Email ID

Dear Sassy: When I open up an email to send to you I begin to type in your Email ID (aledge) but aander pops up. How can I get correct that? Plus I have a whole lot more email ID's pop up that I don't ever use - can I get rid of those?
~Name Change

Dear Name: Great question! Sassy has a lot of those email ID's pop up on her machine - they can be quite annoying can't they? So let's get rid of them, this will also "fix" aander. Open up a new email and begin to type my user id. After inputting an "a" a list should appear. Use your keyboard arrow keys to highlight those you wish to delete from this list. (Note - You are not deleting them from your Contacts) Now click delete on your keyboard. This will remove those entries that are invalid or just cluttering up your system. Now after you have removed aander - type in aledge and send me an email. Next time you want to send me an email type in aledge in your email ID and my name will pop up.

Spam in my Email

Dear Sassy: I have been having problems with spam in my email. Normally it is one or two a day but this morning I had over 30 spam email messages in my inbox. Yikes! What is going on?
~Not so Spamalicious

Dear Spamalicious: Wow! That is a lot of spam! Let's see if Sassy can help with this problem. Sassy made a few phone calls to computer services to obtain their expert opinion. They state that the spam blocker is still active and if you are receiving spam to forward the spam to spam@lsuhsc.edu. Sassy's two cents - during disaster periods spam blocking is not high priority so keep that in mind.

Let's make sure that we our settings are right... Open Outlook, click on Tools > Email Accounts > View or Change existing email accounts > Next > Change. Make sure that the Use Cached Exchange Mode is checked and click Finish. If you made any changes you will need to close Outlook and reopen to activate the changes.

Sharing distribution lists

Dear Sassy: How do I share a distribution list? I have got a huge list in my contacts that I would like to pass along to my colleagues. Surely we do not have to enter in the entire list by hand - right?
~Trying to distribute my distribution list

Dear Trying: Oh my heavens no! There is a much easier way to share your distribution list! Ok, open up Outlook, click on File > New Mail Message. This will open up a new message. Click on the little down arrow by the paperclip and select Item. Navigate to your Contacts, select the distribution list you would like to share and click Ok. Finish your email message and send. Now, for the recepient of the distribution list instructions are also available on Sassy's blog.

New stationery in email

Dear Sassy: I would like to have a new stationery for my emails. I have created a template that I would like to use. I've also seen ones on microsoft.com that I would like to download and use as well. I have noticed that there are some ones already on my computer but I would like something new. Is this possible?
~Stationless

Dear Stationless: This is a technologically advanced question. Good job in keeping up with trends! Ok, so you have created a new stationery - most stationerys are either html or image based - and you want to have it in your email. Or you have downloaded a stationery from microsoft.com that you would like to use. First we need to save it in the appropriate place: C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Stationery. Once it is saved we can then use it in our emails.

So, open up Outlook and click Actions > New Mail Message Using > More Stationery. Scroll down to select your new stationery. Once you have done this your new stationery will now appear in the drop down menu and you will not need the More Stationery - unless you want to change your stationery.

New Print Station

Dear Sassy: I have noticed that we have a new print station in the small lab. How does it work? Can we print from the small lab to the large lab and vice versa?
~More Printing

Dear More: Grand observation on your part! Yes, we now have printers in both labs. We have had printing in both labs previously but now we have separate printers for each lab. This means while students are deep in training in the large lab, patrons can still print. Currently each lab can only print to their respective printer. So patrons in the large lab can only print to the printer in the large lab ~ same goes for the small lab. The new system set up in the small lab is just like to the one in the large lab and also uses the GoPrint software. Currently the touch screen monitor is not a touch screen but the mouse and keyboard are available, and the monitor should be operational soon.

Wordperfect Files

Dear Sassy: I have a document in Wordperfect that I would like to start editing in Word. Is this even possible? These are two entirely different programs.
~Creating a new newsletter

Dear Creating: Most certainly you can edit your Wordperfect file in Word! First, your file needs to be converted so that the Word program can read your Wordperfect file. One way to do that is to open up your file in Wordperfect. Click File > Save As and change the File Type to MS Word. Now you should be able to open your document in Word. Another way to convert your file is to install the converter. After you have installed the converter open up Word and your original document. At that time your document will be converted from Wordperfect to Word. Here is the official word from Microsoft.

