Table of Contents

1. Overview
2. Enable Comcast Email For Outlook
3. Configure Outlook 2019 For Email
4. Comcast Mail Servers & Settings

Overview

Setting up your Comcast.net email account to work with Microsoft Outlook 2019 is actually pretty straight-forward, with a bit of a ‘catch’ that can be frustrating to troubleshoot. That ‘catch’ is what we’ll cover first, in the next section.

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Enable Comcast Email For Outlook

Before your Comcast email will work with an app like Outlook, you have to enable a specific setting within the Comcast email web page. So, sign in to Comcast Webmail (link opens in a new tab), click the Settings button found in the upper-right corner of the page, and finally Email Settings from the list of options.

Select Security from the column of options on the left side of the page. Place a check in the box labelled Allow access to my Xfinity Connect email through third-party programs e.g., Outlook, Apple Mail, Thunderbird, etc.).

Now you’ll be able to successfully check your Comcast email using Outlook, after it’s setup – which is exactly what we’ll get to now :)

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Configure Outlook 2019 For Email

1. Launch Outlook from your Start menu (or desktop icon etc).



2. When the setup wizard opens, enter your comcast.net email address in the space provided and click the Connect button. If the setup wizard does not launch and Outlook itself opens up, select File and then click the New Account button and the setup wizard will start.



3. After a few moments, Outlook will ask for your Comcast email password. Enter it in the space provided and then click the Connect button.



4. Outlook will finish the configuration on its own, which may take a minute – some patience may be required :)



5. Once the setup has completed Outlook will display an Account successfully added button. In all likelihood you won’t want or need to setup your phone with Outlook Mobile, so remove the check from the box labeled Set up Outlook Mobile on my phone, too and then click the Done button.



6. Finally! Outlook will open up, download all of your Comcaste.net email, and display the contents of your inbox.


click to enlarge

7. That’s it, you’re all done!

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Comcast Mail Servers & Settings

If you need the info at any point in time, here are the actual server settings you should use for email apps to access Comcast:

Incoming Mail Server Name: imap.comcast.net
Incoming Mail Server Port Number: 993 (with SSL ON)

Outgoing Mail Server Name: smtp.comcast.net
Outgoing Mail Server Port Number: 587

Encryption: TLS (use SSL if TLS isn’t available)
Authentication: Your Comcast.net email address

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The post How to Setup Comcast Email in Outlook 2019 appeared first on Simple Help.

Overview

This process used to be a bit more complicated, but Google and Microsoft seem to have decided to play nice. Now it’s actually pretty easy to quickly attach your Google Docs files to an email in Outlook, although the process is a bit different depending on which version of Outlook you’re using. We’ve got you covered for each scenario though – with instructions for Outlook in Windows, Outlook in macOS and via Outlook.com.

Attach Google Docs From Outlook in Windows

By installing Google Drive for Desktop, a completely free app from Google, you can access your Google Drive files and folders right from within Windows. One of the cool features of Google Drive for Desktop is that you don’t actually have to store all of those files on your computer as well as on your Google Drive, although you can select files to make available offline if you want. Another cool feature is that it integrates directly into Outlook, which is how we’ll be using it.

1. Before you do anything, exit out of Outlook. Just for a few minutes. Then download Google Drive for Desktop. Once the download has completed, double-click the file to launch the installer.
2. The setup process takes about a minute in total and when it’s done you’ll have a new “drive” – your Google Drive. You can view it by opening a File Explorer and looking at the drives listed in the This PC column.



3. Now open up Outlook again. The first time you open it after installing Google Drive for Desktop you’ll be asked if you’d like to use Google Meet – you can click the X in the upper-right corner of the panel. If you do want to use Meet, you can always set it up later.



4. Click the New Email button to bring up the “Compose a new email” window. In the “Ribbon” you’ll see two new buttons – click the one named Insert files using Drive



5. Select Insert as Attachement







6. Choose your newly added Google Drive.



7. Locate the file you want to send as an attachment, select it and then click the Open button.



8. The file will appear exactly the same as any other attachment.



9. When the recipient receives the file it will appear exactly as any other email attachment, with no indication that it was actually attached via Google Drive.



