Announcements

Got A Body? 

Then You Need This :-)

Wow! Here's one you've gotta get - it's the AMA Family Medical Guide and it's one of the best - if not the best - CD ROM medical reference I've ever used. This CD ROM is based on the #1 selling medical reference in the country, so you know it's great!

WAIT - Don't stop reading. I know what you're thinking - what the heck do I need a CD ROM medical reference for? Well, that's what I was thinking when this first came across my desk - then I popped the CD in.

Wow, what an incredible source of information! If you've ever been concerned about an ache, pain, or other symptom but weren't sure how serious it was, this is for you.

It has 99 interactive self-diagnosis charts that help you figure out what's wrong with you (my wife said it would take more than a chart or two for me, but I digress). Just select your symptoms from a list and follow an interactive yes/no flow chart. It's really easy, and can tell you if you should seek immediate medical attention or not. It could even be used to persuade a stubborn individual that their symptoms (chest pains, etc) do merit a trip to the hospital.

Perhaps the biggest reason this is a must-have is the section on emergency first aid. It covers everything from bites and stings to heart attacks. Naturally, it's best to know exactly what to do in an emergency, but if you need to look something up quick (hopefully as you're dialing 911), you just can't beat a CD ROM. To me, that alone makes it worth having. Who knows? Maybe this software could help save a life (or at least help ease the pain of a nasty scrape :-).

It also features:

	Extensive information on over 650 diseases and disorders
	150 wellness tips to keep you healthy
	An index of over 700 drugs (it's nice to know what you're taking)
	A practical guide to taking care of the sick
	A fantastic medical terms glossary
	Extensive (really extensive) information on all the body's systems

And tons more!

The information on this CD is very detailed and explained in easy to understand language. I am really impressed with this one, and I highly recommend it to everyone. I could go on and on - the amount of information this CD holds is really amazing. I can't get over it. You could literally spend hours just looking through the thing (but don't worry - it has a search feature too).

The deal we have on this is fantastic - Just $10.97 and US shipping is FREE! To buy this in retail would set you back about $50.00 (heck, the book is $40!) - For $10.97, it's an incredible buy! Head to the link below and grab one for yourself - you'll really be glad you did:

http://www.worldstart.com/store/ama-family-med-guide.htm

PS - This really is a super deal on an awesome piece of software. Don't miss out; this is something everyone will be able to use at one time or another. It's quick, easy, and explains things in a way that even those of us without medical degrees can understand :-)

MS Office 101

See Online Help Better

Have you ever found yourself squinting to read the topics in the MS Office Suite online help?

I don't mean the Office Assistant list of ideas, but the actual help windows with all the information. (The one that comes up once you've selected a topic.)

If the answer is yes, then my next question is: would you like a way to alleviate the squinting problems?

Yeah—I thought some of you might—so let's take a look at the options.

If you're working with Office 97 you'll find your help in the Options menu.

Once you have the information window open, click on the Options button. A list of items will open—you're looking for the Font choice.

In the Font submenu you'll have the choice of Small, Normal or Large. Click on the Large choice and see if that might help you with your problems.

(You could also right click anywhere in the window and the menu that pops up will contain a Font choice. From there you'll get the same three options of Small, Normal and Large.)

Now let's move to people with a newer version of the MS Office Suite.

There's no font button here—but—if you have a wheel mouse then you're all set anyway.

Once the information is on the screen hold down the Ctrl key and spin the mouse wheel.

One way the spinning will increase the font size and the other will decrease it.

Squinting be gone!

Office Tip of the Day

Now Where Did That Zero Go?

Here's a good tip sent in by a reader regarding numbers with leading zeros.

If you've ever entered a number with a zero in the first place(s) you probably became very frustrated when you realized that Excel takes those zeros off the number.

For example, if you type in 01234 then, left to its own devices, Excel will put 1234 into the cell.

That's ok if you're dealing with the value of 1,234 but what if that number was a zip code? The zero is essential.

So, how do we overcome Excel's natural tendency to "help" us out in these situations?

Well, I can think of two ways.

The first involves actually changing the formatting of the cell—basically we can have Excel treat the data like it's text.

To do this you'll need to highlight the range of cells involved then go to the Format menu, Cells choice. (Alt, then O then E will work and so will Ctrl + 1.)

Any way you choose to get there—once you're in the "Format Cells" window you need the Number tab.

On the Number tab select Text from the Category list.

Now click OK.

That takes care of the problem and it's efficient when you have a lot of cells affected by the problem.

But...
What if you only have a couple of cells to deal with?

All that formatting stuff can be a bit of a pain—so maybe you'd like a fast fix for a cell here or there?

Yeah, I thought you might agree. This could be a handy piece of knowledge somewhere down the road.

So here's the quick fix for one cell at a time.

Instead of entering 01234 in the cell, try entering an ' before the 01234.

Yes—you read that right. A simple little apostrophe takes care of the entire thing.

Excel stops trying to reformat the data in that cell and you have all the numbers you need.

Now that you know where the zeros went, it's time to take control and get them back.

~ April

(PS - Thanks Dan for the tip idea!)