Technology and Tools Online – The Cometdocs Blog

5 Great Online Scientific Calculators

August 17, 2012 Free Tools, Online Tools

Anyone who works in the field of science or is studying science will need to perform various calculations on a daily basis. Just about every self-respecting scientist has a scientific calculator of their choice or some type of applications that they prefer, but these calculating devices are not always handy. For example, sometimes you might have to do calculations when you are out of the office or you simply don’t have these tools at your disposal.

In situations such as this, web applications can come in really handy. Here is a list of five fantastic web applications that provide access to great online scientific calculators that all engineers, chemists, mathematicians and statisticians can use on the go.

1. Google

googlecalcultor 5 Great Online Scientific Calculators

Google is an excellent tool for performing simple calculations. All you need to do is type the word “calculator” in the search box. A calculator will appear, allowing you to perform just about any calculation you need, including more sophisticated functions like working with logarithms, trigonometric functions and more.

2. Wolfram Alpha

If Google’s calculator is not advanced enough for you, you should check out Wolphram Alpha, the knowledge search engine. This tool is pretty amazing. Type in an equation and you’ll get a solution immediately. Or just paste a function into the search engine and you’ll be presented with its graphical representation, properties and alternative definitions, all in a matter of seconds.

sinxcosy 5 Great Online Scientific Calculators

3. Eeweb calculator

Eeweb calcultor is a free tool developed by and for the electrical engineering community. It is pretty simple to use and will probably fulfill all of your calculating needs. In the right-hand box, you’ll be presented with a list of all scientific constants, which you can immediately use in your calculations. Also, you can perform on-the-spot conversions between various metrics used for length, speed, force, mass and much more. There is also an equation-solver which is pretty intuitive and fast.

eewebcalculator 5 Great Online Scientific Calculators

4. Web 2.0 calc

On first look, the Web 2.0 calc does not look like it can do much, but check the bottom menu to see all of its calculating powers. It is an excellent tool that enables you to calculate a matrix, solve equations, and perform calculations with fractions.

web20calc 5 Great Online Scientific Calculators

5. GraphCalculator

Graphcalculator is a pretty simple tool. It allows you to perform an analysis of functions in the coordinate system. Enter functions and they will be visually represented with the ability to calculate plot and intersection points as well.

graphingcalculator 5 Great Online Scientific Calculators

How to Insert Music and Sounds into your PowerPoint Presentation

August 3, 2012 PowerPoint, Tips

Microsoft PowerPoint is without a doubt the industry leader when it comes to programs for creating presentations and slideshows on your computer. It remains the industry standard from presentations because it allows you to easily create not only professional looking presentations, but also very versatile ones. PowerPoint definitely excels in giving users many options when creating their presentations.

Of course, most know that you can add text, pictures and videos to presentations, but not too many people are aware of the fact that you can also add sounds and music to your presentations in PowerPoint very easily. Here’s how to do it in PowerPoint 2010.

1. Considering that you have opened up an existing presentation that you would like to insert some sounds into, start by clicking on the Insert tab, which is on the top toolbar in PowerPoint. Then go to “Audio” and click on “Audio from File…”

pp1j How to Insert Music and Sounds into your PowerPoint Presentation

You can also choose “Clip Art Audio,” which offer you various sound effects that you might want to use in your presentation, or you can choose to “Record Audio” and put down a script of your own if you have a microphone at your disposal, but for the sake of this tutorial, we will be using an audio file that is already located on your computer.

2. Once you click on “Audio from File,” find the audio file that you want to use, and then click on “Insert.”

pp2s How to Insert Music and Sounds into your PowerPoint Presentation

3. You will now notice a sound icon on your presentation. It is a little more advanced than the sound icon that was given in previous versions of PowerPoint, and it gives you more options. Basically, it looks just like the face of your car stereo – there is a play/pause button, rewind, fast-forward, and a mute button if you want to turn the sound off. Feel free to test your sound out.

pp3p How to Insert Music and Sounds into your PowerPoint Presentation

4. If you want to edit your sounds further and customize the sounds, go to the “Playback” tab that is located under “Audio Tools.” With these options you can do a variety of things. You can edit the duration of your sound, fade it in or out and decrease or increase its volume.

You can also decide whether you want your sound to play just while this particular slide is being shown or throughout the entire presentation. You can also set the sound to loop once it’s done or just stop once it’s ended, and last but not least, you can also hide the sound icon so that it does not appear on the slideshow when you are viewing it in your presentation.

pp4 How to Insert Music and Sounds into your PowerPoint Presentation

And that is pretty much all there is to it. By adding sounds and music to your PowerPoint presentation, you are giving your presentation a unique character and adding yet another feature that is aimed toward grabbing the attention of your audience and keeping it for the duration of your slideshow.

3 Online Tools for Converting PDF to AutoCAD Formats for Free

July 26, 2012 Autocad, Conversion, Free Tools, Online Tools, PDF

AutoCAD is a program that is without a doubt the most popular and best software solution for 2D and 3D design. Just about every professional architect, engineer, and project manager is well-versed in AutoCAD and uses the program on a daily basis in their profession.

