Naresh Patel's Blog

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Tips To Keep Windows XP Running Smooth

There are many things that cause a computer to be sluggish from software to hardware.  It can be too small a hard drive or not enough RAM. It can be anything from BIOS and/or Operating System Settings to programs that are eating up your CPU and RAM (no matter how much you have). Or it can be your network.

Personally, I work my computer like a young mother with a house full of kids 12 to 18 hours a day.  

That mother needs to unwind at the end of the day and so does my computer and probably yours too.

Here are 9 Tips in the order they should be completed that can help keep your computer happy and working without complaining:

This is so basic I shouldn't need to say it, Keep Which Ever E-Mail Program You Use Cleaned Out. I have clients who are always complaining, but who refuse to dump years and years of accumulated e-mail.

Make sure you have a good anti virus program (Only one per computer please), have it up to date, and auto monitoring.

Make sure you have a good anti spy ware program (Only one per computer), have it up to date, and auto monitoring.

Run Disk Clean Up Daily (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Clean Up - a box opens - make sure each box is checked, click 'OK' - a box pops up - Click Yes).

Delete Cookies and Cached Files Daily (Start, Control Panel -if you have not done it yet, click 'Switch To Classic View', Internet Options - a pop up box will appear - Delete Cookies, Click OK, Click Delete Files - check 'Delete All Offline Content' - Click OK, Now Set Your Clear History to no more than 7 Days - if you haven't used it for a week you probably won't miss it - Click OK)

A very important step almost everyone misses:  Empty The Prefetch Folder (Start, My Computer, 'C' , Windows, Prefetch Folder, Edit, Select All, File, Delete - pop up box appears - Click Yes, Close Windows Window)

Empty Recycle Bin. For the sake of brevity, I am assuming everyone knows where it is and how to empty it.

Scan Hard Drive 'C' (Start, My Computer, Right Click 'C' - box opens - Click Properties at the bottom - another box opens - Click Tools,  Click Check Now, Make sure both 'Automatically fix file system errors' and 'Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors' are checked, Click Start.  Get a cup of java (oh, black, thank you) and Wait !

Defrag Computer (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter - window opens - Select 'C' Drive, Click Defragment). Pop a top and Wait !

The last two steps (8 and 9) can take awhile if they have not been done recently.  I complete this entire routine on my computer just before I stop work for the day everyday and the entire sequence takes no longer than 20 minutes and often much less.

[nareshpatel]

Top Tips for Microsoft Word Users

Microsoft Word is an extremely easy tool to start using. However there are lots of interesting features “under the bonnet”. Some of these features can save you a lot of time when producing documents. I am amazed that they are not as well known as they should be. These top seven tips are my favourites and I cannot imagine life with Microsoft Word before I found them!

Oops. I left Caps lock on!

We all know that feeling. You are typing away merrily and then you look up at your screen to realise that you had hit the Caps Lock button. Now everything you just typed is in the wrong capitalisation. Don’t despair. Highlight the text and goto the Format menu and select Change Case from the drop down menu. Then just select your desired case from the list provided, which will probably be tOGGLE cASE.

While we are talking Cases.

Some useful shortcut keys:

Highlight your text and click Control Shift A to set it all to Upper Case.

Control Shift K will set it to Small capitals.

Moving quickly around your document.

Try these shortcuts to get around your document quickly.

Control Alt Page Down: Next Page

Control Alt Page Up: Previous Page

Control Home: Go to the top of your document

Control Alt End: Go to the end of your document

Also, with later versions of Word there is a clever little button beneath the vertical scroll bar called the Select Browse Object. Click on this and select one of its options to browse through your document going straight to the next table, graphic, heading etc. 

I’m lost. Where was I?

Forgot where you just made a change in your document? Try pressing Shift + F5.

This will take you back to the last place you made a change. You can do this two more times to go back to the two previous changes.

One click find

One of the annoyances of the Find screen when you are looking for occurrence of text in your document is the fact that it always seems to appear right over the text your are looking for! However there is no need to keep the screen open. Once you have used the Find command to find the first entry, close the Find screen. You should notice that the small double arrows below the vertical scroll bar on the right of Word have changed to blue. Click on these to go up and down your document finding your text.

Numbering the rows in your tables

How many times have you created a table where you just want the first column to be a numbered list. It’s easy to do this quickly. Simply select the column and click on the Numbering button on your Word toolbar. The same thing works if you select a row and want to have numbering across your columns

Fast Page breaks

My final tip is really simple and is probably the one I use the most. To insert a page break quickly, simply use CTRL + Enter

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Tips For Buying Accounting Software

Whether you are shopping for accounting software to help budget your personal or business expenses, you may find that managing all of your files with a single program helps you to save time and know exactly where your money goes. If you are familiar with the accounting process, you already know how complicated ledgers, account statements, debits and credits can be. In an effort to simplify the accounting process, a number of manufacturers have created software specifically designed to help make your life a little easier.

