before typing the number.
-----
INSERT A PICTURE OR OTHER OBJECT IN WORD
a. Click to move
insertion point to desired location for picture.
b. Click INSERT -
PICTURE in ILLUSTRATIONS section
(or INSERT - PICTURE
- FROM FILE in Office 2003)
c. Switch to the location
of the picture you want to insert.
d. Click on picture.
e. Click INSERT (if necessary).
-----
USING FANCY TEXT AND OTHER FEATURES
IN EMAIL MESSAGES
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/fancy.htm
OBTAIN ADDITIONAL CLIPART FROM
MICROSOFT TO USE IN OFFICE PROGRAMS
Note: The following
works only if you have access to the Internet.
Office
97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click INSERT -
PICTURE - CLIPART.
b. Click Clips Online
(or similar wording) at bottom right of screen.
Office 2007:
c. Click INSERT -
CLIPART (in ILLUSTRATIONS section)
d. Click Clip Art on Office Online at bottom
right of screen.
-----
INSERT A DATE IN EXCEL THAT REMAINS
CURRENT WITH YOUR SYSTEM'S DATE
a. Click in an empty cell.
b. Type =TODAY() and press ENTER.
Note: Replace TODAY with NOW if you want to
insert both current
date and current time.
-----
REDUCING SPAM FOR EVERYONE
Often we forward emails to others without properly deleting
other email addresses contained within the email message.
When you are actually reading a message, it CANNOT be
edited.
However, when you click Forward to send this message
to someone else, the original message within this
email CAN be edited.
To reduce the likelihood that spammers will one day receive
and 'harvest' (gather) the email addresses contained in
that message, DELETE them before you actually send the
message.
-----
HIDE CONTENTS OF ROWS OR COLUMNS
IN EXCEL
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Highlight the rows or columns you want to hide.
b. Click FORMAT - CELLS.
c. Click Number tab at top of Format Cells dialog box.
d. Click Custom in the Category column.
e. Click and drag to highlight the contents of the Type field to the right.
Note: What you are highlighting probably says 'General.'
f. Type ;;; (that's 3 semicolons) and click OK.
Office 2007:
a. Highlight the rows or columns you want to hide.
b. Click HOME - FORMAT (in CELLS section)
c. Click HIDE & UNHIDE (in VISIBILITY section).
d. Click HIDE ROWS or HIDE COLUMNS.
-----
FIND A FILE IN WINDOWS
Windows
Vista/7
a.
Click Start button and click inside the Search field just above
the
Start button.
b.
Type what you are searching for in the Search field and press Enter.
Note: The Windows Search Utility
automatically displays files
and folders that either include your keyword
in the file/folder
name or include the keyword in the text of
the file.
Windows
98/ME/XP
a.
Click Start - Search (or similar wording).
b.
Click All Files & Folders (or similar wording).
c.
Type name of file in 'All or Part of the File Name' field
(or
similar wording).
d.
Verify that Look In field indicates your Hard Drive.
e.
Click Search (or similar wording).
Note:
Or click the down arrow to the right of the Look In
field
above and click
My
Documents if you want to narrow down your search to
just
this folder.
f.
When search is finished, click VIEW - DETAILS.
Note:
You can then sort the various columns in the listing by
clicking
the gray button at the top of a column.
Note:
You can also use the Windows Search Utility to search for
exact
wording within a document, the date a document was
created,
and more.
-----
PASTE TEXT FROM WORD INTO EXCEL
AS AN OBJECT
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Highlight text in Word and click EDIT -
COPY.
b. Click in a cell in Excel.
c. Click EDIT - PASTE SPECIAL - PICTURE.
Note: The text will appear in a single box
that sits on top of the
Excel cells. It can be moved, resized,
colored, etc. as desired.
Office 2007:
d. Highlight text in Word and click HOME -
COPY
. . . . .
(in CLIPBOARD section).
e. Click in a cell in Excel.
f. Click HOME - down arrow beneath PASTE and
click
. . . . .
PASTE SPECIAL.
g. Click to place a dot by Paste and click to
highlight Picture in the list.
Note: The text will appear in a single box
that sits on top of the Excel
. . . . . cells. It can be moved, resized,
colored, etc. as desired.
-----
CHANGE SYSTEM RESTORE SETTINGS IN WINDOWS
Note: Windows ME/XP/Vista/7 all include System
Restore which
automatically saves restore points at regular
intervals so you can
revert your system to a point in the recent
past before a problem
occurred.
Although this feature can be helpful, it does
use varying
amounts of hard drive space depending on how
much total space
is devoted to this utility. In addition, when
you do choose to revert your
system to a prior point, you will likely lose
some settings/information
that you may not want to lose.
To check or change System Restore settings in
Windows ME/XP/Vista,
do the following:
Windows ME/XP
a. Click Start - All Programs - Accessories -
System Tools -
. . . . . System Restore.
b. Follow directions on the screen.
Windows Vista
c. Click Start button - Control Panel.
d. Click System Protection link under Tasks
on left side of dialog box.
e. Follow directions on the screen.
Windows 7
f. Click Start button - Control Panel.
g. Click System.
h. Click System Protection link under Tasks
on left side of dialog box.
i.
Follow directions on the screen.
-----
PASSWORD PROTECT AN EXCEL OR WORD FILE
a. Click FILE - SAVE AS (or OFFICE BUTTON -
. . . . SAVE AS in Office 2007).
b. Click down-facing arrow to right of Tools
button in top toolbar
. . . . (or click Tools button at bottom of
dialog box in Office 2007).
c. Click General Options (or Options in some
versions).
d. Type password in the Password... box and
click OK.
-----
SELECT MULTIPLE FILES THAT ARE
ADJACENT TO ONE ANOTHER IN WINDOWS
a. Display list of files on your screen.
b. Click on the name of the first file in the
list you want to select.
c. While holding down the SHIFT key on your
keyboard,
. . . . . click the mouse on the last file to
select.
-----
SELECT MULTIPLE FILES THAT ARE NOT
ADJACENT TO ONE ANOTHER IN WINDOWS
a. Display list of files on your screen.
b. Click on the name of the first file you
wish to select.
c. While holding down the CTRL key on your
keyboard,
. . . . . click the mouse on each additional file
you want to select.
2009
TURN GRIDLINES ON OR OFF FOR PRINTOUTS IN
EXCEL
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click FILE - PAGE SETUP.
b. Click Sheet tab in Page Setup dialog box.
c. Check or uncheck the Gridlines check box
in the
Print area and click OK.
Note: Group worksheets if you want this
setting to apply to
more than 1 worksheet.
Office 2007:
d. Click PAGE LAYOUT.
e. Click small diagonal arrow at bottom right
of PAGE section.
f. Click Sheet tab in Page Setup dialog box.
g. Check or uncheck the Gridlines check box
in the
Print area and click OK.
Note: Group worksheets if you want this
setting to apply to
more than 1 worksheet.
