Adding URL's to email messages

I recently received a question from a co-worker about inserting URL's into emails.  Although this isn't a normal topic of this site, I thought others might find it useful as well.

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Josh,
I have a quick question. I am interested in how you made this a link. 
I have copied and pasted the info but never been able turn it into a link.
Can you help me?

file://P:/Information%20Technology%20Training%20Center\Public\SIAC%20Files\20
08-02-20%20Master%20Instructor%20rings.wmv

V/R,
Dana

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Absolutely!  Take the red pill and follow me down the rabbit hole...

Outlook will automatically create a link for any valid URL (Uniform Resource
Locator) that you type into an email.  By definition, every URL must start with a protocol.  The most common example of a protocol is seen in your address bar while surfing the Internet: http.  Other examples of protocols include https, mailto, callto and file.

In regards to the last one, let's say you want to create a URL that sends people to:

P:\Information Technology Training Center\Public\SIAC Files\

Keep in mind that the example above is not yet a URL, but it is only a file path.  In order to create a URL from this path, the first thing you need to do is add a protocol at the beginning, like so:

file://P:\Information Technology Training Center\Public\SIAC Files\

Now you can see that the link was created, but it stops after the word "Information".  This is not an error.  This is because of another standard in URL's which states that there can be no spaces in a URL.  There are a couple of ways that we could remove the spaces from this URL:

1. Rename the folders and files from "SIAC Files" to "SIAC_Files", etc.
2. Encode those spaces in our URL into Unicode.

The first option could be a major pain, and probably isn't worth the time, so let's look at the second option.  While it might sound scary at first, encoding spaces into Unicode is very easy.  Simply replace all of the spaces in the URL with %20.  By doing this to our URL, it comes out looking like
this:

file://P:\Information%20Technology%20Training%20Center\Public\SIAC%20Files\

And, viola, we have a properly formatted URL!  Outlook, having realized this, has created the link for us.

PowerPoint tip for giving a presentation on a tight schedule

If you have a tight schedule and a lengthy presentation or class to give, you can add a little something to the master slide of your presentation to make sure you stay on time. Using the steps outlined below, you will be able to add a small notice (for yourself) to let you know when you need wrap up the current topic and move on to the next slide.

Open the master slide of your presentation and place a small graphic in one of the bottom corners. Right-click on the graphic and select Custom Animation. Add an entrance effect of your choosing. (I find that the Fade effect works very well since it is subtle.) After you have selected an effect, it will appear in the window below. Click on the effect, click on the down arrow next to the effect, then select Timing. Set the start event to With Previous, and then set the Delay. This would be however long you want to give yourself for each slide. (I give myself 2.5 minutes for each slide, so I would set the Delay to 150 seconds.) Click Ok and you're done.

Now that you have this set up, as you are going through the presentation glance up at the screen every so often. When you see the graphic appear, you know its time to move on. Be careful to not go crazy watching the screen or your students will notice and will be distracted. I’ve found that this little trick is extremely useful.

Until next time, remember: When working on something important, it's not possible to hit CTRL-S (Save) too many times.

Help Meeeeee!

We've all seen it.  The look on a co-worker's face that just says, "That's it, I've tried everything;  I must have tried every possible way to accomplish this, but I just can't figure it out", all in one look.  (Yes, that is a lot to say with one look.)  My bet is that, more times than not, this "look" was brought on by some type of computer-related problem.

Now, granted, I do have an extensive background in troubleshooting applications and problem solving.  But I think that when it comes to computers, a lot of people just give up way too easily.  They might try the first thing that comes to mind, but if that doesn't work... "AHHHH!!!!"

When you start to feel that way think of Kelly Clarkson.  Did Kelly, the homegrown superstar from Texas give up when Simon Cowell said she was too fat?  No!  DidTy Pennington throw down his hammer when Paige Davis broke the news to him about the ruined plywood?  Hardly!  Are you going to let that silly computer get the best of you?!? ...  ... (Are those crickets I hear?  Oh well.)

Most programs have the exact same option on the menubar on the far right side.  Help.  It is there for a reason.  (Yes, it really does do something when you click it.)  Yet, most people would rather bug their next-door neighbor (who is a "computer guy" that they haven't spoken to in over three weeks) rather than click this one little button that will probably answer the problem.  Why is that?  I have a couple of ideas.

I think people don't use the Help button because perhaps they think that since the button is on the computer which is what they are having a problem with, it can't possibly have the solution.  It's the "Zen and the Art of Motorcycle Maintenance" theory of anti-technologists.  If the user is having a problem with Word, they don't see as a problem of MS Word; they think, "Stupid computer... Honey!  Where's the phone?"

My other theory is that the user might actually realize that the Help button might contain the answer, but they don't want to look and find out for fear of being out-smarted by a computer.  (After all, what would the ladies at the PTA say?  I shudder to think.)

Whatever the reason is that people don't use the Help feature in programs, I suppose there is one silver lining:  Those people make the people who do use the Help menus look really smart.  Those are the people who soon get labeled as the office "computer guru" or "techie".  Most of the time this person doesn't know any more about the programs that he or she uses than the next person, but the difference is that when they have a problem they are resourceful.  When those people have a problem they don't go looking for help, they go looking for Help.