MicroKnowledge is supporting two great events coming up in June and I hope you’ll join us.

On Saturday, June 1 we’ll be participating in the Freihofer’s Community Walk in support of Circles of Mercy. The MicroKnowledge team would love it if you could join us for   the walk to support this amazing organization. The walk begins at noon. Visit Freihofer’s Community Walk for more information. Walkers can register online using   the Community Walk Form. Be sure to use Organization Code 202 for Circles of   Mercy. Hope to see you there!

On Tuesday, June 4 we’ll be at the Capital District   Women’s Employment and Resource Center’s First Impressions Second Chances event   at The Crossing of Colonie. The occasion benefits the Women of WERC. Visit WERC’s Events for more   information. To register online, visit the First Impressions Second Chances Events Registration. In addition, when registering, you can purchase $5 raffle tickets for   chances to win fabulous tech prizes, a mystery gift, or one of 10 gift bags   worth more than $300 each! Hope to see you there!

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Last month I wrote about the top # of things to do.  So, it’s no surprise that I found a Top # article to inspire this month’s blog: 5 Essential Tips to Keep Your PC Safe.

Viruses can certainly affect computer speed and processing.  Is your computer safe from viruses and other dangers lurking on the Internet?  Unless you have an IT department to maintain your computer, the responsibility of security protection is yours.  So what do you do?  Where do you start?

First, let’s start with a definition of terms:

• Virus – a program that can integrate into the files of a computer and compromise the computer’s operation.  Some viruses spread via the web, email or over a shared network.
• Spam – an unsolicited message sent to a large group of people.  Spam can be a symptom of a virus and is also known as “electronic junk mail.”
• Malware – is malicious software used affect computer operation, gather sensitive information, or gain access to private information.  Viruses and spyware are malware.

Now that you know the basic terminology, here are a few tips:

• Virus protection – Make sure you have great virus protection.  I use McAfee; AVG is good as well (and it’s free!).
• Strong passwords – All passwords should be comprised of a combination of letters and numbers and should vary between upper and lower case.  This makes it difficult for spyware to invade your computer and secure your password.  Remember, this is a computer program that can process far more quickly than we can.  Keep computer programs guessing!
• Think before you click – You can’t get a virus/malware/spyware by opening or reading an email.  The triggers for virus/malware/spyware are replying to the email, clicking on links and opening attachments.  If you don’t know where the email came from, then delete it.  If you know the person and the links look weird, delete the email.  These types of triggers can be tricky.  The intent is to get you to execute a program.  Don’t fall for it!
• Backup – Viruses are sneaky, even people who are extremely careful may end up with one.  A good backup gives you the opportunity to start fresh and not stress!  Windows has a built in backup utility to help you create points in time at which you can restore your computer.  Get to know how to use this feature.

Read through the article that inspired this blog in order to locate links to other articles relating to firewall and backups as well.

What is your favorite Top # article?

Author:  Lisa Ryan lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

If you have meetings that run often or have a lot of meetings that require documents, using the meeting workspace feature of SharePoint is an efficient solution.  A meeting workspace is a location where participants go to review meeting items without cluttering an Inbox.  SharePoint meeting workspaces can be setup as a general meeting place or for a specific meeting.

Setting Up a General Meeting Workspace

1. Click Site Actions drop down. Choose Create a new site. Click Basic Meeting Workspace.
   
   
2. Type a Title for the meeting workspace. Create a general title or specific title.
3. Type the URL name. The URL becomes the connection to get to the workspace. Meeting participants link directly to the meeting workspace through SharePoint or by using a browser.
4. To further describe the meeting workspace or change permissions, click More Options. If permissions are not changed, meeting participants have the same rights from the main site in SharePoint.
5. Click Create. Meeting workspace displays. Review and adjust:

• Objectives – define clear objectives and intentions for the meeting.
• Attendees – list of attendees who have been invited and confirmation of attendance.
• Agenda – Break down meeting components into time frame and the facilitator of each item. Assists in keeping everyone on task.
• Document Library – store meeting documents so everyone has access.  The library is a place to update and review communication. It also eliminates email traffic and multiple copies.
  

6. Share the URL with meeting participants once the meeting workspace is setup. Meeting participants can visit the meeting workspace regularly to review or add updates.Note:
   Click on the Meeting Workspace link on the Calendar appointment in SharePoint when setting up a meeting workspace for a particular meeting. Meeting attendees now have access to the meeting using the URL or through the appointment.

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The Word 2010 Status Bar provides shortcuts to quite a few commonly used features. These shortcuts allow you to either monitor various features of the Word document or offer single click access to common tools.

1. Right click on the Status Bar.
   
   Customize Status Bar menu displays.  Items with a checkmark are currently displayed on the Status Bar or are being monitored.
2. To add an item to the Status Bar or to monitor, click the item. A checkmark displays in the Customize Status Bar menu.
3. To remove an item from the Status Bar, click the checked item. The checkmark is removed.

Download a Free PDF version of this tip.

Acrobat Reader is required to view the PDF version. Use the link below to download the FREE Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.

If you cannot download the Adobe Reader or would like an alternative version of the PDF, please feel free to contact us via phone (518-786-1181) or email (support@microknowledge.com)

The Internet is a wealth of information, too much sometimes, so I am grateful when I see articles that say “Top (insert number here) reasons to do (insert task here).”  These articles are often easy to read and incredibly useful in helping me understand where I need to focus my research.  So with that in mind, I thought I would share a few that I have found helpful.

Is your computer a bit sluggish?  Read PC Magazine’s article on 12 easy PC tasks you should be doing (but aren’t).  There are some really good tips here to assist you with your quest for speed.  As a side, I received this article via email with a “Thought of you, no offense” as the opening statement.  I didn’t take offense because when I read it, I was certainly on the right track.  With one quick read, you could be as well.

Does networking scare you to death?  Forbes posted an article on 5 New Ways to Network (That You Won’t Dread).  Networking can be daunting, so with only 5 easy steps you can become a pro.  Now networking seems easy, right?

Want to visit technology inventions from the past?  If so, peruse the article on The 50 Best Tech Products of All Time.  Technology changes so often these days that it might be good for you to see where we came from and where we are now.  If nothing else, I had a bit of a giggle in some cases. Tetris anyone?

Looking for the perfect cloud-based email solution?  Read About.com’s article on Top 15 Free Email Services.  I have used Gmail and Outlook.com with great success.

What’s your favorite Top of article?

Author:  Lisa Ryan lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Outlook makes sharing your main Contacts folder pretty simple, yet sometimes you don’t want to share all of your contacts. Instead, you could share a contacts subfolder.

Logically dividing your contacts into folders is a natural organizational technique, but Microsoft made it relatively difficult to share any of these subfolders with colleagues.

In order for colleagues to view your contacts subfolder, they need to add your Mailbox to their Outlook account. One complexity in this scenario is that you need to add permissions to three folder levels: your Mailbox, Contacts folder, and the Subfolder itself.

If you envision your Contacts subfolder like the figure above, a colleague cannot see the Contacts Subfolder unless they can see your Mailbox and Contacts.

Fortunately, there is a special permission called Folder Visible, which allows a colleague to see your Mailbox and Contacts without being able to view or edit any of the other content besides your Contacts subfolder.

The following steps are written for users of Outlook 2010 with an Exchange Server; however, the concepts apply to prior versions of Outlook as well.

Set Permissions on Your Mailbox

1. From the Mail tab, right click on your Mailbox name, which appears above your Inbox.
2. Click Folder Permissions from the shortcut menu.
3. Click the Add button to configure permissions for a specific user.
4. In the Permissions area check at least Folder visible as an assigned permission.
5. Click OK.

Set Permissions on Your Contacts folder

1. From the Contacts tab, right click on your Contacts folder and choose Share, then Folder Permissions.
2. Click the Add button to configure permissions for a specific user.
3. In the Permissions area, check at least Folder Visible as an assigned permission.

Set Permissions on Your Contacts Subfolder

1. From the Contacts tab, right click on your Contacts subfolder and choose Share, then Folder Permissions.
2. Click the Add button to configure permissions for a specific user.
3. In the Permissions area, check the boxes next to the desired permissions to give to your colleague.