10. That’s it! For more information on Google Drive for Desktop, check out the article What can you do with Google Drive for desktop.

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Attach Google Docs From Outlook in macOS

By installing Google Drive for Desktop, a completely free app from Google, you can access your Google Drive files and folders right from within macOS via the Finder. One of the cool features of Google Drive for Desktop is that you don’t actually have to store all of those files on your Mac as well as on Google Drive, although you can select files to make available offline if you want. Outlook & Google Drive for Desktop the macOS versions aren’t quite as tightly integrated as the the Windows versions are (no comment), but the functionality is identical. Here’s how to attach Google Docs files to emails in Outlook for macOS –

1. Start by downloading Google Drive for Desktop. The installation only takes a minute or two, but a reboot is required at the end, so make sure to save any open work before you proceed.
2. After you’ve rebooted, open up a Finder window and look in the Locations section of your Sidebar – you’ll find a new item named Google Drive. It contains all of the files on your Google Drive, but they are not stored locally, so they’re not taking up any space.



3. Launch Outlook and compose a new email as you normally would. Click the Attach File button.



4. Choose your newly added Google Drive and select the file you want to send as an email attachment.



5. It will appear as an attachment in your email the same way any other file would – even though it’s actually from your Google Drive.



6. The recipient won’t be able to tell that the file has come from your Google Drive either, it’ll appear the same as any other attachment.



7. That’s it! Now you can access your Google Drive files without having to open a browser. For more information on Google Drive for Desktop, check out the article What can you do with Google Drive for desktop.

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Attach Google Docs From Outlook.com

1. Start by heading over to outlook.com and sign in as you normally would. Compose an email (or reply to an existing one), click the Attach button and select Browse cloud locations



2. Select + Add an account



3. Click the Google Drive box.



4. Select the account you want to access the Google docs from.







5. Now you can select Google Drive from the list of cloud locations and all of the files on your Google Drive will be accessible.



6. You’ll be prompted to share the file itself, or a link to the file on your Google Drive. As long as the file is relatively small (outlook.com allows for attachments up to 34MB) you should select Attach as a copy



7. The file will attach itself to your email the same way any other file would.



8. The recipient won’t be able to tell that the file has come from your Google Drive either, it’ll appear the same as any other attachment.



9. The next time you want to attach a file from your Google Drive (it doesn’t have to be a document file) you won’t need to go through the ‘setup’ part again, you’ll be able to select Google Drive from the cloud locations.

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The post How to Access Your Google Docs Files From Outlook appeared first on Simple Help.

Background

The PortableApps app lets you turn any thumb drive into a “portable PC” filled with your software, settings and bookmarks, documents, photos, audio/video files, and more. It allows you to make any PC feel like it’s your own, and doesn’t leave anything behind. It’s incredibly handy to be able to plug it into a friends computer, work or school computer, and have everything you need ready and waiting for you to use.

It works on every modern version of Windows, all the way back to Windows 2000. Perhaps best of all, it’s completely free and it’s even open source, so you can rest assured that there’s no malware or spyware hidden in the app.

Installing PortableApps on a USB Thumb Drive

1. To get started, plug in your USB thumb drive. You don’t have to delete everything on it, but it might be a good idea to copy the contents over to your hard drive just in case something goes wrong and your data gets erased during the PortableApps installation – which is unlikely, but things happen…

   Visit the PortableApps download page and download the installer file. Once the download has completed, run the file.



2. After clicking Next a few times you’ll be asked what kind of installation you want. Select New Install and then click the Next button.



3. Choose Portable – install to a portable device and click Next



4. Select the drive that represents your USB thumb drive and then click Next



5. At this point you’ll be presented with a confirmation screen. Make sure the right drive has been selected and then click the Install button.



6. Just sit back and wait while the app installs itself onto your thumb drive. This process doesn’t take very long.



7. Finally, make sure there’s a check in the box labelled Run PortableApps.com Platform and then click the Finish button.

Setting Up and Using PortableApps

1. When PortableApps opens for the first time it displays the “About” screen. Close it by clicking the Close button.



2. The PortableApps app itself will be displayed in the bottom right corner of your desktop. To get started adding software to it, click the Apps button.



