Searching for videos

You may find searching for videos on the Internet to be difficult. Yes, the various popular search engines can be helpful and you always have youtube  as a place to find videos. But, there are more sites than YouTube! Some of them you may find more useful. Here are a couple of video search engines:

CastTV.com
I like this site because its “goal” is to index all videos on the Internet. Lofty, yes, but is a good engine that crawls many sites for videos. You can use the search box and type a tv show, person, topic, etc and get a standard results list. Or, you can use the tabs underneath the search box to narrow your search. The menu on the left-side of the results list gives you more options for limiting the search to cost, source, genres, etc. Each results list shows title, cost, a brief summary and running time.

VideoSurf

This engine also search a wide variety of sites for videos such as hulu, espn, cnn, youtube, and others. Searching this site is simple. Use show names or keywords to locate something you that interests you. There are several catagory choices like hot searches, viral videos, people in the spotlight, etc.  The results page also gives you the choice to limit your search by source, show, content type, etc.

Try them out and see what you think! 

Downtown computer class schedule

The Fall computer class schedule is out. To view it, please go to our website at http://www.cadl.org/.  Next, click on the link on left-side menu for “events calendar.”  The calendar will l;ook like this:

Events Calendar

 The quickest way to see the classes at the Downtown Branch is to click on the link “Tech Corner.” This will give you computer classes for the whole district, but you can limit the choices to Downtown by using the left-side “locations” menu to select Downtown.

Library locations

 The default list is for all branches, but simply uncheck the location you do not want and click “find.”  

Dressing Up Your Word 2007 Document: Borders and Page Numbers

See the post on Word 2007 Headers & Footers for instructions on how to insert and edit headers and footers in Word 2007.

Borders

• Open a Word 2007 document you’d like to add a border to.

• On the Page Layout tab, click Page Borders. A window will pop up (see below) called the “Borders and Shading” window.

1. Make sure you’re in the “Page Border” tab of the Borders and Shading window that opened.
2. Select the border settings you desire.
3. Select the style, color, width, and any desired art.
4. If you want to the border to only appear on certain parts of the page, you can control this by clicking on the buttons indicated in the image below. If you look closely, you can see that the two buttons on the left control whether or not the border will appear at the top and bottom of the document. The two buttons at the bottom control whether or not the border will appear on either side of the document. Play around with different settings until you find the style of border you like best.  As you can see, you can also manipulate where borders appear by simply clicking on the diagram provided in the Borders and Shading window.

A little caveat about using borders in professional situations: subtley is key. The palm tree border may seem cute on a given document, but if this document is a resume, cover letter, or anything to be used professionally, don’t do it! Your document will appear very amateur to most potential employers, even if you feel that it’s cute. Palm tree, push pin, or dancing teddy bear borders are great for things like school dance fliers, but use caution when adding a border to anything professional.

Page Numbers

By now, our document is looking all dressed up. We’ve got headers, footers and a border. Now I want page numbers as well.

1. Go to the Insert tab.
2. Click the “Page Number” button. A drop-down menu will open. Select the location in which you would like your page numbers to appear.
3. I’m choosing the bottom-right corner. To do so, as you can see above, I click the “Bottom of Page” option, and another menu appears.
4. On that menu, I can see a number of different options for the location of my page number. I’m choosing the one that I can see will place my page numbers in the bottom right.

An Important Note on Using Headers/Footers and Page Numbers at the Same Time

When you already have either a footer or page number in place, adding the other will automatically remove what you had there in the first place. Word 2003 did not have this problem. It’s a new, weird feature of Word 2007. Confusing? Here’s what I mean:

• This is what my document looked like before I inserted a page number in the bottom right corner. Notice my footer “CADL.”
  • 
• When I inserted my page numbers using the process above, I did get my page numbers to appear, but my footer disappeared.
  • 
• Obviously, I wanted my Footer text to stay where I put it. How can I have both?

When you’ve got your footer all formatted, double click on the location in the footer where you’d like your page number to appear. In my case, that’s the bottom right.

Follow the same steps outlined above for adding page numbers, but click “current position” under Page Number on the Insert tab.

Choose a page numbering style, and voila! Page numbers AND footer text. The same process can be used for having page numbers at the top of a page in addition to a header.

CBT Nuggets

Many Capital Area District Library Branches offer computer classes on a variety of topics such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, blogging, job searching, etc. You may think that these classes are too basic or you took all the classes we offer and want to take more. Well, CADL subscribes to a computer resource called CBT Nuggets. It is a collection of streaming video technology tutorials on a variety of computer topics. Most of the videos correlate to IT industry certification exams from Microsoft, Cisco, CompTIA, and others. Below is a sample list of IT topics covered in the training tutorials.