Add Your Mailbox to Your Colleague’s Account

These steps need to be performed on each computer looking to view your shared contacts subfolder.

1. In Outlook, click on the File tab, the Account Settings button, then Account Settings.
2. Highlight your Exchange account, then click Change. The Change Account dialog appears.
3. Click the More Settings button. The Microsoft Exchange dialog appears.
4. Click the Advanced tab, then the Add button.
5. Type in your name in the Add Mailbox dialog, then click OK. Your name should now appear under Open these additional mailboxes. Click OK.
6. Click Cancel in the Change Account dialog box; you do not need to click Next.
7. Click Close on the Account Settings dialog box.
8. Click on the Contacts tab to view your shared subfolder. It will be marked with an icon with blue arrows.

Note that your Contacts folder will also appear in the list; however, with only folder visible permissions the content is not viewable.

Author: Ryan Donelan rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

We are happy to share information about two local charity events on the horizon that we are supporting. The first event is Sip Into Summer – the signature fundraiser for the American Cancer Society HopeClub. It’s a cocktail networking event for young professionals in NY’s Capital Region. This year MicroKnowledge donated a course, which will be auctioned off at this affair. In the six years of the event, Sip Into Summer has raised approximately $70,000 for the HopeClub. Event details are as follows:

Sip Into Summer

American Cancer Society HopeClub

Friday, May 3, 2013 at the Hilton Garden Inn, Troy NY

6 – 10pm

Carrie Hillenbrandt of BBL will be the Honorary Chair for Sip Into Summer 2013! Entertainment will be provided by Gravity.  Visit Sip Into Summer Event for more information about the event and to purchase tickets.

MicroKnowledge is also supporting the Capital Region Go Red For Women Luncheon. Women have come together at this event each year in the fight against heart disease in women. Take your seat at the table with dedicated women and men just like you. Hear their survivor stories and learn how heart disease affects a family and how you can help stop heart disease in our lifetime. Share the American Heart Association’s mission to fight the number one killer of women. The MicroKnowledge team has attended this event for several years and we hope to see you there. Event details are as follows:

Capital Region Go Red For Women Luncheon

American Heart Association

Thursday, May 23, 2013 at the Albany Marriott, Albany NY

10:00am – 1:30pm

Visit Albany – Go Red For Women Luncheon for more information about the event and to purchase tickets.

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

This is what I want. I want a round, black bullet all the way on the left side of my margin. I want my text next to it to be bold. I want my second level bullet to be hollow round, and .5 inch from the margin. I do not want this text bold. Then I want 3 points of space between each bullet. And I want to do this repeatedly by clicking one button.

Is this too much to ask? No, it’s not. And it’s possible with any version of Word. Below, I’ll show you the steps to take in Word 2007/2010 to apply and save a multilevel list of your own creation. The key is using Styles.

Now, if you’re already a Styles user, you get the idea: Styles allow you to easily reuse common formatting. It’s the way to go to apply your formatting with one click, as opposed to manual formatting. But even if you’ve used Styles before, dealing with bulleted lists can be a bit trickier, and that’s because you need to define more than one Style.

You need 1) a List Style for the type of bullets and indentation at each level and 2) a Linked Style for the character and paragraph formatting at each level (or more than one Linked Style if your formatting will change at a new level).

So, let’s take care of the Linked Style first. Basically, this defines what the text looks like at each bullet level. For my first bullet I want my text bold, and I want the spacing between the next bullet, the paragraph spacing, to be 3pt after. Here are the generic steps to define the Linked Style.

1)      Apply the character and/or paragraph formatting to a line of normal, non-bulleted text.

2)      Highlight the text.

3)      Click Home tab on Ribbon. Click More button in Styles group to expand the Styles gallery.

4)      Choose Save Selection as a New Quick Style. A dialog box appears.

5)      Type a Name for your Style. Click OK.

6)      You should see your new Style in the Styles gallery.

7)      Now repeat steps 1-6 for each text formatting style you’d like to see in your multilevel list.

This is my document after I created 2 styles: Bold bullet text and Normal bullet text.

Now that your Linked Styles are created, you need to create your List Style. This describes what your bullets look like and how they are indented. This is also where you link your bullet level to the particular Linked Style created earlier. You do this to tell Word how you want the text formatted at each bullet level. Here are the generic steps to create a List Style and link your bullet level to a style.

1)      On the Home tab, in the Paragraph group, click the Multilevel List button.

2)      Select Define New List Style.

3)      In the Define New List Style dialog, type a name for your List Style in the Name field.

4)      Click on the Format button. Choose Numbering. The Modify Multilevel list dialog appears.

5)      Click the More button to expand the dialog box to show all your options.

6)      Under the label Click level to modify choose the bullet level to customize.

7)      Choose the Style for text from the Link Level to style drop down.

8)      Configure other options such as the number style and indenting.

9)      Choose a new level from the left and repeat steps 6 through 8 for each level to customize.

10)    Click OK twice to close your dialog boxes when finished.

Now that you created your List Style, you are ready to re-use your bulleted list in just one click. You can choose the List style again from the Multilevel List button on the Home tab to apply your customized bulleted list.

But there is still one more step. In order to use your new styles in new documents you create, you need to save your Styles to the Normal template, or save the current document as a template.

Here are the steps to save your Styles to the Normal template:

1)      Right click on your style in the Styles gallery on the Home tab.

2)      Choose Modify from the shortcut menu.

3)      Choose the option New Documents based on this Template. Click OK.

Now you’ll be able to use that bulleted list whenever you want!

Author: Ryan Donelan rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Don’t you wish you had a crystal ball and real insight into the future? Or could predict what the future will hold, where you will be using technology and what that technology look like?  Will we really have cool slap-on watches that can double as our phone based on the rumored iWatch?  Or will we all be wearing glasses that are really augmented-reality glasses such as the anticipated Google Glass?  Possibly.  Google is slated to release its Star Trek like goggles later this year and the iWatch is coming, if not this year then certainly next year.  Only time will tell.  We can’t look into the future, but we can prepare for it.  Knowledge can help you prepare.

This year will bring more of the same:  Now it really is true and you can’t avoid it.  What do I mean?  Let’s take a look at technologies that will change your future.

Social Media.  Social Media is here.  What are you doing to leverage your organization using any number of the social media tools at your disposal?  If you deal with the public, learn to use social media the right way and it can be your best marketing tool.  Ignore it, and you may lose your social media savvy customers.

The Cloud.  I know.  The term is still daunting and makes you feel as though there is some big, weird, scary thing out there in space, but face it, you can save a lot of money hosting email, websites, collaboration tools, etc. in a web-based tool.  For a small organization, that savings can be invaluable.  You have the best of the best taking care of your technology.  Not a bad deal for hosting services that cost as little as dollars a month.  Security may still be a factor, but explore your options.  There is probably something out there for you.

Once you feel comfortable with the security of the cloud, what about using the cloud for your disaster recovery?  Space is so inexpensive that paying for a physical piece of hardware seems pointless when you can “rent” space for only dollars a month and have daily backup and virus protection.

Mobility.  More mobile devices than PCs have been purchased for businesses in the past two years.  What do you rely on more?  Your phone or your computer?  The trend is here.  We want our information now, in a small, fast device so we can continue to work while waiting in the doctor’s office or supermarket.  In addition to mobility, we want to use the items we purchase at work so we only have to carry one or two devices around.  More companies are allowing for the adoption of BYOD (bring your own device) into the workplace.

Does all of this sound familiar?  All of these items were topics of past blogs.  All of them are real and getting better each and every time we talk about them.  They are here folks!  What are you waiting for?

Consider rereading the past blogs I’ve written on these business changing technology trends.

Still want more?  Read articles from:

• TechRepublic
• Forbes
• Fox Business

Author:  Lisa Ryan lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Windows 8 places the Shutdown button in the settings menu making shutting down your PC a multi-step process.  View the steps below to add a button to the Windows 8 Desktop to shut down your PC with just one click.

