TechBits

Firefox Add-ons

Firefox add-ons are small pieces of software that let you add new features and change the way your browser works.  You can install these add-ons yourself without the need for a call to the Help Desk. 
There is a very large community of developers that create these add-ons, so the chances of finding one that does what you want is pretty good.

An important security note about add-ons is that you need to be VERY careful about where you get them from because they may harm your computer or violate your privacy.  Unless clearly marked otherwise, add-ons available from Firefox's Add-on gallery have been checked and approved by Mozilla's team of editors and are safe to install. I recommend that you only install the approved add-ons and never install any of the add-ons marked as Experimental because they have not been reviewed.  Never ever install an add-on from an unknown source!

Once they are installed most people just forget about them.  But, as I discovered recently this is not a good idea.  I got a call from a library with an unusual problem with Firefox.  When they right-clicked within their Firefox browser they got a menu that was longer than their screen was tall.  After much research I discovered that this problem was caused by an out-of-date add-on.  Since the add-on was no longer needed is was disabled and then the problem was resolved.

If you're having a problem with Firefox one way to tell if it is being caused by an out-of-date add-on is to start Firefox in Safe Mode.  The easiest way to do this is from within Firefox.  You go to the Help menu and choose "Restart with Add-ons disabled...".  Then a window called "Firefox Safe Mode" with some troubleshooting options appears. Here you would click the "Start in Safe Mode" button.  Never ever click the "Reset Firefox" button as this will reset Firefox to a default state by creating a new profile, migrating only essential data and then moving all of the old Firefox data to a folder on your desktop. Warning! This change cannot be reversed.  Once in Safe Mode see if your problem persists.  If the problem is gone then it's a pretty good bet that it is an out-of-date add-on causing the problem.  So now you know you need to update your add-ons.  When you are done testing and want to get out of Safe Mode, just close Firefox and wait a few seconds before opening Firefox for normal use again.

So now you're asking, how do I keep my add-ons up-to-date?  It's really easy. Just follow these steps:

1. Open Firefox
2. Go to the Add-ons Manager by clicking "Add-ons" in the Firefox (or Tools) menu
3. Click on the Extensions tab on the left
4. You will now see a list of all of the add-ons that you have installed
5. In the upper right corner you will see a gear
6. Click on it and a menu like the one below will appear

7. If the "Update Add-ons Automatically" option is checked you're done
8. If it is not checked click on it to check it then you never have to worry about old add-ons again
9. If you want to update them now just click the "Check for Updates" option
10. Firefox will then update all add-ons that have a newer version
11. Once all the updates are done you may need to restart Firefox

My two favorite add-ons are Print Edit, which gives you print preview with edit capability, and Print pages to PDF, which gives you the ability to print the content of one or more browser tabs into a PDF document.  Please leave a comment and let me know some of your favorite add-ons.

Creating simple subtotals in Excel

Most people who work with Excel spreadsheets know you can total a group of numbers by using the Sum function.  But did you know Excel has a subtotal function that will create simple subtotals and a grand total for you? 

Open the spreadsheet and select the data you would like to subtotal.  Then go to the Data tab and look on the right hand side for the Subtotal option.  Click on the Subtotal icon and a pop-up window will appear asking how you want to subtotal the information. 

The “At each change in:” option, lets you define the groups of entries you wish to subtotal.  For example, if you have a report that is for all libraries, you can choose to have it subtotaled by library by choosing Library for the “At each change in:” option.  To know what’s available for options, click the down arrow on the right side of the in the “At each change in:” box, and choose from a list of possible selections. 

The “Use function” section allows you to choose what kind of subtotal you wish to see.  For example, you can go with a straight up sum of the numbers or you could choose to show the average of the numbers instead.  Again, to know what’s available, click on the down arrow at the end of the “Use function:” box.

With the “Add subtotal to:” selections, you decide which column is getting subtotaled.  Most of the time you’re going to want to choose a numeric column since subtotals of most non-numeric data don’t make much sense. 

