Heavy Chrome users might find it a bit difficult to manage all their bookmarks, because there is no easy way to place a new sites in a specific folder. Here is a little tip that will help you manage your bookmarks:

You can save a bookmark simply by dragging it to a folder.

I’ve created a 30 seconds video that explains how to do that. check it out below.

(If you got this post through e-mail or RSS and you can see the video, try watching it in the original post.)

Post from: ProductiveWise

Tip For Heavy Chrome Users – Drag a Website’s Address to Save It in Your ‎Bookmarks

Do you get tens of pages out, with some of the columns standing by themselves in an unknown page every time you print out an Excel worksheet? Tired of wasting paper time and time again?

It’s time to get things straight. Let’s see how to print an Excel sheet the right way.

This is an excerpt of a post I wrote on MakeUseOf. To read the full post visit Excel Secrets Discovered – 6 Steps For Perfect Printing.

Post from: ProductiveWise

Excel Secrets Discovered – 6 Steps For Perfect Printing

A bookmarklet is a piece of code saved as a bookmark. When you click it, instead of just taking you to a bookmarked website, it performs an action (which may include taking you to another website, but does not have to do that). Here are 5 recommended bookmarklets to boost your productivity by helping you instantly subscribe to, read, tweet, share and translate webpages.

This is an excerpt of a post I wrote on MakeUseOf. To read the full post visit 5 Recommended Bookmarklets To Simplify Tedious Tasks.

Post from: ProductiveWise

5 Recommended Bookmarklets To Simplify Tedious Tasks

Ever read a post or article and wanted to email it to others? Use The following bookmarklet to ease things up.

How to use it

To use the bookmarklet (which is a piece of code saved as a bookmark), simply add it to your bookmarks bar. Right click the button below and choose “Bookmark This Link” or just drag and drop it to the bookmarks bar:

Right click the button and choose “Bookmark This Link”

What it does

Whenever you click the bookmarklet, it’ll do the following actions:

1. Create a new email message (in a new window).

2. Set the title of the webpage as the subject.

3. Add a link to the webpage in the body of the message.

4. Copy all the text that was selected when you clicked the bookmarklet into the body of the message (see images below).

While you’re at it, you might also want to configure an new-email keyboard shortcut.

Post from: ProductiveWise

Create a New Email With the Title, Content, and a Link to a Webpage Using a Gmail Bookmarklet

ZAP Reader is a web program that enables you to practice speed reading while reading online text. It is easy to use and does not requires registration or any payment.

How it works

Any text pasted into the zap reader box is read at a predefined pace (300 words per minute as default), a predefined number of words at a time (one word as default).  (See the example picture.) You can paste any text you like, word documents, internet pages, and so on.

Why is it good

When practicing speed reading, three technical issues are to be considered:

1. “Block of words” size - the number of words you read with every eye movement.
2. Fixation - the time spent on each block. 
3. Skip-backs - the number of times you move back to read things you’ve already read.

(See more about Increasing Your Reading Speed at Mind Tools).
ZAP reader practice all three of these technical issues. The number of words presented at a time allows you to determine and enlarge your “blocks of words.” The number of words per minute reduces the fixation. And since the words keep running and you have no way to look back (without using the mouse), skipping-back is prevented.

How to use it

First time settings:  

1. Add this Bookmarklet to your bookmarks bar (put it in an accessible place):  ZAP! 
2. Go to the setting page and configure it to your preferences (cookie is used).
   I recommend these changes:                          
   • Define the number of words at a time.
   • Define the number of words per minute.
   • Decreasing the font size.
   • Set it to Auto-Play (so you will not need to click “play”).

Whenever you want to speed read:

Select text you want to read and click the bookmarklet in your bookmarks bar. The text will start “running” In a new window. All that is left to do now is read (fast…).

After a few times you will learn what is your maximum reading speed. By gradually increasing it, you will be able to expand your reading limits.

Have you ever used speed reading tools?  Tell us in the comments. 

Post from: ProductiveWise

Speed Reading – Enhance Your Reading Abilities with ZAP Reader

Using Gmail keyboard shortcuts makes reading and organizing your emails easier and more efficient. Here are the five Gmail keyboard shortcuts I found the most useful.

(to enable shortcuts Go to settings > general > Keyboard shortcuts > enable)

the shortcuts

Keyboard shortcut: [ (left bracket)
Action: archive current email and go to the next one
Tips: ] does the same but goes back to the previous email.

Keyboard shortcut: j
Action: go to the next email (without archiving the one you’re reading).
Tips: k goes to the previous email. It is most useful when you’re using Gmail search and need to scan through a lot of results. This shortcut also applies to Google reader.

Keyboard shortcut: a
Action: reply to all the recipients.
Tips: r replies only to sender.

