The Computerist : PC Tips and Tricks: tricks

Control Key Information and Rogue Security Software

TheComputerist — Fri, 11 Mar 2011 18:40:00 GMT

These tips can be used for Windows XP and Vista -

Operating systems vary, if in doubt, check with your provider and/or technical support.

It seems like everyone needs to save time. It is just a fact of life these days. The following "Control Key" list is to help you do just that.

Software is becoming more uniform. In many cases, these also work for Macs as well but using a different key. Check with your manual or just test these.

Why use them instead of the mouse or other devise? Well, a mouse can fail or lose the battery power. Sometimes you need to just use the keyboard.

CTRL+A - Selects the entire document. If you use it for changing a format, it will change all the format, i.e., Bold or Underline would be applied or removed.
CTRL+B - Applies or removes bold formatting. Use at the start and at the end or select the target and use the CTRL+ B
CTRL+C - Copies the selected words, sentences, paragraphs, cells or data. It can be copies multiple times and stays until filled with new information.
CTRL+F Displays the Find dialog box. Then SHIFT+F4 repeats the last Find action.
CTRL+G Displays the Go To dialog box. You can go to a page or section, line, bookmark, comment or other notated things. F5 also displays this dialog box.
CTRL+H Displays the Find and Replace dialog box. I use this frequently for updating information such as changing dates or times.
CTRL+I Applies or removes italic formatting. Same as the Bold.
CTRL+K Displays the Insert Hyperlink dialog box for new hyperlinks or the Edit Hyperlink dialog box for selected existing hyperlinks. You can use hyperlinks to the Net, another document or a place in your current document.
CTRL+N Creates a new, blank document.
CTRL+O Displays the Open dialog box to open or find a file.
CTRL+P Displays the Print dialog box.
CTRL+R Changes the paragraph, page or document to right alignment format.
CTRL+S Saves the active file with its current file name, location, and file format. This is great for when you are busy, just a quick CTRL+S and you have saved your document that fast.
CTRL+U Applies or removes underlining. Same as Bold.
CTRL+V Inserts the contents of the Clipboard at the insertion point and replaces any selection. If placed in a space, inserts information; if placed in a highlighted area, replaces the entire highlighted selection. It is only available after you cut or copied an object, text, or cell contents.
CTRL+W Saves and closes the current document. Yes, in just one step!
CTRL+X Cuts the selected cells.
CTRL+Y Repeats the last command or action, if possible. Keep in mind that sometimes you cannot repeat an action for various reasons.
CTRL+Z Uses the Undo command to reverse the last command or to delete the last entry you typed. If you are working on something and it disappears from the screen, AND before you try anything else, give this a try. I have had emails disappear and gotten them back. (But sometimes, not!) Do you feel lucky??

Have you backed up lately?? (Especially your designs?) Have you been checking the Rogue Security Software information? Do these software sound legit??

WindowsDisk
WindowsPCProtector
MemoryOptimizer
MyDisk
CheckDisk

ALL OF THEM ARE ROGUE SECURITY SOFTWARE. Check this site as well as my blog about them.

Stay Safe!

Freebies, Dead Links and a Puzzle, and Catalog Xpress Tip #5, Recoloring and Backgrounds

TheComputerist — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 21:30:00 GMT

If you have been online more than 1 week, you probably have a lot of "Favorites" or "Bookmarks" that you have accumulated. I am a collector of links. If I think I may be interested in something, but don't have the time at the moment and I create a Favorite.

Because I do this blog, I have a lot of them - that is my story and I am sticking to it! I did not realize it, but I had nearly 1,000 of them. Holy Cow! How did that happen?

Enter, "Dead Links." Initially, there were about 120 dead links. There were also ‘redirected' links where the Webmaster had made sure than there was a new path to an old link. That occurred mostly where there might be sales involved. The Dead Links were among smaller sites that would not have had someone to watching to be sure that the link was still of value.

Next, I used the "duplicate" link review. I got another 90 or so duplicate links.

Altogether, I got rid of over 20% of my links. In looking at the names, I was surprised to note that I could identify many of the links by just looking at the names. A few were of no further interest to me and I was able to delete another 15 or so links.

