CIO-Information Technology

This is a very good question it may very well be the reason why some of you have had problems accessing a Web site in the past. Of course, if you ever spell a word wrong when typing in a URL, you are going to get a "Page cannot be found" error message. But what if you mess up the capitalization and spacing? What will happen then? Well, basically the same thing.

First of all, you cannot use any spaces in any Internet address. It is just not the way URLs function. If you somehow hit the space bar while typing, you are not going to be able to get to the Web site you are looking for. So, make sure you never use any spacing in a Web site's address.

Capitalization is a little different. Some Web sites may require capitalization. On the other hand, even though a URL has capital letters in it, you may still be directed to the site even if you use all lowercase letters. It all just depends on how the address is set up.

An Internet address only relies on case sensitive letters after the domain name. In other words, if you are ever trying to reach a page with some sort of a directory, you have to use all lowercase letters. For example, if you were trying to access WorldStart's Computer Tips page (a directory), you would not be able to use uppercase letters. The URL is http://www.worldstart.com/tips/index.php, but if you tried to type that in all capital letters, like HTTP://WWW.WORLDSTART.COM/TIPS/INDEX.PHP, you would get a page saying it is not available.

Now, if you were just going to WorldStart's homepage, you could type in the URL either way, because it is not dealing with a directory and it does not interfere with the domain name.

This rule also works the other way around. If a Web site's URL is all uppercase letters, typing it in lowercase would not work. If you are unsure about a site's address, try typing it in lowercase first, because the majority of URLs are set in lowercase letters. Very few Web sites actually make their address in all capitals.

When you are downloading something from the Internet, you will more likely have the option to choose between Run and Save. Either of those will lead you in the right direction to the program's set up and to install it on your computer, but the difference lies within where the setup file actually opens from.

If you click on Save, you can specify where you want the setup file to go (for example, to your My Documents folder, on your desktop, etc.). From there, you can put it on a disk, just in case you ever need to reinstall it or want to put it on another computer.

On the other hand, by choosing Run, the set up process starts once the setup file is downloaded to your Temporary Internet Files. Then when you empty your temp files, the set download disappears. This option is great if you are not a download packrat, but either way, you should be clearing out your temp files on a regular basis to prevent your computer from getting clogged up with downloads.

There was an article entitled "10 Most Common Passwords" and list the commonly used passwords by users today:

• password
• 123456
• qwerty
• abc123
• letmein
• monkey
• myspace1
• password1
• link182
• your first name

Is your password on this list? If so, I bet you already know what's coming next. You are putting yourself and your organization at great risk by using a password like that. Passwords like those can be guessed by hackers in a matter of seconds, which means you are only making things easier for them. All in all, if you are using one of the above passwords, I urge you to change it right away. It is very easy to create a password that will keep you protected.

Some may require complex passwords so you have to write them down to remember and place it somewhere safe like on your monitor...right? In order for your password to be truly secure, there should be NO words of any any kind in the password. It shouldn't simply be a word with a number at the end and you shouldn't just capitalize the first letter of the password that is easy to remember.

Try these steps:

1. Come up with a word. It can be something like a pet's name, a city or anything else you want to use - Toledo.
2. Find some characters you can use to replace some of the letters - T01ed0.
3. Since Toledo is only six characters, I will need to add some more characters. So I will add "AB." This makes my password T01ed0AB.
4. This is now a secure password, but it may be kind of hard to remember. So to help you remember your password, you can write down a hint. The hint will be just enough to jog your memory, but not enough to give the password away. So for this password I would write my hint as City 01AB.

When you are working in Excel and you need to edit something that is already in a cell, what do you do? Do you click on the cell and then click into the formula bar to edit the contents? Or maybe you double-click the cell and edit directly inside of it?

The next time you need to edit a cell, simply select it and press the F2 key. You can edit the text or formula. When you finish your editing, simply hit the Enter key on your keyboard for Excel to accept your changes.

Have you ever given a presentation on a computer different from the one you used to create it? When you opened the file, did you face the basic nightmare of all your fonts being different and just a huge mess on each slide? Text that used to fit perfectly on the slides is now spaced all wrong and nothing seems to fit in the text boxes anymore.

The problem is most likely related to the font you chose to use... If the computer you have moved the presentation to does not have that font, it is going to substitute a different one and cause you all sorts of problems. If you like to use fonts with a little flair, it can be a problem as you move it to different computers. The solution...

What you re looking to do is embed your fonts into the presentation. That way when you open it on a different machine it has all the fonts it needs right along with the presentation file.

So...when you are ready to save your presentation:

1. Select File on the menu bar.
2. Select Save As.
3. Once you are in the Save As window, click the drop-down arrow to the right of Tools.
4. Select Save Options.
5. In the Save Options window, locate the Font Options for Current Document Only selection.
6. Select the Embed TrueType Fonts choice.
7. This is when you need to make a choice:
   • As you can see, one option Embeds Only the Characters Currently in Use. That does help to reduce the file size, but it also causes a problem if you try to edit on a different machine. If, while editing, you need a character that is not embedded, you will be out of luck if the computer does not have the same font.
   • The other option Embeds All the Characters of the Font, which allows for easy editing on different machines. This choice does have the drawback of causing larger file sizes though.
8. Make your choice and click OK.
9. Now you are back at the Save As window, continue to save the file as normal.

Hopefully there will be fewer presentation nightmares in your future...

Do you have information in a table and need to get it out of the table and into your document as plain text? I'm sure you are dreading the thought of copy/paste routine to get all the information out of the cells. I bet you would love to find a easier way to get the information out of the table with no copy/paste needed or even retyping the information.

So here's the deal:

• Highlight the table (or the part of the table) you want to convert to plain old text.
• Go to the Table menu, select Convert, and choose Table to Text.
• A window will appear on your screen, giving you a choice as to how you want the information from the cells to be separated when it comes out of the table.
• Make a choice and click the OK button.

And just like that your information is out of the table and into your document as text.

Want to customize your toolbar to access functions quickly...or maybe you like to "wipe the slate clean" and start over with a particular toolbar...

Customize:

• Go to the Tools menu, select Customize, and select the Command tab.
• Select a category in the Categories box.
• Drag the command you want from the Commands box to the displayed toolbar.
• Click Close when you are done.

Reset a Toolbar:

• Go to the Tools menu, select Customize, and select the Toolbars tab.
• Highlight the name of the toolbar you wish to rest.
• Click the Reset button.
• Click OK.
• Click Close when you are done.

