Author: Raymond

I am Raymond Oglesby, an Information Technology (IT) specialist with 30 years in the field. I have taught Microsoft Applications and troubleshot computers in 15 countries and many States. My career was focused on mainframes and desktops from application development to implementation. I have written hundreds of programs for various architectures. I decided to start a blog to share my knowledge and experiences with you. I plan on updating this blog at least twice a week about smart phone apps to Windows. Please feel free to leave a Comment or Tweet. I would love to hear from you. Do you have a computer tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

How to Loop a PowerPoint Presentation

At times, you will want to entertain your guests before an event, like at a wedding or a trade show. You’ll want to loop your PowerPoint presentation so your guests aren’t staring at a blank screen. I have included a link to a sample slideshow using the loop feature.

Here is a link to a sample slideshow demonstrating the PowerPoint looping feature. I am using a presentation available from TechRepublic.

Lets examine how this is done.

This is for PowerPoint for Office 365 Windows and Mac versions. Other versions of PowerPoint will be similar.

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Setting Up your Slideshow

First, open your PowerPoint presentation in which you would like to use the loop feature. Once open, navigate to the Set Up group of the Slide Show tab and select the Set Up Slide Show option.

The Set Up Show window will open. Check the box next to Loop continuously until Esc. After selection, click OK. Refer to below image:

Powerpoint Loop 1
Setting the Loop feature

When you play your slideshow, it will loop until you press the “Esc” key. Now we want to set up the presentation for automatic slide transitions.

Applying the Loop Feature

Navigate back to the Set Up group of the Slide Show tab and select the Set Up Slide Show option. There is one option you need to set, the Using Timings, if Present under the Advance Slides group.

Now, under the Show Type group, select Browsed at a kiosk (full screen). The Loop continuously until Esc option will be enabled automatically (we turned it on above) Also, select the Using timings, if present option. Select OK to proceed. See following image:

Powerpoint Loop 2
Setting the kiosk feature

By setting the Browsed at a kiosh (full screen) option, the Forward and Back keys are locked, thus allowing unattended playback without the fear of someone breaking it.

Setting Up Transitions

Now, lets setup the timings of your slides. Click on the Transitions tab and check the box next to After and set the timing for slide transition. In my example, I have the timining set to 10 seconds. If On Mouse Click is enabled, it won’t work because we have previously selected to loop the slideshow until the presenter has pressed the “Esc” key. To finish the loop feature, select the Apply To All option. See following image:

Powerpoint Loop 3

Now when you play your presentation, it will continuously loop until you press the “Esc” key.

Related

How to use the Dim feature in PowerPoint which is demonstrated in Slide 3 of the sample slideshow.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

How to Use FaceTime During the Time of Social Distancing

During our time of social distancing, you can still reach out to your friends or relatives using FaceTime video or audio on your iPhone or iPad.

You can use FaceTime over Wi-Fi or over cellular on iOS 12.1 or later devices. Also, you need an iPhone 6s or later. FaceTime supports up to 32 people simultaneously.

This is for iPhone or iPad

Turn on FaceTime

Open the FaceTime app and sign in with your Apple ID. You can also do this from Settings > FaceTime

If you’re using an iPhone, FaceTime automatically registers your phone number. To also register your email address on your iPhone or iPad, go to Settings > FaceTime > Use your Apple ID for FaceTime and sign in with your Apple ID.

Make a FaceTime Call

To make a FaceTime call, you need the person’s phone number or registered email address. There are a few ways to make a FaceTime call:

  • In the FaceTime app, tap the plus button and type the person’s phone number or email address. Tap the number or address, then tap Audio or Video
  • If you have the person’s phone number or email address saved in your Contacts, you can start typing their name and tap the name when it appears. Then tap Audio or Video
  • You can also start a FaceTime video call from your iPhone during a phone call. Tap the FaceTime icon in the iPhone app to switch to FaceTime.

Now you don’t have to be alone, you can reach out to people using your Apple smart devices.

I Would Like to Hear From You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

How to Lock your iPhone or iPad Screen Orientation

Do you get frustrated when your smart device switches to landscape from portrait mode (or vice versa) when you don’t want it to? There is a way to prevent this behavior through Orientation Lock.

