The Back-Up Plan

Clients often ask me this question. My somewhat cynical answer is “Often enough not to commit suicide when your hard drive crashes.” Because we know that someday that hard drive will crash!

Amount of Data Input

If I’m sitting at my desk entering client data for 8 hours a day, I want to back up hourly.

If I’m occasionally using my computer for a client proposal or letter, daily will be enough.

Difficulty in Re-creating the Data

If I lost my bank reconciliation for one month, it would be easy to re-do that work. Not pleasant, but easy.

If I lost a BIM file, CAD drawing or project management file, it would hard to re-create the work. Lots of time to duplicate the work. Double payroll. Deadline delays.

If I lost a design concept, it would be impossible to re-create the file.

Importance of the Data

If I’m audited, I need my accounting records have to be available for seven years.

If I need to re-construct events, emails documenting a project can be invaluable in case of legal action, etc.

So based on the above questions, you need to decide how often to back up.

Multiple Backup Copies

The more important the data, the more copies of the back up you want to have and the farther apart the copies should be. Don’t have one CD of your critical files! For example, my client data is my business. So I have a copy in my office in case I need to go back a couple of years to retrieve a brochure that a client wants updated.  I have a second copy in my car. If the office burns down, the car would probably survive since I have detached parking. Then I have a third copy online.

Online Backup Services

I love online backups. They automatically happen on a set schedule. Heaven knows we don’t want to rely on my memory!! I get an email if something goes wrong with the backup. I can access the files from any computer in case I need something when I’m at a client’s office. Some services even allow file sharing to eliminate the need for a separate storage account to share with collaborators.

Features between online companies vary greatly. Email me if you would like a copy of my comparison chart. 

Some services charge by user by file size. Others charge just by file size. So an architectural firm with huge BIM and CAD files would want to shop for the best file size provider. A one person resume firm would do better with a per user account.

Time and Stress Tips

Set up your files so that EVERYTHING goes into My Documents: your QuickBooks file, Microsoft Office files, photos, … EVERYTHING.  Then when you back up either to a DVD or to your online service, all you have to do is back up My Documents. You don’t have to wander all over the hard drive to spot different files. This will also save you a lot of time finding your files!

Don’t place files on your Desktop.  Put the file in My Documents. Then put a short cut on the desktop. Your files are safe in the back up set but you have quick access!

Outlook pst files can cause a problem with online backup if you use a service that backs up the entire file every time instead of doing an incremental backup.  In other words, if you add a 2 KB email to your Outlook file, an incremental service will back up just the new 2 KB email.  A total file replacement could be 4 GB or more depending on your version of Outlook and set up.

Online Backup Services

            iDrive.com

            Mozy.com

            Carbonite.com

            SOSonlinebackup.com

            Securusvault.com

Written by:  Pamela Bir, Your Computer Lady

As published in Sources+Design Magazine June/July 2011 Issue

12 Tips for Creating Better PowerPoint Presentations

Ever wonder how to create a good PowerPoint presentation? Creating professional, unique PowerPoint presentations with the latest version of Microsoft Office is much easier than you think. This article will help you find the tools to create exactly the presentation you want.

Click here to continue reading this great article from Microsoft at Work.  

Try Not To Do This

Excellent article about writing subject lines for your emails! This is an area where I certainly fall down. Maybe you do too in the rush of getting an email out. We write boring subject lines then complain that people didn't open our emails. 63% of readers say they open an email based on the subject line!

So read this article by Michael Katz of Blue Penquin Development and write some good subject lines!

Microsoft Word 2007 - Inserting Symbols and Special Characters

Sometimes you need to insert symbols or special characters into your Word 2007 document. Unfortunately, symbols and characters don't appear on your computer keyboard.

To insert a symbol or special character into your document, follow these steps:

1. Position the cursor where you would like to insert the symbol or character.
2. Click on Insert in the ribbon.
3. Click Symbol in the Symbol section.
4. If you don't see the symbol or character you'd like to insert, click More Symbols.
5. When you find your symbol or special character, click it and then click Insert.

