Portable Document Libraries - Characters to Avoid

Problem: The best way to save, organize & structure a set of documents that together comprise a document library, such as for a manual, catalogue or other sizeable, multi-document reference set.  (And while I am a big fan of wiki's these aren't appropriate in many cases)

Solution: A well organized directory hierarchy of PDF documents is a very safe way to go.  While it lacks many fancy feature of other solutions, it is very simple and portable.  This structure can easily be implemented any fashion, local file systems, shared network folders, FTP and web servers.  The entire contents can be zipped for easy transport or exchange.  In order to be compatible for multiple operating system as well as web server, you must be sure to name the directories and file using the lowest common denominator of characters accepts on most platforms.

This article by MTL list the characters to avoid when naming such document libraries.

http://www.mtu.edu/umc/services/web/resources/cms/characters-to-avoid.html

Android Change Exchange Email Password

Most Corporate Windows Networks have in place policies that you must change your Windows login password every so often, typically 90-days.  If you have an Andriod smartphone this can be a further hassle because your phone likely uses the same password to login to your Exchange server to access Corporate email.  After you change your Windows password you may notice that the Inbox on your Andriod phone is reporting "Couldn't open connection to server."  Here are the steps to update your email password on your Android smartphone.

Click on the following items:

• Settings
• Accounts & sync
• select email account from list
• Account settings
• your email address
• Incoming settings
• Edit the password field
• Click the Done button at the bottom of the screen.

Create an LPT Printer in Windows

LPT printers and computers that have LPT ports are becoming rare.  If you use any legacy or DOS programs, you may still have a need to print to LPT printers.  Windows has a simple way that you can map a "network printer" to an LPT port to allow for LPT printing.  Here's how.  Open a command prompt and enter the following command and press enter:

net use lpt1 \\printserver\laser1 /persistent:yes

LPT1 is the LPT port number.  You could also use LPT2, etc.
PrintServer is the name of the server/PC that is sharing the printer.
Laser1 is the share name of the printer device.
Persistent yes keeps the mapping after you reboot, making it permanent, until you manually delete it.

Even if your printer is a local USB one, you can share it and map to your own share name.

Microsoft Support article on the topic can be found here.

Windows 7 God Mode

Ever get tired hunting for the correct management screen in Windows 7?  Windows 7 has a number of "smart" contextual menus.  Sometimes hunting for the right place to find the right link is more than half the battle.  I know what setting I want to change, where's that damn screen again!!!

Windows 7 God Mode puts 278 Control links at your finger tips, all nicely organized into logical groups.

Win7 God Mode

1. Right-click on Desktop and select New > Folder
2. Erase the default name of "New folder" and replace it with the following text and press enter
   GodMode.{ED7BA470-8E54-465E-825C-99712043E01C}
3. The icon will automatically change to the same icon as Control Panel.

Unlock Your BlackBerry

I have used this site numerous times to unlock BlackBerries with a 100% success rate. (http://iunlockblackberry.com/)  The process only takes a couple minutes and has complete step-by-step instructions for every Blackberry model.  Price is great too, only $9.95 USD per unlock code.  All you need is your IMEI number (dial *#06#), your Blackberry model number, your country and name of current operator/network your phone is currently locked to, (i.e. Rogers/Telus/Bell).  With this information and your payment, you are provided with a MEP/MEP2 code.  Just enter the MEP as instructed for you model and your phone is now unlocked.  Highly recommend this service.

If your current Blackberry is broken or just old, instead of buying new or locking into a dreaded contract, you can buy used and unlock so it will work with your provider.

Or if you are travelling abroad, instead of paying huge roaming changes, just unlock your phone and pick-up a pay-as-you-go SIM card at your destination.  This is usually a much cheaper option.

Enable Telnet in Windows 7

The Telnet Client is disabled by default in Windows 7.  Follow these steps to enable it:
(Or use putty, it's a much better application)

• Start > Control Panel > Programs and Features
• Click "Turn Windows feature on or off" from the sidebar.
• Check "Telnet Client", click OK to apply setting.

Batch Thumbnail Creator

Easy Thumbnails by Fookes Software is a very handy tool for creating thumbnail images for one image or a entire directory of full size images.  A must have for avid photographers looking to batch process their collection into a manageable size for casual web viewing or sharing via email.  Also, web developers will surely fine a good use for this application, especially if you have worked on any on-line catalogues or shopping carts.  There are a number of code libraries that can create thumbnails upon upload to a Content Management System (CMS) or even browser image request.  But doing the heavy lifting upfront can alleviate your web server from having to perform this task.

Download Contents of Web Directory - wget

Good ol' wget, such a useful tool.

Common Question: How do you download the contents of a web directory?
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/914624/downloading-the-contents-of-a-web-directory

$ wget --wait 2 -rkc --no-parent http://example.com/dir

See the complete wget manual here.  wget for Windows too.