IT Tips Month Three - Internal Email Attachments and More!

It Tips – We Meet Again

Here we are: another month; another brain stimulating IT tip. Did everyone (in the Berkshires) enjoy the two day preview of spring in mid-February? I know you did. I just hope some email attachment reform can be exciting enough hold us all over for the real thing!

What’s inside

Tech Section
   -  Emailing Attachments as links!!  Faster and saves server space (note: this is for internal emails only)
   -  Your friend the Windows Flag key
   -  Starting or joining a Meet-Me Conference call

Q&A from the User Community 
   -  “How can I prevent eyestrain when I’m on the computers?”

Emailing Attachments as Links

This is EXCHSRV:

  Say “Hi” everyone. This guy works around the clock to relay your email communications. He works very hard and hasn’t had a break in years! I’m feeling empathetic this month and I hope you are too. Everyone wants to ease the burden for him as much as possible, right? Look at that smile!

Fortunately, there is a way you can lend a hand! One of EXCHSRV’s most difficult jobs is to relay email blasts with large attachments. When we send a 5MB attachment to 100 Iredale employees EXCHSRV needs to make a copy of the attachment for each recipient. That means he has to process and store about 500MB (or .5GB) worth of data! That’s ONE message! We don’t need EXCHSRV to make 100 copies of the same file. We can instead let our F drive show 100 people 1 file! Plus, it’s a simple process.

I have created a folder on the F drive called ‘IMC Email Attachments’.  This folder’s only purpose is to serve up our large internal attachments. We can let the F drive hold the file and just email a link pointing to the file location.

For example:

Hello Everyone,

I have found a magic image file that makes you rich! Please take a look at the file ‘Magic.JPG’ on the F drive here.

Thanks!

Simple step by step:

1. Copy and paste your attachment to the ‘IMC Email Attachments’ folder on the F Drive
2. Compose an email to your IMC comrades referencing the file you’ve uploaded
3. Highlight the text you wish to hyperlink and right click.

   
      4.    Click Hyperlink…

      5.   Paste the F drive shortcut into the Address section (\\iredalefs\shared\IMC Email Attachments) and click OK 

6.   Send your email (That’s it!)

This method allows recipients of your email to simply click the hyperlink. They will then be taken to the F drive where they can view your lovely attachment.

Things to note:

-This is only for internal emails!  You can send attachments to people outside the company.

 - Remote users will need to be connected to the VPN to view the F drive. Depending on the speed of your internet connection, you may experience a slight delay when clicking on the link.

 - The IMC Email Attachments folder will be purged regularly. Any file older than 10 days will likely be deleted. If you need to keep an attachment that someone has put there you should save it to your computer or your user folder on the F drive (simply use copy and paste).

-If the attachment is confidential you can use any location on the F drive to which the recipients all have access (for instance, if marketing is sending out a large file just to others in the marketing department, you can put the attachment in the Marketing share)

-As a guideline, try to get in the habit of linking rather than attaching any file 2 MB or greater  that you are sending internally (even if it is only to a small group of people)

The Windows Flag key and you

The Windows Flag key isn’t just keyboard decoration. It actually does things! Here are two common uses:

1.       Flag + D – this will minimize all of your windows and bring you straight to your desktop. It’s quick and convenient!

2.       Flag + L – This will lock your screen without logging you out. Stepping away for a bagel? Flag + L and head out!

Starting or joining a Meet-Me Conference call

Meet me is a quick and easy solution for home office users to create a conference call. You can start a conference call right from your desk! If you don’t need to share your computer screen Meet-me is a great alternative to GoToMeeting. It works by simply reserving an extension for others to call into. Once the call is over, the extension is released and available.

Unlike a standard conference, where the conference organizer must call participants, a Meet-Me conference call allows participants to dial a Meet-Me conference number at a pre-determined time to join the conference call.

-Establish a Meet-Me Conference (Home Office users only)

• On your phone select New Call
• Click on the “more” button on the bottom right of the LCD
• Click on the “meetme” button
• Enter any extension from  1501 - 1509

-Join a Meet-Me Conference 

•  Dial the Meet-Me Conference number provided by the conference initiator. (For participants outside the company, you can dial 800-817-5665 and then dial the Meet-Me host’s chosen extension). Note:  After entering the extension, you will be automatically brought into the conference call. You can hang up anytime to leave the Meet-me call.

Things to note:

 -Only home-office employees with Cisco phones can CREATE a Meet-me conference, although anyone can dial into a Meet-me conference, regardless of their location.

 -The meet me extension you use is only live while you’re hosting the call. Once the host hangs up the conference call is over.

Q & A with the user community

Q:       “How can I prevent eyestrain when I’m on my computer?”

A:            When you stare at a monitor, your blink rate drops from 20 per minute to 7, and that dries out your eyes.  So think blink, and if your eyes are still dry, try preservative-free eye drops.  And to relieve fatigue, obey the 20-20-20 monitor rule: Look at something 20 feet away for 20 seconds every 20 minutes. Also, reducing glare is a key factor in reducing eye strain. Flat screen monitors like we use in our office or are found on your laptop are less reflective than older monitors, but you should also try to ensure that your screen is at a 90 degree angle from any direct light source in order to minimize glare. If you are still experiencing issues with eye strain, please contact us about adjusting the color and contrast settings on your monitor.

That’s it for this month. Enjoy the last few weeks of winter, drive safe and keep warm!

-Keith

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