How Do I...
TechRepublic writers solve perplexing technical questions with step-by-step guides and practical tutorials that demonstrate specific tasks.
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How do I... Create and manage PowerPoint table data?
Tables are great for communicating and organizing data in a meaningful way. They're also efficient. However, in Microsoft PowerPoint, tables can be a bit troublesome because space is limited. Too much data on one slide can be worse than no data at all. Susan Sales Harkins shows you how to get creative and improvise how you display tables in PowerPoint.
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How do I... Create an image mask when using Sony Vegas?
Sony Vegas is an image editing and manipulation application geared toward the average amateur editor, but it is still a very powerful and capable tool. Creating what is commonly known as a mask in Sony Vegas requires the use of an applet called Cookie Cutter. Steven Warren shows you how to create a mask using this tool inside of Sony Vegas.
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How do I... Receive podcasts from RSS feeds using Outlook 2007?
For IT professionals, acquiring new technical information is the life blood that keeps them ahead of the next crisis. One of the more efficient ways of receiving that new information is through podcasts delivered via RSS feed directly to your Outlook 2007 inbox. Mark Kaelin walks you through the setup process.
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How do I... Add items to an Access combo box on the fly?
On occasion, an application developer working with Microsoft Access may need a list control that's a bit more flexible by allowing users to update the control's list. Handing over a bit of control, in the right circumstances, can be helpful for everyone, including you. Susan Sales Harkins shows you how it is done.
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How do I... Use CSS to manipulate a background image?
CSS allows you to use background graphics in a wide number of tasteful and versatile ways. Not only can graphics exist as backgrounds to entire pages, but you can also employ CSS to assign a background image to any CSS rule. John Lee shows you just three of many popular ways that Web designers use background images to create dynamic and visually rich pages.
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How do I... Install plugins for Firefox in Linux?
For many, one of the biggest obstacles in Linux is installing applications. Because the computing world has grown so accustomed to click and install, the idea of having to manually install something is very foreign. Installing plugins for the Linux version of Firefox isn't that difficult once you know what you are doing. Jack Wallen shows you how.
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How do I... Make a glass button for a Web page using Adobe Illustrator?
Adobe Illustrator can be used to create buttons and other images for use on Web pages just like Photoshop. The finished product is very similar but how you get there is slightly different. Steven Warren shows you to make a glass button using the tools available in Illustrator.
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How do I... Reject alpha characters in a SQL Server character column?
Enforcing your data's integrity is probably the single most important issue you face when designing a database. Validating user input is one way of keeping bad data from making its way into your analysis and reports. It only takes one piece of bad data to throw everything off. Susan Sales Harkins explains how to use CHECK constraints in SQL Server to control user input.
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How do I... Use threading to increase performance in C#? (Part 1)
Bad threading logic can actually slow down an application, or worse, cause an application to have inconsistent exceptions. There really isn't much to be worried about though if you plan ahead and take the correct precautions. Zach Smith shows you some examples on how to use threading in C# and how to protect yourself while using threading.
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How do I... Display multiple values in an Access value list control?
You can populate a list control with an explicit list of values and generally, that list consists of one column, although you can display more. Creating a multi-column value list control is the easy part -- using and updating it takes a bit more effort. Susan Sales Harkins shows you how it works.
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How do I... Build and configure an external hard drive enclosure?
Do you have an old hard drive, which still works, lying around and gathering dust that you’d like to put to good use? If you answered yes, then chances are good that you’ve thought about using your old drive as an external hard drive. Fortunately, building an external hard drive is an easy task. Since you already have the hard drive, all you need is an enclosure, a screw driver, and less than an hour of your time.
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How do I... Create desktop icons in KDE and GNOME?
Most Linux installs include thousands of applications, but not all those applications get an icon on either the KDE or GNOME desktop. If you want to launch one of those applications from the desktop you are going to have to create an icon for it. Jack Wallen shows you how.
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How do I... Pass data over a network using disconnected recordsets?
Dragging only the data you actually need and only when you need it is the key to working efficiently across a network, but there's more. In Microsoft Access, you can also retrieve data using a disconnected recordset, which keeps the data on the client side, so objects respond quicker. Susan Harkins shows you how to set it up.
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How do I... Use Zoomify to improve my digital images in Photoshop CS3?
Photoshop CS3 has a way to put your photo online and it will still download quickly with all of its high-resolution glory intact. It's a dirty little secret called the Zoomify function. The Zoomify function actually creates a finished Flash file from within Photoshop. John Lee shows you how it works.
