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Would you like to see the total amount of physical memory on your computer and the amount available now? How about the brand and model of your removable disk drives (floppy drive, CD-ROM, DVD, etc.)? Or perhaps you wish to see the total space on each of your hard drives or
partitions and the space currently available. You can access your system information in more than one way in Windows XP, but here is one method.
1. Click on the Start menu, then "All Programs."
2. When the list of Program shortcuts appears, rest your mouse pointer on "Accessories," then on "System Tools" in the context menu that appears and click on "System Information." It will take several seconds for the System Information window to populate.
Click the plus (+) sign at "Components" to get information on the listed items. Click on any plus sign to expand that group. Click the resulting minus (-) sign to condense the group. The other Group headings will provide information relative to their groups.
When accessing a particular folder repeatedly over a period of time or when working on a project, why go to the trouble of browsing to your folder every time you want to open a file or make changes in the folder? You can create a handy toolbar on your desktop. Let's assume you wish to create a toolbar to My Documents. Here's how.
1. Right-click a blank space on the Taskbar (the blue strip across the bottom of the desktop containing the System Tray on the right end and the Start button on the left).
2. Select "Toolbars" on the popup menu and left-click on "New Toolbar" context menu that appears.
3. In the New Toolbar dialog box click on the plus sign (+) in front of "My Computer" to expand it and navigate to "My Documents" (or any other folder to which you wish the toolbar to point) and click OK.
The toolbar should now be on the Taskbar just to the right of the System Tray. Just click on the chevron (double arrows) and the folder will pop up so you can select the files you wish to open.
If you prefer that the toolbar be located on the large area of the desktop instead of the System Tray, do the following:
Right-click on the toolbar. In the list that appears, note whether or not the item "Lock to the Taskbar" is checked. If it is, uncheck it by clicking on that item. Now you can place your mouse pointer on the toolbar, hold down the left mouse button and drag it to the desktop proper.
How do you get rid of the toolbar when you no longer want it? If you right-click on it there is no Delete option. Use either of these two ways:
1. Right-click on the toolbar you created and select "Close Toolbar." In the "Confirm Toolbar Close" box click OK. OR
2. Right-click on the toolbar you created, rest your mouse pointer on "Toolbars." You will see the name of your toolbar in a list. It will have a checkmark by it. Just click on it to remove the checkmark and your toolbar is gone.
The default for pasting pictures into Microsoft Word is "In line with test." You can change that with Format Picture, but you can also change the default setting.
First, I'll show you how to use Format Picture to cause the image to act the way you want. In Format Picture, on the Layout tab, there are four options under Wrapping Styles. Horizontal alignment has four options also. Click the Advanced button and many additional options are available. All of this is on the Layout tab page of Picture Format. Other tab pages give additional formatting options.
1. To access Picture format, first click on the picture to select it.
2. Now right-click on the image and select "Format Picture" in the menu that appears. Alternatively, from the Format menu you can select "Picture" after you click on the image.
3. In the Format Picture dialog box click on the Layout tab. There you will see the choices, the default being "In line with text" which will lock the image to the left margin. I generally prefer the "Square" option, but that depends on the document type.
When you select any option other than "In line with text" you will be able to select the "Other" alignment and move the picture anywhere you wish. The other tabs also offer many options.
Now let's see how to change the default basic layout position.
1. On Microsoft Word's Tools menu, select "Options."
2. On the Edit tab, under "Picture Editor" be sure "Microsoft Word" appears in the space. If not, click on the little down arrow and select it.
3. In the "Insert/paste pictures as" space, click on the down arrow and select your choice. If you select "Square" for instance,
text will flow around the picture with straight vertical alignment on each side. The default position will automatically be "Other" and you will be able to move the picture anywhere in the document.
4. Click O.K.
Now when you paste an image, you can move the picture without going to Picture Format. That option is still available in case you wish to change the layout or features that are on the other tabs.
I am including this action simply because another article on this page deals with images and there may be a few readers who are new to computers and do not know how to insert an image into a Word document or to resize or move the picture once it is inserted.
Insert an Image Into a Word Document:
Here's how.
1. Click on the location in your document where you wish to insert your picture to place the cursor there.
2. On the Insert menu of Microsoft Word rest your mouse pointer on "Picture" and select the location of the picture you wish to insert. If you wish to insert it from a camera, the camera software must be installed and the camera must be plugged into the computer (probably by a USB port). If from a scanner the scanner must be turned on and the picture in it. If your image is a file, when you select this option an Insert Picture explorer window will open. We will assume this is your choice.