There are also three checkboxes for subtotal options.  First is “Replace current subtotals”.  If you are wanting to do multiple subtotals, for example one for the sum and one for the average, deselect this option for the successive subtotals to keep them from replacing the original subtotals.  Next is “Page break between groups”.  This will cause each subtotaled group to print on a separate page when you print the spreadsheet.  The last option is “Summary below data”.  With this, you control whether the grand total and the subtotals are at the top of what they’re totaling or if the subtotals come after the list of entries being totaled. 

When you're done with your selection, click on OK.  You've now got a quick, simple subtotal of your data.

Viral Infection!

We've had a few very nasty PC infections lately and I thought it would be good to go over some important information about how to prevent an infection on your PC. 

SCLS' Antivirus software vs fake AV programs

The first thing to discuss is the antivirus software that SCLS uses on your staff and patron PCs.  It is called Sophos and on staff PCs this software is updated multiple times a day.  On patron PCs this software is updated during the nightly updates.  If you ever see anything on the screen that says that your PC is infected and it is not coming from Sophos then you have a rogue security software program.  It tries to make you think that your computer is infected by a virus and usually prompts you to download or buy a product that removes the virus. The names of these products frequently contain words like Antivirus, Shield, Security, Protection, or Fixer. This makes them sound legitimate. They frequently run right after you download them, or the next time that your computer starts. Rogue security software can prevent applications, such as Sophos or Task Manager, from opening or even running. Rogue security software might also display legitimate and important Windows files as infections. Typical error messages or pop-up messages might contain phrases like "Warning! Your computer is infected!" or "This computer is infected by spyware and adware."  We previously wrote about this kind of popup in the article entitled "Poisonous Popups Redux" .  The very best thing to do when you see this "Fake Antivirus Popup" is to not touch the PC and immediately call the Help Desk.

How do you get these viral nasties?

Now on to how you get these viral nasties.  One way is by surfing the Internet and accidentally going to a site that has been hacked and has viruses hidden in the advertisements on the webpage.  It is also possible to hide malware in pictures that people download.  I've had quite a few people call me and say I was just looking for some pictures when I got a message that my PC was infected.  So please exercise caution when going to sites and downloading anything. Ensure that the source is a legitimate and reputable one.  Another way to get a viral nasty is via an email that says please "click this link to get" and then something that sounds really important or "please see attachment."  One of the most common emails that gets everybody is the one that is called the Package Delivery Virus.  This is where some delivery service, e.g. UPS, FedEx or DHL, say that a package could not be delivered so open an attachment or click a link to get a receipt. 

How to prevent virus infections

•If the English in an email doesn't have complete sentences or is broken English then do not open any attached files or click on any links found in the email.

•Do not open any attached files or click on any links found in an email from an unknown, suspicious or untrustworthy source.

•If an email appears to come from a friend, someone you know or a business that you use, confirm that your contact really sent the email.  Some viruses can replicate themselves and spread through email.

•Do not open any files attached to an email if the subject line is questionable or unexpected.

•When in doubt, always err on the side of caution and do not open, download, or execute any files or email attachments. Not executing is the most important.

In summary: It is always better to be safe than to spread a virus to everyone that you know, bring down the network for the entirety of SCLS, or permanently lose your data.

Monday Match Game

We're going to play a matching game today. Match the icon or symbol with its meaning:

	Icon	Meaning
1.		A. My Account (OverDrive)
2.		B. Available eBook (OverDrive)
3.		C. Help
4.		D. Home
5.		E. Available Audiobook(OverDrive)
6.		F. Settings
7.		G. Wireless
8.		H. Search
9.		I. Battery Charge
10.		J. Menu

Before peeking at the answer key below, how many did you get right? These are some common symbols and icons that appear on many smart phones, tablets, ereaders and other devices. Icons on your device may vary slightly.

Are there icons or symbols on your device that you don't recognize? Check out the User Guide for your individual device for additional information.

 Thanks to Rose for the idea!

