Posts Tagged: labels

Application Tips / Computer User Group / General Computer Tips / Macintosh / Ubuntu Tips — 2 Comments
11
Nov 09

How to print labels the EASY way! – Video Tip

I know I’m late for this year’s Christmas season, but you can learn and start using this tip TODAY to make next year’s Christmas card mailings a breeze.

Too many computer users have no idea what a database is, how to use it, and how to merge it with another program to create labels. Since printing mailing labels is only a once per year activity for many of you, learning how to do it again every single year requires too much time and frustration.

In this week’s tip, I take all of the mystery and hysteria out of creating and printing mailing labels. You will thank me every November when you need to print out your mailing labels. The tip centers around creating a word processing document where you can store, edit and print your labels quickly and easily. Watch the video as many times as you need to and you will NEVER be frustrated with printing labels again!!

If you can’t understand and utilize this tip to print your labels, get out your best pen and write them out instead.

Computer User Group / Email Tips / Internet Tips — 5 Comments
8
Apr 09

Gmail guide for beginners – 3 Videos – Video Tip

This week’s video tip is a HelpMeRick.com first…it involves 3 videos to cover the topic of Gmail. Directly above each video below, I give a short synopsis of the videos contents. The more I use it, the more impressed I am with Gmail. If you currently use Gmail, don’t be afraid to watch these videos as you might pick up a tip or two yourself.

Google offers a good Help section covering their email system, and you can find it by clicking here. My short video series here are meant to just get you started quickly and give you the highlights of this email system. Continue reading →

Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
16
Oct 08

My first year with Gmail

MailboxI closed Outlook and started using Gmail exclusively one year ago. At first, I thought it would be a good experiment to see what Gmail was really all about, but I was also fed up with Outlook and its limitations. It took me two or three weeks to wean myself of thinking of my email in the same way that I used to with Outlook. For the experiment to work, Gmail had to satisfactorily accomplish 3 key functions of email that I handled pretty well with Outlook:

  1. Spam filtering (I used Cloudmark Desktop with Outlook for years and am convinced that for Outlook/Outlook Express or Thunderbird users there is no equal).
  2. Aggregate all of my email addresses (5) in one system.
  3. Organize my email with categories (folders) and automated filtering for shifting email to their appropriate category/folder.

If Gmail could equal or exceed what I could do with Outlook, then I would consider it a success. Gmail’s spam filtering quickly impressed me. In fact, one year later, I can say confidently that Gmail’s spam filtering is superior to that of the Cloudmark system that kept me sane for years with Outlook. Feature #1, check!

I learned to use the Accounts feature in Gmail to successfully and seamlessly pull all my email addresses (and sort them) into my Gmail account. Beautiful; Feature #2, check!

Organizing my email, without the use of folders, proved to be the biggest learning curve. One year later, however, I am happy to report that the learning curve was worth it. Gmail’s Label system for organizing email becomes an astonishingly superior method of organizing email compared to folders once you get the hang of it. Combining the use of Gmail Labels and Gmail Filters makes organizing and managing email almost painless. Feature #3 check.

Since Gmail handled all my key elements of email use with aplomb, I stayed with Gmail and for the time being have no interest in changing. I’m always on the look out for a quicker, easier, and more intuitive to accomplish any technology task, but when it comes to email, every other service, in my opinion, has much to learn from Gmail. In addition to accomplishing all the things I need email to do, I find that the two other features that keep me tied to Gmail are the superior and quick searching ability and the fact that I have access to my email from any computer or phone in the world. Using Gmail made me start to enjoy email again and I know that I’m much more organized and responsive to my email than I was just one year ago.

To learn more about email, read my tip and watch my 3 how-to Gmail videos by clicking here. Do you have a Gmail story to share? If so, please post it below…good or bad.

Story photo by Tim Norris

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 6 Comments
30
Apr 08

Gmail update

I started using Gmail exclusively as my email program of choice almost eight weeks ago and haven’t opened Microsoft Outlook since. I wrote about it three weeks into the process, and decided to give another update today.

As I mentioned in my first installment, I do have a Gmail address, but don’t use it hardly at all. Instead, I utilize a wonderful feature built into Gmail that allows folks with their own domain email (email through a web site you own like helpmerick.com, myflowershop.com, etc) to retrieve that email directly into Gmail. This allows me to benefit from Gmail’s great features while maintaining my own email addresses. I haven’t missed a beat not having Outlook (which I used for almost 10 years) because I have more mobility, searching power, and flexibility with Gmail than I ever did with Outlook. And I mention Outlook because that’s what I used, but no other email application can match the features and simplicity of Gmail. Yahoo Mail might run a good race, but it is mired in the traditional email paradigm.

Gmail broke out of that system of folders and single email addresses and introduced a catch-all system for all your email with powerful searching abilities, easy to use filtering, incredibly accurate spam filtering, and the introduction of labels (replaces folders), and threaded messages. Read my previous article that talks about some of these features to learn more. I wrote today’s short blurb about Gmail because many people have been curious if I stayed with it. The answer is a resounding yes, and I plan to continue using Gmail until an even better, simpler, faster, and more innovative solution presents itself.