3. In the Insert Picture explorer box navigate to the image you wish to insert and double-click on it or click on the file once and then click on the Insert button. Either action will place the image in your document at the location of the cursor.
Resize the Picture: When the picture is inserted, you may find that it is too large or too small for your purposes. You can easily resize it.
1. Click on the picture to select it. You will see little circles at the corners and midway on each side. These are called handles.
2. Move your mouse pointer over a handle. When you see the two pointed arrow, hold down the left mouse button and drag the handle in or out to reduce or enlarge the size. If you wish to keep the aspect ratio (the height/width ratio) unchanged, use a corner handle to resize. If you only want to change the height or width but do not care about the aspect ratio, use a handle on one of the sides.
Move the Picture: If you cannot move the picture in the following two steps, read the article on this page titled "Can't Move a Picture in Microsoft Word? -- Use Picture Format or Change the Default." Once the layout options allow moving the image, here are the simple two steps:
1. Click on the image to select it. You will see the handles appear at the corners and on each side.
2.Move your mouse pointer onto the picture. When you see the four-pointed arrow, hold down the left mouse button and drag the picture to the desired position in your document.
You may see the four-pointed arrow when the mouse pointer is over the picture without doing step one. If so, just hold down the left button and drag.
Delete a Picture: Sometime you may decide you do not want the picture you inserted into a document. As in the above two items, it only takes two simple steps:
1. Click on the image to select it.
2. Press the Delete key on your keyboard. OR you may right-click on the picture and select "Cut." This option will move the image from your document to the Windows keyboard. You will be able to paste it elsewhere in that or another document.
If you are working on confidential documents, but someone else is going to use your computer, you may want to remove the list of your recent documents from their access. In Windows XP, here is how.
1. Right-click on the Start button and select "Properties."
2. In the Taskbar and Start Menu dialog box that appears select the Start Menu tab. Click on the Customize button.
3. On the Advanced tab of the Customize Start Menu pane that appears, you will see at the bottom an item with a checkbox labeled "List my most recently opened documents." Click the Clear List button. Now when you go to the "My Recent Documents" on the Start Menu it will say "Empty."
If in the future you do not want your recently used documents listed, uncheck the box by "List my most recently opened documents."
The Start Menu item will remain but your opened documents will not be listed in it.
4. Click OK, then OK again.
Internet Explorer7 has provided a search box, normally to the right of the Address bar. In it you can enter your keyword(s) and click the magnifying glass at the right end of the key word space. The search results will appear on a separate web page.
Note the small down arrow at the end of the search box. Click on it and in the drop down menu you will see some options.
The top section of the drop down menu will list the search providers (search engines) currently loaded with a checkmark by the default one. If you wish to search using a provider other than the default one, just click on it.
In the bottom section of that menu you can search for more providers. Click on that option and a list of search providers will appear in a search results web page with instructions for adding them to your list of available ones. There is even a box for adding providers not displayed.
From the drop down menu you can also change the default provider or remove providers from your list of available ones. Just click on "Change Search Defaults." In the Change Search Defaults dialog box that appears, click on (highlight) the driver you wish to be the default one and click the Change Default button. If you wish to remove search providers from the list, highlight those you want to remove and click the Remove button. Click OK.
You will notice a "Find on this Page" option in the middle section of the drop down menu. That can be very handy when you are exploring a number of web pages or sites for a particular item. Just select that option, enter the keyword(s) in the "Find" space and click next. You can also go back to previously located word(s) on the page by clicking the Previous button.
Well, that's about it for this time. Take care and go to church Sunday.
-- Don
Sometimes you may want to edit an e-mail you received to leave only certain information in it. But you may not want to change the name in the "From" line, as would happen if you just forwarded it to yourself. Here's how you can do it:
In Outlook:
1. In your Outlook Inbox, click on the header of the received e-mail to highlight it.
2. Click on the Reply button on the toolbar at the top of the page. (Alternatively, you can right-click on the header and choose "Reply" in the context menu that appears.)
3. In the Reply window, Move the address in the "To" space to the "From" space and enter your e-mail address in the "To" space. Eliminate all of the message in the e-mail you do not wish to keep and enter any instructions you may want to remind you what the e-mail is about.
4. Click on the Send button. The e-mail will come to you with the original "From" column.
You may now move it to any folder you wish by right-clicking on the header and selecting "Move to Folder.".
Outlook Express:
Outlook Express does not provide a "From" space in the Reply or Forward windows. You can forward the e-mail to yourself, editing it as you wish. However, the From space in the received e-mail will indicate it is from you.
Windows Mail:
This tip may also work with Vista's Windows Mail. I have delayed changing to Vista because of a project I am currently in. I expect to have both Vista and XP at my disposal soon.
