I Heart Tech

Digital Sigs - Question from a Reader (1)

I've had a couple of questions come in from some readers that I'll address in the next couple of posts, here's the first from a Paralegal in  Missouri:

Once I have gone through all the steps and saved the jpeg file, then have inserted the jpeg file into the Word document, any trailing codes or text are moved (advance / wrap around).   Is there some means of having the jpeg file drop into a Word file, at any point, as a transparent overlay so that any surrounding lines or text are not moved or covered up?

This should be a pretty easy fix, try this:

1. Right-click on the image.
2. Select Format > Picture, go to the Layout tab.
3. If you don't see the option for "Top and Bottom", click the Advanced button and select it from that dialog box.
4. Click OK to apply and exit.

Now, this exact fix didn't work for what Anne wanted, she ended up choosing "Behind text" for her needs, but you can just experiment.

Digital (Image) Signatures...Step 2 (with Adobe)

There are many software tools that can be used to capture an image of your signature. We are using Adobe Acrobat (Pro or Standard) in this example; if you don't have it, standby, next post is on getting on without it. Assuming you DO have it and you have scanned in your signature (step 1), follow these steps to using the SnapShot tool:

1. Open the file in Acrobat - we're talking version 8 here (varies in different versions so look around for it, if you have an old version, you might not even have it).
2. In version 8 go to Tools > Select & Zoom > Snapshot Tool (it's possible the Snapshot tool is already on your toolbar - it's a little camera). You won't see anything on the screen once the Snapshot tool has been activated, but your cursor will have changed to cross-hairs.
3. Now drag to draw a rectangle box  around your signature (dragging from top left corner to bottom-right corner and click to release your mouse). Again, not much will happen but you will see a highlighted box around the area you selected. Be sure to get in close to the sig without touching it. You can do it over and over until you get it just right.You'll get a message box from Acrobat letting you know that the image has been copied your clipboard.(If you cut or copy anything else after this, you will come back and repeat step 3.)
4. We need to move that image off the clipboard and into a working file. Again, there are many tools that will allow you to do this, for our general purposes, we are going to use PowerPoint. You'll want to launch PowerPoint and have a slide on the screen (doesn't matter if it's blank or not, when we're done you will close PPT without saving anything) - now place your cursor anywhere on that slide and paste (CRTL + V or right-click > Paste) to move the capture off the clipboard.
5. Hopefully you will see a nice image of your signature on the screen. Once you do, right-click directly on that image and select "Save as Picture".
6. Simply put, you will be creating a clip-art of your signature that can be inserted into a Word document (and many other apps). Name the file and save it as a jpeg (the default "Save as type"). Be sure to put it somewhere easy to find.

That's it, that's all it takes. Now go to Word, place your cursor where you want that image to sit - then to, Insert > Picture > From File (be sure the Files of Type box says "All Files") and browse to your signature image to stick it. (Don't forget to print your document to PDF before sending it out via email).

Good start for now, we'll soon talk about creating shortcuts to getting that sig into a document as well as some other cool things we can do with the SnapShot tool in Adobe. If you have any trouble or questions, email me.

Word 2007 - Heaven or Hell?

I got an email from a good friend and legal IT Director asking me for some insight into what other firms are doing or thinking about Word 2007. She asked: What do we need to know? I'm seeing/hearing about converting files and of course.... that makes me VERY uneasy. Is there any whitepaper out there that would address this? Am I just not seeing the information or am I the only one worrying about it?

So I decided to tap the aforementioned Ben Schorr for information - he is a great source with direct connections to Microsoft - who better?! Here's what he had to say:

The new formats rock – in addition to being more open they’re also quite a lot smaller in size than the old ones.  Below is a brief document that talks about them a little more.

2007 File Format Fact Sheet from Microsoft

If she wants to interoperate with people using earlier versions of Word (Excel, etc.) she should send this link to her other people.  It’s to the file converters that all people using Office 2000 or 2003 to open/edit/save in the 2007 file formats. Also here’s a useful article on the new file formats that also includes with some links to useful tools/resources like the Migration Planning Manager. For the very techy - here is a link to the Office 2007 TechNet Resoure Page.

