HOUSECALL information technology

With the new release of Outlook 2010 Microsoft has again changed how things look and has moved a few icons around. Since Outlook has become such an essential part of everyone’s work workflow we decided to post a few tips and tricks to help smooth the transition and increase your productivity.

One of the efficiency features you can use in Outlook 2010 is called Quick Steps. Quick Steps will allow you to program a multi-step task so that you can repeat it with a simple click of your mouse.  You are also able to customize Quick Steps or add new icons to the taskbar that will allow you to keep the actions you need to perform readily available.

The first time you click on an icon in the Quick Steps are, Outlook will ask you a few questions that will allow you to customize the icons.  For instance, the “Move to ” icon will allow you to move an email to a folder of your choosing in one step.

When clicking on the icon it will allow you to choose the folder you wish to use and what actions you would like to have happen at the same time.   After configuring the icon it will be in the Quick Steps section for the next time you want to move an email to that folder.

If you would like to create another Quick Step, click on the Create New icon option.

Create a name for the Quick Step, choose an action for the icon, and then complete the steps for that action.  There are many, many available actions that can help speed up your daily, repetitive Outlook tasks.

One particularly helpful Quick Step is the “Team Email” icon which  allows you to create a email group for all of your team members or office group.  Another is the “Done” icon which can be setup to move emails to a folder and have the email marked as read. It can also be set up to move the emails to the deleted items folder if you would so desire.

You can also manage you Quick Steps by clicking on the little drop down arrow in the bottom right of the Quick Step tray. This will bring up two choices New Quick Step and Manage Quick Steps. Manage Quick Steps will allow you to edit, delete, and change the order of the icons in your Quick Step tray.

The following are some keyboard shortcuts for tasks that you might use frequently.

• To create an e-mail message – CTRL+N
• To send an e-mail message – CTRL+S
• To reply to an e-mail message – CTRL+R
• To reply all to an e-mail message -
• To forward an e-mail message – CTRL+F
• To mark an e-mail message as read – CTRL+Q
• To print an e-mail message – CTRL+P

Check out this very interesting article about the recent shift in government technology spending. Courtesy of AppleInsider.

Windows 7 Tips and Tricks

With Windows 7 becoming the go to choice for new PC’s on the hill, many staffers may find themselves asking whats new with this version, or wondering how they can be more efficient with certain tasks. Below we’ll outline some tips and tricks to save you time while working and help make it easier to access the things most important to your daily duties.

Use Keyboard Shortcuts:

Keyboard shortcuts are probably the most underused part of any version of Windows and have been expanded in version 7. I’m sure most of you have seen the commercials advertising the “snap” feature, where you can dock one window to one side of your screen and another to the other side, but what they don’t tell you is this can be done with a series of keys as well. Below are some of the more helpful shortcuts for the everyday user.
• Win+Left Arrow and Win+Right Arrow dock the window to the left and right side of the screen
• Win+Up Arrow and Win+Down Arrow maximize and restore/minimize
• Win+M minimizes everything
• Alt+Up, Alt+Left Arrow, Alt+Right Arrow navigate to parent folder, or browse Back and Forward through folders in Explorer
• Win+Home minimizes/restores all open windows except the active window
• Middle mouse click a task bar icon while not a keyboard shortcut, this will open a new window of whatever the application you click on is, for example opening a new word document, email, or web browser page.

Quick access to Taskbar Icons

A lot of people are used to putting shortcuts to their most frequently used programs on their taskbar. What most don’t realize is you can access these with the keyboard as well. You can rearrange icons on the taskbar as you wish and start new, or switch to running programs of the first ten taskbar programs using Win+1, Win+2, and so on.

Create Keyboard Shortcuts for Programs

You can create keyboard shortcuts for any program in Windows 7. Right-click the program icon and select Properties. Then select the Shortcut tab, click in the Shortcut key box, and then enter the keyboard shortcut you would like for that programa.

Pin Frequently Used Folders to the Taskbar

Right-click, drag, and pin your favorite folders to Windows Explorer on the taskbar. They will now show up in the Jump List when you right click on Explorer giving you quick access to your favorite folders.