3. Select the Get More Apps… option and then the By Category option.



4. Give PortableApps time to load all of the software that it offers. This can take a minute or two so just let it do its thing.



5. Eventually a window will appear with a big list of all the software that works with PortableApps out of the box. Go through the list and place a check in the box next to each app you want to install to your thumb drive.



6. Click the Next button after you’ve made your selections.



7. Now PortableApps will download and install everything you just selected. This process can take quite a while, and unfortunately you can’t just leave it and come back later. Many of the Apps require you to click “Accept” to a Terms of Service. The good news is that you only have to go through this process once. Open Minesweeper or something to help kill the time.



8. Once everything has completed, click the Finish button.



9. Now the PortableApps app will have a list of all the software available on your thumb drive. Click one of the apps…



10. … and it’ll open up, exactly the same as if it was installed on the hard drive of the computer you’re using.



11. PortableApps also includes shortcuts to folders that it has created for you on the thumb drive. Click the Documents button.



12. Windows Explorer will open and display the contents of that Documents folder – which is on your thumb drive. This is a great place to store all of the files you want to take with you.



13. One last thing you may want to check out before you’re done – click the Options button.



14. Check out each tab/section and make any changes you see fit.


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15. The Themes tab contains a series of themes or “skins” that PortableApps can use. I didn’t love the default one, but I found a great one to use in this list. Select one of them and then click OK to apply the change.


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16. Keep trying the themes until you find one you like.



17. Finally – when you want to use this on another PC just plug in your thumb drive and navigate to it using Windows Explorer. Double-click Start.exe to launch PortableApps.



18. Remember that when you set up the apps on your thumb drive, the settings for those apps are stored on the thumb drive itself. So you can take your drive to use on another PC, and everything will ready to go. If you use Thunderbird to check your email through PortableApps, you may want to set it to leave mail on the server, so that your email is available to your “main” mail app as well.

The post How to Setup and Use PortableApps on a USB Thumb Drive appeared first on Simple Help.

ps. the vast majority of these are free!

Unless you see a $ next to the App, it’s either free or there’s a free version.

Internet

1Password ($2.99/mo) – never worry about remembering secure passwords again
Chrome and/or Firefox and/or Vivaldi – all better than Safari
Cyberduck – sometimes you gotta upload
Dropbox and/or Google Drive – backups made easy
Private Internet Access ($3.33/mo) – if you’re not using a VPN you’re asking for all kinds of trouble
Transmission – download using Bittorrent
Skype – call mom!

Multimedia

Spotify – all you need is music
VLC – the last video player you’ll ever need, and it does audio too
Handbrake – convert video from almost any format to almost any format
Plex – stream your media
Kodi – stream your media pt. 2
Steam – more and more games work on macOS

Productivity

MacUpdater – keep all your macOS apps up to date
Evernote – take and manage your notes across all your devices
ImageOptim – optimize your images
Skitch – markup your images
Gimp and/or PhotoShop ($20.99/mo) – edit your images and graphics
ThumbsUp – resize your images the easy way (guide)
OpenOffice and/or LibreOffice and/or Microsoft Office ($varies) – work, work, work
Slack – work and chat, chat and work

Utilities

BetterTouchTool ($7.50) – the Swiss army knife of macOS
coconutBattery – manage your batteries (Mac, iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch)
AppTrap – uninstall your Apps properly
VirtualBox – run other OS’s on your Mac (eg. Windows, Linux etc)
The Unarchiver – extract from .rar files and many others

If you purchased a MacBook, MacBook Air or MacBook Pro with a smaller SSD hard drive, you may want to consider uninstalling some of the Apps that come pre-loaded with your laptop. For example, I’ve never used Garageband in my life – uninstalling it is an easy way to reclaim 1.44 gigabytes of drive space. If you’re using Office 365, LibreOffice or OpenOffice, you can also reclaim some space by uninstalling Numbers, Keynote and Pages. Finally, if you aren’t planning on doing any video work with iMovie – it’s a whopping 2.82 gigabytes that could be reclaimed.

Don’t forget – all of the above mentioned Apps can be downloaded and reinstalled for free via the App Store at any point in time.

Garageband – 1.44GB
Numbers – 427MB
Pages – 508MB
Keynote – 682MB
iMovie – 2.82GB

The post 31 Apps to Install on a New Mac – 2020 Edition appeared first on Simple Help.

