PowerPoint Tips: Slide Background choices

Adding color to the background of your slides makes them more interesting. Simple is better so step back and review your presentation and think twice before using “wild colors” that detract from your slides.. Doing this in earlier versions of PP (2000-2003) is a little different from the newer PP 2007-2010, so we've given you notes for both...

To add color to your slide backgrounds:

If you have PP 2000 OR 2003:

• Select "Format" - "Background".
• A "Background" dialog box appears and you can left click on the pull-down menu to choose from one of a few selected colors, "More Colors", or "Fill Effects"

More Colors

• If you choose "More Colors" it opens a dialog box with several tabs which shows you different standard colors or you can choose “custom colors” which shows you the color prism and the colors RGB values if you are trying to match a specific shade of a color
• When you are done, click "OK" to close the dialog box.

Fill Effects – This option opens another dialog box with several tabs for different fill types:

• Gradient – One – two and preset multicolor gradient fills and there are different fill type, colors, transparency, shading styles, and variants.
• Texture – There are a variety of textures, or click "Other Texture" to import a texture graphic of your own
• Pattern – There are different pre-made patterns and you can adjust the pattern foreground and background colors
• Picture – This allows you to select your own photo for your presentation background
• When you are done, click "OK" to close the dialog box.

Apply your Changes:

When you are happy with your changes, decide if you want the background graphic to appear on printed slides (doing so increases print time and requires more toner/ink), but if not – you can check "Omit background graphics from master".

Then click "Apply" to apply the changes to the current slide only, or "Apply to All" to apply the changes to all slides.

If you have PP 2007 or 2010:
As with earlier versions, backgrounds can be applied to individual slides or to all the slides in a presentation - choices in 2007 & 2010 are located on the Design Ribbon. To access the Design Ribbon:

• Click on the Design Tab and you will see the Design ribbon options & features
• Hover your mouse over any of the design themes shown
• The design is reflected immediately on your slide
• Click the design theme when you find one that suits your needs

To change the Background on an individual slide:

• Click on the background button on the right end of the Design ribbon
• This opens the Format Background dialog box
• If you want to apply your choice to all the slides in your presentation, once you make your choice, be sure to choose the “Apply to All” button at the bottom of the dialog box

Like earlier versions - you now have choices of colors and effects, but the newer versions have more choices in easy – such as the Gradient Fill now has multiple choices to play with:

• Linear - the gradient colors flow in lines which can be from preset angles or a precise angle on the slide
• Radial - colors flow in a circular fashion from your choice of five different directions
• Rectangular - colors flow in a rectangular fashion from your choice of five different directions
• Path - colors flow from the center out to form a rectangle
• Shade from title - colors flow from the title out to form a rectangle

Be careful using Background Textures: they can be very busy and make text difficult to read, which can detract from your message. If you do use a textured background, choose a subtle design and be sure to choose a text color that will stand out from the background.

A great feature in the new PowerPoint 2007 & 2010 is DESIGN & COLOR THEMES

• This changes not only the backgrounds but totally coordinate the colors, font styles and sizes used for a total look… These are similar to the design templates which were available in earlier versions of Power Point.

What I like, is that when you are choosing a design theme in the new PP 2007 & 2010, you will immediately see the effect on your slides, so you can decide before making your decision final…

Have a wonderful Easter holiday

Just a quick note to wish you and your families a blessed and enjoyable Easter holiday.. Cherie Houston

Thought you might enjoy a little trivia about Easter, which as we know is considered the holiest of days for all Christians, commemorating the Resurrection of Jesus after his Crucifixion. Like the origin of this celebration, the precise date of Easter Sunday too has been a matter of contention. However, there is a general acceptance of the proposition offered by 8th-century English scholar St. Bede, according to which, Easter owes its origin to the old Teutonic mythology

Just like Passover which is dependent on the phases of the moon and has different dates each year, Easter is also a movable feast and doesn’t fall on a fixed date in the Gregorian or Julian calendars but Easter always falls between March 22 and April 25. This year “2011” Christians around the world will celebrate Easter today, on Sunday, April 24^th..

Here are some interesting Easter trivia facts you may not have known:

• Easter is known by different names across the world. Some of them are: English - Easter, French - Paques, Spanish - Pascua, Italian - Pasqua, Albanian - Pashke, German - Ostern, Greek - Pascha, Norway - Paaske, Holland - Pasen and Swedish - Pask
• The name Easter owes its origin from Eastre, the Anglo-Saxon goddess who symbolizes hare and egg.
• Apart from English and German, the name of 'Easter' has been derived from Pesach, the Hebrew name of Passover festival
• According to the Guinness Book of World Records, the largest Easter egg made till date, was just over 25-ft high and was made of chocolate and marshmallow. Weighing at 8,968 lbs., the egg was supported by an internal steel frame
• The Easter Lilly symbolizes the resurrection of Jesus because the shell represents the tomb of Jesus and the flower that blooms represents life after death.
• The maiden chocolate eggs recipes were made in Europe in the nineteenth century.
• Vegreville, Canada is the site of the largest Easter egg in the world.
• Pysanka is a specific term used for the practice of Easter egg painting.
• Most children (74%) eat the ears of their chocolate bunny first. 13% eat the feet first, and 10% eat the tails first.
• In 1878 U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes and his wife Lucy officially opened the White House grounds to the children of the area for egg rolling on Easter Monday. The event has been held on the South Lawn ever since, except during World War I and World War II.
• The initial baskets of Easter were given the appearance of bird's nests.
• By tradition, it was obligatory (or at least lucky) for churchgoers to wear some bright new piece of clothing - at least an Easter bonnet, if not a complete new outfit
• From the very early times, egg has been considered to be the most important symbol of rebirth
• Hot cross buns, made by European monks, are counted amongst the earliest Easter treats. They were given to the poor people, during the month of Lent.
• Red jellybeans qualify as the most favorite food stuff for kids on Easter

PowerPoint Tip: Stop the Black Screen at the End

Typically when we watch any slide show made with PowerPoint, it ends with a “black screen that shows a message at the top: “End of slide show-click to exit”.

