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How to go back to your last edit March 27, 2007

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Writing, Troubleshooting, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a comment

You can tell Word to undo a mistake you’ve made and to change it back to what you wrote a few minutes ago. 

If you’ve made a mistake when writing, for example deleted a few paragraphs by accident, the first reaction may be to panic. How do I get it back? Do I have to write it all again?

One way to do this is to use the Undo feature in Word. This lets you go back in time, step by step, until you find the first version of the text you wrote.

Here’s how it works:       ctrl-z-blue.png

  1. In the Word document, press Ctrl and Z. This performs one Undo. It undoes the last edit you made to the document.
  2. Press Ctrl and Z. This performs another Undo. It undoes the second last edit you made.
  3. Continue to press Ctrl and Z to undo as many edits as you want.      

When you’ve found the text that you were after, save the document, preferably with some naming convention that makes sense to you, for example, June Report Draft 2.

Rather than keeping one version of a document, especially one you’ll re-write many times, save it with a different version number as you work on it. This avoids losing all your work if the document crashes, which can happen if you repeatedly format a document and make changes to its layout.

At the end of the project, delete the initial drafts, then create a Gold Copy of the final draft and save it in the Archives.

Adobe Acrobat Reader Tips January 25, 2007

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, Adobe Products, Tips , add a comment


Acrobat Reader is a standard Windows application, with pull-down menus as a top row, a tool bar as a second row, and scroll bars at the side and bottom of the screen.

Searching for text
You can search for text by selecting “Find” from the “Tools” pull-down menu or by
clicking the “binoculars” button  on the tool bar.

Navigating through a document
Acrobat Reader has a number of tools to let you move through a document.  Hand Cursor
The “hand” cursor lets you quickly move around the page. Press the left mouse button and the hand becomes a fist, grabbing the page. With the mouse button held down you can “drag” or “push” the page anywhere on the screen. 

Vertical Scroll bar
The vertical scroll bar on the right of the screen lets you move up or down by line (arrows), by half-page (click in the scroll area), or by user-selected distances (drag the scroll button). 

View drop-down
The “View” pull-down menu lets you move to defined (first, last, etc.) or selected pages. 

Arrow Keys
The arrow keys in the tool bar let you move to first, previous, next or last page. 

Page Button
The “Page” button at the bottom of the screen displays a page icon and the text “n of m” showing your current page and the total pages in the document. Click on it to select a “go to” page. 

Resizing a document.
The “View” pull-down menu has five pre-set sizes (Actual, Fit Page, etc.) as well as a  “Zoom to…” option which lets you select a variety of magnifications for the document. 

The second block of buttons in the tool bar contains 4 buttons for setting the cursor. The default “hand” cursor is for navigation use only. (see above) The “+” and “-” magnifying glass buttons provide zoom in and zoom out capability, respectively. 

When you select the “+” button, the cursor will change to a “+.” Click with the cursor in the document and the displayed document will double in size. Each succeeding click will again double the document size, to a maximum of 800%. 

The three buttons on the tool bar let you select from predefined document settings. The rightmost button of the three will set the document to fill the screen.  Magnification will vary by screen size. The middle button will shrink the document to display the full page. The leftmost button will set the document at 100% magnification.

Writing Effective Short Descriptions January 25, 2007

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Writing, Style, Templates , 1 comment so far


Short descriptions should explain what the subject matter helps the reader to accomplish, the purpose of using it, or the benefits it offers to the reader. 

Do not simply repeat the title of the page or document. Avoid stating the obvious, such as “You can use the Paste option to paste text”. 

Try to add more information about why the task is beneficial. Include information that helps the reader understand when to perform this task and in what circumstances it is necessary to do so.

Example of an ineffective description: 
Creating a proposal template: You can create a proposal template with the proposal wizard. This short description does not tell why using the wizard is important or beneficial. It simply states the obvious and generates no interest in the reader. Will they try it? Not likely. 

Example of an effective description: 
Creating an RFP Proposal template: By using the proposal template, you can speed up the documentation process, use the pre-defined styles and formatting to ensure that your proposal gets submitted on time. 

This description outlines some of the benefits the proposal wizard offers the reader. It is more likely to stimulate their interest.

Example of an ineffective description:
Pasting Text: You can use the Paste option to paste text into your document. This description does not tell users the benefit or purpose of pasting text.

Example of an effective description: 
Pasting Text: Use the Paste option to paste text, objects, or images into your document. Use the Paste Special option to retain formatting, for example, if you want to copy content from a website and bring over both the text and images.

The effective description is better because it describes the different types of pasting and the reasons you’d use Paste Special instead of the standard paste option. After reading this, the reader feels more informed and better placed to make a decision.        