1. Right click on the Desktop.  Click New.  Select Shortcut.
2. Type “shutdown /s /t 0” (with no quotes and it is a zero not an “O”).
3. Name the shortcut Shutdown.  Click finish.
4. Locate the new shortcut on the Desktop.  Right click new shortcut.  Select Properties.
5. Click Change icon.
   
6. Select an icon of choice.  Click OK.
7. Right click new shortcut.  Select Pin to Start.  Pin the icon wherever it is convenient on the Start Screen.  Shortcut is created.
8. Click new shortcut button to instantly shutdown the computer.

Download a Free PDF version of this tip.

Acrobat Reader is required to view the PDF version. Use the link below to download the FREE Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.

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How many times have you found yourself sidetracked from completing your To Do List by endless email?  Outlook opens up to the Inbox folder by default so you naturally start with email. Why not start the day with a mini time management session?

Adjust Outlook to open up to your daily, weekly, or monthly calendar instead of the Inbox by changing the default opening folder from the Inbox to your Calendar.

1. Open Outlook.
2. Click the File tab from the Ribbon.  Click Options.  Outlook Options dialog box displays.
3. Click Advanced from the Navigation Pane.  Navigate to the section Outlook start and exit located on the right side of the screen.
   
4. Click Browse to the right of the Start Outlook in this folder option.  Select Folder dialog box displays.
5. Select Calendar from the list.  Click OK.
6. Click OK from the Outlook Options dialog box.  Setting is adjusted to display the Calendar.

Download a Free PDF version of this tip.

Acrobat Reader is required to view the PDF version. Use the link below to download the FREE Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.

If you cannot download the Adobe Reader or would like an alternative version of the PDF, please feel free to contact us via phone ( 518-786-1181) or email (support@microknowledge.com)

Interested in a glance at the future?  Seize the opportunity to look ahead with renowned learning futurist Elliott Masie, who will keynote a prestigious workplace learning and performance conference in Albany, N.Y. on Friday, May 3.

Masie heads The MASIE Center, a Saratoga Springs, N.Y. think tank. His thought-provoking, entertaining and highly interactive presentation will cover cutting-edge workplace learning trends.

The Hudson-Mohawk chapter of the American Society for Training & Development hosts the day-long conference, which will also include inspirational and practical sessions from seven other top training experts.

“We’ve assembled an all-star line-up that will provide a one-stop shopping experience for attendees hoping to learn what’s new and what is working well,” said David S. Freedman, conference chair. “It’s also a great opportunity to network with dozens of top leaders in the workplace learning field.’

Attendees will learn more about using virtual classrooms and how to better inspire others. MicroKnowledge’s own Lisa Ryan will demonstrate how to turn your Microsoft Outlook inbox from distracting emails into time-saving techniques. Former TV anchor Mark Grimm will provide simple, clear steps to make a fabulous first impression.

To get full details about the program or to register for the Wolf Road Marriott event, visit the registration page or contact the chapter at 518.765.4080.

Like blogs? Of course you do! And as much as I appreciate you reading this one, Microsoft itself host some excellent blogs — one for each of the Microsoft Office products. Here you can get true “insider” tips, especially regarding new releases. With Office 2013 coming, this is a great place to go to stay current with what’s new.

You can start by going to the Microsoft Office Blogs Homepage or going directly to a blog like Word, Excel, or Project.

But no blog is more worthy of your attention than your own! Perhaps you have thought about starting a blog yourself? Don’t worry; it’s easy, and free! And you don’t have to concern yourself with technical things like setting up domain names or hosting.  If you’re interested in writing your own thoughts for the world to see (or as your own personal journal), check out these popular sites.

Blogger (Blogspot): A very popular option for simple and free blog sites, now owned by Google.

WordPress: Another free option, they make it easy to change your site from .wordpress.com to .org or .net for $15 to $25 a year, if you want a more professional URL.

Typepad: Offers personal support and easy-to-use customization options for a monthly free.

Happy blogging!

Author: Ryan Donelan rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Ok, I admit it’s a hokey title, but I didn’t want you to look at the title and consider this post to be an automatic snooze fest.  Had I thrown out terms such as Metrics, BI or KPI you would have moved on.  Now that I have your attention, there is something to look at when it comes to understanding quickly and clearly what is going on with an organization.  The answer is a company dashboard.

What is a dashboard?

A dashboard is a visual presentation of various company metrics that enables you to get the whole picture in a single glance.  If necessary, the ability to then drill down to more detailed data is usually available.  Imagine the look on the face of _____ (fill in the blank with board, management, boss, supervisors, etc.) when you give your metric summary and they actually get it, without having to review later, study, call with questions, etc.

Dashboard image from Microsoft.com

What should you put on a dashboard?

Just like with any other tool, determining what is on a dashboard is essential to success in understanding it.  Narrow down the items to be represented:

• What critical elements are measured in your organization?
• What is the value of the information on the dashboard?
• Is there a theme to the information?
• Who will be reviewing the dashboard?
• Should your dashboard be a high level overview or display something more detailed?

What tool should you use to create your dashboard?

Interested in creating dashboards for your business?  You may already be working with a tool that is dashboard capable such as Excel, PowerPoint and Access, as well as Crystal Reports, Report Builder and a variety of others.  Try to start with something you own; that way your initial investment is only time.

Is there more?

Of course there is!  Look for MicroKnowledge’s upcoming class on Dashboarding with Excel, coming soon!  Also, here are some great sites to get you started:

A Guide to Creating Dashboards People Love to Use, Juiceanalytics.com

Excel Dashboards, Chandoo.org

Interactive Dashboards using PowerPoint and Excel, Glenna Shaw, PowerPoint MVP

Author:  Lisa Ryan lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Welcome to 2013!  What a great time to talk about a new outlook.  No, I don’t mean on life (although that may not be a bad idea); I mean a new outlook (really!) on Hotmail that is.  Microsoft unveiled Outlook.com as a beta in July 2012.  Meant as a Hotmail replacement over time, Outlook.com is now official and I have just started using the free, web-based app.

Outlook.com’s new Windows 8 look and feel gives you a cleaner, less cluttered look to email.  Dare I say the environment makes you feel as though your email is more manageable?  Similar to Hotmail, Outlook.com has folders on the left, messages in the center and an advertisement pane on the right.  What makes this email environment so special?  It certainly has a few features worth mentioning.

The good news is that Outlook.com, as with other web email services, is supported on the latest versions of Explorer, Chrome, Firefox and Safari.  However, with Outlook.com’s Active View users can interact with the content of the email messages.  Have you received an email with a link to a video?  Click on the link.  You can watch videos from YouTube and Flickr directly from the email.

In addition to Active View, Outlook.com has some other features that make this web-based email special:

• Conversation Threading – Track sent and received messages on a particular subject in one area.
• Sweep – Delete or move large amounts of email in folders based on sender information.  Outlook.com also gives the user the ability to “remember” this sweep for future emails or customize message rules.
• Quick Views – Quickly locate a picture, document or flagged message without finding the email.
• Aliases – Create up to 5 aliases a year, up to 15 total, that will send emails to a specific folder.
• Categories – Group emails or people within categories and easily locate under Quick Views.
• Instant Actions – Delete, move, sweep or flag a message as you hover over it.
• Single-use Code – Request a code when accessing an email account on a public computer to keep account information secure.
• Office Web Apps and SkyDrive – Integrate for viewing and editing abilities in Word, Excel or PowerPoint.
• Advertisement Pane – View latest social media shout outs and pictures, which you can reply to or “Like.”  Additionally, the advertisement pane can be replaced with an instant message pane so you can chat with Windows Messenger or Facebook contacts.  Oh yeah!  You will see advertisements here as well.

Are you intrigued yet?  I am.  Although Outlook.com is a successor to Hotmail, I can actually get my MicroKnowledge email through this interface.  Fascinating!  I’m still exploring but I am finding Outlook.com to be an interesting tool to add to my cloud-based toolkit.

Try it!  Visit www.Outlook.com.  Setup an email account and play.  I hope you find the tool as easy and fun as I have.  Microsoft has provided some great information on this new tool.  Check it out!

Author:  Lisa Ryan lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Often in Excel lists you need to identify the duplicate items in the list. Not a problem. One of the easiest ways is to create a column to count the number of times the value appears in that column.

