Isn’t the web wonderful? What did we do without it? I know that I spend far less time in the library looking for information--and I spend far less money and use far less space since I don’t have to rely on photocopies to keep information.

There are many ways to capture and store information from the web. For example, if I go to a recipe site on the web I can use their tools to store my flies on their website. However, I vist too may sites to find this an effective method of storing recipes!

http://www.kraftfoods.com/kf/recipes/zesty-grilled-vegetables-52677.aspx

I can use their print button which will reformat the page to be printed. Just what the result will be can vary widely. On some sites, I can choose to have the recipe print in various sizes, with or without a picture.

Since I seek to run a paperless house, and since my Mac does such a great job of making files searchable, I might print a copy to use next to the stove, but I will print the recipe as a PDF file if I might want to use it again.

This allows me to store individual recipes, but I often want to look at many recipes if I am preparing menus and shopping lists. There are several methods that can be used to store and save recipes besides buying special recipe software..

There are several general programs that work very well for making a computer recipe book. My favorite is Circus Ponies Notebook. Although this application costs $49.95, it is a program that I use every day. I have lots of different notebooks and I really like the notebook-like interface for storing and organizing information. In fact, I own a copy for every computer in my home and regularly give it as a gift to friends and family.

To move the information from the web to the notebook, I simply used Drag and Drop. To do this, highlight the portion of the web page that you want, then move your cursor so that it is over text, wait about one second, click and hold the mouse button or trackpad button, then drag it from the web page to the page in Notebook (or a blank document in your word processor--even TextEdit!

As you can see in the screen shot above, I highlighted the portion of the recipe I wanted and then used Drag and Drop to move the selected text (and picture) into TextEdit. I got some things I did not want (extra graphics from the web page). My results would have been better if I had used the Print page from the web site.

Another way to grab the information is to drag the highlighted text directly to your desktop. You will then have a textClipping file with an icon similar to this.

When you double click on the icon, a window similar to this will open. While you can view it, rename it, use Spotlight to search for it, and copy it to another document, you cannot print textClippings. While some people store many items as textClippings because they are so small, I tend to only use them as an intermediate step in producing some other document.

Some people have trouble getting Drag and Drop to work. Check out my next blog post to learn how to get the best results.

--Pat

In my last blog post, I explained where paper sizes are stored and gave you an exhaustive list of papers and envelopes along with their sizes. That post took forever to write since I had to make sure that all of the sizes were expressed in decimals.

I hope you checked out a few print dialog boxes. If you did, you probably found that there are lots of papers and sizes that were listed, but your applications did not have them in their list.

There are several reasons why they might not show up. First, the paper may be too wide or long to be used in your printer. While I cannot fix that, I can tell you that there are a wide range of printers available for your use (often at a fee), and somewhere there is one that will accommodate each of those different sizes. You might want to speak to your local printer or Kinko’s about printing large items.

In the case of items that are small enough to fit through your printer, you can add custom items to the paper sizes using the Page Setup… command found under the File menu of most applications.

If the application does not have a Page Setup command, you can use another application to add the custom items. In the case of Address Book, which does not have Page Setup…, custom items will appear in the Paper Size list after you have added them in another application.

To add a custom sized item to the list, use an application that has the Page Setup… item in the File menu. Choose it.

Click the plus button to begin the process.

Give the custom item a name by clicking on Untitled. As you begin entering the Page Size, your printers will become available in the Printer Margins button. Selecting your printer will give you the minimum margins required for your printer. You can make the margins larger, but you will probably have unacceptable results if you attempt to use smaller margins.

If you are working with a paper with a decorative border, be sure to measure those margins and enter them in the box to make sure your printer will not print over them.

At the end of this process, be sure to click the Okay button, both at the bottom of this dialog box and at the bottom of the Page Setup dialog box to complete the process.

Now, each time you print, you will see your custom papers listed at the bottom of the Paper Size pop-up in the Print… dialog box. You will also be able to add and remove additional custom sizes without going back to the Page Setup… command.

