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Monday, October 31, 2011

Create backups to revert from unwanted saved changes (Excel 2000/2001/2002/2003/2007)

When you're working fast, you're bound to make mistakes. You'll often catch your errors right away, but it's easy to make accidental changes to a workbook's existing data and not notice until it's too late. If you've ever felt the nausea that accompanies the realization that you've just saved workbook changes that unintentionally destroy large amounts of data, you should investigate Excel's backup feature.

Friday, October 28, 2011

Easily flip an AutoShape (Microsoft PowerPoint 2000/2002/v.X/2003/2007)

If your AutoShape (or Shape in PowerPoint 2007) isn't looking quite like you'd hoped, try flipping it. To do this:
  1. Select the AutoShape you wish to flip.
  2. Select Draw | Rotate Or Flip from the Drawing Toolbar.
  3. Select Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical.
In PowerPoint 2007, you won't have a Drawing toolbar. Here's how to flip your Shape instead:
  1. Select the Shape you wish to flip.
  2. Click on the Format tab in the Drawing Tools ribbon.
  3. In the Arrange group, click on the Rotate button to open a dropdown menu. Select Flip Horizontal or Flip Vertical from the dropdown list, depending on how you want to flip the Shape.


Thursday, October 27, 2011

Quickly log an error message with RunSQL() (2002/2003/2007)

The RunSQL() method of DoCmd allows you to execute SQL statements against your database. However, it can also serve as a quick and sneaky way of generating a log file. To do so, you simply pass it a SQL statement that writes to a text file, like so:

Wednesday, October 26, 2011

Save your custom page sizes as InDesign presets (CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

When creating a new document, there are several generic page sizes you can choose from, or you can manually enter the custom width and height you need. More often, though, InDesign documents are set up using custom page sizes. Manually entering the same information over and over again is tedious and a waste of time. One option to speed up the process is to create document presets, where you enter the values in the New Document dialog box and then click the Save Preset button. Another option, which we'll explain how to do, is add your custom page sizes to the Page Size pop-up menu in the New Document dialog box.

Tuesday, October 25, 2011

Use xsd:extension to add functionality to XSD elements

You can create name complexTypes to reuse common content models, but let’s take it a step further with extended types. Here’s your predefined complexType and the elements that reference it:

Monday, October 24, 2011

Quickly shift the brightness of a color (Illustrator CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

Here's a trick for Adobe Illustrator that allows you to make your current color to just a little bit lighter or darker. In the Color panel, press and hold [shift] as you drag one of the sliders. When you do, all the sliders move at the same time, allowing you to fine-tune the brightness of the color. Don't like your new color? Simply undo your change by selecting Edit | Undo Color or pressing [command]Z ([Ctrl]Z in Windows).

Friday, October 21, 2011

Take proper steps to secure your keychains (Mac OS X)

By default, your keychain password is the same as your login account's password, meaning your keychain is automatically unlocked when you log in. If someone discovers your login credentials, they have access to all the items in your keychain. To secure your keychain, you should change its password so that it's different from your login account password. Doing so keeps your keychain locked on login, requiring the keychain password to unlock it.

Thursday, October 20, 2011

Remember to save your Work Path before you lose it (Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

When you use a Pen or a Shape tool in Photoshop to make a new path, it will show in the Paths panel as a temporary Work Path. If you deselect this Work Path and start drawing another path or section, the first path is lost. If you want to keep any Work Path while you create others, save the Work Path first and then start drawing again. To save a Work Path, simply drag its icon to the Create New Path button at the bottom of the Paths panel.

Wednesday, October 19, 2011

Get quick SQL Server 2005 reference information from any computer (SQL 2005)

If you’re trying to get SQL Server 2005 information from any computer, you may find that the maze of various documentation-related links on the Microsoft website has—over time—gotten a bit confusing and time-consuming to navigate.

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

Duplicate your documents in the blink of eye (Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

When photo retouching in Photoshop, you should always keep a copy of the original image, just in case you have to go back to it for any reason. With that said, a fast and easy way to duplicate an image that you want to adjust is to simply choose Image > Duplicate. In the resulting Duplicate Image dialog box, name the duplicate image and click OK. Upon doing so, Photoshop opens the new document and you can retouch it without worrying about altering the original image.

