MTips E-Zine

Newsletter for MT’s using MS Word

Vol 1 No 10 August 18, 2001

Laura Bryan Editor

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Table of Contents:

1. Feature Article: Macros-What’s the Big Idea?

2. QuickTakes-Keyboarding Tips: Just Make It Your Own

3. Technical Advice: Does Defrag Have You Frazzled?

4. Bloopers

5. Other Sites To See

Editors note: Hello everyone! Just wanted to apologize for being behind on the last two issues. In early August, I had the opportunity to attend the AAMT Annual Meeting in Arlington, Virginia. I’ve been to many conventions in the past, but never have I been so impressed with the friendliness and hospitality that I experienced at this meeting. Also, I have been busy developing new products and ideas to help you learn MS Word smarter and faster! The new CD Tutorial has been extremely popular, and is the first step toward developing a completely interactive program for teaching MS Word. I’m also excited to announce two FREE on-line seminars sponsored by the Health Professions Institute (see details below). And soon I will introduce curriculum to accompany the Make It Your Own Productivity Manual, designed for use in medical transcription training programs. Watch the web site and future editions of MTips for more information. And don’t forget to email me with your questions or comments! J

By the way, did you see the review of the Make It Your Own Productivity Manual in the July 16^th edition of Advance Magazine for Health Information Professionals?

Happy typing,

Laura

Macros-What’s the Big Idea?

Microsoft Word has so many features for increasing productivity-AutoText, AutoCorrect Template files and of course macros. One of the first questions MTs ask when they begin using Word is "How do I create a macro?" Often, an MT will apply the term "macro" to MS Word in the same way they are accustomed to thinking of macros in other word processors-to store/expand text. This is a logical assumption, yet eventually this approach causes problems. Within the Word environment, using macros to record text, addresses, and boilerplates is an inefficient use the computer’s resources. Microsoft has provided other features, namely AutoText, to fulfill this need, so Word macros serve a different purpose. The best application of a macro in MS Word is to shortcut tasks which involve a series of keystrokes or commands. For example, opening a document based on a template can involve 4-5 steps. Recording these steps in a macro reduces the steps to one. Other examples might include editing tasks, creating log sheets or correcting errors that are not handled by AutoCorrect. Any multistep task that you repeat on a daily basis can be reduced to a single step using a macro.

Now, here’s the surprising part. Typically, an MT will not need very many macros-I use less than ten on a routine basis. This is because most of my formatting is set in my template file and also because Word has hundreds of commands built in. Many of these built-in commands have shortcut keys assigned, but you can assign (or re-assign) shortcuts to any of the commands contained in Word (see below). Spend some time familiarizing yourself with commands already available then decide which tasks can be streamlined using a macro. In the next issue, I will give you some tips for actually recording a macro.

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If you like the information in the MTips Ezine, get it all together in the

Make It Your Own Productivity Manual

and CD Tutorial

Learn how to

Eliminate the mouse

Create template files

Create macros

Customize shortcut menus, toolbars and shortcut keys

Troubleshoot common problems

Back up critical files

And much, much more!

Special Combination Price

Book and CD

$39.95

Or call 1-877-320-1241

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QuickTakes-Keyboarding Tips

Just Make It Your Own

As mentioned above, Word has many commands built in. To see all these commands, open the Customize dialogue box on the Tools menu. In the left-hand pane, select All Commands. On the right, scroll down the list of commands. (The list is quite extensive!) For a description of each command, select the command name on the right and click the Description button. Click on the Keyboard button to assign or change shortcut keys for any command.

Finding the name of the command you need in the Customize dialogue box is sometimes difficult. Although they are alphabetical, they are not always logical. Listed below are a few helpful commands that do not have shortcut keys assigned. To find these commands, choose All Commands from the list of Categories and then locate the specific command in the right-hand pane under Commands.

EditAutoText (opens the AutoText dialogue box)

ToolsAutoCorrect (opens the AutoCorrect dialogue box)

SentLeft and SentRight-moves the cursor to the beginning/end of the sentence

ViewHeader and ViewFooter

NormalViewHeaderArea (opens the header/footer without leaving Normal view)

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Technical Advice

From Bob’s PCWerks

Does Defrag Have You Frazzled?

"Drive's Contents Have Changed: Restarting"... Have you seen this?

If you run Scan Disk and/or Defrag on a regular basis, you may have noticed that it takes a long time to finish-or it may not finish at all. Defrag and Scan Disk will start over each time a read/write routine is performed on the hard drive. Many people run these utilities during the night, thinking their computers are idle. But many TSRs, utilities, screen savers, backgrounds, themes and virus scanners (remember those unnecessary Startup programs we explored in earlier newsletters?) perform read/write routines even when the computer "appears" to be idle, i.e. the user is away, but the CPU is still on. Scan Disk and Defrag are designed to give up after so many attempts. No surprise that they may never complete their task.

What do you do?

First, disable the screen saver before running these utilities. Defrag has this option available, however it does not work if the utility is started by the Task Manager. (what's up with that?) Next, disable other drivers, TSRs, virus scanners, utilities and other startup programs such as scanner drivers, all-in-one printers, paper port, etc. OK ,this is getting too complicated! Here is an easier solution.

Shutdown then restart your computer. Start hitting the F8 button before the Windows screen pops up. Although you only need to tap it once at the "right time", it is easier to hit it about a dozen times mindlessly right after start up. This will bring up the Startup options screen where you can select Safe Mode. Starting the computer in Safe Mode disables the screen saver and all non-essential drivers and Startup programs. Yes, the screen is ugly, but it is perfect for running the drive utilities. Start Scan disk or Defrag and go to bed. You can restart the computer normally in the morning when you wake up!

Join me next week for a FREE on-line seminar hosted by the Health Professions Institute.

A Maze Without A Mouse

Date: Tuesday, August 28, 2001
Time: 4 p.m. PST, 7 p.m. EST

Presented by Laura Bryan

We love the mouse in Disney World, but not in the world of medical transcription! Come and be amazed with these tips, tricks, and shortcut keys for MS Word and Windows that will keep your hands on the keyboard and away from the mouse. This session will also touch on some of the most common frustrations MTs face in "Bill's World." Great for "newbies" and veterans alike.

Click on the link below and sign in to the Students Network. (You do not have to be a student!) Click on the On-line Seminar Schedule and follow the instructions for registering.

Health Professions Institute (HPI) is a private research and development company dedicated to serving the medical transcription community. HPI publishes the ever-popular SUM Program for Medical Transcription Training used by students in virtually all environments-colleges, post-secondary vocational training centers, on the job, and through self-directed study. The SUM Program is recognized throughout the English-speaking world as the best and most effective program of its kind.

This Week’s Blooper:

Thanks to Alice for sending in these gems.

"....patient suffered a subarachnoid hemorrhoid....."
"...The patient was having syncopal episodes. After she would blow dry. Her hair stood up and she fainted." (Should have been ...blow dry her hair, (she) stood up and fainted).

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Other Sites to See:

Great site with many, many links to references of all kinds. Joy has put a lot of work into this site!

MTWerks is your resource for using MSWord for Medical Transcription.

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