| CAN'T DO SPREADSHEETS? Spreadsheets are ideal vehicles for keeping track of income and expenses as well as other numerical data. However if you are not a "numbers" person but can do some simple HTML, you can keep track of figures by just making some basic templates. Additionally you can add links to underlying scanned documents such as outlined in item#54 above. Just create a simple text file that you can use to record the amount of monthly electric bills as follows: |
| 1998 ELECTRICITY<BR>JAN $ <BR>FEB $ <BR>MAR $ <BR>APR $ <BR>MAY $ <BR>JUN $ <BR>JUL $ <BR>AUG $ <BR>SEP $ <BR>OCT $ <BR>NOV $ <BR>DEC $ <BR> |
| 1-After saving the text file, rename it with an HTM extension and open it in your browser. It will look like this:
|
2-When the Jan 98 electric bill is sent, open the htm file as a text file and fill in the "form" by entering the amount next to the dollar sign. When the file is re-opened in your browser it will look like this:
|
| SCANDISK FILES: Have you ever run Scandisk and ended up with some CHK files that Scandisk created when it found errors? First add the CHK extension to registered file types, then associate it with a word processing program. Often when you open these CHK files, they may be nothing but blanks. However they may hold some lost files that you want; check over the file to find clues from where it came. Sometimes these files are from DOS programs that were run in a DOS window that did not shut down properly. If you can't determine exactly what the proper file name and extension should be, compare the file's size to a directory list as outlined in Item #35. |
| $ TAKE A PEEK: If you don't already have it, get and install Quickview-a free CD-ROM extra from Microsoft. Go through the list of FILE TYPES [accessed from VIEW/OPTIONS on the MENU BAR of Windows Explorer as outlined in item #44]. From the "Add New File Type" box, check the "Enable Quick View" option for the file extensions you often use. Using Quickview to "look" at a file doesn't require the underlying application to open or even be available. For instance a spreadsheet file whose application is on a portable disk that isn't currently loaded in the portable drive can be opened with Quick View: |
Cut Copy |
|
| AOL PEEK: If you are an AOLer and want to review the E-Mail you have stored in the Personal Filing Cabinet without opening the AOL program, you can rename your "screenname" file in the "Organize" folder with a Quick View enabled word processing extension. Then just open the file with Quick view; after reading the "screenname" file, eliminate the file extension. |
| p BIGGER IS BETTER: Laptop screens are small at the onset; some programs add top and bottom bars that put a real squeeze on working screen real estate. Most programs have an options or preference menu wherein you can turn off the "extra" bars; the standard MENU BAR is usually enough to operate many programs satisfactorily. For Windows 95, hide the TASK BAR by selecting SETTINGS/TASKBAR from the START button and checking the "Auto hide" option in the Taskbar Properies box. |
|
|
| GOLDEN OLDIES: If you suddenly are not able to get on the web even after re-installing your internet/browser software, drag out an older version of your software and give it a try. For instance if you are a Win95 user with a 32Bit browser and you cannot connect to the internet, drag out the 16bit software and try again. The good news: it is likely you can connect with the oldie. The bad news: a re-install of Win95 may be necessary to return to 32bit browsing. |
| I GET AN ARM: Unless you have a really skinny laptop, you can add a swinging arm to hold printed materials. Get a two-part, adjustable arm where you can remove the arm and leave the bracket attached to the side of your laptop case. |
| = TAPE IT UP: When you receive those free floppies in the mail, do you erase them for your own use after you disable the write protect function by moving the tab over the opening? Join the club. Well some companies that send out these floppies have tried to foil your efforts by removing the tab. An old VCR trick works on floppies too. Just put a small piece of vinyl tape over the opening and delete the contents. The floppy is now yours. |
| ! FIX A FORM: If you have a scanner, you can fill in forms
such as registrations even without form-filling software. Bring your scanned form up in a graphics program [Windows Paint will do] and fill in the blanks. But there is a downside; it's difficult to stay well positioned between
the fill-in lines on the form. Try this: before filling in the form, delete the fill-in lines with Paint's eraser "tool" and add "underline" to the font you are using. If it is a two-sided form, after filling both sides in Paint send them to a "paused" printer. Before printing, pause the second document in the que so you can print on both sides of the same piece of paper. If the fill-in form is of the "fold, seal and mail" type, just put your printed filled-in form inside the original, seal and mail. A. FAST RETURN: When you receive a letter which requires minimal response, scan it and write your answer on the bottom of the page. If you have a colour printer, use a bright colour and a bold font. B. THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL: When you buy merchandise that merits a rebate, scan the rebate form and the receipt. Depending on whether the vendor requires originals or accepts copies, mail your forms accordingly. Also if you use financial software such as Quicken, record your expected rebate as a Receivable [asset]; this serves as a method of following-up on an expected rebate check; even if you don't have a scanner, record expected rebates. And,if your financial software has that nagging "reminder" feature, set up a "bogus" future transaction that will remind you 6 to 8 weeks hence of the expected rebate. |
| O SCAN FOR SAM: Uncle Sam [IRS Division] wants proof
for all those figures on your 1040 plus his share of the take.