Before deciding on any one particular accounting software program, keep the following tips in mind:

Because many popular online software specialty stores allow for product feedback from customers, you will have the opportunity to read reviews that may help to make your decision easier based on the experiences by others who have already used the accounting software in question. Pay close attention to customer reviews when shopping for software.

When you consider the purchase of any type of software, including that of accounting, you will want to make sure that it is compatible with your computer and that all PC requirements are met before purchasing the product. Many software programs require a specific type of processor, available memory, etc. In order for the software to function properly your computer will need to be able to handle all of the applications contained therein. By being familiar with your computer’s configuration, you will be able to make a better selection when it comes time to purchase your new accounting software.

When shopping for accounting software, read about the program’s description and capabilities. You will need to make sure that you are either already familiar with the application or that you will be comfortable in learning how to use it. The reason is because many retailers will not accept software that is being returned if it has already been opened. So, before you buy, consider downloading a trial version or purchase an accounting software program that you are already familiar with.

Purchase your accounting software from a company that has been in a business for awhile and one that has a good reputation. This will ensure prompt customer service, reliability, product assurance and a timely shipment. By purchasing software from a reliable and established business, you will also gain the peace of mind in knowing that the title is authentic and not an illegal copy. The most effective way of checking out a business’s reputation is through the Better Business Bureau.

Learn about the company’s return, refund and/or exchange policy. Although most retailers will not refund the purchase if software has been opened, they may be willing to exchange it for the exact title if the program is defective or damaged.

[nareshpatel]

5 Quick & Dirty Tips For Using Microsoft FrontPage To Make Better Looking Websites

Building professional looking websites can definitely be challenging.

While anyone in the world can learn the basics of html and get an operational site up and running on the internet, making a site that looks attractive can be another story altogether!

The internet abounds with cheap-looking mom and pop sites that look like they were designed by a first year html student.

Do you want your web sites to look like that?

I hope not. Especially when it is so gosh-darn easy to make your sites look more professional using Microsoft FrontPage.

Here are 5 ways FrontPage can instantly make your websites look more professional.

1. High Quality Photos And Clipart Collection - Few people actually know how great the Microsoft Clipart collection is. This collection of images is created and maintained by one of the richest corporations in the world. It absolutely crushes any other collection I've seen on the internet in terms of quantity and quality of available pictures.

Best part...It's free for FrontPage owners!

There are over a million clipart pictures and photos, all searchable by keyword.

And if you have an active internet connection, you can search this online gallery from within FrontPage while you work.

Adding some original looking, nice photographs to each page of your site can instantly take up space, add a professional look. This is better than simply having the affiliate link.

2. The Interactive Button Features - In Microsoft FrontPage 2003, there is a new feature called 'Interactive Buttons'.

Basically, you can choose from over 200 different types of ready-made buttons to use on your website. These buttons look fantastic and can be created and edited with 1 click.

Before you would have to pay a graphic designer or spend hours creating these types of rollover buttons yourself, but FrontPage 2003 does it all for you.

Using these buttons can add a big dose of professional looks to your site in a matter of seconds.

3. Using HTML Tables - It goes without saying that the content of your webpages should usually be placed in some sort of html table. FrontPage makes it easy to create tables and add content, simply by using a button on the toolbar.

You can use this to center the content on your page and create neat looking tables once you get the hang of it (it is easy). This way, your content isn't scattered all around the page.

4. Included Content - This feature of FrontPage allows you to make changes to hundreds of webpages, simply by changing the content of one html page. For example, I mentioned above that you should use the interactive buttons feature to create a navigation system. You can also 'include' this navigation system on all of your webpages with a special feature in FrontPage.

This way, if you want to add another category or link to all of the pages on your site, you simply need to open up one webpage, the 'navigation.htm' page, and change the contents of that page.

The changes will immediately be reflected on hundreds of pages on your website.

You can see this is 10,000x more easy than going through and manually editing the links bar on each page!

5. Web Forms - Using the web forms feature of FrontPage, you can create a feedback form for your website. Not only do these forms look nice, but they also can help you to alleviate your spam problems.

Many a webmaster has paid extravagant fees to other companies for form processing, when it has been available to FrontPage users free and easy for years.

You can create any kind of feedback form in a matter of minutes, and have the results of the form submission sent to any email address that you choose.

To conclude:

I have just given you 5 very valuable tools for creating professional looking websites fast.

While it may not sound like much, consider this:

Let's say you spend $50 and get a nice looking banner graphic for your new affiliate website.

Then you create a neat html table, past in the banner, and use the interactive buttons feature of FrontPage 2003 to create a navigation system.

You can use the same general template for each new page you create (for articles, and other information about the product you are promoting).

After that, you top each page off with a nice looking photo or two from the Microsoft Clipart collection.

Using these basic techniques, in only an hour or 2 you can easily put together a professional looking website site.

[nareshpatel]

5 Minute Guide to ERP! Must Read!

Information technology has transformed the way we live and the way we do business. ERP, or Enterprise Resource Planning, is one of most widely implemented business software systems in a wide variety of industries and organizations. In this short article, we’ll try to concisely explain the basic yet important concepts relevant to ERP.

