Word Templates

TIP OF THE DAY

Word Templates

From the Chicago Tribune:

Q: I self-publish small books of poetry of 25 to 50 pages, but I must go through five different procedures to do a page setup to print each page. I must set the margin, size and orientation of printed page, font type, size of font and set the page for two columns.

For each page consisting of two poems each, I have to go through the same procedures, setting up every time I do a book.

Is there some way to save the settings to use for each new page where I won't have to go through this procedure each time?

--Henry Gildman, Augusta, Ga.

A: I can assure you that Bill Gates and his software engineers didn't fret all that much about the needs of poets as they cobbled together the enormous collection of software code known as Microsoft Office.

But they did incorporate a feature known as templates that will save you from a great deal of future frustration as you create those elegant books of verse, Mr. G.

Microsoft Word uses a special file called normal.dot to hold all of the core settings that are ready each time the program is opened. These normal.dot files include the settings you mentioned and many more, and every time Word is run it consults this file to configure itself.

If you wish, you can simply set up a page with those two columns, special font and landscape printer settings, etc., and save it as normal.dot. From then on your version of Word would always come up, waiting for poetry rather than workaday prose.

Another approach is to create a template with the desired settings in place and save it in the same folder as the other templates that come with Word, stuff like memo forms, letterheads and calendars.

Then when you run Word, you can order it to start a new document under the File command and select the poetry template. This will leave Word's normal settings intact for other work, but does require one to take the extra step of opening a template each time.

Don't fret messing up the machine either way because it is always possible to simply delete or rename the current normal.dot file, which forces Word to restore one with the settings exactly as they were created at the factory.

There is one point to make about setting the font and font size.

In order to create a poetry template that opens with a desired font, you need to add an opening word with that font in the template in order to automate this aspect of the project.

Also, different versions of Word use various ways to find templates, but all of them start when one clicks on File and then New. This takes you to the template display, where you can either open and alter normal.dot or create a special file called poetry.dot to handle the job.

Have a question for Jim Coates on small-business technology? Send an e-mail to askjimbiz@tribune.com or via snail mail at the Chicago Tribune, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611. Questions can be answered only through this column.

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To see more of the Chicago Tribune, or to subscribe to the newspaper, go to http://www.chicago.tribune.com

? 2004, Chicago Tribune. Distributed by Knight Ridder/Tribune Business News. MSFT, 6724,

naughtycodes.com

TIP OF THE DAY

 www.naughtycodes.com

No, this is not a tip about porn on the Web (I just lost 20% of my readers).
Naughtycodes.com posts the codes you can enter when buying something on the Web to get a discount.  From the Naughtycodes.com website:

Online stores send out discount codes to SELECT groups of customers, leaving the rest of us to pay full price! To that we say, NO! We find and list ALL of the coupon codes and promotional codes that can be found. If it's out there, we have it! Be naughty with us by using these codes for added discounts when shopping online.

True story: Yesterday I was buying a pair of basketball shoes at shoebuy.com.  After I selected the pair I wanted, I went to the checkout page.  I saw the box that said "Promotional Code."  I went to Naughtycodes.com, and they had 6 different codes I could enter.  One code gave me a 20% discount with no strings attached.  Typed it in and saved over $15.

There are several sites that provide this service.
http://www.shopping-bargains.com/
http://www.techbargains.com/

Loading Your Favorite Programs Automatically

TIP OF THE DAY

Loading Your Favorite Programs Automatically

People often work on only a few programs; every day, it's the same ones. Wouldn't it be convenient if Windows opened that program for you whenever it started up in the morning? Here's how to do it:

1. Click on the Start button, choose Programs, and right-click on the StartUp folder. Right-click on the StartUp folder itself, not any of the items listed under StartUp.
2. Choose Open from the pop-up menu. My Computer arrives, showing you the StartUp folder. (It may be empty.)
3. Open My Computer. This brings a second version of My Computer to the screen.
4. Drag and drop your favorite program's icon into the StartUp folder. Find your favorite program's icon within the My Computer window you just opened, or on your Desktop. When you find the program you want, click on it and then press Control-C to copy the icon.  Switch to the other My Computer window ? the one that you opened in Step 2.  Press Control-V to paste a copy of the icon in your StartUp folder.  A shortcut for your favorite program appears in the StartUp window.
5. Close both My Computer windows. Now, click on the Start button and check the StartUp entry. Your favorite program is listed inside it. And when you restart Windows, your favorite program automatically starts, too.

