1. Paste vs. Paste Special for copying text
When we copy and paste text from one place to another or from one application to another we usually just use the shortcut keys of Ctrl-C to copy and Ctrl-V to paste without even thinking much about it. Sometimes you may find it useful to use the Paste Special feature instead of simply Paste. This feature is found on the Edit menu of your application and it will give you different options for pasting. One I find useful is to paste the text as unformatted text, which allows me to keep the font and other text settings of the destination document for the new text I am pasting in – this is particularly useful for pasting text from a word processor into a Web page design application. I also have used it to paste the text from a graphic into a document. Experiment and see how this may help you save time when copying and pasting.
2. Rate your presentation slides
One of the areas that I work in is helping people make their presentation slides have more impact. My key idea is this: People don’t want your message to be the technology you use … People want you to use technology to help them understand your message. Too many times I see presentation slides that don’t help explain the message, they are simply gratifying to the speaker. I have recently posted a new article on my web site that explains the 11 main areas that I look at when evaluating presentation slides. Before you make your next presentation, I suggest you review this article and let me know if it helped you make your slides more useful to the audience. The article is in the articles section at http://www.communicateusingtechnology.com.
3. Useful Resource – General PC information (Part 1)
Many people have asked which web sites I look at when looking for general PC information. This is part 1 of a two part look. This time, we will focus on sites for Windows type PC’s and next time we will focus on Macs and general computing information. There are two sites that I use most often, http://www.pcmag.com and http://www.pcworld.com. The pcmag.com site is the web presence of PC Magazine, one of the top PC type magazines for many years now. On the spectrum of technology focus to consumer focus, pcmag.com is slightly on the technology focus side. I use it to check out new stuff and get technical reviews. The pcworld.com site is the web presence of the PC World magazine, the other top PC type magazine. It is more on the consumer side of the spectrum and I find it gives less technical explanations of what is going on. I suggest you check both out and see which appeals to you. Next time, a Mac site and two general computing sites.