Newsletters – January / February / March 2012

Click on a link to any of our recent newsletters, or just scroll down. Every month there are valuable tips and hints on Microsoft Excel, Maximizer and more! In Internet Explorer, you can search this page for keywords using Ctrl+F. Below and on our home page you can search this entire web site. Click here for the list of ALL Newsletters.

Below: 2012: January – February – March

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Newsletter - January 2012

Editorial

So here we are in the year that the Mayans says is our last or not as the case may be! However this may well be a year of amazing changes caused by the predicament that the world's economies find themselves in. It is increasingly obvious that we cannot spend ourselves out of recession and that all previously defined solutions to job creation are out of date. Real change is required.

Not only can the centre not hold - it is already broken apart. When things fail spectacularly, as they are doing now in many areas of life worldwide, then and only then can new ways be tried out.

There are some strong and innovative young voices making themselves heard throughout the world. There are many older people also feeling the courage to disagree with the status quo, buoyed by the energy of those new voices.

It is an ancient Chinese curse that says "May you live in interesting times" - well that's what we all seem to have chosen for our lifetime! Possibly because of this, may your creativity thrive in 2012 and may this year show up as the best to date. Have a good year and thrive!

Maximizer Version 12 - Cloud Computing a Reality

As more and more software becomes cloud based, the sense of anywhere and any time becomes tangible. Maximizer is working well for us and they have been cautious about the cloud format.

If you would like a demonstration of the solution, please give Thuli a call to make an appointment on 011 802 2685

Irontree Off site Backup

Is your data precious? In these days of entire offices being stripped of their computer installations, a good data backup that is not vulnerable to theft is essential. Irontree offers precisely this solution. If all your data is stored on a server, then that is the only machine that requires the solution to be installed on it. However, they offer a multi-PC solution as well. Please send your enquiry to Peter at Switched-On IT.

Green Tip

The outcome of COP17 was "wait until next year". Hardly worth coming for and very disappointing, so where to now? Well, general awareness around your immediate area: Cleaning the verges, asking for storm water drains to be cleared, water and sewage leaks fixed. Use www.mobilitate.com to report problems - it's a free service that sends your reports to your council department and your councillor. You can also create "heat" by asking friends to report the same problems!

AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT

The Autodesk year end is 31 January 2012, so no specials for awhile. We have discovered a very good source of AutoCAD books on www.kalahari.net, all at reasonable prices. In addition, we are now able to offer Educational versions of the Autodesk range at very good prices.

Sketchbook Pro is still the best creative tool for designing logos etc.

Please contact Judith judith@softwareafrica.co.za or 011 802 2685 for more details or to set up an appointment to discuss your drawing office requirements.

Excel Tip #96 - Excel 2007/2010: Secrets of the Ribbon (XI) - the Insert tab, Charts Group

We continue looking at the second tab, the Insert tab, on the Ribbon. The third group, Charts (graphs), has seven buttons, one for each major type of chart: Column, Line, Pie, Bar, Area, Scatter, and Other.

Column (or vertical bar) graphs have a series of vertical bars, in two dimensions or "three-dimensions" (perspective view: Column, cylinder, cone or pyramid), for comparing values next to each other.
Line graphs are more compact because space is not given over to bars. Values in different ranges can be compared above and below each other. Because points are linked, trends are more obvious.
Pie charts display the contribution of various values to the whole. Only one range can be used, and the values have to be positive.
Bar (or horizontal bar) graphs are the horizontal version of the column graphs. Useful for comparing values next to above other.
Area charts are essentially a coloured-in version of line charts. Because the are is filled, stacking one series on top of another is clearer, and is useful where the total is also important.
Scatter graphs, also called X-Y graphs, are the only kind where values are measured on both (X and Y) axes. In the others, X-values should be non-numeric, in which case (for non-pie charts) they are evenly spaced on the X axis, whereas numeric X- values are measured (a, possibly unwelcome, innovation in Excel 2007). Thus, for XY graphs, both the X and Y ranges must be values, whereas for the other charts, the X-range does not have to be numeric.
Other: Stock (high-low-close) charts, surface (3-D area), doughnut, bubble, and radar charts, and a menu of all chart types.

In each case, you select your data range first (e.g. A1:B14 in the picture alongside), then choose a chart type from the Ribbon, Insert tab, Charts group. The chart immediately appears on the spreadsheet. In previous versions of Excel a wizard popped up with various options, and you got the choice to put the chart on the sheet or in a sheet of its own.

When the chart is selected, you get a new tab on the Ribbon, Design (Chart Tools), circled alongside. You can use this to change the chart, or right-click on the chart for a pop-up menu.

In the example pictured, the top set of data and the top two graphs have numeric values (dates) on the X-axis. The lower data and graphs have text data for the X-axis. In the 3-D bar chart, Excel has put in its own zero numeric X- values (new in Excel 2007), whereas in the 3-D Pyramid bar, non-numeric X-values are evenly spaced. In the Scatter (XY) graphs on the right, the upper one with numeric X-range works well, whereas the lower one (text X) makes up its own numbers.

QuickBooks 2012

Now all QuickBooks users are on the same version internationally. We will give more information on this version when we have had more time using it.

For more information, phone the team on 011 802-2685 / 6440.

Computius Say:

Man who run in front of car get tired; man who run behind car get exhausted.