A. GAMBLING WINNINGS: Did you win a jackpot of $1,200 or more at a casino? When you are paid off the casino fills out a W-2G much like the regular W-2 your employer sends to the government to report your wages. The IRS taxes gambling winnings as regular income. Although you can't claim gambling losses as a deduction, you can offset your winnings up to the amount of your losses. So maybe you lost twice as much or more during the tax year in pursuit of that jackpot. The IRS wants you to submit proof of your bad luck; so save and scan those cash withdrawal slips especially the ones from the ATM machine in the casino. Print your scanned slips and attach them to your return. B. WHAT DID IT COST? When you sell securities, your Capital Gains are taxable; your Capital Losses can be used as offsets and [with limits] are deductible. Scan the details of each purchase and sale you receive from your broker. You may need those details to prove the cost of a security you purchased several years ago. Somewhat similar rules apply to the sale of Real Property; scan the documents which back-up the original cost and additions to the property. |
| SHAKE, RATTLE and ROLL: Have you ever booted up and heard an ominous grinding sound? Maybe even a message on your screen of "Disk controller failure"? Don't panic. When a laptop sits around for awhile unused or isn't in a relatively level position, it may need a more gentle wake-up. Just shut down, wait a few seconds, level the laptop and re-boot. Usually boot-up will then proceed normally. |
| DEAD LINKS REVIVED: Do you get E-mail
which has lots of links but they are all dead, i.e. clicking on them gets
you nowhere. Of course you can always copy and paste them into your browser/ bookmarks/ favourite places one by one. But if you see several URL's
that you want to investigate, you can make those links come alive as long as your text editor [such as "Notepad Plus"] supports a REPLACE function. First save the e-mail as a file. Now take a look at the style of the dead links; suppose you see a link like this: |
|
| Now to change the back end of the URL, replace the term .htm with .htm">click here</A> and select REPLACE ALL. |
|
| Often URL's don't end with the standard .htm or .html extension; there are various configurations. To fix these non-standard endings, find the first link in the file and enter ">click here</A> at the end of the URL. Now, COPY what you just entered and PASTE it at the end of each non-standard URL. Save your work and open the file in your browser. The links are now alive. |
| FIX YOUR PRINT: Does your printing sometimes go awry? Maybe you tried to
print some numbers on a spreadsheet and ended up with a series of ###### where the numbers were supposed to be even though the spreadsheet itself
showed no sign of character overflow as denoted by ######. To fix this problem you can reduce font size, increase column width, and change the number format to eliminate dollar signs, commas and number of decimals. Now open
the "Print Preview" selection and zoom-in to see if the ###### symbols have been eliminated. A. More Print Space: When you print documents especially multi-column spreadsheets, you may need as much width as you can get. Decrease the print margins to the minimum using "Page Set-up". Keep your column width and font to the smallest useable sizes. Set the print style to Landscape rather than Portrait. Eliminate printing the grid-lines and disable Print as Draft, if applicable. B. Bigger Paper: Buy a supply of legal size paper if your Printer supports it. Most Copier stores will sell you a small supply if you don't need an entire ream. With all these adjustments, a 14 columm spreadsheet with a Description column and 13 columns for monthly and yearly totals is feasible - ideal for an Income Statement. |
| FORCE A FONT: If you like to use a special font such as a "float" or other non-standard font on your web-site or other graphic-enabled document that you transmit to others, your recipients may not see that font. For instance, if they have specified user defined fonts or have turned off dynamic fonts when viewing web-sites, your special font may be translated to a less unique configuration. Suppose you want to start your page with a large-sized heading in your special font. To accomplish this open your favourite graphics program, even "MSPAINT" will do. Select the Font tool and your target font with the desired attributes. Create your heading and save the file; if necessary convert the file type to a "gif" from a "bmp". |
|
| If you want to enhance your header for a more striking presentation, make several colour variations of your file. Then string them together in an "animated gif". |
| ! SIGN IT: When you compose and print a letter, before mailing do you always remember to sign it? If you have a scanner, sign your name on a blank sheet of paper or on
a piece of paper where you have typed your name and address. Now scan the
sheet of paper and save the output as a "bmp" file. You can alternatively add your address after scanning with a "paint" program.
|
| When you write a letter using a program that supports images, such as Wordpad or MsWorks, just insert the Signature "bmp" at the end of your letter. If you use HTML to write letters, convert the "bmp" file to a "gif" file. If you are an accomplished graphic "artist" you can skip the scanning by writing your signature directly in your graphics program [or "cheat" and use a "handwriting" font]. Then save the results as a bmp or gif file. |