Figart Consulting

Clock It with ClockingIT

admin — Mon, 09 Aug 2010 17:09:05 +0000

Do you need to keep track of your time?

Do you need project management software?

Do you like it when it’s free?

Okay, silly question. We don’t like to pay for stuff when we don’t have to.

Well, I have a program for you that you might like. I’ve been using this one myself for over a year and couldn’t be more pleased. It’s called Clocking IT and is designed with the IT professional in mind. That said, I use it for an awful lot of writing and document design project where I’m being paid by time spent rather than by project.

It works like most project management software. You can have multiple clients and projects, a discussion group for any project that you choose to make collaborative, and you can have multiple users for each company account. There is a Gantt chart option to ensure appropriate allocation of time and resources, and the reporting methods are both powerful and flexible.

The program is web-based, but you can enter time spent offline into the database quite easily.[1]

I find it useful not only to track how much time I’m spending on clients, but also to make sure that I’m dedicating enough of my time to marketing and development projects. Since I do also collaborate with other people, I sometimes give them user accounts with my company to ensure that we’re on track with whatever project we’re working on.

All in all, for the small business, this is a very cool program and the price can’t be beat!

[1] Which I actually did for about ten hours on a train trip up the East Coast last year!

Optimize for Mobile Devices: A Heartfelt Plea

admin — Wed, 30 Jun 2010 00:13:59 +0000

I joined the 21^st century recently and got a data plan and an Android-based phone. Oh my word, is living in the future wonderful!

But, I have a bone to pick with you web developers, business owners, and bloggers out there. Many of you don’t have mobile-friendly sites. Why is this?

Even back when I was living in the dark ages and was not using a mobile device myself, I understood that there were plenty of people around who were. My sites all have a mobile version. Granted, I’m running WordPress-powered blogs for the most part, so getting the plug-in wasn’t exactly hard or anything. I did it because I know that when you’re bored, reading short pieces appropriate to a blog is a common way for the wired to entertain themselves.

Don’t think it’s just for blogging, though. More and more, people will be using mobile devices to search for information as they’re going about their day.

Categories for which a mobile-friendly website is crucial:

Restaurants

Every one of us has looked around, at our friends and voiced that time-honored phrase, “Where do you want to go for dinner?” We don’t always ask this question in front of a computer or phone book. Make sure that you have a mobile-friendly page that shows your location, hours open, menu and a general idea of prices. It’ll make it more likely for your customers to pick you.

Bloggers

Yes, that theme you designed is very pretty. Guess what? I can’t see it on a screen smaller than the palm of my hand, and I’m not visiting your site because it’s pretty. If I read a blog regularly, it’s because I find what you have to say entertaining, informative, or more likely both! Have a mobile version. And if you’re worried about ad revenue, don’t. On your mobile version, you can set it so that the ads show interspersed with the text or at the bottom of the screen.

Anyone that sells things over the Internet

Amazon has a mobile-friendly site. Big department stores do, too. If you sell products online, you really want your potential customers to be able to make an impulse purchase from their mobile phones. You don’t have to spend a fortune on a site that’ll be friendly to your mobile customers, and you want to be able to make it easy for them to make that impulse purchse.

Let’s assume you’re convinced. So, what makes a website mobile-friendly?

Vertical Design

Mobile devices generally have a screen that is narrower than it is wide. The user will be scrolling down a great deal to get to content. Make sure the most useful content is right at the top – rather like going for page rank on Google.

Minimized clicks

Make sure that your user doesn’t have to click on too many internal links for the site to be useful. However, resist the temptation to put all of the content on one page.

Minimized textual input

Typing on a mobile is a pain. Make sure you’re not forcing your user to fill out too many forms.

Minimized Image Use

Think icons here. Don’t integrate the image into the usefulness of the site!

Good Content organization

Make sure you sit down and draw out not only a generalized design, but make some flow charts about how your user is likely to navigate the site. Test this with people who are not web developers until you can get a usage flow that makes sense and is fairly intuitive.

Remember that your main site, the one that people will be browsing on larger screens, can be considerably more elaborate. What you want here is a version of the site built specifically for your mobile user. If you’re considering a new website, make sure that you get a designer that understands these principles.