Email and social media statistics

Interesting stats on the rise of email. Check out the historical facts at the bottom!

8 Tips for Successful Business Blogging

Good article for companies considering a blog or companies getting started with their blog.
8 Tips for Successful Business Blogging

Excel 2007 Shortcut and Function Keys

The following lists contain CTRL combination shortcut keys, function keys, and some other common shortcut keys, along with descriptions of their functionality.

Click here to see the full list of Excel shortcuts.  

Failure is a good thing!

Why I Hire People Who Fail
by Jeff Stibel


Jeffrey Stibel is Chairman and CEO of Dun & Bradstreet Credibility Corp. and author of Wired for Thought.

Keep Your Existing Clients

This article builds a good case for holding on to your existing clients. Email marketing is an effective tool for doing that!  "Hold on Loosely - But Don't Let Go"

An unusual version of the Hallelujah chorus

http://voxvocispublicus.homestead.com/Index.html

Nothing to do with computers or software but it's so clever!

Learn Common PC Hardware Terms

If you haven’t shopped for a computer for a while, the following list of terms used for common PC features and functionality can help you make sure you get everything you need in your new PC.

Click here to continue reading this article from Microsoft at Home.  

12 Days Of Christmas: Cost Of Song's Many Gifts Tops $100,000

The price of partridges, pear trees and turtle doves has spiked, pushing the cost of every item mentioned in the carol "The Twelve Days of Christmas" above $100,000 for the first time.

Click here to read the full article.

Microsoft Word 2007 - Changing Font Case

Have you ever started typing and realize you had CAP LOCKS on?  You could retype the text, but that is time consuming. Fortunately, there is an easier way to change the font case in Word 2007.

Follow these steps:

1. Select the text you’d like to change
2. Click the Change Case button in the Font section of the Home ribbon (the button has an upper case and lower case A)
3. Choose either sentence case, lowercase, uppercase, capitalize each word or toggle case

Microsoft Excel 2007: Text-To-Speech Commands

Did you know that Excel can read back to you?  I used this recently to help me double check data entry work that I did.  It was great and it saved me a lot of time.

1. Next to the Quick Access Toolbar, click Customize Quick Access Toolbar
2. Scroll down, and click the Speak Cells commands, and then click Add.
3. Click OK.

When you want to use a text-to-speech command, click on it in the Quick Access Toolbar.

To play back a group of cells:

1. Select a group of cells to read back.
2. Choose how the computer will read back your data by clicking By Rows or By Columns.
3. Click Speak Cells
4. To correct an error, click Stop Speaking and use your mouse and keyboard to make the necessary changes.
5. Click Speak Cells to make the computer continue to read back your selection.

You can select a specific range of cells for the computer to read back to you, or you can click Speak Cells Button image without selecting any cells and Excel will automatically expand the selection to include the neighboring cells that contain values.

Try it!

How to Back up Files and Recover Data

Even computer novices know that file backups are important in case of hard drive crashes, but many people wonder exactly how to back up files and how to recover data. This article covers the Backup and Restore feature in Windows 7 and in Windows Vista, which can help save you a lot of time and trouble. It also focuses on how to back up Microsoft Outlook files and how to back up files in the cloud. All of these tools and processes can all help with data recovery in the event that something happens to your computer.

Click here to read the full article on Microsoft at Home.

Microsoft Excel 2007 - Headers & Footers

In Microsoft Excel, headers and footers are lines of text that print at the top (header) and bottom (footer) of each page in a spreadsheet. 

A header information can appear in  the top left corner, the top center, and the top right corner of the page.

For footers, the locations are the bottom left corner, the bottom center, and the bottom right corner of the page.

How to add headers and footers to a worksheet:

1. Click on File.
2. Click on Page Setup.
3. Select the Header-Footer tab.
4. Select from the preset or custom header - footer options or create a new header or footer.

