Planning a project is often easier said than done. If your staff is only in the office on weekdays, you’ll need to omit weekends when building your project schedule. There are many complex project management programs on the market that can make this task less daunting, but they don’t come cheap. Fortunately, Excel offers the only tools you’ll need — the WORKDAY and NETWORKDAYS functions.

Automate your project planning with a few simple functions

Install the necessary ToolPak
These functions are included in Excel’s Analysis ToolPak add-in. If the Analysis ToolPak isn’t enabled, the functions will return a #NAME? error.

To install the Analysis ToolPak:

1. Launch Excel and open a new workbook.
2. Choose Tools Add-Ins from the menu bar.
3. In the Add-Ins dialog box, select the Analysis ToolPak check box in the Add-Ins Available list box, and then click OK.

WORKDAY function syntax

The WORKDAY function uses the following syntax:

WORKDAY(start_date,days,holidays)

The start_date argument is the date to which you want to add workdays, and the days argument is the number of workdays you want to add. The holidays argument is optional; if there are any holidays you want to exclude from your workday calculation, just specify their dates as the holidays argument.

Create the sample worksheet
Let’s see how these functions can simplify your project management.

To set up the worksheet:

1. Enter the necessary text and formatting.
2. Apply Date number formatting to cells D3:E11 with the Format Cells dialog box, but leave those cells empty for now.

Calculate the due date
The value in the Due Date column should calculate the due date by adding the number of workdays specified in the Allotted Days column to the date specified in the Start Date column. With the WORKDAY function, this task will be easy.

To calculate the due date based on allotted days:

1. Enter 9/15/08 in cell D3 and press the [Tab] key to activate cell E3.
2. Type =WORKDAY(D3,C3) in cell E3 and press [Enter].

Analyze the formula’s results
The due date in cell E3 displays as 10/03/08. If you check your calendar, you’ll find that there are 14 workdays between 09/15/08 and 10/03/08. Notice that the start date, 09/15/08, is included as one of the 14 workdays; however, the due date, 10/03/08, is not. The WORKDAY function begins counting each day at 12:00 a.m. So, the six workdays our sample formula calculates fall between 12:00 a.m. 09/15/08 and 12:00 a.m. 10/03/08. Simply put, if you start the First Draft stage first thing in the morning on 09/15/08 and have 14 days to work on it, it will be due first thing in the morning on 10/03/08.

Fill in the remaining start dates
Let’s set up each remaining stage’s start date to match the preceding stage’s due date. By using a cell reference, the start dates update automatically if there are any changes to the preceding due dates.

To synchronize your start dates and due dates:

1. Select cell D4 and type =E3, or type an equals sign (=) and select cell E3.
2. Press [Ctrl][Enter] to save the formula without changing the active cell.
3. Double-click on the cell’s Fill handle to copy the formula down to the remaining Start Date cells.

To copy your WORKDAY formula to other cells:

1. Select cell E3.
2. Double-click on the cell’s Fill handle down to copy down the formula.

Since your WORKDAY formula contains relative references, the copied formulas update when you paste them in a new location.

Tip: In our example, you can not only plan each stage of a project before you’ve started it, but you can also revise your project schedule along the way. For instance, imagine that the Production Schedule stage took only four days as opposed to the five days you originally assigned. If you change the value from 4 to 5, all of the dates affected update automatically.

Exclude holidays from your calculation
At this point,our sample worksheet plots start dates and due dates that begin on 09/15/08 and end on 02/13/09. However, there are a lot of holidays that take place during that time period, including Thanksgiving and Christmas. Let’s account for the 11/20/08 and 12/25/08 holidays in each relevant project stage.

To add company holidays to your worksheet:

1. Select cell A13 and type Company Holidays.
2. Press [Enter], type Thanksgiving, and then press the [Tab] key.
3. Enter 11/20/08, press [Enter], and then type Christmas in cell A15.
4. Press [Tab] again and enter 12/25/08.
5. Select cells A13:B15, click on the Borders button’s dropdown list borders in the Formatting toolbar, and then choose Thick Box Border from the resulting palette.
6. Select cells B14:B15 and apply the same Date number format you applied to cells D3:E11.

Note: If you don’t want to put your holidays or other exceptions right in your worksheet, you can input the holiday argument as a date within quotes. For example, instead of =WORKDAY(D3,C3,B14), you can enter =WORKDAY(D3,C3,"11/20/08"

To exclude holidays from a time span:

1. Select cell E7 and click in the formula bar to place your insertion point directly before the closing parenthesis.
2. Type ,B14 in the formula bar and press [Enter] to accept the change.
3. Select cell E8 and click in the formula bar to place your insertion point directly before the closing parenthesis.
4. Enter a comma and select cell B15.
5. Press [Enter] to accept the holiday.

Note: If Excel tags a cell in which you’ve added a holiday to the WORKDAY
function with a green triangle in the upper-left corner, don’t be alarmed. Excel is letting you know that the formulas you AutoFilled in the Due Dates column are now inconsistent. If you click on the smart tag and choose Ignore Error from the
resulting shortcut menu, the tag disappears.

You can include as many holidays as you like, as long as you also include them in your holidays argument. In our example, we included two vacation days in cells A18:A19 in addition to the company holidays.

Notice that each time you add a holiday as a date for Excel to exclude from the workday count, the other dates in the worksheet update accordingly.

Note: If you’re entering your holiday argument with text (e.g., "10/12/08"), you can include more than one by putting the dates in curly braces ({}) and separating them with a comma. For instance, you can enter the formula =WORKDAY(D11,C11,{"8/22/08","8/23/08"}).

Count the workdays that fall between two dates
What if you know which dates you want to start and end your project, and you’d like to find out how many workdays you have to accomplish it? This is where the WORKDAY function’s relative, the NETWORKDAYS function, can work its magic.

Change the scenario
With the end and start dates already decided, you just determine the values in the Allotted Days column. The only difference in syntax between the WORKDAY function and the NETWORKDAYS function is that the NETWORKDAYS function’s second argument is end_date instead of days.

To find the number of allotted days:

1. Select cells D3:E11 and press [Ctrl]C to copy the values.
2. With these cells still selected, choose Edit Paste Special from the menu bar to open the Paste Special dialog box.
3. Select the Values option button in the Paste panel and click OK. Excel converts the date values from formula results to static values.
4. Select cells C3:C11 and press [Delete] to clear the values.
5. Select cell C3 and enter =NETWORKDAYS(D3,E3).
6. Press [Ctrl][Enter] to accept the formula without changing the selected cell.
7. Double-click on the cell’s Fill handle to copy down the formula.

You can use the same procedures for excluding holidays and vacation days from the allotted days in the NETWORKDAYS function as you did with the WORKDAY function.

Related Courses

• Project Management Fundamentals
• Excel 2003 - Level 2
• Excel 2003 - Level 3
• Excel 2007 - Level 2
• Excel 2007 - Level 3

Adapt for Excel 2007
To install the Analysis ToolPak in Excel 2007, you need to click the Office button and then click the Excel Options button. Select Add-Ins in the left panel. Choose Excel Add-ins from the Manage dropdown list and click Go. Then, you’ll see the familiar Add-Ins dialog box where you can install the add-in as you would in earlier versions.

The WORKDAY and NETWORKDAYS functions operate the same in Excel 2007 as they do in earlier versions. And in 2007, a helpful ToolTip including the function’s arguments pops up as you type your formula in the Formula bar.

Business skills for the new world of work
In business today, productivity is key to your success. Whether that means setting up projects for success, forecasting and analyzing trends, or managing critical business information, it is vital that you have the skills to work at peak performance. You already know how to use Microsoft® Office System applications. New Horizons offers Microsoft Business Skills Series Courses to teach you how to use those applications to more efficiently manage, work with, and prioritize information to make better decisions. Go to www.NewHorizons.com for information on courses that cover topics such as:

• 4004 Managing Critical Business Information Using Microsoft Office Access 2003
• 4007 Creating Effective Presentations Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
• 4008 Building Better Microsoft Office Word 2003 Documents In Less Time

New Horizons is the world’s largest independent IT training company, delivering a full range of technology and business skills training through innovative learning methods.

Become a fan on our Facebook page, where you can be among the first to learn about our newest offerings, announcements and promotions, read our blog, or start a discussion.

