Color me interested! More tools for finding the right color.

Finding just the right color for text or images can be a challenge. Maybe you want to match a color you saw on the web, or maybe you are looking for the perfect color blue.  Here are a few tools to help you find just the right color.

But first a little background...



Color "Names"

One of the challenges in finding the right color is figuring out what to call it!  If you have ever been to a paint store, you know there is no such thing as white.  There is off-white, arctic snow, cloud white, ecru, tan, and more!  The computer solves this problem by giving each color a numerical name.  There are two main color naming conventions: RGB and hexadecimal.  Sometimes you will work with a program that wants the color in RGB and sometimes a program will want the color in hexadecimal.

RGB is a color model that gives a numeric value to the amount of Red, Green, and Blue in the color.  This is useful as a naming convention and gives you the option to make small adjustments to the color by increasing or decreasing the red, green, or blue number. (it is like adding a little more "tint" to the paint color!)

Hexadecimal (or "hex") gives a numeric value to the color but instead of using a base 10 numbering system (decimal), it uses a base 16 numbering system (hexadecimal). A hex color name is six digits in length and begins with a #.  For example, #FF0000 is the hex name for a particular red.
(Decimal uses the characters 0-9 which is 10 characters.  Deci means 10 which is why our numbering system is called the decimal system.  Because hexadecimal uses sixteen characters, it uses 0-9 and A-F.)

OK, but how do I find the color I want to use?

If you want to locate a color "by eye" you can use a web-based tool

• this tool by w3schools.com is similar to the standard and custom color picker used by Word and PowerPoint.  You pick your color and then use the lighter/darker scale to find the exact color you want to use.  The selected color is displayed in the middle of the screen with the hex, RGB, and hsl colors. (hsl stands for hue, saturation, and lightness and is the third naming convention for colors, but you likely will not see it very often.)
• you can mix your own RGB colors by altering the amount of each color in this tool by w3schools.com.  Adjust the amount of Red, Green, and Blue by typing a number or clicking on the Red, Green, and Blue color lines.  Your newly mixed color will be displayed in a color block above the Red, Green, and Blue color lines, and the RGB, Hex, and HSL color codes for your new color will be displayed to the right of the color block.
• There are also many tools on the web to convert hex to RGB, or RGB to hex, 

If you want to match a color on the web
In a previous blog post, I told you how you can use the eyedropper tool in PowerPoint (or Word) to sample a color from within PowerPoint. But what if you want to sample a color outside of PowerPoint and from a webpage?

There are several tools to sample a color on the web and the one I use is called Colorzilla. Colorzilla is an extension you can add to your Chrome or Firefox toolbar. You can then use the eyedropper/color picker to find the exact color of anything in your browser, and use the color numbers to color your text, lines or fills!

Here is a demonstration of how to install and use Colorzilla.

How might you use custom coloring?

It's a Colorful World or it can be with...MORE COLORS!

Color. I want more color!

We all know the benefits of using color in our documents, presentations, handouts, and blogs.  Did you know you can customize the color of your text, lines, and fills to ANY color?  This same idea will work in almost any program that let's you set color (Powerpoint, Word, etc.). Here is how you do it in Powerpoint:

1.  Select the text, line or fill on which you want to set the color.

2.  Use the menu you normally use to select the color, but this time select More Colors.

3. You are presented with the standard color menu.  Select the color you would like by clicking on it.

4.  If you are satisfied with your color, click OK.  If you would like to further customize your color, click on the Custom menu tab.

5.  On the custom tab you can:

• Use the slider to find a lighter or darker share of the color you selected on the previous screen
• Use the rainbow box to select the color you would like
• Enter the RGB codes for a specific color. (Trivia: RGB stands for Red, Green, Blue)

6. Click OK and enjoy your customized color!

This can all sound a bit confusing in a blog post. Try it out and you will see it's not hard at all!


A few more tips:

➤ You can match any color on the screen by using the eyedropper.

• Select the text, line or fill you want to adjust.
• Use the menu to select color and then select the eyedropper.
• Move the eyedropper to the color you want to match (the square will fill with the current color) and click.  Your item will be that color!

