Android 11
The latest version of Google’s Android operating system for mobile
devices has just been released (on 8th Sept 2020). It has a number of changes and improvements
and you can read about it here:-
https://www.pocket-lint.com/phones/news/android/151153-google-android-11-features
Google’s own Pixel devices can get the update straight away. For other makes, it may take a little longer – check the manufacturer’s web site to see if and when the update will be available on your device(s).
Apple iOS/iPadOS 14
Coming later this autumn, the next update to Apple’s mobile operating
system will also introduce some new features and functions. Most notable are changes to the Home Screen
that will, like Android, support the use of Widgets. See this article for more details:-
https://www.macrumors.com/roundup/ios-14/
Windows “Start Search”
There are
a number of ways you might launch an app (aka program) in Windows 10. These include:-
- Double-clicking an icon on the Desktop.
- Single-clicking an icon on the Taskbar.
- Clicking the Start button (bottom left corner) or pressing the Windows Key on the keyboard to open the Start Menu. Then finding the app in that alphabetical list.
But
another way is to use the function called Start Search. This will locate any app on the PC and does
not require you to have shortcut icons on the Desktop or Taskbar. Although this system has existed since
Windows Vista in 2007, I would guess that the vast majority of users are
unaware of it. Here is how it works:-
- Click/tap the on-screen Start button, or
press the Windows Key on the keyboard.
- The Start menu will pop up.
- Ignore the Start Menu and just beginning
typing – even though there is apparently no box to type in!
- A search box and results will appear.
For
example, let’s say you wanted to open the Notepad app:-
- Press the Windows Key.
- Begin typing Notepad.
- You will see “Notepad app” highlighted in
the search results which pop up.
- Press the Enter key to open the Notepad app.
If there are apps you use every day, you might want to have shortcuts on the Taskbar or Desktop. But for ones you only use occasionally, you can use the Start Search feature. That way, you don’t get the Desktop or Taskbar cluttered up with apps you run infrequently and you can remove that large search box from the Taskbar.
Inserting Standard Phrases in Word
Mervyn asked how to do this. I wasn't sure how to do this, but it it can be done in a couple of ways which this article explains:-
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/create-reusable-text-snippets-0bc40cab-f49c-4e06-bcb2-cd43c1674d1b
The first method explains using AutoText. The article suggests using Alt+F3 to save the block of text, but you can also go to Insert, Quick Parts, Save selection to Quick Parts Gallery. Note that Quick Parts is found in the Text group on the Insert tab - hover over the icons to identify them. The text will be saved to the document template and you will be prompted to save the template when you close Word. If the document you are using is based on a specific template, you can select that in the "Save in" box, rather than using "Normal.dotx" which is the default blank document template.
The second method in the article uses AutoCorrect. You can choose a short text string which, when you type it, will be replaced by the selected text.
I think this is more difficult to explain than it is to do! Have a go, I will go over it again next meeting if you wish.
Macros
You could achieve something similar to the above by using a Macro. A Macro is a series of actions which you can record and save. You can assign a key combination to the Macro, using the Ctrl, Alt and Shift keys in combination with another key. If the sequence you record is typing some text, pressing the assigned key combination will 'replay' that macro and type the text again. The Macro is also saved to the document template so it can be used with any document based on that template. Try to avoid using a key combination which is already assigned to a standard system function. For example, do not use Ctrl+P which is used to invoke the Print function.
To start recording a Macro select View, Macros, Record Macro. Then use View, Macros, Stop Recording when you have completed all the sequence you want to record.
Signature in Emails
A signature in an email is a standard piece of text (and may include graphics) which you can add, usually at the end of an email. Web-mail and email apps usually offer this signature function. You may be able to create several signatures and then choose which one you want to use. In some cases, you can have the signature inserted automatically in every email.
For example, if you use Gmail on a PC by going to gmail.com, you can create signatures by going to Settings (the cog symbol), See all settings, General. Scroll down to find the Signature heading and click Create New. You are then asked to give it a name and then create the text as you want. You can create multiple signatures this way. You can specify any of the signatures to be entered automatically to new emails or replies. When composing an email there is a 'pen' symbol at the bottom which allows you to select any of your signatures to be inserted at that point.
Clipboard History - Windows 10
The above item led to a brief explanation of using Clipboard History. You are probably all familiar with using Cut/Copy and Paste. Paste uses the last item which you Cut or Copied. However, if you want to select an item which you Cut or Copied earlier, you can press Windows Key+V on the keyboard.
Hard Drive vs Cloud Backup
Allan asked about the pros and cons of backing up to an external hard drive or to the cloud. It is best to have both local backups to an external hard drive and have off-site backups to a cloud service. You can read more about about this in my document :-
bit.ly/CE-Backup
By default on Windows 10, OneDrive sync is running in the background. This syncs your OneDrive folder on your PC with the cloud. You can select which folders on the cloud are sync'ed with your PC in OneDrive's settings. See this article for more details:-
https://support.microsoft.com/en-us/office/sync-files-with-onedrive-in-windows-615391c4-2bd3-4aae-a42a-858262e42a49
Also, you can download Google's Backup and Sync app for your PC from here:-
https://www.google.com/intl/en-GB_ALL/drive/download/backup-and-sync/
This will backup any chosen folders on your PC to Google Drive.
To check if you are already running any of these sync functions on your PC, look at the icons in the System Tray near the time/date on the right-hand end of the Taskbar (official name: Notification Area). Also click the up-arrow to see the hidden icons. If OneDrive or Google Backup & Sync was running you would see its icon. Right-click on the icon to change settings.
