Computer Tips
Tip Name: 10
things you should do to improve every new Windows PC- Activate
Windows
TIP: At
some point during the setup process you will likely be asked to
activate Windows. (Linux you would similarly be asked to
register your particular distribution.) This is a good time to
get that out of the way. Taking this step assures your operating
system is legitimate and opens up a new set of support features
including community forums and FAQs.
Tip Name: 10
things you should do to improve every new Windows PC-Copy over
browser shortcuts
TIP: For
many of us, our list of favorite Web sites is a reflection of
our lives. It is more than a mere list of places on the Word
Wide Web; it is our connection to a dynamic virtual world.
However, once a link is placed into your browser, you don't
really have to worry about remembering what can often be a
cryptic URL. However, because you don't have to remember, you
may actually forget what it is. This is why porting over your
browser favorites is so important. It is a two step process.
First, export your browser favorites to a file. In both Internet
Explorer and Firefox, the Export and Import features can be
found under the File menu. (Figure D) Once you have exported to
a file, copy that file to the new PC and then import that file
to your browser of choice on the new PC.
Tip Name: 10
things you should do to improve every new Windows PC-Install
needed applications
TIP: If
your new PC is at work, chances are that all of the "necessary"
applications are installed already. But for home PCs, there is
still work to do. Everyone's idea of what applications should be
installed is going to be a personal choice, but there are likely
to be some selections common to us all. Here are some of the
applications I have to install with each new PC: Office
Suite, including e-mail client Money, QuickBooks or some
other money management application RSS Reader iTunes
Graphics/Paint program beyond Paint for Windows VPN client
(for connecting to the office) CD/DVD burning applications
beyond what shipped with the PC HTML Editor Application
developer IDE (often two—VS and Eclipse) I'm sure you can think
of some others. Of course there are always the entertainment
applications like World of Warcraft, Call of Duty and
Civilization.
Tip Name: Save
and print your database relationships (Access 2002)
TIP: When
you're documenting your database applications, you may want to
include a visual diagram of your table relationships. To preview
these relationships, open your database in Access and choose
Tools | Relationships from the menu bar. Then, simply choose
File | Print Relationships from the menu bar to display a report
preview which you can print, save, or export.
Tip Name: Quickly
toggle between upper and lower case for selected text (Word
2002)
TIP: You
may already know that you can quickly toggle the case of
selected text by pressing [Shift][F3]. Each time you press
[Shift][F3], the selected text's case cycles from lower case to
title case to upper case. A lesser known case-toggling keyboard
shortcut you'll be sure to get some use from is the [Ctrl][Shift]A
shortcut. When you select text that contains both upper- and
lower-case characters and then press [Ctrl][Shift]A, Word
toggles the case of the lower-case characters to upper case. For
example, if you select the text "I want to be a Rock Star" and
press [Ctrl][Shift]A, the text becomes "I WANT TO BE A ROCK
STAR." If you press [Ctrl][Shift]A again, the text returns to
its original state. A word of warning: the [Ctrl][Shift]A
shortcut works just like the Caps Lock key. If you don't select
any text before pressing [Ctrl][Shift]A and then begin typing,
your text will all be upper case. To turn the feature off, press
[Ctrl][Shift]A again.
Tip Name: Draw
perfect circles on your slide with ease (PowerPoint 2002)
TIP: Drawing
perfect circles on a slide with the Oval tool can be frustrating
and near impossible if you don't know the simple trick to do so.
Fortunately, all you need to do is double-click on the Oval tool
on the Drawing toolbar, and then hold down the [Shift] key as
you draw on the slide. With the [Shift] key held down, the
resulting AutoShape is a perfect circle. To create additional
circles, simply click again anywhere on your slide. Repeat to
create as many perfect circles as you want. To stop adding
circles, either click on the Oval tool a second time or press
[Esc]. Now, if you want to resize one of your circles without
distorting it, first click on it to select it, and then hold
down the [Shift] key as you drag any of its corner editing
handles.
Tip Name: Drag
clip art into your presentations (PowerPoint 2000)
TIP: When
you add several clip art images to a presentation, do you get
tired of selecting the image and then choosing Insert Clip for
each image? There's an easier way--drag the image to your
presentation. With the Insert ClipArt dialog box open, navigate
to the image, and then drag it into your open presentation. Not
only do you insert the image, but you also control where it's
placed on the slide. The Insert ClipArt dialog box is minimized
when you drag the image to your presentation. Just click the
corresponding taskbar button to display the dialog box again.
Tip Name: Sort
month and day names chronologically (Excel 97/2000/2002/v.