If you don’t want to see this screen, just stop it from happening by changing a setting. Note thought, that this setting only applies to the PowerPoint software running on your computer. It is not a setting that is saved with the slide show presentation file itself.

So if you create a slide show presentation and take it to another computer, you’ll want to change this setting again on that computer.

If you have PowerPoint 2000-2003:

• Choose Tools |Options.
• Choose the View tab.
• Uncheck the box for the option End with black slide.

If you have PowerPoint 2007 or 2010:

• Click on the Office button in 2007 and File button in 2010.
• Choose the PowerPoint Options button (at the bottom of the window).
• Choose Advanced from the left side of the next panel.
• On the right side find the Slide Show section.
• Uncheck the box for the option End with black slide.

So remember, if you make this change it's on your computer only - if you take the slide show to another computer, you would have to change the setting on that computer also..

What is OCR Software?

Typically when we “scan” something into our computer – whether it is a photo or a document, the end results is a “digital picture” of whatever we scanned. But, OCR software (OCR stands for Optical Character Recognition) allows us to EDIT what we have scanned.

Simply “scan” your document into your computer and the OCR software converts it to an "editable file" that can be edited in most word processing and spreadsheet software programs. What types of documents can you scan? Basically any printed material –such as notes, letters, documents, spreadsheets, magazine or newspaper articles, books etc.

The quality of the OCR conversion process will largely depend on the quality of the scanned image and the clarity of the characters of that image.

Today – many of the printers for the home market, especially “all-in-one” multi function printers and “photosmart” printers include OCR software capabilities included with the software or you can visit the manufacturer’s website and download it for free.

So your current printer maybe OCR ready- not sure? Once again, go to the manufacturer’s website – put in your model # and it will give you the specifics on if the OCR software is available, if so how to download and use the OCR software.

OCR software is a real timesaver so we don't have to retype documents to be able to edit them. OCR software is also available as “freeware” and for purchase if it doesn’t come with your printer…

Excel – Counting “X’s” in a Column

A question that comes up quite often with respect to Excel spreadsheets – is how to create a formula that will add up/count the number of cells in a column containing "X’s":

If you have a specific column or columns, that you have put an X in and want to count the total # of X’s in a specific column, for example for attendance or other criteria, the formula you would enter in the “total cell” is noted below. Be sure however to enter the correct column & line ID’s…

Example – In your excel spreadsheet – Column C, you have put several X’s in Rows 1 thru 28, and want to now count the # of X’s in Column C, the correct formula that would be noted in the total cell C29 would be:

=COUNTIF(C1:C28,"X")

Facebook - Privacy for Photo Albums

A question raised quite often about FACEBOOK is how to set privacy settings for photos and photo albums that you put on your FACEBOOK account.. Again remember that in your Account Tab, there is a help button to answer this and many other questions about using FACEBOOK…

HOW TO EDIT THE PRIVACY SETTINGS FOR YOUR PHOTO ALBUMS in FACEBOOK? It’s important to edit the privacy settings for your photo albums, especially when there are photos of children-changing the settings is easy:

1. Go to the photo album.
2. Select the "Edit Album Info" button in the lower left side of the screen.
3. On the "Edit Info" tab, select the "Privacy" drop-down menu to customize the privacy settings for your album.
4. Your choices will be: Everyone; Friends of Friends; Friends only and Customize
5. Customize option allows you to be very specific: naming those you want to see the album or even block certain people from seeing the album or choosing that only you can see the photo

Remember-only the owner of an album can adjust the album privacy. This may affect the visibility of photos you are tagged in when your friends look at them. Also, if you share a high resolution photo or album with someone, that user will be able to download those photos.

You can also access privacy settings for photo albums by doing the following:

1. Click on the "Account" menu and select "Privacy Settings" from the drop down menu.
2. Click "Customize settings."
3. Choose "Edit album privacy for existing photos." Alternatively, you can click the "Album Privacy" link on the "Photos" tab of your profile next to your albums.

What is a smartphone?

We are all hearing the phrase “smartphone” – but how is a “smartphone” different from a cell phone?

Typical cell phones allows us to make and receive telephone calls; text messages and to take, send and receive photos and videos…

Smartphones offer greater functionality than regular cell phones, so that you can...

• use a full “qwerty” keyboards for easier typing
• have access to the Internet to access your email, Facebook and Twitter accounts
• work with all your Office documents, such as word & excel,
• sync data with personal and business computers
• send & receive instant messages
• play music
• show streaming video
• edit photos
• get driving directions from the GPS
• play countless games and
• work with hundreds of other “applications referred to as “apps”

All of this is in addition to making phone calls of course.. And many of the smartphones have touch screens..

