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Word

A week without a stylus

I lost the little pointer stylus for my Treo 650 last Friday. I am going crazy trying to get around in my PDA.

So far I have used my pinky nail, a toy sword from one of my kids action figures, the end of a USB cord, a plastic fork, a toothpick, and a ballpoint pen as a stylus.

I ordered a three-pack of new styli, but they won’t be here until the middle of next week.

For those that aren’t familiar with PDAs, being without a stylus is as debilitating as operating your TV without a remote.

On the positive side, I have setup a couple of people with Cloudmark Desktop over the past couple of days.

I hate to beat a dead horse, but…

I talk about this almost continuously it seems and hope that I’m preaching to the choir, but the topic comes up constantly in my travels…backup. Backup is probably the least interesting, but certainly the MOST IMPORTANT topic that we can discuss regarding computers.

Today, I ran across yet another computer user whose computer wouldn’t boot up and he didn’t have a backup. Fortunately, he knows a smart guy who can help recover the data, but data recovery is risky, expensive business and the results aren’t always 100%.  I implore and beg you to start and maintain a backup program that will protect your precious digital data in the event of a meltdown. Search our site for the single word "backup" and you will be rewarded with many articles and tips covering backup.

Windows Accessibility Options

Microsoft has built in a few features into Windows to make the operation of the computer a little less annoying. As the word Accessibility suggests, they were designed to aid computer users who have a hearing, visual or physical disability. However, many of the features can help any computer user.

To access the Accessibility Options, Click Start –> Control Panel, then double-click the "Accessibility Options" icon.

 

Keyboard Options


StickyKeys – If your fingers don’t function like a contortionist or you find it hard to press combinations of keys for shortcuts, enable this feature. It configures the computer so that if you need to push a combination of keys, you can push them one at a time and get the same affect as pushing them together.

FilterKeys – For heavy hands or if you tend to rest your fingers too long on the keys, enabling and tweaking the settings in this section will teach the computer to understand your individual touch of the keyboard.

ToggleKeys – If you tend to accidentally push the Num Lock or Caps Lock keys, this feature will give you an audible beep when those keys are turned on and off to bring your attention to them.

Sound Options

Use these settings to give you visual cues when your computer is making error or warning sounds.

Display

Set High Contrast mode if full color is hard to distinguish

Cursor Options – Make the "blinking cursor" easier to say by changing the width of the cursor (very helpful) and the speed at which it blinks.

Mouse

Enable this setting to use the directional keys on the keyboard like a mouse.

Other options available for accessibility can be found by clicking Start –> All Programs –> Accessories –> Accessibility.  You can find a basic "screen narrator" that reads the screen to you, a screen magnifier, and an on-screen keyboard to use in place of a traditional keyboard.

For more details on these tools and more, visit the Windows XP Accessibility Resources section of Microsoft’s web site.

 

Automating Word

Almost seven years ago, I created some form templates for a customer of mine who is a salesman. He wanted to automate some forms that he filled out frequently so that he could minimize his time filling out forms and increase his time selling products. He gave me the forms that he currently filled out by hand, and I re-created them in Microsoft Word using Tables and the form features available in Word.

The final form was then saved as a Word Template (so it could be used over and over without affecting the original). All he had to do was double-click on a shortcut that pulled up a blank form for him to fill out and then print, email, and or save. The form even contained calculated fields to total his line items and the entire order. Did you know Word could do that?

I visited my client again today and we tweaked those seven year old documents to match his current needs. I really enjoy helping clients come up with ways to improve their efficiency using tools already on their computer.

If you are interested in how to create fillable forms with Microsoft Word, I found these online tutorials to be a good start:

Do your parents a favor, follow through with your favors

Most of my clients are over 50 and a good portion of them are over 65. I have learned that age has nothing to with computer aptitude. Computer aptitude is determined 99 percent by computer attitude. Those who are not afraid or intimidated by their computer are the ones who learn the fastest, no matter their age, gender or religious background.

One of my primary goals with my business, with the show and with the newsletter is to convey the message that you don’t have to be a computer wiz to use a computer.

I have many clients who do nothing but email on their computers and I don’t in any way feel that they are under utilizing their computer. If your life is made easier in any way because of your computer, then you are using it for its intended purpose.

Oops…I hate it when I make mistakes

I’m always the first to admit when I make a mistake, but damn I  hate making them! Especially when the mistakes affect a customer I’m working with at the time.

While uninstalling yet another copy of the bloated Norton Internet Security today, I ran into the Norton Password Manager. Unfortunately, some of my work (like anyone else involved in a business) becomes repetitive and robotic and that can lead to potential problems. I was getting "click happy" when I ran into this program (that I honestly had not seen anyone use yet) and before I thought to ask the customer if he used the program, I had already uninstalled the program. Fortunately, I saved the data, but the program was history…even System Restore couldn’t get it back and he didn’t have the CD for re-installation.

Security is Paramount

I’m posting from the road today as I sit waiting for my last customer. An earlier customer made a neat comment/observation. She said, "Geesh, I didn’t realize there was so much to setting up the security on a computer."

She had an expired version of Norton that we uninstalled. Then I loaded AVG Antivirus, Zone Alarm Firewall, and Windows Defender. Security setup seems time consuming and tedious during setup, but once installed properly it can work autonomously. The little extra time spent up front pays dividends down the road with decreased support calls and repair costs.

Laptops are perfectly adequate computers

One of my customers today just purchased a laptop to compliment her desktop computer. She wasn’t thrilled about the idea of having two computers, but didn’t realize that her new laptop was every bit as capable as her older desktop computer.

She isn’t alone. Many computer users think size equals power. When they look at a svelte laptop and compare it to a large black or beige box, they think it must be missing something. In specific instances (designing the next Golden Gate Bridge or editing the next Oscar winning movie or playing the latest FPS game) laptops will not perform as well as a souped up desktop computer. However for most general computing purposes (Internet, word processing, email, digital photography, etc), laptop computers are perfectly capable.

R-E-S-P-E-C-T

I could write volumes about today. It started out extremely weird, but ended up great.
 
I roll up to my first client’s apartment today…she was a new customer, first visit. I ring the doorbell about 10 minutes prior to our appointment. A little dog starts barking directly behind the door, and I hear its owner say something to it and it scurries away.  Approximately two minutes go by and I figure that she is putting the dog in a kennel or something. Nothing is said to me.
 
I wait about another minute then ring the bell again.

Find and Replace

One often overlooked feature in word processing programs like Word, WordPerfect and even Microsoft Works is the Find and Replace function. It is used to locate and replace a frequent use of a word with a different word in a document. You might use it if you right contracts, leases or some other long document and need to make a quick change. Here’s how to use it:

  1. Open your document in your word processor
  2. Click Edit –>Replace from the menus
  3. Type a word or phrase in the "Find"  box
  4. Type the word or phrase that you want to replace the found word with in the "Replace" box
  5. Click Replace All

That’s it! Give it a try the next time you need to make a few adjustments in a document.