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Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Create more flexible applications with class libraries (VB .NET)

A .NET class library, or component, is a collection of one or more classes compiled together as a unit. Class libraries allow you to create "pluggable" applications where you can debug, enhance, replace, and modify components individually without having to rebuild the entire application. You can use a class library for your business logic, common formatting functions, and more.

Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Find which tables and columns contain trailing spaces

If you need to get rid of trailing spaces in a database, you should first find out which table columns contain them. We have a little script to help you do that.

Monday, November 28, 2011

Freeze Excel column and row titles (2000/2001/2002/2003/2007)

When you work with a large Excel worksheet, it's often difficult to remember exactly what kind of data columns or rows contain once you begin scrolling around the sheet and lose sight of the column and row labels. Fortunately, you can freeze rows and columns that contain headings so you always know what data you're looking at.

Friday, November 25, 2011

Tired of doing a print screen or a mark->copy on a DOS command box? Here’s a better way

To copy the contents of your screen to a text editor like notepad, you can perform the following command instead of copying the text one screen at a time:

Thursday, November 24, 2011

Omit the tedium of deleting high volume style sheets in QuarkXPress (5/6)

Deleting one or even a few style sheets is best done through the Style Sheet palette. If you have high volume style sheets that you want to get rid of there is a better way than deleting them one by one. To do it. choose Edit > Style sheets and [command]-click ([Ctrl]-click in Windows) to select them. You can also [shift] and drag through the style sheets that you want to delete. Then, click Delete. Respond to any of the prompts that may appear and click Save.

Wednesday, November 23, 2011

Edit your shared border files directly (FrontPage 2000/2002/2003)

It's sometimes easier to edit a shared border directly than it is to edit it within the context of a normal page. The only trick lies in accessing the hidden _borders folder. To do so, choose Web Settings from the Tools menu. Switch to the Advanced tab, enable the Show Hidden Files And Folders or Show Documents In Hidden Directories check box and click OK.

Now, open the _borders folder in Folders view. You'll find up to four files, whose names correspond with their page positions: top.htm, left.htm, right.htm, and/or bottom.htm.

Tuesday, November 22, 2011

Quickly identify SSL-related problems

Microsoft supplies a utility, SSL Diagnostics, which provides you with invaluable information for troubleshooting Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) problems in Internet Information Services (IIS). For example, you can use SSL Diagnostics to troubleshoot problems with certificates by creating a temporary certificate to see if the new certificate resolves the problem. If it does, then you know the problem you're experiencing with SSL is due to the IIS server's certificate. To find out more about SSL Diagnostics and to download it, go to http://www.microsoft.com/download/en/details.aspx?DisplayLang=en&id=674.

Monday, November 21, 2011

Format text and objects faster with Quick Apply (InDesign CS2/CS3/CS4)

InDesign features a way to select and apply paragraph, character, and object styles. The Quick Apply command eliminates the need to search for styles buried deep in the Paragraph Styles, Character Styles, and Object Styles palettes.

Friday, November 18, 2011

Include a read receipt on your messages (Outlook 2000/2002/2003/2007)

There are many reasons why you may want to know if someone has opened an email that you've sent. Maybe it has time-sensitive material in it and you need to verify when the person viewed it, or maybe you're just trying to make lunch plans and want to know if the recipient has read your email. It's easy to add a read receipt to your outgoing emails so you're notified when the recipient opens it.

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Setting a series of tabs with designated spacing (QuarkXPress 5/6)

You may find that you need to set your tabs with precise measurements. You do this by clicking on your text box with the Content tool and choosing Style > Tabs to open the Paragraph Attribute dialog box. To set a series of tabs by specifying the distance between them, after you've set your first tab, then enter "+" and then the gap length in the Postion text box (such as 3+2). Make sure the tab distance isn't greater than your text box. Also, be sure to click Apply after you enter each position. Then, Click OK when you've finished.

Wednesday, November 16, 2011

Two essentials for keeping your site safe

If you store any user input on your server or post it to your site or URL, you may be vulnerable to hacker attacks.

Tuesday, November 15, 2011

Take back control over SQL script files (SQL Server 7/2000)

You may have noticed that certain applications (rather rudely, one might say) assume ownership of your SQL script file types without so much as a by your leave. Visual Studio .NET is notorious for this. Sure, sometimes this is fine, if you do, in fact, spend most of your time in that environment. But DBAs often feel more comfortable working with scripts in SQL Query Analyzer. Luckily, there's a very quick way to take back control over your script files. Simply choose Tools | Options, and then click on the General tab. You'll notice a check box called Select SQL Query Analyzer As The Default Editor For Query File Extensions. Select this check box, click OK, and you're all set.