Smartphones are actually mini-computers with an OS-Operating system (such as the BlackBerry OS; Palm OS or Windows Mobile OS); Smartphones have internet access so that you can download countless applications, including GPS systems, you can link to your social networking & email accounts; many smartphones give you the ability to not only take photos but edit them; you can view, update & edit Office documents and they can be synchronized with your computer for all the updates you make, as well as synchronizing your address book, calendar and tasks list quickly and easily – similar to what a PDA used to do – only faster and more easily… And of course the applications allow you access, via the internet, to hundreds of games, music, video and other sites…

This, like all other computer related technology, is changing almost daily so no doubt, as soon as you buy a new “smartphone” it’s going to be outdated and topped with a newer version with more bells & whistles… leaving us all to wonder where it will end…

Computer Maintenance Tips

Just about everything needs to be “maintained” on a regular basis to stay “healthy” including our computers… Here are a few simple things to do, to be sure that your computer lives a long healthy and happy life and stays out of the “computer hospital”…

1. First and foremost, make sure you back-up your computer system and data on a regular basis. This is critical in case your system ever crashes or is infected with a major virus… Whether you back-up manually or automatically, whether you use a 3rd party (such as carbonite.com or mozy.com) or you back-up to a DVD, CD, flash drive, portable hard drive or external hard drive, making sure your system is totally backed up is one of the most important maintenance steps to ensure that you don’t lose valuable information including your data, photos, videos, music etc.


2. Make sure your computer is up-to-date on it’s “shots” which means making sure that your computer is protected with anti-virus & spyware software. And just as important, you want to be sure this software is “current” meaning you must accept and allowing the updates for your anti-virus, adware, spyware and malware program on a regular basis. It’s also highly recommended that you protect your privacy by using a firewall… Together, all of these help to protect your computer, the information on it as well as your personal information.


3. Updates are important not only for your anti-virus, but also for your operating system – application programs and drivers for your peripheral hardware, such as your scanner, printer and other hardware…


4. Know the specifics about all your equipment and programs – it helps to create a list of your equipment including mfg, model #’s, serial numbers, when they were purchased, and other important data, such as cartridge #’s; specifics about your digital cameras, camcorders, cell/smart phones and programs – and in one place along with the receipts, so that you can quickly and easily access the information when you are talking to a technical support person. It also helps to keep the basic information for all on a small card in your wallet, that you can refer to when you are shopping or asking for technical advice


5. Protect your computer (and all electronics in your home) from “power surges and drops”.. Use a surge suppressor, which contain technology that prevent excess amounts of electricity from entering your computer – Computers especially, are highly sensitive to electrical fluctuations a surge protector that help “even out” power spikes… So whether you have a desktop or laptop, you need surge protection…If you have a home office, you may want to consider also using a UPS (uninterrupted power supply) which often times has a built in surge suppressor/protector.


6. For those of you who carry around laptops, notebooks or netbooks – portable devices should be carried in “protective/padded cases” and if you are leaving your desktop for a long period of time, consider covering it when it is off and not being used……


7. Ventilation is important. It’s never a good idea to cover the back of a desktop – the vents & fans - with anything that could prevent airflow. Some people, often those with pets or live in areas that tend to be dusty, thinks it’s beneficial to protect their computers and stop animal hair, dander & dust from entering their fans & vents, by covering them with pantyhose, cheesecloth etc., but they only cause more problems by preventing proper ventilation.. Laptops, notebooks and netbooks should be raised slightly from the surface-many new ones have small feet built in, or just add little Velcro furniture tabs under each corner, or use a small rack like those used in kitchen cabinets...


8. For many years when your system began to run slowly the first recommendation made was to “clean out your cookies and temporary internet files” – although this isn’t as important now that the computer hard drives are so large, but there are still advantages to cleaning them out periodically..…


9. Before you just hit the power button, be sure you have properly and completely closed all programs. Shutting down your operating system properly will ensure that you don’t corrupt any of your files, making them inaccessible in the future…


10. Find a good technical support person that you trust – so that when you aren’t sure – you can call them. The last thing we want to do is touch something that could void our warranty or further damage our system…

How to fix a list with numbers in WORD

Often when we create multiple lists in a word document, and choose to number the multiple lists (versus using bullets) Word sometimes get confused and will use “continued numbers” versus starting each list with a new series of numbers and/or letters.

So instead of each list having it's own independent set of numbers and/or letters, the numbers or letters from the previous list continue with the next new list we create: for example, one list contains items numbered 1-4 or a-e, and then your next independent list starts may start numbering at 5 instead of restarting at 1, or letter f instead of a)

When this happens and you want different numbering for each new list:

1. just right-click inside the second list and choose "Restart Numbering" from the pop-up action menu that appears OR
2. at the end of your first list, go to the your toolbar or ribbon and "turn off" the numbering command

Sorting Data in Excel

Excel makes it very easy to sort data that is entered in multiple columns, by using the SORT buttons (A-Z or Z-A)… So be sure when you are entering your data, to put information in as many individual columns as possible – In my opinion you can never have too many columns to sort data with..

Make sure before you give the command to SORT that you have highlighted the active sheet, so that all information in the columns and rows will then “move” when the information is sorted…

Excel Sort Data by One Column:

• Select all the cells in the list
• Choose Data>Sort
• When the Sort Dialog Box opens, be sure to check off that your list has a “header row” so you will see the data – not the column ID letter
• From the Sort by dropdown, select the column you want to sort. Note: If the dropdown is showing Column letters instead of headings, change the setting for My list has, from No header row to Header row.
• Select to sort in Ascending or Descending order

Excel Sort Data by multiple Columns:

Such as when we are entering data for our contacts to prepare a mailing list – we might want to sort by Last Name, First Name and then Spouses Name which are in 3 three columns. So we will sort it all at once, but giving different levels 1 would be Last Name; 2 would be First Name and then last the Spouses Name…starting with the most important sort.

