New Computer and Technology Help and Tips - MalekTips.Com
Microsoft Word 2010 - Make Sure Others Can See Your Fonts
Embed fonts inside your Word 2010 documents to ensure others can see your texts as designed.
If you plan on exporting a Microsoft Word 2010 document to an earlier format for those with older versions of Office, or if you use non-standard fonts in your documents, others may not be able to see them as designed.
By default, Word 2010 does not include copies of fonts inside document files. If you send a file to a friend, co-worker, or family member, and they do not have the fonts referenced in the document, their copy of Word will try to substitute alternate fonts. Thus, your documents may not display as designed. However, this setting can be changed:...
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Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Animations or Video Displaying Poorly?
An old graphics card or poorly-implemented driver may be causing display problems for your PowerPoint 2010 presentations. Learn how to switch to software-based rendering for increased compatibility.
In some situations, a complex Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 presentation with videos, transitions, and animations may display poorly on a computer with an older or non-standard video card. This may be due to the fact that PowerPoint is trying to use the graphics card's hardware-based acceleration features, but these are not implemented correctly.
If updating your video card's drivers (if applicable) does not solve video and animation problems, you may wish to turn hardware acceleration off in PowerPoint. Note that doing so may slow down videos or animations, especially if you have other processes running....
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[MODIFIED] Google Chrome - Report a Malfunctioning Web Page, Crash, or Other Issue
If you are experiencing crashes in Google Chrome, pages that are not displaying correctly yet work fine inside other browsers, or if you have run into a suspected phishing site, report your findings to Google.
If you're having trouble with a particular web page while browsing the web in Google Chrome, and if the page displays and works correctly with Firefox, Internet Explorer, and other web browsers, you can report the problem to Google.
Or, is Google Chrome crashing often? Are you having difficulty with syncing preferences across machines? Have you run across a potential phishing webpage (a site that looks official but you can tell is trying to steal your personal information)? You can report these issues to Google as well....
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Google Gmail - Show Unread Message Count as an Icon
Glance at your web browser's Tab Bar to see how many new messages are in your Gmail Inbox.
Do you keep a web browser tab or window open all the time waiting for an important message in your Gmail Inbox?
One way to more easily see at-a-glance whether or not new mail has arrived inside your Inbox is to place the number of new messages directly in the browser / tab icon - see the below screenshot for an example:...
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Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Fade an Image to the Background with a Soft Edge
Apply customizable soft edges to photos and clip-art inside PowerPoint 2010 presentations.
Instead of simply placing a picture inside a Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 presentation, one option for stylistic effect is to apply a soft edge. This makes the picture seem to fade to the background around the edges, a sometimes pleasing effect. See the below screenshot for an example.
1. Select an image to modify....
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Microsoft Publisher 2010 - Save AutoRecover Information More or Less Often
If you're worried about program crashes and power outages, you may want Publisher 2010 to save AutoRecover information more often to reduce the chances of losing work.
By default, Microsoft Publisher 2010 saves AutoRecover information for open publications every 10 minutes. So, if a program / operating system crash or power failure shuts down Publisher before you forget to save your open files, upon restart of the software you may be able to recover some of your editing.
10 minutes may be too long an interval; a theoretical crash 9 minutes and 59 seconds after the latest save or AutoRecover save can cause you to lose a great deal of work. Reducing this interval may cause less work to be lost due to catastrophic failure. On the other hand, you might find it quite annoying that Publisher pauses so often to save the information and decide to increase this interval....
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Microsoft Word 2010 - Remove White Space Between Pages in Print Layout View
In Word 2010, if there is too much white space between pages when viewing documents in Print Layout View, here's how to reduce it.
When viewing Microsoft Word 2010 documents in "Print Layout" view, a small amount of space is added between pages, presumably to make the separation between pages more clear-cut onscreen.
If you perform document editing where you need to look at the bottom of one page and the top of the next page, you might find these few pixels a waste of space, especially on smaller monitors. Thus there are a couple of ways you can reduce the space between pages to only a couple of pixels:...
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Microsoft Excel 2010 - Filtering Data in a Worksheet, with an Example
Instructions on how to filter data in an Excel 2010 worksheet, with screenshots showing filters performed on an example worksheet.
When viewing a worksheet in Microsoft Excel 2010 with a large series of data, it might prove useful to only display a subset matching desired criteria. Examples may include only showing salespeople with over $25,000 in monthly sales, budget items costing $5,000 or more, or students scoring at least an 80 on a test.
To display this subset you can use Excel 2010's Filter tool. ...
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Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Toggle Gridlines, Guides, and Rulers When Designing Slides
Use rulers, drawing guides, and / or gridlines to arrange objects inside slides in PowerPoint 2010 presentations.