First, let me define some terms that you can refer back to if you wish.
Flash Drive: A solid-state storage device (SSD) that uses flash memory instead of spinning disks to store data. Flash drives are similar to conventional hard drives in size, and interface and may be used to replace hard drives. Unlike USB flash drives, flash drives physically resemble conventional hard drives in size, shape, and interface. They may serve as a replacement for hard drives. With only electronic circuitry and no moving parts, they can access data much faster than conventional hard drives and are much more resistant to abuse. They also are known for their very low power consumption and low failure rate. Wikipedia says that in February 2007, Adtron announced a record-breaking 160GB laptop-SSD, but by December 2007, 32GB was still the most common capacity on the market.
Flash Memory: Computer memory that can retain the stored information even when not powered. It can be electrically erased and reprogrammed. It offers fast read access times, although not as fast as RAM used in computers for the main memory.
USB Flash Drive: A flash memory data storage device with a USB connector. These devices are generally small and removable and are rewritable. They now are available with a capacity of up to at least 16GB. At this writing, Amazon.com listed a 1GB for $12.94 abd a 16GB for $106.95. Both are new. The most common use for a USB flash drive is to transport and store personal files such as documents, pictures and video. They are also used to transfer data from one computer to another. (Also known as thumb drive, memory stick, flash stick and other names.)
Now, how can you use a USB flash drive (memory stick) for virtual memory to suppliment your Computer's RAM? Do you get those not enough memory error messages when you are working with several, or memory intensive, applications? That's when the paging file (virtual memory) comes in to help. Just do the following:
1. Insert your USB flash drive (memory stick) into the USB port so your computer will recognize it as another drive. I would suggest that this memory stick be dedicated only for virtual memory without cluttering it with working data. You may want to put a label on its housing with the words "Virtual Memory" or other words of your choosing. Other memory sticks may be used for other purposes.
2. Follow the steps in the article titled "Using Paging Files for Memory."
The USB drive (memory stick) will need to be in a USB port to benefit from the page file on it. So, if you have a spare USB port, you may want to leave the memory stick permanently.
If you wish to save an e-mail without the attachments, Open Outlook and do the following:.
1. In your inbox right-click on the header of the e-mail from which you wish to remove attachments.
2. In the context menu that appears, choose "Move to Folder."
3. In the Move to Folder list choose "Drafts."
4. Click on Drafts in your main Folder List to display the message in the message window.
5. Double click on the header of the message.
6. In the window that appears, you will not be able to edit text but if you right-click on an attachment (above the message), a context menu will appear and one of the options will be "Remove." Click on that option and the attachment is gone.
7. Now you can right-click on the File menu at the top of the page and choose "Move to Folder." Just move it back to your Inbox, or any other folder.
This does not work in Outlook Express. It may work in Vista's Windows Mail.
Do you often get the message that there is not enough memory to load a program or document? Or, perhaps the computer slows to a crawl after you have been working for a while. One cause may be insufficient RAM (random access memory). This is the physical memory installed in your computer. Increasing RAM can do wonders. But what if your computer has the maximum amount of RAM installed that it is designed to contain? Even though the amount of available RAM in newer computers has increased tremendously, the newer software also has drastically increased its demand for memory.
Before I continue, let me add that there are many possible reasons for a computer working insufficiently, such as processor speed, insufficient RAM, not enough memory on the graphics card, unneeded or unwanted Start-Up files (as listed in the msconfig utility), fragmented file, and the list goes on. I might suggest that when you buy a new computer try to get the fastest processor and the most memory available for the one you are buying, as well as a graphics card with adequate memory on it. If you plan to expand services on the computer in a way that will mean adding adapter cards inside, you will want to know if empty slots are available. Also, floppy drives (for the 3 1/2" floppy disks) are not included on most new computers. If you want one, you will need to make that known (about $40 additional). Now back to our subject.
Using paging files for memory may be an answer to your memory problems -- also for your computer's memory problems.
The page (or paging) file is simply a portion of your hard drive that is allocated for use as memory. This is called virtual memory. It comes into play when your installed Ram nears its capacity. Because it is on a hard drive, it is much slower than RAM, but its interaction with RAM may speed up your work.
The default amount of virtual memory that Windows installs is about 1 1/2 times the amount of installed RAM. For most users this is probably sufficient, unless you use a number of memory intensive programs or the amount of memory installed is deficient. If you have more than one hard drive, use of the paging file will be faster if you relocate it to a drive that does not contain the operating system. Allocating smaller portions of multiple drives is even better.
