BEST COMPUTER TIPS

MICROSOFT OUTLOOK

PERSONALIZE YOUR CALENDAR

To add an appointment in the Calendar function in Outlook, Click on the Calendar on the folder list

To View the various formats click on the tool bar of the format you want (daily, weekly, monthly)

To change the format of the calendar to Saturday and Sunday at the beginning of the week, go to Tools, Options, Calendar options, calendar work week, pick the start time (Saturday) and OK

If you want to add the holidays in you can click on that as well.

Click on the time that you need to add an appointment

Right Click

Click on New appointment

Type in the Subject, Location, start and end time

Click on the scheduling tab to add more people and/or send invitations, if appropriate

Click on Recurrence and make appropriate choices

Save and Close

My calendar has eUARS on every Wednesday, TACS on every Friday, Aviation Security, Safety talks, etc.  Make sure to check the correct recurring sequence

There are other things that you can do with the calendar as well, it can remind you about MAQ/PAQ or MyPO if you have Outlook on, you can add a personal calendar or annual leave for staff, the possibilities are limitless.  This is a tool that is being underused in our offices.

To make a duplicate calendar (i.e. for personal only, for office staff, to schedule, etc.) Click on Calendar

Right Click

Click on New Folder

Name the folder and click on OK

Now you have another calendar to work with.

CLEAN UP E MAIL ACCOUNTS

After reading e mails it is easiest either to do what is required and then either save the e mail to a folder OR delete.  Periodically, at least once a month, you should go through the folders and delete anything that is no longer needed.  Then empty your deleted folder.  Remember, it is not deleted until it is deleted twice. 

TO MAKE FOLDERS IN OUTLOOK

Highlight the e mail you want to move, right click, click on move to folder

Make sure that the inbox is highlighted

Click on new

Name the folder

Click on OK

Click on OK

The folder should be under your inbox and you can move e mails to this, either by highlighting, right click and select the folder, or by highlighting, hold left mouse button down, and drag to the folder you want, then let the mouse button up.  I have folders for Gloria, Miscellaneous, Newslink, Postal Bulletin, Approvals, Pay for Performance information, etc.  Make sure that it makes sense to you. 

 EMAIL

 To send out a message to all offices in Dakotas District: 

While in Microsoft Outlook, click on “NEW”, then “TO”, and the “SELECT NAMES” box pops up. 

In the address box below “NAME”, type in “Dakotas”, and scroll down to

DAKOTAS-SCF ___.

Highlight the scf’s you want your email to reach, click on “TO->”. 

When all addresses are in the “message recipients” box, click OK.

Then simply type your email and “SEND”

ATTACHMENTS

 To add an attachment to an email, type the message

Next to the send button there is a paper clip – click on that

Pick the file you want to attach and highlight

Click on insert

If you want to send more than one, repeat the steps

Click send

 AUTO DELETE

 To automatically delete incoming emails

Click on Tools and Rules Wizard

Leave Inbox in the first blank

Click New

Click on Start from a template

Click on move new messages from someone

Click on the blue people or distribution list

Select and move to the right side of the page

Click OK

Click on the specified folder – in this case Deleted items

Click OK and follow the prompts

COPY AND PASTE INTO PES MIDYEAR AND END OF YEAR

First create your narrative in Microsoft Word. 

Save it in My Documents (File and Save as – make sure to name it something that makes sense to you)

When the time comes to enter it into PES:

            Open your narrative document

            Highlight (use click and drag) all the paragraphs for your first core requirement

            With your cursor over the highlighted portion, right click, click Copy

            Now go to Internet Explorer

            On the Dakotas home page there is a link for PES.  Click on PES

Navigate into your PES for the current FY, getting to the place where you would start typing your narrative.  RIGHT  CLICK, Click Paste

Repeat the process for your Fiscal Management core requirement

 MAKE FOLDERS IN MY DOCUMENTS

 From the document, go to File (upper left hand corner)

Click on Save As

Click on new folder (icon of a folder with starburst on right side), Name the folder, Click OK

Name the file, Click Save

 MAKING A TEMPLATE IN EBUY

 Start the same as if ordering an On Catalog or Off Catalog order.  Make sure to rename the requisition so it makes sense to you.  Put the order in the same as if you were actually ordering the items, remember to add the justification, then at the bottom of the page click on Save as Template.  When you want to use the template from the eBuy home page, click on Requisition Templates on the left side, Click on the underlined template, at the bottom of the page, click on Open as Requisition, make the necessary changes and submit.  This is very helpful for your Bulk Funded Requisition, Boise Cascade orders, Ready Post orders, It will keep track of the items you usually order and you can add or delete from the template before you submit.

