How to Create Contact Lists in Gmail

Following are the steps involved to create contacts lists in Gmail for sending bulk email messages:

1. Login to your Gmail account and click Contacts at the left top of the browser window.



2. This will open the Gmail contact manager which is comprised of names and email addresses of the people with whom you have interacted at least once (in the past).

3. You will notice that next to each row in the contact manager, there is a small selection checkbox. Using this checkbox, you can select a contact and then add him/her to a contact group.

Select the desired contacts and then hit the Groups drop down menu.

4. When you hit the Groups button, you will notice a Create link at the bottom of the menu. Click the Create new group link.



5. On clicking the Create New group link, an overlay browser window will appear where you can enter a name for the contact group. Enter any relevant name of your choice and then hit the OK button.

That's it, you have just created a fresh new Gmail group and can use this group to send a common message to all the members of the group.

You can create as many groups as you want. Gmail imposes no restriction on the number of groups you may want to create.

How to Work With Gmail Contact Groups

When you are done creating contact groups, you will find them listed in the left sidebar as shown below:

When you want to send the same email message to all the members of a Gmail contact group, hit the Compose mail button and type the first few characters of the group's name. Gmail will automatically highlight the group name, as shown below:



Hit the return key and the email addresses of all the group members are added to the To: text box automatically. Write your message and then hit Send.

Overall, Gmail contact groups can be so useful when you have to deal with the same set of contacts repeatedly. No need to remember email addresses, first names or last names – simply dump everyone in a contact group and send bulk emails in no time.

Want to change the size of that 'blinking cursor' ?

Is your cursor a little too slender to see?

Here is how you can make it larger and more visable.

Windows Vista:
Start>Control Panel>Ease of Access Center>Make the Computer Easier to See
Towards the bottom you'll see an option to set the thickness of the blinking cursor.
Just set it to the desired width and see if like the changes.

Windows 7:
Start>Control Panel>Ease of Access>Ease of Access Center>Make the Computer Easier to See

Windows XP:
Start>Control Panel>Accessibility Options. Choose the Display Tab and then under Cursor Options you can set your width.

Voila! Instant cursor weight gain!

Gmail - Reply by Chat

Before you respond to an email, check the footer of the message to see if the other person is online. If they're available, you can save time by clicking "Reply by chat" and get them in real-time rather than over email.

The Reply by Chat feature allows you (and your contacts) to converse about an email message that you have sent or received, in real time.
1. Go to Gmail and log into your account.
2. Open the desired message.
3. Check to see if the contact is online and available.
4. Click the Reply by chat link at the bottom of the message (next to the Reply and Forward links).

Gmail Stars

Do you have a special conversations or message you want to readily access?

Click on the star to the right of the message as a visual reminder to indicate a note is special. Stars easily mark certain messages as important or indicate that you need to reply to them later.

Alt Key Menu Letters- Apple Commands

In just about every program you use, you may have noticed that the toolbar at the top (the one with File, Edit, View, etc.) has underlined letters. The “F” in File has a little underline the “V” in View and so on...

Like this:





If you press your Alt key and a corresponding letter...
For example: Alt+T

The Tools menu opens. So press Alt+F for file, Alt+E for Edit, Alt+V for view - anything with an underlined letter should work.
I like this method, because after the menu opens I can use the arrow keys to move and select what I want.

APPLE USERS

To use a keyboard shortcut, or key combination, you press a modifier key with a character key. For example, pressing the Command key (the key with a Apple symbol) and the "c" key at the same time copies whatever is currently selected. This is also known as the Command-C key combination, Command(or the Apple key)- V will paste.

Here are the modifier key symbols you can see in Mac menus:





So, pressing the Shift, Apple and letter D will get you directly to the desktop.

Hibernate or Shut Down?

Here is question I often get.....'If I'm going to be off my computer only for a couple of hours, is it better to put in in sleep mode, hibernate or just shut it down?'


This has actually been an issue of hot debate among computer geeks since probably the invention of the screensaver. These days, with screensavers being standard and computers sucking far less power than they have in the past, the debate has cooled somewhat.

First, let's pin down these terms a little.

When a computer goes into sleep or standby mode, it shuts off its display screen, video card, CPU and hard drive, so processes like anti-virus scans won't run.

It stores the computer's last state to the RAM, and so requires a small amount of electricity (called a “trickle charge”) to maintain that. A laptop left on sleep mode for long enough WILL shut itself down eventually. The advantage to sleep mode is that, when you “wake” your computer, it comes back to its current state very quickly -almost instantly, so if you're only going to be away from it a couple hours, this might be your best bet.

