Quickly Reduce the File Size of a Picture or Word Document Containing Pictures

The JPEG (Joint Photographic Experts Group) is a file format that compresses pictures.  If you save a picture that has a different file extension (such as .BMP, .GIF, or .TIFF) as a .JPG the picture will compress and the file size will be smaller.

Here's how to compress a single picture that is not a JPEG:

1. Open the picture in any picture program such as Google's Picasa or Window's Paint.
2. Click File > Save As
3. Change the file save as type to .JPG
4. Click Save.

To compress pictures in a Microsoft Word document:

1. Open the Word document that contains pictures/graphics to compress.
2. Double-click on any picture within the document.
3. Follow instructions based on your version of MS Word:
1. Word 2007-2010:  click "Compress Pictures" on the Picture Tools tab, deselect "Apply to selected picture only" (2007) or "Apply only to this picture" (2010), and then click OK.
2. Word 2003: In the Format Picture dialog box on the Picture tab, click Compress. Select radio button Apply to: "All pictures in document"; click OK; click Apply; click OK to close the Format Pictures dialog box.

To create a "Compressed Folder" to attach to an email with files inside, see my Blog Archive from June 1, 2009.

How to make file extensions show in Microsoft Windows

1.       Right-click on the Start button and then click, “Open Windows Explorer”.

2.       From the Menu bar, click Tools and then click Folder Options.  (If the Menu bar is not displayed, press the ALT key to display the Menu bar.)

3.       Click the View tab in the Folder Options window .

4.       Deselect “Hide extensions for known file types”.

5.       Click OK.

Automatically Rip (copy) a Music CD to your Windows 7 Computer

Follow the steps below to Rip (copy) music from a CD to your Windows 7 computer:

Before beginning the steps below, make sure you are connected to the internet.  When your computer is connected to the Internet, the Player attempts to retrieve media information about the tracks being ripped from an online database.  The Player then adds the information to the files during ripping.

1.       Click the Start button.

2.       Type Windows Media Player in the search box.

3.       Click Windows Media Player to open the program.

4.       On the Menu bar, click Tools and then Options.  (Note: if you don’t see the menu bar, it might be hidden.  Click Organize > Layout > Show Menu bar to show the Menu bar.)

5.       In the Options window, click the Rip Music tab.

6.       Click the checkbox: “Rip CD automatically”

7.       Click the checkbox: “Eject CD after ripping”

8.       OPTIONAL: change the save location, file name, format, or audio quality on the Rip Music tab.

9.       Click OK.

10.   Insert a music CD to copy.

11.   If Autoplay opens or another program opens to play the CD, click the X to close it.  Windows Media player must remain open.

12.   You should see the names of each music track and the program will automatically begin ripping each track.  If you don’t want to copy every track, uncheck the box in front of the track.

13.   When the entire CD has finished copying, the CD will automatically eject if you selected that option above.

14.   To copy another music CD, just insert it and repeat steps 11 and 12 above.

15.   Now you can remove the CD and locate the music you just ripped by clicking Music in the navigation pane on the left.  Double-click to open a folder and then double-click a song title to play a song.

Notes:
If you do not see your music listed in Windows Media Player, click Start > My Music and locate the folder containing the music you ripped.  Double-click on the folder to open it and then double-click the song title to play.

Windows XP also allows you to Rip a music CD but the instructions are slightly different.

Internet Browsers - why you need 2...

Recently I've had some issues with my current browser -Internet Explorer 9.  I couldn't edit my own website and on certain websites I was not able to save my user name and password so that I don't have to type it every time I visit the site.  When I tried the same tasks using Firefox 8...no problem!

Every browser is different so you should check them out and see which one works best for you.  The browsers are free so it's a good idea to download at least 2 so that if you have a problem with one, you can easily switch to another.

Only 1 browser can be your DEFAULT browser, which means when you click on an internet link from your email or other program, the DEFAULT browser opens.  (Usually when you open a browser that is not your DEFAULT browser, you will be asked if you want to make the current browser your DEFAULT browser.  If you want to change your DEFAULT browser to the browser you just opened, click YES when prompted.)

Most PC's come with Internet Explorer already installed.  To download additional browsers, check out the following websites:

firefox.com

https://www.google.com/chrome/

Create a Chart in Microsoft Excel with 1 Keystroke

If you want to create a simple column chart in Microsoft Excel, do this:

• Click anywhere within the data you wish to chart and press the
  F11 key  (function key at the top of your keyboard).

This action works nicely if your data is consecutive with no blank rows
or columns between the data.  If your data is NOT consecutive, you will
need to select the data BEFORE pressing the F11 key.

The chart below is the result of clicking in any cell above and pressing F11.

Click on the chart below to enlarge the chart.

What’s [Compatibility Mode]?

If you are using MS Office 2007 or 2010, and you view a file that was created in an earlier version of MS Office, you will see [Compatibility Mode] next to the file name in the title bar. 

While in [Compatibility Mode], the tools that are new in your version of Office will not be available.  Just convert the file to the current version to be able to use the new tools.  Here’s how:

1. View the file you want to convert.

2. Do ONE of the following:
     a.  In Office 2007 – click the Office Button in the top left corner.
     b.  In Office 2010 – click the File tab on the Ribbon.

3. Click Convert.
4. The following message appears:

5. Click OK.

NOTE: It is not necessary to convert a file unless you want to use the new features in the program to edit the file.

How to make a document READ-ONLY

Prevent someone from accidentally changing your Word or WordPad document…

Make the document READ-ONLY

If you set the attributes of a document to READ-ONLY, when you open the document, the Title bar (at the top of the window) will show the name of the document along with the words [READ-ONLY].

This means you can make changes, but when you go to save the document, the program will require you to save the file with a new name or location to prevent over-writing the original document.

Of course if you really want to change the original document, just remove the READ-ONLY property BEFORE you open the file.

Here’s how to make a document READ-ONLY:

1.    Locate the file but DO NOT OPEN IT.

2.    Right-click on the file name.

3.    Click PROPERTIES.

4.    On the GENERAL tab, click the check-box for READ-ONLY.

      5.    Click OK.