Pamela's Computer Help for Seniors Blog » Computer Tips

Apple iPad Tips

computertutor — Sun, 16 Jan 2011 14:12:29 +0000

I hope that you are enjoying your Apple iPad as much as I am. I have found so many useful features while using my iPad that I wanted to share them with you.

If you have found some easy features please let me know by replying to my BLOG or click HERE to send me a question. My answer will arrive in your INBOX within 24 hours if not at once.

When you reply to or write a new email with the Apple iPad, it adds a “period” at the end of a sentence if you tap the “spacebar” twice and you do not need to click the “shift” key to create a capital letter at the beginning of a new sentence or paragraph; it appears automatically.

Once you begin to use your iPad and write emails or notes, the iPad recognizes words that you use often and a pop-up appears as you write. If you click the spacebar it enters the suggested word. Spelling suggestions are handled in the same way.

The iPad recognizes email addresses as well and will insert them into your email automatically when you begin to type the first few letters of the address if you have used the email address previously or it is entered in your Address Book.

The iPad can save pictures from your emails in its Picture folder which can then be inserted into emails to send to your friends and family.

It’s easy to delete incoming emails from the “inbox.” Just click “edit” at the top right of the list and either hit “delete all” or mark each email that you need to delete. The iPad will count the emails that you wish to delete – then click “delete.”

Don’t worry if your iPad locks up just hold down the “Home” button and the “Sleep/Wake” button simultaneously. This will cause a “manual reboot” and your iPad will be “unlocked” and ready to use.

If you find that you have too many icons covering your HOME screen and want to consolidate them just hold down one of the icons to make them “wobble” and then drag “like” icons into one of the icons. You will then be given a chance to rename the MAIN ICON which now becomes a folder. An example would be to drag all your “newspaper” icons into one icon and rename the icon “NEWSPAPERS.”

This will reduce the number of icons that appear on your Home page and you will be able to find the icon you are looking for “in a snap.”

Pamela’s Monthly Computer Tips – Jan 2011

computertutor — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:20:08 +0000

Monthly Publication from Computer Tutor Inc.
Volume 2. Issue 4.
January 2011
Each month this publication will contain computer related information that will assist readers with their computer problems and inform them of features and products of interest.
Please view the January issue on my website HERE.

Pamela’s Monthly Computer Tips – Dec 2010

computertutor — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 22:13:59 +0000

Monthly Publication from Computer Tutor Inc.
Volume 2. Issue 3.
December 2010
Each month this publication will contain computer related information that will assist readers with their computer problems and inform them of features and products of interest.
Please view the December issue on my website HERE.

Pamela’s Monthly Computer Tips – Oct 2010

computertutor — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 21:02:27 +0000

Monthly Publication from Computer Tutor Inc.
Volume 2. Issue 1.
October 2010
Each month this publication will contain computer related information that will assist readers with their computer problems and inform them of features and products of interest.
If you wish to view this issue on my website please click HERE.

Welcome to the First Issue of the Second Volume of Pamela’s Monthly Review. The First Volume ran for four years and then the publication was put on hold while I was writing the First Edition of my new book Computer Tips for Seniors. Now that it has been published I decided to continue with my tips and information on computer related products and services through this newsletter.

In the coming months I will also be featuring products that I have reviewed and tested for ease of use and reliability. If the manufacturer has a promo code it will be available through my website. Only products that I have tried and tested will be featured in this publication.

Through my FREE Question and Answer Service you will be able to ask questions about the products and any features that you would like explained. My answer will reach you within 24 hours if not at once. This may be faster than writing to the manufacturer or going online for additional information.

Don’t forget to listen to my Live Radio Talk Show every fourth Tuesday of the month. If you miss the live shows you can listen to them through Windows Media Player by clicking on the links.