VPN vs. Library Proxy Server

Dear Sassy: I know there are two ways (VPN and Library's Proxy Server) to access Library resources from home but I never really understood the difference between the two. Which one should we direct patrons to use?
~VPN vs. Proxy

Dear VPN: This is a very timely question! Our campus now has the VPN software available as a download (versus having to go to computer services and get a disk) all you need is your LSUMC-MASTER username and password (the same one for your email). When you download, there will be some certificate error pages - just accept them, this is a trusted source.

Using the VPN software enables patrons access to some of the clinical applications while the Library's proxy server does not, but both allow access to the Library's resources. Now that the VPN is available online it is best to direct everyone to the download instead of the Proxy server. In fact, the freshman all ready have the VPN client installed on their machines.

Email Rules and Alerts

Dear Sassy: I receive a lot of email from a listserv. Is there any way to have it go directly into one of my personal folders? That way it doesn't count against my allotment on the server.
~I'm running out of space!

Dear Running: Sassy feels your pain. Sassy just went through all her email yesterday moving items from the Inbox to Personal Folders. Quite a lengthy process. But there is an easier way. Open up Outlook > Tools > Rules and Alerts. This will open up a new window where you can create specific Rules to fit your fancy. If you have any problems please ask.

January 7, 2008

Dear Sassy: On my home computer I have Norton anti-virus program that I run. Do I also need to run SpyBot as well?
~I Just Wanna be Safe

Dear Safe: With all the different programs and technical catch phrases it is hard to know really what we need on our computers. Spybot helps to eliminate spyware. Spyware's purpose is to transmit our information to others without our knowledge. Not a good thing! The anti-virus software (Norton, McAfee) is just that - it eliminates viruses from our computers. Spybot is free and is a valuable addition to the anti-virus program that you already use. Sassy's recommendation is to use both Spybot and an anti-virus program just to be safe.

January 3, 2008

Dear Sassy: The e-announcements has a message that offers to install 2007 word office suite of software. Is this something reference librarians should take advantage of? Will our computers run this upgraded software?
~To Upgrade or Not to Upgrade

Dear Upgrade: Sassy had to do a little research to see if our machines could handle the 2007 MS Office package and Sassy is sad to report that most of our machines do not meet the minimum requirements for 2007. Sassy does have a converter package that would be good to have installed on your computer. This converter will allow you to open 2007 files using your current Office package. A few of the librarians have received .docx (2007) files and have needed the converter to open the files. Let Sassy know if you would like the converter placed on your computer. Incidentally, all the computers in the labs and in the reference area have the 2007 converter installed.

December 19, 2007

Dear Sassy: I have a question regarding email attachments. Occasionally when I open a Word or Excel document someone has attached to an email, read it, and want to close it, I get prompted about saving the changes to the document. I always choose not to save changes, even though I did not change anything. What's up with that?
~Resisting Change in River City

Dear Resisting: Ahh, chances are that something did change in the document, you just may have not had an active role in the change. Even just looking at a document can change it according to Word. Think of the different screen sizes, page layouts, print options - just viewing a document will automatically resize it to your designated specifications on your machine.

December 19, 2007

Dear Sassy: Thanks to your recommendation, I regularly use Spybot to look for and remove spyware that may found its way onto my computer. Will I automatically get a reminder to download updates to Spybot, or do I need to look for updates when I use Spybot?
~Shaken, not stirred in the Library

Dear Shaken: Excellent question! Just like with our anti-virus software McAfee, Spybot needs to be updated before using. Sassy does not see an option to automatically download updates so you must Search for Updates, Download and Install them before running Spybot for maximum efficiency.

December 19, 2007

Dear Sassy: A student called asking how to locate the Rosetta Stone database to download languages to learn. Evidently other students have said that they went to the library website and downloaded it ans are using it to learn languages (Spanish, Greek, whatever). I did not find anything in the Databases page or in the Catalog. Is this something new, or was she given the wrong information by her fellow medical students?
~Lost in Translation

Dear Lost: The Rosetta Stone Database is available through the Shreveport public library. You can access it from home via their website using your Public library card.

December 11, 2007

Dear Sassy: HELP!! I had a patron send several print jobs to the printer over a 4 hour time frame and they are not showing up on the GoPrint server. Where are they? Can we still print them?
~Timing out in the Lab

Dear Timing: Whew! Let me think about this one. Currently GoPrint is set to purge all print documents after an hour, so technically they are gone from GoPrint... We can still print them but it is a tedious process. First, Sassy can print off a list from the GoPrint server of all the inactive (deleted) print jobs. Next, using the computer that the patron was on I can scan through the History of the Internet sites that had been visited. With these two lists (inactive print jobs and history from the computer) we can identify the articles that need to be printed off. This is not an easy task nor is something that you should do alone. If this should happen again, please let Sassy know so that I can help the patron. I am going to change the delay on GoPrint to 5 hours. This way patrons will have up to 5 hours to print their print jobs.