-----
ADJUST WINDOWS POWER MANAGEMENT
SETTINGS
a. Right-click on blank portion of Desktop
and click Properties
(Personalize in Vista and Win 7).
b. Click Screen Saver tab (Screen Saver link
in Vista and Win 7).
c. Click Change Power Settings link near
bottom-right of
dialog box and click Power button.
d. In Windows 98/ME/XP only: Click Power
Schemes.
e. Make changes.
-----
INSERT A SYMBOL IN MICROSOFT WORD
a.
Click to place insertion point where you want to insert the symbol.
b.
Click INSERT - SYMBOL (or INSERT - SYMBOL -
.
. . . . MORE SYMBOLS in Office 2007).
c.
Click down arrow to right of Font box.
d.
Click on name of a font to see display of symbols associated
.
. . . . with this font (examples: Wingdings or Symbol are two good
.
. . . . font choices that offer many different symbols).
e. Click on desired symbol.
f. Click Insert and click Close.
-----
DELETE BROWSER TOOLBARS
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/toolbars.htm
-----
PRINT LABELS WITH THE SAME INFORMATION
ON EACH LABEL IN MICROSOFT WORD
Office XP/2003:
a. Click TOOLS - LETTERS AND MAILINGS -
. . . . . ENVELOPES AND LABELS.
b. Continue with Step g below.
Office 97/2000
c. Click TOOLS - ENVELOPES AND LABELS.
d. Continue with Step g below.
Office 2007:
e. Click MAILINGS - LABELS.
f. Continue with Step g below.
Continue Here for All Versions:
g. Click LABELS tab in Envelopes and Labels box; type text
. . . . .for the label.
h. Insert label sheet(s) in printer.
i. Click to place a dot by 'Full Page of the Same
Label.'
j. Click on sample picture of label and choose correct label style
. . . . . for your labels.
k. Click Print button.
-----
DEFINITIONS OF CONFUSING INTERNET
TERMINILOGIES
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/jargon.htm
-----
HIDE TEXT IN MICROSOFT WORD
a. Highlight text you
want to hide.
b.
While holding down the Shift and Ctrl keys on the keyboard
press
the H key and release all.
Note:
You can display hidden text if you click the pilcrow
symbol.
(backwards
P) symbol in the toolbar.
Note: You can remove this feature by
repeating these steps
on the same text.
-----
IMPORT DATA FROM ANOTHER SOURCE
INTO MICROSOFT EXCEL
Office
97/2000/XP/2003:
a.
Click HELP - MICROSOFT EXCEL HELP.
b.
Type Import External Data in the Search field on the right side
of
the screen.
c.
Click arrow to right of this field.
d.
Click subtopic for more information.
Office
2007:
e.
Click HELP button in upper right corner of screen.
f.
Type Import External Data in the Search field of the Help dialog box.
g.
Click Search.
h. Read directions on the screen.
-----
TURN OFF AUTOARRANGE FEATURE ON
WINDOWS DESKTOP SCREEN
Windows
98/ME/2000/XP:
a.
Right-click on blank portion of Desktop; click Arrange Icons By
b.
Click Auto Arrange if there's a checkmark beside it.
Windows
Vista:
c.
Right-click on blank portion of Desktop.
d.
Click View.
e. Click Align to Grid if there's a checkmark
beside it.
-----
FREEZE CELLS IN EXCEL
a.
Click in a cell that contains data.
b.
Click WINDOW - FREEZE PANES VIEW - FREEZE PANES -
FREEZE
PANES in Office 2007) and note that 2 Freeze Bars
appear
on the screen.
c.
Scroll horizontally and vertically to see how Freeze Bars work.
Note:
Freeze bars always appear immediately BEFORE the cell
you
first select.
d. Click WINDOW - UNFREEZE PANES (or VIEW -
FREEZE PANES -
UNFREEZE PANES in Office 2007)
-----
CHANGE RECYCLE BIN SETTINGS
IN WINDOWS
a.
On Windows Desktop screen, right click on Recycle Bin icon.
b.
Click Properties.
c.
In Windows 98/ME/XP only: Click Global tab in Properties
dialog
box.
d. Make changes as desired and click OK when
done.
-----
Converting a PDF file to Word
(from Kim Komando
-- komando.com)
Question:
How do I convert a scanned PDF file to a Word
file?
I need to do this so I can e-mail my resume
out for jobs.
Answer:
I usually tell people to send their résumés
in the body of their
e-mail. Many corporate e-mail systems strip
attachments.
But if you're following the company's
directions, you should be OK.
So, let me explain a bit about scanned PDF
files. Then, I'll
discuss converting them to Word documents.
A scanned PDF is simply a document that has
been imported
with a scanner. The scanner takes a picture
of a document,
which is placed inside a PDF. There is no
text, per se.
Rather, the text is part of the image. In a
regular PDF document,
the text is not part of an image.
To convert to Word, use optical character
recognition (OCR)
software. This extracts the text from the
image. It places the
text in a document so that it can be edited.
For example, the
text can be placed in a Word file.
The text could also be placed in a PDF file.
That way, it can
be edited with a program like Acrobat. Or,
you can search for
text within the PDF file. (If the text is
part of an image in a
PDF file, it can't be searched.)
------
RECORD AUDIO IN POWERPOINT
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
- Click SLIDE
Office 2007:
- Click SLIDE SHOW - RECORD NARRATION
(in SETUP section).
-----
SHARING FILES IN VARIOUS VERSIONS OF OFFICE
If you are using Office 2007 and want to
share files with colleagues
using an older version of Office, you should
download the
Compatibility Pack from
http://snipurl.com/mscomp (or go to
http://www.microsoft.com and search for
Office 2007 Compatibility Pack).
-----
CHECK CAPACITY OF YOUR HARD DISK DRIVE IN
WINDOWS
a.
Double-click to open My Computer
(or
click Start button - Computer in Win Vista).
b.
Right-click on icon that represents your hard disk drive
(usually
C Drive).
c. Click Properties; click General tab.
-----
SELECT NON-ADJACENT CELLS IN
EXCEL
a. Click and drag to highlight cells.
b. While holding down the CTRL key, click and drag to highlight
non-adjacent cells.
-----
USE MAIL MERGE TO CREATE MAILIING
LABELS IN WORD
Go to http://www.iteachyou.com/merge.htm for directions.
-----
HARD DRIVE ERASER
http://www.heidi.ie/node/6
Free, highly-respected program for completely
eliminating all information on your hard disk
drive.
-----
CHANGE
FORMAT OF A DATE IN EXCEL
a.
Highlight a column or just specific cells you want to affect.
b.
Office 2007 only: Click HOME - FORMAT (in CELLS section)
c.
Click FORMAT - CELLS
d. Click Number tab; click Date in Category
list and follow directions
on the screen.
-----
CREATE MULTIPLE COLUMNS IN WORD
a. Click FORMAT - COLUMNS (or
b. Follow the directions on the screen.
2008
CHANGE DEFAULT SETTINGS IN EXCEL
Office
97/2000/XP/2003:
a.
Click TOOLS - OPTIONS and make choices.
Office
2007:
b.
