“information, computer literacy, education.” 2013 oct.pdf · icicles page 2 october 2013 this...

OCTOBER 2013 PAGE 1 ICICLES

Affiliated with the Australian Seniors Computer Clubs Association (ASCCA)

October 2013 ® Illawarra PC Users Group $2.00 Available on-line at: http://www.illawarrapcug.org.au/nl-index.html

Illawarra Computer Enthusiasts Newsletter “Information, Computer Literacy, Education.”

MEETINGS FRIDAY, 11 OCTOBER, 7:30 PM Annual General Meeting

How to insert a file as an attachment to an e-mail by Peggy Stransky

SATURDAY, 26 OCTOBER, 1:00 PM Genealogy by Ray Thorburn

QUESTION AND ANSWERS will also be a feature at both meetings. So have those questions ready, written down preferably. If you can do this, the question and answer will probably be included in the newsletter as a letter to the editor for future reference.

Ideally you should e-mail your question to the editor, who will pass it on to the relevant member so it can be properly researched.

ROUND AND ABOUT ICE SPONSORS – We express our gratitude to Travelworld Thirroul who have agreed to support the Illawarra Computer Enthusiast for another year.

PAGE SPONSORS – Many thanks to Jan Ferguson for renewing her page sponsorship for another twelve months.

We also welcome Glenrae Barker, who has agreed to sponsor page 5.

SICK LIST – We are sorry to hear that June McEwan was ill. We wish June better health on the horizon.

DATA PROJECTOR – With the purchase of a new data projector, our BenQ, Model MP720p, projector is surplus to our requirements, which had a usage of approximately 315 hours.

You have the opportunity to bid for the projector by tender. Tenders close 25 October 2013; successful tenderers will be advised by 28 October and are responsible for the collection of the said item. The following items are included:

BenQ, Model MP720p projector

Soft Carry Case

Remote Control

Antistatic Cleaning Cloth

1.8 m Power Cable

VGA Cable

USB Cable

RGB Cable

Replacement Filter

User’s Manual

User’s Manual CD

Quick Start Guide

‘QUICKIE’ RAFFLE – The results of the raffles were:

August Day meeting –

David Williams – Create-A-Card & manual

David Williams – 10 x CDR pack

PATRON: Sharon Bird MP, Member for Cunningham

Gladys Pickering – Copy paper

September Night meeting –

Wolfgang Kolodzey – 4GB Flash Drive donated by ITSA

Dusan Cugalj – 10 x CDR pack

Fred James – Copy paper

LUCKY DOOR DRAW – August Day meeting –

Peggy Stransky – ICE Downloads CD

Lorna James – CD storage box donated by Jan Ferguson

Bert Matthews – Wise up to IT DVD


Glenrae Barker – PaperMate pens

Jan Ferguson – Executive’s Guide to Windows 8

Tera Wheway – Wise up to IT DVD

(Continued on page 2)

ICICLES PAGE 2 OCTOBER 2013

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You can recycle your old printer cartridges by handing these in at the reception desk at our meetings.

ELWYN’S VIEW 4

HINTS & TIPS 5, 7, 9, 12, 13, 14

HUMOUR 7, 14

QUOTABLE QUOTES 7

STOP ME IF... 6

TRIVIA 3, 5, 9, 10, 13,14

REGULAR FEATURES

15 EXCEL FEATURES TO MASTER YOUR DATA 10

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AGENDA 6

ANNUAL REPORT 3

BRAIN RUST REMOVER EXERCISE 7

COMPARE TWO SETS OF EXCEL CHART DATA USING TRANSPARENT COLUMNS 5

FREE LEGAL PHOTOSHOP 7

IN-APP PURCHASES 12

GADGETS 13

OFFICE 2003 COULD BE HACKER’S PLAYGROUND 12

QUESTIONS & ANSWERS 12

SHUT DOWN WINDOWS 8 USING THE PC’S POWER BUTTON 11

SIGNAGE 5

TOP TEN BIGGEST TECH GAFFES 13

WINDOWS 7 MEMORY DIAGNOSTICS UTILITY 11

WHY WON’T WINDOWS PLAY MY DVD OR BLU-RAY DISC? 8

INSIDE THIS ISSUE:

Vol. 31, No. 10, October 2013

Official Journal of The Illawarra PC User Group Inc.

