Three Software Applications That Will Surprise You

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When you think software, you probably think e-mail, backup, antivirus and other techno geek stuff. Believe it or not, software can be fun. Here is the proof.

Living Cookbook (Radium Technologies)
Living Cookbook is cooking and recipe management software. You can use it to create, organize, print, and e-mail your recipes. It's packed with cool features like a meal planning calendar, cookbook publishing, nutritional analysis, menus, an ingredient database. Even kitchen novices will feel like master chefs after using the encyclopedic Living Cookbook. A battery of recipes is here, of course, offering detailed ingredients, instructions, and even images. But most notable is the comprehensive glossary offering up insight into arcane cooking terms and data. You even can edit entries if your kitchen tests reveal necessary tweaks or tips. Printing and sharing tools also are handy. Anyone looking to sharpen their culinary chops will find Living Cookbook an excellent resource.

River Past Screen Recorder (River Past)
River Past Screen Recorder lets you capture AVI video from the full screen, a window, a rectangle region, or a defined area around the cursor. You decide whether you want the cursor image to be included or not. You can even record audio into the AVI, from the microphone, line-in, or speakers. The Pro version allows you to record to WMV files using Microsoft's Windows Media Screen codec, which is specialized in producing high quality and small screen videos. You have the full control over the codec of the AVI file. You can choose the video compressor, and its compression quality. You can minimize River Past Screen Recorder, and start and stop recording by the hot keys. You can even pause the recording. What are some possible apps? You can record your PC screen to show what you did to fix a problem.

CTube! ( East Bay Technologies)
CTube! is one of the largest resource available for viewing Internet Television, with over 1500 channels of TV, Live video channels and Web cams, plus an Internet Video Search, with over 2 million videos. You can watch uncensored news, music videos, education, and entertainment channels from around the world. CTube is ideal for people interested in alternative programming, learning languages, foreign cultures, entertainment, or news. CTube! gives you all the benefits of Internet Television without having to do tedious searches or view online ads. You know what kinds of programs you like - CTube! gives them to you all in one place without the stuff you don't like - hassles and online advertisements.

Download Links
Living Cookbook: http://www.deprice.com/livingcookbook.htm

River Past Screen Recorder: http://www.deprice.com/riverpastscreenrecorder.htm

CTube! http://www.deprice.com/ctube.htm

John Deprice owns and operates http://www.deprice.com

 

Using Microsoft Excel as a Database

Excel is a spreadsheet program. It's in fact the application of choice for the majority of business globally. Excel has therefore been primarily used for developing departmental budgets, expense reports and a host of other accounting or financial deliverables. What many long-time users of Excel do not know is that the software possesses excellent database tools built right into it. This article will reveal the database side of Microsoft Excel.

In order to take full advantage of Excel's database features it is important to structure your data properly. In the example below you will see that the column labels are on the top row with the data directly beneath it in the following rows. For professional looking databases / spreadsheets always use consistent formatting, e.g., using the same formats for the column labels (in this instance the text is bold, Times New Roman and underlined while the numbers below them are right aligned and normal).

Student

Last Name

First Name

Total Points

2123
2679
2680
1455
2681
1270
3425
1243
1454
1878

Arellano
Black
Chase
Davila
Gabriel
Gonzales
Lopez
Miller
Monaco
Montoya

Maria
Michael
Tonia
Camilla
Maria
Juan
Maria
Hailey
Nicole
Peter

170
292
280
259
147
285
252
132
177
150

When working with large spreadsheets with many rows of data, it can be helpful to sort and filter the information to find what you are looking for. To sort and filter effectively, follow these rules when designing your lists:

•  Column labels must be in first row or be beneath at least one blank row.

•  Data must be entered in contiguous rows and columns.

•  List data must be separated from other entries by at least one blank row or one blank column.

•  Do not use duplicate field names.

•  Define your records as a list: Select all existing records and field names, click Data on the Menu bar, point to List, click Create List, make sure My list has headers is checked, and then click OK.

There are several ways to organize records for quick evaluation, using the Standard toolbar, the List toolbar, or the Data menu:

Simple Sort: Organize all records in a list based on one field. With the active cell anywhere in the sort field column, buttons on the Standard toolbar can be clicked to arrange records in Ascending or Descending order.

Custom Sort: Organize all records in a list based on up to three fields. With the active cell anywhere in the list, click the List button on the List toolbar and then choose Sort…, or, click the Data menu on the Menu bar and then click Sort… . Make your choices in the dialog box, and then click OK to perform the sort.

AutoFilter: When a range has been defined as a List, arrows automatically appear at the right of each field name. To temporarily filter out all records which do not meet one specific criterion in one field (i.e. Level=Beginning 3), click the AutoFilter arrow for the field on which you wish to base your criterion, and then click on the data you are seeking. Records where your criterion does not appear in the specified field will be hidden until you click the AutoFilter arrow again and select Show All.

Custom AutoFilter: If you wish to base your filter on two criteria (i.e. Level=Beginning 2 OR Level=Beginning 3), click (Custom…) in the AutoFilter menu to set And/Or criteria. AND criteria can be used to set a range for record selection (i.e. Total Score is more than 50 AND Total Score is equal to or less than 150.)

Advanced Filter: If you wish to base your filter on more than one or two criteria in more than one field, and/or you wish to copy the filtered records to another location in the workbook, use an advanced filter.
An advanced filter needs these steps:
1. Create a criteria range with the field name(s) involved and enter the appropriate criteria under the appropriate field name.
2. Decide in which cells the results should be placed (keep in mind that any data directly below these destination cells may be erased).
3. Position the active cell anywhere in the data list.
4. Click the Data menu, point to Filter, and then click Advanced filter.
5. In the dialog box, specify the list range, criteria range, and copy to range (be sure the Copy to another location option button is activated) and then click OK.

One of the fastest ways to organize your data is to click once on a cell containing data, i.e., any cell below the column labels and clicking on the “Sort Ascending” or “Sort Descending” button on the Standard Toolbar. This will effectively alphabetize your records from A to Z or Z to A with a simple click of a button. Look closely at the data once you sorted it. The records will maintain their integrity, e.g., if you sort in descending order, Peter Montoya in our example above will move to the top of the list along with his personal information, i.e., student number and total points.

About the Author
Anthony M. Magno, president of MMC, Inc., has 10+ years experience developing and implementing successful corporate learning, leadership and development programs. Learn about getting a Free Needs Analysis at: http://www.MagnoConsulting.com