Ending Copy/Paste Headaches

Ending Copy / Paste Headaches

By Brian Croxall

It can be hard on occasion to remember that we live in a time when everything is amazing. Computers are, of course, one of the most amazing inventions of the last one hundred years, but that doesn’t mean that they can’t drive you crazy as well.

Perhaps one of the most amazing / crazy-inducing parts of using a computer is copy / paste: ”Wait, you mean I don’t have to retype this entire paragraph that I would like to cite in my article? I can just select some of the text and drop it in? OMG!!!” Copy and paste really does feel magical…until you see how that new piece of text will so often screw up the formatting of the document, email, or blog post you’ve been writing: “WAIT. No, why is the text formatted like that? Why is it in a different font and in bullets that don’t line up with mine! GAH!!! I’ll just retype the whole thing!”

Fortunately, there’s a simple and quick cure for this copy/paste headache. If you’re using Word 2010 on Windows, you can change the default paste options with a quick trip to File –> Options –> Advanced –> Cut, Copy, and Paste. Simply change the “Pasting between documents” setting from “Keep Source Formatting” to “Merge Formatting.”

This setting will largely match your formatting of what you’ve been typing, but preserve the bold, italics, and hyperlinks from your original selection.

But life is even easier if you’re a Mac user. Rather than being limited to ending copy/paste nightmares in Word, there is a global keyboard shortcut. “Paste and Match Style” works across almost all OS X applications that I’ve tried it in. Simply hit Command-Option-Shift-V and your text will now match what you’d previously been typing. If you find that an awkward keyboard shortcut (and it kind of is, four keys and all), remember that you can create or change any keyboard shortcut. So say goodbye to that Courier New getting jumbled up with your bulleted Helvetica!

Ending Copy / Paste Headaches - ProfHacker - The Chronicle of Higher Education

Stick It! STAND

Stick It!

by Alison

Name the variety of things you have used as a typing stand. The wall, with paper taped to it, is probably on your list – at least until the corners curl and you have to use more tape…and pull paint off the wall. My office phone used to sort of work. It would prop things up at least. Maybe you got one of those fancy ones that hangs off the monitor. Sure stinks if you need to type off of something that isn’t paper though. And of course there are the traditional typing stands that have a secure way to hold things down…which is inevitably in your way as you type.

What if you had a stand that sat upright next to you but didn’t require a holder on it? Try out Justick, $29.98 on Solutions.com,  and you will get exactly that. Things just stick…hence the name. The surface of the stand is electro-adhesion, meaning anything flat that you put on it sticks to it. The patented surface literally grabs the object. And no, it is not static electricity. Using 4 AA batteries, energy literally flows through the Justick. And batteries should last you about 18 months. So no worries. Keep those documents, pictures or articles upright as you need them and don’t hassle with makeshift stands anymore.

Stick It! » Coolest Gadgets

Stubborn Highlighting IN Microsoft Word

WordTips: Stubborn Highlighting

by Allen Wyatt

Jim wrote about a problem he was having with some highlighted text he couldn't get rid of. He typed a list of items intending later to format them with numbering. Before formatting the numbering, he highlighted the first word of one item of the list and chose Insert | Comment to type a comment in the document.

After submitting the document for review, Jim removed the comment associated with the list item. The number to the left of the text remained highlighted, as did the period following the number. He backspaced over the number and re-did it. It still returned, highlighted, as did all the numbers for the items above it.

Jim is suffering from a common ailment, believe it or not. The formatting for numbered items in a list is contained within the paragraph marks for the list item in question. Thus, if you have a numbered list and the 2 in the list (with its period) is formatted funny, then formatting for that number and period is contained within the paragraph mark that is at the end of that particular paragraph. You get rid of the formatting by selecting the paragraph mark and then making your highlighting changes.

In Jim's case, the entire paragraph could be selected (including the paragraph mark) and then you could press Ctrl+Q (to reset the paragraph formatting) and Ctrl+Space Bar (to reset the character formatting). That should take care of any stubborn residual formatting. If the stubborn formatting happens to be highlighting, however, it is not removed by either of these shortcuts. In the case of stubborn highlighting, you must make sure the paragraph mark is included in your selection and then choose None from the Highlight drop-down list on the Formatting toolbar.

It is interesting to note that the effect that Jim describes of all the numbers above the current one becoming affected (after he backspaced, pressed Enter, and redid the item) is consistent with the solution just described. When you position the insertion point at the beginning of a numbered list item, and then backspace, you eventually erase the paragraph mark at the end of the foregoing list item. When you press Enter, Word places a new paragraph mark at the end of the item. On what does it base the new paragraph mark? On the one with the errant formatting at the end of the current list item. Thus, the foregoing list item would then exhibit the faulty number formatting, as well as the current one.

