Protect Your Keyboard
I know it's only Tuesday, but so far this week, I've gotten several calls and e-mails from all of you regarding the letters on your keyboards. Most of you are telling me that certain letters are starting to wear off and therefore, you're having a hard time getting your typing done. The majority of you have told me that only a few of your letters are starting to disappear, but that still makes it difficult for you to get your work done, doesn't it?
So, is there anything you can do? Well, I searched and searched for a quick fix for this, but short of you writing the letters back on yourself, there just doesn't seem to be a remedy for this type of thing. The best thing I came up with is to get a protective covering for your keyboard. With that, your fingers won't be rubbing on the letters so much and your keyboard will last a lot longer! Most keyboard covers are made out of plastic and they are designed to fit all the contours of your specific keyboard.
Now, while this is the perfect fix for any of you who have just gotten a new keyboard, it can work wonders for those of you who have an older keyboard as well. If you're missing letters on your keyboard, you can write the letters on the actual cover. That way, you know where all the keys are and you're protecting the others from rubbing off too. Keyboard covers are also perfect for keeping food and drink particles from gumming up your keys. These covers can be found at any regular computer store or you can buy them online. Just do a search for them with your favorite search engine. Once you get yours, you'll never go back!
~ Erin
Q:
It seems like every computer term has an acronym to go along with it and half the time, I have no idea what it means. Can you help by giving me some examples?
A:
Sure, that's no problem! There are tons of terms that usually only go by certain letters and it can be hard to keep them all straight. There are obviously too many to put into one tip, so below is a list of some of the more common used acronyms, along with their real meanings. Here we go!
ATA - Advanced Technology Attachment
ATM - Asynchronous Transfer Mode
BIOS - Basic Input/Output System
BMP - Bitmap
CD - Compact Disc
CGI - Common Gateway Interface
CPU - Central Processing Unit
DBMS - Database Management System
DLL - Dynamic Link Library
DNS - Domain Name System
DSL - Digital Subscriber Line
DVD - Digital Versatile Disc
FTP - File Transfer Protocol
JPEG - Joint Photographic Experts Group
LAN - Local Area Network
MPEG - Moving Picture Experts Group
P2P - Peer To Peer
POP3 - Post Office Protocol
RGB - Red Green Blue
TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
USB - Universal Serial Bus
WiFi - Wireless Fidelity
WWW - World Wide Web
Did you learn something? I sure hope so!
Now, these are obviously just the acronyms and if you're not sure of the operation of each term, you can always do a quick search on our Web site at http://www.worldstart.com/tips/index.php. We have done several articles on some of these terms in the past. Don't you feel smarter already?!
~ Erin
Have a question for the newsletter? Submit it at the link below:
http://www.worldstart.com/submitquestion.htm
The Magic of F2 in Word
When you move text in MS Word, what do you do?
Do you highlight the text to be moved and then use your mouse to drag and drop it to a new location? Or, do you highlight the text and then use the cut/paste options?
Either way, it's a lot of steps and for many people, it involves removing your hands from the keyboard to use the mouse.
Well, for those of you who are always looking for a way to go "mouseless," here's a trick for moving your text without ever leaving the keyboard.
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You still need to highlight the text to be moved. (If you're looking to reduce mouse use, be sure to use the Shift key in combination with the arrow keys to complete your highlighting).
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At this point, you're ready to tell Word where to put your selection. Simply use the arrow keys or the Page Up/Page Down keys to move the cursor to the new location. (If you change your mind, hit the Esc key and the F2 effect will be removed).
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When you've found the correct spot, hit the Enter key.
Poof!
Your selection is moved, no mouse required!
~ April
Document Lock Ups
Have you ever been almost completely done with an MS Office project when it suddenly froze up on you? Perhaps it disappeared or you just couldn't do anything with it. That experience is a real downer, but there are some reasons why it might be happening. When a document keeps locking up, that's usually a sign that something is corrupt within your document or that another program is causing a problem.
So, what causes all of that and more importantly, how can you fix it or prevent it from ever happening again? Well, there are many probable causes why Office documents may lock up, but today, we're just going to go over some of the more common ones. Are you ready? Then let's get the ball rolling!
Your computer may not be up to it. That may seem vague, so allow me to clarify! First of all, do you meet the system requirements for Microsoft Office? There is a minimum system requirement for each version of Microsoft Office. If your computer does not meet that, the software may not work as you expected, including the lock ups. Visit each link below to get the system requirements for each Microsoft Office version:
Microsoft Office 1997
Microsoft Office 2000
Microsoft Office 2003
Microsoft Office 2007
If you do meet the minimum requirements, you also have to consider what other applications are running on your computer. Your computer's resources (like the processing speed and hard disk space) will be shared by those running applications. So, you can either upgrade your hardware by increasing your RAM size or you can close out any unnecessary running programs (more on that later).
The saying "the more, the merrier" does not work with computers. The more programs you have running on your computer, the less memory you will have for each of them, which can cause your Office documents to lock up. You should avoid opening different programs at the same time unless you absolutely have to.
You should also stop applications from running automatically when you boot up your computer. To do that, you have to delete the shortcut to run those applications in two locations: your startup folder and the All Users startup folder. To get started, go to Start, Run and type in the path indicated below:
Stay updated. In the Microsoft realm, Microsoft is the master. That means we have to do whatever Microsoft tells us to do, including the Windows Updates. The Windows Updates are useful, because not only do they address security threats, but they also install hot fixes for software issues. You can read more about the Windows Updates here.
Working with files on the network. If your files are saved on a network server, you should avoid working on them directly. Network servers are shared by many users and there's a chance that latency could cause your Office documents to lock up. It doesn't matter if you have the latest and fastest computer, because network latency will always be the same. Whenever you're working with your files on a network, it's highly recommended that you copy the file to your computer, work on it and then save a copy on the server afterwards.
Save often. The Save option is your best friend and it only takes a few seconds to do! However, we sometimes get too caught up in our work and forget to save it. Then when one of your Office documents locks up, you have to go back to the last saved state and redo everything. So, remember, a few seconds can save you a lot of time!
There you have it. I hope this tip saves you from any future lock ups!
