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Spring clean your files and folders

Posted by MN Farani at 5:17:00 pm
File have a nasty habit of getting very messy, very quickly, especially if you are a keen downloader, photographer or music buff. If your folders look like the computer equivalent of a teenage girl’s bedroom, take a look at my guide to keeping your files in top condition.
Get rid of the duplicates - this should definitely be step 1 in any re-organization. Duplicate Cleaner is top of my list - it’s fast, free and has all, if not more, of the features of its pay-for cousins.
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Protect sensitive data - if you want to prevent your info from falling into the wrong hands, erase any secret files that you no longer need with Freeraser. Now create safe folders for the files you do want to keep with My LockBox.
Get rid of unnecessary folders - use Suction. This pint-sized app will suck the files out of your folders, so it’s prefect if your folder structure has become messed up over time and you want to start over.
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Take care of major renaming - Batch File Rename Utility will help you get your file management back on track. It’s perfect for large collections of photos or music and is really flexible, so you’ll have no problem finding a quick and easily-accessible naming convention for your files.
Move blocked and locked files - they’ll only hinder your spring cleaning, so try using Unlocker Portable to shift them out of the way. If you get too enthusiastic while organizing, Recuva is your best option to recover deleted files.
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By now, your files and folders should be model examples. Keep them that way by installing a few apps that will allow you to handle your file management like a pro. Q-Dir is a file explorer that’s a step up from Windows Explorer - it gives you considerably more control over your files, and will even let you color-code them, which I find really helpful.
Last but not least, help yourself find all these beautifully managed folders  Google Desktop is a powerful search utility. It’s as user-friendly as Google’s other products and if you’re still struggling with pre-Vista search, it’s a revelation.
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Turn a Scanned Document Into Microsoft Word Document

Posted by MN Farani at 6:16:00 pm
turn a scanned document into microsoft word document

Turning a scanned document into a Word document is fairly easy, and this process will show you how to turn a scan into editable text. For the purposes of this step-by-step procedure, I used Microsoft Word 2003 running on Windows XP Professional SP2, a Lexmark scanner and Adobe Photoshop. However, any scanner or version of Word should be fine, and Paint can be substituted in lieu of a more professional photo or image editor.
Instructions: 
  1.  Prepare your document to be scanned. If possible, select the option to scan a black and white document. It is not required, however this will allow for a more accurate read of the text later on. After this is complete, scan the document. 
  2. Open the file you've scanned with any type of image editor that can save .TIFF files. Microsoft Paint and Photoshop can both do this. Adjust the picture so that it is upright, if necessary. 
  3. Click on "File," then click on "Save As," name your file, and next to "Format", save the file as a ".TIFF."
  4. Click on the "Start" button. Go to "Programs > Microsoft Office > Microsoft Office Tools" and select "Microsoft Office Document Imaging." 
  5. Click "File," then "Open." Open the folder where you saved your scanned image, click on the file, then click "Open." 
  6. Go to "Tools" then click on "Send text to Word." It will prompt a message asking where to save the file (click on "Browse" to choose where you want it to go), then click "OK." At this point, it may prompt a warning that it will take a while to process. The overall process shouldn't take more than a minute or two. Additionally, it may prompt to install the feature that allows the Word conversion to work. In this instance, you may need a copy of your Microsoft Office Installation CD, as it may prompt for it as well. 
  7. Look for your file to open in Word automatically once the process is complete. If it does not, go to the folder where you saved it, and open the file from there. The document will not be the exact format of the original document, but it will recognize all the words and lay them out for you automatically.
Tips & Warnings
  • Sometimes after converting the scan into Word, you may see some misspellings in the Word file. This occurs because the document scan is hazy, or if your scanner saves the scan as a regular photo or color image. If you can scan as a black and white document, the amount of misspellings should diminish greatly, if not completely.
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