| Sam Young Newsletter |
Issue 52, November 2002
Hi guys,
This time we have the last in our series of Outlook Tips below. There are a few miscellaneous items that may make it easier for you to get more out of your software.
I have some More Tips for Websites for those of you who are going through setting up your company presence on line at the moment.
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.
| A Few More Outlook Tips |
In this, the last in our current series of Outlook tips, we are looking at a few hints & tips to make Outlook more user-oriented.
Auto-emailing Contacts
Here are a few ideas for making sending an email to an Outlook contact a bit easier;
- When you look up a contact in Outlook in Address Card or Phone List view, you can click once on the stored email address and start an outgoing email automatically by right-clicking on the contact before it's opened and selecting "New Message to Contact"
- You can also start a new message for a contact by opening the contact and going to the Action menu and selecting "New Message to Contact"
Viewing all a Contact's Email Addresses
You can enter multiple email addresses for the same contact, but selecting the other email addresses (email, email 2, email 3) when you send an email is slightly more problematic, as Outlook will autocomplete the contact name and always send to the default email address. Rather than have an email address for Joe Bloggs (Home) and Joe Bloggs (Work), use the multiple email addresses, putting the one you usually use as the main email, and the second email second etc, etc. Then the easiest way to select the correct email address is to;
- Start typing the contact name into your "To" field and Outlook's autocomplete function will fill in the name, or click Ctrl & K to autocomplete
- Right click on the name and select the email address that you require from the drop down menu
Separate Calendar View
Outlook is normally not good at remembering what time you had the cursor on you are in Calendar view if you go to another view & come back. For lawyers & accountants, who usually bill in 6 minute blocks, returning to the default start time on each new day is a pain. You can work around this by keeping your Calendar in its own window. You can do this by;
- Start Outlook
- Right-click on the Calendar folder and pick "Open in New Window"
- Adjust the Calendar in the new window any way you like. It'll stay put, if you use the Windows taskbar down at the bottom of the screen to get to the other parts of Outlook.
- Always use File | Close to leave Outlook (don't click the "X" in the upper right corner), and then, every time you start Outlook, it will remember that you want to have a separate window opened with the Calendar in it.
| More Tips for Websites |
- Identify your audience - Who is your audience going to be? Are they rural people who can't get to buy your products regularly? Are you hoping to open up international markets? Work out who your audience is BEFORE designing your site so you can design with the end user in mind
- Write about customer benefits - Surfers - like all consumers - are interested in what you can do for them. So write your site copy to show what you can do for the reader, rather than as a CV for your business
- Forget your company structure Put yourselves in a surfer's shoes. You might have 5 different business branches, but that doesn't mean anything to your audience. Assume surfers know nothing about you and build a site based on customer interest - and in lay terms - not your management structure or using industry jargon
- Think like a novice - Your web design company will probably want to use your site to show off their graphic ability or what's new and hot in flash or multimedia. Don't. Think like a novice. Many of your web surfers may be new to the Internet, have slow download speeds, or have older software
- Competitors - Look at what your competitors are doing on their websites; you can check what page titles they have and, in their source code by right mouse- clicking and selecting view source, checking their keywords and descriptions. Note down what annoys you on their sites and avoid those things
- Selecting Website Keywords - Type in some keywords you want to use in search engines and see what companies come up first and then look at their source code
- Write Internationally - Be sure that your communication is universal and fits your target audience terminology. If you are targeting the UK, Australia or NZ, use "chemist". If you are targeting the US, use "drugstore". If you want to be understood everywhere, use pharmacy. But make sure your keywords include pharmacy, chemist and drugstore or surfers using a search engine won't find you
- Get Email addresses - Grab email addresses as soon as you can. En sure that one of the very first things a browser sees on your site is a special offer linked to a request for their email address so you can contact them - judiciously - when you have a special offer that may suit them
- Security for online payments - Customers are starting to look for the secure server indicator (the padlock on the bottom of their IE screen), so if you are going to be having online payments you must have a secure server. Try http://www.thawte.com to set up a secure server
Good luck!
| Top Travel Tips |
In the wake of the terrorist attacks in the past two years, here are some tips that can make your family & friends relax while you are overseas in times of crisis;
- Always leave copies with family and friends of your full itinerary with name, address, and phone contacts of the hotels/hostels you are staying at. If plans change then email your changed details from an internet café
- Scan images of all travel documents, medical insurance policy details, credit cards and passports and email them to your web- based e mail (eg Hotmail). If you need copies while away, you can access them from your web mail Inbox. Leave hardcopies of passport and credit card scans with family and friends so they can easily be reported and replaced if lost or stolen in case you don't have access to email
- If worried about the prudence of travelling in an area, contact your Consulate to report where you are and check latest updates on the situation. Most consulates have a system for registering nationals, and some consulates allow you to register on the web instead of in person
- Never discuss politics or join / look at any large gathering/protests
- Even though you may not be affected, if something such as the situation in Bali occurs, always contact home as soon as possible to report that you are okay. This is one situation where taking a mobile phone with global roaming can be very helpful. Instead of hunting for a landline phone, you can dial home immediately or people can call you
- If you do need to leave the country urgently, contact the airlines immediately. In extreme circumstances the traveller is more likely to get attention within the country than with your travel agent at home – particularly with time zone differences etc. In crisis situations airlines are generally very amenable
- Always travel with a comprehensive, but compact, medical kit. In developing countries, medical facilities can be pretty limited, so prepare. Talk to your Doctor and stock up all your medications, including the contraceptive pill
- Medical costs can mount up rapidly and most travel insurance policies have a 24 hour helpline that may be able to assist with medical and evacuation needs. Keep the policy details with you and also in the details left at home and emailed to yourself
But have a fun trip; if you prepare well, you will just about guarantee you will never need it!
| TLAs for SMEs |
Here are this newsletter's TLAs for you;
- PDA, Public Displays of Affection as well as Personal Digital Assistant (aka Palm Pilot etc)!
- AKA, Also Known As
Please feel free to email me with any TLAs that you want to get the bottom (meaning!) of.
| Short+Hot Keys... and now tips |
All the Function keys for you again, but this time we are shifting as well - all you can do with Alt, Shift, Ctrl & F3;
- Excel "Create names from row and column labels" CTRL & SHIFT & F3
- Excel "Define a name" CTRL & F3
- Excel "Paste a function into a formula" SHIFT & F3
- Outlook "Switch case (with text selected)." SHIFT & F3
- PowerPoint "Change the case of letters" SHIFT & F3
- Word "Spike" CTRL & SHIFT & F3
- Word "Change Case" SHIFT & F3
- Word "Create Auto Text" ALT & F3
| Hot Linx |
Got Arthritis or IBS? Or just wanting to cut down on wheat? Then check out these handy wheat free recipes at http://www.glutenfree.com/recipes.html
For those Tolkien fans out there, you must check out the new exhibition opening at Te Papa on 19th December. Check it out at http://www.tepapa.govt.nz/communications/Press_Releases/pr_LOTR.html
And for those of you who - like me - love Wallace & Gromit, it looks like there is a new film coming. Check it out at http://www.aardman.com/wallaceandgromit/filmsCC.asp
Catch you again soon!! E-mail your suggestions to me here
