Kansas State University

Sometimes, your post gets lost in the flood of posts in a Microsoft Teams channel. Make your important posts stand out with an announcement post. Teams has options for dynamic backgrounds and AI-powered image generation.

1. In a channel, click Start a post.
2. Click the Post Type button and then click Announcement.Note: In the bottom-right corner of the Announcement are two options. You can 1) modify the color scheme or 2) create a custom background.
3. Click on the desired option and customize.
   
   Note: If you are creating a custom background, you can upload an image you already have or type a description of the type of image you want.Under Explore ideas, if you hover over an image, it will display the description used to create that image. Click on the image If you would like to use that description so you can modify it or to see other images created with that description.

If you have any questions about Microsoft Teams, post your question(s) in the KSU Teams Support Team.

Keeping up with email in today’s fast paced world can become a bit overwhelming. Our inboxes are inundated with work emails, newsletters, calendar invites, and more. Using Outlook rules will help tame your inbox so it is more manageable.

Benefits of using rules

• Organize your inbox: Rules can help you automatically sort your incoming emails into specific folders based on criteria such as sender, subject, or keywords. This can help you keep your inbox organized, reduce clutter, and save time.
• Prioritize emails: You can create rules to automatically highlight or flag emails from specific senders or with certain keywords. This can help you prioritize your emails and ensure that important messages are not missed.
• Save time: Rules can help automate certain actions, such as moving emails to specific folders or deleting messages. This can save you time and make managing your inbox more efficient.
• Reduce distractions: You can create rules to automatically move emails from particular senders or with specific keywords to a separate folder, allowing you to focus on more important messages without being distracted by less important ones.
• Increase productivity: By automating specific tasks and reducing distractions, rules can help increase your overall productivity and efficiency when working with email in Outlook.

Continue reading “Streamlining email with rules in Outlook on the web” →

In partnership with K-State, Plante Moran is administering a survey to understand better the needs and challenges related to document imaging. An overview of the full project can be found on the Imaging Analysis website.

The 10-minute survey is available to all K-State staff and is due by 5 p.m. CDT on Oct. 19.

Take the survey

If you have questions about the project or the survey, you can email Maleah Lundeen at maleah@k-state.edu.

Phishing is a way cybercriminals try to trick you into sharing personal information, such as passwords or credit card, social security, and bank account numbers, by sending you fraudulent emails or directing you to a fake website.

At the beginning of every semester, K-State sees a significant increase in the number of phishing scam emails trying to steal eID passwords. These emails try to trick K-Staters into providing their eID and password to criminals under the guise of “false emergency” emails, including:

• “Upgrade your webmail account!”
• “Your mailbox storage limit is full!”
• “Your data, photos, etc. will be lost!”

These are all scams. K-State will NEVER ask for your password in an email. Do not reply to these scam emails, or click a link in an email and fill out a form with your eID and password.

Abide by one simple rule and you will be safe from these scams and others: NEVER provide your password to anyone in response to an email!  Continue reading “Stay safe online” →

The Division of Information Technology provides a variety of resources and services for free. Get your semester off to a good start by checking out a few of them.

• Get a free copy of Microsoft Office for personal use on up to 5 PCs or Macs, 5 tablets, and 5 phones. See the installation instructions for Mac, Windows, and mobile devices.
• Use Office 365 – Office 365 is a collaboration suite that includes tools such as email, calendar, office applications, file storage space, and more. You can access the suite from your desktop, web browser, or phone. Get started by signing in to webmail. See the Office 365 website to learn more.
• Connect your mobile devices to K-State’s wireless network.
• Use our Qualtrics survey system. Faculty/staff and authorized students can use the Qualtrics Survey System. Qualtrics is a comprehensive survey tool with more than 90 question types, simplified reporting tools, online training modules, a library of surveys to peruse, and more.
• Use Zoom (video and audio conferencing) to meet virtually.
  Use Zoom to set up an online staff meeting, a training session, a class group meeting, beam in a speaker, and more. See the Using Zoom guide to get started.
• Remote access to the software – Remote access to software in the K-State computer labs allows students to use specialized software and avoid having to purchase themselves. Popular software includes SAS, SPSS, Mathematica, and Matlab. Unfortunately, Adobe Creative Cloud is not available for remote access. To see a list of all software available in the computing labs, visit the Software in the Computing Labs page. To learn how to access the software, visit the Remote Access page.
• Connect with the IT Help Desk

More IT resources for K-Staters are on the Welcome to IT at K-State website. Send any IT-related questions to the IT Help Desk, helpdesk@k-state.edu, or call 785-532-7722. You can also search the IT Knowledge Base for answers to your questions.