Computer Tip of the Week – Let AutoCorrects Make You a Much Faster Typist

computer tip of the week let autocorrects make you a much faster typist

Computer Tip

This week’s computer tip will help save you time, and therefore money. We’re going to talk about MS Word’s AutoCorrect feature and how to use it.

AutoCorrect has long been a feature of Word. Essentially, Autocorrect automatically corrects frequently misspelled words. Give it a try. Type ADN and a space in Word and see what happens. This can be a problem when you want to add ADN (Associate Degree Nursing) to the end of a name, but I would rather have that inconvenience than to send out a letter featuring the word adn.

So, how do you use AutoCorrect to your advantage?

What if you work for a neurosurgeon and frequently have to type neurosurgeon, neurosurgery, neurology, neurologist. What if, instead, you merely typed nsg, nsy, nry and nrgt, respectively. Instead of typing 10 or 11 characters, you typed three. That’s a big time saver.

Be careful that you don’t use a combination of letters that you might want to use in normal text. For example, if you use “usa” for “understanding systems administration”, each time you type USA, the corrected phrase will appear. So, instead of using usa, try usa1.

Creating an AutoCorrect is fairly straightforward.

  • Open Word
  • Select File, Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options
  • This is where you will record your new AutoCorrect
  • Press the AutoCorrect tab (you may have been brought there automatically)
  • In the open field that says “Replace”, enter your abbreviated phrase, WIG
  • In the open field that says “With”, enter “When I go”.
  • Now, each time you type “WIG”, “When I go” will appear in its place.

Think about how much time this can save. Come up with a list of common industry phrases in your office. How many of those could become AutoCorrects?

Here at AE Tech Group, we believe in working smarter. To find other ways we can help you work smarter, please contact us.

Computer Tips: Five Ways to Make Your Passwords Hack-Resistant

computer tips five ways to make your passwords hack resistant

computer tips

Computer tips are a great way to simplify your online experience. Check out these tips on password security:

Creating a secure password is a must in today’s world of online banking and information storage, especially for business-related activity. While it may seem easier to come up with one password and use it for everything, it’s not advisable. Just as in the physical world, there are virtual thieves happy to misappropriate information if you leave yourself and your company unprotected.

Here are 5 ways to make your passwords hack-resistant:

  1. Use a Combination of Letters and Numbers- Using a combination of capital letters, small letters, numbers and symbols makes it harder for a hacker to decipher the password.
  2. The Longer, the Better- Even though it may seem like a hassle to input, a longer password is more secure. The odds of figuring out a four-letter word are much better than those of figuring out a 12-14 letter word.
  3. Password Manager- These programs are available from a multitude of companies. They are basically a repository for all of your passwords and are exceptionally secure. Some of them even generate safe passwords for you and store them. All you have to do is think of a password for the storage site.
  4. No Names!- It is a big no-no to use personal information in a password. Birthdates, given and last names, and anything that is easily identified with you personally should be off-limits.
  5. Using Incomplete Words- While this idea could make you work a little harder to remember your password, it is very effective. Using incomplete words (s2p1d instead of stupid, for example) and substituting numbers and symbols for letters are both great ways to secure your password.

With a little extra effort, it’s not difficult to secure your company’s information. Every step you take to protect information creates one more barrier against hackers, which in turn protects your business information and assets.

Contact us for more tips and tech support.

AutoCorrect Can Help Insert Symbols

autocorrect can help insert symbols

Would you like to type 27° instead of 27 degrees? What about using the £ sign, instead of typing pound? Maybe a ¢ is what you need? These and thousands of other symbols are available to you in MS Word.

The traditional way to access these symbols, depending on your version of Word, was to click on the Insert tab, open the Symbol dialog box and sift through thousands of symbols to find the one you need. If you had recently used the symbol you sought, then it would be at the top. If not, get ready to sift!

Here’s a simple way to have easier, more elegant access to all of the symbols you frequently use. Create AutoCorrects. What if 1P (one penny in your head) became ¢? Wouldn’t that be a lot easier? DG (degree in your head) could be °. LB = £.

In this week’s computer tip, we’re going to show you how to create AutoCorrect symbols.

To create an AutoCorrect to insert a symbol in Word 2013:

  1. Open Word. Open a blank document.
  2. First, you must find your symbol. Click Insert and Symbol. Find the symbol you want and select it, so that it appears on your blank document.
  3. Select File, Options, Proofing, AutoCorrect Options.
  4. Select the AutoCorrect tab.
  5. In the open field that says “Replace”, enter your abbreviated phrase, 1P.
  6. In the open field that says “With”, copy and paste the ¢ symbol. Now, each time you type “1P”, “¢” will appear in its place.

