More free utilities, accessories, and reviews…
TNPC Newsletter
by Dan Butler
TNPC Newsletter
by Dan Butler
07 March 2007
Al Gordon says “I love the Ribbon. But I hate having to learn to
use the Ribbon.” What is he talking about? Find out below. Plus
pointers to a couple of freebies, and a book review.
Next week we start another TNPC giveaway. Watch for details.
First go read the last issue at the blog:
http://www.tnpcnewsletter.com/blog/category/newsletters/tnpc/
*Managing Fonts*
The free font utility last issue received a lot of interest.
TNPC reader Gideon B. reminded me of “The Font Thing” another
utility that has more features. So take your pick. You can find
Sue Fisher’s “The Font Thing” here:
http://www.ozemail.com.au/~scef/tft.html
Personally I prefer the “FontList”. Why? Because I really don’t
do that much with fonts other type with them. I do like to see a
list of what is available so I can choose. FontList gives me
that without having to remember what program to run. I simply
create the HTML font list, open it my web brower, then set a
bookmark. Now the list of fonts is easy to get to and view.
“The Font Thing” previews your fonts and gives you tools to work
with the font files themselves. The program is old but it
installed and worked fine on my Windows Vista machine. I did not
use it to install/uninstall fonts.
If you need more than just a simple view and some active
enhancements give “The Font Thing” a try. Both programs are free
and both do exactly what they promise to do.
—— *Tip* ——
If you have Microsoft Vista you can preview any font quickly.
Click your Start Button, type “fonts” in the “Start Search” box,
then hit enter. An Explorer Window will open with all of your
fonts. Select the font you want to preview and double-click it.
You should see a nice preview screen.
Running older versions of Windows? Simply click Start / Run,
type “fonts” and hit enter. You will see the same thing.
—————–
I’ll point you to the next free resource right after this brief
commercial break…
+++————– Visit Our Sponsor ————————–+++
Have you thought about starting your own business on the
Internet? Then check out the new book I have been working on and
just finished. It will tell you how to start, setup, and grow a
business of your own with your own product. I call it Quick and
Effective Internet Business. Take a look here:
http://www.tnpcnewsletter.com/p/quickbiz/
+++———————————————————–+++
*Some Beautiful Natural Wallpapers*
Photographer Hamad Darwish photographed some of the wallpapers
for Microsoft Vista. Microsoft did not use all of the landscapes
he submitted. You can view these and even download them from his
personal website. You don’t need Vista to view or use the
backgrounds. Be aware the file is large – over 30 megabytes. You
can see samples of the images before you download.
*The Ups and Downs of the Ribbon by Al Gordon*
I love the Ribbon. But I hate having to learn to use the Ribbon.
The Ribbon is the replacement for toolbars and menus in
Microsoft Office 2007. Until now, Office’s interface has
involved digging through multiple menu layers or having new
toolbars appear depending on the task you are performing (and
even then Office is inconsistent about whether the toolbars
appear on their own or require you to open them yourself). For
every new version of Office product planners test usability of
the last version and make interface changes accordingly – up
until now that has inevitably meant scrambling the menu
structure and adding yet again more toolbars.
This time they junked the old approach. The Ribbon is an über-
toolbar that makes context-based changes in its components. When
you are working with a picture, for instance, photo tools
appear. The only menu is a listing of various Ribbon functions
that lets you manually alter the tools at hand.
If you have ever used a Macintosh, the concept will be familiar
to you – Mac apps often put their controls on dialogs called
“inspectors” (Microsoft OfficeMac calls them “palettes”) so that
key settings are available in one spot rather than have you
chase through a complex menu structure.
Of course, this being Microsoft, the Ribbon is supplemented by
an “Office Button” in the upper left corner of an Office window,
which when clicked gets you to a menu for such functions as
opening, saving, or sending documents or customizing Office
settings. A mini-toolbar next to it is the only customizable
part of the interface.
I have only been working with it for a short time, but initial
impressions are that it works well. You can more readily access
the functions needed to make more sophisticated documents.
Formatting is infinitely easier, for one thing, so is working
with charts and graphics.
Just one little itsy-bitsy problem: remember everything you
learned about working in Office for the last decade or so? Well,
now you have to un-learn it.
(c) 2007 Al Gordon.
In addition to his computer interests, Al Gordon is a political
and media consultant in the Boston area.
+++————- Recommended Resources ———————–+++
I’ve been reading through a nifty book on picking up a few extra
dollars. It was updated recently.
I like it a lot. You will too. Go check it out now:
http://zcat.com/qpp/x.php?adminid=8&tid=34
BANABU is 11 simple principles you can start using immediately
and easily share with others. I started applying these
principles earlier this year with myself and my family. We’ve
really enjoyed this and think you will to. Highly recommended.
Find out what BANABU stands for and discover more here:
http://zcat.com/qpp/x.php?adminid=8&tid=35
My favorite way to look up personal information about myself and
others. I have used it for years.
http://zcat.com/qpp/x.php?adminid=8&tid=9
No more starvation diets…
Easy to follow weight loss plan…
No pills…No complicated recipes…
And no impossible exercise routines…
Want to learn how?
http://www.fitover40.com/aff/keepmefit
+++———————————————————–+++Copyright 2007 Dan Butler
All Rights Reserved.
ISSN: 1522-4422
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