Tag: 169 tech tips
Tech Tip #84: How to Find the Follow-up Folder in Outlook
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: I had to reformat my computer and lost my For Follow Up folder in Outlook, the one that lives in the pane on the left-hand side. How do I bring this back, or is it impossible?
A: This is isn’t important until it happens to you. In my case, it became critical last week when I lost mine to a reformat of my hard drive (I hate viruses). As with many of my tips, I had no idea how to solve this or if I could. I Googled it and got this great answer from PC Magazine.
This is an easy one, as long as you know where to look. The folder in question is a search folder, one of the standard ones. To re-create it, choose File | New | Search Folder. You can also open this feature by pressing the unlikely key combination Ctrl+Shift+P. Highlight Mail flagged for follow up and click OK. It’s back!
Tech Tip #83: How Do I Use a ‘Read Only’ Doc?
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: The file I’m trying to use say’s ‘read only’. I need to edit it. What do I do?
A: A ‘read only’ document does not allow editing the author’s original work. You can read, but not make any changes–or save it.
Here’s how you solve that: Save it by a different name, say, call it ‘edited’, and then you can edit it. There might be an amber bar at the top of the document asking you to do just that.
Questions you want answered? Email me at askatechteacher@gmail.com and I’ll answer within the next thirty days.
Jacqui Murray has been teaching K-18 technology for 30 years. She is the editor/author of over a hundred tech ed resources including a K-12 technology curriculum, K-8 keyboard curriculum, K-8 Digital Citizenship curriculum. She is an adjunct professor in tech ed, Master Teacher, webmaster for four blogs, an Amazon Vine Voice, CSTA presentation reviewer, freelance journalist on tech ed topics, contributor to NEA Today, and author of the tech thrillers, To Hunt a Sub and Twenty-four Days. You can find her resources at Structured Learning.
Tech Tip #82: My Picture’s a TIFF and the Program Needs a JPG
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: My picture file is a .bmp and I need a .jpg. What do I do?
A: Blogs and wikis and lots of online sites won’t accept .bmp image files. I no longer even save pictures in that format because so much of what I do is collaborative, which means online.
If you have an image you want to use, but it’s in this .bmp format, here’s what you do:
- Open it in MS Paint (which comes with Windows) or Photoshop
- save-as a .jpg.
Tech Tip #81: I Have Office 2010; Everyone Else Has 2003–They Can’t Read My Stuff
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: My school updated to Office 2010 and many parents are still on 2003. What can I do so they can read my stuff?
A: When you save the doc, go to File-save as, and select file type 97-2003
Tech Tip #80: My Internet Stopped Working
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q:My internet stopped for no reason. I’m in the middle of something important. What can I do?
A: Do what the pros do–unplug it, wait ten seconds and plug it in again. Half the time, this is all it takes.
The same applies to a printer that stops for no known reason–turn it off, wait ten seconds and turn it back on.
It’s something about tasks being shuffled out of the way and needing to re-establish their order. All I know is it works often enough, it’s my first line of defense to problem-solving this particular problem. (more…)
Tech Tip #79: Saving Your File so Everyone Can Read it
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: I need to make my Word document readable by colleagues that don’t have MS Word. What do I do?
A: MS Office 2007 and 2010 makes that easy. (more…)
Tech Tip #77: Laptop Frozen? Here’s Another Solution
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q:My laptop won’t turn off. What do I do?
A: Do a hard reboot. Hold the power button in ten seconds, until the laptop turns off, and reboot.
Question? Email me at askatechteacher@gmail.com and I’ll answer.
Tech Tip #76: Laptop Frozen? Here’s What You Do
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q:My laptop is frozen. I can’t even turn it off. What do I do?
A: To fix a recalcitrant laptop, remove the battery, wait ten seconds and put it back and start up again. Half the time, that’ll fix it. (more…)
Tech Tip #75: What’s My IP Address
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: I need my computer’s IP address, but I don’t know where to find it. Help!
A: Go to: My IP Address.com . I keep mine on my homepage so it’s right there.
Tech Tip #73: Alt+??? Brings up which Menu Command?
As a working technology teacher, I get hundreds of questions from parents about their home computers, how to do stuff, how to solve problems. Each week, I’ll share one of those with you. They’re always brief and always focused. Enjoy!
Q: I always forget the keyboard shortcuts for the menu commands. Can you give me a list?
A: I’ll do one better. MS Office 07 and 10 makes that easy. Just push the Alt key and it tells you what number or letter is associated with which menu command. (more…)
