Windows Tips

Those of you who have kept up with me over the years know that I'm not a utility junkie. The fewer utilities and installed programs the better for me.

That being said, I admire and cherish great utilities that serve purposes I need. Some of my favorites over the years include Tech Smith's Snag It screen capture tool and Camtasia which I use to create our video tips. I also am never without a desktop tape calculator. My current favorite is the Moffsoft Tape Calculator.

People always ask about the difference between right-click and left-click. The primary difference is that the right-click always brings up a menu called the context menu.

The items on the context menu change depending on where on the screen you click the mouse.

The video explains the importance of the Properties option on the context menu.

One of the first questions tech support people will ask you if you have problems that need solved is what version of Windows you are using and what version of the program you have a question about you are using. Fortunately, finding out the answer takes just a few steps:

Locating your Windows version

1. Click Start
2. RIGHT Click the My Computer icon (or Computer icon)
3. Click Properties
4. The System Properties screen appears telling you not only what version of Windows you are using, but also how much RAM (temporary memory) you have and how fast your computer's processor is. 

or, you can push the Windows key + the Pause/Break key on your keyboard to get the same screen  

Locating the name and version of any program

1. Start any program
2. Click Help from the menus in that program
3. Click About
4. The program's information screen will appear telling you the official name of the program, its version number, and sometimes the programs support web site address and/or phone number.

Use this handy tip to gather important information about your computer before calling for help to save yourself and your computer helper time.

 

Thanks to long time listener and web visitor, Daniel, for suggesting this week's tip. I have been using this technique for more than ten years, but in order to learn it, you really must see it in action. Thus, it was a natural for our Video Tips, which are now almost 18 months old!

For Ubuntu and Windows users, you can quickly switch between open programs by pushing Alt+Tab on your keyboard. Macintosh users have a key called the "Command" key on their keyboards. By holding down the Command+Tab key, Mac users can switch between their open programs.

Why use the keyboard instead of your mouse? Time. I didn't run any official tests, but I'm willing to bet that it takes at least three times longer to look at your task bar or dock (how many of you know what that is?), hunt for the application you need to switch to, then click on that program than it does to use the Alt+Tab or Command(Apple key)+Tab technique.

I know this doesn't make much sense reading it, so click the play button on the video below and watch it in action! I show the Windows technique first, Ubuntu second, and end with the Macintosh tip. All told it's about 2.5 minutes...2.5 minutes that WILL change your computing life. Pass this tip on to ALL of your computer buddies.

Microsoft released the first service pack (major upgrade) to the barely one year old Vista this week. In fact, the Service Pack has been in the works almost since Vista was released last year. You will see and read it being referred to as Vista SP1.

Microsoft missed the mark so badly with Vista that the company had to immediately go back to work in trying to improve an already mediocre release.

Should you upgrade to SP1?

No!   At least don't upgrade for the

All your icons are gone off of your desktop and you can't bring them back.

It's an easy fix:

1. Right-click on your desktop
2. Click Arrange Icons By (or something similar depending on your version of Windows)
3. Click Show Desktop Icons

Wait a few seconds and all of your icons will come back. If they don't you should get a Mac or Ubuntu computer.

While Windows is far from a perfect operating system, it does provide some tools to help deal with its imperfections.

One of the tools you can use to shut down a troublesome program without having to completely restart your system is the Task Manager.

For instance, if a program happens to freeze or stops responding to your mouse clicks or keyboard strokes, try this technique before reaching for the power button:

1. Push Ctrl+Alt+Delete on your keyboard to brink up the Task Manager window (Close Program window in Windows 95, 98, and Me)
• NOTE: Windows Vista users:  Ctrl+Alt+Del will bring up a screen where you have to click the Start Task Manager button before moving to the next step.
  
2. Find and click ONE time on the program that is giving you trouble, then click the End Task button
3. The program should close and disappear from the Task Manager list.
4. If not, wait a few seconds and you should see another window pop-up...click the End Task button again or preat step #2

Using this technique should allow you to return to Windows and continue on with your computing...again, without the need for a full reboot of your system. It doesn't work one hundred percent of the time, but it does work often enough that you will be rebooting your computer less. Watch the short video below to view this technique in action and learn a few other tricks not outlined here:

These techniques should be standard tools for any computer user. However, many computer users find these techniques elusive.

The ability to move (cut) or copy information from one computer program to another sets you free to do so much more with your computer. Cut, Copy and Paste function by temporarily storing the information, cut or copied, into a temporary holding spot of memory known as the clipboard (Click here for the Webopedia definition).

The information held in the clipboard stays there and is available to Paste until either the computer is restarted or another item is cut or copied. Make special note of this fact when using the "Cut" command, because if you cut or copy another item before pasting the first item, the first one is lost.

Before choosing Cut or Copy, the computer needs to know what you want to cut or copy. This is done by using the mouse to

Lately, more than a few people have had trouble with missing file names in the thumbnail view of some of their folders. It isn't entirely apparent why this happens, but fortunately the cure is pretty simple. If you are one of the poor souls who happens to be missing their file names, follow these steps:

1. Open the offending folder to see the thumbnails
2. Click View from the menus (or the view button on the toolbar), and click Details
3. Hold the SHIFT key down on your keyboard and Click View from the menus (or the view button on the toolbar), and click Thumbnails

You should now see thumbnails with file names under them.

I had this question come up during a phone call today, and although I described it the best I could, this is truly a visual tip. Watch the short video tip below to learn how to create a desktop icon that goes directly to a web site. Hint: It's easy to follow and do.