Survey

Please note that there is no new survey this month.

Feed back and submissions

Want to submit and article or a joke - the e-mail address is webmaster@am-win.com.au We appreciate your feedback and submissions so send them in and those published will win a link to your website.

It's Movember again.

The AM-Win Team around Australia are great supporters of Movember and the men do their best to grow their Mo's,  raising money for research into prostate cancer and depression. If you're not part of it visit the Movember website  to find out how you can get involved, have a great time and raise money for this excellent charity program.

AM-Win Support Solutions

Automatic Invoice and Statement Messages.

With Christmas coming up [doesn't time fly when you're having fun] we thought we'd show you how to print your Christmas Messages and closing times automatically on your invoices and statements.

Of course your messages shouldn't be confined just to Christmas as it's essential to put your message before your clients at every opportunity. When you can do it in house for nothing why not go for it!

We are talking about AM-Win's ability to write a message automatically on every invoice or statement that you present to your clients and to select a different message for different occasions such as for Christmas, special offers and other promotions.

Here's How:

Select the "Others" menu then select "Control System". Now select the "Invoice/Statements" tab. You will now see the following screen


The text in the three Invoice text footer lines are configured in AM-Win by default. Now we are going to add a new message.

Click on the up arrow in the text string field until the three text fields are blank

Type your new message into the three text boxes



Now click the save button. Your new message has been saved for later use.

Now you will need to tell AM-Win which default message to use on your invoices.

Click the "Business" tab



Use the invoice string arrows to select your default message and click save.

Note: Restart AM-Win for the change to take effect.

Printing your Invoice.

Print your invoice / proforma /quote as usual. Check that the correct message is displayed. Proceed if yes or select other message if required.



Statement Footer Text.

Add your text into the "statements" field in the "invoice / statements" screen. Save and exit.

Your text will now appear on your statements.

Change as required.

How to use the Comment Library

Use this option to add comments for use with your Invoices.

To access the Comment Library, go to Others > Comment Library.

The Edit Text window will appear.



To insert a comment, left click on the Insert button then type in the text name. Left click on the Name field and enter in a name for the comment.

Click on the Job Type button and select your job type (eg Repair) and then Click on the Sub type button and select your sub type (eg Engine).

Press the TAB key or left click on the large Text Detail field box and type in the details of your comment. (Eg we will be closing for Christmas between 24 Dec 08 until 3 Jan 09)

When you have written your comment, Press the Enter key or click on the OK Button and your comment will be dropped into the main text detail box.

When you have finished entering your comment, Click the Save button to insert this new comment into the Text Code list and return to Edit Text Window.

To Delete a comment, left click on the text code you wish to delete in the Text Code list. Left click on the Delete button.

To change a comment, simply left click on the comment you wish to change, and then left click on the Change button. The Change Text window will appear.



Once you have made the changes, left click on the OK button. This will change the comment and return you to the Edit Text window.

To search for a comment, left click anywhere in the Text Code column and type a word or part of a word, which is related to the comment name you want. This will highlight the desired comment name or highlight the closest match. Use the arrow keys to refine your search and pick which one you want.

When you have finished using the Comment Library, left click the Exit button or the X button on the top right hand corner of the Edit Text window to get out of the screen.

Business Tips

13 Ways to Protect Your System

Back up your files frequently. If a virus infects your files, at least you can replace them with your back-up copy. It's a good idea to store your backup files (on CDs or flash drives) in another secure physical location away from your computer.

Never not open e-mail attachments from an unknown, suspicious, or untrustworthy source. If you're not familiar with the sender, do not open, download, or execute any files or e-mail attachments.

DDo not open any e-mail attachments if the subject line is questionable. If you feel that the attachment may be important to you, always save the file to your hard drive before you open it.

Delete chain e-mails and other spam from your inbox. It's best not to forward or reply to messages like these. Unsolicited, intrusive mail clogs up networks, may contain annoying or offensive content, and may result in security and privacy risks.

Exercise caution when downloading files from the Internet.Make sure that the Web site is legitimate and reputable. Verify that an anti-virus program has checked the files on the download site. If you have any doubts, don't download the file at all. If you download software from the Internet, be especially vigilant of free software, which often carries adware or other potentially unwanted content along with it. Always read the privacy policies and end-user license agreements (EULAs) for software you install, regardless of the source. Be especially wary of screensavers, games, browser add-ons, peer-to-peer (P2P) clients, and any downloads claiming to be “cracked” or free versions of expensive applications, such as Adobe® PhotoShop® or Microsoft® Office. If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

Avoid downloads from non web sources altogether. The chances of downloading infected software from Usenet groups, IRC channels, instant messaging clients, or P2P is very high. Links to Web sites seen in IRC and instant messaging also frequently point to infected downloads. Avoid obtaining your software from these sources.