Log onto Facebook and then go to our Facebook Page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/New-Horizons-Computer-Learning-Centers/32813801266.

Simply click on the “Become a Fan” link at the top right side of the page.

Computer security is one of the hottest topics on the certification front — and rightly so. However, many IT professionals are unaware of a security subspecialty that’s becoming increasingly popular, namely computer forensics. The exact job duties of a computer forensics examiner may vary, but often include:

• Collecting and packaging computer hardware and digital evidence in a way that preserves its integrity and the chain of custody.
• Creating an inventory and storing computer-related evidence in a secure manner.
• Examining the contents of digital media, including memory, hard disks, and removable media to view and analyze the data recorded there.
• Using data recovery techniques and software to uncover hidden or deleted data.
• Cracking passwords to obtain access to data.
• Decrypting data that has been protected with encryption.
• Presenting detailed reports and charts to document the results of the examination and analysis.
• Assisting law enforcement agents in preparing search warrants, assisting prosecutors in preparing cases for court, assisting civil litigants in preparing cases, assisting defense attorneys in preparing cases, and/or assisting corporate IT departments in responding to and analyzing security breaches and other incidents.
• Testifying in court in computer crime cases and civil lawsuits involving digital evidence.

Related Courses from New Horizons:

• Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator
• Forensics Bootcamp

As a database professional, you aren’t necessarily a legal expert. Yet, you may find yourself in a situation where you need to respond to a computer crime incident, assist with an investigation, or pass information to either an internal investigative committee or a judicial proceeding. If you don’t handle evidence properly, chances are you won’t be very successful in prosecuting the perpetrator. We’ll provide some guidelines to help manage evidence related to a computer crime.

Computer forensics defined

According to Wikipedia, computer forensics is "application of the scientific method to digital media in order to establish factual information for judicial review." This process often involves investigating computer systems to determine whether they are or have been used for illegal or unauthorized activities.

If a data-related crime is committed, you may work with a computer forensics expert, who will:

1. Identify sources of evidence.
2. Preserve the evidence.
3. Analyze the evidence.
4. Present the findings.

Computer forensics must adhere to the standards of evidence that are admissible in a court of law. As such, computer forensics must be techno-legal in nature rather than purely technical or purely legal.

As a DBA, you may also want to apply the principles of computer forensics to help force your organization’s established policies.

Types of evidence

Evidence is anything that proves or disproves an assertion or fact. With respect to a legal proceeding, evidence must meet these criteria:

• Sufficiency. The evidence must be convincing and unquestionable.
• Competency. The evidence must be legally qualified and reliable.
• Relevancy. The evidence must be material to the case or have a bearing on the matter at hand.

As you may suspect, not all evidence is created equal. The most convincing evidence is that which can be proven directly through the five senses: hearing, smelling, seeing, touching, and tasting. This type of evidence is described below along with other (less convincing) types of evidence:

• Direct evidence. Knowledge of the facts surrounding an incident, e.g. an eye witness’s oral testimony. The witness must have obtained the knowledge through his five senses rather than through inferences or presumptions.
• Physical evidence. Real, tangible objects that prove or disprove a fact, e.g. an intruder’s possession of stolen data. This type of evidence links the suspect to the crime.
• Documentary evidence. Evidence in the form of printed documentation — e.g. audit logs or video surveillance tapes. This is the most common type of evidence associated with computer crime.
• Demonstrative evidence. Aids that prove that an incident occurred — e.g., models, exhibits, and charts. This type of evidence is typically presented to a jury to help them understand the facts.

Guidelines for handling evidence

You may be called upon to present evidence to an internal investigative team or to a court of law. In the former case, you need to be able to answer many questions regarding the evidence; in the latter case, you need to demonstrate credibility. To prepare for either situation, you should be familiar with established guidelines for handling evidence.

Collecting evidence

If you’re involved in the investigating an incident, you’ll need to gather as much evidence as you can. It’s critical that you start the process early because, in all likelihood, the individual who committed the crime will try to conceal their involvement. As time passes, the evidence is susceptible to tampering or even destruction. Here are some actions you can take immediately upon discovering an incident:

• Print copies of audit logs, as they may be subpoenaed. A backup of the database or transaction logs may also be helpful.
• Secure all types of removable media (CDs, USB flash drives, floppy disks, etc.).
• Look for relevant physical evidence on the desk and surrounding areas. It can be helpful to take photos of the target system from several different angles both inside and outside the machine. If possible, use a Polaroid camera; otherwise, the defense team can claim the photos were altered during film development.

Identifying evidence

While you’re collecting evidence, it’s critical that you identify each item and its relation to the crime scene. You should be as methodical as possible and elicit the help of another individual who can serve as a witness to your actions. As you collect each piece of evidence, label it and record information about it in a log book. The information you log should minimally include the following entries:

• Item name and description.
• Name of individual who discovered it.
• Date, time, and location of discovery.
• Make, model, and serial number if available.
• Identifying marks on the item.
• Any perceivable physical damage to the item.

Tip:
Besides being a backup for missing labels, the log book can help you review information about the evidence prior to a formal hearing.

Protecting evidence

After you’ve collected and identified the evidence, you need to protect it from damage. Damage may result from environmental factors, such as extreme temperatures or variations in humidity, or from physical factors, such as vibration or electromagnetic fields. The best way to protect evidence is to handle it with anti-static gloves (as opposed to latex gloves).

Transporting evidence

If you need to transport the evidence, make sure that you use proper packing techniques. Even if the evidence is in a sealed bag or other type of container, avoid using foam peanuts, as doing so increases the chances that the evidence becomes tainted. Use solid foam padding to wrap the evidence container, and then store the container in a sturdy cardboard box. Label the box contents, using the log book entries you created earlier in the process.

Storing evidence

In addition to storing evidence in sealable anti-static bags and packaging it appropriately, you should keep it in a secure room. The evidence room should have minimal traffic, restricted access, camera monitoring, and entry logging capabilities.

Chain of custody

Another component of managing evidence is the concept of chain of custody. Chain of custody refers to an accounting of all persons and events related to the handling of the evidence from the time it is first collected to the time it’s submitted to the court. Here’s a list of critical steps in the chain of custody process:

1. Record each item collected as evidence.
2. Record who collected the evidence along with the date and time of collection.
3. Write a description of the evidence in your log book.
4. Put the evidence in containers; tag the containers with the name of the person who collected the evidence as well as the date and time.
5. Record all hash values in the documentation.
6. Securely transport the evidence to a protected storage facility.
7. Obtain a signature from the person who accepts the evidence at the storage facility.
8. Provide controls to prevent access to the evidence while it’s in storage.
9. Securely transport the evidence to the court for legal proceedings.

Special considerations for digital media

In crimes involving stolen data, magnetic and optical discs become key pieces of evidence. Here are some practical guidelines for protecting evidence related to digital media:

• Don’t power down a system before you perform a RAM memory dump.
• Never use diagnostic tools or utilities to analyze a system; doing so can compromise the true state of the data at the time the crime was discovered.
• Use a bit-level, sector-based imaging utility to capture the state of the data; make several copies of the drive and analyze only the copies.
• Don’t restart the machine and boot back into the operating system, as this can also change the true state of the media.

Related Courses

• Computer Hacking Forensics Investigator
• Forensics Bootcamp

Full system backups — images that contain your computers’ OS, system files, programs, and personal files — require software that can be too expensive for a company to purchase. With Windows Vista, software costs no longer keep you from protecting your users against their own hasty deletions or against hardware failure. We’ll show you how to create an image of your computer with Windows Vista backup features for simple restorations if a computer catastrophe strikes.

Note: No images for Home users
Don’t be surprised by missing backup options if you support some users with Vista Home Basic or Home Premium. The Complete PC Backup option is available only to Vista Business, Ultimate, and Enterprise users.

Take note of backup device options

Before you even open the Windows Complete PC Backup wizard, you need to know a few things about potential backup devices. Because Windows will take a backup image of the computer, it can’t write the backup to the primary hard partition or to a partition formatted FAT32. It also can’t write to a mapped network drive or UNC path. Your only options for backup devices are:

• Secondary partitions
• Secondary hard drives
• DVD drive

If your computer doesn’t have a secondary partition or drive, or they are not large enough to store the image, you must use the DVD option.