Keyboard shortcut: c
Action: compose new email
Tips: you can easily configure a much better keyboard shortcut that will work even if the browser is not active.

Keyboard shortcut: ? (Press SHIFT + ?)
Action: display available keyboard shortcuts (not all of them, but you can see them here).
Tips: don’t like the default keys? You can change them. Go to settings > Labs > Custom keyboard shortcuts > enable. Now go back to settings, click Keyboard Shortcuts and reassign them as suites you best.
This shortcut applies to other Google’s application such as Google reader, calendar and more.

Warning for readers from non-English speaking countries: if your Gmail interface is in English, you will have to toggle your keyboard to English for some of these shortcuts to work.

picture by alcomm

Post from: ProductiveWise

Top 5 Gmail Keyboard Shortcuts to Boost Your Productivity

When you are working on a document and need to find text (a specific word or phrase), pressing CTRL + F pops up the “find” dialog box and lets you search for that text. Now, let’s say you found it and kept working on that document, and now you want to find the same text again. Pressing CTRL + PageDown will instantly take you to the next instance of that text! No need to open the “find” dialog box again (Keep CTRL down and press PageDown to move to the following instances of that text).

Post from: ProductiveWise

Tip – Microsoft Word Keyboard Shortcut to Find the Next Instance of Text You’ve Already Looked For

MySpeed, a tiny free software, allows you to control the speed of online videos. That means that you can watch a YouTube video in twice the default speed, or slow down the video to half of it. The speed-control window automatically appears whenever a video is played, and disappears when the page is closed or the video is paused (see screenshot).

As you may imagine, there are various situations where it is more efficient to speed up a video (or a part of it) or more effective to play it slower . I find it useful, for example, when I watch lectures and want to speed them up, even 10 or 20 percent faster, if the lecturer speaks slow or when I just want to get the hang of it quickly.

Download MySpeed

Post from: ProductiveWise

Software Recommendation – MySpeed Lets You Control the Speed of Online Videos (YouTube Too)

ClipX is a tiny software that does one simple thing – remember your 20 last copied items (or more, if you configure it to do so). This is as opposed to the usual situation in which you are limited to using only the last text or image copied. It is useful, for example, when you wish to copy both link address and its name to another document or when you need to copy your username and password to login…

To use it, simply press Winkey + V to pop up a list of the last copied items (see picture) and chose the one you want to paste (Winkey located between the left CTRL and the left ALT in your keyboard. It has a picture or symbol of a flag on it).

Get ClipX here
^{(if you do not download the latest version - ClipX 1.0.3.9 beta 7 x86 - notice, that keyboard shortcut ALT + C pops up the copied items list, and not as mentioned above)}

Post from: ProductiveWise

ClipX – Enhanced Copying Ability to Increase Work Efficiency [Software]

In a Microsoft word document, pressing CTRL+ALT+Z will take you  back to the last place edited. It’s agreat feature if you write in an iterative way (i.e. write different parts of the documents simultaneously). It is also useful when you write or review a document and want to see where you stopped the last time.

Post from: ProductiveWise

Tip – keyboard Shortcut to Jump Back to the Last Place Edited in a Microsoft Word Document

When adding a new bookmark (favorite) to the bookmarks bar, leave the “name” field empty. That way, the bookmark will be saved only as the favicon (short for favorites icon) of the website, allowing you to save space in the bookmarks bar and make more bookmarks visible.

Post from: ProductiveWise

Daily Tip – Save Bookmarks Bar Space by Adding Bookmarks as Icons Without Names

Actually, the headline says it all.

Type question mark (press SHIFT + ?) when using Google applications such as Google Reader or Gmail, and a list of available keyboard shortcuts will appear!

(In Gmail you have to enable shortcuts first. Go to settings > general > Keyboard shortcuts > Keyboard shortcuts on)

Post from: ProductiveWise

Discover Google Applications’ Keyboard Shortcuts by Typing Question Mark ‘?’

Save some precious clicks by configuring a shortcut that instantly opens a new email. No need to open the inbox first or minimize other programs – Since the shortcut is “universal”, it can be activated no matter if the browser is open or active.

configure a new-email keyboard shortcut

1. Log in to your email account and create a new email.
2. Copy the new email’s URL.
   
3. Right click your desktop and select “shortcut” under the “new” menu.
4. Paste the URL into the dialog box and click next
5. Name the new shortcut (for example: “Gmail”) and click finish.
6. A shortcut icon will be formed on your desktop – right click it and select “properties”.
7. Click the “shortcut key” box, and then press CTRL SHIFT M simultaneously.
8. Press OK.

You’re done!

Now, whenever you feel like writing a new email, simply press CTRL+SHIFT+M, and a new email will be created instantly! 

Post from: ProductiveWise

The Easiest way to Create a New Email Message Instantly