38 COMPUTER TIPS THAT YOU CAN PUT TO USE RIGHT AWAY
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38 COMPUTER TIPS THAT YOU CAN PUT TO USE RIGHT AWAY
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Notes:
Throughout tips, the terms program and application are used
interchangeably.
Wherever the term 'click' appears, use the left mouse button unless the
directions say to use the right button.
Tips 1 and 2 are very basic concepts that are essential to
understanding and using Windows based PCs!
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1. WHAT IS A PATH
Accessing folders and files in a PC is similar to the way you access
files in a filing cabinet.
In a filing cabinet, each drawer holds hanging folders. Within each of
these you can have files as well as manila folders that contain files.
You can't put manila folders inside other manila folders though.
In a PC you have much more flexibility. For example, one folder can
have 10 folders and many files in it. Each of those can have 10 folders
and many files inside it and so on. You can expand the folder within a
folder structure as deep and wide as you want to.
As you navigate through folders to the location of a specific file, you
are following a path.
A path always begins with the hard drive letter and then lists in order
the folders you go through to get to the file. For example,
iexplore.exe is the program that opens and runs the Internet Explorer
browser. This program is found in the 'Internet Explorer' folder which
is in the 'Program Files' folder.
The complete path to iexplore.exe is: C:\program files\internet
explorer\iexplore.exe.
2. HOW TO SELECT FILES, FOLDERS AND TEXT
Selecting files, folders and text is something that is done often with
Windows. Every item must be selected before you can move, copy or
delete it.
To select a file or folder, put your cursor over the item and then
click your mouse. The item is highlighted to indicate you've
successfully selected it.
To select text within a file, hold down the left mouse button and move
(drag) the cursor across the text. Release the button. The selected
text is highlighted.
To unselect an item just move your cursor to a clear area and hit the
left mouse button.
3. USE FIND/SEARCH TO LOCATE FILES
Have you ever saved a file and then wondered where it went when you
went to retrieve it? A useful utility called 'Search' (older Windows
operating systems call it Find) can save the day.
Click 'Start' and look for 'Search' or 'Find'.
If you have 'Find' click it. If you have 'Search', select it, then
click 'For Folders and Files'. In both cases a 'Search' box opens.
Enter the name of the file in the 'Search' box.
Select the drive(s) you want to search in by selecting them in the
'Look in' drop down box.
Click the 'Search button' and all files and folders matching the search
criteria appear on the right side of the Search Window along with each
file's path.
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Tips 4-10 are about using Windows Explorer.
4. USING WINDOWS EXPLORER
Windows Explorer is a utility that has been included with every Windows
OS since Windows 95. It provides a way for you to manage all the
folders and files on your PC.
5. HOW TO OPEN WINDOWS EXPLORER
You can find Windows Explorer by right-clicking 'Start'. Then select
Explore from the list that appears and Windows Explorer opens.
6. VIEWING FOLDERS AND FILES in Windows Explorer
On the left side of Windows Explorer you will see a section called
'folders'. Under folders in Desktop are My Computer, My Network Place,
Recycle Bin and My Documents.
To see the all the folders and files on your PC, click 'My Computer'
and it expands to show a list of the drive resources on your PC.
Typically you will have listed:
3-1/2 inch floppy drive (A:)
hard drive (C:)
CD or DVD (D:)
Control Panel icon.
For the curious among you who may wonder what happened to the B drive,
it used to be assigned to a floppy drive.
In 1981 the IBM PC came out with no hard drive, and up to a maximum of
two 160 Kbyte floppy drives labeled A and B. The operating system ran
from a disk in the A drive. Application programs and user data ran on
the disk in the B drive.
As designers worked on the first PC hard drive they called it 'C', the
next letter in the alphabet. When the hard drive was introduced in the
PC-XT in 1983, it held the operating system as well as application
programs and user data.
Two floppy drives were no longer necessary. The A drive was retained to
load data and programs onto the hard drive, and the B drive was no
longer installed in commercial PCs.
However, the hooks are still in most operating systems to recognize and
use a second floppy drive which if installed will still use drive
letter B.
7. HOW TO MOVE FILES AND FOLDERS in Windows Explorer
Select the file or folder you wish to move, and continue holding down
the left mouse button.
Drag the item until it is over the destination folder.
Release the button and the item is moved.
Note: When you move a folder all folders and files under it are also
moved.