X/2003)
TIP: If
you sort data based on a column of month or weekday names, Excel
sorts the data alphabetically. Chances are you'd rather that it
sort the information in chronological order. Fortunately, it's
easy to do so: 1. Select any cell in the column of month or
weekday data. 2. Choose Data | Sort from the menu bar. 3. Click
the Options button. 4. Select the appropriate custom list using
the First Key Sort Order dropdown list. 5. Click OK on the open
dialog boxes.
Tip Name: Copy
just a table's structure to a new database (Access 2002)
TIP: When
setting up a new database, it's a common practice to build on
existing database designs by copying table structures you've
already used. You often do so by opening the new database and
importing the table definitions from the established one. There
are also times when you may be working in a database and want to
copy the structure of a particular table to a target database.
In either case, you usually want to do so without copying all of
the data currently stored in each table. Fortunately, this is an
easy task. To import a table structure into your current
database, choose File | Get External Data | Import from the menu
bar. Navigate to and select the database that contains the
tables you want to copy and click the Import button. Then,
select the appropriate tables on the Tables sheet. Finally,
click the Options button, select the Definition Only option
button in the Import Tables panel, and click OK. To export a
table definition from your current database to another, select
the appropriate table in the Database window. Then, choose File
| Export. Now, navigate to and select the target database and
press [Enter]. When the Export dialog box appears, select the
Definition Only option button and click OK.
Tip Name: Use
Outlook as your window to the web (Outlook 2000/2002/2003)
TIP: For
many of us, Outlook is our desktop home base. We keep our
workload straight with Tasks, store our phone numbers in
Contacts, schedule and keep appointments in Calendar, and keep
the lines of communication open through our Inbox. But, did you
know you can also browse the web from the comfort of Outlook? To
view a web page, first display the Web toolbar by choosing View
| Toolbars | Web. Then, in the toolbar's text box, enter the URL
and press [Enter]. The web page is displayed within the Outlook
window--close the Folder List for more room to display the web
page. In Outlook 2000 and 2002, you can easily add the displayed
web page to your list of Favorites by choosing Favorites | Add
To Favorites. Make sure the Save In location is the Favorites
folder and click OK (Add in 2000). When you've finished surfing
the web, open your Inbox or other folder by clicking on its
shortcut in the Outlook Bar (Navigation Pane in 2003) or by
choosing View | Go To (Go in 2003) and selecting the folder.
Tip Name: Sending
an Excel workbook through e-mail.
TIP: If
you like, you can send an Excel workbook through e-mail directly
from Excel. You must, however, be using Microsoft Outlook or
Exchange. To do this: >From the File menu select Send To. Click
Mail Recipient. Now, address the blank e-mail form that appears
and send it.
Tip Name: MS
Word Use the Mail Merge Wizard to Make Mass Mailings Easy
TIP: The
Mail Merge feature in Word, which you can use to create many
personalized letters from one standard letter, has always been a
timesaver. But it was also tricky to learn and use, especially
for new users. Not anymore! The new Mail Merge Wizard in Word
version 2002 walks you through every step of the process. It
helps you: Select the type of document: letter, label, envelope,
or even e-mail message. Open or create a list of recipients, or
choose individuals from your Outlook Contacts. Insert merge
fields, such as name and address, into the document. Preview the
document and remove any recipients before merging. Print the
finished documents. To access this new feature: On the Tools
menu, point to Letters and Mailings, and click Mail Merge
Wizard. When the Mail Merge task pane appears, simply follow the
instructions.
Tip Name: Cut
down on worksheet typing with Excel formulas
TIP: Tired
of typing the same list of items across a number of Excel cells
for each worksheet you add to your workbook? Then learn how to
create a named formula that will enter the data for you. If you
find yourself typing the same list of items across a number of
Microsoft Excel cells over and over again for each worksheet you
add to your workbook, you can save yourself considerable typing
by creating a named formula to enter the data for you. For
example, suppose you need to type the names of your Sales
Regions in row 2 of every worksheet. First, create the named
formula by following these steps: Press [Ctrl][F3]. Enter
SalesRegions in the Names In Workbook Text box. In the Refers To
text box, enter the following array formula: ={"North
West","NorthEast","SouthEast","South West"}Click Add and then
click OK. Then, in order to add this list to row 2 of your
worksheet, select the range B2:E2, type =SalesRegions in the
formula bar, and then press [Ctrl][Shift][Enter]. You can also
use this method to enter labels down a column. However, instead
of using a comma to separate the regions, you would use a
semicolon, as shown below: ={"North West";"North East";"South
East";"South West"}
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