http://www.mailboxmap.com/

As we enter the traveling season, it is always nice to know where the mailboxes are so we can send our post cards home. As we plan our big vacation this year in Kansas City, I started looking for mailbox locations.

Just enter an address, city and state, or ZIP code, and it will display a map showing the locations of mailboxes, post offices and UPS pickups in the neighborhood. Click on a mailbox icon if you would like to see the pickup times or the post office hours.

If you find a mailbox, post office, or UPS pickup that is not on the map, just email the information to mailboxmap@gmail.com

This tip came from: WebWorkerDaily, Feb. 16, 2010 and from American Libraries Direct, Feb. 17, 2010.

–Jack Batterson

Utilizing Outlook’s sticky note feature, you may post notes to yourself electronically as you would on a paper sticky note. Notes are good temporary place to keep information until you have time to deal with it more permanently.

Examples of when to use notes:

• Directions on how to do something
• a to-do list
• a software trick or tip
• Website URL
• Vendor information

Open a new note:

1. To access Outlook notes, open Microsoft Outlook.

2. On the left hand side of Outlook, click Notes or the shortcut icon .

3. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Note.

4. Immediately type, or paste text, into note. The first line is information that you will see as the note title.

5. Changes are automatically saved as you type. Unlike other Microsoft software, there is not a need to save before closing the Outlook note.

Shortcut:

1. Create a new note from anywhere in Outlook by pressing CTRL+SHIFT+N (or just Ctrl + N)

2. Double-click anywhere in the Notes window to create a new note

Categorize notes by color!

A new note is yellow by default, but you are not limited to just this one color. You can assign your notes a customized color that aligns with your existing categories.

1. Right click on the note icon to open the contextual menu.

2. Place the mouse pointer over the Categorize option to automatically open your categories in another contextual menu.

3. Left click on the category you wish to make the new or existing note. The note changes to the appropriate color.

Notes are versatile:

• Forward a note to someone by attaching the note to an e-mail message by right-clicking the note, and then clicking Forward.

• Easily print a note by right-clicking a note, and then click Print.

• Arrange notes as you’d like by clicking and dragging them wherever you’d like in the Notes window.

This tip was provided by Jack Batterson and was sent out by Columbia College Technology Services.

Staples is offering a FREE PC tune up, starting today. I don’t know how long the sale is; I would suggest calling them for an appointment.

This would be a great opportunity to get your home computer checked out for any major issues. The ad states:

“We’ll boost the speed and performance of your PC by removing trial ware, adjusting key settings that may be slowing it down, and disk defragmentation and cleanup. When done in store, a PC Tune up also includes removal of dust and dirt buildup.”

This isn’t an endorsement of Staples services by LTS – only information sharing.

PT Martin

As we approach the holidays, notices of e-mails containing viruses and actual e-mail viruses are beginning to circulate. These notices ask you to click a link, which may take you to a site containing a virus or some other type of malware.

Please, follow these simple suggestions to keep your computer safe:

If you get a forwarded e-mail *about* a circulating virus, check www.snopes.com under the subject of the email. More than likely, the warning has been circulating for years and that particular virus is no longer a threat. Don’t trust the message when it says that it’s already been checked at Snopes or some other service; check yourself.

If you receive an e-mail with subjects like “An e-mail card for you!”, “A(n) Hallmark card for you!” or some other generic subject like this, delete it! On line card providers will have your name in the subject line, something like, “PT, Ernest sent you an online card!”.

As always, if you have ANY doubt about the legitimacy of an e-mail, delete it or ask someone in LTS.

Here are some handy Web sites:

14 Application Cheat Sheets & Posters for Popular Programs: http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/14-great-cheat-sheets-posters-to-make-you-a-software-wizard/

FREE Quick References: http://www.customguide.com/quick_references.htm

Need a screen shot but aren’t sure how to do it?

Have the window that you want to capture visible. Don’t forget that you’re capturing the entire screen, not just the window, so don’t have that picture of you in your pajamas peaking out when you copy!

From a Windows keyboard: Push the F12 key. Nothing will happen, so you won’t know if it worked until you go into a program and try to paste it. So, go to the program (Word for example). You then want to use the Paste function and the picture should appear. In Word, for example, click the Home tab. Paste is the first choice on the left.

On a Mac keyboard: Push the F13 key. The rest of the steps are the same as the Windows keyboard.

Search all of your folders (Outlook 2007) When you use Instant Search, the default option is to search only the folder you’re in. But you may not know where the message you are looking for is located. You may need to search all your folders, not just the one you’re currently in.
To search all folders:
1. On the Tools menu, point to Instant Search, and then click Search Options.
2. Under Instant Search Pane, click All folders.

Preview an attachment before you open it (Outlook 2007)

When you receive an attachment in a message and want to quickly see what the attachment contains without opening it, you can preview the attachment in the Reading Pane. Just select the message that has the attachment, and in the Reading Pane, click the attachment once (not twice, which will open it). The content of the attachment, whether it’s a document, a presentation, an image, or whatever, will appear in the Reading Pane.

Make a Note and e-mail it to someone.

• Click on the sticky note icon at the bottom left of the Outlook screen.
• Click on New at the upper left of the screen under File.
• Key the note you want to make and close the note by clicking the x in the upper right corner. It will be saved automatically.
• Right click on the icon for the note you just created, it should be visible on your Outlook screen.
• Click Forward. On the To line, enter the e-mail address to send the note to.
• You can add extra explanation in the body of the e-mail, if you wish.
• Click Send.

Tip from Terri Hall.

Here’s a really handy tip.
•    Locate a file anywhere on your hard drive that you want to e-mail, right-click the file’s icon, click Send To, and then click Mail Recipient. A new mail message will open with the file attached and ready to send. But what’s really speedy about this tip is that your mail program doesn’t launch. This action creates only a single new mail message.
•    Now, to send your attachment, simply type the recipient’s e-mail address in the To text field, add any accompanying message, and then click the Send icon. The subject and attachment fields are already set.

These tips are from the book, Windows XP Killer Tips by Kleber Stephenson, ISBN 073571357X.

PT Martin