Often people who work in design get plans or ideas for new projects in PDF, since it is one of the most versatile and popular formats for sending all types of documents. Thankfully, there are online tool available that enable you to swiftly and effectively covert PDFs to AutoCAD-compatible formats like DWG and DXF. These are the three best tools for performing such a conversion, and best of all, every one of them is completely online-based and free.

1. PDF to AutoCAD was definitely one of the first online services that offered this kind of conversion, and for free no less. In order to turn your PDFs into AutoCAD compatible DWG or DXF formats, all you need to do is follow these two simple steps:

Find and upload your PDF by clicking the Browse button. If you happen to accidentally upload the wrong PDF, this tool offers you the option to choose another PDF without having to refresh the page. Once you upload your PDF, enter your email address and click Send. After a couple of minutes, you will receive an email with a link to the page where you can download your drawing.

1pdfautocad 3 Online Tools for Converting PDF to AutoCAD Formats for Free

2. Cometdocs, as you know, is our very popular online file conversion service. It converts between many different file formats, and of course, it does PDF to DWG and DFX as well. Because the converter performs a lot of different conversions, there is one extra step involved.

First you select the PDF you want to convert. Then you select the conversion type you want (PDF to DWG or DFX in this case). Next, you enter the email where you want your converted file to be sent, and then you click send to begin the conversion process. A link to your converted file should arrive to your email shortly after.

2pdfautocad 3 Online Tools for Converting PDF to AutoCAD Formats for Free

3. PDF to DXF allows users to transform their PDF drawings into an AutoCAD-compatible DFX file format. The service is, like the two above, completely free and boasts great accuracy. When it comes to conversion process, it works just like PDF to AutoCAD.

3pdfautocad 3 Online Tools for Converting PDF to AutoCAD Formats for Free

All three of these great online tool are not only free, but also give you fast conversions and deliver quality and accurate DWG and DFX files right to your personal email in a matter of minutes.

The Best Blogs and YouTube Channels for Learning MS Excel

July 17, 2012 Excel

Microsoft Excel is one of the most powerful software solutions for manipulating, analyzing, calculating and presenting data. Its power lies in the fact that you can basically turn raw data into powerful information using one of the many available Excel functions, visualization tools, and options for data manipulation and calculation. In short, we can perform a variety of functions with data in Excel and use it to make important business decisions.

A lot of important decisions in business are made based on information found on Excel charts and tables. We can confidently say that Excel is an industry leader in spreadsheet analysis. It is used for calculating budgets, creating reports, presenting charts and diagrams, managing projects, calculating mortgage and much, much more.

However, one downside is that Excel is pretty complex tool and you will probably need month to learn how to start using it professionally. It applications are so plentiful and complex that no matter how good you are at Excel, there is also room to get better and always something new to learn.

If you don’t have the money for Excel tutorials in the form of books, lecture or courses, there are some resources for learning Excel that can be used for free. Here is a fairly extensive list of some of the best Excel blogs and YouTube channels you can follow to learn more about this amazing software.

excelun The Best Blogs and YouTube Channels for Learning MS Excel

YouTube Channels

Sometimes the best way to learn and understand something is to see an example being performed in front of you. That is why videos are such a powerful tool for learning something new. That is why we suggest that you head to YouTube and search to find videos demonstrating Excel functions that you might not necessarily understand completely. The chances that you will find what you are looking for are pretty good. You can also use YouTube to discover the underbelly of Excel and uncover tricks and hacks that might not even be taught in official Excel books and tutorials.

These are the best YouTube channels for learning about Excel:

1. Microsoft Excel Training

This is a newer channel where you can find more than 190 Excel tutorials. Most of the videos are not basic but contain lots of interesting implementations of advanced Excel features.

2. Learn About Excel

This channel contains both basic and advanced tutorials, but most of them are just for Excel 2007.

3. Contexture Excel Tutorial

This channel is regularly updated and contains tutorials that are explained in very simple terms for users that are just starting out with any version of Excel.

4. Learn Excel with MrExcel

Here is a very comprehensive collection of Excel video tutorials for both beginners and the advance.

5. ExcellsFun

You can find a large collection of Excel tricks and hacks at this channel.

Blogs and Websites for learning Excel

If you have a specific problem with Excel, you can post questions on the official Microsoft Excel forum. However, if you want to learn new stuff for free, the best way to do it is to follow blogs.

Blogs provide a great way for learning about Excel because they are updated regularly and allow readers and authors to interact better than static websites. Here is a list of some of the best blogs for learning Excel. Some of them are for advanced users, so don’t get discouraged if you don’t understand a thing. Dig deeper to find more basic articles and tips. There is useful information for everyone.

1. Chandoo

The Chandoo website contains lots of tutorials for learning Excel. There are tutorials for both beginners and advanced users. Also, there is a forum where users can ask and answer Excel related questions.

2. Contextures

This website is a great resource for everyone learning Excel. In the tips section, you can find tips about almost any aspect of Excel. There is also a section with useful templates and an interesting blog which is regularly updated with new features and tutorials.

