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If you’re like me, you have created multiple folders under your main address book in Outlook. I store my personal contacts in the default Contacts address book, which I can access from my Windows Mobile device. However, I created additional folders for groups of other contacts by going to Contacts and choosing File – New folder (you can also click the “New” button on the Standard tool bar and choose new folder from the drop-down list).

You may have noticed that when you open a new mail message, and click on “To” for names, you don’t see all the new folders you created in the Address List. This tip shows you how easy it is to add more folders to the Address List. Once you do this, you can click on the pull down list under Address Book and find addresses in other folders. This works in both Outlook 2003 and 2007.

In Outlook, click on the Contacts. Right-click the folder you want to save to the address list. Choose “properties” and the tab “Outlook Address Book.” Check the box next to “Show this folder as an email address book,” click “OK” to save.  Open a new email message and click the “To.” Look in the pull-down list for the new address book.

Adobe Acrobat Standard and Professional versions will read PDF files to you!   This feature is called Read Out Loud and it is easy to use.  Using the feature is a two-step process.  First the feature is activated; next you command it to read.

To use the feature open a PDF:
1.  Click on View>Activate Read Out Loud.
2.  Click on View>Read Out Loud>Read This Page Only or Read to End of Document.

The Read feature will remain activated until you close Acrobat.  There a number of  keystroke combinations which will also control the Read Out Loud feature. Adobe provides additional information and instructions to change the default settings for Read Out Loud.

The voice is not stimulating, and the listening comprehension process requires some extra level of concentration.  Even so, listening to a PDF document while driving is far superior to trying to read one!

Don’t forget: Windows also has a “narrator” function that will read out loud to you. For information on turning it on and using it in Windows XP, go here and for Vista go here.

If, like me, you are tearing your hair out because Word 2007 keeps adding an extra line after every paragraph (or hard return) when you just want a single line, there’s a permanent fix.  It’s not hard to see that you can click on the “line spacing” button on the Ribbon to change the “Remove space before paragraph” option. This will stop Word from adding the extra line for that document only, though.

There are a couple of ways to turn off the extra space permanently. One is to edit the Normal.dot template. About.com has easy step-by-step instructions to do this. I’ve tried it and it works.

Or, you can go to the “source” – Microsoft – which has a different solution. Roll back your Word version to 2003.  Yes, to fix the line spacing and paragraph spacing in Word 2007 so that it is the same as in earlier versions of Word, you have to change the Style Set option. Here’s how:

1. Click the Home tab.
2. Click Change Styles in the Styles group, point to Style Set, and then click the style set that you want to use.To change the default formatting of your document, such as the line spacing and paragraph spacing, to the default formatting that is used in earlier versions of Word, click Word 2003.
3. To set the style set as the default style set in Word 2007, click Change Styles in the Styles group, and then click Set as Default.
4. Sigh with relief.

This blog uses WordPress, but since I wanted to create my own theme instead of using someone else’s, I needed a theme editor. (My choice was to either find a wysiwyg editor or learn CSS, which I didn’t have time for.) Luckily, I found  Artisteer 2 which is $49.95 for home and academic use and $129.95 standard edition. There is a free trial version and I urge you to try it first before you purchase it, since there’s no refund.

Artisteer not only generates WordPress themes, it can generate Joomla templates, Drupal themes, DotNetNuke skins, and Blogger templates. Artisteer software has a clean interface (it actually reminded me of Word 2007) and it was simple to choose one of their blog themes and then edit it extensively to get pretty much the look I wanted. I was able to add different fonts, although it includes dozens. Artisteer can customize almost everything in the themes by color, font, size and more. One drawback: it comes with a limited amount of clipart images for use in the header, but you can also use your own.

Artisteer is a fairly inexpensive option when compared to other products out there, like Dreamweaver ($399 for new users) or Adobe Contribute CS4 at around $199 for a new license. If you already own Dreamweaver, you can download a free extension called ThemeDreamer, which allows WYSIWYG editing of WordPress. There are also other WYSIWIG editors, such as Microsoft SharePoint Designer.

The long awaited new Windows operating system, Windows 7, will be released to retail stores and PC makers October 22, 2009 – a mere six weeks from now. Many Vista users are eagerly anticipating what some have called “Vista Fixed.”

Many XP users (and there are a lot of us) have been waiting for anything but Vista to come along.  So, how will you know if you should make the move? I began by reading 10 things you should know about moving from Windows XP to Windows 7 on TechRepublic.  Among other important things, it spells out how XP users will have to do a clean install of Win7, or else install it in a separate partition on their harddrive.  A “clean” installation will replace your current operating system. The only thing left of XP will be in a folder that Microsoft creates called “Windows old.”  Your applications (your software programs) will not be viable! The good news is that Windows 7 reportedly is not a huge resource hog, so if your XP computer is three years old or less, it probably will be able to run Windows 7.

Vista users will fare better – they will be able to migrate from Vista to Win7 with settings and files intact. For either Vista users or XP users, I recommend reading Step-by-Step: Windows 7 Upgrade and Migration on Microsoft TechNet. Good luck!