8. COPYING FILES AND FOLDERS in Windows Explorer
Place the cursor over the file or folder you want to copy, and
right-click your mouse.
Select copy from the menu that appears.
Place your cursor over the destination folder and again right-click
your mouse.
Select paste from the menu and the item is copied to the destination
folder.
Note: When you copy a folder all folders and files under it are also
copied.
9. HOW TO ADD A NEW FOLDER in Windows Explorer
Navigate to the folder where you want to add a folder. Select the
folder. The selected folder has an 'open folder' icon. Unselected
folders have 'closed folder' icons. Only one folder can be selected at
a time.
With the folder selected, go to the 'File' command on the menu bar at
the top left of the screen. A drop down menu appears.
Select 'New' and another menu appears. Select 'Folder' and a new folder
icon appears under the selected folder and in the right side view of
Explorer with the name 'new folder' highlighted.
Type the name you want for the new folder and it overwrites the
highlighted text.
Click your mouse or hit the 'enter' key and the new name is stored.
10. HOW TO RENAME A FOLDER in Windows Explorer
Select the folder, then hit the 'F2' key. The name of the folder is
highlighted.
Type the name for the new folder and it overwrites the highlighted
text.
Click your mouse or hit the 'enter' key and the new name is stored.
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11. SAVE YOUR WORK OFTEN
When you are creating/modifying a file make sure to save your work
often. How often? Every time I add a line or two I save it. There are a
couple of ways to do this:
With the file open click the 'Save' icon (looks like a floppy disk) on
the toolbar near the top of screen.
An alternate way is to hold down the 'Alt' key while hitting the 'F'
key then the 'S' key.
Saving your work often is very important because PCs do get hung up and
have to be restarted. If you've done a lot of work without saving it
and the PC hangs up, all your work is lost when you do a reset!
12. RESET OR SHUTDOWN A PC (Windows 98)
To shutdown a PC, you simultaneously press the 'Ctrl-Alt-Delete' keys.
The 'Close Program' window opens.
Click the 'Shutdown' button. Windows closes and the PC shuts down.
An alternate way:
Click the 'Start' button on the task bar.
Select the 'Shutdown' icon and a 'Shutdown' window with a combo box
appears.
Click the arrow on the combo box and a number of options, depending on
the OS, are listed.
Select 'Shutdown' to close Windows and power off the PC.
Select 'Restart' to close Windows, reset the PC and restart Windows.
The PC does not power down.
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Tips 13-17 are about deleting files.
13. HOW TO DELETE FILES
To delete a file or folder, select it and then press the 'Delete' key.
It is a good idea to delete outdated files that you no longer need.
They add up and eventually take up a lot of space on your hard drive.
14. DELETE WINDOWS RECENT FILES (Windows 98)
Windows saves shortcuts to files that you have recently accessed or
created to the 'Recent' folder located at C:\Windows\Recent.
After a while a lot of shortcuts exist. If you don't need these
shortcuts any more, delete them.
15. DELETE WINDOWS TEMPORARY INTERNET FILES
Whenever you access web sites on the Internet, cookies (small
information files) and other files are written to a folder located at
C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files. After a while these files build up
and take up lots of room on your hard drive. Go in and delete these
every so often.
16. WHAT IS THE RECYCLE BIN
The recycle bin can be found in Windows Explorer. A shortcut to the
Recycle Bin is also on the Desktop.
Any time you delete an item (folder, file or icon) it ends up in the
Recycle Bin. It is a special area where deleted items remain until you
restore them or permanently delete them.
Restoring items
Open the Recycle Bin and select the item to be restored with the right
mouse button.
Choose select 'restore' from the menu that appears and the item is
restored to it's original location.
Deleting items
Click 'File' on the menu bar and select 'Empty Recycle Bin' and all the
items are erased. If your sound is on, you will hear what sounds like
paper being crumpled up.
If you only want to delete specific items, select them. Then hit the
'Delete' key.
17. HOW TO BYPASS THE RECYCLE BIN
If you are sure that you do not want an item, you can bypass the
Recycle Bin and permanently delete it.
Select the item you want to delete. Hold the 'Shift' key down and hit
the 'Delete' key. The item bypasses the Recycle Bin and is permanently
deleted.
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18. CLEANING YOUR MOUSE
See the 'Easy Tips' section of the ComputerHelpAtoZ.com for complete
instructions.
19. ADJUST YOUR PC's TIME AND DATE
Double click the time that is displayed at the right hand end of the
taskbar, which is located at the bottom of the Desktop.