What is ERP - ERP is the acronym of Enterprise Resource Planning. ERP definition refers to both ERP software and business strategies that implement ERP systems. ERP implementation utilizes various ERP software applications to improve the performance of organizations for 1) resource planning, 2) management control and 3) operational control. ERP software consists of multiple software modules that integrates activities across functional departments - from product planning, parts purchasing, inventory control, product distribution, to order tracking. Most ERP software systems include application modules to support common business activities - finance, accounting and human resources.

ERP Systems - ERP is much more than a piece of computer software. A ERP System includes ERP Software, Business Processes, Users and Hardware that run the ERP software. An ERP system is more than the sum of its parts or components. Those components interact together to achieve a common goal - streamline and improve organizations' business processes.

History of ERP - Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is the evolution of Manufacturing Requirements Planning (MRP) II in 1980s, while MRP is the evolution of Inventory Management & Control conceived in 1960s. ERP has expanded from coordination of manufacturing processes to the integration of enterprise-wide backend processes. In terms of technology, ERP has evolved from legacy implementation to more flexible tiered client-server architecture.

Benefits of ERP - ERP software attempts to integrate business processes across departments onto a single enterprise-wide information system. The major benefits of ERP are improved coordination across functional departments and increased efficiencies of doing business. The implementation of ERP systems help facilitate day-to-day management as well. ERP software systems is originally and ambitiously designed to support resource planning portion of strategic planning. In reality, resource planning has been the weakest link in ERP practice due to the complexity of strategic planning and lack of adequate integration of ERP with Decision Support Systems (DSS).

ERP Failures - We couldn’t conclude our brief guide to ERP without mentioning ERP failures. The failure of multi-million dollar ERP projects are reported once in a while even after 20 years of ERP implementation. We have identified the four components of an ERP System - 1) ERP software, 2) Business Processes that ERP software supports, 3) Users of ERP systems, and 4) Hardware and Operating Systems that run ERP applications. The failures in one or more of those four components could cause the failure of an ERP project.

[nareshpatel]

4 ways to make your Word file Slim

We will talk about some related to your office daily work. Did you encounter the following situation? You want to send an email with a Word file attachment, but the email cannot be send out cause the Word file is too large. And you waste many efforts in making the file slim. You can try the following methods, which can reduce the size a lot. 

1. Save as

In Menu, choose "File > Save As", and save the file with a new name. You can compare the new file with original one; you will find that the file size of new one is much smaller. 

You can also work in this way. Select the whole content of the document, copy and paste it to a new blank document and save it. Again, you will that file size of two documents is different.

2. Delete old versions

If there are many old versions kept in the file, the file size will be larger. In Menu, choose "File > Version", check to see if there is any old version saved. You can delete those versions with no value to make the file slim.

3. Insert picture wisely

"Insert Picture" is one of the main reasons for the word file get fat. Try to insert a smaller picture. You can use graphic editor to reduce the size of picture before insert into the file. The file format should use GIF or JPG and do not use those high-resolution graphic, like BMP.

4. Don't "Embed True Type Font"

"Embed True Type Font" will increase the size of word file. In Menu, choose "Tools > Options", switch to "Save" tab page. Confirm that your word file have no true type font, and cancel the "Embed True Type Font" option. If you embed true type font, then choose "Embed characters in use only". 

Try the above four methods, you will see your word file getting slim.

[nareshpatel]

Smart and Free Programs For Your Computer

One of the fun parts of owning a computer is, of course, access to the internet. The worldwide web is chock full of useful information, readily available at your fingertips! It is also home to potentially lethal viruses, many of which can wreak havoc on your system within moments. The following four programs can help you avoid trouble; best of all they are absolutely free.

Firefox – a web browser for the ages. Okay, a web browser that beats Internet Explorer by preventing pop ups and harmful scripts from being downloaded to your computer. Lots of nifty features too, including tabbed browsing, live bookmarks, and tons of add-on features.

Spybot Search and Destroy – gets rid of adware, spyware, and malware. Blocks the installation of spyware before it occurs; works in conjunction with anti-virus software, not as a replacement for one. 

AVG Antvirus – offers basic antivirus protection including scanning email attachments for viruses and scanning of all hard drives, removable drives, and external drives on your computer. A paid version does some additional tasks and includes technical support.

Zone Alarm – if you don’t have a firewall installed on your computer, you are opening yourself up to potential catastrophic security breaches. With Stealth Mode enabled you can search the internet in private, away from the intruding eyes of those who might want to steal your important information.

As with many freeware programs, “pro” or professional versions of the software are sometimes available to give computer users a maximum amount of protection, for a price. Still, all four of these programs have something to offer and are worth exploring. Your computer safety and privacy is essential, insure it today by downloading the programs that are right for you.

[nareshpatel]

Importance of Oracle certification.

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Why Online Backup Preferred?

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Oracle Database 12c - New Addition to Oracle's Portfolio

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Oracle - A World Leader

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