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Macro Systems Blog

Macro Systems has been serving the Metro Washington, DC area since 1997, providing IT Support such as technical helpdesk support, computer support and consulting to small and medium-sized businesses.

Zip Files Explained

Zip Files Explained

Have you ever seen the file types that look like normal folders, but they have a zipper on the icon? These are called ZIP files, and they are helpful for several reasons. We’re sure you have encountered zipped files throughout your time using technology; we want to demystify them a little bit and show you how to use them effectively.

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How to Utilize Adobe Generative AI to Dress Yourself Up for a Professional Selfie

How to Utilize Adobe Generative AI to Dress Yourself Up for a Professional Selfie

While AI is far from perfect, there are ways that it can help do something mundane or speed up a workflow here or there. I’m no expert in Photoshop either, so if I need to edit something, I usually depend on someone with a little more experience, but this was a really neat trick I was able to do in just a few minutes!

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How to Create Sticky Notes in One Note

How to Create Sticky Notes in One Note

Note taking apps are really helpful and Microsoft OneNote is one of the most available and feature rich apps on the market for this use. You are probably familiar with the sticky note. They are notes that give a solid visual representation of items that workers need to be cognizant of for all types of processes. Listed below is the process of creating “sticky notes” in OneNote.

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Tips for Managing Guests/External Microsoft Teams Users

Tips for Managing Guests/External Microsoft Teams Users

There will always be times when you have to invite guests and other external users to your Microsoft Teams meetings, especially if you want to take advantage of the many collaboration options offered through the platform. Still, you need to be very careful with guests and external users, especially in today’s cybersecurity-centric world.

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Three Practices to Help Employees with the Technology They Have to Utilize

Three Practices to Help Employees with the Technology They Have to Utilize

Technology plays an enormous role for most businesses these days, and not everyone always grasps the importance of it. Most of the time, there is so much built into today’s enterprise software that it can often be overwhelming for workers to use it effectively. Listed below are three tips on how to help employees get a grasp of the technology their productivity depends on.

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How to Create Google Forms that Auto-Populate Google Sheets

How to Create Google Forms that Auto-Populate Google Sheets

There are several reasons to use a form to collect data for your organization: from customer impressions and service requirements to employee feedback about internal matters as a means of collaborative decision-making. The trouble comes when it is time to compile all the responses… unless you know how to use the tools at your disposal.

Listed below is the process of creating a form that self-populates a spreadsheet using Google’s toolkit.

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A Warning about Downloading and Installing APK Files on your Android Smartphone

A Warning about Downloading and Installing APK Files on your Android Smartphone

Your Android smartphone is a computer itself; as such, it runs with an operating system installed. You install programs on your smartphone the same way you install them on your computer, although the process is more complicated. Below is an explanation of the types of files that the Android operating system uses to install apps on your phone, as well as why it might be a good idea to let the Google Play Store do the hard work for you, in terms of locating and installing apps.

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Steps to Policing Your IT Policies

Steps to Policing Your IT Policies

Small businesses are presented with the challenging prospect of monitoring and policing various IT-related policies that you might have for your network infrastructure and workplace technology use. The difficulty of this notion does little to lessen its importance. You need to take action to protect your assets, data, and reputation from the countless threats out there, and ensuring that your employees are properly using technology is paramount to this endeavor.

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How to Make Your Network VoIP-Friendly

How to Make Your Network VoIP-Friendly

We could go on and on about the advantages of using Voice over Internet Protocol (also known as VoIP) for your business telephone needs. That being said, it is imperative that you do everything you can to prepare your network for this kind of utilization. Listed below are a few tips to help make sure your network is properly optimized for VoIP.

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How to Make and Edit a PDF File

How to Make and Edit a PDF File

PDF (Portable Document Format) is a type of file that business professionals are all too familiar with. While most are aware of and appreciative of this file type, they likely are not aware of some of the more fun and useful features afforded to them. Listed below are what PDFs are capable of, including how to make and edit them.

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Four Tips to Keep Your Tech Clean and Efficient

Four Tips to Keep Your Tech Clean and Efficient

From smartphones to laptops and everything in between, our devices are constantly exposed to dirt, dust, and germs. Keeping your technology clean ensures a longer lifespan for your devices and promotes a user’s health. Listed below are four practical tips to help you keep your technology clean and functioning at its best.

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How to Dock your Laptop while Keeping it Closed

How to Dock your Laptop while Keeping it Closed

The laptop is an excellent piece of office equipment because of its portability and its power to meet the needs of most of today’s workforce. However, when in the office, many prefer the much larger screens that are more typical of the traditional desktop. Let’s talk about how you can get the best of both worlds by plugging your laptop into a set of peripherals and using it while it's closed—effectively turning it into a PC’s tower.

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How to Take a Break from Social Media

How to Take a Break from Social Media

In the relatively short time it has been around, social media has fully ingrained itself into our lives, personally, professionally, and socially. While there are significant advantages to be had in all of these areas, it is also undeniable that social media can easily become overwhelming and negatively impact us. For this reason, sometimes taking a break from social media isn’t a bad idea. Listed below are a few ways to make this break as successful and effective as possible.

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3 Helpful PowerPoint 365 Functions

3 Helpful PowerPoint 365 Functions

You know that a software has made its mark when its name becomes synonymous with the type of software it is. For example: PowerPoint.

This element of Microsoft 365 is well-known enough to often be used as a catch-all phrase for any presentation software. Listed below are some of the lesser-known cool features and functions that PowerPoint provides. 

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Tips to More Effectively Manage Your Time

Tips to More Effectively Manage Your Time

Effective time management is imperative for productivity and achieving your goals. Alas, it’s not always easy to be efficient. Listed below are three useful tips to enhance your own professional efficiency.

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Android's New Auto-Archive Feature

Android's New Auto-Archive Feature

In April Google announced that the Android platform would be given the capability to archive unused applications to help preserve the precious storage space on the devices…provided that the device was almost out of available space. This auto-archive feature is now available to all users, regardless of the storage left on their device.

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The SLAM Method Helps Spot Phishing Threats

The SLAM Method Helps Spot Phishing Threats

Phishing is a very dangerous, very real threat to today's businesses, which makes it extremely imperative that you and your whole team are prepared to spot and mitigate it. One simple framework to do so is known as the SLAM method, so let’s take a few moments to review some tips for using it.

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Mobile Device Productivity Tips

Mobile Device Productivity Tips

Mobile devices like smartphones have become synonymous with productivity, helping people to get work done while on-the-move, yet in the same breath, you could say they are synonymous with distraction. That being said, with the right practices and the right apps you can mitigate these challenges and be quite productive with a smartphone. 

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Strategies to Get People to Listen to You Better

Strategies to Get People to Listen to You Better

It’s critical that you are able to communicate with the people you work for, with, and over; a large part of this is ensuring that your points are heard. Listed below are a few strategies and techniques that can help you ensure that those around you are apt to listen to what you have to say.

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How to Develop Better Habits

How to Develop Better Habits

Productivity is always a key focus for a business today, which makes any effort to improve it a welcome one. We wanted to take a moment and introduce you to a simple concept to make it easier to develop productive habits: habit stacking.

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Fairfax, Virginia 22030