While the custom sizes will be available in applications (such as Address Book) that do not have a Page Setup… command, you will need to use another application with that command to add additional custom sizes.

Happy Printing!

--Pat

Paper and envelope sizes confuse me! While I know that US letter paper is 8.5 x 11”, and US Legal paper is 8.5 x 14”, that is only the start of the sizes that can appear in a print dialog box. Of course, just where to select a paper size in a Macintosh application is also undergoing changes. In TextEdit, paper size is selected in File -> Page Setup. The size choice will look similar to this if you have not selected a specific printer: In Apple’s Pages, while you will use the same command in the File menu, the printer you are using will cause changes in the Paper Size pop-up menu.

Even more confusing is Address Book. There is no Page Setup item in the File menu. Instead, you will need to select the type of item you want to print in the Print Dialog box. Then, your paper size choices will appear as a drop down list. This box shows what is available when my Epson Stylus Photo RX600 is selected.

The list looks entirely different if I choose my Brother MFC-7820N:

So, the paper selections available are controlled by the printer driver, not the application you are using.

While some programs list the size of the item in the dialog box…

Applications that do not have a Page Setup menu item (such as Address Book) may leave you clueless about the item’s size.

I feel your pain! It would be really nice to have a place that lists the names and sizes of all these papers and envelopes! I spent quite a few hours last week making an exhaustive list to fill that need, and here it is! I know that you can find even more. I did. But, I had to stop somewhere!

Paper

US Letter - 8.5 x  11.0”
US Legal - 8.5 x  14.0”
Half Letter - 5.5 x 8.5”
Executive - 7.25 x10.5”
Government Legal - 8.5 x  13.0”
Government Letter - 8.0 x  10.5”
Broadsheet - 18.0 x  24.0”
Ledger - 11 x 17”
Tabloid - 17 x 11”
Tabloid Extra - 12 x 18 “
ROC 16K - 7.75 x 10.75”

A (Letter) - 8.5 x 11”
B (Legal) - 8.5 x 14”
C - 17 x 22”
D - 22 x 34”
E - 34 x 44”
F - 28 x 40”
F4 - 8.27 x 13.0”
G - 11 x (22 1/2 to 90)”
H - 28 x (44 to 143)”
K - 34 x (55 to 176)”
L - 40 x (55 to 143)”

A0 - 33.1 x 46.8”
A1 - 23.4 x 33.1”
A2 - 16.5 x 23.4”
A3 - 11.7 x 16.5”
A4 - 8.3 x 11.7”
A5 - 5.8 x  8.3”
A6 - 4.1 x  5.8”
A7 - 2.9 x  4.1”
A8 - 2.1 x  2.9”

B5 - 6.93 x  9.85”
B6 - 4.9 x  6.9”
Super B/A3 - 13 x 19”
JB5 - 7.17 x 10.12”

Cards

Index Cards

3 x 5”
4 x 6”
5 x 8”

Business Cards

International Business Card - 2.125 x 3.37
US Business Card - 2 x 3.5”
US Folded Business Card - 3.5 x 4”
Japanese Business Card - 2.165 x 3.583

Common Postcard Sizes

4 x 6"
5 x 7"
5 x 8"
6 x 9"
6 x 11”

Envelopes

#10 Envelope - 4.12 x 9.50"
DL Envelope - 4.33 x 8.67”
C5 Envelope - 6.375 x 9”
Monarch Envelope - 3.88 x 7.50”
Envelope #4 - 3.625” x 4.635”
Envelope MAX - 7.25” x 13”
Chouekei 3 Envelope - 4.72” x 9.25”

