Tech Tips: Tech Tools Available at Duke

Tech Tools Available at Duke

Duke has some new software tools that you might find helpful for your work here at DUSON.  They are free and easy-to-use.  Check them out -  

But first, here’s our Tech Tip of the Week …

Before you press Send …

Here are some email etiquette tips we recommend that you follow when using your Duke email account:

·Did you press Reply All instead of Reply? 

• Best to only use Reply All when everyone needs to see your response. 

·Sending to a lot of folks where a reply to everyone isn’t needed?

• We recommend that you use BCC: for the addresses.  That way, an accidental Reply All from one of your recipients won’t cause widespread spam.
  • I used this tip for today’s edition of Tech Tuesday.
  • Try a Reply All – It’s only going to me.

·Check the Subject line –

• Is it meaningful, searchable and useful?  If not, consider updating it before pressing Send.

·Sending a large attachment?

• Why not put it in Box? 
• Sending large attachments to multiple people clogs up the email pipeline.

Thanks to several of our students for recommending these email tips!

Think-cell

Do you create charts in your PowerPoint slides?  Here’s a tool that will provide you with powerful charting and layout options. Use think-cell to quickly create professional PowerPoint charts like Marimekko, Gantt and waterfall.  It’s a complete set of productivity tools for creating and maintaining agenda slides right within PowerPoint.  With self-guided video help available, you can become a pro quickly. 

Got Screenshots?

Need a screenshot and you don’t like the Windows Snipping Tool?  OIT offers a tool called Lightscreen that you may consider trying.  In addition to simply taking a screenshot, you can resize and readjust the area of the screen you wish to capture for maximum flexibility.  You are also able to create an automatic naming system and quickly share your screenshot by uploading.  My favorite feature is the ability to assign hotkeys for each action. 

Interested?  Try it out by downloading from the OIT Software License site.  Quick note about support – OIT and SON-IT do not offer direct support for this tool.  The tool author has provided a help screen that should answer any questions.

Adobe Creative Cloud

Free for students, Adobe Creative Cloud provides you with a  subscription to 24 of the most advanced media tools available, including:

·Photoshop – Image Editing

·Lightroom – Photo Processing

·Premiere Pro – Video Editing

·Illustrator – Vector Graphics and Illustration

·After Effects – Cinematic Visual Effects and Motion Graphics

Enjoy using these professional tools for your projects.

MindMeister

This is a fun tool for capturing, developing and sharing creative ideas visually.  It’s a tool you can use for brainstorming, note-taking and project planning.  It is also useful for presentations.  Here are a few features:

·Collaborative Brainstorming

·Presentations

·Task Management

·Customizable Designs

·See all contributions/Swap to former versions

MindMeister provides many styling options and your designs can be easily shared.

Going Deeper …

Check out the complete selection of Duke site-license software here.   

Have any questions about this or other tech used at DUSON?

As always, if you have any technical questions or problems, please contact your IT Service Desk at 919-684-9200, or email tocitdl@mc.duke.edu.