• MCAS(Microsoft Certified Application Specialist) Word 2007, Excel 2007, PowerPoint 2007
• iNet+ Series
• 2005 A+ Series
• CISSP(Certified Information Systems Security Professional) Certification Series
• SQL Server
• CCNP (Cisco Certified Network Professional)
• Windows Servers

And many many more.

Dressing Up Your Word 2007 Document: Headers and Footers

Inserting a Header into Your Word 07 Document

Begin with a Word Document. For example’s sake, I’m using a document that already has text in it. (You can still insert headers without having a fully written document if you’d like.)

When inserting a header or footer, it’s important to know the difference between the two and where they’ll appear in your document when inserted.

 

As you can see, a header goes at the “head” of a page in a document. A footer goes at the “foot.”

Inserting headers and footers is easy.

1. Select the insert tab.
2. Click the “header” button. A drop-down menu will appear.
3. Select the type of header you’d like to insert from the drop down list. You may also, once you’re a little more used to Word 2007, opt to customize different headers to your needs. When I write papers for school, I usually just use the “blank” header because it’s the simplest to control, and it is also customary to use in academic settings. If you’re writing a newsletter, you might want to choose a fancier header with more colors and graphics to make your document more exciting.

1. Once you select a header from the drop-down menu, a new tab pops up at the top of your window. It’s called the “Design” tab, and above it, as you can see, it reads “Header & Footer Tools.” The other change you’ll notice is that the text in the rest of your document is gray. The Word document is now in Header & Footer mode, which means that until you double-click on the body text of your document (i.e. the text that is gray in the above image), you can’t edit the rest of your document’s text. For now, while we’re in Header & Footer mode, let’s add some text to our header.
2. In the header area of your document, you can see a box that has the word “Title” above it. This is where your header, which is most often simply the title of your document, goes. My example document’s title is “Capital Area District Library – August 2009.”
3. Most headers that can be selected from the drop down menu (see below) include an area to type in a date. In the template I chose, I can type my date in the blue swirl/circle in the upper left corner.
   • 
4. If you notice, when header and footer mode is on, the footer area of the document is also highlighted. FYI

 Getting out of Header and Footer Mode:

To get out of Header and Footer mode, simply double click on the body text (the grayed out text) of your document. Your document will now look like this, with the header grayed and the body text back to normal.

Inserting a Footer into Your Word 07 Document

1. Just like with the header, we select the Insert tab.
2. Then, select Footer, and
3. choose the Footer you’d like from the drop-down menu.

1. As with headers, adding a footer automatically takes us to Header and Footer mode (i.e. body text grayed out) and opens the Design tab with the phrase ”Header & Footer Tools” above it.
2. The footer you selected will be open in the Footer area, with a space for you to type in your desired footer. This time, though, there isn’t a handy box that says “Title” above it. Just a blinking cursor (see below) that indicates where you can begin typing. My footer is called “CADL – Aug. 09″.
   • 
3. The particular header I chose to use automatically adds page numbers inside that swirl/circle. In my next Word 07 post, I’ll explain how to add page numbers and footers separately.
4. As you can see, the header is still completely intact, just as we formatted it above.

That’s it. The nuts and bolts of adding headers and footers.

Do you know where your cursor is ????

Cursors may be confusing !

Dressing Up Your Word 2007 Document: Word 2003 Compatibility

CADL has updated to Microsoft Word 2007, which means that files you create in Office 2007’s suite of products (Word, Excel, Power Point, etc.) may not be compatible with files you’ve made in older versions of Microsoft Office… unless you save them in a Word 97-03 compatibility format. For example, a lot of patrons who come to CADL’s Computer Center have questions about how to save Office 2007 files in a format they can open at work in Office 2003 or on a friend’s computer that’s running even older software. Here’s how to format a Word 2007 file so it’s compatible with older versions of Word.

In Word 2007, you’ll notice a few changes. Instead of the toolbar (see above image) we’re used to, Microsoft is now using “the ribbon”:

The red arrow in the picture is pointing to the new “Office Button” that does a lot of what the “File” menu did on the old toolbar system. When you click on it, you’ll see the following.

The options to select from are: New, Open, Save, Save As, Print, Prepare, Publish, and Close. To save your file in any format, you’re going to click “Save As.”

You can choose from a number of options. To save your file in the format that is compatible with older versions of Microsoft Word, you’re going to select “Word 97-2003 Document.” If you’re not looking at these instructions when saving a file and can’t remember “Word 97-2003 Document,” just read the description below each “Save As” option’s title. The one for “Word 97-2003 Document” reads: Save a copy of the document that is fully compatible with Word 97-2003. Just remember that you’re saving for compatibility, and you’ll be able to remember which option to click.