Designing complicated slide layouts in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010?
It might prove useful to show items to aid in arranging text, images, graphs, and other objects on a slide. With a couple of clicks you can view horizontal and vertical rulers, gridlines on which objects are aligned, and adjustable drawing guides....
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[MODIFIED] Mozilla Firefox - Plugins and Extensions - Generate Passwords Automatically with pwgen
If you're tired of creating passwords every time you log into a new web service, the pwgen extension can generate passwords for you.
Although some web services let you logon with a preexisting Facebook, Google, Twitter, or Yahoo account, many still require generating user accounts where you need to enter passwords. Required for security, good passwords should include a variety of characters including lowercase and uppercase letters, numbers, and punctuation symbol. However, generating these passwords can be cumbersome.
The "pwgen" extension for Mozilla Firefox can help reduce some of the annoyances when signing up for new accounts by creating passwords for you. New passwords are automatically copied to the clipboard so you can paste them into websites and (optionally) password management applications. And if you don't like a password or don't find it tough enough for your needs, just click the "P" again to generate a new one....
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[MODIFIED] Yahoo Mail - Add a Signature to Your Messages
Automatically add text to the end of your Yahoo! Mail e-mails such as your job title, an advertisement, or an interesting quote.
Many people add signature texts to the end of their e-mails. Signatures may include one's job title and company, a brief advertisement, contact information such as one's Facebook and LinkedIn accounts, or a humorous or inspirational quote.
If you'd like to add a signature to the end of all messages sent via Yahoo! Mail, do the following:...
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Docks - Program Launchers - Freeware to Launch Apps with a couple of Keystrokes
MadAppLauncher lets you set up groups of applications where you can launch one without using the mouse.
Looking for another way to group your Windows applications together and run them without having to navigate the "Start" menu?
If you're tired of using the mouse, you may wish to consider MadAppLauncher, a freeware (GPL) application launcher. This application launcher can be run via a customizable hotkey, and programs may be placed into one of ten tabs. After adding program information to the launcher (right-click a virtual button and select "Edit"), just start the software by pressing the launcher hotkey, then a number to switch tabs, and then a letter / punctuation / function key to start the configured application. See the below screenshot for an example configuration....
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Mozilla Firefox - Plugins and Extensions - Restart Firefox via the Menu or Keyboard Shortcut
The "Restartless Restart" extension for Firefox provides a menu item and keyboard shortcut you can use to shut down and relaunch the browser.
There are various reasons you may need to restart Mozilla Firefox, such as if you open a lot of tabs or use complex web applications and find the web browser running slower and/or leaking memory.
While various extensions exist to restart Firefox, the "Restartless Restart" extension has a couple of nice features. After installation, it is ready for use immediately without restarting Firefox. And, the extension adds a "Restart" option to the menu and a keyboard shortcut - Ctrl + Alt + R (this may differ on non-Windows platforms)....
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Microsoft PowerPoint 2010 - Change the Default Pen and "Laser Pointer" Colors
Make the annotating pen and virtual laser pointer appear in different colors while displaying a PowerPoint 2010 slide show.
When displaying a slide show in Microsoft PowerPoint 2010, you can access a Pen tool from the right-click menu and draw / annotate on top of the current presentation. Also, by holding the CTRL key down and then using the left mouse button, you can activate a "laser pointer" to draw attention to certain points of a slide.
By default, both the pen and laser pointer are red. If you want to change these settings, do the following:...
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Microsoft Excel 2010 - Double or Accounting Underline Text
Choose from several underline styles in an Excel 2010 workbook.
It's simple to underline text in Microsoft Excel 2010 - either press the CTRL + U keys or press the U button in the Font section of the "Home" tab in the Ribbon. However, you may not know that a couple of other underline styles are available besides the single basic underline, such as styles that underline everything except currency symbols. See the screenshot on the right for an example.
1. Select a cell you want to underline in a different style. Note that you can only apply one underline style per cell....
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Mozilla Firefox - Plugins and Extensions - Share Sites via Twitter, Facebook, Reddit, More
The AddThis extension for Mozilla Firefox provides a toolbar where you can share websites via a variety of social networks and other services.
Do you often share websites via Facebook, Twtter, Reddit, or other social networks / services? Do you have multiple toolbars installed inside Mozilla Firefox and wish there was just one toolbar you could install to share pages with virtually any popular service?
The "AddThis" extension allows you to quickly share web pages via a customizable list of services. This Firefox extension installs a toolbar for quick access to popular services, or you can optionally turn on a toolbar button instead, and/or you can access sharing features via the right-click context menu or an icon on the URL bar....