Windows locates the paging files on the same drive as the operating system; therefore your system cannot access RAM and virtual memory at the same time. There is delay in switching back and forth. If your system has only one hard drive, you are stuck with the paging file location. You can adjust the amount of your hard drive that is allocated for virtual memory. I will show you how later. But I suggest you add as much RAM as your computer will hold. There is another possibility, a flash drive that plugs into your USB port. I discuss that under the article titled "Flash (Solid State) Drives for Memory & Data."
If you have multiple hard drives, things can be sped up by moving your paging file to another drive. If you have more that two drives, place the paging file on the one least accessed, or break the paging file up and locate it on more than one drive, the more the better -- but not on the one with the operating system. This will speed things up even more. If you have a spare drive you can dedicate entirely to the paging file, that would be ideal. But if you have multiple partitions on a drive, do not place more than one paging file on that hard drive or virtual memory access will slow down. Windows requires that you have a page file with a minimum of 2 MB.
How do you set the amount of memory for a paging file and the drive on which to locate it? For Windows XP, and probably VISTA, follow the instructions below:
1. Open the Control Panel (Start > Control Panel, or on some computers Start > Settings > Control Panel).
2. Double-click on the System icon.
3. On the System Properties page that appears, select the Advanced tab.
4. Click on the Settings button.
5. Select the Advanced tab.
6. Click on the Settings button.
7. In the pane that lists the drives, select (click on) the drive on which you wish to adjust the paging file size.
8. Below the pane you can select the Initial (minimum) Size and the Maximum Size of the paging file. You must have at least 2 MB in the Initial Size. However, you can also make the Initial Size the same as the Maximum Size if you wish. If the sizes are different, the system will expand toward the maximum as needed. If they are the same, the maximum will be reserved for virtual memory, whether needed or not. If you select No Paging File, some aspects of Windows may not work. You can select "System Managed Size" and not set any specific size for the page file.
9. Click Set, then click OK. Click OK on the Performance Options page, and click OK on the System Properties page.
When sending an e-mail, do you open the Address Book, find the contact to which you wish to send the message and then go to the Address Book's file menu, select "New Message "? There are some easier ways. Here is one that works in the current versions of both Outlook and Outlook Express:
1. Open the New Message Window and double-click on the Address Book symbol in front of the line you wish the address to appear.
The address Book will open with the list of contacts in view.
2. In the left pane, click on (highlight) the contact of interest and in the right column click on the "To," "Cc" or "Bcc," according to which line on the New Message window you wish the address to appear.
3. Click OK. Presto! The address appears in its proper place on the New Message window.
System Properties will provide you with basic information about your computer, allow you to make certain changes in the way your computer operates, and do some troubleshooting that may solve problems you are experiencing. I will briefly cover some of these, leading you from tab to tab on the System Properties dialog box.
First, access the System Properties dialog box. A quick way using the Windows keyboard is the Windows key + E (Hold down the Windows key and press E). Instead, you can click on Start and select My Computer from the Start menu. Otherwise you can right-click on Start, choose "Explore" and, near the top of the left column, click on My Computer.
Now that you have accessed the My Computer folder, right-click on the My Computer folder's icon, and then click on "Properties" in the pop-up menu. The System Properties dialog box will open. Let's look at what is available.
General Tab. Basic information about your computer will be visible. This will include your operating system (including version and latest service pack), the person to whom the OS is registered and its serial number. Also shown will be the brand, type, capacity and speed of the computer's processor.
Computer Name Tab. Here a computer description can be entered. On a network this can indicate the purpose and/or the location assigned to the computer. The Network ID button can be used to re-connect you to a network when the Domain or Workgroup name has been changed or corrupted. As indicated on the box, the Change button can be used to change the name and Domain or Workgroup membership of the computer.
Hardware Tab. This is an important tab. When trouble strikes, you may be able to locate it and even fix the problem here. The Device Manager can be useful here. Click on the Device Manager button. The Device Manager window will open. If no trouble is detected in the devices, likely all of the entries will be collapsed with a plus (+) sign in front of each item. Click on the plus sign and the item will be expanded to reveal the devices installed there and a minus (-) sign will replace the plus. Click on the minus sign and the item will be collapsed again.
If a device has a problem or needs your attention, the item will be expanded and one of these images [Images are deleted in the archives of ComputerStuff] (exclamation mark, the problem symbol; handicap icon, disabled symbol or the letter i in a circle, information symbol) will appear by the device name, depending on whether there is a problem, the device is disabled or information is provided concerning it. If there is a problem with the device, the type of problem is displayed. You may also see a problem code and number and a suggested solution.