ABN: 81 127 508 207

4284 8754 [email protected] www.illawarrapcug.org.au

Correspondence to: Illawarra Computer Enthusiasts, 9 Ursula Road, Bulli, NSW 2516

Editorial Team and Contributors

Editor, Production, Advertising: Bodo Schwarz, [email protected]

Assistant Editor, Research: Robert Castles, [email protected]

Contributors: Lynnette Armour, Keith Brooks, Robert Davidson, Elwyn Jordan, Noel Manuel, Bodo Schwarz.

NOVEMBER NEWSLETTER CONTRIBUTION DEADLINE 7:00 AM, 15 OCTOBER 2013.

BADGE DRAW – August Day meeting –

Janet Williams – Display book donated by Bob Bydder

Robert Castles – Meet the new Windows

Glenrae Barker – Ballpoint pens 10 pack


Fred James – Display book donated by Bob Bydder

Dusan Cugalj – Complete Guide to Windows 8

Jan Ferguson – PaperMate pens

WE NEED YOUR HELP – We are seeking suggestions from members as to what you would like covered... primarily for the evening meetings. If we don’t have input from you, it is not possible to develop a useful program in isolation.

We really do want to focus on what interests you and other members.

We would of course also welcome

ROUND AND ABOUT ICE (Continued from page 1)



This page is sponsored by Bodo Schwarz

MEMBERSHIP – At the end June 2013 we had 74 members, a decrease of 11 from the same period the previous year, made up of 10 Honorary Life, 4 Ordinary, 44 Concessional and 16 Family members.

This is a worrying trend; as there has been a steady decline in membership since 2009, with a decrease of 48 members since then.

Active Participation – We will always need volunteers to do specific tasks, such as presentations, fundraising and distributing flyers at your local shopping centre.

Facebook – A special thank you to Catherine Saunders for launching our Facebook page. Members are encouraged to make use of this facility.

NEWSLETTER – Our newsletter continues to be an excellent repository of news, information and discussion. To all the contributors a big Thank You!!!

FUND RAISING – Our fund raising efforts covered a number of areas: Through monthly raffles.

Through sponsors and newsletter page sponsors.

Through the sale of ‘ICE Notes’, ICICLES Year Book and various smaller publications.

THE FUTURE – Some additional members will need to join the committee if the club is to continue to grow and develop. As well the club success always relies on the willingness of its members to be involved.

In summary, I enjoyed my term as President this year, because the club members have been so good-humoured and tolerant, especially when a demonstration goes awfully wrong for some inexplicable reason.

Pat Colby President

ANNUAL REPORT FOR THE YEAR 2012/13

I wish to thank all members of the committee, whose work goes to making the club and the meeting run so smoothly. I would also like to thank those members who promoted the club.

MONTHLY MEETINGS – The presentations at our meetings were

interesting and varied. The average attendance at our night meetings was 25, with the best attendance being 30 in February 2013.

The average attendance at the Saturday afternoon meetings was 23 and the best attendance was 29 in October 2012.

At this point I wish to thank the members who helped to set up the meeting hall and to pack away after the conclusion of the meetings. Thanks also go to people such as Fred James, who oversaw the setting up of the “technical stuff” at our meetings, Noel Manuel who looked after the raffles and Jan Ferguson who looked after our creature comforts at the meetings.

We had the pleasure to welcome guest speakers that hailed from the outside of the Club, such as Jeff Gale (UFARA) and Ray Thorburn (Kiama Family History Centre).

I must remember all the presenters who overcame their fear of speaking in public and gave us the benefit of their experience and knowledge. Bob Bydder, Robert Castles, Pat Colby, Fred James, Janet Holloway, Olav Lehmann, Norman Melvin, Catherine Saunders, Rolf Schreiber, Bodo Schwarz, Marilyn Walters have been particularly valuable in this area. Thank you all!!!

Finally, I would be amiss for not thanking Keith Brooks and Val Partridge for entertaining us at our Christmas party. Again, thank you.

SOCIAL EVENTS – The twice-yearly Social Nights are now a

part of our regular activities on the 4th Friday in June and September. September 2012 and June 2013 saw seven and ten members and their guests respectively in attendance.

10 attended the Sunday Luncheon held in March 2013.

Elephants can swim 32.2km a day.

MICROSOFT CONFIRMS WINDOWS 8.1 RTM

Microsoft is acknowledging Windows 8.1 has been released to manufacturing and that no one other than OEMs (original equipment manufacturer) will get access to the RTM (release to manufacturing) bits until 18 October.


