LET'S COMMUNICATE
Agriculture Communication Newsletter
September 2003, No. 93

CONTENTS

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD
MAXIMUM SITES FOR VIDEOCONFERENCING
WINDOWS SMART SEARCH
WHO NEEDS SPELLCHECK!

 

WRITE THE RIGHT WORD

Here are a few grammatical errors I've caught in documents recently.

* The challenge for university specialists will be to insure that proper authorities are contacted.

Yes, they're both verbs, but "insure" means to arrange for compensation in the event of loss or damage, while "ensure" means to make certain something will occur. Just remember, insure with insurance. Otherwise, you probably want "ensure."

* Each fellow will develop a report during their tenure.

Each = singular. Their = plural. Rather than "Each fellow will develop a report during his or her tenure," how about "Fellows will develop reports during their tenures"? Hint: Keeping sentences in plural will help you avoid his/her and make reading easier.

* Rural Leadership North Dakota recently selected their 2003 class.

Yes, the group is made up of people, but the entity selected "its" class. And remember, no apostrophe since not "it is."

MAXIMUM SITES FOR VIDEOCONFERENCING

Many people are using videoconferencing across the state to save substantial time and money. It is a great tool for higher education, extension and research as well as K-12 schools.

As exciting as this tool is, Ag Communication reminds everyone to use caution when scheduling large numbers of sites for a single call. Statewide we can bridge 10 sites at once, but we HIGHLY RECOMMEND that a maximum of six sites be bridged at one time for the best interaction. Please consider this when planning your next videoconference. This will make it easier to schedule as well as interact with your audience.

Lynette Flage

WINDOWS SMART SEARCH

If you can remember a few words or phrases from a missing document but can't remember its name, Windows' search feature has an option that can help.

To use the search function in Windows 2000 and XP, click on Start then Search. In Windows 98/Me, click on Start, Find, Files or Folders.

In the search window, just below where you normally enter the file name, a box asks for words or a phrase. In Windows 98/Me, it is labeled Containing Text. Fill in that box, leaving the one above it blank, and start your search.

Windows will read each file, looking for the words or phrase you entered. But be warned -- use distinguishing words such as people's names or names of locations. Using common words will find many unrelated files.

To narrow the search further, if you can remember what file type you are looking for (.wpd, .doc, .rtf), type that in the box asking for the filename. That will force the search to look for your words only in those types of files.

Jerry Ranum

WHO NEEDS SPELLCHECK!

Aoccdrnig to a rscheearch at Cmabrigde Uinervtisy, it deosn't mttaer in waht oredr the ltteers in a wrod are, the olny iprmoetnt tihng is taht the frist and lsat ltteer be at the rghit pclae. The rset can be a total mses and you can sitll raed it wouthit porbelm. Tihs is bcuseae the huamn mnid deos not raed ervey lteter by istlef, but the wrod as a wlohe.