Monday, October 17, 2011

Create a contact directly from an email message (Outlook 2000/2002/2003/2007)

It's easy to create a new contact from an email message in Microsoft Outlook. Click on an email message, and then drag it to the Contacts folder in the Folder List (drag it to the Contacts icon in the Navigation Pane in 2003/2007). If you have multiple folders within the Contacts folder, just drag it to the specific folder where you'd like this Contact to reside.


Friday, October 14, 2011

Combine data from multiple cells into one (Excel 2000/2001/2002/2003/2004/2007)

Microsoft Excel makes it easy to combine information stored in separate cells into a single cell. There are two ways to concatenate information--using the CONCATENATE function or using ampersand (&) concatenation operator. To demonstrate, let's say that a worksheet stores name information in two columns. First names are stored in column A and last names are stored in column B. A project you're working on requires that the data is combine into a "Last Name, First Name" format.

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Instantly convert plain text to links in Acrobat Pro

Setting up URL hyperlinks and email address links within the text in page layout programs such as Adobe InDesign or QuarkXPress has never been easy. Since neither DTP layout program makes it simple, why not skip the linking and do it quick and efficiently in Acrobat?

Wednesday, October 12, 2011

Run ScanDisk in Windows NT

In case you haven't noticed, Microsoft didn't include ScanDisk as a separate utility in Windows NT. The good news is that you can still run it on your disks. To do so, begin by double-clicking on My Computer. Right-click on the hard disk you want to check for errors and choose Properties. Select the Tools tab. Click Check Now to run ScanDisk on the selected hard disk. If you want ScanDisk to automatically fix any problems it detects, select both the Automatically Fix Filesystem Errors and Scan For And Attempt Recovery Of Bad Sectors check boxes, “Automatically fix file system errors” and “Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors”. Click Start to begin.

Monday, October 10, 2011

If the correct fix doesn’t work, look at the permissions (Microsoft SQL Server)

Sometimes the most time-consuming part of fixing a bug occurs after you’ve figured out how to fix it. Let’s say, for example, that you pinpoint the cause of a problem to a line of code that calls a certain stored procedure. To avoid causing other parts of the application to fail, you decide not to disturb the existing procedure. Instead, you create a new one for the specific line that doesn’t work. You implement the fix and then test it out. The behavior is exactly the same as before. You’re tempted to tear your hair out!

Friday, October 7, 2011

Errors when using the path tools (Adobe Illustrator)

Are you getting frequent error messages when using the Scissors, Pen, Add Anchor, Delete Anchor, or Convert Direction Point tool in Adobe Illustrator? Sometimes these error warnings are accurate, especially if you're not using the tool you've selected on the right path or anchor point. However, if you're certain that you've selected the correct paths and anchor points, you may have a different problem. To fix this, check and see if the Smart Guides feature is activated in the View menu. If it is, check the status of the Snap To Grid and Snap To Point options. At least one of these options must be selected if you plan on using Smart Guides with these path tools.

Thursday, October 6, 2011

Select field contents when a field gains focus (FrontPage 2000/2002/2003)

When a user tabs into a form field, the browser automatically selects any data that appears in that field. If he clicks on the field, however, that's not the case.

Wednesday, October 5, 2011

Prevent or control use of USB flash drives (Windows)

Tiny flash memory drives that fit on a keychain (sometimes called thumb drives) are inexpensive and convenient for transferring files between Windows computers that aren't on the same network - but they can also present a security risk for your organization.

Tuesday, October 4, 2011

Reverse direction when searching in a worksheet (Excel 97/2000/2001/2002)

When you're using the Find or Replace feature in Excel, it's easy to accidentally click the Find Next button one too many times. Fortunately, you don't have to cycle through all of the matches in the worksheet to get back to ones you missed the first time. Instead, just hold down the [Shift] key when you click the Find Next button. Excel searches in the opposite direction through the worksheet as it hunts for matches to your search string.

Monday, October 3, 2011

Don't be clueless when it comes to comments

A lot of developers seem to be clueless about what comments to include in code. And that makes someone who is unlucky enough to have to decipher that code clueless as well. At a minimum, functions should include a description of what they're for. Furthermore, sections of code that aren't self-explanatory should be explained. And you should describe everything that a developer needs to know regarding what arguments to pass into your functions.