• Intro
  
• Article - Collect Ideas by Judy Vorfeld
  
• The Office Corner
  
• Grammar Question of the Month - Capitalizing Compass Points
  
• Tech Tips by Terence Kierans
  
• Tech Corner
  
• Writing Corner
  
• Word of the Month - Hack
  
• Recommendations
  
• Judy's Corner
  

* Did you know that our Tech guru, Terence Kierans, is an expert technical editor? Tuck that away and the next time you hear of the need for a tech editor, point people in TK's direction. He's in Oz.

* CLASSY EDITORIAL APOLOGY: Recently the Arizona Republic endorsed Kris Mayes for office, and in so doing, made a complete about face. The original editorial said the job should have gone to someone with more "obvious qualifications."

And the other side of the story: "Our doubts are gone....Learning arcane details at warp speed, she's taken an active role on such critical issues as ensuring pipeline safety and diversifying our sources of electricity."

Great phrase: "learning arcane details at warp speed." And I also appreciate editors willing to admit to mistakes.

Do you have a business, or work for a business, that requires you to be the only advertising and marketing person...and you have no training in these fields? You can do more than you might think.

"Collect ideas," says Ruthann Clemens, who works in the marketing department of a local developer. "Marketing or Graphics/Design people should have an Idea File/Box.

"First," says Clemens, "do not throw away junk mail. Look it over for examples of color, placement of information, and overall appeal. If you like the item, perhaps using it filtered through your own creativity will catch someone else's eye."

Clemens and I have Idea Files, and we sometimes share ideas with one another when we find an ad or idea that might help the other improve in terms of grasping design and graphic issues. If you're the person responsible for your company's advertising and marketing, consider what she says.

"Invitations, logo, letterheads, pictures, different use of color: all should be added to your file. Check the ads in magazines, newspapers and be sure to check the Internet and your emails," she recommends.

"Sort items by letter, postcards, color appeal, invitations, bag stuffers, flyers, and ads, etc. You'll know best how to sort for future reference. And," she says, "go through the collection from time to time to refresh your memory. Make up samples so when you need an item you'll be ready to put in your information.

She's right on target. Keep your eyes open for the latest in colors and font usage. TV is a great place to begin. Take a great ad: what colors and sizes/styles of fonts do they use? Same with magazines and newspapers, not to mention billboards and restaurant menus. What are they really trying to say? Look for underlying messages.

Do the words have heavy fonts and in-your-face colors that shout? (There are times when it's okay to shout, "SALE!," "75% DISCOUNT!," and "BUY NOW!") Or is there a subtlety to the colors and font faces that suggests, "We're the best, and we're confident that you'll agree."

Fragrance and cosmetic manufacturers create stunning ads. But don't overlook Avon. It all depends on the product and the target market. Keep your mind open to possibilities.

One of my favorite publications is Before&After. The publisher never patronizes the reader. Instead he shows newbies ways to make their graphics, words, and design more effective.

Collect ideas. Pick up brochures in banks, medical offices, and retail stores. Analyze why they are good (or not so good). Do the same with flyers. How would you design one that better met the target's needs? Think about colors, fonts, texture, and time constraints of readers. Make a list of what's important to include in a good publication.

"Join a group of like-minded people to inspire you in your field," says Clemens. Locally or online. Get someone you can rely on to proofread your material. Start that Idea File/Box today. Collect ideas."

Don't let lack of knowledge and experience in desktop publishing discourage you. We live in an information age. Take advantage of it. Run the ideas of others through your mind. Mix gently. Then translate them into something that will reflect your company's style and meet the target's expectations.

Visit these pages:
http://www.efuse.com/Design/chuck_green.html
http://ideabook.com/
http://desktoppub.about.com/b/a/109826.htm
http://www.editingandwritingservices.com/presentations.html
http://www.editingandwritingservices.com/DesktopPublishingThatWorks.pdf

1. BROWSE HAPPY: The goal of the campaign is "to make those alternatives [to IE] easier for users, with the goal of making the web safer and more enjoyable for all who use it."
http://browsehappy.com/

2. HOW TO WRITE A COMPREHENSIVE BUSINESS LETTER:
http://writing.colostate.edu/references/documents/bletter/

3. ENVELOPE AND LETTER FOLDING:
http://www.ghh.com/elf/index.html

Q. When do I capitalize the compass points?

A. Most style guides say that compass points and the terms derived from them are lowercased if they just mean direction or location. But you capitalize them when they're specific regions or an integral part of a proper name. You'd say:

Out West
Back East
The western part of the state
Drive north three miles, then turn east (direction)
A northern winter
The West Coast (region)
west coast (shoreline)
west side of town (direction)

Variations are based on context and usage. Use these only as guidelines. They're not cast in concrete!

Information from the Chicago Manual of Style, 15th Edition and The Gregg Reference Manual, Ninth Edition. More on addresses and compass points at: http://garbl.home.comcast.net/stylemanual/a.htm

ACCESS

DATE SHORTCUT
Entering dates can take a lot of keystrokes by the time you enter the month, then the day, and finally the year. There is a shortcut you can take advantage of by skipping the year component. Use the form: mm/dd (US format), where mm equals the month integer and dd equals the day. However this shortcut applies only when you want the date belonging to the current year. If the current year is 2004 and you enter 11/27 (US format), Access will store the date November 27, 2000.