In hibernation mode, the computer writes everything from the computer's RAM, including its current state, to the hard drive and then shuts down, so it functionally uses no power while in hibernation.
Once the computer is brought out of hibernation, it goes straight to the computer's current state, including all open programs. Although this takes less time than a full shut-down and start-up, it does take longer than simply waking it up from sleep, although it uses no power when hibernating, as opposed to little when asleep. Again, no programs or scans will run while a computer is hibernating.

Power off is self-explanatory. The main reason for shutting your PC down is power savings. The amount of money that it takes to run a PC depends on how many watts you're actually using to run your PC. Most estimates that I'm finding put it between ten and twenty dollars per month, running 24 hours per day.

There's also the question of stress on your computer components. Whereas having it on is harder on your components than having it off, the process of shutting down and starting up your PC puts more stress on these components than simply leaving them on.

So what it comes down to is personal preference.

It is a good idea to restart your computer once a day. This allows your computer to clear any information in the memory cache and in your RAM and allows your computer to run more quickly.

Is There a Way to Alphabetize 'Favorites'?

Yes, of course! Here is how you do it.

I will show you how to do this in 3 different browsers

Internet Explorer, Firefox Mozilla and Google Chrome

Internet Explorer

1. Open Internet Explorer.

2. Click on Favorites.

3. Right click on any folder or link.

4. After you right click, a menu pops up with a list of tasks. Click on Sort by Name.
Your Internet Explorer Favorites should now be alphabetized.








Mozilla Firefox

1. Open Firefox.

2. Click on View, then Sidebar, then Bookmarks.

3. Now in your sidebar you see (along with other items) Bookmarks Menu. Right click on that and a menu will pop up with a list of tasks, one of them being Sort by Name. Click on it.

4. Expand the Bookmarks Menu (click on the + sign to the left of Bookmarks Menu.)

Your Firefox bookmarks should now be sorted alphabetically.




Google Chrome

It’s a little different for Chrome, but the principle is the same.

1. Open Chrome.
2. At the very right of your page at the top is a little wrench. Click on that and then click on Bookmark Manager.

3. This has opened a new tab. At the left of the tab you now have a sidebar. Right click on Bookmark Manager and then click on Reorder Items.

Your Chrome bookmarks are now alphabetized.

How to 'Zip' Files

Say you have many files that all need to be e-mailed, but A: You don't want to add them one at a time, and B: You don't think all of them will be within the recipient's e-mail size limits.

What do you do?

Why zip 'em up, of course!
Sure, we've all heard the term, but here is how to do it.

If you're running an operating system newer than Windows 98 (and you should be!), browse to the folder where the files you want to zip are at. (If the files are in different places, you should copy and paste each one into a new folder. You're going to need them all together to do this.)

Now highlight the files by either drawing a box around them or by holding the Ctrl key and selecting each of them. Once you have all of the ones you want to zip up highlighted, Right-Click one of them, go down to “Send to” and choose “Compressed (zipped) folder”.

Like magic, your highlighted files will appear in one convenient package. If you don't like the name Windows gives your zipped folder, just highlight it and press F2 to rename it!

All zipped up!

Task Bar Options

The taskbar is the menu bar at the bottom of your screen - (although you may have moved it to the side or the top) The taskbar is a bar displayed on a full edge of a desktop that is used to launch and monitor running application.

Here is a list of things you can do with your Windows taskbar.

To start, right-click a blank area of your taskbar and select Properties. Make sure the “Taskbar” tab, at the top of the window is selected.

Under Taskbar appearance you'll see:

1. Lock the taskbar – Obviously named. If this is selected, you cannot re-size or move your taskbar. This is perfect for folks who find their taskbar on top of their screen one day and can't remember why.

2. Auto-hide the taskbar – Great for the neat-preson who wants a perfectly blank desktop. Select Auto-hide and your taskbar with peek-a-boo when you mouse-over the bottom portion of the screen.

3. Use small icons – If you think the icons on your taskbar are too big, then select this option.

Depending on which version of Windows you have, there may also be an option to relocate your taskbar on the screen (you can also click, hold and drag your taskbar to a different place, too!) as well as a drop-down box to set whether or not open taskbar buttons combine when more than one instance of the program is open.

Google Chrome

Have you tried out Google Chrome? It is a web browser, and a free download, offering an alternative way to access the internet. You can still use your current browser, (i.e. Internet Explorer or Firefox), but you might want to give this browser a try.

Here are a couple of reasons why I really like Chrome.

1. It's very fast.

2. It's very simple: Like many Google apps and services, Chrome emphasizes ease of use. Compared with Internet Explorer, there are fewer menus, options, and features to configure. Usually that's a good thing, but not always.