  

Guidelines For Writing Webpage Titles January 25, 2007

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Recommended, Tips , add a comment

Web page titles describe the content of your web page. They are essential to get right if you want reader to visit your page, as well as search engines and RSS newsreaders to index them correctly. 

The web page title should explain (at least) three things:  

Purpose of the webpage. 
Knowledge offered by its content
Benefits to the reader if they visit this specific page   

This means that you need to write your web page titles with two things in mind.  

Common mistakes
Common mistakes when writing web page titles are: 

Writing tips:
Emphasis how the reader will benefit by visiting this page. However, avoid sales pitches and corporate speak. No-one likes reading this stuff.
Make headings that will be easy to read when viewed as a bookmark. If your readers do bookmark your site, you want to make it as easy as possible for them to find you from their list of bookmarks, Highlight the page’s location within the context of the overall website, for example, if the page is one in a series of tutorials, then consider introducing it as follows, “Tutorials | Project Management | How to manage deadlines”. After reading this you can tell three things about the page, even before you visit it: 

Writing headlines in this manner (or along these lines) gives the reader confidence in your site. The feel that you site will be organized and built with their needs in mind rather than for the company’s own self-satisfaction.   

How To take Screenshots of Floating Windows January 25, 2007

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a comment

Screenshot Tutorial

  1. To copy the active window, press ALT+PRINT SCREEN.
    This is the part of the screen that’s active, i.e. that you’re working on.
  2. To copy the entire screen, press PRINT SCREEN.
    This prints everything that appears on your monitor.
    To paste the image into a Microsoft Office program, open a file and press Ctrl + V.


Microsoft Excel Add-in December 7, 2006

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc , add a comment

ExTools is a free Microsoft Excel add-in program that offers a collection of powerful spreadsheet tools and utilities (Excel VBA macro), all accessible from the Extools menu on Excel’s menu bar. 

Excel plug-in

If you use MS Excel, you’ll need to download and install ExTools add-in. This software is free and it’ll make your spreadsheet editing work so much easier and convenient.

http://www.excel-extools.com/

Change the spacing between characters December 7, 2006

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Formatting, Style, Templates, Cool Tricks , add a comment


Change the spacing between characters 

  1. Select the text you want to change. 
  2. On the Format menu, click Font, and then click the Character Spacing tab.  change-the-spacing-between-characters-1-3.JPG
  3. Do one of the following:
     
    Expand or condense space evenly between all the selected characters
    Click Expanded or Condensed in the Spacing box, and then specify how much space you want in the By box. 

     change-the-spacing-between-characters-2-3.JPG
    Kern characters that are above a particular point size

    Select the Kerning for fonts check box, and then enter the point size in the Points and above box. 
    change-the-spacing-between-characters-3-3.JPG

    Tip: Selecting Expanded or Condensed alters the spacing between all selected letters by the same amount. However, Kerning adjust the spacing between two characters to create the appearance of even spacing, or to fit text to a given space.


 

Changing the background to blue with white text December 7, 2006

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Formatting, Style, Templates, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a comment

change-background-to-blue-with-white-text.png
From the Tools menu, choose Options.
In the General tab, select the Blue Background, white text checkbox.changing-the-background-to-blue-with-white-text-1-2.JPG
changing-the-background-to-blue-with-white-text-2-2.JPG  

How to go back to your last edit December 4, 2006

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Writing, Troubleshooting, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a comment


Did you know that you can tell Word to undo any mistake you’ve made and go back to what you wrote a few minutes ago?  If you’ve made a mistake when writing, for example deleted a few paragraphs by accident, the first reaction may be to panic. How do I get it back? Do I have to write it all again? 

One way to do this is to use the Undo feature in Word. This lets you go back in time, step by step, until you find the first version of the text you wrote.

Here’s how it works:

  1. Press Ctrl and Z. This performs one Undo. It undoes the last edit you made to the document.
  2. Press Ctrl and Z. This performs another Undo. It undoes the second last edit you made.
  3. Continue to press Ctrl and Z to undo as many edits as you want.  

When you’ve found the text that you were after save the document, preferably with some naming convention that makes sense to you, for example, June Report Draft 2.

Rather than keeping one version of a document, especially one you’ll re-write many times, save it with a different version number as you work on it. This avoids losing all you work if the document crashes, which can happen if you repeatedly format a document and make changes to its layout.


At the end of the project, delete the initial drafts, then create a Gold Copy of the final draft and save it in the Archives. 

Change the spacing between letters December 4, 2006

Posted by iawalsh in : Misc, How do I ?, Formatting, Templates, Cool Tricks, Tips , add a comment

Select the text you want to change. Click Format, Font, and then the Character Spacing tab. 

Choose one of the following: 

Tip: Expanded or Condensed alters the spacing between all selected letters by the same amount while Kerning alters the spacing between specific pairs of letters.