Internet Tips / Riding Shotgun with Adam — No Comments
3
Apr 08

Avery website offers great way to make labels easily

There are certain tasks that you would expect to be done simply on a computer. At the top of this list is making labels.

In my opinion the number of label making programs on the market should rival the number of digital photography or antivirus programs on the market.

For some mysterious reason, there are hardly any good label programs out there. They are either too simple and limited in features or they are too complex and require dozens of steps that are far from intuitive.

Envelopes and mailing labels are fairly simple to make with the use of Greetings List Plus. But that program only works for making address labels from an address book that must be carefully compiled or imported.

Not all labels are mailing labels. There are file labels, large sticker labels, envelope labels, etc. For these, I discovered a great tool online. Avery Design and Print Online is a very simple, yet easy to use program for creating almost any style of label you might need.

In addition to being able to create simple labels from scratch, Avery also lets you choose to only fill in certain labels on the page. In other words, if you have printed labels on labels 1-4, the next time you can print labels 5-10. This allows you to print one label at a time or many labels at once.

The only real draw back, and it is kind of a big one, is that you must fill in each label individually and can not import lists of any kind. Creating a sheet of identical labels is very simple though using a checkbox.

 

Email Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — 2 Comments
31
Mar 08

Gmail convertee

Three weeks ago, I switched from using Microsoft Outlook (which I had used since 1998) to Gmail.

What is Gmail?

Gmail is the fast, free web based email from search giant Google. Gmail offers free POP3 access (if you want to download your email into Outlook Express, Thunderbird, etc), 6.5 GB of storage (and the number continually grows), and the best web based spam filter I’ve seen so far.

Why did I switch?

I used Outlook because I could manage my contacts, calendar, email, to-do list, and memos in one program and then synchronize to my Palm Treo. After I purchaed and started to use Vista last year (solely to learn it and to be able to support it), my Treo and Outlook stopped talking to each other. Strike One. This was Outlook 2007 and some of the features I enjoyed (like being able to print just selected text and using just the basic Outlook email editor instead of the slower Word Editor) were dropped and features I knew how to work with in all prior versions were moved, renamed, and/or changed. Strike Two.

I started using Gmail as an experiment on both my desktop and my Palm Treo since Gmail lets you retrieve any other POP3 (standard email) accounts directly into Gmail. After a couple of weeks, I got the hang of Gmail’s Label system which replaces the traditional folder organization in Outlook and all other email systems. I found that I liked the ability to have ALL of my email available to me from ANY computer. My biggest hurdle in leaving Outlook behind was my Cloudmark Desktop anti-spam system. Cloudmark kept my eamil sanity by quietly and efficiently shielding my delicate eyes from the massive amounts of spam I receive every day. Well, after my two week Gmail trial and now my full three week marriage to Gmail, I can say that the Gmail spam filter is every bit as effective as Cloudmark’s. Strike Three!

What do I like about Gmail?

  • The always available email from any computer or Internet device (like my Treo) without concern for space.
  • Great spam filter.
  • Fast and simple interface.
  • Labels…after working with Gmail Labels, they make much more since than folders.
  • Fast searching of email.
  • Wonderful Rules system that makes creating email rules a snap.
  • Ability to retrieve external email addresses.

My transition to Gmail has been painless and liberating. If you are thinking of changing email addresses or adding a new one, definitely give Gmail serious consideration. Look for future how-to videos about using Gmail here at HelpMeRick.com.

Riding Shotgun with Rick — 12 Comments
10
Dec 07

Any Gmail users out there?

As I move more and more of my computing away from my desktop computer to the Internet and Ubuntu, my computing life becomes less complicated and quite mobile. I can access documents, calendar information, contact information, and more from my phone (Treo 755p at the moment) and any Internet connected computer any where I happen to be.

The one looming part of my desktop computer that I can’t move completely to the web yet is my email. I use Microsoft Outlook to retrieve, sort, save, and filter spam (via Cloudmark Desktop) coming from five different email addresses. It’s not necessarily the Outlook that I hate to leave behind because I can check my email from anywhere via web mail. Cloudmark Desktop keeps me tethered to my desk because it does such a fantastic job of separating the spam from my real email.

This is why I need input from Gmail users. I want to learn from Gmail users who truly “get” Google’s unique approach to email and can give me first hand knowledge of how effective labels and searching email works in Gmail versus sorting email into folders in traditional email services and applications. And even more importantly, how effective is the Gmail spam filter?

If you use Gmail regularly or know a Gmail aficionado, please leave a comment below telling me about your experiences. I want to learn from you.

Application Tips — No Comments
18
Oct 07

Print Envelopes with One Click – Video Tip

Using Microsoft Word and a little customizing of the Word toolbar, this tip will get you printing envelopes easily.

