Admins @ Work » Microsoft

Don’t Waste Time Scheduling Time!

Erin Colbert — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 05:03:13 +0000

How frustrating is it when you try to schedule a meeting in Outlook and end up going back and forth, back and forth, trying to find a time that works with everyone’s schedule? Yes, Outlook is great if you can look at other’s schedules, but so many people still do not utilize all of it’s features so it can be difficult to tell if someone actually has a prior commitment or just blocked out space for a tentative event.

I first read about TimeBridge on VentureBeat, an online news blog, last week. It’s a two and a half year old startup that just launched their flagship scheduling product on December 11, 2007.

Here’s how it works: The program, which is a small download for Microsoft Outlook users or a web app for Google adherents, syncs with the user’s calendar to show which time slots are open. The user, who we’ll assume is initiating the meeting, can then highlight blocks of time that would be acceptable for a meeting.

Invitations are then sent off to the other participants, who can see all the times the organizer has available and choose their own set of open time slots. Through a process of elimination, the times that other participants can’t make it to a meeting are ruled out, and a confirmation for the best time is sent out to everyone.

I gave it a try for myself and have to say it is quite handy. I really like the tool and others who tested the web application (they didn’t want to download the software quite yet) had good luck with it. In the end, we all received a final confirmation for our meeting. I will definitely continue to use this software, especially for meetings with those outside the company. I end up sending a whole list of times and I’m looking forward to cutting down on the email!

Make Your Next Meeting a Web Meeting

Erin Colbert — Mon, 12 Nov 2007 05:14:34 +0000

With all of the technology available at our fingertips, many employers are allowing flex time and telecommuting options for their employees. But, this can make scheduling a meeting even more complex. When will everyone be available in the same office to meet? Or, what happens when you need to have a meeting and someone is out of the country? With online meeting tools you can schedule your meeting at a time when everyone is available and with a few additional perks like interactive white boards, recorded sessions, and one-click presenter screen sharing.

The three leading online meeting tools are WebEx, GoToMeeting, and Microsoft Live Meeting. A few things to think about when selecting your web conferencing solution are: (1) average number of attendees per meeting, (2) average number of monthly meetings, and (3) what features are essential to your business. There are a number of free and discounted tools available, so please leave a comment on this post if you have a recommendation for another solution not listed.

Here is a brief overview:

WebEx – offers 14 day free trial, allow others to share screen for multiple presenters, record and playback online meetings, pay per use $0.33 per minute, special offer for 5 or more named users at $75 per month, per host, plus $0.05 per minute, per user toll call-in and $0.20 per minute, per user toll-free call-in US/Canada
GoToMeeting – offers 30 day free trial, monthly rate of $49 and includes unlimited conferences with a maximum of 15 participants per conference, no licensing for attendees, includes toll-based phone number for each meeting at no cost
Microsoft Live Meeting – offers 60 day free trial, provides meeting reports and interactive white board, minimum of 5 users required with a monthly fee of $4.58 per user per month who can each schedule and manage meetings up to 15 users, plus additional $0.25 per minute (monthly use-it-or-lose-it commitment required)

One final note, be sure to check out The World Clock Meeting Planner to find a convenient time to meet when participants are in multiple time zones.

Free Microsoft Training Webinars On-Demand

Erin Colbert — Fri, 09 Nov 2007 05:41:24 +0000

I am always getting asked “how do I do this in Excel,” “where is that in PowerPoint,” “where do I find this in Office.” I think I just found a lucrative profession – Microsoft Office Trainer. But, seeing as I don’t want to quit my day job, I started looking online for training tools. Yes, there are 2-hour and even full day training classes available (see LearnIt in the Bay Area), but these can be quite expensive and time consuming. Here’s a solution – and it’s free!

Microsoft offers free online webinars that are pre-recorded for viewing at any time. The hitch, you have to have a Windows Live ID, but again, this is free. And, if you currently use MSN Messenger, then you probably already have an account. They’ve created a site geared specifically toward Administrative Professionals – click here to check out their site. The other hitch, this is best viewed on a PC in Internet Explorer with Windows Media Player because it uses their proprietary meeting software LiveMeeting.

Both webcasts and podcasts are available for Excel, Outlook, PowerPoint, Visio, and Word. Despite the drawbacks listed above, this is a great tool to learn the tips and tricks of MS Office. All of the webinars are available for download so you could even forward copies to your Webmaster to post on your company’s intranet.

Converting Documents to PDF

Erin Colbert — Wed, 31 Oct 2007 02:21:07 +0000

I am an avid proponent of emailing and posting documents in PDF format. The main reason has to do with security – I don’t want the recipients to modify the document without my awareness. Yes, this can also be captured through Microsoft’s tracking feature, but with the release of Office 2007 I have to deal with compatibility issues and formats. The second reason has to do with document integrity – being a marketing professional, I want to make sure the end user sees the document exactly as I created it.

So, how do you convert a document into a PDF without expensive Adobe software? I suggest PrimoPDF. You can download the software for free at CNET. [A side note: CNET is a website for tech product reviews, news, and videos - like a free Consumer Reports for technology.] Once you download the software, follow these easy steps to convert your document:

From any source (MS Word, Excel, PowerPoint, etc.) select File > Print
Use the printer name drop-down menu to select PrimoPDF
A pop-up box will appear with PrimoPDF instructions
Choose the desired PDF settings and select a location to save the document with the “…” button
Click Okay and wait for Adobe Reader (or other PDF reader program) to open a copy of the converted document

Battle of the Browsers

Erin Colbert — Mon, 29 Oct 2007 18:35:58 +0000

Are you still running on Internet Explorer (IE) 6? Well, it’s time to upgrade! Although I really like the Safari browser for Mac, I know most of us aren’t that lucky to get one at work. The two top runners are Microsoft IE 7 and Mozilla Firefox 2. What both browsers have that IE 6 does not is tabbed browsing. This has been around for quite some time now, but I know some of you are still opening multiple windows while surfing the web (come on, don’t be shy…you know you’re still doing it). Personally, I use both browsers because I always want to make sure the websites I work on are viewing properly in both. However, my main browser is Firefox because of the del.icio.us toolbar icon for easy tagging, third-party add-in tools that aren’t available in IE 7, and it tends to be much quicker.

CNET did a review of both browsers and their choice for the top browser is….drumroll….Firefox!

Firefox 2 still rules the browser roost for now, despite a much improved version of Internet Explorer. The most obvious new feature for IE 7 (tabs) has been in Firefox forever, and the security additions from Microsoft aren’t enough for us to allay concerns over new possible exploits. Lastly, the extensibility of Firefox 2 is its knockout punch, and IE’s add-ons cannot compare. The flexibility and customizability of Firefox might be best suited to more advanced Web users, but it has earned its spot at the top of the browsers.