In my example, here is a list of names, some of which are duplicated. Next I have created a column called Duplicate that will show the number of times each name appears in the list.

The key now is to use the COUNTIF function in the Duplicate column. The function has two arguments.

=COUNTIF(range, criteria)

Range:     An absolute reference to the entire column where you want to find a duplicate, such as $B$3:$B:$15.

Criteria:   The cell you want to check to see if it is duplicated. Start with the first cell in the column, such as B3.

After I enter this function in C2, the result is 2 because Roger appears twice in the list.

Copy the function down to all applicable rows to see which names are duplicated and how many times each are repeated. (See my prior post for a quick way to copy a function to multiple rows).

Now you can sort or filter based on the Duplicate column to find your repeated values!

Author: Ryan Donelan rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Creating a hyperlink to a document in a shared location, such as a network drive or SharePoint library, can be an effective way to email a document to a colleague. In comparison to using an attachment, a hyperlink will not create a copy of the file, take up excessive space in your mailbox, cause confusion regarding who has the newest version, or allow unauthorized recipients to easily view the document. The email recipient will be able to click the link to open and view the file, as long as he or she also has access to that shared location.

1. Open a new email message.
2. Click Restore Down from the Title bar (if necessary) to display the email in a window.
   
3. In Windows Explorer, navigate to the shared location that contains the file, such as a network drive.
4. Right click and drag the file into the body of your email. Shortcut menu displays.
   
5. Click Create Hyperlink Here. A link to your file displays containing the full path and file name of your document.
6. Right click the link text. Click Edit Hyperlink from the shortcut menu. Edit Hyperlink dialog box displays.
7. Type the link text to show in the Text to display field.
   
8. Click OK. Hyperlink displays.
9. To test the link, hold Ctrl and click on the link. The file should open in its associated application. Email recipients will not need to hold Ctrl to use the link.

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Outlook is able to invite attendees to meetings that take place on different days if that meeting is first created as a recurring appointment.

1. Create a new appointment in Outlook.
2. Open the appointment. Click Recurrence from the Appointment tab in the Options group. Appointment Recurrence dialog displays.
3. Choose a Recurrence pattern for the meeting in order to place the meeting on multiple days. It is possible to edit or remove individual appointments created through this method after the recurrence is created.
4. Choose an End by date to stop the recurring appointment.

1. Click OK.
2. Click Save & Close from the Appointment tab. The appointment displays on your calendar based on the recurrence pattern chosen.
3. To edit or remove an individual appointment, double click on the appointment. Open Recurring Item dialog box displays. Click Open this occurrence.
4. Change details of the appointment such as the time, location, or subject. Click Save & Close.
5. To delete the appointment, click Delete from the Appointment Occurrence tab.

1. To send out the meeting invitation, double click on an appointment in the series. Open Recurring Item dialog box displays. Click Open the series. Click Invite Attendees from the Appointment Series tab. Complete the form as normal. When sent, attendees will be invited to all meetings in the series.

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Acrobat Reader is required to view the PDF version. Use the link below to download the FREE Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.

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Outlook 2010 introduced a new feature called the People Pane – a handy place to view additional information about the contacts in an email or meeting request, all at the bottom of your email.

But out of the box, you’re only scratching the surface. With a little configuration via the Outlook Social Connector, the People Pane becomes a treasure trove of information about people who you are communicating with, all taken from the most popular social networking sites. All you need to do is create an account on the site for yourself and install a plugin.

One of the most helpful pieces of information to view may also make some people uneasy – the ability to view a person’s public photo on popular social networking sites directly from Outlook, right at the bottom of an email. Picture below is the People Pane from an email sent to 4 colleagues.

First, the good news. If you correspond with people you do not regularly see face to face, viewing a contact’s picture as part of an email is a huge convenience. I frequently email participants who I may have met once in a training class, and seeing their picture is an extremely helpful reminder to me of who they are. It allows me to be the guy who always remembers a face (even if I’m cheating a bit).

But, on the flip side, there’s the issue of privacy. Most email users do not expect someone they email to potentially see their profile picture on Facebook or LinkedIn. It is important to note that it must be a public picture to view in Outlook; however, many users could have simply accepted default settings or not realize that their co-workers or friends have such an easy way to view their “public” photo.

These two views tend to summarize the reactions I hear to the Outlook Social Connector. Those intrigued with linking Outlook to social networks can read more on the Microsoft Outlook blog, or check out the feature in Outlook by going to the View tab, clicking the People Pane button, and choosing Account Settings.

Those concerned about privacy, consider this yet another warning about how public the information on social sites like Facebook and LinkedIn really is.

Author: Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

…to be budgeting and looking for some technology upgrades before the end of the year, of course!  This is the time of year when we reflect on our business, determine what we can do differently, what processes can be more efficient, and how we can grow our business in the new year. You may find that you have enough in your budget to upgrade your current technology or you might be in the midst of planning for your future growth.

Looking to purchase or budget?  Here are a few items to consider:

Cell phone plans

Plans change regularly.  One day data is included; the next day it isn’t.  It is good idea to look at your cell phone plan to determine the best way to handle client demands and business operations.  What you find may surprise you, now that mobile is the preferred method of communication. Providers are looking for ways to attract a business, not just the individuals who work there.  You could be savings some funds in your budget that could be put toward a new area of business.  Read more about choosing a cell phone plan.

Projectors

Projectors have come a long way since they were first introduced.  If you are still carrying around a 25-pound projector, you might enjoy a new projector that is lightweight, with increased functionality, and is comparatively less expensive.  Read PC Magazine’s picks for top 10 projectors.

Cloud computing solutions

Cloud computing has come a long way.  Cloud computing companies are now addressing the ever changing needs for increased storage, security, local backups and cost.

If you are a small business or non-profit and need to invest in a new server, perhaps looking at a cloud-based solution might be the answer.  Although the price of servers has come down, the complexity of servers has gone up.  If your full-time job is not as a network administrator, then you may have some difficulties keeping server maintenance costs down when something goes wrong.  Keep an open mind about the cloud.  It could save you a ton of money and time.  Here are a few sites to help you with your research:

SearchCloudStorage

Egnyte

Office 365

Dropbox

Looking for something smaller?  If you have staff members who are out of the office and out in the cold, why not buy them touchscreen gloves?  Unlike standard winter gloves, touchscreen gloves are made with conductive material and can be worn while using your smartphone or tablet.  If you have staff in the Northeast during the winter months, they would likely appreciate a pair of touchscreen gloves. Read Mashable’s list of 6 touchscreen gloves.

Whatever your budgeting or purchasing needs are in this season at the end of the fiscal year, I hope you find the technology that will fit your organization well.  Happy budgeting!

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

With the release of Windows 8 last week, there is a lot of controversy surrounding the best computer or tablet to do the job.  All week long I have read articles talking about the next best thing.  The problem these days is that it seems the next best thing seems to be coming every other week.  And in the past two months that statement isn’t even an exaggeration.  How can I get my technology goals off my to-do list when there are so many options?

I’ve decided, when it comes to purchasing smartphones, that decision is fairly simple for me and comes down to asking if I want an android or Apple iOS.  It’s like Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts; you like one or the other, rarely both. Check!

On the other hand, selecting computers seems to be a more daunting task.  For those of you who have read my blog before you know that I have been trying to use my iPad as a business tool for a year (using free apps).  My ultimate goal is to replace my bulky computer.  Quite frankly, although I am discovering new apps and tips every week, they are not enough to make me give up my computer. 

Perhaps Microsoft has come up with an answer to my challenge.  Late last week, with the release of Windows 8, Microsoft released the Surface tablet.  The Surface runs Windows (be it Windows 8, there is a learning curve but I’m a trainer; I like to play. I got this). Check!  The Surface runs Microsoft applications. Check!  The Surface is capable of running all my legacy applications (for a price). Check!  Sounds like the perfect solution, right? 

But will something better come along next month?  What about the Windows 8 (or RT ) operating system.  There are bound to be bugs.  In a recent article from InformationWeek, they highlight eight new tablets that are either already out or soon to be released.  They all look promising and if I had all the money in the world, would they help me reach my ultimate goal?

