Neat Net Tricks Issue 113
November 1, 2001

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IN THIS ISSUE:

01.  URL monitoring
02.  Readers write
03.  Easy mail address in MS Word
04.  Quick Word open
05.  Printer repair
06.  Memory errors
07.  Quick Address Bar
08.  Hoak resource
09.  Fast path to icons
10.  Annotate Help
11.  SpamMotel
12.  Maximizing Internet Explorer
13.  Syndicated Tips

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01.  URL MONITORING.  If you have a Web site and want an email 
report if it goes down, try the free service at 
http://www.internetseer.com/ .

02.  READERS WRITE.  One of our readers took issue with a 
recently described product.  He didn't like evaluation software,
didn't want to purchase it at the end of the trial period, and 
didn't want to go through the process of removing it from his 
system.  He urged NNT to explain in each item when software was 
on a trial basis.  We replied:  It's safe to assume that most 
Internet goods and services will cost; otherwise, where is the 
incentive to produce them?   Because software producers have the
right to expect a return on their investment of time and effort,
a try-before-you-buy product is about the best one can hope for 
at this stage of Internet evolution.  Items in NNT are very 
brief and this is the format most readers seem to prefer.  
Rather than launch into a lengthy description, we rely on our 
readers to proceed to the link and make an informed decision as 
to whether the described product or service is suitable for them.

03.  EASY MAIL ADDRESS IN MS WORD.  Linda Johnson, a MS Word 
whiz who writes for the Newbie Club and whose tips can be found 
at http://newbieclub.com/officetips/?buntah , offers a neat way 
to address envelopes in MS Word.  In the Tools menu, choose 
Options and the User Information tab.  Enter your own mailing 
address in the Mailing Address box, then highlight the intended 
recipient's address in an open document. Go to Tools|Envelopes 
and Labels where both addresses will already be entered.  
Select your envelope size and click on Print, and you're done.

04.  QUICK WORD OPEN.  Microsoft Word 97 and 2000 displays the 
most recent documents you've worked on with a simple click on 
File.  You can then select the desired file by clicking on it 
and opening it.  OK, you knew that.  Did you know that you can 
increase the number of displayed files, to a maximum of 9, by 
clicking on Tools|Options and the General tab and changing the 
number in the "Recently used file list."  An expanded list will 
not be immediate but will grow as you use Word.  Having done 
all that, the neatest trick is to press Alt + F, and then the 
file number and it will immediately open.

05.  PRINTER REPAIR.  If you're having problems with your 
printer, you might consider asking for help on the forum at 
http://www.fixyourownprinter.com/cgi-bin/public/forum.pl?next=0 .

06.  MEMORY ERRORS.  We have all likely received an error 
message at one time or another that our system is "out of 
memory" or has "low memory" or there is "not enough system 
resources."  For a possible fix, though not assured, try the 
Windows 98 Memory Troubleshooter.  Get there through Start and 
Help.  In the Windows Help screen, click on the Index tab, and 
enter "memory" in the space "Type in the keyword to find."  When
the "Topics Found" window opens, double-click on "problems with,
"troubleshooting" and follow the steps it provides in your 
attempt to track down the problem.

07.  QUICK ADDRESS BAR.  In Microsoft Internet Explorer, use 
Alt + D to highlight the address bar.  This allows you to enter 
a URL without the mouse.  And if you're still typing "http", 
"www", and ".com" as part of the address -- don't.  It's just 
not necessary.

08.  HOAX RESOURCE.  So you still get those messages urging you 
to pass the contents along to everyone you know?  You hesitate, 
thinking it's just another hoax, and that's good.  The extensive
list of virus hoaxes at http://datafellows.com/news/hoax.htm 
will probably confirm that you were wise in resisting the urge 
to waste bandwidth.

09.  FAST PATH TO ICONS.  Call up all your desktop icons 
without leaving whatever applications you have currently open.  
Just click on Start|Run and enter a period (.) without 
parenthesis, then touch Enter.

10.  ANNOTATE HELP.  There is a nice feature in most software 
Help menus that will allow you to add your own notes for 
reference.  Right click on the open topic and choose Annotate 
if that option is allowed.  A box will open and you can type 
your notes there, then select Save.  Thereafter, when you open 
the topic a paper clip will display in the upper left corner. 
Clicking there will open your notes and you can delete these 
any time by selecting the Delete option.

11.  SPAMMOTEL.  I was a little uneasy downloading a beta 
software from a site calling itself SpamMotel, but this is an 
interesting concept.  Reader Keith Chang pointed me to 
http://www.spammotel.com and suggested that its approach was 
even better than MailShell that we covered a few issues ago. 
After a short download of a Web-based interface and setting up 
your free account, you ask for a fake email address, and set a 
note to yourself reminding to whom you gave the address.  If 
email is sent to that address, SpamMotel forwards it to your 
regular email address along with your note to help track down 
the sender (in the event they choose to forge their message 
headers, a common practice of spammers). SpamMotel even tells 
you when you created the fake (OK, they call it "special") 
address, how many emails you've received from that sender, and 
the date he/she sent you the last email.  There's a log page 
with details as well, and if you choose to kill the "special" 
address to stop further email, SpamMotel let's you do that.

Thanks, Keith, for the suggested NNT topic.  If you have an idea
for a future publication, you'll find a convenient form at our 
Web site, http://www.NeatNetTricks.com .  We'd like to hear 
your ideas for future issues.

12.  MAXIMIZING INTERNET EXPLORER.  A minor nuisance with 
Microsoft Internet Explorer is its tendency to open at less 
than full-screen size. There are several fixes, but one of the 
easiest requires only creating a shortcut for IE, then 
right-clicking on the shortcut to properties, and changing the 
"Run" window to read "Maximized."

13.  SYNDICATED TIPS.  Neat Net Tricks is now in syndication! 
You can have a different tip delivered to your Web site every 
week by simply adding this script to your Web page:

<script language="JavaScript" 
src="http://www.neatnettricks.com/nntips/nntips.js">
</script>

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Copyright 2001 by Jack Teems. All rights reserved. Neat Net 
Tricks is registered with the U.S. Library of Congress 
ISSN: 1533-4619.
