How to extend your desktop over dual screens using Matrox DualHead2Go

Posted on January 30, 2012 by Aaron
Matrox DualHead2Go is a combination of hardware and software that allows you to operate two screens from a single PC or laptop.With a two screen setup you can mirror (or clone) the image from your desktop onto both screens or you can extend your desktop over both screens. Matrox DualHead2Go

In this post I’m going to show you how to extend your desktop over both screens.

1. Setup the hardware for Matrox DualHead2Go

Configure the hardware as shown below with the addition of the USB cable supplied.

Matrox DualHead2Go hardware setup

2. Install the Matrox software

Place the installation disk into the PC and follow the on-screen instructions to install the Matrox software.

3. Configure Windows and Matrox software to extend the desktop

When you get to this stage you may find that your laptop is duplicating your desktop onto both screen rather than extending it. If this is the case do the following (If you are using a laptop keep the lid closed) :

Go to Windows Display Settings  and configure as shown.

Windows Display Settings

Go to the Matrox Powerdesk Settings and configure the Multi-display setup and desktop management settings as shown.

Multi Display Setup

Desktop Management

This should now extend your desktop over both screens.

Note : You may find that when you are configuring this some of the options above will not be shown or once you apply the settings they will not be maintained after a reboot. Not to worry I have discovered this is just a glitch in the hardware/software and it can be solved by pulling out the USB cable (which powers the Matrox device) and plugging it back in. Your settings should return to normal.

Posted in Computing | 2 Comments

Philips SpeechExec Pro licensing with the USB Smart Key dongle

Posted on January 29, 2012 by Aaron
The license for the Philips SpeechExec software is stored on a USB dongle called a ‘Smart Key’. The license needs to be accessible by the PC in order for the Philips software to open.For convenience, there is also an option to download to the license to the PC, so the USB key doesn’t need to always be plugged into the PC. Philips SpeechExec disk and dongle

Both options will be presented at the point of installation but the licensing configuration can also be changed after the software has been fully installed.

For example, if you have decided to keep the license on the USB Smart Key you will need to ensure it is plugged into the PC each time you want to use the software. However, if you change your mind and wanted to download it to the PC you can achieve this in the following way :

1. Open the Philips SpeechExec software and go to the Help menu> License information.

Help License info

You  will then be presented with the following ‘License information window’.

License info

2. From here, click “Download License” to download the license from the USB Smart Key to the computer.

If you wanted to do the reverse i.e. you had downloaded to the license to the PC and wanted to put it back onto the USB Smart key you would need to select the ‘Upload License’ option from the above.

Posted in Digital Dictation | 1 Comment

Merge multiple csv files into a single .csv or .txt file using command line

Posted on January 26, 2012 by Aaron

In this post I’m going to show you how you can take multiple .csv files and merge them into a single .csv or .txt file. The process is very simple and should take a couple of minutes to complete.

For my example I have created four .csv files which contain 3 rows of the letters A, B, C & D. See below.

A.csv B.csv C.csv D.csv
a.csv b.csv c.csv d.csv

STEPS TO CREATE YOUR MERGED CSV OR TEXT FILE

1.Create a folder to store all of the .csv files you would like to merge e.g ‘All csv files’ on your C drive.

All csv files

2.Open notepad and add this text ‘copy *.csv Merged.csv’ (If you want to produce a text file this text will be ‘copy *.csv Merged.txt’)

3.Save the text file to the ‘All csv files’ folder and call it ‘Process’ (the name can be whatever your choose) and change it’s extension to .bat

All csv files with .bat file

4.Double click the Process.bat file and you will see that a .csv file is created in the C:\All csv files folder called ‘Merged.csv’.

All csv files and merged csv file

5. Open your Merged .csv file and you will see that all of your data has been successfully merged. In my example the consolidated data is as follows :

Merged csv file output

Posted in MS Office | 1 Comment