Website Noise

I’m always happy to try new ways to make web browsing more pleasing. There are several tech sites that I would frequent if not for all of the pop-ups, videos, and smattering of ads mixed in with the articles that I find every time I visit. The website noise found on so many sites is one reason I started my own tech site.

JR Raphael of Android Intelligence1 often has great tips for a more pleasing web experience and I found one of the latest tips in this past week’s Android Intelligence newsletter. This recommendation is helpful for those who primarily use the Chrome web browser and involves using the experimental Chrome flags (where one may experiment with features not available by default). The Reading Mode flag gives you a way to view a website without all the clutter without totally removing the ads which site creators rely on to pay the bills.

Explore the tip in his article on Computer World: https://www.computerworld.com/article/3697312/google-chrome-reading-mode.html

Resources mentioned, recommended, or cited:

  • Sign up for the free Android Intelligence e-mail newsletter here. There is also a paid membership that allows access to a very vibrant forum and bonus newsletters, but the basic newsletter is free (and very helpful for both Android phone users and those invested in all things Google).

1Android Intelligence is now part of a broader technology offering called The Intelligence which also includes news, tips, and tutorials about the Windows operating system as well as general tech agnostic advice.

Excel spreadsheet not showing gridlines

When using a program at work, I often export reports generated there to download them as an Excel spreadsheet. It works fairly well, except that the resulting spreadsheet doesn’t show gridlines. I know that one may show or hide gridlines by using the settings found in the View tab on the menu ribbon, but that wasn’t working to show the gridlines in my case. I like my gridlines!

Apparently the software we use generates Excel reports with a gray background, which masks the gridlines. The solution was to make sure that the “no fill” option is selected for the background color (or “Fill Color”) which is the menu option that looks like a wee paint can tipping over. I got my gridlines back!

Also, if you want to print your gridlines, please know that they don’t print by default. Head into the Page Layout tab and find “Gridlines” in the formatting options and make sure the box is checked.