In order to print from your Amazon Fire you’ll need to use a network connected printer and have your Amazon Fire connected to that same network.

1. Start out by tapping the Settings button on your Amazon Fire home screen.



2. Select Connected devices from the list of options.



3. Select Printing



4. Select Mopria Print Service



5. Make sure the ON/OFF toggle is switched to ON which will allow your device to search for nearby printers.



6. After a few moments your printer should be displayed. If it isn’t, proceed with the next step – otherwise jump down to step #10 below.



7. Tap the “3 dots” icon towards the upper-right corner of your screen and select Add printer



8. Tap the “plus sign” ( + ) button.



9. Enter in a name for your wireless printer in the Preferred Name field and then enter the IP address of your printer. If you’re unsure of your printers IP address refer to the documentation that came with your printer. Click OK and then follow any additional instructions.



10. Now that your Fire tablet has discovered the printer, try printing something.



11. When prompted, tap the Select a printer option.



12. Choose your printer from the list.



13. Finally, tap the yellow “Print” button.



14. Tap OK to confirm you want to use the Mopria Print Service.



15. Your document will now print! The status will be displayed in your Notification screen.



16. All done!

The post How to Print From an Amazon Fire appeared first on Simple Help.

You’ll also be able to access it via the Calendar app, if you wish.

1. Click the Windows 10 “Start” button and select Settings



2. Click Accounts



3. From the navigation panel on the left, select Email & accounts. In the panel on the right, click the Add an account button.



4. Select Google



5. Enter your Gmail address in the space provided and then click the Next button.



6. Now enter your Google password in the space provided and click the Next button again.



7. You’ll be prompted to allow Windows to access your Google account – click the Allow button.



8. Finally, click the Done button.



9. Before we jump to the Google Calendar part, let’s quickly make sure everything is configured the way you want it. Back in the Windows 10 Settings, select your newly created Gmail account and then click the Manage button.



10. Click the link titled Opens for syncing your content



11. From here you can choose which parts of your Google account you want to sync and include in Windows 10. It’s possible that you do not want to have your Gmail downloaded to the Microsoft Mail app – if that’s the case, toggle the Email switch to the OFF setting. If you don’t want your Google Contacts to sync with the Microsoft People app, toggle that switch to the OFF position. When you’ve made your selections click the Done button.



12. Now open the Calendar app from the Start menu.



13. In the panel on the left side of the app, expand the Gmail menu. Make sure your Google Calendars are listed (and remove the check mark from any you don’t want to display). You can close out of the Calendar app now.



14. Click the time in your System Tray – ta-da!!! A calendar with your Google Calendar events will appear.

The post How to Add Google Calendar to the Windows 10 Notification Area appeared first on Simple Help.

Crypto Notepad is a “secure Notepad alternative” – it’s free and open source, small, super-easy to use and encrypts your text files.

1. Head over to the download page for Crypto Notepad and download the latest version (Crypto.Notepad.zip). Unzip the file somewhere in your Downloads folder and run it from there. It’s a stand-alone app, which means there’s no installation. You can move it and create a shortcut to it later (or even set it to launch when Windows starts).



2. You may get a warning from Windows – if you do, click the ‘More info’ link and then the Run anyway button. Crypto Notepad is open source and 100% safe to use.



3. When prompted, click Yes to allow automatic update checks in the future.



4. First things first, let’s take a look at the settings and configure the app to work the way you want it. Click the Settings button in the Toolbar (the one that looks like a ‘gear’, see screenshot below).



5. Adjust any of the Application settings as you see fit. Do the same for the Toolbar, Status panel, Search panel and Editor settings, they’re all quite straightforward. Then, select the Encryption settings category.



6. This is where you’ll decide exactly which method of encryption you want to use for your secure notes. The suggested settings are ideal.



7. Now select the Integration category. It’ll be very helpful in the future if you place a check in the Associate with *.cnp files box – this will allow you to double-click any of your encrypted text files and have them automatically open in Crypto Notepad. When you’ve adjusted all the options to suit you, close the settings window.