Click OFFICE BUTTON; click Excel Options button (bottom right).
c.
Click one of the words on the left side of Excel Options dialog box.
d. Make changes as desired.
-----
CHECK OR CHANGE DEFAULT SETTINGS IN WINDOWS
Windows 98/ME/XP:
a. Click Start - Control
Panel (or Start - Settings - Control Panel).
b. Click Switch to
Classic View if you see it listed on the left side
of your screen.
c. Check or make
changes as desired.
Windows
d. Click Start button
- Control Panel.
e. If there is no dot
to the left of 'Classic View' then click on these
words to add a dot.
f. Double-click to
open System and click the General tab in the
dialog box.
g. Check or make
changes as desired.
-----
PRINT COLUMN HEADINGS AT TOP
OF EACH PAGE IN EXCEL
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click FILE - PAGE SETUP.
b. Click Sheet tab in Page Setup dialog box.
c. Click in Rows to Repeat at Top field.
d. Type range of cells that contain column
headings to repeat.
(For example: A1:G1)
Office 2007:
e. Click PAGE LAYOUT.
f. Click small diagonal arrow at bottom right
of PAGE SETUP section.
g. Click Sheet tab in Page Setup dialog box.
h. Click in Rows to Repeat at Top field.
i.
Type range of cells that contain column headings to repeat.
(For example: A1:G1)
-----
PRINT A COMPLETE LIST OF WORD KEYBOARD
SHORTCUTS
All Versions:
a. Click TOOLS - MACRO - MACROS (or DEVELOPER
- MACROS
in Office 2007).
b. Click down-facing arrow to the right of
the 'Macros In' field.
c. Click Word Commands; scroll down and click
List Commands.
d. Click Run.
e. Click to place dot by 'Current Menu and
Keyboard...' in dialog box.
f. Click OK.
g. Click FILE - PRINT and click OK if you
want to print out the
entire 9-page list.
-----
MAXIMIZE THE SIZE OF A WINDOW
Double-click on the blue Title Bar for a
window you want to maximize
so it fills your screen.
-----
DISPLAY GRIDLINES ON THE SCREEN IN WORD
Office
2000/XP/2003:
a.
Click VIEW-TOOLBARS; click (if necessary) to place
checkmark
by Drawing.
b.
Click Draw button in Drawing toolbar.
c.
Click Grid.
d.
Click Display Gridlines on Screen.
e.
Make changes as needed and click OK.
Office
2007:
f. Click VIEW - GRIDLINES (in SHOW/HIDE
section).
-----
LOCK AN ENTIRE EXCEL WORKBOOK
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click TOOLS - PROTECTION and follow directions
on screen.
Office 2007:
b. Click HOME - FORMAT (in CELLS section).
c. Click PROTECT SHEET (in PROTECTION
section) and follow
directions on screen.
-----
WET CELL PHONE?
If your cell phone becomes wet, try the
following:
- Remove the battery.
- Pack the battery in dry white rice
overnight.
-----
In the next several issues of Net Happenings,
I will be including
tips that list 'how to' steps for both
Windows XP and
Windows
Occasionally I will also include 'how to'
steps for both
Office XP/2003 and Office 2007.
-----
TURN ON FILE EXTENSIONS
Windows 98/ME/XP
a. Double-click to open My Computer on your
Windows Desktop.
b. Click TOOLS - FOLDER OPTIONS.
c. Click View tab in dialog box.
d. Click (if necessary) to remove checkmark by
'Hide Extensions
for Known File Types.'
e. Click Apply and OK.
Windows
a. Click Start button - Control Panel.
b. Double-click to open Folder Options.
c. Click View tab in dialog box.
d. Click (if necessary) to remove checkmark
by 'Hide Extensions
for Known File Types.'
e. Click Apply and OK.
-----
CHANGE MARGINS IN WORD
Word 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click FILE - PAGE SETUP.
b. Click MARGINS tab in PAGE SETUP dialog
box.
c. Change margins as desired.
d. Click OK.
Word 2007:
a. Click PAGE LAYOUT - MARGINS (in PAGE SETUP
section).
b. Change margins as desired.
-----
BETTER RESULTS WITH GOOGLE
When using Google.com to search for
something, try the following…
- Go to http://www.google.com
- Click Advanced Search
This allows you to add or eliminate keywords
in your search.
-----
MODIFY GRAPHIC IN POWERPOINT
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Right-click in center of graphic.
b. Click Format Picture.
c. Click Picture tab; change cropping and
brightness as desired.
d. Click additional tabs and make changes as
desired.
e. Click OK when done.
Office 2007:
f. Click in center of graphic.
g. Click FORMAT - CROP (in SIZE section).
h. Click and drag brackets around graphic to
crop as desired.
i.
Click BRIGHTNESS (in ADJUST section) and select desired
brightness.
-----
ADD AN ACCENT MARK TO A VOWEL IN WORD
A good friend's last name is Dave (with an
accent on the final e)
- While holding down the CTRL key on your
keyboard, press the '
(apostrophe) key and release both keys.
- Immediately type the letter e which should
create an accented letter e.
Note: Although you may be able to copy and
paste a word that includes
this accent mark from Word to an email
message, there is no guarantee
that your recipient(s) will see the accent
mark at the receiving end. It
depends on what email option they are using.
The accent mark may
either be missing in the email message or you
might see something
like the following for the name Dave: ...
last name is Dav(91)e(92) ...
if their email program can't properly
interpret the accented e.
However, use it in Word anytime and it should
work fine.
On a Mac?
For the Mac: hold down the Option key, press
E, then the vowel you
want accented.
------
Create PDFs for free
(from komando.com)
http://www.primopdf.com/
PDF stands for Portable Document File. PDFs
appear identically
on all computer systems. They can be opened
with the free
Adobe Reader.
Adobe Acrobat also sells a program that
allows you to create
PDFs; however the price of this program is
quite high.
PrimoPDF
is a free alternative program for creating PDFs.
-----
MICROSOFT COMPATIBILITY PACK
If you receive a file that was created with
Office 2007 and you are
using a prior version of Office, you need to
obtain the Office 2007
Compatibility Pack in order to open the file.
Go to http://www.microsoft.com
Search for 'Office 2007 compatibility pack'
(without the quotes).
If you are using Office 2007 and want to share files with
colleagues using an older version of Office, you should download
the Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility Pack from
http://snipurl.com/mscomp (or go to
http://www.microsoft.com
and search for Office 2007 Compatibility Pack).
-----
ACCESS YOUR FAVORITES/BOOKMARKS ONLINE
EVEN WHEN YOU ARE AT A DIFFERENT COMPUTER
The following options are both popular and free...
- http://del.icio.us
- http://furl.net
... and are referred to as social bookmarking sites -- others can see
your bookmarks and vice versa. However, with Furl, you can make
your bookmarks private if you wish.
