MS Office Tip: More File Options
If you hold down the Shift key while selecting the File menu in Word (or in Outlook when composing a message), the menu options change. You get handy options to Save All and Close All open files. In Excel, you get a Close All—but not a Save All—option.
Proverb of the Day: Clothes don't make the man.
Possible interpretation: Appearances can be deceptive.
General Info:
In computer jargon, the speed at which data is written to (or read from) an optical disc (like a CD or a DVD) is shown as a multiple of X. For example, writing to a DVD at 8X will take less time than writing to it at 4X.
Modern Compact Discs support a writing speed of 52X and higher, and some modern DVDs support writing at 16X or higher. It is important to notice that the speed of 1X in CD writing is NOT the same as the speed of 1X when writing to a DVD. When writing to a DVD at 1X, the data is transferred at a speed of approximately 1352 kilobytes per second; in contrast, writing to a CD at 1X speed results in a data transfer of 150 kilobytes per second. Thus, in brief, one X in DVD writing speeds is about 9 times more than one X in CD writing speeds. However, these speeds are not constant, and depend on the type of data written to the disc.
On modern browsers, such as IE7 and Firefox, hitting Ctrl + Enter will automatically fill in the www. and the .com part of the URL. Let's see an example:
Just type in howtogeek into the address bar in your browser:
Now hit Ctrl + Enter together:
You saved yourself 15 keystrokes!
More Keystroke combinations:
If you add Alt to any of those key combinations, it will auto-complete and open the new address in a new tab as well. Alt+Ctrl+Enter will auto-complete a *.com address in a new tab, for instance.
Meaning: It is better to take precautions when it’s possible that something can go amiss then to regret doing nothing later if something should indeed go wrong.
Internet Explorer Tip: Quick back and forward commands in Internet explorer
Here's a tip that can speed up your web surfing. When viewing a page in Internet Explorer, hold down SHIFT and use the mouse scroll wheel to quickly go forward or back through the pages you have viewed.
Note: This tip will not work on the Thin Clients.
Here's a good little tip for users who have trouble locating their mouse pointer on the screen. Windows XP has a nifty little 'mouse sonar' option available, which will cause your mouse pointer to pop-up a little concentric ring around itself to show you where it is.
Go to 'start\control panel\mouse' choose the 'pointer options' tab and check the 'show location of pointer when I press the control key' box.
1. Meaning: One should not criticize a person without understanding their situation.
Outlook Tip: Using the Reading Pane Outlook’s Reading Pane lets you view the contents of a message without opening it. When the reading pane is displayed, it shows the contents of whatever message is selected in the Inbox (or whatever other mail folder you are working in). This is shown in Figure below.
The Reading Pane can be displayed at the bottom of the screen or along the right edge. To control the display of the reading pane, select View, Reading Pane and then select Right, Bottom, or Off. Normally, viewing a message in the reading pane will not mark it as read—this requires opening the message. However, you can tell Outlook to mark messages as read when they are viewed in the reading pane as follows:
1. Select Options from the Tools menu to open the Options dialog box.
2. Click the Other tab.
3. Click the Reading Pane button to open the Reading Pane dialog box.
4. Put a check in the box next to the “Mark Items as Read When Viewed in Reading Pane” option.
5. Click OK twice to close all dialog boxes.
Proverb of the Day: As iron sharpens iron, so one man sharpens another.
What is the difference between an appointment, a meeting, and an all day event?
A meeting is similar to an appointment. The difference is that you invite other people to it.
An all day event is an activity that lasts all day long but doesn't block out time in your Calendar. Use an all day event when you want to show an activity that occurs on a specific day without having it clutter up all of the time slots in your calendar. Here are some types of entry for which you might use an all day event:
§ A holiday
§ A recurring annual event such as a birthday or anniversary
§ Other items that last all day, such as your vacation schedule
Proverb of the Day: All that glisters is not gold.
Possible interpretation: Not everything is what it appears to be.
Outlook Tip:
Distribution Lists (Final Part (Part 6)):
Share a Distribution List with another User
You can share a Distribution List, or any other Contact, with another user. Keep in mind that any changes made to your list will not be seen in the list sent to another person, as they are separate files. Open a new email message and address the message as usual. Click on the drop-down arrow next to the Attachment button and choose Item.
In the Insert Item dialog box, select the Contacts folder in the Look in list. Next, select the Distribution List that you wish to send in the list at the bottom of the box. Click OK. Complete the email message as desired and Send.
