ComputerHead



New to the PC, The CRYPTs Computerhead column will give you tips and hints to make the most of your Computing skills. Feel free to post Questions to this Feature.


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Rules for Newbies (New Computer or Internet Users)

Don't open attachments that you didn't ask for, even if you think you know who's sending them.

If something asks to install itself on your computer, just say no. If it's something you really really want, call or email your local computer geek and ask how to proceed.

Sign up for a computer class. It's a proven fact that family members are terrible at teaching the basics.

Do not give out credit card information to anybody through e-mail or an instant messenger, no matter how official it sounds.

Do not eat or drink near your computer system unless your hardware is coffee compatible (most aren't).

CTRL+Z will usually reverse the last thing you did, no matter where you are or what you're doing.

If something doesn't easily fit into one of those plugs in the back, don't force it; chances are, it's not supposed to go in there.

Memory is not the same thing as a hard drive; memory is also known as RAM, which is where programs and open documents are loaded. The hard drive is where your files sit, waiting for you to put them into memory.

Here's a good analogy: your hard drive is your filing cabinet and your desk drawer that's where your files and your tools (like your pen and stapler) are kept. Memory is your desktop when you want to work on a project, you take a file out of the filing cabinet and a tool out of the desk drawer and put it on the desktop. On the computer, you take a program and a file out of the hard drive and put it in memory.

There's more than one way to complete a task. If you ask a question of 10 computer geeks, you will more than likely get 10 different answers and they' ll probably all be right. Don't let this confuse you just keep plugging away and eventually you'll find your own favorite way of doing things.

Don't get mad at the computer when something doesn't work; don't get mad at yourself when something doesn't work. The computer won't always work the way you want it to; what you're trying to do won't always work the way you want it to. That's the nature of the beast.

You're probably not going to get hacked; if you're worried, ask your computer geek how to protect yourself.

Forwarding joke emails is not funny. It may be new to you, but be assured that anyone who's been using the Internet and email for a while has seen that joke at least several times already.

The Internet doesn't always move as fast as you'd like it to. Your computer doesn't always move as fast as you'd like it to. That doesn't mean there's something wrong. Be patient.

Don't respond to special offer emails if you didn't ask for them.

Keep all of your saved files, word processing documents, spreadsheets, emails, pictures, etc. in the My Documents folder. Whenever a program asks you to save something somewhere, save it in there. This way, you'll always know where to look when you're trying to find something.

There's more on your computer than email and Solitaire. Look around, try things you'll be amazed at all you can do!

You won't need to upgrade everything tomorrow; your system will not be obsolete until it can't do something you need it to do.

Your computer can hold mountains of programs, files, emails and whatever else you want to save. You don't need to erase files yet. Remember, you cannot kick off the next world war by pressing the wrong key.

Have fun! If you take this activity too seriously, you won't want to play with the computer too often.





 
Startup Programs Automatically

The desktop can become cluttered with shortcuts to often-used programs that we always open when we turn the computer on. You can have Windows automatically open these for you by placing a shortcut to the program in your startup folder. You'll find the startup folder in the Start button menus. Click the Start button, point to Programs, and then point to Startup. Everything you see in there automatically opens when you turn your computer on. (If you don't recognize everything in there, note that some programs run behind the scenes and you'll never see them)

An easy way to add a program to the Startup is to first place a shortcut to the folder on your desktop this way:

Right click on Start and select Open

Left click on Programs (you may have to double click, depending on your version of Windows)

Point to the Startup folder.

Right click on it and left click Send To from the resulting menu.

Click on Desktop (Create Shortcut).

From now on, when you have a program you want to automatically startup, drag the shortcut to the Startup icon on your desktop. The next time you restart your system, that program will open automatically.





Change Your Windows XP Computer to the Old Windows Look

If you just got a new computer this holiday season and you donāt like the new look of Windows XP, this tip is for you!

You can go back to the Windows Classic Desktop (the one youāre used to if you used 95, 98 or ME) with just a few clicks.

Right-click on your desktop, and then click Properties.

Click the Appearance tab.