How would you like to change your ordinary Word table with only a couple of clicks? Sounds too good to be true... If Word puts the finishing touches on your tables for you, you would be crazy to waste your time doing it manually - don't you think?

The first thing you need to do is draw/create your table. Once you have the table drawn, you are ready to start... Next, put your cursor anywhere inside of the table. Now, you are looking for the Table menu, Table AutoFormat choice (PC users - highlight the entire table then right click on the table and then choose Table AutoFormat from the pop up menu). The Table AutoFormat window will open. This window gives you a choice of styles at the top and a preview at the bottom of the window. Take some time and scroll through the list - there are lots of choices. Find the one you like the best and leave it highlighted then click OK.

Your table has been transformed into a beautiful masterpiece with just a few clicks of your mouse.

Do you constantly find yourself going to the Format menu, Cells choice to make changes in Excel? Or right-click and select Format Cells from the submenu? (You know, for things like cell format, text direction, boarders, fill color, etc.)

Looking for a faster way to access the Format Cells window? Next time, click in the cell or highlight the cells you need to format. Then skip the menu and try using the key combination of Ctrl+1 (PC users) or Command+1 (Mac users). YOu are instantly taken to the window where you are free to format...

How often do you find yourself squinting while viewing a document, spreadsheet or slide on your computer screen? Or if you want to see more of the page at a reduced size?

Looking for an way to make the words and/or images appear as little or larger on your screen...Use the Zoom box which is located in the toolbars. Click the drop-down arrow to select the percentage or enter the percentage size to view your document, spreadsheet or slide. You can also access the Zoom option by clicking on View on the menu bar and select Zoom.

Put an end to squinting and by the way it will not print the size you are viewing it...

Do you work with large Excel worksheets?

If so, do you ever find that you are doing a lot of scrolling around, trying to keep an eye on a formula that is way off in the far reaches of the worksheet? You change a value and then immediately start scrolling to see how it affected the formula. What a waste of time!

How would you like a more simple solution? The Watch Window is a feature used to keep track of the results of cells in the spreadsheet when it recalculates. As you change values, it displays the requested cells so you can see the changes without actually going to the cell(s) to take a look.

To use Watch Window, you simply need to open it with the Tools menu, Formula Auditing submenu, and select Show Watch Window. Now it is just a matter of selecting the cell with the formula you need to keep an eye on and clicking the Add Watch button at the top of the Watch Window. The window that follows is to confirm or adjust the cell that you would like to add. Click Add to confirm or change the cell address in the field and then click Add again.

Instantly, the cell's information, including its location, formula, and current value are displayed in the center of the Watch Window. As you make other data changes that affect this cell's value, you will see the changes here, instead of a lot of wasted time moving all over the worksheet.

You can repeat the process to keep an eye on several cells at once.

To remove a watched cell from your list, simply click on one in the list and then hit the Delete Watch button.

Have you ever been working in Excel and found yourself spending all kinds of extra time trying to manually adjust column width or row heights? Or are you one of the many people who simply skip a column whenever text gets too long? Here is one of the many solutions to these time consuming problems. AutoFit...

AutoFit is a tool in Excel that will automatically adjust a column width or row height to accommodate the longest piece of data. To AutoFit an entire column, go to the column labels and double click on the divider line to the right hand side. (For example, to AutoFit column B, double click on the divider line between B and C, as opposed to the divider line between A and B.) Poof! Column B has been resized to fit the largest piece of data in the column.

Need a row height adjusted to match the data? No problem. Simply move your mouse pointer to the row number on the left and then double click on the bottom divider line. (For example, to AutoFit row 7, double click on the divider line between row 7 and 8, as opposed to the divider line between 6 and 7.) Click, click and it all fits!

I can see you now... You are sorting through a huge list of emails wishing you had a quick way to find the specific one you need.

All you have to do is click! When you are looking in your Inbox (Entourage or Outlook), do you see the column titles at the top? You know, the ones that label the columns of From, Subject, Received, etc. Simply click on the title of the category you wish to sort by. You should then notice a little arrowhead appear in the title bar, which indicates the direction of sorting.

• An arrow pointing up will sort messages ascending (A to Z or oldest date to newest)
• An arrow pointing down will sort messages descending (Z to A or newest date to oldest)

Have you ever clicked send on a message and then remembered that you forgot to attach that important file or realized you put the wrong time down for a meeting? Outlook allows you the option of recalling a sent message.

Here's how:

1. Go to the Sent Items folder.
2. Find the message you want recalled and double-click it.
3. Go to the Actions menu and select Recall This Message.
4. To recall the message:
   1. Select - Delete Unread Copies of this Message (Note: the recipient needs to have Outlook opened for the message to be deleted)
5. To replace the message:
   1. Select - Delete Unread Copies and Replace with a New Message
6. To be notified about the success of the recall or replacement:
   1. Check the Tell Me if Recall Succeeds or Fails for Each Recipient check box
7. Click OK.

What is a screenshot? It is an image taken by the computer to record the visible items on the monitor. Screenshots can be used to demonstrate a program, a particular problem a user might be having or generally when computer output needs to be shown to others or archived.

So how to do you accomplish this task...easy...

Mac Users:
- Press Command-Shift-3 and a picture of the whole screen is taken and saved as a file on your desktop.
- Press Command-Control-Shift-3 and it saves a picture of the whole screen onto the Clipboard and you can paste the image into a document and/or email.
- Press Command-Shift-4, click your and hold your mouse button while highlighting. It saves a picture of the item(s) you selected.

PC Users:
- Press the Print Screen button on your keyboard and it takes a picture of the whole screen and places a copy onto the Clipboard then you can paste the image into a document and/or email.
- Press Alt+Print Screen button on your keyboard and it takes a picture of the window that is open on the screen and places a copy onto the Clipboard then you can paste the image into a document and/or email.

So you use Outlook or Entourage's calendar feature to keep track of your appointments and other projects or deadlines? Have you ever found yourself constantly entering the same or similar information over and over again? Next time, instead of retyping or even copying/pasting information, try this little trick. Hold down the Ctrl key (Outlook Users) or Option key (Entourage Users) and drag the appointment to another date or time. The appointment is now copied to the new time or day. Keep in mind that if you move it to a new day, it will appear at the same time as the original, so you may need to adjust the time.

No more retyping...

Many of you may be aware of the Change Case text options in the Format menu of Word. This wonderful feature will allow you to take text and, in one quick swoop, change the case of every letter to match your needs.

From the Change Case options, you can make text all lower case, all upper case, sentence case, toggle case or title case. Simply make your choice and click OK.

