computer tip: What's the difference between run and save when you download? - 12/12/09 05:58 PM
When you are downloading a file off the Internet you may get the option to "Run" or "Save". Either of these options will lead you to the setup for the program and install it on your computer, but the difference lies in where the setup file opens from. I personally like to save it completely to my computer's hard drive in a download folder to keep track of the setup files.  Then I open the file I downloaded to start setting up the program.
If your not that type of pack rat -- run them and make sure you don't do … (5 comments)

computer tip: Full Screen Fun With Your Browser - 11/02/09 06:27 PM
If you would like to see more web page and less web browser toolbars, here's a little trick you'll like. Hit the F11 key. It will put you into "full screen" mode. Hit F11again to go back to normal mode. This works in both Internet Explorer and Firefox. It's great for presentations when the top tool bar isn't necessary and you get to see more on the screen than with all that stuff at the top. Move your pointer up to the top and the menu bar will pop up and you can still navigate but move your pointer down and … (3 comments)

computer tip: All purpose Internet Browser Opens PDF's, JPG and other files - 11/02/09 06:18 PM
Your Internet Browser can do other things than just looking at websites. I learned a new trick --
Save your photo or pdf file to the desktop and simply drag the photo or pdf file
on top of the IE Icon on your desktop -- the browser will immediately open and
you will be viewing the picture or the pdf file in your browser and it is fast!
You can also open your browser and click on File, Click on Open and Browser your computer for the file to look at.  You don't have to be connected to the Internet … (6 comments)

computer tip: Your Hard Drive Is Going To Die! - 11/02/09 05:55 PM
Are you ready? It isn't if but when.... I just spoke to another associate that had their computer hard drive crash on them. 
Everyone knows it is important to back up your computer -- Just Do It!
Make a point to have a glass of wine, a good beer or a hot cup of java and take the time to copy your important documents to an external hard drive.  They aren't that expensive these days.
One important note -- most of you store your documents in the My Documents folder but Microsoft Outlook does NOT record their email and contact data … (6 comments)

computer tip: Google Alerts Keep You In Touch Automatically - 09/18/09 02:46 AM
Google Alerts are email updates of the latest relevant Google results (web, news, etc.) based on your choice of query or topic.Some handy uses of Google Alerts include:
monitoring a developing news story keeping current on a competitor or industry getting the latest on a celebrity or event keeping tabs on your favorite sports teams Create an alert with the form on the right.

Technology Tip: Google Alerts
A good exercise for each of you to do is to do an Internet search for yourself. Find out if your social media sites are listed. Find out if your website … (4 comments)

computer tip: FREE Detailed Profile of your Installted Software & Vulnerabilities in your Web Browser - 08/29/09 04:43 AM

I used this application to make sure I have all my software serial numbers prior to me re-installing Windows XP with a clean install.
You have to try this FREE service from Belarc Advisor.  Once you download the small program file, you get a report of your Computer Profile Summary.  The report immediately shares with you at the top is you have any security issues, if your virus protection is up to date and whether or not you have an Microsoft Security updates missing that are critical when using IE.
You will then get a Computer Profile with all the … (2 comments)

computer tip: Turn PDF's into Word Docs FAST - 08/28/09 06:19 AM
How many times has it happened to you.  You get a PDF file from someone and you can't edit the PDF file.  You might want to make a simple change to use the document.
I found a site called PDF to Word!
I often need to edit PDF files that get sent to me.  Acrobat Professionals touch up text tool can do minor edits, but nothing really big.  Acrobat also exports to Microsoft Word, but does a lousy job at keeping the formatting. 
Check it out
Using the PDF-to-Word conversion technology, you can quickly and easily create editable DOC/RTF files, making it … (9 comments)

computer tip: The process of buying a new computer -- core 2 vs. core 2 duo and more - 08/26/09 02:17 AM
It's that time again to upgrade and get a new computer.  It used to be easy to look at the GHz numbers and make a selection.  Now we have Core 2 vs. Core 2 Duo.Back in the day buying a processor was as simple as looking at the megahertz or gigahertz and purchasing based on the bigger number. I know there's more to it than that like onboard cache and what-not, but in comparison to what we've got to work with today, life seemed simpler back then. Core 2 is the successor to Intel's Pentium D line of processors, which was … (7 comments)

computer tip: Control Your Computer Updates AND DO THEM! - 08/08/09 11:31 AM
I was working with a Real Estate Professional the other day and noticed that they were still using Internet Explorer 6.0 on their Windows XP PC.  Everything was working but they were missing out on the increased functionality of the browsers that are out there.
How do you know what version?  Open your browser and click on Help and then Click on About and you will see your version of most programs.
The point is == they hadn't updated their computer lately and their system was NOT set to automatically update itself.  Most systems out of the box are configured to … (1 comments)

computer tip: 3 Selection Tips -- Computer Shortcut Tip = Selecting Items With List Boxes - 08/08/09 11:18 AM
You probably do all the time -- you make a selection or selections from a list box.
A list box is basically an item by item list.  You have probably seen them when searching the Internet or in a computer program you've used.  A lot of email programs use a list box to display its list of messages.
The first selection tip is when you open the list box or hit the down arrow to display the list box -- press the first character of your search and it will immediately go to that item in the list that starts with … (1 comments)