------
ADD HYPERLINK IN POWERPOINT
... Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click Slide Sorter View button.
b. Double-click on Slide 2 to switch to Slide View (Normal View
in some versions) of this slide.
c. Click and drag to highlight the words www.iteachyou.com.
d. Click SLIDE SHOW - ACTION SETTINGS.
e. Click Mouse Click tab in Action Settings dialog box.
f. Click to place a dot by Hyperlink To.
g. Click down-facing arrow to right of Hyperlink To field,
scroll down, and click URL in the list.
h. Type the full Web address for the link (e.http://www.iteachyou.com).
i. Click OK 2 times.
... Office 2007:
j. Click Slide Sorter View button.
k. Double-click on Slide 2 to switch to Slide View of this slide.
l. Click and drag to highlight the words www.iteachyou.com.
m. Click INSERT - HYPERLINK (in LINKS section).
n. Click in Address field at the bottom of the Insert Hyperlink
dialog box and type the full Web address for
the link
(e.g. http://www.iteachyou.com).
o. Click OK.
-----
UNDERSTANDING PROBLEMS WITH PRINTING WEBPAGES
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/print.htm
-----
SELECT NON-ADJACENT CELLS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL
a. Click and drag to highlight cells.
b. While holding down the CTRL key, click and drag to highlight
non-adjacent cells.
-----
CLICKING WRONG LINK ON A WEBPAGE
If you click the wrong link on a Webpage, try one of the following:
- Press Esc key on your keyboard which stops loading the Webpage.
or
- Click Stop button in your browser's toolbar.
Depending on how much of the Webpage has loaded, you may
still need to click the Back button in your
browser's toolbar to return
to where you were.
Note: If you've click the wrong link and still have your left mouse button
pressed down, just drag your mouse pointer
off the link to a blank
portion of the screen and release the mouse
button.
2007
I am frequently asked how to create mailing
labels using Microsoft
Word. Following are 3 options that each
produce different results.
Option 1: Print Labels with the Same Information on Each Label
Option 2: Print Labels with Different Information Manually Typed on
Each Label
Option 3: Print Labels using Mail Merge to Combine the Data from
One File with the Label Form in Word.
. . . . .
Option 1: Print Labels with the Same Information on Each Label
OFFICE XP/2003:
a. Click TOOLS - LETTERS
ENVELOPES
b. Continue with Step g below.
OFFICE 97/2000:
c. Click TOOLS - ENVELOPES
d. Continue with Step g below.
OFFICE 2007:
e. Click MAILINGS - LABELS.
f. Continue with Step g below.
CONTINUE HERE FOR
g. Click LABELS tab in Envelopes and Labels box; type text
for the label.
h. Insert label sheet(s) in printer.
i. Click to place a dot by "Full Page of the
Same Label."
j. Click Print button.
. . . . .
Option 2: Print Labels with Different Information Manually Typed
on Each Label
OFFICE 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click
GENERAL TEMPLATES for some versions).
b. Click Letters and Faxes tab; double-click Mailing Label wizard icon.
c. In Office Assistant bubble, click Create One Label or a Page of the
Same Label and OK.
d. In Envelopes and Labels dialog box, click Options.
e. In Options dialog box, under Product Number, select correct label
type and click OK.
f. In Envelopes and Labels dialog box, click New Document.
g. After a table with faint gridlines displays, type different addresses
in the cells.
OFFICE 2007:
h. Click MAILINGS - LABELS (in CREATE section).
i. Click Labels tab in Envelopes and Labels dialog
box.
j. Click Options button.
k. Make choices in Label Options dialog box and click OK.
l. Click to place a dot by "Full Page of the Same Label."
m. Click New Document button.
n. After a table with faint gridlines displays, type different addresses
in the cells.
. . . . .
Option 3: Print Labels using Mail Merge to Combine the Data from
One File with the Label Form in Word
Go to http://www.iteachyou.com/merge.htm
and follow the directions
on the screen.
Note: These instructions currently only apply to Word 2003 and prior
versions -- not to Word 2007.
-----
INSERT A FOOTNOTE IN MICROSOFT WORD
* Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Position cursor at location for footnote in document;
click INSERT - REFERENCE - FOOTNOTE (click INSERT -
FOOTNOTE in Off 97/2000) and click Insert (or OK).
b. Type footnote text; when done, click in body of document.
* Office 2007:
c. Position cursor at location for footnote in document.
d. Click REFERENCES - INSERT FOOTNOTE (in FOOTNOTES section).
e. Type footnote text; when done, click in body of document.
-----
HIDE CONTENTS OF CELLS IN MICROSOFT EXCEL
* Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Highlight the rows or columns you want to hide.
b. Click FORMAT - CELLS.
c. Click Number tab at top of Format Cells dialog box.
d. Click Custom in the Category column.
e. Click and drag to highlight the contents of the Type field
to the right.
Note: What you are highlighting probably says 'General.'
f. Type ;;; (that's 3 semicolons) and click OK.
* Office 2007:
g. Highlight the rows or columns you want to hide.
h. Click HOME - FORMAT (in CELLS section)
i. Click HIDE and UNHIDE (in VISIBILITY section).
j. Click HIDE ROWS or HIDE COLUMNS.
-----
INSERT A 'LANDSCAPE' PAGE IN THE MIDDLE
OF A 'PORTRAIT' DOCUMENT IN MICROSOFT WORD
a. Click at the start of the page that is to
be in 'landscape' format.
b. Click INSERT-BREAK; click to place a dot by Continuous and
click OK.
c. Click at the end of the page that is to be in 'landscape' format.
d. Click INSERT-BREAK; click to place a dot by Continuous and
click OK.
e. Click just before the first word in the page that will be converted
to landscape.
f. Click FILE-PAGE SETUP; click Margins tab; click Landscape;
click OK.
-----
TURN GRIDLINES ON OR OFF WHEN
PRINTING A MICROSOFT EXCEL SPREADSHEET
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click FILE - PAGE SETUP.
b. Click Sheet tab in Page Setup dialog box.
c. Check or uncheck the Gridlines check box in the Print area
and click OK.
Note: Group worksheets if you want this setting to apply to
more than 1 worksheet.
Office 2007:
d. Click PAGE LAYOUT.
e. Click small diagonal arrow at bottom right of PAGE SETUP
section.
f. Click Sheet tab in Page Setup dialog box.
g. Check or uncheck the Gridlines check box in the Print area
and click OK.
Note: Group worksheets if you want this setting to apply
to more than 1 worksheet.
-----
HUMMING NOISE IN YOUR COMPUTER'S SPEAKERS
A humming noise can occur when the volume dial
for your speakers
is turned up to a high level. To adjust the volume setting within
Windows XP or
a. Click Start button - Control Panel.
b. Open Sounds (wording varies with version and settings)
c. Change sound levels to at least 80 percent.
d. Click OK (or similar) maintain this setting in Windows.
e. Turn down the volume dial for your speakers.
If this doesn't work, then you may have another electronic
component placed too close to the speakers, thus causing the
noise.
-----
DISPLAY NEGATIVE NUMBERS IN
VARIOUS WAYS IN MS EXCEL
a. Highlight a column or just specific cells you want to affect.
b. Office 2007 only: Click HOME - FORMAT (in CELLS section)
c. Click FORMAT - CELLS.
d. Click Number tab in dialog box; click Number in the Category list.
e. Make choice in the Negative Numbers field of how you want negative numbers
to display.