Nice feature, works perfectly, but wouldn't you like a quicker way? Yeah, everybody always wants to get the job done a little bit faster—I know I do. So, here's a quick keyboard version of the Change Case feature.

Highlight your text to be changed and click Shift + F3. Don't like the case format you get? No problem. Hit Shift + F3 again. Poof! The text will change again. (Still don't like it? Then keep up with the Shift + F3—it will just keep rotating through the Change Case options.)

There's no doubt you've seen those two terms plastered over anything that deals with the media these days. Palm pilots and BlackBerrys have become very popular in the realm of technology lately and they're growing more and more each day.

Palm pilots are also known as personal digital assistants, which is where the initials PDA come from. A PDA is a little handheld electronic device that you can use to help keep yourself organized. You can use them to plan out calendars and keep track of your schedule. They have obviously advanced since they first came out, as they have recently upgraded so you can access the Web on them as well. The biggest advance so far is that some PDAs can act as a hard drive for your computer through a USB connection. Some PDAs also come with a pen you can use to get your work done, while others have buttons just like a cell phone. PDAs can be somewhat pricey, depending on everything you include with yours. They are perfect for carrying around all day with you in your pocket. With its small size and all of its capabilities, they are extremely popular.

What is a BlackBerry? Well, they work in conjunction with the palms. They are a step up from them though, because they are completely wireless. They were introduced in 1999 and they have overtaken the popularity vote by quite a few since then. BlackBerrys can also act as a cell phone for you. They support e-mail, mobile phone service, text messaging, Internet faxing, Web browsing and several other wireless duties. The BlackBerry comes with all the same applications that the PDA does, like the address book, calendar, to do lists, etc., but they come along with many other bigger and better services as well. BlackBerrys are very popular with business people and with anyone who has a very busy schedule. You can be away from your computer, but still get everything done that you need to. Of course, what you will be able to do with your BlackBerry will also depend on what mobile phone service you have.

All in all, both PDAs and BlackBerrys are perfect devices for keeping yourself organized and straight. They can also be fun to use if you have the right need for them.

Both the CD-R and CD-RW CDs look alike, but there are obviously some major differences between them. The main difference that comes into play is the quality you will get from each type of CD.

Most people burn CDs to either back up their data or to make a music CD. The CD-R format is a more inexpensive disk with a decent amount of quality. They usually hold between 650 and 700 MB of information. These are good for saving any type of information, but they are better used for school projects, copying games, moving data from one computer to another, etc. If you are not planning on ever erasing the information, you will want to use a CD-R.

On the other hand, a CD-RW is a rewriteable disk. They are more flexible for the mere fact that you can write and rewrite information on them. You can usually copy over them at least 40 times as well. CD-RWs are good for making music CDs, because if you get tired of that music, you can always copy new songs over the old data. So, if you are planning on erasing the information you put on a CD, use a CD-RW, because you can get a lot more use out of them. This also makes it less expensive in the end, because the reuse factor.

Whichever format you use, you burn them the same way. As long as you have a CD burner and some type of burning software installed on your computer, you are good to go. This information is pretty much the same for DVDs.

If you ever spell a word wrong when typing in a URL, you are going to get a "Page cannot be found" error message. Well, if you mess up capitalization and spacing, the same thing might happen.

First of all, you cannot use any spaces in any Intranet address. It's just not the way URLs function. If you somehow hit the space bar while typing, you are not going to be able to get to the Web site you are looking for. So, make sure you never use any spacing in a Web site's address.

Capitalization is a little different. Some Web sites may require capitalization. On the other hand, even though a URL has capital letters in it, you may still be directed to the site even if you use all lowercase letters. It all just depends on how the address is set up.

An Internet address only relies on case sensitive letters after the domain name. In other words, if you are ever trying to reach a page with some sort of a directory, you have to use all lowercase letters. For example, if you were trying to access WorldStart's Computer Tips page (a directory), you would not be able to use uppercase letters. The URL is http://www.worldstart.com/tips/index.php. Now, if you tried to type that in all capital letters like HTTP://WWW.WORLDSTART.COM/TIPS/INDEX.PHP, you would get a page saying it is not available.

If you were just going to WorldStart's homepage, you could type it either way, because it is not dealing with a directory and does not interfere with the domain name.

This rule also works the other way around. If a Web site's URL is all uppercase letters, typing it in lowercase would not work. If you are unsure about a site's address, try typing it in lowercase first, because the majority of URLs are set in lowercase letters. Very few sites actually make their address in all capitals.

I am sure it has happened to you... I know because it has happened to me. You are going along, trying to get a program to work, or you are trying to search for something, and all of the sudden...your computer freezes. It just stops! What? Why? It is hard to understand why it does that, but sometimes the programs just don't feel like responding.

So, how can you get rid of it and start all over? Try pressing Ctrl+Alt+Del (PC users) or Command+Option+Esc (Mac users). Once you do that, a box will pop up and tell you everything that is running on your computer. You just look through the list, find the program that is stuck, and choose End Task. That will stop the freeze up and should put you back on your merry little way.

Everyday thousands of viruses, worms and scams travel through the Internet. They also travel through electronic mail (e-mail). Every e-mail user should know the basics of protecting themselves from a virus or scam on the Internet. Knowing the basics will decrease your chances of receiving one of these nasty intrusions.

The first rule of e-mail security to to make sure you only open e-mail from recipients that you know very well. In the event you receive e-mail from someone you know that has a suspicious title or attachment, contact the sender by telephone or send him a new e-mail saying that you want to verify that the questionable e-mail was intended for you.

If you get an e-mail from a business, corporation or organization, keep in mind that you should only receive an e-mail from a place like that if you had contacted them first. If you did not contact them, then by all means, don't open the e-mail.

I recently received an e-mail from Microsoft with a subject linked of "Use this Patch Immediately!" Microsoft will not contact you about patches or anything else, unless you contacted them first. This "patch," which was attached to the e-mail, could have been very well a virus or a worm. One of the new techniques of spam senders is pretending to be someone else sending the message. The message I received from Microsoft was not from Microsoft at all, but instead, it was from someone who changed the recipient e-mail to security@microsoft.com, which is not legit.

DO keep your virus software and virus library files up to date.

If you feel you must open the attachment, save attachments to a disk before opening. Do not open the attachment directly from the e-mail program. Save it to a disk, preferably a removable disk, and then scan the disk with an anti virus program.

The type of attachment can be a tip:

• Attachments that end with two periods, such as .txt.doc, .xls.exe, or any combination of file extensions almost always contains a virus. DO NOT OPEN IT!
• Attachments with the filename ending with .VBS also almost always indicate a virus or worm program. One way to guard against .VBS files is to never open such an attachment and to immediately delete the message to which it’s attached.