 

 

 

Answers: 1.F; 2.J; 3.H; 4.G; 5.A; 6.D; 7.C; 8.B; 9.E; 10.I

Scrolling Through Web Pages

While using control button and scroll wheel to resize an image in Firefox I accidently discovered I can scroll through web pages I’ve been to by holding down the shift key instead of the control key and turning the wheel on my mouse.

15 second search tips

Want to learn some Google search tips, but don't want to spend a lot of time doing it?

Try Google's "15 second search tips" videos on YouTube. There are 17 videos in the course, so even if you watch them ALL, you'll only be committing 4 minutes, 32 seconds.

15 second search tip: Weather

Still itchin' for more tips? Take a peek at Google's complete list of "Search Tips & Tricks", or browse GoogleHelp's YouTube playlists. 

Google Search Tip: Wishin' for a Definition  (ha! the narrator raps this 35 second Google tip!)

I Found a Multi-tool in my Laptop

So I was just messing around with an office laptop when I discovered something interesting about the spacer Dell installed to fill in the expansion slot...

The spacer is, in fact, a multi-function tool!

It includes a mini ruler (English and Metric), holes to estimate diameter,

a temperature conversion table on the underside,

and a letter opener.

Good job, Dell, to bring functionality to what otherwise would be just a mundane piece of plastic!

(Caution: results my vary)

Excel reports and library barcodes

Have you ever opened an ILS report file and seen some data like the mess shown here? I think we all know that valid item and patron barcodes are longer than these, and that they don't have "E+13" in them.

Of course you may not have ever seen that, because SCLS staff do try to clean up such things for you. But sooner or later we may miss a spot. More likely, you'll get this kind of result on your own while playing in whatever kind of do-it-yourself reports tools get added onto ILS services over time.

No worries, it's just Excel being Excel. It sees a number with lots of digits (twelve or more), and it decides to show some initiative and help you out. It automatically converts those long numbers into a "scientfic notation" format. Because that's better, right?

Yeah... not so much, really. Luckily this is easy to correct:

 1. Select the columns or range of cells you want to fix.
 2. Right click inside that area and choose "Format Cells..."
 3. Choose the "Number" format category.
 4. Reduce the value of the "Decimal places:" field to zero.
 5. Click OK.

Wallah! There's your barcodes, all shiny and new like Excel never made hamburger out of them at all.

Pinning Files and Folders in Office

The Recent Items or My Recent Documents feature in Windows is a handy way to quickly pull up documents you've been working on recently.  The same goes for the Recent document list in Word.  But what if you're working with a lot of files?  The "recent" lists are ever-changing and the file you're looking for might not be on the list for very long.

Micrsoft Office has a feature that allows you to "pin" files and locations to the Recent lists to make sure they are always available on the list.  Office 2007 allows you to pin files and Office 2010 allows you to pin both files and places, aka recently used folders. 

Click on File from the menu bar and then click on Recent.  Your current "recent" files and locations will now appear.  After each file or folder name is a grey sideways pushpin icon.  Click on the pushpin icon once to pin the file or folder to the list.  If you no longer need that file or folder pinned, just click on the now blue "pushed in" pushpin icon and the file or folder will be unpinned.

Just remember that each file or folder you pin means one less unpinned file or folder that will show up in your Recent list in Office. 

Show the desktop

If you're like me you open a lot of windows throughout the day.  Then when you want to get back to the desktop you have to minimize a lot of windows.  There is an easier and quicker way to get back to the desktop. 

In Windows XP there is a Show Desktop button in the Quick Launch toolbar just to the right of the Start button.

In Windows 7 the Show Desktop button is now on the opposite side of the tool bar from the Start button.

The Windows 7 Show Desktop button also has a neat feature that is called Aero Peek.  What this does is if you hover your mouse over the Show Desktop button it instantly minimizes all of your open windows.  Then when you move the mouse away all of your windows return.  If instead of hovering over it you click on it all open windows instantly minimize.

In both Windows 7 and Windows XP there are two other ways to get back to your desktop:

1. Right-click on the taskbar and there is a menu option to Show Desktop.
2. Hold down the Windows button and hit d.