Adjust Screen Text with Clear Type

Often we will see users with nice monitors, that aren’t using them at the proper resolutions or have other features out of focus, making them look grainy and distorted. Use Clear Type Tuner for the best look on your LCD monitor or laptop screen. Type ‘cttune’ in the Start Menu search box, or go to the Control Panel Display applet, and select Adjust ClearType Text from the left.

Customize the Power Button

If you restart your computer more often than you shut it down, change the default Shutdown power button to Restart. Right-click on Start, select Properties, and choose the Power button action that you use the most.

Add Videos to Start Menu

Windows 7 does not place a link to your videos on the Start Menu by default. To add a link to your videos on the Start Menu, right-click Start, select Properties, click on Customize. In the Videos section at the bottom, choose Display as a link

View Expanded ‘Send To’ Menu

To get a more comprehensive menu when right clicking on a folder/file your trying to modify hold down Shift while right-clicking on the file or folder.

Some of these tips may not be helpful to you, but if even a few of them peaked your interest, then they will likely help increase your productivity and optimize your windows 7 experience.

Have you ever sat down at someone else’s computer and wished you had some of the applications you normally use on your own computer?  Instead of spending the 30 minutes it would take to download and install all of the applications you want to use try Portable Apps.  In the words of the Portable Apps team: “Now you can carry your favorite computer programs along with all of your bookmarks, settings, email and more with you. Use them on any Windows computer. All without leaving any personal data behind.” There are two main benefits of portable apps: 1) the ability to use your favorite apps with your settings on any Windows computer without having to install and configure them and 2) the ability to leave no personal data behind on whatever computer you run them on.

Portable apps have been repackaged so that all of the required components are kept in a folder along with the applications executable (.exe) file.  The benefit is you can copy the portable apps to a usb drive and have them readily available anywhere you need them.  To run the program simply go into its folder and double click on the .exe file for it.  All of your configuration settings will be saved into the folder for that program.  The picture below is an example of what 7zip looks like in portable form.

Since the portable apps are stored on a usb drive and the configuration files are stored there as well, no personal data is ever left behind on whatever computer you use.  This means you can use Firefox portable to browse the web, check email, use online banking and when you are done simply unplug your USB drive to take your info with you.  A warning – you must still be careful while browsing the web since Portable Apps do not protect you against viruses.

Portable Apps are limited to free, open source software.  For a complete list of portable apps check out the Portable Apps website.

For the average user, internet browsing is undoubtedly the single most used feature on a computer.  This fact makes the internet browser (Internet Explorer, Firefox, Safari, and Google Chrome to name a few) one of the most important pieces of software.  Each browser is different but irregardless of which you use, your preferences, bookmarks, and extensions are all things you rely on.  We at HouseCall have noticed that one of the first things every person does when getting a new computer is make sure their bookmarks and preferences have been copied over so that their browsing experience remains the same.  Since so much of your computing experience is tied up in the internet browser, here are a couple of friendly services that allow you to backup, synchronize, and extend your browsing experience across computers and making life just a little easier.

Until very recently the single greatest browser syncing tool has been XMarks, however it is rumored that they will be closing down soon due to a lack of funding.  XMarks allows syncing across four major browsers, so irregardless of what type of computer you are on or what major browser you are using, your bookmarks can be synced across them.

Google has built syncing directly into their Chrome browser with Google Chrome Sync.  It allows syncing of browser preferences, bookmarks, themes, extensions downloaded from the Extension gallery, and autofill data.  Google simply requires a Gmail or Google Apps account to sync with, and once you have it configured all of your settings transfer seamlessly between whatever other instances of Chrome you set to synchronize.

The last major syncing utility is Firefox Sync.  Firefox sync is a browser add on for Mozilla Firefox that synchronizes your browser history, passwords, bookmarks, and even open tabs.  So basically, if you synchronize your work and home PCs you can travel between them without interruption of what you are doing on the internet.

The last major feature that all of these syncing services provide is backup for your settings.  Even if you only have one computer and don’t need to synchronize your settings across computers you should still use them.  Once synchronized all of your data is stored in the cloud can be resynchronized with any computer.

All of these syncing services are entirely free and simple to setup and use.  If you have questions please don’t hesitate to ask your HouseCall systems administrator.