3. Better security: Chrome is a paradise of protection compared to Internet Explorer due in part to two factors: architecture and obscurity. Chrome's use of "sandboxing," isolating Internet commands from the operating system and other apps and data, makes it harder for hackers to load malware onto PCs. It is important to note, however, that Chrome's low market share also contributes to its relative safety.

4. Runs well on older hardware: Chrome's speediness is ideal for older hardware with slower components.

If you would like to try it out google 'Google Chrome' and click this download link.

Snopes.com and the F1 Key Virus

Have you heard of www.snopes.com?

It is known as the official Urban Legends Reference Pages. This website discusses urban legends, Internet rumors, e-mail forwards, and other stories of uncertain or questionable origin. Snopes.com is the best-known resource for validating and debunking such stories in American popular culture.

For example: you might get an email asking you to send money to various causes, or someone tells you about a potential virus and you are not sure what to believe - go to www.snopes.com and check it out.

Here is an article of interest that a fellow e-connector sent to me about a questionable virus called the F1 Key Virus.

Claim: A form of malware can be activated by prompting Internet Explorer users to press the F1 key.

TRUE

Microsoft has issued a warning against a new virus that they do not yet have a patch for ... it is attached to Internet Explorer and the user will get a window prompt requesting them to press the F1 key. Doing this then causes malicious code to be run on your computer.

So ... DO NOT press F1 if you are prompted - no matter how many times. Evidently, it will pester you repeatedly. Either X out of the window or Explorer all together.

How to Record a Narration in PowerPoint 2007

Seems like many of you are doing presentations for groups from fun trips you have been on or interesting news you are sharing or might like to put together a slide show for the family. Here is a way to add narration to your presentation.

In order to record a narration in PowerPoint 2007, you need a soundcard in your computer. A microphone will also be required. Most computers have a built-in microphone. You can use that or attach one to your computer.

Follow these steps to record a narration in PowerPoint 2007 presentation:

1. Open your presentation in which you want to insert a recorded narration.

2. Select the first slide.

3. Click on the Insert tab.







4. Click on the Sound arrow in the Media Clips group.

5. Select and click on Record Sound from the submenu.



6. The Record Sound dialog box will appear. Type in a name you want to give the recording.

7. Click on the Record button.



8. Record your narration for the first slide.

9. When you are done discussing the first slide, click on the Stop button.

10. If you want to listen to your recording, click the Play button. If you are not satisfied with your narration, click on the Cancel button and start by going to Step 4 again.

11. Click on the OK button when you are satisfied.



12. Repeat Steps 2 through 9 for every slide of the presentation.

13. You can check your narration by viewing the presentation as a slide show. Your recorded narration will play with the slide show. A sound object icon appears on the slide.

14. If you want to change the recorded narration for a specific slide, you can just delete the sound object icon and record your narration once more.

Enlarge the Task Bar

1. First, you must make sure that the Taskbar is not locked. If unlocked, it should display three dotted lines on the left and right sides, as shown in the screenshot below.
If those lines are present skip to the next section and go further with the steps.

2. If you don't see the dotted lines, right click on the Taskbar and uncheck the option that says: Lock the Taskbar.

Now to Enlarge the Quick Launch Icons



Right click somewhere in the area where you find the Quick Launch icons, click View and then simply select Large Icons.

Now your Quick Launch icons will look larger, just like in the screenshot below.

Fine Tune Your Printing Choices

So, you're in need of a hard copy, but you don't need the entire file? Maybe you just need a page or maybe even just a section or two?

Here is how you can print just what you want.

Go to the Print dialog box, as usual (File menu/Office Button, Print choice or Ctrl + P).In the Page Range section, you'll find a few choices.Below that, you'll find the Pages option. This is where all the printing flexibility comes in.

To print whole pages, you can request them by page number.

Type in: 2 will print only page two of the document.

Type in: 2, 5 will print only pages two and five of the document.

Type in: 3-8 will print only pages three through eight of the document.

Okay, so you get the idea with whole pages, but here's a quick bonus.
By entering page numbers in reverse order, such as 7-2, you will them to print in reverse order.

Want to print just a part of a page?

One way to do it is to copy the text you want and paste it into Word, then print the document - but there's an easier way.

1.Highlight the specific text (or image) you want to print.

2.Press CTRL + P or click File | Print.

3.In the Print Range dialog, click the option button for "Selection" ("All" is the default).

4.Click OK.

What are .pdf files?