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ELWYN’S VIEW WHEN IT ABSOLUTELY POSITIVELY HAS TO BE THERE…

By Elwyn Jordan, ICE

T hat line came from an advertisement by Federal Express. I think it was picked up

by one of the Australian courier companies too. So, when it does absolutely positively have to be there, who do you use? A reputable courier company? Australia Post? Well, I’ve had bad experiences with both of those, so I don’t know! What I do know is that when it absolutely positively gets lost, or found again and damaged, it is very frustrating! And costly.

Recently my wife posted an item that she had painted (she does folk-art) to someone in Sydney. The parcel never arrived. Australia Post said if she had the receipt they could trace it for her. So my wife took the receipt to the Post Office and they started a search to see where it was. They finally determined that it had reached Sydney, but then the trail went cold. They’d lost it. After some more checking they determined it was probably lost forever and would never make it to its destination.

So my wife had to refund the money her customer had paid for the item. Australia Post refunded us just the $8.95 it had cost in postage. This left the customer without the item, and my wife significantly out-of-pocket.

If you’re in business, things like that happen, unfortunately. It reminded me of an episode I had back when I had my part-time computer business.

I used to deal with a wholesale company in Melbourne who built computers. I’d buy the computers from them, get them shipped here and sell them to my customers. This was usually a smooth hassle-free operation. But on one occasion a computer I bought from them had a fault when I checked it over before delivering it to the customer. If it had been a simple fix I could’ve performed the repair myself and the customer would’ve been able to pick it up a day or two later: but it wasn’t. So I had to return it to the wholesaler. I packed it up and took it to a local courier company.

After about a week I called the wholesaler in Melbourne to check on its progress. They told me it hadn’t arrived. What? From here to Melbourne should be a couple of days at most! I phoned the couriers. They gave me a rather non-descript answer suggesting that it was probably delayed somewhere, but assured me that it should be there soon.

Another week went by without it arriving. By then I was getting worried. Not only was this inconveniencing my customer – who was remarkably understanding about the whole thing – but if it couldn’t be found I was going to be out-of-pocket big time! You see, the parcel wasn’t insured. Yes, I know, but I’d never had any problems with deliveries from Melbourne, and we generally didn’t bother with the extra for insurance. This was, however, a different company to the one the wholesaler used.

I went to see the courier company. They had a record of receiving the package, but no record of delivery. Despite this seemingly obvious admission that they had lost it, they informed me that due to it not being insured, there would be no refund or compensation for the value of the lost goods. “Tough luck!” was about all I got from them. Were they kidding?

During the ensuing argument someone mentioned a package that had been there for a couple of weeks without any known addressee. “That’s not yours is it?” Yes, it was! I was told that this was my fault. I had taken the package to them and filled out the delivery docket, but I hadn’t written the address on the box. I assumed that they would attach their delivery docket to it, but apparently the docket and the package were separated before that happened. So with no address where to send it, they just left it sitting there, without doing anything to try to find where it came from or where it was to go.

A couple of days later the computer arrived at the wholesaler. They fixed the problem and returned the computer to me. I opened the box, checked that it was working okay and … then I noticed the crack! The top of the computer’s front panel was cracked.

I phoned the wholesaler, assuming something might’ve happened there. “No, it was like that when it arrived.” They told me. They said they thought it odd that a new computer was damaged, but assumed the courier must have dropped it. Of course when I contacted the courier they denied any responsibility. “The wholesaler must’ve damaged it.” They suggested.



This page is sponsored by Glenrae Barker

presenters coming forward and sharing with us their IT perambulations. You don’t have to be an expert – let’s face it few of us who do many of the presentations now could hardly be considered expert – I am personally very conscious of that.

What I do bring though is my enthusiasm and that seems to carry us through. Enthusiastic amateurs like me are out there and we want to hear from you... and of course there are undoubtedly some experts too who should stop hiding their light behind the bushes.

If someone doesn’t front up then you are going to be stuck with the same old performing seals!

ROUND AND ABOUT ICE (Continued from page 2)

I couldn’t prove where the damage had occurred, but I had a fair idea! However, nothing could be done.