• Select all the cells in the list.
• Choose Data>Sort
• When the Sort Dialog Box opens, be sure to check off that your list has a “header row” so you will see the data – not the column ID letter
• From the Sort by dropdown, select Last Name.
• From the Then by dropdown, select First Name.
• From the Then by dropdown, select Spouses Name.
• Click OK

Note about Excel 2007 and 2010

• The SORT BUTTON is on the HOME TAB to the far right in the Editing quadron and also in the DATA TAB in the Sort & Filter quadron
• When the Sort Dialog Box Opens you will see one SORT field, but you can add as many levels for sorting as you would like.…

Configuring iTunes for Music Downloads

Before you can start downloading and/or converting songs in your iTunes library, you need to select an audio format to convert to: To do this:

1. Be sure you your iTunes library/account open
2. Click edit (from the main menu at the top of screen) and then click preferences.
3. Select the advanced tab and then the importing tab.
4. Click on the import using drop-down menu and select an audio format (such as mp3 which is my personal favorite to use in most free movie making and other project software or wav).
5. To change bitrate settings, use the settings drop-down menu .
6. Click the OK button to finish.

Note-many of the songs we purchase today are downloaded in mp4 or another format and are often too large to be used in some project software, such as Picasa's movie making; Windows Movie Maker, Power Point and some mp3 players - so personally I always download all music to my computer using the mp3 format, so I can use it just about anywhere anytime...

Picasa "free download" for Digital Photo Editing

PICASA** (a Google product) is a FREE award-winning software used for working with photos, on your PC, from emails, disk, CD-Rom and digital cameras. It works on PC’s and MAC’s and can be downloaded in just minutes from the Picasa or Google website.. Note that Picasa's newest version #3, can only be used with Windows XP, Vista or Windows 7. If you are using an older “Operating System” such as Windows 98, 2000, ME, then you will continue to use Picasa Version 2

Picasa helps you find and organize all your pictures – once it is on your computer and you start/open the program it will scan your hard drive to find and automatically organize all your pictures.

PICASA FINDS THE FOLLOWING IMAGE AND MOVIE FILE TYPES:

• Image file types: JPG, GIF, TIF, PSD, PNG, BMP, RAW (including NEF and CRW). GIF and PNG files are not scanned by default, but you can enable them in the options dialog.
• Movie file types: MPG, AVI, ASF, WMV, and MOV.

Try it today - not only is this an easy to use "photo editing program to brighten, crop, change colors to sepia and/or black & white and lots of other great editing tools, but you can create slide shows, save your slide shows easily to gift cd's & dvd's, order photos from various vendors, post complete photo albums on line using Picasa Web Albums - that can be then added to your BLOG, turn your photos into movies including text slides and music, label your photo's with the newest Picasa name Tags and GeoTagging and much much more - and Picasa has a wonderful tutorial help section to make it easy to learn the program and again, it's all FREE..

To download it, go to their website: www.picasa.com

April Greetings from MCC Hodel Library

April Greetings from the Hodel Library on the Lake Havasu Campus of Mohave Community College!

The weather is beginning to turn warm and lovely, so it’s a perfect time to take your reading outside. Come to the Library and check out a Danielle Steel or a Ken Follett to read on the patio.

For those of you who are getting ready to head north, remember that you can still use the Library’s online databases from wherever you are. Through our website, Mohave.edu/library , you have access to fantastic databases such as Heritage Quest, Consumer Health Complete, the Hobbies and Crafts Reference Center and more. You can also use our databases to look at articles from journals such as Consumer Reports, Kiplinger’s Personal Finance, PC World, U.S. News and World Reports, etc. The best part – it’s all FREE!

Please give us a call at 928-505-3311 to ask for more information or you can email me at wbirkhead@mohave.edu.

Thanks, Wendi Birkhead, Campus Librarian

Hodel Library - Lake Havasu City Campus

Mohave Community College - 1977 W. Acoma Blvd - Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403

Tel 928-505-3311; Fax 928-453-8335; Toll Free: 1.866.664.2832

Happy April 1st

Today is April 1^st – for some it’s cause for celebration & dreams, because it is opening day for America's favorite pastime - Baseball so time to cheer on our favorite ball teams and dream of winning a world series – and of course, we also think of April 1^st as April Fool’s Day. So we thought we’d try to find where & why this “holiday” originated…

I checked out countless sites and the one that made the most sense was the following which I found on this website- so enjoy....

www.april-fools.us/history-april-fools.htm

The history of April Fool's Day or All Fool's Day is uncertain, but the current thinking is that it began around 1582 in France with the reform of the calendar under Charles IX. The Gregorian Calendar was introduced, and New Year's Day was moved from March 25 - April 1 (new year's week) to January 1.

Communication traveled slowly in those days and some people were only informed of the change several years later. Still others, who were more rebellious refused to acknowledge the change and continued to celebrate on the last day of the former celebration, April 1.

These people were labeled "fools" by the general populace, were subject to ridicule and sent on "fool errands," sent invitations to nonexistent parties and had other practical jokes played upon them. The butts of these pranks became known as a "poisson d'avril" or "April fish" because a young naive fish is easily caught. In addition, one common practice was to hook a paper fish on the back of someone as a joke.

This harassment evolved over time and a custom of prank-playing continue on the first day of April. This tradition eventually spread elsewhere like to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French.

This tradition eventually spread elsewhere like to Britain and Scotland in the 18th century and was introduced to the American colonies by the English and the French. Because of this spread to other countries, April Fool's Day has taken on an international flavor with each country celebrating the holiday in its own way:

• In Scotland, April Fool's Day is devoted to spoofs involving the buttocks and as such is called Taily Day. The butts of these jokes are known as April 'Gowk', another name for cuckoo bird. The origins of the "Kick Me" sign can be traced back to the Scottish observance.
• In England, jokes are played only in the morning. Fools are called 'gobs' or 'gobby' and the victim of a joke is called a 'noodle.' It was considered back luck to play a practical joke on someone after noon.
• In Rome, the holiday is known as Festival of Hilaria, celebrating the resurrection of the god Attis, is on March 25 and is also referred to as "Roman Laughing Day."
• In Portugal, April Fool's Day falls on the Sunday and Monday before lent. In this celebration, many people throw flour at their friends.
• In India, The Huli Festival is celebrated on March 31 when people play jokes on one another and smear colors on one another celebrating the arrival of Spring.

