By:  Microsoft at Work

There is nothing like trying to work when your Internet connection is slow. It’s tougher to send e-mail, more difficult to send files, and it’s frustrating wasting time while you wait for Web pages to appear.  Even with the proliferation of broadband Internet connections, there are still times you may be working on a slow connection. You might be traveling, working out of your office, still using dial-up, or your broadband connection may be acting up.   There are things you can do to increase your productivity when your connection is slow. Many of these steps are also good tips for how to increase the speed of browsing and sending and receiving e-mail.

1.  Send multiple files faster by compressing them
If you’re sending multiple files for example several files related to a project you can reduce their combined size by using a compression utility. Compressing your files can dramatically reduce the time needed to send files online, and won’t take up as much space in your (or the recipient’s) e-mail Inbox.

2.  Speed browsing by turning off graphics in Internet Explorer
Graphics are important to Web pages, but they also take time to download if you’re online. You can turn them off to speed your Internet browsing.

Disable graphics in Internet Explorer
On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
In the Internet Options dialog box, click the Advanced tab.
In the Settings box, scroll down to the Multimedia section. Clear the following boxes.
a. Play animations in Web pages
b. Play sounds in Web pages
c. Play videos in Web pages
Note This option is not available in Internet Explorer 8
d. Show pictures
Click Apply.
Speed browsing by turning off the graphics.

3.  Send e-mail using distribution lists
If you’re sending an e-mail to multiple people, create a distribution list instead of listing each recipient separately. Messages are sent faster and more efficiently when you’re using a distribution list. 

4.  Work offline using Cached Exchange Mode in Outlook
Even if you lose your network connection, you can continue to working in Outlook if you’re using Cached Exchange Mode. With Cached Exchange Mode, a copy of your mailbox is stored on your computer. This copy provides quick access to your data and is frequently updated with the mail server. If you work offline, whether by choice or due to a connection problem, your data is still available to you instantly wherever you are. Cached Exchange Mode does require you to work with a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account.

5.  Reduce e-mail size with simple e-mail signatures
E-mail signatures leave a professional stamp on your messages, but elaborate signatures that include multiple images take up a lot of unnecessary storage space in each e-mail. Ultimately, they can slow down the time needed to send each message. Instead create distinctive text signatures combining fonts, type sizes, and colors to make your e-mail signature smaller and quicker to transmit and receive.

6.  Browse offline by saving Web pages on your computer
If you use reference a Web page often, save it locally to your computer. If you lose your connection or are working on a slow connection, you’ll still be able to read and find the information you need.

Save a Web page on your computer:
In Internet Explorer, go to the Web page you want to save.
On the File menu, click Save As.
In the Save As type drop-down menu, select Web page, complete.
Click Save.

7.  Open Web pages faster by increasing your cache
If you increase the size of the Temporary Internet files cache in Internet Explorer, your computer won’t have to work so hard when you revisit Web pages. Many of the images will already be downloaded on your computer, decreasing the amount of time it takes to open a page.

By:  Microsoft at Work

With meetings, phone calls and chaos throughout your workday, your e-mail Inbox can quickly get out of control.  An unorganized mailbox can make it difficult to find e-mail’s you need.   This messy situation can be remedied. Microsoft Office Outlook offers great tools that help you organize your messages in meaningful, easy-to-control ways. 

The tips below will show some tools in Outlook that you can use to manage your e-mail. You can use one of these tools—or a combination of tools—to help shrink your Inbox and make it easier to find the information you need.

1.  Group similar messages in folders
By creating new mail folders you can group messages related to each other. For example, you can group messages by topic, project, contact, or other categories that make sense to you. You can even create a folder for all the messages from your manager or that include tasks that you have to complete.

Group messages in folders

1.  In the Outlook Navigation pane, click Mail.

2.  Do one of the following:

â—¦In Outlook 2007, in the Mail pane, right-click one of the folders, and then click New Folder.

â—¦In Outlook 2003, in the All Mailbox pane, right-click one of the folders, and then click New Folder.

3.  Type a name for the folder.

4.  Select where to place the folder. You can set it apart as its own folder, or list it among your other Inbox folders.

5.  Move the desired message into the new folder.

2.  Create Search Folders to find messages fast
Search Folders are a quick and convenient way to look at predefined collections of e-mail messages. They don’t actually store any messages themselves, but instead are virtual folders that offer a view of all the messages stored in your mailbox depending on the attributes you’ve defined. Outlook provides default Search folders—such as Unread Mail—but you can also create your own. For instance, you can use Search Folders to help you find all the information related to a particular project, an important client, or an upcoming conference.

Creating Search Folders in Outlook 2003 and later is easy.

•In Mail, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Search Folder.

•Select whether you want to use a predefined Search Folder or create your own.

•Follow the instructions on the screen.

3.   Sort messages quickly
You can find messages in mailbox folders more quickly by changing how they’re sorted in your e-mail folders. For example, you can arrange your e-mail by date, sender, file size, or even by conversation, which pulls up all messages by the subject line.

In Outlook 2007
In Mail, on the File menu, point to New, and then click Search Folder.
At the top of your mail folder, select the Arranged by tab.
Click your view option.

Select options for sorting your mail.

In Outlook 2003
In the Outlook Navigation pane, click Mail.
On the View menu, point to Arrange By and then click a view option.

Select options for sorting your mail.

