Computer
Info –
This Week’s Meeting
We will look at a couple of the past
handouts and touch on Excel (a spreadsheet program). We will have plenty of time for our question
and answer session.
Spreadsheet for Beginners Using Excel
A spreadsheet is for working with
numbers. It is a great tool for
adding – subtracting – multiplying – dividing – averaging, etc. It consists of rows (usually named with
numbers) and columns (usually named with letters).
Start by customizing the toolbars so
that they contain the icons that you use.
Place your mouse cursor over each icon to determine if you would use
that one – most people do not use the ‘format painter’, ‘hyperlink’, ‘drawing’. Once you have determined which ones you would
like to remove, choose VIEW – TOOLBARS – CUSTOMIZE. Click on the tab labeled COMMANDS. Now with that window open, left click on one
of the icon that you wish to remove and drag it down to the CUSTOMIZE window
and release the button. The icon will be
remove from the toolbar – don’t worry, you can add it
back anytime you wish. Do this until you
have remove all of the icons that you will not be
using. Now it’s time to add a few extra
ones that you will find useful. Click on
INSERT in the lefthand column and then look for the
‘=’ in the righthand column – left click and drag it
to the toolbar at the top. Do this for
the signs for adding (+), subtracting (-), multiplying (*), and dividing
(/). You will find a lot of use for each
of these.
Now comes the fun part. Do some arithmetic – enter some numbers in
various cells – click in an empty cell and let’s add a couple of the numbers
together. Start by clicking on the equal
sign that you placed on the toolbar – this places an equal sign in the cell
that you are in. Now, click one of the
cells that you would like to add – this will place the name of that cell (for
example, A1 or
C34 or B9) after the equal sign. Now,
click on the plus sign that you placed on the toolbar – this places a plus sign
in the cell that you are working in.
Now, click on the other cell that you would like to add – this will
place the name of that cell after the plus sign. When you hit ENTER, the result of your
addition will be displayed in the cell.
Try this with subtraction, multiplication and division. And this is just a start of what you can do
with a spreadsheet.
Wacom Drawing Tablet
John brought in a Wacom Drawing Tablet to let everyone see and discuss the
benefits. This tablet is a cordless pen
and mouse set that allows you to have more control when editing in PhotoShop,
Paint and other photo editing programs.
This one was an entry-level product and the smallest of the Wacom tablets (4 x 5).
It can be purchased for under $100.
The software that comes bundled with
the Wacom Drawing Tablet includes PhotoShop LE and Corel Painter
Classic.
It connects to your computer via a
USB port and uses no batteries or power supply.
You install the drivers from the CD that accompanies the product.
After John had tried it, his opinion
is that most people will find that they can control and draw with the mouse
just as well as having a specialized separate device attached to your computer.
Web Pages in Netscape and Internet Explorer
When creating a web page – be sure
that you view it in Netscape and Internet Explorer. If you are trying to reach a larger audience
or you have a product to sell – this is very important. If you have a chance to view the following
web sites in Netscape and then look at them in Internet Explorer – you will see
the dramatic difference that I am talking about. These web pages were created in Front Page.
Check Out Emails – Are They A Hoax ??
A very good web site for checking
out whether a message you have received via email is the truth or is a hoax –
please visit this site
Clock Program
John demonstrated a clock program
last week that has a lot of customization.
It replaces the clock that you have on the taskbar and allows you to
determine how the information is displayed.
You can have it tell the time – display the day of the week – display
the date, etc. John has placed the
program in the Fun Stuff folder if you would like to download it --
http://www.hdprint.co.uk/ftp/fun%20stuff
and look for newclock.exe.