So, no matter where you happen to be in the world on April 1, don't be surprised if April fools fall playfully upon you and if not, start cheering for the Arizona Cardinals and their winning the World Series as they begin that quest today playing the Colorado Rockies in Colorado at 1:05pmm......check out their website..

www.arizona.diamondbacks.mlb.com

INSERT DATE & TIME IN A WORD DOCUMENT

Want to save time creating documents... Did you know that you don’t have to type the date and/or time each time you create a new document. Next time you create a document, try INSERTING the date and time vs. typing it. Just select "Insert" then "Date and Time" where you want this information to be in your current document. When the "Date and Time" dialog box appears, just choose/highlight the date or time format you want, then press "OK". NOTE: Another option when you do this – is note on the right column there is an action box which gives you the option of "UPDATE AUTOMATICALLY". If you choose this option (which means checking it off) every time you open and resave the document, the date and/or time are automatically changed to the current date and/or time – so be careful where and when you use this.

Comparing two WORD documents side-by-side

If you have ever had two somewhat similar documents that you need to compare and merge the differences - here is how to do that easily... Since Microsoft Word 2003, all newer programs (Word 2001, 2007 & 2010) have a built-in document comparison tool where you can view two documents side-by-side.

1. Open both documents in Microsoft Word 2003, 2007 or 2010.
2. Focus on one document. Click on the Window menu bar option.
3. Click on Compare Side by Side With. If you only have two documents open, this menu item will mention the second document's filename. If not, a dialog box will appear allowing you to choose the document to compare.
4. The two documents will appear side-by-side. As you scroll through one document, the other will scroll as well.
5. A Compare Side floating toolbar will appear. If you don't want one document to scroll while the other scrolls, click the left button (it looks like two documents side-by-side with an up and down arrow).
6. View/edit your document as needed.
7. When done, click on Close Side by Side

Laughter Yoga - Wednesday, March 30th 12N-1pm

For those of you who may have missed the newspaper article on Friday, March 25th in our local paper ~ Sharon Hicks will be discussing and giving a free demonstration on “Laughter Yoga” at Mohave Community College on:

Wednesday, March 30^th12N-1pm

in the Auditorium at Mohave Community College

Lake Havasu City Campus -Room #600

Sharon has enjoyed the benefits of Laughter Yoga not only personally but seen the tremendous results when working with Autistic children, including her grandson and they have also had great results with students of all ages and those in nursing homes. The health benefits are undisputed so stop by and see what it is all about…

If you are looking for a way to reduce stress, blood pressure, anger, anxiety or improve blood circulation, heart rate, creativity and strengthen your immune system… Their motto:

Building Healthier, Happier Communities Through Laughter and Play

Check out their website: http://www.laughteyoga.org/

If you have questions, please feel free to email Sharon directly at:

shicks@sasktel.net

Word Processing "Keyboard Shortcuts"

These are some of my favorite keyboard shortcuts when I'm working in MS Word - Word Processing - they can really help to save time…

• Ctrl+X, Ctrl+C, Ctrl+V = Cut, Copy and Paste respectively. These work in virtually every Windows program. Learn them, use them, save LOTS of time and mousing around in the Edit menu.
• Ctril+A=Select All, which highlights you entire document-whether 1 page or 1,000 pages so you can make changes quickly and easily to your entire document
• Ctrl+B = Apply Bold. Highlight text then click Ctrl+B...and it’s bold.
• Ctrl+I = Apply Italic. Same idea as adding bold, except it adds italic instead.
• Ctrl+Y = Repeat the last action. Say you just added a row to a table. Click Ctrl+Y and add another one. Keep doing it and add a whole bunch of them.
• Ctrl+spacebar = remove all local formatting. If text looks weird, it could be because you may have inadvertently added something. It's also good consistency. You can make sure that the only formatting you're applying is the stuff you've set up in your styles.
• Shift+F3 = Toggles case. If you know people who type in all upper case - Yikes-how aggravating!!! So just use Shift+F3 to switch case from UPPER, lower, and Initial Caps.
• Ctrl+Home, Ctrl+End = Move to the top and bottom of a document, respectively.
• F8 + arrow keys = Select text. Sometimes selecting large bodies of text with the mouse is a big pain. Use F8 in conjunction with the arrow keys or Page Up and Page Down keys to select it more easily.

Remember if you have favorites that you use all the time, let us know what they are so we can share them with your fellow students... in the meantime - enjoy!!

How to add “attachments” to your email message…

Once you are in your email account and into the section where you can write/compose a new email message:

Be sure to fill in the names whom it is going to in the BCC (to protect everyone’s privacy) - also be sure to fill in a subject and then write your message

Now – click the “attachment” option which usually has a paperclip icon beside it (it might also say Add attachment, insert attachment or insert file/photo”

With many programs you will now see a BROWSE button which allows you to open the Document, Picture, Video or Music files so that you can find what it is you want to attach

Once you have found the correct folder and then found the correct “file” highlight/left click on the file name – with most services if you left click the file twice it will insert/add it to your email message. Remember if you have several files in one folder, you can use the CTRL or SHFT keys to add multiple files.

If you want to send a different file from a different folder or section, just repeat the steps above.