Downside: The DVD option requires multiple DVDs. All those DVDs increase your costs associated with buying and storing the DVDs, as well as the time you’ll spend swapping DVDs each time you create or restore a backup.

Create your first backup

Windows Vista comes loaded with the Backup and Restore Center which you can launch from Control Panel. Users who have administrative tokens can use the Center to initiate Complete PC backups and to initiate a restore of that backup. We’ll start there.

To perform a Complete PC backup from the Backup and Restore Center:

1. Select Start Control Panel Backup And Restore Center.
2. In the Backup And Restore Center’s Back Up Files Or Your Entire Computer section, click on the Back Up Computer button.
3. Windows Complete PC Backup scans your computer for available storage devices.
4. On the Where Do You Want To Save The Backup page, the wizard lists each hard drive and DVD burner available. View a list by selecting the corresponding dropdown list.
5. Select the option button for the type of device and the particular drive you’ll use; click Next.
6. On the next page you must choose which hard drives to include in your backup. Select the check boxes for each drive or partition you want to back up and click Next.
7. On the Confirm Your Backup Settings page, review your selections. If you selected the DVD option, the wizard estimates how many DVDs you’ll need. Click Start Backup when you’re ready.

Windows Complete PC Backup now creates the image based on your specifications. The process takes considerable time to complete — up to an hour or more — depending on the total size of your backup.

Are you prepared for a catastrophe?

You should never rely on a backup without testing it first. With Vista, once the image has been created, you should view the folder structure on your hard drive or DVDs. But don’t relax just because you can see the folders — restore the image right away to make sure you can count on it if the computer fails.

Caution:
In case your image does fail you, be sure to backup any critical files onto a protected network share, USB flash drive, or DVD before you proceed.

Restore your image

You can launch a Complete PC restore from the Windows Vista installation DVD or from the Windows Recovery Environment.

To restore your PC with the Windows installation DVD:

1. With your computer configured to boot from the DVD drive, insert your Vista install DVD and reboot.
2. Follow the prompts to continue and to choose your language settings. Click Next.
3. Click Repair Your Computer.
4. Select Windows Complete PC Restore from the System Recovery Options menu.
5. Select the operating system you want to repair, and then click Next. The Windows Disaster Recovery wizard opens.
6. Attach or insert your backup media, and then step through the wizard to complete the restoration.

To restore using Windows recovery options (if you installed them previously):

1. Restart the computer.
2. Press the [F8] key after the BIOS sequence and before the Windows logo appears.
   

   Tip:
   If your computer has more than one operating system installed, use the arrow keys to highlight the operating system you want to start, and then press
   [F8].

3. Select Repair Your Computer from the Advanced Boot Options menu, and then press [Enter].
4. Select a keyboard layout, and then click Next.
5. Select a user name and enter the password, and then click OK.
6. Select Windows Complete PC Restore from the System Recovery Options menu.
7. Attach or insert your backup media, and then follow the instructions to complete the restoration.

Related Courses

• 5115 Installing and Configuring the Windows Vista™ Operating System
• 5117 Installing, Configuring, Troubleshooting, and Maintaining Windows Vista®
• Windows Vista - Level 1
• Windows Vista - Level 2

Terms like soft page break, hard page break, next page section break, and odd page section break can make your head spin. Worse yet, they can lead you to choose back-door formatting options (such as repeated hard returns) when you know there must be a more logical approach to solving your problem. In this article, we’ll help you brush up on your knowledge of breaks, and we’ll help you decide the best method for breaking up your document’s pages, columns, and formatting.

Basic page breaks
There are two types of basic page breaks: automatic page breaks and manual page breaks. Both break types are easy to work with, and the effects of each are straightforward.

Automatic page breaks
Word inserts automatic (or soft) page breaks automatically as you fill each page and begin another page. The location of an automatic page break adjusts and readjusts automatically as you revise your document.

You can see where pages break in Print Layout view, Print Preview, and Normal view:

• In Normal view, an automatic page break appears as a single dotted line across the page.
• In Print Layout (or Page Layout) view and Print Preview mode, automatic page breaks are indicated by the graphical representations of entire pages.

Manual page breaks
Although Word’s automatic page breaks are handy, you’ll sometimes want to begin a new page before the current page is full. To do so, insert a manual page break. Use manual page breaks when you want to prevent text or tables from breaking across pages.
To insert a manual page break:

1. Select Insert Break from the menu bar to open the Break dialog box.
2. Select the Page Break option button, and then click OK. As an alternative, you can also add a manual page break simply by pressing [Ctrl][Enter] (this isn’t available on the Mac).

How manual page breaks appear:

• In Normal view, manual page breaks appear as dotted lines marked Page Break.
• In Print Layout (or Page Layout) view and Print Preview mode, manual page breaks are indicated by the graphical representations of entire pages.

Section breaks
Section breaks divide a document into smaller pieces, or sections, for formatting and page layout purposes. By dividing a document into sections, you can isolate page formatting to a portion of your document instead of the whole document. When you use page breaks, you can vary elements such as margins, page orientation, headers and footers, page number sequence, and document protection.

To insert a section break:

1. Select Insert Break from the menu bar to open the Break dialog box.
2. Select the desired break type from the Section Break Types area and click OK.

Section breaks are displayed in Normal view. You can also see them in Print Layout view if you select the Show/Hide button on the Standard toolbar. Section breaks are represented in your document as a double dotted line that contains the name of the section break applied.

Next, let’s take a closer look at how each type of section break works.

Next page section breaks
A next page section break inserts a section break at the insertion point and moves everything that follows to a new section beginning on the following page. A next page section break is different from a manual page break because it classifies the document portions both before and after the break as sections. When you use next page section breaks, you can apply specialized page formatting to each section. When you use manual page breaks, you cannot.

Tip:
If you’re applying changes to your document in the Page Setup dialog box, you can insert a next page section break on the fly by selecting This Point Forward from the Apply To dropdown list. When you click OK, Word inserts a next page section break at the insertion point and applies your changes to the document text following the section break.

Continuous section breaks
You can use continuous section breaks to divide your document into sections without including page breaks. This way, you have the freedom to allow your documents’ pages to break automatically as necessary, but you still have the power to apply isolated formatting to single sections in your document. Continuous section breaks are particularly handy when you want to use different numbers of columns on the same page, as with a flyer or a newsletter.

Even page and odd page section breaks
Even page and odd page section breaks work much the same as next page section breaks. Each inserts a section break at the insertion point and begins a new section. However, instead of beginning the new section on the next page, as the next page section break does, even page and odd page section breaks begin the new section on the next even- or odd-numbered page, respectively.

For example, if you insert an odd page section break on page 3 of your document, Word inserts a section break and begins the new section on page 5. Even page and odd page section breaks are useful when your document contains chapters and you want each new chapter to begin on either an even- or an odd-numbered page.

Adapt for Word 2007
In Word 2007, you can access any of the page breaks we discuss in this article through the Page Layout ribbon. In the Page Setup area, click the Breaks button and choose from the list of possible page and section breaks. You can also quickly insert a page break from the Insert ribbon. In the Pages section, click the Page Break button to immediately insert a page break.

Column breaks
Column breaks are special tools that enable you to control where to end a column in a multi-column document.

To insert a column break:

1. Select Insert Break from the menu bar.
2. Select the Column Break option button, and then click OK.

When you insert a column break, Word ends the column and moves all the text that follows to the next column. Column breaks are useful tools for fixing uneven columns. They’re denoted in Normal view and Print Layout (or Page Layout) view with a single dotted line and the words Column Break.

Text Wrapping breaks
Text Wrapping breaks are much like column breaks, except that they break lines of text instead of columns of text. Text wrapping breaks are available in all versions of Word 2000 and later except on the Mac.

To insert a Text Wrapping break:

1. Select Insert Break from the menu bar.
2. Select the Text Wrapping Break option in the Break dialog box and click OK.

Word denotes a text wrapping break by an arrow at the end of the line in Normal view and Print Layout (or Page Layout) view, and it begins the text that follows on a new line.

Conditional break techniques
The options available in the Break dialog box aren’t the end of the line when it comes to creative page breaking. You can also insert page breaks using the Line And Page Breaks property sheet.

To use the Line And Page Breaks property sheet:

1. Select Format Paragraph from the menu bar.
2. Click on the Line And Page Breaks tab.
3. Make the selections you’d like and click OK to apply the changes.