Many people often ask why exactly they need a surge protector for their computers, as well as, what they should look for when they go out to buy one.

We need surge protectors to keep all the little circuits inside our computers safe from excess voltage peaks. When these power peaks (surges/spikes) occur, it causes the electrical circuit to heat up, kind of like the filament in a light bulb. Although a big surge can cause the circuit to blow on the spot, lesser surges can peck away at it, eventually causing it to fail.

Sometimes these failures are intermittent, causing your computer to do strange and unexpected things. You know, odd lockups, sudden reboots after it warms up, conjuring up lost spirits, and that sort of thing.

Most of the time, these oddities are are not predictable (since they are intermittent and all ) and they show no type of pattern. With that said, if your computer is acting weird, it is not automatically a damaged circuit.

Most of the common sources of surges are high powered appliances like refrigerators, air conditioners, furnaces and even hair dryers and vacuums. In addition to appliances, those big power transformers you see handing off electrical poles can cause problems.

What to Look for...
When you buy a surge protector, try to find something better than the $5 or $10 power strips. Although they are slightly better than nothing. They are notoriously unreliable and most won't tell you when they are no longer protecting your equipment. One good surge and your protection is gone, but they continue to function as a power strip.

Also, when looking for surge protector, look for one that features a phone line "pass through". Telephone wires can deliver a potent surge into your computer. Phone line surges are more likely to cause damage than power line surges. Why? You computer's power supply acts as a built in surge protector. Even if a surge sneaks through your regular surge protector, the power supply may prevent it from doing any damage.

A good quality surge suppressor will cost anywhere from $20 to $100 and be "UL" listed. It should also feature an indicator light that tells you when the surge protection circuit is no longer functioning.

You sometimes run across folks talking about clamping voltages, response nanoseconds and joule leves. Although that is a valid way to compare various surge protectors, not every protector gives you that information and who is to say that it is even accurate?

The easiest way to tell if you are getting a quality surge protector is to look at the "connected equipment" warranty. I like the ones that cover connected equipment for up to $15,000 or more. I figure if they are willing to risk $15,000, they are probably selling a good piece of equipment. If it doesn't have a connected equipment warranty, set it back on the shelf.

Sometimes when you are using your computer you just get stuck and need some help. I know it happens to me all the time. If this occurs when there is no else around to answer your questions, try the Help feature found on the menu bar of any of the Office programs as well as on the Start menu.

The Help menu is a great place to ask question, tutorials, troubleshooting, accessing help from the Web, and other general support options. The Help window provides several ways to get help, including using the Answer Wizard, browsing through a table of contents topics, or looking for a particular topic in the index.

The best thing of all is that it is located right there on your computer. So instead of picking up the phone try Help first. Who knows, your problems could be solved with just a click.

How do you know when the document you are working on is perfect and ready for printing? Have you ever used the scroll bars to navigate through a large file in the hopes of trying to see if everything is proportioned properly? This can be nearly impossible in a large Excel file. Or are you the person who prints a document over and over, making small adjustments each time, until an entire tree, one ink cartridge, and an hour of time have been exhausted?

Are you looking for a simpler, more efficient way to see if the document is ready for printing? Yes? I have got just the thing: a handy little trick called Print Preview. It is available in most Microsoft programs and Internet Explorer.

You can access the Print Preview a couple of different ways. The first is through the File menu, Print Preview choice. The second method is through the Print Preview button located in the standard toolbar. Either way, you instantly find yourself in another window where you can see the entire document, as it will be printed.

There are a variety of options available to you in Print Preview:

Word

• Print Button - Lets you set printing options and then prints the selected document.
• Magnifier Button - Allows you to "zoom in" to get a close-up view of your document or "zoom out" to see more of the page at a reduced size.
• One Page Button - You can view open page of your document.
• Multiple Page Button - Allows you to view multiple pages of your document.
• Zoom Button - Switches between a full-page view of a document and a magnified view. The Zoom feature does not affect printing size. You can also switch between a full-page view and a magnified view of a document by clicking any area of the page. Depending on the resolution of your monitor, you may not see certain graphics, such as thin borders, in full-page view.
• View Ruler Button - Allows you to view the horizontal and vertical ruler. Also, this allows you to visually adjust the margins of your document without doing so manually in the Page Setup dialog box.
• Shrink to Fit Button - Word can shrink the text in your document to fit on one less page.
• Full Screen Button -Switches between a full-page view of a document and a magnified view.
• Close Button - Closes the print preview window and returns to the previous view of the active worksheet.

Excel

• Next Button - Displays the next page to be printed. If you have multiple worksheets selected and click Next when the last page of a selected worksheet appears, Excel displays the first page of the next selected worksheet.
• Previous Button - Displays the previous page to be printed. If you have multiple worksheets selected and click Previous when the first page of a selected worksheet appears, Excel displays the last page of the previous selected worksheet.
• Zoom Button - Switches between a full-page view of a sheet and a magnified view. The Zoom feature does not affect printing size. You can also switch between a full-page view and a magnified view of a worksheet by clicking any area of the worksheet. Depending on the resolution of your monitor, you may not see certain graphics, such as thin borders, in full-page view.
• Print Button - Lets you set printing options and then prints the selected worksheet.
• Setup Button - Lets you set options that control the appearance of printed sheets.
• Margins Button - Displays or hides margin handles that you can drag to adjust page margins, header and footer margins, and column widths.
• Page Break Preview Button - Switches to page break preview, in which you can adjust the page breaks on the active worksheet. You can also resize the print area and edit the worksheet. The name of the button changes from Page Break Preview to Normal View if you were in page break preview when you click Print Preview.
• Normal View Button - Displays the active worksheet in normal view.
• Close Button - Closes the print preview window and returns to the previous view of the active worksheet.

PowerPoint

• Next Button - Displays the next slide to be printed.
• Previous Button - Displays the previous slide to be printed.
• Print Button - Lets you set printing options and then prints the selected slide.
• Print What Button - Allows you to print one to nine slides per page, an outline that prints only the text, or the speaker's notes underneath each slide.
• Zoom Button - Switches between a full-page view of a slide and a magnified view. The Zoom feature does not affect printing size. You can also switch between a full-page view and a magnified view of a slide by clicking any area of the screen. Depending on the resolution of your monitor, you may not see certain graphics, such as thin borders, in full-page view.
• Landscape Button - Allows you to change the page orientation of notes and handouts.
• Portrait Button - Allows you to change the page orientation of notes and handouts.
• Options Button - Allows you to add or change Headers and Footers, check how your color scheme and font formatting will look in various color modes when printed, frame slides, scale slides or notes to fit the paper, print hidden slides and set a slide order for multiple slides on handouts.
• Close Button - Closes the print preview window and returns to the previous view of the active slide.

