By Jonathan Neal
Staff Writer, Memo to Members
“Pop!”
David Coverston’s compelling Tool Tips presentation comes to an abrupt, ear-popping halt when a bulb bursts, leaving students and senior STC members alike wondering at a blank screen.
Et tu, projector bulb? Is this really the end?
On January 15th, the Orlando Central Florida (OCF) chapter of STC held its monthly meeting at the IHOP on University Boulevard. Guest speaker David Coverston gave his much appreciated and uniquely rewarding presentation entitled “Tool-Tips.” The presentation was a resounding success!
During the presentation, David shared numerous practical tips and software titles, communicating the information in a concise, easily absorbable format for both audiences present—those at the IHOP and those watching from home via the Internet. The general message revolved around simplifying or even eliminating redundant tasks, improving both your workflow and your sanity. What’s not to love?
Ever going above and beyond the call of duty, Mr. Coverston successfully recovered from the blown projector bulb incident by utilizing a spare monitor and livestreaming his PowerPoint presentation to attendees’ laptop computers, demonstrating once again his resourcefulness, technical savvy, and absolute effectiveness as a teacher. Bravo!
The event lived up to its advance billing:
“Free tools for technical communicators that will increase your productivity at work and at home. Learn about tools that enable you to take on tasks that you normally would dread, and have fun doing it.”
And learn we did. Here is what I learned…
- ClipName: Copy file names and directory information to clipboard. Especially useful for sharing within a network.
- Bulk Rename Utility: Rename multiple files simultaneously.
- Agent Ransack: Locate files on hard drive; search by content, title, or date. Never lose track of a file ever again!
- Notepad++: Notepad expansion with coding and add-on support. Supports several coding languages.
- JPdfBookmarks: Easily create and edit bookmarks in lengthy PDFs. A good supplement for Adobe Reader.
- NET: Image and photo editing software. Enjoy powerful tools, unlimited history, layers, and more!
- Inkscape: Professional-quality vector graphics software that will add a designer’s touch to your work.
- Fiddler: Web debugging proxy. Features performance testing, traffic recording, and web session manipulation.
To view David’s informative PowerPoint presentation, click here.
For more edifying tips, see David’s highly popular “Tool-Tips” column, available in the Memo to Members newsletter archives at http://memotomembers.stc-orlando.org/?p=2047. The “Tool-Tips” column began in November 2002 and still appears periodically.
In the February 4 meeting, the OCF Chapter moves to UCF for a special progression “Mining for Knowledge” (see above) hosted by Future Technical Communicators (FTC). Mark your calendars—this is not to be missed!
We also look forward to seeing you when the chapter meeting returns to IHOP in March. A new, insightful topic, sumptuous food, and a brand-new projector bulb await!