Once you have attached all the files you want, you will send the email message the same as you always do. If you want to be sure what your recipients will see, simply send a copy to yourself as well…

Notes:

Most services allow you to add attachments up to 25GB, although this varies depending on the email provider :

IN AOL – the ATTACH FILE button is in the bottom left corner of the email message

IN YAHOO: When you choose the file you want to attach it appears in the file field, when you are finished, select the 'Attach Files' button and you will receive a message that you have successfully attached your files.

IN HOTMAIL: In newer versions it will ask you if you want to save the attachments as online documents/photos – you can say yes or no (when you say yes they will be saved in your online/cloud documents/photo folders)

IN GMAIL: Click the "Send" command once you have added as many attachments as you desire and they will be added to your message

Microsoft Help And How To Links

Not sure how to use your windows operating system to it’s full potential, how to do system maintenance & when, to better your computers performance, and other great tips, then take some time and visit Microsoft’s Help and How to for your specific Operating System.

Just click on the link for your operating system & begin learning…

Windows 7 www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows7/help

Windows XP www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows/help/windows-xp

Windows Vista www.windows.microsoft.com/en-US/windows-vista/help

CHANGE YOUR SCREEN DISPLAY SETTINGS

You can access your Display settings by right-clicking anywhere on the Desktop and then choosing Properties in Windows XP (Windows Vista OR Windows 7 – choose Personalize or Customize)

OR

You can always do it the long/old way and go to your control panel (on your start menu), then to Appearance – Themes and the Display icons.

When you access the Display Properties Dialog Box – there will be multiple choices and the newer your operating system the more choices you will have, such as: Themes, Desktop, Screen Saver, Appearance and Settings and within each of these categories the newer your operating systems the more design & other choices you will have...

Themes
This allows you to choose a theme which will apply to all your Windows screen,the icons, sounds and colors – such as jungle, underwater & many more.

Desktop
This will allow you to choose different desktop background “wallpaper” images, from samples which are inlcuded or you can use the BROWSE button to find a photo you have saved in you’re My Picture Folder… Remember – if you find a photo in an email or on the internet that you want for your background, when your cursor is on the image, right click on the image and choose Set as Desktop Background.

Screen Saver
Screen Savers are the “motion” choices we use when our computer is idle – many different ones are built in, or you can use the photos in you’re my Picture Folder or when you are on vacation you can purchase “screen savers” to remind you of your trip… This is also where we can change our Power settings for the monitor, noting how long it should stay on when we leave our computer alone..

Appearance
This choice allows us to change the style and colors and size of fonts for our Windows and buttons. Just click on the drop-down arrow buttons to choose different settings; the font size option is great if text is too small – just change it to large fonts or extra large fonts.. The advanced tab allows us to change size & colors for all our screen items including borders, icons and the menus.

Settings
This choice allows us to change screen resolution and color quality – remember the resolution determines the number of pixels used to make up the display. The higher the setting, the more detailed your display and the higher resolution gives you a larger screen area to work with, but if you find text and icons are now too small you may need to increase font size and use larger icons to compensate. You can only go up to the highest resolution that your monitor can support. Experiment to find a resolution you are comfortable with – many opt for the highest setting.

When you set a high resolution, increasing the DPI (dots per inch) setting – it makes all screen items including text appear larger.

Classes March & April 2011

This week, Spring Break is in full swing and the entire staff at Mohave Community College is enjoying a little time off, but Monday-March 21st the college reopens and we have lots of “for fun” classes scheduled..

When you aren’t taking classes at MCC, there is always something going on in Havasu and more often than not, there is so much going on you can’t do everything you’d like to…So check out these websites…

www.golakehavasu.com

www.bullheadchamber.com/forms/CalendarofEvents2010-2011.pdf

Computer class sizes tend to be a little smaller this time of year, so lots of extra personal attentiont – so call today and join us to make full use of your computer, digital camera and all those wonderful photos you are taking…Call Registration Monday and sign up 928-453-1139 or 855-7812…And remember to ask about our 25% off senior discount!!! If you aren't sure what class might be right for you just contact me and we'll make sure you choose the right class cherie_houston@hotmail.com


SOCIAL NETWORKING-FACEBOOK & BLOGGING LSC080-122: Two 4 hr. classes on Mar 22 & 25: Tuesday & Friday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm

LAPTOP BASICS LSC100-122: One 4 hr. class on March 23, Wednesday morning, 8:30am-12:20pm

DIGITAL CAMERA BASICS LSC100A-222: Two 4 hr. classes on Mar 24 & 25: Thursday & Friday mornings, 8:30m-12:20pm

COMPUTERS BASICS LSC062-123: Two 4 hr. classes on Mar 28 & 30: Monday & Wednesday morning, 8:30am-12:20pm

FIND & ORGANIZE WHAT’S ON YOUR PC WITH WINDOWS EXPLORER LSC062-126: Two 4 hr. classes on March 28 & 30, Monday & Wednesday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm

HOW TO BUY & SELL ONLINE LSC101-122 : Two 4 hr. classes on March 29 & 31, Tuesday & Thursday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm

INTERNET & IT’S MANY USES LSC071-123, Two 4 hr. classes Apr. 4 & 6, Monday & Wednesday mornings8:30am-12:20pm

POWER POINT SLIDE SHOWS LSC069D-121: Two 4 hr. classes on April 4 & 11, Tuesday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm

CREATE GREAT LOOKING DOCUMENTS USING MS WORD: LSC068-123: Two 4 hr. classes on April 5 & 12, Tuesday mornings, 8:30am-12:20pm

EXCEL LIST AND DATA MANAGEMENT LSC069-122: Two 4 hr. classes on April 5 & 12, Tuesday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm

CREATE A BOOK WITH DIGITAL PHOTOS LSC100A-225: Two 4 hr. classes on Wednesday afternoons, April 6 & 13, 1pm- 4:50pm

MOVIE MAKER LSC100A- 227: Two 4 hr. classes on April 7 & 14, Thursday afternoons, 1pm-4:50pm

PICASA PHOTO EDITING LSC100A-123: Two 4 hr. classes on April 11 & 13, Monday & Wednesday morning, 8:30am-12:20pm

The History of St. Patricks Day

Today is March 17th and for many that means “wearing green” and celebrating the Irish St. Patrick… So Happy St. Patrick's Day to you all...