5 Ways to Make your Keyboard Easier to Use

How to use a keyboard might seem academic, but there’s more to typing than just tapping the keys. For most people, the keyboard is the primary computer input and control device—that’s why it’s important to leverage the features and shortcuts that keyboards offer. Read on for tips to maximize ease of use, comfort, and efficiency.

To continue reading this article, click here to go to Microsoft at Home web site.  

Microsoft Word 2007 - Controlling Scroll Bars

At the bottom and right side of the document there are scroll bars that control what part of the document you are viewing at any given time. If you need more room to view a document, you can turn off the scroll bars.

Following these steps to remove the scroll bars:

1. Click the Office button and then click Word Options.
2. Click Advanced.
3. Scroll through the options until you see the Display section.
4. Use the Show Horizontal Scroll Bar check box to turn the horizontal scroll bar on or off.
5. Use the Show Vertical Scroll Bar check box to turn the vertical scroll bar on or off.
6. Click on OK.

Magnify your Computer Screen: 6 Ways to Make it Easier to See

Many computer users struggle to see the information on their monitors. Fortunately, easy remedies are at hand. Read on to discover ways to make your screen easier to see, including how to make the font bigger, magnify everything on your screen, increase icon size, and fine-tune screen resolution.

Click here to go to Microsoft at Home to continue reading this article. 

Microsoft PowerPoint - Keep Your Text Simple

You never want to write out your entire presentation on your slide.  You don't want your audience's attention to be fixed on the text on the slides.  Keep the text on your slides simple.  You need to put two or three key phrases or points on each slide.  This will help you will reinforce the most important points of your presentation.  Doing this will allow the audience to keep their attention on you, rather than focused on the slide.

The Importance of New, Relevant Content on Your Web Site

I know ya'll groan and roll your eyes when I get on my Content is King! soapbox. But read this article about Google's new algorithm and you will join me on the soapbox. Not only are they judging relevant, they're looking at what is most recent. For most of us, this isn't a hourly or even daily issue. It could be if I'm a stock broker, head hunter or restaurant. Yet it stresses the importance of keeping your site up to date. It does matter.

Google's New Algorithm

4 Tips for Safely Conducting Research on the Web

I found this great article on Microsoft at Work web site.

Surprisingly, basic safety is often ignored by people using the web to research information quickly and efficiently. If you use the Internet for research of any kind, you could be exposing yourself and your company to hidden dangers such as the unauthorized transfer of confidential information. And no one wants to be the person responsible for a company-wide computer network shutdown.

Click here to continue reading this article.  

Microsoft Word 2007 - Clearing Formatting From Text

When you’re cutting and pasting text into your Word document, it is easy to introduce formatting inconsistencies. But, it isn’t always so easy to rid your document of these formatting inconsistencies.  Sometimes, the best solution is to clear formatting from your text. You can then format it from scratch the way you want.

To clear formatting from text in Word 2007:

1. Select the text that contains the formatting you would like to remove. 
2. Locate the font section of the Home ribbon.
3. Click the Clear Formatting icon. (The Clear Formatting button shows a white eraser, along with some letters.)

Microsoft Excel 2007---Shadows on Text Boxes

The only problem with using Microsoft Excel is that it can appear boring.  Did you know that you can add shadows to text boxes?

Once you've drawn your text box, click on the "drawing tool" located on the drawing toolbar. Select your text box then click on the "shadow tool" located on the toolbar. A list of shadows will pop up allowing you to place a shadow and to customize a shadow.

Try it and add some "pop" to your spreadsheet.

Word 2010 - Enable Editing

Microsoft is "helping" us by protecting us from viruses with the new Protected View of documents. But it gets irritating! Really! The doc is from my sister who has keys to my house and car, PIN numbers for my bank accounts and responsibility for my cats should that MAC truck get me. But I have to click on the ugly yellow bar to "Enable Editing" every time I open her family letter.  NOT!!

