Q:
When I try to click my icons, they seem to “run away” from my mouse. I can’t get to them and I’m having a hard time using my computer. What’s wrong?
A:
I get this question a ton, so I finally looked into it. It’s actually a virus, the “magistr” one to be exact.
If you’ve been infected with it for more than two months, it will… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: Security Help |
Working Mouse-Free With The MS Office Assistant
Here’s another little gem for the mouse-free enthusiasts.
This one applies to your handy, dandy Office Assistant. (You know – the annoying paperclip guy you only open when you absolutely have to.)
To be honest, this is one area where I never even thought of using key combinations to speed up my work – but it can be done.
Let’s start with some… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: MS Office Help |
Quick Word Erasing
We all know that the Backspace key will delete one character to the left of the cursor and that the Delete key will delete one character to the right of the cursor.
But… have you ever tried using the Ctrl key in combination with either the Backspace or Delete keys?
No?
Well – then you should because you’re missing out! (OK – maybe it’s not as good… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: MS Office Help |
Where Is This Located On The Worksheet? I Can’t Tell From The Printout!
Ever wish you had your gridlines, column letters and row numbers on the printout of an MS Excel worksheet?
On some of the larger worksheets, or worksheets where there aren’t a lot of labels on the data, this could be the little “miracle” you’ve been looking for.
(OK – maybe the word “miracle” is a… Continue reading
Expanding Explorer Menus
Newer versions of Internet Explorer use a Favorites menu that “remembers” the sites you visit the most. So, when you click your Favorites menu, you may only see 5 or 6 of your favorite sites and need to click the little double-V looking thing (see picture below) at the bottom of the menu in order to see the rest.
Personally, I kind of like the feature… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: Using The Internet |
Now Why Are These Columns Numbered?
Here’s a little tidbit that comes from a reader question.
The reader was having difficulty with the Excel labeling of the columns. Instead of letters for column headers, she had numbers!
(Did you notice the cell name given in the corner? Obviously not what most of us are used to.)
It was driving her crazy since it didn’t match the other systems she… Continue reading
The Ultimate Word Keyboard Shortcut List
Quite often I receive email requesting complete lists for keyboard shortcuts.
Unfortunately, I never really have one. Most of the lists I put in this newsletter are lists I compile from a variety of references.
And… to be quite honest, I wasn’t too worried about the “whole” list because most people I’ve worked with have difficulty learning that much material all at once.
But… Continue reading
Now Where Was I?
Have you ever found yourself looking for the last place you were working in a long Word document?
You know, it’s a 10 – 20 – 30 page monster and you were working on something somewhere in the middle when you last saved and closed the document.
When you re-opened the document the cursor was on page one, top left corner. Now here you are patiently… Continue reading
Cell Hide And Seek In MS Excel
Have you ever found yourself trying to hide the contents of a single cell in MS Excel?
What did you do?
Most of us know how to hide a complete column / row – did you put the information in its own column then hide the entire column?
Or did you find yourself putting the information in the “far reaches” of the spread… Continue reading
Select Several Objects At Once
In MS PowerPoint, you can select several objects with one click and drag of the mouse.
Replacing the old “Shift + mouse click (repeated over and over on each individual object) routine” we have the lovely and wonderful one click and drag option.
Most people are aware of this neat little trick on the desktop. Where you click on the desktop, hold down the left… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: MS PowerPoint |
More Watermarks Please
As a follow up to last week’s tip on watermarks in MS Word, let’s take a look at watermarks in PowerPoint.
Since we discussed the “Why” questions related to watermarks in the last issue, let’s get right down to business.
For a watermark on a single slide:
The first step is to either navigate to a pre-existing slide or create a blank slide.
Now insert the “perfect”… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: MS PowerPoint |
Outlook Express Groups
Do you constantly send e-mails to the same bunch of people? Do you get tired of going through your address book and hunting and pecking for each address and adding them the send to box?
I don’t know about you but I find myself sending stuff to the same people every day. Instead of doing this every time, create a group in Outlook Express. Then, instead of… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: E-Mail Help |
One Sentence At A Time Please
Ever find yourself trying to highlight just one sentence?
What are you doing?
Trying to drag the cursor to just the “perfect spot” to get it all but not too much?
Or maybe you’re using Ctrl + Shift + arrow keys to get one word at a time?
