Here's a tip that can speed up your work whenever you use Netscape to send an e-mail message with an attachment. Even if you're an "old hand" at sending attachments you might find it handy to set up Netscape so it will automagically know which folder to open when looking for your files.

Just follow these directions to set up Netscape so the "My Documents" folder is the first place it looks, instead of the "C:\Program Files\Netscape\Communicator\Program" folder:

1. On your PC's desktop, find the shortcut for Netscape Communicator.
2. Right-click the shortcut so a small menu pops up.
3. From the menu that pops up, click on Properties.
4. Click the tab marked Shortcut.
5. Change the directory in the "Start in" field to the directory where you store most of your files that get sent as attachments (like c:\my documents, for example.)

6. Click the OK button.
7. Before this change takes effect, you'll need to close Netscape Communicator and restart it.

Now you're set to send attachments the quick and easy way!

Pete Hodge of WALS has created a Netscape Basics tutorial PowerPoint presentation that's a great overview. He even managed to work William Shatner into it!

To view the presentation, if you use Netscape, when you click on the link for the Tutor you'll be prompted to save the file. Then...

1. Choose to save it in the Desktop folder,

2. Now minimize all your open windows, and
3. Find the new "navigator" Desktop icon to start the PowerPoint presentation, and enjoy!

(Should you have any difficulty downloading the tutorial, try this link instead (you'll need your usual staff PIN to access the WALS Tutorial Web pages.)

If you use Internet Explorer, clicking the link will open the presentation in your browser.

Whenever you get an error message and need to contact your technical support person, it helps a lot if you can supply the exact wording of the error message. Many times the wording of the error message is so lengthy it's impractical to write it down, or if you've already rebooted the PC it's difficult to let your tech support contact know exactly what the wording of the error message was.

Following these steps will create an exact "screen shot" of the error message, so you can either e-mail the error message as an attachment, or print it out and fax it to your tech support staff.

1. With the error message on the PC screen, press the Alt key and the PrtScn or PrintScreen key. (Even though it looks like nothing's happened, you've actually copied the error message to the Windows Clipboard.)
2. Next, open Paint (click Start | Programs | Accessories | Paint) and press the Ctrl and V keys (or click Edit | Paste) to paste into Paint the screen shot you just made. You should see the error message automagically appear in Paint.
3. Click File | SaveAs on Paint's menu bar, and choose a folder and filename (for example, save it in your "My Documents" folder as "errormsg") and click the Save button. You've now created an image in "bitmap" format that has a ".bmp" filename extension (errormsg.bmp).
   
4. Open your e-mail software and send an e-mail message to the tech support staffperson, explaining the problem in detail and giving a description of your PC, and let him/her know that you're attaching a copy of the error message that appeared on the affected PC's screen. You can also fax the printout, just in case the problem is affecting your e-mail.
5. If you want to print the error message in order to fax it, click File | Print on Paint's menu bar.

If you follow these directions (and keep your tech support staff supplied with chocolate) maybe you'll never get the Top 12 Things You Don't Want to Hear From Tech Support!

In case you were unable to attend the PLA (Public Library Association) National Conference in Charlotte, NC last March, you can still gain a lot from listening to the PLA programs on audiocassette, available on interlibrary loan from the Reference and Loan Library.

Here's a sample of what's available:

• Business As Usual: How to Survive Construction When You Stay in the Building
• The Librarians' Guide to Genealogical Research
• We Need More Staff: Strategies and Tools to Help
• When Bad Things Happen in Good Libraries: Training Staff to Deal with Problem Behavior
• The Long Hot Summer: Creating and Sustaining an Adult Summer Reading Program

If you're interested in listening to any of the PLA audiocassettes, request them through your regular interlibrary loan channels.

Just in time for Halloween, you can take a virtual tour of the Willard Library -- a real haunted house!

The first ghostly sighting happened sixty years ago, and since then countless other employees and patrons have reported seeing the apparition known as the "Lady in Gray", each giving an eerily similar description. Is the legend true? I'll leave that for you to decide...

Visit the Is Willard Library Haunted? Web site and you can watch for the ghost in two locations - the original "ghost cam" in the Research Room and the new "ghost cam" in the Children's Room.

And don't miss their spoof page!

is Pumpkin Bread.

This issue of The Ides was written on November 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/idesoct00.html