Late last year one of my colleagues Mark Crosby has introduced the Prezi tool in our company to do presentations. Prezi is a presentation software that can be used in creating more visual presentations. It is different to the traditional powerpoint software as it has a Zooming user interface and uses a vector based illustration and text which creates big visual impact. The main differences between Prezi and Powerpoint that I have found are as follows: The first difference I found is that Prezi i...
Read More
Today I was asked by my colleague as to how to change outlook 2007 so that she does not manually need to download the pictures every time an email comes in. Here is what I have suggested to her. Go to the menu item Tools in Outlook and then click on Trust Center Then choose Advanced settings Untick the "Don't Download pictures automatically' option as shown below
Today I had a unique scenario where I had to introduce 2 spaces in between two fields. I came across the space function which I used in my scenario. The syntax is space(integer_expression) The integer expression is an integer. IF a negative value is supplied a null is returned. So for example look at the following syntax: select First_name, + space(4) + Last_Name from test_table The above select statement will generate 4 spaces in between the first name and last name The space function will gene...
I just now realised that it has been more than a month since I have posted anything on my blog. So here I am with the most recent tip I learnt in Excel. If you have a column of cells that need to be divided by 1000 for example. Here are the steps that you need to follow. Type 1000 in a cell lets say A2 Copy the cell A2 using Ctrl+C Select the cells in the column where you would like to let us say multiply the values by 1000. Right click and select Paste Special Click on Multiply as shown below. ...
In Sql Server Management Studio, I usually access my sql query files that I save -- using the File -- Recent Files option. The default setting of the number of recent files to be displayed in SSMS. Today I wanted to access a file that I had used last week and I could not find that file in the recent list. So I thought of displaying more than the normal 4 files that are displayed in the Recent Files option. So I set out to find where the settings are (as in the microsoft office programs) -- I cli...
Yesterday I wanted to export the contents of a folder into excel to provide it to the users for input. Here are the steps I followed. Go to Start -- Run -- CMD Change to the drive letter of the drive in which the folder you want the contents listed is if you are not already there by typing the drive letter followed by a colon. Eg: d: for going to the d drive. Change to the folder of which you want the contents to be exported by using the chane directory command cd. Eg: cd shared/test for changin...
Today I had a requirement to save the results of an SQL query into a sql table. Usually it is easy to export to excel by using the option of copying the results and pasting them to an excel file. But this time I had over a million rows and I didnot want to use excel to store that huge amount of data. So I followed the following 2 simple steps. 1. Create a new table in a new database: Use the SSMS to create the database and use the create table query to create the new table as follows: create tab...
Yesterday I had this requirement to add number of months (m) to a cell that contains start date to estimate the end date. In 2003 I had to use a complex formula like below where A1 is the cell that contians the start date. =DATE(YEAR(A1),MONTH(A1)+m,DAY(A1)) Well in Excel 2007 it is even more easy to add months with the Edate function like below. =Edate(A1, m).
Today I was taking a back of a database and for the past two days this has become my regular activity. So I thought there should be some kind of recording option (like recording a macro in excel) so that I can just use the recorded action whenever I need to do the same task again and again. So I tried to investigate and found this script button. So I thought I would investigate this. The following are the steps I followed to backup a database in the Management Studio. Right click the database th...
Today I had to access the Windows Firewall to check for blocking of a port. I am used to the command wscui.cpl from the Start -- Run screen of the Windows XP operating system. So I did the same thing on my Windows 7 screen. I was surprised to get the security centre where the Windows Firewall was not visible as shown below. Luckily I saw the Control Panel Home link at the top and clicked on the link. Then I noticed the Windows Firewall as being a separate entity in the control Paenl and accessed...
The registration for the much awaited 24 hours of PASS is now open. Here is an excerpt from the site. Two Days of Free SQL Server Training! Don't miss the best 24 hours of free, online SQL Server training in the industry with 24 Hours of PASS: Summit Preview September 7 and 8. Join us for an exceptional lineup of SQL Server and BI experts , who will be presenting a sneak peek of their PASS Summit 2011 session topics in 24 live webcasts delivered directly to your computer. Register here to attend...
A free webinar is being organised by Idera on Powershell for SQL Server. Here is an excerpt from the site. In this session, Microsoft MVP Aaron Nelson will discuss what PowerShell is and demonstrate how and why DBAs should use it. Aaron will step you through the basics of Windows PowerShell and provide you with some commonly used first scripts to help you get started. Register for the webcast today! The date and time of this webinar is below: Wednesday, August 10, 2011 2:00 PM - 3:00 PM CST
Yesterday I had a question in my mind as to what could be the sql server password policy. So I started hunting in the Help menu of the SSMS window. Here is how I found that. Click on Help from Sql Server Management Studio. Choose contents Then choose Security considerations for SQL Server Then choose the Password Policy as shown in the screenshot below.