That is where I have to stop.  I don’t have all the money in the world. I did purchase an iPad and I have only given my goal a year, with new apps coming out almost daily, so I think I will just wait, look at all my options, let others purchase and review the items for me, and then I can make an informed decision.

Admittedly, I am curious so I will keep reviewing and keep you posted on my findings. 

Are you looking or ready to make a purchase?

Read an initial reaction from Jeff Cohn, our friend at Sage Computers.  He has been using the Surface for a week now. 

Want a look at some other Windows 8 tablets?  Read the InformationWeek article.

See what Microsoft has to say.

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Volume 25 – November 2012

Inserting a Screen Shot into an Excel 2010 Spreadsheet

1. Open the spreadsheet to add a screen shot in Excel.
2. Open the application(s) to capture the screen shot.
3. Click the Insert tab from the Excel Ribbon.
4. Click Screenshot button from the Illustrations group. A drop down menu displays with Available Windows.
   
5. Click the window to add into the Excel spreadsheet. The screenshot is inserted. Click Screen Clipping from the drop down menu to select only a portion of the screenshot to insert.

Download a Free PDF version of this tip.

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Volume 25 – November 2012

Converting a PowerPoint 2010 Presentation to Video

PowerPoint has the capability to convert a presentation to video with a click of several buttons. Once the presentation is converted to video, the video can be posted to a website, blog or YouTube for others to view.

Open the presentation to convert in PowerPoint.

1. Click the File tab from the Ribbon.
2. Click Save & Send.
3. Click Create a Video under the File Types section. Create a Video options
   display on the right.
   
4. Click Computer & HD Displays drop down. Select appropriate display.
5. Click Don’t Use Recorded Timings and Narrations drop down. Select appropriate recording option. Define Seconds to spend on each slide. This option is only available if Don’t Use Recorded Timings and Narrations is selected.
6. Click Create Video button. Save As dialog box displays.
7. Select location to save file. Type file name.
8. Click Save button. The file converts and is saved to defined location. Depending on the length of the presentation, the time to convert can take a little while.

Download a Free PDF version of this tip.

Acrobat Reader is required to view the PDF version. Use the link below to download the FREE Acrobat Reader from the Adobe website.

If you cannot download the Adobe Reader or would like an alternative version of the PDF, please feel free to contact us via phone (518-786-1181) or email (support@microknowledge.com)

Recently, a few people have asked me about archiving email from their Outlook mailbox into a SharePoint document library. The concept involves dragging and dropping an email directly from an Outlook folder into SharePoint in order to archive the email (and attachments) into a shared location.

Sounds like a good idea, but Outlook doesn’t let you drag the email into a Document Library, as acknowledged on Microsoft’s own SharePoint blog. So how can you use the drag and drop functionality? The answer is to use a Discussion Board instead.

For those of you familiar with SharePoint, it’s as easy as creating a discussion board, connecting it to Outlook, then dragging and dropping an email. Detailed steps for SharePoint 2010 are below:

Creating a Discussion Board

1. Open the SharePoint site. Go to Site Actions, then More Options.
   
2. From the list of objects, choose Discussion Board. Type a name. Click Create.

Connecting to Outlook

1. Open the Discussion Board. Go to the List tab.
2. Click Connect to Outlook from the Connect and Export group.
   
3. Click Allow and/or Yes to the associated prompts.

Drag Email into the SharePoint List

1. Once connected to Outlook, find the Discussion Board in Outlook in the Navigation Pane under the heading SharePoint Lists.
   
2. Drag your email and drop it onto the Discussion Board. Your email will appear in the discussion board as if it had been forwarded (so the original copy still remains in Outlook).
3. Delete the email from your Outlook folder, if desired.

That should do it! Keep in mind that attachments should also transfer to SharePoint. To view those attachments from SharePoint, open the item in SharePoint by choosing View Item from the drop down menu next to the email. Scroll to the bottom of the form to view attachments.

Author: Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Do you re-create similar emails, addressed to the same people, on a regular basis? Skip the re-work and make your common emails available in one click using Outlook 2010 Quick Steps.

Author: Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Check out another great event coming up that we would like to showcase for our friends at the YWCA! Details below – we hope to see you there!

YWCA Resourceful Women’s Luncheon
Thursday, November 1
11:30am to 1:30pm
Hilton Garden Inn Troy, NY

Join us for the 2012 Resourceful Women Awards Luncheon, established in 2000 to recognize and honor those whose community and professional pursuits advance the empowerment of women, a core value of the YWCA mission.

Last year the YWCA honored 17 women from throughout the Capital Region in nine different categories, enjoyed a delicious lunch and networked with friends. This year, the YWCA will be honor Marri Aviza and Lisa Norgrove from Rumors Salon & Day Spa and Rumors IV Men. In addition, several other honorees will be feted:

For more information and to purchase tickets please contact:

Victoria Baecker at 274-7100 or victoriab@ywca-gcr.org

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski
kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Have you heard the phrase, “Our fate is written in the stars?”  I’m not sure about my fate, but apparently my name is, and so is yours!

Since July 2007, a group of volunteers for Galaxy Zoo  have been classifying billions of galaxies for scientific use.   While doing this, the volunteers noticed some of the galaxies resemble the alphabet. 

That led to a typestyle created by Steven Bamford, which was released earlier this year and revamped more recently.  Try your hand at the galaxy typestyle (or type your name).

Until then, I think I want to see my name written in the stars…

There, done!

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Microsoft Access is great, but there’s a common problem I see whenever I’m handed a database from a client: organization. Is your database filled with objects cluttering up the Navigation Pane as far as the hand can scroll? Or perhaps you have more than 50 queries with helpful names such as CMP2a or qryEverythingInThisTableExceptThisAndThat?

This is the need that Custom Groups seeks to fill. The way Custom Groups work is to let you create organizational buckets, like folders, to hold and contain your related objects. Then you simply drag and drop your objects into these buckets. This simple step can save you tons of headaches.

Most Access databases already organize objects into groups based on the object type: Tables, Queries, Forms and Reports. One grouping alternative may be to elaborate further on these headings, such as Tables, Lookup Tables or Forms, Subforms and Lookup Forms. Or you can group related items together if they all contribute to the same end output, such as placing 3 queries and a report into an Event Report group. Even simply making a group for I Don’t Know What These Do can help reduce the clutter!

To create your own groups you first have to switch to Custom view and type in your group names.

1. Click the down arrow at the top of the Navigation Pane and choose Custom.

2. At the top of the Navigation Pane, right click on Custom and choose Navigation Options. The Navigation Options dialog appears.

3. Click on the Custom category, then click the Add Group button to start creating your own group names. Click OK when finished.

4. All your Access objects will now appear in one group called Unassigned Objects. Simply drag and drop them into their new groups.

Now, if you could just forward this tip to everyone you know who uses Access, it’d make my life much easier.

Author: Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Aren’t you proud of our local women in business? Our friends at the Women’s Employment Resource Center sure are! WERC is holding its 8^th Annual Awards Celebration luncheon on Tuesday, October 2 and will honor:

• Avon M. Scherff – Owner, Scherff Insurance Agency, Inc.
• Trish Rost – President, Madison Handbags, Inc.
• CAP COM Federal Credit Union

Benita Zahn, news anchor and health reporter at WNYT NewsChannel 13, will be the emcee for the event. Details on the luncheon can be found at WERC’s 8^th Annual Awards Celebration. Be sure to get your reservations in before September 25. I hope to see you there!

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski
kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Microsoft has been talking about the release of Windows 8 all year.  Since the preview was released in May, bloggers have been busy talking about what’s new and cool.  In August, Microsoft released Windows 8 as a 90-day trial with an official release date of October 26 (anyone going to sleep at Best Buy to be the first in line?).  Here at MicroKnowledge, we have had the opportunity to use Windows 8 and thought there were a few things you need to know.

Let’s get to some facts about Windows 8:

• It looks different than Windows 7.
• The Start button is gone.
• It looks and feels like your iPad/iPhone or smartphone.
• It has a Metro User Interface.
• To keep things exciting, Windows 8 is the first major release of an operating system designed to work with both tablets and desktops.
• Windows 8 is being touted as even faster than Windows 7 on boot- up and in processing (for those of you worried about system processing and computer speed).