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Microsoft Word 2010 - Create Lists Without the Ribbon
Create bulleted, numbered, and multilevel (such as outline) lists without using the Ribbon.
Do you often need to create bulleted, numbered, and multilevel (e.g. outline) lists in your Microsoft Word 2010 documents?
Forgo the Ribbon and create lists just by typing. Word 2010 automatically converts the following characters into a list and will format your text appropriately. Note that to end a list, press the Enter key twice. Pressing Shift+Enter goes to the next line without advancing the list counter....
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Google Chrome - Create Placeholder Lorem Ipsum Text
Graphics designers - generate placeholder Lorem Ipsum text via a button inside Google Chrome while designing layouts of publications and web pages.
If you often design documents and web pages, if you do not have content ready for the various elements you might resort to dummy placeholder text such as the famous Lorem Ipsum placeholders. While some software packages and web pages can generate this text, you may find the "Lorem Ipsum Generator" for Google Chrome convenient. This extension adds a button directly to the toolbar allowing you to generate paragraphs of varying words.
To install this extension:...
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Microsoft Outlook 2010 - Enlarge or Change the Calendar Date Navigator Font
Make the Date Navigator easier to read in Outlook 2010, or customize the font.
If you find the small font of the Date Navigator in Microsoft Outlook 2010 difficult to view, or you find it hard to click on the small day numbers, you may wish to enlarge the font.
Especially if you have a larger monitor and resize the Navigation pane, you can increase the font size by a few points. Or, for the sake of customization you may also wish to change the font entirely from its default....
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Microsoft Publisher 2010 - Draw Attention; Border Text with a Graphic
Add BorderArt to a text box to draw attention to important information or just to spice up a publication.
Looking to focus the reader's eyes on a particular block of text in a Microsoft Publisher 2010 document? Instead of applying normal dotted or solid line borders, why not surround text with apples, confetti, pumpkins, trees, or a design of your own choosing?
...
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Computer Repair
About ExpatTech
At ExpatTech, we realize that finding quality computer repair services in Budapest is about as hard as finding a decent cheeseburger. That's why we specialize in laptop and desktop computer repair that doesn't leave you wondering if you were misinformed or swindled.
From PCs to Macs, we offer the highest quality computer repair service and outstanding customer care in several languages from our Budapest office. We understand the importance of clearly explaining in layman's terms not only the computer's issues, but also the repair options available. Our aim is to help you make the best decision in fixing your laptop or desktop computer.
We not only repair computers, we can also upgrade your hardware and software to fit your specific needs whether you are a growing business or an individual PC or Mac user.
Also, we have a new service available - building custom desktop computer configurations. We can put together a desktop computer from the empty tower up, and install the exact components that suit your particular computing requirements. Prices range from 55,000 to 555,000 forints - you can also specify a budget, and we will put together a computer to suit!
Click here to request desktop or laptop service!ExpatTech Computer Service Points
- We speak English, Hungarian, Japanese, and Italian
- Impeccable customer service and communication for computer repairs
- 24 hour turnaround time on initial diagnosis
- 1-2 day turnaround time on all minor repairs
- Global notebook and desktop computer parts procurement, independent of brand or type
- Competitive prices (6000 HUF/hr)
- Computer pick-up and delivery (5000 HUF)
- Drop-off service center in central Budapest (Ráday utca 32, ground floor, flat #1)
- On-site repairs also possible, at your home or office
- Access to precision motherboard repair equipment
Free Diagnosis of Computer Problems
In general we offer a free diagnosis of the problem(s) with your laptop, netbook, or desktop computer. This is one of the main advantages of coming to ExpatTech instead of the bigger computer repair companies or the brand service centers. In general our policy is that you only need to pay for the repair and parts required for it, there is no automatic or minimum charges just for looking at your machine.
There are some exceptions to this rule, if a laptop needs to be totally disassembled, or several hours spent on a computer to work out what's wrong, we need to charge something to cover our time. We only charge half to one hours worth of work for these cases, meaning 3,000 - 6,000 HUF, and we always tell you BEFORE spending this amount of time. This is particularly true if you decide NOT to get your computer repaired - in general we will only charge the cost of the repair when the client pays us to have their computer fixed.
Laptop Repair
It may be an understatement to say that currently laptop repair service that is available in Hungary is not the best. Very few brands have chosen to invest in building service centers here. Lenovo/IBM is one exception to this rule, but taking a laptop to a brand's service center might turn a 25 dollar laptop repair into a $250 repair! There are also no parts distributors for most laptop brands in Budapest or Hungary. This fact means that unless used parts can be located, parts have to be ordered from abroad which can mean slow service.
