If you use Netscape Communicator 4.51 for your e-mail, here's a tip that may make forwarding messages easier on you, and on those you forward to as well.

If you've ever been on the receiving end of a message that's been forwarded multiple times and looks rather messy, you may appreciate knowing that Netscape Communicator gives you some choices for formatting the messages you forward:

1. As an attachment
• You won't see the text of the message you're forwarding, so
  • you aren't able to edit out extraneous text; and
  • not everyone you send this to will be able to read the attachment, depending on the e-mail software he/she is using.
2. Inline
• It will insert the line "----- Original Message -----" and include the forwarded text below any text you add to the message.
  • This format allows you to edit out extraneous text
3. Quoted
• Words similar to "Gill Bates wrote:" will appear at the top of the forwarded text, and each line of the forwarded text will start with an > sign.
  • This format allows you to edit out extraneous text

1. On the Netscape menu bar at the top of the screen click Edit
2. Click Preferences
3. Double-click the Mail & Newsgroups category
4. Click the Messages subcategory
5. In the first section of the Messages window, "Forwarding and Replying to Messages", click on the down arrow next to the words "By default, forward messages:". This will show you the three choices you have for forwarding.



6. Click on the forwarding format you want
7. Click the OK button, and you're done!

Ever visited a Web page where the print is teeny-tiny? When viewing a page in Netscape 4.x, in most cases you can increase the font to a more readable size by:

• pressing the Ctrl and ] keys; or
• clicking on the Netscape menu bar choice View and Increase Font.

Predictably, to reduce font size press the Ctrl and [ keys, or click on the Netscape menu bar choice View and Decrease Font.

Here's a good page to try out your newfound skill.

If you're already familiar with how to cut and paste within a document, did you know you can cut and paste between different applications? For example, you can cut/copy information from an Excel spreadsheet into a Word document, or an Access database, or even an e-mail message.

If you need a refresher on cutting and pasting, to copy text to a new location:

1. Place the cursor at the beginning of text you want to select, hold down the left mouse button, move the cursor to the end of the selection, and release the mouse button. A bar of color or shading should cover the text.
2. Right-click inside the highlighted text and select Copy from the dropdown menu; or press the Ctrl key and C keys.
3. Open the application/document where you want to paste the information, and place the cursor where you want to the text to appear.
4. Right-click and select Paste; or press the Ctrl key and V keys.
5. The text will automagically appear in its new location!

If you were unable to attend the recent PLA 2000 Conference held in Charlotte, NC on March 28-April 1, you can still glean a wealth of information from the conference program handouts and PowerPoint presentations available on the Public Library Association Web site. Here's a sample of the types of information available:

• When Bad Things Happen in Good Libraries: Training Staff to Deal with Problem Behavior
• The Librarian's Guide to Genealogical Research
• Supporting Homework Success through Public Libraries

PLA suggests checking back frequently, since additional program handouts are being made available.

In addition to PLA's Web site, Winnefox staff who attended the conference have made their notes available to share as well. Here's a sample of some of the programs covered in the notes written by Karen Boehning:

• Customer Service and Technological Change
• Reference Measurement in the Digital Age -- Measuring Self-Service Reference
• Values-Based Circulation Service
• Investigate, Deploy or Abandon Technologies
• Digitizing a Local History Collection - Making a Site Come to Life
  • If you're interested in this presentation, you may also wish to visit the on-line exhibits of the UW Oshkosh Archives and Area Research Center. "The 400 of the 96th tells the story of the 96th college detachment, a military training program undertaken at the Oshkosh State Teachers College in 1943 and 1944. During those years, over 1,000 Army Air Force cadets took college courses at Oshkosh while receiving rudimentary flight training."

If you've ever used the Ask Jeeves search engine, you'll enjoy this rather surreal Interview with a Search Engine.

is Cajun Shrimp Pasta, another award-winning recipe from the annual Staff Association Fat Tuesday Cookoff.

This issue of The Ides was written on April 15, 2000
Copyright 2000, Winnefox Library System

The Ides is written by Joy Schwarz.
Please direct any questions, comments or recipes to schwarz@winnefox.org

URL: http://www.winnefox.org/ides/idesapr00.html