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Welcome to today's edition of the Computer Kindergarten Newsletter.
Today is Monday, April 22, 2002
In this Issue:
Special Feature: Internet Shorthand
Featured Computer Term: The Mouse
This Week's Topic: Keyboard Shortcuts
Question: Modem Disconnects
Learning Series: Microsoft Word - Hyphenation
Featured Website: Learn Spanish Online; Emails Translated Free
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Special Feature: Internet Shorthand
The following is a question from a newsletter subscriber:
Sometimes I get email from people with things typed in that I don’t understand, like LOL for example. Do you know what this means?
Many people use shorthand to speed up their typing. Shorthand is simply an online form of acronyms or abbreviations. Here is a list of the most commons acronyms you are likely to run into in email, Instant Messages, chat rooms and message boards:
AFK = Away From Keyboard
BAK = Back At Keyboard
BRB = Be Right Back
BTW = By The Way
GMTA = Great Minds Think Alike
IMHO = In My Humble Opinion
LOL = Laugh Out Loud
OIC = Oh, I See
ROFL = Rolling On Floor, Laughing
TTFN = Ta-Ta For Now
WTG = Way To Go
You may also see emoticons or Smileys in emails or instant messages. Smileys are faces; when you tilt your head to the left you will be able to see a picture. They’re used for the purpose of being more expressive and fun. Smileys are created by typing the characters that make up the smiley on your computer keyboard.
Here are some examples:
:) Smiling
:( Frowning
;) Winking
:D Grinning
:O Surprised
8) Glasses
B) Sunglasses
O:) Angel
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Today's Computer Term: The Mouse
Left Click, Right Click
Most computer mice have two buttons, called the left button and the right button. Some have a center button as well. Most Windows programs use the left and right buttons only.
The left button is your main clicker. It is used to choose things in lists, or to cause something to happen, usually by double-clicking it (clicking the left button twice very quickly.
The right button is normally used to display context menus. A context menu is a little popup menu that has specific choices for the part of a window you are clicking in.
Try this. Place your mouse cursor over this text and right-click your mouse (press the right button). A little menu pops up. The only choice that is enabled is Select All. So choose that one (by left clicking it). When you do this the window appears as a negative of itself, because selected text is shown in white on a black or dark blue background.
Right click your mouse again. Now Copy is also enabled. This is because you have selected some text that may be copied.
Now press ctrl-n on your keyboard (hold down ctrl with your left hand, press and release n, release ctrl). This is a shortcut to open an empty, new window. Right click over this new window and choose Paste. This entire article is now in the new window.
Drag and Drop
Dragging with your mouse simply means that you click the left button and move the mouse with the left button still pressed. The drag ends when you release the left button.
Two common uses of dragging:
1. Selecting Items: In an editor window, left click the beginning of the text you want to select and drag to the end of that text. Then copy, paste, or delete the selected text. It doesn't have to be text - some programs let you select graphics as well.
2. Moving Items: Left click your desktop. Now right click and pick New, and then pick Folder. The folder will appear on your desktop. Now drag it to the recycle bin icon. The folder disappears. Where did it go? You just dragged it off your desktop and into the recycle bin.
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Today's Topic: Keyboard Shortcuts
Keyboard Shortcuts are quick ways to give commands and replace the longer method of opening and maneuvering through menus to perform the same process.
These shortcuts use the Ctrl key. There is one Ctrl key on each end of the bottom row of the keyboard (only one, usually, if you have a laptop). To use the shortcut, you simply hold down the Ctrl key and press the letter for the shortcut you want. After you have pressed the letter, you can release the Ctrl key.
Some Example of Keyboard Shortcuts
Instead of using the Edit menu commands to copy text, try using keyboard shortcuts instead.
Ctrl & C - Copies data. If you want to copy some text, simply highlight the text, and then use Ctrl+C to copy it to the clipboard.
Ctrl & V - Pastes data. After you have copied the text, click once where you want to put it, and use Ctrl+V to past it in its new location.
Ctrl & X - Cuts data. This works the same as the copy command above, but it removes the text from its original location and places it where you pasted it.
These shortcuts work in all Windows programs.
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Question: Modem Disconnects
The following is a question from a newsletter subscriber:
Sometimes my modem suddenly disconnects for no real reason that I can tell. Do you think there’s something wrong with my modem?
Probably not. Here’s something you can try:
Go to Modems in Control Panel (Click the Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel).
From Modems select Properties, select the Connection Tab, and then click the Advanced button.
In the Extra settings dialogue box, enter S10=50.
This will force the modem to stay connected without a carrier for up to 5 seconds. Now, if you temporarily lose the connection with your Internet Service Provider, your modem will not immediately disconnect; when the connection comes back (within 5 seconds), the modem stays connected and you won’t notice anything.
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Progressive Learning Series: Microsoft Word - Hyphenation
Word includes a hyphenation tool that you can use to make better use of the horizontal text space on your page. You should not need to hyphenate your document often, if you remember these guidelines of when hyphenation is necessary:
* Hyphenate only before you print. This should be the last step you do, definitely after spell checking and grammar checking your document.
* Hyphenate after you change printer drivers. Printer drivers affect the horizontal spacing of fonts. Since the horizontal spacing changes, the applicable hyphenation will change, as well.
* Hyphenate if you change fonts. It is the font that determines how much text you can get on a line. When you change fonts, you change the amount of text that will fit on a line, and thus change the need for hyphenation.
When you turn on automatic hyphenation, Word automatically inserts hyphens where they are needed in the document. If you later edit the document and change line breaks, then Word rehyphenates the document.
1. On the Tools menu, point to Language, and then click Hyphenation.
2. Select the Automatically hyphenate document check box.
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Today's Featured Website: Languages
Learn Spanish Online
This Web site will teach you to speak Spanish for free.
Work at your own pace through 75 clearly written tutorials. Each covers a different topic, from Days of the Week to Preterit vs. Imperfect Review. You can also practice vocabulary words, which are sorted into convenient groups like Downtown and Restaurants. Practice your pronunciation by listening to audio lessons and attempting to repeat them. Or practice conjugating verbs by taking an interactive quiz. If you get stuck, just type a word or phrase into the Translator (Spanish to English or English to Spanish).
If you're ready for a break, then check out 10 Phrases That Don't Translate Well.
http://www.studyspanish.com/
Emails Translated Free
Compose email in your native language and include as a CC address the specific address provided at this Website for translation in any of six languages. A machine translation to the desired language will be provided.
While you're at that site, you can also use the free service to convert any Website to one of those languages as well. Note that this is a machine translation; so don't expect it to deal well with idioms.
http://www.t-mail.com |
