How to get your photos on Google Earth

Google Earth is a great program that lets you zoom into any part of the world and see a satellite image of the location. There are also photographs taken in that spot, and this article explains how to get your own photos shown to a worldwide audience when they view the map.

Step 1 Photographs are loaded into Google Earth from a separate site called Panoramio at www.panoramio.com. On the home page, you can sign up for a free account with Panoramio that lets you upload your photos.

Step 2 Once you have your account on Panoramio, you can upload the images. The site allows you to store 2GB of your images for free, and create your own world map showing your travels, as well as put your images for view in Google Earth itself. When you browse for, and upload an image, you are given the chance to name the photo (ie add a title) and to map it. If you haven't already added GPS coordinates to your photos, choose "Map it" and enter the town and country where the photo was taken. You can zoom in and move the satellite image around until you see the spot where the photo was taken, and then click on that exact spot. If you save the position at this point, you have added the location to the image on the site.

Step 3 It is somewhat faster to upload images that already contain the location in the Metadata associated with the image. The metadata holds such things as the Title, description, camera type etc. but also has some field for the global coordinates for the location where the picture was taken. I have written a separate how-to about adding this data if your camera doesn't automatically add the location. Once you have done this you can ignore the "map it?" choice as Panoramio will read the GPS coordinates automatically.

Step 4 That is it! Your photo will now be shown on the Your Photos tab on the site. If you click "on the map" on this page, you will see your photos correctly located on a world map. You have to wait about a month for the system to pick up your photograph and include it in Google Earth. If you search the help files on the site, there is a section explaining why your photo has not appeared on Google Earth. That explains how far they have got in checking the files. After about a month, when you next look at Google Earth, you should see your photos on-line!

How to convert MOV to or from WMV

Need to convert MOV (Apple Quicktime) to WMV (Windows Media Player) or vice versa on Windows or Mac OS X? Here's how.

Step 1 Download Prism Video Converter for Windows or Mac OS X from NCH Software www.nchsoftware.com/prism or Download.com and install. Both are less than 1 MB in size.

Step 2 Choose to "Open File" or "Open Folder" (you can import whole folders to convert at one time) and choose your WMV or MOV files.

Step 3 When you have imported your files you can then select the output format. Choose either MOV (for Quicktime) or WMV (for Windows Media Player) from the drop down list. You can then select the output distination folder for the converted files.

Step 4 Preview the conversion before you commit to it by clicking on the "Preview" button. Generally Prism is set in the Options to show the first 5 seconds of a video. You can change this easily by clicking on "Options" and changing the preview duration.

Step 5 When you are happy with your settings select all the files you wish to convert and simply click the Convert button on the lower right.

Step 6 Open the Output folder and play your videos in Quicktime or Windows Media Player.

How to Merge Two Video Files Together

Often when you download a film online it'll come split into two parts. This is convenient if you're going to burn each part to a separate disc, but as we move into an age of digital distribution the need for that physical media is dissipating. Instead of having a bunch of folders with several files for each film, you can combine these two halves of the film together into one video file.

Step 1 All you need to do this is Quicktime. If you're on a Mac, you already have it. If you're on a PC you may need to download it from apple.com/quicktime. Open both video files in Quicktime. Move the timeline playhead to the end of the first video. The simplest way to do this is to click the right arrow.

Step 2 Click on the second video window. Press command+A to select the entire timeline. You'll notice the timeline darken to show it's been selected. Go to Edit in the menubar and click Copy.

Step 3 Click the first video window again. When it's in the foreground, go to Edit in the menubar and click Paste.

Step 4 Notice that the timeline now represents the original portion as well as the newly pasted portion.

Step 5 Go to the File option in the menu bar and select "Export..." Change the export type to that of the original files. If you're unsure of (or don't see) the original files' codec you can do one of two things - export it as different file type (which requires the file to re-encode and may take a significant amount of time) or hit cancel and continue to Step 7 instead.

