LITBlog

Using Write-N-Cite on the Library Computers

Dec 012011

Write-N-Cite is a utility that allows users to run an abbreviated version of RefWorks in their word processor. It works with your word-processor to create citations while you are writing your paper. With Write-N-Cite, you can cite references in a manuscript instantly. There are multiple versions of Write-N-Cite available—depending on your preferred operating system…

That’s the description of Write-N-Cite from the RefWorks web site. You can find out more about RefWorks, Write-N-Cite, and citations in general in this Libguide. There are instructions there for using RefWorks and Write-N-Cite on you home computer.

However, to use the program on the Library computers you will need to install the plugin for Word first. It’s pretty straightforward, you basically click on a link. This link below:

That’s it. Really.

How come EXCEL won’t let me open multiple spreadsheets in multiple windows?

Microsoft Office, problems No Responses »

Nov 032011

There are multiple spreadsheets open here, not so that you'd notice it.

I had a user today on a Windows7 computer who was using Office2010 ask why it is that when she double-clicked on a spreadsheet it opened the new sheet in the same window as the sheet she was already working on? What happened to the old sheet and why can’t she work on two spreadsheets side-by-side?

The simple answer is EXCEL is working exactly as designed because it’s what we call a multiple document interface. Meaning multiple documents open in the same instance of EXCEL. Contrast this to Word which is a single document interface, meaning each document opens in a new instance.

To view multiple EXCEL documents, then, you either need to open a new instance or arrange the windows within the instance you already have open.

The first solution is clunky but basically, you just open EXCEL from the desktop and the use the FILE-OPEN dialog to open your new spreadsheet. The problem is that any file you double-click subsequently will still open in the first instance. BOOO!

The real solution is to use EXCELs view dialog or the internal minimize buttons to arrange the worksheets in a view that suits you.

Click in the upper right corner!

You can arrange the windows to suit you by clicking on the middle button (looks like a box) and then dragging the windows around. You could also let Windows arrange the windows for you also, by clicking on VIEW and then on the ARRANGE ALL option.

But I like a little more control.

Problems printing PDFs and the stragegies for solving them

Printing, Uncategorized No Responses »

Oct 252011

I always right-click on and save PDFs before I print them. In my experience there are just too many things that can go wrong by trying to print a PDF in a browser window.
If you’ve tried that and it still won’t print, then there could be a conflict between the way the PDF was created and the print driver that you’re trying to print the document to. That’s why my next step is to try to print the document as an “image.” To do that, follow these steps:

Click on print
Click on Advanced

Click on “print as image”

Now click OK twice and check to see if the item printed

If none of that works? Please report the problem to one of the library staff and we will look into a solution.

FOR STAFF: How to work with the Library’s MM Construction Calendar

Building planning No Responses »

Jul 152011

This post of for Library staff at UW Tacoma only, if you’re not one of us well, feel free to read but I doubt this will make much sense.

Anyway, it’s come to my attention that several of the Library staff have deleted the invitations to the construction events I created last week because they didn’t want them blocking up their calendar. I thought about this when I created the calendar and that’s why when I share the items I use the CC function rather than REQUIRED.

Basically, if you want to keep these reminders in your calendar but you don’t want your calendar to show that as busy time to others you can simply not respond to them and they will show up like this:

If you accidentally DO click on one and accept it and it’s filling up a day all you need to do is open the invitation by double clicking on it and then select “Ill decide later” from the option circled below.

Click to embiggen

Lastly, what I will try to remember to do from now on is to mark all appointments from the Construction Calendar as “flexible time” which will make the appointment show as free time in your calendar should you choose to accept them fully.

Let me know your thoughts on this!

Printing from Mac OS X.6 to the Library Printer

Printing No Responses »

May 022011

There are known problems with the Pharos print packages that Seattle makes available for students to print from their Mac to the Library Pharos printers. I’ve known about the problem for a few months but never was able to test the solution until today. Now I have a solution that I have tested and know to be viable.

