The Elements of Computing Style
The Elements of Computing Style
200+ Tips for Busy Knowledge Workers
About the Book
The Elements of Computing Style deals with the effective use of computing technology: a work style that can readily increase your productivity. Bookstore shelves are full of beginners’ guides and software-specific manuals. These, occasionally useful, books won't help you if you're already comfortable with computer technology but use it in a suboptimal way, wasting your valuable time performing repetitive tasks or struggling with easily avoidable problems. Computing style is what distinguishes a computer expert from a user who just gets by. Although following a few tips won't make you a computing guru, you can readily bridge a large part of the productivity gap between you and an expert by following this book’s advice. The 200+ tips included in the book can provide 80% of an expert’s effectiveness.
The text covers all aspects of computing use: computer-related work habits; web searching and surfing; email handling and etiquette; working with documents, spreadsheets, and presentations; essential advice on typography, data management, security, privacy, and digital preservation; traveling; IT equipment; system administration; ergonomics; entertainment. Most professionals, even seasoned computer users, fail to use computing technology in its full potential. This short book provides specific advice that delivers immediate improvements in effectiveness and job performance.
Through this book's 200+ tips you will learn things like the following.
- How can I finish a lengthy report on time?
- How can I automate the handling of my email?
- Why are email's blind carbon copies an invitation to a disaster?
- Which keyboard shortcuts can I use to speed-up my work?
- How can I simplify my spreadsheets?
- What makes an effective presentation?
- How can I ensure I’ll be able to access my files in twenty years?
- What should I pack before a trip?
The Elements of Computing Style is also available as a printed book at CreateSpace.
About the Author
Table of Contents
- Preface
-
1. General
- 1.1 If it doesn’t work, try it again
- 1.2 If it doesn’t work, try it in a different way
- 1.3 Search for the least common term
- 1.4 RTFM, GIYF
-
2. Work Habits
- 2.1 Finish one task before proceeding to the next
- 2.2 Leave work unfinished
- 2.3 Keep multiple work queues
- 2.4 Plan, measure, and report your work
- 2.5 Don’t leave it for the last minute
- 2.6 Comment your work
- 2.7 Keep note files with your work
- 2.8 Version before big changes
- 2.9 “Save As” before modifying
- 2.10 Automate
- 2.11 Spell check
- 2.12 Correct on paper
- 2.13 Learn those correction symbols
- 2.14 Mind map
- 2.15 Use each program for what it does best
-
3. Searching the Web
- 3.1 Start your search with Wikipedia
- 3.2 Find it next time
- 3.3 Use phrase searches
- 3.4 Search sites through Google
- 3.5 Search using an image
- 3.6 Let the web vote
- 3.7 Ask StackExchange
- 3.8 Cast wide nets to locate an email address
-
4. Web Tips and Tricks
- 4.1 The internet never forgets
- 4.2 Judge your online sources
- 4.3 URLs are your friends
- 4.4 Locate orphan pages through link queries
- 4.5 Bookmark sparingly
- 4.6 Make your bookmarks accessible
- 4.7 Save web links with your other files
- 4.8 Shorten your links
- 4.9 Let your group vote
-
5. Handling Email
- 5.1 Read email once a day
- 5.2 Turn-off email alerts
- 5.3 File incoming email
- 5.4 File incoming email as you read it
- 5.5 Don’t file all incoming email
- 5.6 Don’t file outgoing email
- 5.7 Create subfolders
- 5.8 Create shortcut-accessible folders
- 5.9 File to multiple folders
- 5.10 Link folders with placeholder messages
- 5.11 Automate filing
- 5.12 Don’t read spam
- 5.13 Don’t fall for hoaxes
- 5.14 Send reminders to yourself
- 5.15 Reply to mail you sent
- 5.16 Read the recipient lists
- 5.17 Detach attachments
- 5.18 Don’t email during holidays
- 5.19 Use multiple mail search strategies
-
6. Email Smarts and Etiquette
