fixed : change the Currency-format of only a few cells in Numbers (from iWork)

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Question :

I’m using the Apple Numbers spreadsheet-app (from iWork) and I want to use multiple currencies in one spreadsheet (US dollars, GB pounds and Euros). I tried “Create / Change Custom Cell Format” from the “Format”-menu, but there the currency is set to default to my local currency (Euros) and I can’t change it…

This must be possible, right ?

But, how do I do it ?

Answer :

The trick is you should change the currency format of a (group of) cell(s) in the “Inspector”…

Here’s how to :

– in Numbers, select the cell or cells of which you want to change the currency

– then click on the “Inspector” (info-sign shaped button on the right of the upper bar of the spreadsheet-window)

– in the “Cells”-window that opens, choose the tab marked “42” (*)

– there, under “Cell Format” you should change the default “Automatic” to “Currency” and choose the one you want to use

That’s it !

😉

(*) this is probably a subtile reference to “The Hitchhikers Guid To The Galaxy (H2G2)”, where 42 turns out to be the answer to “the ultimate question of life, the universe and everything”…

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fixed : HP DeskJet 930c can’t print PDF

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Question :

I got an eMail-attachment in PDF, and when I tried to print it from my OSX 10.8 “Mountain Lion” MacBookPro, a completely blank page came out of my HP DeskJet 930c…

And when I tried printing the entire mail (including the preview of the PDF), the eMail-bodytext got printed, but there was a blank spot where the PDF-preview should have been…

What can I do ?

Answer :

For some unknown reason, the HP DeskJet 930c seems to have problems printing PDFs from OSX 10.8 “Mountain Lion”. The only remedy seems to be to install Adobe Reader and print every PDF from there…

…to make printing from Adobe Reader a little easier for you (and something you will not forget when you do not print PDFs for some time), it would be good to set Adobe Reader as the preferred software to open any PDF on your Mac. To do so, do this :

– select any PDF-document’s icon on your Mac

– then press [CMD]+[I] on your keyboard

– in the ‘Get Info’ window that opens, go to the chapter called “Open with:”

– if the grey triangular arrow in front is pointing to the right, click on it to make it point downward and reveal the pulldown-menu that you can should choose “Adobe Reader” from

– after you’ve done that, make sure you also click the “Change All…” button

…now any PDF-document you get on your Mac or in your Mac will open up in Adobe Reader, and you can print it from there

That’s it !

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Enjoy !

fixed : update Seagate Momentus XT firmware from TD27 to SD28

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Question :

To keep my aging MacBook Pro up-to-date and up-to-speed, I’ve replaced the internal harddisk with a Seagate Momentus XT hybrid-harddisk. I’ve found on the internet that Seagate’s SD28 is the latest firmware for the Momentus XT, and since Seagate claims it’s an essential upgrade, I would like to install in also. I’ve followed the instructions from Seagate, but when I run the firmware update, it refuses with a “Specific model not found”-error and quits…

In “About This Mac”, I’ve found that my version of the Momentus XT is the ST95005620AS and the current firmware is TD27. I’ve searched the internet and can only find info on firmware versions SD24, SD25, SD26 and SD28, but not on SD27 (or TD27, what’s the difference anyway ?)…

Is there any way to upgrade my Momentus XT to the SD28 firmware ?

Answer :

Yes !

First a little background info :

The Momentus XT hybrid-harddisks have not only been released by Seagate, they have also been issued by Toshiba as OEM-harddisks. Where it gets confusing is that the Toshiba issued ones still have “Seagate”-branded info stickers on them… The main thing Toshiba seems to have done is install a Toshiba-version of the firmware named TD27… (TD seems to mean Toshiba Drive, as opposed to SD for Seagate Drive…)

Seagate itself has skipped version SD27 of the firmware for unknown reasons, but Toshiba has (only ?) issued their version of exactly that skipped firmware revision : TD27…

More info can be found here :

Momentus-XT-Secret-Code-Names-Model

So much for the confusion…

Now let’s get to the solution…

Here’s how to upgrade your Momentus XT from TD27 to SD28 firmware on a Mac :

[ NOTE : doing firmware updates is potentially very risky for your hardware, software and data !! not following the instructions to the letter is even more risky !! every thing you do is at your own risk !! ]