AutoCorrect is a powerful tool, allowing you to have professional looking work in less time. Here at AE Tech Group, we believe in working smarter. To find other ways we can help you work smarter, please contact us.

Implementing a File Naming Policy with Outsourced IT Support

implementing a file naming policy with outsourced it support

Data growth, structure and the management of it has been the topic of numerous studies, seminars and training. One of the things that gets missed is the simple naming of files and folders. Why does it matter?  Imagine looking for certain data or files created by employees months or years ago. It is always difficult to find.

You may have employees look through their own files and some will check back in their email. Other times someone will simply go through the long and painful process of searching for the information in folders on some shared storage device, Sharepoint, or in backups.

If your company had a standardized method of naming files and folders this process could be so much easier. Take into account that Microsoft Word automatically names files and many employees will just accept these names. Often this is just the first sentence or cell of the file.

Excel by default names it “book1”. Google docs calls it “untitled”. Rarely is this helpful months or years later when someone is looking for a file. Imagine if there was a policy in place to properly name files when they are first saved. What would that look like?

Setting up a method for the naming of files and folders is not difficult.  There are a few things that should be considered first.

  1. No spaces. While Microsoft and Apple operating systems can deal with spaces and special characters in file names it is best to avoid them. Often a file is shared online, or in a way that ends up being viewed in a browser. Dropbox, Google Drive, OneDrive, Sharepoint, and others all allow you to view file names this way. Spaces might look like an underline, they may look like a space, or an underline might look like a space. If you are looking for a file in backups spaces are not helpful.  It is best just to avoid spaces.
  2. No special characters. Avoid special characters for that same reason, and more. Stick to letters and numbers. Anyone that has written code of just about any kind has had to deal with escape characters for data that may include special characters. Months from now, long after whatever document has been created, someone is going to go searching for it. Whatever tool they are using will treat special characters differently than normal characters and numbers. If the file names ever get input into a database special characters may just be removed. If the file needs to be pulled from backups, special characters just complicate the search. Just avoid using special characters in file and folder names.
  3. Everyone must use it. Try not to have one naming method for accounting and one for production and one for marketing. The naming method should be specific enough to have meaning but broad enough to be used throughout an organization. Having a standard for file naming really only works if everyone uses it. This includes getting management of all levels to agree it is a good idea. While this is more of a political question than a technical one, getting outside help is an option. Having IT professionals involved will make it easier to explain the time and effort that can be saved in the future.

No one method will work for every business. Bringing in an outside consulting company to help with the process is a good idea. Remembering that this process is really being done for the future, months and years from now you will be glad you took it seriously and spent the time, money and effort to do it right.

Some companies use a system that includes the first four characters of a client’s name. Some companies will use a month and year in the file names and the initials of the original creator. For instance, an accounting company may have a balance sheet for a client named Acme that is created in November of 2015 named acme11082015bal. The key to the whole thing is that the name for both the file and the folder it is put in will be understandable months or years later, to someone that has never seen the file before.

Computer Tip of the Week: Time-Saving Macros

computer tip of the week time saving macros

computer tips

Computers promised to make things easier, so why are we all working so hard? In this series, we’ll be offering computer tips that apply directly to working in today’s offices.

This week’s Tip: Use macros a LOT more than you are now!

Many people are afraid of macros. You don’t need to be. We’ll show you how to create your own macros and how to use them.

Why do you want to use macros? A macro is just a collection of saved keystrokes. So, if you type a letter to Dr. John Smith every day, you can create a macro with his name and mailing address called [alt] J S. Then, next time you need to type a letter to Dr. Smith, hold the [alt] key and press J S. His name and address will appear on your page. Even if you just created a macro for his name, you would use three keystrokes instead of sixteen. What a time-saver! There are over 2200 possible combinations of letters, numbers and symbols you can use.

To create a macro in Word 2013, click on the View tab, drop down the menu under Macros (far right) and click Create Macro. A Record Macro dialogue box will pop open. Select Keyboard. A new Customize Keyboard dialogue box will open, with the cursor in the Press new shortcut key box. Hold the [alt] key down and press J and then S. Select Assign. Now, type exactly what you want the macro to record, including formatting features such as centering, bold  and italics. When you have finished typing your macro, again select the Macros tab at the top and select Stop Recording.

To use the macro, simply position your cursor where you want the text to start and press [alt] J S. Voila – Dr. Smith’s name and address.

Macros are not just for addresses. Any text that you type frequently can be turned into a macro. So, if you have a standard applicant rejection letter, or a disclaimer that needs to be included, turn it into a macro. Don’t forget, you have over 2200 macro name combinations available.

Here at AE Tech Group, we believe in working smarter. To find other ways we can help you work smarter, please contact us.