Tech Tip #3 How to use Speech Recognition

If you are struggling with typing on a computer keyboard, or you want a hands free option, the built-in speech recognition functions of Windows 7 make things easy by allowing you to speak simple commands to control and navigate the system. All you need is a working microphone (included with most machines these days) and some patience to learn and say the specific commands the computer expects to hear.

To get started with speech recognition in Windows 7, visit this link on Microsoft’s page.

Tech Tip #2 Low Tech Backup for a PC Address Book

Printing out a copy of your computer’s address book may seem like a quaint notion, but having a paper copy can come in handy if your hard drive grinds to a halt.

In Windows Vista and Windows 7, go to the Start menu to All Programs and open Windows Contacts; if Windows Contacts is not listed, type “contacts” in the Search box and hit the Enter key. Select a contact (or contacts) and choose the Print option from the toolbar. In the Print Range area of the box, click All Contacts to print all the addresses or Selected Contacts for choosier printing. The Print Style option lets you select a page layout.

When you have made your selections, click the Print button. Microsoft has more information on working with Window Contacts here, as well as on printing an Outlook address book or the Windows Address Book on an older system.

Tech Tip #1 Making Screen Shots to put in documents

This a great way to include pictures of a screen (screen shots) in your documents.

• If you are working with multiple windows, click the one you want to make an image of to make that window active.
• Press ALT+PRINT SCREEN to copy an image of the current window.
• To paste the image into a document, click the Edit menu in that document, and then click Paste.
• You can also take a screen shot of your entire screen by pressing PRINT SCREEN.

This tip works in Excel, FrontPage, Outlook, PowerPoint, Publisher, and Word.