Image Credit

Before we begin, remember this – reality stops here.  The imagining of the people of the world is, if anything more important than the knowledge which we already possess.  As Einstein put it, knowledge simply defines all that we know and have understood at the moment.  Imagination on the other hand is the path along which we walk to those discoveries that are yet to be made. This wonderful image sign posts our journey from the world of fact to that of the imagination.  Created by akshay moon http://www.flickr.com/photos/akshaymoon/ it is the first of this wonderful collection of images.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/devosdelphin/4170686557/

1

A wonderful, if eerie image – this would make a wonderful front cover for a children’s fantasy novel.  The image is so well done it makes it easy to imagine a back story for the girl precariously perched on a rock, an empty bird cage in her hand.  The marvellous thing, of course, is that the back story is different for each person who views this wonderful and remarkable image.  With this selection, I will give a credit to each photo (below it) and a link to the creator’s image sets.  In this instance, the image is from the collection of -Delphine-  and if you like the image above, be sure to visit the rest of her work.

Image Credit

There is something Dali-esque about this weird but wonderful image by RabiD Son – the shell of the snail being planet earth is particularly effective and although is not a drost effect is something similar.  Somewhere on the planet below you are looking at the image of the snail on your screen.  You are located on the planet that makes up the shell.  Somewhere on the planet… you get the idea.  As with all of these images it is easy to spend an age looking at them and then finding something new.  In this case, I didn’t realise that the snail was a hybrid (with crocodile feet rather than tears).  Fantastic.

Image Credit

Not so much wishing upon a star, but walking on it.  This was created by jon gos and the walker is in fact himself, walking along the Gulf of Finland.  Again, this would easily make the cover of a science fiction novel, perhaps something akin to “I Am Legend” – the original of course!  The loneliness of the individual in the vastness of time and space – perhaps a reminder that ultimately responsibility for actions lie in one place and one place only.

Image Credit

This image by Yuliya Libkina is a beautiful composition mostly in blue and is entitled ‘One Day I’ll Fly Away’.  The birds being released from the cage is a poignant image and the fact that they are making their escape in to a painting makes me wonder whether this is an escape from reality in to one’s own world.  If so, then this is a wholly appropriate addition to this collection.

Image Credit

Regret.   People sometimes are too afraid to say I love you and then it’s either the moment has gone or love itself goes. So when someone tells you that they love you it doesn’t mean that they will never go.  It simply means they wish they didn’t have to.  A wonderful medieval image from the collection of Jody McNary.

Image Credit

Certified su has two lonely aliens searching for something on the surface of a barren planet.  People can often search for someone or something that makes them complete throughout their entire life.  They chose and change partners and waltz to the sound of heartbreak while asking ourselves whether there is someone out there, somewhere, searching for us to.  Then, perhaps as is this image, the answer lies beneath us – and has done all the time.

Image Credit

Water seems to feature strongly in the fantasies of people and occasionally that water has an occupant.  Here, in a gorgeous piece of photo manipulation by Chelseadaniel a mermaid takes a joyful leap from the water.

Image Credit

A mansion, some skyscrapers both flying around on a rock suspended over – well – wherever.  Perhaps this is how the society of the Navii in Avatar may develop thanks to the intrusion of mankind.  Perhaps not, but a wonderful example of what can be done with time and patience from the work of Chris Valentine. 

Image Credit

Imagination can take you anywhere.  Temari 09 has a rocket taking off.  Where it is going is entirely up to you.

We use formulae to perform a variety of operations, not only calculations. Some of these are special formulae that we call Functions. You will meet some of these as you develop your Excel skills at a higher level.

In this section we shall look at some straightforward formulae for adding, subtracting, multiplying and dividing.

As you have seen when calculating the SUM of data in a number of cells, we place a formula in a cell in the same way as text or numbers. It can be a very simple formula, such as adding the contents of 2 or more cells.

First of all, we need some data, so:

• Go to FILE and NEW
• Type in the data as shown here:

Format the spreadsheet as follows:

• The spreadsheet font is 10-point Arial
• Change the title in cell A1 to 12-point Arial Bold and centre it across the columns A to G
• Change the word TOTAL in cell A11 to Bold
• Change all the headings in row 3 to 10-point Arial Bold and centre them in their cells
• Change the data in columns B and C (B5:C9) to 10-point Arial Bold
• Insert a blank column between columns C and D
• Adjust the column widths if necessary

The formatted sheet should look like this:

In this spreadsheet we shall write FORMULAE for four types of calculation (addition, subtraction, multiplication and division), using the two sets of numbers in columns B and C.