Generally, laptops present more of a challenge for repair, because access to the components is more difficult and components are many times located directly on the motherboard. Laptop motherboard repair work requires very expensive precision equipment. Through our computer repair partners, ExpatTech has cut rate access to over $20,000 dollars of such equipment. If it's possible and worth it, we will get your laptop fixed!
click here to submit a repair form
Desktop Repair
Desktop computer repair is significantly simpler than laptop or notebook repair. Components are very modular within the case. In general the parts are easy to access and easy to replace if they can't be fixed. For instance the power supply to the computer is a separate box that can easily be replaced in case it fails, compared to a laptop computer that generally has the power connector soldered onto the motherboard. Similarly desktop computers have removable video cards and sound cards, components which are typically integrated chips on laptop motherboards.
If you are bringing a desktop computer to our repair and service center, we only need the computer tower itself. We do not need any peripherals like the monitor, keyboard, or mouse, or power cords, as we have these available.
click here to submit a repair form
Laptop and Desktop Computer parts
We don't carry a stock of specialist laptop or desktop computer parts at ExpatTech, however this doesn't mean we can't provide what you need straight away to repair your computer and get it running again!
We have several different sources of parts for the notebooks, netbooks, laptops and desktop computers that we repair. These fall into two categories, common or universal parts, and computer specific parts.
For the most common parts, such as hard drives, memory (RAM), desktop computer power supplies, DVD/optical drives for both notebooks and desktops, we have sources for immediate purchase from wholesalers here in Budapest. We even have a relationship with a computer "wreckers" who take apart old computers, and can get even the most ancient parts for your old faithful and revered computer!
The other category is computer specific parts, and these are not often readily available in Budapest or Hungary. We can order replacement parts from Asian factories or original computer parts from the US and the UK, for any type of PC or Apple Macintosh computer. Delivery time is dependent on international shipping, but we can get practically any part required. If you have broken your laptop hinges, need a replacement LCD, a new fan/ventilator, or even new motherboards are available at rates that are much more economic than replacing your whole computer. We require pre-payment for these items and others such as laptop chargers/adapters, but at least we can get them for you!
Apple Macintosh / Mac Computer Repair
Apple brand computers, in particular their Macintosh or Mac laptop/notebook computers are in many ways similar to their PC equivalents. They all use third party components, and then assemble them under their own brand name. Similarly, insde the new iMacs you will find the same Intel processors as many PCs, as well as the same Seagate or Toshiba hard drives.
Of course the Mac operating system and architecture differs from PCs, but the most common problems are the same, and ExpatTech can help you out with your G3, G4, iBook, PowerBook, MacBook or MacBook Pro. The most common issues are hard drive failures, memory failure, broken LCD screen or display, problems with the ventilator or fan, and ExpatTech has experience with repairing all of these in Apple Macintosh computers. We also have access to very detailed disassembly guides for virtually all Mac notebook and iMac computers, and using these can fix problems like broken hinges and other vital parts.
We are also thoroughly familiar enough with the Mac OSX operating system and environment for troubleshooting a range of issues. In the event of a hard drive failure, we can reinstall your system for you, either OSX 10.4 Tiger, OSX 10.5 Leopard, OSX 10.6 Snow Leopard, and get your Mac notebook or iMac up and running again.
NEWSFLASH! Apple has now released the latest OSX 10.7 Lion, and at ExpatTech we can upgrade your Mac to this newest version of the Macintosh computer operating system. Call now for details!
We do not do motherboard repairs on Macs ourselves, but we have a partner who has the specialist equipment to repair the delicate circuitry on Apple Mac motherboards. Alternatively we can help any resident or visitor by overseeing the repair of Apple Macintosh products through the use of an Apple certified service center. We will coordinate everything on your behalf and keep you thoroughly abreast of the details.
click here to submit a repair form
When and Where
ExpatTech is open on weekdays from 10am-6pm.
Our phone number: (06-1) 215 1143
Customers looking to save some money may drop their computers off at our service location in Pest.
Laptop Rental
Attention!
Bring your computer into ExpatTech for repairs and get a 25% discount on a great rental laptop. For more information on our notebook hire service in Hungary, our our Laptop Rental page.
In Closing
We know from our own experience how important it is to have our laptop and desktop computers functioning at their peak. Originally at ExpatTech we focused on providing web design services, but when we needed to fix or upgrade our own computers we quickly realized that existing laptop and desktop computer repair options in Budapest were over-priced. But more importantly, we found it hard to identify service repair companies whose staff was client-centered, spoke English, and had the skills to fix both PCs and Macs.
For any general questions or concerns, please feel free to contact us!
