Alternate Program Close
If
you have a window or program running minimized to the Task Bar and want to
close it without maximizing it for others to see, here is how.
Go
to the Task Bar and right click on the window or program
button, then left click on close.
Fun With The Keyboard
From
time to time we get requests for keystroke commands for performing tasks
in Windows for those who prefer these instead of clicking all over the place
with their mouse. Well here are a few to try out. Have fun with the keyboard!
Fun
with the Shift key
Hold down Shift with the following:
When
inserting a CD-ROM, to skip auto-run.
While
holding down Ctrl and dragging to the desktop or to a folder, creates an
instant shortcut. (Of course, you can do the same thing by clicking and
holding the right mouse button, letting go on the desktop, and choosing
"create shortcut.")
Shift+F10:
equivalent of right-click
Shift+Del:
deletes immediately, without removing to Recycle Bin
Shift+Tab:
moves to previous control in the dialog box (Tab alone goes forward, Shift+Tab
backward)
Fun
with the Windows Key
If you have a Microsoft Natural Keyboard (or any other keyboard with a Windows
key, located between the Ctrl and Alt keys), you have access to all kinds
of shortcuts. Hold down the Windows key with the following:
By itself:
brings up the Start Menu
Windows+R:
opens the Run dialog box
Windows+M:
minimize all
Windows+Shift+M:
undo minimize all
Windows+E:
Windows Explorer
Windows+F:
find files or folders
Windows+D:
minimize all open windows and show desktop
Windows+Ctrl+F:
find computer
Windows+Break:
shows System Properties dialog box
Windows+Tab:
cycle through Taskbar buttons
Outlook
Express (e-mail) Keystrokes
When using Outlook Express, here are some keystrokes you can use:
Ctrl+M:
send and receive mail
Ctrl+N:
create new message
Ctrl+R:
reply to an e-mail
Ctrl+P:
to print an e-mail
Ron's Cleaning Tips
Ron has posted
some cleaning tips for your computer, mouse, and printer. Go here
to see them.
Changing Text On Desktop Icons
Here's
how to change the text on your desktop icons to suite your taste. First, right
click on the Icon, then left click on Rename. Type
the text you want, then hit the Enter key to set it.
Turning Off Background Utilities
While
we don't like to see unnecessary programs running in the background, we find
that some people do. At times we talk about shutting down utilities or programs
that are running in the background. For example when installing software, or
updates in Windows 95 & 98, or using Windows 98 Update. Here is a simple
method to temporarily shut them off. Background programs that are running usually
display a small icon in the task tray under the clock in the taskbar. By right
clicking on these icons, a context menu appears. Left click
on exit or quit to shut the program down. Next time you boot into
Windows, the program will be back.
Setting The Taskbar To Auto Hide
The
Taskbar is a great feature of Windows, but can cover the desktop and hide a
portion of open applications. If your Taskbar stays open all the time, here
is how to set it to auto hide when not in use. Right click on a blank
area of the Taskbar. Then left click on Properties to open
the Taskbar Properties box. Check the boxes for Always On Top, and
Auto Hide. Then click OK to apply the change.
Now
the Taskbar will auto hide. When you want it to appear, just bring the mouse
to the edge of the screen where the Taskbar is, and it will pop up over the
top of any open windows. When you move the mouse away, it will once again hide
away. This is great for being able to use the entire screen area without the
Taskbar covering any open applications or open windows.
Setting Up A Joystick Or Gamepad
In order to use an joystick or gamepad in Windows, you need to set it up, so
that Windows will be able to apply the functions for your particular game device.
Click on Start, go to Settings and click on Control
Panel. Next click on Game Controllers.
If
you are replacing an old joystick, remove it by selecting the existing control
and click on Remove, then click Yes. To add the
new device, click on Add, then select the control you want to
install. If not listed, refer to your game controller manual and select the
profile that most closely matches your controller, then click OK to add
it. Next click on Properties, and follow the directions for setting
the configurations for your controller. Click OK to accept and then close
Control Panel.
If
you are adding a USB controller device, they will automatically install in the
Game Controllers properties. You can follow the first set of instructions to
verify installation and operation.
