We’ve all done it, and regretted it — sent an e-mail to the wrong person, sent an angry e-mail in haste, or sent an e-mail with mistakes. I don’t mind confessing my most humiliating e-mail mistakes because they’re so old:

Most e-mail clients send e-mail as soon as you hit Send in the message window, and that’s why we get into trouble. Instead of sending each e-mail immediately, let them sit in the outbox. Later (usually a few hours or so), review the messages one last time and then send them. I often find small and seemingly unimportant mistakes, but mistakes nonetheless. Occasionally, I find something more cialis for sale important and I count my lucky stars! Letting a message sit for a while, especially if you’re angry when you respond, will give you a bit of time to rethink and perhaps, even save face.

Outlook is configured to send mail when you click Send in the New Message window. To reset this option so that you control when Outlook sends mail, do the following:

1. From the Tools menu, choose Options.
2. Click the Mail Setup tab.
3. Click Send/Receive in the Send/Receive options.
4. Uncheck the Include This Group In Send/Receive (F9) option in the Setting For Group “All Accounts” section. Most of us will set this for all accounts, but you can configure Outlook to handle each account differently.
5. Click Close and then OK.

After unchecking the Send/Receive option, you must remember to click Send/Receive on the Standard toolbar to send mail. You can also set Outlook to send e-mail when you launch or close Outlook, or schedule it to send and receive e-mail at regular intervals, so be sure to consider those options as well. You’ll still have to find the mistakes, but putting a little time between creating and sending messages makes it easier to catch mistakes you might otherwise miss.

Today I’m going to share some pointers I learned from my previous experiences in buying and setting up a UPS for a midsize server room. I hope it will be useful to you.

1. Count your sockets

It might seem like a no-brainer, but it is important to ensure that you have sufficient sockets available at the back of your UPS to meet your requirements. The number of sockets that is required can add up quickly once you factor in Internet-access equipment such as routers, modems, firewalls, and VPN appliances. Double that if you are running a multi-homed configuration, or have servers equipped with dual power supply units that are capable of hot failover. Do remember to plug in your monitors and KVMs — if you are using them — into a protected power outlet, too. (Just power them off when not in use) Another solution might be to buy standard power strips and manually rewire their default connectors with plugs that can fit those on your UPS. This is useful for protecting multiple minor pieces of equipment, such as modems and other low-drain equipment.

2. Consider additional UPS units

Some mid-range UPS models offer the ability to “cascade” additional battery packs from the main UPS. The additional battery packs are usually rack-mountable as well and represent a convenient way to increase the runtime of your UPS beyond the default configuration.

An advantage of going this route is that you get to share your available battery runtime more efficiently across all of your equipment. Other potential benefits – though it varies with models — is the lower cost compared to scaling up to a higher range of UPS, as well as the possibility of hot-replacements of batteries.

On the other hand, you have to consider that certain mid-range UPS models do offer a number of features such as the ability to stagger power-on times, as well as giving you the ability to remotely power-cycle equipment at the power receptacle level. Having two separate UPS units working at 40% load does represent a full backup complement.

3. Beware the deep end

If you are working with rack-mounted equipment, you will do well to ensure that your UPS has sufficient space on the back portion after mounting onto your rack. While a 19-inch UPS will fit just fine into a 19-inch rack, the fact is that not all 19-inch racks are built the same.

Smaller racks built to a reduced footprint or inferior racks might not have enough spare leeway for you to plug in the power connectors and still be able to close the back door.

In addition, it is also worth noting that higher-end UPSs typically use customized or non-standard plugs on the UPS-end. It will be wise not to position your rack too far away from the wall power socket.

4. Create a separate power circuit or branch

If you have access to an electrician, it is normally best to have him or her create a separate branch circuit from your office’s (or building’s) main power switchboard. This will help reduce instances of staff tripping your server room’s power by plugging in a faulty microwave oven.

5. Configure for (and test) the shutdown of servers

Many people forget that UPSs are meant only as a temporary measure for intermittent power outages. In an extended blackout or brownout, you do need to shut down your servers to prevent data loss. There are a few ways to do it — including the installation of vendor-specific software utilities — though we’re not going to cover this today.

6. Other points to consider

TechRepublic members suggested a number of useful pointers in my previous article, “Selecting and installing your first UPS.”

TR member Ethical_Loner suggested the online tool on APC’s Web site here to get a better idea of your power requirements. TR member robo_dev cautioned against assuming all the connectors on a UPS are the same. Specifically, watch out for UPSs with power outlets that are divided into “Battery backup” and “Surge suppression”, making sure to plug your equipment into the right outlet.