Addition

The first step is to add together the two numbers in cells B5 and C5 (that is, B5 plus C5) and put the answer in cell E5. To do this:

• Click in cell E5 and type an = sign.

The = sign is your way of telling the computer that what follows in this cell is some kind of calculation. Without the = sign, you are only inputting text or numbers, and the program will not recognise that you want to calculate something.

• Complete the formula in cell E5 so that it looks like this: =B5+C5
• Confirm this formula by pressing the ENTER key
• Click in cell E5 again to see the result of the formula. It should be 14.

What has happened to the formula? It is still there but in cell E5 you can see only the result of the calculation. To see the formula, look up at the Formula Bar (below the Formatting toolbar).

The next step is to add the other pairs of numbers in rows 6 to 9, using a similar formula. You could make a separate formula for each row but – as you saw in section 3.2 – the quicker and better way is to replicate the formula in E5 into the cells E6:E9 using the Fill Handle. Refer back to section 3.2 to remind yourself how to do it.

Subtraction

Column F requires a different formula. This time we must create a formula in cell F5 to calculate the number in cell B5 minus the number in cell C5.

• In cell F5 type: =B5-C5
• Use the fill handle in F5 to replicate the formula into cells F6 to F9

Multiplication

Create a formula in cell G5 to multiply the two numbers in cells B5 and C5.

Note: In Excel we use the symbol * (asterisk) for Multiply.

• In cell G5 type: =B5*C5
• Replicate the formula into cells G6 to G9

Division

Create a formula in cell H5 to divide the number in cell B5 by the number in cell C5.

Note: In Excel we use the symbol / (forward slash) for Divide.

• In cell H5 type: =B5/C5
• Replicate the formula into cells H6 to H9

At this point your spreadsheet should look just like this one:

Calculating Totals Using the SUM function

Look back at sections 3.1 to 3.3 to remind yourself how to use the SUM function. Then complete your spreadsheet by doing the following:

• Use Autosum in cell E11 to calculate the total for cells E5:E9
• Replicate this formula into cells F11:H11
• Format all the numbers in column H to 2 decimal places

Here is the finished spreadsheet:

• Save the spreadsheet with the name FORMULAE.XLS.
• Print a copy of the spreadsheet and show it to your tutor
• Go to FILE and CLOSE

Next: more new practice and advanced formulas.

All the changes can be made from the Print Preview screen.

The Print Preview Screen

Print Preview shows you what your sheet will look like when printed but doesn’t actually print it. To get access to this screen click on the toolbar icon or go to File then Print Preview.

If you want to view the Preview screen in a larger size, put the cursor anywhere in the worksheet and click once to zoom in. Alternatively, you can click on the button at the top of the Preview screen. Repeat either of these actions to zoom out again.

Page Setup

Click on the Setup button at the top of the Print Preview screen.

You can use Page Setup to do many things – it is worthwhile exploring some of them yourself. For now we shall concentrate on how to print the worksheet on one page.

Select the Page tab

It is always advisable to try and print the finished spreadsheet on one piece of paper. You can achieve this in one of two ways:

NOTE: Neither of these changes is necessary for the present piece of work because it will print comfortably on one page in Portrait orientation.

Printing Gridlines

If Print Preview shows your worksheet without gridlines, change the setting so that the gridlines are printed out. This is how to do it:

• File menu
• Page Setup
• Sheet tab
• Select the Gridlines checkbox so that it shows a tick
• OK

Printing Only a Part of the Spreadsheet

If you only need to print a particular section of your spreadsheet:

• Select the appropriate block of cells
• Go to FILE
• Choose PRINT

• Click on PRINT

Final Printouts

• First print the whole page, making sure that it will fit on one page in PORTRAIT orientation
• Then print out just the section starting at row 25. Again, make sure that this will fit on one page before you send it to the printer.

NEXT: MORE ABOUT CREATING FORMULAS

Calculating Totals

The next step is to make some calculations using the data that we have put into the spreadsheet. To make a calculation, we must decide where we want to put the answer to the calculation and create a formula in that cell. (Note: The plural of formula is formulae – or formulas in American English).