➤ Depending on the item you are coloring (text, line, fill), when you go to your color menu you may have the option to use a gradient, a picture, or a texture in addition to a color.


How can you use custom colors in your professional or personal work?

To Link or Not to Link...That is the Question

There are advantages and disadvantages to creating embedded links in your blogs, online documents, and training materials. On the one hand, embedded links are easy for the user to use and keeps the text clean and easy to read.  If the item will only be used online (blog post, webpage, etc.), an embedded link is a great option.

If this is a document (like a handout or reference guide or ebook) that may be used online an embedded link is useful for the reasons listed above. On the other hand, if this is a document the user might print, an embedded link is not useful (paper is not clickable!). Because of that, it is useful to include the link in parenthesis after the clickable link. Unfortunately, many links are LONG and may add a lot of additional text and visual clutter to the document that takes away from the usefulness of the document.

              The solution: use an embedded link and provide a short URL in parenthesis in the document.

To create an embedded link:
Most programs include the option to create an embedded link and the process is similar for all of them.  The example below is for MS Word.

1. Highlight the text you want to be "clickable" for your embedded link.
2. Go to the insert menu and click on Hyperlink.
3. Paste the URL into the address bar. If your program has the option to "open in a new window" select that and then click OK.

Add a (Short) URL
To make sure the URL is available if the user prints your document, you can include the actual URL in parenthesis after the embedded link, and the user can read it and type it into a browser to get to the website.  If the URL is not TOO long, it is not a problem. However, many URLs are long and difficult to type without errors.  For example, the link to the Fast Company article in the above example is:

http://www.fastcompany.com/3047113/how-to-be-a-success-at-everything/how-to-keep-work-housekeeping-from-taking-over-your-life

Not only is this a lot for the user to type accurately, but this long URL will add a lot of unnecessary text to our document that will make it difficult to read.  The solution?  Use a URL shortener.

A URL shortener is a program that literally shortens your URL into an abbreviated URL that will be easier for the user to type and that will add less visual clutter to your document. (it's kind of like giving your URL a nickname.) There are several URL shorteners available on the web (examples: bit.ly, tinyurl) and several programs such as X/Twitter, include URL shorteners as part of the program.

To use a URL shortener:

1. Go to the URL shortener website (such as bit.ly).
2. Paste your long URL into the provided box and click the Shorten link.
3. Bit.ly makes you sign up for a free account, but it's free and you can use it for other links in the future.
4. Copy the shortened link and paste it into your document.

Our paper from the previous example now looks like this:

Again, if your document will only be viewed on the web, an embedded link is a great solution.  But if your document is likely to be printed, including an embedded link and a short URL is a great way to ensure your users will have access to all the links and resources you provided in your document!

What other uses do you see for embedded links and URL shorteners in your professional life?

Are you Sending People to the Right Place?

 

We often copy links and send them to colleagues or post them online and on our social media.  But are you using the right URL? 

Take a look at this short video to learn how to use the correct URL to get people where you want them to go!

In case you wanted to know: How Computers Work (in 6 short videos)

You use them every day, but have you ever wondered how computers work?





Code.org, a non-profit that works to expand access to computer science in schools including increasing participation by women and underrepresented minorities, created a series of short videos on How Computers Work.  Watch the introduction video by Bill Gates (1:20m)

The six-video series on how computers work is available on YouTube. Each video is less than 6 minutes long. It's a great opportunity to see how this tool that most of us use daily works!

Take a look and let us know what you learned!

"Snooze" your emails (whether you are using Gmail or not!)

In an earlier blog post, I talked about using the "snooze" feature in Gmail to set a date for your email to be re-sent to your inbox.  But what if you are not using Gmail?  

One option is to use FollowUpThen. 

What is it?

Although not a tool for use with learners, this is one of my favorite "productivity" tools--I use it almost every day. (it's the only way I can ever get to "inbox zero.")

FollowUpThen is a tool to help you manage your email inbox.  It lets you resend an email to your inbox at a later date (for example when you need to be reminded of something, or when you are ready to take action on the email). To accomplish this,  you use SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com as an email address in your distribution.