Download the driver from Xerox
Go to system preferences and then Print and Fax
Click on the + sign
Click on the IP button, choose LPD from the options
The IP address for the server is 128.95.198.87
The queue is UWT_LIBRARY
I name the printer “UWT Library”
I leave the location blank
Save

UPDATE 10/25/11

This is a screen shot of what your configuration should look like:

The only problem is that when they send jobs this way they are bypassing the popup client. This means that the user will not be prompted to enter a username or job name, it’s taken automagically from the document they are printing.

Let me know if you have suggestions.

Zotero and portable firefox

Technology Pulse 1 Response »

Apr 282011

Students interested in using Zotero should consider installing portable Firefox and Zotero on a USB drive. This will create a fully customizable portable research USB drive which will make it easy for them to cite and store documents, can be backed up, and provides 100% control over privacy.

To accomplish this, students should purchase 2 (or more) 2GB (or larger) USB drives, install portable Firefox from the link below and install Zotero as an add-on. More than one USB drive is needed to back up the research USB (by periodically copying the entire portable Firefox folder and Zotero folders) to the other USB drive, or a hard drive somewhere, in order to ensure data security.

Install portable Firefox onto the USB drive from here:

http://portableapps.com/apps/internet/firefox_portable [portableapps.com]

Run the portable Firefox off the USB drive and install Zotero as an add-on directly in the portable version of Firefox by simply opening the add-ons dialog, searching for Zotero, and clicking install.
Restart portable Firefox.

Questions or getting help with this installation can be directed to me!

The long and short of it

Printing 2 Responses »

Apr 182011

I received some reports that patrons were upset that when they print double-sided jobs in landscape mode the back page was printing “upside-down.” Don’t worry, this is how it’s supposed to be — though you can change it.

This happens because the majority of our print jobs are in portrait format. When you print double-sided in portrait format most people expect their print jobs to look like this:

That’s what we call printing double-sided on the long edge.

However, for people printing landscape, the default setting of long edge results in the back page being upside-down (rotate the gif in you mind). If you want to print landscape jobs so that they print “right-side-up” on the back page, you’ll need to change the print setting to print double-sided on the short edge. Which in portrait looks like this:

So, if you want to print landscape so that the back page doesn’t flip, you need to change the setting on the printer to print short edge. The problem is that if you change the setting the next user, who is likely to try and print portrait, will keep your settings and all of their jobs will print out wrong for them! That’s why if you do change this setting YOU MUST SET IT BACK.

Anyway, the simple answer is to go into the printing preferences and simply change the settings like this:

Don’t forget to set it back when you’re done!

Send yourself an email in Gmail

Cloud computing, UW Google Apps 1 Response »

Mar 312011

Suzanne asked me how to send herself an email in Gmail today. I know that I’ve done it before so we went back to my office and I tried to send myself a message.

Nothing.

She told me to check sent mail. There was my message, but no matter how many times I refreshed, it wasn’t going into my inbox. When I used my personal Gmail account, though, the message turned up in my inbox. Odd…

After some research I turned up the answer. Some tech at Gmail decided to treat messages that you send to yourself like they were duplicates and they are automatically filtered out. You can find them in your sent mail, but they will not go into your inbox.

So how was my personal Gmail getting around this? I looked in every setting, I tried to create a filter (you can’t filter messages to go to the inbox), and still couldn’t figure it out, until I sent myself another message and saw that the “From” line was “me” instead of Tim Bostelle.

So, I went back into my UW Gmail and clicked on contacts:

Then I clicked to add a new contact:

And then I added a user called SELF with my UW email address and clicked save:

It took a few minutes and a logoff-logon back into UW Gmail but once it’s done, you can send yourself messages that show up in the Inbox.

Now, before you say “uhh, yeah, genius, you could just look in sent mail or do a search” my answer is, what if I WANT it to go directly to my Inbox?

Pretty cool public scan system

Printing, Technology Pulse No Responses »

Mar 232011

Here’s a demo of a possible student scanning station that could replace the copiers. It scans, does OCR, will do 600 DP, emails the document to you, hooks into Pharos if you want to print, and you can save the document to a USB drive. Some concerns about the size of the on board memory and a suggestion to add a document feeder but overall I liked it.