Open the file SPEND.XLS and click on OK. So far the sheet looks like this:

Firstly, we need to add the data in each column and put the totals in the Quarterly Totals cells; secondly, to add the data in each row and put the totals in the Yearly Totals cells. For both of these operations we shall the same kind of calculation.

To start, let’s total the JAN-MAR column. To do so, we are going to make a SUM function in cell B15. Click in cell B15 and type in the formula that will add up all the figures from B5 to B13, like this

=SUM(B5:B13)

Replicating A Formula With The Fill Handle

Our next step is to find the totals of the remaining columns. We could simply type in the appropriate formulae one at a time in each of the cells C15, D15 and E15, but it’s not necessary to use this slow method in Excel. Instead, we can use a technique called REPLICATE to put the SUM formula in these adjacent cells.

Click in cell B15 if it is not already selected, and notice the small black square in the bottom right-hand corner of the cell.

This is called the FILL HANDLE. Position your mouse over the Fill Handle until it changes from the white plus sign to the black cross. Now click and drag the mouse over the next three cells (C15-E15) until you can see a grey line around all four cells. When you release the mouse button, the cells will automatically fill up with totals. Click on each one in turn and read its contents in the Formula Bar. The correct formulae for the four cells are:

=SUM(B5:B13), =SUM(C5:C13), =SUM(D5:D13) and =SUM(E5:E13)

When you have completed this, you will notice that a small icon has appeared at the point where you released the mouse button.

Move your mouse pointer over this icon and it will expand to show a downward-pointing arrow head.

Click on this to view a drop-down menu of Auto-fill Options.

In our example, select Copy Cells. This will copy not only the formula but also any formatting in cell B15 (e.g. the font and font size).

The Autosum Function

The next thing to do is calculate the Yearly Totals in column F, and for this we will use another shortcut. By far the most used formula in Excel is =SUM, which adds up columns or rows of numbers. Because this is used so frequently, there is an icon specifically dedicated to it. It is called the AUTOSUM button.

Now calculate the yearly total for Fares and Spending.

Click in the cell F5, go up to the toolbar and click on the AUTOSUM icon. The program will automatically put in a formula for you.

Look at what it has suggested: are there dotted lines running around the correct block of cells? If the formula is =SUM(B5:E5), that is correct and you can press ENTER.

There are times when the AUTOSUM will not choose the correct block of cells. Here is an example:

Select cell F5 and then, using the FILL HANDLE, replicate the formula in the NEXT 4 ROWS ONLY.

Column F should now look like this:

Click in cell F10 and then click the AUTOSUM icon. Look at the block of cells it has chosen. It wants to add up cells F5:F9, but we want it to add up cells B10:E10 for the total of “Going Out”.

We can change the block easily by clicking on cell B10 and dragging the mouse along to cell E10. As you do this, watch the formula in F10 change. When you are satisfied that the formula is correct – =SUM(B10:E10) – press the ENTER key.

Now continue to REPLICATE the formula into the other cells in the Yearly Totals column by clicking in cell F10 and dragging down to cell F13.

Although it is a very quick way of totalling up rows and columns, it is important to use the AUTOSUM function carefully. Do not just accept the range of cells that the computer offers you. Check that they are correct and, if they are not, use your mouse to click and drag over the desired range.

To find out our grand total for the year in cell F15, we have a choice: we can add up either the Quarterly Totals or the Yearly Totals. Both will come to the same amount so you can decide which way you prefer.

Use AUTOSUM in cell F15 to calculate the Grand Total for the whole year.

Save your work again. We do not need to rename the spreadsheet so you can just click on FILE and SAVE.

Showing And Hiding The Formulae

Sometimes boss tutor will ask you to hand in a spreadsheet with all the formulae showing in their cells. If you look at what is on the screen at the moment, you can see that the formulae are hidden; in their cells we can see only the answers to the calculations. To view the formulae in their cells – Formula View – use the key combination CTRL + ` (grave accent), as follows:

Hold down the CTRL key

The result is that all the columns on your spreadsheet will double in width and all the formulae will be shown in their cells. Where there are no formulae, numbers and text will simply remain as before – the only change that you will see to these numbers is that they are now left-aligned in their cells. DO NOT try to change this – it is the way that Formula View shows data.