 WEBBATS LABELS

To get the boxes due for the month, go to Reports

Under billing in the middle of the page, go to Payment Due, Labels

Select a due date                                                                                                                     

Run Report

Put labels (30 on a page) in the printer

File Print Print

On the ones that are paid, put the label on the Notice 32-B (remember to put your town on the other side)

On the ones that are no fee and say Address Verification put the label on the Notice 32-N

 MAKE A SHORT CUT TO YOUR DESKTOP

 To personalize your desktop and make it “user friendly” you may want to put a shortcut to some of your most used applications.  For example on my desktop, I have shortcuts to WebBats, eBuy, Track and Confirm, TACS, and others.  To make a short cut, open the application you want the short cut to

Right Click anywhere on the page

Click on Create Short cut and OK

To Delete a shortcut that you have already made, Right click on the shortcut on the desktop, Click on delete and OK and it will remove it to the Recycle bin

 ARRANGE YOUR DESKTOP

 Right Click anywhere on the page

Click on Arrange Icons by

Make sure that Auto Arrange is NOT checked

Drag and drop the icons where ever you want them

 ADD TO FAVORITES

 While On the web site that you want to add, Click on Favorites at the top

Click on Add to favorites

Change the name if you wish

Click OK

AIC HELPER
For Self Serve Accounting Help

Go to:  acs.usps.gov/help/

Click on Get AIC Help

It will ask for the Reporting Technology on a drop down menu

            IRT, POS, SPORT, eMOVES

It will ask if the AIC was overstated or understated

It will ask if it was same day detection

It will ask the AIC – drop down menu

Click on Get Solution

RURAL ROUTE MANAGEMENT

4003 – need access, remember SAVE a lot and check to see that the miles and boxes in the header and in the body match before submitting.

4240 – program set up that will print 4240’s and track hours for the guarantee year

 ON LINE LEARNING

On the Dakotas Home page, click on Dakotas Online Learning in the middle of the page

Click on Enter Application

Click on the Video you would like to see

Absorb all the wealth of knowledge there is there

DAKOTAS HOME PAGE

VIEW/PRINT DAKOTAS PHONE BOOK

Go to the Dakotas Home Page

On the right, there is a gray box that says Phonebook, click on it

You can choose to Open or Save it – I would choose Open

Click on the tabs across the bottom and print the pages you need.  They don’t print back to back so it takes a bit of paper

You can save it to My Documents and get to it faster than downloading it.  Occassionally go to the Dakotas home page and download and save the new version

OTHER INFORMATION ON THE DAKOTAS PAGE

Operations Support>Programs Support>Help List

Human Resources>Training and Development>Postmaster?OIC Files>Where do I go for help?

View/Print Training Materials at Human Resources>Training and Development and the Training Matrix (download and print), Go to Training Material and see what is available online, can download and print the training information and/or the sign in sheets to send to PEDC

Finance Pages

Accounting>Reason Codes for AIC 247 and 647

Budget>Retail Revenue Sub Line Listing

Financial Services>Closeout checklists

Internal Control>Reports (edw reports)

            Excess Stamp Stock

            Stations Exceeding Bond

            Employee Trust and Suspense Balances

            AIC 247 and 647 Line Detail

EDW REPORTS

Types EDW in the address bar>Enter>Enter Application>Close Window

Accounting>Shared Reports>Postmaster>reconciliation Exceptions by Site

Beginning date and ending date – click on calendar

Unit finance number 10 digit

Click on Run Report

Can print from here or export to Excel and manipulate and print in a variety of ways