Today's "Use this!" tip is a bit of a lecture. I'm begging you, once again, to refrain from sending out rumors, jokes, links to adorable kitten videos, and hoaxes (even those that you don't yet know are hoaxes but most definitely are) without hiding the names of the 137 recipients who simply MUST know about whatever it is you're sending.
And what do I mean when I talk about hiding the addresses of all your recipients from one another? Am I telling you this to encourage you to be sneaky? Not really. What I'm doing is saving your email receivers from possible spam and computer viruses and worms (and other nasty stuff).
I recently became a beneficiary of a certain type of virus sent to me by some creepy spammer who got my email address from a certain acquaintance of mine who shall remain nameless because I like to have friends.
So! Let's talk about making use of the lonely, underused Bcc line.
Ever feel stuck in a rut, using the same program over and over but not getting the results you want (or getting them but at the expense of everything, including family time and your sanity) ? If so, it's time to open your eyes to what else is out there—expand your horizons, step outside your comfort zone, think outside the box (and perhaps get some new clichés).
Listen, I know that when you get comfortable with one program, you tend to use it as much as possible. Little kids are notorious for wanting to wear the same outfit every day of the week (and this often means a Superman cape or a ballerina tutu), but people, it's time to put away childish tendencies. A tutu is made for dancing; it's not so useful for soccer. And a cape, well, I suppose one could make the case that a cape is good for just about anything, but if it were my kid, and bike riding were involved, the cape would have to go.
Yes, Office programs can be pretty flexible. But if one program could handle every task, there wouldn't be the need to offer 10+ different ones. For today's tip, I'm going to give a few examples of tasks you might have to undertake and then compare whether to use Access or Excel to accomplish them.
Security is a pretty loaded word. When I was a kid, it meant my blankie—period. Now it's something totally different; it could have to do with money, relationships, my job, and my computer. I just asked my 8-year-old and she gave me a one word answer, "Safe."
"Safe." We all want to feel it, and we want others we love to feel it too. As you can imagine, safety and security are at the forefront of priorities when talking about computers. In one way or another, computing has become so widespread that whether or not you have a computer, have access to one, or have even used one, you are impacted daily by computers. A few examples: Your bank, the stores you shop at, street lights, and utilities all use computers to keep them going.
(As an aside, just this week, Intel, the chip maker ["chips" being, essentially, the tiny little engines that make computers run] is buying one of the leading security software maker companies, McAfee. I personally think this is an exciting prospect. Soon our hardware—not just the software we've chosen to install on our computers—will be the one dealing with the more and more sophisticated threats coming our way.)
But okay! Let's lighten up! Security in computers can also mean just securing a document, a spreadsheet, a Visio drawing, a presentation. You've made one and you don't want anyone changing it. Is that so wrong? No it isn't, and this week's "Dear Crabby" letter comes from someone who is thinking about just that.
Some things we just can't do without in life: love, friendship, a bathroom door that locks. With Office, the same is true: Some features should not be overlooked.
One of the complaints we get around here is that some of the Office programs have so many features that you can't figure out which ones would be the most useful for you. This week I'll clue you into one of my longtime favorites: AutoCorrect.
Back in June, I wrote a post about a free Outlook add-in called the Missing Attachment Power Toy, a little program that reminds you, before you send your email, that you've forgotten the file or photo or whatever you promised you'd be sending along. Smart, huh? The company that makes this program, Fortis Software, is a Microsoft Office Marketplace Partner (see the Browse Office Marketplace heading halfway down that page) and I'd spent that entire week in June introducing you to some of the free services and programs that our partners offer.
Well! Someone named Vaibhav told me in a comment on that post that Office Labs (Microsoft's internal "sandbox" of sorts where smart people explore, experiement, and research new things) has something called Forgotten Attachment Detector that does the same thing as the Missing Attachment Power Toy, AND it's free too, AND it works with Office 2010 (while the Fortis program does not).
And so, today's post is all about OUR free attachment reminder program, something I'm guessing many of you could really use.
Although you may be expecting me to write something timely about back-to-school, I won't be doing that (today, anyway). That being said, this IS sort of a push toward education—for older kids and adults alike.
Each Tuesday I make it a point to talk about what I consider to be an underused and/or underappreciated tool, feature, or program...and today is no different. In the spirit of back-to-school, I want to tell you about "Microsoft Certification," a program that, to be perfectly frank, makes you look good at the workplace OR on your resume. It tells everyone that you're a specialist, an expert, someone who knows what's what, and someone who knows how to get it DONE.
Interested in being at the head of the class, at the top of your game? Maybe be known as the superhero of your company? Keep reading. Obi-Wan Kenobi has much to show you, young Office Jedi.
Last Thursday, my colleague, Holly, wrote about some of the new and updated features coming with Office for Mac 2011: Excel Sparklines, PivotTables, photo editing, and some other stuff.
