By Debbie Green

For the past several months, we have been writing a series of articles Learning to Work with Computers 101, Learning to Work with Computers 101 (session 2) & Learning to Work with Computers 101 (session 3). To make sure you don't forget any of the topics we covered be sure to print all of these articles for future reference.

Managing Emails:

Email is the fastest growing form of communication; it's fast, inexpensive, provides written documentation, requires no paper, and does not take up space in a filing cabinet. Emails, however, can be overwhelming if not managed properly. They should be treated much like paper work that flows in and out of your office. Your email program should have several file folders such as Inbox, Deleted, Spam or Junk, Drafts and Sent. Consider your Inbox much like your paper mail delivered by the U. S. Postal service. Much of the paper mail can be thrown in the trash or simply deleted on a computer. Be careful, however, make sure you add clients, vendors, family and friends to your address book otherwise emails from anyone (maybe a new client has emailed you) not in your address book may not get delivered to you. If an email address is not in your email address book your email filter program may put these emails in your Spam or Junk folder instead of your Inbox. If you have a Spam or a Junk mail folder be sure to scan through it before deleting the whole folder, you might miss a very important message. You will probably want to save/file most of the email messages you receive from a client or a vendor.

If you are using Microsoft Outlook (not Outlook Express) and the client is in your database when you reply to the email, Outlook automatically saves the email and files it in the Activity tab. To locate the Activity tab double click on a contact and you will see four tabs, the third tab will be the Activity tab. You can also find this email in the Sent folder. Do not delete emails in your Sent folder, deleting them from your sent folder will also delete them from the contact's Activity tab. To reduce the number of messages that need to be managed, be sure to delete the contact's original message before sending your reply. (Make sure you have set your Reply preference to "Include Original message when replying" to allow your recipient to see their original message.) When an email message requires some thought or research, file the message and add a reminder on your To Do list to work on the task at a later date. You may want to print selected emails to keep in a client's file or to read at a later date.

Below is a summary of tips to follow to keep email correspondence under control and your Inbox clean:

1. Respond immediately to all emails that can be answered quickly.

2. Keep your Inbox clean to prevent wasting time by previewing an email multiple times.

3. When you reply to an email delete the original email from the sender.

4. Do not delete emails in your Sent folder.

5. Scan through your Junk or Spam emails folder before deleting messages.

6. Add a reminder to emails that require some thought or research. (In Outlook, highlight the email and click the red flag on the Toolbar.)

Setting up an Email Signature:

Using an email signature is an easy way to make sure your company information is easily accessible to your clients and vendors. It is very irritating to a recipient to have to look up a phone number when that should have been included on the original email. Using an email signature not only adds professionalism to your email - it also serves as an advertisement for your website. Microsoft Outlook users, click Tools > Options > Mail Format > click the button Signatures > type a signature. If you are not using Microsoft Outlook check your options or preferences in your email program.

Multiple email signatures can be created with Microsoft Word using the technique below:

Type a closing signature paragraph in Word, be sure to include your tag line. Format the closing to make it unique; use italics, bold, an underline or maybe change color for the font. (see below) Only people that receive their email in HTML format can view your closing in the formatted version. If they view emails in plain text they will not be able to see bold, italics, color, etc. If you send your email in plain text it will appear without formatting also. You can change how you receive and send emails (plain text vs. HTML format) in your email account setup.

Create a shortcut key command that quickly enters your signature paragraph:

1. Highlight the entire closing and keep it highlighted.

2. Click Tools (top menu bar).

3. Click Auto Correct Options.

4. Click the Auto Correct tab if it is not already selected.

5. Type in two or more letters in the Replace field to activate the Auto Correct option. (These letters will be your shortcut command.)

6. Click Add, then click Ok.

I type MM and the closing below appears. I have a different signature for my design business and another signature for family and friends.

Experience the extraordinary,

_______________________

Debbie Green,

President

Minutes Matter Solutions, Inc.

796 New Shackle Island Road

Hendersonville, TN 37075

t. 800.343.0616

v. 615.824.1933
f. 615.826.0832
debbie@minutesmatterstudio.com
www.minutesmatterstudio.com

Right Clicking:

There is a whole new world out there for those of you that are not using the right click function. Almost every software program offers the ability to right click, however, I am finding out even if people know about right clicking they are not using it on a regular basis. You can right click in multiple areas on one page and the menu will be totally different. For instance, you might click on a blank area of your Windows Desktop and you see one menu, then you might click on your toolbar at the bottom of your Windows Desktop and a totally different menu appears. QuickBooks is another example of multiple right click menus. So don't be afraid to right click everywhere to see what new and exciting features and functions are waiting for you.

Hot Keys:

Everyone that knows me knows I love to save time and perform tasks quickly, thus our business name "Minutes Matter." Memorizing common Windows hot keys is a real time saver. Almost every software offers the ability to use hot keys. Microsoft created universal hot keys that work in every program. For instance, press Ctrl + P and a print window appears, press Ctrl + O in a software program and the Open file dialog window appears or press Ctrl + S and Windows saves your file.

In QuickBooks, press Ctrl + I and a new invoice appears, press Ctrl + A and your Chart of Accounts appears or press Ctrl + J and the Customer Center appears. These are just a few of the hot keys that are available to help you perform tasks faster.

Below are Microsoft Windows universal hot key:

FREE WEBINAR:

Want to learn more about computers and see how to implement these techniques live? For a limited time, we are offering Computers 101 as a FREE webinar in June and July. Visit our website for the times, dates and how to sign up. Hurry seats are limited!

Next month, we will continue our discussion on using the computer. If you know someone who could benefit from these computer articles please forward this newsletter, or suggest that they sign up to receive their own newsletter.