The 'Date/Time' window appears. You can adjust the year, month, day,
time and time zone to match your PCs location.
20. USE CUT, COPY AND PASTE TO MAKE FILE EDITING EASY
See the 'Easy Tips' section of the ComputerHelpAtoZ.com for complete
instructions.
21. USE NOTEPAD TO CREATE SIMPLE TEXT FILES
Notepad is a limited word processor that comes with Windows. It allows
you to create simple text documents with black only fonts. You can
search for text strings in a document. All Notepad files have a text
(.txt) file type.
To open Notepad, go to 'Start', then 'Programs' then 'Accessories'.
Single click the Notepad icon and it opens with a blank document.
22. USE WORDPAD TO CREATE SIMPLE WORD DOCUMENTS
Wordpad is a word processor that comes with Windows. It has all the
features of Notepad plus more, like colored fonts, text
alignment/formatting, and support for Word documents (.doc). A ruler is
available to gauge text line lengths.
To open Wordpad, go to 'Start', then 'Programs' then 'Accessories' and
single click the Wordpad Icon. Wordpad is a word processor that comes
with Windows.
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Tips 23-26 show how to change the view of running programs.
23. CONTROL THE VIEWS OF RUNNING PROGRAMS
Every running program is contained in a window on the desktop. In the
upper right corner of each window there are usually three small control
boxes that are used to control how the window is displayed.
24. MINIMIZE A WINDOW
The left most control box has a minus [-] sign in it.
If you put the cursor over this box and click your mouse the
application is 'minimized' and placed on the task bar as a small block.
To expand the minimized program, click it and it expands to become the
active program on your desktop.
25. MAXIMIZE A WINDOW
The control box in the center has a square [ ] in it.
If you put the cursor over this box and click your mouse the
application is 'maximized' and takes up the entire screen.
When maximized this control box changes to show one square in front of
another square. Clicking this control box again restores the window
back to about half size.
26. CLOSE AN ACTIVE WINDOW
The control box on the right has an [x] in it. If you
put the cursor over this box and click your mouse the application
terminates.
To open it again you must click the program icon for it.
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27. HOW TO ADD SHORTCUTS TO THE DESKTOP
A shortcut is an icon on the desktop that you click to open an
application. This saves you from having to navigate the path to the
actual location of the file. It's easy to add a shortcut:
Right-click anywhere on the desktop. A pop-up menu appears. Select
'New', then 'Shortcut' and a 'Create Shortcut' window opens.
Use the 'Browse' button to find the path to the application or program.
Select the icon of the program you want and the path to it appears in
the 'command line' box.
Click 'next' and a 'Select a Title' box appears where you are asked to
enter a name for the shortcut.
Enter a name and then click 'finish'. The new shortcut appears on the
desktop. Drag the shortcut icon to where you want it on the desktop.
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Tips 28-31 show some useful tools found in the Control Panel.
28. USING THE CONTROL PANEL
The Control Panel is utility that lets you configure just about
everything in your PC. To open the Control Panel:
Go to 'Start', then 'Settings'.
Select 'Control Panel' and the Control Panel Window appears on the
desktop with many icons inside it.
29. ADD AND REMOVE INSTALLED PROGRAMS (Windows 98)
Double click the Add/Remove programs icon in the control panel and the
'Add/Remove Programs' window appears.
The top portion of the window allows you to install programs. When you
install programs from a CD or floppy, the installation doesn't open the
'Add/Remove Programs' window and proceeds without it.
Removing Programs:
The bottom portion of the window shows all user installed programs
loaded on the PC and allows you to remove them.
To remove a program, select it and then click the 'Add/Remove' button.
You will be asked again if you want to proceed. Clicking 'yes' removes
all the components of the selected program.
30. SET POWER USAGE OPTIONS
Double click the Power Options icon in the control panel and a window
appears with a number of tabs across the top labeled:
Power Schemes, Alarms, Power Meter, Advanced and Hibernate. There may
be variances in these options depending on which Windows operating
system you have.
Power schemes is very useful, especially if you leave your PC on all
the time. Double click on it to open it.
Two of the selections allow you to automatically turn off your monitor
and hard drive(s) a selectable amount of time since the last keystroke
or mouse movement. This saves your hard drive life by not having it
continuously spin when it is not in use. You also save power by not
having your display on when it is not in use.