November 30, 2007

Dear Sassy: How does one start page numbering in Word with the second page (title page) as page 1? I tried sections unsuccessfully.
~ Lost in Numbering

Dear Lost: This is a great question! This is very handy to know since most people don't want their title page numbered. Open up your Word document, click on View> Header and Footer. This should open up a new toolbar and a dashed line box. Here you can insert page numbers, authors name and date. Hover over each icon and it will identify itself. There is an icon that looks like a page turning in a book - it is the Page Setup icon. Click on it. Click on the Layout tab and locate the Headers and Footers section. Place a check mark next to Different First Page. And click Ok to close the window.

Refer back to the hovering Header and Footer toolbar. The third little icon that looks like a hand holding a # will allow you to Format the page number. Click on this icon. For Page Numbering select to Start at 0. Next click on the # icon to Insert Page Number. This should start with the number 1 on the page following the title page.

November 15, 2007

Dear Sassy: I am working on a multi-paged document in Word. Seems like before I could scroll vertically but I don't have that option anymore. How can I get my scroll back?
~Bringing Scroll Back

Dear Bringing: Very timely question as Sassy had this problem too. Open up your Word document. Click on Tools > Options and the View tab. About 2/3rds of the way down you should see a Print and Web Layout Options. Make sure there is a check mark next to the Vertical Ruler. However, did you notice that "Print View only" notation next to the Vertical Ruler? To verify that you are in Print View click on View and then Print Layout. This should turn on your scroll bar.

November 7, 2007

Dear Sassy: When I open a WORD attachment in my email it shows up in the Reading Layout and I want it to show up in Normal or Print format. I find the Reading format bothersome. I looked at both the Options in Email and Word and can't find why this is defaulting to the Reading Layout. Can you tell me how to fix this????
~No Reading (Layout) for Me Librarian

Dear No Reading: This is a very good question. In fact Sassy's Word documents have been defaulting to the Reading Layout for sometime... and Sassy finds the Reading Layout bothersome as well! So thank you for the question! Open up your Word document through your email just like you have been. This Word document should still be in Reading Layout. In Word click on Tools > Options > General. At the top of this window you should see the option to "Allow starting in Reading Layout" - uncheck this option and OK out of the window. Close your Word document and open it again through your email. It should now open in the Normal format.

November 7, 2007

Dear Sassy: Thanks for setting up my PDA for me! It has been useful for taking notes. Although I noticed this morning that the screen was black... I pushed every button and still no response. Help!
~Back in Black

Dear Back: Sassy is glad that you are finding great joy in taking notes on your PDA. Sounds like you need to "reset" your PDA in order to see the screen. Take out the Stylus and turn your PDA over and look at the back. Do you see a little circular indention? Take your Stylus and press into that indention. That should reset your PDA. Don't worry - you won't lose any of your files and your screen should be back in full color.

October 15, 2007

Dear Sassy: I had a student want to use the Pathology of The Eye cd in the lab. How do I know which computer this cd is loaded onto?
~Eyeless in the Lab

Dear Eyeless: Great question! The Pathology of The Eye cd is one that can be checked out from the Circulation desk but can only be used on certain machines. Sometimes this information is listed in the catalog (and sometimes isn't) but I have also created a website that notes all the oddities for software and hardware in the library. You can also maneuver to the site by going to our home page and clicking on About The Library > Computer Lab and then Productivity Software located in the paragraph. I also updated the Computer Specifications on this page as well. If you notice any software or hardware that needs to be on these lists, please let Sassy know.

October 9, 2007

Dear Sassy: I noticed on Friday and again today that the Internet doesn't look the same on all the computers in the lab. What happened?
~Is it Monday?

Dear Monday: Thanks for bringing this to Sassy's attention! The Internet looks different because there is a different Internet browser to view the web page. A few months ago Internet Explorer 7 came out but our Computer Services folks decided to hold off on installing this program on our campus, and we have remained on Internet Explorer 6. However, over the last few days Computer Services has pushed out IE 7 to our machines. Not everyone has gotten the update yet so be patient. IE 7 is a little different from IE 6, feel free to take the tour and note the changes. If you are comfortable using Mozilla Firefox you will notice that IE 7 has a similar tab feature. If you notice any problems with IE 7 and our databases/ejournals/website please let Sassy know.