Step 6 Assuming you found the codec of the original files, select it and click options. Change the video format to Passthrough. Click the Audio tab and change the Audio format to passthrough as well. Click the OK button and hit save to start exporting. When the progress bar vanishes you're done. If this step didn't work for you, cancel out of the Save As dialogue and proceed to the next step.

Step 7 If you don't mind using a .mov file type, you can simply save the file in one step instead of exporting it. Go to File and select Save As. Make sure you select the option "Save as a self-contained movie", choose a file name, and click Save. Your two files are now one. You can delete the other two files.

How to Use Function Keys in Microsoft Word

You probably hardly even notice the function keys arrayed across the top of your keyboard. You use them so seldom, if ever, that they have become part of the landscape. They actually do have a function (many in fact) and knowing the functions might encourage you to use them once in a while.

Step 1 F1 – HELP! Almost any program written for windows that has some kind of help function will allow you to access it with the F1 key. On my keyboard it even says, “Help” under the F1.
Shift F1 – What’s This? Like help, the What’s this? question mark can help you understand the function of some toolbar or other icon you see. In Word, you can click the question mark on a paragraph to see what formatting is present.
Alt F1 – Go to next field – Obviously this key won’t do anything for you unless you are using fields, which is pretty advanced usage. Still, good to know. Still, since it is the same as F11, I’d choose to remember that one instead. Alt Shift F1 will take you to the previous field, but so will Shift F11 for one less keystroke.

Step 2 F2 – Move Text or Graphics – Highlight your text and press F2, and you will be silently prompted in your status bar “move to where?” Place your cursor in the new location and press enter, and voila, your text moved. This strikes me as harder than Ctrl X, Ctrl V, but to each his own. Although the F2 function key seems unimpressive in Word, it’s a really helpful key to know in Excel and in Windows Explorer. Pressing F2 allows you to rename a file in Windows Explorer, and in Excel it takes you to edit mode.
Shift F2 – the table says this will “Copy Text” – and it works similarly to the move method of the F2 key, but why bother when Ctrl C does that?
Ctrl F2 – Print Preview – Well yay! That’s good to know if you’re a confirmed old keyboarder who has always wanted to get to print preview without the mouse.
Alt Shift F2 – Save – Fine and dandy but this takes three keys and Ctrl S only takes two. Shift F12 is the same too. Thanks anyway.
Ctrl Alt F2 – Open – The same function as Ctrl O, but needing an extra finger to do it. This is the same as Ctrl Shift F12, which is also trumped by Ctrl O.

Step 3 F3 – Insert Autotext Entry – Do you use Autotext? I have on occasion. If you have an annoying thing that you type over and over again, you can set up an autotext equivalent and then only type those few letters. It may replace it automotically (hence the name AUTOtext) but you can also press F3 to have it inserted.
Shift F3 – Change Case – Whee! Did you know about this one? Highlight the word you want to change and press Shift F3 to toggle through the various forms of capitalization. Good one!
Ctrl F3 – Cut to the Spike – Huh? What’s ‘the spike’ and why would you cut to it? The spike is a special kind of clipboard that is saved in Autotext, you can combine nonadjacent items in the spike and then insert the contents back into your document. Fascinating. Ctrl Shift F3 will insert the contents of the spike and empty it at the same time.
Alt F3 – Create an Autotext entry – Here’s your opportunity to play with Autotext if you’re interested. Highlight a word (or that annoying phrase you type repeatedly) and use Alt F3. You are prompted to name it, so here’s your chance to call it something very brief but easy to remember. Then when you type that brief sequence, you’ll be prompted to allow Word to insert the whole annoying phrase you type repeatedly. Useful sometimes.