8. Back in the app write out a quick test note. Then click the Save button from the Toolbar (or select File -> Save)



9. Choose the location you want to save the file, give it a name, and then click the Save button.



10. Enter the password you want to use to secure this file.



11. In the future, when you double-click a .cnp file (assuming you enabled the Associate with *.cnp files feature back in step #7) Crypto Notepad will open…



12. and prompt you for the password associated with that file.

ps. Are you an iPhone user? Did you know you can create password protected Notes on the iPhone too?

The post How to Create Password Protected Notes in Windows appeared first on Simple Help.

There are a million reasons you may want to create filters for your email. Messages from certain people or accounts may not require your immediate attention, and you can create a filter to have them sent directly to a folder other than your Inbox. Or you can have messages sent directly to your Trash if they contain a specific word in the subject of the email (eg. I’m never going to care about an email that has the word ‘mortgage’ in the subject).

1. Right-click the message you’d like to create a filter for. Select Rule from the context menu and then Create Rules… from the sub-menu.



2. From here you can start to select the criteria for the rule. In this example I’ll be creating a rule for all email messages I recieve from “Xfinity”, which means I’ll check the box From Xfinity. Since I’m not concerned with the subject of the message or which address it’s sent to, I’ll leave those boxes unchecked. I want to have these messages moved to a specific folder – and that’s done by clicking the Select Folder… button and choosing the folder I want them moved to (you can also create a new folder this way). Then click the Advanced Options… button.



3. From here you can choose between a slew of additional options – everything from an email having specific words in the body of the message to which computer (if you have more than one with Outlook installed) you want the rule to apply to. Click Next to review even more options.



4. This section allows you to create exceptions to your filter. For example, you may not want the Rule to apply if the subject or part of message itself contains a specific word or phrase. Click Next when you’ve made your selections, if any.



5. Now give your newly created filter a name and turn it on. You may want to apply it to any messages that are already in your Inbox. Click Finish when you’re done.



6. If you ever want to review any of the Rules you’ve created to change or disable them, select File from the main Outlook menu.



7. Then click the Manage Rules & Alerts button.

The post How to Create a Filter in Outlook appeared first on Simple Help.

Background

There are two services that provide this functionality, but as of late, one seems to be much more reliable than the other. Our suggestion is to try out the first one, which doesn’t really have a name so I’m calling it Weather Forecast with Icons. If it’s not to your liking, you can try out the other by clicking here (or just scroll down) for instructions on setting up WebCal.fi – which isn’t quite as reliable. Update: webcal.fi is moving to webcal.guru and is now a paid service (approx. $6 USD/year). So now more than ever, I’d recommend trying “Weather Forecast with Icons” first – it’s free and reliable.

There are a couple of differences between the two – Weather Forecast with Icons uses emojis ? ?, WebCal.fi does not. WebCal.fi offers a bit more information – “Heat index”, “Wind chill” and “Dew point” are some examples.

Adding the Weather to Google Calendar using Weather Forecast with Icons

1. One of the great things about this method is that it’s SUPER easy to setup. Head over to the Weather Forecast with Icons page and enter in the name of your city.



2. Then decide if you want to use Celsius or Fahrenheit and whether you’d like to have the temperature represented by the daily high or the low/high range.

   

3. Finally, click the big Add to your Calendar button.



4. You’ll be redirected to your Google Calendar and an Add calendar pop-up will appear. Click the Add button.



5. Now you’ll have a 14 day forecast in your Google Calendar!



6. If you click one of the weather entries on your calendar you’ll be presented with a detailed list of weather attributes for that day.



7. That’s it – you’re all done! If you find the “Weather Forecast with Icons” service useful, consider throwing the developer a few dollars via the “Make a donation” link.

Adding the Weather to Google Calendar with WebCal.fi

Update: webcal.fi is moving to webcal.guru and is now a paid service (approx. $6 USD/year).

1. Start out by heading over to WebCal.fi (link opens in a new tab/window) and select the Science tab.



2. Scroll down to the Weather section and click the link titled Select a location

   

3. Navigate to the location of the weather you want to monitor on your Google Calendar. Use the Zoom In and Zoom Out buttons when necessary (a lot) and when you’ve found the location, click it to put a ‘scope’ on it. Now click the Use this location button.