I called the customer and told her the bad news. The option was to sell her the computer at a reduced price (the damage was just cosmetic and only slight), or replace the case. She, naturally enough, preferred her new computer to look new, not damaged, so went with the second option. To do this the computer had to be completely dismantled and re-built in a new case. I could’ve carried done this, but it would take a few days to get it done (I didn’t have a case in stock, and was only doing this part-time remember). So, because she had been so inconvenienced by this (although was still remarkably understanding!), I took it to a local computer technician and had him do the work. A day or so later the computer was finally delivered to the patient customer.

This had cost me the courier’s charge to freight it back to Melbourne, the cost of a new case and the cost of the technician’s labour to perform the swap. As I said at the top, when you’re in business things like that happen, unfortunately; but it’s always very annoying when they do!

I never used that courier company again, and my wife now says that she will never trust another of her paintings to Australia Post!

So, when it absolutely positively has to be there… good luck!

ELWYN’S VIEW (Continued from page 4)

Topics we haven’t done much on recently include Word, Publisher, PowerPoint, Excel, and Photo manipulation, however if you are looking for demonstrations based on the latest software, that might be a big ask. Most of us stick with versions we already have that will work on Windows 7 – not necessarily the latest.

The bottom line is tell us what you want. At least we can explore the options.

You can e-mail us at the club e-mail address or at mine ([email protected]) or use the survey form on our website under the link “What we offer”... or just reply to the e-mail to which this issue is attached.

Hatred paralyses life; love releases it. Hatred confuses life; love harmonises it. Hatred darkens life; love

illuminates it.

COMPARE TWO SETS OF EXCEL CHART DATA USING

TRANSPARENT COLUMNS By Mary Ann Richardson

I t’s difficult to compare two sets of data in an Excel chart when one data series almost

totally obscures the other. For example, let’s say you create a bar chart comparing monthly sales for one subsidiary against monthly sales for the entire company. You click the data series for the subsidiary sales, click the Change Chart Type button, and select Area – it is now almost covered by the bars representing the company sales. To make the bars transparent, follow these steps:

1. Create a rectangular AutoShape in a blank area of the worksheet.

2. Right-click the rectangle and select Format AutoShape.

3. Select a fill colour.

4. Enter 58% in the Transparency box.

5. Click the Line Colour box and select No Line, and then click OK.

6. With the AutoShape selected, press [Shift] and click the Edit menu.

7. Click Copy Picture.

8. Click OK.

9. Click any bar to select the bar series in the chart.

10. Go to Edit | Paste. Source: TechRepublic, 21 August 2007


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SIGNAGE At a Tyre Store "Invite us to your next blowout."

Submitted by Noel Manuel, ICE

1. Opening of Annual General Meeting

2. Apologies & Attendance

3. Minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 12 October 2012. Motion; “That the minutes of the Annual General Meeting held on 12 October 2012 are accepted as a true and correct record of the meeting.”

4. Annual Report Motion: “That the tabled Annual Report is adopted.”

Motion: “A Vote of Thanks be accorded to the members who have put in a great deal of their time and effort working for our Club to highlight the fact that without them the Club would not function as fully and as successfully as it does.”

5. Treasurer’s Report Motion: “That the Treasurer’s report for the financial year ending 30 June 2013 is adopted.”

6. Election of Committee

a. Appointment of Returning Officer

b. Declare all positions vacant

c. Election of Officers

7. Election of 1 patron

8. General Business where due notice has been given.

9. Next Annual General Meeting

10. Close of Annual General Meeting

ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING AGENDA

COMMITTEE NOMINATIONS. The following nominations have been received at the close of nominations on 13 September 2013:

President ....................................... Bob Bydder

Vice President .................................. Pat Colby

Secretary ................................... Bodo Schwarz

Treasurer .......................................... Don Estell

A/Secretary/Treasurer ......................................

Education Officer ...............................................

Marketing Officer ..............................................

Publicity Officer ............................ Noel Manuel

Member Representatives Noel Manuel, Janet Holloway, Gladys Pickering, Peggy Stransky

Newsletter Editor ....................... Bodo Schwarz

Program Co-ordinator .......................................

Registrar ...........................................................

Technical Advisor ............................. Pat Colby

Web Administrator .................... Robert Castles

A/Web Administrator ................. Marilyn Walters

APPOINTMENTS OF PROXIES If you can’t attend the Annual General Meeting and still wish to have some input, be sure to print the APPOINTMENT OF PROXY, which can be found in your Member’s Kit, complete it and forward it to the Honorary Secretary, Illawarra Computer Enthusiasts, 9 Ursula Road, BULLI, NSW 2516.

