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Tips
Quick Tip: 2 separate windows for Excel Spreadsheets
11 years
You can open 2 separate windows with a separate Excel spreadsheet in each. This is not the default behavior of Excel and it tries to keep all your spreadsheets within one Excel window although you can swap to see which spreadsheet is on top.
The trick is that you have to open 2 instances of Excel. Here’s how:
1. Open your first Excel spreadsheet.
2. (This is the trick) Open another copy of Excel from the Start Menu shortcut or right-click on the icon in the task-bar and choose ‘Microsoft Excel 2010’ or 2013 etc depending on the version you have. Do not go file -> Open from this window or double click to open the second file you want – this will just open that document within the same first excel window.
3. Drag this window to the second screen or correct position.
4. Open the second workbook you need by going to File -> Open on the second Excel Window.
This is really handy if you have multiple monitors and need to compare 2 spreadsheets or copy and paste information from one to the other.
Transfer files from Android to Computer
12 years
Contacts:
The main instructions to get contacts from your phone to a sim card, memory card or usb device are here:
https://support.google.com/android/answer/168477?hl=en
If you want to backup the contacts database they should be in this folder on your phone or something similar to it depending on customisations made by the device manufacturer:
/data/data/android.providers.contacts/databases
You could just copy these files to your computer to backup the contacts database.
The easiest way going forward would be to add your contacts as Google contacts and these would sync between your phone and Google account automatically as long as you have your account sync turned on (settings -> Accounts and sync -> Your Google account).
Files:
For most files, the easiest way I’ve found is to sign up for Dropbox account and load the app on your phone. Photos you take can be automatically uploaded to your Dropbox and then the’re accessible on your computer like a regular folder.
If you do sign up for DropBox, do me a favour and use this link – http://db.tt/lpDpafmj I get 250mb extra storage for the referral and it costs you nothing.
You can copy files off your phone by simply plugging the phone into the computer using the usb cable for your phone and copy the files off as an Android Phone will show up in Windows as an extra drive. Mac users will need to download Android File Transfer – http://www.android.com/filetransfer/.
Or if you want to do it over wifi and not need to plug your phone in, check out Airdroid or ES File Explorer from the app store. Both of these apps make it easy to transfer files off your phone to your computer over Wifi. Although ES File Explorer is more complex and aimed more at users who would know how to set up shared folders on their computer.
Paid Apps:
There are plenty of other apps in the Android Play store that will back up your data for you. 2 paid apps that I highly recommend are Lookup Pro which adds antivirus and security features as well as photo and contacts backup and Titanium backup for a more comprehensive backup of your entire phone although it requires your android phone to have root access.
Mac Antivirus
14 years
While it’s true that thanks to the design of the Mac OS it hasn’t been victim to the vast hordes of Malware and Viruses that affect Windows operating systems;
There seems to be at least one virus for Macs in the wild that is doing the rounds at the moment and is doing damage. It works by poisoning search engine results.
You read about this virus or that virus for Macs on blogs (maybe like this one even) or in the news and you go to your trusty search engine to find some free antivirus app for your Mac. This new app, currently known as MAC Defender, uses common search terms and all sorts of other tricks to try to push itself up the rankings. Then by trying to defend against some virus, you install this virus masquerading as an antivirus product.
More Information is available here: http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/226845/new_mac_trojan_horse_masquerades_as_virus_scanner.html
First advice: Don’t Panic. Your Mac is most likely secure anyway. Especially if you keep it up to date, don’t download any suspicious files and don’t mess with the security settings unless you know what you’re doing.
Secondly: If you feel the need – get the legit free Mac Antivirus product from Sophos here:
http://www.sophos.com/en-us/products/free-tools/sophos-antivirus-for-mac-home-edition.aspx
Screenshots
14 years
Taking a screenshot is a common task with computers. Sometimes referred to as a screen dump, snapshot or screen capture – a screenshot is an image that is created from a software program or the operating system. It allows you to capture an image of what your computer screen (or just a section) looks like at a given point in time and then send that image to others, it can be saved as an image file such as a GIF or JPEG, manipulated, or printed.