computer tip: Capture your current screen or better yet -- the current window. - 08/03/09 07:03 PM
How do you take a quick picture of your screen?
You can use download shareware programs that have a lot of capability but what if you just want to capture the current screen or better yet the current open window?You just tap the PrtScn(print screen) button. This simple action copies a current image onto the clip board of a PC automatically.  The real function of this key is to make a "snapshot" of your screen. If you have some imaging software like Adobe Photoshop (or a good word processor), you can then paste it into there and crop, etc. In fact, … (1 comments)

computer tip: Find out how your website ranks on major search engines and learn how to improve your ranking - 10/31/08 09:47 AM
Websitegrader is a fantastic tool to evaluate your website for FREE.  Enter your website address and a FREE report will be generated and tell you what your "score" is from 1 through 100, 100 being best.  For example, Active Rain has a ranking of 95!
You will be provided with an analysis that can help you with easy to fix items that is under your control such as Meta description and keywords, The report discusses the importance of owning the domain for long periods of time, RSS and blogging on your page as well as bookmarks or links by others.
Have … (15 comments)

computer tip: To Click Apply or OK -- Which Is It? - 10/01/08 05:27 PM
Apply or OK?
When you change computer settings -- the system prompts you to click on Apply or OK for the changes to take effect. 
Or do you just have to hit Apply?
Or just OK?
Where Apply comes in handy is when you are making a change to your desktop themes / colors or Display Properties like screen resolution and you want to check the result without exiting out of the control.
Another time when you could use Apply is if you want to make multiple changes in a particular area but want to test the affect of each before proceeding.
Some people … (5 comments)

computer tip: Don't make the mistake and do it tomorrow -- make a copy of your Outlook files today! - 09/26/08 07:38 PM
Nothing can be more frustrating when something happens to your PC files -- I know, MAC users will chime in here but this is for the PC user.
Take the time to simply export your outlook email files and your address book. It's not hard -- Start Outlook, click on "file", click on "Import and Export" and then click on "Export to a file"
Select "Personal Folder File" (.pst) and select the one you want to backup and where.
Take the file and burn to a CD and have your files backed up just for Outlook -- Get in the habit to … (18 comments)

computer tip: A New Way To Restart! - 09/22/08 05:03 PM
A New Way to Restart
Did you know that a modern PC with Windows Vista Home Edition takes about one and a half minutes to boot up? An older machine with Windows XP is about the same. That's 30 seconds for the PC itself (the BIOS) to start up, plus one minute for the Windows operating system to begin. Of course, there are times when you need to reboot Windows (for example, when installing new software), but there's really no need to restart the BIOS too.
However, your computer's default is probably set to reboot both. That's called doing a "cold … (10 comments)

computer tip: Click What? It's elementary - 09/19/08 10:18 PM
Click What?
Here's a quick one for you! When you're working on your computer, how many times a day do you run across something that tells you to right click? I know we use that phrase in our computer tips all the time and I'm always seeing it on different Web sites as well. It seems like an easy thing to do, but what if you don't know how? Well, allow me to give you some basic instructions!
All computer mice have a left and right button. So, when you're asked to right click something, put your hand on your mouse … (8 comments)

computer tip: Clean up your printed output for clients - 09/19/08 10:09 PM
One of the great things about the browsers today is when you print a page off the Internet, it will print a header and footer.  The header and footer usually have the website name, actual url website location that was printed, date and page number printed.
Great for referring to if you are using this internally but I have seen too many times professionals printing the MLS data to give to client and leave the header and footer there.
You CAN edit it and change it and make your output to the consumer more professional looking.
Instead of the long webstie … (15 comments)

computer tip: F4 - How many uses do you know? - 09/15/08 07:15 PM
So, tell me, have you ever used the F4 key on your keyboard? Do you even know what it's meant for? Well, if you've never used it before, you really should give it a try. Believe it or not, but the F4 key can do several things for you. That's right! It can work in conjunction with the Ctrl key and the Shift key.
There are several uses for the F4 function located on your keyboard. First of all, you can use it to close any open applications. Just make sure the program you want to close is selected, press Alt+F4 … (12 comments)

computer tip: Saving Web Pictures as you find them - 09/13/08 09:21 PM
Saving Web Pictures
Have you ever seen a picture on a Web site that you think you just have to keep for yourself?
I find clip art even used by Active Rain members that I think is great and want to use the image.  Be careful about copyright and how you use the image but as you uncover an image you want to save to your computer -- simply right click on the image and a pop-up window appears -- select "Save Picture As" and save it to a file in your computer.
Clicking on Copy takes the image to the … (13 comments)

computer tip: Add notes to your photos for FREE - 09/13/08 09:10 PM
You have to check this out -- You can now add photo notes to the bottom of your photos to tell the reader what they are looking at and the notes are below the photo and not on top of like a MLS watermark.
This Web site is really cute and I know you're going to have a ton of fun with it! This site allows you to upload one of your photos and then make it into a Polaroid style with text. And did I mention it's extremely easy to use and FREE!  Check out PhotNotes
First, you click the … (18 comments)