Before you open an attachment, make sure you know who sent it. Even if you know the sender, if you are not expecting a file, you might want to send a quick note to the sender and make sure they really sent it, especially .pps files that can contain viruses. Also, do not open any attachments with .exe, .scr, or .pif file extensions may contain worms and viruses that will run a program or code that can mess up your computer if you click it.

There is nothing worse than getting a file from someone and not having the right program to open it. Here are some common file extensions and the programs needed to open them:

.doc - Microsoft Word
.pps - Microsoft PowerPoint
.xls - Microsoft Excel
.wpd - WordPerfect
.pdf - Adobe Acrobat
.jpg - JPEG graphic file
.zip - Zip (compressed) file
.sit - Stuffit (compressed) file

There are freeware/software programs available from the developers that will allow you to see, but not alter, content.

When you use the Save command, you save your work under its current file name. If you have never saved whatever it is you are working on before, then you get an opportunity to name it.

When you use Save As, you get a chance to save what you are working on as a new file.

Here is an example. Let's say you are working on a word processing document. It is a new document and you decide to save it. A box comes up that lets you give it a name. Now, let's say you add something to it. If you use the Save commend again, it simply saves it with no questions asked under the existing file name.

Ok, now let's say you make a modification to the file, but you want to keep the original version as well. This is where you use Save As. When you use the Save As command, it allows you to save your current file as a new file with a new name. Now when you go to open your files, you will find you have both the original version and the new, Saved As version.

To find the version number of a program, just click Help, then find "About..."

Now, let's say we have program with a version number of 6.1.2.

• The first number (6) represents the "major" version number. Normally these are only updated if there has been lots of major changes to a program.
• The next number (1) represents a minor update. Maybe a feature or two was added to the program, but the overall program remained the same.
• The third number (2) represents a bug fix. Our example show that version 6.1 has had 2 bug fixes so far.

That is the gist of it. Some programs use letters rather than numbers, especially for minor update and bug fixes. Additionally, it is up to the software company to determine whether the current update constitutes a major version change or just a minor enhancement.

The easiest way to explain it would be to define each of them:

Hard Drive - A hard drive is a fast, high capacity internal disk found in all modern computers. The reason for having a hard drive is to give you a permanent place to keep your computer's information. They are generally much more reliable than keeping your data on a floppy drive (that is not to say you should not back up your information though), are much aster, and hold tons more.

Adding a second drive is a great way to add more space for files. They are available as both internal or external.

Floppy Drive - A disk drive that can read and write to little 3.5" disks that hold about 1.4MB of information. It seems like just yesterday that floppy disks ruled the plant, but now with the cheap price of CD-Rs and CD-R drives, the floppy drive is being put to pasture. Most new computer don't even have one.

Zip Drive - A high-capacity floppy disk drive. Zip drives are slightly larger than conventional floppy disks and about twice as thick. The disks work in the same manner as a regular 3.5" floppy disk, except they can store up to 100MB or 250MB of data. Because they are relatively inexpensive and durable, they have become a popular media for backing up hard disks and for transporting large files.

CD-R - A writeable CD technology using a type of compact disc that can be recorded, but not erased (CD-Rs are "write once" discs). "Burning" a CD-R requires a CD-R drive, CD-RW drive or a combo CD/DVD drive. CD-R discs can be read on most every type of CD drive.

CD-RW - It is the same as a CD-R with the exception that it allows repeated recording on a disc.

DVD - Are commonly used as a medium for digital representation of movies and other multimedia presentations that combine sound with graphics. There are a variety of versions such as ones that can write-once only (-R/+R), can be erased and recorded over numerous times (-RW/+RW), and can be recorded and erased repeatedly but are only compatible with devices manufactured by the companies that support this format and these discs are typically housed in cartridges (-RAM).

USB Flash Drive - Also known as pen drive, key drive, and thumb drive. It is a small, portable flash memory card that plugs into a computer's USB port and functions as a portable hard drive with up to 2GB of storage capacity. They are small enough to be carried in a pocket and can be plugged into any computer with a USB drive.

Here are short explanations of each type and an estimation of how fast each modem is:

Standard Dial-Up - These modems have the slowest transfer speed (downloads) of all modems. Dial-up modems are capable of speeds of up to 56 kilobits per second through an Internet Service Provider connection. Dial-up modems use copper phone lines to connect with the Internet.

DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) - DSL is also provided through regular copper lines though it is not available to everyone, since you have to be close to a telephone switching office (usually within about 4 miles). DSL speeds can differ depending on the quality of the connection. Still, download speed typically will be about 1000 kilobits per second on a good connection.

Cable Modem - A cable modem runs over cable television lines. The coaxial cable it uses gives you much more bandwidth than dial-up and therefore gives you extremely fast access to the World Wide Web. These modems can give you a transmission rate of about 2000 kilobits per second which is about 40 times faster than the top speed of dial-up! However, speeds my vary depending on the location or other concerns.

Wireless Broadband Internet - Wireless Internet (Wi-fi) connects using radio frequency signals, rather than phone lines or cable television lines. Also, you can connect to the internet within a limited range, which means an equipped laptop can connect to the internet away from home easily with a "Hotspot" (A specific geographic location in which an access point provides public wireless broadband network services to mobile visitors through a WLAN.) is available. Wireless Internet is popular in PDAs, cellular phones, and other portable devices including laptops and notebooks. Download speeds of Wireless Internet can sometimes reach about 1.5 megabits (almost 2 million kilobits), much faster than other connections.

There are basically two ways of saving images, lossy or lossless. If an image is saved in a lossy image format, it means the format being used discards some of the "unimportant" image information. However, the resulting image file is smaller. Lossless retains all the image information.

Here is an overview of the most common image formats:

JPEG - By far one of the most common image formats. It's primarily used for photographs. It is a lossy type of format, but most people cannot really see the difference. You can adjust the amount of compression when saving a JPEG image, so you do have some control over the final output quality. JPEG's are extremely popular since they compress into a small file size and retain excellent image quality.

Keep in mind that the more you compress a JPEG, the more "pixely" it will tend to look. For the best results, save your JPEG's at the "medium" or "high" setting (your imaging software should bring up this option when you go to save as a JPEG). I really cannot see any image degradation in most pictures saved at the medium setting.