Microsoft Office v. OpenOffice v. Google Docs

admin — Mon, 03 May 2010 12:35:36 +0000

I recently had technical issues with my netbook, had to reimage it and did not have time to hunt up an optical drive to reinstall Office 2007, my usual productivity suite.

So, for a couple of weeks, I used OpenOffice and Google Docs instead. Now, I was familiar with both programs. By the nature of my work, it’s useful to be familiar with as many computer applications as possible.

Open Office’s interface is more or less like Office 2003 or lower. You have a menu bar, and a customizable toolbar with buttons. Unless you memorize the steps you need to do something rather than read menus and popups, you’re simply not going to have any trouble. For minor differences, the help files are clear. I’ve already accessed them about three times writing this and always found my answer pretty quickly.

Writer works well and plays okay with documents created in Word. Calc can handle the most complex spreadsheets I work with in Excel, and the Impress presentation application could handle the presentation I created in PowerPoint for an SEO talk I give, though would require some minor cosmetic tweaking were I to use it to give the presentation. I have no idea how Base and Access play with each other. I have little occasion to use database software other than when I am teaching.

Microsoft Office or Open Office: What Do I Use When I Have the Choice?

I prefer Office 2007. Here’s why. I’m used to it[1]. Once I got used to it, I did find that I liked the intuitiveness of the ribbon interface. It’s as simple as that. There’s nothing I do in an Office program that OpenOffice can’t. (Well, other than study to teach Office 2007, mind!) If you’re looking into a productivity suite and are short on cash, I can’t urge you enough to check out OpenOffice. The features are great and the price can’t be beat.

What about Google Docs?

I’ve used Google Docs professionally. No, seriously. I’ve had clients who wanted me to write the documents in Google Docs and share them. I also use it when I’m collaborating with other authors. It’s not as robust a word processor as either Open Office Writer or Microsoft Word, but it gets the job done for basic tasks.

Its spreadsheet capabilities are pretty limited, though. If you’re doing charting, use named ranges or perform complex 3-D calculations, you really want to use either Calc or Excel.

As far as its presentation capabilities? Eh… Animations don’t seem to work on it[2], but other than that, it’ll play static slides okay. Some might consider this a feature rather than a bug, and I don’t blame them. There are people who overdo the animations!

Still, the takeaway for all of this is that you’re not limited to buying a very expensive productivity suite for most of your computing needs. Sure, I like and use Office 2007, but you really don’t have to.

If you’d like to try Open Office, click here for the download:

[1] And I teach most of its applications, so it’s a suite I know very well, indeed!

[2] At least, how to add animation is not immediately obvious and is not susceptible of a right click!

NIFTY TIP #5: Adding or Subtracting Amounts from Different Ranges

admin — Wed, 17 Feb 2010 14:25:19 +0000

Problem: You need to add or subtract amounts from different ranges (SUMIF function).

Solution: Insert two SUMIF formulas and combine them into a single formula:

Insert the SUMIF formula to total the amounts based on the criterion 701 into cell E2.
Insert the SUMIF formula to total the amounts based on the criterion 300 into cell E3.
Select cell E2 and copy the formula from the Formula Bar, select the formula and press +C and click the Enter or Cancel symbol in the Formula Bar to exit Edit mode.
Select cell E5 and press +V.
Select cell E3 and copy the formula from the Formula Bar without the equals (=) sign by selecting the formula and pressing +C.
Select cell E5 and enter a minus(-) sign after the formula in the cell, and then press +V.

The combined formula is now:

=SUMIF(A:A,D2,B:B)-SUMIF(A:A,D3,B:B)

Nifty Tip #4: Organizing the Data Table for Proper Use of the VLOOKUP Formula

admin — Tue, 09 Feb 2010 16:06:17 +0000

The VLOOKUP formula searches for the lookup criteria in the leftmost column of the data table. It is recommended that the whole sheet be used as the data table, so that the VLOOKUP will automatically look at column A as the leftmost column. Defining a Name for the sheet (to use it as the Table_array, the second argument in the VLOOKUP formula) will eliminate the need of updating the range reference in any VLOOKUP formula.

