Purple lines…purple lines
If you use MS Word, you know that red lines under text indicate spelling errors and green lines point out grammar errors. Soon, you’ll start seeing purple lines. They are highlighting “potentially offensive words and phrases” to help you write more inclusively by suggesting alternatives that are less likely to offend. I’m curious how the … Continue reading “Purple lines…purple lines”
Zoom Tip: how to hide those pesky grey boxes during screen sharing.
Have you ever been in a Zoom meeting while someone is sharing their screen and grey boxes began showing up at random, covering parts of what’s being shared? I have. And it’s annoying. I actually see it from both sides when I share my screen because I often run multiple computers during Zoom meetings: I … Continue reading “Zoom Tip: how to hide those pesky grey boxes during screen sharing.”
How to check laserjet ink levels in Windows 10
Step 1: Click in the search bar at the bottom left corner of your monitor to begin a search. Step 2: Begin typing the word “printers” and the system settings for “Printers & Scanners” should appear as an option at the top of the list. Step 3: Locate your printer in the list. In my … Continue reading “How to check laserjet ink levels in Windows 10”
break free from social media control
I’m learning how to break free at HumaneTech.com/take-control “machine learning is an extremely powerful weapon…millions of clusters of supercomputers running machine learning algorithms targeting each individual person figuring out the best way to keep these individuals absolutely addicted and obsessed with giving up all of their attention and time to these social media networks.” I’m … Continue reading “break free from social media control”
How to Change the Default Time Zone in GoToMeeting
If you have a subscription to GoToMeeting, you already know you can change the timezone for an individual meeting, but if you’re like me, you’d rather change the time zone for EVERY meeting automatically. After digging through all the options under Settings, I came up empty and searched the net, but only found instructions to … Continue reading “How to Change the Default Time Zone in GoToMeeting”
prevent your time and attention from being manipulated and sold.
“75% of screen content is viewed for less than 1 minute, according to a study that tracked computer multitasking across the course of 1 day. Results indicate that most people switched between different content every 19 seconds. Biological analysis demonstrated that participants experienced a neurological “high” whenever they switched — explaining why we feel driven … Continue reading “prevent your time and attention from being manipulated and sold.”
How to Comment on LinkedIn as Yourself Instead of Your Company Page
If you manage a company page on LinkedIn, you may notice when commenting on a post, LinkedIn sometimes defaults to display your company name rather than you as an individual. On the flip side, there may be times when the default is set to identify you as an individual, but you would prefer to comment … Continue reading “How to Comment on LinkedIn as Yourself Instead of Your Company Page”
How to Stop MS Word from Auto Numbering and Bulleting
For a printable PDF version, CLICK HERE
How to Untag Yourself in a Facebook Comment.
If for some reason, the infographic doesn’t display, here’s the text-based instructions to untag yourself from a Facebook comment in a web browser: Step 1. Hover to the right of the comment in which you are tagged to display an ellipsis and then click it, which will display a pop-up menu. Step 2. Click “Give … Continue reading “How to Untag Yourself in a Facebook Comment.”
How to Endorse Someone on LinkedIn in 3 Easy Steps
1. Visit a LinkedIn Profile. 2. Scroll Down to Skills & Endorsements. 3. Click or tap the plus sign next to any skill listed to endorse someone for that particular skill.
How to Customize Your LinkedIn URL in 6 Easy Steps
When you create an account on LinkedIn, the default website address of your public profile is: https://www.linkedin.com/in/yourname – followed by a string of random numbers. Not attractive. Or easy to remember. Here’s how you can delete those numbers: 1. Log into LinkedIn. 2. Click the Drop Down Arrow to the Right or the Word “Me” … Continue reading “How to Customize Your LinkedIn URL in 6 Easy Steps”
Need a New Page? Don’t Hit Enter Till You Get One, Hit CTRL+Enter
Sometimes the smallest computer tip escapes me because I’ve known and used it for so long, but today, I helped someone create a Table of Contents for a document and when I turned on Show/Hide paragraph marks, check out what I saw on the page my client had reserved for the TOC: I didn’t count … Continue reading “Need a New Page? Don’t Hit Enter Till You Get One, Hit CTRL+Enter”
WordPerfect: How to Change Outline Format when “Edit Style” is Grayed Out
Below is an example of a basic 4 level, double spaced, flush left outline: But suppose you wanted to change your outline format from flush left paragraphs to indented paragraphs? If you are comfortable with WordPerfect Bullets and Numbering, you might click “Outline” in reveal codes or “Modify” in the Property Bar to open the … Continue reading “WordPerfect: How to Change Outline Format when “Edit Style” is Grayed Out”
How to Set Outlook as your Default Mail Application in Windows 10
I admit, I like Windows 10, but there are a few settings that tend to annoy me because they exploit the everyday user’s unfamiliarity with Windows 10 in order to push built-in Windows 10 apps on the unsuspecting. One of those settings designates the Windows 10 Mail application as the default mail application – even … Continue reading “How to Set Outlook as your Default Mail Application in Windows 10”
share your email address, but hide it from spammers
Type the following code in your “contact” page or wherever you want your contact information to appear on your website: Copy the code below, paste it in a text file and edit the content in red: (You can use any text editor, like the Notepad app in Windows.) <!– Begin // NOTE: If you use … Continue reading “share your email address, but hide it from spammers”
wordpress: where can I find the post id?