GIF - Another popular format, especially on the web. It's a lossless format that's ideal for graphics. Gif's can be either static or animated. If you have ever seen a graphic on a web page that was animated, you have seen one of these animated GIF's. Most of the time GIF's are used for non-photographic type images (buttons, borders, etc.).

BMP - This is the standard Windows image format. It's lossless and works well for pictures or graphics. It's an uncompressed file format, so it takes up lots of disk space. It's also the standard format for Windows wallpaper.

PNG - This is a lossless image format (pronounced as "ping"). It was designed to replace the older and simpler GIF format. Like GIF you can make transparent images for buttons and icons, but it does not support animation. A PNG file can generally end up being twice the size of a JPG and three times larger than a GIF and some browsers, such as older versions of Internet Explorer and Netscape, incorrectly render them.

ART - If you are an AOL user this is the reason your web graphics look bad and only your AOL friends can open pictures you send them. By default, AOL compresses image files and sends them to you as .art files. They claim that this makes pages load faster, but really it is just a way to conserve bandwidth.

TIFF - It's a lossless format that can be file compression. It will not result in as small a file as a JPEG, but you do retain all image quality. When compressed, the file is usually about half the size of the original file.

Downloading - This is moving a file that is on the Internet (or over a network) onto your computer. For most of us, downloading is just a matter of clicking a download link on a web site and saving the file to disk.

Uploading - This is the opposite of downloading. With uploading, you take a file from your computer and send it to a computer on the Internet (or a computer/server on a network). Usually this is done with a FTP client, but some web sites you will come across will allow you to send files to them with your web browser.

Installing - This is often confused with downloading, but it is a different animal. When you install something, you basically "put" the program on your computer so you can use it. Normally this is done via a setup program or "wizard" to make installation easy. Once you are finished installing a program, you can usually run it from your Start Menu, Programs area.

PC Users

Favorite Tip
Double-clicking the title bar (the blue bar displaying the title of the window) will maximize the window so it fills the entire screen. So many times when a window opens, it is a small rectangle only a few inches high and a few inches wide; all information in the window is not visible on the screen. Instead of using the scroll bars to see everything in that window or trying to click my mouse on the maximize button on the right-hand corner (small box), I simply double-click on the title bar. The window installs fills the entire screen, and I can see everything that I need.

Navigating
Do you have a mouse with a wheel? It is great for scrolling up and down on Windows and Web pages. Don't have a wheel mouse? Just use the arrow keys to scroll up and down on Web pages. This works great and you don't have to position your mouse on that tiny scroll bar.

Here's another tip. Have you ever found that after a few clicks you have windows open all over the the screen? All you have to do is hold down the Shift key while clicking the close button on the topmost window to close the selected folder and all of its parent folders. Also, if you have several programs running at the same time, you can use the ALT + Tab keys to cycle through the open programs to get to the one you want to use.

Internet Shortcuts
For those of you who use the Internet a lot, there are some great shortcuts to be used when surfing the Web.

Word Processing Shortcuts
Are you a great fan of Microsoft Word? Try some of these shortcuts:

Desktop Tricks
Most of us are sitting in front of our computer each day and shortcuts come in handling to save us some time. Some of you may have a lot of different files and programs covering our desktop. Here is a simple trick to find something on your desktop - press the key corresponding to the first letter of the name of the shortcut or icon. For example, if I want to find the Internet Explorer shortcut, I press the letter "I" and if there is another icon or shortcut that starts with that letter then I press the "I" again to take me to the next one.

Do you move files and folders around quite a bit? If you have been using My Computer to view or move files, Windows Explorer is like My Computer, but is quite a bit more powerful. If you have never used Windows Explorer, try it. It's worth a look. Rick-click over the Start button and selection Explorer.

Mac Users

Favorite Tip
Those who use both computer platforms, Windows and Macintosh, sometimes find themselves wishing their Mac could do some of the things available with a right-click of the Windows mouse. The secret to making your Mac learn to right-click is control + click (hold down the control key as you click). Right-clicking is a very convenient way to do many things: In the Finder, you can modify files, make new folders, and do many other things simply by right-clicking on a file or folder. And in many applications, right-clicking in certain areas lets you do things quickly without opening menus or using keyboard shortcuts.

You Can't Do This in Windows
There are some place where the Apple excels. Doing screen capture is one of them. Press Shift - Command - 3 keys to capture the entire screen. The screenshot is saved on your desktop named Picture 1. (If you take more than one screenshot, they will be called Picture 2, Picture 3, etc.) Press Shift - Command - 4 keys to capture a particular portion of the screen. This will give you a cross hair that you can drag it to create the area you want to capture.

Mac users also have it easy when they want to create a PDF (portable document file). Depending on the Mac version that you are using, you will find this option either in the File or Print menu. Click on File and if there is a "Save as PDF" option.

Shortcuts
There are many shortcuts that can be used to simplify your computing life. Learning just a few of them can make your everyday computing easier. Here are a few:

Undo your Mistakes
Everyone makes a mistake now and then, but there is an easy way to correct something you've just done. Did you inadvertently send a file to the trash or move a file to the wrong location? Press Command - Z keys to undo the last action you took. This works in most programs as well as in the operating system. While some programs, like Word, support multiple levels of undo, when you are working in the operating system you can only undo your mistakes levels of undo, when you are working in the operating system you can only undo the last thing you did. So you must remember to undo your mistake immediately before you move or change another item.

The true value of a word processing program is in its flexibility. With a typewriter, if you made a change to the first page of a long document, you had to retype the entire document. With a word processor, if you make a change to the first page of a document, all the other pages will adjust to that change automatically. That is, the adjustments will be made if you have created the document properly. Here are a few tips:

The Dangerous Spacebar
The overuse of the spacebar is really the biggest mistake of most novices.

Never use the space bar to move text over on the page. If you want the text to be centered on the page, let the program center it for you. Most programs have an icon on the Formatting toolbar at the top of the page that will center the text automatically. Then if you change the size of the page the text will still be centered. If you want to indent the first line of a paragraph, use the tab key not the space bar, or set up a paragraph with a first line indent.

If you would like to create text or numbers in columns, again, don't use the space bar to move the text. Instead set tab stops by clicking your mouse in the ruler at the top of the screen. There are several different types of tabs that can be used. Read the word processor's help file to learn how to use them. In a program like Word you can also create columns automatically. Choose format, then Columns, then fill in the information requested to create the columns of the size and type to fit your needs.

