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Tennessee Court Reporters Association

Website Tips

April 2012 Web Tip

With our Annual Convention right around the corner and in light of your busy schedule with work, kids, school activities, and other obligations, I thought it would be helpful to give you another easy option to keep abreast of court reporting news on the go.

As you know, one of the tools TCRA uses to keep our members informed is through our Facebook page. We have nearly 345 "likes" of our page! If you're not currently taking advantage of this resource, I encourage you to do so. It's such a great way to connect with family, friends, and colleagues. Our smartphones make it even easier to keep up with our social media options.

Sometimes I find that my Facebook News Feed doesn't always show up with the latest updates from my liked Pages or I can overlook something because of the number of updates I have. Now you can be assured you will never miss an update from TCRA again using your iPhone! You may access our mobile Facebook app any time and get the most up-to-the-minute news. If you have an Android phone, rest assured, an app is coming your way, too. I will keep you posted when it's available.

Please see the directions below on how to get started installing this app.

How to Install the TCRA Facebook App on Your iPhone:

1. Use this link to get started.

2. You will come to a screen that looks like this:

3. Enter your email address that you may access from your iPhone.

4. Once you receive an email from Fan Page Mobilizer, simply click on the provided link.

5. After you have clicked on the provided link, you will come to a screen like this:

6. Tap on the arrow button to add to your home screen. (The July 2011 Web Tip describes in more detail how to add sites to your home screen.)

7. At the next screen, select "Add to Home Screen".

8. When the next screen pops up, type in a name that makes sense to you for this app. My selection is TCRA FB. Once you have typed in your name, click the "Add" button in the top right of your screen.

How to Navigate the TCRA Facebook App on Your iPhone:

1. The first screen you see once you tap on the TCRA FB icon looks like this:

2. It will take just a few seconds to load and then this screen pops up:

4. Tap on the upper left icon with the three bars, and you will be taken to this screen:

5. Tap on the "News" tab and there's the TCRA Facebook Page wall! Simply scroll through the posts and click through the links to get more information. It's that easy, and you will always be kept informed of the latest news from your Association.

December 2011 Web Tip

In the November/December Journal of Court Reporting at page 59, Keith Lemons was featured with his Tech Tip about being careful when commenting on Facebook. As a follow-up to that, I thought it would be helpful to provide a link from The Facebook Blog authored by Mark Zuckerberg regarding the commitment to safety and privacy for users of this popular social media resource.

According to Mark from November 29th, "In the last 18 months alone, we've announced more than 20 new tools and resources designed to give you more control over your Facebook experience." He then goes on to list (hyperlinks included) the new tools and resources. I encourage you to familiarize yourself with each of these tools.

Facebook is truly an amazing resource to keep up with family, friends, and colleagues and a resource I utilize every week. Enjoy your experience with Facebook!

November 2011 Web Tip

A member recently sent me an email wondering how to protect your address book from viruses and/or from being hacked. The first step to protecting your address book is to ensure that you're following proper safety measures to protect your email account. Below are some guidelines to safeguard your email account.

Use a great password. Passwords should include a combination of alpha and numeric characters. Using over ten characters is recommended.
Do not share your password with anyone.
Do not trust public computers when logging in to your email accounts.
Use only trusted WiFi connections.
Be skeptical of incoming email messages. It could be a phishing email, which is a trick spammers use to try gain access to your personal information.
Do not divulge personal information on your social profiles that may be related to your password.
Do not use the same password for your online accounts.
Do not click on suspicious links.

I personally use 1Password to create strong, unique passwords, remember them, and restore them, all directly within my web browser. I never have to worry about forgetting a password again, while at the same time I am secure in knowing my passwords are protected. You may take your information with you so that it's always on hand. Mobile versions of 1Password are available for iPhone, iPod touch, and iPad as separate purchases through the iTunes App Store. Apps for Android and Windows Phone 7 are currently in beta.

July 2011 Web Tip

Bookmarking websites on your iPhone and iPad are super simple to do. The home screen isn't just for those all-important and "cool" apps. There are several reasons why it's important to bookmark a site, too.

Easy access -- at your fingertips
Time-saving
Stay organized

I wanted our members and users of our website to be able to easily add bookmarks (or web clips) to the most frequently used resources on the TCRA site to their iPhone and/or iPad home screen for all of the above-stated reasons; while at the same time having a meaningful and recognizable icon for those tools.
Below is a quick step-by-step guide on how to add the TCRA icon to your home screen.

Type in www.tncra.com in Safari.
At the bottom of the screen, there is an open rectangle with an arrow. Tap on that icon.
Next tap on "Add to Home Screen".
You will then be prompted to create a name for the bookmark. I'd suggest "TCRA".
Then click "Add" at the top right of the screen.

That's it!

You may use the above guide to add additional bookmarks to pages of the site; such as, Jobs, Find a Reporter, Student Corner, and Contact Us. Simply navigate to the pages most important to you and follow the above steps. Remember to be sure to create a relevant name for each module for easy access later on. Suggested names may be: CR Jobs, FindCR, TCRAStudent, or TCRAContact.

October 2011 Web Tip

Working more efficiently is every person's number-one priority. All court reporters have their favorite shortcut keys within their specific CAT software. Keyboard shortcuts are combinations of two or more keys that, whenpressed, can be used to perform a task that would typically require a mouse or other pointing device. Keyboard shortcuts can make it easier to interact with your computer while saving time and effort.

Below is a list of my top ten shortcut keys to use on your computer and/or within Windows.

Control + C - copy the selected item
Control + V - paste the selected item
Control + Z - undo the last action
Control + Y - redo an action
Control + X - cut the selected item
Control + A - select all items in a document or window
Control + right arrow - move cursor to beginning of next word
Control + left arrow - move cursor to beginning of previous word
Control + Esc - open Start menu
Esc - cancel current task