-----
FINDING YOUR NAME ON THE INTERNET
It's fun (and sometimes alarming) to find references to YOU
on the Internet. Try the following:
- Go to http://www.google.com
- Type "your full name" within quotes in the search field
(e.g., "Gini Pedersen")
- Click Google Search button.
-----
ADD HYPERLINK IN POWERPOINT
Office 97/2000/XP/2003:
a. Click Slide Sorter View button.
b. Double-click on Slide 2 to switch to Slide View (Normal View
in some versions) of this slide.
c. Click and drag to highlight the words www.iteachyou.com.
d. Click SLIDE SHOW - ACTION SETTINGS.
e. Click Mouse Click tab in Action Settings dialog box.
f. Click to place a dot by Hyperlink To.
g. Click down-facing arrow to right of Hyperlink To field,
scroll down, and click URL in the list.
h. Type the full Web address for the link (http://www.iteachyou.com).
i. Click OK 2 times.
Office 2007:
j. Click Slide Sorter View button.
k. Double-click on Slide 2 to switch to Slide View of this slide.
l. Click and drag to highlight the words www.iteachyou.com.
m. Click INSERT - HYPERLINK (in LINKS section).
n. Click in Address field at the bottom of the Insert Hyperlink
dialog box and type the full Web address for the link
(e.g. http://www.iteachyou.com).
o. Click OK.
------
MICROSOFT WORD -- INSERT A DROP CAP AT THE
START OF A PARAGRAPH
- Highlight first letter in a paragraph.
- Click FORMAT-DROP CAP and make selections.
-----
WRAP TEXT AROUND A PICTURE IN MICROSOFT WORD
- Right-click on the picture.
- Click Format Picture.
- Click Wrapping tab.
- Make choice and click OK.
- Click and drag the picture to desired
location.
-----
ADDING CLIPART TO AN ENVELOPE IN MSWORD
To do this, you must first attach the envelope to a document.
This allows you to work with the envelope as you would a page
of text, instead of relying on Word's Envelopes And Labels tool
to generate the formatting.
To attach an envelope to a document:
- Open Word
- Click TOOLS - ENVELOPES AND LABELS
- Click Envelopes tab in dialog box.
- Type envelope information as you normally would.
- Click Add to Document button and the envelope becomes
. . . . . . . . . a page in the document.
- Click where you want to insert the clipart.
- Click INSERT - PICTURE - CLIP ART.
- Follow instructions on screen.
-----
FORMATTING IN EMAIL MESSAGES
Unfortunately, in the 'email department,' we're still in
'just because you can, doesn't mean you should' mode.
Many current email programs allow the sender to format
an email in a variety of ways -- stationery, colors, formatting, etc.
However, since the Internet Protocol needs to make your message
readable on different types of computers along the delivery journey
and at the receiving end -- and because there are so many different
email programs people use out there (including different versions of
the same program) -- there is really no way for the sender to truly
control the way a receiver will see what's in the body of an email
message.
If formatting is critical, as with spreadsheets, resumes, etc.,
then you would need to send them as an attachment to increase
the likelihood that the recipient will see it as it was created --
and then only if they have the right program already installed
on their computer to read that file format.
Some people try to test the use of stationery, etc. by sending
a message to their own email address. But this isn't really a
valid test since the message really isn't going out on the Internet --
but, rather, is just cycling through your Internet Service Provider's
intranet.
This will all probably be a non-issue in a few years. But, for now,
you probably need to stick with plain old vanilla style emails.
-----
2006
WORD -- HOW TO ELIMINATE ALL FORMATTING
IN ONE STEP
- Click EDIT-SELECT ALL.
- While holding down the CTRL key, press the Space Bar.
-----
EXCEL -- HOW TO CLEAR CELL FORMATS IN EXCEL
After you have applied a particular cell format to cells in
Excel, you can't simply reverse what you set as you might
in Word. To remove cell formats, do the following:
- Highlight the cells you no longer want formatted.
- Click EDIT - CLEAR - FORMATS
-----
HOW TO DELETE UNWANTED TEXT IN AN E-MAIL
MESSAGE BEFORE YOU FORWARD, SAVE, PRINT, ETC.
We all receive (and forward?) e-mail messages
that start out
with a lot of unwanted 'header' info --
evidence that this
message has been forwarded one or more times
before we
received it.
Here's how to clean up the mess before
printing, saving, or
forwarding the message to someone else.
The text of an e-mail message ISN'T usually
modifiable
when you first receive the message. It can be
READ only.
However, if you begin the process of replying
or forwarding
this message to someone, you are able to edit
this e-mail
message at this point -- before you send it.
To do this,
scroll across the unwanted text to highlight
it and press the
Delete key on your keyboard.
Or, you can highlight the entire message,
click EDIT-COPY
to place the highlighted text on your
'clipboard,' open your
favorite word processing program, click
EDIT-PASTE to
paste the highlighted text in this new
document, and then delete
unwanted text within the word processing
program.
This latter method is particularly useful if
you just want to print
or save a portion of the message. In
addition, this latter method
also gives you more control over editing out
the > symbols at the
start of each line. Following is the way to
do this in MSWord:
- Paste the entire message into Word as
explained above.
- Highlight the message.
- Click EDIT-REPLACE.
- Type the > symbol in the Find What box.
(Note: Or, if necessary, type a > followed by a space
in
the Find What box.)
- Leave the Replace With box empty (meaning
you will
replace with nothing)
- Click Replace All button
Additional note: In most word processing
programs you can
also use various other features within the
Replace dialog box
to make additional changes -- even to
non-printing codes such
as line breaks, tabs, etc.
-----
RE-RUN SPELL CHECKER IN WORD
Occasionally you may want to re-run the Spell Checker on a
Word document that has already been checked and saved.
In most recent versions of Word, do the following:
- Open the document.
- Click Tools-Options.
- Click Spelling and Grammar tab.
- Click Recheck Document button.
- Click Yes.
- Click OK.
- Run the spell checker again on this document.
-----
HOW TO SEE THE TOTAL SIZE OF A FOLDER AND ALL
ITS CONTENTS IN WINDOWS
Get to your Windows Desktop.
Open My Computer.
Branch to the folder you want to check, but don't open it.
Right-click on the folder you want to check.
Click Properties.
The dialog box will tell you this size information.
-----
CREATE A WATERMARK WITH AN IMAGE IN WORD
a. Insert a picture in your document; resize picture as needed.
b. Right-click on the picture; click Format Picture.
c. Click Picture tab; click down-arrow to right of the
Image Control Color field.
d. Click Washout (Watermark in Office 97/2000).
e. Click Layout tab; click Behind Text and click OK.
-----
CORRECTLY DISPLAY WEB ADDRESSES WITHIN AN
EMAIL MESSAGE
Many e-mail programs will turn a typed Web address within
an e-mail message into a direct link to the Webpage.