This first article tells you how to turn off the protection for a single document.
How to Turn Off "Enable Editing" from ThriveNetworks

Or you can change the protection settings for all documents in your Word Options.
Enable Editing for All Office 2010 Documents from How-To Geek

I would NOT recommend doing the last step in the instructions - "Disable Protected View from Registry."  First, you and I don't have any business messing around in Registry. Too many potential disasters there. Secondly, there is a reason Micosoft is offering us protection. You don't want to ignore the potential for viruses coming through a Word document.

Just edit the settings for a document or in general to make your computing a bit less irritating.

Protect and Purge your Personal Files

Eliminate private documents permanently from your hard drive.

When you stop and think about it, your home computer holds a lot of information about you— credit card numbers, bank account details, passwords, medical information, websites you've visited, and those deep, dark secrets you share with your best friend via email.

Click here to go finish reading this great article on Microsoft at Home. 

Speed up your PC: Automate your Computer Maintenance Schedule

Most people do one of the following when their computer begins to slow down (besides get angry):

1. Speed up their computer by buying more memory.
2. Try to tweak their computer's settings.
3. Give up. They figure that their computer is old, there's nothing else they can do, and it's probably time to buy a new computer.

Click here to continue reading this article at Microsoft at Home.

How to Clean your Computer

This is a great article I found at Microsoft at Home.

I have a dirty secret. I've never cleaned my computer. Sure, I've dusted my monitor, but I haven't taken off the cover or tried to reach the crumbs lurking inside my keyboard. And I honestly don't know the difference between pressurized air dusters and compressed air cleaners.
clean your computer

"Your computer could fry if you don't keep it clean," says Jonathon Millman, chief technology officer for Hooplah Interactive.

Click here to continue reading this article.  

Microsoft Excel 2007 - Excel Merge and Center Cells

The merge and center formatting feature in Excel is a handy option to quickly format titles and headings in Excel spreadsheets.  It allows you to center titles evenly above your data by merging a number of cells into one and then centering the title in this one cell.

This option is located under the home tab under the alignment box.

Microsoft Word 2007 - Showing or Hiding Formatting Marks in Word 2007

One great feature that WordPerfect had was "reveal codes"   Reveal Codes enabled you to see your formatting marks in your document and make any necessary corrections.   This feature is available in Word 2007.  The formatting marks will show you spaces, returns, tab characters, and more.

You can enable formatting marks in Word 2007 from the Home ribbon. In the Paragraph section, simply click the paragraph symbol. Clicking it again will disable the formatting marks.

You can also have greater control over the formatting marks you see. For example, you can display just the spaces or tab characters, if you’d like.

1.  Simply follow these steps:

2.  Click the Office button

3.  Click Display

4.  Select the formatting marks you’d like to display

5.  Click OK

To disable the formatting marks, open the options again and deselect the formatting marks you want hidden.

Forwarding is the New Networking

OK. The title is a teaser and a mis-statement. Forwarding has been going since the first printing press. But social media is changing the way we forward information and the types of information we share. Read this article for some clarification about networking by sharing info and some tips.

Full article from Harvard Business Review by Tom Davenport

Forwarding (sharing) pamphlets is credited with being a strong influence in the American Revolution. Printing presses were more common and therefore the cost to print was lower. Benjamin Franklin and many others published pamphlets explaining why the 13 colonies needed to be independent. The pamphets were passed hand to hand to reach more people. Their writing educated and motivated people to take a stand.

How A Typo Can Hurt Your Business

OK, I'm on my soapbox!  I think proper spelling, punctuation and grammar count. In your web site. In your emails. In your marketing literature. Yes, even text messages.  I did find an Urban Dictionary that explains all of the acronyms and shortcuts used today but you won't see me using them. Words matter!

And Marketing Profs agree with me! Read their article about typos and their effect on your business.

Marketing Profs has a great email service giving you good market research and information. Sign up if you haven't already.

