----- Original Message ----- From: "Spring" <[email protected] Quick Launch Bar: 1. Deleting Icons from the Quick Launch bar! Don't have a use for one of the icons on your Quick Launch toolbar (the group of icons on your Taskbar next to the Start button)? Right-click the unwanted icon and select Delete. (Tip-in-a-tip: If for some reason, you don't see the Quick Launch toolbar, right-click a blank area of the Taskbar, select Toolbars, and select Quick Launch.) 2. Adding Icons to the Quick Launch bar! Just as easily, you can add any file, folder or application shortcut to this toolbar. Locate the item you'd like to add--on the desktop, in the Start menu, wherever. Right-click and drag the item to the desired location on the Quick Launch toolbar, to the left or right of an existing icon (a black, vertical line will appear to let you know it's a legitimate spot). Let go, and that icon joins the Quick Launch ranks. 3. Floating Quick Launch Bars! By default, the Quick Launch toolbar (that group of icons on your Taskbar) sits next to the Start button. But if you've added so many shortcuts to this toolbar that you can't possibly see them all (without making it so big, it monopolizes the entire Taskbar), transform the whole lot of 'em into a floating palette. The result is instant access to all your shortcuts, from anywhere. Click the bar on the left edge of the Quick Launch toolbar, drag it out to a blank area on the desktop, and let go. Presto--it's a palette. Now just resize the palette as you would any window: Hold your mouse pointer over its edge, and when the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag in any direction. Finally, you may wish to ensure that your palette is never out of sight. Right-click its title bar and select Always on Top. 4. Quick Launch bar Back on the Toolbar! Want your toolbar back? It takes a few steps to put your Taskbar back in order. Click and drag the palette down to the Taskbar until it expands to the full width of the screen, then let go. By default, this places the toolbar on the right edge of the Taskbar. To move the toolbar back to its original position (next to the Start button), hold the mouse pointer over the bar's left edge until it changes to a double-pointed arrow. Now click and drag the bar back to a position just to the right of the Start button (the Quick Launch toolbar will jump into place when you do) and let go. Finally, you'll probably need to resize the toolbar that's just to the right of the Quick Launch toolbar (most likely, the one that contains open window items). Hold your mouse pointer over this toolbar's left edge, then click and drag it right until you reach the edge of the Quick Launch toolbar. ~~*~~*~~*~~ Here are a few basic tips if you use Internet Explorer (IE). These notes are written specifically for IE5, but most will apply more or less to other versions. 1. To go into full screen mode, click F11. 2. To get a drop-down list of recently-visited pages, click F4. 3. To highlite (select) the address, click F6. 4. To open a link in a new browser window, hold down Shift as you click the link, or right click the link and select "browse in new window". The advantage of this is that the first page remains open all the time. You can, within reason, have as many new pages opening simultaneously as you like. With Win 95B and 32 Mb RAM memory I can open up to 10 full screen pages at one time before memory starts to run out. It will just get progressively slower. But be warned--once you are out of memory, your computer will simply lock up and you will have to reboot. By default, new windows will open minimized. This saves a little on memory. There is a simple registry edit to force them to open full size. Anyone reasonably familiar with registry editing can email me direct for instructions. 5. To set it the way you want IE to behave, click Tools, then Internet Options. This should open first in the "General" tab: a. If you don't want to waste time going to some pre-selected home page every time the browser opens, select "Use Blank" in the first section. Set the Temporary and History sections as you wish. Click OK. b. Click on "color" button at the bottom. There you can set your own color schemes for underlined links. Click OK if you change anything. Click "Cancel" to return to the previous box. c. You can also set fonts as you wish, but the default is usually satisfactory. d. Leave the other 2 buttons (Language, Accessibility) alone unless you have special reasons otherwise. 6. Then click on the "Advanced" tab at the top. Most of these you may not understand and these can be left on the default settings. Two non-default settings I find useful : a. Tick "Disable script debugging" and untick the "Notify" line immediately below that. This removes those annoying messages that there is a fault in the script of the webpage---who cares? (Unless you are a Webpage designer). b. Go through all items and , with those you understand, set them as you wish. If you get it wrong, you can always click the "restore defaults" button to revert back to the original settings. ~~*~~*~~*~~ Use your keyboard to access the start menu without fumbling around for your mouse. See that little window flying between the Ctrl and Alt keys next to the spacebar ? Press it. And wow! Your start menu opens! ~~*~~*~~ Have you ever wondered what a program's version numbers meant? OK, let's say we have program with a version number of 2.1.3 What does it mean? The first number (2) represents the "major" version number. Normally these are only updated if there has been lots of major changes to a program. The next number (1) represents a minor update. Maybe a feature or two was added to the program, but the overall program remained the same. The third number (3) represents a bug fix. Our example shows that version 2.1 has had 3 bug fixes so far. That's the gist of it. Some programs use letters rather than numbers, especially for minor update and bug fixes. Additionally, it's open to interpretation by the programmer as to whether the current update constitutes a major version change or just a minor enhancement. ~~*~~*~~ ENABLING SOUND RECORDING You have to follow a couple of steps to make sure you can record using a microphone. If you're having trouble making sound recordings, the first thing to check is your Volume Control settings. HOW ? Open Volume Control by double-clicking