by Fadia, Ankit
Recuva Wizard and the Recuva Wizard logo are registered trademarks of Piriform Ltd, used with permission.
Recuva will now search for all available dead files in the folder that you selected. Typically the scan does not take more than a few seconds.
Recuva Wizard and the Recuva Wizard logo are registered trademarks of Piriform Ltd, used with permission.
Once Recuva has found the dead files, it will analyse them to figure out how damaged they are. If the dead files have already been overwritten by new files, it may not be possible to recover them. Otherwise, most of the dead files that are found will be easily recovered.
You need to now select the files you wish to recover from the list of dead files that Recuva finds, and then click on the Recover button.
Recuva Wizard and the Recuva Wizard logo are registered trademarks of Piriform Ltd, used with permission.
Within a few seconds, Recuva will recover the selected dead files, and will allow you to save them anywhere on your computer. It is recommended that after recovering the files, you should save them in a drive other than the place where the original files were located. Once you install Recuva on your computer, you can delete your files fearlessly because you know you can get them back.
Recuva Wizard and the Recuva Wizard logo are registered trademarks of Piriform Ltd, used with permission.
21. How to make life simpler by automating tasks on your mobile phone
< 360 Seconds
Usually, you need to manually give your mobile phone instructions by pressing keys or selecting options on it. Wouldn’t it be great, instead, if you could teach your phone to automatically do things for you whenever certain predefined conditions were fulfilled?
Tasker is a task-automation app that allows you to teach or programme your phone to automatically perform tasks for you when certain conditions are fulfilled. For example, Tasker can be a lifesaver if you want to go to bed early, but want your phone to automatically send a text message birthday greeting to your friend at midnight. It is currently available only for Android phones and can be downloaded for approximately $7 from the Google Play App Store.
Before you start using the Tasker app to transform your Android phone, it is important for you to understand the following terms:
Term
Definition
Action
A function that the Tasker app can perform on your phone. For example, sending an SMS message, switching off Wi-Fi and so on
Task
A collection of actions that can be performed on your phone
Context / Event
The trigger point when reached that leads to the execution of a task
Profile
A collection of tasks that will be executed when it is enabled
Exit Task
A task that is executed when the profile has finished performing its task and the context is no
longer valid
The first time you run Tasker, you need to press the + button to create a new profile for the group of automatic tasks you want to activate on your phone. In this example, I am going to automate a task containing the action of sending a birthday wish via SMS to a friend at the predefined time (context) of 00.00 hrs.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
Enter a name for the new profile and press the Tick button. In this case, I am going to name the profile ‘My First Profile’.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
Tasker will now ask you to choose a Context or Trigger event, which, when fulfilled, will tell your phone to perform the automated task. There are a number of contexts or triggers that can be used in Tasker, and it is highly recommended that you invest some time to get familiar with them. For example, the context can be a particular date or time, the start or exit of a particular app, your GPS location, some hardware or software state of your phone (when you plug in your headphones or dock your phone), or even some event that takes place on your phone (when you receive a phone call or a text message).
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
I want to wish my friend at midnight, so I am going to set the Context/Trigger to the condition that the action is performed at midnight.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
Tasker will now ask you to create a New Task that you want to perform. This task will be automatically executed whenever the trigger condition or context is fulfilled. Press the New Task option and enter a name for the new task and tap the tick button. In this example, I am going to name the task ‘Birthday Message’.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
Now you need to tap the + button to add a new action to the task ‘Birthday Message’. Tasker supports a vast variety of actions that can be performed on your phone. Once again, it is highly recommended that you explore all these possible actions.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
In this example, the action that I want to perform is to send a birthday greeting message to my friend via SMS text message. To select this particular action, I am going to press Phone > Send SMS.
Tasker will now ask you to enter the message body and destination number for the SMS text message you want to send. Press the Tick button to continue.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
At this stage, in case they are required, you can choose to add more actions to your task by pressing the + button. If you do not want to add any other action to this task, simply press the Tick button.