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How do I... Modify Word documents using C#?
Accessing Word components from C# isn't quite as straight-forward as many other features of C# and the .NET Framework. With that said -- it's not rocket science either. You simply need to know what to reference and how to use the components. Zach Smith lays out exactly what you need to do.
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How do I... Perform date/time arithmetic with Java's Calendar class?
The Calendar class' date/time API is a nifty tool for accurately manipulating date and time values without too much stress or custom coding. This tutorial presents examples of how you can use Calendar objects to add and subtract time spans to and from dates and times, as well as how to evaluate whether one date precedes or follows another.
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How do I... Generate strong passwords with PHP, PEAR, and PECL?
PHP's Text_Password and securepwd classes help you reduce the risk of user passwords being guessed by brute force attacks. There's also a PECL extension based on the cracklib library that you may use to test password strength. See how these tools work.
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How do I... Use PHP with PostgreSQL?
PHP's PostgreSQL extension provides a comprehensive API for developers to interact with a PostgreSQL RDBMS. In addition to basic SQL operations, the API also supports prepared statements, transactions, table metadata retrieval, and server variable inspection.
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How do I... Install, configure, and use LiteSpeed for database backups?
<img src="http://t.cbsimg.net/i/z/200606/how_110x85.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="85" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="110" />LiteSpeed by Quest software is an enterprise level backup solution for <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/search/search/Microsoft+SQL+Server.html?t=1&s=0&o=1" target="_blank">MS SQL Server</a>. This solution includes several powerful features that increase the ease an efficiency of database archiving on an enterprise level. This How do I... shows you how to install, configure and use LiteSpeed.
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How Do I... Implement Drag-n-Drop in C# applications?
<img src="http://t.cbsimg.net/i/z/200606/how_110x85.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="85" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="110" />Windows users have grown accustomed to the Drag-n-Drop convention, where you click on an item and drag it to another location/program to either move, copy, or modify it. If you are an <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/5264-1-0.html?query=application%20development" target="_blank">application developer</a> for the Windows environment using the <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/search/search/Microsoft+.NET+Framework.html?t=11&s=0&o=0" target="_blank">.NET Framework</a>, you need to know how to program Drag-n-Drop functionality.
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How do I... Control the format of HTML lists with CSS?
CSS offers a large number of list bullet style properties and supports using custom images for list bullets and creating horizontal lists. This tutorial discusses CSS properties that offer new ways of controlling the appearance, positioning, and orientation of HTML lists.
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How do I... Install VMware Server 1.04 onto an Ubuntu Linux system?
<img src="http://t.cbsimg.net/i/z/200606/how_110x85.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="85" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="110" />As of late, my interest in Linux has been peaking and I loaded <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/search/index.php?t=1&s=0&o=1&q=VMware+Server" target="_blank">VMware Server</a> on a spare computer running Linux to do some testing. Performance is excellent and I wanted to share with you the necessary steps required to load VMware Server on <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/search/index.php?t=1&s=0&o=1&q=Ubuntu+Linux" target="_blank">Ubuntu Linux</a>.
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How do I... Request and install SSL certificates in IIS 7.0?
<img src="http://t.cbsimg.net/i/z/200606/how_110x85.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="85" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="110" />SSL (<a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/search/search/SSL+certificate.html?t=0&s=0&o=1" target="_blank">Secure Sockets Layer</a>) certificates are perhaps the most common way to protect information being transmitted between a visitor Web browser and your Web site. SSL provides encryption services to information flowing between systems and can protect Web traffic, e-mail, instant messages and a host of other kinds of data transmittals. Scott Lowe shows you how to obtain and install a third-party SSL certificate into Microsoft Internet Information Server 7.0 (<a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/search/index.php?t=1&s=0&o=1&q=iis+7.0" target="_blank">IIS 7</a>) running on Windows Server 2008.
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How do I... Retrieve a random set of records in Microsoft Access?
<img src="http://t.cbsimg.net/i/z/200606/how_110x85.jpg" align="right" border="0" height="85" hspace="5" vspace="5" width="110" />We usually think of data in sets of related values, but not always. Occasionally, you may need to supply someone with a set of unrelated records, retrieved completely at <em>random</em>. Perhaps a manager wants to predict future growth or an auditor is looking for anomalies. Now, it would be nice if Access offered a random query option, but it doesn't. If you are using <a href="http://www.techrepublic.com/search/index.php?t=1&s=0&o=1&q=microsoft+access" target="_blank">Microsoft Access</a>, the good news is that a random set of records is just a simple expression away.