To properly code the Web address so it may become a
direct link for your recipient, never include any characters
or punctuation immediately before or after the Web address
even if the Web address falls at the end of a sentence.
Also, always type in the http:// at the start of the
address
because some e-mail software programs will not convert
an address that is missing the http:// portion. In
addition,
only some e-mail programs will convert a Web address
that is surrounded with < and > symbols to a hyperlink.
Good and bad examples include:
... Bad: You can see a list of upcoming classes
at http://www.iteachyou.com. (don't use
final period)
... Bad: You can see a list of upcoming classes at
www.iteachyou.com
... Good: Check the following address to find out about
upcoming classes: http://www.iteachyou.com
... Good: Check ITeachYou.com ( http://www.iteachyou.com
)
to see a list of upcoming classes (note the spaces between
parentheses and Web address)
The Web address to this site would then become a hyperlink
within the e-mail message, if the recipient has e-mail software
that supports this feature. If not, it will still appear as readable
text -- just as shown above.
-----
SPEEDING UP YOUR INTERNET CONNECTION
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/speed.htm
-----
UNDERSTANDING
YOUR BROWSER'S CACHE
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/cache.htm
-----
EDIT EMAIL BEFORE REPLYING OR FORWARDING IT
With most email programs you can edit an email message
before you send a reply or forward it on to others.
Doing this allows you to remove unnecessary text, old
email headers, etc.
To do this...
- Open the email message.
- Click a button or drop-down menu to begin a Reply or Forward.
- Click and drag to highlight unwanted text in the message area.
- Add text as needed.
- Send message.
In other words, you cannot edit an email message you receive.
However, you can edit this same message when you begin the
process of replying or forwarding the message.
In addition, with any email programs you can also use the following
technique to save a single message into Word so you can easily
edit, find, and maybe print it in the future:
1. Open email message onto the screen.
2. Click and drag with the mouse to highlight all text in the message.
3. Click EDIT-COPY.
4. Open Word.
5. Click EDIT-PASTE.
6. Click FILE-SAVE AS and give it a name and location in your
My Documents folder if you wish.
7. Click FILE-PRINT, etc. if you wish to print this now or later.
-----
AUTOCOMPLETE
SETTINGS IN INTERNET EXPLORER
The AutoComplete feature in Internet Explorer finishes typing
what you started in Web address fields, password fields, and on
forms if this information has been typed within Internet Explorer
on a prior occasion.
To access Internet Explorer's AutoComplete feature:
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click TOOLS-INTERNET OPTIONS.
3. Click Content tab.
4. Click AutoComplete button.
5. Make Changes as desired.
6. Click OK.
Note: Although I may choose to use the AutoComplete feature
which also helps with "remembering" passwords at some sites,
it is a bit of a security risk since others who access your computer
could also access these sites.
-----
CHANGE DEFAULT BROWSER OR EMAIL PROGRAM
If you change browsers or e-mail programs, you can change settings
on your computer so the new program will be your new default
browser or e-mail program.
1. Click Start - Settings - Control Panel (or Start - Control Panel).
2. Click Switch to Classic View (if available on left side of dialog box).
3. Double-click to open Internet Options.
4. Click Programs tab in dialog box.
5. Make changes as desired.
-----
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/cookies.htm
-----
EMAIL
MESSAGE OR WEBPAGE CUTS OFF RIGHT
If what is being cut off is the right side of an email message,
then the sender likely is using an email program that uses
a longer line length than what your email program supports.
Or, the cut off is the right side of a Webpage, the
site developer probably didn't follow good webpage
development techniques, keeping the line length
short enough to fit on paper.
One solution that usually works -- particularly in the
case of cut-off email messages:
- Click and drag to highlight the text.
- Click EDIT-
- Open your favorite word processing program.
- Click EDIT-PASTE.
- Click
This way you are allowing your word processing program
to 'rewrap' the lines so they will fit on paper.
-----
CLEANING
FLAT PANEL MONITORS
I
personally use the moistened eyeglass cleaners that are
suitable
for A/R coated eyeglasses. SeeClear and other
companies
make them.
In
addition, I've seen the following recommendations:
-
1 part white vinegar to 10 parts water
or
-
1 part isopropyl alcohol (from drug store) and 1 part water
Spray
on VERY soft, non-abrasive cloth lint-free cloth -- like an
old
cotton t-shirt.
Misc.
Notes:
-
Don't use Windex-type products.
-
Don't spray directly on the screen.
-
Don't use paper towel or Kleenex since they contain wood fiber.
-
Be sure cloth has no grit on it.
.....
CHANGE
BROWSER SETTINGS
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/browser.htm
-----
TRANSLATE
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/translate.htm
-----
COMPLETING FORMS ON WEBPAGES
Most of us have suffered the annoyance of
typing something on a
Webpage -- perhaps on an online form, in our
Web email, etc. --
only to have it disappear before we have
completed the task.
And,
of course, in these instances, the EDIT-UNDO...
that most of us rely on isn't available.
This is caused primarily for the following
reasons:
a. You inadvertently highlight the text on
the screen and replace it
with the next key you press on the keyboard.
b. You press perhaps the BACK button in your
browser which
automatically erases everything you've typed
-- even if you click
the FORWARD button to return to where you
were.
c. You complete various fields on a form and
click the Submit
button only to see a message indicating that
you forgot to
complete a required field. When you click the
BACK button,
you find that all fields are now blank.
THE
Change your browser's cache settings so it
will hold on to
the information.
If using Internet Explorer:
- Click TOOLS-INTERNET OPTIONS.
- Click General tab.
- Click Settings button.
- Click to select Every Time You Start
Internet Explorer.
- Click OK 2 times.
If using Firefox:
- Click TOOLS-OPTIONS.
- Click Privacy.
- Click + sign to left of Saved Form
Information.
- Click (if necessary) to place a checkmark
by 'Save information...'
- Click OK.
If using Netscape:
- Click EDIT-PREFERENCES.
- Double-click to open Advanced.
- Click Cache.
- Change memory cache to at least 1024k.
- Change disk cache to at least 7680k.
- Clear both caches.
- Click OK.
-----
UNDERSTANDING COMMON
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/error.htm
-----
CLEAR YOUR BROWSER'S HISTORY
http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/history.htm
-----
ADJUST
Browsers are preset with a certain level of
security warning at the
factory. If you want to review and/or change
these security warnings,
do the following:
If Using Internet Explorer
- Open Internet Explorer
- Click TOOLS - INTERNET OPTIONS.
- Click Security tab.
- Examine and/or change settings.
Note: A search of the browser's HELP will
give you more specifics.
If Using Firefox
- Open Firefox
- Click TOOLS - OPTIONS.
- Click on the word 'Advanced.'
- Examine and/or change settings.
- Click on the word 'Privacy.'
- Examine and/or change settings.
Note: A search of the browser's HELP will
give you more specifics.
If Using Netscape
- Open Netscape
- Click EDIT - PREFERENCES.
- Click on the word 'Advanced.'
- Examine and/or change settings.
Note: A search of the browser's HELP will
give you more specifics.