Harvard Researcher Links Happiness to Success

Ha! I knew it. Being happy is better than being blue, cranky, negative or cyncial. Those of you who know me well know I'm a big proponent of "tending your joy."  Here is an article validating not only that happiness is a better choice than the alternatives but it also makes you more successful and better able to handle stress. Who doesn't have plenty of that on their plates today?!

Read the article!  And just do it!

Microsoft PowerPoint - 10 Font Tips for Presenters

Presenters use PowerPoint or other software for the thousands of presentations that are given daily around the globe. Text is an important part of a digital presentation. Why not make the best use of the fonts to get the job done right? These ten font tips for presenters will help you make a successful presentation.

To continue reading this great article from About.com, click here.  

New Web Site for Treese Counseling Service

Dr. Treese has been a client of Your Computer Lady for a long time: web site, forms, web hosting, personal training.

We were very pleased when he came to us and asked for assistance expanding his one page web site into a full site with a blog!  Dr. Treese had two goals for the new site. 1) Serve as a gathering spot for his articles and exercises that he uses with patients on a regular basis.  2) Blog to add fresh information to the site that would be of value to his clients.

Check out the results!

• Clinical Model page - Describes briefly Dr. Treese's counseling philosophy
• Articles - There are only three articles today but Dr. Treese will be adding new articles on a regular basis. Since this site was built in WordPress, Dr. T can add articles at his convenience.
• Blog - Again, Dr. T can make blog posts on his own schedule when he has writing time. Keep your eyes on this page for very interesting information.

Visit the site and see what is available in a WordPress site!

Microsoft Excel 2007 - Quick Tricks

Here are two quick ways to insert the current date and time into your Excel spreadsheet.

• To insert current date, press CTRL+;
• To insert current time, press CTRL+SHIFT+;

Have you ever wanted to repeat the last action you just performed in Excel:

• To repeat last action, press F4

Try it!

Microsoft Word 2007 - Automatically Update Text in Many Documents

If you frequently insert the same block of text in many documents, and this text is sometimes updated, you might want to consider inserting the text as a link. By inserting the text as a link, any edits you make to the text will automatically appear in every document that contains the link. This will save you from having to search for the text when it comes time to print your documents, and you can rest assured that the documents will contain the latest, most accurate information. To insert text as a link, follow these steps:

1. Create a document containing the text you want to link to

2. Copy the text you would like to insert in your other documents

3. Open the document where you would like to insert the text

4. Place the cursor where you would like the text to appear

5. From the Edit menu, select Paste Special

6. From the Paste Special dialog box, select Paste Link

Changes you make to the text will appear in all documents where the text is linked. However, if you move the file containing the text, you will have to re-insert an updated link to the text in all your documents, so it is best to consider this before you begin.

Traveling? 10 Tips to Protect your Laptop from Theft

These days, it seems that just about everybody uses a laptop or notebook computer to get work done away from the office or on the road. Unfortunately, the pervasiveness of laptop computing has made portable systems an easy target for theft. If your laptop computer is stolen, or if someone gains access to your files while your back is turned, your company information—not to mention your personal and financial data—can be exposed.

Continue reading this article from Microsoft at Work. 

Save Time with Computer Shortcuts in Microsoft Office Programs

Below is a great article I found on Microsoft at Home website. 

If you’re like most people, you’re always looking for ways to save time, even when using Microsoft Office software. Keyboard shortcuts could be your new best friend when it comes to time management.
Fingers on keyboard near clock

Not everyone uses shortcut keys to save time, but some people find them easier to use than a mouse, especially when spending long stretches of time at the computer.

Click here to see all the shortcuts.

Microsoft Excel 2007 - Applying Formatting to Cells Containing Only Text

When working in Excel you sometimes may want to only apply formatting to text only cells. To apply formatting to cells containing text only, use Conditional Formatting:

1.  Select a range of cells containing text.

2.  Select Home,  Conditional Formatting (in Styles Group).

3.  Select New Rule, “Use a formula to determine which cells
     to format.”

4.  In Format values where this Formula is True enter the formula:
    =ISTEXT(A1)

5.  Click Format, select the desired format from the Format Cells
     dialog Box, and then click OK.

6.  Click OK to close the New Formatting Rule dialog box.

Microsoft Word 2007 - Short Cut to Selecting Text

Here are some short cuts to select text for formatting and other changes.

