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@claraj
Last active September 19, 2020 13:28
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How to ask for help by email and get a faster response

Hi all! I'm happy to help you with code by email. To help me troubleshoot, please answer as many questions as possible when you email me.

Asking for help by email - things you should include in your message

  1. What class are you in?
  2. What lab or project are you working on?
  3. What specifically are you trying to do?
  • Example: I'm trying to get the code on slide 42 of Week 9's slides to work
  • Example: I'm working on my final project and I'm trying to get the Save button in the main app window working, it should save the data entered into my database
  1. What's not working? What error messages do you see?
  • Example: when I type the code on slide 42, I get a "Name not found" syntax error in my editor and my code won't compile

  • Example: when I click the Save button, my app crashes with this error (include screenshot or copy and paste entire error message)

  • Check in all the places you may see errors. Depending on your project, this might be a terminal/command line window, errors in your IDE, (web) errors in your browser's developer tools, (Android) errors in Logcat...

  • If you have errors, take a screenshot of the entire error message and include it in your message. Or, copy and paste the entire error message text.

    • Windows: press Windows Key + Shift + S to take a screenshot and copy to your clipboard. Go to your email and press Control + V to paste the screenshot into your email
    • Mac: Press Shift + Control + Command + 4 to take a screenshot and copy to your clipboard. Go to your email and press Command + V to paste the screenshot into your email
  1. Send me your code. A link to your code at GitHub is easiest. If you are not using GitHub then zip your project files and include it.

Alternative - Zoom

Depending on the issue, it may be faster to fix over Zoom. Ask if you want to set up a Zoom meeting or I'll suggest it after seeing what you are working on. You can share you screen with me and tell me what's going on and we can troubleshoot. It's been working really well and it's often much faster than email.

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