When I’ve used the [display post] feature of wordpress, I sometimes need to find an id number for a particular post. There are two quick, easy ways to find the post id: 1. If you’re logged into your WordPress dashboard, click Posts > All Posts. Find the post you need and hover or roll your … Continue reading “wordpress: where can I find the post id?”
html: prevent line break after text link
The problem: Creating a text link seemingly inserts a line break and causes the text following the link to wrap to the next line. Notice the second paragraph is not a link – and it doesn’t wrap. This is what the original code looks like: To prevent the text from wrapping/inserting a line break, add … Continue reading “html: prevent line break after text link”
html lists: indent spacing and change bullet styles
Working on my website recently and created a multi-level unordered list. The spacing of the second level indent was much more than I needed and I wasn’t loving the fact that the bullets were the same for both levels. I found code to solve both those problems, so as usual, I’m posting it here for … Continue reading “html lists: indent spacing and change bullet styles”
html: add a mouse hover “tooltip” to a link.
Here’s a little code snippet you can add to a link so that when someone hovers their mouse over the link, a “tooltip” is displayed, giving them more information. In the example shown below, the image of Dorothy looking out her window is a link to download an audio clip of the theme of the … Continue reading “html: add a mouse hover “tooltip” to a link.”
create faux letterhead for fax and pdf attachments.
Historically, I’ve created faux letterhead to be used when letters were to be sent via fax. More recently, they are used for letters to be sent as PDF attachments via email. The reasoning behind this is to save money on pre-printed stationary letterhead. Economically, there’s no reason to print a letter on this expensive paper … Continue reading “create faux letterhead for fax and pdf attachments.”
prevent editing in a Section of a MS Word template/document
Occasionally, I’ve needed to protect a portion of a Word template from accidental editing. There are many reasons to do this, but one example – the one I’ll be using in this particular #pragmaticcomputertip – is to protect the content and formatting of what I call “faux” letterhead. (Note: This tip applies to MS Word … Continue reading “prevent editing in a Section of a MS Word template/document”
free downloadable Letterhead and Memo icons
After decades of allowing users to draw and edit tiny little toolbar icons using the built in icon editor of WordPerfect, the latest release – WordPerfect X7 – has replaced the “edit” button with an “import” button. it’s a sad click-and-drag coloring day. BUT. If you still have an older version of Wordperfect, don’t uninstall … Continue reading “free downloadable Letterhead and Memo icons”
send someone a text via email.
Did you know you can send text messages from any email program to a cell phone? For example, to email a text message to someone who uses AT&T, you would address the email like this: 10digitcellnumber@txt.att.net However, when sending text messages via email, follow a few best practices: 1. Keep the message to just text … Continue reading “send someone a text via email.”
“Where’s the Ribbon in Word 2013?”
Some people love the clean look of Word 2013, but if you’re like me, it feels cold. and bleh. and empty. The ribbon only displayed when I clicked on a menu item. As soon as I began typing, it would disappear. This was not helpful. I didn’t want to go get the ribbon every time … Continue reading ““Where’s the Ribbon in Word 2013?””
krispy kreme technology. it’s hot and ready.
