Maki & Brian DeLaet EduCyber founders

February 2004 EduNotes

EduCyber is pleased to present the February edition of EduNotes. As we work through this coldest month of the year, take a moment to pause and catch up with some of the latest happenings in technology. In this month's issue you get help figuring out if you really need to purchase new software to do something your existing software can do, a step-by-step guide to creating mailing labels, and a run down on the latest search technologies available. Enjoy and as always, send feedback to edunotes@educyber.com .

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Send a friend to www.educyber.com/edunotes so they too can get the tips and tools for getting by in the technology age.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

New Software vs. Old Software

Let your applications do the work for you. When you see an ad for some cool new application that looks like it will solve all your problems, stop and evaluate whether your existing application will do the same job.

Just recently I got a call from a customer who “lost” an application they used to make mailing labels. The data was still there but the application had somehow been deleted or uninstalled. I spent a few minutes trying to help them recover the application when they indicated that any application that would help them do the labels would be fine.

So we discovered that Microsoft Excel opened the data files just fine. Then we went into MS Word and used the Mail Merge wizard to connect to the Excel file and fill in the appropriate fields in the labels. Word even had the correct Avery label paper size.

Now when they want to change the information in the labels, they go into the Excel spreadsheet and change, update or delete information. When they want to print the labels, they open the Word file which pulls the data from the Excel spreadsheet to create the labels.

So the next time you want to buy new software to perform a task, check whether any of your existing software will do the job as well or better. Word Processing software like MS Word, Corel WordPerfect, Apple's Appleworks or Sun's StarOffice Writer have tremendous word processing capability beyond simple letter writing or report writing. And you can create a complex database-like spreadsheet in any of these makers' spreadsheet programs.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Making Your Own Labels

So, you read the previous article and want to know about using Mail Merge to create labels? The process is fairly straightforward. This description follows the process in Word 2000 but for other versions the process is very similar. First, in Excel, you need to create the data. Label the columns at the top something like FirstName, LastName, Company, Address, Address2, City, State and ZipCode. Depending on your needs you can eliminate Company and Address2 and add columns like Title, MiddleInitial and Suffix. Then just go through and add a new row for each person, filling in as much information as is available. When you finish, make sure you save the file and note where you save it.

Then open MS Word, click on the Tools menu and click on Mail Merge (you may need to wait a few seconds for the menu to expand if you don't see Mail Merge listed). Once you've clicked on Mail Merge, a new window appears. This “wizard” walks you through the steps. For our example, in step one you click on Create and choose Mailing Labels and then click on Active Window in the pop-up screen.

For step two, data source, you click on “Get Data” and then on “Open Data Source”. In the Open Data Source window, change the “Files of Type” field to MS Excel Worksheets (*.xls). Now you need to navigate to where you saved the Excel file, typically in My Documents. Click on the file and click on Open. In our example, you only have one sheet so you click on Entire Spreadsheet. Now you are ready to Set Up Main Document.

Setting up the main document is one of the best parts of this process. Rather than trying to set up your own table and hoping it matches the labels, there are literally hundreds of pre-defined labels using many of the standard label maker's identification numbers (such as Avery 8160). Select whatever label type you use and where the paper is coming from and click OK. Now you can format the label. Depending on the size of the label, you might want to start off with a return (press Enter) to make sure the text will fit properly. Then just click the Insert Merge Field and add the fields you want in the order you want. In our example, we want to: Insert FirstName, spacebar, Insert LastName, enter, Insert Address, enter, Insert City, comma space, Insert State, space Insert ZipCode. When you're done, click OK and then Close.

The next and very important step is to Save your document. Something easy to identify like Home Addresses or Christmas Card labels or Meeting Invitations works very nicely. To ensure I don't mess things up, I use this file as the template and when I'm ready to print the labels, I click on Merge and then New Document. I don't save the new document once I've printed the labels as that information won't be updated if any information changes. Instead, I keep the Home Addresses document. This document will always pull the information from the Excel spreadsheet so it will have the newest information available.

Happy labeling.

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
Search Toolbars

Normally we're gaga over Google and all their technologies and while their toolbar (toolbar.google.com) is our preferred toolbar we've found most of the search toolbars have our favorite feature – a pop-up suppressor, there are a number of other search toolbars that can make your life easier. Let's take a look at a few of them:

Dogpile

The Dogpile search toolbar was rated number one by PC World for Browser Toolbar Plug-ins. It installs in seconds (minutes if you dial up to the Internet) and lets you quickly search for words but also lets you look for images, sounds/mp3 files, shopping, definitions (dictionary), synonyms (thesaurus) and antonyms. If you want to stay on top of the news, there is also an ABC news ticker scrolling across part of the toolbar. It also let's you decide if you want customized features determined by giving your zip code and / or birthday. To try out the dogpile toolbar, visit www.dogpile.com and click on the download toolbar link.

Needlesearch

Yes, searching on the Internet can be a little like searching for a needle in a haystack. And, if you are one of the brave who refuses to use Internet Explorer, Needlesearch is likely just the thing for you. Needlesearch lets you add any search engine to your search bar. Needlesearch is an open source project of the folks at Mozilla. This means you need to have a Mozilla browser (sorry IE fans) such as Netscape 6 and higher or Galeon or Camino. The beauty of the open source movement is that everyone can work to make it better and so Needlesearch is constantly adding features. Download Needlesearch from http://needlesearch.mozdev.org and give it a try.

Yahoo Companion

Of course the original search engine has their own search toolbar. It rests at the top of your window like other toolbars. Since they are a search engine, they, like Google, only give you access to the Yahoo search. One interesting feature they have is the ability to search maps. The Yahoo Companion can be downloaded at companion.yahoo.com.

RocketInfo

Not all search toolbars are free. Nor should they be. Rocketinfo has more than 10,000 sources of current news and a breaking news feature that updates itself every 5 minutes. If you are a news junkie or research addict, Rocketinfo is a bargain at just under $30.00. From business to technology to finance to sports and more, just about any topic you can think of is covered. Want to keep up on the news in China or Nigeria? Rocketinfo has regional news from all over the world. But we have one confession to make, Rocketinfo isn't so much a search toolbar as it is a search application. You can try it out free for 14 days to see if it really is what you've been looking for. To learn more, visit www.rocketinfo.com .

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Need help with your web site? Whether you need a complete redesign, more current graphics or added features, we can help. Call EduCyber at 720-275-4646 or email us at info@educyber.com .

@@@@@@@@@@@@@@

Like what you just read? Send your friends a copy or direct them to our site so they can get it, too!

© 2004 EduCyber, Inc. This newsletter is brought to you by EduCyber, Inc. EduNotes can be viewed 24 hours a day, 7 days a week online at http://www.educyber.com/edunotes/ . Visit us on the web at http://www.educyber.com or call us at (720) 275-4646. Permission is hereby granted to redistribute all or part of this newsletter as long as this entire copyright message is included.
@@@@@@@@@@@@@@
For questions, or to be removed from this monthly newsletter distribution, email us at edunotes@educyber.com .