Today I want to focus to sparklines (for the PC; I'll address this for the Mac when it's all ready for the prom).
First of all, I like the name; you don't really hear of developers giving groovy, trendy, fabulous monikers to software features—particularly for data-related, spreadsheet features. And secondly, sparklines are such a great idea when you're someone who plays show-and-tell with important data...
Today is Friday so that means I'll be addressing a comment or e-mail from a reader who has something to say or offer. A Crabby reader, calling himself (maybe rightly so?) "Curmudgeon" commented on my post about strange Internet terms.
In that particular post, I mentioned pharming and phishing, two ways Internet thieves attempt to get personal and private (usually phinancial) inphormation from you.
Curmudgeon clued me (and now you) into a couple of other vile, underhanded, and contemptible ways crooks are trying to get their hooks into your private information.
Yep, it's that time of year again, the dreaded season when every conversation with your coworkers and your manager is laden with innuendo and suspicion, causing your paranoid tendencies to bubble to the surface....
That's right: It's the season of performance reviews. And whether you're the fly-under-radar type of employee, the show-off star performer, or the manager who has to deliver bad news, reviews can be scary and downright nerve-wracking.
Well, Office and I are here to share some of the burden and ease your troubled mind. (Of course, if you have nothing to worry about, why are you so troubled?)
I like Wednesdays (sometimes referred to as "Hump Day," a term I'd never heard til I got my first *real* job—a term anxious parents tend to use) not because they're some sort of indication of the weekend coming, but because I get to research and share with you something new, something different, something that a few somebodies are trying to make a difference with over at Microsoft Office labs.
For my August 4th post, I introduced you to the Canvas for OneNote and on July 15th, Search Commands. Today we're going to talk about something called "StickySorter" which is this neat little program that helps you organize what USED to be those physical yellow (or other colored) sticky notes—often randomly stuck all over the place—into useful groups on your computer screen.
Think about the possibilities: Collaboration, organization, lack of frustration...
It's your meeting and you have every right to run it how you please, right? I suppose so, and everyone has a unique style of leading a meeting. I think you know what I mean:
Whatever type you are, you could probably benefit from a quick overview of some guidelines to help you get the most from your meetings. I've outlined three steps to creating and running a successful meeting.
(OK, yes, another repeat of a blog post I originally published in January. Can you guess why it's been like this all week? Right! I'm on vacation and didn't want to leave you with nothing but a "Gone Fishin'" sign. My daughter, my dog, and I are taking a vacation in a rented RV in South Dakota to see the sights—including the sights in the RV parks, which I hear are themselves culturally significant... I'll be back Monday with brand new stuff.)
Want to make a picture's background transparent or opaque in Publisher?
I love this tip; now I no longer have to go to some complicated image editing software just to do this simple task. Ready? Wait for it … (Read the full post to learn how.)
(Note: I wrote this post last November and if you ask me, Internet scams now are just as bad, if not worse. The scammers are getting smarter, and we, as a people, seem to be feeling so down-and-out that perhaps we're becoming a little more gullible? I hope not. Reread this—or read it if you haven't before—to remind yourselves of what's still going on out there!)
Webster's Dictionary defines a scam as "a fraudulent or deceptive act or operation." And that's it. There are no secondary definitions. It's pretty simple, really: Someone is trying to bamboozle you.
Whatever they are, and however they're presented, you can avoid becoming their victim—whether of theft or merely of their ignorance and stupidity.
Efficient.
Frankly, that word gives me the creeps. It conjures up squeaky clean images of men and women in suits (and pantsuits) buzzing about like so many bees at the start of spring. Humming, droning, completing task after task with thought of nothing else but the matter at hand…
But let’s be fair: The word itself has many meanings, all of them subtly connected. It can indicate effectiveness, power, proficiency, and even shrewdness—as in being calculating. So it has many connotations. Maybe I should just let it flow through me, and let the gods and goddesses of economy and performance guide the way.
(Note: This post was published almost exactly a year ago on my former blog. I thought it was time to resurface it because it does have a lot of helpful information.)
There are certain civilized ways of treating each other that years of evolution have encouraged us to realize. Apparently, some of us have forgotten our workplace manners.
You and I both know that there is more to workplace etiquette than just e-mail manners. Of course, since I am the Crabby Office Lady, you may think that manners are not my specialty, and, to be honest, they're not. But it is that time of year when you and I may want to consider cleaning up our act a bit at work and start cultivating a better overall image for ourselves. (Well, you, anyway; I make my living cultivating a different sort of attitude.)
Read my column Crabby’s etiquette guide for working ladies and gentlemen.
(Note: I published this blog post way back in February of 2009. I was thinking that we could all use a little refresher...couldn't you?)