Step 4 F4 – Repeat the last action. Works like Ctrl Y, one keystroke instead of two. Nice.
Shift F4 – Repeat a Find or Go To action – I can see uses for this one, yup. Sure you could always Ctrl F and repeat the find that way, but at least on my computer it takes a second or so for the find screen to come up. Shift F4 just jumps to the next findable word or phrase. I like it, but probably not enough to remember it.
Ctrl F4 – Close the window. Not that much easier than clicking the little x in the upper right corner, but certainly quicker than using the menu to do File Close. Not really memorable though.
Alt F4 – Close Word – I had a friend online who would tell unwary chat friends that Alt F4 was very cool, why not try it, and she’d laugh and laugh as they closed out the chat program and had to struggle to return. Yes, Alt F4 closes any windows program. It’s a good one to know, not just so my friend won’t catch you, but because it’s a quick way to close a program. Worth knowing. Alt Shift F4 does the same thing, why add a finger?

Step 5 F5 – Go To command – That’s pretty good in itself, but you should learn the F5 key for another reason – in a browser it refreshes! Yes it reloads your browser page, and for those of us who game, that’s a big help.
Shift F5 – Move to a previous revision – hmmm, I don’t usually bother with revisions, so this is not a biggie for me.
Ctrl F5 – Restore the document window size. That is, it changes the document window from maximize to whatever size you usually have it. (Maximizing is done with Ctrl F10.) Nice, but the box in the right corner works for me.
Ctrl Shift F5 – Edit a bookmark – Oh now that is nice! I don’t use bookmarks in small one or two page documents, but I have lots of them in my novel-in-progress. I wish Ctrl Shift F5 were a bit easier to remember, but if I can get it into my head, it’s a bit easier than Alt, I, K. No, I take it back, Alt, I, K is just as simple, and easier to remember (Insert booKmarK).
Alt F5 – Restore the Program window size. Just as Ctrl F5 restores the document window from maximize, so Alt F5 does with the whole Word program window size. Again, the box in the corner is something I already know how to use.

Step 6 F6 – Go to next pane – Hmm. What’s a pane? Obviously I don’t use them or I’d know that. If you use panes, here’s the way to go to the next one.
Shift F6 – go to previous pane – ditto
Ctrl F6 – Go to the next window – Got a few documents going at once? This will toggle you through them (similar to Alt tab on your desktop programs). If your mouse isn’t working, you’ll be glad to know this one.
Ctrl Shift F6 – Go to the previous window – and ditto.

Step 7 F7 – Spelling – Now that’s nice, although honestly ever since Word started underlining misspellings in red and grammatical errors in green, I haven’t needed to do an all out spell-check. Still, if you do, F7 is pretty easy to use.
Shift F7 – Thesaurus – ah now this one I like. Much easier than Alt, T, L, T or clicking through the menus, two keys and you’ve got a list of synonyms. Have you played around with the thesaurus? It can be good for a laugh if you go multiple levels away from the original word and then replace it. In any case, it’s very handy to have a thesaurus available, even if it is limited.
Ctrl F7 – Move – this doesn’t relate to text, but to objects, like your current document window. I don’t see the point though, since you can drag and drop the window using the title bar anyway.
Ctrl Shift F7 – Update linked information in a Word Source document. Yeah, not likely to use this one often enough to need or remember a function key. I’m sure they meant well.
Alt F7 – Find next misspelling when Automatic spell checking is enabled. Perhaps more useful than the F7 key, this shows you each misspelling or grammatical error and suggests corrections.

Step 8 F8 – Extend a selection – This is pretty cool, actually. Select a word, press F8, the selection is now the sentence, then the paragraph, etc. If you have selection problems, this could be helpful. Or you can learn about selection methods in my #2 article in the learning Word series. I may have to add this function key to that article.
Shift F8 -Shrink a selection – Does the reverse of the F8 key.
Ctrl F8 – Size – your cursor becomes a four-arrow sizing/moving cursor. I don’t see how it works though. No thanks.
Ctrl Shift F8 – Extend a selection (or block) – Another one that didn’t work for me, just turned off my selection.
Alt F8 – Run a macro – Ah, now this is pretty good if you have macros. I’ve got a few, and this gives me a list of all the macros that come with Word, and I can also select the ones I created (they’re in normal.dot). Alt, T, M, M brings up the same thing of course, but if you use macros regularly, having a keyboard combination is probably useful.