I don’t have a sweet tooth. It’s a blessing, I know. (on the other hand, if you see me holding a box of Cheddar Jack Cheez-its, do NOT reach for any. I will hurt you.) Even so, I feel compelled to share this information for my donut loving friends: Krispy Kreme technology is now available.
cure your possessed keyboard: dvorak to QWERTY
I thought I was crazy. My keyboard was typing stuff I did NOT type. Backslashes when I pressed the spacebar. Numbers when I pressed letters and the other way around. Adding characters when I pressed the backspace button. Weirdness. Nothing short of a reboot would solve the problem and even then, it was only temporary. … Continue reading “cure your possessed keyboard: dvorak to QWERTY”
css margins.
Need a code snippet for your style sheet? Below are four options for setting the top, bottom, left and right margins: margin:10px 40px 25px 90px; top margin is 10px right margin is 40px bottom margin is 25px left margin is 90px
“Print” Button Grayed out in WordPerfect Print Dialog Box?
The first and most obvious reason the “Print” button would be grayed out is if you are trying to print a blank document. It happens. We get busy, we speed up, a Ctrl+F6 or a Ctrl+N sneaks in just before a Ctrl+P and the next thing we know, we have a gray Print button. So…Question … Continue reading ““Print” Button Grayed out in WordPerfect Print Dialog Box?”
Troubleshooting WordPerfect Publish to PDF.
Is WordPerfect PDF only publishing the current page of the document unless you select/highlight the entire document text? The Fix: 1. In WordPerfect, click File, Publish to PDF. 2. Select “Settings . . . ” in the bottom right corner of the dialog box. 3. Change the “Export range” to “Full Document” and click “OK” … Continue reading “Troubleshooting WordPerfect Publish to PDF.”
autotext/quick parts/building blocks.
If you used Autotext in MS Word 2003 or earlier, it’s one of the first questions you’ll have: “Does Word still have Autotext?” The answer? YES. What’s the next question? “WHERE is it? I can’t find it anywhere!” I know. Autotext has been renamed. reorganized. buried. Some refer to it as QuickParts. or Building Blocks. … Continue reading “autotext/quick parts/building blocks.”
automatic text generation. a variation for the easily distracted.
In the previous #pragmaticcomputingtip, entitled “automatic random text generation. improved?” I shared a nifty little feature in Word 2007 and 2010 which automated the generation of random text. Check it out and then come on back and I’ll walk you through you a variation. no. really. check it out. I’ll wait. okay, welcome back. While … Continue reading “automatic text generation. a variation for the easily distracted.”
automatic random text generation. improved?
For YEARS DECADES, I have been creating dummy documents for use in computer training. Usually, I ask someone to type a sentence – any sentence – and then I teach them to use keyboard shortcuts to select, copy and paste their sentence, resulting in a multi-paragraph, multi-page document to work with as I train. It’s … Continue reading “automatic random text generation. improved?”
treo text message transfer
Did you get a replacement Treo and discover all your text messages were missing? Give this a shot: Install the “Messages_Database.PDB” I found mine in “c:\documents and settings\UserName\My Documents\Palm OS Desktop\LastNameFirstInitial\Backupold” If the “Messages_Database.PDB” isn’t found in the above folder, search for the file on your computer. Good luck fellow Treonaut.
#outlook shortcuts: replying to messages
Quick and easy shortcut for you today. Regardless of whether you have an email open or if it’s just highlighted within your Inbox or email folder, you can press: Ctrl+R to “Reply” to the sender, Ctrl+Shift+R to “Reply to All” or Ctrl+F to “Forward” the email.
creating a facebook PAGE
After a few months on facebook, I realized a facebook PAGE would be a better fit for me than a PROFILE. What’s the difference? In a nutshell, profiles are for people and fun, pages are for businesses and work. Check out the following excerpt from the facebook terms of use: “Pages are special profiles that … Continue reading “creating a facebook PAGE”
who “Likes” ya baby?
Facebook recently switched from allowing you to “Become a Fan” of a page to suggesting you “Like” a page. One problem I noticed immediately? I could no longer see a complete listing of who “Likes” my page? (you could see a full listing of all the fans before) Here’s a workaround: 1. Search the page … Continue reading “who “Likes” ya baby?”
get a facebook vanity URL
I just created a facebook fan page. Looking good so far . . . except my page’s URL shows a bunch of random numbers after my page name. NOT memorable: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Julie-Stiles-Mills/379608672550 A little research and I found out that after I get 25 “fans” I can request this: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Julie-Stiles-Mills MUCH better! So – If you … Continue reading “get a facebook vanity URL”
can’t see your fan page updates in your own newsfeed?