Remember: We can make your business run better by:

Automating your in-house processes with a custom program or database..
Solving your Maximizer, Access, Excel, Word, Visual Basic, and even Lotus 123 problems.
Training your company on Maximizer, Excel, Word, Access and Windows (all levels from beginners to Programming).
Supplying software: We re-sell and support various CRM, accounting, timesheet, scheduling, and productivity programs.
Providing world-class programs for the Civil Engineer and Engineering Geologist: AutoCAD, Caddie, dotPLOT, etc.
Making your Civil Engineering Lab run smoother and more profitably with Labbie, our Data Retriever.
Promoting your corporate image with a set of templates on Word or Excel, linked to your address list.

All the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick

Members, Communication in Action cc trading as Software Africa
"Empowering African Business with custom PC programs, databases, and templates using Microsoft technologies"
Reg. 2009/007863/23 ~ VAT No 4500104387 ~ 126 Kelvin Drive, Morningside Manor, Sandton, 2191 South Africa.
Tel: 011 802-2685 / 011 802-6440/1 ~ Fax: 011 802-4576 and 086-635-7902/3 ~ Cell: 082 389-3481/2 ~ e-mail: info@softwareafrica.co.za

This entire newsletter is Copyright© 2012 Communication in Action. Please share it with your friends or post it on your site as long as it is left intact with all links unchanged, and includes this notice. To Subscribe to the newsletter, click here and SEND the resulting e-mail. Your data will not be provided to a third party without your permission.

Newsletter – February 2012

Editorial

Our apologies for the lateness of this month's newsletter and a big thank you to all our customers who have made us so busy that it got put on the back burner! January was our best month in years and February has also shone.

We are using a business coach to get us into focus and to hold us accountable for what we do. This is one of the best moves that we have made as he's winnowing the staleness out of the company and getting us back into being a team. We'll keep you updated on our experience and please contact us for his details if it looks like a route you would like to pursue.

dotPLOT Version 7005 Released with HotPlot 3.5.0

The Bar character (|) can now be used in the Notes block to cause dotPLOT to ignore any keyword: This previously worked only in a depth description line. For example, you can now ignore the word "Sample", or a pesky piece of text that dotPLOT is interpreting as a sample number or depth.

A PDF error, if a symbol crossed a page boundary, has been fixed. The Plaintext warning has been changed. Educational licences are now supported.

Irontree Off site Backup

Maximizer Version 12 - Cloud Computing a Reality

As more and more software becomes cloud based, the sense of anywhere and any time becomes tangible. Maximizer is working well for us and they have been cautious about the cloud format.

If you would like a demonstration of the solution, please give Thuli a call to make an appointment on 011 802 2685

Green Tip

Water is our most vulnerable resource. It is polluted at catchment level and then the pollution continues as it flows through our rivers. Please report pollution to your local authority. Earthlife Africa Joburg also has a mining waste group, which is working at national level to counteract the AMD pollution. Its interests also embrace other pollution sources. Please look on their website www.earthlife.org.za for a view of all that is being done or go to their Facebook page https://www.facebook.com/pages/Earthlife-Africa-Johannesburg/346696943005 for up to date information on branch activities.

AutoCAD 2012 and AutoCAD LT

We are now able to provide you with the full product range including all the suites. Budding film-makers please note that Autodesk Design Suites are regularly use for animated movies!

Please contact Judith judith@softwareafrica.co.za or 011 802 2685 for more details or to set up an appointment to discuss your drawing office requirements.

Excel Tip #97 - Excel 2007/2010: Secrets of the Ribbon (XI) - the Insert tab, more Chart menu Options

We continue looking at the second tab, the Insert tab, on the Ribbon, and the third group, Charts (graphs).

As we saw in the last issue, when the chart is selected, you get a new tab on the Ribbon, Chart Tools Design. Next to it, there are two more new tabs, Layout and Format, shown below:

You can use the items on these tabs to change different parts of the chart. Some items will not be available for certain chart types.

An alternative is to right-click on the part of the chart that you want to change. This gives you a context-sensitive pop-up menu allowing you to change all aspects of that item.

QuickBooks 2012

On 20th March QuickBooks are running a seminar on the impact of the Budget on your employees. You can book via training@quickbooks.co.za and the cost is R999 inc VAT. It will be at the Glenhove Conference Centre on Glenhove Road. You can also ring 010 203 4300.

For more information, phone the team on 011 802-2685 / 6440.

Computius Say:

Man who steal ideas from one person is plagiarist; man who steal from many is researcher.

Remember: We can make your business run better by:

Automating your in-house processes with a custom program or database..
Solving your Maximizer, Access, Excel, Word, Visual Basic, and even Lotus 123 problems.
Training your company on Maximizer, Excel, Word, Access and Windows (all levels from beginners to Programming).
Supplying software: We re-sell and support various CRM, accounting, timesheet, scheduling, and productivity programs.
Providing world-class programs for the Civil Engineer and Engineering Geologist: AutoCAD, Caddie, dotPLOT, etc.
Making your Civil Engineering Lab run smoother and more profitably with Labbie, our Data Retriever.
Promoting your corporate image with a set of templates on Word or Excel, linked to your address list.

All the Best from the team!
Judith and Rick

Newsletter – March 2012

Watch this space!

This entire newsletter is Copyright© 2012 Communication in Action. Please share it with your friends or post it on your site as long as it is left intact with all links unchanged, and includes this notice. To Subscribe to the newsletter, click heree and SEND the resulting e-mail. Your data will not be provided to a third party without your permission.

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