Did you click at the beginning of the sentence, hold down the shift key and then… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: MS Office Help |
Using Watermarks In MS Word
Now that you know what a watermark is, would you like to know how to create one?
It’s a good way to turn this…
into this…
Sound like a great idea? Yeah, it did to me too, so let’s get started.
The first thing we should do is to change our view to Print/Page Layout. (If we don’t, we won’t be able to… Continue reading
Watermarks? Where’s The Leak?
Hold on—no need to call the insurance company—we’re talking about watermarks on MS Word Documents.
What’s a document watermark?
Glad you asked—thanks for helping out since I thought we’d cover that topic today.
I figure the best definition comes straight from the proverbial horse’s mouth (or in this case the little paperclip guy who’s my Office Assistant).
A watermark is, “any text or graphic that when… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: MS Office Help |
Spiffy PowerPoint Handouts
Have you ever given a presentation in MS PowerPoint and found yourself wishing that you had an easy way to put together a handout for your audience to follow?
If you’ve been to training sessions where the presenter uses PowerPoint then you may know what I’m talking about.
Those wonderful pages that have all the slides (which means you get all the content without frantically scribbling every… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: MS PowerPoint |
E-Mail Reminders
Ever get an e-mail that you didn’t have the time to answer right away?
Sure, everybody has and it usually stays in your inbox until you remember it or forget it. I usually forget it!
There is an easier way… Just highlight it in the address bar and drag it to your desktop where it will always be a visible reminder.
The icon will be in the… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: E-Mail Help |
MS Excel Keyboard Shortcuts
Here’s a few quick MS Excel keyboard shortcuts.
MS Excel Text Into Columns
Have you ever found yourself wondering what in the world possessed the person who created your MS Excel file to put both first and last name in the same cell?
Now how are you supposed to sort that list alphabetically by last name when first name is listed first?
The answer is that you can’t—you have to separate the first and last names—somehow…
But… Continue reading
Q:
Is there some way that I can obtain Microsoft help without calling and waiting on hold until my computer becomes even more outdated than it already is?
A:
Yes! The most under used resource available for free to every computer user is the Microsoft Help and Support Center.
Should you encounter a problem or desire to accomplish a task and don’t know the procedure or method to… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: Uncategorized |
I thought it might be time for another keyboard shortcut installment for those users who really love learning a mouse-less way to accomplish their tasks.
Today I thought we’d focus on MS Outlook.
Here’s a few of the most common tasks and the keyboard shortcuts you need to get the job done ASAP.
Comments | Filed under: MS Outlook |
One Key Pasting In MS Word
Ever find yourself continually pasting the same item over and over?
Tired of constantly needing the mouse or the Ctrl + V combination?
Wish you had a quick and easy one-key paste?
Well, you can – if you’re not to attached to the Insert key. (The key that toggles between new text overwriting old text and new text being inserted between old text.)
Want… Continue reading
Counting Rows In MS Excel
MS Excel will count your highlighted columns or rows for you.
Have you ever found yourself trying to count the number of highlighted columns or rows (maybe to set formatting, borders, etc.)?
It’s annoying – isn’t it?
I’ve actually caught myself with my finger right on the monitor trying to get an accurate count. (Bad idea since it disturbs the dust… Continue reading
Q:
Can I right-click without my mouse?
A:
If you are a good typist, you probably find it annoying to hop constantly between the keyboard and your mouse. I find it irritating and I’m not even that great of a typist! So, here are a couple of ways to help keep your fingers safely at the keyboard.
Here’s a trick for generating a “right-click” from your keyboard. Make… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: Shortcuts & Keyboard Tricks |
Pain-Free Spiking
Now that you have some idea of what an MS Word spike is let’s get to the part of how to use one.
Refresh Rate
Note: Please be advised that this tip will vary quite a bit depending on the computer and video adapter. In some cases, you can not even adjust your refresh rate. Now on to the tip…
Is your computer screen is giving you sore eyes? Is there anything you can do besides adjusting the brightness and looking away from it like you’re supposed to?
Well, you might try speeding… Continue reading
Comments | Filed under: Uncategorized |
An Electronic Desk Spike?
You know, a desk spike… the metal spike on a desk that you impale papers on to keep them handy and in place.
(Granted, I never used one for two reasons. First, the idea of having a hole in the middle of a page doesn’t sit well with me. And second, between my lack of coordination and my bad luck I’d probably put the thing right… Continue reading