Here are the four features on the Line And Page Breaks sheet that you can use to control where Word places automatic page breaks as you type:

• Widow/Orphan Control. This feature prevents Word from printing the last line of a paragraph at the top of a page or the first line of a paragraph at the bottom of a page. Instead, Word adjusts the placement of automatic page breaks to allow at least two lines of a paragraph to appear at the top or bottom of a page.
• Keep Lines Together. This feature prevents Word from inserting a page break in the middle of a paragraph.
• Keep With Next. This feature prevents Word from inserting a page break between the selected paragraph and the paragraph that follows it.
• Page Break Before. This feature tells Word to insert a manual page break before the selected paragraph, ensuring that it begins on a new page.

Related Courses

• Word 2000, 2002, 2003, 2007 & 2007 New Features
• 4008 Building Better Microsoft Office Word 2003 Documents in Less Time

When using multiple Microsoft Office programs, you can easily share information between them. For instance, there's no reason to re-create the information on a Microsoft PowerPoint slide if you want to use it in an existing Word document to illustrate your point. Instead, just embed a copy of the entire slide in your Word document.

First, open the presentation in PowerPoint. In the Slides pane (or in Slide Sorter view), select the slide you want to copy, and then click the Copy button. Now, switch to your Word document. Position the insertion point where you want the slide to appear, and then click the Paste button to add the slide. You can edit the slide within the Word document by double-clicking on it and then making your changes. The original presentation is unaffected.

To change the embedded slide's size and layout, select it and then choose Format Object. Make the desired changes, and click OK.

Percentages interpret your data as smaller parts of a larger piece. This is why pie charts are often a popular way to demonstrate percentages. However, if you want to conserve space and still present an attractive, effective visual of your percentage data, Excel 2007 offers a great alternative.

On the Home ribbon, in the Styles panel, there’s a Conditional Formatting icon that opens a shortcut menu. In this menu, you’ll see a formatting option called Data Bars. When you select a data range and then apply data bars (in any of a wide range of colors), the bars visually demonstrate the percentage or number in comparison to the other numbers in the data range. If you widen or contract the column’s width, the data bars remain proportionate.

The best part about the data bars is that they take seconds to apply — but it looks like they took hours of careful formatting.

Not everyone upgrades software at each new release. Unfortunately, one of the bigger headaches with InDesign files is the incompatibility issues that arise from this discrepancy. While newer versions of InDesign have worked fairly seamlessly at opening up earlier-version documents, older versions can’t open up the newer-version files.

With good reason: The newer software has updated features that the older version doesn’t know how to translate.

You can rest easy with this upgrade, however, because you can open a CS3 file in CS2. To do this, open your InDesign CS3 file and choose File > Export, select InDesign Interchange from the format pop-up menu, and click Save. Now, a user with CS2 can open the resulting .inx file in CS2.

There are two caveats, however:

• Any CS3 features that don't exist in CS2 (such as table styles) won't carry over.
• Only the latest version of CS2 can open CS3 files. Make sure your version of CS2 is up-to-date.

Note: When you have both CS2 and CS3 on your system, the file icons always display as CS3 -- even if they’re CS2 files. Therefore, it’s best to launch the InDesign version you want to use and then open the file from within the application. If you double-click on the file to launch InDesign, you may unwittingly open a CS2 file in CS3.

Whether creating images for web or print, you’ll no doubt spend some time in the Image Size dialog box. But don’t turn your image resizing into a guessing game — educate yourself on the right way to handle all of your image resizing needs. Read on to discover the truth about image resolution and what really matters when it comes to pixels.

Myth #1: Web graphics should be 72 ppi
In the early days of the World Wide Web, the standard screen resolution was 800 x 600 pixels, which in turn, provided a resolution acceptable for viewing images at 72 or 96 ppi. Hence, 72 ppi images for the web became the norm, as well as part of the lingo. When we hear the term low-res image, a 72-ppi image is what comes to mind.

However, images don’t necessarily need to be 72 ppi to use online. Image resolution is of utmost importance for print graphics, but not so much for web graphics. For one thing, you can’t control what the end user has set for his monitor resolution. Another point is that changing the resolution alone doesn’t change the file size or the dimensions of the image. You need to resample the image to accomplish that.

To test this technique on your own:

1. Launch Photoshop and open an image.
2. Choose Image > Image Size to display the Image Size dialog box.
3. Deselect the Resample Image check box.
4. Change the resolution.
5. Note that while the Document Size Width and Height values change, the Pixel Dimensions file size, Height, and Width remain the same.

When preparing images for the web, you need to pay more attention to your image’s actual pixel dimensions and file size. So if you need to create a banner graphic that is 400 pixels wide, you should focus on the Pixel Dimensions section of the Image Size dialog box, not the Document Size section.

Myth #2: Print graphics should all be 300ppi
If you’re preparing graphics for printed materials, you might assume that all images should be 300 ppi. That’s simply not true. You use a number of variables to calculate your image resolution for print jobs, including output device, paper stock and line screen.

Output device
Use Table A as a guideline to determine image resolution requirements for any graphics you may place in your documents. However, your printer’s manual or your service bureau’s specifications — which can supply you with tailored specifications — should trump any general recommendations. Table A

Note: For line art, you should set your resolution at 1200 ppi or the resolution of the final output device — whichever is lower.

Line screen and paper stock
Most output devices are capable of printing more than one screen frequency — for the most part, the paper that the piece is printed on determines the line screen. For instance, too high of a line screen may result in dot gain; too low of a line screen and not enough dot will be placed — it all depends on the paper’s characteristics. The typical LPI settings for various media and the paper stock they’re commonly printed on are shown in Table B. Your image’s resolution should be twice the screen frequency to produce enough halftone dot in print. If you need to resize an image, multiply its current resolution by the percentage of enlargement or reduction to get the final resolution it will need:

2 x LPI x resize % = PPI

Myth #3: Don’t resample your images
In the early desktop publishing and electronic image age, designers used great caution when resampling images. Much of the resampling hesitation stemmed from the fact that film scans were notoriously grainy. With today’s digital cameras, you’re often safe to upsample an image 200 percent! Now that’s progress!

Keep these tips in mind as you upsample (add pixels to) or downsample (remove pixels from) your images:

• Don’t resample incrementally. In Photoshop’s early years, pixel pushers had to resample in 10-percent increments to achieve the best possible quality. But that’s no longer the case. Photoshop’s Bicubic Smoother and Bicubic Sharper resampling algorithms work best in a single pass. In fact, incremental resampling in current Photoshop versions can have adverse effects on your images, such as accentuating the artifacts caused from resampling.
• Start with a quality image. You’ll get a much better resampled image if you start with a high-quality image. Photoshop isn’t a miracle worker, so don’t expect a lousy image to resample into a better one.
• Interpolation doesn’t add detail. When you resample images you’re relying on predetermined algorithms to either add or remove pixels from your image. You’ll never achieve more detail than what you start with.
• The more pixels, the merrier. If you have to resample images, you’re better off downsampling from high-resolution images with more pixel data, than upsampling from low-resolution images with less pixel data.
• Purchase a plug in. Since upsampling is generally more complicated than downsampling, consider purchasing a third-party plug-in designed specifically for this task.

Related Courses:

• InDesign CS3 - Level 1
• InDesign CS3 - Level 2
• Photoshop CS3 - Level 1
• Photoshop CS3 - Level 2

When you consider upgrading to a new operating system (OS), you certainly wonder if your current computer hardware and applications are compatible with that OS. Vista upgrade considerations bring the same concerns — and you shouldn’t wait until after you’ve purchased the upgrade to find out how your system will fair. Fortunately, you can run the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor for a quick analysis of your hardware as well as recommendations on what Vista edition is for you. Bonus: We’ll clue you in to the best ways to find out if your applications will work on Vista.

Understand what Upgrade Advisor does
To run Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, you must download and install it on every computer you plan to upgrade.

When Advisor runs on a workstation, it scans the computer’s hardware and then recommends a Vista edition based on the scan. It also gives specifics about any problems it sees, including basic application compatibility problems.

Put Advisor to work
Downloading and running the analyzer is a straightforward process. To download it, simply point your browser to www.microsoft.com/windowsvista/getready/upgradeadvisor/default.mspx and click on the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor link in the middle of the page. Once installed, you’re ready to run it.