EASY FIX: Do you have a computer printer in your northern residence and one in Florida? Do you have a problem accessing the correct printer when you change locations? If you do, follow the steps below to make the task easier:

Write the following instructions on a document and keep it in an easily accessible place on your computer.
1. Write the name of the printer that you use in your northern residence.
2. Write the name of the printer that you use in your Florida residence.
3. When you change locations you will need to make the correct printer the “DEFAULT PRINTER”
4. To change the “Default Printer” Click on START in Windows XP or on the “Vista Orb” in Windows Vista.
5. If you do not see “Printers and Faxes” on the Start Menu, click on the “CONTROL PANEL.”
6. Click on PRINTERS and FAXES.
7. Choose the printer that you will be using and click on the option to “Make this the Default Printer.”
8. Repeat this action each time you change locations or wish to use a different printer.

Fast and Easy: Use the “Copy and Paste” feature to complete the tasks on your computer in the least amount of time. You will find that it is one of the most useful features and if you are not familiar with these tasks please contact me and I will send you a FREE tutorial.

EASY FIX: Having trouble deleting the second page of a Word Document when it is blank? The solution is simple; place your marker after the “period” at the end of the last sentence on page one of your document. Keep hitting the DELETE key until the second blank page disappears. Job Done!

TIP OF THE MONTH: If you suspect that a WORD document is corrupt and you can still open the document, the steps below may be tried as a first attempt to recover the document:

1. Open the corrupt document.
2. Create a brand new document.
3. Return to the corrupt document.
4. Press Ctrl+A. This selects the entire document.
5. Press Ctrl+C. This copies the selected portion of the document to the invisible Clipboard.
6. Return to the new document; the one you created in step 2.
7. Press Ctrl+V. The contents of the invisible Clipboard are pasted into the blank document.
8. Save the new document.
9. Close the document you suspect is corrupted.

If you are using Word 2003 or Word 2007 there is something else you can try:

When you open a document, you’ll normally find an Open dialog box. Use the controls in the dialog box to locate the file you think is corrupted, then click the down arrow at the right of the Open button. In the resulting options, choose Open and Repair.

SEASONS PHOTO ALBUM:
Have you ever wondered how EACH SEASONS flowers and foliage look in other parts of the world? Here is your chance to share photos of the changing seasons in your area with others. Each season I will be adding your photos to the online SLIDESHOW for other readers to enjoy. FALL or AUTUMN is this month’s theme and I am looking forward to receiving your BEST photos of AUTUMN in your area. I think that the FALL colours display the most wondrous sites but the months pass quickly SO GO OUT WITH YOUR CAMERA TODAY! Visit the SEASONS PHOTO ALBUM to see how your photos will be displayed along with others that have been submitted. Please take your pictures in the highest resolution and make them at least 3.5 inches square before sending them to me.

NEED HELP to learn a computer program or fix a problem with your computer? I can help you RIGHT AWAY with my FAST RESPONSE SERVICE for all computer users WORLDWIDE. I provide FREE connection SOFTWARE and a DETAILED TUTORIAL to enable me to access your computer while you watch me fixing the problem or explaining features of a program. It’s just like me being next to you in your home or office chatting about the procedures and/or problems.

To begin this EASY and CONVENIENT service please go to Remote Assistance and follow the steps to get connected. You get 30 Minutes FREE Just For Signing Up! I look forward to hearing from you.

Every day I receive questions from computer users who email me from all parts of the world. Many of them are published monthly in PC User Group Magazines listed below. I have a convenient online form HERE that you may fill out and submit with your question. The answer to your question usually arrives within 24 hours unless there is a power cut! This is a FREE service that I offer to all computer users around the world.

Every month my answers to frequently asked questions are published in the Newsletters listed below. These articles always have up-to-date information to help with your every day computer problems.

Orange County – IBM – PC Users’ Group Newsletter – California – U.S.A.
Canadian Snowbirds Association Quarterly Publication – CANADA
Sarnia Computer Users’ Group – Newsletter – Sarnia – CANADA
Hilton Head Island Computer Club – S. Carolina – U.S.A.
Free Q & A for Canadian CARP Members – CANADA
Front Range PC Users Group – Colorado – U.S.A.
ICON Users Group – Springfield – U.S.A.

Information and Government Sites
for
Seniors Living in the United States and CanadaThe Information is ALWAYS Up-to-Date

REMINDERS...

EMAIL ADDRESS CHANGE: If you change your email address please remember to inform me so that you will continue to receive important computer related notices. Click
HERE to send me your NEW email address.