Ok, so now you know, Windows 8 will be different, but how?

Look and Feel

Windows 8 resembles your smartphone more than it does your PC.  The Start button has been replaced with a Start screen with app icons.  You will be able to view both desktop apps and Metro apps, look forward to a Metro Apps blog in the near future and, yes, you can customize the start screen as well as change it to a more traditional Window’s desktop. 

Searching

Microsoft didn’t disappoint with the searching built into Windows 8.  To search for apps, just start typing while on the Start screen.  To search for files press, Ctrl+F and you can search for files, apps, devices, etc., picking up on the searching capabilities of Windows 7 and giving us an extra wow.

Other areas

Some other areas changed as well.  The Control Panel got an overhaul; items are now categorized in what may appear to be more logical order and with a navigation pane/view pane feel.  No worries if you prefer the former view; choosing More Settings will give you the options from the Windows 7 Control panel.

If you want to try Windows 8 for yourself, you can install it from the Microsoft website.  If you don’t want to commit just yet view the Windows 8 Release Preview  with screen shots and even videos for your viewing pleasure.

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Here’s a tip that can hopefully get you managing attachments like a pro in Microsoft Outlook. Say you are composing an email and decide to go looking for a file on your computer. Once you find the file in question, how do you get it attached to your email?

If your answer is to go back to the email, click Insert File, and browse to its location all over again then you’re doing too much work! Did you know that you could simply drag the file and drop it directly into your email. Viola, instant attachment.

Even if your email message is minimized, if you drag the document to the taskbar and hover over it, Windows will open the email for you.

If that wasn’t enough, perhaps you are wondering what else can you drag and drop in Outlook? Turns out the answer is A LOT. You can:

• Drag an attachment from one email into another
• Drag an attachment directly to a folder on your computer
• Drag an email to the calendar to create an appointment
• Drag one email into another email to attach the email

Have fun trying these out yourself. What else can you drag and drop in Outlook?

Author: Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

On July 16 Microsoft announced its Customer Preview (public beta) release of Office 2013 and it does look exciting.  Microsoft has truly taken to the cloud with integration with Office 365 and SkyDrive.  Although Office will be available as a stand-alone product, put it together with a 365 subscription and you open up your ability to be a web-enabled, collaborative, multi-device aficionado. 

The new office touts the Metro look Microsoft has adapted for Windows 8.  A flat look with no window borders, white background behind the ribbon and tab labels in all caps to keep you focused on your content. 

Below is a list of the new features and changes you can expect:

An Office 2013 preview is available for those who want to try it.  See it and some other Office 2013 articles here:

Office 2013 Preview

ZD Net

InfoWorld

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Microsoft Word has a few features that allow you to instantly reuse common content in your Word documents. This could be as simple as quickly inserting a complex medical word to inserting an entire letterhead complete with graphics. If you find yourself continuously opening old documents and copying text or graphics from them, then AutoText might be for you.

To use AutoText you must first save the content that you wish to insert later, then you can quickly insert the content in your other documents by using the F3 key. The following detailed steps apply to Word 2003, 2007, and 2010.

Save Content to AutoText

1. Highlight the content you want to save. Press Alt+F3.
2. Type in a Name for your AutoText entry. Click OK.

            The Save AutoText window from Word 2010.

Insert Content from AutoText

1. Type in the name of your AutoText entry (at least the first 4 letters). Word needs the name to be unique enough from your other AutoText entries. For Example:  Letter
2. Press F3. The words you type will be automatically replaced with your AutoText entry!

If you do completely forget the name of your AutoText entry, don’t worry, you can always browse your list of entries. Here are the steps to find your AutoText in the different versions of Word. (Note that in Word 2007, Microsoft exclusively renamed AutoText to be QuickParts, only to bring back the AutoText moniker in 2010.)

2003:  Insert menu > AutoText > Normal

2007:  Insert tab > Text group > QuickParts

2010:   Insert tab > Text group > QuickParts > AutoText

Author: Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Last month I talked about cloud storage with the combination of CloudOn and Dropbox.  The combination of the two really were a great add-on to your iPad for accessing and editing files.  Certainly, with Google’s long awaited release of Google Drive I thought it only fair to discuss some of your other cloud storage options. 

Google Drive:

Newly released, Google Drive offers 5 GB of free storage with the option of upgrading for a minimal fee.

Google Drive allows you to access your files from the web, on your computer or on your mobile phone.

Regardless of where you edit your files, files are immediately synchronized so you feel comfortable that you always have the latest and greatest.  Email attachments too big?  Share your Google Drive instead!

SkyDrive:

Microsoft now offers 7 GB of free storage (although more free storage than most others, this is reduced from 25 GB). 

Similarly to Google Drive, you can access your files from the web, on your computer or on your mobile phone.  In addition, your files are immediately synchronized.  SkyDrive also offers storage for pictures and has a fetching feature in case you forgot to load a needed file on your SkyDrive. 

SugarSync:

SugarSync combines the best of SkyDrive and Google Drive with a twist.  With up to 5 GB of free storage space, access your files from any device and have it synchronize.  In addition, you can share public links to your files via Facebook, Twitter , email or Blog. 

Of course there are more!

Apple iCloud

Box

Amazon Cloud Drive

OpenDrive

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

If you ever get a large list of people, products, transactions, etc. in Excel – it’s always a good idea to go through the list to make sure everything “looks right.” And one of the biggest culprits in making data “look wrong” is duplicate entries.

Fortunately Excel has a handy feature called Remove Duplicates, which since 2007 has made its home on the Data tab. But, there is one problem – Excel automatically removes the duplicate entries, even if some parts of the entry were different. No questions asked.

For instance, let’s say I had some customer information, but the duplicate customer entries weren’t ENTIRELY identical – one had an updated phone number and the other had an updated address. If I tell Excel to remove duplicates based on the same name I get something like this:

I don’t know which of the duplicate entries got removed, and when deleting I HATE to not know what I’m removing.

So let’s INDENTIFY our duplicate entries instead using Conditional Formatting. First, highlight the column that may contain duplicates. Then on the Home tab click Conditional Formatting, Highlight Cells Rules, Duplicate Values. Click OK and, voila! – all the duplicates appear in red.

Now you can go through the list and remove or keep the correct entries!

Author: Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you!

Circles of Mercy provides hope, hospitality and empowerment to individuals in the Rensselaer Community, especially women and women with children.  MicroKnowledge is a long-time friend and supporter of Circles of Mercy.  I am also on the board of Trustees and would like to take this opportunity to invite you to our gala to benefit Circles of Mercy and to honor Sister Gail A. Waring, RSM.

The Gala is on Thursday, June 21, 2012 from 5:30 – 7:30pm.  Come join us for music, food and refreshments!

Additional information is provided in the links below.  Please see our invitation for details and use our reply card for response. 

Circles of Mercy Gala Invitation

Circles of Mercy Gala Response Card

Hope to see you there!

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski
kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Since its inception, this blog was supposed to be about new technologies and how to incorporate them into your businesses.  The funny thing is most of the technologies or features I write about are not new, just not necessarily “discovered” for their usefulness.  I certainly hope I have shed some light on these technologies for you. 

As you know from reading these blogs, I am a “PC” who has ventured into the iPad world.  My primary goal is to make the iPad a business tool with little or no money involved besides my initial investment in technology.  Every new discovery has me more excited to be using my 1.33-pound iPad2 rather than my bulky 5.83-pound Dell.  My biggest challenge to date is accessing and editing my Office files.  I use Microsoft Office religiously.  This is a big deal to me.  And yes, there are several apps for that but those apps cost money.  Thankfully, I have a curious co-worker who found an app for free and it really works.

Two programs, both free, helped in this quest.  CloudOn and Drop Box.

• CloudOn is a tool that makes your popular application files accessible to you, including Microsoft Office and PDFs on your iPad or Andriod.  CloudOn needs to be installed on your iPad or Android.
• Dropbox is a tool for storing files.  DropBox needs to be installed on your iPad or Android and computer.

Once you install both, you are prompted to connect CloudOn and Dropbox.  The installation and account creation process for both took less than 15 minutes on my computer. 