Save a Distribution List Shared with You
If a Distribution List (or other Contact) is emailed to you, you must first save it to your Contacts folder before you can use it for sending email. Open the message with the attached Distribution List. Double-click on the attachment. The Distribution List will open. Go to the File menu and select Copy to Folder….Select the desired Contacts folder and click OK.
Proverb of the Day: Actions speak louder than words.
Outlook Tip:
Distribution Lists (Part 5):
Use the Distribution List to Send Email
Once you have a Distribution List set up, there are a number of ways to use it to send email assuming that the Distribution List is stored in your Contacts folder. Distribution Lists stored elsewhere (such as in Public Folders) may be used the same way; simply navigate to the correct location instead of to Contacts.
From an Email Message
First, open a new email message. In the Message window, click on the To button. In the Outlook Address Book, click on the drop-down box for the Show names from the field and choose Contacts. Locate the name of the Distribution List and select it, then click on the To button. Click OK.
The email message will now have the name of the Distribution List in the To field. Complete the email message as desired and Send.
From the Contacts Folder
Go to your Contacts folder and locate the Distribution List you wish to use. Right-click on the name and choose New Message to Contact. A New Message window will open, preaddressed to your selected Distribution List. Complete the email message as desired and Send.
Proverb of the Day: Act today only tomorrow is too late
Outlook Tip:
Distribution Lists (Part 4):
NOTE: To open the Distribution List for editing, go to your Contacts folder (or the folder where the list is stored). Locate the list and double-click on the name.
Delete a Member
In the event that you no longer wish to include an email address in the Distribution List, you may delete it. In the open Distribution List dialog box, make sure the “Members” tab is selected and click on the address you wish to delete. Next, click on the “Remove” button. Be sure to click the “Save and Close” button in the Distribution List dialog box to save your changes.
Proverb of the Day: Ability can take you to the top, but it takes character to keep you there
Outlook Tip:
Distribution Lists (Part 3):
NOTE: To open the Distribution List for editing, go to your Contacts folder (or the folder where the list is stored). Locate the list and double-click on the name.
Add a Member by Hand
If the email address of a person you wish to add to the list is NOT part of an existing Address Book or Contact List, you may add them by hand.
In the open Distribution List dialog box, make sure the “Members” tab is selected and click the “Add New” button. In the Add New Member dialog box, type in the Display Name and the E-mail Address, then click the OK button.
Repeat this procedure for each address you wish to add that is not contained in the existing address books or contact lists.
Be sure to click the “Save and Close” button in the Distribution List dialog box to save your changes.
Proverb of the Day: A stitch in time saves nine.
Meaning: Fix the small problem now before it becomes larger and harder to fix.
Outlook Tip:
Distribution Lists (Part 2):
NOTE: To open the Distribution List for editing, go to your Contacts folder (or the folder where the list is stored). Locate the list and double-click on the name.
Add Members from an Outlook Address Book
In the open Distribution List dialog box, make sure the “Members” tab is selected and click the “Select Members” button. In the “Show names from the” list box, select the address book that contains the e-mail addresses you want in your Distribution List. (The default is the Global Address List for
In the “Type name or select from list” box, type the last name of a person you wish to include to jump to that section of the list. Select the name, and then click the “Members” button. Do this for each person you wish to add to the Distribution List, and then click OK.
Be sure to click the “Save and Close” button in the Distribution List dialog box to save your changes.
Proverb of the Day: A pot of milk is ruined by a drop of poison.
Outlook Tip:
Distribution Lists:
If you find that you routinely send emails to a certain group of people, you may find it helpful to create a Distribution List in your Contacts folder.
Create a Distribution List
In Outlook, go to your Contacts folder. On the File menu, point to New, and then select Distribution List.
The Distribution List dialog box will open. In the Name box, type the name you wish to give the list (i.e., Project Planning Committee). If you would like to add a description or any other information about the Distribution List, click the Notes tab and type the information in the large notes field.
Click on “Save and Close” to save the Distribution List (See picture above).
Next, you will need to specify which email addresses should be included in the distribution list which will be see tomorrow.
Proverb of the Day: A picture is worth a thousand words.
Outlook Tip: Saving Message Drafts
If you have started to compose a message and decide to complete it later, you can save a copy in the Drafts folder by clicking the Save icon—it looks like a diskette—on the toolbar at the top left of the message window. You can also select Save from the menu.
When you are ready to continue working on the message, open the Drafts folder by clicking it in the navigation pane, then double-click the message to open it. You can now complete and send the message as usual.
Proverb of the Day: A man is known by the company he keeps.