If you write business letters with the recipient’s address in the body of the message, Word will pick up the address and insert it into your envelope when you use the envelope tool. Click on the Tools menu and then Envelopes and Labels. From there, you can print your envelope and set your default return address. Experiment with your printer a little to get the direction and feed of the envelope correct to make your printing easier.

Now to get the button on your toolbar for one-click access, follow these steps for Microsoft Word versions 2003 and prior (the video shows the methodology for Word 2007 and OpenOffice Writer as well):

1. Click on Tools from the menus
2. Click on Customize
3. Click on the Commands tab
4. Click on Tools in the Categories column
5. Scroll and find the Envelopes and Labels button in the Commands column
6. Click on it and drag it out to your toolbar…you can place it anywhere you want (I put mine next to the printer button)
7. Click on close

Now anytime you need to print an envelope your button is within reach.

The short video tutorial demonstrates these steps for you in pre-Word 2007 steps, Word 2007, and OpenOffice Writer.

Tip within a tip: Use these same steps to add any button you want to the toolbar.

Riding Shotgun with Rick / Windows Tips — 357 Comments
6
Oct 06

Solution for computer that can’t change desktop wallpaper / background

This solution WILL fix your problem, but don’t run away afterwards and forget about us.

HelpMeRick.com contains hundreds of tips (and video tips) that YOU can use as a reference for yourself and
especially as a reference to send links to your friends/family so you don’t have to write out or explain the steps yourself!

I ran into this problem earlier this week and found the solution. The customer could not change his desktop background to any of the stock photos in Windows or his own photos…something that any Windows user should be able to do. Turns out that the root cause of the problem is spyware. Even after removing the spyware a registry (skeleton of Windows) entry gets left behind disabling the users ability to change the background. Deleting this entry restores the ability for the user to again have a normal functioning desktop.



WARNING: THIS SOLUTION IS ONLY FOR COMPUTERS THAT HAVE THIS SPECIFIC PROBLEM. AND IT IS INTENDED TO ONLY BE CARRIED OUT BY AN EXPERIENCED TECHNICIAN OR COMPUTER USER WITH REGISTRY EXPERIENCE.

  1. Click Start
  2. Click Run
  3. Type: regedit
  4. Navigate to the following registry entry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

    “Wallpaper”=SZ:C:\WINDOWS\desktop.html (yours might be slightly different)

  5. Click one time on the entry
  6. Push Delete on the keyboard
  7. Click Yes
  8. Close the Registry editor

HOW TO MAKE YOUR ICON TEXT TRANSPARENT:

1. Open the Control Panel

2. Click System

3. Click the Advanced tab

4. Click Settings in the Performance section

5. Check the “Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop” check box

6. Click OK until you close the windows

Please consider donating any amount to our cause by clicking the donate link on the right. Thanks.

Application Tips / Riding Shotgun with Rick — No Comments
8
Sep 06

Easily create labels with Microsoft Word

Printing labels can save you a lot of time and energy IF you approach the job correctly. Since Microsoft Word is still the leading word processor, I will discuss how to print labels with it. Today's tip will not discuss Mail Merge, as that is another can of worms for another day. For printing mail merge style labels, refer to this tip .

This tip will help you print a single label or a full sheet of labels with the same address or text.

Word Label dialog box
  1. Start Microsoft Word.
  2. Click Tools —> Envelopes and Labels from the menus (in the newest version of Word, you will find it in the Letters and Mailings section of the Tools menu).
  3. Click the Labels tab in the box that pops up.
  4. Type the address you want to print on the label (see #1 in the illustration).
  5. Click the Options button (see #2 in the illustration) to choose the type of label you are printing (try to purchase Avery labels or labels that have Avery compatible numbers on them).
  6. Click whether you want a full sheet of labels or just a single label (see #3 in the illustration).
    • If you are printing a single label, you can reuse a sheet of labels over and over by choosing the appropriate row and column that is next to print on your sheet.
  7. Before clicking Print, check to see if the address has spilled over onto the next line (in #1). If so, that indicates that the font size is too large for the chose label type. To correct this, highlight the entire address with your mouse, the RIGHT click it and choose font to make adjustments.
  8. Click New Document to see how the labels will look.
  9. Now print the labels on a regular sheet of paper and hold them up to a blank sheet of labels to make sure they will print appropriately. If it does, then load your labels in the printer tray (remember to load them the proper direction).

When finished printing, you can close and save the document if it is a sheet that you will use again in the future. Otherwise, just close and don't save the document.

Tip within a tip (Word 2002 or newer):

 

Merge Toolbar in Word

 

If you want to add pictures or other elements to your Word labels, follow this procedure instead:

  1. Start Word.
  2. Click View —> Toolbars —> Mail Merge.
  3. Click the left most tool from the new toolbar (see picture).
  4. Click Labels from the list.
  5. Choose your particular label and the click OK.
  6. Type and format the first label to specifications…complete with pictures if you like.
  7. When finished, click the Propagate button (again, see picture…it's the right most circled button).
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