To use, “drop” a file in your Dropbox.  Go into CloudOn and open the file.  It is that simple.  When you edit and save the file, access the new file through your Dropbox.  Even if you could edit your files on the iPad you no longer have to email them to yourself to get them in other places.  It works beautifully!

Here are a few articles to describe the process:

PC Magazine article

MaximumPC article

So for me that makes one discovery down and I’m moving on to the next discovery.  Have you found some free or low-cost tools to make an iPad work for you and your business?  If you have a new or newly discovered technology you want to share, send them along.  We are always looking for the next best tool.

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

If you have Office, chances are you have OneNote. But what is this little-known Office tagalong? Simply put, it is software used for taking notes, because, let’s face it, bringing pen and paper to that business meeting is going out of style fast.

One possible question is why not just use Microsoft Word? You can, but OneNote takes note organization and sharing to the next level. Just look at this Microsoft commercial where poor Dad is working with an ever-expanding shopping list on his OneNote phone app, while his kids are filling in the list in real time at home.

That’s OneNote.

But sharing is just one feature. OneNote‘s roots are as a notebook replacement tool. Comparing to Word again, imagine for every meeting you save different Word files in different folders, doing your best to mimic the “file cabinet” approach to organizing. If you forget which folder or subfolder you jotted a note in, or you gave the file a poor name, you’re in for a treasure hunt.

If you’ve been on that frustrating hunt before, then OneNote will be a breath of fresh air. When you open OneNote, all your notes are simply there – organized into notebooks (left), tabs (top) and pages (right). There are no separate files to open.

And the feature list goes on. Want to search your notes? Click in the Search box. Want to write something in the bottom-right corner of the page? Click, type. Want to email your note to someone? Click, emailed.

OneNote makes it simple. So ditch the intimidation factor and open up OneNote – and let me know how it goes!

P.S. If you like the idea of note sharing from your PC to your phone, but your version of Office is OneNote-free, you have other options: For the serious note taker who wants bell and whistles, the free EverNote is top notch, and for a simple note app that prides itself on speed, Notespark is a bargain at $4.99.

Author: Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you

As more people use social media personally it makes sense that businesses are looking for ways to incorporate social media into their marketing and sales efforts.  Let’s face it!  There are a lot of choices out there and the feeling of not having the time or skill to implement social media efforts also exists.  Since there are so many choices such as Facebook, LinkedIn and Twitter, where do you start? 

The tools and their description below represent some of the more widely used social media opportunities.  Each requires some research and skill development and a commitment to making your social media efforts work. 

Facebook – Facebook offers you a chance to make a personal connection with future and existing customers.  It can be used to let them know what your business is doing in the community and how your services benefit your fans and as a way to share resources that are related to your business but aren’t necessarily yours so you become a full-service resource for your customers. 

32 Ways to use Facebook for Business

LinkedIn – LinkedIn can be used to gather information from peers, generate ideas and build relationships and expertise.  Discussion groups can be created to spark interest in what you are doing, give you the opportunity to showcase your expertise by starting a dialog and converse with your discussion group participants. Through LinkedIn you can share your expertise through comments and discussions and build relationships through your connections.

Join MicroKnowledge on June 14^th for a complimentary session called Using LinkedIn to Expand Your Business Network. 

Twitter- Twitter enables you to inform in the moment.  In 140 characters or less, you can share exciting information, videos, pictures or links to spark interest in your client base.  It is not uncommon to create a teaser on Twitter then include a link for more information.

How to use Twitter for Business

Pinterest- Pinterest is a fantastic way to showcase graphical data.  Pictures are pinned to public bulletin boards, and then other Pinterest enthusiasts re-pin your photos enlarging your audience. 

Pinterest for Business

Foursquare – Foursquare is used by the public to check into a variety of locations.  When users “check in” they can leave tips (such as, “Try the onion rings; they are the best in town!”) that other users can “do” when they check in to the same venue.  Additionally, Foursquare has a fee-based feature for businesses to give users discounts at check in. 

Foursquare 101

As you can see, there are quite a few social media tools that you can take advantage of to expand your business.  As you expand your tools, know that the tools interconnect.  A Twitter tweet can show up on Facebook or a LinkedIn post can become a tweet.  Here are a few more tools below:

You Tube

Google Plus

Flickr

Yammer

SharePoint

What tools would you recommend?

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

MicroKnowledge donated more than $16,000 to WERC last year and we are committed to continuing to support this organization that helps women gain self-confidence, enhance their job skills and successfully return to the workforce.

In June, WERC will hold its 4^th annual First Impressions, Second Chances.  Come and join us in supporting the Women of WERC.  Enjoy a cocktail and buffet and browse through tables of vendors displaying jewelry, clothes, beauty and more!  Bring a gift or donation to the event.  Clothing, accessories, portfolios, briefcases, gift cards and working laptops will be collected as donations to help the women served by WERC.

Event Details:

Location:  The Crossings of Colonie

Date:  Tuesday, June 5, 2012

Time:  5:00 – 7:00 pm

Ticket Price:  $35 per person, which includes the cocktail and buffet

For more information or to register:

Click the following link:  WERC First Impressions, Second Changes or call (518) 462-7600 ext. 187

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski
kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

We have some great friends at the YWCA and we want to share with you information about an event they will be hosting this month. 

On Sunday, May 20, the YWCA of the Greater Capital Region, Inc. is excited to host Fashion Forward, its annual fashion show, being held in the YWCA’s Downtown Troy building. The event will provide guests with a fun and entertaining afternoon of networking, food, shopping, raffle prizes and fashions provided by Capital Region boutiques!

All proceeds from the fashion show will benefit the YWCA Women In Transition program, giving families a second chance and a fresh start by providing temporary housing while they receive the education and support needed to sustain their families for the rest of their lives.

For more information or to purchase tickets, contact Victoria Baecker at 518.274.7100 or victoriab@ywca-gcr.org

We hope to see you there!

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski
kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Stumbling upon new tips in a program I’ve already used for many years is always a good time. Most recently, I discovered some interesting uses for Ctrl+Enter in Excel. (This means pressing Ctrl and Enter at the same time).

For starters, I use Ctrl+Enter whenever I want to finalize typing in a cell but want the focus to stay on the cell – say because I am going to copy it next. Pressing only the Enter key shifts the cell focus down one. You could also change what Enter does through Options, but I like the ability to choose either way with the press of the Ctrl key.

Another interesting feature can be used when highlighting multiple cells, typing a value and pressing Ctrl+Enter. The value you type automatically copies down to all the highlighted cells!

And, you know, it works the same when creating or updating formulas.

Yet another way to copy quickly in Excel. Amazing!

If you’re feeling adventurous, you can also try experimenting with Ctrl+Enter in Array Formulas (Chip Pearson explains more), or you can try using Alt+Enter in some of your column headings.

Author:  Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you

Last month I mentioned how using a few features in Outlook could increase your efficiency.  I hope you enjoyed the tips I shared.  Additionally, if you are an Excel user, there may be easier ways to get your data to look the way you want without reinventing it somewhere else.  Let’s talk about some Excel features that can be a key to efficiency. 

Excel seems to be our go to application when we want to work with lists of data.  For most data, it should be.  For example, if you have a list of products, locations, release dates, cost, etc. , you may want to see all of the products coming out of Albany.  Once that is done, perhaps you want to see the products coming out of Schenectady.  I have seen folks take those lists, manually copy the items from Albany somewhere else to represent the data differently, then do it all over again for Schenectady.  If you have a proper list (first row of your list contains column headings, rest of the rows contain data), you can organize large amounts of data in a matter of minutes.

