Monday, December 14, 2009

week of Dec. 14: Excel Testm







 

There will be a on Tuesday covering the following topics in Excel:

--> templates
      * Be careful to save your templates on your home drive.
      * To open a file based on a template, double-click on the icon for the file.

--> linking
      * Use absolute cell references (F4) for the lookup table.
      * Open all files in the same "session" of Excel using File / Open.

--> protection

--> the IF function
      * No nested IF functions will be on the test.

--> the VLOOKUP function
      * Use absolute cell refernces (F4) for the lookup table.
      * Be prepared to translate an English description of a lookup situation into a correct table in Excel.
      * Be careful about the first value (top left corner) in your lookup table.
      * Know when to use FALSE as a fourth parameter - when you want an exact match.

Friday, December 4, 2009

VLOOKUP online video demos

the key to understanding VLOOKUP

If you feel unsure about the VLOOKUP function, the safest approach is to keep in mind how it works. Try to picture all this in your mind. It may sound complicated in words, but the idea is not difficult.


    Imagine you are converting a student percentage mark in G4 to a letter grade.
    e.g. =VLOOKUP(G4, H1:J5, 2)
    The first two parameters of the function simply tell Excel (1) where the value is that is going to be compared to the lookup table, then (2) where the lookup table is

  • Excel goes to the TOP ROW of the FIRST COLUMN of the table (H1).

  • It checks to see whether G4is GREATER than the value in H1.

  • If G4 is greater than the value in H1, Excel moves DOWN to the next row of the table, that is, to H2.

  • Again it checks see whether G4is GREATER than the value in H@.

  • It continues doing this checking and moving down the table until it finds the value in the first row of the table that is greater than G4.

  • When G4 is greater than the value in the table, it moves back UP one row in the table.

  • It "returns" whatever it finds in the SECOND COLUMN of the table.


NOTE: When you use the fourth parameter, "FALSE," Excel only looks for an exaact match

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Excel assignment - the IF function

Here is another simple exercise to help boost your mark, this time using the IF function in Excel.

Create a self-named file (e.g. BarackO_IFassignment.xls) and copy it to the Dropoff Folder when you are finished.

Create the file as shown for A1:B2 so that when A1 has a value higher than 36.8, B1 and B2 show the messages illustrated. If A1 has a value equal to or lower than 36.8, both B1 and B2 show the message illustrated in the green box.

Tuesday, November 24, 2009

Excel - easy assignment on cell protection

Excel - online resources for the IF function


There don't seem to be a lot of online tutorials for Excel's IF function, and those I've looked at explain it pretty much the same way our workbook explains it. However, you might look at the links below:


Friday, November 20, 2009

Excel - protection
(locking and unlocking cells)

In addition to our own video tutorial on this topic, there is also an excellent video tutorial on YouTube over 4 minutes long with audio -




Another, also quite good (it's always helpful to hear more than one way of explaining something) is this -

Excel - linking workbooks

Excel 2003 -- links

Some of the Excel features you'll be learning are shown in our video tutorials at http://tinyurl.com/i0th.

* Linking cells between worksheets
* Cell Protection
      -- protect cells to prevent user input
* Functions
      -- IF
      -- VLOOKUP
* Conditional Formatting
      -- format cells which meet specified conditions
* Data validation
      -- validate data as it is entered
* Pivot Tables
      -- analyze an Excel database ("list") with a pivot table
* Scenarios
      -- create scenarios
      -- create a scenario summary

The videos show Excel version 2000, not 2003, but there are few significant differences.

Sunday, November 15, 2009

a second BTA blog

You already know about the regular BTA blog at http://bta3o1jarvis.blogspot.com/.


And don't forget the video tutorials at tinyurl.com/i0th.



Now there is a new, second blog at http://bta.posterous.com/ where you can find pages of the yellow booklet in .doc format. This should be handy in case you forget your booklet or want to see it when you don't have it nearby. Click on the plus sign to see the document in a more readable size.

week of Nov. 16


This week there will be a test on the following topics:
* - copyright
* - trademarks
* - patents
* - licensing


Then we begin Excel.

Tuesday, November 10, 2009

my recommendations for some great free software




There are lots of freeware websites. Some, however, waste your time by listing trialware as well as genuine freeware. An example of a good freeware site is FreewareHome at http://www.freewarehome.com/

Sites for open source software include The OSSwin project: Open Source for Windowshttp://osswin.sourceforge.net/. This might be a little overwhelming.

One site listing open source software and freeware is Jason's Free Useful Software at http://www.jasonchen.com/free_software/

Death of the black box EULA

A blog on ZDnet has an interesting and amusing article suggesting that the growth of open source software spells the "death of the black box EULA."

http://blogs.zdnet.com/open-source/?p=5350&tag=wrapper;col1

EULAs

WHAT IS A EULA?