If things don't work out ? you don't like that program starting up all the time ? click on the Start button and head to the program's entry in the StartUp Folder. Right-click the program's name and choose Delete from the pop-up menu.
Source: dummies.com

Beware of obvious passwords

TIP OF THE DAY

Beware of obvious passwords

BY MARSHALL LOEB AND BRENDAN JANUARY
CBS MarketWatch

NEW YORK - One of the most annoying aspects of modern life's ''conveniences'' may well be the ever-growing list of codes and passwords we must memorize for electronic access to everything from bank accounts to our favorite Web pages.

These passwords, however, are often the only thing standing between you and an identity thief, who would use your financial information to commit fraud.

For this reason, consumers should take passwords seriously and not rely on common memory strategies used by both individuals and companies.

When choosing a password, avoid using typical personal, numerical information like birth dates, phone numbers or a part of a Social Security number.

Also avoid the use of pets' or relatives' names, such as your mother's maiden name. These are relatively easy for identity thieves to find.

When banks request this information to open your account, give them a password of mixed letters and numbers instead.

Although not the best practice, I use one password for all my needs.  If you do this also, make sure it is a secure password.  A perfect multi-use password is 8 characters long, and it has extended characters (e.g. $#%),a mix of upper and lowercase letters, and a number.  For example:

L#h%5wBq

This password should be accepted by most any web site and is very hard to crack.  Certainly, no one will guess it.
Here's an article on how to remember these complicated secure passwords

http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,114143,00.asp
E@4#N or E@4#W? How to Remember Strong Passwords

With so much of your personal data stored on a hard drive or on the Internet, the only way to maintain your privacy securely is by creating tough passwords and changing them regularly. But how do you dredge up e*TY#$98@ from your already overtaxed brain?

You don't need to have a perfect memory. Here are a few ways to come up with passwords no one else will guess, but that you'll be able to recall:

Make the password out of the first letter of a list of several words. The list you use can consist of a sentence or perhaps the names of your children, brothers, or favorite football teams, but you can turn any memorable string of words into a memorable password. Robert A. Heinlein did just that in his 1966 novel The Moon Is a Harsh Mistress, when he made up the acronym tanstaafl from the first letter of each word in the sentence, "There ain't no such thing as a free lunch."

Turn words into numbers and special characters. Adding anything from the number row of your keyboard (either the numbers or the shifted special characters) to a password makes it much stronger. For instance, you could turn a memorable pet emergency into the password m3dcac^at ("My three dogs chased a cat up a tree").

Blend the letters of two or more words into one password. Rather than using your mother's name as a password, you could combine the words mom and Ella into the password Emlolma by alternating letters from the two words. Need a new password? Just reverse the letters to make amlolmE.

Use password manager software to keep track of your passwords. The tricks identified above will help people with average memories keep a reasonable number of passwords in their heads. But what if you frequently need to buy a vowel just to remember a coworker's name, or if you have dozens of password-protected accounts?

In such situations, the best option is to use software specifically designed to manage, securely store, and help you use your passwords. Two examples are Password Safe and Password Corral.

Even if you have a good memory, it's wise to store your passwords in a password manager, just in case. Because it's scary how many people can foil the other popular password storage technique--Post-it notes stuck on the underside of your desk.

Andrew Brandt is senior associate editor for PC World. You can e-mail him at privacywatch@pcworld.com.

Battery Life Boosters

TIP OF THE DAY

Battery Life Boosters

Predicting battery life is a bigger challenge than taking good pictures, simply because the figure varies depending up on your particular camera, how much you review your shots on the LCD finder, how many pictures you take, what kind of media you're using, how much you use your internal flash, what type of batteries you're using, and what the temperature is (batteries drain faster in the cold).

Here's how to maximize your battery life:

• Short reviews: Most digital cameras let you set how long the LCD stays on for review after a shot is taken. Choose the briefest setting. You can always review an individual show for a longer period if need be.
• Flash with care: Built-in flash units reduce battery life by half. Use an accessory flash if possible.
• Battery choices:   AA Rechargeable Nickel Metal Hydride batteries are cheaper in the long run, but be sure to keep them charged.  They lose power constantly and quickly when out of the recharger.  Lithium Ion proprietary batteries from the manufacturer generally have most power and hold their charge out of the charger much better, but are very expensive to replace.  If you are using disposables, AA lithium batteries tend to last longer than other battery types, so if you use these, you can extend the active life of your shooting session before replacements are necessary. They also handle cold weather better. You should always carry at least one set of extra AA batteries (more if you shoot a lot).

Source: Dummies.com