4. Select the Rename link.



5. Give the name something a little more user-friendly for your calendar then click the Use this name button.



6. Select the Settings link.



7. From here you can choose between having your calendar display info in Fahrenheit or Celsius and/or mph vs. km/h (or even m/s). Finally, click the Subscribe Weather button.



8. Your Google Calendar will open and display a confirmation box. Click the Add button.



9. Ta-da! You now have a 5 day forecast of the weather for the location you specified!



10. Click on one of the weather items for a full description of the weather forecast.

The post How to Add Weather to Google Calendar appeared first on Simple Help.

This guide is broken into two sections – the first is setting up Linux on your Chromebook. Then, we’ll show you how to install the GNOME Software Center – which is kind of like an App Store for Linux. Let’s jump right in!

Setup Linux on Your Chromebook

1. Before you do anything, make sure your Chromebook is running the latest version of Chrome OS (link will open in a new tab/window). There are a whole bunch of reasons you’ll want to make sure you’re using the latest version of Chrome OS, one of the big ones is that Linux apps only recently got audio support.
2. Now that you’re sure you’re using the latest version of Chrome OS, click (or tap if you have a touchscreen device) the Launcher button found on the bottom left corner of your Chromebook screen.



3. Scroll down to the Settings icon and select it.



4. Scroll down to the Linux (Beta) option and select it.



5. Click the Turn on button.



6. The ‘Setup Wizard’ will launch. Select Next to begin.



7. Type in the username you’d like to use in Linux (the default is perfectly fine). Unless you have reason not to, leave the Disk size at the recommended size. If the hard drive in your Chromebook is particularly small, you can lower the size. Select Install.

   

8. Now Linux will install – which won’t take very long



9. You’ll know the installation was successful when a Terminal window appears.



10. There will also be a new Linux apps item in your App Drawer. Select it.



11. Right now there will only be one item – Terminal.



12. If you open the Files app, you’ll notice there’s a new item named Linux files. This is where all of the – you guessed it – Linux files are stored.

Install Linux Apps on Your Chromebook

1. There are a number of ways to install Apps in Linux. Two of the most common are using “apt” via the Terminal (command line) or to use something like an App Store (graphical). We’ll cover both – by using apt and the Terminal in order to install the GNOME Software Center – which is very similar to the Mac or Windows App Stores.

   Back in the Terminal, enter the command: sudo apt-get install gnome-software gnome-packagekit



2. NOTE: hopefully you can ignore this step, but if you got an error when you tried to run the previous command, enter this command: sudo apt-get update and once it’s done, repeat the above step. That should clear it up.
3. Some text will fly by the screen and you’ll be asked with a “Y/N” prompt if you want to continue. Tap the “y” key to continue.



4. Now the GNOME Software Center will be downloaded and installed – along with all of the components required to run the Software Center. Oddly, in all likelihood this will take longer than it took to install Linux itself.



5. Once it’s done and you’re back at a command prompt you’ll need to issue another couple of commands to make sure everything gets updated, including the list of Apps in the Software Center. Enter the following command: sudo apt-get update



6. Once that’s done, enter the following command: sudo apt-get dist-upgrade



7. Now you’ll need to reboot your Chromebook. Power it off by opening the Notification section and click the “Power Off” button. Once it’s off, use the power button on your Chromebook to turn it back on.



8. Once you’re back up and running again, take a look inside the Linux app section of your App Drawer – there will be a few new items. Select the Software icon. Please note: it can take a few minutes for the Software center to open for the first time – this is normal. Just wait it out.

   

9. Welcome to the GNOME Software center! From here you can search or browse through all sorts of apps and games, then install them with just a click.



10. Once you’ve located an App or Game you’d like to try out, just click the Install button. No account is needed, no sign ups or email addresses are required. Just click and install.



11. Depending on the App/Game you decided to install, this process could take anywhere from a couple of seconds to … a long time. If you think it’s stalled or frozen just keep waiting – sometimes it can take much longer than it should.



12. Click the Launch button to try out the newly installed software. Depending on the software, it can take a few minutes to open up for the first time. Again, patience is key.



13. Or of course, launch it from the Linux apps section of your App Drawer.



14. Have fun!

If you’d like to install more cool stuff on your Chromebook, check out our guide on installing Spotify in Chrome OS.