Try these Excel features to increase your productivity when working with lists:

• Use the Sort feature to organize data by column.  The sort feature is available on both the Data tab and the Home tab.  To use, click anywhere in your list.  Click the Sort button.  If using Sort on the Data tab, use the dialog box to specify which fields to sort.
• Use the Subtotal feature to break your list into groups with summaries.  For example, to add the total costs for each location, sort your list by location.  Choose Subtotal on the Data tab.  Select the field you sorted on in the At each change in field then select Sum and choose the cost field as the summary. 
• Pivot Tables are a great way to summarize a large list.  A Pivot Table groups your data row and column fields when you select a field to summarize.  For example, you could quickly display how much each location has earned in product releases.  In a matter of minutes, you could have a large list sorted and categorized in an easy display.  Pivot Tables seem to be a well-kept secret in Excel.  They can cut hours of time and avoid duplication of data.
• Use the Group feature to quickly show or hide detail data for summaries.  It sure beats manually showing and hiding columns in your Excel list.
• Use macros to automate some of the features you use often to cut down on your repetitive tasks.

These are just a few of the list features available through Excel that will not only save you time but also increase your productivity.

Want to learn more? Join us for the Excel Intermediate course on Monday, April 23.  Working with lists is a primary topic, as is working with multiple files and charting. 

In the meantime, here are a few websites to help you with some of the features I mentioned above:

Sorting and Pivot Table tutorials

Top 10 Tips in Excel

Using the Subtotal feature

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

I am on a journey of changing my lifestyle with dedication to a heart healthy focus. It is important for us to take care of our hearts so that we can continue to live a full, healthy lifestyle. With that said, there are a couple of great events occurring in May within the Capital Region that I wanted to share:   

♥  Go Red for Women Luncheon
TODAY, heart disease is STILL the No. 1 killer of women, causing one in three deaths each year. But it can be prevented. TODAY, Make It Your Mission to learn how to stop this killer, and then tell five women you love you want them to live. TODAY, you can help us stop heart disease in our lifetime.

Event Info
Thursday, May 24 from 10:00am – 1:30pm
Albany Marriott
189 Wolf Road
Albany, NY

Event to include:  silent auction, health screening, breakout sessions, lunch and program. To find out more information or to purchase tickets, click on the following link:  Go Red for Women Luncheon

♥  Capital Region Heart Walk
The Heart Walk is the American Heart Association’s signature fundraising event, which promotes physical activity and heart-healthy living in a casual, fun environment. The Heart Walk brings together companies, families and friends who participate in teams to help the AHA further its mission and advance in the fight against heart disease and stroke. It is an important component of the American Heart Association’s My Heart. My Life., a comprehensive new health, wellness and fitness platform to empower Americans to get healthier.

Event Info
Saturday, May 12 from 9:00am to 12:00pm
The Crossings of Colonie
580 Albany Shaker Road
Albany, NY

To register for the walk or make a donation, click on the following link:  Heart Walk Capital Region 2012

If you attend any of the events and see me there, please be sure to find me and say “Hi.”  Cheers, to a heart healthy YOU!

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski
kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Got a fancy new Windows 7 computer at work and a dusty old Windows XP desktop at home? Here’s a tool that emulates one of the best Windows 7 features, made for Windows XP. And it’s free.

The program is called AquaSnap, and it allows you to effortlessly resize your open windows. That innocuous description may not wow many people, but the ease-of-use and productivity bonus is huge. Simply drag a window to the right, drag a window to the left, and they expand perfectly to take up half the screen. No switching back-and-forth. It’s what Windows was made for.

Author:  Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

You know the saying “knowledge is power.”  Whether that is true or not, it’s certain that knowledge is the key to efficiency.  Let’s discuss some Outlook features that can help you become more efficient.

 When you talk about not having enough time to get it all done, email certainly is a factor.  Many of us create to-do lists at the beginning of the day and then add quite a few more items to the list after reading email throughout the day.  Unfortunately, we find that we don’t get through much of our list, and that makes us feel as though we have achieved nothing.  Instead of your email program being a factor in the problem, why not make email part of the solution?  You can use Outlook to help you complete your list and become more productive.

Try these Outlook features to increase your productivity throughout the day:

• Set reminders using flags to remind you about email that requires action.
• Block out your time by using your calendar to schedule the time needed to accomplish the items on your list.
• Save time and reduce email conversations by using the calendar to schedule meetings at a time when it appears all participants are available.
• Turn off email prompts so you can focus on the task at hand without constant email interruptions.
• Use the assign task feature to delegate some of your to-do items.

These are just a few of the features built into Outlook that will not only save you time but also increase your productivity.

Want to learn more, join us at Professional Time Management Strategies Using Outlook on Tuesday, April 3. 

In the meantime, here are a few websites to help you along:

6 Ways to Streamline Your Tasks

Top 10 Tips in Outlook 2007

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Join us for the 17th Annual Hudson-Mohawk ASTD Workplace Learning and Performance Conference on April 10, 2012.  This premier training event showcases the region’s top training, performance and organizational development experts. Come and connect with colleagues from across the region.  In addition, enjoy the unique opportunity to interface with the keynote speaker, President & CEO of ASTD Tony Bingham, one of the foremost authorities on learning and workplace performance.

Please see Hudson-Mohawk American Society for Training & Development for more information.

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Windows 8 is already on the horizon (probably out sometime in 2012) and for those of us just settling in to Windows 7, there’s more change coming. Nothing is official yet, but the writing is on the wall that Windows 8 will have a new look. Specifically, Windows 8 will have the same user interface (UI) as Windows phone, called the Metro UI. Bye-bye desktop.

Why the big change? Microsoft is positioning Windows 8 to run on a variety of devices, not just the traditional PC. We’re talking tablets and phones. And Microsoft is no doubt hoping the colorful, touch-friendly interface will help position Windows to finally start capturing that market. (Don’t worry, you can still use a mouse.)

But, you don’t actually have to wait until Windows 8 is released to see the new look! Open source developers have already brought the Metro-style UI to Windows 7, and one such example is Mosaic. You can install it now (it’s free). Just download, extract the zipped files into a folder, then double-click on Mosaic.exe, and you’re in.

Now Mosaic may look like it’s taken over your whole system, but you can get the taskbar and Start Menu back by going to the arrow in the upper right, clicking Options, and checking Show Windows taskbar in fullscreen mode.

So take the new interface for a spin. Now do you think Windows is on the cutting edge, or is it time to abandon ship and start saving up for that Mac?

Author:  Ryan Donelan
rdonelan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

These days we are working smarter and cheaper.  We are looking for tools that do what we need inexpensively.  In past blogs I mentioned free business tools, primarily software. You can’t get everything for free, but what you need doesn’t have to break the bank either.

Social Media

Nothing beats having your customers excited to sign up to take advantage of your expertise.  Join social media sites such as Facebook and LinkedIn (okay, I’m starting with free tools) and share away.  Offer your knowledge, your area of expertise.  If you own a garage, give tips on seasonal car maintenance.  If you own a salon, give your list of drugstore beauty finds worth trying.  A realtor could share some free or low-cost ways to improving a home to make it ready for sale.  By providing something others need, you can gain a large following, which will lead to sales.  I take the idea that this is “free” back.  Social media is not completely free; your time is money and you need to invest time to make this work.

Having trouble keeping up?  Try a Social CRM (Contact Relationship Manager).  There are several available but one that has been gaining in popularity is Sproutsocial.  Sproutsocial is a tool that can manage your social media efforts such as scheduling messages to be sent, scanning social media sites for relevant information regarding your business and, perhaps, gathering analytics on your social media efforts.

Hardware

If you are a small business, investing in an all-in-one printer can be extremely cost effective.  A good all-in-one printer could cost up to $500.  If you do a lot of printing, you may choose to lease a commercial multi-functional printer that offers free maintenance and a per page cost.  To ensure you are getting the most for your money, calculate the per page cost based on how many pages the printer ink will print.

Want more?  Check out these links:

PC Magazine article on all-in-one printers

Cnet article on all-in-one printers

How to calculate cost per page

Author:  Lisa Ryan
lryan@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.

Thank you to all our clients and friends who participated in our course survey; we had a great response.  Congratulations to Susan D’Entremont from Capital District Library Counsel who was the winner of the iPod Touch.  Susan was joined by Jean Sheviak the Executive Director of CDLC.

Author:  Kathleen Pingelski
kpingelski@microknowledge.com

Remember, if you are a MicroKnowledge customer and have a software question to ask, feel free to contact us at any time by using our Support link at the top of the site. Your question might be featured in our next blog entry!

Do you have a related tip to share? Leave a comment. We’d love to hear from you.