Infero Training – Business and Technical Courses

Last week, some of my friends drove me mad! I had three requests from them with regards to viruses and Trojans on their computers. One of them had been advised by an “IT expert” to buy a new hard drive (!?) instead of simply making sure that all system updates are in place and that Antivirus is running properly.

I have realised how many people out there still keep their system vulnerable to attacks from viruses and how many “IT experts” shouldn’t ever touch a computer (and certainly not charge for their “expertise”). Although, I was not going to write on this blog technical articles and tips, I’ve decided to write a few articles about keeping your system safe. This one is the first in the series.

These simple steps are for Windows XP, since many people are still using XP, though the same rules can be applied to Windows Vista. I would strongly recommend following them if you do not know much about security and updates issues.

Microsoft releases software updates about once a month to keep Windows XP safe from Internet viruses, and you need to install these updates to keep your computer safe.

If you do not want to check for new updates, Windows XP can do it for you automatically; you only need to make sure that the Automatic Updates feature is working correctly.

Click on Microsoft Update or using Internet Explorer go to http://update.microsoft.com web site. Once the page is opened you will see on the right side of the page the current status of Automatic Updates.

If it is like the picture to the right, you do not need to do anything (this is what Microsoft advises you to do). Click on Pick a time to install updates and check whether the time you have selected for automatic updates is set to a time when your computer is on and connected to the Internet. Please read the paragraph after on why to do that.

If Automatic Updates is turned off, click Turn on Automatic Updates.

You will receive an Automatic Updates window. Don’t click on OK straight away. By default you are prompted to install updates every day at 3 am. If your computer is not on at 3am, you better not select this option! Choose a time when your computer is going to be on and when it is connected to the Internet, otherwise you will not be able to install updates on time.

As a general rule, Microsoft releases updates on the second Tuesday of each month, known as Patch Tuesday, so a daily check is not necessary – weekly is better. Therefore, you can select the installation, for example every Wednesday.

Once you have selected appropriate time, then click OK.

PS. If you favour hibernate or standby modes, make sure that from time to time you restart your computer for updates to be installed.

Good Luck!

Microsoft Excel – it’s just spreadsheets and formulas, right? Wrong – there’s much more to this super-smart Microsoft programme. With the right training you could get to know Microsoft Excel’s best-kept secret and be well on your way to making the most of your business information.

You may already know that Microsoft Excel is a spreadsheet application that allows you to perform anything from basic mathematical computations to tasks involving massive amounts of data. But did you also realise that a training course could give you the tricks, tools and tips to really power up your business information? You’ll soon be able to create highly interactive spreadsheets that update as and when you add information – without having to become an expert in computer programming!

They may sound rather serious, but Excel Formulas and Functions can seriously liven up your business information. It’s time to think big. Very big. You can work with huge amounts of data, because Office Excel 2007 supports spreadsheets of up to 1 million rows by 16,000 columns! It’s better as well as bigger – Office Excel 2007 allows even faster calculation of formula-intense spreadsheets.

Imagine having to manually perform calculations on a worksheet that contains huge volumes of data. It’s dull, time consuming – with plenty of scope for human error. Cut out the complex manual calculations and use Formulas and Functions to quickly perform calculations on large data sets. Fast, efficient and free of headaches!

Monthly profits…business budgets…sales figures – whatever information you need to manage, you’ll find Excel is flexible enough to adapt.  Excel offers 10 choices of functions – from nice and simple like Summary to more complex functions like calculating financial data. You can even calculate data across different spreadsheets by using the Summary option and Three-Dimensional Cell reference! With training you’ll soon have the skills to create charts, graphs and other visuals based on all kinds of business data, whatever sector you work in.

Excel also allows you to see into the future!  Well, not quite – but it can help you plan ahead for different business scenarios. You can use its Logical functions to perform what-if analysis, for example to calculate a bonus for an employee if a sales target is met. There are also clever features like Date and Time Function for performing calculations on dates and Text functions to easily manipulate the look of your text.

Getting trained in Excel’s many smart features will give the skills to power up your data. Getting better control of your information is great for business. And that’s no secret.

It happens at the worst possible time. You are just about to finish that big project and something goes horribly wrong. Relax – whether there is a worrying error message or you just can not work out how to complete a task, there are sources of support online on all things MS Office.

Your first step – F1

F1 is a great start for all kinds of annoying software problems. All software applications are supported with help information. And it’s usually available for you to use just with one click of the F1 key or the help menu. Then simply browse the file to find your answer – or type a phrase into the search window to get instant answers.

Help files are very useful for basic or even advanced functionality. But they’re not so helpful when you’re trying to resolve a specific problem or if you’re not sure about the specifics of the software you’re using.

Get the knowledge

Most software manufacturers provide a wide range of information through online knowledge bases. These resources take the help file one step further. You can often find out what’s behind a strange error message by copying and pasting it straight into a knowledge base.

Find an official support forum

What’s a great source of up-to-date information? People of course – and you can access their experience and knowledge online through official support forums. The downside is that there just aren’t that many official support forums offered by software companies. The ones that do exist are often packed full of users, so you may not get the answer you need exactly when you need it.

Try an unofficial user group support forum

The lack of official support forums has led to the growth of many user groups with their own support forums. Visit them for access to experienced users who can provide up-to-date information on resolving your query. They’re independent so there’s no guarantee that your question will be answered quickly – or even at all. Nor is there any certainty that a particular forum will have the contacts you need.