To turn this facility off and go back to the normal Data View repeat the key combination CTRL + `.

Editing A Formula From The Formula Bar

Finally, if you realise that you have made a mistake in a formula or want to change it for some other reason, you can edit it:

Click in the cell that has the incorrect formula

Click once on the formula as it appears in the FORMULA bar

Use the arrow keys to move your cursor backwards or forwards to the parts of the formula that you want to change

Change the formula in the same way that you would make changes in Word

When you have finished, press ENTER

Save the spreadsheet again and continue to the next in this series of instructions!

NEXT: Editing, inserting and deleting

Are The Correct Toolbars On?

Now let’s try creating a spreadsheet. Before we begin, check that both the STANDARD and the FORMATTING toolbars are at the top of the screen.

If they are not:

• go to the VIEW menu
  • click on TOOLBARS

Click in the Standard and Formatting checkboxes

ENTERING DATA – START HERE!

Enter all the data as shown in the worksheet below. When you type in the title “PERSONAL SPENDING 2003” in cell A1, it doesn’t matter if the cell doesn’t appear wide enough to hold the text.

To let the computer know that you have finished a particular entry, you can either press the RETURN key, which will move you down to the next row, or press one of the Arrow keys, which moves you in the direction of the arrow.

NOTE: Don’t worry if your spreadsheet looks different from the one below. You’ll find out later how to change its appearance (for example, how to change column widths to fit your data).

Adjusting Column Widths & Row Heights

Some of the text in column A is too wide to fit the column. This is acceptable for a main heading (like PERSONAL SPENDING 2003 in row 1) but not for the text in other rows. If we want to change the width of the column so that we can see the whole text, there are various ways to do this:

Position your cursor on the line between A and B until it changes into a black cross with two arrowheads. You can then:

Either: click and drag until the column becomes the required width, then release the mouse button.

Or: simply double-click your mouse button. The column will automatically adjust to the width of the longest entry. You can also set a column width by selecting the whole column, going to the Format menu, then Column, Width and entering the exact size you require. Press OK.

Similarly, to adjust the height of a row, you can use the same click and drag method, or click on the number then Format, Row, Height, OK.

Try adjusting the width of column A, then the height of row 15.

Changing Data In A Cell

Although Excel looks quite different from Word, it has many of the same capabilities. Look at the Excel toolbars; you will see several icons that look familiar – CUT, COPY, PASTE, BOLD, ITALIC, UNDERLINE and so on.

If you know how to change the appearance of text in Word, you should be able to change the appearance of any data in Excel. Simply select the cell or block of cells and click on the appropriate icon. Try these changes:

Change the font size of the spreadsheet title (PERSONAL SPENDING 2003) to 14 point

Select all the month headings and make them Bold

Select all the expenses in column A and change their font from Arial to Times New Roman, size 12

Alignment

Notice how the spreadsheet has aligned the entries you have made. All text is aligned to the left while all numbers are aligned to the right. Try centering the heading in column E (OCT-DEC). First select the appropriate cells – in this case E4 to E14 – then click on the Centre icon.

Click somewhere else on the spreadsheet to deselect the cells E4:E14.

Centring Titles across a Number of Columns

We often centre the title across all the used columns. In this example we have used columns A to F. Position the cursor in cell A1 and select all the cells across to F1, using one of the methods explained in section 1.4. Click the “Merge & Centre” icon. Deselect the block of cells.

The six cells A1 to F1 have now been merged into one cell and the title is centered across this area:

Wrapping Text

Look at row 3: the last entry “Yearly Totals” is much wider than necessary. It would look better if the words were on top of each other instead of side by side.

To do this, select cell F3, then click on the FORMAT menu, followed by CELLS, then the ALIGNMENT tab.

Click in front of the checkbox called Wrap text, then on OK.

Changing Or Deleting Data In A Cell

It turns out that there is a data error in this spreadsheet. The figure for JAN-MAR Fares and Travel should be 127.63 not 217.63. There are two methods of changing the contents of a cell:

Select the cell (B5), press DELETE and type in the correct figures

Select the cell, position your cursor on the FORMULA bar and click. The cursor becomes an INSERTION BAR and you can now edit the entry as you would in Word. When you have finished, you can press the ENTER key.

