Blog Directory

PS - The opinions expressed in this blog are just opinions and personal preferences regarding the way I view life in general. Nothing in this blog is meant in any way to provide professional advice or guidance (no matter how good my opinion is) - seek a professional for your professional needs and just come here for entertainment and occasional tidbits of useful (again - my opinion) information.

Category Archives: Business to Business

Check your website against several browsers

This is a tool I have often used for my own website and for those that I have helped design. I never thought of sharing until a friend of mine, who created a site for her husband who is running for a local school board position (jeffsimon.org), posted a link to her husbands site and the formatting was off when I viewed it in my browser (which she did not have). I pointed her to browsershots.org. This is a fantastic tool for those who create their own websites and want to see what will be viewed on browsers other than their own. Here is the blurb from that site…

What is Browsershots?

Browsershots makes screenshots of your web design in different browsers. It is a free open-source online service created by Johann C. Rocholl. When you submit your web address, it will be added to the job queue. A number of distributed computers will open your website in their browser. Then they will make screenshots and upload them to the central server here.

When the screen shots are uploaded you can download them and open them for viewing on your computer or save them to send to the person who created your site to fix any errors.

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Open Microsoft Office 2007 documents in previous Office versions

I still make the ridiculous assumption that if I have updated to Office 2007 then EVERYONE must have updated, right? Wrong (right dad?). So, if you are tired of calling or email the folks who forget to save their documents in a 2003 (or earlier) compatible format before sending them to you (sorry dad), or sending your documents to a friend to convert, this this tip is for you.

By installing the Compatibility Pack along side of Microsoft Office XP, or Office 2003, you will be able open, edit, save, and create files using the Open XML Formats new to the 2007 Microsoft Office system. Office 2000 users, as well as users of Windows 2000 SP4 and later, can convert Open XML Formats to binary file formats from within Windows Explorer.

Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

The above link will bring you to the Microsoft download center where you can find out more information and instructions for download.

After this installation you will never have to make that phone call again!

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Password Protect your Microsoft Office Documents

Do you ever create documents on your computer that you don’t want anyone else to be able to open? Most of use do. Or maybe you want to send a document by email but want to make sure only the intended recipient can open it. Follow these simple instructions to restrict access to certain documents on your computer to only those with the password.

This process needs to be completed for each document you wish to place a password on.

  1. Open the Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, Publisher, etc) document you wish to protect.
  2. On the menu, select FILE > SAVE AS
  3. Select TOOLS > GENERAL OPTIONSPassword Protect
  4. A new window will pop up. Somewhere in that window you will see a place to enter a “Password to open”. to openEach window will be slightly different based on the document you are saving and the version you are using due to a variety of options. Type in your desired password, click OK, Reenter password, click OK, click Save (if you are prompted to replace an existing file, choose yes) Close the original document.  Next time the document is opened there will be a prompt to enter a password.7-17-2009 7-11-04 PM
  5. If you would like to restrict modification to the document you can also enter a “Password to modify”. to modifyThis will add a second prompt for a password to allow only the users who know this additional password to make modifications to a document. modifyIf this password is unknown (but the password to open is known) the user can choose to open as a read only document but will be unable to make changes or save to the original document. (They will be able to save the document by giving it a new name however)
  6. Additionally, you can also choose to let anyone have access to view the document without a password but restrict modifications to the document to those with a password by leaving the password to open blank and only entering a password to modify.

That’s it. Don’t forget your password or you won’t be able to get back into your document without extra effort and cost.

If you do forget your password, you have two options. The first is to buy  password recovery software ($20-$100) or hire somebody (like me ;) ) to recover it for you.

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MN Sales Tax due today

So I have been up to my eyeballs in sales tax today. The MN Department of Revenue has been off and on all day so it has been a frustrating day. That’s what I get for waiting until the last minute :( . I have a post coming up tomorrow that I am putting the finishing touches on about creating password protection for Microsoft Office documents – stay tuned!

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“50 Things Your Customers Wish You Knew”