Rule 11.0 of the Constitution states in words to the effect:

Each member shall be entitled to appoint a person who is a member as his or her proxy by notice given to the Secretary by the start of the meeting in respect of which the proxy is appointed.

The notice appointing a proxy can be found in the Constitution, Appendix 1.

The owner of a restaurant came over and asked, “How did you find your sausages, sir?” And I said, “I just looked under the mashed potato and there they were.”

STOP ME IF ... A motherboard is commonly defined as the primary circuit board that makes up and runs the compounds of

your computer. The microprocessor, your computer's memory and other basic parts are found on the motherboard.

External storage, control circuits for video and sound and other secondary devices are also connected to the motherboard.

So, basically, the motherboard makes your computer work! Aren't you glad you have one?


This page is sponsored by George H

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BRAIN RUST REMOVER EXERCISE ground --------------- feet feet feet feet feet feet


FREE LEGAL PHOTOSHOP

T he term “Photoshop” has become synonymous with editing images, and for

good reason, as it’s a fantastic tool for everything from creating web graphics to making your personal photos look better. Unfortunately the full versions of the program have traditionally been quite expensive, sending people looking for alternatives. Now even more are seeking a substitution as Photoshop has officially moved away from a boxed product at all, and is instead part of a monthly subscription service called Creative Cloud.

If you need the ability to create or modify images and aren’t a fan of paying monthly for a cloud-based service, there are quite a few

online and offline programs available to meet your needs. Before getting into the alternatives though, it’s worth mentioning that you can actually pick up a completely free (and completely legal) version of Photoshop CS2, so long as you don’t mind using older software that is no longer actively supported.

The program is available for free through Adobe (https://www.adobe.com/cfusion/entitlement/index.cfm?pid=4485850&e=cs2_downloads). You just need to sign up for an account if you don’t already have one, and then click “I Agree” at the warning screen letting you know this version of Photoshop isn’t still supported.

Scroll down to the “Photoshop CS2” heading and click the download link for either the Windows or Mac version. Double-click the installation file, follow the on-screen prompts, and you’ve got yourself a full working version of Photoshop that isn’t cloud-based. Source: Tech Tips Weekly, 6 September 2013

If you use Chrome or Firefox, you can pin a tab by right-clicking it and selecting Pin tab. The web page in

the pinned tab will automatically open each time you open a new browser window.

QUOTABLE QUOTE “I'm just glad it'll be Clark Gable who's falling on his face and not Gary Cooper." – Gary Cooper on his decision not to take the leading role in "Gone With The Wind." Submitted by Lynnette Armour, ICE

DON’T PANIC. If all else fails try the Undo function (click Edit then Undo).


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thirroul

Licence No. 2TA4622. A Travelworld Franchise Office owned and operated by Keith and

Ann-Maree Scott.

See Ann-Maree and Keith for all your travel arrangements

Shop 9B, Thirroul Plaza Thirroul, NSW 2515

4267 4011 4267 4125 [email protected]

WHY WON’T WINDOWS PLAY MY DVD OR BLU-RAY DISC? By Justin Pot

Y ou insert a DVD into your Windows 8 computer – you want to watch a movie.

Nothing happens. You try opening Windows Media Player. It can’t play the disk.

What’s going on with Windows 8 and DVDs? And for that matter, Blu-ray discs?

You’re not the first person to ask this, and you won’t be the last. The answer, basically, is that Windows 8 cannot play DVDs or Blu-Ray disks out of the box.

Why? Because the software technology for playing these disks isn’t free – Microsoft previously paid $2 for every copy of Windows sold, just for the right to use the patented technology needed to play DVDs. Considering the ever-increasing number of devices without optical drives, Microsoft decided it wasn’t worth paying for features many people can’t even use.

So what is a movie-loving Windows 8 user to do? There are basically two options: finding third party software that can play your disks, or paying Microsoft for the privilege. Let’s go over both possibilities.

Option A: Install A Different Media Player Windows 8 can’t play DVDs out of the box, but that doesn’t mean third party programs can’t. We’ve written a lot about VLC, and this program can easily play any DVD (and unencrypted Blu-Ray disks – there’s experimental support for encrypted Blu-Rays in the works, but that’s an issue for another article entirely).