Read the short explanation of EULAs and their importance at http://graphicssoft.about.com/cs/faq/a/eula.htm

For more information see the Wikipedia article “Software Licenses” at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EULA


The Microsoft Windows XP EULA

A page on the Microsoft Web site says the following:

The EULA for Microsoft Windows may be found in one of several different locations, depending on your Microsoft product. The three most common locations for the license agreement are: (1) printed on a separate piece of paper that accompanies the product; (2) printed in the User's Manual, usually on the inside front cover or the first page of the manual; or (3) located online within the software product. For Microsoft Windows, a copy of the EULA is usually stored in the Windows (or WINNT) / System32 directory with the filename eula.txt.

Since most people install software without reading the EULA, it is worthwhile to look at one example of a EULA that affects most of us, the license we agree to when we buy the Microsoft Windows operating system. Browse through the EULA for the Windows XP, then answer the following questions:

a. Quote the statement in the EULA governing renting or lending.
b. Products identified as "North America Only Version” may not be exported beyond the U.S. and Canada. What is the reason for this restriction?
c. How long is the warranty?
d. If the product does not perform the way it should, what is your remedy under the warranty?
e. What does the warranty say about damage done by the product if it misperforms?
f. What is the final statement of the EULA?


BAD EULAS

Make sure you understand what spyware is and how it works by visiting these sites:
Look at definitions of spyware at Google: define:spyware and for a more detailed article at Wikipedia.

Search to find the EULA of an application you use at EULA Hall of Shame.

Check the following resources:

The Importance of EULA

It Pays to Read License Agreements

A Crusade Against Bad EULAs

Trying to Decipher that EULA? Better Have a PhD


Keep your business in compliance with the law - further reading

You may be using Windows XP Home Edition on your home computer. Have you ever looked at the EULA? Do you know what your legal obligations are? How well could you answer questions such as:

• How can I be certain I have legitimate Microsoft products if they came preinstalled on my computer's hard disk?

• Can I make a second copy of my Windows operating system software for my portable computer?

• What is the minimum amount of documentation I should keep to prove my software products are legally licensed?

• What if I've upgraded from an earlier version of Windows? Do I still need to keep my earlier copy of Windows as part of my legally acquired product?

As a business professional, it’s recommended that you take some time to learn the licensing basics of ALL the software you use.

compliance services / software asset management


Making sure that the software on your company's computers is legal, that you have all the invoices and licences for it and that it complies with all the conditions of your licences can be a big job. Many companies hire an outside firm to take care of this side of their business. Below are examples of companies in the business known as compliance services / software asset management.

Companies take great care in ensuring that all the software on their computers comply with licensing agreements. You can even hire a company to help you in this process.

Conrad Associates

Belarc

Elite Compliance

Centennial Software

Saturday, November 7, 2009

common types of shareware (demoware, nagware, crippleware)


Below are explanations of various types of shareware you are likely to encounter, summarized from Wikipedia.

Shareware
The term shareware, popularized by Bob Wallace, refers to proprietary software that is provided to users without payment on a trial basis and is often limited by any combination of functionality, availability or convenience. Shareware is often offered as a download from an Internet website or as a compact disc included with a periodical such as a newspaper or magazine. The aim of shareware is to give buyers the opportunity to use the program and judge its usefulness before purchasing a license for the full version of the software.
Shareware is usually offered as a trial version with certain features only available after the license is purchased, or as a full version, but for a trial period. Once the trial period has passed the program may stop running until a license is purchased. Shareware is often offered without support, updates, or help menus, which only become available with the purchase of a license.

Demoware
Demoware (also known as trialware) is commercial software released for free (shareware) in a version which is limited in one or more ways. Some of the most common limitations are:
• Software remains functional only for a limited time, such as a set number of days after installation, days actually used, number of times the program is launched, or the length of each program session.
• Adds identifying marks or signatures to output files. Common with image and video editing demoware.
• Restricts or blocks access to an important function, such as saving the current document to a project file, or burning a CD.
In addition, the software usually hides a code somewhere on the computer system (in Microsoft Windows, often somewhere in the registry) that prevents removal and re-installation of the demo in an attempt to reset the trial period. Once the trial period is complete, the user must purchase a registration code to continue using the software.

Nagware
Nagware (also known as begware, annoyware or a nagscreen) is a type of shareware that reminds (or nags) the user to register it by paying a fee. It usually does this by popping up a message when the user starts the program, or intermittently while the user is using the application. These messages can appear as windows obscuring part of the screen or message boxes that can quickly be closed. Some nagware keeps the message up for a certain time period, forcing the user to wait to continue to use the program. The intent is generally that the user will become so annoyed with the messages that he or she will register or buy it to get rid of them. Naturally, there is a fine line to be walked — if reminders are too annoying, users may abandon a program without even evaluating it fully, which is as much a lost sale as a failure to register or buy. Examples of nagware are Windows Genuine Advantage, WinRAR, WinZip, and mIRC.

Crippleware
Crippleware is any product whose functions have been limited (or "crippled") with the sole purpose of requiring the user to pay for those functions (either paying a one-time fee or continually paying a service). Crippleware programs are usually freeware versions of computer programs that lack the most advanced (or in some cases, even crucial) features of the original program. Crippleware versions are made available in order to increase the popularity of the full program without giving it away free. An example of crippleware is a word processor that cannot save or print.

