1. Screen capture
Many times when you are trying to demonstrate a computer technique to someone in a presentation or document, it would be helpful to include a picture of the screen. There are specific screen capture pieces of software that will do this. But there is a technique that is built in to the Windows operating system that will allow you to capture a screen shot and include it in a document or presentation. The detailed instructions on how to use this feature are in an article I wrote recently for the web site. You can find it at http://www.communicateusingtechnology.com in the articles section.
2. PowerPoint Slide Navigator
If you are doing a presentation and you want to jump to a certain slide, there is an easy way to do so in PowerPoint 2000 or higher. In slide show mode, right click the mouse button to display a menu of selections. Select Go and select Slide Navigator. This will bring a list of all of the slides in the presentation and allow you to select the one that you want to move to. Click on the slide you want to go to and click the Go To button. This is particularly useful when moving to a slide you have added for the Q&A session or when restarting a slide show during a training session.
3. Useful Resource – mapquest.com
Have you ever had an appointment and wondered where it was – and then not had a map of that area? The web site I use most in this situation is http://www.mapquest.com. This is a great resource for getting maps and even driving directions for almost any address in Canada or the United States. Simply enter the address you want and it will show you a map that you can zoom in or out. I have found that the map might not be quite correct in some cases, so if you are unsure, call ahead to double check the directions.