Episode 49: What a pane, trying to find that file

Hi Everyone,

Did you know that you have a tool out there that will help you look through a document without launching the application (ex. Word). Most of you use it every day when you open up your email and see the content in the preview pane.

Where did I put that file?
Here’s a little tool that can be very helpful when managing similar or large (number or items, not size) files. I seldom see people using this tool. For one reason or another, perhaps you haven’t opened it in a while and it’s no longer in your recently opened list.  I’ve seen so many users opening and closing numerous files, trying to find a file they are looking for. Raise your hand if you are one of them. Next time, try the “Preview Pane” (see Figure 1.01). Click on the icon and the preview pane will open, letting you preview the file without opening the application (see Figure 1.02). You can scroll through the document, highlight and copy information (I use it to copy scripts and formulas). Remember, this is just a tool that you want to use when needed. Like a light switch, turn it on when you are searching for something and turn it off when you are done.

Surfing the web (iPhone/iPad)
Here are a few web tools to try. Okay, you’re surfing the web on your mobile device and you want to copy the image from the web? Click and hold on the image and you will see the options window open. Us it to save or copy the image. If you save the image, it will save it to your camera roll. I also us this option to open links in new tabs. Click on hold on a link to open the page in a new tab. Have you seen “READER” in the address bar when looking for article on the web? Click on it to read the article without the ads or clutter of the web page. If you want to save the article or read it later, add it to your “Reader List”.

Episode 48: Blast to the past

Hi Everyone,

Okay, a lot of you have been asking questions we’ve reviewed in the past and I know we have some new users out there, so I’m dedicating the next few “TOD’s” to some of my favorite Tips of the Past.

Here’s one of my favorite Tip: Where did I put it?
Okay, I’m guilty of this one too. How many times have you found yourself staring at your screen wondering where did I put that app, or how did I list the person in my contact? Use “Spotlight” on you iPhone or iPad to quickly find a contact, app, docs and more. You don’t have to open your contact, and then scroll through the names to find them. From the “Home” screen sweep to the left or press your home once. From any other screen, slowly press your home key twice (if you press it quickly, to takes you to the multitask bar) and type what you’re looking for.


Fun app to the classroom or meeting: eClicker Presenter
Here’s another tip for your meetings/presentations/trainings. Do you have meetings/presentations/trainings where you would like to poll, quiz or even evaluate the session? Typically, you print out the forms and pass it around the room for everyone to fill out. You then gather the forms, then tabulate and enter the answers into another program. Maybe you use an online survey, which requires a subscription $$, and have you’ve seen the length of the links. If you don’t embed into a web page, or email the link, it is almost impossible to read off the link (http://www.zoomerang.com/Survey/web23402039723_and_so_on).

There’s a simple app out there that you can use to poll/quiz your audience. Try eClicker Presenter ($14.99 now, sorry was on sale earlier for $0.99) and eClicker Audience (Free) at the app store (iPhone/iPad). Any internet enabled device (iphone, ipad, android, blackberry, laptop, etc.) can be used to answer the questions. Simple enter the provided URL (ex 10.99.32.44:8080) to take the poll/quiz.

Looking for a sale: App Price Drops
Are you a bargain hunter or like me and spent waaaaaay too much money on apps and should have waited for a sale. Try App Price Drops by Apple Sliced. If you want to try an app and you want to wait for the price to come down. Set a price alert with this app and it will email you when it reaches the price you selected. I wanted to try eClicker Presenter by not at $14.99. I got it at $0.99.
Note: when looking at the screen shots in this app, you can swipe through the screen shots. You don’t have to click on the next button.

Remember, if you have a great app or tip, pass it along.

Episode 47: Meetings & Presentations, who's controlling the laptop

Hi Everyone,

Here are some tips for your next workshop or meeting. I’m also adding some updates to previous TODs (Tips of the day).