On the Windows and Buttons menu, select Windows Classic and click OK.

Now you can feel right at home with the old Windows look.





Do You Use Your Right Mouse Button?


If you don't, you should, it's a great way to discover new shortcuts.

When you right click on an icon, a context menu will pop up filled with actions that you can do with that object. The context menu will be different depending on where you right click.

Go ahead, try right clicking on everything you can see. Even a blank spot on your desktop has a useful context menu when right clicked.






Microsoft Word - Change Case


There is a keyboard shortcut to format typed text into all capitals, lower case, or title case.

1. Highlight the text

2. Hold the shift key down and press F3 (this is a key at the top of your keyboard)

3. Each time you press F3 (while holding down the shift key) the text will cycle through all caps to lower case to title case.






Internet Explorer Keyboard Shortcuts


Here are a few Internet Explorer shortcuts that you may find useful.

- To search for a particular word or phrase on a web page just press CTRL + F to open the Find dialog.

- Hold down the shift key when you click a link to have it open in a new window. If you plan on returning to that page, a new window is faster to open and close than backing up through pages.

- Press the Backspace key on your keyboard to go back a page, or press ALT + the Left Arrow. ALT + the Right Arrow goes forward a page, and ALT + Home take you to your home page.

- Press the Spacebar to move down the page one screen length. Hold the shift key down as you press the Spacebar to jump UP the page. Use the Up and Down Arrows to scroll slower.

- In IE 5.5 and above, in most cases you can just type "domain_Name.com" instead of typing the "www" first. IE knows to search for it on the web. Works for most sites, but a few can't be found without the www ā thatās a problem with that site and not Internet Explorer.

- Press the F11 key to open your browser into full screen mode. This hides all the other stuff that can get in your way of viewing things. Press it again to leave full screen mode.

- CTRL + O opens the dialog to type in a web address. Useful for full screen mode surfers.

- Right-click the tool bar and select Auto-hide. This hides the tool bar for true full screen surfing. To use the hidden tool bar, just move your mouse to the top edge of the screen. Move your mouse away and it disappears again. (Note: You can do this with your taskbar too, by clicking the Start button, pointing to settings, and clicking Taskbar & Start Menu. Then place a check by the Autohide feature and click Apply.)

- Press the F5 key to reload the page. Press F4 & F5 at the same time to have the page reloaded at the page top instead of wherever you had scrolled to.

- Press the Esc key to stop the current page from loading.

- Press CTRL + N to open the current page in a new window.

- All the usual shortcuts work as well. CTRL + P opens the print dialog, CTRL + A highlights everything on the page, CTRL + C copies what you have highlighted.

- To get a drop-down list of recently-visited pages, click F4.

- To highlight (select) the address, click F6. Then just type in the address of the web page you want to go to.






 
Use Two Browser Windows At Once

The ability to use a browser, and understand that multiple browser windows can be opened, can work wonders for you. One example is shopping on the Internet: comparing items and prices at two different websites. Another example, doing research: what does one website say about your topic as opposed to the other website? It's easy to compare information when you call up two web sites with two browsers.

Here's how you can use two or more browsers: Start one browser. Type in an address, and while the page is loading, start up another browser instance. (Each time you click to start your browser is an instance of that browser.) To start another browser, either open it up from the Start button menu, or use the keyboard shortcut, ctrl + n.

Now that you've got your second browser window open, type another address. That second page loads. Now, you can switch between the two pages by clicking on the buttons on the taskbar or by using Alt+Tab or Alt+Esc.

There really is no end to the number of browsers you can have running, but of course, there is a practical limit. All the browser does is request information from a server computer. Once that info is displayed, it just sits there. The browser has done its job; but after you're done with the information, that window, and taskbar button, may just be getting in your way.

When you're done, you may want to close all but one of the open browser windows. Keep one open but move it out of your way by clicking on the minimize button in the top right corner of your screen. This moves the window down to your task bar, where it sits waiting to be opened again by simply clicking on it.






Question & Answers


Question: Somehow I have lost my task bar at the bottom of my screen. It shows up when I am at my desktop though.

