Tips and Tricks – July 2019

Tip #1 – Disable iPhone compressed photo format

Apple introduced a new compressed image type on iOS devices when version 11 was released. Photos taken with the device had been stored in the common JPG format, and in an effort to preserve storage space, Apple started saving photos in a compressed HEIC (High Efficiency Image File) format. The change does not impact a user's ability to view or manage the photos on the device, but for Windows users an additional codec is required in order to view them on a PC. It is possible to purchase this additional codec from the Microsoft Store as prompted when opening an HEIC file with Windows Photo viewer, and there are some other conversion software and techniques available on the web. If you want to avoid the issue altogether, you may disable the photo compression format on the iPhone and revert the original photo file generation back to JPEG. To do so, access the iPhone settings menu, then select Camera->Formats->Most Compatible. Some folks have noted that even after making this change, the setting may revert back to 'High Efficiency' format when the iPhone's software is upgraded, so remember to check after an update.


Tip #2 - Quickly modifying a large set of data

This is a very simple tip for modifying a large amount of data very quickly.

Say that you have a list of items, separated by a space or a comma, for example. Copy the data from its source and paste it into a notepad file. We'll use the below as an example:

  • Item1,cost1
  • Item2,cost2
  • Item3,cost3
  • Item4,cost4
  • Item5,cost5

Within Notepad, click Edit > replace

In the field Find what: type a single "comma"

In the field replace with: type a single "space"

Click Replace all and watch as Notepad replaces all of the commas with spaces.

It's easy to see how this simple trick can be used to modify a large set of data


Tip #3 - Envelope addressing step-saver

It's easy to create an envelope for printing in Microsoft Word by selecting the Mailings tab, then clicking Envelopes, and filling in the address. Often the address is already present in the heading of a letter, so copying and pasting the address from the letter to the envelope is an effective means to prepare the envelope. However you can save the step of copy/paste by simply highlighting the address in the letter prior to clicking Mailings->Envelopes, and the address will be automatically copied to the envelope saving you two mouse clicks!