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Friday 13 September 2002

Newsletter Issue 50, September 2002


Sam Young Newsletter

Issue 50, September 2002
Hi guys,
Do you regularly send emails to a group of people? Then check out Distribution Lists below. And for those of you who may already know how to set up those, you may not know how to use the BCC fields, so read on.
Have you ever wanted to know how to insert a whole document into a Word document with just a couple of key strokes? Well, find out all about it in  Inserting Documents into Word
Don't forget, if you want to be taken off my mailing list, click here to send me a reply e-mail and I will remove your name.

Distribution Groups

For those of you who have not set up distribution lists before, a personal distribution list is just a collection of your Outlook contacts, formatted as another contact in your list. You can sort, print, and assign categories to a list in Contacts just like any other.
Distribution lists provide an easy way to send messages to a group of people; eg, if you frequently send messages to your supplier group, you can create a distribution list called Suppliers that contains the names of all those suppliers that you want to send to. 
Sending a message to Suppliers goes to all recipients you have added to the distribution list. You can use distribution lists in messages, task requests, meeting requests, and other personal distribution lists. You can easily add and delete names from a distribution list, send it to others, and print it out. 
NB: Recipients see their own names and the names of all other recipients on the To line of the message instead of seeing the name of the distribution list
To create one;
  • Go to the File menu, select New, and then click Distribution List
  • In the Name box, type a name (the list will be saved in Contacts by this name)
  • Click Select Members
  • In the "Show names from list" field, click the address book that contains the e-mail addresses you want in your distribution list. In the Type name or select from list box, type a name you want to include. In the list below, select the name, and then click Add. How to select multiple items
  • If you want to add a longer description of the distribution list, click the Notes tab, and then type the text
  • Click Save
  • Click Close
To send emails out to one (or more) of your distribution groups without letting everyone else on the list see all the names, follow these set-up directions;
  1. Create an new contact named eg "Recipient List Suppressed", with the only detail inserted in it being your OWN email address. Save & close
  2. Then when you create a new message, enter "Recipient List Suppressed" in the "to" field
  3. In the message's View menu, click Bcc Field
  4. Enter your mail group / desired senders into the BCC field on the message
  5. Click Send

Inserting Documents into Word

Ever wanted to know how to copy another document into your current document?
Well, here is the low down; 
  1. Make sure all the docs you wish to copy into the document you are working on are saved as Office documents on your system
  2. In your current document, place your cursor where you wish the file to be placed 
  3. Hit the Enter key to create a paragraph break
  4. Go to the Insert menu. Select File... 
  5. Navigate to your document and double click on the name. NB: if an Excel file, you can specify the cell range by selecting the "Range' Button. 
Another thing to watch out for is that the inserted file will take on the page setup of your current document. Also some formatting can get a bit mucked up.

Selecting or "Blocking" Text

How many of you have been plagued by the "Runaway Mouse" syndrome? Where you are trying to select a block of Word text or Excel cells and the mouse shoots off all OVER the place and you keep missing your end or start point?
There is a way to get control (and thanks to Woody's @ www.woodyswatch.com), here it is: 
  1. Go to the start of the text/data that you want to select or highlight
  2. Press the F8 key once. This is the "Extend Select" function, and lights up the "EXT" mode indicator at the bottom of the screen (just above the task bar)
  3. Move to the end of your data/text using the mouse or keyboard (Ctrl & End if to the very end) or a combination of both mouse & keyboard
  4. If your next action is to do something with the selected text (copy, bold etc), extend mode does not have to be turned off, it will go off automatically. If not, to cancel, press ESC in Word or F8 in Excel.
TLAs for SMEs

Here are this newsletter's TLAs for you;
  • ATX, Advanced Technology Expandable. An IT industry-wide specification for desktop computer motherboards. ATX improves motherboard design by expanding connectivity on the small AT motherboard (the "Baby AT")

Please feel free to email me with any TLAs that you want to get the bottom (meaning!) of.

Short+Hot Keys... and now tips
Just a few quick tips on AutoSignatures in Outlook
  • You can create multiple signatures in Outlook for different uses - I have one for each role I hold; one for my business and one for each secretarial position I hold with the clubs I am an officer for just follow the procedure in Newsletter 49
  • Selecting Multiple Signatures: To choose a signature from a several you have created, create a new Outlook email. Enter your "to" names and type your message as normal and leave the cursor where you want your signature to appear. Go to the "Insert" menu and select "Signature". A pop-out menu of signatures will appear for you to select from. Choose the signature you want and it will be inserted wherever you left the cursor in your email
  • You can create a nicely formatted signature by using Word to create your signature, then copying the text to the clipboard, going into Outlook | Tools | Options | Mail Format | Signature Picker |New, entering a name for your new signature and clicking the "Start with a blank signature" option. Click "Next>" In the Signature Text section, paste in your text from Word using Ctrl & V
Hot Linx
Interested in animation? Then check out the wee by-play with signage at this UK website; http://www.animation.me.uk/personalanimations.html
For those of you who have not heard of novelist & satirist Terry Pratchett before, hot foot it to http://www.terrypratchettbooks.com/ and prepare to order, read and enjoy! You can also swing by http://www.co.uk.lspace.org/ for some other information about the man.
Did you miss the Wearable Arts? Then check out their website at http://www.wearableart.co.nz/ 

                                Catch you again soon!! E-mail your suggestions to me here