How to toggle field codes on or off in Word

This is another issue that keeps coming back over and over again. Field codes normally look like normal text unless you move parts of the text, which may then result in an “Error! Reference not found.” message instead of the text (further down I’ll show you what field codes are if you don’t know). It would be thus very handy if we could make the field codes visible aka toggle field codes on and off.

Toggle Field Codes

The quick way to toggle field codes is using the keyboard shortcut: ALT + F9.

Word Options

The more complicated way is going via the Word Options (more…)

March 12th, 2013|Tags: Error! Reference not found, field codes, page numbers, reference not found, toggle|

How to take a screenshot on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch

You want to know how to take a screenshot on iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch? I was wondering how all these images of inside the iPhone apps were taken when I saw that my little daughter had created a whole collection on my iPhone when I looked at my photo album. When a 3-year old can do it then it has to be easy, right? And it is. How many buttons do you have on an iPhone? Yupp, exactly two. All you need to do is press them both.

Two buttons for taking a screenshot on iPhone

1. Press Home and On/Off buttons at the same time. The screen will flash white and you will hear the shutter sound, unless you are on mute of course.

2. You can access your screenshots in Camera Roll. For the iPod Touch that would be Saved Photos.

It’s as easy as that. No need to install a special screenshot app.

Do I need to write a cover letter?

All the information is on my resume, do I really need to submit a cover letter?

I don’t know what to write and am afraid to look weak by sending a bad cover letter!

The application webpage offers the option to submit a cover letter, but it is not required. Do I still need to send one?

Via phone, LinkedIn, email, etc. I was asked to submit a resume. This doesn’t really call for a cover letter, right?

—

I need to write a cover letter?

The answer is simple and short. YES!

Here are some thoughts and I think even if only one of them applies it is worth considering writing a cover letter.

1) With too many applications to a position it may be necessary to do a pre-screening of all candidates before their applications are even read. The easiest criteria is completeness of application materials.

2) If the applicant doesn’t have the time or endurance to write a cover letter then who much does she really want the job? What does it say about her level of commitment when she is here?

3) The cover letter is your additional chance to point out why you think you are a good match for the job and/or to describe past achievements or skills you want to emphasize to your new employer.

4) Some jobs require a lot of written communication. The cover letter is a way for employers to see how well you are able to bring your point across.

5) If two candidates are head to head about who gets the interview, then all information is considered and a good cover letter can tip the scale.

6) Even if you met a hiring manager at a conference, LinkedIn or in any other informal situation and were asked to submit a resume even a short cover letter (email) can help to remind him of the occurrence and why he should consider you.

7) The more applicants have applied the more rounds of reviews are necessary before the number is small enough for interviews. Often the final decision is made in meetings where it really helps when there is something to distinguish the candidates from another. “Bad grammar”, “Typo” , “Tiny print”, “ten pages”, and certainly “No cover letter” won’t make it far, but if there is something extraordinary about a candidate it is often the cover letter where that is noticed. And it sticks.

Introduction to DO career section

Welcome to the new DarnOffice career section. Finding a new job is difficult. The road is long from overwhelming job search to multiple resume and cover letter designs over to frightening interviews and bargaining about benefits and salary before a new job is finally secured. In this section we would like to shed some light on questions we have asked ourselves in the past. Now you may wonder…

What do we even know?

I do not work in human resources (HR) – I want to make that clear from the start – but I happen to be in a position where form time to time I can decide who gets the new position. At the same time I am always on the lookout for a good career opportunity, which makes me a frequent job applicant myself. It is always good to assess your value on the job market and keep your irons in the fire even if you are not in the immediate need of a new job. This can be helpful when your current position is on question or you planning to ask for a raise.

Being in the position to decide who gets the job I realize a lot of the errors I made in the past when I applied for jobs. The worst of them was being afraid.

Many routes will lead you to your next job and the only person in the way of it is you. The job exists that fits your experience and personality. All you need to do is shine and know who you are. When you think you need to be someone you are not for a position, then it is simply not the right job for you.

The topics

Do I need to write a cover letter?

February 10th, 2013|

Windows ALT Codes – How to write symbols, hearts, arrows and more

Have you ever wondered how to write the Celsius degree symbol ° or how you can write these accents above vowels like é, è, ê, etc? Do I spell it naïve or naive? Both can be used (see Merriam Webster) but it seems the “naive” is used most of the time. Maybe because the ï is nowhere to be found on the keyboard. You can use the Windows ALT codes below to write all these special characters and more.

Three digit Alt codes

These alt codes are different in that they only require to key in the code as shown.
e.g. ALT + 3 gives ♥ (no need to type zeros).

