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There’s no built-in timer in PowerPoint, but you can create your own using a mix of objects and animations. There’s also a neat add-in you can use if you need a quick solution. Let’s take a look. Create a Custom Countdown Timer You can create a custom countdown timer in PowerPoint by adding to on-screen shapes an exit animation with a set time to complete the animation. You can use one shape if you want, but if you use multiple shapes for the timer, you’ll need to set each animation to begin in order once the last animation is finished....

Frustrated because there’s not a keyboard shortcut for a command you constantly use in a Mac app? You can create one in System Preferences! First, click the Apple icon in the upper-left corner, and then select “System Preferences.” In “System Preferences,” click “Keyboard,” and then click the “Shortcuts” tab. Click “App Shortcuts” in the sidebar. Click the plus sign (+) to add a new shortcut. A new window containing a drop-down menu and two text fields will appear....

Whenever you need to share information between apps on an iPad, you probably just copy and paste it. But few people know you can also drag and drop images and text between apps with your finger. First, you have to open two supported apps in either Split View or Slide Over. We’re using Split View, but it’s just as easy to open two apps in Slide Over. To use Split View, open an app, and then slowly swipe up from the bottom of the screen to open the Dock....

The Android operating system has produced some iconic designs. One of the most notable of the early Android days was the HTC Sense Weather & Clock widget. If you remember this classic widget fondly, you can use it today on your Android smartphone. You won’t need an HTC phone to use these widgets. Third-party developers have recreated the HTC Weather & Clock widget for anyone to use. All you need to do is download them from the Google Play Store....

If you’re looking to host a simple website for free, you aren’t limited to free website makers like Google Sites or Wix. Plenty of cloud providers offer hosting platforms with generous free tiers that allow you to have total control over the content you serve. What Is a “Static” Website? Contrary to how it sounds, a “Static” website doesn’t mean your site needs to look like a 1999 GeoCities page....

Using the Shortcuts app, you can create a simple automation that will instantly set the HomePod mini as the audio output device. Once it’s set up, you can trigger it from the Shortcuts widget, or you can add it directly to your home screen. RELATED: How to Find and Install Third-Party Shortcuts on iPhone and iPad Create the Playback Destination Shortcut for HomePod Let’s get started by creating the shortcut itself....

We’ve all come across that unwanted web page that opens when you click a Google Drive file link. Luckily, with a workaround, you can make a direct download link for your files and bypass that web page. We’ll show you how. Convert a Google Drive File Link to a Direct Download This workaround uses your shared file’s ID in a custom link to enable direct download for your file. You can use this method on all your devices, including Windows, Mac, Linux, Chromebook, iPhone, iPad, and Android....

How the Presenter Coach Helps You with Your Presentations Consider the Presenter Coach in PowerPoint as a trusted friend who listens to you practice performing your presentations. This coach reviews your entire presentation and creates a report detailing your performance. For example, it will grade you on how fast you speak and how much you use filler words like “um” and “ah.” It will also inform you of words you might want to avoid and encourage you not to simply read the words on your slides aloud....

Looking for a particular system setting on Windows 10 but don’t know where to find it? There are several ways to quickly find exactly which setting you need to change. Here’s how. Settings vs. Control Panel: What’s the Difference? Configuring Windows 10 can sometimes feel confusing because it currently includes two different configuration programs: Settings and Control Panel. A version of the Settings app first appeared in Windows 8, and Control Panel is a legacy app left over from earlier versions of Windows....

Make sure you find the unique code on the card, because you’ll need that regardless of which method you choose. RELATED: What Are Google Play Points, and How Do You Use Them? What Can You Buy With a Google Play Card? You can use a Google Play card to buy various items on the Google Play Store. These items include apps, movies, books, subscriptions, and more. Google has a list of region-specific items that can be purchased with these cards....

The iMovie app on Mac has a built-in tool for removing background noise and for increasing the volume. And for a free app that comes with the Mac, it does a very good job. You won’t need to use an online tool or pay for a specialized program. First, you’ll need the iMovie app. If it’s not pre-installed on your Mac, you can download it from the Mac App Store....

OneDrive syncs with your Windows 10 device in order to back up your files to the cloud, but sometimes there can be some issues preventing the sync from working correctly. Resetting OneDrive could potentially fix these issues. What Happens When You Reset OneDrive? OneDrive is great, but it’s not flawless. Though not a common occurrence, you may have to occasionally reset OneDrive one Windows 10 to fix sync issues. But, before you reset OneDrive, it’s good to know what actually happens when you do....

RELATED: How to Find Your Direction of Travel Using Google Maps What to Know When Saving Routes in Google Maps While Google Maps advertises an official “save route” option, as of this writing in December 2021 it’s not available to everyone. So, in this guide, we will use the “pin” option to save your route as a pinned item. When saving routes, know that you can only save driving and public transport routes....

Bear in mind that many devices connect to your Wi-Fi these days. The list will contain laptops, smartphones, tablets, smart TVs, set-top boxes, game consoles, Wi-Fi printers, and more. Use GlassWire Pro to See Who Is Connected (And Get Alerts when a New Device Connects to Your Wi-Fi) We’re big fans of the GlassWire firewall and security system, and one of the great features they have in the Pro version is a quick and easy Network view that shows you all the devices connected to your Wi-Fi network....

You need to send an SMS text message to a friend with a cell phone, but all you have is an iPad. Is it possible to send SMS texts from an iPad? The answer is both no and yes, depending on the situation. Here are your options. First, What Is an SMS Text Message? To understand the iPad’s limitations on sending text messages, we first need to define what an SMS text message is....

Windows has two default actions when you drag and drop a file or folder into a new destination in File Explorer: copy or move, depending on the target. However, there’s a hidden Registry hack that lets you change the default behavior in Windows 10. Windows 10’s Default Behavior By default, Windows copies anything you drag and drop to a directory on a different drive and moves it if you drag and drop it to another folder on the current drive....

Why Spotify May Be Blocked for You There are several reasons why Spotify may be blocked, which fall apart in roughly two categories: first, you could have blocks put up by your school or office, which we’ll call institutional blocks. On the other hand you have regional blocks, which prevent you from accessing certain songs—or even Spotify in its entirety—depending on where you live. Institutional blocks are the simplest to explain: many schools, universities, and employers simply do not like it when people are listening to music when they should be busy working or studying....

git can be configured to push and pull from many locations at once, enabling you to store your code on two different platforms while only maintaining one local copy. Here’s how to set it up. Remotes, Explained The “remote” for a branch is a URL from where your local git repo fetches changes. Your local git repo is entirely yours—it isn’t affected by other people’s code until they push their commits to the remote....

Packet Analysis with Real Bite Wireshark is one of the jewels of the open-source world. It’s a world-class software tool, used by professionals and amateurs alike to investigate and diagnose networking issues. Software developers use it to pinpoint and characterize bugs in communications routines. Security researchers use it to capture and unpick malicious activity on a network. A typical workflow is to run Wireshark in Capture mode, so it records network traffic through one of the network interfaces on the computer....

Watching movies and TV shows with friends and family is great, but it can be hard to do when you’re not together. Disney+ has a feature called “GroupWatch” that makes it easy to watch your favorite Disney titles together, but remotely. This feature works on iPhone, iPad, Android, Roku, Chromecast, and any other place you can watch Disney+. It’s easy to get started and watch something together without actually being together....