50 Tech Tips for Advocates May 2007 National Technology Assistance Project

Presenters Gabrielle Hammond, NTAP Glenn Rawdon, LSC Hugh Calkins, PTLA Steve Gray, LSSCM and NTAP

Where Can I Find This?

How Many of You…? Use MS Word as your word processor? Use Outlook as your client? Use Adobe as your PDF creator? Know what RSS means? Connect to the Internet by IE (the blue e) ? Connect to the Internet by Mozilla? Consider yourself tech-savvy (or at least not tech adverse!)

Overview of Session Part 1: Tips for Managing the Basics –Outlook and Word Tips –PDF and Alternatives to Adobe Part 2: Tips for Managing Information –Internet Browsing, RSS and Uses of RSS Part 3: Tips for Managing Projects & Meetings –TaDa Lists, Basecamp, TeamViewer, LegalMeetings, GotVoice, Meeting Wizard, FreeConfercence.Com Part 4: Tips for Sharing –Jabber, Campfire, TeamViewer, LegalMeetings Part 5: Just Some Spiffy Tips

Tips for Managing the Basics Outlook & Word PDF

Outlook and Glenn Rawdon, LSC

Outlook: Get a Handle on your & Schedule Folders View in Groups Reminders PDF s Work Offline Multiple Calendars Favorite Folders Rules Canned s Work Offline Shared Calendars Outlook 2007

Folders More than just your inbox

Favorites Folders

Create Rules

Viewing in Groups

Use and to review

Reminders and Follow Up

Reminders Options

Outlook Reminder Tip – Shortcuts Outlook accepts shortcuts: –4d (for 4 days from now) –115p (for 1:15 PM) –Formulas: 3/ d (converts to Mon 3/26/2007) –Natural language - type Christmas in the date field and Outlook knows it's Dec 25. – It also knows three weeks from tomorrow, although 3w + 1 is less typing Shortcuts will work in the snooze field - just type a number for the number of minutes, or add a d if you want to snooze it for days.

Delete Old Addresses in Outlook

Use Signatures for Standard s

Cached Mode to Work Offline

Share Calendars

View Multiple Calendars

New To Do Bar in Outlook

Indexed Searches!

Refine searches as you go to narrow results

Support for RSS Feeds

Archive s to PDF

Managing the Basics: PDF Hugh Calkins, PTLA

The Typewriter Tool!

When someone opens the document in Reader, they will see the message that the form can be completed using the Typewriter Tool.

Someone who opens the document in their browser will see the typewriter available.

Why Update? Because only Adobe 7.0 or 8.0 (and on) have the typewriter tool…(and have addressed security flaws.

What are some alternatives to Adobe? Depends on your needs. PDFforge allows you to create and merge PDF files…open source.

Another Alternative: PDF Also free (not open source) Allows you to convert PDF files to html or Word (.doc) format. You can pay 9.95 to get rid of advertisements.

Need to save interactive forms? One option is Foxit Reader (only Windows). PTLA recommends it to clients who use interactive forms.

CutePDF Form Filler: $29.95, but there is a free trial version.

Manage the Basics MS Word Tips

Three Tips for Every Advocate Format Painter Find & Replace (Advanced) AutoText (and turning off AutoCorrect)

Format Painter What? Looks like a paintbrush in Toolbar. Why? Can apply formatting you have in one part of a document to any other part of the document with one click. Revolutionizes your work!

AutoCorrect! Use it to: 1.Turn off the corrections Word forces you to make (like ©) 2.Add phrases that you want replaced with shorter codes to speed your typing. 3.AutoText: faster fingers -- make word recognize words you use often so you type less.

AutoCorrect: -- Delete corrections you dont want Word to make. -- Copy in a short phrase in With, put a codename in Replace to save extra typing.

AutoText: When I start typing my name (or a certain set of keystrokes MS Word is trained to watch for), it will popup an faster fingers option…In the middle of my typing, I can hit ENTER and that word will appear. Consider AutoText for: Your program name Staff names Opposing counsel names Partner programs…etc. AutoText in Action….

Find & Replace Can Save Formatting

Part 2: Tips for Managing Information Mozilla Firefox (or IE 7) RSS Poverty Law RSS Aggregator Netvibes

Mozilla Firefox Gabrielle Hammond

It takes 2 minutes to download.