To set the amount of time the hard drive runs before shutting down,
select the time you want from the drop down menu next to 'Turn off hard
disks'. The monitor shutdown time is set similarly in the 'Turn off
monitor' drop down box.
The hard drive and monitor wake up when you initiate any activity that
requires them.
31. SET YOUR MODEM'S MAX SPEED
Double click the Modem icon in the control panel. The 'Modem Options'
window appears. Two tabs should appear, 'General' and 'Diagnostics'.
Select the 'General' tab, then select 'Properties'. which opens and has
a 'Maximum Speed' box about half way down.
Open the box and select 115,200, then 'OK'.
If you have a 56kb/s modem this setting won't hurt it, but a setting of
9600 could slow it down.
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32. ADD PROGRAM ICONS TO QUICK LAUNCH TOOLBAR
The Quick Launch toolbar can be opened on the task bar. It is used to
hold the icons of programs you use most frequently. They are always
visible and accessible on the toolbar.
To add a program icon from the desktop to the toolbar, drag it from the
desktop to the end of the task bar near the 'Start' button. A copy of
the program icon appears on the toolbar.
You can also add an icon by copying it to the Quick Launch folder which
is found at:
C:\Windows\Application Data\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch.
33. ADD PROGRAM ICONS TO THE START MENU
When you click 'Start' there is an area above the 'Programs' folder
where you can store program icons that you use fairly often. To add an
icon here:
Click 'Start', then 'Settings', then 'Taskbar and Start Menu'. The
'Taskbar and Start Menu' properties box opens.
Click the 'advanced' tab, then select 'add'. A 'Create Shortcut' window
opens where you select the path to the program icon.
Select the icon and a 'Select Program' folder appears.
Select the 'Start' folder, and a 'Select a Title' Folder appears where
you can rename the icon if you wish.
Click 'Finish' and the icon is added.
34. ADD WEB LINKS TO YOUR FAVORITES LIST
While viewing an Internet web page with your Internet Explorer browser
press 'Alt' and 'D' together, and the link for the page is added to
your favorites list.
If you get a message that says 'Are you sure you want to remove folder
xxxx', it means you favorites window is active.
Click anywhere on the web page itself and try again. The web page link
is stored even if your favorites list is not displayed.
To display your favorites, click the 'Favorites' button on the standard
toolbar and they on the left side of your browser.
35. PROTECT YOUR PC WITH A SURGE PROTECTOR
This is an area that is critical to the continued operation of your PC.
Power surges and lightning strikes can sometimes get coupled onto your
PC through the power or phone line. These surges can damage your PC.
Surge protected power strips have snubber circuits that filter out
these potentially dangerous power line transients.
In addition to AC line protection many surge protectors also have
protected phone line connectors. Use these to protect your PC's modem:
a) Plug a standard telephone cable between the phone wall connector and
the 'In' connector on the surge protector.
b) Use a second cable to connect your modem to the 'Out' connector.
Your modem and PC are now protected from dangerous phone line
transients.
Surge protectors with these features cost around $20 dollars and are
well worth every bit of it!
36. DEFRAGMENT YOUR HARD DRIVE
A heavily fragmented drive can slow down your PC. Running this
maintenance task can help keep your PC running at top speed.
See the 'Easy Tips' section of the ComputerHelpAtoZ.com for complete
instructions.
37. HOW TO CLOSE RUNNING PROGRAMS (Windows 98)
Your PC can get hung up when applications get lost or stalled. With
'Close Program' you can usually identify and close the errant program.
All Windows operating systems beyond Windows 95 have a 'Close Program'
box that lets you see all running programs. To close a running program:
Open 'Close Program' by simultaneously pressing the 'Ctrl-Alt-Delete'
keys. Usually the program that is hung up says (not responding) next to
it.
To close it or any other program, select it and then press the 'End
Task' button.
If the program remains hung up, repeat these two steps until it closes.
In some cases, depending on type of error, it is necessary to reset the
PC.
38. ADJUST TEXT SIZE IN YOUR INTERNET EXPLORER
When viewing web pages in your browser the text size may not be
suitable for you. This is easily changed.
Select 'View' on the menu bar found at the top of the browser. From the
drop-down menu select 'Text Size' and another menu opens.
This menu has five options: largest, larger,medium, smaller and
smallest. One of them is identified as the current option.
Select a size that moves the text size in the direction you desire and
all body text on the current web page is accordingly adjusted.
Text that is explicitly set in the web page may not change size.
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