Sunday, November 1, 2009

the topic "Legal Issues"

The topic "Legal Issues" includes
* copyright
* trademarks
* patents
* licenses (with special emphasis on software licenses)

At the end of this unit there will be a test.

Wednesday, October 28, 2009

violations of copyright in popular music


It's interesting to look at some examples of legal cases involving violations of copyright in art and in popular songs (you might be surprised at how famous some of the songs are).


graphic design

Musical Plagiarism at Wikipedia

or try some Google searches, such as
plagiarism songs
or
plagiarism Bollywood



Below is a collection of links I put together last year on the topic of copyright violations. I haven't checked all of them yet this year.

Monday, October 26, 2009

week of Oct. 26 : Legal Issues

This week we being our study of several legal issues pertaining to working in an IT environment.

We'll learn about copyright, trademarks and patents, largely by looking at the website of the Canadian Intellectual Property Office (CIPO).


Go to the Pickup Folder and find a file with questions you can answer by looking at pages on the CIPO.

Tuesday, October 20, 2009

week of Oct. 19: test & macros



The test this week will cover templates, styles and forms.



Macros are among the most useful tools you can use to increase your efficiency with Word (or Excel or Access or almost any major application).

What is a macro? -- A macro is a series of commands, key presses or mouse clicks that are recorded and performed automatically when a certain key is pressed or a certain command is entered.
For example, you will create a macro that with a single key combination indents a paragraph one inch from both margins and inserts a footnote. And you will create a macro that with another key combination automatically reformats an entire document to get rid of unwanted paragraph breaks.


NOTE: Be sure that your macro security setting (Tools / Macro / Security) is Medium. Your macros will not work if Macro Security is set to High.

 


Forms: an enrichment activity

Students who finish the exercises on Forms before the rest of the class should visit the webpage below for an optional enrichment activity. The page explains how data is collected from forms and transferred into an Excel spreadsheet.
  • See the article entitled Transfer data from Word forms to an Excel worksheet at TechRepublic.
  • Open a document based on one of the templates containing forms that you have created.
  • Fill in a form with data.
  • Follow instructions on the above webpage to extract data from the form and import it into Excel.

Forms - showing fields in order to check your work

While creating a Word form, you can check your work by toggling between seeing the data and seeing the fields.

First, make sure the form is unprotected.
Then press Alt-F9 to toggle between the two modes.



Tuesday, October 13, 2009

Test next week on templates, styles & forms

There will be a test next week on templates, styles & forms. It will be done on the computer (not on paper), with your finished files left in the DropOff Folder.

week of Oct. 12 - Forms

This week we begin to look at Word forms.


We start by looking at simple fill-in fields to create a document reminiscent of a mail merge in that it consists of "boilerplate" text plus text inserted by a field - in this case a fill-in field rather than the kind of mail merge field you worked with earlier.

Then we look at other kinds of form fields that can be inserted using the Forms toolbar.


NOTE: - A handy shortcut key combination is Alt-F9, which toggles between viewing and hiding the form field codes. It allows you to check whether you have used the correct field and to see whether you have accidentally added a field which you cannnot see.

Friday, October 9, 2009

Styles

Styles are very useful - for example:
-to make changes throughout a long document
- to create a Table of Contents (TOC)

Templates

Do take time to read carefully in order to become clear on the idea of a template.

After you learn how to create a template, it's crucial to understand the difference between editing or opening a template in order to make changes to it (File / Open / Files of type: Document Templates (*.dot))

and opening a document based on a template (double-click on the .dot file).


Tuesday, October 6, 2009

Word online tutorials for Word templates

Notice the icon for a Word template (a yellow bar at the top) and the file extension .dot

Thursday, September 24, 2009

week of Sept. 21 - 25: Networks / Word 2003 Mail Merge



We begin our study of Word 2003 with Mail Merge, which enables us to create mass mailings.

Your workbook takes you step-by-step through the process.

One small problem at the start is finding the Insert Merge Fields button. Move your mouse across the icons on the Mail Merge toolbar and wait for the little "tooltip" labels to pop up. The one you want is illustrated below:

Links
Video demo
(2:32, includes sound)

Friday, September 18, 2009

week of Sept. 14 - 18 Operating Systems / Networks

We covered Part 2 of our study of Operating Systems the same way as Part 1, with a PowerPoint presentation, a set of questions in Word format and a PDF file with the answers. We took up the answers for all the OS questions.

We started on our study of Networks, using the same method as Operating Systems.

Here are a couple of short video introductions to networks:




week of Sept. 7 -- 11 Intro / Operating Systems

The Course Outline was handed out.

Video tutorials for many parts of the course are at http://tinyurl.com/i0th.

You should create folders on your Home Drive for this course. The main folder should be named BTA.

We introduced our study of Operating Systems with a PowerPoint presentation. Then you found a set of questions in a Word file in the Pickup Folder. To answer the questions you read a PDF file (also in the Pickup Folder).



For another person's explanation of what an operating system is, you might try this 10-minute video which compares an operating system with a baby.

Wednesday, September 9, 2009

Welcome to the BTA3O1 course at Jarvis!


Welcome to the BTA3O1 course at Jarvis Collegiate!