Some say that everyone is at least a little Irish on St. Patrick’s day..

St. Patrick’s Day is an Irish holiday celebrated all around the globe to honor the patron saint of Ireland, Saint Patrick. St. Patrick’s Day is celebrated each year on March 17. It is believed that he died on March 17 in the year 461 AD. It is also a worldwide celebration of Irish culture and history. St. Patrick’s Day is a national holiday in Ireland, and a provincial holiday in the Canadian province of Newfoundland and Labrador. Thirty-four million Americans have Irish ancestry, according to the 2003 US Census. That’s almost nine times the population of Ireland, which has 4.1 million people

So we hope you enjoy your day and thought you might enjoy a few websites that explain better than we can the history of the holiday…

http://www.theholidayspot.com/patrick/historyofpatrick.htm

http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

http://www.history.com/topics/st-patricks-day

http://www.alphabet-soup.net/hol/sphist.html

What is the ESC Key and why is it used?

The ESC Key (normally in the upper left hand corner of a standard QWERTY keyboard and on many laptops) is a Microsoft Windows shortcut in dialog boxes for these actions:

• No
• Quit
• Exit
• Cancel
• Abort

The ESC Key is also a common shortcut key for the Stop button in many Internet web browsers

Should you upgrade to Windows 7?

So many of you ask – should you upgrade to Windows 7 Operating System (which came out in October 2009) from your current Windows XP or Windows Vista??

If your system is running perfectly well and you are happy with it – I wouldn't be in a hurry to make the change - but now that Windows 7 has been out for a while many would say "absolutely-upgrade"; it’s a personal choice.

Remember, if you purchase new application software - always check the back of the packaging to determine what the minimum operating system requirements are, because you might find that it will only run on Windows 7, so that will help to force your hand…

Before you do anything, go to the following link at Microsoft that will help you evaluate your current hardware and whether or not it is capable of making the upgrade. The most common change needed is having to increase the Random Access Memory (RAM)…This advisor link will walk you thru making your decision…

http://www.intowindows.com/download-windows-7-upgrade-advisor-check-if-your-pc-can-run-windows-7/

If and when you plan to upgrade – there are a few things you will want to have on hand first…

· An external hard disk. You'll need to move your files off of your PC before you install Windows 7. To make this easier, we recommend a free download called Windows Easy Transfer, which will require an external hard disk. They're readily available at electronics and office supply stores, and they provide an easy way to add additional storage space to your computer.

· The original installation discs or setup files for the programs that you want to use with Windows 7. You'll need to reinstall your programs by hand after installing Windows 7. When you run Windows Easy Transfer you will get a report that lists the programs that you are currently using with Windows XP or Vista

Most of Arizona doesn't change our clocks this weekendOUR CLOCKS THIS WEEKEND

Before you call family elsewhere in the country this Sunday March 13th 7th, remember the time difference between them and those of us here in Arizona is probably different than it was on Saturday...

This weekend on Sunday morning, March 13th at 2am, Daylight Savings Time will end and most states in the US will revert back to Daylight Savings Time - so before they go to bed Saturday evening, March 12th, 2011, most people in this country will set their clocks, watches and other time pieces AHEAD 1 HOUR.

Most computers and cable boxes will make this change automatically without our help..

Several states, including most of us here in Arizona (except some Indian Reservations), Hawaii, Puerto Rico, the U.S. Virgin Islands, and American Samoa have chosen not to observe Daylight Saving Time so they, like us, do not change their clocks at anytime during the year.

Want to know when clocks change in other parts of the world - check out this website...

http://www.timeanddate.com/time/dst/2011.html

Greetings from MCC Hodel Library

Hello again from Hodel Library at MCC Lake Havasu Campus!

We were happy to have so many folks from Spring Frenzy come over to sign-up for free library cards and we’re looking forward to meeting more of you. We can show you how to look at Consumer Reports on your computer. We have access to a wonderful database called NoveList where you can read book reviews, get ideas for books you might enjoy based on the authors you like, and look at book club discussion ideas. Currently, we also have access to a trial version of A to Z World Travel which is an in-depth and easy to use database about things you should know before you vacation in different countries.

The best part? It’s all free! For more information, call or email us at the Library..
Thanks, Wendi Birkhead, Campus Librarian

Wendi Birkhead, MLS
Campus Librarian, Hodel Library - Lake Havasu City Campus
Mohave Community College, 1977 W. Acoma Blvd, Lake Havasu City, AZ 86403
Tel 928-453-5809 - Toll Free: 1.866.664.2832
wbirkhead@mohave.edu
www.mohave.edu/library

Converting File Formats - Music & Videos

Making sure files are in the correct format is very important when we are “inserting” them into projects such as videos and music into PowerPoint Presentations, MovieMaker, PicasaMovies and others..

That includes when you want to download a YouTube video for use in either a MovieMaker project or PowerPoint.

This free software/tool does everything you need and much more and also has great additional conversions for all types of applications and is one of my personal favorites… It is a great program “free” to convert music, videos (even YouTube Videos) and much more for use in numerous applications including Movie Maker, PowerPoint presentations etc…

Remember with many of the free & other programs, it is advisable to use the smallest files possible, such as MP3 for music vs. mp4 and this software helps you with all those conversions..