The automated task of sending the birthday message via SMS at the specified time (midnight) has now been set up on your Android phone. You can go to sleep and rest assured your phone will do the rest.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
This was just a simple example of what you can do with the Tasker app. There are many useful automated tasks that you can perform on your Android phone. For example, you can:
1. Start your music player automatically whenever your headphones are connected
Using Tasker, it is possible to automate your Android phone in such a manner that, whenever you plug in your headphones, your phone will automatically launch the music player of your choice.
Context: State > Hardware > Headset Plugged
Action: App > Load App > Choose App of your Choice
2. Switch on the GPS feature whenever navigation apps are started and switch it off on exit
If you keep the GPS feature of your phone switched on all the time, it will end up eating up valuable battery life. If you wish to conserve your battery life, it is a good idea to use Tasker to automatically switch on GPS only when you launch an app that requires GPS to function.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
Context: Application > Choose all the Navigation Apps you want
Action: Misc > GPS > On
Exit Task: Misc > GPS > Off
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
3. Conserve your battery when it becomes low
Whenever your battery is low, it is possible to use Tasker to automatically make certain changes on your phone so that your battery life is conserved.
Context: State > Power > Battery > Choose a battery level of your choice using the slide bars. In this example, I am choosing the range 0–20.
Action: Net > Wi-Fi > Off
Action: Display > Display Brightness > Reduce the level of your choice.
Action: Misc > GPS > Off
Action: Net > Auto-Sync > Off
Action: Net > Mobile Data > Off
Action: Net > Airplane mode > On
> 4. Automatically send an SMS to callers whose calls you miss
If you are busy and cannot answer a call, you use Tasker to automatically send an SMS to any caller whose calls you may have missed, with a predefined message of your choice.
Context: State > Phone > Missed Call
Action: Phone > Send SMS > Press the Variable button > Select the variable ‘Caller Number (In)’, which will be %CNUM in this case > Type the body of the SMS you want to send to the caller.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
Instead of sending an SMS text message to all callers whose calls you have missed, you can configure Tasker to only send the SMS in case of a missed call from a certain number.
Context: State > Phone > Missed Call > Enter the number of caller. Action: Phone > Send SMS > Enter the number of the caller > Type the body of the SMS you want to send to the caller.
5. Turn your phone to silent when it is placed face down
If you are in a meeting, it is possible for you to configure Tasker in such a manner that your mobile phone will automatically turn to silent mode whenever it is placed with its face down. Whenever your phone is kept in the face-up mode, the ringer volume and notification volume will go back to their normal levels.
Context: State > Sensor > Orientation > Face Down
Action: Audio Settings > Ringer Volume > Set it to 0.
Action: Audio Settings > Notification Volume > Set it to 0.
Exit Action: Audio Settings > Ringer Volume > Set it to 5.
Exit Action: Audio Settings > Notification Volume > Set it to 5.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
6. Enable Wi-Fi whenever you are at home
Whenever you reach home, you can configure Tasker to automatically enable Wi-Fi on your phone, so that you can save some money on your data plan.
Context: State > Phone > Cell Near > Click on Scan. Your phone will now scan for mobile towers nearby. Make sure you are at home when you perform the scan. Walk around your house so that all the mobile towers that are nearby get recorded by your mobile phone. Action: Net > WiFi > On
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
7. Execute tasks on your phone by shaking it
It is possible to perform predefined tasks on your phone by simply shaking it. For example, you can configure Tasker to call a predefined number whenever you shake it in a particular manner.
Context: Event > Sensor > Shake > Choose the type of shake. Action: Phone > Call > Enter the number you want to call.
8. Control your phone remotely via SMS
It is possible for you to remotely control your mobile phone by sending an SMS text message to it. For example, you can send a text message to your phone to take a photograph using the camera on your phone.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
Context: Event > Phone > Received Text > Select SMS in the Type Field, type the mobile phone number from where you want to send the SMS command in the Sender field and finally in the Content field type any command of your choice. For example, in this case I am going to type ‘photo’ in the Content field. Action: Media > Take Photo > Enable Discreet if you want to secretly take the photo. Select whatever other options (like file name, flash setting, type of photograph and others) you want related to the photo.
With the Tasker app on your Android phone, you can automate a lot of tasks and let your mobile phone do them for you.
Tasker and the Tasker logo are registered trademarks of Tasker, used with permission.