How to use the 3 digit codes

With the cursor at the position where you want to insert the special character press ALT and type the code on the numeric key pad.
Example: for ♥ you press: ALT + 3

There are some things to note:

Num Lock must be turned on. Activate by pressing the NUM LOCK key. A light will indicate that it is on. Without activated Num lock you may e.g. cause your browser to go to the previous page.
this works only with the numeric key pad. If you have a laptop you can try to copy paste the symbols from this page
works only with the left ALT key when you have the international keyboard activated

Symbol	Code	Symbol	Code
☺	1	ü	129
☻	2	é	130
♥	3	â	131
♦	4	ä	132
♣	5	à	133
♠	6	å	134
•	7	ç	135
◘	8	ê	136
○	9	ë	137
◙	10	è	138
♂	11	ï	139
♀	12	î	140
♪	13	ì	141
♫	14	Ä	142
☼	15	Å	143
►	16	É	144
◄	17	æ	145
↕	18	Æ	146
‼	19	ô	147
¶	20	ö	148
§	21	ò	149
▬	22	û	150
↨	23	ù	151
↑	24	ÿ	152
↓	25	™	153
→	26	Ü	154
←	27	¢	155
∟	28	£	156
↔	29	¥	157
▲	30	₧	158
▼	31	ƒ	159
	32	á	160
!	33	í	161
“	34	ó	162
#	35	ú	163
$	36	ñ	164
%	37	Ñ	165
&	38	ª	166
‘	39	º	167
(	40	¿	168
)	41	⌐	169
*	42	¬	170
+	43	½	171
,	44	¼	172
–	45	¡	173
.	46	«	174
/	47	»	175
0	48	░	176
1	49	▒	177
2	50	▓	178
3	51	│	179
4	52	┤	180
5	53	╡	181
6	54	╢	182
7	55	╖	183
8	56	╕	184
9	57	╣	185
:	58	║	186
;	59	╗	187
<	60	╝	188
=	61	╜	189
>	62	╛	190
?	63	┐	191
@	64	└	192
A	65	┴	193
B	66	┬	194
C	67	├	195
D	68	─	196
E	69	┼	197
F	70	╞	198
G	71	╟	199
H	72	╚	200
I	73	╔	201
J	74	╩	202
K	75	╦	203
L	76	╠	204
M	77	═	205
N	78	╬	206
O	79	╧	207
P	80	╨	208
Q	81	╤	209
R	82	╥	210
S	83	╙	211
T	84	╘	212
U	85	╒	213
V	86	╓	214
W	87	╫	215
X	88	╪	216
Y	89	┘	217
Z	90	┌	218
[	91	█	219
\	92	▄	220
]	93	▌	221
^	94	▐	222
_	95	▀	223
`	96	α	224
a	97	ß	225
b	98	Γ	226
c	99	π	227
d	100	Σ	228
e	101	σ	229
f	102	µ	230
g	103	τ	231
h	104	Φ	232
i	105	Θ	233
j	106	Ω	234
k	107	δ	235
l	108	∞	236
m	109	ë	237
n	110	ε	238
o	111	∩	239
p	112	≡	240
q	113	±	241
r	114	≥	242
s	115	≤	243
t	116	⌠	244
u	117	⌡	245
v	118	÷	246
w	119	≈	247
x	120	°	248
y	121	∙	249
z	122	•	250
{	123	√	251
\|	124	ⁿ	252
}	125	²	253
~	126	■	254
⌂	127		255
Ç	128

↑

Four digit Alt codes

How to use the four digit Alt codes

With the cursor at the position where you want to insert the special character press ALT and type the code on the numeric key pad.
Example: for ® you press: ALT + 0174

There are some things to note:

Num Lock must be turned on. Activate by pressing the NUM LOCK key. A light will indicate that it is on. Without activated Num lock you may e.g. cause your browser to go to the previous page.
this works only with the numeric key pad. If you have a laptop you can try to copy paste the symbols from this page
works only with the left ALT key when you have the international keyboard activated
you need to include all numbers of the code. If there is a zero then you have to type it

Letters

A based

Capital	Code	Small	Code
À	0192	à	0224
Á	0193	á	0225
Â	0194	â	0226
Ã	0195	ã	0227
Ä	0196	ä	0228
Å	0197	å	0229
Æ	0198	æ	0230

↑

E based

Capital	Code	Small	Code
È	0200	è	0232
É	0201	é	0233
Ê	0202	ê	0234
Ë	0203	ë	0235

↑

I based

Capital	Code	Small	Code
Ì	0204	ì	0236
Í	0205	í	0237
Î	0206	î	0238
Ï	0207	ï	0239

↑

O based

Capital	Code	Small	Code
Ò	0210	ò	0242
Ó	0211	ó	0243
Ô	0212	ô	0244
Õ	0213	õ	0245
Ö	0214	ö	0246
Ø	0216	ø	0248

↑

U based

Capital	Code	Small	Code
Ù	0217	ù	0249
Ú	0218	ú	0250
Û	0219	û	0251
Ü	0220	ü	0252

↑

other letters

Capital	Code	Small	Code
Ç	0199	ç	0231
Œ	0140	œ	0156
Ð	0208	ð	0240
Ñ	0209	ñ	0241
Þ	0222	þ	0254
		ß	0223
Š	0138	š	0154
Ý	0221	ý	0253
Ÿ	0159	ÿ	0255
Ž	0142	ž	0158

