The WebMonk's Page
 
Tips - Tricks - Recommendations
 
Help
General

Most of the generally used programs in any category have pretty good and extensive help menu's - try that first.
If you can't find the answer in the help menu try anyone of the major search engines GoogleYahooBing
Try to make your question concise

 
Email Etiquette
The Friars is communicating with both members and vendors at an ever increasing level I have been asked by management to put together a protocol for email with the Friars. Please click email etiquette  
Mouse Tip

If double-clicking the mouse gives you trouble, try the first click with the mouse, then tap Enter on the keyboard.
The first click selects icon/file/program, the tap on the keyboard activates/opens the file or program..

 
Microsoft
Office
2007

Excel Quick Reference Tips
Outlook Quick Reference Tips   
Powerpoint Quick Reference Tips
Word Quick Reference Tips

 
Word
Tips
Quick Tips for Highlighting Text (works in most word processors)
To highlight a word, double-click it.
To highlight a single line, click once directly to the left of the line, in the left margin.
To highlight an entire paragraph, double-click directly to the left of the paragraph, anywhere in the margin.
 
A Quick Way to Insert Lines in a Word Document
Simply type three or more of these characters in your document and press Enter:
~ will give you this line


# will give you this line


= will give you this line


_ will give you this line


- will give you this line

 
Internet

Search Engines:

Google  -  Yahoo  - Bing - AskJeeves (I think they changed their name to Ask)

Shopping: Price Compare - with a little research you can save on price and sometimes shipping

Price Grabber - Price Scan - Shopzilla - Bizrate
Try one of the sites above for your favorite colonge - try entering the model number of a TV or other electronic appliciance you want.

Searching tips
Internet search sites, search using Names, Titles, Keywords or Text.

The challenge is to ask your question the right way, so that you don't end up overwhelmed with too many search results, underwhelmed with too few, or simply unable to locate the material that you need. As with most skills, practice makes perfect!

Before doing a search, define your topic as completely as possible. Write down exactly what information you're looking for, why you're looking for it, and what you're not looking for. This will help you to discover the best keywords for your search.

Keywords
With the exception of search engines such as AskJeeves.com, which will take questions in the form of actual queries, most work best if you provide them with several keywords. So how do you determine which keywords will work best?

Most users submit 1.5 keywords per search, which is not enough for an effective query - the recommended maximum is 6 to 8 carefully chosen words, preferably nouns and objects. (Search engines consider articles and pronouns clutter.) Avoid verbs, and use modifiers only when they help to define your object more precisely - as in "feta cheese" rather than just "cheese."
Now you have your keywords. How do you enter them into the search engine?

Use of Phrases
Your most powerful keyword combination is the phrase. Phrases are combinations of two or more words that must be found in the documents you're searching for in the EXACT order shown. You enter a phrase - such as "feta cheese" - into a search engine, within quotation marks.  Check the "Help" files of the search engine you're using to be sure what it accepts.

A successful Internet search can take several tries. But remember: it's estimated that there are between 200 and 800 million documents online - with no master system for organizing this information! No wonder effective searches take knowhow, patience and ingenuity.

 
Utilities PC Utilities I Use  
File Extensions

Have you received a file with an extension you didn't recognize, and your computer couldn't open it?
For information about file extensions Go to  http://filext.com/   or  http://www.file-extensions.org/

Special Mention: Acrobat PDF files
If a file has the extension .pdf, then it most likely is in the Portable Document Format (PDF), developed by Adobe Systems, Inc. PDF maintains the original document formatting for both printing and viewing on a multiple computing platforms, including Windows, UNIX and Mac.

Viewing PDF's - Free
To view PDF files, you can download the Adobe® Acrobat® Reader, which is free software for viewing and printing Adobe Portable Document Format (PDF) files on major hardware and operating system platforms.

Creating PDF's - In order to create PDF's one must purchase a professional program
Adobe's current version can be found at http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobatpro/ 
Nitro is a less expensive PDF creator which has been working quite nicely and can be found at Nitro PFD Pro

 
     
Graphics'
File Formats

You can gain more control over the quality and size of your images by picking the right format for the job. Graphics files usually contain one of two types of data: raster—colored dots (or pixels) arranged in rows, and vector—images composed of lines, polygons, and text. Raster formats are ideal for photos, and vector formats are best for logos and diagrams. Vector formats use smooth outlines to create objects, maintaining quality even when an image is enlarged or reduced.

Generally speaking, there are three factors to weigh when considering graphics formats: the output media (Print or Web), the format's specific features, and your workflow. Typically, the only Web formats worth using are those supported by most browsers: GIF, JPEG, and SWF. Large images are more download- and memory-friendly if they're compressed, but lossy compression schemes (such as JPEG) shrinks images by discarding data.

Workflow is also crucial: You can't choose a format if your equipment doesn't support it. The information below will help you make the right decision.

JPEG is a full-color raster format supported by all popular Web browsers and digital cameras.
Its compression can produce very small files for speedy downloads. But JPEG employs lossy
compression, so it can degrade image quality. Each time you save a JPEG file you further degrade the image

GIF is a Web-ready raster format. GIF files use a limited palette (256 simultaneous colors at most) but they often use fewer colors to reduce file size. Small color palettes (see the inset), lossless compression, transparent colors, and frame-based animation makes GIF a fine choice for Web graphics such as icons or logos.

PNG (Portable Network Graphics) is gaining acceptance as a raster format for the Web. PNG supports palette-based and full-color images, plus lossless compression and a true alpha channel.

TIFF is a great choice for raster images intended for print. TIFF encompasses many different color modes. In addition to RGB color, TIFF supports 8-bit gray-scale or 32-bit CMYK data (for commercial offset printing). TIFF offers advanced features, including gradient transparencies, multiple layers, and several compression methods.