DigiTip 6: Set your status for a set time in MS Teams to show that you’re busy 🔕

Sometimes, you may need to set some time aside to concentrate on a particular piece of work, but how can you show other people who are also online that you’re busy? Microsoft Teams allows you to set your status to Do not disturb, meaning that you won’t be interrupted by Teams notifications or calls (unless you choose to receive these from specific people), but it can be too easy to forget to turn this status off once you’re finished.

Luckily, Teams allows you to set your status for a set duration. Take a look at the video below or follow these instructions:

Open MS Teams and click on your profile picture
Click on your current status
Select Duration
Choose Do not Disturb (or whichever status you want to appear)
Choose for how long you want this status to appear
Click Done

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week!

DigiTip 2 – Check your Welsh text using the Cysill app 📝

Cysill is part of a language software package called Cysgliad that you can download on your PC, and Cysill will be able to identify and correct Welsh-language errors in your text. You can use the online version of Cysill, but you can check your text much easier if you download the app (how do I do that?).

Once you’ve downloaded the Cysill app, take a look at the video below or follow these instructions:

Open the Cysill app and your Word document (or wherever your Welsh-language text is located)
Highlight the text you want Cysill to check
Type Ctrl+Alt+W on your keyboard (this will copy and paste your text directly into Cysill)
Check all the errors that the app suggests need changing
Click Cywiro (Correct) if you’re happy with a correction that the app suggests
Once you’ve worked through all the suggestions, the app will automatically copy and paste the corrected text back into your Word document

To follow our DigiTips, subscribe to our Digital Skills Blog. Or alternatively, you can bookmark this webpage, where a new DigiTip will be added each week!

Microsoft PowerPoint Tips and Tricks 💡

19 June 202319 June 2023 WordPress User [sil12] Digital communication, collaboration and participation, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Jeffrey Clark (Student Digital Champion)

Like Microsoft Word, PowerPoint is another Microsoft application you’ve probably used before. Planning for delivering a presentation can be daunting and even a frightening task for some, as not only do you have to speak in front of your fellow students, but your PowerPoint presentation will also be on full display. But, have no fear as this blogpost will give you some valuable tips and tricks to help turn a good presentation into a GREAT presentation!

Tip 1: Inserting Excel data into PowerPoint

If your presentation requires you to show data from an existing Microsoft Excel document, there is an easy way to display it within PowerPoint.

On the slide you want your data to appear on, go to Insert > Object
From the Insert Object window, select Create from file > Browse > then select the Microsoft Excel file where the chart you want to include is located > OK
This will automatically insert both the data and chart from your Microsoft Excel document
You can edit this data directly within your PowerPoint document by double-clicking on the chart on your slide
Click outside of the chart when you are finished, and PowerPoint will produce a chart with your Excel data!

Tip 2: Inserting a YouTube video in PowerPoint

Microsoft Excel Tips and Tricks (Part 2)💡

24 May 202324 May 2023 Laurie Stevenson [las60] Digital proficiency and productivity, Information, data and media literacies, LinkedIn Learning, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Laurie Stevenson (Student Digital Champion)

I published Part 1 of this blogpost earlier this week, where I introduced you to 5 tips and tricks to help you make the most of Excel, and this blogpost contains 5 further tips! If you want to learn more about Excel, please visit my new Excel LinkedIn Learning collection.

Tip 6: Adding in multiple rows or columns at once

If you want to add more than one row or column in one go, this tip will save you the time of having to do this one row at a time.

Highlight the number of rows or columns you want
Right-click on the highlighted rows or columns
Choose Insert from the drop-down menu that appears

Tip 7: Adding bullet points

Finding the button to add these is not as easy as on Microsoft Word but luckily there are a couple of different ways to do this.

Microsoft Excel Tips and Tricks (Part 1)💡

22 May 202324 May 2023 Laurie Stevenson [las60] Digital proficiency and productivity, Information, data and media literacies, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Laurie Stevenson (Student Digital Champion)

Feel a sense of dread whenever you have to use Excel for your degree? Well, we’re here to help! Many degrees will require the use of Excel at some point for data analysis, maths calculations, graph or chart creation, project management and much more.

Excel can seem complicated and daunting to some, particularly if you are relatively new to it, so I’ve put together a list of tips and tricks as well as a new Excel LinkedIn Learning collection to help you out.

Keep an eye out on our blog later on this week as I’ll be publishing the second part of this blogpost, which will include 5 more tips and tricks on using Excel!

Tip 1: Useful keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts involve pressing more than one key simultaneously and if memorised can save you a great deal of time. For example, use CTRL+A to select all the cells in a spreadsheet. Take a look at the following list of good ones to learn:

Ctrl + N	Create a new workbook
Ctrl + O	Open an existing workbook
Ctrl + S	Save the active workbook
F12	Save the active workbook under a new name, displays the save as dialog box
Ctrl + W	Close the active workbook
Ctrl + C	Copy the contents of the selected cells to the Clipboard
Ctrl + X	Cut the contents of the selected cells to the Clipboard
Ctrl + V	Paste/insert the content of the Clipboard into the selected cells(s)
Ctrl + Z	Undo your last action
Ctrl + P	Open the Print dialog
Alt + H	Open the home tab
Alt + N	Open the Insert tab
Alt + P	Open the page layout tab
Ctrl + S	Save a workbook
Ctrl + 9	Hide the selected row(s)
Ctrl + 0	Hide the selected column(s)

Online Scams: Identifying Scam Emails and Texts

2 May 20235 September 2023 WordPress User [jec68] Digital Identity and Wellbeing, Digital proficiency and productivity, LinkedIn Learning, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Jeffrey Clark (Student Digital Champion)

The Internet is a great place to connect with friends, work on projects, and even make money. However, there are some who will use the Internet to try and make money from YOU! Unfortunately, scams are becoming more and more advanced but thankfully I’ve got you covered! In this blogpost I’ll go over scam emails, what they are, how to identify them and what to do when you find them.

