Windows 7 Problem Steps Recorder

I was recently introduced to the Windows 7 Problem Steps Recorder (PSR). Wow, it's a well-hidden nugget of gold in Windows! Have you ever had the task of recording the steps you took in Windows? Perhaps to describe a problem, or maybe to create some user guide documentation, or perhaps to record your activities for audit purposes. Regulated industries such as pharmaceuticals demand that evidence of test execution be collected.

The PSR is a great tool for quickly documenting a series of steps that you take on your PC. Screenshots are automatically captured by the recorder (showing keystrokes and screen clicks) and comments can optionally be added to provide a more detailed description of what is happening. Once the recording is finished, the screenshots and comments are saved to a zip file.

To start the Problem Step Recorder, click the Start menu, then type Problem in the search field; you will see Problem Step Recorder in the results list. Click the Start Record button. It's pretty simple to use, but if you need an overview you can refer to the PSR video on Microsoft Technet; for further help, check the How Do I Use PSR article on the Microsoft web site.

NOTE: New Course in India: Best Practices in SAS Statistical Programming for Regulatory Submission

Having successfully conducted his long-titled course in the USA, Netherlands, and online, my friend Sunil Gupta is considering the possibility of running it in one or two cities in India. While the schedule is not yet finalised, the favoured period for the two-day class is around April end/early May in Bangalore and maybe Hyderabad.

For further details of the course, see the overview of the online version. To register interest in the Indian course(s), email Sunil directly (and tell him NOTE: sent you!).

You might also like to know that Sunil is presenting his "Preparing SAS Programmers for the Pharmaceutical Industry (An Introduction)" course as a pre-conference course at SAS Global Forum (SGF) 2010. There may still be places available.

Pharmaceutical SAS Users Gathering

PhUSE 2009 (Pharmaceutical Users Software Exchange) is just a few short weeks away. The 2009 conference will be held in Basel, Switzerland between the 19th - 21st October, and there are pre-conference training courses being held from 2pm on Sunday 18th October.

The thirteen streams cover everything from applications development and coding standards to data handling and CDISC standards, regulatory and management to tutorials and posters. Registration prices range from £322 to £832.60 depending on whether you attend one day or the whole confernce and whether you're a PhuSE member or not.

PhUSE is an independent non-profit organisation run by volunteers, now in its 5th year. Its purpose is to create a European forum for programmers in the pharmaceutical industry by way of a society that holds several events per year as well as a library of learning tools. Given the support of the major European pharmaceutical companies, PhUSE is the premier event for Pharmaceutical Programmers in Europe and beyond.