Computer Tips

Do you get the most out of your PC?

I believe that you're never to old to learn and never more so is it true then with a computer. One of the many problems with a computer is the number of different ways that it can be used. Hopefully I can help.

Below you will find a raft of tips that should encourage you to utilise the power of your PC. They are divided up into sections - Microsoft Word - Windows Operating System - Internet Explorer - and Email.

Microsoft Office General

After you've installed office check out the extras on the CD. You'll find lots of useful utilities and software patches in the help file.

Microsoft Word

Pressing Ctrl & Backspace at the end of a word deletes the whole word.
Quickly create a new page by pressing Ctrl & Enter.
It is possible to create links within a word document that will allow you to jump from one part of the document to another, just like a web page. You can use a range of links to act as a menu within your document and add more links (menu items) as and when you need them.
Firstly you need to position the cursor where you want the link to link to, Insert a Bookmark at the cursor position, e.g. ‘pos1’, ’pos2’, etc.
Secondly create a menu of items e.g. MenuItem1, MenuItem2, etc. Highlight the first item and Insert – Hyperlink or press Ctrl-K. If you click on browse next to ‘Named location in file’ you should see the list of bookmarks created earlier (you can also type in the name of an uncreated bookmark for later use).
Thirdly copy the links and paste them into the Header Section, this way you will always have the menu available at the top of every page.
Another option for finding your way to a bookmark is to press F5, but you cannot have descriptive text.
Auto-Select a line by positioning the mouse arrow to the left margin along side the line to be selected, click once to select the line, you probably already knew that, but did you know that clicking again will select the paragraph and again will select the page.
You can determine the font and paragraph formatting for a paragraph or character using the What's This feature. Simply select Help/What's This from the menu bar or press [Shift][F1]. When you do, the pointer turns into a question mark. Click on the character or paragraph whose formatting you'd like to identify. Word then displays a pop-up message box summarising the font and paragraph formatting of the text you selected. To close this message box, press [Esc].
To create a quick line right across the page type three underscores in a row with no spaces and press enter. Voila a line.

Windows Operating System

To quickly shutdown/restart etc., press ALT F4 this will take you straight to the shutdown box.
Pressing the shift key when re-starting windows will do just that, re-start windows rather than the computer.
Windows 95 has a very handy program called Windows Messaging, for some odd reason this program is not an option with Windows 98. However, it is available on the Win 98 disk, you can find it in the following location - D:\tools\oldwin95\message\intl\wms.exe (assuming D is the location of the CD drive).
If you find starting up Windows is a bit slow, count the number of icons on the desktop. Then count how many you use. It's tempting to litter the desktop with 'useful' icons but delete the ones you don't need, you'll find it speeds up, if only a little.