Download from www.dvdvideosoft.com

1. Chooser to install all programs – FREE STUDIO 5.0.4
2. This way you can then do various types of conversions for all types of projects
3. Once installed it will put a great shortcut on your desktop-called Free Studio Manager. This is the complete interface for the suite of programs that are available from dvdvideosoft.com.

Note for Power Point Users: While it is faster to simply link to a YouTube video that will play in your PowerPoint presentation, the down side of this is that you must have a live & fast internet connection for the YouTube video to play.

Here is a link to a youtube video that walks you thru inserting the link directly into the PowerPoint if you have a good internet connection:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RApFAXMtero

When you are unsure about the internet connection where you are going to do your presentation with, you can embed the YouTube video right into your PowerPoint presentation. No internet connection needed.

And also refer to updates & video tutorials which are referenced on our class blog to make this easier.. Using this and other programs simply takes a little practice – so play & enjoy…

Google Docs - Part 2 of 2

For anyone who is using Google Doc's - Google has a great new software plug-in “Cloud Connect” that easily will move any and all of our Office Word, Excel and PowerPoint files to Google Docs.

Cloud Connect, was released by Google on Thursday Feb 24^th, 2011 and it will allow users to save our files to save their files to "the cloud," which in this case is on Googles servers.

That means that once our files are saved in Google Docs, we can then edit files in Microsoft Office and sync them up to the clouds. This will also mean that it will be much easier if and when we want to collaborate on documents and will eliminate the confusion as to which version of a document is the most recent one.

"For example, you can edit a Word document's Opening Page of Grandma’s Life Story from Lake Havasu, AZ, while your sister in Quincy, MA is adding the family tree and your brother in Weymouth, MA is making other revisions.. This way, instead of having to send emails with tons of attachments, your whole family or group can work together."

And the great news is that Google will save every revision of any document users of Cloud Connect make, whether those edits take place in Office or Google Docs. And files can be shared in a view-only form via Google Docs as well with each document getting a unique Web address (just in case you don’t want someone make changes).

Cloud Connect is free and works with Office 2003, 2007 and 2010 on Windows PCs. Cloud Connect, however, won't work with Mac versions of Office. Sorry – it’s not available for Mac Users yet, but Google indicates it’s working on it, so no doubt it will be in the near future….

Check it out for yourself…

http://tools.google.com/dlpage/cloudconnect

What are Google Docs - Part 1 of 2

Have you tried Google Doc’s yet? Check it out - if you have Internet access, you can use the various aspects of Google Docs, which include Documents (Word Processing); Spreadsheets; Presentations, Drawings and Forms..

Google Docs is great for:

• anyone who travels so you can access your documents anytime anywhere


• groups who want to collaborate on various projects


• those who only use word processing software once in a while and don’t want to buy and download software on their computer...

Why Google Doc's is becoming so popular:

• You store your documents online, so you can access your documents from any computer


• No need to transfer documents to flash or portable drives or "synch" anything


• Works great with all Microsoft Office products, such as Word, Excel & PowerPoint, as well as OpenOffice, so you can upload or download your files.


• You can export documents as PDF files, so if you have Office 97-2003, this is a great/free way to convert documents to PDFs without having to upgrade to Office 2007 or 2010, or use other plug-ins


• Easy to collaborate on projects-you can make a document public or show it to others by sending a link. If you want to allow others to work on the document, you can send out an email to others notifying them that they can access the document.

Use your existing email account to sign into & set-up a Google Account-this video on YouTube explains just how to do that:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gJpkRbNto7E

Google's How To Videos

One of my favorite Boston based tech support people, Kevin Bachleder, recently shared with us a wonderful website that we should all add to our favorites/bookmarks…

http://www.teachparentstech.org/

This great website, provided by GOOGLE, shares with us their new 54 how-to videos tutorials produced and hosted by their Google employees. Each of the video tutorials runs for just under a minute on a wide variety of topics to help us better understand some of the new (and old) computer technology..

These video tutorials are a wonderful way to reinforce the “how to steps” on a variety of topics that we ask others to help us with each and every day… They cover such basics as "how to attach a file to an email" or "how to copy and paste" through to "how to find cheap flights."

So, like our other favorite Google website: http://www.allmyfaves.com/

This new one is a great addition to our favorites/bookmarks..

And if you’d like to read a little more about the new Google video help site, read the article in December 2010 PC Magazine:

www.pcworld.com/article/213621/send_your_parents_a_care_package_of_howto_videos.html

Skype - Version 5

With Skype you can make free video & voice calls over the Internet to other people anywhere in the world on Skype for as long as you like, wherever you like. Some features of Skype include free Skype-to-Skype calls, free video skype to skype calls, conference calls, instant messaging, SMS messaging and the ability to forward all calls to your mobile phone when you're offline. Skype to Skype is totally free.

Skypes “free software” must be downloaded on the computer you are using, to use Skype to make free calls or video calls.

The newest version of Skype is their 5.0 version, and the main feature that I can see is allowing group video calls. I've used Skype for more than 6 years but originally it was just a voice service for free calls from one computer to another..

We are also seeing that Skype and Facebook are working together so if friends and family have Facebook, you can make free Skype-to-Skype calls and send them “text” messages to their cell phones.

To download skype or check them out, go to www.skype.com

Skype was launched in August 2003 and it’s reported that Skype has almost 15% of the international voice market and 40+% of the video call market – so they seem to be doing something right. On Skypes Blog, they’ve stated that the word Skype is a Chuvash word ... meaning "The whole world can talk for free"