Baronial Envelopes

Professional - 2.125 x 3.625" - use 2" x 3.5" enclosure
#16 (Mrs.) - 2.375 x 3.375" - use 2.25" x 3.125" enclosure
#17 (Mr. & Mrs.) - 2.6875 x 3.6875" - use 2.5625" x 3.5625" enclosure
Baronial 2 - 3.1875 x 4.25"
Gladstone - 3.563 x 5.562" - use 3.375" x 5.375" enclosure
Baronial 4 - 3.625 x 4.625"
Baronial 5 - 4.125 x 5.125"
Baronial 5 1/4 - 4.25 x 5.25"
Baronial 5 1/2 - 4.375 x 5 .625"
Baronial 5 3/4 - 4.50 x 5.75"
6-Bar/Walton Outside - 4.75 x 6.5" - use 4.625" x 6.25" enclosure
Baronial 6 - 5 x 6"
Lee - 5.25 x 7.25" - use 5.125" x 7" enclosure
Linwood/Monona Inside - 5.25 x 7.5" - use 5" x 7.25" enclosure
Monona Outside - 5.5 x 7.75" - use 5.25 x 7.5" enclosure

Commercial Envelopes

5 - 6.38 x 9.02”
6 - 4.50 x 6.4”
6 1/4 - 3.50 x 6” - use 3.25 x 5.75” enclosure
6 1/2 - 6 x 3.3125”
6 3/4 - 3.625 x 6.5" - use 3.5 x 6.25" enclosure
7 3/4 (Monarch) - 3.875 x 7.5" - use 3.75 x 7.25" enclosure
8 - 3 7/8 x 7.50"
8 5/8 - 3.625 x 8.625" - use 3.5 x 8.375" enclosure
9 - (Policy) 4 x 9" - use 3.75 x 8.5" enclosure
10 - 4.125 x 9.5" - use 4 x 9.25" enclosure
11 - 4.5 x 10.375" - use 4.25 x 10.125" enclosure
12 - 4.75 x 11" - use 4.5 x 10.75" enclosure
14 - 5 x 11.5" - use 4.75 x 11.25" enclosure
16 - 6 x 12" - use 5.75 x 11.75" enclosure

Announcement Envelopes

A-2 - 4 3/8" x 5 3/4" - Use 4 1/4” x 5 1/2” enclosure
A-6 - 4 3/4" x 6 1/2" - Use 4 1/4” x 6 1/4” enclosure
A-7 - 5 1/4" x 7 1/4" - Use 5” x 7” enclosure
A-8 - 5 1/2" x 8 1/8" - Use 5 1/4’ x 7 3/4” enclosure
A-9 - 5 3/4” x 8 3/4” - Use 5 1/2” x 8 12” enclosure
A-10 - 6" x 9 1/2" - Use 5 3/4” x 9 1/4” enclosure
Slim - 3 7/8" x 8 7/8"

Booklet Envelopes

3 - 4.75 x 6.5" - use 4.5 x 6" enclosure
4 1/2 - 5.5 x 7.5" - use 5.25 x 7" enclosure
5 - 5.5 x 8.125" - use 5.25 x 7.625" enclosure
6 - 5.75 x 8.875" - use 5.5 x 8.375" enclosure
6 1/2 - 6 x 9" - use 5.75 x 9" enclosure
6 5/8 - 6 x 9.5" - use 5.75 x 9" enclosure
6 3/4 - 6.5 x 9.5" - use 6.25 x 9" enclosure
7 1/4 - 7 x 10" - use 6.75 x 9.5" enclosure
7 1/2 - 7.5 x 10.5" - use 7.25 x 10" enclosure
9 - 8.75 x 11.5" - use 8.5 x 11" enclosure
9 1/2 - 9 x 12" - use 8.75 x 11.5" enclosure
10 - 9.5 x 12.625" - use 9.25 x 12.125" enclosure
13 - 10 x 13" - use 9.75 x 12.5" enclosure