Finally here’s a link to Brian Jones’ blog he’s the guy who owns the new file formats at Microsoft and he has a lot of good (albeit fairly technical) discussion of the new formats.

Hope that helps!

Ben M. Schorr
Chief Executive Officer
______________________
Roland Schorr & Tower
www.rolandschorr.com

Of course that helps! Thank you, Ben.

Confidential: Watermarks in Word

I'm in Houston today doing some Word 2003 - I was reviewing the training agenda and realized that it's been a long time since I posted some Word tips. I picked this easy and useful one for today: adding a watermark to Word 2003 or Word 2002. Here's how:

1. Go to Format > Background > Printed Watermark. Then choose one of the following:

• Insert a picture as a watermark: Click Picture Watermark > Click Select Picture. Navigate your way to the picture you want, and then click Insert.
• Insert a text watermark such as DRAFT or PERSONAL, click Text Watermark, and then select the text that you want.
• Insert custom text by simply typing in the Text field

2. Select any additional options that you want, and then click Apply.

To view a watermark as it will appear on the printed page, use Print Layout view or Print Preview.

Still in the stone age with Word 97 or Word 2000? Click here to learn how to insert a watermark.

Playing Footsies (with Word)

Mmmm, footsies. I love playing footsies - which is odd because I hate OPF (other people's feet). I freak out if an unfamiliar foot touches my bare skin. It's happened more than once that I've had to shower or at a minimum clean the stricken area with a disinfecting wipe. Now, certainly if the footsie advances are coming from feet who have been approved - well, that's a different story. Playing footsies with Word by way of Footnotes and Endnote may not be nearly as stimulating, but alas, it's something we should all know how to do. Here's a quick run down on how to insert a reference note in your document.

Insert a footnote or an endnote

1. Be sure you are in "print layout view" (View | Print Layout) then place your cursor where you want to insert the note.
2. On the Insert menu, point to Reference, and then click Footnote.
3. Select either Footnotes or Endnotes. (In the future, to get here quickly tap CTRL+ALT+F for a footnote and CTRL+ALT+D to insert an endnote.)
4. In the Number format box, click the format you want then Insert. Word adds the note number and leaves your cursor next to the note number on the ready for you to enter your text.

As you continue editing,  Word auto-numbers and renumbers the notes with the correct number and number format (it's like magic).

There's a lot to these reference notes, if you use them often you should really learn how they work. Visit these sites to do just that:

• Word Tips from Allen Wyatt (this one's the  best! Very comprehensive)
• Change the number format of footnotes or endnotes from Microsoft
• Good overview from the U of Reading

[The Title of This Post Has Been Redacted]

I was hoping the Amazing AMack would contribute more pearls of wisdom as he did with his previous post about Headers and Footers. And he did! He writes in about embarrassing snafu's that can occur when trying to redact documents without knowing what you - or your secretary is doing...

Some lawyers and/or their staff have discovered that it's easier to redact by doing a search/replace with font formatting to block the words (Black Highlighter). It's also easier to then print to PDF rather than to paper and rescan.
Problem is that when printing to PDF the resulting PDF is copy/pasteable AND if you do that and paste into word or saveas text, the redacted words re-appear. OY OY OY!

Here's a link to the New York Times column about a brief filed in San Francisco's federal court that prompted Allan to remind us about the importance of knowing just how documents are architected. As another reminder you might want to check out this post at PDF For Lawyers about last years White House debacle.

Don't have a good redation tool? Read this past post about Microsoft's free redaction solution.

Outlook: What the Font?

One of my favorite attorneys, from one of my favorite firms in Tampa writes in:

Hi Adriana, like many people, I am an incorrigible cutter and paster (at least he knows he's not alone).  But when I paste text from other sources into an Outlook message, I often have trouble changing the font so that it is consistent with the rest of the message.  Sometimes it works when I just block the pasted text and change the font and/or size.  But often, it isn't that simple.  That method doesn't always actually change the font - it will stubbornly stay in its original form after I block it and select another font.  I have to re-cut and paste or change where the block starts and ends to try to trick Outlook into changing the fonts.  Any suggestions?