This is for iOS devices iPhone and iPad running iOS 7 and above

Set the Lock

To do this, launch the Control Center by one of the following ways:

1. iPhone 10 and above – Swipe down from upper right hand corner

2. iPhone 8 or earlier – Swipe up from bottom of screen

See below image:

iPhone Screen Lock 1
The Orientation Lock screen
  • Tap the Orientation Lock icon (the one with an open lock and a curved arrow) to set the lock to its current position. A brief message will appear at the top to confirm the lock and the icon will be highlighted. Refer to following image:
iPhone Screen Lock 2
Turning on the Orientation Lock
  • Swipe to close Control Center

Verify the Lock

  • Launch the Control Center. A small lock icon will be displayed in the Status Bar next to the Battery Level icon. See following image:
iPhone Screen Lock 3
Verifying the Orientation Lock is on
  • Swipe to close Control Center

Turn Off the Lock

  • Launch the Control Center
  • Tap the Orientation Lock icon

A brief message will appear at the top to confirm the lock is turned off and the icon will no longer be highlighted. See following image:

iPhone Screen Lock 4
Turning off the Orientation Lock
  • Swipe to close the Control Center

Note! Not all apps support screen rotation. Some apps only work in portrait or landscape mode. This is particularly true of some games and video apps. For those apps, your screen rotation settings don’t matter. The app will only display in the orientation it supports.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer tech or smart device question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

Want to Print Nonadjacent Ranges in Excel?

Normally, we chose an adjacent range of cells with headers for printing in Excel. However, there are occasions we want to print nonadjacent cell ranges. There are some of us who didn’t realize you could do this in a single print area. Let’s see how this is done.

This is for Excel for Office 365 Windows and Mac versions. Other versions of Excel will be similar.

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First Method of Selecting Cells

One method is holding down the “Cntl” key while selecting the range of cells you want in your Print Area.

  • Select your first range of cells
  • Press and hold the “Cntl” key
  • Select additional ranges of cells
  • Release the “Cntl” key
  • Click the Page Layout tab
  • Click Print Area
  • Click Set Print Area. See following image for my selection of nonadjacent cells in Print Area:
Excel Print Area 1
Selecting nonadjacent cells Print Area

Please note that each range you selected will print on a separate page in the same order that you selected regardless of cells location. Also, your current page settings will apply to all your pages. For example, you are unable to mix Landscape and Portrait printing.

Second Method of Selecting Cells

Another method is adding nonadjacent cells to an existing Print Area.

  • Select a range of cells you want to add to your Print Area
  • Click the Page Layout tab
  • Click Print Area
  • Click Add to Print Area. Refer to below image:
Excel Print Area 2
Adding a nonadjacent cell range to Print Area

As with the first method, each range will print on a separate page in the order selected and with the same print settings.

Locate the Print Area

In the Name box to the left of the Formula bar, click it’s drop down arrow and select Print_Area. See following image:

Excel Print Area 3
Using the Name box to show the Print Area

Alternatively, from the View tab, click Page Break Preview in the workbook Views group to see the Print Area.

Click Normal to return to default Excel view.

Two Methods on Printing Your Ranges

You may not want each nonadjacent cell range printed on a separate page. You have two options:

  1. Move the cell ranges adjacent to each other and reset your Print Area
  2. Before printing, select the option to Ignore Print Area. The Active Sheet is now ready for printing. Your Print Area is still saved, you are just ignoring it. Refer to following image:
Excel Print Area 4
Ignoring the Print Area for printing

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

How to Edit a WordPress Post

What has happen to WordPress? When you clicked on a Draft, Scheduled or Published post, WordPress would assume you wanted to View the blog post. In a recent update, WordPress now assumes you want to Edit the blog post. This is frustrating. I simply want to view a post and make changes “on the fly”. Now you have to click Save Draft, Update or Schedule the post regardless if you made a change or not. Refer to below image on how I used to view/edit by clicking on a post:

Edit a Post 1
Viewing my Drafts posts in the Editor

Following is my exchanges with WordPress engineers.

My comment:
“I go to Posts and click to open a draft. The Save Draft is displayed in upper right corner. All I do is view the post, I make no changes. I want to leave the post, I then have to save it. I go back into the post, sometimes it ask to Restore the backup.

