Thursday, April 29, 2010

How to Create & Printing an Envelope

If you just need just one envelope – be sure you are in a new document or if you have completed your letter: then follow one of the following – steps vary slightly depending on what level of word you may have…
For older versions of Word – Envelopes/Labels are under Tools on the Menu Bar
For newer versions of Word – Envelopes/Labels are under Mailings on the Menu Bar or Word 2007's Tab system - Many of you may have the envelope icon on your toolbar
  • Highlight the address in your letter
  • Click on the envelope icon (or access it from the Menu Bar or Tab)
  • When the envelope dialog box is open - Click "options" to choose the envelope or label size/style you want
  • Type in the info for send to (if it doesn’t appear) and return addresses
  • Enter the information, Select Print Preview to be sure it is OK
  • If you don’t want the return address: leave blank or check the "omit box"
  • The dialog box will confirm how to feed your envelope into your printer OR
  • Check the printer for the etching in the plastic-paper feed tray to out the envelope in correctly
  • Be sure to use the slides in your printer tray to hold the envelope (s) snug
  • Click Print
ALWAYS USE THE CORRECT-FULL 9 DIGIT ZIP CODE:
If you don't know what the correct 9 digit zip code is, go to: www.usps.com
and first red tab at the topo their page will help you find the correct zip code
We've been using 9 digit zip codes for many years now, so help your mail get delivered as quickly as possible by always using the correct 9 digit zip code

WHEN YOU USE AN ENVELOPE THAT HAS A BORDER:
Be sure to change the margins when you see the envelope on your screen so that what you have typed doesn’t get lost in the border…

Monday, April 26, 2010

Troubleshoot Common Printer Problems:

Here are a variety of common printer problems and their solutions to make your printing life easier. If nothing has changed on your printer or in your printer settings on your computer then chances are that the problem is quite straightforward. QUICK & EASY:

  • Check the printer cable first off.
  • Check power. This sounds stupid but it happens.
  • Check and make sure printer is online.
  • Check paper, toner, ink. These are common to go out and need replacement.
  • Try a print test page. There may be a button on the printer itself that will do a test page for you. If the page prints out you know that the problem isn't the printer itself.
  • Look at your printer settings. Make sure you are sending to the proper printer. Is the right one installed?
  • Be sure that your USB cable is securely connected - if you have an older printer, check the parallel switchers and inspect the cable itself; new printer cables can be faulty (but this is very rare)
  • Visit your manufacturer's website-they will have specific troubleshooting advice for each specific printer - simply put in your model # and it will walk you through a troubleshooting wizard
ALTHOUGH YOU MAY THINK YOU HAVE TO USE PAPER FROM THE PRINTER MANUFACTURER, this simply isn’t true. Try various brands until you find one that you are happy with; I’ve used Wal-Mart’s “MultipPurpose” (Georgia Pacific) 20# for many years. The packaging is purple & black - it is inexpensive & works great on any printer I've used it on..

What is a Word Table

A table done in word processing software (Word, Works or Word Perfect) is simply a combination of columns and rows (in excel it is called a spreadsheet) and many times using a table within a word document is the easiest way to align text... My staff has always joked that I am the "table queen" because I use tables for everything - creating questionnaires, newsletters, calendars and whenever I want to keep information aligned within a letter or document such as lists..

Aligning text in a word processing document can be tedious if you try to do it using tabs and spaces. Fortunately, Word allows you to insert tables in your document. A table will help you align columns and rows of text with ease.

If you’ve never used Word’s tables feature before, it can be intimidating knowing where to start. And even if you have used the tables feature, you can find new ways to use it more effectively.

There are many ways to insert tables in your Microsoft Word document:

  • In Word 97-2003: To insert a table using this method, simply click the Insert Table toolbar button when your cursor is positioned at the place in your document where you would like the table to begin
  • In Word 2007: To insert a table – go to the Insert Tab, then choose the Insert Table Button

With either of these options, a grid will now appear that allows you to select how many rows and columns you would like your table to contain. Simply use your mouse to select the number of rows and columns by highlighting the boxes (text at the bottom of the grid will indicate what your selection is). When you have specified the correct number of rows and columns, simply click once, and your table will be inserted.

While this method will create a table with uniform columns and rows, you can still customize your table after it is inserted by right-clicking on the table handle (the double-headed arrow at the top left corner of the table) and using the options on the shortcut menu to make changes. Hint: if you don’t immediately see what you need on the shortcut menu, select Table Properties for more advanced options.