I was using excel today and I wanted to count all the cells in a range only when there is a value greater than 2. So I started hunting for a funciton in excel and found the countif function. Countif(range,criteria) But when I started using it like this -- Countif(A1:A100,>2) it didn't work. It was coming up with an error. So I tried Countif(A1:A100, ">2"). This worked. So if we include the criteria in quotes then the formula worked. I also noticed a sumif function that also works in a simi...
Shared Squared is running a webinar on 26th July 2011. The topic is -- " Best Practices for SharePoint 2010 Upgrade and Configuration" Here is an excerpt from the site The webinar will include various demonstrations and discuss: Who should upgrade, why & when How to assess existing SharePoint deployments and identify upgrade risks and opportunities Specific tasks that need to be done to prepare for SharePoint 2010 How to identify and upgrade existing 2007 customizations Best Practices for su...
I came across this link on Codeplex this morning which will be helpful for learing Denali Here is an excerpt from the site This release is dedicated to the Adventure Works sample databases and related samples that ship for Microsoft SQL Server code-named "Denali", Community Technical Preview 3 (CTP3) . This release uses the AdventureWorks2008R2 and AdventureWorksDWDenali sample databases. They have been upgraded to the "Denali" CTP3 version. The only change to AdventureWorks2008R2 is the removal...
Today I was sitting in a demo presentation and learned a few tips that my colleague Mark Crosby shared. Did you know that in the slide show mode of the powerpoint presentation if you want to jump to a particular slide, you can just put in the slide number and enter and you can go straight into that slide without coming out of the presentation mode. He also added that if you have the slides printed and numbered it will be easy for you to go to the respective slide if you know the number of the sl...
Free TSQL Webcasts Start Next Week In SSWUG.ORG’s “Writing T-SQL Queries and Code” webcast series, you will be able to learn how to write aggregate and crosstab queries, as well as how to use common table expressions to write recursive queries. In three, in-depth sessions, Kathi Kellenberger, SQL Server Technology Specialist for Microsoft and author of Beginning T-SQL 2008, will teach beginning and experienced T-SQL programmers about writing code to ensure their applications are highly performin...
Last week one of my colleagues asked whether there is a possibility to add hyperlinks in crystal reports. I thought that is a good question but felt that you could add and so started searching for an option in crystal reports. Here is what I found. When you select a particular field for which you want to hyperlink and rightclick and choose the option format field. There is a tab called hyperlink and there are variety of options to add a hyperlink as shown below. As you can see the options to add...
In the past one week I have heard this term Google+ so many times that it intrigued me to find out what exactly this is. I am sure some of you may have heard it too. So I resorted to Google and here is an excerpt from the cnet site. For now, Google is quick to call Google+ a "project," and acknowledged that the social service still has "rough edges." However, it currently has a host of features to help people communicate over the Web with friends and family. Google+ is designed around "Circles" ...
This morning I came across this web site by Microsoft called "Microsoft Dreamspark" They have training videos, reading material and provide microsoft professional tools free of cost for students to practice. Please have a look and sign in and take advantage
Here are the event details from SSWUG. Attend the Free SQL Disaster Recovery Event SSWUG's free virtual expo will showcase several ways to prevent a SQL Server disaster and how to recover the database in the event of loss or damage. Through the in-depth sessions with some of the leading SQL Server experts in the information technology (IT) field, you will see many demonstrations and examples on anticipating and reducing the likelihood of a database tragedy. Learn more about the virtual expo cont...
A couple of days ago my manager asked whether there is a way to convert appointments recorded in outlook into a report so that the data need not be double handled. I thought there should be some sort of an export option provided in outlook and started exploring the menus in outlook. There I found under the File menu an option called Import and Export as shown below. I chose the export to file option as shown below. I them chose the csv for windows option as shown below. In the next screen I chos...
SSWUG.ORG’s virtual expo will review various aspects of SQL Server Analysis Services (SSAS), which enables the server to be used for analytical processing and data mining. Through our in-depth sessions with four of the leading experts in the information technology (IT) and business intelligence (BI) fields, you will see many demonstrations and examples on designing, creating and managing data from multiple sources. By the end of theevent, you should have the tools and understanding needed to bri...
SharePoint beginners and experts can benefit from attending SSWUG.ORG’s “SharePoint 2010 Basics” webcast series, which will delve into what you can do with the newest version of SharePoint and how the platform can benefit your business. In four, in-depth sessions, Rebecca Isserman, SharePoint Server MVP and Consultant for Planet Technologies, will explain how to use the platform’s key features, create sample applications in the development environment, blend Silverlight applications with SharePo...