Example

Let's say I sent an email to Susan and Enrique asking when they were available to meet.  Ordinarily, I may be tempted to CC or BCC myself on the email and leave it in my inbox to remind me that Susan and Enrique should be getting back to me about this.  This is not a good reminder system because 

1. it clutters my inbox
2. with all the email in my inbox--and with this email potentially scrolling off the bottom of the screen and not being visible--it may not be a good reminder for me. 

Instead of BCC-ing myself on the email, I can BCC SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com.  Let's say I wanted to be reminded on Friday that Susan and Enrique should have gotten back to me. I would include in the distribution of the email,

TO: Susan, Enrique

BCC: Friday@FollowUpThen.com.  

The email will go to Susan, it will go to Enrique, and on Friday it will show up in my inbox.

How to Use it

When you go to the FollowUpThen website you'll see you can sign up for an account. The free version allows for 50 followups in a month.

FollowUpThen allows you to use natural language in place of the SOMETIME in the email address.  You can say, "Friday," "EveryWednesday," "200pm," "April15," "tomorrow," "2days," and a whole host of other descriptions. There is more information on how to set the SOMETIME on the followupthen.com webpage. 

With FollowUpThen you can also control who sees the follow up.  If you put the SOMETIME@FollowUpThen.com email address in the:

BCC: only you will see the follow up

CC: all of the original recipients of the email will see the follow up

Because FollowUpThen is just an email address vs a separate email tool, you can use it with any email program.

A Big Caution

The way FollowUpThen works is that it stores your email, encrypted, on the FollowUpThen servers until it is time to re-send the email. After the email is sent, it is deleted from the FollowUpThen servers.  

However, the fact that the email is stored on third-party servers may be against your company's data management/privacy policies. 

Because of this, many of you will not be able to use FollowUpThen at work. Check with your company to see if it is OK to use FollowUpThen before you use it at work. Here is FollowUpThen's privacy policy. 

(although it should still be handy with your non-work email).

Resources:

• How to use Followupthen from the Followupthen website
  
  
• I talked about FollowUpThen on episode #39 of the Higher Learning Now podcast.

Want to make Gmail even more useful? Snooze it!

What is the Gmail snooze feature?

One of my favorite features of Gmail--and one I use almost every day-- is the "snooze" feature. The Gmail snooze feature lets you resend an email to your inbox at a later date (for example when you need to be reminded of something, or when you are ready to take action on the email). 

How to Use it

• Select the email you want to snooze.  You can open the email to select it, or you can select one or more emails by checking the box next to the email in the inbox.

• Click the snooze icon from the list of icons on the top of the window.

• Select a pre-set date and time or click on "Pick date & time" to select a custom date & time. The email will disappear from your inbox and reappear at the date and time selected!

• You can always find your snoozed emails by clicking on the snoozed folder on the left sidebar of your Gmail.

When to Use it: Example #1

Let's say I sent an email to Susan and Bob asking them for information I need for a meeting next Tuesday. Ordinarily, I might be tempted to CC or BCC myself on the email and leave it in my inbox until Friday when I want to send a follow-up email if I have not heard from Susan and Bob about this. This is not a good reminder system because (1) it clutters my inbox, and (2) it might scroll off the bottom of the screen or get "lost" in my inbox and that is not a good reminder system!  Instead of leaving it in my inbox, I can CC or BCC myself on the email and then snooze the email until Friday when it will pop back in my inbox and remind me I need to send an email if I have not heard from Susan or Bob.

When to Use it: Example #2

Let's say Luis sends me an email with an agenda for our meeting on April 15.  I want to review the agenda before the meeting and bring it with me to the meeting on April 15, but do not need it cluttering my inbox for the next several weeks.  I can snooze the email until April14 and then delete/file the email because I know that the email will be delivered again to my inbox on the 14th, giving me time to review the agenda before the meeting. (and keeping all the clutter out of my inbox!)

How can you use the Gmail snooze feature to improve your productivity?