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Okay, maybe it's more aggravating than traumatic, but a few times each day I accidentally hit the Caps Lock key when I meant to hit Shift or Tab. Then, if I'm not paying attention, I type a few words (or paragraphs) before I notice, and have to retype everything.
Fortunately, I finally found a way to prevent accidental Caps Locks, using ToggleKeys, one of the Accessibility features in Windows.
To turn on the ToggleKeys feature:
Open the Control Panel, and double-click on the Accessibility Options icon.
On the Keyboard tab, add a check mark to Use ToggleKeys, then click OK.
Now, when you hit Caps Lock, Num Lock or Scroll Lock, you'll hear a beep. Hit the key again to turn it off, then hit the key you really wanted.
More Noise
There's also a Feedback with Noise option in the Tools>Options dialog box
Continue reading Avoid Caps Lock Trauma
Moved to the Excel Twitters archive:
Excel Twitters 20081018
When you're creating an application, such as a client's database, or complex workbook, do you start with a prototype, or do you dive right in?
At the Unstructured Ventures blog there's an article entitled How To Fail, which lists 25 business guidelines, and alternative idea for each guideline. Number 7 discusses prototypes, mockups and samples.
"7. Build prototypes, mockups and samples. Instead: Start building in a format and medium as close to the finished product as possible, and iterate, iterate, iterate."
I've read numerous books and articles that list the merits of prototypes and mockups, but I've never created one. I always start working in the actual application, where I can test as I go. I've got notes from my client meetings, or their list of specifications, and maybe a rough sketch of where I'm headed, but that's it.
This approach works well for me, especially in a
Continue reading Start With a Prototype
Recently I've been skimming through Defensive Design for the Web by 37signals and have found a few good tips for creating web forms, help and error messages. It's not the best book that I've seen on web design, but it's easy to read, and illustrates its common sense guidelines with good and bad examples from popular sites.
At the end of the book there's a design test that you can use on your own web site, to see how it rates.
When Things Go Horribly Wrong
As a customer, my worst web site experience was with the Westin Hotel, while booking accommodations for a conference. I selected my arrival and departure dates, then clicked a button to view room information, so I could decide which type I wanted. I closed the room info window, completed the booking, and got my confirmation, which I quickly read, then filed.
About a
Continue reading Defensive Design
Like you, I spend long hours at the computer, including many late nights. Almost all the applications that I use have a white background, and staring at the bright screen all day can be pretty hard on my eyes.
I've tried changing the Windows display settings, to choose a different background colour, but haven't found anything satisfactory. Light greys and blues are easier on my eyes, but don't provide enough contrast, so I strain to read what's on the screen.
Today I discovered that I might have the brightness level too high on my monitors. My setting was about 80, but the calibration information at the Photographer USA and Display Calibration sites suggest a lower setting. I've lowered my brightness settings to about 55, and things seem better already.
How bright is your monitor? Can you lower the setting to save your eyes?
Continue reading How Bright Are You?
Do you procrastinate? I'm pretty good at it, and that's why I ordered a copy of Dave Navarro's text/audio program, Never Procrastinate Again. Maybe I won't live up to the title of this article, but at least I'm moving forward!
There are mp3 files with the recorded program, and a pdf file with the printed transcript. It's only 47 pages, and I'm already about halfway through it. That's good, because I won't get stuck a few chapters in, and set it aside to read "later". There are also a couple of worksheets to help you get started.
It's a very practical approach to dealing with procrastination, and makes it seem possible to overcome. I liked this quote:
"You don’t have to beat procrastination. You just have stop avoiding this one next thing - and that’s manageable."
Don't Procrastinate!
Take a couple of minutes and visit the Rock Your
Continue reading Never Procrastinate Again
It's Thanksgiving here in Canada, so I'm taking the day off. Below is a photo from my travels last week. It's something we should all be thankful for -- Excel is available almost everywhere!
Moved to the Excel Twitters archive:
Excel Twitters 20081011
It's been a long week. Do you still have the ability to count?
If your machine has Java installed, and it's active in your browser, you can watch this brief video. Your task is to count the number of times that the basketballs change hands.
How many did you count?
To see the answer, you can read the results of this experiment.
Maybe that's why so few people read the messages that we put in our Excel applications. They don't even see them!
If you're a software developer, you might be interested in this. Neil Davidson has created the Business of Software social network, "For anybody interested in building long term, sustainable, profitable software businesses."
Getting Unstuck
Meanwhile, if you're stuck on a project, whether it's software or something else, the SCAMPER Random Question Tool might help dislodge your mental blocks.
To understand the theory behind the tool, you can read the SCAMPER guide.
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