MS office application tips

Multiply Many At Once

When you're working in MS Excel, do you ever have the need to multiply, add, subtract or divide several cells by the same value?

If so, please tell me you didn't go through and make all of those changes individually!

Well, I hope not, because that can be very time consuming and Excel offers a much more efficient method that is available right within the Paste Special function.

• To add, subtract, multiply or divide many cells by the same value, you must first enter that value into an empty cell.
  
  
• Then copy the cell.
  
  
• The next step is highlighting the cells you're going to change.
  
  
• Now, you need the Paste Special function. (In Excel 2007, you can get there from the down arrow on the Paste button located on the Home ribbon. In all other versions of Excel, you'll find it under the Edit menu).
  
  
• Once you're in the Paste Special dialogue window, you're looking for the Operation section.
  
  
  
  
• Select the correct operation and click OK.

Voila. Everything is altered all at once with just a few clicks!

~ April

encryption in regards to wireless Internet

Wireless Encryption

Another reader asked: Can you please tell me a little more about encryption in regards to wireless Internet?

Of course I can! We have mentioned encryption in some of our other articles before, but we've never really explained it very well, so thank you for asking this question. Before we get started, I need you to instill something into your mind. Just take note that when it comes to your wireless network, make sure you know you will always need encryption. There are no and, ifs or buts about it. You need it!

Okay, so, first of all, what is encryption? Well, it is the process of coding or scrambling information so that it can only be read by someone who knows the correct decoding key. Encryption is used a lot on secure Web sites and other data transfer programs. In other words, encryption stops anyone who is not supposed to read certain information from actually having access to it. For example, if you were to enter an unsecure site and a third party saw some of your information, they would be able to read it if you didn't have your encryption enabled. Otherwise, they would be able to see everything. It's always safer to do things over an encrypted line.

So, in regards to using a WiFi router, it's best to have your line encrypted. WiFi signals are basically radio waves and they can be picked up by any receiver without you ever knowing it. The receiver doesn't have to be connected to your router in order to gain access to your system. If you don't use encryption, all of the data you transfer over your computer is sent in a plain text format and it can and probably will be read by anyone who is interested.

When it comes to your wireless connection, it's just simply best to use every form of protection you can get. Along with having a personal firewall and an antivirus program on your computer, it's smart to use closed networks, address limitations and of course, encryption.

There are a couple types of encryption, including WPA and WPA2 (WiFi Protected Access). There's also WEP, but WPA is much stronger and it's newer. With WPA, your encryption key changes with every session, so it keeps your system much safer. To learn more about the different types of encryption and how to set them up for your system, you can read this tip. Let's raise a toast to your wireless safety!

~ Erin

set high priority to e-mails

Q:
For my job, I send out a lot of e-mails that are very important for people to see right away. How can I set them as high priority so that they will view them as soon as possible?

A:
Excellent question! As you go about your daily e-mailing, you know that some of the e-mails you send out are much more important than others. For instance, e-mails you send to clients at your business are more important than sending a joke to your best friend. (Or, maybe it's the other way around for you!)

Setting your e-mails as high priority, or even low priority, will help your receivers understand if the e-mail needs to be read as soon as they get it or if they can let it go for a couple hours. I'm not saying you should mark every e-mail you send as high or low priority, but it's nice to let your readers know what's going on. High priority is much more common than low priority, because it just lets everyone know how important the e-mail is. Setting your e-mail priority is very simple to do, so let's get started!

In Outlook Express, create a new message just like you would for any other e-mail. Along the toolbar buttons at the top, look for the button that says Priority. Click on it once to get High Priority, click on it twice to get Low Priority or click three times to have no priority at all. There's also a down arrow on the button, so you can click on that to choose either high, low or normal (none) priority as well.

A red exclamation point is used for high priority and a blue down arrow is used for low priority. Once you choose your priority, a message will appear at the top of the e-mail saying which status the e-mail is set to. Next, you can compose the e-mail like you normally would and send it off. When your receiver gets the e-mail, they will see either the exclamation point or the arrow beside their message. That way, they will know instantly if they need to read the e-mail right away or not.

If you use Netscape mail, click on the New Message button and look for the pull down menu that says Priority. When you click on the menu, a list of priority settings ranging from lowest to highest will come up and you can select which one you want. Then just compose the e-mail like you always do and send it off.

For Hotmail, click on New and look for the drop down menu at the top of the page that says "Set priority to." You can then choose between High importance and Low importance. Once you've made your selection, just type out the e-mail and send it off.

That's it. I hope this tip has helped some of you out!

~ Erin

Multi Card Reader

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Card Readers are Super Cool and Super Easy to use! And NOW is the Perfect time to get one!

This Little Handy USB Device lets you easily read and write to SD/MMC digital memory cards!

But, this little Card Reader also works as a mini flashdrive! How Sweet is that?

And I can't believe how easy it is to work these things! All you have to do is pop in your camera's memory card and a folder will open showing you all your camera's folders and pictures! Then simply drag and drop your selected pictures into files on your computer.

This is so much easier than dealing with a tangled mess of USB cords, trying to find the right cord to plug your camera in, getting software to recognize your camera, and fighting with your computer to get your pictures where YOU want them! Yup, I just love my card reader!!

Plus- it works as a storage device too! Just by dragging and dropping the files from your computer into the card, this device allows you to carry everything at once! Just leave a memory card in and you're good to go! Cool huh?

