Clarity Australia | Making Technology Clear

How to: Add an RSS Feed to your iGoogle Home Page

Matthew J Thompson — Tue, 04 Oct 2011 23:32:48 +0000

I have been using Google Apps now for close on 3 years and have been accessing it via a web browser the whole time. My home page has always been Google but I recently changed it to iGoogle so that I can configure some handy Gadgets for easy access to my most used items.

In my management of keeping stuff out of the Inbox I set up some RSS Feeds instead of subscribing to some newsletters. The great thing is you can add RSS Feeds right onto your iGoogle page.

Heres how:

Open iGoogle
Press the Add Gadgets button
On the top right look for the 'Search for gadgets' box and type RSS and press 'Search' button
The first entry should be Google Reader. Press 'Add it now' button.
Now configure the RSS feed in Google Reader by adding the relevant link.

Want to know more about how iGoogle can improve your business productivity then contact me.

Google Calendar Labs not working?

Matthew J Thompson — Sun, 17 Apr 2011 05:07:40 +0000

Have you recently noticed that Google Calendar Labs are not working? You are not alone!

I was delivering training three weeks ago and everything worked fine and I was able to show how Google Calendar Labs worked. One week later and no joy the Labs had disappeared. So I began a hunt on various forums and the Google Apps Help Centre. Unfortunately none of the comments resolved the issue.

Then a lightbulb moment hit me...maybe it is a browser issue. I tested it in Mozilla Firefox instead of my default Google Chrome. Everything worked in Firefox but not Chrome. So if you are not seeing your Google Apps Calendar Labs try a different browser and you might find them.

Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office

Matthew J Thompson — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 23:54:09 +0000

Still using a PC? Want to be able to sync a document you are working on while working on a plane or away from an internet connection?

Then you will want Google Cloud Connect for Microsoft Office.

Want to know more about how Google Apps can improve your business productivity then contact me.

How to: Add an Image to Google Apps Signature

Matthew J Thompson — Sat, 23 Oct 2010 09:23:57 +0000

I was recently asked, "How do you add an image to your Google Apps Signature?" Rather than try and write how to do it I have recorded a short video. I hope it helps!

A better way to manage your files

Matthew J Thompson — Tue, 06 Jul 2010 23:00:03 +0000

Previously I have mentioned ways to store files on the cloud. More recently I have been recommending a better way to manage your files.

I travel almost everyday through areas with limited to no internet access and there are times when I just need to be able to access a file. The catch though is that I don't want to have to remember which files I've accessed and sync them over my Mac, PC, iPhone and iPad. That's where Dropbox comes in.

Watch the following video for some more information.

Which Cloud Accounting Package do you recommend?

Matthew J Thompson — Thu, 01 Jul 2010 02:46:04 +0000

Freshbooks | Cloud AccountingI Lurve Freshbooks!

It is a Cloud Accounting package, tailored for individuals or businesses that bill $300k or less, that allows you to send and manage invoices online or via the MiniBooks App on your iPhone. If you need to run timesheets for a client you can set up Time Trackers that you tap on your iPhone which can be associated with specific Projects or Tasks or just in general for a client.

Tracking expenses and re-billing clients can sometimes prove a nightmare but with Freshbooks you can add them on the go and associate them to a client with a few clicks. Then when you go to raise an invoice it will remind you that you have expenses to invoice. Even better is that you can even have it linked to your Shoeboxed account! So your entries will appear there for you and all you have to do is associate it with a

client, if necessary.

As far as reporting is concerned you can run Ageing & simple P&Ls. Starting up you can import data is limited to contacts only, the developers need to look at history invoices and expenses for those coming in part way through a financial year.

When it comes to invoice reminders it is set and forget. You can select the number of days between reminders and change any of the text for the emails that are generated.

I use Freshbooks everyday and just lurve how easy it is to run my invoicing system now!