But I made no changes. This is frustrating. Same thing happens to a Scheduled post. I always have to update. It didn’t use to work this way. If I made no changes, I just used the back arrow; now I always have to save and sometimes restore from a backup.”

See following image asking me to Restore the backup when I made no changes:

Edit a Post 2
Asking me to restore the backup when I made no changes

WordPress response:
“I just ran a test on your site, and did find that if I open a post, and keep it open for more than 30 seconds, close it and then go back into it, it’s providing the message of restoring a backup, even though no changes were made.

Clicking Update on the unchanged post, before closing it, gets rid of the message and avoids it from appearing at all.

It’s not really a bug or a problem, it’s the result of opening a post for a period of time, even if no changes are made.

You can prevent it by clicking Update before exiting any post or page that you open.”

My response:
“Microsoft products are smart enough to know if you have made a change. When you edit a document, and you don’t’ save it , Microsoft will prompt you if you want to save. WordPress should do the same. If all I am doing is viewing a post, it should not prompt me to save or update.”

WordPress response:
“Thank you for the critical feedback! We are always working to improve our editing experience and feedback like this is helpful. One of our genuine concerns is that users do not lose their content while they are working on their post or page. With that said, we hope to ensure that users are prompted to save even the smallest changes made to their posts so that they don’t lose their work.

My best suggestion here is to view your published posts instead of the posts within the editor. This will give you a better sense of what your readers see as well and will ensure that no unwanted changes are made to the posts or pages. You can click on the three dots to the right of the post or page title and click “View” to see the published version of the post/page.”

Refer to below image on how to Edit or Preview a post:

Edit a Post 3
How you must edit or preview a post

Are you experincing this behavior from your WordPress blog site?

I have done the usual like logging in and out of WordPress; clearing my Chrome cache and cookies at least twice. But I still have problems.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

Turning on Verbose Boot Mode to View Background Messages in Windows 10

For many users, we just expect the operating system to work as advertised. But what if you need to know or just curious about what happens in the background upon boot/restart or shutdown of your PC. Microsoft Windows 10 hides this from users by default, they assume you don’t need to see it. But for technical users or those troubleshooting problems, it would be helpful to know what is happening as the machine boots or restarts. With a tweak to the Windows 10 Registry we can see its boot/restart or shutdown behavior. To do this we are going to turn on Verbose Boot Mode.

This post involves editing the Windows 10 Registry. It is recommended that you backup the Registry before making any changes. Below are the steps to backup the Registry using a free software program called RegBak. The RegBak program was covered in an earlier post. I am posting about RegBak again in case you missed it or you may click here to view the previous post.

This is for Windows 10 operating system

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The RegBak Software Utility

The program I recommend is called RegBak, a freeware program. You can download the program here. Click the Download button for RegBak then click the regbak.exe file at the bottom of the screen and follow the install instructions. Once installed, you should see a screen like the one below:

RegBak Install
After installing RegBak

To backup your Windows registry:

  • Click the New Backup button
  • Enter a Description (this is optional)
  • Click Start

Below is a screenshot:

RegBak Install
Starting to run RegBak
  • Click Close

Your screen will look like the below image:

RegBak Results
Results of running RegBak
  • Click Close to exit

Your screen should look like the below image:

RegBak Results
Registry backup complete

To Restore from a backup: Note! only do this if your Registry is corrupt.

  • Highlight a backup entry
  • Click the Restore button
  • Click Close

You can also delete a backup by highlighting an entry and clicking on Delete. Feel free to check out the Options button. I would just leave the default options as is.

Changing the Registry

After you have backup up the Registry, type “regedit.exe” (without quotes) in the Cortana search box. You will see a similar screen like below:

Verbose Registry Editor
Registry Editor screen

Expand the Registry to the following key:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\System

You screen should look like the below image:

Registry Editor found key to change screen

Right click the System folder
Select New
Select DWORD (32 bit) Value
Name the new DWORD to VerboseStatus
Change its current value of 0 to a 1. See following image:

Verbose Mode Set On
Registry Editor key change for turn on Verbose Mode screen

Click OK to accept the change
Click File>Exit to quit your edit of the Registry

The next time you boot/restart or shutdown your PC you should see a list of your boot/restart or shutdown activity. As mentioned earlier, the information is helpful in resolving computer problems. In my testing, this is not what I expected; I wanted to see a lot more detail than what was provided. It did help me resolve a shutdown problem. Its worth a try to see if it helps you.