Listening To Music CD's While You Work
If you have music CD's, you can listen to background music while you work on
other tasks at your computer. On the Start menu, locate and click on
CD Player. It is located in Multimedia or Sound Tools on
an ASW system, and in Accessories on other system. Next put in your CD
and click on the play arrow. You can either listen through headphones
or your computer's speakers.
Setting Or Changing Your Screen Saver
Right
click on an empty area of your desktop. Left click on Properties.
This will open the Display Properties box. Click on the Screen
Saver tab. Under Screen Saver, click the selection box, and
a list of available screen savers will appear. Select the one you want, or try
some of the different ones to find one you like. Depending on your configuration
of Windows, you may have a Settings button. Click on it to adjust or
customize your screen saver, and click OK to set it. Click Preview
to see what it will look like in full screen.
I
also recommend setting the Wait time for 15 to 20 minutes. I don't
recommend selecting Password Protected, unless you want to enter
a password each time you return to Windows from screen saver mode. When your
done, click OK to finish and close the display properties box.
File Selection
For those
of you who backup, move, or copy files, you can select multiple files in either
random or consecutive order. This saves time from having to process just one
file at a time. If you want to select a group of consecutive files, just
select the first file, then while holding down the shift key,
select the last file in the group. This will select the entire consecutive group
of files. If
you want to select random files, just hold down the ctlr key while
selecting the files you want. Now you can backup, copy, or move as many files
as you want at once, instead of one at a time.
Icon Arrangement
You can arrange
the Icons on your Desktop any way you want them. To do this, first right
click on an empty area of your Desktop. Select Arrange Icons. If
any choices are checked in this sub-menu, left click on that choice to disable
it. Now arrange your Icons any way you want them, in-line or in groups.. When
your done arranging them, right click again on an empty area of your
Desktop, and left click on Line Up Icons. Windows will line up your Icons
to horizontal and vertical perfection.
Quick Text Edit
In most applications like Works, Word, and others, you can quickly copy, and
delete entries or text. First highlight the text. Position your cursor
ahead of the first character. Hold down the left button and drag the cursor
to the end of the last character. Next, right click on the highlighted text
to display the menu. Left click on your choice of what you would like
to do. You may notice you also have other choices such as text formatting, paragraph
formatting and more. Try it now!
Recycle Bin
When you
delete a file in Windows 95 & 98, the file is sent to the recycle bin so
that if you discovered that you deleted the wrong file, you can restore it to
its original location. To do this, open the recycle bin, right click on the
file you want to restore, and left click on restore.
When
you delete a file to the recycle bin, you may get a dialog box asking if you
really want to do that. This can get annoying after a while, and here's how
to eliminate that box, allowing the file to go straight to the recycle bin.
Right click on the recycle bin icon, and left click on properties. Un-check
the box for Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box. Now when you delete
a file, it will go directly to the recycle bin without asking. Caution, we do
not recommend enabling Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin, because
this will permanently delete files without sending them to the recycle bin.
To
empty the recycle bin, right click on the recycle bin icon, and left click on
Empty Recycle Bin.
Keep Track Of That
Mouse
Windows defaults all mouse pointers to a small size, which at times may be difficult
to see. You can easily re-size the pointer and other mouse selectors. Goto Start,
Settings, Control Panel. In Control Panel, click on Mouse to open
the Mouse Properties Box. Select the pointer you want to change and click on
Browse. This will open a selection of pointers you can choose from. Make
the changes you like, and OK your way out. You can also save various
Scheme's you have made by clicking on Save As and assigning a
reference name, or choose from the pre-formatted mouse scheme's.
Find It Fast
You know
you saved that file, but where is it now? You thought you saved it in your file
storage folder, but it's not there. You could look in every folder trying to
find it, but wait, there is an easy way. Goto Start, Find, Files
and Folders. Here you can type in as much of the file name as you can remember,
or the file extension. Be sure that the Look In box is set to search
all hard drives, and that Include Sub-folders is checked. If it's on
your computer, you will find it using this method.
Windows Maintenance
ASW recommends
periodic use of both ScanDisk and Defrag. Using Defrag at least once a month,
and ScanDisk at least once a week will not only maintain good system speed,
but will help eliminate common system errors. All ASW computers have had both
of these utilities configured for optimal performance, and we do not recommend
making any setting changes. For non ASW computer owners we have included two
screen shots of the recommended ScanDisk settings for best performance. It is
important that ScanDisk and Defrag are done to all hard drives.
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