TechBits

Build With Chrome

How often at your library do you see a pile of LEGO blocks poured out onto a play surface and think about what a chore it will be if you have to do clean up, or if you are the one who has to replace lost parts. Those days could be a thing of the past!

While doing some LEGO “research” I came across a site called Build with Chrome. This is a site where LEGO and Google Chrome teamed up to bring you an online environment where you can build with virtual LEGO blocks.

You don’t have to sign up for an account, but if you do you can pick out a chunk of land on Google Maps and build your own piece of paradise and have it published for the whole world to see.

 

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Excel: Selecting or Jumping Through All or Some Data in a Column

Let’s say that you have an Excel spreadsheet with 3,349 rows,

• do you know how to easily select data, from any point within an Excel column, to the bottom of the data in that column?
• do you know how to jump from any point within an Excel column to the bottom of the data in that column?

Shift, End and arrow down might become your friends.

In these examples, we’ll focus on manipulating data from column ‘C’.

Selecting:

What if you’re interested in selecting data from C 2,000 all the way to the bottom of the data in that column, C 3,349?

• Click on cell C 2,000
• Hold down the Shift key
• With the Shift key depressed, press and release the End key and then press and release the arrow down key. Voila! (This is an easy way to copy paste lots of data quickly.)

 

Jumping:

What if you want to jump from the top of the column, C1, to the bottom of data in the column, C3,349?

• Click on C1
• Press and release End.
• Press and release the down arrow. Voila!

Note: These examples focus on selecting data ‘down’ the column. Data can similarly be selected ‘up’ the column by using the up arrow.

Caution: These ‘tricks’ only work with contiguous data. If a cell is empty of data within a column, the final down arrow will take you to the first empty cell.

Good luck selecting and jumping!

Constantly changing Office 365

Office 365, the web-based email and calendar solution provided by SCLS, is frequently updated by Microsoft. On one hand, that's great. We're the lucky recipients of new features, bug fixes, and improvements with little to no work on our part. On the other hand, things are constantly changing and it's hard to keep up sometimes!

Office 365's recent upgrade brought with it new ways to manage your mailbox and shuffled some settings around. For example, when you click on the Settings gear in the upper right, the whole menu looks different, and when you go into the Options, the whole layout is rearranged! 

Here is an overview of the changes and new features and details about the new "Clutter" feature, which is designed to move low priority messages out of your Inbox and into their own folder. SCLS staff will be updating any out-of-date Office 365 documentation on our website as time permits.

The next version of Windows will bring back the start menu

I want to share some good news with everyone! The next version of Windows will bring back the start menu!  Microsoft listened to their customers and decided to bring it back.  Here is a screenshot of the preview version of Windows 10

Help patrons avoid account lockouts

It's rough to get locked out of a Google, Yahoo, or other web mail account. Help your patrons avoid the hassle by encouraging them to set account recovery options for any web mail accounts they create and keep them up to date.

While logged into email, look under account settings for options like contact information, password-reset information, or security information. Once you find the right settings, there may be options to add mobile phone numbers and alternate email addresses (to receive a text/email message with a password reset code) or security questions (to answer if all else fails).

Remind patrons to check up on these settings from time to time. People change phone numbers, email addresses, and sometimes even security question answers.

Two-step verification is an additional login security option that Google, Microsoft, and Yahoo recommend. Turning it on for an account does strengthen security, but it can also cause difficulties if the patron does not have consistent access to a mobile phone or alternate email address. Be extra careful to add backup options for two-step verification and keep them up to date too.

Public service staff: how do you help patrons recover from account lockouts at your library?

Thanks to staff at Oregon Public Library for suggesting this topic!