When you need to, you can change the VerboseStatus value back to a 0 to turn the feature off.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer tech or smart device question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath



How to Listen to Podcasts on Your Amazon Echo

Yes, you can now hear Podcasts on your Amazon Echo device. Apple Podcasts and others, like Spotify and iHeartRadio, are now options to choose from for your favorite podcasts.

We are going to link your Echo device to one of these podcast services. Our example is linking Apple Podcasts to the Amazon Echo. The ways this is done is somewhat clumsy. The Echo seems to be hard to program; it’s not straightforward. But follow along, it’s not time consuming and is worth it.

This is for iOS devices (iPhone and iPad) and the Amazon Echo

Starting Alexa

  • Open the Alexa app on your smart device. If you have yet to download the app, head to the Apple Store to download and install.
  • Tap the hamburger icon, the one with 3 dots in upper right hand corner or tap on the menu icon in upper left hand corner
  • Select Settings. You will see the following screen:
Apple Podcasts 1
The Settings image
  • Select Music & Podcasts. Refer to following image:
Apple Podcasts 2
The Music & Podcasts screen

Setting up the Link

  • Select Link New Service.
  • Select Apple Podcasts. Refer to following image:
Apple Podcasts 3
Enabling the Apple Podcasts image
  • Tap ENABLE TO USE.

You will be asked to enter your Apple ID, Password and Passcode depending on your login procedure

  • Tap SETTINGS. See following screen:
Apple Podcasts 4
The Apple Podcasts settings screen.

Linking the Service to Echo

  • On the Skill Settings screen, tap on the Link Account link. See below image:
Apple Podcasts 5
The link screen for Apple Podcasts

Allowing Access for the Link

  • Tap Allow on the Access Request screen. You may see a different screen depending on what service you are linking. Refer to below image for Apple Podcasts:
Apple Podcasts 6
Allowing the link to Apple Podcasts image

Linkage for the Podcast Service Completed

You will see that Apple Podcasts has been successfully linked. See following image:

Apple Podcasts 7
Apple Podcasts now linked to Amazon Echo screen
  • Click Done

Now you can listen to your favorite Apple Podcasts. Just repeat the above steps to add other podcast service(s).

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help me out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

Using the Microsoft Word Zoom In or Out Feature

I get frustrated when Microsoft Word does not remember my last zoom setting for a document. At times it seems to just forget. It will bring up four pages when I only want to work on one page. To help us out, let’s explore a few options of the Zoom feature.

The Zoom bar is located on the right side of the status bar at the bottom for a Word document. To use the Zoom bar, click and drag the slider to the right or left to zoom out or in. As you do so, the page percentage decreases or increases. Also, you can click the “+” or “-” sign to zoom out or in by 10% increments.

This is for Word for Office 365 Windows and Mac versions. Other versions of Word will be similar.

The Zoom Dialog

If you want more control, the Zoom Dialog Box offers a few more options. To access this, select View>Zoom. You will see the following screen:

Word Zoom Options
Word Zoom options

You can choose a predefined option, like “75%”, as noted on the left hand side of the dialog box. Alternatively, you can choose the up and down arrows in the Percent button to increase or decrease the percentage in 1% increments. These percentages will differ depending on your device’s screen size of your Word windows (full screen, half screen, etc). When you are finished, click OK.

Some Shortcuts

If your are using a touchscreen or touchpad, you can take advantage of the pinch to zoom feature. This feature allows you to zoom out or in by placing two fingers on the screen. To Zoom out, you pinch your fingers together, to Zoom in, you separate your fingers.

If you are using a mouse, you can hold the Ctrl button and scroll the wheel up or down to Zoom in and out. Some mouses have separate flywheel buttons for zooming in or out.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

The author’s Vietnam eBook on the Battle for Tra Bong: Events and Aftermath

How to Clean Your Device

The Coronavirus is in the news in a big way, almost a Pandemic by World Health Organization. The news has you aware of how many times you touch your face, how many times do you touch your device?