You can right-click on the device name and select Properties in the context menu. In the dialog box that appears you can install, change or update drivers and make other changes to address the problem you are experiencing. The Driver Signing and Windows Update buttons open boxes that let you choose certain options. The hardware Profiles button let's you set up ways to store hardware configurations. Most home users will not use this.
Advanced Tab. The Settings button allows you to make choices for the appearance and performance of your computer, determine whether you want the computer to use most of its processor time to run programs or background services, if the memory should primarily address programs or the system cache, set the size of your virtual memory and the use of DEP (Data Execution Prevention).
System Restore Tab. Here you can turn System Restore on or off. You can also set the amount of disk space to be available for restoring your computer to its condition at an earlier date. System Restore itself is available at Start> All Programs> Accessories> System Tools> System Restore.
Automatic Updates Tab. The options on this tab allow you to determine how often and when to allow updates, as well as the method for updating.
Remote Tab. Under this tab you can decide whether to allow Remote Assistance (such as tech support) to control your computer upon your invitation and with the Advanced button, you can set the amount of time the invitation is to remain open. You can also determine if other users (such as home to office or other computers) can connect to your computer. With the Select Remote Users button you can enter the remote users permitted to connect. You can remove users and/or add users.
In My Computer you can view detailed information about your computer's hardware and software as well as examine diagnostic information. There are several ways to access it. A simple shortcut can give you immediate access. Just hold down the Windows key and press the letter E.
When the My Computer window opens, you have access to your hard drives, removable drives, external drives, Shared Documents (on a network) and your Documents folder.
In addition to the above, if you right-click on the My Computer folder icon (in the left panel when in the Folders view), the System Properties box will open. If you do not see the folders listed in the left panel, look up on the toolbar and a Folders icon should be visible. Just click it. If you do not see the Folders icon, go to the View menu, rest the mouse arrow on "Explorer Bar" and put a check mark (click) on "Folders."
Look at Item named "System Properties, for Information, Key Settings & Troubleshooting" to discover important uses for these properties.
You can save a lot of space in your e-mail folders if you weed out all of the information that you have no need of or interest in that is contained in your received e-mails. One way, as mentioned in a previous article, is to Reply and edit the e-mail and Send it to yourself. But this destroys the original "From" line information.
A better way to edit received e-mails, that allows you to also edit the headers, such as the Subject line, and keep the original From line information is available in Outlook. Unfortunately, this does not work in Outlook Express. I do not know if it works in Vista's Windows Mail. Here is how I do it:
1. Right-click on the header of the e-mail you wish to edit and select "Move to Folder."
2. In the Move Items box that appears, select the Drafts folder and click OK.
3. Click on the Drafts folder and double-click on the header of the e-mail you moved to the Drafts folder. A window will appear containing the e-mail.
4. Now, you can edit the items above the Message pane, as well as the message itself.
5. On the File menu at the top of the window select "Move to Folder."
6. In the "Move Item to" box, select the folder in which you wish to place the e-mail, or make a new folder and click OK.
That's all there is to it. The process may look involved, just because I have broken it down into 6 steps. However, it really boils down to about 3 simple steps: (1) Move the e-mail to the Drafts folder; (2) double-click on the file's header and edit the e-mail and (3) Move the edited e-mail to the folder in which you wish to store it.
Have you sometimes completed a document but found it ran just a little over on the last page. You would like to pull it in but you do not want to change the margin or line spacing, and you want to keep the current proportions between heading sizes and the body text, etc. Just change the font sizes of all text up or down one or more steps. That is easy to do. Here is how:
1. Hold down the Ctrl key and press the letter A. This selects the entire document.
2. To reduce the size of the fonts and keep the proportions the same, hold down the Ctrl key and press the left bracket key (lower case) once for each size you wish to reduce the font. To enlarge the font, hold down the Ctrl key and press the right bracket key once for each size you wish to increase it.
If you are double spacing between paragraphs and wish to reduce the document's line spaces only a line or two to keep a minute portion from spilling over onto another page you might reduce the size of the space between the paragraphs slightly. This would likely be unnoticeable.
To adjust the space size between paragraphs or below headings when double-spaced do the following:
1. Click on the space you wish to adjust to place the cursor there.
2. Either select another font size in the Font field above the Message window or hold down the Ctrl key and press the [ key (left bracket) to decrease the font one size or the ] key (right bracket) to increase it one size.
With the "Ctrl plus [" shortcut, you can reduce fonts to smaller sizes than using the Font size selection options on the toolbar. You can take it all the way down to size 1 (which you will not be able to distinguish). Font sizes can be used to selectively reduce or enlarge spaces as well as text
Take care
Don
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