– download the SD28 firmware upgrade (in .ISO format) from Seagate :

 Momentus XT firmware upgrade SD28

– after the download, find the “MomentusXT-ALL-SD28.iso” disk image and mount it on your Mac

– burn the (Windows/DOS) files that are on the disk image onto a CD-r

– eject the freshly burned CD-r and label it “Seagate Momentus XT firmware upgrade SD28”

– now back-up the entire current contents of your Mac’s harddrive (= your internal Momentus XT) ; the easiest way to do this is to choose “Back Up Now” from the Time Machine menu (assuming you have Time Machine back-up installed)

– now print this manual for reference during the actual firmware upgrade

– when the back-up is finished, re-insert the CD-r (with the SD28 firmware installer), disconnect all cables (USB, Ethernet, DisplayPort, Thunderbolt, FireWire, etc.) from your Mac, only to leave the power-cord in (that’s essential !) and reboot your Mac while pressing the [ALT]-key

– once you see the Apple logo with the spinning gear, you can release the [ALT]-key

– now you will see about three tiles of possible startup-drives to choose from, select the CD-rom (that will probable be titled “Seagate” of “Windows”) and click [ENTER]

– now your screen will go entirely black and then display Windows/DOS-like white texts (if you do not see white text appearing and you are on a MacBook, open your MacBook and look on the MacBook’s own screen ; this would mean you did not follow the instructions to unplug your second screen… as mentioned before : doing firmware upgrades is potentially very risky and completely at your own risk !! do yourself a favor and follow the instructions to the letter to minimize your risk !! )

– just follow the on-screen instructions (press [ENTER] when suggested, and press the [D]-key to select the firmware upgrade)

– everything will seem to go fine, until you get this text :

“Error: Specific model not found. Various expected   ************************   Turn off the power now.”

– if you see that, don’t power down your Mac, but press the [CTRL] + [C] keys on your keyboard instead, and you will get this text :

“Control-Break pressed. Terminate batch file ‘C:\FLASH-M.BAT’ (Yes/No/All) ?”

– then, press the [CTRL] + [C] key-combo again, and you will get this text :

“(Seagate boot) C:\>”

– that’s your command-prompt (just like in DOS or in OSX’s Terminal-app), now type [exactly as shown here, but without the quotes] the following command :

“FDL497A -m ANAK -f ANSD28.LOD -i Seagate -s -x -b -v -a 20”

– then press the [ENTER] key, and the firmware upgrade process will start

– during the upgrade process, a text like this will display :

“Model SEAGATE ST95005620AS SN xxxxxxxx FW TD27 on Generic PCI ATA Bus 0 Device 0

Model SEAGATE ST95005620AS SN xxxxxxxx FW SD28”

– after about 1 minute, the word “SUCCESS” will be displayed in big blue letters, followed by “(Seagate boot) C:\>” in regular white letters

– now, the firmware upgrade is complete and you can reboot your Mac

– when your Mac has restarted in OSX, eject the CD-r and have a look in “About This Mac”, there you will find that the firmware of your internal harddisk is now SD28

…that’s it

Enjoy !

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test : affordable iPad styluses compared

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Recently I came across a very interesting handwriting-note-taking app for the iPad : Notability

(after reading a lot of reviews and testing a few alternatives myself, I found this was the most useful note-taking app when wanting to use handwriting on an iPad ; the only downside I’ve found so far is it can only export to PDF)

So after I had decided on the app I wanted to use, I had to find an affordable stylus that can be used for handwriting.

The most important selection criteria I needed to test on where :

1- is the stylus responsive and accurate enough for handwriting on an iPad ?

2- does the stylus feel like an actual pen when handwriting on an iPad ?

3- is the price tag affordable, so below € 20, but preferably even below € 10 ?