- 6.1 Use meaningful Subject lines
- 6.2 Don’t begin a new subject by replying to an old email
- 6.3 Quote appropriately when replying
- 6.4 Check your quoted text when adding recipients
- 6.5 Don’t mix private and public distribution lists
- 6.6 Don’t Bcc
- 6.7 Arrange for replies to go where they should
- 6.8 Don’t put in an email what you don’t want to see in public
- 6.9 Flames belong to the cooler
- 6.10 Sandwich critique within praise
- 6.11 Reread before pressing send
- 6.12 Write short messages as a Subject line
- 6.13 Save time with VSRE
- 6.14 Send mass email through a Bcc
- 6.15 Retire people from a discussion with a Bcc
- 6.16 Use read receipts with care
- 6.17 Avoid attachments
- 6.18 Share large files using cloud-based services
- 6.19 Don’t plan meetings over email
- 6.20 Don’t edit documents over email
- 6.21 Introduce people
- 6.22 DON’T YELL
-
7. Working with Documents
- 7.1 Bookmark with undo
- 7.2 Outline
- 7.3 Beware of the changes you track
- 7.4 Don’t align with whitespace
- 7.5 Paragraph breaks aren’t for vertical spacing
- 7.6 Break pages declaratively
- 7.7 Employ styles
- 7.8 Utilize references
- 7.9 Use the thesaurus
- 7.10 Automate the table of contents generation
- 7.11 Automatically convert between upper and lowercase
- 7.12 Paste as unformatted text
- 7.13 Search and replace formatting
- 7.14 Search all word forms
- 7.15 Search with wildcards
- 7.16 Search for special elements
- 7.17 Track changes
- 7.18 Avoid embedded elements and links
- 7.19 Useful shortcuts
-
8. Working with Spreadsheets
- 8.1 Replace your calculator with the spreadsheet
- 8.2 Use multiple worksheets
- 8.3 Structure your spreadsheet for calculations
- 8.4 Name your data
- 8.5 Keep an extra row
- 8.6 Organize your data with Excel’s tables
- 8.7 Vlookup isn’t rocket science
- 8.8 Don’t show numbers with meaningless precision
- 8.9 Apply formatting to whole rows and columns
- 8.10 Auto-complete your labels
- 8.11 Average by selecting
- 8.12 Have others fill-in your spreadsheets
-
9. Preparing and Delivering Presentations
- 9.1 Plan two minutes per slide
- 9.2 Skip slides when in a hurry
- 9.3 Avoid running text
- 9.4 Use charts
- 9.5 Add graphics
- 9.6 Use full-screen images
- 9.7 Use appropriate fonts
- 9.8 Avoid fancy layouts and effects
- 9.9 Use a master style
- 9.10 Don’t read your slides
- 9.11 Use both screens
- 9.12 No live demos
- 9.13 Arrange for backup equipment
- 9.14 Verify your setup
- 9.15 Setup accessible backups
-
10. Icing the Cake: Typography
- 10.1 Use fonts wisely
- 10.2 Avoid table rules
- 10.3 Know your symbols
- 10.4 Prefer charts over tables over text
- 10.5 Prefer scalable formats
- 10.6 Avoid underlined text
- 10.7 Avoid uppercase sequences
- 10.8 Don’t be too clever
- 10.9 Use professional-designed styles
-
11. Data Management
- 11.1 Use meaningful file and folder names
- 11.2 Organize your files
- 11.3 Sort files by date
- 11.4 Link files with shortcuts
-
12. Security
- 12.1 Beware of attachments
- 12.2 Don’t reply to spam and malware senders
- 12.3 Beware of phishers
- 12.4 No one will give you millions by email
- 12.5 Don’t click on all hyperlinks
- 12.6 Select unguessable passwords
- 12.7 Don’t reuse passwords
- 12.8 Apply security fixes
-
13. Privacy
- 13.1 Get over it
- 13.2 Think before you post
- 13.3 Browse privately
- 13.4 Encrypt sensitive data
- 13.5 Use strong encryption
- 13.6 Arrange for plausible deniability
- 13.7 Don’t encrypt more than you need
- 13.8 Consider your trails
- 13.9 Don’t throw away your personal data
-
14. Digital Preservation
- 14.1 Backup your data
- 14.2 Store backups off-site
- 14.3 Keep multiple backup copies
- 14.4 Backups are backups
- 14.5 Online backups are also backups
- 14.6 Backup your smart devices
- 14.7 Keep your data together
- 14.8 Test your backups
- 14.9 Take care of those pictures
- 14.10 Choose long-lasting file formats
- 14.11 Test your data when changing equipment
- 14.12 Separate personal from work data
- 14.13 Consider the data of your reports
- 14.14 Consider the data of your family