Oh! And don't worry about it not being compatible with your memory card!!! This tiny device is works with just about everything! Of course, it works great with every type of the the ever popular SD cards, and it also works with MS, MMC, and more - See the site for a list!

They are faster than you can imagine too!!! Mine works twice as fast as when I use to plug my camera into my computer using a USB cord. I don't know what I would do without my Card Reader! I just love it! And I know you will love yours too!!!

Want one? Your cost is just $8.97 and US Shipping is Free!! And let me tell you, it is worth every penny!

http://store.worldstart.com/product.php?productid=4374

P.S. Honestly, save yourself the time and the hassle of dealing with cords! Use this Card Reader! They are just too cool to pass up!

USB Speeds

USB Speeds

If you've gotten a new computer in the last few years, it more than likely came with USB ports. If you're not sure, USB ports are the little slots on either the front or back of your computer that you can use to plug in certain devices, such as a flash drive or digital camera. USB ports come in two different speeds: 2.0 and 1.0, with 2.0 being faster. Most newer PCs have the 2.0 speed, but if you purchased yours quite awhile ago, you may have the 1.0 speed. So, if you've ever wondered which speed you have, keep reading to learn how you can find out!

To get to your computer's USB area, you need to right click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and choose Properties. Next, click on the Hardware tab and then hit the Device Manager button. When the new window opens, scroll down to the very bottom where it says Universal Serial Bus controllers. Click on the plus sign (+) next to that and all of your USB information will come up. You may have quite a few listings or you may only have a few. It just depends on how many ports came with your computer and if you've added any yourself.

If you see one that says something like "USB Enhanced Host Controller," that means you have the 2.0 speed. The "Enhanced" part is what sets the 2.0 apart from the slower speed. On my computer, that entry was the very last one, so make sure you look through your whole list before you make any assumptions. Also, just for your information, if one of your USB ports is 2.0, it's likely that all of your ports will be the same. That goes for the 1.0 speed as well. Most computers don't come with two different port speeds. So, tell me, how does it feel to know what kind of USB speed your PC is running? Pretty darn good, huh? Check yours out today!

~ Erin

Windows Defragment Tools

Q:
Do you know anything about a defrag tool called Defraggler? If you do, I'd love to learn more about it. Thanks for any information you can share!

A:
You know, I'm really glad you asked this question, because I actually just heard about Defraggler the other day and after trying it out for myself, I knew I just had to tell all of you about it as well! It was even mentioned on WorldStart's message board the other day (thanks to user "yorkshire lass"), so you know it must be worth discussing. So, what do you say we check it out?!

Basically, Defraggler is a free defrag program you can download that allows you to defrag just the files you want. That's right, you no longer have to process your whole hard drive if you don't want to. Once you download the program, you simply run it, select the files you want and let Defraggler do its thing. It makes the process go a whole lot faster and you get peace of mind knowing exactly what's being defragged on your computer. And from time to time, if you want to defrag your whole hard drive, you can do that as well.

Another great feature of Defraggler is it's very compact and portable. It was designed with a compact architecture, which results in a single EXE application. Therefore, it can be copied over to a flash drive or other portable device so that you can use it whenever you need it, without installing it again. The EXE application itself is only 1 MB in size as well. It doesn't get much more compact than that!

Now, I'm sure you're wondering how the whole defrag process works, am I right? Well, like I said before, all you have to do is download Defraggler and run it just like any other program. You then select the files or folders on your computer that you would like to defrag. Once the defrag is done, Defraggler will tell you the job was done successfully and if there are any, it will give you a list of fragmented files still on your hard drive. If you click on them, you'll be able to see exactly where they are on your drive, which should help you better understand why they couldn't be defragged. Cool, huh?!

Also, just for some additional information, Defraggler works with Windows 2000, 2003, XP and Vista and a 64-bit support system was just added. It was also created by the same company that brought you CCleaner (Piriform) and I know several of you are fans of that. Once again, Defraggler is 100 percent free of cost and you can download it for yourself right here. Just click on the Download Now link and follow the directions. In no time, you'll be defragging your system with absolute ease. It doesn't get any better than that!

~ Erin

Download Opera Opera 9.5 New Release

New Release: Opera 9.5

I know I'm a little behind on this, but I literally just found out about it. I don't know how it slipped past me, but thanks to all of WorldStart's message board users, I'm in the know again! If you're an avid Opera Web browser user, I'm sure you're already using the new version, but just in case you didn't hear the news either, I'm here to give you the full scoop. On June 12, 2008, Opera 9.5 was released to the public and lucky for all of us, it is now available for download. Keep reading for all the details!

First of all, Opera 9.5 is a recommended security and stability upgrade, but it also includes a wide array of new features. One of the major ones is new storage and indexing formats for their version of e-mail: Opera Mail. The e-mail program is also boasting a new user interface and it's now much more secure, reliable and faster. The browser interface has also undergone some changes, as it now has an Opera Link for all of your bookmarks, etc., a new Quick Find feature and a redesigned address bar, among others.

A few customization changes have been made as well, including a new skin, a new Home icon and a New Tab icon. Even more, like I said earlier, several security fixes have been made. Now, that's just a brief overview of everything that has changed in Opera 9.5, so if you'd like to read about everything in full, you can do so right here. And if you haven't done so already, you can download Opera 9.5 for yourself on this Web site. Simply select your language and your download location and then click on the green Download Opera button. In no time, you'll be enjoying your very own copy of Opera's new Web browser. Yes!

~ Erin