Easy to use and improves your efficiency. Tabbed browsing Easy creation of folders for bookmarks LiveFeeds Now for some ADD-ONs by HUGH Why Mozilla?… Internet at your Fingers

Hugh: Firefox Add-ons are easy to download and install

Hughs Favorite Add-Ons: Forecastfox = updated weather

IE Tab lets Hugh toggle back and forth between a web page viewed in IE or Mozilla…

What if the Web Came to You? RSS (Really Simple Syndication) is simply a technology that allows you to – with a couple clicks SUBSCRIBE to online information, news, blogs, and content. Have you seen its logo? It indicates content you can subscribe to. This means it comes to you.

Where Can You Subscribe To? RSS can be received in your browser. RSS can be received in your inbox. (Glenn mentioned Outlook supports it.) RSS can be received on a webpage.

How Do You Subscribe? Browser: If you use Mozilla, it is Easy. –Find content you want to subscribe to. –Click on the logo. –Drag to LiveFeeds Folder on your Bookmark Bar. Lets try it.

Anything can be RSSd (or subscribed to). Even my GMAIL Account. See the Orange RSS symbol in the address bar? Click it. A popup window appears asking where you want it to go. Click OK Mine goes in a folder called LiveFeeds in my Bookmark Toolbar.

News and RSS Hugh Calkins

-- You can SEARCH for news. -- You can have the news come to you via RSS

What if you dont want to search? There are readers or aggregators. These provide a directory of resources by topic for you to pick from. Google Directory is a directory of all news readers -- in other words, all news that can be subscribed to, you can search and pick what you want.

IntraVnews is free to nonprofits. It is a news reader (aggregator) that works with Outlook.

intraVnews creates a folder in your Outlook Inbox. You subscribe to feeds easily. Can display feeds as html page or snippet with link to source.

myFeedz ( -- combines RSS aggregators (compilations of feeds AND social tagginghttp://

What if you wanted an aggregator for all the feeds relevant to poverty law? More info -- List of Feeds for Advocates: de/1758 More on the RSS National Server (how to add your feeds and add them to your websites): hlibraryhttp:// hlibrary | RSS

Final Step from Steve Gray: Netvibes.Com Take all the feeds and create your own online newspaper -- takes 2 min!

Poverty Law Newspaper You can have tabs to your paper. Steve has a Poverty Law Paper page.

Managing Projects: TaDa, Basecamp and TeamViewer Steve Gray

Managing Tasks, Projects, Meetings TaDa Lists Basecamp Project Management TeamViewer LegalMeetings GotVoice Meeting Wizard FreeConference.Com

TaDa Lists: Free way to create online lists for tasks you need to do. (And, you can RSS them so they come to you in your or bookmark folder! Or put them on Netvibes!)

Basecamp Basecamp: Project management online. View who is doing what and by when. All messages and updates are centralized (but it sends you an ). Files are centralized per project. Reduces clutter!

Teamviewer

Managing Tasks and Meetings LegalMeetings * GotVoice * Meeting Wizard * FreeConference.Com Gabrielle Hammond

LegalMeetings Web Conferencing Uses Citrix GoToMeeting Panels for: Screen Sharing Attendee List Chat Log Facilitates staff training, document review, and any meeting where you are reviewing a document! $ /month depending on program size.

Tips for Meetings and Phones Meet-o-Matic ( MeetingWizard ( Free Conference.Com ( GotVoice ( –Voic transferred to your

Tips for Sharing YouSendIt, Jabber, Campfire Gabrielle Hammond

YouSendIt: Send Large Files Free (limited features) Can send a large file to another person without inbox limitations.

Jabber: That Instant Messenger

Campfire: Group Chat Free for four users File Transfer capability

Part 5: Just Some Spiffy Tips Steve Gray

Broadband Wireless Access Remote internet access from anyplace you can get a cell signal at broadband speed Sold by cellular providers – most major cell providers have an option $50-60 per month Easy to share among laptops

Instant Network Plug your wireless cellular card into this router and share you wireless broadband connection with others. Instant internet access network anywhere you can get a cell phone signal.

Autoruns Free Download from Microsoft to disable all programs that run on startup of your computer.

SeatGuru.com

Priceline

PortableApps – for your thumb drive

Gliffy Online - Diagramming Tool

Calgoo – Google Calendar Offline

Foxmarks – Bookmark Sync

Tabinita – Firefox Extension

Poverty Law Surveys Free online surveys at:

Poverty Law Surveys #1 Feature: Share Your Surveys with Others Usable by Non-Techie who is Willing to Learn Sign Up: More info:

Final Tip: PublicRoutes.Com Picks a public transportation route from two address points in major cities: NY, LA, SF, Seattle, Chicago…