VLC can be a little hard to use, but not for playing DVDs: just click “File” followed by “Open Disc”.

In most cases the menu will show up, allowing you to play your DVD however you like.

Want more of a lean-back experience? I highly recommend XBMC. The program is designed to make browsing media on your computer easy, but also supports DVDs out of the box. It takes some setting up, but you’ll end up liking it – and the DVD playback is basically automatic.

Both of these options are fantastic for DVDs, but somewhat lacking for Blu-Ray. The format, created by Sony, is a tough nut for free software to crack – it’s heavily encrypted, so you may need something commercial for the job. You’ll need to pay for software, such as



This page is sponsored by Dusan C

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Wedding & Special Event – Video Film, slides, photos & video to DVD, editing, DVD recovery, video editing & camera training

02 4267 3232 or 0409 902 838

[email protected]

www.robertcastles.com

Robert donates his services to update the ICE web site

WinDVD Pro.

Before you buy anything, though, know that most computers that come with a Blu-Ray drive include some sort of Blu-Ray software. Check your computer for software if it’s new, or check your collection of disks if you upgraded to Windows 8. You’ll probably find something that can play Blu-Ray discs.

Option B: Give Microsoft Your Money Couldn’t get the above solutions to work? Well, you can also pay Microsoft. It’s not as though Redmond simply stopped offering DVD and Blu-Ray support – they just started charging for it, along with their Media Centre software.

Microsoft briefly offered this software free of charge, but that period is over. How much does it cost now? That depends on which version of Windows 8 you currently have: Windows 8 Pro users need to pay considerably less. Here’s what you can expect to pay:

$99.99 if you’re just using Windows 8 (i.e., not Windows 8 Pro) – you’ll need to upgrade to the Pro Pack, which comes with Media Centre and a bunch of other, unrelated features. Microsoft itself advises people to purchase third-party DVD software instead of doing this.

$9.99 if you’re already using Windows 8 Pro – you’ll only need to download the Media Centre Pack.

Upgrading is simple: just open the Control Panel, then click “Add Features to Windows 8″. You’ll be shown the upgrade available, depending on which version of Windows 8 you’re using.

Enterprise users: you cannot download the Media Center Pack. Stick with the free and/or commercial options outlined above.

WHY WON’T WINDOWS PLAY MY DVD OR BLU-RAY DISC? (Continued from page 8)

Conclusion Is it annoying that Microsoft stopped supporting DVDs by default? Yes. Is it understandable? Considering they were paying for patents customers may or may not even be using, probably. As a long-time Ubuntu user I grew accustomed to these shortcomings, but it’s a new problem for Windows users – and an especially frustrating one for people who paid for an upgrade only to lose features.

Source: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/why-wont-windows-play-my-dvd-or-blu-ray-disc/?utm_campaign=newsletter&utm_source=2012-05-06

Geek trivia: The nightly stress test performed on Windows 2000 during development is the equivalent of three months of run time on up to 1,500 computers.

AutoCorrect (Word 2003) Word’s AutoCorrect feature is useful for correcting words you

might routinely mistype. Some of the more common typing errors, such as typing “teh” instead of “the”, are already included in the list of words it corrects. Another not-so-well-known feature of AutoCorrect is the ability to add abbreviations for short phrases, chemical formulas, medical terms and signatures or people’s names. To create an AutoCorrect entry for a portion of text: a. Open the Normal template. b. Type and format your details. c. Select the entire portion of text. d. Choose “Tools”, “AutoCorrect”. The

selected text will automatically be placed in the “With” box. The “Formatted Text” button should be highlighted. If not, click on it.

e. Type an abbreviation, such as your initials, in the “Replace” box. Click “Add”.

To use this shortcut, just type the abbreviation in your document and press the space-bar. The entire portion of text will be inserted.


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15 EXCEL FEATURES TO MASTER YOUR DATA Continued from previous month

Microsoft Excel is packed with powerful tools. Darien Graham-Smith runs through some easy-to-use features for analysing and presenting data.

Managing your data 1. Remove duplicates

If you’ve imported a large amount of data from another program, you may have any number of duplicate entries. You can get rid of these manually by sorting and deleting cells, but Excel can do it for you: simply select the table, then go to the Data tab and click Remove Duplicates. If you’ve selected a two-dimensional range, you can specify which columns must all match for a row to qualify as a duplicate.

