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.

October 4, 2007

Dear Sassy: I used to be able to print double sided on the Circulation printer from my office but haven't been able to do so this last week. What happened?
~Perplexed about Duplex

Dear Perplexed: Thanks for bringing this to Sassy's attention! The Stuart's guys were just in and they installed some new software on the machine and that must be why we lost our duplexing capabilities. After a few calls to computer support and networking the machine is back in full force. Please let me know if you experience any other problems.

September 28, 2007

Dear Sassy: How do I open a zip file? I couldn't find the answer in your archive.
~Zippideedoodah

Dear Zippideedoodah: Great question! Thanks for checking the archive first, Sassy is glad to hear that some one refers to the archives when they have questions. In order to open a zip file you will need to have a zip program that will "unzip" the files for you. Sassy would be glad to install this program on your machine, just let me know.

September 27, 2007

Dear Sassy: Help!?! I just had a patron call and was unable to view a html/pdf article in PubMed but I could open it just fine on my machine in the library. The patron is located in the BRI and is accessing PubMed through our website. They are getting an "application error" or a request to pay $30 for the article. What is going on?
~Low on Cash

Dear Low: Yikes! Sassy has had two cases of this problem today! Sounds like you asked the patron all the right questions: they are physically located on campus, are accessing PubMed through our website which assures them our subscriptions and you are able to access the article so we know that we haven't lost access to the title. What Sassy suggests is to clean out the cookies (no, not drown yourself in chocolate chips) on the computer. Open up an Internet browser, at the top click on Tools > Internet Options > General and then click on Delete Cookies. This will not do any damage to the machine, unless you spill milk on the keyboard.

September 19, 2007

Dear Sassy: Do we have SPSS loaded in the computer lab?
~Statistically unsure

Dear Statistically: Sassy just had this question as well. We do not have SPSS loaded on our machines, the program we have in the small lab is SAS. These are two different programs and are not a substitute for each other.

September 19, 2007

Dear Sassy: Last night a high school patron had a CD that she wanted to access. We were unsure if it would work but she put the CD in the drive and the files opened right up. I thought patrons couldn't use CDs in the computer lab... Did something change?
~Lost in the Lab

Dear Lost: This is an excellent question. Nowadays most people use thumb drives to transport their files, however, there are still people using floppy disks as well as CDs. Most CDs we see today are to install programs. When this type of CD is put in the machine, an error message will pop up and not allow installation of files. Some CDs have programs on them but don't try to install anything to the computer - these run just fine on our computers. Whew!! That is a lot to digest! I guess what Sassy wants you to know, is to put the CD in the machine and try it (Sassy has learned this the hard way). If it works great! If not,the patron will have to install the CD on their own machine.

September 4, 2007

Dear Sassy: I received an email from the IRS stating that I was eligible for a tax refund of $109.30. Included in the email was a link to submit my credit card. Why does the IRS need my credit card information? Can't they just send me a paper check?
~Going Shopping

Dear Shopping: Hold on - don't go shopping quite yet. You have received a spam email. Sadly, you have not received a tax refund. Check out the Urban Legends update regarding the IRS spam. Remember, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

August 23, 2007

Dear Sassy: I send and receive many emails at work. What is the proper etiquette for emailing?
~Not so Miss Manners

Dear Manners: That is a great question! Sassy receives a lot of email as well so this is a perfect question to address. Sassy found a link for the Emily Post Institute that discusses Netiquette. Netiquette is etiquette for technology. Sassy also found an article that discusses business etiquette. Take a moment to read the articles. But of course, Sassy must put in her own two cents. Remember that email does a poor job of displaying emotion, so be cautious when writing sentences that can be taken multiple ways. Typing in ALL CAPS is hard to read, plus it suggests yelling and quite frankly intimidates Sassy. Use the Reply All button sparingly, we all have a lot of email to wade through... Also, take caution in using the CC and BCC buttons, again we have tons of email.

August 20, 2007

Dear Sassy: What happened to the printer out by the public workstations in the Reference area? Can students no longer print at those computers?
~Hoping to Print

Dear Hoping: You are very observant! Sassy had to "borrow" that printer late Friday afternoon to replace the public printer downstairs. But never fear, the machines in the Reference area can print to the printers in the large computer lab. In fact, the two machines that did print to the missing printer now have all the same privileges as the rest of the machines on this table. Previously that was not the case. Full text searching and access to the networked printers is now available on all machines.

August 1, 2007

Dear Sassy: What is an iPhone? I have heard lots of news about it and the hype surrounding it - but what makes this phone a big deal?
~iLost

Dear iLost: Sassy is excited that you are current with new technology! You may remember when the iPhone came out, the news station was interviewing all the people waiting in line to get it. The iPhone must be a big deal if that many people are that dedicated to wait in line to purchase one. Here is the Wikipedia link that will give you more information about the iPhone. But basically this is a camera, has Internet capabilities, e-mail, iPod (music), YouTube (video), has a touch screen like a PDA - oh and it is also a phone. :) The iPhone is about the same size as a PDA but offers many more functions. Apple makes the iPhone as well as the iPod. This is a new technology and the cost is high, hopefully the cost will decline as the hype fades.

July 18, 2007

Dear Sassy: I tried to assist a medical student in the lab - he needed help logging into the LSUHSC Medical School Curriculum page to get into Grade Book to view his grades. I was able to get there on the Reference desk but not in the lab. Why not? It kept asking me for a user name and password.
~ Dying to see if I Passed!

Dear Passed: Ahh, you have come across a difficulty with having "public" machines on the network. In order for students to log into the Curriculum page and Grade Book the students MUST user their email username/password in the lab. The catch is that they have to precede their username with LSUMC-MASTER\ just like when we log into OVID. For example mine would be username: "lsumc-master\aander" and then my email password. The reason you were able to get into the Curriculum page at the reference desk is because you were logged onto that machine and the Curriculum page used those credentials.