I still have too many links, but I do take a little more care of what I link to these days. After all, there is only so much time left in a day filled with embroidery and other joys of life.

Here is a little bonus tip with this blog. If you love the photos of family, friends and your life, you can enjoy them even more with this little program. It is "Jigsaw Puzzle Lite."

It has the options to buy puzzles, but I just use it for my favorite photos. I can have a few puzzle pieces for the kids or over 300 piece for me to work.

It has 4 corner sections for those who like to work with just a section at a time, and lots of other puzzle players' favorite methods, like arranging or not.

Let the littlest kids do a puzzle of themselves with 6 pieces, they really love to see themselves on the screen and the puzzle helps them with their mouse skills.

Here is the next installment of my tips on Catalog Xpress. I hope you have found them helpful, I enjoy bringing them to you. If you don't use the features of your programs, even if they are free, you are wasting a valuable resource.

Keep notes on issues (your input) - Notes
Search by the usual information AND by Notes Search
Resize designs - Resize
Convert the format Conversions
Recolor designs and background colors
Categorize designs in multiple subjects (place a design of girl in garden watching a butterfly in multiple categories)
Arrange designs in multiple methods (Name, Type, Number of Stitches, Colors, Dimensions)
Print the entire catalog of designs in 3D (as small or large as I like)
Work with Alpha Xpress to create wonderful projects.

I love to change the colors of a design. I try to keep in mind that the designer may have a strong background in coloration, or perhaps not.

I have said it before and I will reiterate it again, a digitizer is only as good as their background - which requires knowledge of so many things, not the least of which is color coordination. So, in the colors department there are these considerations (you may have others, these are my observations):

The designer may not be particularly good with selecting colors
The designer may be wanting to do something whimsical rather than life like or vice versa
The background you are using is very germane to the colors of your design. If the design does not pop - I stop!

I have selected a design with many colors; this one has 19 color stops, but only 8 different colors. The digitizer is layering the colors one upon another to build a more life looking design.

I seldom use any software to attempt to limit those because it may just ruin the design. For instance, eyes could disappear or details could end up buried.

However, since this design has extra color changes, it gives me an excellent opportunity to adjust the colors to suit myself.

The colors are not, in my opinion, what I might see in a real circus train. On a white background, it looks great. But, I am going to place the design on a denim tote, making the colors blend into the fabric. I want my project to really POP.

So, I use the background changer, found in the "Options" menu. I change the background to a denim color and the design is no long a bright train for a child's tote.

I reviewed the directions given by the digitizer regarding the colors. I selected the 8^th, 9^th, 10^th, 11^th and 14^th colors to be changed.

One thing I like about Catalog Xpress is that it identifies the colors by their number. Some of the others use a ‘color slide' system, which shows where your color is on the spectrum, but if you wanted to return to your original color, you have to ‘figure out' which one it was. You can check back with the directions, but I want to see colors that are adjacent and how they act with each other. So, I have the color numbers and sometimes go back to an original for various reasons.

If I decide on, in this case, a ‘white' platform for the cage, I selected a ‘beige' so that it looks a little weathered and possibly dirty from being on the road. I like how that looks.

I make more changes in keeping with my recollections of my childhood which includes a red cage with some golden trim.

I think it will pop very well, and I am pleased with my changes. I feel confident that my project will be great.

I use Catalog Xpress a lot for coloration, it gives me what I need to do what is in my head.

Free Artwork Software and Catalog Xpress, Tip #4, Conversions.

TheComputerist — Fri, 30 Jul 2010 21:45:00 GMT

Drawing and designing is usually limited to those who have talent, I am not included in that group. However, I did find a method of creating interesting designs that is fun and amusing for me. I hope you like it too.

Livebrush, is a fun way to create some interesting effects. If you can draw as well, it is even more appealing. There is a simple demo at the site.

I think either one of these would be striking when embroidered. If you have a young couple in your life, I think this type of art may well interest them and combined with embroidery, what a breathtaking heirloom this would make.

Here is the next episode of “Tips on Using Catalog Xpress.” You can look at tips number 1, 2, and 3 by selecting the links.