Internet Explorer

To make the text on Web pages larger or smaller, click the View menu, and then click Text Size. Press F5 to refresh the screen.
To quickly save a Web page to your Favourites list, press CTRL+D.
You can send a Web page in e-mail by clicking the File menu, pointing to Send, and then clicking Page By Email.
Web pictures and backgrounds make great desktop wallpaper. Just right-click the picture you want, and then click Set as Wallpaper.
To scroll toward the beginning of a document, press the UP ARROW.
To scroll toward the beginning of a document in large increments, press PAGE UP.
To back up to previous pages quickly, you can click the small down arrow to the right of the Back button.
To adjust the amount of hard disk space to use for temporary Internet files, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click Settings.
You can make sure the Web page you are viewing contains the latest information by pressing F5 to refresh it.
Internet Explorer saves you time and keystrokes by finishing frequently typed URLs for you.
To move forward between frames, press CTRL+TAB.
To move back between frames, press SHIFT+CTRL+TAB.
You can type a word in the Address bar and press CTRL+ENTER to automatically add http://www. and .com on either side of the word.
If your e-mail program is Microsoft Outlook or Outlook Express, you can drag an Internet shortcut into an e-mail message.
You can rearrange your Favourites list or menu by dragging and dropping.
To print the current page or active frame, press CTRL+P.
If you want to know which actions you can perform on a favourite link, right-click the link on the Favourites menu.
To print a document, you can drag an Internet shortcut to a printer icon on your desktop.
You can keep your most frequently visited Web pages only a single click away by dragging a shortcut to the page onto the Links bar.
To scroll toward the end of a document, press the DOWN ARROW.
To scroll toward the end of a document in large increments, press PAGE DOWN.
You can type the friendly name of a favourite page in the Address bar, then select the page name in the AutoComplete list that appears.
To display the Links bar, a handy place to keep your favourite Web sites, click the View menu, point to Toolbars, and then click Links.
To quickly print just one frame of a Web page, right-click inside the frame, and then click Print.
You can print a table of all the links associated with a Web page. In the Print dialog box, click Print table of links.
Clicking the Search button displays a search service on the left side of your screen and a Web page on the right.
To move backward or forward within the Search bar, right-click within the Search bar, and then click Back or Forward on the menu that appears.
To search from the Address bar, type go, find, or ? followed by a word or phrase, and then press ENTER.
You can mark favourites or Links bar items for offline reading by right-clicking an item and then clicking Make available offline.
You can specify whether to accept "cookies" on your computer for each security zone. For more information, look up "cookies" in the Help Index.
You can rearrange shortcuts on the Links bar by dragging and dropping them.
To change the colour of links on Web pages, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Colours button.
To open a new Internet Explorer window, press CTRL+N.
You can print all documents that are linked to a specific Web page. In the Print dialog box, click Print all linked documents.
To rename an item on the Favourites list or on the Links bar, right-click the item, and then click Rename.
You can drag your toolbar, Links bar, and Address bar anywhere you want them. You can even combine them to save space.
For more information about Internet Explorer features, click the Help menu and then click Contents and Index.
To see the names of the buttons on the toolbar, click the View menu, point to Toolbars, click Customise, and then click Show Text.
To stop downloading a page, press ESC.
To change your home page to the page you have open, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click Use Current.
To gain space on your hard disk by deleting temporary files, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click Delete Files.
You can add folders to your Favourites list by clicking the Favourites menu and then clicking Organise Favourites.
You can remove a shortcut from your Favourites or Links list or menu by right-clicking it and then clicking Delete.
To turn off the underlines in Web page links, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Advanced tab.
To change a favourite site's offline properties, right-click the item on your Favourites list, and then click Properties.
To screen which Web sites can appear on your computer, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options, click the Content tab, and then click Enable.
You can use Profile Assistant and Microsoft Wallet to store personal information securely.
To go to the next page, press ALT+RIGHT ARROW.
To go to the previous page, press ALT+LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE.
You can see a list of Web sites you have visited recently by clicking the History button on the toolbar.
You can move your cursor into the Address bar by pressing ALT+D.
You can tell if the Web site you're on is secure; a lock icon appears on the status bar. For more information, double-click the icon.
You can add and remove buttons on the toolbar by right-clicking the toolbar and then clicking Customise.
You can save a Web page for offline reading by clicking the File menu and then clicking Save As.
Instead of clicking the Back button, you can press the BACKSPACE key to move back a page.
You can switch between a regular-sized Internet Explorer window and full-screen mode by pressing F11.
To save a page or picture without opening it, right-click the link for the item you want, and then click Save Target As.
You can get e-mail when a Web site changes. First make the site available for reading offline, then change its Download tab properties.
To make Web pages load faster, click the Tools menu, click Internet Options, click the Advanced tab, then turn off sounds and pictures.
When you add a Web page to your Favourites list, you can also make it available to read when you're not connected to the Internet.
To move to the beginning of a document, press the HOME key.
To move to the end of a document, press END.
To see a list of all Internet addresses you have typed during this session, click the small down arrow at the right end of the Address bar.
You can set a different level of security for each Web site. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options, and then click the Security tab.
To search for a word or phrase on a Web page, press CTRL+F to open the Find dialog box.
You can close the current window by pressing CTRL+W.
To display a list of the Internet addresses you have typed in the Address bar, press F4.
In the Address bar, you can quickly move the cursor back between parts of the address by pressing CTRL+LEFT ARROW.
In the Address bar, you can quickly move the cursor forward between parts of the address by pressing CTRL+RIGHT ARROW.
If you use Netscape, you can learn about differences in Internet Explorer by clicking the Help menu and then clicking For Netscape Users.
To go to a new location, press CTRL+O.
You can install more Internet Explorer components by clicking the Tools menu and then clicking Windows Update.
You can quickly put a shortcut to any Web page on your desktop by right-clicking in the page and then clicking Create Shortcut.
To see how any Web page was coded; like this one, right-click in the page, and then click View Source.

Email

If you're working in Excel and have Outlook open, it's very easy to create a task item for that Excel workbook and even set a reminder to do something with it. When you're ready to create a task item, display the Reviewing toolbar in Excel by choosing View/Toolbars/Reviewing, or right-click on any toolbar and choose Reviewing from the shortcut menu. Then click the Create Microsoft Outlook Task button. A new task form is displayed with a shortcut to the open workbook inserted into the form. Then fill in the task form. You can add more explanatory text in the text box beside the workbook shortcut.

The intention is to keep adding to this tips page so please come back again for another look.

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