That’s it! All that’s left to do is to select where to save your file and title your document as you wish. Super easy.

Knowing how to save files compatible with older versions of Word is a very important skill to have, especially if you’re applying for jobs. I personally have helped several patrons applying for jobs who have sent resumes to potential bosses in the Office 2007 format. Often, the potential boss emails the patron back saying he or she can’t open their resume on their computer. All you have to do is follow the above steps, and you can save it in a file that a potential boss’s computer can read.

South Lansing September-December Classes

We’re pleased to annouce that the South Lansing Library computer class schedule has been released.  Currently you may find a class schedule pamphlet at the South Lansing Library.

 We are featuring some  new classes this fall.  Blogging Basics is a class where you can learn how to make a blog just like this one, but with your own choice of colors and layout. 

Crafts and Computers: Scrapbooking is a special hybrid class where participants will learn how to make a basic scrapbook page and also learn about some websites that can help you create your very own scrapbook. 

South Lansing will also be offering a Digital Photograph Editing Workshop using a popular free basic photo editing program.  If you bring your photos on a portable media device, such as a flash drive, we’ll teach you how to do some basic digital editing to your favorite family photographs.  If you bring in a CD-Rom full of your digital photographs, we ask you to please bring in a blank CD-R so you can save your alterations. 

After an absence of a few years, we’ll be offering E-mail Basics again.  You’ll be creating you’re very own e-mail account in this class.  We’re also bringing back Online Family History Resources just in time for Family History Month in October.     

For more information or to sign up for a class, please call the South Lansing Library at 517-272-9840 ext. 202

Listhings

If you are like me, you have scraps of paper with notes by your computer. Maybe a sticky-note or two on your monitor. Most of the notes contain ideas, facts, etc, but they eventually get lost or collected in a pile. There is a interesting site called http://listhings.com/ that acts as a notes board. How does it work?

Easy, go to the website and click “add” button in the top-right corner. A square note will appear. Start typing or copy and paste. If you need to delete the note, click the “x” button. Want to move the note around the page, drag it like an object. The notes are saved on the listhings servers and use cookies to remember them. This is great because you can close the browser window, open a new one and type the URL and get your notes back! The site is still in beta and does not allow note sharing yet, that is one of the next upgrades. Try it out! You may like it.

Craigslist

http://lansing.craigslist.org/ is where you can find almost anything you’re looking for in Lansing. Wikipedia describes Craigslist as,” a centralized network of online communities, featuring free online classified advertisements – with sections devoted to jobs, housing, personals, for sale, services, community, gigs, résumés, and discussion forums.” Craigslist is a great way to make a free, classified listing on the Internet that guarantees an audience. I have experienced Craigslist as both the buyer and seller of items, I’ve landed job interviews using Craigslist, and I even found my current rental home using this great site.

Lansing has a great Craigslist page because of our constantly evolving young population in particular. We’ve got MSU, LCC, Cooley, Davenport, etc., and college students are notorious for utilizing Craigslist for finding apartments, roomates, dates, used furniture, CDs, and miscellaneous junk. But that’s what keeps Lansing’s Craigslist dynamic.

When navigating to www.craigslist.org, users can select from a list of major U.S. cities, or navigate to their smaller city or town’s Craiglist page by first selecting the state they are located in. Someone who lives in Lansing, for example, would select “Michigan” from the list of U.S. states on the homepage, and then would select “the site nearest you” from the following list:

ann arbor
central michigan
detroit metro
flint
grand rapids
jackson
kalamazoo
lansing
muskegon
northern michigan
port huron
saginaw-midland-baycity
south bend / michiana
southwest michigan
upper peninsula 

For folks in the UP or other rural areas, it is up to the individual Craigslist user to determine whether or not a listing is within reasonable proximty to pursue.

Either way, once you’ve found your city’s Craigslist page (in our case, Lansing), you can begin looking for what you want. In this tutorial, we’ll simply go through each of Craigslist’s sections to give you a brief overview of the site as a whole.

COMMUNITY

The community section of Craigslist is kind of like a bulletin board. You’ve got everything from a “lost+found” to information about pets for sale to local classes, events, news, and politics.

PERSONALS

Craigslist has a rather notorious personals section. Personals is divided into: strictly platonic, women seeking women, women seeking men, men seeking women, men seeking men, misc romance, casual encounters, missed connections, and rants and raves. I have only known one person who has used Craigslist personals. They had mixed results, but it was definitely an interesting experience.

DISCUSSION FORUMS

Craigslist has a whole slew of locally-based discussion forums that anyone can use to discuss pretty much anything they can think of. (This writer would recommend using an Internet discussion forum other than Craigslist if a legitimate conversation is desired.)