------
ABOUT BLOGS
http://askbobrankin.com/create_a_blog.html
-----
DISAPPEARING TEXT WHEN TYPING ON A WEBSITE
Most of us have suffered the annoyance of
typing something on
a Webpage -- perhaps on an online form, in
our Web email, etc. --
only to have it disappear before we have
completed the task.
And, of course, in these instances, the
EDIT-UNDO... that most
of us rely on isn't available.
This is caused primarily for the following
reasons:
a. You inadvertently highlight the text on the
screen and replace it
with the next key you press on the keyboard.
b. You press perhaps the BACK button in your
browser which
automatically erases everything you've typed
-- even if you click
the FORWARD button to return to where you
were.
c. You complete various fields on a form and
click the Submit button
only to see a message indicating that you
forgot to complete a
required field. When you click the BACK
button, you find that
all fields are now blank.
THE
Change your browser's cache settings so it
will hold on to the
information.
If using Internet Explorer:
- Click TOOLS-INTERNET OPTIONS.
- Click General tab.
- Click Settings button.
- Click to select Every Time You Start
Internet Explorer.
- Click OK 2 times.
If using Firefox:
- Click TOOLS-OPTIONS.
- Click Privacy.
- Click + sign to left of Saved Form
Information.
- Click (if necessary) to place a checkmark
by 'Save information
I enter...'
- Click OK.
If using Netscape:
- Click EDIT-PREFERENCES.
- Double-click to open Advanced.
- Click Cache.
- Change memory cache to at least 1024k.
- Change disk cache to at least 7680k.
- Clear both caches.
- Click OK.
-----
CONVERTING VHS TO
http://www.askbobrankin.com/convert_vhs_to_dvd.html
-----
HORIZONTAL SCROLLING ON SOME WEBSITES
Needing to scroll horizontally on a Webpage
is annoying.
Read on for explanations and possible
solutions:
1. Your Screen Resolution
The most likely problem is that your screen
resolution is set
too low. It's probably at 640x480
and most sites are designed
with the assumption you're using a resolution
of 800x600
(the most common).
To check / change your screen resolution...
- Right-click your Windows Desktop.
- Click Properties.
- Click Settings tab in dialog box.
- Move slider in Screen Resolution field to
the left or right.
On most systems it's best to have it set at 800x600 or
1024x768.
The higher you go, the smaller an item will
appear on your screen, reducing the amount of
horizontal
scrolling you will need to do.
2. Poorly Designed Website
The other possibility is that the site you're
looking at is poorly
designed. My site (http://www.iteachyou.com)
is designed for
an 800x600
resolution, but I have it set at 750 pixels wide to
allow for the sides of the browser window. If
it was set to 800,
you would still have to scroll a little
unless your monitor was
set higher than 800x600.
-----
Windows XP contains an Event Viewer that
keeps track of anything
that happens on your computer. To check the Event
Viewer,
do the following:
- Click Start - Run.
- Type eventvwr.msc
and click OK.
- Click System on the left side of the dialog
box.
- On the right side of the dialog box, scroll
to find the date you
want to check.
- Double-click on the specific date/event you
want to check.
- Click on the 'For More Information...' link
-----
SETTING UP A HOME NETWORK
http://www.askbobrankin.com/home_networking.html
2005
RE-
Occasionally you may want to re-run the Spell
Checker on a
Word document that has already been checked
and saved.
In most recent versions of Word, do the
following:
- Open the document.
- Click Tools-Options.
- Click Spelling and Grammar tab.
- Click Recheck Document button.
- Click OK.
- Run the spell checker again on this
document.
-----
SPECIAL SYMBOLS IN
SYMBOL: ~ (tilde)
PURPOSE: Usually means the Webpage resides in
someone's
personal folder on a server.
EXAMPLE: http://www.bigfoot.com/~pedersen
SYMBOL: ? and =
PURPOSE: Often indicates the site is using
scripts or small
automated programs to take data entered by
the user and
create a page from the info provided. For
example,
when you search for keywords in Google.
EXAMPLE: http://search.microsoft.com/default.asp?boolean=
SYMBOL: /
PURPOSE: A single forward slash appears after
the .com or .edu
portion of a Web address if you are viewing
Webpages that are
embedded inside one or more folders/
EXAMPLE:
http://www.iteachyou.com/rosebud/index.html
-----
PRINTING WEBPAGES
Pre-Printing Suggestions
- Before printing a Webpage, click
how it will lay out on paper.
- Look for a Next Page (or similar wording)
button so you can view
additional pages.
- In some browsers you can click with the
magnifying glass to
'zoom in.' Be sure to check the right margin
to see if the text chops off.
Printing an entire Webpage
Click
Printing a Portion of a Webpage
Internet Explorer
- Click and drag to highlight portion of
Webpage you want to print.
- Click
Firefox and Netscape
- Click and drag to highlight portion of
Webpage you want to print.
- Click
Printing a Webpage that is Wider than 8 1/2
inches
Since the screen is oriented in 'landscape'
format while paper is
oriented in 'portrait' format, the web
designer should be limiting
the width so this problem doesn't happen when
someone prints
his/her webpage.
Therefore, you have to work around this
design glitch...
To print the Webpage so it won't cut off in
most browsers:
- Click
- Change margins (particularly side margins)
to perhaps as
small as .5 inches (if your printer supports
margins this narrow).
If the above doesn't work, you can usually
solve the problem by
printing the page(s) in 'Landscape' format
instead of the usual
'Portrait' format:
Internet Explorer
- Click
- Click Landscape and click OK.
Firefox and Netscape
- Click
- Click Properties.
- Click Basics or Layout.
- Click Landscape; click Apply (if
available); click OK.
Printing a Webpage that has a Dark Background
A Webpage with a dark background will usually
print as shown, using
a considerable amount of ink. To avoid this
problem, do the following:
Internet Explorer
- Click TOOLS-INTERNET OPTIONS.
- Click Advanced tab at top of dialog box.
- Scroll down to the 'printing' category and make
sure the box for
printing backgrounds is not checked.
- Click Apply (if available) and click OK.
Note: This setting change will affect all
backgrounds on all
Webpages unless you make another change.
Firefox and Netscape
- Click
- Confirm that 'Print background' box is not
checked.
-----
BACK UP OF EMAIL MAILBOXES
If you want to back up your email mailboxes
and contacts,
following is the location of email mailboxes
and contacts on
most Win XP systems:
Outlook Express...
C:\Documents and Settings\<user
name>\Local Settings\
Application Data\Identities\<class
identifier>\Microsoft\Outlook Express
Outlook...
C:\Documents and Settings\<user
name>\Local Settings\
Application Data\Microsoft\Outlook
Thunderbird...
C:\Documents and Settings\<user
name>\Application Data\
Thunderbird\Profiles\<random
characters>\Mail\Local Folders
Eudora...
C:\Program Files\Qualcomm\Eudora
For those with Hotmail, Yahoo Mail, or Juno
Web accounts,
the mail is stored on their server and must be
individually
downloaded/saved to your hard drive if you
want to keep
a copy on your computer.
