Tame your computer – Go To it!

In Word, you can quickly jump to specific parts of your document using the Go To command. There are 13 bits you can jump to, but the one I find most helpful is to go to a specific page or flick through all the tables or pictures I inserted.

Here’s how:

1. Press CTRL + G (for Go To). If you don’t like keyboard shortcuts, go to the Editing group on the Home tab, click on the arrow next to Find and then click Go To. (But why would you want to do that?)
2. If you want to jump to a specific page, simply type the page number and press ENTER. To flick through your pictures, select the Graphic option from the Go to what box and press ENTER until you’ve found the picture you’re looking for.
3. Press ESC to close the dialogue box. (Or pick up your mouse and click on Close.)

As long as you don’t close down MS Word, when you next use CTRL + G or the Go To command it will remember what you were last looking for. And finally, CTRL + Page Up (PgUp) or CTRL + Page Down (PgDn) will do the same.

Tame your computer – bank on it (safely)

Last week I was invited to appear on BBC Radio Cambridgeshire’s Lunchtime Live show. So I put on my best clothes, combed my hair (it’s radio, man!) and drove to the studio to pop in for a chat with Charlie Thompson.

Whereas initially I was told it would be “… for something similar to your articles on taming your computer,” Charlie changed his mind and talked to me about online banking and phishing emails, while listeners were given the opportunity to text, email or ask their questions live on air. But hey, it made great tip inspiration as there are various measures you can take to protect yourself against the risks of online banking.

Here’s how:

1. Only use official online banking pages.
2. Don’t trust a link in an email that takes you straight to an Online Banking login page.
3. Create passwords and PINs that are hard to guess.
4. Never use the same password for all your electronic business.
5. Avoid doing online banking when connected to a network you don’t control.
6. Look for ‘https’ (for secure) at the start of the web address when you pay or bank online.
7. Protect your computer with up-to-date security software.
8. Be wary of opening attachments or links in emails that you weren’t expecting or from strangers. Or from fake emails from people you know.
9. Don’t be fooled … banks will never ask for your login details via email, text or phone. Nor will they ask to transfer money to a new account.
10. And just in case … check your bank statements regularly.

If you follow these basic steps and stay vigilant, you can enjoy the convenience of online banking. (With special thanks to Kevin who contacted Charlie during the show to say he always makes an initial payment of £1 before transferring a big chunk of money to somebody who he has never paid before.)

Tame your computer – look ahead to holidays

Hello and welcome to the first tip of 2016. Hope you had a relaxing break. If you want to know how long you have to wait until the next public holiday, why not add them to your Outlook calendar.(*)

Here’s how:

1. On the File tab, click on Options.
2. Click on Calendar (or type the letter c).
3. In the Outlook Options dialogue box, under Calendar options (second from the top) click on Add Holidays.
4. If you do a lot of business with people in other countries, tick that country’s check box.
5. Press ENTER or click OK.

By the way, the next bank holiday in England and Wales is Friday 25 March (Good Friday).

Finally, I am proud to announce that it’s our 15th birthday. (And we don’t look a day over 10!) I’d like to thank our clients for the opportunity to work on some amazing projects, our associates for bringing their talent to our business and our all-important course participants who selected us to help make the most of their software packages. What a wonderful bunch of clever clogs you are!

* Unless stated otherwise, these tips were written for Microsoft Office 2010.