3. Bacon Bits

At this blog, you can find really good tutorials, but most of them will probably be more suitable for advanced users.

4. Daily Dose of Excel

This blog is regularly updated and suitable for users of all levels.

5. Excelexperts

When you get to this website, at first you might be confused because of you are seeing many different sections, but once you spend some time here, you will be able to navigate easily through the many tutorials and tips that the blog has to offer.

6. Excel Unusual

As the name says, this websites shows us some unusual implementations for Excel, like in gaming, for example.

7. Get Digital Help

This website is pretty comprehensive. It offers a variety of simply explained tutorials and templates.

8. Excel Charts

This blog talks about Excel from the aspect of data visualization.

9. Methods in Excel

Useful tips for advanced Excel students are offered here.

10. Microsoft Excel blog

This blog has Excel tips offered directly by the Microsoft Team. This site is designed with beginners in mind for the most part.

11. MrExcel

MrExcel is probably one of the most comprehensive resources for learning Excel on the web.

12. Newton Excel Bach

This Excel blog is specially designed for engineers and scientists or students of both engineering and science.

13. Peltier Tech

Here is an exceptionally detailed blog with tons of resources for all types of Excel users, from beginners to programmers.

14. Spreadsheet Page

Spreadsheet Page offers a large numbers of tips and good advice for Excel users, as well as numerous other resources and free add-ons.

15. Ozgrid

There are plenty of freebies for Excel earners at this blog, such as add-ons, templates, training, macros and much more.

16. Pearson Excel

As you can see, there are plenty of tutorials for Excel formulas, tables and more here.

17. Excel Exposure

Excel Exposure is part of the class curriculum taught at Reddit University, so you know it has a lot of excellent tips and tutorials.

18. Excel Theatre

This website is not actually a tutorial blog, but it offers a collection of the most interesting tweets on the topic of Excel. If you are having a hard time learning complicated formulas and tables, this website will certainly make you feel better, because you’ll realize that you are not alone.

19. Reddit Excel Community

Since Reddit is full of helpful people, you can join their subreddit for the discussion of Excel problems.

20. Excel Spreadsheets

Finally, this website offers lot of free templates which can be of a great help.

21. Office Application Development and Tutorials

Useful Excel guides for advanced users. Learn more about formulas, macros and addins.

How to Share Music on Your Website or Blog

July 6, 2012 Free Tools, Online Tools

Sometimes we want to share a certain song or an mp3 file on our blog with our readers. We could put a simple download link, but that is not always a good choice because of copyright issues. Also, users would have to download the song to their computers in order to listen to it if there is no integrated player for streaming songs directly on the blog.

Some users solve this issue by creating a video for the song, uploading it to YouTube, and then embedding the YouTube video on the blog. However, that is a pretty complicated way to do it, and there are much easier methods out there. Here are several excellent services that you can use to embed songs onto your website or blog.

1. SoundCloud

SoundCloud is a popular community for musicians and music lovers alike. Users can upload their own music creations and listen to the music of others. It is widely used and attracts a lot of traffic daily. One of its many benefits is an option for sharing a song from SoundCloud onto social media sites and blogs.

Here is how you can embed a song from SoundCloud onto your blog:

First, you need to upload your song on SoundCloud, or if you want to share someone else’s music, you can do that as well. There are really plenty of songs to choose from, and some of them are public domain. Go to the song, and click on “Share.” You will now see options to share it on various social media sites like Tumblr, Facebook, Twitter and more. As you see, at the bottom there is an option to use an embed code and insert a song directly into the HTML code of our blog.

soundcloudb How to Share Music on Your Website or Blog

However, that is not all. Click on the edit widget, and there you will see what the embedded player will look like. You can choose your own special colors or enable comments as well.

2. Grooveshark

Grooveshark is another very popular music-related website. You can find almost any artist or song here and listen for free. Additionally, you can upload your own songs as well if you can’t find what you are looking for on the site.

When you find a song you want to share, click “Share – Embed” as you see in the picture. You will be given an HTML code which you will be able to insert directly into the HTML section of your website.

groovesharkb How to Share Music on Your Website or Blog

Choose from different templates and adjust the widget size as well. Before you copy the code, you can preview the player and see how it will look on your blog.

groovesharkembedcode How to Share Music on Your Website or Blog

3. DivShare

DivShare is a sharing and storage site where you can keep files for free. It is similar to sites like Mediafire and Hulkshare in its uses. However, one of the great advantages that it has is that DivShare enables you to share music in a variety of ways. You can provide links to a file for people who want to just listen to it streaming instead of downloading it. And you can also embed music files on your blog and site for people to play the songs on. One of the best things about DivShare is that it offers you a variety of different designs and looks to choose from when picking what the embedded player on your site will look like.

divshare How to Share Music on Your Website or Blog

All you have to do is create a DivShare account, upload the file, find the track on your dashboard, click on it, and then click “Embed,” after which you will be taken to a page that allows you to pick the look of your player and then displays the embed code on the right.

Technology and Online Tools – Cometdocs Blog