↑

Currency

Symbol	Description	Code
¢	cent	0162
€	Euro	0128
ƒ	Florin	0131
£	Pound	0163
¥	Yen	0165

↑

Math Symbols

Symbol	Code
¼	0188
½	0189
¾	0190
‰	0137
÷	0247
±	0177

↑

Punctuation

Symbol	Code
¡	0161
¿	0191
«	0171
»	0187
‹	0139
›	0155
¤	0164
°	0176
©	0169
®	0174
™	0153
•	0149
–	0150
—	0151
¬	0172
†	0134
‡	0135
§	0167
¶	0182

↑

If you find these Alt codes useful please leave a comment!

February 4th, 2013|Tags: accent, ALT, Code, heart, heart symbol, Symbols, Umlaut|

Office Ribbon disappeared

I am not talking about the fact that someone snatched your office fatigue awareness ribbon (which should be bland-colored for sure) from your desk. I am talking about the tabbed toolbar which appears in many Microsoft office applications. You can see some examples of Microsoft office ribbons here:

You can toggle it on and off by pressing CTRL + F1.

So if it disappeared, just try this combination and you will get it back.

November 20th, 2012|Tags: lost, MS office, power point, ribbon, toolbar|

Sort alphabetically in Word

You can quickly sort any one-level list (bullets or numbers) and sequence of paragraphs alphabetically in Word:

1. Highlight the list

2. Clicking on the sort button (Home tab -> paragraph group)

3. In the opening sort text window select paragraphs and under type select text and press ok

This is the result: An alphabetically ordered list of the cities in Vermont

BTW, a paragraph ends with the ¶ -character (end of paragraph sign or pilcrow). If you cannot see formatting signs like this one you can toggle them with the ¶ button next to the sort button.

Select Text in Word

The two methods to highlight or select text in Word are using either the mouse or the keyboard. These methods also work in the most text based applications (Wordpad, Text Editor, Power Point, Internet pages)

Using the mouse to select text in Word

Move to Mouse cursor to the start of the text you want to select then click and hold the left mouse button while moving over the text. Release the mouse button when you are done.

Now you can either right click to select an option from the context menu or use one of the keyboard shortcuts e.g. CTRL + C to copy and CTRL +V to paste the selected text into another document. When you hold CTRL you can select another piece of text at the same time.

Using the keyboard to select text in Word

Place the cursor in front of the first word of the text you want to select and the press and hold SHIFT while you use right arrow key to highlight letter for letter. Pressing and holding SHIFT + CTRL at the same time lets you select word by word. The table below lists a couple of useful combinations.

To select text from the cursor to the	Press
end of the line	CTRL + END
beginning of the line	CTRL + HOME
end of the document	SHIFT+CTRL+END
beginning of the document	SHIFT+CTRL+HOME
beginning of the next word	SHIFT+CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
beginning of the current word	SHIFT+CTRL+LEFT ARROW

Shortcut to change font size in Word, Powerpoint, and Outlook

You can increase the font size of a selected text by pressing CTRL and “]” (CTRL + ]) and decrease it by pressing CTRL and “[” (CTRL + ]). Alternatively you can also use CTRL and “>” or CTRL and “<“, but for this you need to press CTRL + SHIFT + , to increase the font size or CTRL + SHIFT + . to decrease it. The table probably makes it clearer

Keyboard shortcut to change font size in Word

Effect	Press (option 1)	Press (option 2)
Increase font size	CTRL + ]	CTRL + SHIFT + .
Decrease font size	CTRL + [	CTRL + SHIFT + ,

Please note that these don’t work in Excel

Google Drive is disconnected

Problem

Your Google Drive Icon is grayed out, doesn’t respond to any kind of mouse click and, when you hover the mouse cursor over it, a “Disconnected” message shows up. Your Google Drive is disconnected and you don’t seem to be able to reconnect it again.

The Fix

If your Google Drive used to sync properly before then there is no need to install and re-install Google drive over and over again. In most cases you simply need to stop the Google Drive process (Googledrivesync.exe) and start it again.

Access Windows Task Monitor

Method A: Right click on the taskbar with your mouse

Method B: Press CTRL + ALT and DELETE on the window that opens select Task Manager.

Terminate Process

In the Task Manager Window select the Processes tab and look for Googledrivesunc.exe. Highlight the process and click the End Process button

Restart Google sync

In Windows 7 search for “Google Drive” in the start menu search box or find the Google Drive program among your installed programs and start Google Drive.

Unless your configuration has changed (e.g. the ports were blocked by your antivirus software) your Google Drive should re-connect properly start syncing.

November 6th, 2012|Tags: cloud, cloud storage, Google, Google Drive|