MTips E-Zine

Newsletter for MT’s using MS Word

Vol 1 No 4 April 14, 2001

Laura Bryan Editor

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Table of Contents:

1. Feature Article: AT, AC or IT: How Do You Choose?

2. QuickTakes-Keyboarding Tips: Missed caps

3. Technical Advice: Background Bandits

4. This Week’s Special and Seminar Announcements

5. Bloopers

6. Other Sites To See

AT, AC or IT: How Do You Choose?

AutoText, AutoCorrect and InstantText can be the typist’s best ally for producing documents quickly and accurately. Here are a few guidelines I use when deciding which feature to use.

Since AutoCorrect is always "on," I use AC when I am sure I will always want the correction or expansion to be made.

When compared to AutoCorrect, AutoText is "optional." I use AutoText for boilerplates and doctor-specific phrases, and I store them in that doctor’s template file.

InstantText is also "optional" in that you can assign an expansion key (other than the spacebar) and choose when to activate the shortcut. I use IT to store and expand words and phrases common to all my doctors/clinics.

Missed caps

MS Word has many features that tend to "spoil" the typist, one of which is the automatic capitalization feature. If you are like me and find yourself missing the shift key even when Word will not automatically capitalize the word for you, use this quick tip for capitalizing a word or words mistakenly typed in lowercase. Place the cursor anywhere within the word and press Shift+F3. You can also toggle to ALL CAPS and back to lowercase. To toggle, hold down the Shift key and press F3 repeatedly. To change the format of several words at the same time, select the text then press the command keys. Power users can add this command to their Text shortcut menu for even faster results.

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HAPPY EASTER TO EVERYONE!

Easter is the day we remember the incredible gift of grace offered to us all by a loving and merciful God who gives eternal salvation to all those who believe in the work of Jesus Christ on the Cross. "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast." Ephesians 2: 8-9

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Technical Advice

From Bob’s PCWerks

Background Bandits..... Hidden Startup Items!

In issue #2, we learned how to delete unwanted items from the startup folder, today we are going to reveal hidden startup programs.

Microsoft includes a utility called MSCONFIG in Windows98 (or above) that helps diagnose computer startup and performance problems. This utility can be used to reveal and/or disable programs and utilities that load from the registry at startup. If you believe you have a performance problem, try disabling some of these startup items to see if they are affecting your PC.

To access the utility, click START/Run and type MSCONFIG in the box and click OK. You will notice tabs across the top of the dialogue box and a column of choices on the General tab. Click on the Startup tab and take a look. All of these items are running in the background, potentially robbing computer performance. Some are necessary, some are not; but none will keep the machine from running. On the General tab, click on "Selective startup" and then remove the check mark at "Load startup group items." Restart the computer and see if your performance has improved. You may notice some visual differences, but don't worry, this isn't permanent. For now, we just want to know if the machine runs better. If so, we will narrow down and find the culprit.

If your symptom went away by disabling the startup group, then go back to MSCONFIG and recheck "Load startup group items" but don't check "Normal startup." Instead, click the "Startup" tab and un-check the first item. Restart the computer and see if the symptom returns. Do this one at a time. Each time, remember to replace the check mark at the item that was un-checked last time. By doing this, you will eventually get to the program or utility that is causing you grief. There may be two or more. It is probably best to leave the culprit un-checked. To remove the item altogether may require un-installing some software or editing the registry directly. Get advice from your PC consultant before attempting either of these.

To return to baseline, retrace the steps (START/Run, MSCONFIG, OK). Replace the check mark at "Load startup group items" and then click on "Normal startup."

NEXT TIME...Automating Tasks

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What would you do with one extra hour every workday?

Do you know how much you don’t know? Below is a list of features in MS Word that are particularly helpful to the medical transcriptionist. How many of these features are you utilizing on a daily basis?

Empty fields to fill in and navigate boilerplates

Shortcut keys for Windows and Word (over 100)

Macros for automating routine tasks

AutoText (at least 2 different ways)

AutoCorrect (at least 6 different uses)

Customized shortcut menus, toolbars and shortcut keys

Tables for managing complicated formats

What you don’t know about MS Word could be costing you time and money everyday! You can easily cut your typing time by at least 1-2 hours with the techniques taught in the "Make It Your Own-Productivity Manual for MS Word 97/2000".

This week only:

$30.00 plus $3.50 shipping

(3-day Priority Mail)

in Mesquite, Texas

(a suburb of Dallas)

We still have a few spots available for this seminar. Sign up now and reserve your place! Call 1-788-320-1241.

Click here for details:

I will be speaking in Southern California on June 23^rd.

Mark your calendars now and watch the newsletter for details.

Transcription service owners and hospital supervisors: How much is it costing you to use MS Word?

This Week’s Blooper:

(Thanks Mary for sending in this week’s blooper)

Mary writes: "This is not a dictation blooper, but rather a newbie MT blooper. It never fails to bring a smile"

"Whole grain {should be "brain"} therapy for oat cell carcinoma…"

Other Sites to See:

MTWerks is your resource for using MSWord for Medical Transcription.

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