Answer:It sounds like your taskbar (that gray area at the bottom of the screen) is either set on auto hide, or it is not set to always be on top. Either way, you can fix it by following these directions:

1. Right click on your taskbar and click Properties.

2. Make sure there is a check mark in front of Always on top (or in XP it will say Keep the taskbar on top of other windows)

3. While you are there, make sure there is no check mark in front of Auto Hide.

4. Click OK and you will be done.

Note: Always on top does NOT mean that the taskbar will appear at the top of the screen; it will be on top of other windows, still at the bottom of the screen.

You can use this feature to add space to your desktop. If you'd like to have a larger area to display program windows, change the taskbar to Auto Hide (follow steps above. When you need the taskbar, point the mouse at the bottom of the screen; the taskbar will display. When the mouse is not at the bottom of the screen, the taskbar will hide behind the active window.






Question: I bought an Audio CD, which I would like to copy to my harddisk, in order to backup the CD, also I want to copy, and convert the Tracks to MP3.

Is  there a way to get around this new Copy Control, so that I can copy the CD, to the hardisk etc. ?

It is important to know that, I will only copy, use  the Audio CD for private purpose.



Answer: You can take a black felt tip pen and go around the outer edge of the CD and that will disable the Copy Control.   However, do not do this with the original CD. Make a copy and try it out on the copy. You need good lighting and a steady hand to put a line through the data track on the CD. Again I would like to emphasise this is for your personal use. ; )






Question: At the bottom of my screen, the task bar is twice the size it should be, as in twice as deep as the Start button and the clock. How can I change it back to the original size?



Answer: It's easy to change the height of your taskbar. You might have to try this a couple of times, but once you get the hang of it, it's pretty simple.

Point your mouse to the top edge of your taskbar until the pointer turns into a vertical double-headed arrow. Hold down the left mouse button and drag up or down. The taskbar will become higher or lower.

If you have quite a few programs open, it can be very helpful to increase the size of your taskbar; you'll then be able to read the text on the buttons for the opened windows. When you're down to only two or three open programs, then decrease the size of the taskbar to give yourself more room on the desktop.






Question: Sorry if this appears a stupid Question, But i am fairly New to Computing. I use Internet Explorer for my Web Browsing, And up to a Month ago everything was fine. However Now when I open Internet Explorer, It opens at a smaller screen, I have to click on the box at the top of the taskbar to ensure I get it to full screen. Not a troublesome thing perhaps, But it is getting annoying, and I can seem to find anyway to re-set it. Please Help!

Answer: Firstly .. No Question is a Stupid Question :). OK your problem is easily solved. Open Internet explorer and set it to full screen (pressing the box as normal). Now Press and hold down the "Ctrl" Key and at the same time close explorer, The next time you open it, It will open at full screen.

Note:- Most applications use this shortcut, So tidy up your working enviroment by re-sizing your various folders, so your screen doesn't become cluttered with large unneccessary wibdows.






Question: My modem make a terrible sceeching sound when I try to log on, So much so that it annoys other family members.I tried the volume controls and that doesn't work. Do you happen to know if this can be done?

Answer: For Windows 95, 98, ME:

There are two ways to adjust the modem speaker volume:

Double click on My Computer, then on Dial up Networking.

Right click on your connection to your Internet Service Provider, and select Properties from the resulting menu.

Make sure the General tab is selected, look for the words Connect Using and click on the Configure button below your modem listing.

In the middle of the general page, you will see the speaker adjustment. Slide the tab all the way to the left to turn the volume off. Click OK

OR

Double click on My Computer, then on Control Panel, and then on Modems.

Make sure the General tab is selected on the top of the page, click on your modem, and then click on the Properties button.

On the modem Properties page, click on the General tab, and look for the speaker volume adjustment. Make sure this one is also in the off position. Click OK.


For Windows XP:

Click on Start, then on Control Panel, and then on Phones and Modems.

Click the Modems tab, click on your modem, and click the Properties button.

Click the Modems tab; drag the slider towards off. Click OK.



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