WordWrap
Word processing programs will automatically wrap the text from one line to the next. So don't hit the enter key when you get to the end of the line. Just keep typing and let the computer figure out where to break the text. Also, do not separate a word by hyphenating it at the end of the line. If you let the computer complete the word wrap function, and you later insert, or delete text, the computer will automatically adjust the lines. If you hit the enter key yourself at the end of the line and/or hyphenate words and you later add or delete text, your spacing will be messed up causing you a lot of extra work.

Headers & Footers
A header is a line or two of text and/or graphics that appear on every page or every section of a document. A footer is the same, except that it appears at the bottom of the page. In Word you set up a header and/or footer by clicking on View, then Header/Footer, then entering the information you would like to have appear. Use headers and/or footers for any page numbers, dates, and/or repeating titles. Then when you make any changes to the document, the page numbers and other information will adjust automatically.

Styles/Templates
Most word processing programs use style sheets, which are sometimes called templates. Basically, a style sheet is a form that defines the layout of a document. You specify the size of the pages, the fonts you will use, the margins, and other details. Then you create a template with those parameters that can be used over and over again. You can define different style sheets or templates for different projects. For instance you can use a more informal style for personal letters, and a more formal one for business documents. Look up "template" or "style sheet" in your word processing help file for information on how to create these templates.

Defaults
Word processing programs use default settings to create documents. Unless you change these settings, and/or create and use a new template, every document will be based on these default settings. In Microsoft Word, the default template is called the "normal" template. If you find that every document in Word uses fonts that are too small, click on Format, then choose Font. Change the font size to something larger. Then click on Default, or Set as Default, and every document that you create from then on will use the larger font that you specified.

Headings
If you are creating Chapter Titles or other titles in the document, don't just make them bold, centered, and/or italic. Instead, give them the same type of formatting by choosing a style and formatting option. In Microsoft Word, this style shows up in the Formatting toolbar at the top of the screen. It will say something like "normal", or "Heading 1". If you don't see the Formatting area, click on View, Toolbars, then make sure there is a checkmark in front of Formatting.

Highlight your Chapter Titles or other titles and choose a format like "Heading 1" or "Heading 2". Then when you modify the heading style to suit your needs, all the headings that use that style will be automatically updated. (Look in the help menu for information on how to do this.)

Don't be afraid to play with your word processing program a little. Read the help file. Try different things. The word processing program is much more powerful than any typewriter ever was.

We would like everyone to be aware that a junk-mail (also known as SPAM) filter was recently installed.

This filter from Microsoft will only work if you use Outlook Web Access (WEBMAIL) at http://webmail.asdk12.org or have Outlook 2003 for PC as your E-Mail client. It will automatically take suspected junk mail and place it in your Junk E-Mail folder. Entourage has its own built-in filter.

Click the appropriate link below for instructions -

Outlook Web Access: https://home.asdk12.org/email/WebAccess.pdf

Outlook 2003 for PC’s: https://home.asdk12.org/email/Outlook2003_SpamFilter.pdf

Entourage: https://home.asdk12.org/email/Using_EntourageX.pd

Microsoft Outlook Personal Folders can be used to provide additional storage for emails, in order to free up space in your Exchange mailbox on the server.

Exchange Mailbox

• Incoming emails come into the Inbox in your Mailbox on the server.
• Your Mailbox also contains Sent Items and Deleted Items.
• Members of staff are allocated 20mb for their Mailbox.
• It is stored on the Exchange server, so can be accessed from any computer with Internet access via the Outlook Web Access.
• It can quickly fill up if you do not manage your emails, especially if you are sending or receiving large attachments.

Systems Cleanup
Periodically you will see email messages sent from the System Attendant informing you that the Microsoft Exchange Server Mailbox Manager performed an automated cleanup of your mailbox. Email messages that are located in your Mailbox (Inbox, Sent Items, Deleted Items, etc.) that are older that 60 days are moved to the Systems Cleanup Folder and in 90 days those items will be permanently deleted. To avoid losing email message it is highly recommended to create personal folders.

Personal Folders

• Personal Folders are stored on the hard disk of the computer.
• These folders can only be accessed from the computer where they are located.
• The folders are useful for managing your emails and freeing up space on the server.
• However, these folders do need to be backed up as they are stored on your computer.

To Create a Personal Folder

• Open Microsoft Outlook.
• Click File on the menu bar, select New then Folder.
• In the Name box, enter a name for the folder.
• In the Folder Contains box, select Mail and Folders.
• In the Select Where to Place the Folder box, select Personal Folders.
• Click the OK button.
• Now you can drag any email messages into the new folder.

If you encounter some minor problems with your computer refer to the following list of general suggestions before taking further actions:

• Check to see if the computer is turned on and the green power light is on.
• Check to see if the monitor is turned on and the green power light is on.
• Check that the computer and monitor are plugged into a working electrical outlet.
• Turn up the brightness and contrast controls of the monitor if the monitor is dim.
• Press and hold any key on the keyboard. If the system beeps, then your keyboard should be operating correctly.
• Check all cables connections for loose connections or incorrect connections.
• Make sure that there are no diskettes in the drive when you turn on your system.

If you are still experiencing problems with your computer contact your building technology coordinator or the Help Desk at 742-4615.

Have you ever downloaded a file, went to open it, and ended up with a dialog box asking you what program you want to open the file with? What does it all mean?

When this screen presents itself, it normally means one of three things:

OK - so what can you do?
If you get a file that you are not able to open it, your best bet is contact that person who you received the file from and ask them what application (program) they used to open that type of file.

The mouse is our direct contact with the computing world. This connection gives us the ability to point to, select, and move items on the computer screen. To select items on your screen, all you have to do is point and click your mouse. It does not take long until clicking becomes second nature to you, but clicking is more involved than just pressing down on the mouse button. There are different functions tied to clicking:

• Click - Press and release the mouse button. Instructions which simply say "click" usually means click your mouse once (for those who have more than one button on their mouse it usually refers to the left mouse button). A single click of the mouse will activate a window, define an insertion point, select a cell or object, pull down menus, and close a window, minimize or maximize a window’s size.
• Click and Drag - A user "drags" a mouse by depressing and continuing to hold down a mouse button while moving the mouse. If you do this with the tip of the mouse pointer is over an object or selected text (title bar, icon, folder, etc.), your mouse pointer drags the object to a new location. When you let go of the mouse button, the object or text is dropped into a new location.
• Left-Click - Press and release the left mouse button.
• Right-Click - Press and release the right mouse button. The right mouse button is designed to show only a context menu (a list of options appropriate for the selected object). Mac users will need to hold down the Control key and click the mouse once.
• Double-Click - A double-click is when the user presses the button twice in quick succession. Do not take your finger off the mouse button while clicking and do not pause between clicks. Double-click is used to open a document or application.
• Triple-Click - A triple click is when the user presses the button three times in quick succession. It is most commonly seen in word processors to select a whole paragraph and web browsers to select a whole line of text.