HOUSING

In my experience using Lansing’s Craigslist, it is hands down the best way to find a rental property in Lansing. I tried using newspapers and various apartment-seeking websites, but nothing was more efficient and offered me more options than Craigslist. I began looking for a rental house with a move in date of August 2009 in late March of the same year. Six days later, I was signing a lease on a great house with a deal on rent, all new appliances, and no pet fees. You’ve just got to be willing to do the legwork, follow-up, act quickly, and get lucky.

I would recommend using Craigslist’s searching feature when searching its housing section. For example, if you’re looking for a home in a specific neighborhood, search the entire area street by street. I’m telling you, it works and is really not very time consuming. It’s certainly faster to send out 20 emails than to call 20 phone numbers from the newspaper. See below guidelines for “buying an item” from Craigslist to learn how to contact a landlord to tour a property.

 FOR SALE

BUYING AN ITEM

This section of Craigslist is fun. There are a lot of items to choose from at great prices, and they even have a page “free” items, most available on a first-come, first-served, move-it-yourself basis. The other day, my middle-aged father called me because he was looking to buy a new boat motor and wanted to know if I’d ever heard of this “Craigslist” he was on. Just as I walked him through the basics, I’ll walk you through the basics of buying an item off of Craigslist.

Say there is a great couch listed within your price range. The first thing to look at on an item’s listing is when it was listed. More often than not, items go FAST. If a listing is more than a few days old, don’t bother contacting the poster unless it’s something you really want. Email the poster as soon as possible. To do this, don’t click on the listed email address that’s underlined and colored blue. (Clicking the email address will launch whatever email client is installed on your computer. If you don’t know what an email client is, it’s likely you don’t have one. This is the step that most confused my dad in his first Craigslist experience.) Instead of clicking the email address, copy and paste it into an email. Rarely, though it does happen, people will list their phone number and prefer you call them directly to pick up an item. If they list a phone number, call them, but send an additional email to ensure they are hearing from you.

 In your email or phone call, be sure to be polite, but brief. A simple, “Hello, I’m contacting you in regard to the couch listed on Cragislist. My preferred method of communication is [email/phone]. Thanks, [your name].”

 With, again, a little luck, the poster will respond to you quickly and you will be able to work out a time with them for you to come pick up the couch. Remember to ask the seller/poster what form of payment they prefer. Once, someone wanted a money order, but most will accept cash.

SELLING AN ITEM

 Selling an item on Craigslist does require a little more Internet know-how. On the main Lansing Craigslist page, select “post to classifieds” in the upper left corner, right under the word “cragislist.” This page will load. Select the category under which you’d like to list your item. In this example, we’d select “for sale.” Then choose a subcategory that your listed item would fall under. If we’re listing a couch, that would be “furniture – by owner.” Then simply fill out all of the fields listed:

Title, price, location, description of the item, and a contact email address are the bare minimum I’d recommend listing if you are trying to sell an item. I would recommend including a picture or two of the item if you want people to really consider it. Most often when shopping on Craigslist, I don’t even bother contacting a person about an item unless there are pictures, especially where real estate and furniture are concerned. (Think about it – would you drive from Lansing to Williamston to find out the couch you were interested in was full of holes?) Another tip from a Craigslist veteran: don’t list your phone number or personal email address. Craigslist offers an “anonymize” feature for email addresses. You still need to enter your real contact email addresss in the fields provided (see above image) to ensure people can actually contact you, but select the circle next to, “anonymize (will show as: sale-xxxxxxxx@craigslist.org),” to avoid weirdos getting your personal contact information.

When you’ve got all of the fields filled in, click “Continue.” This will take you to a page that showsa preview of the item you’ve just listed. If satisfied that the post looks like you want it to, click “Continue.” Then you must “ACCEPT the terms of use” in order to be allowed to post something on Craigslist. Fianlly, type in the words you see in the box and click “Continue.”

The next page reads:

You will receive an email shortly, containing a link that will allow you to:

• publish your ad
• edit your ad
• delete your ad

KEEP THIS EMAIL — you will need it to delete your ad when you are done with it.

If you don’t receive this email, please consult our help pages

Tired of waiting for the posting email?
Create a craigslist account and see your ads instantly when you post while logged in!

Thanks for using craigslist!

• start another posting
• return to the lansing craigslist homepage

Simply check your email to confirm that you really do want to post the information you’ve enterd, and then you’re all set! Hopefully, Craigslist shoppers will want your item and will start emailing you soon.

SERVICES, JOBS, & GIGS

These three are all pretty self-explanatory and work similarly to the above categories. Just follow the guidelines outlined above, and you could even find a new hair stylist, job, or gig on Craigslist.