Note: You may have to install MSXML 6.0 Parser
prior to installing the Upgrade Advisor.

To scan your system with the Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor, make sure you first connect every hardware device you want to use with that computer and Vista, such as printers or USB thumb drives, to the computer. Then run through the Advisor tool by launching it from All Programs and stepping through the prompts to start the scan. When the Scan Complete indicator appears, click the See Details button.

The resulting page reports if your computer can run Vista, and which version you should purchase for it. You can also click any available See Details button to open the Report Details window. Select a tab on that page for details related to the System, Devices, Programs, and Task List.

Ensure application compatibility
In addition to determining your hardware’s ability to run Vista, you need to know if your applications can run with it. Advisor gives you some program compatibility information. We recommend you contact the vendor for your critical applications because many vendors began testing their apps months ago and can tell you the status.

Take advantage of compatibility tools
Microsoft offers several tools to test for application compatibility and to help your legacy apps work with Vista.

If you plan to roll out Vista to more than a few computers, you might consider using the Microsoft Application Compatibility Toolkit, version 5 (ACT). With ACT, you can create and install a package on all of your computers. Use it to inventory all apps on company computers and analyze their compatibility. ACT works best for larger organizations where it’s more cost effective to configure an ACT server and package than to stop by every computer to check which apps are installed.

Once you upgrade a computer to Vista, the Windows Vista Program Compatibility Assistant runs in the background to resolve application compatibility issues that arise. Vista also comes loaded with the Program Compatibility Wizard so you can manually work with Vista to choose compatibility modes for your apps.

In today’s competitive market, you need to deliver presentations your audience can understand — and then remember — after you leave the meeting room. It’s easy to pack a presentation with numerical data in an effort to get it all in, but if you clutter your slides with words and numbers, your point and your audience are lost. You need a method to get your data-driven message across with high-impact visuals. We’ve designed a technique to create borderless column or bar charts that deliver both data and a visual punch.

Plant the seed
Your background image is the key to creating a washout chart. For this technique, you’ll format your background image once and then make a copy of the background image. You’ll then wash out the copy for use in your chart.

Tip: In nearly every presentation you design, you should start with a subtle background image. When washing out a chart, be vigilant about subtleness, and also select a background image that uses dark colors.

Dig in to slide creation
Once you choose a background image, you’re ready to create your slide and basic chart.

To create your chart slide:

1. Create a blank slide.
2. Insert your background image by selecting Insert Picture From File, and then navigating to and selecting the image. Click Insert.
3. Resize the image using the sizing handles so that it covers the entire slide background.
4. Insert a text box by selecting Insert Text Box, and then add a title for the slide. Remember to use font colors that contrast with the background and use a font no smaller than 36 pt.
5. Arrange any text boxes with chart placement in mind.

Because the background tells so much of your slide’s story, avoid using additional images. If you must include a company logo, limit its size.

Insert and format your chart
The next step is to insert and format the chart. Begin with inserting a basic chart.

To create a basic chart:

1. Select Insert Chart to insert a Column chart and open a basic Presentation Datasheet.
2. Enter your data in the datasheet’s columns and rows.
3. Because wider columns look better with this technique, we used only one variable, as shown in Figure B. To remove a variable, right-click on the column or row header and choose Cut from the shortcut menu.
4. Click on your slide somewhere outside of the chart area to deactivate the chart. Size and position the chart on the slide as desired.

Look over your chart now and compare how the text color contrasts with the areas on the background it covers. Also determine if you wish to add custom titles. You can make those changes and more when you customize your chart.

To customize a chart to prepare it for the washout technique:

1. Double-click on the chart to edit it.
2. To change the axis font, right-click on the x- or y-axis and choose Format Axis.
3. On the Font tab, select a Font color and a Background color from the Color and Background dropdown lists. We chose White and Transparent, respectively. Repeat steps 2 and 3 for the other axis.
4. If your chart is simple, such as ours, and thus you don’t need a legend, remove it to streamline the chart by right-clicking on the legend and choosing Clear.
5. Right-click in the Chart Area and choose Chart Options if you wish to add titles. Figure C illustrates the Chart Area.
6. Enter text in the appropriate text boxes on the Titles tab. Click OK, and then right-click on the title and choose Format Axis Title to format the font, if desired.
7. If you wish to remove the gridlines as we did for our example chart, right-click on a gridline and choose Clear from the shortcut menu.
8. To format the column type so that you can wash it out, right-click on the Chart Area and choose Chart Type from the shortcut menu. Choose Clustered Columns from the Chart Sub-type section of the Standard Types tab. Click OK.
9. To change the spacing between each column, right-click on a column and choose Format Data Series from the shortcut menu. On the Options tab, change the gap width, as desired. We chose 50.

Wash out your columns
Now that you’ve finished with the necessary and aesthetic chart customization, you’re ready for washout magic. To save time and repetitive steps, begin by copying the original background image onto a new blank slide. You can delete this slide later.

To create and format the washout image:

1. Right-click on the background image and choose Copy.
2. Select Insert New Slide and choose Blank from the Slide Layout pane. (In 2000, select Blank in the New Slide dialog box and click OK.)
3. Right-click on the new slide and choose Paste.
4. On the Picture toolbar, click the Color button and select Washout (choose Image Control Watermark in 2000), as shown in Figure E.
5. Use the corresponding icons on the Picture toolbar to increase or decrease the Brightness and Contrast, as desired.

Now that you’ve finished formatting the washout image, you’ll copy it back to the original slide and crop it to the columns.

To create custom borderless columns with the washout image:

1. Right-click on the washout image on the temporary slide (be sure to select the image, not just the slide) and choose Copy.
2. Right-click on the original slide and choose Paste.
3. Move the image so that it exactly covers your original background image.
4. Activate the Picture toolbar and click the Crop button.
5. Use the cropping handles to crop the graphic to just larger than the original bar. For more precise placement, press and hold the [Alt] key while you drag a cropping handle.
6. Repeat steps 1 through 5 for each column.

You can use this technique regardless of your slide’s topic, but it’s easiest to implement when you use a bar or column chart.

Related Courses

• 4007 Creating Effective Presentations Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003
• PowerPoint 2007 - Level 1
• PowerPoint 2007 - Level 2
• PowerPoint 2007 New Features

What's 2 divided by 3? Anyone for 0 as the answer? Unfortunately, that's what you may get if you're not fully aware of how SQL Server treats numbers in queries.

For example, try running the following query:

SELECT 2/3

And the winner is ...

Zero. The reason SQL Server returns 0 should be pretty obvious in this example. Both 2 and 3 are integers; therefore, SQL Server assumes the result should be an integer. Hence, it rounds down to the nearest integer, which is 0.

Unfortunately, figuring out that this issue was the culprit may not be so easy with a more complicated expression inside a complex application. Instead, your end result may be something quite bizarre. Worse still, nobody may even question the critically wrong result.

A quick and dirty way to fix this problem is to force SQL Server to think in decimals by adding trailing zeros, like this:

SELECT 2.0/3.0

In fact, you only have to do this with either one of the two operands, and SQL Server will still return the same value: .666666. (You could call this math problem "the Devil's division.") Add several more zeros after the decimal, and SQL Server will reserve more memory and thus return more sixes after the decimal.

One advantage of adding trailing zeros is that it lets you avoid bogging down your queries with too many queries. When generating SQL, your application code can add the zeros automatically. (Just make sure it never adds zeros when there's no decimal!)

Of course, the alternative is to use the CAST() or CONVERT() functions to convert to data types such as decimal, float, or real, like so:

SELECT cast(2 as decimal) /cast(3 as decimal)

Curiously, when you use the CAST() function for both numbers, SQL Server returns .6666666666666666666, whereas using it for only one of them still gives you just 6 sixes. So just be aware that SQL Server calculates precision a little differently depending on whether you use trailing zeros or functions.

Scrolling through a long font list in search of a particular font is a definite waste of time. To eliminate this extra scrolling hassle, Illustrator makes it easy to locate the font you want. Here’s how to do it. To quickly change your font without scrolling:

1. Select the text you want to change the font of.
2. Click to the left of the font name in the Control palette or Character palette.
3. Type the first letter or two of the font name you want.
4. Your font will jump to the first font that matches the letters you typed.