It seems the State of Minnesota has taken a major first step in Government outsourcing.  According to the MSDN blog post ”In historic first, State of Minnesota moves to Microsoft Cloud”, Microsoft has delivered an Enterprise contract to Minnesota that will provide all of the State’s email and collaboration software from the cloud.  The CIO of Minnesota, Gopal Khanna stated that,

The Enterprise contract allows us to provide more efficient services to our customers at lower rates, whether they are consumed as a package or individually. At the same time with no upfront investment, it boosts our security, dramatically improves email capacity and allows for greater functionality, making it easier to move seamlessly between applications.

Not only increased security, better capacity and availability, but this contract is predicted to lower Minnesota’s overall IT spending – something that should catch the attention of most government agencies as they watch their budgets shrink.  While Minnesota is the first state to sign such a contract, the City of Los Angeles moved all of its email to the enterprise version of Gmail just last year, following Washington, DC’s lead in their  transition to Google Apps in 2008. Will these government first steps spark a nationwide move to outsourced IT infrastructure? What about legal concerns on possession of data? Who ultimately owns it and what access do the courts now have to corporate or government data resting on servers not their own?

The iPad has taken the world by storm with three million sold in the first 80 days.  The iPad is a very sleek and stylish, but can it really replace your laptop when traveling?  Can it really help you be productive or is it just another cool gadget that you won’t really use?  We at HouseCall believe it can be an extremely useful device and have pulled together some key ways it can enhance your mobile productivity.

1.  Battery life – no matter what we do to the iPad we can’t drain the battery in under 6 hours.  The average length of time the iPad can go without a charge is 10 hours.  With 10 hours of runtime you can expect to work all day from the iPad and not worry about finding a power outlet.  Lets see your laptop do that.

2.  Size/Weight – at 9.56 inches by 7.47 inches and a total weight of 1.5 pounds, the iPad is extremely portable.  Put it in your bag, purse, executive binder or simply carry it in your hand and it goes with you everywhere.  Pull it out and you have access to nearly everything you would on a laptop.  No more heavy laptop bag means you can move much faster from place to place.

3.  Internet Connectivity – depending on how much you want to rely on wifi hotspots you can choose either a wifi only or 3G iPad.  The 3G iPad guarantees you internet service anywhere AT&T’s network is available allowing you to receive email, browse the web, and download content on the fly.  Either way, the internet browsing experience on the iPad is better than any other touch screen device we have ever used and the quick access to email on a large screen is extremely handy.

4.  Apps – Applications are where the iPad really excels.  The Apple App store contains thousands of iPad apps that allow you to do anything from view the latest news from the New York Times or AP to remotely controlling your desktop computer at home.  Whether you need to edit a document on the fly, browse your Google Docs, view a Cisco WebEx meeting, keep up with the news, book airline flights, listen to music, watch TV shows, stream Netflix, map your way to your next meeting, or any number of other things, there is most likely an iPad app specifically designed for your task.  Many of these apps are free, but of the apps that cost money the average price is about $4.  For a great list of iPad apps check out Gizmodo’s Essential iPad Apps.

Have more questions about the iPad or want to purchase one?  Talk to your HouseCall Systems Administrator for all your iPad needs.

How often has this scenario happened to you?  You have a large file that you are unable to send by email due to administrator set capacity limits.  Were you able to find a work around for this annoying issue? Maybe this forced you to go to the office on a weekend so you could save the large file to the server so your boss could get access to it. Possibly you divided the enormous file into multiple smaller documents that fall below email capacity limits leading to many attachments and and a confusing or incomplete document. Enter file hosting services.  File hosting services are web sites specifically designed to host content, typically large files, that can be accessed anywhere.  The goal of a file hosting service is to allow you to quickly upload your large file and get a download link in return which you can give to the person who needs access to the large file. There are a number of file hosting services online but a reputable one that we have used is Sendspace.

To use Sendspace simply go to their website and follow their quick upload guide. To be sure your file uploaded successfully all you have to do is check your inbox. Once the file has been successfully uploaded and the link has been sent, Sendspace sends a confirmation email so you can be sure the file made it to its final destination. Once the file has been downloaded Sendspace will even send you a link to delete the file so that you can remove it from their servers.

