Ensuring it does not end in tears when you buy software online – Disaster Struck , a Blue Screen appeared and my hard drive in my laptop started to make clunky noises. So I took the plunge and moved to a new laptop with Microsoft Vista operating system and Office 2007 to do my work. Moving my data went smoothly. But setting up all my programs that I had bought over the years did not. I found when I went to reinstall some of my software that I use to run the business, that some did NOT WORK with VISTA!! For these I had to purchase an UPGRADE, however as I had the original program on a CD and the licence number, I paid a lot less than for the whole new program.A lesson I learnt is that if you buy software online, download it, (ie) SAVE it rather than just RUN it, and make a copy of it on a CD. You will need the program if you ever have to move your stuff to a new computer. Oh, and when you make a copy on a CD, test the CD to see if what you thought was there is really there. Then write on the CD with a CD marker the Program Name, Date purchased, Seriel Number, and Website purchased from. Keep all your program CDs in a box. Should you ever need to set up that software again you have the program!! What a relief.

 

Send Safe & Secure Documents

Don’t send documents as unprotected Word documents as the receiver could change the document contents. The wise way to send documents is as a PDF (Portable Document Format). To do this you need a piece of software to create a PDF. The website primopdf.com has a handy and free PDF creator. A PDF creator will create a ‘virtual printer’ on your computer. In other words an extra PDF printer will appear in your list of available printers. If you print to this printer then rather than being printed out onto paper, a PDF file will be created. You can then attach this PDF to the email you are sending.

 

Using Signatures on Emails

Including a relevant signature at the end of emails you send, is helpful to the receiver. Your signature can include your phone numbers, ‘skype’ address, home address, inspirational message and even your picture or logo. You can set up signatures for different purposes. For example, a ‘personal signature’ for family and friends, a ‘business signature’ for work associates, even a signature that includes a standard reply to job applicants, for example. To do this in Microsoft Outlook, select Tools > Options >Mail Format > Signatures. Simply type in what it is you would like appear as your signature.  You can set up multiple signatures with individual names. You can even set up signatures to be associated with different email addresses. When sending your emails, the default signature will appear when you start a new email. To change the default signature if you are using Outlook 2007, simply select ‘Signatures’ from the top ribbon, and choose the signature you want to use.

 

Moving Files Quickly

You can quickly copy photos, podcasts, music, videos or any files to your phone, MP3 player, computer, harddrive. Simply open two Windows Explorer Windows. For example open one representing your phone, and one representing your computer, so they display side by side on your screen. Then it is much easier to copy and paste whatever you want to move. It can take several minutes to copy large files. While waiting you can carry on with other computer work  such as reading emails, writing letters and surfing the net.

 

Keep Your Friends and Business Associates Email Addresses Private and Help Minimise SPAM

Don’t send an email to your family, friends or business associates and include the list of their email addresses in the (Carbon Copy) field of the email. This means that everyone can see everyone else’s email addresses.

When I send an email to a group I put my address in the ‘To’ field, and I put everyone else’s addresses in the ‘BCC’ (Blind Carbon Copy) field.

To make the BCC field available to you in Outlook 2007 simply start a new email, and in the Options Tab at the top, select ‘show BCC’. In Outlook 2003, Open a New Mail, Select the Options button, and from the drop down select BCC. Or in Outlook Express go to File, New Message, then select View, then Enable All Headers. This will bring up the BCC Box, which you click to create new messages. Similar features are probably available in other email programs such as gmail, hotmail etc.

Annoyingly I have received emails from government bodies and large companies with hundreds of email addresses in the ‘CC’ field. This carelessness contributes to SPAM and other security breaches on the internet. Please use the ‘BCC’ field.

 

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How can I cut the cost of inkjet printing?

Yes you can. Set the level of quality that you want to print at. The higher the quality you choose the more ink will be used. On your bottom task bar on your computer screen you should see a tiny picture (icon) of your printer. Click on that to open and you will then see the Properties Box. You can open the different pages of the Properties box by clicking on the individual tabs. Depending on your printer on the Main Page you will see something called quality options: Choose what suits you best, Draft – Text – Text & Image – Photo – Best Photo.  Draft uses the least ink.Also when you go to print your document, an info box will appear where you can decide how many copies you want to print, nearby should be the PROPERTIES button, that will open the Properties box as described above.

 

Can I use alternative cheaper or refilled cartridges in my printer?

Some printers will accept these and some will not. A message may appear to ask do you know that you are not using the manufacturers brand, usually answering ok will clear this message. Avoid mixing Original Branded Cartridges with the Alternative Brand, so either use a full set of OEM cartridges, or a full set of Alternatives. Where possible we try to have both in stock to help save customers money. Our alternatives are fully guaranteed for quality and output.

 

Which printer to choose, Laser or Inkjet?

LASER printers are faster, cheaper to run, and quieter so it may be an idea to get an inexpensive black laser printer, use that for the long runs, and also keep your inkjet printer for short runs and high quality output. When you print just send to the machine you want. As a rule of thumb printing with Mono laser is 20% of the cost per page compared to colour inkjet printing!

 

How to share One Printer without lots of cables

Use a wireless printer. Many inkjet and laser printers today come as a wireless version. So it means that the printer can be shared from anywhere within the building without cables getting in the say. You can even get machines that combine printer, scanning, photocopying and faxing in either inkjet or laser.