Step 9 F9 – Update selected fields – If you create forms or mail merges with fields, you’ll want to learn the various F9 combinations. I’ll just list them here.
Shift F9 – Switch between a field code and its result.
Ctrl F9 – Insert an empty field
Ctrl Shift F9 – Unlink a field
Alt F9 – Switch between ALL field codes and their results.
Alt Shift F9 – Run gotobutton or macrobutton from the field that displays the field result.

Step 10 F10- Activate the menu bar. This has the same effect as pressing Alt, which takes you to the menu. Your choice.
Shift F10 – Display a shortcut menu – This has the same effect as right-clicking with your mouse. Good to know if your mouse isn’t working.
Ctrl F10 – Maximize the document window – this is not a toggle. You’ll have to remember Ctrl F5 to reverse it.
Ctrl Shift F10 – Activate the ruler. Hmmm, didn’t seem to work for me. Doesn’t turn the ruler off, doesn’t turn the ruler on, at least not mine. Maybe some other ruler? A king perhaps?
Alt F10 – Maximize the Program window. Remember to restore it with Alt F5.

Step 11 F11 – Go to the next field
Shift F11 – Go to the previous field
Ctrl F11 – Lock a field
Ctrl Shift F11 – Unlock a field
Alt F11 – Display Visual Basic code – ooh what a little gem hidden in with all this field stuff. If you want to play with VB, here’s the code! Don’t worry, it opens a separate window, your document is safe.

Step 12 F12 – Save As command – Cool, actually. Ctrl S is nice of course if you always want to save your document under the same name. It’s clever of them to give us a function key to use for Save AS, although if you don’t use it often, it’s not that hard to use the menu or Alt, F, A.
Shift F12 – Save command – Seems to be identical to Ctrl S, which I think is easier to remember (S for Save).
Ctrl F12 – Open command – Same as Ctrl O, again I think it’s easier to remember O for Open.
Ctrl Shift F12 – Print Command – Same as Ctrl P which is much more intuitive (P for Print) and only takes two keys.


So there you have it, a stroll through the Function keys in Microsoft Word. I wouldn’t bother learning them all. Here’s a summary of the ones I think are nifty, although some of them are a bit specialized:
F1, Ctrl F2, Shift F3, F4, Shift F4, Alt F4 (anywhere in Windows), F5 (in browsers), Ctrl Shift F5, Shift F7, F8, Alt F8, F10, Shift F10, Alt F11, F12.

How to make a newsletter using Word

Looking to write a Newsletter? This is the place to start. In these steps you will learn how to get a template and use it.

Step 1
On the right hand side there should be search for box under the Microsoft Office Online. Type in "Newsletter Template".

Step 2
Choose the Employee Newsletter. Now your window should like this picture. Search thru the templates until you find one that would suit you. (I picked #7 of 23.)
Click download.

Step 3
Now we have the template that you want. There is a lot of writing all over it. This tell you important information and helpful tips from the creator of the template. Reading this information will let you know how long each article can currently be. Also it will give you many tips when you are writing your newsletter.

Step 4
Now you can change the font as need. On the top middle of the screen there is the box to change the font, size, and color.

Step 5
You can change their picture to a picture that matches your company more. Simply click on the picture. A box will appear just above the picture. Click the first box on the left hand side. Choose a picture that you would prefer. You may want to download some pictures off the net to your computer first.

Step 6
You can change a box or column by clicking on it. Then a box will appear. Take your mouse over the circles on the out line and drag. This can help when a story is short. You can change the format to take up more room.