-----
SPECIAL SYMBOLS IN
Symbol: ~ (tilde)
Purpose: Usually means the Webpage resides in
someone's
personal folder on a server.
Example: http://www.bigfoot.com/~pedersen
Symbol: ? and =
Purpose: Often indicates the site is using
scripts or small
automated programs to take data entered by
the user and
create a page from the info provided. For
example, when
you search for keywords in Google.
Example:
http://search.microsoft.com/default.asp?boolean=
Symbol: /
Purpose: A single forward slash appears after
the .com or .edu
portion of a Web address if you are viewing
Webpages that are
embedded inside one or more folders/
Example: http://www.iteachyou.com/rosebud/index.html
.....
SHOULD YOU USE FORMATTED OR FANCY EMAIL?
Go to http://www.iteachyou.com/tt/fancy.htm
-----
STOP PRINT
The challenge here is usually getting to the
printer dialog box soon enough
to stop a print job quickly. To speed this
up, do the following:
- Get to your Windows Desktop screen.
- Click Start - Settings - Printers and Faxes
(or similar wording)
to open the dialog box that lists the
printer(s) attached to your computer.
- With your finger on the RIGHT mouse button,
right click and drag the
printer icon to our Windows Desktop screen
and release the right
mouse button.
- Click (left button) the words Create
Shortcuts Here.
- Close the Printer dialog box.
- Right-click on the new Printer shortcut
icon on your Windows Desktop.
- Click Properties.
- Click the Shortcut tab at the top of this
Properties dialog box.
- Click after the word None in the Shortcut
Key field.
- While holding down both the Shift and
Control keys on your
keyboard, press the letter P and release all
keys. You should
now see the words Ctrl+Shift+P
in this field.
- Close all dialog boxes covering your
Windows Desktop screen.
Note: From now on you should be able to
quickly open the Printer
dialog box any time you are working on your
computer in order to
delete a print job in progress.
-----
WHY AN ATTACHMENT DOESN'T ARRIVE
Perhaps...
- The sender forgot to include the attachment
prior to clicking Send.
- Your antivirus stripped the attachment
because it may have
contained a virus.
- Your Internet Service Provider stripped the
attachment because
it was too large and exceeded limits on your
account.
In addition, a forwarded email message
usually doesn't automatically
include an attachment that you may have
received with the original
message. This is usually determined by a
setting in your email
program. You can change this setting in many
email programs
by clicking TOOLS-OPTIONS (or similar
wording), and check
the various categories. If you do wish to
include the attachment
with the forwarded message, you will usually
need to re-attach
it yourself.
-----
HOW SECURE IS THIS WEBSITE?
Websites that sell products and services,
offer protection to their
customers' information by encrypting personal
information you
enter during the ordering process. Although
the entry and
preliminary Webpages won't be encrypted, you
should see
evidence of encryption when you enter a
portion of the website
that is requesting personal information such
as your address,
credit card number, etc.
There are two things that indicate a secure
webpage:
1. Web address changes from http:// to
https://
2. A locked padlock appears near the bottom
of your browser
screen.
Summary: Never provide personal information
on a website
that doesn't use encryption on critical
portions of their website.
-----
DISTRACTING ANIMATIONS ON A WEBSITE
Depending on the technology used to create an
animation,
you
concentrate on the text as follows...
After the Website has loaded onto your
screen, press the
on your keyboard which will stop annoying
animations that make it
difficult to read the Webpage content.
Note: If you press the
loading, you will likely cause a portion of
the Webpage to not appear.
If you want it all to appear, click the
Refresh/Reload button in
your toolbar.
-----
E-
One trick scammers are using is to send you a
message that
looks like a 'bounced' return of a message
you sent to someone.
The easiest way to confirm if this is truly a
return of an email you
actually sent is to scroll down the message
(preferably while it's
just visible in your email's 'preview' window
and see if it contains
anything related to a message you actually
sent out. It may
contain only a small portion of content you
sent, but you should
recognize something.
If it doesn't, just delete it and NEVER reply
in any way to one
of these messages. Doing so gives these
scammers one of the
things they want -- proof that a specific
email address is legitimate.
...........
MOUSE CHALLENGES
A mouse that has become erratic or stops
working altogether is
usually caused by one of the following...
1. Drivers for the mouse aren't installed.
Find the disk that came with the mouse and
install it on
your computer.
2. Drivers that were installed have become
corrupted.
Reinstall mouse drivers.
3. Mouse is erratic.
If you have a traditional mouse with a round opening
on the
bottom that houses a rubber ball, you need to
remove the ball
and carefully clean the 3 rollers that the
mouse rubs against.
These rollers will likely be both white and
black. Carefully loosen
anything on the rollers with a wooden
toothpick. If necessary
use a dampened Q-tip.
4. Mouse stops working.
If you have an optical mouse (red light on
bottom), check the
connector or, in the case of a wireless
optical mouse,
change the batteries.
5. If these ideas don't work, I'd
double-check to be sure
you have a current, updated version of an
antivirus program
like Norton or McAfee installed.
-----
RESOLVING PROBLEMS WITH
The Normal.dot is the template for a blank
document in Word.
If your Normal.dot template in Word becomes
damaged,
the problem isn't resolved when you reinstall
Office or Word.
Instead you will need to delete it and then
let Word automatically
rebuild this file. To do this…
1. Close Word (if you have it open)
2. Locate and rename the Normal.dot (or
Normal.bak,
answering Yes to a confirmation message that
may appear about the future stability of this
file.
- On Windows XP systems it should be located
in…
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Application
Data\
Microsoft\Templates
Note: 'username' is whatever your profile was
called when
Win XP was installed.
- With most other versions of Windows, it
should be located in…
C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Templates
3. Open Word which automatically creates a
new Normal.dot
template (blank document file).
Notes:
- When you delete and rebuild the Normal.dot
file as described
above, you may also lose any customizations
you have done
in Word. For example, macros you added to the
toolbars.
- If the new rebuilt Normal.dot works fine,
then you can safely
delete the Normal.bak
you created above. If not, then rename
Normal.bak
to Normal.dot and get technical help from someone
familiar with inner workings of Word.
-----
CURIOUS ABOUT WHEN A WEBSITE WAS LAST
MODIFIED?
(shared by steve@worldstart.com)
1. Go to a specific Website
2. Type 'javascript:alert(document.lastModified)' -- without the
quotes -- in the address bar in place of the
Web address and
press ENTER.
Note: This will work only if you have
JavaScript enabled within
your browser
-----
PASSWORD-PROTECT A
IN WORD OR EXCEL
Try the following to password protect a
single file:
- Open a file in Word (or Excel)
- Click
- Click down-facing triangle to right of Tools
button in Save As dialog box.
- Click Security Options (or General
Options).
- Follow directions on screen.
In addition, check the following:
http://www.computerhope.com/issues/ch000705.htm
http://www.folder-password-expert.com
http://www.mycomputersafe.com
USING QUICK LAUNCH TOOLBAR