4.   Route mail efficiently using mailbox rules
By creating rules for Outlook, you can automatically perform actions on both incoming and outgoing messages based on the criteria you establish. For instance, you can automatically forward to your manager all messages sent by a certain person as soon as they arrive, assign the category Sales to all messages you send that have the word “sales” in the Subject line, and much, much more. Routing mail efficiently not only organizes your mail for you—but also frees up your time from performing routing tasks. 

5.   Reduce unwanted e-mail with junk filters
Keep distracting and unwanted messages out of your inbox by using Outlook Junk E-Mail filters. These filters send e-mail flagged as junk to a separate mail folder under your Mailbox. You can review the contents of this folder to ensure no legitimate messages have been sent there, and if so, you can adjust the filter to avoid flagging such messages in the future. Learn more about the Junk E-mail Filter in Outlook 2003—and the improved Junk Mail filter in Outlook 2007.

6.  Lay on the color
One quick easy way to distinguish between e-mail messages is to color code them. By using color, you can quickly identify messages from certain contacts by customizing your Inbox to automatically color messages. For example, it’s an easy way to identify important messages from a key customer, your manager, or an important contact. Even better, it’s quick and easy.

In Outlook 2007
On the toolbar, click Categorize.
Click All Categories.
In the Name list, select the check box for the category whose color you want to change.
Click the arrow next to Color, and then click the color that you want.

In Outlook 2003
In Outlook Navigation pane, click the Mail category.
Select an e-mail message from a contact.
On the Tools menu, click Organize.
Under Ways to Organize Inbox, click Using Colors.
Select the color you wish and click Apply.

7.   Flag for follow up
You can flag e-mail messages, tasks, and more with colored Quick Flags to help classify them or mark them for action. Flags can remind you to follow up on an issue, indicate a request for someone else, or set a reminder for a message or contact. Best yet, they make organizing your mail folders a breeze, because you know exactly what to do—and when to do it.

In Outlook 2007
In Outlook 2007, flagging performs the same functions as in previous versions—only it’s done a little differently. Previously, you could choose from different flag colors, but now they are not associated with colors by design. That way, you can determine the colors that make sense to you. Learn more about flagging in Outlook 2007.

In Outlook 2003
You can use the six colored message flags to identify items for different kinds of follow-up. For example, use the red flag to mark messages that require immediate attention and the blue flag for messages to read later. You can even create a customized Quick Flag toolbar in Outlook that matches your needs. Learn more about flagging for follow up and how to name your colored quick flags.

1. Use abbreviations.  Keep file names short by using common abbreviations, such as “MTG” for meeting or “ACTG” for accounting.  This makes the file names more descriptive and you can more easily find files through search if it’s necessary.
2. Use thumbnails. Search through folders in the Thumbnail view. They’re easier to see and you can put a picture or clip art on the folder so that it’s more easily recognizable. For example, a folder that contains information about a product can have a picture of the product—or something else that reminds you of the folder contents.
3. Use common names. To make it easier to search for documents, name your files and folders with easily found names, such as model numbers, project names, or the project lead in the title.

A checklist can be very helpful when you are performing important tasks, such as year end closing in Microsoft Dynamics GP.

The following is a high level checklist to get you started:

1. Complete the posting procedures and the closing procedures for other modules.
(This step is only required if General Ledger is integrated with other modules.)

2. Post the final adjusting entries in General Ledger.

3. Print an account list to verify the posting type of each account.

4. Close the last period of the fiscal year.
(This step is optional.)

5. Optional: Perform file maintenance on the Financial series group of modules.

6. Verify the settings in the General Ledger Setup window.

7. Make a backup.

8. Print a final Detailed Trial Balance report.

9. Print the year-end financial statements.

10. Set up a new fiscal year.

11. Close the fiscal year.

12. Close all the fiscal periods for all the series.
(This step is optional.)

13. Adjust the budget figures for the new year, and then print the financial statements.

14. Make a backup.

For more details, you can logon to the knowledgebase on CustomerSource:  https://mbs.microsoft.com/customersource

 

Quickly get to the items you use every day. Jump Lists, a fun new feature in Wndows 7, are lists of recently opened items, such as files, folders, or web sites that are organized by the program that you use to open them. You can use a Jump List to open items. And you can also pin favorites to a Jump List.

Avoid large folder structures. If you need to put so many subfolders in a folder that you can’t see all of them at a glance, consider creating an alphabetic menu.

Use shortcuts and shortcut links instead of multiple copies. If you need to get to the same file from multiple locations, don’t create copies of the file. Create shortcuts to it instead. To create a shortcut, right-click on the file and click Create Shortcut. You can drop and drag the shortcut to other locations.

Use this tip to help manage your files:

Store like with like. Restricting folders to a single document type (or predominantly one type) allows you to take advantage of folder templates in Windows Explorer. This makes it easier for you to find files. For example, with all your graphics in a single folder, it’s easy to use the Filmstrip view and slide show feature in Windows Explorer to find the right picture for your newsletter.

Separate ongoing and completed work. To keep the Documents folder from becoming too unwieldy, use it only for files you’re actively working on. As a result, you can reduce the number of files you need to search through and the amount of data you need to back up. Every month or so, move the files you’re no longer working on to a different folder or location, such as a folder on your desktop, a special Archive folder, flash drive, external hard drive, or even on a CD.