LANcom Technology Blog

As I mentioned in an earlier post ‘Navigating Excel 2007′, if you have recently switched to using Office 2007 you may be finding it little hard to find certain features.

To help you with this Microsoft has an interactive guide of Word 2007 available here on their website. It shows the familiar Word 2003 menu and when you click on a feature a view of Word 2007 pops up showing you where this feature can be found in the new version. You must have Adobe Flash Player 7.0 or higher for this to work, click here for version 9.0.

There are also interactive guides of PowerPoint 2007 and Excel 2007 available.

Ever get tired of putting in user names and passwords? Microsoft has a solution, the Fingerprint Reader. This handy device, along with the accompanying software, allows you to simply use your fingerprint whenever a user name and password is required. It’s only 8.2cm by 5cm and plugs into your USB port. I can also be used for multiple users on the same PC.

Click here for more information.

Want to make the items in your inbox easier to find? Microsoft has these tips for organising your Outlook

1. Create more than one inbox – To do this simple go to File, then Folder, then New Folder, and the Create new folder. Select your inbox and make sure the settings are on Folder contains: mail and Post items, then give the folder a name. Now you have a sub-inbox.
2. Arrange your messages to find the ones you want – simply click on View, then Arrange By. From here you can select to view your messages by date, conversation (all emails relating to the same topic), by who they are from etc.
3. Use rules to keep your main inbox clear – For this click on Tools, and select Rules and Alerts, from here you can for example send all the emails that you receive from a specific person or with a specific word in the title to a sperate folder. Perhaps one you have specially created for these emails using tip number 1 or perhaps directly into the deleted Items.
4. Colour co-ordinate – To do this go to Tools, then Organise and click on Using colours. Here you can make emails from different people appear as different colours. So you never miss seeing the emails from those you give high priority.

Click here to visit the Microsoft website for more information. Note: these tips may not work on Outlook versions older than 2003.

If you’re using Windows XP you may have noticed that shortcuts to your recently used programs appear directly above the start button on the start menu. Although this can be quite convenient there is no way to ensure that the programs you would like to appear there actually will. If you would like a shortcut of a particular program to appear there always all you need to do is find the program on the All Programs menu, right click on it and select Pin to start menu.

Another way to make programs easier to find is to list them in alphabetical order. Under All Programs, right click and select Sort by name. Alternatively you can drag and drop a program to the position that you would like it to appear on the All Programs menu.

Need a PowerPoint presenter? A laser pointer? A media remote? It’s all in the new Wireless Notebook Presenter Mouse 8000 from Microsoft.

Designed to be “an all-in-one super tool for the office, road and home” the Wireless Notebook Presenter mouse allows you to: manager your PowerPoint presentation from up to 9 meters away, point out areas to be given extra attention with a handy laser pointer and use your mouse as a remote for music and videos etc. Additional features include a battery indicator light that let you know when it is running low and a magnifier button to allow you to quickly and conveniently increase the size of the area the mouse is pointed to. More information and prices are available here.

As anyone who has updated to Microsoft Office 2007 will tell you, it can take a little getting used to. If you have started using Excel 2007 and are finding it difficult to find the features you want, MrExcel.com has a handy tip card available that lets you know where all the old features of Excel 2003 can be found on Excel 2007. Click here to download this tip card from MrExcel.com.

Could your computer have a virus? According to Microsoft the symptoms include:

• Inability to start
• Your computer crashes frequently
• Programs don’t work properly
• Unexplainable file size changes
• Strange graphics appearing on the screen
• Strange sounds coming from the computer
• You see unusual error messages
• The computer stops responding or locks up frequently
• Disk or disk drives are inaccessible

If you experience any of these problems you should perform a virus scan as soon as possible, if you currently do not have anti-virus software you should subscribe to a service immediately. Here at LANcom we use NOD32 anti threat software. Click here for more information.

HP’s new notebook line up focuses on three areas. Ultra light, balanced mobility and performance. To go along with this is a new number model scheme.

• The HP Compaq 2000 series is their ultra light, go everywhere series designed for highly mobile professionals and frequent travellers.
• The HP Compaq 6000 series is their balanced mobility, go versatile series which offers a blend of power and mobility.
• The HP Compaq 8000 series is their performance, go powerful series which offers larger screen sizes and more high-end graphics, and more application capabilities.

Due to these changes some small business notebooks will no longer be available.

It is expected that this new Notebook line up will be announced in May.