• If you want to select all of the text in a document, hold down the "Ctrl" key and then press the "A" key. 
• If want to select all the text in a certain sentence, hold down the "Ctrl" key and then click on any part of the sentence. 
• Double click a word to select the whole word.
• Take your cursor to the far left edge of the line of text until it turns into a right pointing white arrow. Left click to select the entire line of text.

Try it!

Microsoft Power 2007 - Quick Slide Show Option

Did you know that you can create a slide show within your edit mode on your presentation?

Hold down the Control Key and Click on the Show Slide (Screen) button and PowerPoint will open a small window that will display the slide as it will look in presentation mode.

You close the preview window by clicking the Esc key. You will see the editing window; by clicking in the editing window, you can make changes. This is much easier than running the show and going back to edit mode.

Microsoft Excel 2007 - Moving to the Last (or First) Cell in a Range

Did you know that you can move around your worksheet quickly.  To move to the last (or first) cell in a range:

•  Vertically from top to bottom, press Ctrl+Down Arrow.
•  Vertically from bottom to top, press Ctrl+Up Arrow.
•  Horizontally from left to right, press Ctrl+Right Arrow.
•  Horizontally from right to left, press Ctrl+Left Arrow.

Microsoft Word 2007 - How to Add Line Numbers

When you need to format a long document of text in Microsoft Word, you may find the need to add line numbers. Word has an option where you can make them show up and set selections on the style and format of the line numbers.

1. Open your document or you can start a new file and type a few lines of text so you can see how the line number function works.
2. Click on Page Layout on the Ribbon
3. Click Line Numbers.
4. To turn off the line numbers, click none.

Microsoft Office - Turn on the Clipboard Pane

Did you know that you can turn on the clipboard pane in Microsoft 2007 Word, Excel and PowerPoint?  

We all know about the CTRL+C, CTRL+V trick, but did you know that you can turn on the clipboard feature in a full panel view and use it to speed up the copy, paste activity?  It is a great time saving tool to use when you are copying and pasting between programs.

To turn on the clipboard pane, click on the arrow on the Paste, Copy box on the Home Ribbon. 

HubSpot's Introduction to Search Engine Optimization

PLEASE read this booklet! It truly breaks my heart to see companies building web sites that do them absolutely no good. Sure that FLASH is cool. The programmer had a great time creating it. Yes, that design is hip, modern, ...  free.  But what is the web site doing for you?  The attached booklet is from one of the leading online firms who specialize in SEO. (YCL does the basics but SEO is an art form so we refer clients to specialists when needed.) Their simple, clear explanation of SEO and how it works is well worth your time. You will look at your web site with new eyes!

HubSpot's Introduction to Search Engine Optimization

How to Customize Views In Outlook

( versions 2003 & 2007)

One of the advantages of using Outlook is that you can customize any View of the various modules to fit the way you work.  In Mail, Contacts and Tasks, most of your Views are in columns. Remember that each View can be customized. For example, in Mail, I can customize the View for a client folder, the Inbox folder, the Sent Items folder or even the Deleted Items folder. (Though why you should need to view Deleted Items is beyond my comprehension. They’re trash! If you are using Deleted Items as a storage folder, we need to talk.) Here are the steps to customize the View. I’m going to use a Mail folder in this example but the process is the same in Contacts or Tasks.