on the Volume Icon in your System Tray. Under the Mic column, make sure that the Volume is set to a level that's high enough for the sounds to register in your sound program. Also, make sure that the Mute box is not checked in the Mic column. When you've done these things, click X to close the Volume Control window. ( If you cant see the MIC column that means that you need to check the Mic Volume option from OPTIONS/PROPERTIES Menu) ~~*~~*~~*~~ SWITCHING BETWEEN DIFFERENT LANGUAGES ON THE KEYBOARD From the Keyboard control panel, you can designate a keyboard shortcut for switching between languages. Lets say Greek or whatever First, go to Start, Settings, Control Panel and then double-click the Keyboard icon. Click the Language tab and choose either Left-Alt-Shift or Ctrl-Shift to choose a keyboard shortcut for switching between languages. When you're finished, click OK. ~~*~~*~~ CHANGING A FILE ASSOCIATION 2 ways to change which program opens when you double click a file Example (Lets say each time you double click on a JPG To change the application associated with a certain kind of file is to open a folder and go to View, Folder Options, File Types. Find the JPG extension from the list that appears select it then click the CHANGE button And from the change list choose PSP icon and click ok OR Method 2 If you hold down the Shift key while right-clicking on the said file type , you are given an option called Open With. Select this and then choose the program you want to open this particular kind of file with in the future. Check the box that says Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File before clicking OK, and the file association changes. ~~*~~*~~*~~ Let's change the title bar colors -- you know, those long rather blue rectangles that span the tops of your windows. Yea, the ones that show the program that's open. Here's the way, the truth, and some light... 1. Right-click on the desktop. 2. From the pop-up menu, choose Properties. 3. In the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. 4. Find the Item drop-down menu and click it. 5. Choose Active Title Bar. 6. Now to the Right of Item you'll see Size, Color and Color 2 menus. Choose two different colors. In the Preview area above you'll that see the title bar morphs from one color to the other. Pretty wild, eh? If you'd like it on your desktop, click on Apply and then on OK. ~~*~~*~~*~~ A. "Menu Line" The Menu Line is just below the solid colored bar at the top of each screen. Usually, it begins with File, and ends with Help. There is no set menu. Just like the restaurant's menu, this will vary from program to program...from restaurant to restaurant. B. "Button Bar" The Button Bar is a row of buttons that give you one- click access to regularly used items on the menu line. Instead of clicking File, Print... you can click an icon of a printer, and the print dialog will appear. Buttons are used as shortcuts. The Button Bar can be turned on or off in many programs and windows. ~~*~~*~~*~~ Dingbat Font Previewing When you install a new dingbat font, do you open a graphics program and type out each letter to see what all the dingbats look like? Do you wish there was an easy way to view all the font images of dingbat fonts? There is a way, and you already have it installed. Just open the Character Map utility by: 1) Clicking the Start button, 2) Point to Programs 3) Point to Accessories 4) Point to System Tools 5) Click Character Map Next select the dingbat font you want to view. You'll see little tiny images of each dingbat. Click and hold on any of them to view it in a larger preview. ~~*~~*~~*~~ Keyboard Shortcuts: Moving One word to the right Ctrl + <right arrow> One word to the left Ctrl + <left arrow> Start of line Home End of line End Up one screen PageUp Down one screen PageDown Top of Screen Ctrl + PageUp Bottom of Screen Ctrl + PageDown Beginning of Document Ctrl + Home End of Document Ctrl + End + means to press the keys at the same time. For example, 'Ctrl+PageUp' means to hold down the Ctrl key while pressing the PageUp key. Clipboard Copy selection Ctrl + C Cut selection Ctrl + X Paste selection Ctrl + V Undo last of the above Ctrl + Z (general Undo in MS Office) these clipboard functions are very handy in all sorts of places, for example, you can copy a Web address from an email message or document into the 'Address' part of your browser. Almost any place where you might move info from one program to another can be done using these keys. Because of their more global application they are better habits than some equivalent keystrokes (Shift+Delete to cut etc) that are not as widely recognized. Most of these shortcuts are pretty obvious and have an internal logic that becomes apparent once you give them a try. Most have some link between the shortcut letter and the name (Ctrl+C = Copy). But others are less obvious, the clipboard keys seem weird until you realize they are the bottom left four letters on a standard QWERTY keyboard. ~~*~~*~~*~~ The "Send To" menu is a very convenient way to move or copy files by simply right-clicking on the file you want to move. For instance, if you want to save a copy of your file on a floppy disk, you can simply go to that file, right click on it, click on "Send To" and then click on "3 1/2" floppy A:". This would send a copy of your file to a floppy disk in your A: drive. If you want to add items to the "Send To" list, it is quite simple. Let's say that you want a shortcut to your "My Documents" folder in your "Send To" menu. 1. Double Click on "My Computer". 2. Double Click on your "C:" drive. 3. Double click on the "Windows" folder. 4. Double click on the "Send To" folder. If you can't see the "Send To" folder, it is hidden. You can see it by setting the computer to show you all the hidden files. Go to "Tools" then "Folder Options" and click the "View" tab. Click in front of "View hidden files and folders", then click "OK" 5. Make sure you can see the "My Documents" folder on your desktop. If you can't, make the "Send To" window smaller, or move it to one side until you can see the "My Documents" icon. 6. With your RIGHT mouse button, drag the "My Documents" icon from your desktop to the "Send To" window. Release the mouse button and then click on "Create Shortcut here". Now when you right click on a file, "My Documents" will be included in your "Send To" menu. ~~*~~*~~*~