2. Name your cells and ranges In a large spreadsheet, you’re likely to be working with numerous ranges of data, and making sense of your cell references can quickly become confusing. You can make life easier by assigning names to important cells and ranges so that, in place of opaque formulae such as “=SUM(A19:J31)+L16”, you can use readily readable descriptions such as "=SUM(Payments)+Bonus”. You’ll find the Define Name tool under the Formulas tab. Once you’ve created a name, you’ll see it come up as an autocomplete suggestion whenever you type in a formula, although old cell references in existing formulae won’t automatically update.

3. Trace precedents and dependents No matter how neatly you organise your spreadsheet, sooner or later you’re likely to come across a confusing formula that seems to draw data from a dozen unexpected places. You can get a visual indication of exactly which cells it’s referring to by selecting the cell, then opening the Formulas tab and selecting Trace Precedents (under Formula Auditing). A handy set of arrows will show exactly which values are used. Similarly, a click on the Trace Dependents button will reveal, at a glance, exactly which cells in a worksheet contain references to the selected cell. Note that if you have a range of cells selected when you click, only the cell that’s actually active (that is, the unshaded one from which you started dragging) will be traced.

4. Show formulas In a large spreadsheet you can lose track of which cells contain raw data and which contain calculated values. A click on Show Formulas – again under the Formulas tab – will expand all cells containing calculations to show their formulae instead of the results. Click again to return to the regular view. In Excel 2013, you can also create a Conditional Formatting rule to highlight cells where “=ISFORMULA(A1)” is true (replace A1 with the reference of the top-left cell of your selected range). Another easy way to find formulae and other types of cell is with the Go To command, which is located on the Home tab under Editing (you can also access it by pressing Ctrl-G or F5). The Go To window shows you a list of named references you can jump to; click “Special...” and you can use it to select cells of many types, including precedents, formulae, blanks and comments.

5. Paste Special You probably know that you can use the smart tag that appears when you hit “paste” to specify formatting options for pasted data. You may not know about the more powerful “Paste Special” dialogue: you can find it under the Paste dropdown on the Home tab, or you can open it directly by pressing Alt-Ctrl-V. The Paste Special window makes it easy to paste only the values of the formulae you’ve copied, or to copy only aspects of the source’s visual style. You can also use this feature to perform calculations on several cells at once. Select Add and, rather than replacing the destination cells, the source cells’ values will be added to them. As a final trick, try ticking Transpose in the Paste Special window: you’ll see that your pasted cells are flipped around, so columns become rows and rows become columns – something that’s otherwise a pain to achieve.

To be continued Source: PC & Tech Authority newsletter, 14 May 2013

The world's largest squash weighed 435kg.


This page is sponsored by Fred and Lorna James

WINDOWS 7 MEMORY DIAGNOSTICS UTILITY

I f you suspect that your computer has a memory issue, but it’s not being detected

automatically, it’s best to make use of the Windows Memory Diagnostics utility that’s built-in to Windows 7.

Here’s how to access it:

Click Start, and in the Search Box type mdsched.exe. You can then either hit the Enter key or click the mdsched icon that appears in the search results above.

The window that pops up will ask you if you want to run the memory diagnostic now or when you next restart your computer. Make sure if you choose to run it now that all of your work has been saved.

Whichever option you click, eventually you’ll end up at a screen that looks like this:

It will take a few minutes for the utility to complete the test. When it’s done, your computer will restart automatically.

…and hopefully you’ll see this message in the bottom-right corner when Windows is fully booted.

If not, you may want to call tech support. Source: Tech Tips Weekly, 24 May 2013

SHUT DOWN WINDOWS 8 USING THE PC’S POWER BUTTON Most people don’t associate pressing the power button on a PC with a controlled shut down procedure, because in the old days doing so would just turn off the power - akin to pulling the plug of a running PC. However, pressing the Power button on the front of your PC will initiate the exact same procedure as selecting Shut down from Windows 8’s Power Charm.


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QUESTIONS & ANSWERS CHANGE MOUSE TO SINGLE CLICK IN WINDOWS 7

Q I am running Windows 7 and cannot figure out how to change to single click. My mouse will appreciate it, as well as myself.

A You and your mouse will be glad to know that it is very simple to change to single click.

Click the Start button in the lower left corner and then click Control Panel. The Control Panel window opens on your screen.