It's not important to put in all the rows you need, because when you tab in the last column of the last row - you will automatically add a new row to the bottom of your table



If you decide in the future that you want to add many more columns - not a problem - you can copy your entire table to Microsoft Excel - which allows you 256 columns...more than enough to do whatever you need

Friday, April 23, 2010

What are Internet Cookies?

Internet Cookies are preference files that store data/information sent to your computer by a Web server that you visit that then records your actions for that specific website…

Cookies are helpful, because they make it easier for you to “move around” when you revisit that same website again in the future

You can delete or change the way in which cookies and or temporary Internet files are saved by changing your Internet settings. In most web browsers (Internet Explorer for example) when your browser is open/meaning you are on the Internet, go to the menu bar, choose tools, then choose Internet options. You will now see a category for Temporary Internet Files – which contains both cookies and temporary Internet file addresses – this allows you to quickly and easily erase them…

Tuesday, April 20, 2010

What is Excel?

EXCEL – is the #1 spreadsheet program used in the world today - typically it is part of the Office Suite with Word, Power Point etc. Fir those of you with WORKS, yours is called spreadsheet and works very much the same way. Many icons and features seem the same as in WORD - they are and work the same. At first excel may seem intimidating, but once you learn the basics you will find countless uses for it. Excel is just a large table – having more columns (256) and rows (16,000). When a column and row meet – that area is called a “cell”

WORKBOOK VS. WORKSHEET - In Excel, a workbook can consist of any number of worksheets (similar to a word document having a number of pages). Each worksheet has a tab that appears at the bottom of the workbook window in the left corner. To activate a different worksheet, just left click on the tab. To rename a worksheet, right click on the tab, choose rename & type the new name – To change the order of the worksheets, just drag the worksheet to the location you want it.

THE MORE COLUMNS THE BETTER – whenever we are working in excel. When you work with lists/texts – such as contact lists, the more information you separate the more flexibility you will have for sorting your information later on.

Saturday, April 17, 2010

What is Journaling VS. Blogging VS. Twittering:

What they all have is common is a way to express yourself - but they differ because...

JOURNALING - For some of people “journaling” is a great option – when you journal, you are keeping a private journal (diary or logbook) and most people decide their own format – maybe to put in an entry or two each day of what they are doing and or thinking…And remember – journal’s are private…

VS. BLOGGING - According to Wikipedia, A BLOG (a contraction of the term weblog) is a website, usually kept up by an individual with regular entries of comments, descriptions of events, or other info & graphics or videos and typically they are displayed in reverse-chronological order. "Blog" can also be used as a verb, meaning to maintain or add content to a blog.

Our class blog is: www.saseniorpcgeeks.blogspot.com

VS. TWITTERING
Twittering is certainly the rage – and is another social networking tool users can send and read other users' updates (known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters.

Wednesday, April 14, 2010

Media Player for audio & video - VLC

For years, most of us have been using “Windows Media Player” because it is built into our computer operating systems.. But what's included isn't always the best choice..

Most tech guru’s feel that the best free media player to use, whether you have Windows XP, Windows Vista or the new Windows 7 Operating Systems is: “VLC”

VLC is a highly recommended media player which plays lots of audio and video formats and be used for streaming protocols. It is easy to use; it's a very small program that doesn’t take up much disk space; doesn’t slow down your computer in anyway and of course it’s free… to download go to:

http://www.videolan.org/vlc/

Sunday, April 11, 2010

Is that email story true??

Don't believe every cybermyth, urban legend, hoax or virus "alert" sent to you. Ever wondered if anyone makes the money promised in those work-at-home advertisements? If that virus-scare they say was covered on major news channels is true?? Or if each forwarded e-mail will really mean a donation of 10 cents from Microsoft to an orphan's organ-transplant operation? The answer is almost always NO!!. Most of these “stories” are hoaxes, urban legends, e-mail rumors, scams or in some cases pure financial fiction.