Changing The Size Of The Screen View

If you find that your spreadsheet is so big that you can’t fit all of it on the screen at the same time, you can adjust the PERCENTAGE VIEW of the sheet. Look at the percentage shown near the right-hand end of the Standard Toolbar. Click on the down arrow next to it and change to 75%.

If you prefer a percentage that is not in the list (e.g., 80%, 90%), click on the highlighted figure at the top, then type in your own preferred size. Press ENTER.

The spreadsheet on your screen should look like this:

Before continuing, make the following changes:

Change the title size to 12 points. (NOTE: Click in cell A1 to select the title)

Select all the month headings and turn off the Bold.

Select all of the expenses in column A and change their font from Times New Roman, size 12 to Arial, size 10

Change the figures for OCT-DEC back to right-aligned
Finally, save the file with the name SPEND.XLS

Close the document.

NEXT: Calculating Totals and Editing Formulae

Open Microsoft Access.

On the task pane on the right-hand side of your Access screen, click on Blank Database

IMPORTANT: You must enter your own filename. If you do not, the program will give its own default name – it will start with db1 and next to db2 and so on. Obviously these file names mean nothing, so make sure that you give your database a name that makes sense.

Select the Create button.

You have now created your database but at the moment it has no structure and contains no data. To set up these things we must create a table.

CREATING A TABLE

Designing The Table’s Structure

Before we can enter data into a database, we must:

1. Create a TABLE to take the data.
2. Define the table’s FIELDS – that is, the categories of information required in this database.
3. Give each field a FIELD NAME.
4. Specify the DATA TYPE that we wish to enter into each field (i.e. whether the data in that field will be Text, Number, Currency, Date/Time etc.)

• It is best to do this planning on paper before you start putting it into Access. In this handbook the planning has already been done for you and you just have to follow the instructions.

The Database Window

The Database Window contains a number of options for different sorts of database OBJECTS: Tables, Queries, Forms, Reports and more.

To design a table we need to select Tables as above. There are three different ways of creating a new table. We are going to use Create table in Design view so click on it.

The Design view appears as a blank grid with 3 columns headed Field Name, Data Type and Description. You are going to use this grid to design your table.

Enter the word TITLE as the first Field Name in the top left-hand corner. Press the Tab key to move to the second column and note that the Data Type “Text” appears. Don’t change this because the data type of film titles must be Text.

Press the Tab key twice to move down to the beginning of the second row.

Enter the next Field Name, which is STAR. Press the Tab key to move to the second column and again leave the Data Type “Text”.

Continue the same process by copying the details in the following Table Design box until you can see all five field names and their data type “Text”.

Check your own version against this next graphic:

Changing Data Types

Some of the above fields are of the wrong Data Type so we must make some changes.

First of all, we must change the Data Type of the DATE field. We shall put numeric data into that field (e.g. 1941 or 1980) so the Data Type must be NUMBER.

Click in the Data Type column in the same row as the field name DATE. Then click on the drop-down button which has appeared in the right-hand side of the box.

This produces a list of possible data types.

Now change the Data Type of the PRICE field to Currency in the same way and press the Tab key twice.

We could also use the Description column to include information about the fields that would be helpful to the persons who use the database. However, in this exercise we shall leave that column blank.

Saving The Table

As with other Microsoft programs, go to File and Save. Change the table name in the Save As box by calling it Table 1 followed by your name. For example, my table would now be called Table 1 – Ray.

Click OK. This will produce a Dialogue Box asking you whether you want to create a PRIMARY KEY.

Click on NO because at the moment it isn’t necessary to use a primary key.

Closing The Table

The table has been saved and you have completed the design of a simple database.

Close the table by clicking on the X in the top right-hand corner of the design box.

This takes you back to the Database Window – close it in the same way.

NEXT: ENTERING DATA

• You already have experience of using a version of Microsoft Windows.
• You have previously used another software package e.g. Word or Excel.

What Is A Database?

An electronic database is a collection of data (information) on a particular topic. It is organised and stored in such a way that data can be retrieved easily and quickly when we ask the database specific questions. As you will see later, it is much more flexible than “manual” systems which use paper and filing cabinets.