Catalog Envelopes

1 - 6 x 9" - use 5.75 x 8.75" enclosure
1 3/4 - 6.5 x 9.5" - use 6.25 x 9.25" enclosure
2 - 6 1/2 x 10"
3 - 7 x 10" - use 6.75 x 9.5" enclosure
6 - 7.5 x 10.5" - use 7.25 x 10" enclosure
7 - 8 x 11"
8 - 8.25 x 11.25" - use 8 x 10.75" enclosure
9 1/2 - 8 1/2 x 10 1/2"
9 3/4 - 8.75 x 11.25" - use 8.5 x 10.75" enclosure
10 1/2 - 9 x 12" - use 8.75 x 11.5" enclosure
12 1/2 - 9.5 x 12.5" - use 9.25 x 12" enclosure
13 1/2 - 10 x 13" - use 9.75 x 12.5" enclosure
14 1/4 - 11.25 x 14 1/4"
14 1/2 - 11.5 x 14.5" - use 11.25 x 14" enclosure
15 - 10 x 15" - use 9.75 x 14.5" enclosure
15 1/2 - 12 x 15.5" - use 11.75 x 15" enclosure

Square Envelopes

5 - 5 x 5" - use 4.75 x 4.75" enclosure
5 ½ - 5.5 x 5.5" - use 5.25 x 5.25" enclosure
6 - 6 x 6" - use 5.75" x 5.75 enclosure
6 ½ - 6.5 x 6.5" - use 6.25 x 6.25" enclosure
7 - 7 x 7" - use 6.75 x 6.75" enclosure
7 ½ - 7.5 x 7.5" - use 7.25 x 7.25" enclosure
8 - 8 x 8" - use 7.75 x 7.75" enclosure
8 ½ - 8.5 x 8.5" - use 8.25 x 8.25" enclosure
9 - 9 x 9" - use 8.75 x 8.75" enclosure
9 ½ - 9.5 x 9.5" - use 9.25 x 9.25" enclosure
10 - 10 x 10" - use 9.75 x 9.75" enclosure
13 ½ - 13.5 x 13.5" - use 13.25 x 13.25" enclosure

I am always looking for ways to learn about new programs for my Macintosh, but I want the training to be reasonably priced. While Apple provides training on Apple products in the stores and Lynda.com provides training on Apple and Adobe products, where do you go to find training on software and web services such as Evernote, TextExpander, and Fluid. Even more difficult, were can you find information about how to expand the capabilities of your AppleTV with ATV Flash?

Don McAllister creates weekly videos on these programs and a lot more at ScreenCastsOnline. His programs are well-done and easy to follow. While there is a free edition of his programs, the videos offered with a membership to ScreenCastsOnline offers so much more! The videos are larger in size, sometimes offer extra content, and there are members-only shows.

Even better, if you are a member, you get access to all of the older shows. While this years shows have included…

• Fluid - Managing your WebApps
• aTV Flash for Apple TV
• Evernote for Mac
• TextExpander
• Making Music with GarageBand '08
• OmniGraffle 5
• JumpCut, DejaMenu & SoundSourcer
• Automator
• Preview
• VectorDesigner
• Time Capsule
• Pages 08
• ScheduleOnce
• ScreenSteps
• Apple TV Take 2
• HoudahSpot & HoudahGeo
• Bento
• Leopard 10.5.2 plus Spaces
• PDFPen - PDF Editing
• Setting Up Your Mac
• RWMultiTool - Rapidweaver Theme Editor

last years shows covered even more…

• Airport Express & Remote Buddy
• 1Password
• Leopard - iCal
• DiscLabel 5
• OmniWeb Browser
• Leopard - Desktop and Stacks
• Leopard - Time Machine
• Leopard - Installation 101
• Dupin - The iTunes Duplicates Manager
• Leopard Install Preparation
• Single Email Inbox for iPhone & Mac
• Keynote 08
• Pixelmator
• iMovie 08
• Rapidweaver Plugin: Blocks
• Housekeeping with Hazel
• iWork08 - Numbers
• iLife 08 First Impressions
• Launchbar, RapidWeaver and SiteMap
• Troubleshooting with Activity Monitor
• Downloading From Usenet
• Single Sign On with OpenID
• OS X Services
• YouTube on Apple TV
• Comic Life
• Rapidweaver 3.6 Update
• Act-On mail Plugin
• Elgato turbo.264 & OmniPlan
• OS X Terminal Basics
• Parallels Desktop for the Mac
• WordPress Part
• Circus Ponies NoteBook
• Xgrid Distributed Computing
• OmniGraffle Overview
• Apple TV - Adding Content
• Apple TV - Overview
• SpyMe 2
• Spotless & HoudahSpot
• iPhoto
• Freeway 4 Express
• Airport Extreme Overview
• Speed Download
• Amazon S3, Jungle Disk, S3 Browser & xTorrent!
• Liquifile
• QuickSilver