With any file hosting service there are different levels of membership and different costs associated with each level. Sendspace is no different, however for average use a membership is probably unnecessary since you can upload files up to 300 MB for free.

One major consideration with using any file hosting service is data security. Remember that your files are going to a third party server and then being made available via and email to your intended recipient. This method of transfer is by no means considered secure. We highly recommend that you do not use a file hosting service for any files you consider confidential. If you need to transfer large files securely talk to your HouseCall Systems Administrator and they will help you find a safe, secure solution.

So, next time you have a large file you need to send someone, there are a number of file hosting services readily available to make it possible.

Have you ever wondered what life would be like without wi-fi?  Coffee shops would be less crowded, laptop technology would not be as advanced as it is today and the iPhone may never have been invented.  Like petroleum, the world is addicted to wi-fi.  With all of wi-fi’s benefits, it is no wonder that its is as popular as it is today.  Below are outlined the key benefits and concerns related to wifi.

Efficient

Information transfer is fast and convenient.  For example, businesses can send price quotes to clients from remote locations.

Flexibile

End users are not restricted to one physical location when connecting to a wireless network.  This enables more efficient use of space within an office setting.

Cost effective

Wireless networks are relatively cheap to install in an office environment.  It also enables greater options when selecting computer equipment.

Accessible

Wi-fi is quite popular in a public setting such as a coffee shop, bookstore, hotel or restaurant.  Its available signal makes it easy to connect to the internet.

Security

Wireless networks are considered more vulnerable to hacker attacks.  This  involves unauthorized access to your personal network and can lead to sensitive information being stolen.  It is imperative to set up a strong password for your wireless network.

Coverage

Wireless coverage areas have a limited range of connectivity (often from 50-300 ft).  Be aware of the range of the wireless signal you are connecting to.  It is very frustrating to be dropped from the internet simply because you stepped out of the coverage area.

Speed

The transmission of data is usually slower than most wired networks.  This is because wired networks generally support a greater bandwidth and can withstand greater amounts of network activity.

The U.S. House of Representatives is currently in the process of migrating to Exchange 2007. This means there are some changes coming to your email system. This post will explain the most important changes related to moving to the new email servers

1. You will have roughly 3 times the storage space on the new servers
2. Exchange Extended Mailbox comes with the new servers, and will automatically move older emails to secondary storage. This means no more “Your e-mail is over it’s size limit” emails!
3. The way accounts are created and modified will be different
4. Outlook Web Access gets a new look and gains some features
5. You can now use your House email with Apple Mail
6. There is a migration process your office will have to go through once

Storage Space

Let’s start with an easy one. Unless you had a special exemption*, you started receiving size limit warning emails when your mailbox reached 135,000 kb. On the Exchange 2007 system, that limit will be at 375,000 kb. Just think of what you can do with all that extra space!! The point where you stop being able to send and receive emails is beyond that but won’t be an issue because of Exchange Extended Mailbox (EEM)

*Note that, if you did have a special exemption previously, it will go away when you migrate and you will be assigned the default storage limit. In almost all cases, this will still be more space than you had before.

Exchange Extended Mailbox (EEM)

Let me start by saying that this is not as complicated as it sounds. It is very easy to use. The way you store old emails is about to completely change in a very good way!

When your mailbox reaches the trigger point of 375,000 kb, EEM will kick in the following night and move mail messages older than 30 days to secondary storage until your mailbox is back under the limit. This process is called moving to the vault or vaulting. If you are at a PC, using Outlook or Outlook Web Access, vaulted messages appear in your Inbox (or whichever sub-folder you left them in) just like regular messages, with the exception of having a different icon.

The selected messages in this screenshot have been vaulted. The others have not.

The highlighted messages above have been vaulted. Notice how the icon to the left is different from the non-vaulted messages below them. (In this case, the more recent messages are vaulted because I manually did so for the purpose of creating this screen shot. More on that later.)