Monday, November 14, 2011

Make an image catalog using an automated task (Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3)

Do you have a lot of images stored on your computer or CDs that you’re constantly sifting through to find what you want? If so, you should take advantage of Adobe Photoshop’s ability to create contact sheets. Basically, this feature allows you to print out thumbnails of all your image files stored in a folder, including images in subfolders. Even more importantly, you can print the filename along with the thumbnail. Then, when you want a certain image, just glance through your thumbnail printouts, find the image you want, and then access it on your computer.

Friday, November 11, 2011

Partitioning external hard drives (Windows)

If you're using an external USB or FireWire hard drive, you may find that Windows doesn't let you delete and create new partitions. To resolve this issue, double-click on the Safely Remove Hardware icon in the System Tray. Next, select the drive, click the Properties button, and then click on the Policies tab. If the Optimize For Quick Removal option button is selected; Windows treats the drive as a removable device and won't let you change partitions. However, if the Optimize For Performance option is selected, Windows treats the drive as a fixed device and you can delete and add partitions.

Thursday, November 10, 2011

Create a shape on a new layer (Photoshop CS/CS2/CS3/CS4)

Photoshop automatically fills a shape layer, which you can make with any Shape, Line, or Pen tool, with the foreground color. You can also apply a gradient or pattern via layer styles. To create a shape layer, select one of the Shape tools, and be sure to click the Create New Shape Layer button on the tool Options bar. Photoshop stores the shape outline as a vector mask that appears in the Paths panel.

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Sort DataSet records using a DataView object (VB .NET)

In .NET, you can easily sort DataSet records using a DataView. First, create a new DataSet and load it. Then, create a new DataView object using a DataTable in the DataSet. Finally, identify the column or columns you want to sort.

Tuesday, November 8, 2011

New Horizons recognized among the world’s Top 20 IT training companies four out of four years

New Horizons Computer Learning Centers today announced it has again earned a spot among the Top 20 Information Technology (IT) educational companies in the world for the fourth straight year since the award was first established in 2008 by the leading website TrainingIndustry.com.

Public-Key Cryptography and Windows PKI: How it works (Microsoft Windows 2000/2003/XP)

Most of your customers have concerns about the security of the data they send and receive. Some Microsoft Windows operating systems include a native public-key infrastructure (PKI) that allows for both encryption and signing. Public-Key Cryptography guarantees that encrypted outgoing data can be understood only by the intended recipient, and ensures that signed incoming data actually came from the indicated source.

Monday, November 7, 2011

Target a specific page by using PDF page import options

When importing an Adobe PDF document as a graphic into a picture box in QuarkXPress, there’s an option specifically created for PDF import that is often overlooked. However, it’s one every QuarkXPress user should know as it ensures the correct page is imported.

Friday, November 4, 2011

Use Image Resizer to resize graphics for PowerPoint in a Flash (Microsoft PowerPoint 2000/2002/2003/2007)

If you're using Windows XP, you can download and install the Microsoft PowerToy, Image Resizer, and use it to resize graphics for use in PowerPoint. Locate the install at www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx and install it. Then, follow these steps to resize graphics for PowerPoint:


Thursday, November 3, 2011

Process forms more easily by synchronizing numeric field values with JavaScript arrays

You may want to display information based on a visitor's form field selection. For instance, a dropdown list or radio button group may trigger specific text to appear in a designated element on the page. Naturally, you could force the page to reload with the new information each time the user selects an option, but JavaScript offers a better, client-side solution:


Wednesday, November 2, 2011

Switch the email you're composing back to a document (Word 2000/2002/2003/2007)

Word is a great email-editing tool, and it's easy to use as well. You can simply click the E-mail button on the Standard toolbar to convert your document to an email and continue composing. However, if you decide you'd prefer to save your work as a document rather than as an email, how do you convert the email message into a Word document? All you need to do is click the E-mail button again. The email header information goes away, and you're left with the Word document you want.

Tuesday, November 1, 2011

Allow users to select colors without a dialog window (VB .NET)

VB .NET offers a ColorDialog component that you can load to help users pick colors at runtime. However, you don't need a separate window for this task. The .NET Framework consists of 167 system-defined colors. The Color object exposes the FromKnownColor() function, which allows you to access these colors, by index, using the following syntax: