Sample pixels from more than just the active layer (Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

In Adobe Photoshop you can sample pixels from layers other than the active one. To do so, select the Magic Wand, Smudge, Blur, Sharpen, Paint Bucket, or Clone Stamp tool from the Tools panel. Then, select the Use All Layers check box on the tool Options bar. The tool you chose samples pixels from all visible layers, not just the active layer.

Color code meetings and appointments on your Outlook Calendar using labels (2002/2003)

When you create an appointment or meeting request, you can choose to color code these events using labels. Using color is advantageous if, for example, you have both your work and personal items on one calendar. This way you're able to quickly view what you need to do for both work and home in a given day.

Remote administration: security weak link? (Windows)

The ability to remotely administer your servers isn't just a convenience; in some cases, it's essential. But, when a system can be accessed remotely - especially a domain controller or other critical server - there's a chance that it will be accessed by the wrong person, for the wrong reasons.

Missing a Title Master? Insert one in a snap (PowerPoint 2000/2002/2003/2004)

Some PowerPoint presentations lack a Title Master when you choose View | Master from the menu bar, so the option is unavailable (either grayed out or not displayed at all). When this happens, you can simply insert a new Title Master.

Sorting stored procedures by Create Date in Enterprise Manager may not work! (SQL Server 2000)

Here's a puzzler: Open up Enterprise Manager (EM), drill down to a database on your SQL Server, and select the Tables node. Now, in the right panel, try sorting the list of tables in ascending and descending order. Works just fine, right? But now select the Stored Procedures node and try the same thing. Look closely.

Quickly remove a gradient mesh (Illustrator CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

If you discover that you need your vector art back without the mesh grid, use the Selection tool to select the object that contains a mesh and choose Object > Path > Offset Path and enter 0 in the Offset Value text box. Click OK to exit the dialog box. You’ll still see your original mesh, but select the object and delete it and you’ll find a copy of just the path remains underneath. You’ll need to repeat the process in Illustrator with each individual mesh piece if your object contains more than one mesh.

Find all occurrences of a word at once (Excel 2002/2003)

In Excel 2002 and later, you can quickly locate and navigate to all instances of a particular character string. To do so, choose Edit | Find from the menu bar or press [Ctrl]F to launch the Find And Replace dialog box. Then, enter the text you want to find in the Find What text box. Finally, click the Find All button.

Change your mouse pointer (Win XP)

One of the neatest features in Windows XP is the capability to customize the operating system to suit your individual tastes and style. And this includes your ability to change your mouse pointer from an arrow or an hourglass to a cool alternative of your choice.

Shortcuts for selecting InDesign's tools (CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

Don't keep going back to the Tools panel every time you need to select a different tool. Nearly every DTP tool has a shortcut key assigned to it. For those that don't, you can assign them one using the Keyboard Shortcuts command. Additionally, there are other ways to activate certain tools. For example, you can double-click on a text frame with the Selection tool to select the Type tool. And while the Type tool is active in a text frame, you can press the [command] key ([Ctrl] key in Windows) to temporarily select the Selection tool. Take advantage of these shortcuts to work more efficiently in InDesign!

Use On Error Resume Next sparingly (VBScript 4.0+)

Normally, when VBScript code produces an error, it throws an exception and the ASP page immediately terminates. Unfortunately, there may be times, especially while debugging, when you need the page to continue despite the error. In such cases, instead of writing a special error handler, use the statement: On Error Resume Next instead. This statement allows VBScript to return to the point in the code after where the error occurred and continue normal processing.

Send a status report for a task in Outlook (2000/2002/2003)

You can keep people informed of the progress of a task whenever you want. In Microsoft Outlook click on the Task folder in the Folder List (click on the Tasks icon in the Navigation Pane in 2003), and then open the task for which you want to create the status report by double-clicking on it in the task list. Then, choose Actions | Send Status Report from the Standard toolbar of the Task message. A Task Status Report then opens; enter the names of the people you'd like to send the status report to in the To field, and then click Send.

Manage your guides (QuarkXPress 5/6)

After you create guides in your QuarkXPress layout, you may want to remove, lock, or unlock some or all of them. The Guide Manager makes doing these things quick and easy. To access the Guide Manager choose Utilities > Guide Manager. In the Guide Manager dialog box, click on the Remove Or Lock Guides tab to access the various options in the Remove Guides and Lock Guides areas.

Improve your computer’s performance on Windows Vista

One of the great things about Windows Vista is its Performance Management. In other Windows Operating Systems, you either had to buy a third-party tool to analyze your computer or you had to know the intricate details on how to pinpoint performance trouble spots.

Use the [esc] key to make Photoshop behave (Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

If you try to use a keyboard shortcut and Adobe Photoshop ignores it or delivers an alert message when you know the command should work, you probably have a panel option or a field active. Instead of trying to track down the interference, simply press the [esc] key and try your shortcut again. With any luck, your command will execute as expected.

7 tips for great HTML emails

HTML emails are popular for promoting business advertisements in online marketing. Whether you're sending an email newsletter or special promo, you can count on HTML to send a visually appealing message. Here are some ways to get the most out of the email advertising messages you send:

View field code or shading to easily identify fields (Word 2000/2002/v. X/2003)

Fields in Microsoft Word can blend in with your document's surrounding text, making it difficult for you to identify them and edit their contents. To make fields stand out from other document text, you have two options: you can display field code and display field shading.

Work better with your gradient meshes (Illustrator CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

We recommend turning on Smart Guides (View > Smart Guides) as you work with a gradient mesh in Adobe Illustrator. Smart Guides will help you visualize the relationships between your meshes as you draw them. To renew the mesh for additional color information when using Smart Guides, you must click the Direct Selection tool on a path--not an intersection, which gives you the opportunity to remove the white diamonds or squares, which is necessary to apply color.

Forest trusts allow cross-forest authentication (Windows 2003)

In Windows 2000, the only way you could allow users to access resources in different forests was to create external trusts. Since such trusts aren't transitive, you had to create trusts between all domains in each forest and performance was slow.

Highlighting Active Text Input Fields (HTML forms/Javascript)

Ever wondered how to "Highlight" your current entry field in a web form? Javascript allows you to do this by simply adding the script below inside the <head> </head> section of your web page.

Minimize Windows Boot time (Windows XP)

If you’re speed freak and feeling adventurous in squeezing every second to make your Windows PC start faster, then this is for you. The "Windows" boot process is a complex set of processes usually governed by a few config files.

Find out the size of an exported web image (QuarkXPress 5/6)

After you've exported an image for the web in QuarkXPress, you can find out the file size quite simply. In Macintosh OS X, select the image's icon on your desktop and press [command]I. In Windows, right-click on the file and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. Once you know the exact file size of the compressed web image, you can calculate how long it will take to transmit over the web.

Make your website stand out with a favicon

A favicon is used to display a site logo or any custom icon, next to a website's URL in the address bar. It appears also in the Favorites/Bookmark menu and helps a site get noticed easily from the user’s crowded list of web URLs.

Add similar links quickly using a hyperlink base (Word 2000/2002/v. X/2003)

If you're creating numerous links to different pages of the same website, you can insert links quickly if you specify a hyperlink base for your document. First, you'll set the hyperlink base in the Properties dialog box, and then you'll create as many links to that hyperlink base as you'd like.