ADD MY EMAIL ADDRESS TO YOUR BOOK: To ensure delivery of answers to your questions “add my email address to your address book” and place it in your “Safe Senders” list otherwise they may end up in your “Bulk File” or “Spam File” and you will miss valuable information.

QUESTIONS:
Please send all questions via this webpage to receive answers within 24 hours.

WORLD-WIDE IN-HOME HELP AND TUTORING: Request in-home help to fix your computer or learn a program via REMOTE ASSISTANCE the NEW and EASY way to receive HELP WITHIN MINUTES WHEN YOU NEED IT!

Computer Tips for SENIORS

computertutor — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 10:37:39 +0000

Computer Tips for SENIORS

At last my new book is available. The cover has been professionally designed by Linda Gonse, graphic designer and my long time email friend. What a joy it is to hear positive comments from those who have received it!

I must admit that I was nervous after I mailed out the first few books and waited anxiously for feedback. When I realized that my first edition was a success I began writing the second edition.

Thanks to the computer users who send me questions everyday, I will never be short of frequently asked questions for future editions; keep ‘em coming! Your questions and my answers will help to make computing easier for so many others.

Read More About My New Book.

It will make a perfect gift for computer users who have everything else.

Teaching Seniors and Others Continued…

computertutor — Thu, 24 Sep 2009 13:38:05 +0000

You Asked and I Listened! Computer users who have been asking me computer related questions in past years have been urging me to compile all the questions, with my illustrated answers into book form. For sometime my daily project has been to collect all this data and now the book is almost ready.

The book is divided into subjects i.e. Microsoft Word, Micorosft Excel, Pictures, System Problems to name just a few. I believe that most frequently asked questions will be answered in this First Edition. As soon as the First Edition is ready the Second Edition will be started. As technology advances there are always new questions to ask so I will always have more information to give computer users world wide.

The biggest challenge that I have had, while writing the book, has been the index. I have tried to make the index “user friendly” so that even a new computer user will be able to find the answer to their questions easily. I am thinking carefully about the phrases that computer users use when searching for answers to their problems and use these phrases to compile the index.

I am also including with the book a laminated “Bookmark Cheat Sheet” that can be kept near the computer for reference, showing everyday shortcuts. I use shortcuts for most of my computer work and want to share these with my readers to make their computing experience more fun and features easier and faster to access.

Keep checking back for more information as I progress. Hopefully it will be ready soon.

Organizing Incoming E-Mails

computertutor — Mon, 18 May 2009 00:12:10 +0000

Most of us receive many emails each day and it can be quite a chore to sort through them if you have not organized your folders in your “inbox.” Organizing the folders and making “rules” to direct the incoming emails into the folders will solve many of your problems and save you a great deal of time.

The “inbox” in Microsoft Outlook, Outlook Express or Windows Mail has the capability of holding many folders that will help you organize incoming and outgoing mail. You can also add folders to Web Mail in a similar manner.

Adding folders is a simple task and can be done as follows in Microsoft Outlook:
• Click on the down arrow next to NEW and select FOLDER in Outlook or FILE, NEW, FOLDER in Windows Mail.
• Make sure that you click on the INBOX to highlight it and then type the name of the new folder in the supplied box . For my purposes I would name one of my folders “QUESTIONS” and then I would make a RULE so that every email that is sent to me through the QUESTION LINK on my website ASK COMPUTER TUTOR will arrive in my QUESTION FOLDER. Right away the folder will be highlighted and I will know that a question from an anxious computer user is waiting for a reply.

To make sure that your selected emails arrive in the correct folders you will need to make RULES.
• Click on TOOLS.
• Click on RULES and ALERTS in Outlook or MESSAGE RULES in Windows Mail.
• Select NEW RULE
• Then select the options that you require when your message arrives.
• Type the name of the folder you have made to receive the email message.
• Choose more options if required, then click OK.

You can make as many folders as you need for friends, family, business associates, clubs, committees making the emails easy to locate as soon as they arrive.

Find easy ways to operate your computer and make computing a pleasure instead of a chore.