What you Will Need

What can we do about this? To get our gadgets gleaming, you will need microfiber cloths, cotton swabs, isopropyl alcohol, compressed air spray and distilled water. Before you apply any cleaning, unplug or turn off your device. We are going to disinfect your device and give everything else a general cleaning.

Cleaning your Phone or Tablet

iPhone Image

Phones and tablets have fingerprint resistent coating that could come off. Manufactures generally recommend wiping them down with distilled water on a microfiber cloth, then using cotton swabs to clean around the edges of the screen, buttons and camera lens.

What To Do

Apple recently released its updated guidelines for cleaning. They endorse using 70 percent isopropyl alcohol wipe or Clorox Disinfecting Wipes. You may gently wipe the nonporous surfaces such as the screen, keyboard or other exterior surfaces.

You can create a mixure by using 70 percent alcohol and 30 percent water in a spray bottle. Be sure to wash your hands before starting the cleaning. Then remove any case (leave on any protective screen), spritz the cloth with the solution and thoroughly wipe down your device. Let it dry completely. Then be sure to wash your hands again.

What To Avoid

  • Do not use bleach
  • Avoid getting moisture in any opening
  • Do not submerge your Apple device in any cleaning agents
  • Don’t use the wipes on fabric or leather surfaces
  • Do not reuse the microfiber cloth
  • Avoid using Windex

Cleaning Your Desktop or Laptop

Laptop

First unplug your device and remove the battery for a laptop. Turn your laptop or PC keyboard upside down and (gently) shake out to get rid of dirt and crumbs. Then grab a can of compressed air blaster (available at WalMart and similar places) and blast it. Use cotton swaps to get inside the crevices like the keys.

Lightly spray a microfiber cloth with your solution and wipe down the plastic and metal surfaces to include external devices.

To clean the screen, use a screen cleaning product or your mixture and spray onto a microfiber cloth. For a laptop, a one stop solution is to try 3M Notebook and Tablet Cleaning Wipes. If you have a touch screen, clean it with a microfiber cloth; for smudges, use only water or eyeglass cleaner applied to the cloth to remove them.

Don’t forget the mouse. Using the same mixture, dab it on a cotton swab and run it over the feet of the mouse and any crevices. Then take a microfiber cloth dipped in the mixture and go over the body of the mouse and cord.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.

How to View Two Excel Worksheets From the Same Workbook Side by Side

There is a way to compare the contents in two sheet tabs in the same workbook. Lets see how this is done. In my example, Sheet1 has eleven rows, Sheet2 has ten rows. See following image:

Excel Side by Side 1
The two sheets

This is for Excel for Office 365 Windows and Mac versions. Other versions of Excel will be similar.

Opening a Second Window for Comparing Contents

In the View tab of the Window group, click New Window

Excel Side by Side 2
Setting up for a new window

A second window of the same workbook opens, like a clone. At the end of the workbook name is a number denoting the sheet, either a one or a two. The new window becomes the active sheet.

Excel Side by Side 3
The two windows

Setting Up Side by Side Viewing

In the View tab of the Window group, click View Side by Side

A Compare Dialog box may appear. If so, choose the sheet you want to compare with the active sheet.

Click View Side by Side. When you select this view, Synchronous Scrolling should already be turned on. This allows you to scrool both worksheets at the same time. If its not turned on, click the View tab, then click Sychronous Scrolling. See below image:

Excel Side by Side 5
Setting up for viewing side by side

If the two windows didn’t arrange side by side, from the View tab, click Arrange All>Vertical and check the box for Windows of active workbook. Refer to following image:

Excel Side by Side 6
Setting up how to view the side by side comparison

Viewing the Two Sheets Side by Side

You can now synchronously scroll both up and down, left and right to compare the contents of the two sheet tabs in the same workbook. See final image below:

Excel Side by Side 7
Comparing the two sheets in same workbook

When you are finished, to restore your window size, close one of the two windows, then click the Maximize Button in upper right hand corner of the worksheet window.

I Would Like to Hear from You

Please feel free to leave a comment. I would love hearing from you. Do you have a computer or smart device tech question? I will do my best to answer your inquiry. Please mention the device, app and version that you are using. To help us out, you can send screenshots of your data related to your question.