Messages that have been vaulted no longer count against your mailbox size limits. If you are wondering when moving messages to your PSTs (or Personal Folders or Archive Folders) enters into the process, it doesn’t. You no longer have to create a secondary organizational system for old email. You can just organize your email in your Inbox and sub-folders and EEM will take care of keeping you under your mailbox size limit. There are just a few limitations to messages which have been vaulted:

1. You may have to wait an extra second for the message to open, though it is normally VERY quick
2. You will not be able to see all of very large, vaulted messages on your Blackberry or on an Apple mail client without unvaulting them. You will notice this most commonly with message attachments not being viewable, but it will also apply to the text of very long emails. Anything over 4000 characters will not be visible without unvaulting.
3. If you are exporting messages to a file, to take with you to a new job or for backup purposes, the messages that have been moved to secondary storage will not be exported in full. There are ways to deal with this issue, so just ask your Systems Administrator for help.
4. If you are running the most recent version of Mac OS, 10.6 Snow Leopard, using Apple Mail, or using Office 2010 on a PC there is currently no way to vault and unvault mail, though plug-ins are expected to released to handle this process.

Considering that these limitations will only apply to emails that are more than 30 days old and all can be quickly overcome by unvaulting the message, you will be saving all that time you previously spent archiving emails.

What do you do if you need to unvault a message? As part of the migration process, the Symantec Outlook Add-in will be automatically installed on your computer. It is a small, additional toolbar that will appear in Outlook.

Symantec Outlook Add-In Toolbar

You will most often use the two buttons on the right to unvault and vault messages. For example, if you wanted to sent the first message in the screen below to secondary storage, because you knew it didn’t have an attachment you needed to access from you Blackberry and you didn’t want it to count against your mailbox size limits, you would select that email, and click on the Send to Vault button

Then a window will pop up to ask you if you are sure you want to vault the message. If you do not want these messages to appear every time, click the checkbox next to “Do not show this message again”.

Once it has been sent to the vault, the message will still show up in the message list, just as it did before, but with a different icon to show that it is stored in the vault and a link to open the full message in case it was long enough that the full message is not displayed.

If you want to take the message out of the vault, so that you can view the attachment on a Blackberry, export the message, or for any other reason you will just select the message and click on the Restore from Vault button.

As before, a window will pop up to ask you if you are sure you want to unvault the message. If you do not want these messages to appear every time, click the checkbox next to “Do not show this message again”.

Now the message will have been restored in full to your mailbox. It will be fully accessible and will count against your mailbox storage limits. You are free to organize and keep your email in any way you want, but the EEM system will be the easiest and least time-consuming method.

Creating and Modifying Accounts

The method for creating and changing user accounts in Exchange 2007 is done through a different server and has a very different set of instructions. The CAO offers training on this new system. All HouseCall Systems Admistrators have been through this training and can take care of all needed changes to accounts for you. If you are used to creating and unlocking accounts yourself, you should take the training before doing so on Exchange 2007. You can sign up for the training on the House Learning Center website.

Outlook Web Access (OWA)

After your office has migrated to Exchange 2007, you will automatically see a very different screen when you log in to https://owa.house.gov. The new OWA website provides an experience that is much closer to using Outlook on your computer, and is much faster to use. It is important to note that many of the features of the new OWA are only available through Internet Explorer.

Apple Mail

If you use an Apple computer, you may be excited to learn that you can now use Apple Mail instead of Entourage to access your House email. Apple’s latest operating system, OS X 10.6 Snow Leopard, provides support for Exchange 2007 email accounts. Previous versions of Mac OS, do not work. If you are unsure of which OS you have or if you have questions about setting up your House email with Apple Mail, your HouseCall Systems Administrator can help you.

The Migration Process

Your HouseCall Systems Administrator can help you through the migration process*. Your office will be scheduled for migration on a certain day. That night your email will be unavailable by all methods (Outlook, Blackberry, OWA, etc) for approximately 1 hour between 10pm and 6am. The next day, all mail systems should have automatically moved over to the new servers, and you should not have to do anything but enjoy the new features. The Symantec Outlook Add-in toolbar for EEM should automatically appear in your Outlook within 2 days of your migration. As always, if you encounter any problems or need assistance, contact your HouseCall Systems Administrator.

*Many of our clients have already been migrated.  Simply ask your HouseCall Systems Administrator if you have and when you can begin using all of this added functionality.