To define a Name for the sheet:

Select a cell and click Select All (the button a the top left corner of the intersection between rows and columns).

Press +A (In Excel 2003, press +A+A when selecting a cell in a region).

Press +F3, and in the Names workbook box, type the name for the data table.
Click OK.

Nifty Tip #3: CONCATENATE

admin — Tue, 02 Feb 2010 17:22:26 +0000

A couple of the last Nifty Tips we’ve talked about were about splitting combined cells.

That’s great, and it’s often useful, but what if you want to combine the contents of a cell? Maybe you’re writing a letter or sending an invoice, and it would just be easier to have someone’s name be in one cell to export, or you want to add a salutation.

It’s easy!

The CONCATENATE formula allows one to combine text from multiple cells into a single cell. The CONCATENATE formula is in the Text category in the Insert Function dialog box.

To add a blank character between words, press Spacebar in the second and fourth argument box. The space between quotation marks adds a blank character between the separated texts. Notice in this case, a colon was added in the second argument, creating a colon and a space after “F1” before adding the contents of A2. Whatever is between the quotes, be it a space, text or characters, it will show up in the concatenation.

Nifty Tip #2: Combining the VLOOKUP and MATCH formulas

admin — Fri, 22 Jan 2010 15:44:12 +0000

The VLOOKUP formula returns data from any column you choose in the data table. All you have to do is change the number of the column in the third argument, right?

Well, it sounds easy, but there is a little catch.

How can you determine the number of a column in a data table that contains numerous columns?
How can you easily change the number of the column in the third argument of the VLOOKUP formula?
How can you easily change the column number in multiple formulas in a worksheet from which complex reports are prepared or in a sheet that contains multiple VLOOKUP formulas?

Solution:

Insert the MATCH formula in the third argument of the VLOOKUP formula.

Step One: Define Two Names

Select Row 1, press +F3 (That’s the F3 function key at the top of your keyboard. It opens the Name Manager).
Type the name Row1 in the Names in workbook field, and click OK.
Select the data table by pressing +*. Then open the Name Manager again by pressing +F3, and enter Data in the Names in the workbook field, then click OK.

Step Two: Enter the Match Formula

Open an adjacent worksheet, and select cell A1
In cell A1, type 4/01/2001
In cell B1, enter the formula =MATCH(A1, Row1, 0) Hint: Be careful to enter the value 0 in the third argument to specify the search for an exact value.
Results of calculation: 7.

Step Three: Enter the Vlookup formula

Enter the account number 201 into the cell A2
Enter the formula =VLOOKUP(A2, Data, B1) in cell B2. In the third argument of the VLOOKUP formula, select a cell which contains the MATCH formula.
Calculation results: 7981.

Step Four: Combine the Formulas

In the formula bar (MATCH formula) of cell B1, select the formula without the = sign, press +c, and click the Cancel sign (from the left of the formula in the formula bar). Select cell B2, and in the formula bar, select the address B1.
Press +v and press Enter.
The final result, a nested formula is:

=VLOOKUP(A2, Data, MATCH(A1,Row1,0))

Figart Consulting’s Excel Nifty Tip #1.5

admin — Tue, 19 Jan 2010 13:00:39 +0000

NIFTY TIP # 1.5: Splitting a Full Name into Two Separate Cells

Problem: You have inherited a mailing list with hundreds of names. You’ll need to be able to sort the list alphabetically and you notice that the individuals’ first and last names are together in the same cell. Your blood pressure rises as you think you might have to do a tedious cut and paste job on this silly list, and wonder if you have the time to do the job.

Solution:

No fear. You have the time, because you have this little Nifty Tip.

To retrieve the first name, use the LEFT and FIND functions as shown in the following formula:

=LEFT(A2,FIND(“ “,A2))

To retrieve the last name use the RIGHT, LEN and FIND functions as shown in the following formula:

=RIGHT(A2,LEN(A2) –FIND(“ “,A2))

Huzzah. Your boss thinks you’re a genius and you’ve saved the day.

