Find the Mouse Pointer

When working on my laptop, especially with a second monitor plugged in, it’s sometimes hard to find the mouse pointer. Too often, this happens in the middle of a meeting, while I’m trying to demonstrate something to a client.
To make the pointer easier to find, you can use one of the built in features:

Click the [...]

Email Response Templates

If you frequently type the same responses to email questions, you can use an email response template to make things easier.

In Outlook, create a new email, with the Subject “Standard Paragraphs”
Leave the To and From boxes blank
Paste in your most frequently used paragraphs.
Save the message, and close it.

Next time you need one of the standard [...]

Compare Phone Plans

To compare phone plans in your area of the USA, you can use the free online tool at https://www.billshrink.com/. Enter your minutes per month, current monthly fee and zip code, and a ranked list of plans is provided.

Note: This blog has moved to http://blog.contextures.com. Please check there for new posts.

Make Meetings Productive

Some great advice is found in Getting Real, by 37signals. For example, they advise against holding meetings, whenever possible, but…
“For those times when you absolutely must have a meeting (this should be a rare event), stick to these simple rules:

Set a 30 minute timer. When it rings, meeting’s over. Period.
Invite as few people as possible.
Never [...]

Show Full Menus

On my own computer, I like to see the full menus, so I selected that setting:

On the Tools menu, click Customize
On the Options tab, add a check mark to Always Show Full Menus

However, when visiting a client, I sometimes have to use someone else’s machine, and don’t like to change their settings. If the full [...]

Add a Border Line

While typing a document in Microsoft Word, you usually have your hands on the keyboard. To add a line border, you can reach for the mouse, click on the border tool drop-down, then click on a border.
A quicker way to add the line is to type three hyphens (—), then press Enter. To add a [...]

Change a Comment’s Shape

Add some punch to a worksheet by changing a comment’s shape from its default rectangle.

Right-click the cell which contains the comment.
Click on Edit Comment
Click on the border of the comment, to select it.
On the Drawing toolbar, click the Draw button
Click on Change AutoShape, and click on a category.
Click on a shape to select it.
When finished, click outside [...]

Clean Up Your Dictionaries

While rushing through a spell check in Excel, you accidentally added an incorrect word to your custom dictionary. Now that it’s in there, how do you get it out?
If you’re adventurous, you can use a text editor, such as NotePad, to modify the dictionaries, which are found in:
 C:\Documents and Settings\YOUR_NAME\Application Data\Microsoft\Proof
Or, you can modify the list [...]

Free Consumer Publications

The Federal Citizen Information Center (FCIC) web site offers a wide variety of consumer and business publications that you can order for a nominal fee, or view many of the publications online. You can find tips on everything from computers to tree pruning to international travel. The web site also lists scams and recalls, and [...]

Contact a Human in Customer Service

When you have to contact customer service at a large company, you might end up in an endless voice mail loop. To contact a human, you can check the database at the GetHuman web site, and follow the instructions listed there. For example, I typed AT&T as the company name, and a list of phone [...]