You may sometimes want to send an email to a colleague and copy it to another without the first colleague knowing that you have done so. Both Outlook Express and Netscape have functions to allow you to do so.

In Outlook Express

		From the Inbox of the Outlook browser open the New Message window.
		After you have written your email and addressed it to your first colleague in the "To" field, click on to open the Dialog Box associated with the "Cc" field.
		This opens another Dialog Box which gives an option of "Bcc".
		Enter your second colleague's email address in the primary address field: next to the button marked "Find".
		Click on the "Bcc" button and the second colleagues address will be displayed in that field in the Dialog Box.
		Both your first and second colleagues will receive the email when you send it, but the fact that it has gone to two recipients will be hidden.

In Netscape

		From the Inbox of the Netscape browser open the To: Mail window.
		After you have written your email and addressed it to your first colleague in the "Mail To" field, click on View to open the a drop-down menu.
		Scroll down to highlight and click on "Mail Bcc".
		This will open a new button marked "Blind Cc" below the Cc button on your Netscape Mail window.
		Enter your second colleague's email address in the address field next to this button.
		Both your first and second colleagues will receive the email when you send it, but the fact that it has gone to two recipients will be hidden.

When copying files from one folder to another or from hard disc to floppy, the standard method is to left click to highlight the file/folder you want to move in the Windows tree and then drag and drop it into the new folder. This automatically deletes the file/folder from the source branch of the tree. This poses two problems:

		you haven't been able to store the file/folder in two places; and
		any slip could result in the file/folder being lost for good.

A safer way of moving/copying files and folders is to:

		highlight the file/folder you want to move by left clicking as usual but
		hold down the right mouse button instead of the left to drag and drop. Drag the selected file/folder to its new location in the tree. Make sure the new location is highlighted and release the right mouse button. You are then given a choice of actions including: Move Here; Copy Here; and Cancel.
		Scroll down to highlight your preferred option and left click to action it. This belt-and-braces way of moving and copying files and folders reduces your chances of making a mistake.

One of the advantages of computer-based word-processing packages is you can add little touches to letters and memos without much effort. For example a drop cap.

In Lotus Word Pro

		Type the paragraph of your letter or memo that you want to have beginning with a Drop Cap.
		Place the cursor amid the text of this paragraph.
		Select Create from the Menu items at the top of the screen.
		Scroll down to highlight Drop Cap in the drop-down menu.
		Select and click on the first option in the Dialog Wizard so that a black dot appears in the white circle.
		Select OK and the Drop Cap will be automatically placed within a border.
		Click anywhere on the page and the border will disappear.
		You can also choose to have a Rising Cap, where the large letter stands proud of the text of the paragraph; or a Margin Cap, where it stands alone with the text of the paragraph indented.
		Click to enable with a black dot the style you prefer. The little preview box to the right of the three options will give you a rough idea of what it will look like.
		You can also choose the depth or height of the Drop Cap by changing the number of lines in the box on the Drop Cap Dialog Wizard.
		If, after you have done this, you decide you don't like it, just click on the Undo backward curling arrow among the icons in the second menu bar down from the top of your screen.

In Microsoft Word

		Type the paragraph of your letter or memo that you want to have beginning with a Drop Cap.
		Place the cursor amid the text of this paragraph.
		Select Format from the Menu items at the top of the screen.
		Scroll down to highlight Drop Cap in the drop-down menu.
		Select and click on the second option in the Dialog Wizard so that a blue border appears around the example.
		Select OK and the Drop Cap will be automatically placed within a border.
		Click anywhere on the page and the border will disappear.
		You can also choose to have a Margin Cap, where it stands alone with the text of the paragraph indented.
		You can also choose the depth of the Drop Cap by changing the number of lines in the box on the Drop Cap Dialog Wizard.
		If, after you have done this, you decide you don't like it, just click on the Undo backward curling arrow among the icons in the second menu bar down from the top of your screen.

One of the main problems of laptop computers is the life of their rechargeable batteries. Mine -- and it's not unique -- seems to give me very little time between warning me that it is about to run out to actually running out. So, I have got into the habit of saving my work even more regularly than I do on my full-size machine. It is a practice I recommend.

It can be a bit of a pain having to highlight text and then scroll through the Format options for Range Left, Centre and Range Right when designing your text layout. Here are some quick-key short cuts. Just make sure your enabled cursor is within the area of text you wish to display in the chosen style.

Range Left: Hold down Ctrl and press "L".
Centre: Hold down Ctrl and press "E".
Range Right: Hold down Ctrl and press "R".

If you are trying to access a .com Website, you can save yourself having to type both the .com and the www. prefix in Internet Explorer.

		In the url field just type the name of the Website: eg, cleverclogs.
		Hold down Shift and Ctrl together then hit Enter.
		The url will automatically expand to: www.cleverclogs.com