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Application Tips

Tips and tricks for everything from Adobe to Zoho!

Save as you edit and create

One consistent topic regular visitors to this web site have seen or heard on our show is the all important concept of backing up your data. Backup should be an essential part of every computer user’s routine.

Some programs make backing up easier than others. Take, for example, Microsoft Word. It can be extremely frustrating to have your computer crash or lock up when you are in the middle of a very important word processing document…and you haven’t been saving the file as you type.

In Word, click on Tools and then Options. Click on the Save tab and set Word to automatically save your documents every 5 minutes and create a backup copy. Doing this will save your bacon many times over.

Use keyboard shortcuts to save time editing text – Video Tip

When you open an existing Microsoft Word document, Word places the insertion point at the beginning of the document by default. However, if you would like to move the cursor to the location it was in when you were last working on the document, simply press Shift + F5 on your keyboard.

When you use press Shift + F5, Word performs the Go Back command, which moves the insertion point from its current location to the last location in which a
modification, such as typing, deleting or formatting text, was made.

Some other helpful Word cursor keyboard movements include:

* Press Home to get to the beginning of a line

Email of the Week – 001

Abandoned Mailbox
photo credit: cindy47452

Starting today, I will be posting a minimum of one email from your submissions here on the web site in addition to my regular weekly feature Rick Answers His Email Videocast. I will title them all the same way and they will have their own category you can access from the Category list on the right of every page here at HelpMeRick.com. I will also include the original email (via submissions from the Ask a question form listed at the top of every page here at HelpMeRick.com).

QUESTION:

Name:  Raymond Lafontaine

From:   Woonsocket RI

OS:      Windows XP

———————-
I have been trying to find the right download for free foxit for my other computer but it keep bringing to other foxit purchase, can you help

ANSWER:

Read More »Email of the Week – 001

Stop the Microsoft Office Agreement (EULA) from popping up every time you start Outlook, or Word or Excel

Office EULAIf you are using Microsoft Office 2003 and Windows Vista, you might run into a situation where the End User License Agreement pops up every time you start Outlook, Word, Excel or other Office programs. No matter how many times you click “I agree”, the license keeps appearing. To stop the EULA from appearing, follow these steps:

  1. Close ALL Microsoft Office related programs (Outlook, Publisher, Powerpoint, Excel, or Word)
  2. Click Start –> Computer
  3. Double-click the C drive (your primary hard drive)
  4. Double-Click the Program Files folder
  5. Double-Click the Microsoft Office folder
  6. Double-Click  the Office 11 folder
  7. RIGHT Click on any of the Office applications (Winword, Outlook, Excel)
  8. Click Run as Administrator
  9. The program will start and ask you to agree to the EULA (agreement) again and click I agree or Yes
  10. Close the program
  11. Close all open windows

Now you can use your Office 2003 programs normally.

What to do with an AVG found virus sreen

AVG Found Virus

If you use AVG Antivirus, you will be presented with the above screen at some time or another. Don’t immediately push the Move to Vault button or the Heal button. Instead, check the box labeled Remove as Power User, then click the Heal button. Checking that box first yanks the legs out from the virus and disposes of it immediately.

Change your Bullets – Video Tip

Bullets, in Microsoft Word and other word processors, allow users to bring attention to a list of items as seen here:

  • Bullets are fun
  • Bullets are customizable
  • Bullets make documents easier to read

Unlike my boring ‘dot’ bullets above, you can use this week’s tip to customize your Microsoft Word bullets to suit your style and document’s purpose.

First, to create a bulleted list follow these steps:

Choose how many recently opened files show in Microsoft Office

Office 2003 OptionsIn almost any program where you can create, save, and edit documents, clicking the File menu (or the Office orb in Office 2007) shows a list of your most recently used documents for that program. With Microsoft Office, you can control exactly how many recent documents are shown.

With Microsoft Office 2003 applications (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc) and all versions prior, you control this option by following these steps in any of the applications:

  1. Click Tools –> Options
  2. Click the General tab
  3. Under the Recently used file list option, enter a number between 0-9
  4. Click OK

 

Office 2007 Options

 

 

With Microsoft Office 2007 options, follow these steps to control how many recently used files show:

  1. Click the Office orb icon in the upper left of your screen
  2. Click Word (or Excel or PowerPoint) options at the bottom of the menu
  3. Click Advanced
  4. Scroll down under the Display category and enter a number between 0-50 in the Show this number of recent documents box
  5. Click OK

 

Google Earth – The Dime Tour – Video Tip – September 2008

If you have high speed Internet and haven’t tried Google Earth, give it a try. Even if you aren’t a geography buff, you will find Google Earth to be a fascinating resource to try out. Google Earth is another free product from Google that combines their excellent searching skills with a fully interactive globe. You can search for street addresses, points of interest, historical locations and then layer on other geographic information to your liking. You must have a high speed Internet connection because the application relies on that connection to pull in the information you want from Google’s servers.

The newest version of Google Earth also adds Google Sky which lets you look into the heavens from your desk and learn and enjoy the starts, planets, and whatever other gassy objects are up in the sky.

Watch my short introductory video about this great product, then go try it for yourself. If you already use Google Earth, leave a comment below and tell me what you like and what you do with Google Earth.

Google Sightseeing
Map of Strange on Google Earth
Google Map Pedometer

Create photo slide shows online in minutes! – Video Tip

Some may say I drank the Web 2.0 cool-aid, but I say bring me another glass! This week I bring you yet another astounding piece of online technology that gives you the power to create a professional photo slide show complete with music and transitions in minutes!

I frequently get asked to make suggestions for creating a photo slide show, but I know that most programs require too much time and expertise to be useful. Enter Roxio’s Photoshow.com. This online application creates great looking photo slide shows in literally just a