OK, so we should be able to figure this out. Your options will be determined by two things: your version of Outlook and whether Word is your email editor. Thing is, that Outlook can be configured to use Microsoft Word as your email composer. This means that when you create an email - or reply to one - Word launches but hides away inside the Outlook mail window. It's not very obvious but for the fact that All Things Word are available for your use (tables, numbering, styles, etc).

If you're not sure whether Word is your email editor you can check or change it by going to Tools > Options > Mail Format and looking at the settings for "Message Format". (Be sure you are in Outlook's main window when you check and not in a new mail message because there you will see Tools > Options for Word). Now, if you're working in a controlled environment (like a zoo animal) then you might not be able to make any changes and you have work with what your I.T. department has configured. Personally, I DO NOT use Word as my email editor, I find it to be an unnecessary system hog (and I don't really create emails that require numbering or major formatting). I compose in "Rich Text".

The classic method of pasting text without formatting is to go to Edit > Paste Special > Unformatted (or a similar option, like Text). This option should be available to you in most copy/paste situations regardless of Word or Outlook version. This still works and is great but a little bit The Long Way.

Now, if you see a Paste Options icon (pictured right) then you can click on it after executing the paste to see a list of handy paste options. It allows you to choose whether pasted text should 1) stay formatted as it came, 2) conform to the text around it or 3) just be pasted as plain text. I've had more than one idiot ask me how to "get rid of that annoying icon" - why would you? It's one of the most useful, headache saving features. Read about How Paste Options Work from Shauna Kelly. And I'm serious, go read about it, this is IMPORTANT. It's just silly for me to sit here and type all that stuff out when it's out there and out there so good!

Now, If you ARE using Word as your email editor then you have a couple more choices.  Also, keep in mind that what goes in Word, goes in Outlook:

• The Edit > Paste Special option still works, as does the Paste Options feature BUT you can also...
• Follow these great and easy steps from Herb Tyson, MVP at TechTrax.com  for creating a keyboard shortcut. 
• Strip all formatting from text, pasted or not. Its super, super easy:
  1) Select the text you want to strip  2) Press CTRL+SHIFT+N

Word: Dealing with a Second Page Header

A lawyer from The Show Me State wrote in to say:

Here's my problem with Word for my letterhead. If I format a second-page header, a second page will print, even if the letter has only one page. If I don't format the second page header, then I have to create it each time I need the second page.What's the best way to handle this?

Well, as usual, this is a training issue. You have to really understand how Word's  headers and footers work. So, I asked my very good friend and the World's Other Greatest Trainer, Allan Mackenzie, if he wanted to tackle this one. He threw together a great little document for us, you can download it here:

Download the_mysteries_of_headers_and_footers_by_amack.pdf

Hopefully this will help demystify headers and footers and hopefully I can get AMack to contribute more often to I ♥ Tech!

Word: Selecting Odd Blocks of Text

Sometimes you only want a little bit, a small section of a paragraph or table. Let's say you have a table like the one below and you want to copy/paste only the last two columns. This can be easy when the text is in a regular table, but this one was fashioned with tabs (not by me, I don't create such ugly work, I digress)...

Try this: hold down the ALT key while you select a block of text regardless of paragraph or line formatting, then right-click copy and paste where you need it.

Long Word Documents? Try the Document Map

If you're looking for a quick way to navigate long documents in Word - try the Document Map view. It's a separate pain pane that will open on the left of your screen when you go to: View | Document Map (same to close the pane). It displays a list of headings which you can click on and jump to in the document very quickly. Careful though, if you under utilize or misuse Styles, you might just get too much or too little in the map.At the same time, if you are using Styles and using them right - this tool is fantastic.

Read more at these links:

• Shauna Kelly on the Document Map
• Microsoft - About the Document Map
• PCWorld: Managing Long Word Documents