EXCEL

EXCEL SWITCHES
When you launch Excel, it will open a new workbook by default. However you can alter this behaviour using a command-line switch.
/e opens Excel without opening a new workbook.
/I starts Excel with a maximized window.
/p "folder" sets the active path to folder, ignoring the default folder.
/r "filename" opens filename in read-only mode.
/s starts Excel in safe mode.
To set a temporary command line, click the Start button on the Windows Taskbar and choose Run. Then, enter the complete path to Excel's application file, Excel.exe, including the switch. Remember to leave a space before the "/".

WORD

QUICKLY INCREASING AND DECREASING POINT SIZE Word provides a way to quickly increase the point size of a selection. To do this:
1. Select the text whose point size you want to increase.
2. Press Ctrl+].
Every time you press Ctrl+], the point size of the selection will increase by one point.
To decrease the point size:
1. Select the text whose point size you want to increase.
2. Press Ctrl+[.
However, if you want more precise control over the point size say making something 11.5 points, you must either use the Font dialog box by choosing Format/Font menu bar or enter the point size in the "Font Size" window..

Terence Kierans
Cyberspace Virtual Services
tkierans@virtualservices.com.au
http://www.virtualservices.com.au/
We keep your project on the boil, while you sleep

1. WEB COLOR CHART:
http://www.jackiemccutcheon.com/colorchart.html

2. GLOSSARY OF IT TERMS WITH LINKS:
http://www.cryer.co.uk/glossary

3. CROSS-BROWSER CODING? THE HACK WITH THAT! by John Barrick
http://tinyurl.com/682h3

1. COPYEDITORS' KNOWLEDGE BASE: Want to become a copyeditor, improve existing skills, find some new editing tools, network with other copyeditors, or look for editing jobs?
http://www.kokedit.com/copyeditors_knowledge_base.htm

2. CERTIFICATE IN TECHNICAL COMMUNICATION:
http://www.unex.berkeley.edu/cert/techcom/

3. POWER REPORTING: Thousands of free research tools for journalists.
http://powerreporting.com/category/Reference_shelf/Dictionaries/

v) 1. To write program code.

2. To modify a program, often in an unauthorized manner, by changing the code itself.

(n) 1. Code that is written to provide extra functionality to an existing program.

2. An inelegant and usually temporary solution to a problem.

* From http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/h/hack.html

1. LEGENDS OF AMERICA: Ghost Towners! History Buffs! Travelers! Mountaineers! Treasure Hunters! Ghost Hunters! You're gonna love this site!
http://www.legendsofamerica.com/

2. FROM SEATTLE TO BOSTON AT 10MPH: In early August, a solo Segway rider and crew departed Seattle, WA to begin a 10 MPH expedition to Boston, MA in pursuit of the American Dream. The site features daily video and audio stories about fellow Americans and their own American Dreams. And when they're finished, they'll wrap it up with a feature-length documentary.
http://www.10mph.com/

3. EUROBAD '74: An exhibition of Europe's worst interiors of 1974.
http://w1.461.telia.com/~u46103335/euro.html

Several months ago we acquired a new granddog, Nellie. She's a St. Bernard pup. She joined two Golden Retrievers, a Cocker Spaniel, and two cats. She WAS smaller than the goldens when she came to the family. Here's a photo of her at nine months, as she segues into juvenile doghood: http://www.judyvorfeld.com/gallery-simpson-13.html

And our Colorado granddog, Juneau, (half Malemute and half German Shepherd) recently had surgery. My daughter says, "Juneau had a 17.2 pound tumor removed from her stomach a little over a week ago!! It was the BIGGEST thing (like a Thanksgiving turkey!) I have EVER seen! Her stomach had been so bloated so I took her to the vet and they said it was possibly a 'splenic tumor' which grows off of the spleen and is usually benign. That's exactly what it was. She lost about a fourth of her body weight and she is REALLY doing well." Isn't it wonderful to experience the delight our pets usually give us? I say "usually," because my, er, step-sister Betsy Crook, a dachshund, had a special nose for high tech devices, including hearing aids and floppy disks. Mine. But my mother loved her anyway. And that's okay.

And our Colorado granddog, Juneau, (half Malemute and half German Shepherd) recently had surgery. My daughter says, "Juneau had a 17.2 pound tumor removed from her stomach a little over a week ago!! It was the BIGGEST thing (like a Thanksgiving turkey!) I have EVER seen! Her stomach had been so bloated so I took her to the vet and they said it was possibly a 'splenic tumor' which grows off of the spleen and is usually benign. That's exactly what it was. She lost about a fourth of her body weight and she is REALLY doing well."

Isn't it wonderful to experience the delight our pets usually give us? I say "usually," because my, er, step-sister Betsy Crook, a dachshund, had a special nose (and equally sharp teeth) for high tech devices, including hearing aids and floppy disks. Mine. Still, our pets bring us so much joy, don't they?

See you in October.

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Contact Judy Vorfeld at judyvorfeld@ossweb.com

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