Once in a while, Don has a sale on memberships to ScreenCastsOnline. He is offering a 15% discount when you use the coupon code SCOJUNE as you check out and pay. To learn more about ScreenCastsOnline, go here. To learn more about the discouunt, check out http://myownreality.eu/?p=419.

We offer training at Bob LeVitus Consulting too. Our training is one-on-one and hands-on. Let us know what you would like to learn and we would be happy to schedule a session!

Pat

Just what is the problem? You’d think Apple Inc. could make a program for the Mac without any bugs! What are those coders up to! Yeah, yeah, yeah – its all Apple’s fault!

Now, wait just a darn minute! Are you sure some of the blame isn’t yours?

I have been getting lots of calls about Macs not working as they should. These are the same kinds of problems that I saw at about the same time last year – and the year before – and the year before.

I am hearing about Time Machine backups that fail, computers that are having hard drive catalog errors, and programs that suddenly quit. When I run Disk Utility First Aid on the drives, I am seeing lots of errors. I haven’t seen this many hard drive errors since early last fall. In fact, I have even had trouble with my own computers.

How is the weather?

In my case, I am 99% sure I know what caused my problem – and Apple had nothing to do with it. I live in thunderstorm country. That means power surges, spikes, and flickers are a way of life. They potentially occur every time we have a rain storm. Over the past few weeks, we have had at least 6 big storms. While I have not lost power, my lights have flickered and appliance clocks have reset. That means anything that is plugged into a power socket in my home potentially has been affected.

Now, I see that some of you are loosing interest in this story. At this time of the year, you don’t get rain, much less thunder or lightning – but you very probably are having surges, spikes and brownouts as overloaded circuits are being re-directed around the power grid. Just what is causing these overloads? It’s hot. Air conditioners are running full time, refrigerators and freezers are working overtime. We are just using more electrical power.

So how does this affect your computer? Well, your computer is storing its files on a hard drive, and hard drives are easily damaged by even minute fluctuations in power. You might have power strips for your equipment, but those do wear out. Each surge, spike and sag make the power strips less effective. I bet you can’t remember when you last bought a new one! But there is even more to this story…

Check out your power source

Let’s take an inventory of your power sItuation. I will bet that it is somewhat like mine. I have a beautiful office filled with wonderful furniture that we bought less than 4 years ago. The problem is, my computer equipment has all changed in the past four years.

Back then, I had a 17” iMac G4 and one Epson Ink Jet printer. I also used a 15” PowerBook G4. I had one external hard drive.

My equipment has exploded in recent years! Now I have a 20” Intel iMac, a 17” MacBook Pro, a 20” HDTV that I also use as a secondary monitor. That little Epson has been replaced by an Epson All-In-One, a Brother Laser All-In-One, and an Epson Printer that will handle 13x19” paper. I also added a Primera Bravo DVD printer-burner, four additional hard drives, a second AirPort device, the Eye-TV. I almost forgot to add the four new hard drives, the Time Capsule, the cable TV box and numerous power supplies for my iPhone, iPod, and cameras…

I think you are getting the picture. A sphagetti soup of cords and plugs! While I do have an APC UPS (Uninterruptable Power Supply) and I have added several new surge protectors, too much of my equipment is no longer plugged into that UPS (Uninterruptible Power Supply). In fact, only a couple of the hard drives, my iMac and the power supply for my MacBook Pro are plugged into it. It looks like it is time to buy another UPS and to trace all of my power lines to make sure the most vulnerable equipment is plugged into a UPS. I also need to make sure I haven’t broken any of the UPS power rules.

