(no subject)

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

People who don't know how to copy-and-paste wouldn't be quite as frustrating if copy-and-paste was something I could explain over the phone.

Comments

[bitterfun.livejournal.com]

The techsupport is weak in this one.*





*support basics, but I wouldn't wish it on my worst supervisor.

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

There are plenty of things I can explain, but that one always seems to stump me. Or them.

[the-s-guy.livejournal.com]

"It's the computer equivalent of copying a typed-up page in a copier, using scissors to cut the interesting bits out of the copy, and gluing those bits into a new typed-up page.

The difference is that a computer can do all that in half a second. which can save a lot of typing the same thing over and over again."

[kostika.livejournal.com]

Or my simple explanation:

Copy and Paste is making the computer type things many times so you don't have to.

There are many ways to explain how to do it, but my favourite is still the right click menu as it instils future useful habits. (and potentially bad habits but that's besides the point)

fear the right-click

[ace-brickman.livejournal.com]

because every gorram time you ask that person to click on something ever again....

"right click or left click?"

Re: fear the right-click

[ofstarstuff.livejournal.com]

\"It\'s always left-click inless I say so, sir/ma\'am.\"

I\'ve found out that saying so in a sickly sweet tone works quite well.

[azurelunatic]

I just forced them to *do* it, and then they saw how it worked.

Including, one horrid time, "Put your mouse pointer at the right side of the line. Click down on your mouse button and keep holding it down. Move your mouse pointer to the left side the the line. Did it go all dark blue or some other color? Good. Now let go of the mouse button. Now do you see your 'Control' key, it should have the letters CTRL? Good. Hold that key down and don't let it up. Now push the 'C' key. Good. Now let go of both keys. Now click in (whatever place) so the cursor is blinking there. Now push down the 'Control' key and don't let it up. Now push down your 'V' key. Now let go of both keys."
"OMFG IT JUST WENT IN THERE OMG YOU'RE A GENIUS."
" ... Um, yeah, now moving on..."

After sessions like that (and the never-to-be-forgotten incident when a co-worker had someone who literally did not know what his cursor was) at first I was amazed that someone had survived in this age without knowing that, then awed at how much I knew compared to them, then humbled that I am of only medium technical knowledge and there are many with tech-fu greater (but oh so many with tech-fu far, far less).

[antikythera.livejournal.com]

I guess I could spell it out like that. But when I start trying to do it, they get impatient. No, I'm not being snarky or sickly-sweet, I'm explaining it to them the way I explain anything else they don't know how to do on the computer.

[kenbrody.livejournal.com]

Especially the part where you have to explain that to type Ctrl-C, you need to explain it as two steps. Otherwise, they'll just freak out when all of their text disappears and is replaced by a single "c". (And probably threaten to sue you for wiping out hours of their work.)

Heck, my 4-year-old knows how to get capital letters.

[azurelunatic]

It hurts, and you have to have either the patience of a saint or something you're writing in Notepad to actually make it through.

[mattcaron.livejournal.com]

Then, there is the Unix approach.

BOFH: To copy paste, just highlight to copy and middle click to paste. It mostly works.

User: How do I highlight?

BOFH: Hang on a second....
ssh machine
sudo killall -u username

User: Hey, it logged me out!

BOFH: Hunh, that's odd. Let me check in to that..
ssh authserver
sudo usermod -L username

User: Now it won't let me log in!

BOFH: Funny that. You must have tripped the IQ verification code.

User: IQ verification code?

BOFH: Yeah, it means you're too stupid to use one of my machines.