Did you know that just about every program out there has a help menu? Did you also know that the ones that don't usually have online support or message boards for users?

You would be amazed at how much you can find out with a simple click. Try it. Find "Help" up there in your toolbar and click (or you can just hit F1 on your keyboard).

Ever want to find out what version of a program you have? That's there too. Just choose "About..." to get all the info you need. Sometimes it will give you up the developer's website where you can go for additional help and software updates.

If you are having problems with finding your way around the application, most of the application have a built-in tutorial.

How many times have you done a save of a new file and then can't find it later? Or remember the times you quickly saved a document but didn't notice where you saved. How about the attachment that someone sent to you that you need to work on but can't find it. You need to find that file and find it quick. You need "Find File".

In both Macintosh and Windows there is a feature that is part of the operating system that eliminates this slow process of searching manually through the hard drive looking in folders that may contain the files you are looking for. Let the computer do the searching for you by using the Find File application.

Macintosh
First switch to the Finder than go to the File menu and pull down to Find or use Command F to open the Find File application. The Find File dialog box will appear on your screen. Your startup drive will be the chosen volume to start looking in and you can select others with the pull down menu that is provided. Choose one or add a combination of two or more to limit your search with more specific criteria. The More and Fewer Choices options will open or close one option at a time in the Find File dialog box. There are a variety of different choices to consider in helping you find those lost files.

Windows
For Window users the Find File is located in the Start menu. Click Start and slide on up to Search or Find and choose Files or Folders. The Find dialog box or Search Results window will appear on your screen. For those with the Find dialog box - click the Name & Location tab. For those with the Search Results window - select either Documents or All Files and Folders. Select the drive to look in then type in the name of the file to look and click Find Now or Search. The files found will appear in a list that opens below the dialog box or to the right hand side of the window. You can restrict your search or to search for text within the files.

• Capitalize names, double quotation marks (") around groups of words or use hyphens (-) between words that want to appear together. (Note: Double quotes make words case-sensitive), and be treated as a single name or title - e.g. Rock Hudson will search on the movie star whereas rock hudson will search on rocks, rock climbing, rock music, Henry Hudson, the Hudson River, and the movie star. If you are interest in rocks and the Hudson river, you could use the comma to separate a lists or name - e.g. rock, hudson.
• Plus sign (+) should be put in front of a word that must appear in your results. This increases the precision of your search - e.g. city guides+San Francisco.
• Pipes (|) can be used to really narrow down a search, if supported. Pipes search for one word, and then within that set of results, for another - e.g. dogs|komondork (a breed of dog).
• Natural Language Query is a search by phrase. The user types in a question such as where is New York city? or, who is Bill Clinton?
• Advanced searing can use field searches which allows restricting searches to certain portions of Web documents by using a specific field syntax. You are able to search for: Web pages' titles, URLs, and embedded hypertext links. Here's how - the field name must be lowercase and followed immediately by a colon and then immediately followed by the search terms:
  • link:netscape.com - finds other sites pointing to Netscape
  • url:science - finds pages with the word science in the page's URL
  • title:"The New York Times" - finds pages with the phrase New York Times in the title portion of the document
• Boolean logic is used to construct logical search statements using the logical operators AND, OR and NOT.
  • Frogs AND toads would search for frogs and toads together and exclude results that did not include both frogs and toads. Useful for narrowing, focusing and coordinating a search.
  • Frogs OR toads would search for frogs or toads independently as well as together. Useful for broadening and expanding a search.
  • Frogs NOT toads would search for frogs only. Any reference to toads or frogs and toads will be excluded. Useful for narrowing down and placing limits on a search.

• Don't say anything in a message you wouldn't say in person.
• Use a descriptive Subject line. For example, a Subject line that reads, "Meeting to Discuss FY04 Budget" is more precise and informative than one the simply reads, "Meeting".
• Be careful with attachments. If your recipients do not have the same software version you do, they may be unable to read your attachment without using a translation program. If formatting is unimportant, consider sending a plain text version of your document. Then anyone will be able to read it.
• Don't assume that your message is secure. Don't send anything you wouldn't want to see in your personnel file.
• Don't send chain letters via ASD electronic mail.
• Watch cc's when replying. Don't continue to include people if the messages have become a 2-way conversation.
• Use mixed cases. UPPER CASE LOOKS AS IF YOU ARE SHOUTING.

When you are confronted with a computer error message, it is easy to get frazzled and not pay attention to the important details - like what you were doing and what the computer told you when it happened. After all, an error message can be pretty disconcerting no matter how experienced you are at using a computer.

If you are lucky, restarting the computer may fix the problem - but even so, it is a good idea to always write down the error message before you do anything else. The problem might occur again, in which case the wording of the error message may help the Help Desk figure out what is going on. And if the problem is really extreme, the message will be essential in isolating the cause. So even when a message does not seem terribly clear, go ahead and grab a notepad and write down what it says. If you can detail the actions you performed prior to receiving the error message, that could be useful too.

Computer users have increasingly become subjected to unsolicited junk email.

Unsolicited commercial email (or “spam”) can be equally annoying as a telemarketer who interrupts your dinner and piles of junk mail delivered by the post office. Although there is no way to stem the flow of junk email completely, there are steps that you can take to reduce the number of unwanted messages you receive and minimize the bother that results when you do receive spam.

Not all unsolicited email is spam. For example, if you participated in a survey, or subscribed to a newsletter, or just included your email address on a product registration card you filled out; there is a good chance that you will be hearing from the sponsoring organization or vendor. Usually in these cases you can send in a request not to receive further messages.

Spammers get email addresses from many different sources such as programs to scan sites on the Web, Usenet newsgroups, online directories, and various other methods. In some cases, an unsolicited piece of email may not have been sent directly to you but rather to a mailing list to which you belong.

Although there is no sure fire way to eliminate spam from your life there are some steps you can take:

• Avoid giving out your email address unnecessarily. When filing out forms do not give your email address unless you wish to receive information or use an alternate email address.
• Use email filters. Many mail programs allow you to filter messages based on criteria that you select such as email address or keywords.
• Avoid sending chain letters.
• Whenever you send a message to multiple recipients, it is important to make sure that the message is appropriate and likely to be of interest to the intended audience.