Update your anti-virus software often. Threats are on the increase, and they are constantly evolving. Hundreds of viruses are discovered each month. To make sure that you are protected against the newest breed of threats, update your anti-virus software frequently. That means downloading the latest virus signature files and the most current version of the scanning engine.

Update your operating system, Web browser, and e-mail program on a regular basis. For example, you can get Microsoft® security updates for Microsoft® Windows® and Microsoft® Explorer at http://www.microsoft.com/security

Vigilance is the best defense against phishing scams.“Phishing” describes scams that attempt to acquire confidential information such as credit card numbers, personal identity data, and passwords by sending out e-mails that look like they come from real companies or trusted individuals. If you happen to receive an e-mail message announcing that your account will be closed, that you need to confirm an order, or that you need to verify your billing information, do not reply to the e-mail or click on any links. If you want to find out whether the e-mail is legitimate, you can contact the company or individual directly by calling or writing to them.

Do not open messages or click on links from unknown users in your instant messaging program. Instant messaging can be a vehicle for transmitting viruses and other malicious code, and it’s another means of initiating phishing scams.

Use a personal firewall. A hardware firewall that sits between your DSL router or cable modem will protect you from inbound attacks. It’s a must for broadband connections. A software firewall runs on your PC and can protect you from both inbound and outbound attacks.

Check your accounts and credit reports regularly. Identity thieves can begin using your personal information to open accounts, purchase goods, and make your life miserable within minutes of obtaining that data. Check your bank account and credit card statements frequently. That way, if you discover that your personal information has been compromised, you can alert credit companies and banks immediately, so they can close your accounts.

Windows

Why You Should Let Outlook Express Compact Messages When It Asks You

When you close Outlook Express, a message pops up and states "To free up disk space, Outlook Express can compact messages. This may take up to a few minutes.. "

The message is vague, which makes it no less alarming. What's going on?  Does Outlook Express want to delete your old emails? Or is this a virus masquerading as something legit?

What Should You Do?

If you do not have to leave and shut down the computer immediately:

Click OK.

Wait for the compacting process to finish.

Don't Interrupt the Process

It is important that the process of compacting folders is not interrupted. If allowed to finish, compacting ensures that your Outlook Express runs smoothly and disk space is not wasted.

Why is compacting necessary? - What Does Compacting Messages Mean, and What Happens?

When you delete an email in Outlook Express, it is moved to the Deleted Items folder. The message disappears from its original folder, and when you empty the trash, it disappears from there, too.

In neither case is the message removed from the file on your disk immediately, however. Editing files for this is a slow process, and you'd have to wait or experience Outlook Express responding slowly whenever you deleted a couple of emails. This is why deletion merely hides the messages from view.

Of course, having all your deleted messages still on disk means a lot of space that can be reclaimed is wasted over time, and if Outlook Express has to keep track of too many obsolete messages this itself can mean a slowdown of certain actions.

So Outlook Express tries to remove these deleted emails physically from time to time. This it calls "compacting". Every 100 times you close Outlook Express, you are asked to start that process.

If This Process is So Essential, Why Doesn't Outlook Express Do It on Its Own, in the Background?

Compacting folders from time to time is essential. Even more essential is that the process can be completed without interruption, however.

If Outlook Express did the compacting automatically in the background you might notice a slowdown, sense a crash or for some other reason try to quit Outlook Express. While compacting, Outlook Express would refuse to shut down, of course. In your frustration, you might kill the process and your messages could become corrupted.

Compacting Folders Manually

After deleting a host of messages and emptying the Deleted Items folder, you can compact your .dbx files manually to reclaim disk space immediately:

Select File | Folder | Compact All Folders from the menu.

Note that compacting manually will not reset Outlook Express's launch count. If you compress your folders manually before closing Outlook Express for the 100th time, it will still ask you to do its periodic cleanup. However if you have compacted manually recently the process will not take as long as it would have had you let OE do its own thing.

MS Word

Align numbers around their decimal point within a table

Need to align numbers around their decimal point within a table? It’s easy to do by using the three simple steps provided in this tip. (This tip works with Microsoft Word 97, Word 2000, Word 2002, Word 2003, and Word 2007.)

