Techie Notes

Tuesday, November 15, 2016

How to modify a user-defined list style in Microsoft Word 2016

Click Format > Bullets and Numbering... > List Styles
Select the style you want to modify and click Modify... . You can only modify user-defined styles.
Update style
Check Add to template. If you don't check this checkbox, your changes will only be applied to the current document else your changes will be applied to the template and will reflect not only to the current document but also to new documents.

How to create a new List Style template in Microsoft Word 2016

Click Multilevel List icon in Home > Define New Multilevel List... or click Format > Bullets and Numbering... > List Styles > +
If you want to change the default multilevel style, click the Format on the lower left part of the window and click Numbering...
1. To create your own style, you cannot add a new one. You should click Customize.. to modify an existing style. The Reset button is initially disabled/grayed out if the style is not modified/customized (built in style) and becomes enabled after it is modified/customized. When Reset button is enabled, you may click it to reset back to the original built in style.
2. Select a style
If you want your style to appear under Multilevel List icon > List Styles, check Add to Template

Thursday, November 10, 2016

How to determine/specify encoding?

In Email - Content-Type: text/plain; charset="UTF-8"

In Client/Web page - set encoding using the following (ordered from highest to lowest priority of browsers):
1) charset parameter on HTTP Content-Type response header from server

Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

2) charset on meta tag/element of HTML response

<html>
<head> <!-- meta tag must be the very first thing in the <head> section because when encountered by the browser it stops parsing the page and reinterpretes it  -->
<!-- charset attribute was introduced on HTML5 and is more recommended to use -->
<meta charset="UTF-8">
<!-- use http-equiv attribute for HTML versions lower than HTML5 -->
<meta http-equiv="Content-Type" content="text/html; charset=UTF-8">

In Spring, to specify the encdoing to be usd in decoding form data - add filter for encoding

<filter>  
    <filter-name>EncodingFilter</filter-name>  
    <filter-class>org.springframework.web.filter.CharacterEncodingFilter</filter-class>  
    <init-param>  
       <param-name>encoding</param-name>  
       <param-value>UTF-8</param-value>  
    </init-param>  
    <init-param>  
       <param-name>forceEncoding</param-name>  
       <param-value>true</param-value>  
    </init-param>  
</filter>

More on specifying encoding: http://stackoverflow.com/questions/138948/how-to-get-utf-8-working-in-java-webapps

Possible consequence of not specifying encoding:

Security issue - Sample: Google's XSS issue with UTF-7, read http://nedbatchelder.com/blog/200704/xss_with_utf7.html for explanation

Saturday, May 28, 2016

How to update non modifiable Classpath Variables in Eclipse

M2REPO

Go to Preferences -> Maven -> User Settings
Update User Settings to the location of your Maven settings.xml. The local repository will be automatically updated based on the localRepository configuration in your settings.xml.

Friday, April 29, 2016

How to call a shell script from another shell script

Note: Make sure to add #!/bin/bash to the first line of the script and make it executable through chmod 700 <path to script>.

<path to script> or /bin/bash <path to script> or <scriptname> (add script to $PATH environment variable and call as normal command)
- child script is executed in a new shell, changes in child script does not affect parent script
- can be executed asynchronously through background command
<path to script> &
- same as no. 1 but executes child script on background
source <path to script> or . <path to script>
- child script is executed in a current shell
- context is same as parent script (vars and functions of child script becomes visible on parent script)
- exit call in child script will also exit the parent script
exec <path to script>
- terminates the current shell and executes on a new shell

Wednesday, April 27, 2016

How to create Bash Script on Mac

Create the bash script file.
Sample: File myscript.sh

#!/bin/bash     #”hash-bang" or “she-bang" indicating that this script is to be interpreted and run by the bash shell
echo hello world     #prints “hello world”

Change the file permission to make it an executable. Open the terminal, navigate to the location of the file and type the following command:
```
chmod 700 myscript.sh 
```
See this link for more info on chmod: http://www.thinkplexx.com/learn/article/unix/command/chmod-permissions-flags-explained-600-0600-700-777-100-etc
Run the script. Type the following in the terminal:
```
./myscript.sh
```

Thursday, May 7, 2015

Key Terms in Strategic Management

Most of these terms are used interchangeably and may mean different from one person to another. Based on various sources I read, here's what I think they mean:

Mission - enduring purpose/duty, most important aim

Vision - desired future state supporting mission

Goals / Objectives - what the organization intends to do, an end-game

Strategy
- a chosen path, direction or plan of action, to achieve goal
- involves all or most of the resources within organization
- usually long-term
- usually timeless
- what to do?

Tactics
- way to a achieve sub-goals or implement strategy, tools
- performed by a subset or a specific ___ in an organization
- shorter to mid term
- may vary depending on some factors like time, environment, etc.
- how to do?

Strategies should consider the tactics and tactical solutions should be aligned with strategies.

Some examples from Jan Zlotnick:

Goal: Be the market share leader in terms of sales in the mid-market in our industry.
Strategy: Remarkable Customer Service
Tactics: Offer lower cost solutions than enterprise competitors without sacrificing white-glove service for first 3 years of customer contracts.

Goal: Become a social utility that earth uses on an daily basis.
Strategy: Love Your Neighbor
Tactics: Offer a free global communication toolset that enables disparate personal interactions with your friends to monitor, share, and interact with.

Execution - implementation

Sources:
http://www.web-strategist.com/blog/2013/01/14/the-difference-between-strategy-and-tactics/
http://www.managementguru.net/key-terms-of-strategic-management/
http://bluesummitstrategy.com/strategy/mission-vs-vision/2007/
http://www.dummies.com/how-to/content/strategic-planning-strategy-vs-tactics.html