For assistance on moving your business to the Cloud contact me via email or call me on 02 8014 8857.

How to: Set up a 3rd monitor for my Mac

Matthew J Thompson — Sat, 19 Jun 2010 02:34:01 +0000

I've recently been asked, "How do I set up a 3rd monitor for my Mac?"

After checking some options and speaking to the fantastic staff at Apple I came across this YouTube video by the guys at Macworld. Check it out!

Another New Feature for Gmail: Drag and drop attachments onto messages

Matthew J Thompson — Tue, 20 Apr 2010 00:15:00 +0000

Looking for ways to save time? Who isn't!

Suppose you want to attach some files to an email, and you already have a folder open containing those files.

You used to have to click "Attach a file," find the photos, click them, etc. If you're using Google Chrome or Mozilla Firefox 3.6, you can just drag and drop the files to attach them.

For now, you can drag and drop attachments in Chrome and Firefox only.

Source: Drag and drop attachments onto messages (http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/drag-and-drop-attachments-onto-messages.html)

New Feature for Gmail: Nested Labels and Message Sneak Peek

Matthew J Thompson — Mon, 19 Apr 2010 00:15:00 +0000

Looking for a way to organise your Labels in Gmail? Here is a new feature just for you!

Labels are more flexible than folders because a given email can have several labels but can't be in several folders at the same time. A highly requested feature for labels, though, comes from the world of folders: the ability to organize labels hierarchically.

If you think this might be useful to you, go to the Gmail Labs tab under Settings, look for "Nested Labels," enable it and click "Save." You'll then need to name your label with slashes (/) to make it the child of another. For example, let's say you wanted to create a simple hierarchy with a "Home" label, and inside it a "Family" and a "Vacation" label. Just create three labels with the following names:

Home
Home/Family
Home/Vacation

You can then create "Home/Family/Kids," "Home/Pets," etc., to get something like the screenshot on the left. If you had the parent label "Home" before you don't have to create it from scratch.

You can create complex hierarchies of labels if that's the way you like to organize your mail, and you can expand/collapse labels to save space. You'll always be able to tell whether a given label contains unread messages in its collapsed child labels by looking at whether it's bold or not.

Please note that this lab doesn't play nicely with the "Hide Read Labels" lab. You might not get exactly what you expect if you have both labs enabled; for example, the collapse/expand icons won't always appear when they should.

Another highly requested feature is the ability to preview messages to get a glimpse on what they contain and maybe take immediate action without opening them.

This is exactly what "Message Sneak Peek" does. After you turn it on, right-clicking on a line in your inbox shows a preview pane with the message in it.

You can also use keyboard shortcuts for a faster sneak-peeking flow (enable keyboard shortcuts in Settings first if you haven't done so): hit 'h' to open a sneak peek card, then navigate with 'j' and 'k,' and dismiss the current card by pressing "Escape." Messages you peak at will stay unread (or it wouldn't really be a sneak peek, would it?).

Source: New in Labs: Nested Labels and Message Sneak Peek (http://gmailblog.blogspot.com/2010/04/new-in-labs-nested-labels-and-message.html)

How to: Access Google Docs’ Real-Time Editing, Drawing Features

Matthew J Thompson — Sun, 18 Apr 2010 12:34:28 +0000

There’s a whole bunch of new stuff in Google Docs, including real-time editing, a drawing tool, and a new look and features for spreadsheets and presentations. Not all of it is apparent and visible to returning Docs users, though.

Google Operating System’s app-by-app rundown shows how to enable the new document editing in the Settings, to activate Drawing from the “Create New” button, and hit the menu bar for a crisper spreadsheet view. If you’ve had some time to play with the new Docs tools, tell us what you think of them in the comments. [Google Operating System]

Source: How To Access Google Docs’ Real-Time Editing, Drawing Features (http://www.lifehacker.com.au/2010/04/how-to-access-google-docs-real-time-editing-drawing-features/)