Remote Desktop (iPad)
This is a tip for the techs out there. Do you have meetings with multiple presenters (multiple PowerPoint, Keynote), or a presenter that may need a little help with technology? Try remote desktop support. You can sit at the back of the room an monitor or control the presenters laptop from your iPad. You can switch to the next PowerPoint without having to go the laptop, pull up a webpage and more. There are several apps out there (Splashtop, LogMeIn, etc). If you have a GoToAssist subscription, the GoToAssist app is a great tool.

Meeting Agenda (iPad)
Have you been to a meeting and the person next to you is highlighting or making notes to the agenda on their iPad? Try emailing your agendas in a PDF format, then users can use any of the PDF apps to take notes on your meeting. Looking for a PDF app, try GoodReader, iAnnotate or PDF Expert. Like with any app, check the review, email the group or ask another user.

Camera: smile for the camera  :- )
I see you out there, taking pictures of the event/conference on your iPhone (this is an update to Episode 37 & 41). Remember, you can use the volume up button to take pictures. Okay, now you have to email them from the conference. Here’s a couple things to remember. When you email your photo, you are limited to 5 at a time. If you select more, the email option will go away. Here’s another thing. If you send several emails with 5 photos in each email, each of the files will have the same file name (photo1.jpg, photo 2.jpg, etc). Let the person know that they will have to rename the file before they import or copy the next group.

Keyboard Shortcut (iPad)
Here’s a quick tip for your iPad. Need to type an apostrophe or quotes? Instead of switching your keyboard by pressing on [.?123] button, try holding down the [ , ] button for apostrophe and [ . ] for quotes. Remember the other shortcuts as well. The [.com] button and the [ . ] in the email keyboard (when you see the @ symbol) has net, org, com, us & edu. Did you know that you don’t need to type .com when surfing the web on you iPhone or iPad? If the domain name is any of the other .net, .gov, etc, you will need to type it out.

Here’s a new app to try. “SayHi Translate” (on sale $0.99). It’s a translation app with a voice interface. You can almost carry a conversation with this app.

Hope you’ll enjoy the tips and remember to pass on your must have apps and tips.

Episode 46: iOS 5.1 Update

Hi Everyone,

iOS 5.1 came out this week. Don’t forget to backup your device before you run any updates and plan on 20-30 minutes for this update. Remember back in the tip for iOS 5.0, you can now run your update from your device. Set your iTunes to wifi and plug your device to a power supply (I have an alarm clock with a dock).

Here are a few highlights for this update:

·         Siri now supports Japanese…”Ohayo gozaimasu”
·         You can delete photos from “Photo Stream”
·         Camera on your iPad in easier to use.
·         With iOS 5.1, you can now run iPhoto and update your iMovie to create movie trailers…yeah
·         Camera shortcut is now visible on the “Lock Screen”. From the lock screen, place your finger on the icon and drag it upwards to open the app.

If you are in the market for an iPad, the new iPad 3 will be available on Friday, March 16th (if you saving up for my birthday in June, the Black 32GB Wi-Fi + 4G would be great…lol)

Episode 45: Can you believe the gas prices.

Hi Everyone,

I just want to share some apps out there for this episode of TOD (Tip of the Day). There is almost always an app for every situation out there and as gas prices begin to climb again…well, there’s an app for that.

APP Store: Gassbuddy
Did you know that there’s an app to find the best gas prices around you? Try Gasbuddy (free) for iPhone and Android. This app is social based, relying on people to update the prices. You don’t need an account if you don’t want to sign up. You can use the guest account to view prices and see when it was last updated.

Microsoft Office Suite Virtual Desktop: OnLive Desktop 
Looking for an app for Microsoft Office and don’t want to pay $20. Try OnLive Desktop (free with 2GB cloud space). This app works on your Apple iOS or Android devices. This virtual desktop has MS Word, Excel and PowerPoint. You can access your files through the web browser on your MAC or PC. Upload or download files to your desktop or mobile device. Thanks Steve, for sharing this app.