Here are a few examples of database topics:

• Personal and financial details of bank customers
• The stock held by a supermarket
• Details of sports club members
• A catalogue of all your music CDs

When we create a new database, it is very important to plan carefully the structure
that we need to suit the kind of data we want to store and retrieve.

We shall design our database as a TABLE. Before we do so, you should know the following terms:

DATABASE

A collection of data on one particular topic.

e.g. a database in a video shop, giving details of all the videos available for sale.

Each new database must have its own unique FILENAME.

TABLE

A grid consisting of columns and rows.

Each Table must have its own TABLE NAME.

One database may have a number of tables in it.

A table is often referred to by professional database designers as an ENTITY. Although these pages will still refer to tables as tables, be aware of this term!

FIELD

A column of the Table, containing one category of data.

For example, it can be the Title of a film or the name of its Director or the Price of the video.

Each field must have a heading called a FIELD NAME.

A Table may have any number of Fields.

DATA TYPE

The kind of Data contained in a Field.

The data types may be Text, Number or Currency.

Each Field must contain a single Data Type.

RECORD

A row of the Table, in which we put the actual data

For example, this could be the details of one film in all the Fields (columns)

Each record is unique. Although some records may have some data in common (e.g. two films may have the same Director), no two records will have the same data in all fields.

Spreadsheet programs are designed to make working with numbers and calculations easy. In the past, businesses used manual spreadsheets – large sheets of paper divided into rows and columns. Managers have used these sheets of paper “spread out” on their desks to analyse various types of business information.

For example, a great deal of time is needed to prepare budgets. After the data entry there is the calculating and analysing of the information, the application of formulae, insertion of text and drawing of graphs to be done. If any of the data changes, lengthy and tedious recalculation becomes necessary.

This computer program is the equivalent of a huge sheet of squared paper but it has the advantage of having all the calculating facilities built into it. If any of the data has to change, the computer has the ability to update the rest of the spreadsheet automatically.

Workbooks – A Brief Description

When a new spreadsheet is started it is called a WORKBOOK. Each WORKBOOK has 3 SHEETS, although it is possible to add more if necessary. For the purposes of this handbook we will only be dealing with SHEET 1. If you look at the bottom of the screen you will see a row of tabs; the white one is the sheet you are currently on.

Try clicking on SHEET 2 and notice what happens to the tabs. GO back to SHEET 1.

Cells & Their Properties

Each sheet is made up of many cells. These are arranged into ROWS and COLUMNS. The rows are numbered and the columns are given a letter. This means that every single cell has its own unique CELL ADDRESS (or CELL REFERENCE) e.g. – A3, C10, AA217 etc.

(NOTE: because there are only 26 letters in the alphabet the column names after Z have to use 2 letters – AA, AB, AC and so on).

How many rows and columns does each sheet have? To make the cursor jump to the very last column hold down the CTRL key and press the Right Arrow key. For the last row use CTRL and the Down Arrow key. The letters IV mean that there are 256 columns. Fill in the gaps:

Every sheet in an Excel Workbook starts at cell reference A1 and ends at cell reference

To return to the cell A1, press CTRL + Left Arrow and CTRL + Up Arrow.

Selecting Parts Of The Spreadsheet

The CELLS are the areas in which we can type our text, numbers or formulas. Before we get started on an example spreadsheet, let’s try MOVING about the sheet and SELECTING parts of the sheet (an entire row, an entire column or a block of text). When a cell is active, it has a black border around it.

There are various ways to move around the sheet:

Move the cursor to the appropriate cell and click the mouse button

Use the arrow keys

If you just want to stay in one row, use the TAB key to move along to the right.

Now try these different methods.

To select a block of cells there are also a couple of methods:

(In this example we want to select all the cells from A1 to E5)

Using the mouse, click in cell A1 and drag to cell E5

REMEMBER: drag means moving the mouse while holding down the left mouse button

To DESELECT the block of cells, simply move the cursor to any unselected part of the sheet and click once.

Alternatively, instead of using the mouse you can use the SHIFT and Arrow keys. Starting in cell A1, hold down the SHIFT key then press the right Arrow until you reach the E column. Continue to hold down the SHIFT key and press the down Arrow key until you reach the 5th row. You will now have a block of 5 x 5 cells selected, you can now release the SHIFT key.

To DESELECT the block simply press one of the Arrow keys again.