Stubborn Highlighting (Microsoft Word)

Print to PDF in Windows

How to Print to PDF in Windows: 4 Tips and Tricks

Unlike most other operating systems, Windows still doesn’t include first-class support for printing to PDFs. However, PDF printing is still fairly simple — you can quickly install a free PDF printer or use the support included in various programs.

We’ll cover ways you can easily print to PDF, whether you’re on a home computer where you can install a PDF printer or you’re using a locked-down computer you can’t install any software on.

Install a PDF Printer

Windows doesn’t include a built-in PDF printer, but it does include one that prints to Microsoft’s XPS file format.  You can install a PDF printer to print to PDF from any application in Windows with a print dialog. The PDF printer will add a new virtual printer to your list of installed printers. When you print any document to the PDF printer, it will create a new PDF file on your computer instead of printing it to a physical document.

You can choose from a variety of free PDF printers available online, but we’ve had good luck with the free CutePDF Writer. Just download it, run the installer, and you’re done. Just be sure to uncheck the terrible Ask Toolbar and other bloatware during installation.

On Windows 8, PDF printers you install will appear both in the classic desktop Print dialog and the Modern printer list.

Use a Program’s Built-in PDF Export

Some applications have added their own PDF-export support because Windows doesn’t have it natively. In many programs, you can print to PDF without installing a PDF printer at all.

• Google Chrome: Click the menu and and click Print. Click the Change button under Destination and select Save as PDF.
• Microsoft Office: Open the menu, select Export, and select Create PDF/XPS Document.
• LibreOffice: Open the File menu and select Export as PDF.

You can generally create a PDF file from the print dialog or with an “Export to PDF” or “Save to PDF” option if the program supports it. To print to PDF from anywhere, install a PDF printer.

Print to XPS and Convert to PDF

Perhaps you’re using a computer that you can’t install any software on, but you want to print to PDF from Internet Explorer or another program without integrated PDF support. If you’re using Windows Vista, 7, or 8, you can print to the Microsoft XPS Document Writer printer to create an XPS file from the document.

You’ll have the document in the form of an XPS file you can take with you. You can convert it to a PDF file later with one of the following methods:

• Use an Online Converter: If the document isn’t particularly important or sensitive, you can use a free web-based converter like XPS2PDF to create a PDF document from your XPS file.
• Print the XPS File to PDF: Bring the XPS file to a computer with a PDF printer installed. Open the XPS file in Microsoft’s XPS Viewer, click File -> Print, and print the XPS file to your virtual PDF printer. This will create a PDF file with the same contents as your XPS file.

Quickly Create PDFs from Websites

If you’re using a computer without a PDF printer and you just want to print a web page to a PDF file you can take with you, you don’t need to mess around with any conversion process. Just use a web-based tool like Web2PDF, plug the web page’s address in, and it will create a PDF file for you. Tools like this one are intended for public web pages, not private ones like online-shopping receipts.

---

This would all be easier if Windows included a PDF printer, but Microsoft still wants to push their own XPS format for now.

How to Print to PDF in Windows: 4 Tips and Tricks

Dropbox: Shared Folders vs. Links

Collaborating with Dropbox: Shared Folders vs. Links

Posted by Sheila Vashee

We love hearing from people about how sharing folders and links helps them collaborate more effectively with their team members. Since there are different advantages to sharing a folder versus sending a link, below are a few tips that will help you choose the best way to share.

When to share a folder:

Let’s say your group has a big client meeting next week and everyone is working together to prepare. Several team members are making edits to the presentation, working on different spreadsheets, and saving large video files. Rather than managing multiple versions of your files and emailing attachments back and forth—share a folder!

When you share a folder with your colleagues, it feels like you’re sharing a computer. All of your project files will be in one central place and any member of the folder can save changes directly to the shared copy in an instant.

When to send a link:

It’s the night before the big meeting and you’re ready to send the client a preview of the work you’ve done. The files are very large, so rather than try to zip and send as an email attachment—send a read-only link!

With a Dropbox link, your clients can view or download the latest version in seconds, even if they don’t have a Dropbox account. And you don’t need to worry about re-sending the file if you notice a typo. Just update your file and the latest version is available at the original link, automatically.

Whether you want to share folders to collaborate or send links to show your stuff to others, Dropbox has you covered at work, from start to finish!

Dropbox for Teams Blog » Blog Archive » Collaborating with Dropbox: Shared Folders vs. Links