Excerpt from a fantastic post written by Sonia Simone

  1. I don’t need you to be perfect, but I do need to know I can rely on you.
  2. Telling me what you don’t know makes me trust you.
  3. It means a lot when you take the time to thank me for my business or a referral.
  4. You don’t need to do all that much to be a superhero. Just do exactly what you say you will do.
  5. A friendly voice on the other side of the phone means more than you can imagine.
  6. Your employees treat me about as well as you treat them.
  7. I don’t mind spending the money, as long as I feel I’m getting real value.
  8. My life is really stressful. If you can reduce that stress, you become immensely valuable to me.
  9. I want to tell you what would make this relationship better for me. Why don’t you ever ask me?
  10. I don’t understand a lot of the messages you send me. Can you make them clearer?
  11. My life is very complicated. If you make it easy for me to just buy a simple all-in-one package that I can use without learning anything, I’ll take it and be grateful. (I’ll even pay a premium for it.)
  12. I want to trust you, but it’s hard for me to trust anyone.
  13. Once you’ve won my trust and loyalty, the truth is you can screw up once in awhile and I will forgive you. If I don’t think you’re taking me for granted, that is.
  14. When I refer my friends and you give them exceptional service, that makes me look and feel smart. I love that.
  15. I spend an awful lot of time being scared to death.
  16. The wealthier I get, the more I like free stuff.
  17. A lot of the time, I secretly feel like a lost little kid. I don’t admit it, but I want to be taken care of.
  18. I’m lousy at admitting I was wrong, but I respect you when you do it.
  19. I like to get little goodies no one else is getting.
  20. I don’t understand how to use your Web site, but I can’t admit that because it would make me feel dumb.
  21. There’s no worse feeling than feeling like I was suckered into trusting you. If I’m screaming at you or one of your employees, that feeling is probably behind it somewhere.
  22. Our relationship isn’t equal and it never will be.
  23. I get crazy jealous if I think you love another customer more than you love me.
  24. I don’t have any interest in your excuses. In fact, I usually don’t notice them at all, and if I do, they annoy me.
  25. I find myself endlessly fascinating.
  26. I hate salespeople, but I really like to buy things.
  27. I only like to communicate over the phone/Web/mail and I hate when you try to make me communicate with you over the mail/phone/Web.
  28. I want to buy your product, but I need you to help me justify it to myself.
  29. There’s something in my life I’m afraid of losing. If you can make me feel like you’ve protected it for me, my gratitude will be intense and eternal.
  30. I’ll give you anything you ask if you can help me not feel silly.
  31. I want you to do the hard work for me. Even better if I can get all the credit.
  32. I’d rather do it the convoluted hard way than learn something new.
  33. I’d love to know something about your product that I could use to brag at a dinner party.
  34. I have the attention span of a goldfish. Go too long without contacting me and I’ll simply forget you exist.
  35. Money is no object when it comes to my obsessions.
  36. What you think you’re good at is not what you’re good at. Ask me, and I’ll tell you what you do better than anyone else.
  37. I like it when I feel like you’re talking just to me.
  38. It infuriates me when you answer the phone while I’m talking with you face-to-face.
  39. Embarrassment scares me more than death.
  40. I’m lazier than I would ever admit.
  41. I’m more selfish than I would ever admit.
  42. I’m more vain than I would ever admit.
  43. I’m more insecure than I would ever admit.
  44. Despite all that, I secretly think I’m a better person than most people. Help me believe that and we’ll be fast friends.
  45. I believe I deserve much more than I’m getting.
  46. I want to tell you everything you need to know in order to sell to me, but I’m lazy. Make it easy enough and I will. (Especially if you flatter me a little.)
  47. I don’t know what I want most of the time. You need to figure it out for me.
  48. I mostly daydream about making life better for myself, but I’ll take action to keep from losing what’s mine.
  49. I believe that most of what’s wrong in my life is someone else’s fault. Let me keep that cozy illusion and I’ll believe anything you say.
  50. It really is all about me.
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To Ad or not to Ad?

So this post is kinda of two fold. First off I decided I need to add another column to the left right of my blog posts to display advertisements. This is a much debated topic among the blog world but my personal preference it to have them. Why? you might ask. Well… I like ads. I think they provide me with links to places I may otherwise not find – especially if they are relevant to the specific content listed on the page I am looking at. Also, the few extra bucks they provide me in a month (about $10 to date) is a nice perk. I know most people block them out or overlook them completely but I do not happen to be one of those people. Here is a prime example…

So I decide I want to add this column, I contact the person who helped me add this page to my blog and his suggestion is to find a new template that already has a column where I want it. My gut reaction is capital H-E-double hockey sticks no! I spent HOURS customizing the blog I have getting it to look how I wanted it to (and still spend time tweaking it). But I think, fine – I will look around. So I spend a couple hours looking at different templates and can’t find anything I like – It took me forever to find the one I have. So then I decide there has GOT to be a way to add this column to my current blog. So off to Google. I find a couple of different sites that explain the process but it could be written all in French as far as I am concerned – WAAY over my head here BUT when I am on one of these other blogs an advertisement on THEIR sidebar caught my attention ScriptLance.com - Here is information on how it works from their site…

ScriptLance connects your business with programmers and designers

If you require professional programming or website design for your business, whether its a long-term job or just a single project, you will find the help you need here at the prices you want to pay. No matter how big or small your budget is, freelancers from around the world will compete for your business at ScriptLance.

Step 1:Post a project (FREE).

Step 2: Receive bids by interested freelancers.

Step 3: Choose a bid.

That’s it! Your project is then closed, your are put in contact with the chosen freelancer who will begin working, you can leave a review, and pay them when you are ready to pay them. Our fee: only $5, which is deducted from your ScriptLance account only after your project closes. We even give you 30 days time to pay that fee! Why? Because we are confident you will be satisfied with the service ScriptLance provides.

So I figure – it’s free, why not. So I sign up and post a simple project in about 2 minutes – I leave the min and max bid amount blank, I have no clue? In less than 30 minutes I have 3 emails from programmers with additional questions and 7 bids ($10 – $100). I exchange a few emails, check the ratings of those that contacted me, pick my favorite and  and she is off and running. I sent in my project at 8:30pm and it is complete before I go to bed that night – EXACTLY what I wanted (after a few emails back and forth). I worked with Amy from Texas (quickcoder on Scriptlance) and her bid was $15! Are you kidding me! I paid her that plus another $15 as a bonus because she was FANTASTIC! As you can see I now have ads to the left right of this post – just what I wanted to have. I would recommend this website to everyone who has a project to be done, especially for those of you who are mostly “do-it-yourselfers” like me. And if you are a programmer or a website designer, this could be a great source for some additional income.

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