Ask the expert

Who has access to the most up-to-date information on MS Office? Your training centre. Whether it offers a User Support Forum or one-to-one support on all kinds of issues, your Microsoft trainer is a great source of support. You can often get your question answered on a Microsoft product, usually within just a few hours.

There’s no time consuming browsing or stressful working through reams of online information. Just a certified expert with all the right information to help you solve your problem.

And do not forget! If you came to one of our courses you have the right to ask relevant questions for a month since you’ve trained with us!

In business, information is everything. But what are the best ways to manage it, communicate it and keep it safe? Simple. From sensitive documents to online marketing, these five smart features in Word 2007 will put you in better control of all kinds of business information.

1) Build documents easily

Do you get fed up of repeatedly typing out the same phrases or content in different documents? In just a few clicks, Office Word 2007’s Building Blocks feature allows you to pull documents together from frequently used content or a predefined gallery – everything from disclaimer text and pull quotes to sidebars, cover pages, and other types of content. You can even create your very own Building Blocks for your business to easily add custom content such as legal disclaimers. No more time wasted on recreating content or copying and pasting between documents! This handy feature also helps you keep all your business documents looking consistent and professional.

2) Share documents effortlessly

Want to share project information with colleagues? Office Word allows you to do this without the need for specialist software. You can convert your Word documents to Portable Document Format (PDF) or XML Paper Specification (XPS) format to help you reach out to your contacts – whatever platform they’re on.

All you need to do is install a simple add-in and then save the document as a PDF or XPS file from 2007 Microsoft Office.

3) Be a brilliant blogger

Blogging is fast becoming an essential part of online business marketing. Communicate easily with your customers on the net by composing and publishing your blog from within Office Word 2007 to many different blog services, including Office SharePoint Server 2007, MSN Spaces, Blogger, Typepad and Community Server. You can configure Office Word 2007 to link directly to your blog site – and use the rich Word experience to create blogs with images, tables, and advanced text formatting features.

4) Keep sensitive information safe

Preparing business documents often involves sensitive information such as comments on edited text and personally identifiable data. It is vital that this is kept safe. Office Word’s Document Inspector allows you to check every document you produce and send out for potentially sensitive information. Whether it’s unwanted comments or hidden text, this feature will ensure sensitive information doesn’t escape when your documents are published.

5) Keep track of document changes

Keeping up with changes to a document in development can be confusing. But Office Word 2007 makes it easy to stay up to date. Its great new tri-pane review panel helps you see both versions of a document with deleted, inserted, and moved text clearly marked.

While tracking the project progress you can quickly update your project’s tasks by indicating the percentage of a task that is complete. It helps you to track actual progress.

By specifying a percentage of completion between 0 (for a task that has not started) and 100 (for a task that is finished), you can compare planned progress to actual progress.

You can quickly update the percent complete of specific tasks to 0%, 25%, 50%, 75%, or 100% using a Tracking toolbar

1. On the View menu, click Gantt Chart.
2. Display the Tracking toolbar   by pointing to Toolbars from the View menu, and then clicking Tracking.
3. Hold CTRL and click each of the tasks in the list that you want to update. You can select up to 10 tasks at once. Or, if the tasks that you want to update are listed consecutively, you can click the first task, hold SHIFT, and then click the last task to select the all of them.
4. Click corresponding percent complete button, such as 100% Complete   on the Tracking toolbar.

Microsoft Access isn’t only a big plus for business – you can put it to all sorts of great uses in your personal life, too. With the right Microsoft Access training this database software can help you take control of information on everything from your finances to your favourite pastimes. It’s so versatile that you can create the database you want from scratch or make use of existing templates.

Never forget another birthday again!

It’s true – Microsoft Access can help you remember every important date. Its personal address book feature allows you to create a database with useful information about your nearest and dearest. It provides an individual record for each one of your contacts which includes name, address, telephone number, email and other details including birthdays, anniversaries and upcoming social events. Want to plan ahead?  You can even use Access to generate reports of birthdays or other special events for a particular month.

Keep track of your home contents

You might not want to think about it, but it’s important to be prepared for the worst. If you were burgled would you have the information you need to give to your insurers? With Microsoft Access training you could learn how to use Access to create a database or inventory for insurance purposes. This will allow you to keep key information together – manufacturer, model, purchase price and more. You can even create reports to list your home contents in order of value.

Get a taste for a database

Keen to keep up with a healthy eating plan? Try adding a nutritional database into your daily routine. Used properly it can help you to keep track of your weight, calorie intake, exercise regime – and even record your favourite recipes.

Keep tabs on your collections

Got a hobby? Whether you collect antiques or AC/DC records, Access allows you to keep track of all the vital information on your prized possessions.

Stay on top of your finances

Staying in control of your personal finances is more important than ever these days. But it’s not always easy to keep track of your spending. Why not use Access to create a database and keep a closer eye on your personal account transactions? You could also create regular reports to see exactly what’s going in and out of your account at particular times.

Suppose you need to shift the content of rows with the content of columns. What shall you do?

The Transpose option shifts rows and columns on the worksheet. For example, if you have a table where the months appear as rows and the sales as columns, the transpose option will reverse the rows and columns.

You need to do the following:

1. Select the range you want to change
2. From the Home tab in the Clipboard group, click the Copy button
3. Select a cell outside of the range you copied
4. In the Clipboard group, click the Paste drop-down arrow and select Transpose