Pasting Unformatted Text in Word by default

As I was editing a document today, I was reminded by how much I despise the operation of <ctrl>-<v>, (paste), in Microsoft Word. Key shortcuts for paste (<ctrl>-<v>) will always paste Formatted Text. But 99% of the time, I want unformatted text. Even if I wanted formatted text, what are the odds I would want to use the same format in the new document as what is in the clipboard?

Unfortunately, the approach I ended up with involved adding a Macro and assigning <ctrl>-<shift>-<v> as the key shortcut.

1. The link below has more on adding a macro to Office. I added mine to the Normal.dot template, which might cover all documents, as it's the default template type.

http://www.gmayor.com/installing_macro.htm

2. The following link as the code for a macro to paste unformatted text from the clipboard.

http://en.allexperts.com/q/Microsoft-Word-1058/Pasting-unformatted-text-default.htm

3. Assign a key shortcut. I recommend <ctrl>-<shift>-<v>.

http://misterslimm.wordpress.com/2007/07/17/microsoft-word-paste-special-as-unformatted-text-keyboard-shortcut-2/

You should now be able to use <ctrl>-<shift>-<v> to paste unformatted text!

Symlink Functionality on Windows (NTFS) With Junction Points

Junction Points in NTFS 3.0+ allow you to make one or more links to a folder that acts like the folder itself.

As I must use Microsoft Windows at work, I have greatly missed the joys of a UNIX platform. Until I started my present job, I was able to have a Linux or Solaris computer as my main computer for work, (and home!).

Since I joined an enormous corporate environment, I must comply with the corporate standards. Surprising to some of you, I can be compliant. Stop laughing! It just means I need to sanity hack[1] at home.

One feature that was dear to me on UNIX was the symlink, (symbolic link). Similar to windows shortcut, but virtually indistinguishable from an actual file or directory. You can still tell it is a link, but you can copy, rename and change directory (cd) into as if it was a normal directory. In reality, a symlink is a pointer to another file or directory. When you access the symlink, the computer knows to look at the actual location it points to. Read the wikipedia entry for more info.

I use a symlink to the current Groovy directory on my Mac. It looks like the following on MacOSX.

jmac:~ jalex$ls -ld /opt/groovy*
lrwxr-xr-x 1 root wheel 12 Jun 21 19:08 /opt/groovy@ -> groovy-1.5.6
drwxr-xr-x 9 root wheel 306 Feb 1 2008 /opt/groovy-1.5.4/
drwxr-xr-x 9 root wheel 306 Apr 25 16:00 /opt/groovy-1.5.6/
jmac:~ jalex$ cd /opt/groovy
jmac:/opt/groovy jalex$ pwd
/opt/groovy
jmac:/opt/groovy jalex$ ls
ASM-LICENSE.txt NOTICE.txt conf/ lib/
LICENSE.txt bin/ embeddable/

Junction Points!
This week, I found out that Microsoft indeed has similar functionality to the symlink, which Microsoft calls a junction. Here is a knowledgebase note from Microsoft on how to use it. You can actually mount shared drives to a junction point, but you should read the Microsoft Help and Support link above if you are crazy like that.

Two basic commands to deal with junction points:

• linkd - You can create the junction point.

linkd \mydesktop %user profile%\desktop

• delrp - to delete the junction point. The folder it points to remains intact.

delrp \mydesktop

Now you may treat \mydesktop as any other directory, (unless you want to delete it).

dir \mydesktop
cd \mydesktop
copy \temp\file.txt \mydesktop

Try it out.

Tangents
I abandoned Linux, after 11 years, for my main home computer and bought a Mac, which hides a BSD-based UNIX environment behind the pretty interface. I am an Apple fanboy now, with a little part of me still attached to Linux. I never really had windows as my primary home environment, because I depend on things it does not have. I used a text-based email client, elm or mutt, until only a couple of years ago when I experienced gmail (Google Mail).

If the cost is not outside of your budget, consider a Mac. Especially if you automate tasks with scripts or batch files. The Macs are more than just fashionable. They are more simple, reliable and flexible than windows. But if you have to use windows, there is VMWare and VirtualBox to help you install a nice copy of Xubuntu on it for the Linux fun you really want. MacOS X doesn't easily run on non-Apple hardware.

References:
Junction, UNIX, Xubuntu, VMWare, Mac, Solaris, Microsoft Windows, Google Mail,

[1] Sanity Hacking: to work on technology-related side-projects just to stay sane. I couldn't find an online reference, but Jared Richardson talked about it in his 2008 NoFluffJustStuff keynote titled "Career 2.0". I have a blog entry on this.

Used Guitar Buying Guide (for beginners)

I went shopping for my first electric guitar this year. I wanted something affordable but nice enough that I won't feel like I have to replace it if, or when, I actually learn to play well. I already have an acoustic guitar, the basic music theory and techniques to play chords and strum. I had fingerstyle skills once, but after a few months of playing, I have not yet completely achieved the same level.

Shopping

1. Purchase in person, if possible. I found it to be true, that the same year, make, and model was different between individual guitars. I went into the stores expecting to buy something super cheap ($150) that did not look great but stayed in tune and had decent tone. Trying guitars out changed many of my opinions on guitars I had read about online.

2. Take another person with you on the final trip, especially if you expect to blow your budget. I took my father, who hears well but has never taken up playing a musical instrument. I was much more content with my purchase because my father could easily distinguish the differences between the last two guitars I was looking at, (Fender Strat American vs. the regular Standard).

3. Try Guitar Center, if you have one local. They are very accommodating and patient. Also, they had my guitar on sale two days after I bought it. I asked if I could have the sale price and the manager quickly agreed and I saved 10%.

Sam Ash and Guitar Center are both a block apart in my town, so I visited both. Guitar Center has a weird feel to it, especially the first time went there. However, they have amazing customer service at our local store. Sam Ash, on the other hand, could be a little more friendly and customer focused.

Trying Guitars Out

1. Use the same amp model and amp settings between guitars, but go through all of the guitar settings. I wasted a few hours where I failed to keep the same amp settings between guitars. I was not sure which guitars were better or worse, because each setting was different. I chose the Vox AD30VT amp and stuck with a couple of model presets.

2. Work with one guitar at a time at first. Once you have the decision narrowed down to a couple, set them close by and go back and forth. The closer together you try them, the more obvious are the differences.

3. If you are just learning and have no idea how to play, bring someone who can play to try guitars out for you. If that is not an option, then you'll need to lean on the salesperson's suggestions a little more. Another plus for Guitar Center, is that each time I visited their suggestions turn out to be pretty good for what I was looking for and consistent with online reviews.

Sources For Info

• Youtube - there are hundreds of videos of people demonstrating a guitar or doing a comparison between two similar guitars.
• MusiciansFriend.com - Online reviews.
• GuitarCenter.com - Also has online reviews.
• Google - do searches for a guitar you want to consider, such as "Fender Standard sucks". The "sucks" searches can help sometimes.
• If you are looking for a crowdster plus, you should be helping me. Here's a cool video on one.
  

My Opinions

• I asked for the amp as a gift based on online research and only tried out a couple in the store.
• There is an enormous difference between the American Standard and the Standard Strat, which is made in Mexico. The materials, pickups are not the same. I found the American Standard Strat to have real depth in the tone, where the Standard Strat sounded okay but much more empty.

My Gear
Guitars: Takamine EG-10C acoustic electric, Fender American Standard Strat
Amp: Vox AD30VT

Image(s) from public domain - thanks to karenswhimsy.com.