When working in tables, there is no documented way of aligning decimal numbers. You can, if desired, add a decimal tab stop in a cell and then press Ctrl+Tab to align the number to the tab stop, but there is an even easier way. All you need to do is follow these steps:

• Select the cell or cells whose contents you want aligned.
• Click repeatedly on the tab stop marker at the left edge of the ruler, stopping when you see the symbol for a decimal tab.
• Click on the ruler above the selected cells, at the location where you want the numbers aligned.

Presto! The numbers get aligned as per the tab stop. You should note, however, that this is the only tab option (decimal) that works in this manner.

MS Excel

Shortcut for closing all the workbooks at once

Summary: Excel provides a handy (but little-known) shortcut for closing all the workbooks you have open. This tip explains how easy it is to use this shortcut. (This tip works with Microsoft Excel 97, Excel 2000, Excel 2002, and Excel 2003.)

If you have several open workbooks and you want to close them all. You can do this in one swift action by holding down the Shift key as you display the File menu. Notice that when you do, there is a Close All option on the menu. Choose this, and all your workbooks are closed. You will, of course, be prompted to save changes on each open workbook, if necessary.

Note that this only works if you hold down the Shift key when displaying the File menu. If you don't, then Close All does not appear.

Note:

Please note that we do not provide support for our Word and Excel tips as they are provided by a third party. If you need further information why not try using Google - Cut and paste the heading of our tip into Google's search box. You'll be amazed at the information available.

Whoops

Jokes

Mate, it's obvious

Patrick, who was on holiday from Ireland on Bondi beach couldn't seem to make it with any of the girls.

So he asked the local lifeguard for some advice.

Mate, it's obvious,' says the lifeguard, 'you're wearing them old baggy swimming trunks that make ya look like an old geezer, They're years outta style.

You're best bet is to grab yourself a pair of Speedos - about two sizes too small and drop a fist-sized potato down inside 'em. I'm tellin' ya mate...you'll have all the babes ya want!'

The following weekend, Patrick hits the beach with his spanking new tight Speedos, and his fist-sized potato.

Everybody on the beach was disgusted as he walked by, covering their faces, turning away, and laughing, looking sick!

So Patrick went back to the lifeguard again and asked him, 'What's wrong now?'

Aaargh! said the lifeguard, 'Maaaaate. The potato goes in the front!'

Give me a break!

Bob found the following ransom note slipped under his front door. "Bring $50,000 to the 17th hole of your country club tomorrow at 10:00 AM if you ever want to see your wife alive again."

But it was well after 1:00 PM by the time he arrived at the designated meeting spot.  A masked man stepped from behind a bush and demanded, "You're three hours late. What took you so long?"

"Give me a break!" said Bob, pointing to his scorecard. "I'm a 27 handicap."

The love story of Ralph and Edna.

Ralph and Edna were both patients in a mental hospital. One day while they were walking past the hospital swimming pool.

Ralph suddenly jumped into the deep end. He sank to the bottom of the pool and stayed there.

Edna promptly jumped in to save him. She swam to the bottom and pulled him out.

When the Head Nurse became aware of Edna's heroic act she immediately ordered her to be discharged from the hospital, as she now considered her to be mentally stable.

When she went to tell Edna the news she said, 'Edna, I have good news and bad news. The good news is you're being discharged, since you were able to rationally respond to a crisis by jumping in and saving the life of the person you love. I have concluded that your act displays sound mindedness.

The bad news is, Ralph hung himself in the bathroom with his bathrobe belt right after you saved him.. I am so sorry, but he's dead.'

Edna replied, 'He didn't hang himself, I put him there to dry. How soon can I go home?'

We're with Maxine

A minister decided that a visual demonstration would add emphasis to his Sunday sermon.

Four worms were placed into four separate jars.

The first worm was put into a container of alcohol.
The second worm was put into a container of cigarette smoke.
The third worm was put into a container of chocolate syrup.
The fourth worm was put into a container of good clean soil.

At the conclusion of the sermon, the Minister reported the following results:

The first worm in alcohol- Dead.

The second worm in cigarette smoke- Dead

Third worm in chocolate syrup- Dead

Fourth worm in good clean soil- Alive.

So the Minister asked the congregation - What did you learn from this demonstration???

Maxine was sitting in the back, quickly raised her hand and said,

'As long as you drink, smoke and eat chocolate, you won't have worms'

Until next month