There are several ways to capture a screenshot, often each of these methods depend on what computer operating system you are using and what you intend to take a screenshot of. Below is a listing of all the different ways to create screenshots.
Microsoft Windows users and most other operating systems:
The simplest way to take a screenshot is to press the print-screen (sometimes shortened to PrtScn or something similar) key on the keyboard. This takes a screenshot of the full screen and places it into the computer clipboard (temporary memory). Once in the clipboard, paste that screenshot into Microsoft Paint or other image editor.
Pressing and holding the ALT key while pressing the print screen key will take a screenshot of the current active window, instead of the full screen.
Microsoft Windows Vista (not home basic) and Windows 7 users can use the Snipping Tool (Start -> All Programs -> Accessories -> Sniping Tool) to more effectively take screenshots.
These are some more detailed instructions:
1. Set up the screen the way you want it. Remember that unless you use Alt + Print-Screen (which captures only the current Window) the WHOLE screen will be captured so it will save the task bar and any other things you can visually see on your screen.
2. Press the Print-Screen key on the keyboard to capture the image. Often nothing visual will happen at this point.
3. Open up an image editor or another program that can support images (Microsoft Word or many email applications will work fine). If you’re not sure what to use, use Microsoft Paint (Start -> Programs -> Accesories -> Paint).
4. From the ‘Edit’ menu, choose ‘Paste’ or press Ctrl+V as a shortcut.
5. Save the image and then either attach it to an email or print it out depending on what you need to do with it.
For more Information:
http://take-a-screenshot.org/
http://www.wikihow.com/Take-a-Screenshot-in-Microsoft-Windows
Christmas Personas for Firefox
14 years
Get your computer in the Christmas mood if you’re using Firefox with the latest Personas (themes) for Christmas.
A Charlie Brown Christmas Celebration
Winnie and Tigger Topping the Tree
Mickey & Minnie – Happy Christmas
Foxkeh as Rudolph the Red Nosed Rein-fox
Frosty the Snowmans Christmas Eve
Thanks to HowToGeek for the links. Check out their site for previews or open each link in Firefox to try it on and/or apply it to your Firefox.
Merry Christmas!
Wireless Networking
14 years
Here’s a collection of useful information about wireless networks and networking.
Set it up
One of the best guides I’ve seen for setting up and configuring a wireless network is from Lifehacker. Check out their coverage on the subject here: Set up a home wireless network
Map it out
It’s often very useful information to know how strong your wireless network is in various locations around your house. These applications allow you to upload a floor plan of your house (you can make a basic one in paint or any other graphics program if you need to) and then map out the wireless signal in around the house.
Ekahau Heatmapper is a free application if you fill in your name, email address and answer a few questions.
Passmark’s WirelessMon costs US$24.00 for the personal edition and US$49 for the professional edition but there is a 30 day trail for each version. The heat map function is only available in the professional version but it provides several other wireless features as well.
Get the most out of it
Check Microsoft’s 10 Tips for Improving your wireless network – some very practical and useful tips that I often pass on to people.
And a few extra tips (some are repeated) from Lifehacker – Strengthen your home wireless network signal
Boost the signal with some homemade parabolic amplifier for your antennas
If all else fails there are Wireless Extenders and extra routers or access points. Most of these you can buy for less than $100 from your local computer shop. Ask for a Wireless Network Extender or Range Boosters. Here’s an example of what to look for.
These improvements are especially good if you create a heatmap with the tools mentioned in the ‘Map it out’ section before you start and compare with another heatmap created after you’ve made the changes. You can then visually see the difference that these changes are make.
Secure it
Unless you’re happy to hang a sign on your network that says “Anyone welcome – steal whatever you can” then it makes sense to put some basic security measures in place. Especially as with wireless networks, it is not required for someone to have physical access to get onto your network if it isn’t secure.
10 Tips for Wireless Home security
PC World’s guide on How to Secure your wireless network
Practically Networks page on Securing your wireless network
Keep secure while in public
This is only loosely related but sooner or later if you have a laptop, you’ll probably take it on the road and want to connect it to a public Wifi hotspot. This is a good guide to Keep you Windows computer secure on public wireless networks.
If you know any other great wireless tips or pages, feel free to add them to the comments section below.