The 7 styluses I selected are :

• Muvit (T-Mobile) iPhone/iPad Stylus [2-pack]

• AmazonBasics “Executive” Stylus

• Ozaki “iStroke” Stylus+Pen

• Boxwave “EverTouch” Micro-knit tip Stylus

• ButterFox Micro-knit tip Stylus+Pen

• TeckNet “MT-238” Micro-knit tip Stylus+Pen

• NewTrent “Arcadia Clickpen” Micro-knit tip Stylus [2-pack]

The main findings of the test :

– rubber tip styluses (AmazonBasics, Ozaki) perform okay in responsiveness, but are significantly less responsive than the ones with micro-knit tips

– since the ‘capacitive touch’ screens used in iPhones and iPads were meant to be used with a finger and not with a stylus, the styluses will always need to mimic a fingertip… that makes the stylus-tip rather bulky and soft… which is a sharp contrast to what you would expect from a handwriting pen : a pointy and hard tip… so ‘actual pen-like’ responsiveness will always be a (small) bridge to far…

– for handwriting a stylus should feel like an actual pen in your hand, so not too light and with a good weight-balance

So, based on these outcomes my preference is [from BEST to WORST] :

1. TeckNet “MT-238” Micro-knit tip Stylus+Pen

2. ButterFox Micro-knit tip Stylus+Pen

3. Boxwave “EverTouch” Micro-knit tip Stylus

4. NewTrent “Arcadia Clickpen” Micro-knit tip Stylus [2-pack]

5. AmazonBasics “Executive” Stylus

6. Ozaki “iStroke” Stylus+Pen

7. Muvit (T-Mobile) iPhone/iPad Stylus [2-pack]

My ‘best buy’ is the TeckNet, with the ButterFox as a very close runner-up, with both of them priced at about € 8 max. I prefer the length of the TeckNet over the marginally better responsiveness of the ButterFox. Like the two test-winners, the Boxwave and the NewTrent both have micro-knit tips also, and even though I really like the idea of the NewTrent’s retractable tip, I would prefer the Boxwave since the NewTrent stylus feels very awkwardly unbalanced in your hand when writing… The AmazonBasics stylus is just plain okay but when handwriting not as responsive as the styluses with micro-knit tips. The Ozaki‘s performance is equal to the AmazonBasics, but the price-difference was 4 times higher, which made the Ozaki “little value for money”… The Muvit stylus is a disaster to write with, it sticks to the screen like chewing gum and it’s way too light & short to feel comfortable ; you’re better of using your index finger for writing…

So…

Happy note-taking !

Enjoy !

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fixed : place a picture behind an Excel chart or graph

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Question :

I am using Excel (from Microsoft Office) and I want to put the chart I’ve just made on top of a picture. How can I do that ?

Answer :

In Excel v14 (from MS Office 2011 for Mac), this can be done like this :

1- create the chart

2- select the chart area (you will see a bold, light blue frame around the entire chart area), then click the “Charts>Format”-tab (the purple tab in-between the green tabs), then in “Current Selection” click the “Format Selection”-button

3- in the window that opens select “Fill”, then the “Solid”-tab, and set the “Color:”-dial to “No Fill” and click “OK”

4- select the chart itself (inside the chart area – you will see a black lined square with light blue dots on the corners around the actual chart), then again, click “Charts>Format”-tab (the purple tab in-between the green tabs), and again, in “Current Selection” click the “Format Selection”-button

5- in the window that opens, again select “Fill”, then the “Solid”-tab, and set the “Color:”-dail to “No Fill” and click “OK”

6- then de-select the chart

7- in the upper Excel menu bar that’s fixed in the Finder, select the “Insert”-tab, and from the drop down menu that appears, select “Photo > Picture From File” and in the “Choose a Picture”-window that appears, select the image you need and click “OK”

8- the image will appear on top of your chart, now first resize it (by dragging the light blue corner-dots) and place it over your chart area

9- select the image (again, if it’s not already selected), click the “Format Picture”-tab and remove the background color(s) of the image if you need (using the “Remove Background”-option from “Adjust”)

10- then, also in the “Format Picture”-tab, select the “Reorder”-option from “Arrange”, and select “Send to Back” from the 4 options that appear in the pulldown menu ; your image will now be behind your chart

11- for fine-tuning, if needed, you can now resize or rearrange the image and the chart until the align exactly as you need them to

12- if you want the Excel-cell-grid behind your chart to disappear also, select the area of cells behind and around your chart and select WHITE (or any other color you need) from small triangle-shaped arrow just next to the “Fill Color”-button (the paint bucket icon)

That’s it !

Enjoy !

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