Speed Up Productivity with Two of My Favorite Programs

I wanted to share with you two of my favorite productivity software programs. These are huge time savers in our office for both Dandelion Interiors and Minutes Matter.

First on my hot list is ActiveWords, an auto-correct and auto-launch program. It is a fairly new program that Susan Gill, from Susan Gill Workroom in NY, recommended to me. My second must have program is Snagit, a screen capture program that we have been using for years. These two programs have really reduced our time spent on computer work and have made completing correspondence fast and easy.

Both programs are inexpensive, with a cost of only $49 each for a personal license, and both have a free trial period.

ActiveWords
(Auto-Correct/Auto-Launch software)

All of us have them, phrases that we use frequently in our correspondence; this program speeds up composing and replying to emails and other day to day general business correspondence. One of my favorite things about this program is that it works on every program resident on your computer, not just one specific program. Below are a few of the features that ActiveWords has to offer. To learn more about what this program can do, visit their website and view their videos. Note: Most of their videos do not include audio. Download the FREE 60-Day trial of this program now!

Substitute Text

It's "Auto-Correct" on steroids. For the first time, you can rely on text substitutions as a property of your computer rather than as a feature of a specific program or set of programs. The investment in applying text substitutions can now pay off across your entire computing environment. You will realize tangible improvements in productivity and in the accuracy of your work. Learn More

Open Programs, Files, and Folders
Stop digging through nested folders and hierarchical menus to get what you already know you want. Need to launch Microsoft EXCEL? Just enter and trigger the word "excel" when the thought occurs to you. Need to open your folder that contains tax information? Just enter and trigger the word "taxes" and the folder comes to you. Name all your most frequently used programs, files, and folders to have them available instantly!

Here is what I did:
I downloaded and installed the program, viewed the videos (only 15 minutes) and went right to work. After the installation was complete, ActiveWords placed a very thin toolbar along the top of my computer screen. This toolbar allows you add phrases on the fly, view your ActiveWord list, and edit your ActiveWord list. To set the trigger command that best fits our companies' needs, I clicked on Menu > Options> Set ActiveWord Key > uncheck F8 key as the trigger key. (see first screenshot) Once that trigger was disabled, then click on "Confirmation Options" to use the spacebar as the default trigger command. (see second screenshot) Once you set up the trigger keystrokes, all you have to do is press the spacebar once or twice (depending if you have or have not checked the confirmation flag box) and, voila, your stored phrase appears. If your ActiveWord is unique/not a regular word then uncheck the confirmation flag box. Now that's what Minutes Matter is all about!! If you don't have a server, I recommend you purchase the personal version. If you have a server, you should definitely consider purchasing the Enterprise version.

Snagit
(Screen Capture software)

Snagit is software that allows you to take a "snapshot" of anything on your PC screen and then lets you send it, store it, or turn it into a detailed graphic for later use. The entire Minutes Matter & Dandelion Interiors staff has used this program for many years. In fact, they all say that they never want to be without Snagit. You can "Snag" any portion of a page on a website or anything you see on your PC. The two screen shots above were captured with Snagit. The arrows and the rectangle with rounded corners were added with Snagit. You will find that using Snagit for your website, blog, Facebook, printed collateral and email will make your life so much easier. You will find that the uses for this program are unlimited!

Download this software and see for yourself how handy this program will be to your business (and the personal uses are limitless too). You can download Snagit and try it free for 30 days. I know I didn't talk about this software as much as ActiveWords but we love it just as much.