In the October 2008 issue of the Elevate:

Microsoft Office Productivity
Convey hard data without weighing down your PowerPoint presentation design

Information Systems Protection
Take the guesswork out of choosing your Vista path and Nail down new tools and terms for Windows Vista deployments

Design, Media & Graphics
Three image resolution myths debunked

Simply click here to access the October issue of Elevate.

New Horizons' goal is for our students to become more productive and successful in their daily activities. With this in mind, we have created Elevate, a newsletter specifically created for New Horizons students. In this free monthly publication you will read articles on how to put what you learned at New Horizons into action.

Good luck on your path of lifelong learning.

Looking for a way to protect your Web servers from unauthorized access?

Microsoft has a utility called URLScan that can be used to filter out suspicious requests such as those that are very long or use an alternate character set. You can download this utility by going to http://technet.microsoft.com/en-us/security/cc242650.aspx.

Before you use this utility, though, keep in mind that you’ll need to have installed the latest Service Pack and any subsequent hotfixes on your server. You can make sure that your server has the latest updates by going to the Windows Update site at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com.

A common misconception, especially among some folks with little XML experience, is that once you specify a DOCTYPE for a data set, that is the one you must always use, even if you're working with a subset of the document. This often leads to extracting the subset you want, adding upper level wrappers to match the DOCTYPE, and finagling things to get it to parse. Others will write custom DTDs to handle the subset.

It isn't necessary to jump through these hoops. Remember that the DOCTYPE declaration names the root element and points to the cooresponding DTD. The key here is that it points to the root element of the *document*, not the first element defined in the DTD.

For example, a journal DTD may define its upper content model like this:


So the DOCTYPE for the full data set would be:



However, say you want to send just a single article to a customer, but they want to be able to validate it against the DTD. You don't need to modify the DTD or add upper level wrappers to the article; just change the DOCTYPE from "journal" to "article".



It reads the same DTD, but only those elements which fall within the given DOCTYPE. It ignores the rest. That's all there is to it. This is true even if you include the DOCTYPE in the DTD itself; you can still specify a specific element to start parsing from.

If you aren’t seeing a flood of online shoppers at your website on Monday afternoons, you should be. A recent study reveals that Mondays are the busiest online shopping days for the third year in a row. The study, conducted by Atlas Solutions, looked at consumers’ online shopping behaviors at 96 leading eCommerce sites during holiday seasons.

The study concludes the following best practices for online marketers:

• Create a Monday afternoon campaign online to match the previous weekend’s in-store promotion.
• Target the workweek lunch hour (noon to 3 p.m. EST) because that is typically when consumers buy.
• Anticipate higher click volumes during Monday afternoons and be sure that any related marketing campaigns remain focused on converting browsers to buyers.

New Horizons Webinars are a great opportunity for business decision-makers, training professionals, developers, engineers and project managers to see the real value these new technologies can bring to your organization. With new topics every month, there's something for everyone.

View our Webinar Archive and Upcoming Webinars: Click Here

• Refer to documents on the spot by embedding them in you spreadsheet
• Supercharge your browser security plan with Vista's protection enhancements
• Open career doors when you transform systems administration into a service

New Horizons' goal is for our students to become more productive and successful in their daily activities. With this in mind, we have created Elevate, a newsletter specifically created for New Horizons students. In this free monthly publication, you will read articles on how to put what you learned at New Horizons into action.

Simply click on the following link to access the September issue of Elevate.
www.newhorizons.com/uploadedFiles/ElevateNewsletter/Elevate_Sept2008.pdf

Good luck on your path of lifelong learning.

Upcoming Webinars
Join us from the comfort of your own office… on the Web! Webinar events are quick and convenient. New Horizons Webinars are a great opportunity for business decision-makers, training professionals, developers, engineers and project managers to see the real value these new technologies can bring to your organization. With new topics every month, there's something for everyone.

2007 Microsoft Office System and Windows Vista:
Working Better Together
enroll @ www.newhorizons.com/webinars

See how the Windows Vista operating system and the 2007 Microsoft Office system work together, providing an integrated solution for creating, managing and sharing documents. Learn about the capabilities that make searching, retrieving and examining all of your e-mails, documents, and data fast and efficient. See how the XML Paper Specification (XPS) document format allows users to easily share content, without specific applications. We also discuss Windows Internet Explorer 7 and how it works with Web-based content and Web sites. Discover how Windows Vista and Microsoft Office 2007 enable you to focus on analyzing data and creating documents, without worrying about which tools you need.

Presenter: Andy Reed, Senior Training Specialist, Microsoft Corporation
Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2008
10 am Pacific; 12 pm Central; 1 pm Eastern

Sensational CS3: Top 10 New Features in Adobe CS3
enroll @ www.newhorizons.com/webinars
Explore the best new features in the latest version of Adobe’s Creative Suite. Master the new interface and experience the seamless integration of the CS3 applications. Learn time-saving features in Photoshop, Illustrator, Dreamweaver and Flash. (Beginning to intermediate level).

Presenter: Mike Katip, A+, ACE, ACI, MOS, instructor at New Horizons of Pittsburgh
Date: Tuesday, September 23, 2008
10 am Pacific; 12 pm Central; 1 pm Eastern

Enroll in all New Horizons Computer Learning Center Webinars and View Our Extensive Archive: www.newhorizons.com/webinars

Elevate Newsletter - July 2008

Microsoft Office Productivity:
Pinpoint the text you need with help from line numberingWhen you’re reviewing a long document with a colleague, you don’t want to tell him to check the “tenth page, third paragraph, second line.” We’ll show you how Word’s line numbering can give you easy-to-follow line references.

Information Systems Protection:
Get a grip on Vista changes to this essential IT pro toolAs an IT pro, you spend significant amounts of time using the System Properties dialog box—to quickly determine the OS, Service Pack, and basic system specs, or to configure domain membership, Automatic Updates, and much more. Previously, you could open System Properties by right-clicking on My Computer, but in Windows Vista, your right-click trick opens Vista’s new System window. We’ll show you what Vista’s System window offers as well as everything you need to know about the System Properties dialog box—and how to get to it fast.

Business Skills:
Tackle unfamiliar projects with confidence and easeHave you ever felt a little lost at the start of a project, pushed outside your comfort zone by a new subject, tool, technology, or process? Maybe you juggle multiple projects. Perhaps you’ve started a different position that requires quick adaptation to the new environment. Diversifying your skills can improve your job security and enrich your professional offerings.

Click here to access the July 2008 issue of Elevate.

An annoying occurrence that often confuses new InDesign users is imported text displaying with a box around it. Intuitively, you should be able to select and delete the box—but you can’t.

There is, however, an easy way to remove it. Here’s how:

Choose > Window > Interactive > Hyperlinks to display the Hyperlinks panel. You’ll see a hyperlink listed in the panel for each boxed text segment in your InDesign document. Click on a hyperlink and drag it to the Trash icon at the base of the Hyperlinks panel to remove it. Click Yes in the resulting warning box asking if you’re sure you want to remove it. Repeat this step for each hyperlink present.

You may also notice a new hyperlink style in the Character Style panel. To delete that, simply click on the character style and drag it to the Trash icon located at the base of the Character Style panel.

Elevate Newsletter Archives

Microsoft Office Productivity:
Buy yourself some time: Switch rows of data into columns without retyping
When you import data into Excel, it doesn’t always go as planned. You often need to flip-flop, or transpose, your data so that the columns become rows and the rows become columns. We’ll show you how to do it without spending hours of valuable time.

Information Systems Protection:
Fine-tune security on your workstations with Vista's advanced firewall features
You probably use firewalls to protect your company’s network, but what about individual workstations? We’ll step through setting up firewalls to protect your Vista workstations from attackers.

Design, Media & Graphics:
Speed up your design time and place multiple files quickly with InDesign
Placing new images or text in your InDesign document can test anyone’s patience. Get the job done faster by placing several objects at once in InDesign CS3.

Click here to access the June 2008 issue of Elevate.

If you’re like most professionals using PowerPoint, then you’ve probably used the web for research — and you’ll want to use hyperlinks in your slideshow. However, that can get tricky when clicking on a hyperlink could open a new window and block your presentation. This tutorial will help you insert a web browser right into your slideshow to ensure that you maintain your presentation’s look and feel while also letting your audience view a variety of information sources.