Click the View By Category option in the upper right corner and select Small Icons. Click Folder Options from the list of icons displayed on your screen.

Select Single-click to open an item (point to select) from the Click Items as Follows Section. Click the Apply button to save your changes, and then click OK to close the window.

Click the X in the upper right-hand corner to close the Control Panel window. Your mouse should now be set to single-click.

Office 2003 Could Be Hacker’s Playground

W ith the end of support for Microsoft Office 2003 coming in April 2014, a lot of

businesses could be vulnerable to malicious attacks. Just like Windows XP, Office 2003 will no longer receive security updates or bug fixes.

But a lot of home and business users are perfectly happy with Office 2003 and aren’t in any hurry to change. Especially businesses who might have to retrain their employees to use the completely different interface of programs like Office 2013.

But businesses using Office 2013 will likely be a prime target for attacks, putting their date and their customer’s data at risk.

IN-APP PURCHASES

M obile apps that are free to download sometimes require in-app purchases to

maximise the experience of the app. Avoid unexpected bills by knowing how to prevent unauthorised in-app purchases on your mobile device.

Go to http://www.accc.gov.au/ click on ‘In-app purchases’ and follow the links.

Source: http://www.accc.gov.au/

Want to find large e-mails in Gmail that you can easily delete to free up space?

Search for size:5m in Gmail – you'll see all threads that take 5 MB or more of space. You could also search for has:attachment to find all e-mails with attachments, which often take up more space.


This page is sponsored by Lorraine and Lynnette

Six feet underground

Submitted by Keith Brooks, ICE

BRAIN RUST REMOVER EXERCISE (Continued from page 7)

TOP TEN BIGGEST TECH GAFFES Continued from last month

By Chris Jager "Most people, I think, don't even know what a rootkit is, so why should they care about it?" – Thomas Hesse, 2005 (on the Sony BMG rootkit fiasco).

The Sony BMG copy protection rootkit scandal was a huge deal. Hidden in music CDs, the rootkit would silently install on customers' computers and limit the user's ability to access the CD they had paid good money for. It also left the door wide open for malware exploits.

During an NPR interview, Sony's President of Global Digital Business attempted to dismiss the entire fiasco via the above quote. This cavalier attitude towards a serious breach of consumer trust was arguably more heinous than the rootkit itself.

"We want consumers to think to themselves 'I will work more hours to buy one'." – Ken Kutaragi, 2005 (on the price of the PlayStation 3).

Sony Computer Entertainment's former president Ken Kutaragi was infamous for his batty comments. Indeed, we could have filled this entire list with some of his 'greatest hits'. But

the above quote about the PlayStation 3's $1000 price tag arguably tops the lot.

Work more hours to buy one? The arrogance of this statement is mind-blowing. Naturally, the worker drones of the world took serious umbrage at Kutaragi's suggestion – the backlash against the PlayStation brand had begun.

Source: PC & Tech Authority, 11 November 2011 To be continued

Beyond a wholesome discipline, be gentle with yourself. You are a child of the universe no less than the trees and the stars; you have a right to be here. And whether or not it is clear to you, no doubt the

universe is unfolding as it should.

Document Scanning Computer Mouse.

T his is the mouse that scans documents or pictures to a computer. A scanner on the

bottom of the mouse scans as the device is moved in any direction across a document. The included software stitches together the scanned segments and properly aligns the image for an exact, seamless digital reproduction. The software allows users to send scans via e-mail, share them on social networks, print, or save them as PDFs or JPEGs. The device scans up to 28 cm x 43 cm documents at 300 dpi, resulting in crisp digital images. Scanning is initiated when the button on the side of the device is pressed, preserving the traditional functionality of the mouse. With left and right click buttons and a clickable scroll wheel. Plugs into USB. Compatible with Windows 8, 7, Vista, or XP Source: http://www.hammacher.com/

GADGETS

Don't forget your browser's zoom feature. Hold the Ctrl key and press the + or - keys or rotate the mouse

wheel to zoom in and out.


Disclaimer: The Illawarra PC Users Group Inc. disclaim all responsibility for any losses or damage which may be attributed to the use or misuse of any material published in this Newsletter.

The ILLAWARRA COMPUTER ENTHUSIASTS NEWSLETTER ’ICICLES’ is published by the Illawarra PC Users Group Inc., 9 Ursula Road, Bulli, NSW 2516

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