But I don’t care if my computer shuts down!

When you are buying a UPS, consider why you are buying one. In my case, the most important part of a UPS is not the battery. It would be nice if I could shut down my computers systems gracefully while they are running off the battery, but we have very few “real” power outages and those often occur when I am not at home or asleep.

I use a UPS for its power conditioning capabilities. In effect, when my computer is plugged into my UPS, it is running off the battery inside the UPS. That battery is continuously being re-charged. Powering your computer from the battery instead of directly from the electrical line allows the UPS to clean up the power fluctuations. It absorbs the spikes, surges and sags and delivers electricity that is much more “even.” It is far better than a simple surge protector strip in protecting my equipment.

Watch where you plug things!

Every UPS that I have encountered has two different kinds of outlets. While some are a part of the battery backup system, there are others that only provide the surge protection features of the unit. However, due to the nature of the UPS, those surge protection features are much stronger than simple surge protector power strips.

So let’s see…

My UPS is several years old. When I bought it, a unit with 6 outlets was pretty good. But the model that replaced it has 10 outlets and the price is the same as what mine cost.

You willl need to do a little planning to most effectively use the UPS outlests. On the battery-powered outlets - Plug your computer and main monitor first. Then plug in the power adapter for your MacBook or MacBook Pro. In my case, that leaves me with one additional outlet since I have an iMac. I have used it to plug in my most important external hard drive. Your printers NEVER get plugged into the battery outlets. Printers, especially laser printers draw a huge amount of power as they start up and they can quickly drain the battery.

I am using my other three outlets for the rest of my hard drives.

Connect a surge protector power strip to a UPS? NEVER!

No matter how many power outlets you have around your computer, it is never enough! Since UPS units tend to have 6 to 10 outlets, you will always need more. The natural inclination is to just plug a surge protector into one of the outlets of the UPS – DON’T DO IT! Why? Because when there is a surge, they can get into a fight and it can get ugly! At best you can ruin the UPS. At worst, you can melt the plastic of your Surge Protector. To read all the gory details, go here and look for the Power strip surge-protection hazard heading.

Time for another UPS?

In my office, the left wall contains three wall units with space for equipment. My desk is a peninsula connected to the middle unit.

The first unit contains my two all-in one printers, my telephone and it is the place where I plug recharge things like cameras and iPods. It needs its own power supply, and this unit does not need a UPS. A good surge protector that is replaced every couple of years is sufficient for this area.

The last unit contains my Primera Bravo II DVD printer and burner and my wide format Epson printer. On top of the unit is my network. There is a Time Capsule, an AirPort Extreme, my cable modem and the cable TV box. This is the place where I need to add a UPS. Or perhaps I need to move the old UPS to this location and add a new 10 outlet in the middle unit.

The middle unit contains five hard drives, my two computers, my secondary monitor/TV, the EyeTV, a FireWire hub, a USB 2 hub and spare outlets for visiting clients, family members, and friends. No matter what I do, this area never has enough plugs!

Fortunately, when we had our house built four years ago, we had the electrician put 4 outlets on 4 separate heavy-duty circuits along this office wall. No matter what I plug in, I never see flickers and flashes. However, in the home we left, I had to be very careful about what and where things were plugged in. If you see signs that your circuits are overloaded in your computer area, a visit from a good electrician could help to solve some of your power issues.

I want to thank you for reading along as I assessed my office space and its power needs. Now, I need to replace two of the older surge protector power strips with the new ones I just bought. I need to put a new UPS on my shopping list and I need to make sure that everything is plugged into its proper place.

If you need some help reviewing and planning for your computer area power needs, give us a call at Bob LeVitus Consulting. We offer training, troubleshooting, and technical support. We’d be happy to give you a hand!

Pat