Various tips to expedite info search, create and delete lines<\/p>\n
By Zatni Arbi<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Well, it has been quite some time since we last
\ntalked about some practical tips for increasing productivity with
\nthe computer. However, if you have been following this column,
\nyou will know that my PC is now connected 24 hours a day, seven
\ndays a week, to the Internet through Kabelnet network. This has
\nreally been a boon to me.<\/p>\n
The connection has not been exactly 24 hours a day, though.
\nLast week, for example, the service was down for a couple of
\nhours. When I called Kabelnet's technical support, I was told
\nthat a bulldozer had accidentally cut one of their fiber optic
\ncables. Well, I could still live with that. However, when the
\nelectricity went out a couple of days later, I got irritated with
\nour PLN. My experience showed that it would take at least three
\nhours for Kabelnet service to become available again after a
\nblackout. Besides, a blackout can potentially cause more damage
\nto all my electronics and electrical appliances than an
\ninterruption in Internet service.<\/p>\n
Why am I so happy that I now have the \"always-on\" connection
\nto the Internet? First, no matter how much I use the service, I
\nwill have to pay a flat rate of Rp 250,000 (plus the cable TV
\nservice, the cable modem rent and tax). I can select
\nwww.britannica.com as my home page, i.e., the Web site that
\nInternet Explorer (IE) will automatically access each time I load
\nit.<\/p>\n
Why is this so important to me? As I am not a native speaker
\nof English, from time to time I need to make sure that I am using
\nthe right expression. Should I write \"advanced team\" or \"advance
\nteam\"? Is it \"state-of-the-arts\" or \"state-of-the-art\"? Which one
\nis the correct expression, \"a highly discipline management\" or \"a
\nhighly disciplined management\"? Through Britannica's Web sites, I
\ncan quickly access a collection of well-written magazine and
\nother articles that contain these expressions using the site's
\nSearch facility, and then I can use IE's Find (Ctrl-F) command to
\ncheck which of the pairs is the correct one.<\/p>\n
We can also download Britannica Dots, a utility that will be
\navailable on your screen and will enable you to access any
\narticle in Britannica's database as well as the well-known
\nEncyclopedia Britannica. By the way, both the articles and the
\nencyclopedia are free, and so is Britannica.Dots. But, hold on,
\nlater on I will also tell you another nifty utility to expedite
\naccess to information on the Internet.<\/p>\n
Personal Firewall<\/p>\n
Incidentally, if you are also a Kabelnet subscriber, or your
\nPC is continuously connected to the Internet through your office
\nnetwork, you should know that you are vulnerable to hackers. They
\nmay come sneaking into your PC in the middle of the night when
\nyou are fast asleep. Not only can they steal information that you
\nstore on your hard disk, they can even plant small programs that
\nwill later launch a concerted attack on a particular Web site on
\nthe Internet. As you may still remember, this was exactly what
\nhappened earlier this year, when major Web sites on the Internet
\nsuccumbed to the infamous Denial of Service attacks.<\/p>\n
To prevent such intrusions, you will need a personal firewall.
\nIn my case, I subscribe to McAfee's service (US$29.95 per year),
\nwhich adds this protection to my PC. So far it has never warned
\nme of any attempt of intrusion, but it does give me a sense of
\nbeing secure.<\/p>\n
Fortunately, good personal firewalls are also available for
\nfree. One that has received a lot of accolades from online
\nmagazine editors is ZoneAlarm from Zone Labs. ZoneAlarm will
\nallow you to specify which of your own applications can access
\nthe Internet and which external programs can access your system.
\nThis firewall is free for personal use, but you will have to pay
\nUS$20 if you use it on a business computer. You can download
\nZoneAlarm from www.zonelabs.com. If you want a full-fledged
\nfirewall, you can purchase ZoneAlarm Pro for $40.<\/p>\n
What is interesting about the company is that one of its
\ninvestors is John McAfee, the guy who founded McAfee Associates.
\nAs you may also know, for some time McAfee antivirus and other
\nsecurity utilities have been the products of Network Associates.
\nToo bad I read about ZoneAlarm after I had paid my subscription
\nto McAfee.<\/p>\n
Red characters<\/p>\n
When typing in Microsoft Word in a hurry, do you sometimes
\npress a mysterious key combination and suddenly you see red
\ncharacters appearing on the screen as you keep on pounding on the
\nkeyboard? When you try to delete them, they will be crossed out
\nbut will not disappear. The more revisions you make, the messier
\nit becomes. Have you got any idea what has happened?<\/p>\n
I have received several panic calls from friends asking me
\nwhat to do to solve this, so I did some digging. Here is what I
\nhave found out: If you accidentally press the combination of
\nCtrl, Shift and E, you will activate the Track Changes mode in
\nWord. Anything you type will be considered a revision and will be
\ndisplayed in a different format. If you delete a word, it will be
\nmarked as deleted but it will remain on the screen. What you need
\nto do is press Ctrl-Shift-E one more time to deactivate it. Or
\nyou can click on the Tools menu item and then Track Changes.
\nClick on Highlight changes, and then deactivate Track changes
\nwhile editing. You will still have to erase all the red
\ncharacters manually, though.<\/p>\n
Now, have you ever typed three dashes in a row and, when you
\nhit Enter, you get a straight horizontal line across the page?
\nYes, that is the shortcut for creating a horizontal border line.
\nTry also the \"`\", \"#\", \"*\", \"-\", \"=\" and the underline symbols,
\nand you will get different styles of border lines. The problem
\nis, you can delete all of these lines using the ordinary Delete
\nor Backspace key except the one that you created using the three
\ndashes. No matter what you do, it will stay there.<\/p>\n
To clear it, you have to click on Format, then Borders and
\nShading. When the Borders and Shading dialog box appears, click
\non the icon on the left of None. The line will disappear.<\/p>\n
Avoiding e-mail addiction<\/p>\n
Now, if you still use a dial-up connection to access your
\nmailbox with Outlook Express, do you find yourself pressing the
\nCtrl-M too often? I did, and I was increasingly worried about it.
\nI was wondering whether I was getting the problem of uncontrolled
\nthirst for e-mail. Then I found the solution. I no longer pressed
\nCtrl-M or clicked on the Send\/Recv button on Outlook Express. I
\njust configured the program to do it automatically for me every
\n60 minutes. It not only reduced my Internet access charge, it
\nprevented me from becoming a real e-mail addict.<\/p>\n
To set it up, just load Outlook Express, click on Tools, and
\nthen Options. Activate the option Check for new messages every
\nand specify the time interval. Do not forget to select Connect
\nonly when not working offline. That will make OE connect
\nautomatically to the Internet and check your mailbox for new
\nmessages.<\/p>\n
Finally, earlier in this article I promised to show you
\nanother option that will enable you to get the definition -- even
\nthe German, French, Spanish or Italian equivalent -- of a
\nparticular word on any application on the screen. Go to
\nwww.atomica.com. Go to Product Showcase, and download Atomica for
\nWindows. It works best with an always-on Internet connection such
\nas Kabelnet. Let me know what you think of it. (zatni@cbn.net.id)<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/various-tips-to-expedite-info-search-create-and-delete-lines-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}