Backup Precautions
If your PC was infected with ransomware which encrypts all your files, this would also encrypt any connected drives. So, having backed up to a USB stick or external drive, it is advisable to disconnect them.
A useful rule, created by photographer Peter Krogh, is the 3-2-1 Rule. This advises having:-
- 3 - backup copies of your data
- 2 - different types of media
- 1 - of the backups should be off-site
You will find lots of articles about the 3-2-1 rule, such as this:-
https://www.dsm.net/it-solutions-blog/what-is-the-3-2-1-rule-for-backing-up-data
Google Photos
We briefly discussed Google Photos which we have mentioned many times before. You can install the app on your mobile device(s) (Apple or Android) and it will automatically backup photos to the cloud via wi-fi. The app has a Free up Space function which will delete photos from the device if they have been safety copied to the cloud. This is a great way to avoid filling up your device's storage, yet you still have online access to all of your photos.
You can read a little more about Google Photos and the backup settings on your mobile devices in my document Backup Settings - iOS & Android in the Tech Hints & Tips section of my web site:-
bit.ly/rogersdocs
Note that, provided you stick with the default of "High Quality" (rather than "Original Quality"), you can backup an unlimited number of photos - they do not count towards your Google Drive quota limit. So you will never run out of space or need to pay for extra storage.
Google Photos is cross-platform, so you can see your photos on all your devices and you could, for example, download them onto your PC.
Backup iPad to External Storage
You can backup from an iPad to a USB stick, and since iPadOS 13, this process has become much easier. You can read more about this here:-
https://www.howtogeek.com/441765/how-to-copy-and-backup-files-to-external-storage-on-iphone-and-ipad/
Scanning Photos and Slides
We had some discussion on this topic raised by Cherry. There are number of devices which can scan negatives or slides and transfer the resulting jpeg files to your PC. Here are some on Amazon:-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/s?k=negative+scanner&ref=nb_sb_noss_2
Tony and Linda both had some experience of doing this. You may be able to scan photographs with your existing flatbed scanner - chose the highest possible resolution in the scanner settings. There are professional services which will digitise photos, negative or slides for a fee. This article discusses this topic:-
https://uk.pcmag.com/photos-video-graphics/110/how-to-scan-your-old-photos
Using or Destroying Old Hard Drives
If you have an external hard drive that you want to re-use, you can both erase it and check it by formatting it. Connect the drive to a USB port on your PC - it should then appear in File Explorer with a drive letter. Right-clicking on that drive in File Explorer will show a menu where you can select Format. If you untick the Quick Format box, it will then perform a full format which will write to every sector of the drive. This totally erases the drive and would report any errors found.
If you have a hard drive which has been removed from a PC, you can connect it to a PC by using a docking device such as this:-
https://www.amazon.co.uk/Tccmebius-TCC-S862-UK-External-Docking-Station/dp/B075ZF845X
You can, of course, just physically destroy the hard drive if you want to ensure it can never be used again.
LibreOffice
vs Microsoft Office
These
“office suites” are a collection of programs and, in Microsoft’s cases,
services. The most commonly used app
amongst the collection in these suites is the word-processor – Word in
Microsoft Office and Writer in LibreOffice.
If you
want Word installed on your PC, you have to pay for it. You can do this in 2 ways:-
- Out-right purchase of Office Home and
Student. This contains Word, Excel and PowerPoint. The current
price is £119.00.
- An annual or monthly subscription to Microsoft 365 (previously called Office 365). This gives you Word, Excel, PowerPoint, OneNote, Outlook, Access and Publisher. You also get 1TB of storage per user on OneDrive. The current annual price is £59.99 for a single user or £79.99 for up to 6 users.
See this
Microsoft site for more details:-
https://www.microsoft.com/en-gb/microsoft-365/buy/compare-all-microsoft-365-products
Note that
you can use online versions of Word, Excel etc for free. These run within you web browser and are not
installed on your PC. You just have to
sign in with your Microsoft Account, which is free to create. The online apps are available at:-
https://www.office.com/
LibreOffice is a completely free and open-source suite of programs. The main ones you are likely to use are Writer (the equivalent to Microsoft Word) and Calc (the equivalent to Microsoft Excel for spreadsheets). LibreOffice can open files saved by Microsoft Office and can save files in Microsoft Office format.
LibreOffice has a long history. Its roots go back to StarOffice which was developed by a German Corporation and released in 1985. StarOffice, a commercial product, was acquired by Sun Microsystems in 1999. Sun Microsystems made a free, open-source version of the product called OpenOffice. All went well until the OpenOffice project was acquired by Oracle in 2010. Those involved in the project did not trust Oracle to continue the OpenOffice project, so they set up a non-profit organisation called The Document Foundation and used the source code to develop a ‘fork’ of the product and called it LibreOffice (as Oracle still had rights to the OpenOffice name). Subsequently, Oracle gave up on OpenOffice and gave it away to Apache, so that is still around and called Apache OpenOffice and has some backing from IBM. However, LibreOffice has been the more actively developed product since its split with OpenOffice in 2010 and has better compatibility with current Microsoft Office products than OpenOffice.
LibreOffice
Writer is a full-featured word-processor which, at no cost, gives you pretty
much the functions that you would find in Microsoft Word. So it has to be worth a try before giving
your money to Microsoft! To download
LibreOffice, go to:-
https://www.libreoffice.org/
You can read more about all this in my document Microsoft Office:-
bit.ly/CE-MicrosoftOffice
Next Session
Wed 23rd
September 2020 at 2 pm by Zoom.