Keep notes on issues (your input) - Notes
Search by the usual information AND by Notes Search
Resize designs - Resize
Convert the format
Recolor designs
Categorize designs in multiple subjects (place a design of girl in garden watching a butterfly in multiple categories)
Allow background colors (view your designs against project color)
Arrange designs in multiple methods (Name, Type, Number of Stitches, Colors, Dimensions)
Print the entire catalog of designs in 3D (as small or large as I like)
Work with Alpha Xpress to create wonderful projects.

Converting of formats is a very complex software issue. Finding a reliable resource is paramount for embroiderers. Sometimes we cannot find the design we want with the format we need. Sometimes we might change machines causing formatting nightmares.

There are a couple of things to remember when converting designs.

Always keep your old design.
You can do a single design or a ‘batch’ of designs.

First, we will select the designs to be converted. We can select one with a simple click or select several, in a row, by clicking on the first design, and pressing and holding the shift key and select the last design.

But what if we want to select design number 3 and design number 99? We can do that by selecting the first design, and pressing and holding the ctrl key, select the second, third or any design. All will be selected for conversion.

Right click on any of the highlighted designs and you will see a ‘content sensitive’ help menu. That goes for most software as well.

The selection area shows that there may be some Brother or Babylock machines may require a different version.

I recommend that you select the ‘new directory . . .’ and place the new file in a separate file. This automatically keeps the original format, and as I noted, I do recommend keeping it for future needs.

You can see that I converted two designs, and they are listed, by format, in the first and second position.

It is quick and easy. Catalog Xpress is a very comprehensive embroidery software.

Puzzles and Catalog Xpress Tip #1, Notes

TheComputerist — Fri, 18 Jun 2010 21:30:00 GMT

I recently read somewhere that in order to keep our brain fresh and vibrant, it is important to exercise it the same way that we exercise our body. That exercise includes doing the embroidery we all love, but it can also include games, puzzles, as well as the everyday issues we face. Today’s blog includes all three!

First the fun stuff. You may already be doing the newspaper syndicated puzzle called “Jumble.” Jumble is where there are 4 words with letters mixed up, and with selected letters the fifth word makes a ‘humorous’ statement based on a cartoon.

That same Jumble is available on line. The added benefits are that you can get hints, and in the end, you have an idea how fast or slow you completed the puzzle.

There are at: http://jumble.com/games/info/13 There are a few ads, but the games are quick and usually easy. Most of them won’t take you more than 2 or 3 minutes. I find that when I am overwhelmed by the issue of the day (or hour), 2 or 3 minutes of distraction can be really helpful.

You can even do puzzles from the past. That link is in the lower left corner.

There are multiple other games to play. I have been doing the daily puzzle and Jumble Solitaire for a long time. I tried the Jumble Crossword, and it was fun too.

I am in the process of rearranging my designs. Catalog Xpress helps me control my designs. As The Avid Embroiderer, I have mentioned that I buy my designs partly for the artistry and beauty of a design. Therefore, my collection means more to me than just a group of designs. Like a coin or stamp collector, I need a method to keep them organized.

On to the best features of Catalog Xpress that you have not yet used! This is going to be a series, because there are so many of them, I cannot cover them in one or two blogs. Here are just a few, and if there is something you want to know about Catalog Xpress, please feel free to let me know via a response on this blog. I want to help you get the “Best and Highest Use” from your Catalog Express Software.

Notes
Icons
Categories and Subcategories
Print Catalog
Backup
Resize

The first tip is to utilize the Notes feature.

Notes may be the single most under used feature in Catalog Xpress.

The example is a monogram and I always make my notes in the “A” character. That practice helps me remember the individuality (see how polite I am today?) of each monogram.

On other designs, such as animals, I might put things like coloration issues or for whom I created that project/design. There is much to say about designs, and remembering each is not needed.

One reason I need to be more organized and utilize the notes is that I do sell my embroidery. If you are considering doing the same, check out my "PC Tips and Tricks" that has many general computer tips to make your work more efficient. You may also be interested in my "How Much to Charge" information. It shows you how to determine how to make your embroidery pay you correctly.

Thank you for reading my blog!