If you don’t see your own fan page status updates in your news feed, make sure they aren’t “hidden.” 1) Scroll to the bottom of your news feed. (in your PROFILE, not on your Fan Page) 2) Click on “Edit Options” toward the bottom right. (click on the image to enlarge it) 3) Make sure … Continue reading “can’t see your fan page updates in your own newsfeed?”
Windows Snipping Tool: “How do you snip a menu? It disappears!”
Given the frequency of my need to provide screen shots of steps involved in these pragmatic computing tips, I ran into this obstacle pretty quick. Every time I needed to snip (take a screen shot of) a drop down menu, the menu I needed to snip would disappear as soon as I opened the Snipping … Continue reading “Windows Snipping Tool: “How do you snip a menu? It disappears!””
printer tshooting with WordPerfect
Every once in a while, I dig into WordPerfect to disable a little known setting: “Reformat documents for the WordPerfect default printer on open” This eliminates a few different problems, two of which come immediately to mind: 1. Older WordPerfect documents won’t open correctly in a newer version of WordPerfect. 2. Existing documents won’t print … Continue reading “printer tshooting with WordPerfect”
Default NumLock State
I’m a NumLock OFF girl, myself. See, when I started using computers, keyboards didn’t have dedicated arrows, you had to navigate using the arrows on the number pad. Now, a couple of years later 🙂 the habit is well ingrained. My husband and I spent years changing the NumLock back and forth on our home … Continue reading “Default NumLock State”
WordPerfect SWITCH and CASEOF
In generating a WordPerfect merge document, one of my clients wanted to type an acronym for a plaintiff ONE time and have the merge process insert many different things in the document, based on that one, shortened client reference. Let’s look at how to do that. The code looks like this: (click to zoom any … Continue reading “WordPerfect SWITCH and CASEOF”
viewing invisible grid lines
Can’t see the grid lines for labels or margins in WordPerfect? It could be a problem with Windows and flatscreen monitors. (Corel’s support database – Answer ID 207679) Try this: For Windows XP: 1. Right click on the Desktop, select Properties. 2. Select the Appearance tab. 3. Click the Advanced button. 4. Select 3D Objects … Continue reading “viewing invisible grid lines”
html links
Ever want to post a link to a web page but don’t want it to look like a bunch of code? Maybe you don’t understand the code in the first place. (I won’t tell.) Let’s say you want to post the following link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFLs9RI8mSA Not attractive. And, depending on where you paste it, sometimes it … Continue reading “html links”
treo ringtones
I’m a palm girl. And these days, that means TREO. I’ve owned three Treo 650s, then a Centro (hated it) and now I’m back to a Treo – a 680. One of the first things I do when I set up a new Treo is get my ringtones loaded. I’m lazy. When my phone rings, … Continue reading “treo ringtones”
@randbetween(1,100)
Rolling dice, flipping coins, drawing cards or straws, drawing slips of paper out of a hat. All methods to generate random results. Here’s one more: @randbetween(x,y) To Create a Random Number: In a blank cell of any spreadsheet program, type @randbetween(x,y) where x equals the smallest number you want to use and y equals the … Continue reading “@randbetween(1,100)”
i can see clearly now
When you read text on your computer monitor, do the fonts seem . . . grainy? Do the edges of the letters appear ragged? Especially italicized text? Try this:Click the “Start” button (on the task bar at the bottom left of your screen).Hover over “Settings” and click “Control Panel”Double Click “Display”Click the “Appearance” Tab (the … Continue reading “i can see clearly now”
need a comment do-over?
Ever leave a comment on a blog and REALLY want to remove it later? Maybe you have an embarrassing typo, maybe you shared just a little too much and have “commenter’s remorse” or maybe you accidentally posted a comment on the wrong blog post. I’m sure there are other reasons. The good news? You may … Continue reading “need a comment do-over?”
I can’t save autotext!
Do you create autotext entries or buttons in Microsoft Word 2002, 2003 or XP but can’t seem to find them later? If you also have Adobe Acrobat Professional or Standard loaded on your computer, you’re not imagining things or doing anything wrong! There’s a conflict between Word and Acrobat 7.0 which prevents autotext, macros, preferences … Continue reading “I can’t save autotext!”
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