-
15. Business Travel
- 15.1 Packing list
- 15.2 Carry a USB stick on you
- 15.3 Backup before you travel
- 15.4 Phone through Skype
- 15.5 Don’t rely on network access
- 15.6 Arrange for network access before you leave
- 15.7 Ask your hotel for a power brick
-
16. Dealing with IT Equipment
- 16.1 Don’t buy more than you need
- 16.2 Consider noise, space, and weight
- 16.3 Make your phone a Wi-Fi hotspot
- 16.4 First unplug the mains plug
- 16.5 Don’t leave stuff around your laptop’s keyboard
- 16.6 Desk phone on your right, coffee on your left
- 16.7 Sleep, stand by, hibernate
- 16.8 Don’t rely on obsolete equipment
- 16.9 Use a second monitor
- 16.10 Invest in a broadband connection
- 16.11 Wire your house
- 16.12 Reduce clutter through hubs
- 16.13 Consider a printer’s cost per page
- 16.14 Choose appropriate service and extended warranties
- 16.15 Remove batteries after swimming
-
17. System Administration
- 17.1 Log your changes
- 17.2 Keep these installation disks
- 17.3 Upgrade before the EOL
- 17.4 Save money and hassle with open source software
- 17.5 Avoid installing and using software that comes bundled with hardware devices
-
18. Ergonomics
- 18.1 Beware of laptops
- 18.2 Build a docking station
- 18.3 Remove your chair’s handles
- 18.4 Use keyboard shortcuts
- 18.5 Create your own keyboard shortcuts
- 18.6 Keyboard smarts
- 18.7 Windows shortcuts
- 18.8 Mac shortcuts
- 18.9 Tile your windows
- 18.10 Phone, email, chat
- 18.11 Use a headset
-
19. Computers in our Life
- 19.1 Exercise
- 19.2 Contribute to online communities
- 19.3 Avoid addictive endeavors
- 19.4 Rip your CDs
- 19.5 Centralize your media content
- 19.6 Digitize your kids’ art
- Epilogue
- Acknowledgements
The Leanpub 60-day 100% Happiness Guarantee
Within 60 days of purchase you can get a 100% refund on any Leanpub purchase, in two clicks.
See full terms
Do Well. Do Good.
Authors have earned$11,960,655writing, publishing and selling on Leanpub, earning 80% royalties while saving up to 25 million pounds of CO2 and up to 46,000 trees.
Learn more about writing on Leanpub
Free Updates. DRM Free.
If you buy a Leanpub book, you get free updates for as long as the author updates the book! Many authors use Leanpub to publish their books in-progress, while they are writing them. All readers get free updates, regardless of when they bought the book or how much they paid (including free).
Most Leanpub books are available in PDF (for computers) and EPUB (for phones, tablets and Kindle). The formats that a book includes are shown at the top right corner of this page.
Finally, Leanpub books don't have any DRM copy-protection nonsense, so you can easily read them on any supported device.
Learn more about Leanpub's ebook formats and where to read them
Top Books
- #1
OpenIntro Statistics
David Diez, Christopher Barr, Mine Cetinkaya-Rundel, and OpenIntroA complete foundation for Statistics, also serving as a foundation for Data Science.
Leanpub revenue supports OpenIntro (US-based nonprofit) so we can provide free desk copies to teachers interested in using OpenIntro Statistics in the classroom and expand the project to support free textbooks in other subjects.
More resources: openintro.org.
- #2
Linear Algebra
Elira Curri and Tanush ShaskaAnswers to selected problems included.
- #3
Ansible for DevOps
Jeff GeerlingAnsible is a simple, but powerful, server and configuration management tool. Learn to use Ansible effectively, whether you manage one server—or thousands.
- #4
Modern IT Automation with PowerShell
The DevOps Collective, Inc. and Michael ZanattaA PowerShell Textbook written by the community for the community!
- #5
R Programming for Data Science
Roger D. PengThis book brings the fundamentals of R programming to you, using the same material developed as part of the industry-leading Johns Hopkins Data Science Specialization. The skills taught in this book will lay the foundation for you to begin your journey learning data science. Printed copies of this book are available through Lulu.