If you've been using the internet for any amount of time, you've probably run across pdf files before, amybe not even known they are called pdf files! They're Adobe Acrobat files.

Normally, you download them and use Adobe Acrobat Reader to read them. You can get Adobe Acrobat Reader for free at Adobe's web site:
http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html (Make sure you un-check the "McAfee Security Scan Plus" check-box if you don't want the tagalong software).

People use PDF files for everything. The most common use seems to be documents (both interactive and regular), but I've also seen PDF files used for maps, catalogs, presentations, and even e-books. Additionally, I've seen it used for non-web applications as well, including stuff like software help files.

Find Your Mouse Pointer!

Have you ever lost your mouse pointer? It just happens, but thankfully Windows has a neat little feature that'll locate your mouse pointer with a simple keystroke.

Let's learn how!

For Windows Xp and Vista: click Start>Control Panel>Mouse.

Windows 7 users: simply click Start and in the Search Box type “Mouse Pointer”, and in the results click “Change how the mouse pointer looks”

In the resulting window, make sure you're under the Pointer Options tab and put a check next to “Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key”.


Now whenever you press the CTRL key a locator ring will draw your attention to wherever your pointer is at!

The Mac Lost Cursor

Ever lose your mouse arrow (cursor) on your screen and have to squiggle the mouse around to find it? It’s no wonder you can’t see the arrow. Macintosh cursor arrow size was defined way back at the beginning when all Macs had those little 9 in screens. As our monitors got bigger and pixel size got smaller the cursor didn’t adjust.

With OS X.4 Apple finally caught up with itself. You can now set the cursor size in System Preferences. The setting is a bit buried but here it is.

In System Preferences choose Universal Access. Then click on the Mouse and Trackpad tab. The bottom most slider on the panel is Cursor Size. As you slide the little blue triangle back and forth you will see the cursor change to match your settings. You can make it really big if you want. The enlarged cursor also looks a little jagged, but at least you can find the little beggar.

F-keys

See that line of keys ranging from F1 to F12 at the top of your keyboard?

Do you wonder what they do?

Function keys have many uses, some of which are specific to the program that's running at the time.

Here are the Basics of Function keys F1 – F5.

F1- Typically pressing this brings up the help file for the program you're currently in. To test this, go ahead and left click on a blank area of your desktop, then press F1. The help file should spring to life.

F2 – This F-key is used to rename. Click on a file or folder and strike the F2 key; you'll be able to rename it with ease!

F3 – Used to bring up the search function in Windows, but varies for other programs. Great for Internet Explorer and Firefox users who want to find a specific word or phrase on a web page.

F4 – In Internet Explorer the F4 key opens the address bar. Pressing ALT + F4 will close any active program.

F5 – Refresh key. Use this key to reload a web page or refresh your desktop. This is a good one for both the Internet (good for Ebay bid battles) and apparent computer freezes.

Make Your Blinking Cursor Bigger!

Is your cursor a little too slender to see? Do you find youself looking everywhere for where that cursor disappeared to? Here is a simple way to change it.

For Windows Vista:

Go: Start>Control Panel>Ease of Access Center>Make the Computer Easier to See

Towards the bottom you'll see an option to set the thickness of the blinking cursor. Just set it to the desired width and away you go!

If you're using Windows 7:

Start>Control Panel>Ease of Access>Ease of Access Center>Make the Computer Easier to See

For Windows XP:

Go: Start>Control Panel>Accessibility Options. Choose the Display Tab and then under Cursor Options you can set your width.

Good Luck! I have changed mine a bit and I love it.

Change the Blinking Cursor on a Mac

For For Mac users, here is a You Tube tutorial to show you how to change the cursor to the size you want.

Just click on the link below.
http://www.videojug.com/webvideo/mac-tutorial-the-cursor-size-on-mac

Virtual Keyboard Site

This is a website where you can play music on many different instruments to your heart's content. It is so cool!

Click the keyboard to begin. Notice, along the top of the keyboard, there are buttons that let you choose what instrument you hear on the keyboard.

The instruments are: Piano, Organ, Saxophone, Flute, Pan Pipes, Strings, Guitar, Steel Drums and Double Bass.

Below that you have Drum Beats 1 through 6 that you can choose from and below that are the keys of the keyboard.

On the left hand side, you will find three buttons: Chord Mode, Play Chord and Instructions.

The Instructions page will pop up and explain how this works and how you can use your keyboard to play the keys on the piano. You can also get a great description on how the Chord Mode works.

Either way, it was a lot of fun. Click this link below and play around with it.

http://www.bgfl.org/bgfl/custom/resources_ftp/client_ftp/ks2/music/piano/index.htm