Step 7
There will be a text box that appeared when you clicked on a column. Select the third or fourth box, depending if you want to go left or right. You can click on the columns with writing.

Step 8
You can also change the direction of the writing by selecting the last button in the text box.

Step 9
You should be all set and ready to type in your newsletter now. Just select the area and delete the current writing. Replace with your articles.

How to Get the Most Out of Windows Vista Speech Recognition

Windows Vista has a rather accurate speech recognition software. It is one of the software programs that comes along with the Windows Vista operating system. If you have already upgraded your computer or purchased a new one that is running on Windows Vista, more than likely you already have the software on your computer. Since you already have it, you might as well make the most of it. Here are a few tips on how to get the most out of your Windows Vista speech recognition software program.

Step 1 Verify your computer has Windows Vista's speech recognition program. One of the easiest way to find out if it’s equipped with the software is to go to the “Start” menu and type “speech recognition” in the start search box. If your system is equipped with the software, it will display in the “Programs” section before you finish typing.

Step 2 Configure the microphone. Before you spend a lot of time and frustration configuring the microphone, it’s best to purchase a USB headset. While a traditional headset will work with Windows Vista speech recognition software, some folks have problems with the microphone working properly when using the ‘microphone’ input on at the ‘line in’ plug on the computer. You can pick up a USB headset inexpensively on Amazon or at your local electronics retailer. All you have to do is plug it into the USB port and you’re ready to go.

Step 3 Train the software. The first time you use the software, you'll be asked if you would like to train it. Take the time to train the software before you proceed. However, if you’re anxious to use it without training it first, you can always come back and do the training and tutorial. To access the training/tutorial, go to the Start menu and type “speech” in the search box and click on “Speech Recognition Options” as it displays in the programs window.

Step 4 Review the commands. If you become stumped while using the speech recognition software, all you have to do is ask the software “What can I say?” It will display a listing of commands. Spend a little time reading through them so that you will know how to get the most out of the speech recognition software.

Step 5 Speak clearly and with punctuations. The better you enunciate your dictation, the better your results. You'll have to get used to speaking in punctuations. While the software does wonders understanding what you're saying, if you want somebody else to be able to read and understand what you've dictated, you must insert things like periods, commas and new paragraphs.

How to Set Up IMAP Email in Outlook Express

IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) is a type of email service that you can view both in your desktop email software and in webmail. When you view IMAP email messages in software such as Outlook Express, the emails are not deleted from the service provider's server. Instead, they remain so that you can view them in webmail again later. IMAP email has many advantages. Your IMAP email messages stay on the server at all times. You can view them on any computer, no matter where you are. You can also use IMAP to move and delete email messages directly from Outlook Express.

Step 1 Ensure that IMAP is enabled on the email service provider's server. Typically, you must access webmail to change these settings in your account. Check with your email service provider for specific instructions.

Step 2 Start Outlook Express. Click Tools > Accounts... Select "Add" and then click "Mail..." to add the IMAP email account.

Step 3 Type your display name in the Outlook Express window. Type your email address in the next field. Beside "My incoming server is a _____ server" select "IMAP" from the drop-down list. In the "Incoming Mail" field, enter the address of the IMAP server where your account is held. In the "Outgoing Mail" field, enter the address of the service provider's Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) server.

Step 4 Type your full email address and password in the fields in the next window. Click "Finish."

Step 5 See if the IMAP email service requires a secure connection. If it does, change the settings in Outlook Express. In the "Mail" tab, select the IMAP email account. Select the "Advanced" tab and click "Properties." Select the check boxes beside "'This server requires a secure connection (SSL)." Check with your email service provider to see which ports they use for the secure email connection and enter them in the fields provided.

Step 6 Select the "Servers" tab. If you're working on your home computer, ensure that the "Remember Password" check box is checked. Click the check box beside "My server requires authentication" if your service provider requires it.