In the Mail module,

1. Select the folder you want to customize. I’m going to customize Sent Items.
2. Go to View on the menubar > Arrange By > Custom
3. Click on the Fields button in the Customize View window. 
4. Select available fields from: Use the drop-down menu to choose the type of fields you want to choose from. The default is “Frequently used fields” which may be just what you need. 
5. Available fields:  This is a list of all of the fields available to use. So if I chose “All Mail fields” in the step above, I would see all of the mail fields in Outlook.
6. Click the field you want to include in your view. I’m going to select the “To” field since I want to see who I sent the email to.
7. Click the Add button in the center of the window to add the field to the Show these fields in this order: list on the right side of the window.  This adds the “To” field to the bottom of the list.
8. Select the new field (the “To” field) then use the Move Up or Move Down buttons to place the field in the order you want. I would like to see the “Sent date” then the “To” field then the “Subject” field in my custom view.
9. Select and use the Up and Down buttons to arrange all of the fields as you want them.
10. Click the OK button in the bottom right corner of the window.
11. Click the OK button in the bottom right corner of the Customize View window.

Now when I look at my Sent Items folder, I see the fields I need in the order that I want them.

Note that you can click on any field heading to sort the data by that field. In other words, I can click on the “Sent” heading to sort all of the emails by the sent date. Or I could click on the To heading to sort all of the emails by the email address I sent the message to.

Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 - Adding Hyperlinks

Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 allows you to add hyperlinks to your slides. All you need to do is to click on the "Insert Tab" and add the hyperlink.

When you are in Slide Show mode, you can now click on the link to test it.

6 Useful Windows tricks

What a great article I found on Microsoft Office at Home website.  It is definitely worth reading. 

You know that feeling you get when your friends or family see you do something on your computer that they've never seen before? If you’ve had this experience, you know that “world's coolest power-user” feeling. But if you haven’t, start here. Knowledge is power! 

Read these six tips for Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP that will keep you schoolin' your friends and family.

Click here to read the article. 

Increase Text Size on Web Pages Quickly

Have you ever had trouble reading text on web pages?  Did you know you can increase or decrease the size of text?   Well you can. 

To increase and/or decrease the text size on a web page, hold down your control button on your keyboard and use your mouse scroller at the same time.  What watch happens to the size.

Amazing!

Should You Let Your Employees Work from Home?

Humorous but profound schematic to determine if you should let employees work from home.

Mindflash infographic

Your Computer Lady is a big proponent of working from home. I've done it (most days successfully) for 15+ years. Many of our clients work from their home. With today's technology and a little bit of training, many employees can work from home and be more productive. It does take some adjustment on the part of the employer and the employee.

The employer has to be flexible and cooperative with the employee. There's no need to get upset when the phone isn't answered at 2:30 pm if you know the employee has car pool duty at 2:30 each afternoon. Plan around that.

The employee has to be self-disciplined to stay on target and focused on the details to maintain quality and the appropriate quantity of work.

One key for success is computer skills training. When you are on your own, you need to know how to do your tasks efficiently and effectively. You don't have a co-worker to call over to your desk for tech support. There isn't an IT person to call. So the work-from-home employee has to take charge of their own training and be sure they stay up to date.

There are plenty of tools:

• Online classes like our Wednesday Call Solutions.
• Reference books like the Dummies series.
• Library or community college classes.
• In house training. It's an opportunity to gather everyone in one spot for some office bonding as well as updating skills.

But overall, it's a great way to work where the advantages outweigh the disadvantages.

Microsoft Word 2007 - Inserting a Screenshot in Your Document

In Microsoft you have the ability to capture screenshots. That means you can capture images from you screen and insert them directly into your Word document. This is particularly useful if you're creating technical documentation.

To capture and insert a screenshot in your document, follow these easy steps:

1. Click Shift+Print Screen.
2. Position your cursor where you would like to insert the screenshot
3. Click Control+V to paste the image

Microsoft Office- Pin Recent Presentations, Spreadsheets and Word Documents

Have you noticed that the most recent files are always listed in the Microsoft Office button?  However, they get over written every time you open another one. So if you want to make a file show up permanently in the recent menu, click on the pin button next to file name when you click the Microsoft Office Button.

I use this and it really saves me a lot of time.  Try it!