Add the browser control to your slide
To insert a browser into your slide, you first need to add a WebBrowser control on the desired slide. Once you navigate to the chosen slide (in Normal or Slide view), choose View Toolbars Control Toolbox. Next, click the More Controls button to display a dropdown list of additional controls you can add to your slide. It may take a few seconds for the list to display since there are many options to choose from. Scroll down the list and select Microsoft Web Browser.

When you do so, your insertion point changes to crosshairs. Click and drag the crosshairs to form a frame in the approximate area in which the browser window should appear on your slide. When you release the mouse button, a pixilated Windows logo appears, notifying you that the control is in place. Finally, reposition and resize the WebBrowser control if necessary (the control’s frame serves as the boundaries of your window to cyberspace).

Launch your web page
Once the WebBrowser control is in place, you need the ability to connect to the web during your presentation. Note that until you launch a web page, the space designated by the WebBrowser control appears as a white window, so you’ll want to fill it with useful information quickly and easily. To do so, insert a command button and textbox control, in addition to one line of VBA code.

Let’s begin by drawing the textbox where you’ll enter the web address (URL) of the page to which you want to navigate. To create this textbox, click the Text Box button on the Control Toolbox and use the crosshairs to draw an empty box close to the WebBrowser area. To actually connect to the web, your textbox needs a companion command button (we’ll call it a launch button) to initiate the action. To create this type of control, click Command Button on the Control Toolbox. This changes your insertion point to crosshairs so you can click and drag to create a small rectangular button near the textbox.

Tip: You can size the launch button and textbox exactly the way you want by holding down the [Alt] key while you drag the bounding handles to the appropriate length and width.

• Add VBA to the command button
  To make the WebBrowser and its command components work together, we need to add a small amount of code to the command button. To do so, first double-click on the command button to launch a new module in the Visual Basic Editor (VBE). Then, below the Private Sub CommandButton1_Click() and above the End Sub lines of code, type:
  Me.WebBrowser1.Navigate TextBox1.Value
  Next, choose File Close And Return To Microsoft PowerPoint, or simply press [Alt]Q. That’s it!

Note: By default, every command button begins a designated operation with a mouse click, as indicated by Click in the VBE Procedure dropdown list (on the right side of the module window). If you want to designate a different procedure for your command button, such as a double-click, simply select it from the Procedure dropdown list.

• Format the command button
  To view the command button’s Property window (if it isn’t already visible), right-click on the button and choose Properties from the resulting shortcut menu. Then, in the Properties window, change the Caption field to whatever you want to name your button; we’re calling ours Launch. To change the caption’s font type, style, and/or size, click in the Font field and then click the Build button that appears at the right side of the field to launch the Font dialog box. Once you’ve made the appropriate formatting changes, close the Properties dialog box. Now, we’re ready to test. Save your presentation prior to testing a newly inserted web browser.



• Navigate the web during your slide show
  To test your inserted browser, you need to be in Slide Show view — the browser you just created won’t operate in Normal view. When you reach the slide containing the inserted controls in Slide Show view, type in any URL and click the Launch button to view the live online content within your slide. Keep in mind that your modem speed determines how long it takes for the browser to appear. Once the web is up and running on your slide, the WebBrowser window functions exactly like any other browser, so you can use its horizontal and vertical scrollbars, in addition to any buttons and links appearing on the web page, as you would normally. You may notice, however, that your usual browser toolbars are missing. To compensate, there are a few important keyboard shortcuts to remember. To return to the previously viewed page, press [Alt][Left Arrow]. To move forward again, press [Alt][Right Arrow]. To refresh the data on the web page, press [F5].

Troubleshoot common problems
The technique we provided should be largely error-free, but there are always exceptions and glitches. We wanted to share some common problems and solutions with you in case you run into any snags while linking your browser.

• The miniature or gray browser
  This problem occurs when you first run your show in PowerPoint. Your browser may look miniaturized or may appear as an empty gray square when you click the Launch button. If this occurs, re-enter the URL in the text box and click Launch again. If this doesn’t work, exit Slide Show view, save your file, and close PowerPoint. When you reopen your presentation in PowerPoint, the glitch should correct itself.
  
• “No object” error message
  If you receive an error saying There is no object in this control when you preview your presentation, there may be a bug in the controls. Return to your slide containing the WebBrowser control, and in Normal view, select the WebBrowser control, press [Ctrl]X to cut the browser, and then press [Ctrl]V to reinsert it.
  
• Corrupt browser file
  Sometimes your web browser may develop a corrupted or missing file that goes unnoticed until you attempt to link it in this way. Try downloading a new copy of your browser and repeat the process outlined above. Of course, Internet Explorer is the preferred browser for this function, and you can find it at www.microsoft.com/downloads.
  

Related Courses

• PowerPoint 2000, 2002, 2003, 2004 & 2007 : New Features


• 4007 Creating Effective Presentations Using Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2003

In today’s highly mobile society, it’s commonplace for users to connect to a variety of networks. For example, users may connect to a centralized domain when working at a corporate site, a residential gateway device when working from a home office, or a public access point (such as an airport or coffee shop) when traveling. Because each of these environments has different security requirements, it’s critical that mobile computers are configured appropriately. As outlined in this article, Windows Vista includes a mechanism for automatically detecting different locations and applying the appropriate security settings.

Choose a network location
Using an integrated discovery facility, Windows Vista automatically detects different types of networks. It then classifies the connection as one of the following network locations:

• Domain. The computer is joined to a domain controller, e.g. an Active Directory domain on a company intranet.


• Private. The computer is on a trusted network, e.g. one residing behind an internet gateway device in a home office.


• Public. The computer is connected to a public access network that has a direct internet connection, e.g. a public hot spot.

When Windows Vista detects a new network, it displays the Set Network Location dialog box. In this dialog box, you can confirm the network location by clicking on the appropriate link.

Open the Network And Sharing Center
After set your network location, you can manage network connectivity via the Network And Sharing Center. To open the Network And Sharing Center:

1. Select Start Control Panel.
   
2. Click the Network And Internet link.
   
3. Click on the Network And Sharing Center link.

The main section of the Network And Sharing Center displays a network map depicting the state of your current network connection as well as the two subsections: Network and Sharing And Discovery.

View the full network map
The network map that appears depicts the result of the initial network discovery. For a more detailed view of the network, you can display a full map. To view the full network map:

1. Click on the View Full Map link.


2. Wait for Windows Vista to create the network map.


3. Review the results for your network.


4. Close the Network Map window.

Customize the network location
You can see that the Network section of the Network And Sharing Center reports that our network is private. The discovery process identifies a network as private if it detects some form of protection (e.g., an internet gateway device) during the discovery phase. If the discovery mechanism doesn’t detect any protection, it identifies the network as public. But you can easily modify the network location, if necessary. To customize the network location:

1. In the Network section, click on the Customize link.


2. In the Set Network Location dialog that appears, change the Network Name if desired.


3. Specify the network’s location by selecting the appropriate option button; click Next.


4. Review the summary of the network settings, and then close the Set Network Location dialog box.

Location behaviors
When you set a network location, Windows Vista automatically configures the appropriate firewall settings for the target location. You can use the Windows Firewall With Advanced Security, a local group policy object, to examine (and modify) each network location profile’s behavior. To view the behavior settings for network location profiles:

1. Select Start Control Panel.


2. Click on the System And Maintenance link.


3. Click the Administrative Tools link.


4. Open Local Security Policy.


5. Expand the Windows Firewall With Advanced Security node, and then select the like named Local Group Policy Object.


6. In the details pane, click on the Windows Firewall Properties link.

The Domain location
When a computer running Windows Vista joins an Active Directory domain, it automatically configures the existing network for the Domain location type. The computer determines that it’s on a network of the Domain location type because it can perform a computer-level authentication with a domain controller as part of normal Active Directory operations. The following settings are auto­matically configured for networks of the Domain network location type:

• Windows Firewall is turned on by default and configured by Group Policy settings downloaded from the Active Directory domain.


• Configuration for network discovery and file and printer sharing is based on Group Policy settings downloaded from the Active Directory domain.