A topic which I completely missed out on would be the three categories of UPS that are available: off-line, line-interactive, and double-conversion. In a nutshell, it makes sense to go for a double-conversion UPS if budget allows. Due to the presence cialis for sale online of a rectifier directly driving the inverter, a sort of electrical “firewall” is formed to better protect against noisy or poor power environment. An off-line UPS will only kick in during a power outage, and a line-interactive lies somewhere in between.

If you’re like me, you live and breathe by your contacts. They’re vital to my business, as they probably are to yours. When I’m on the road without remote access, that can be a problem. I know that I can print my contacts, but taking the .pst file with me is much better. (The .pst file contains your contact information.) It’s a simple process:

To use the file, you can simply import cialis for daily use it into Outlook on another computer. But you should also be prepared to not have access to Outlook. Repeat the above process again, saving your .pst file as Microsoft Excel file and a comma-delimited text file (Comma Separated Values). If the worst happens, you can at least view the information.

Now, you probably already knew that you could export the .pst file. What you might not have considered was how easily you could save that exported file to a flash drive and take it with you.

When your users need to run a parameter query while they’re working in a form, this custom button will save them some time.

Users can enter criteria directly into a parameter query’s dialog box, but there may be times when they’ll need to run a parameter query while working in a form. You can add a button to the form that will run a query using criteria entered in a form field. For example, say your company services customers in two states, Missouri and Illinois. You would like to create a query that will allow service personnel working in either state to quickly get a list of their customer data. Follow these steps:

Figure A

1. Close and save your form. (In this example, we saved the form as qryFormQueryState.)
2. Click on the Query object in the Database window and click New. (In Access 2007, click the Create tab and then click Query Design in the Other group.)
3. Add all the fields you want to your query.
4. Right-click the Criteria cell under the State field and select Build.
5. Enter the following code at the prompt, as shown in Figure B:
   [Forms]![frmQueryState].[txtEnterState]

Figure B

1. Click OK.
2. Close and save the query. (In this example, we saved the query as Customer Query by State.)
3. Open the form in Design view.
4. Click the Command Button control and then click and drag to locate the control in your form.
5. In the Command Button Wizard, click Miscellaneous in the Categories box, and then click Run Query (Figure C).

Figure cialis fast delivery C

1. Click Next. Select Customer Query by State, and then click Next again.
2. Click in the text box and type Run Customer Query by State, as shown in Figure D.

Figure D

1. Click Next and then click Finish.

Now when service representatives want a customer list, they simply enter the appropriate state and click the Run Customer Query by State button (Figure E).

Figure E

Tweak your Outlook menus and toolbars so that it’s easy to access just the tools you need.

#1: Rearrange existing commands

Most of us use a few commands a lot, and seldom, if ever, use the rest. You can rearrange the commands on a menu or toolbar, making selection a bit more efficient. To do so, choose Tools | Customize, click the Commands tab, and click Rearrange Commands. In the Rearrange Commands dialog box (Figure A), select either the Menu Bar or Toolbar option. Then, choose the appropriate menu or toolbar from the drop-down list at the top of the dialog box. The Controls list box will display the commands, including submenus, as they appear from top to bottom on the menu (or left to right on the selected toolbar).

Figure A

You can add, delete, or move a command up or down (or left and right). Clicking Add will position the new item above or to the left of the selected command. You can also modify the selection by changing its caption and other attributes. Select Begin A Group if you want to add a separator above or beside the selected command. Clicking Reset removes all the customization, in case you need to start over.

#2: Move commands the easy way

You don’t have to use the Customize dialog box to move commands on a toolbar. Hold down the Alt key, click on a button, and drag it to an alternate position or off the toolbar completely. To restore the tool, reset the toolbar or use the Customize dialog box to put it back.

If you remove a custom command, you’ll have to rebuild it if you ever need it again. Consider moving custom commands to a custom toolbar created for the purpose of storing custom commands you think you no longer need. Someday, you may want that command and you can simply restore it from the custom toolbar instead of rebuilding it.

#3: Create custom toolbars

To create a custom toolbar, choose Customize | Tools. Everything you need is right there in the Customize dialog box. Click the Toolbars tab and then click New. In cialis erectile dysfunction the New Toolbar dialog box (Figure B), enter a name and click OK. Outlook will create a new, empty toolbar. Just switch to the Commands tab to add built-in commands to the new toolbar by dragging them from the Commands list.

Figure B