Announcements

Is Your House Broken?

Don't you just hate home repair? I don't know about you, but I think the worst part is just figuring out the right way to do it. You know, the right procedures, the right parts, the right tools you'll need, etc.

Well, that's not a problem anymore!

We found a fantastic piece of software called Black & Decker's Everyday Home Repair. This incredible CD has step by step multimedia presentations on how to do 100 common house repairs. It's so easy to follow along, even I can do it (as my new hallway light proves ;-).

This CD covers everything - Plumbing, Electrical, Windows, Doors, Walls, Ceilings, Floors, and Exteriors. Each of these sections has an introductory movie that tells you the basics and gives you general advice, safety tips, and more.

The projects themselves are fantastic, too. Each project has instructions that super-easy to follow. When you choose your project, you'll get step by step procedures with photos and audio explanations (you can also view written step by step instructions if you like). Oh, and since you don't want your PC hanging around while you're trying to do repairs, this program allows you to print the instructions you'll need! Isn't that cool?

Another really great thing this program does is to give you extra "bonus" tips and techniques you can use. Some are hints to make the job go easier, some are to give you an overview of the way something works (or is supposed to :-). Naturally, each project also includes safety tips.

OK, I could go on and on, but you get the idea. If you have a home, this is basically a must have. Especially since your cost is only $12.97!! And yes, US shipping is still FREE!

Bad news? We just can't get that many of these. So, I want to stress how important it is that you click that link below right now. If you don't, there's a good chance these will be gone:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/black-decker-home-repair.htm

PS - This program really is great and I can't recommend it highly enough. Don't miss out, get to the link above ASAP!

MS Office 101

Save Ink and Time!

Here's a tip submitted by a reader, Ceil, for saving color ink in an inkjet printer. (And let's face the facts... This will probably save you time since printers usually print faster when in black 'n white mode.)

If you have a color document that you would rather have printed in black and white, you simply need to change the properties for the printer to print in grayscale. (I actually use this a lot with web pages, which can be very color intensive.)

Here's what you need to do:

When you print the document instead of using the Print button, which bypasses the Print window, go to the File menu, Print choice or use the keyboard option of Ctrl+P.

In the top section, the Printer section, you're looking for the Properties button.

This will bring up the Print Properties window for your printer.

From here you'll need to investigate the tabs available. You're looking for the color choices and in particular, you're looking for the choice of grayscale. (My printer at home has this choice on the Advanced tab and the one at work has it on a Color tab. As you can see, you'll have to do some investigating.)

Once you locate the option make sure it's selected and then click OK. You will be taken back to the Print window where you can proceed with a color-free printing.

(Thanks for the input Ceil.)

Office Tip of the Day

Eye Catching Bullets

Bulleted lists. They're helpful, easy to read, and can make a document very attractive.

Normally you'll see lists with a pretty basic bullet - your everyday average dot.

But wouldn't it be nice to change that little dot to something more interesting? Maybe something that relates to the topic, something elegant or maybe something that is just plain fun.

See the potential difference?

So, how do you too make your list more interesting to the reader?

It's easier that you think.

The first step depends on what you're already used to. Some people start by turning on the bulleting function with the Bullets button.

Then they proceed by typing their list. While others type the whole list, highlight the list and then turn on the bulleting with the button. Whatever your preference, you need to get yourself to the point where the bullets are on.

(If you turn on bullets before you type, then follow the steps to change bullet types on the first line. Then all the successive lines will have the new bullet type. If you type all text first then turn on the bullets, you will need to highlight the entire list before following the steps below.)

Either way, changing bullet type is the real focus here. So enough already and let's get to it.

To begin, whether you have all your bulleted lines highlighted or you're sitting on the first line of a new list, you'll need to get to the Bullets and Numbering Window.

There are two ways to accomplish this.

The first is to go to the Format menu, Bullets and Numbering choice or you could right-click. Select Bullets and Numbering from the resulting pop-up menu.

Once you have the Bullets and Numbering window open, you need to go to the Bulleted tab.

On this tab, you will be presented with seven choices in the boxes (choosing none will turn the tabs off).

If you don't wish to use one of the choices initially presented to you then click on the Customize button.

This will take you to the Customized Bulleted List window.

You can select one of the choices offered in the boxes or you can click on the Bullet button.

This will take you to the Symbol window.

In the top box, you can select a font and in the middle section, you can select a symbol to use as a bullet. Clicking on a square will make the symbol larger so you can actually see it.

I would like to suggest the Wingdings or Webdings fonts for bullets of a fun-picture type. But, of course, like everything else, it's up to you. So, take a few minutes and look around at the choices.

When you've made your decision and you have clicked on your choice, click OK. This will take you out to the Customized Bulleted List window. Click OK again and you should be returned to the document with the new bullet(s) in place.

That's it. Now let's get out there and say it with some style!

PS - I found this in both MS Word and PowerPoint. What a quick and easy way to dress up a presentation!