The post How to Install Linux Apps on a Chromebook appeared first on Simple Help.

1. Start out by opening up the PDF in Preview, which is the default PDF viewer for macOS. If the PDF doesn’t open in Preview when you double-click it, launch Preview from your Applications folder and then select File -> Open…



2. Click the Show Markup Toolbar button (see screenshot below) to bring up the Markup Toolbar



3. From within the Markup Toolbar, click the Sign button (see screenshot below)



4. Make sure that the Trackpad tab is selected and then click the Click Here to Begin button



5. You may need to try this next party a couple of times to get the hang of it – use your Trackpad to ‘draw’ your signature. When you’re done, tap any key on your keyboard and the trackpad will return to ‘normal’. Use the Clear button to try again if you’re not happy with your first attempt.



6. When you are happy with the result, click the Done button.



7. Click the Sign button in the Markup Toolbar again. This time your newly created signature will be there – click it.



8. Your signature will be placed into the PDF. Click-and-drag the signature itself to the location you want it to appear in the PDF, and use the corners of the box to shrink or enlarge the actual signature.



9. Ta-da! Just remember to save the PDF file and you’re all done.

The post How to Add Your Signature to a PDF (Mac) appeared first on Simple Help.

Note: if you’re using the latest version of Microsoft Outlook (which is 2019), use this guide instead.

It’s actually pretty straight forward, but we’ll go step-by-step just to make sure –

1. There are only two things you’ll need to know ahead of time in order to set up your Comcast email in Outlook 2016 – your comcast.net email address and the password associated with that account. If you know those two things, you’re ready go to!
2. Launch Outlook. When it starts, the ‘welcome screen’ should appear. Click the Next button to begin the setup. Note: if the Welcome message doesn’t appear, jump down to the Create New Account section below.



3. When you’re asked if you want to set up Outlook to connect to an email account, make sure that Yes is selected and then click the Next button.

 

4. This is the ‘main’ setup window. In the spaces provided, enter your name as you’d like it to appear in your emails, your full @comcast.net email address, and your password (which you’ll need to enter twice). Then click the Next button to continue.



5. Outlook will now perform a couple of ‘checks’. First it’ll make sure you’re connected to the Internet. Then it will determine all of the settings required for you to send and receive email. This second part – Searching for email@comcast.net settings – can take a minute or two. Just wait it out :)



6. The last ‘check’ that Outlook performs before it finishes the setup is to send a test email – to yourself. This is all automated and happens ‘behind the scene’.



7. Finally, once all of the settings have been confirmed, click the Finish button.



8. Outlook 2016 will now open and begin downloading all of your Comcast.net email messages – including the ‘test’ message that Outlook sent a few moments ago during the setup.


click to enlarge

9. That’s it – you’re done – have fun emailing! :)

No big deal, you have to start the ‘setup wizard’ manually. Click File from the main Outlook menu.

Directly below the Account Information section, locate the Add Account button and give it a click.

Now just scroll back up to Step #4 in this guide and carry on from there.

The post How to Setup Comcast Email in Outlook 2016 appeared first on Simple Help.

It’s a fantastic “arm” that easily clamps onto your smartphone or tablet and acts as a stand. The photos will describe it best :)

Let’s get this out of the way up front: I was given a free unit to review. As with all of the reviews here, I’m brutally honest about the product whether I paid for it or not. OK disclaimer out of the way.

This thing is amazing. I’m paying for another one out of pocket so that I have two. In a nutshell, one end of the flexible “gooseneck” or “arm” has a clamp that holds your tablet or smartphone. The other attaches to your desk, table, nightstand or … almost anything. The price? $15 via Amazon.

The clamp can hold just about any smartphone on the market. You’d have to be using a freakishly small novelty device or a gigantic “cell phone” from the 80’s for this clamp not to hold it securely. It also rotates 360 degrees, making it that much easier to get the perfect view.

The “spring-loaded” bracket can hold a tablet up to 10 inches wide (or tall). In theory it will hold one of the Samsung 10.1 line of tablets, I don’t have one to try it out with. The list of devices that I own that worked perfectly include: the iPhone 6, an iPad Mini, a Samsung Galaxy Tab A 9.7″, the first Kindle Fire and my old iPod.

