June 25 2007

For those of you who remember DOS, you probably became accustomed to using keyboard shortcuts - Just press the ALT key, then the underlined letter on the Menu bar, then your the underlined letter in the drop-down menu and your done!

Well, those keyboard short-cuts still exist but Windows XP or Vista may be hiding the underline telling you which are the shortcut keys you need to to know. 

You can reveal these keyboard shortcuts by pressing the ALT key on your keyboard when you are working in any software program (The underlines appear both in the Menu Toolbar and in the drop-down menus).  If you want to have them displayed permanently, here's what you need to do:

In Windows XP:
1. Start > Control Panel
2. Double click on the 'Display' icon
-The Display Properties window opens
3. Click the 'Appearance' tab
4. Click the 'Effects' window
5. Uncheck 'Hide underlined letters for keyboard navitation until I press the Alt key
6. Click 'OK'
7. Click 'Apply'
8. Click 'OK'

In Windows Vista:
1. Start > Control Panel
2. Double Click the 'Ease of Access Center' icon
3. Double Click 'Make the keyboard easier to use'
4. Check 'Underline keyboard shorcuts and access keys'
5. Click 'Apply'
6. Click 'Save'

That's it!

June 17 2007
Well, some consider this feature helpful but like other Microsoft 'features' sometimes it's not.

This feature is controlled in the AutoCorrect function.  Here's how you can turn it off

In Microsoft Word 2003
1. Tools > AutoCorrect
-The AutoCorrect window opens
-Under the AutoCorrect tab
2. Uncheck 'Capitalize the first letter of sentences'
3. Click OK

In Microsoft Word 2007
1. Click the Office Button
2. Click the 'Word Options' button (lower right hand side of the menu)
-The Word Options window opens
 
3. Click 'Proofing' in the left hand margin
4. Click the 'AutoCorrect Options...' button
5. Uncheck 'Capitalize the first letter of sentences'
6. Click OK
7. Click OK
That's it! 

June 10 2007
Like all new versions of Windows, Vista includes helpful software programs that you had to previously purchase separately.  One of these software programs is the Snipping Tool. 

The Snipping Tool helps us capture screen images of our computer which are especially helpful when we want to show someone exactly what we see on our computer - like technical support.

To use it all you need to do is:
1. All Programs > Accessories > Snipping Tool
-The mini Snipping Tool window appears
2. Use your mouse to outline the portion of the screen you want to capture
-The regular Snipping Tool window appears
3. File > Save As
4. Enter a name for the file that is your captured image
5. Click Save
OR
4. File > Send to > Email Recipient (as attachment)
-A blank email opens, with the captured image as an attachment ready to be addressed

That's it!

June 3 2007

If you are using ACT! 2007 (Standard or Premium for Workgroups), have Microsoft Word as your default word processing program, and tried to create a Mail Merge template you may have discovered something missing - the ACT! Merge Fields.  Fortunately, Sage addresses the problem with a downloadable Hotfix for this version of ACT!.

Installing the HotFix is a two-step process.  First, the download:
1. Go to: http://www.act.com/community/profile/login/index.cfm?type=profile&Host=www.act.com&Path=/support/updates/index.
cfm&QS=&CFID=36296765
2. Create an account If you haven't already (I know this is annoying, but they didn't ask me)
-After you have logged in
3. Click: http://www.act.com/support/updates/index.cfm?DOWNLOAD=349
4. Click 'Download Now'
5. Save it to your computer that is easy to find, like your Desktop or your My Documents folder
*It may be a good idea to save it to a network or shared drive if you have to install this Hotfix on other computers or you can just copy the downloaded Hotfix onto a USB Flash drive.

Second, the installation:
1. Close all programs including ACT!
2. Double click on the downloaded Hotfix file to start the installation
-The HotFix is installed

That's it!