TopStyle Lite – Free Style Sheet Software
When I first started getting my feet wet with web design and support, I had trouble understanding style sheets and how they worked. TopStyle Lite — the free, downsized version of TopStyle — was recommended to me as a good visualizing tool. And so it is. The nature of style sheets is evolving, but I still use TopStyle Lite pretty regularly for sites using standard style sheets.
Download a style sheet (css file) and open in it TopStyle Lite, and both seeing what you have and seeing where you’re going become really simple. Change the attribute on the right side of the screen, and TopStyle will change the related item in the style sheet. It’s nice until one gets comfortable with style sheets…and even beyond.
The Gimp – Free Image Manipulation Software
This is some pretty hefty software. It does everything but tap dance. There is a learning curve, but if you’ve worked before with image manipulation software, you already have a leg up. Read more
Part Two of The Best Work at Home Strategies I’ve Discovered
This is part two in a series of The Best Work at Home Strategies I’ve Discovered. Read more
The Best Work at Home Strategies I’ve Discovered
This is part one of a two part series on The Best Work at Home Strategies I’ve Discovered. Read more
Treepad Lite – Personal Information Manager
There are more and more reasons to save data digitally with every day that passes. A belt-and-suspenders approach to traditional note-taking is a good idea. A solid option for saving items traditionally relegated to a notebook is Treepad. There is a more sophisticated paid version and there is a free pared down plain-text version called Treepad Lite. While not necessarily the best place to store passwords (no security), it is a great place to store phone numbers, url’s, emails, etc.
Treepad Lite takes no space at all; it can be run from a thumb drive. All versions run on several releases of Windows and on Linux/Wine.
doPDF – Free PDF Converter
Anyone who uses a computer as a part of his or her day-to-day life — business or personal — will eventually need to send a printed document to someone via email. The options are to attach the original document (not advised, usually), a scan of the document (acceptable, but tedious to the sender), or a pdf (portable document format) of the document. Whenever possible and practicle, the latter is the way to go.
PDF converters are listed as printer. There are many, many options for software to create a pdf. My personal choice is doPDF. It’s free, installs easily, and creates the pdf quickly and accurately from your Windows word processor of choice.
X-Sheet Invoicing – Good starter business finance software
X-Sheet Invoicing is a wonderful little financial management application for business developed by the folks at Development-X to show the flexibility and ease of use of their X-Sheet technology. I use X-Sheet to manage my own consulting finances. I’m a small enterprise and find this app takes care of everything I need easily and cleanly.
It offers invoicing and credit processing, customer management (including accommodation for notes and reminders), extensive reporting, payments and deposit management. When it comes time to compile data for tax reporting, I’m truly happy I use this software. That data collection couldn’t be easier.
Oh, and this app is free. That’s right. It’s been free since it’s inception. I’ve been using it for almost 10 years. Thank you folks at Development-X!
Hashtag Twitter Hacks for Tweetdeck Users
Have you been involved with Twitter for a while now? Ready to take it to the next level with hashtag discussions? Shelly Terrell over at the Teacher Reboot Camp blog has a great post on how to use Tweetdeck to follow those trending and other hashtag topics efficiently.
To tell you the truth, this information would have been super helpful at the #cheaptalk live event we had in the greater Miami area last month. That’s OK though, because I’ll have it on file for next time. Shelly’s article is called Using Tweetdeck for Hashtag Discussions, and covers four main tips in an instructional video lesson.
First, using the wrench icon (settings) on the top right side of your Tweetdeck screen. You can check off the option to include hashtags automatically when replying and save the settings selection. This speeds up your keying in time tremendously and helps give you that extra edge when trying to participate in a fast moving Twitter discussion.
Second, the recent hashtag icon available when you are in actual tweet mode. It’s on the bottom right of your tweet cloud as you type in the message. (Definitely watch the video for these tips, as it makes things crystal clear.) If you haven’t used one in a couple days and want to get it right as well as save yourself some keystroke time, this allows you to select which hashtag you want to pop into your message with a single click.
Third, the magnifying glass icon in the row of buttons on the top left of your Tweetdeck screen. Click this, then add the hashtag you want to follow. Press enter. That hashtag discussion now has its own column, movable via the arrows at the bottom. This allows you to follow the discussion in real time, select a screen location that’s convenient for you, and still be able to use all of the functionality you’ve come to enjoy from Tweetdeck.
Finally, the avatar hover capability. This is particularly great for follow hashtags and retweet chains. If you select “other options”, and choose the specific tweet, you can opt to reply to all those mentioned in the tweet. If you are trying to reach out and say thanks to a ton of people at once, or spread the word without having to type in numerous identical tweets in a row, this feature is particularly helpful.
This review gives an overview of what Shelly covers only. I highly recommend watching the video linked to above. It will give you a hands-on tool to get cranking with hashtag discussions right away. You can follow Shelly Terrell on Twitter. For those who would like to check out her blog, it’s called the Teacher Reboot Camp.
Photo Credit: Twitter.Com
Market Your Freelance Writing in 31 Days: An E-Book Review
Thursday Bram’s new ebook, Market Your Freelance Writing in 31 Days, is a concise plan of attack for those looking to take their freelance writing career to the next level. At thirteen dollars, this sixty-five page strategy resource has a great deal to offer. Read more