Make sure to read the Aberystwyth University page on spam emails before reading this blog post.

What is a phishing email?

A phishing email is an email that is designed to obtain sensitive personal data from you. This data may come in the form of your address, credit card information, or even your bank details! Phishing emails are usually disguised as legitimate business emails like the example below.

Screenshot of a Phishing Email from TustedBank — *Image from Wikimedia Commons*

It’s easy to see how one might fall for a phishing email like this. Firstly, the email notifies the victim that their bank account may have been compromised which prompts them to act urgently. Secondly, there is nothing suspicious about the link at first glance. So how can you tell the difference between a legitimate email and a phishing email?

RB&I Seminar (28 March): Mobile apps for research, assistance or profit

20 March 202320 March 2023 WordPress User [sil12] Digital creation, problem-solving and innovation, Training Leave a comment

Person Holding Silver Android Smartphone with apps displayed on the screen

On Tuesday 28.03.23 (12:00-14:00), the Research, Business and Innovation department have arranged an in-person seminar to help researchers decide whether their app idea is feasible and how to go about making it happen.

The seminar will be led by Professor Chris Price from the Computer Science Department.

For further information, and to book your place, please visit the event page.

Using Primo Effectively 📚

20 February 202320 February 2023 WordPress User [jec68] Information, data and media literacies, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Jeffrey Clark (Student Digital Champion)

Introduction to Primo

It can be challenging to go into any library and find what you’re looking for. Most libraries contain hundreds of books, and the Hugh Owen library has THOUSANDS of books. If you want to find what you’re looking for with clinical precisions, then I recommend you give Primo a try. Primo is a digital library catalogue used by Aberystwyth University. It’s a massive database that allows students to search for books to loan from the University, make lists of books to check-out, and access online versions of reading materials. It has tonnes of features which have made my time at Aberystwyth that much easier. While it’s easy to see it as ‘just Google search for the library’, it’s much more than that. From saving lists of books to requesting books I need for my course, Primo has saved me time and from many headaches during my studies. In this blog post I’ll be going over Primo, what it does, and how to make it work for you.

Using the search function

Using Primo’s search function is easy. Simply type the name of the item you wish to find and Primo will tell you where it is in the Hugh Owen library or if you can access it online (some items have both online and physical copies.) Primo’s search function is set to search for ‘all items’ by default, which can muddy your search results a bit by giving you too many options.

At the bottom of the search bar, there are three drop-down menus which have options to help you find EXACTLY what you’re looking for. For example, let’s say that I want to search only for books by John Steinbeck. From the bottom of the search bar, I would select ‘Books’, then ‘with my exact phrase’, selecting ‘as author/creator’ and finally searching ‘John Steinbeck.’

Screenshot of Primo showing how to insert text in the search bar and the different filters

Microsoft Word Tips and Tricks 💡

13 February 202313 February 2023 WordPress User [jec68] Digital proficiency and productivity, LinkedIn Learning, Student Digital Champions, Students Leave a comment

Blogpost by Jeffrey Clark (Student Digital Champion)

Making things easier

Microsoft Word is perhaps the most used and widely recognized computer program in all of academia. Virtually every course you can take at Aberystwyth University uses Microsoft Word to some degree, with some courses requiring you to do more with it than just type out an essay. In this blog post, I’ll tell you about some shortcuts in Microsoft Word that have helped me during my studies.

Tip 1: Keyboard shortcuts

Keyboard shortcuts are a combination of keys that you press to perform a function. For example, press control (ctrl) and C at the same time while highlighting text copies that text onto your clipboard. Instead of right-clicking and scrolling down the drop-down menu to ‘Paste’, you can press ctrl + V to paste the text instead.

The ALT key can also be used for shortcuts. Specifically, the ALT key is used for shortcuts as they relate to the top task bar. By holding down the ALT key for a few seconds, the keys for each shortcut will pop up. For instance, on my keyboard, pressing ALT and 2 will save my document.

But if we press ALT + S to go to the References tab…

We get an entirely new set of ALT keyboard commands to use!

By holding down the ALT with a different tab open we can see what shortcuts are available for each tab on the taskbar. If you forget what ALT key shortcuts do, holding the ALT key down will give you a helpful reminder of your keyboard shortcuts!

Join the Digital Marketing Masterclass (8 February)

2 February 20232 February 2023 WordPress User [sil12] Digital creation, problem-solving and innovation, Training Leave a comment

Want to learn how you can use digital marketing to promote your Business or Social Enterprise?

AberPreneurs, part of the University’s Careers Service, are running an exiting online event on Wednesday 8 February (2pm), Digital Marketing Masterclass with Francesca Irving from ‘Lunax Digital’.

Join the webinar online through MS Teams.

For any queries, please contact aberpreneurs@aber.ac.uk.