The Private location
For the Private location type, Vista assumes that the computer is directly connected to a network that you know doesn’t contain malicious users and is separated from the Internet by a gateway or router with a firewall against incoming Internet traffic. Because of a safer networking environment, the following default set­tings are automatically configured for the Private network location type:

• Windows Firewall is turned on.
  
• Network discovery is turned on.


• All forms of file and printer sharing are turned off, including file sharing, printer sharing, public folder sharing, and media sharing.

The Public location
For the Public location type, Vista assumes that the computer is directly connected to the Internet, and therefore exposed to incoming malicious traffic. Note: Once you change Public or Private location default settings, the changes apply to every network assigned to that particular location type. The following default settings are automatically configured for the Public location type:

• Windows Firewall is turned on.


• Network discovery is turned off.


• All forms of file and printer sharing are turned off, including file sharing, printer sharing, public folder sharing, and media sharing.
  

Related Courses

• 5115 Installing and Configuring the Windows Vista™ Operating System


• 5116 Configuring Windows Vista Mobile Computing and Applications
  
• 5117 Installing, Configuring, Troubleshooting, and Maintaining Windows Vista®



• 5118 Maintaining and Troubleshooting Windows Vista Computers

Flexibility and the ability to be self-directed are key skills in today’s environment. Organizations are reorganizing and downsizing, requiring individuals to multi-task, contribute to multiple projects, and assume many responsibilities, often in very different roles. Depending on the organizational structure, individuals may need vastly different skills for their various tasks.

The roles of the project manager and project team members differ. Yet the same person may, at times, be the project manager of one team and a member of a different team. Or, a proj­ect manager may suddenly find her project has been cancelled, positions are being eliminated, and job retention means taking a job as a member of another team. That requires changing hats very quickly, and the results can be detrimental if you wear the wrong hat to the wrong meeting.

Two hats required
In this article, we’ll provide guidelines for doing a graceful balancing act between the roles of project manager and team member, using Michelle as our example. We’ll see how she balances between her roles as project manager and team member. First, we’ll look at the responsibilities of each position. Next, we’ll see how Michelle handles her project manager role and interacts with the team members during a team meeting. Then, we’ll watch her behavior at a product meeting in which she’s a team member. We’ll identify where she had problems changing her hat and the problems that ensue. Finally, we’ll discuss how Michelle could behave differently to promote a far more positive outcome.

Understand Michelle’s responsibilities
Michelle is a mid-level manager at a mid-sized company that develops software products for the optics industry. She acts as project manager for all training or documentation projects required to support the software her company develops. Additionally, she must participate as a member on the product team for each new software product.

As project manager for her teams, Michelle is responsible for commu­nicating new projects and assigning resources. She’s in charge of approving the media used for the projects, moni­toring those projects, removing any barriers to success, and reviewing the quality of the projects. Additionally, she’s responsible for maintaining a program of skill development for her teams and guiding her members toward professional growth.

Michelle’s role on the product teams is very closely tied to her teams’ functions. However, she isn’t the man­ager of these teams, but simply a team member representing a functional area. She’s responsible for understand­ing the new product, its development timeframe, and the requirements for her functional area. Working with other cross-functional team members, she develops an overall training and docu­mentation plan for the product. She’s responsible for working with the engi­neering representative to identify the subject matter experts who will work with her team. She provides engineer­ing with an estimate of when and how long subject matter experts are needed. She coordinates schedules with the development team to secure access to products for her trainers and writers.

Participate differently in meetings
Due to different personality styles, project managers may vary in how they approach their roles during team meetings. Yet, regardless of the stylistic differences, team members expect their project managers to lead and demonstrate their control. They expect other team members to defer to this control.

Do’s for project managers
Here are some do’s for the project manager during meetings:

• Do manage the agenda. The agenda may include introducing the new product the team will be working on and describing the team’s involvement with the new product. The agenda will include administration items, such as scheduled shutdowns, changes in office procedures, and more.
  
• Do convey information from management and from the teams on which you’re a member.
  
• Do assign resources to your projects. Consider the competencies, interests, and availability of team members when assigning resources to the project.
  
• Do keep the meeting focused on business. It’s up to the project manager to rein in those who stray from the topic at hand and to get input from those who may be reluctant to participate.
  

Michelle, the project manager in our example, conducts weekly meetings with her teams. When one team member comes in late and asks Michelle what was already covered, she tells him to see her after the meeting so she can bring him up to speed.

Dont's for project team members
Just as team members expect certain behaviors from the project manager conducting a meeting, they have expectations for other team members. These include the following:

• Don’t take charge of the meeting.
  
• Don’t usurp the role of the project manager. Some team members may like to be in control and may be capable leaders, yet respectful team members allow the designated leader to lead. But team members can take a participatory role.
  
• Don’t treat team members as subordinates.

Let’s look in on Michelle at a product team meeting. Here, she announces she’d like to discuss some items from the last meeting. The project manager asks her what those items are so he can cover them at the end of the meeting. Rather than simply stating the items as asked, Michelle digresses and questions the development representative about system availability. The project manager finally directs the team back to the agenda by scheduling a follow-up meeting with Michelle and the development representative.

When the engineering represen­tative walks in late and asks what he missed, Michelle tells him to meet with the project manager after the meet­ing. Later in the meeting, the project manager requests that representatives adjust their plans to accommodate new product features. Michelle suggests including the other team members when sending the revised plans, so everyone can review them before the next meeting. As the project manager reaches the end of the agenda, Michelle reminds everyone to review the revised plans before the next meeting.

Select the right hat
Clearly, Michelle had a difficult time transitioning from her project manager role to her team member role. As a project manager, she was in charge, running her meeting and setting the rules and agenda. Switching to her team member role, Michelle continued to take charge. She clearly wore the wrong hat to that meeting.

First, she begins the meeting, which isn’t her meeting, by saying what she wants to discuss. Then, she pulls the development representative into a specific discussion that’s outside the scope of the agenda. This would probably make the project manager either angry or frustrated and cause him to lose focus, get defensive, or otherwise abandon control of the situ­ation. It could also make other team members uncomfortable.

When the engineering representa­tive arrives late, it’s Michelle who tells him to catch up later with the project manager. When the project manager isn’t leading the meeting, other team members can become annoyed, less focused, or uncomfortable. Michelle steps into the project manager’s role one more time when she reminds team members to send their plans to the proj­ect manager before the next meeting.

Get used to the team member role
Michelle appears to have a good grasp of her role as project manager. She acknowledges her team members’ needs, asks for their input, takes control of her meetings, and follows her agenda. She’s polite, yet in control.

How could she have better han­dled her role as a team member? She could have waited for the meeting to begin and asked to add her items to the agenda. This would have allowed the project manager to establish his position as team leader and keep con­trol of the agenda.

It wasn’t Michelle’s place to decide how to handle the engineer’s late arrival. She could have let the proj­ect manager handle it. If the project manager chose to delay the rest of the team by reviewing the earlier part of the meeting for the engineer, Michelle could have chatted with the project manager after the meeting or sent him an email suggesting how she’s handled those sorts of things successfully. Much of her behavior went beyond the scope of her team member role and clearly detracted from the project manager’s authority. Michelle has a hard time taking off her project manager hat. Here are some tips that might help a project manager make the transition to team member:

• When you’re put in the position of filling both roles, write up a role definition, much as you would when you’re starting a project and identifying the necessary roles and responsibilities. This will help reinforce the differences in the roles.
  
• Recognize which role is more natural for you and be aware of your tendency to take on that role. You may ask team members to keep an eye on you and let you know if you overstep your role. The fact that you’ve recognized the possibility and asked for help will gain you respect, even if you do slip now and then.
  
• Listen and watch the people around you. If team members bristle, roll their eyes each time you speak, interrupt you, or ignore you, evaluate your behavior.

Successful balancing benefits everyone
The transition from project manager to team member can be a tricky one for some people. Don’t feel you need to completely bury your experience in one role or the other. A team member with project manager experience can help tremendously. Giving the project manager an occasional second opinion or a bit of advice on how to handle a problematic situation is often welcome support. Conveying to the team the challenges the project manager faces can help the entire team work more cohesively.

Related Courses
• Project 2000, 2002, 2003 & 2007
• 4009 Setting Up Projects for Success Using Microsoft Office Project 2003
• Project Management for Professionals
• Project Management Fundamentals