- #6
Code Your Own Synth Plug-Ins With C++ and JUCE
Matthijs HollemansLearn the fundamentals of audio programming by building a fully-featured software synthesizer plug-in, with every step explained along the way. The plug-in can be used in all the popular DAWs and is made using the industry standard tools for audio development: JUCE framework and the C++ programming language. Not too much math, lots of explanations!
- #7
Deep Learning with PyTorch Step-by-Step
Daniel Voigt GodoyIn 2019, I published a PyTorch tutorial on Towards Data Science and I was amazed by the reaction from the readers! Their feedback motivated me to write this book to help beginners start their journey into Deep Learning and PyTorch. I hope you enjoy reading this book as much as I enjoy writing it.
- #8
Aprendiendo Git
Miguel Angel Durán GarcíaGit no es complicado... ¡Si lo entiendes! 😜
¿Sientes que sabes usarlo porque has memorizado todos los comandos que necesitas? ¡Pero no entiendes qué hace cada cosa y por qué! Así es normal que, cuando exista un problema, te cueste resolverlo.
¡Con este libro vas a entender de una vez por todas todo lo que es Git y cómo sacarle provecho!
- #9
Algebra-Driven Design
Sandy MaguireA how-to field guide on building leak-free abstractions and algebraically designing real-world applications.
- #10
The Rails 7 Way
Obie Fernandez, Lucas Dohmen, and Tom Henrik AadlandThe Rails™ 7 Way is the comprehensive, authoritative reference guide for professionals delivering production-quality code using modern Ruby on Rails. It illuminates the entire Rails 7 API, its most powerful idioms, design approaches, and libraries. Building on the previous editions, this edition has been heavily refactored and updated.
Top Bundles
- #1
Software Architecture
2 Books
"Software Architecture for Developers" is a practical and pragmatic guide to modern, lightweight software architecture, specifically aimed at developers. You'll learn:The essence of software architecture.Why the software architecture role should include coding, coaching and collaboration.The things that you really need to think about before... - #2
CCIE Service Provider Ultimate Study Bundle
2 Books
Piotr Jablonski, Lukasz Bromirski, and Nick Russo have joined forces to deliver the only CCIE Service Provider training resource you'll ever need. This bundle contains a detailed and challenging collection of workbook labs, plus an extensively detailed technical reference guide. All of us have earned the CCIE Service Provider certification... - #3
Pattern-Oriented Memory Forensics and Malware Detection
2 Books
This training bundle for security engineers and researchers, malware and memory forensics analysts includes two accelerated training courses for Windows memory dump analysis using WinDbg. It is also useful for technical support and escalation engineers who analyze memory dumps from complex software environments and need to check for possible... - #4
Static Analysis and Automated Refactoring
2 Books
As PHP developers we are living in the "Age of Static Analysis". We can use a tool like PHPStan to learn about potential bugs before we ship our code to production, and we can enforce our team's programming standards using custom PHPStan rules. Recipes for Decoupling by Matthias Noback teaches you in great detail how to do this, while also... - #6
Practical FP in Scala + Functional event-driven architecture
2 Books
Practical FP in Scala (A hands-on approach) & Functional event-driven architecture, aka FEDA, (Powered by Scala 3), together as a bundle! The content of PFP in Scala is a requirement to understand FEDA so why not take advantage of this bundle!? - #7
Modern C++ Collection
3 Books
Get All about Modern C++C++ Standard Library, including C++20Concurrency with Modern C++, including C++20C++20Each book has about 200 complete code examples. Updates are included. When I update one of the books, you immediately get the updated bundle. You can expect significant updates to each new C++ standard (C++23, C++26, .. ) and also... - #8
All the Books of The Medical Futurist
6 Books
We put together the most popular books from The Medical Futurist to provide a clear picture about the major trends shaping the future of medicine and healthcare. Digital health technologies, artificial intelligence, the future of 20 medical specialties, big pharma, data privacy, digital health investments and how technology giants such as Amazon... - #10
Statistics - All Lee Baker's Books
10 Books
This bundle includes all of the statistics books that Lee Baker has published at LeanPub 13 Statistics Books*1 PlaceNo Hassle! All in both epub and mobi formats - perfect for all devices and screen sizes. --------------------------------------------------------- *The book listed as Getting Started With Statistics is a bundle of 4 books...
