TechTips

A Selection of Technical Tips to help you get more FUN from your PC



Editing in Print Preview Mode

There's a widely circulated rumor that says you can't edit a Word document while it's in Print Preview mode. Not  sure about the origin of the rumor, but check out Print Preview mode for yourself.

Open a document that you can afford to mess around with and then choose Print Preview (click the toolbar button, or choose File, Print Preview). Use the magnifying glass cursor to zoom in on the page. Then click the Magnifier on the toolbar (it looks like a small magnifying glass). At this point, you can add, delete, copy, and paste text.

It is not suggested that you should use Print Preview mode for editing; but it highlights a danger - you should be careful what you press when you're in Print Preview. You could lose something.



Microsoft Excel

Sumif Only!

Last week we explained a little about the use of the IF function. This time, we look at SUMIF.

Let's say that you have a column of EPICs, Total Profits, and Target Profits. If the profit for the month exceeds £1,000, you want to add 1% to the Target. For this example, EPICs are in B2 to B5, Total Profits are in C2 to C5, Target Profits are in D2 to D5, and we'll put the new Target values in E2 to E5. Here is a  formula for cell E2 that will add the uplift to the Target provided the minimum condition is met:

                =NEWTARG(SUMIF(C2,">=1000"),0.01)

As usual, you can select E2 and drag it through E5 to copy the formula to the remaining cells.



Netscape Navigator

Productivity Gains

Don't think you need to wait for a download to finish before you can start another task. Actually, you don't. Go ahead and minimise the Saving Location box, then smurf on or tackle another job. You can even download more than one  file at the same time. But - and it is a big but - keep your 'puter's constitution in mind. Downloading files is hard  work, and the more tasks you throw at the 'puter, the longer they'll all take. If you overload your system to the point that it crashes in the midst of a long download, well, that's not just counter-productive - it's seriously aggravating.

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