Figart Consulting’s Excel Nifty Tip #1

admin — Fri, 15 Jan 2010 19:00:23 +0000

Figart Consulting will be offering a free series of Nifty Tips to help you solve common office problems without strangling your co-workers, clients or supervisors. Since so many of these issues involve Excel, the series will start there. If a solution is specific to a software version, we will make sure to make that clear in the post. If not, you can pretty much assume that this will work on any version released since ’97.

NIFTY TIP #1: Splittng a full Address into Three Separate Cells*

Problem: You have inherited a mailing list that includes the City, State and ZIP all in the same column. Now, while the first thing you want to do is murder the person who set the spreadsheet up this way, don’t panic. Killing them is only a momentary pleasure and is bound to get you talked about.

You can solve the problem so that you can use imports, export and Mail Merges, more easily without retyping the darn thing. What you need to do is to split the City, State and ZIP into three separate columns.

Solution: Use the LEFT, MID, RIGHT and FIND functions as shown in the following formulae:

To extract the City: =LEFT (A2,FIND (“,”,A2)-1)

To extract the State: =MID (A2,FIND(“,”,A2)+2,2)

To extract the ZIP code: =RIGHT(A2,5)

*Special Thanks to Peter J. Vinton, Jr., originator of the Excel Nifty Tips series.

Social Networking Over the Decades

admin — Wed, 09 Dec 2009 18:16:11 +0000

Social networking is a relatively new buzzword. I say “relatively” because it’s been around long enough to generate a list as long as my arm of books on the subject. I’ve read ten books on the last month on the subject to broaden my perspective for the course I’m teaching in January about it and I’ve got another stack at my elbow. Many of them give perspectives I wouldn’t otherwise have had, but plenty elicit what I can only consider a DUH! response.

Believe it or not, Social Networking Isn’t New

I didn’t come across the expression “Social Networking” until about three years ago. But I’ve been doing it online for closer to fourteen years. It didn’t start with business or making professional contacts in mind at all. I had upgraded from an Apple IIe¹ to a PC and was given an old 14.4 modem as a gift. I’d heard of online banking and that was my primary motivation for getting online at all.

Now, I’m a science fiction geek, so when I discovered there were message boards for fandoms, I got really excited and dove right on in to a couple. That’s where my own social networking got started. I made a friend who had several fandom and interest overlaps with me. He owned an ISP back in the day. Through our conversations, it became clear to me that the Internet was going to be a very important tool in the years to come. So, I set about to learn. It started with simple HTML, but swiftly expanded to many other webdev technologies, ‘cause, well, I’m a geek.

Social Networking Boosts Your Career

Through this friend, I met some other people and wound up starting a webdev business with them. One of my partners became a very skilled graphic artist, another found he had a serious talent for sales and promotion and we all learned a lot from our business.

Thing is, at the core, I like writing and teaching best. I learned HTML primarily to create a website about how to draft sewing patterns! This was before easy blogging software was out there. I used those skills to create a website dedicated to a social cause, and was pretty much proto-blogging on it. Through that site, I met quite literally hundreds of people – all of whom had their own separate skills and interests.

These online friendships mean that we have our own mutual Baker Street Irregulars of go to for information. If need to know something about video editing, I have a friend in Portland, OR who is a filmmaker. If I need to know something about historical costuming, I have a friend in New Hampshire who can either answer my question or knows the person who does. If I need to know about astronomy, the Marine Corps or fencing, I have a friend in Maryland who can give me the straight dope on all three. If someone needs a clever solution to a tricky problem in a Microsoft application or how to promote a website, someone in my network will probably send them to me.

Notice that I have not once mentioned Facebook, Twitter or any of a dozen social networking websites available. The contacts I speak of were formed while many of the designers of these sites were still in school. This isn’t to denigrate Facebook et al. Quite the contrary. I use sites specifically designed for social networking every single day of my life, and this entry uses blogging software to publish it. I’m all for anything easy to use that speeds communication and connection, and some great tools are available.

Just don’t confuse the tool with the work! Online social networking has been around since ARPANET. The network is just bigger now.

¹Hey, in 1996, all I really needed was something to manage text and keep track of my checkbook. Don’t laugh too hard. Most people these days own far more computer than they actually need or really use.