22. How to create expense reports easily
< 120 Seconds
Have you ever lost money because you lost expense receipts and could not claim the reimbursement from your office? Does your company have strict expense reimbursement policies that you find cumbersome? With the Expensify app on your mobile phone, filing expense reports at work and claiming reimbursement for them become a breeze. No need to scan your receipts to your computer and no need to buy expensive accounting software!
The Expensify app can be accessed via the web at www.expensify.com and downloaded to your smartphone (Android, iOS, BlackBerry, Windows etc.). The interface of Expensify is very clean, uncluttered and intuitive, which makes filing expense reports hassle-free. It allows you to create expense reports directly from your mobile phone while you are on the move.
Once you launch Expensify on your mobile phone, the first step is to create a new expense report. On the bottom of the home screen of the Expensify app, press Reports > New > Enter a report name of your choice. Once you have created a report, you can add as many expense receipts to it as you want. In this example, I am going to create a new expense report called ‘Delhi client meeting’.
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify Inc., used with permission.
The best thing about Expensify is that it allows you to take a photo of your receipts while you are on the move, so that you never lose them. You can then manually enter the important fields like merchant name, price, date, type of expense and other details. To add an expense to a particular expense report, simply tap the (unreported) field and choose the relevant expense from the list.
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify Inc., used with permission.
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify Inc., used with permission.
In this example, I have taken a photo of my bill at Burger Place and added it to the ‘Delhi client meeting’ expense report. Using the SmartScan feature, you can automatically scan a receipt by taking a photo of it using the camera on your phone. This feature is really useful since it saves you the time and hassle of having to manually type the various values from receipts. Instead, let Expensify’s SmartScan feature do it for you. You get ten free scans every month, after which you need to pay 20 cents per scan.
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify, Inc., used with permission.
If you are using your personal car for work purposes and your company is supposed to reimburse your fuel expenses, the Mileage feature in Expensify makes it very easy for you to file your claims. Depending upon what your company requires, you can either create a fuel expense report based on the number of miles (or kilometres) you have travelled, or based on your odometer readings, or even by switching on the GPS feature of your phone and letting it record the distance you have travelled.
If you are a consultant and are paid by the hour, the Time feature in the Expensify app makes it very easy for you to clock your hours and claim reimbursement for them.
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify Inc., used with permission.
Once you have added all the expenses to your expense report, you can submit it to relevant people in your office for processing. Go to the home screen of the Expensify app > Tap on Reports > Tap on the report you wish to submit > Tap on Submit. You will be asked to enter the email addresses to which you want to submit the expense report. Press the Submit button and Expensify will email the expense report for you!
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify Inc., used with permission.
Typically, the expense report that is sent will contain a list of your expenses in tabular format and also the photos of the original receipts as supporting evidence.
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify Inc., used with permission.
For example, below is an email from Expensify containing the expense report I was creating. The expense report contains my expenses in a tabular format.
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify Inc., used with permission.
It also contains the photos of my receipts.
The concerned person at your office has th
e option to approve or reject your expense report with a single mouse click. Once approved, Expensify also allows the reimbursement to be made via a direct bank deposit or PayPal.
Expensify and the Expensify logo are registered trademarks of Expensify Inc., used with permission.
23. How to drive safely with the help of your phone
< 120 Seconds
When we are constantly connected and always communicating with the rest of the world, some of us begin to feel a little uneasy when we can’t do so, for example, while driving a car. Talking on the phone without using a Bluetooth hands-free device is not the safest thing to do, but, unfortunately, it has become a common sight on roads across the world. Reading and replying to text messages or emails while driving are even more dangerous. Not only does it distract you, it also takes one hand away from the steering wheel. Research has revealed that a large number of road accidents occur due to driving while messaging, emailing and chatting on smartphones.
There is a good tool that will make driving safer for you and your family members. DriveSafe.ly is a free mobile app that you can download from http://www.drivesafe.ly. It runs on most popular smartphone platforms like Android, iOS and BlackBerry.
Once installed, you can switch the app on and off as per your convenience. Now, if you receive any email or a text message while driving, DriveSafe.ly will read it out aloud to you in a voice of your choice!