The padding that holds your tablet/phone in place is a soft but firm silicon that couldn’t possibly scratch your device.

The same holds true for the padding on the clamp that attaches to your desk/table/anything. It isn’t going to scratch or leave a mark of any kind no matter how tightly you attach it (alright unless you really go out of your way to do it on purpose) :)

click to enlarge

The reason I’m buying another one (aside from me being too lazy to attach/reattach it a few times a day) is that for me, it has 2 fantastic uses. The first is to clamp my tablet to my desk and have it hover above my laptop screen. Then I can use my tablet as a second monitor. I also frequently use my tablet or iPhone to run Spotify and wirelessly send the audio to my Beats Pill speakers (seriously love them too, another review for another day). That means I’m running one less App on my Mac but I can still easily access Spotify itself.

click to enlarge

The other use that I can no longer live without is to attach my iPad Mini or Samsung Tab to my nightstand and watch Netflix in bed. Or stream movies/tv shows from my media center. No more trying to balance the iPad on a pillow so I can watch TV in bed! The 360 super-rotating clamp and bend-y but strong neck means you can get your iPad/tablet to the exact right angle for maximum viewing laziness.

click to enlarge

I’ve saved the one negative for the end. While the neck is both strong and flexible, you’re not going to want to tap out long emails when your device is clamped to the device. It’s going to ‘sway’. If you clamp it to a desk and then kick the desk hard enough, it’s going to make the device swing a bit. All you have to do is lightly put a finger on it and it’ll stop swaying right away, but using the touch-screen aspect of your phone/tablet becomes annoying quickly if you’re trying to do anything that involves intensive “tapping” on your screen. That said, it will not ‘slowly bend’ under the weight of your device, unless you’re using something that’s just too heavy and was never intended to be used. For example, the first generation “regular” iPad is too heavy to support.

The device is only $15 via Amazon

The post Review: The Gooseneck Phone Holder appeared first on Simple Help.

1. In your System Tray, click the Action Center icon (see screenshot below).



2. Locate the “Get Office” notification.



3. Now right-click (or “tap and hold” if you’re using a Windows 10 Tablet) and then select Turn off notifications for this app



4. That’s it – no more annoying “reminders” begging you to sign up for Office 365.
5. Note: you can repeat the above steps for any App that you don’t want to receive notifications from :)

The post How to Stop Microsoft Office Notifications in Windows 10 appeared first on Simple Help.

Instead of having to open Calendar.app or Google Calendar when you want to glance at a calendar or your upcoming events (or create new ones) – put one in your Menu Bar for super-quick access!

1. The App is Itsycal, and it’s fantastic. Download the zip file, extract Itsycal.app and drag/drop it to your Applications folder to install. Launch it from there.

   

2. Click OK to grant Itsycal access to your Calendar.app.



3. You’ll see a new icon in your Menu Bar, simply a number (today’s date).



4. Like the built-in Apple Menu items, you can move Itsycal by holding down the Apple Key (⌘) and then click-and-drag to where you’d like it.



5. Now click the icon itself, and you’ll see this months calendar. Setting up Itsycal takes no time at all – click the Options button (the one that looks like a ‘gear’ – see screenshot below).



6. Select Preferences… from the drop-down menu.



7. From here you can choose which calendars you want to appear in Itsycal.



8. Place a check in the box next to each calendar you want displayed, and a check in the box labeled Launch at login.



9. Now when you return to Itsycal, it will have ‘dots’ below each day on the calendar that has one or more events planned. Hover your cursor over a date that has an event, and it will display the event details.



10. You can even have Itsycal list the next X days worth of events right below the calendar. Simply return to the Preferences

    

11. Creating new Events can be accomplished quite easily from within Itsycal – click the “plus sign” ( + ) from the bottom right corner (see screenshot below). Enter in the information about your new event, select the calendar you want it listed on (assuming you have more than one) and then click Save Event.



12. You can also customize the look and feel of the app – return to the Preferences and select the Appearance tab. Review the options and make any changes you see fit.

The post How to Add a Calendar to the macOS Menu Bar appeared first on Simple Help.