NOTE: – If you want to add to or remove from the selection, again hold down the SHIFT key and use the Arrow keys.

To select a whole column, row or sheet, use one of these methods:

Click in the box of the column heading letter, e.g. A, to select the whole column.

Click on the row number, e.g. 2, to select the whole row.

Click in the blank grey box at the top of the row numbers to select the whole worksheet.

Note: When you select a block of cells, the first cell in the block does not turn black, but don’t worry – it is still selected.

Try out these methods for yourself

Just yesterday, I was creating a document for a client. I researched on the Internet and found the perfect chart to illustrate what I was explaining. The chart had been included in a PDF file, which I found I wasn’t able to copy just the chart and paste it into my document. Geez, what could I possibly do to make a ho hum document sing?

I tried all the traditional methods like ‘alt+prtscr’ and ’select all’ and was totally dissatisfied with either method. Then it dawned on me — I could use Jing to make a document sing!

So what is Jing, and what are its capabilities?

Overview

According to Wikipedia, you can use Jing as a software application to take a picture or video of your own computer’s screen and then upload it to the Web, FTP, computer, or clipboard.

So let’s look at this versatile application a little closer. What are some of its capabilities that make a document sing?

Capabilities

Screencast

One of the most frequent needs I have from Jing is to include a snapshot of a screenshot that might demonstrate how to log into a system or perform a process. Especially when answering a customer inquiry in a ticket system where your responses were all in text format, it was impossible to include a screenshot — until now that is. Jing not only allows you to copy the screenshot, it allows you to highlight sections, use an arrow to point, and put a text note for explanation. Let’s see if I can demonstrate this to you.

Let’s say I want to explain to someone how to sign into Gmail.

• Click this link
• Type in your Username
• Type in your Password
• Click on the button that says “Sign in”

To see the actual screenshot, just click on the link below:

http://screencast.com/t/MTIxNDY3ZWU

Copy

Now say a virtual assistant had a document that they wanted to really make sing and wanted to include an image. It couldn’t be easier! Just capture your image of either the whole window or a part of a window, click copy, and then click paste. Shazam! Check out my copy below:

Save

Okay, I did my screencast and perhaps copied the image into my document. But I want to use the image again. Is that possible? You bet it is. All a virtual assistant needs to do is click save, and save it into a folder where you can find it again.

Edit in Snagit

Now, I won’t get into it now other than if you are really interested in using Jing to make a document sing, you can actually do a screen caste and paste it into Snagit. What is Snagit? I won’t get into it here as Wikipedia describes it best. Why not check it out and see what it can do for your business?

As I’ve mentioned many times, a virtual assistant has to use every available resource available to them in order to provide the best quality and most efficient tools to enhance documents. So why not check into Jing? I can’t tell you how many times a day I use it. A virtual assistant can make a document sing with Jing. Are you still not convinced? Why not check out more features on Jing’s site.

*****

Pam Lokker is a skillful writer and proficient virtual assistant. Borlok Virtual Assistants is the place to get global expert VA services with quality and on-time delivery.

Stop! Click Here! to read more about Content Crooner.

If so, you’ve probably done one of the following:

• Play FarmVille

• Use flash

• Use Internet Explorer

• All of the above

Why does this happen?

Sadly, internet browsers crash all the time. It happens in all internet browsers. It’s not their fault! Well, sometimes it’s Internet Explorer’s fault… just kidding, but not really.

The number one cause of internet browsers crashing is due to flash plugins. For those of you who do not know what flash plugins are, they can be games or videos that are embedded in a website using flash. 

Luckily, some internet browsers, such as Safari, have been updated to let the plugin crash without crashing your entire browser. Hopefully more browsers adopt this feature, as flash can crash quite a bit, especially if you are playing FarmVille a lot.

What does FarmVille have to do with this?

It’s because FarmVille is such a graphically intense game, with loads of content — and it’s written in flash, which likes to crash more times than it doesn’t. 

I’m not saying to quit playing FarmVille and uninstall flash, I’m just letting you know that it’s normal for these crashes to occur if you play a lot of FarmVille (or any other games written in flash). 

How can I solve this?

Make a smaller farm! Just kidding. But try to have less applications running in the background, as your internet browser will be using up a lot of your RAM & CPU power.