Don’t be part of the problem “by spreading untrue information”. Investigage and check them out - before you send this type of information to family and friends take a few minutes to validate the information, just visit one of the following websites:

www.breakthechain.org
www.snopes.com
www.truthorfiction.com
www.urbanlegends.about.com

for a verbal reminder of this information, check out this link...
http://info.org.il/irrelevant/may02-smilepop-soapbox4.swf

Thursday, April 8, 2010

Digital Cameras-Panoramic Stitching

Many digital cameras offer a feature called PANORAMA STITCH MODE. It allows you to create panoramic shots by combining up to three shots together into one large picture. As always, go to your camera manufacturer’s website for your specific camera model to learn the ways in which your camera performs this function.
The following are some tips from Kodak to keep in mind while using this feature..

PLAN YOUR PICTURE
• Your camera is preset to stitch together a certain number of images. Most use three.
• Compose your vision within that number to get the desired effect

OVERLAP YOUR PICTURES
• To help you stitch together pictures, panoramic stitch mode gives you a slice of the previous image in your viewfinder.
• For a seamless stitch, line up your next shot over the slice from the previous picture


WATCH THE SEAMS
• Your camera automatically edits pictures while stitching them. This works best on static objects that don’t change position from picture to picture, like background scenery.
• Try not to place subjects that move, like people, at the edges of the photograph. If they get too close, they will enter the stitching area, which could result in undesired cut-offs

Monday, April 5, 2010

Digital Cameras - Zoom: Optical vs. Digital

If you want zoom power, Only Optical Zoom Matters

Optical zoom uses the optics (lens) of the camera to bring the subject closer – 3x optical zoon was quite common on Digital Camera’s but today we often see 10x or 12x zoom – The higher the Optical Zoom, the better.

Digital zoom is strictly an invention (and in my opinion hype) of digital video cameras. It is not uncommon to see digital videocams with 300x digital zoom – so when a digital camera is advertised with 3x digital zoom, no big deal. You can achieve the same 3x (and in fact as much as you want) digital zoom effect in an image editing software, such as Picasa or Photoshop. It is much more advantageous to do your “cropping/editing” later, so that you can then decide exactly which portion to crop and how much to enlarge (3x, 4x, …). If you do it in camera, image quality is irreversibly lost and you use valuable battery power.

Sunday, April 4, 2010

BEST WISHES FOR A WONDERFUL HOLIDAY

~ by Charles M. Crowe
Easter is the demonstration of God that life is essentially spiritual and timeless.


We wish you & your family a wonderful Easter & Passover Holiday!

LEARNED FROM THE EASTER BUNNY...
All I need to know I learned from the Easter Bunny
Don't put all your eggs in one basket
Walk softly and carry a big carrot
Everyone needs a friend who is all ears.
There's no such thing as too much candy.
All work and no play can make you a basket case.
A cute little tail attracts a lot of attention.
Everyone is entitled to a bad hare day.
Let happy thoughts multiply like rabbits.
Some body parts should be floppy.
Keep your paws off other people's jelly beans.
Good things come in small sugar-coated packages.
The grass is always greener in someone else's basket.
An Easter bonnet can tame even the wildest hare.
To show your true colors you have to come out of your shell!
~ Author Unknown

Friday, April 2, 2010

Email Attachments

Most email providers allow you to “ATTACH” photos and other files stored on your computer, memory sticks or other drives. Most providers utilize an ATTACH button feature, some give you multi-options, such as being able to attach files or photos.
When you activate the ATTACH button, many providers use the BROWSE feature, which opens your computer filing system so you can find & select what you want to attach. Making sure your work, photos, music and videos are properly filed in the right "drawer" will help make it easier for you to find what you want to attach.
When you activate the ATTACH feature, the computer makes a copy of whatever you are attaching, so that the original remains in the folder where you have it stored and it will UPLOAD a copy of whatever you are attaching to send along with the email.

Many providers today actually put photo’s into the body of the email message, eliminating the need to DOWNLOAD them by the viewer
When you attach something to an email or receive an email with an attachment, the computer indicates what it is – after the name… such as

  • Septemberreport.doc - .doc indicates it is a document (.txt, .pdf, .xls-spreadsheet)
  • Sunflower.jpg - .jpg indicates it is a photo (.bmp, .tif, .gif, png -other photo formats)
  • Russianiceshow.ppt - .ppt or .pptx is a power point slide show (.pps .ppsx: full power point)
  • Sallysrecital.wmv – .wmv indicates it is a video/movie
  • Overtherainbow.wma - .wma or .mp3 indicates audio-music files

When you receive an attachment, you can then go to File - Save As to save it on your computers file system for future use