Announcements

Atari Is BACK!

I'm so excited!

We just got an incredible buy on Atari Anniversary Edition! I've been playing it (on and off) for several days now and it's an absolute blast. These games are exactly like the quarter arcade games we all used to play - only no pocket change is required! They have the exact same sounds, graphics, and even the screen looks like the original arcade machine.

It includes all of our favorites:

After several hours of intensive "testing" I have to say that I'm very impressed. These are still really fun and very addicting. One of the best things is how quick they are to play. It's not some long, drawn out saga or quest like most games are now. Nope, these are just 5 minute spots of pure fun, whenever you want. I still can't wipe the grin off my face and frankly, I'm having a hard time writing this review - I really want to go back and play Centipede again!

The price on this one is fantastic. It's on sale for just $8.97 (reg $12.97, retail $29.95) and US shipping is FREE! Do the math - that's only 75 cents a game! I know when these were at the arcades I spent way more than 3 quarters on 'em! Plus, if you don't love it like I do, you can send it back for a refund - you don't have to go find the manager and say the machine ate your money!

Nothing to lose, and a blast to play - go on, treat yourself to some real fun:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/atari-anniversary-edition.htm

PS - Don't miss out on this one - they really are a lot of fun. After playing these games for years, I couldn't believe how fast I got hooked on them again - and how much fun I was having in the process.

Oh, and we have our "Buy 3 get 15%" deal running again this week (until 06-08-2003). So, add this to your cart and start shopping!

MS Office 101

Didn't I Already Do That Once?

Or twice?

Maybe even three times?

Ever feel this way when you're working in MS Word?

I know I do all the time. I find myself repeating certain processes—fonts, margins, opening templates, etc.—over and over and over again.

The big catch is that the changes are needed a lot—but not every time—so I wouldn't want to set them as defaults—but it's still enough to drive a person crazy.

Is there relief in sight?

Fortunately for us all, there is.

One remedy to the situation can be found in a five-letter word.

Macro.

Macro?

Yep, a macro.

Probably the best definition I can give is straight from the Microsoft Assistant himself.

"A macro is a series of Word commands and instructions that you group together as a single command to accomplish a task automatically. Instead of manually performing a series of time-consuming, repetitive actions in Word, you can create and run a single macro - in effect, a custom command - that accomplishes the task for you."

Basically, we're going to create our own commands.

The cool part is that it can have many parts. We can include fonts, margins, all of it with just the click of a button or the touch of a couple of keys.

Want to know more?

Good. Stay tuned for an intro to macros.

Office Tip of the Day

Creating Macros In MS Word

Now that you know what an MS Word macro is, let's take a look at how to record and use one.

To begin the recording of a macro we need to go to the Tools menu, Macro submenu, and Record New Macro choice. (Alt, T, M then M again will also work here.)

The Record Macro window will open where you will need to name your macro at the top. (When I tried this I found Word wouldn't accept any names with spaces or non alpha/numeric characters. Meaning no slashes, dashes, dots or other symbols. I also found that you have to start the name with a letter, not a number.)

Toward the bottom you'll need to decide where the macro should apply. The Store macro in field is a pull down list of places where you can choose to use the macro. By default it's set to the Normal template, listed as All Documents. But, you could choose a different template, if you have any, or the document you were working on when you started the macro process.

Once Word knows where to apply the macro it needs to know how you want to access the macro. Just below the field where you entered the name, you will find two options for quick access: Keyboard and Toolbars.

If you click Keyboard then the Customize Keyboard window will open where you will enter a key combination that will activate your macro. Once you've entered a key combination that Word notes as unassigned (below the new shortcut key field) click the Assign button.

If you click the Toolbar choice then you will be taken the to Customize window. Here you'll need to be on the Commands tab.

Highlight the macro name in the Commands column then click / hold and drag the button to an existing toolbar. Now click Close.

If you don't want a quick access option you can just click OK in the Record Macro window.

A floating toolbar will open which has a couple of buttons to stop and pause the macro recording.

No matter which of the three options you chose you're now ready to do the exact things you want the macro to perform.

Literally you want to perform the actions you're trying to automate.

Examples might include opening a template that you use frequently or the complete process of changing margins and font size, or maybe all of that.

It's really up to you. What repetitive thing do you find yourself constantly completing?

That's the thing you want to try here.

When you're done with the entire process, click the Stop button (the square).

The toolbar will close and your macro has been completed.

Try clicking your new toolbar button or pressing the key combination you designated.

If you didn't use either of those options then go to the Tools menu, Macro submenu, and Macros choice. (Alt + F8 will also do this.)

From the list you'll want to pick the macro you need then click Run.

Regardless of how you started the macro, hopefully you'll feel like you created magic as you watch what was once a long drawn-out process completed by Word instantly.

Now if only we could record a macro for things like cleaning house and doing laundry...

~ April