Desktop Sharing: JoinMe.com
Looking for an app to share your desktop, try JoinMe. It’s free from LogMeIn and has an accompanying app for iOS and Android. You can use it for conferences, collaboration, PowerPoint presentations, training and more (it’s like GotoMeeting without the video and cost). Launch it from your MAC or PC, email the code to your guest. Easy to operate, and it’s free. Note, if you don’t have a bridge for your phone conferencing, you can use your iPhone to initiate a conference call. Just “Add Call” & “Merge”.

Surfing the Web: Safari (iPhone/iPad)
Did you know that when surfing the web on your iphone/ipad, you don’t have to enter .com in the URL for .com websites? Just type google in the address bar, and it will take you to google.com. This only applies to .com sites. You will still have to enter .org, .net, etc for all others.

Episode 44: These tips are for the beginner publishers out there.

Hi Everyone,

MS Word: Let Microsoft Word do the work for you
Do you create large word docs (handbooks & manuals) and manually create your tables of contents, references, indexes, etc? Did you know by creating an outline, assigning styles or references, you can automatically create and update your table of contents, references, indexes, and more?

Try creating your document in the outline view to setup your chapters and sub-chapters. With a simple click, you can organize and move your chapters around without having to cut and paste them into your document. The added bonus, is when you let Word create the “Table of Content”, it will list the chapters/sub-chapters with their corresponding page numbers. If you add or make changes to the doc, you only have to run the update to renumber the document. What to learn more? Let me know and I’ll setup a short Adv Word workshop.

Adobe Acrobat Pro: I can save the form you sent/posted!
Did you know that when you create/publish a pdf form, you can enable users to save that form? When you create a standard pdf forms (for Acrobat Reader), users only options are to complete the form and print it out (especially frustrating with long forms). Users needed Acrobat Pro if they wanted to save their form. Well, try creating an extended PDF forms that Acrobat Reader users can save. Follow the steps below to create an extended PDF form.

*Remember, you must have Acrobat Pro to create these forms. You are just making it easier for them to save and complete these forms.

Looking for an app to complete pdf forms on your iPad, try PDF Expert ($9.99). Yes, it’s a little pricey, but there are only a few apps out there that will let you complete a pdf form. It does all of the features annotate, stamp, sign, rotate, organize, add pages to the doc and more. If you just want an app to annotate and not fill out a pdf form, try Goodreader ($4.99).

Episode 43: Attachments and the Cloud

Hi Everyone,

I gotten a few questions last week on how to store or access files on your mobile devices. So, let’s cover how to access your files in today’s “Tip of the Day”.

The Cloud: (Android, iPhone, iPad, Mac & PC)
Did you know that you can upload and access your files from the Cloud? You can work on a file from your desktop and finish it at home on your iPad. There are several clouds to choose from. You can use the SDCOE cloud to access your U:Drive or your Department drive. If you use iWorks (Pages, Numbers, Keynotes) on your mobile device/computer, you can use Apple’s iCloud. If you want to store your Microsoft document, PDF files and more, try “Dropbox”. Want to know more on how to use iCloud?…just email or call.

Open In… (iPhone & iPad)
Have you ever received a pdf file that you wanted to keep? From your email or web, just click or click and hold on the file to see “Open in iBooks”. The file is then saved in iBooks under PDFs. This function (click and hold) applies to other objects as well. Do you want to save a picture from the web, click and hold to save in Camera Roll. Surfing the web and want to open the link in another tab, just click on hold to open in new tab.

Keyboard: Emoji (Available on both Android and Apple)
Do you like those face symbols you see in emails and text messages? Add Emoji to your keyboard and you can send smiley faces with your next text message. From your iPhone, go to General/Keyboard/International Keyboards and you will see Emoji. Now when you use your keyboard, just click on the symbol that looks like a globe to see the Emoji keyboard. Don’t forget, the other person needs Emoji on their mobile device to see the symbols. Speak and write in another language? Add it to your keyboard.

Today’s app recommendation is brought to you by Griselda. “Temple Run”…she gives it 4 stars and it is free at the app store.