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: 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"}
