Software & Computers

In this section you'll find practical tips on how you can improve how you can better use computer technology, including the internet, in your business TODAY!

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Article - Basic Tips and Tricks for Windows XP
Article - How to Save Time by Using Cut, Copy & Paste
Resource - Free, Fully Functioning Business Software

Basic Tips and Tricks for Windows XP
by By Darren Joseph

Running Applications in Compatibility Mode With Windows XP, you can run programs as if though they were being run under a different operating system. (This is known as "emulation".) Simply right-click a shortcut, select "Properties" and then check "Run in compatibility mode" and select the operating system you wish to make the program believe it is being run under. This fools or tricks the program into thinking you are really using a previous version of Windows, such as NT, 2000, 98, or 95. This is especially useful for certain games that won't run properly. Be careful *not* to use this with certain system utilities, such as antivirus, defrag, registry, and disk tool applications.

Customizing the Start Menu Right click on the "Start" button and left click "Properties". From here, you can select the new Windows XP style Start Menu, or return to the Windows 2000/Millennium style one. You can also customize the two possible choices using their corresponding "Customize" buttons. This also allows you to turn on or disable cascading menus and other options that are useful, such as large or small icons and more.

Bring Back Those Desktop Icons After you install Windows XP, you probably noticed that some of your icons from previous versions of Windows you've used are missing. Microsoft did this intentionally to help simply and reduce clutter. Of course, for some people, this isn't the best choice or the user preference. So, if you want those icons like "My Computer" and "My Network Places" back, just open Display Properties (right click Desktop Wallpaper, left click "Properties") and click the "Desktop" tab. Click the "Customize Desktop" button and on the "General" tab check the items you want. You can also change the icons used by these desktop items in the same screen. One final tip related to this screen is the "Clean Desktop Now" button, which notifies you of unused icons on the desktop and offers to remove them if you choose.

Give Me My ClearType Windows XP includes a great new visual technology, called "ClearType" which increases horizontal legibility by approximately 300% and it looks great. Go back into "Display Properties" [see tip: "Bring Back Those Desktop Icons" for instructions] and this time, go to the "Appearance" tab. Click "Effects" and for the second drop down box, labeled "Use the following method to smooth edges of screen fonts", select "ClearType". Click OK twice and you're all set.

Lock Computer vs. Welcome Login Screen You must go into Control Panel and open the "User Accounts" applet to change this setting. Click "Change the way users log on or off". For maximum security, uncheck the "Use the Welcome screen" option. This re-enables the use of the "Lock Computer" option from the ALT CTRL DELETE menu, but prevents multiple users from being logged on locally at a single time. This also returns to the Windows 2000 style login screen. If you'd rather have the ability to *not* be able to use "Lock Computer" and would rather allow multiple users to logon to the computer at a single time locally, leave this setting checked and also check "Use Fast User Switching".

www.ICTtutorials.vze.com

Article Source: http://www.ezinearticles.com

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How To Save Time by using Cut, Copy & Paste
by Pencil Dude (c) 2002

Cut, Copy And Paste.

I don't know about you, but I'd be crippled if there wasn't a Cut, Copy and Paste function available in my computer's programs. Copying and pasting allows you to take blocks of text and copy it elsewhere in a document.  If you need to repeat certain information in a letter, for example, then this is a nifty function.  If you don't like the placement of a body of text, you could use the Cut function instead.  You would cut the text and then scroll to the place in your document that is more appropriate for it.  It's certainly a time saver.

Let's take a look at a few ways to use these functions.

How To Copy Text:

• Select and highlight the text with your mouse pointer, that you want to copy;
• Copy the text using one of these methods:

1. Click on the button in your word processor that has an icon of two papers (that's the standard icon for Copy) or;
2. Right mouse button click and select from the fly-out list,  "Copy" or;
3. Use the keyboard sequence, "Ctrl and C".

How To Cut Text:

• Select and highlight the text with your mouse pointer, that you want to cut;
• Cut the text using one of these methods:

1. Click on the button in your word processor that has an icon of a Scissors (that's the standard icon for Cut) or;
2. Right mouse button click and select from the fly-out list,  "Cut" or;
3. Use the keyboard sequence, "Ctrl and X".

How To Paste Text:

• Place your cursor at the location in the document where you  want to paste your text;
• Paste the text using one of these methods:

1. Click on the button in your word processor that has an icon of a Clipboard with a piece of paper (that's the standard icon for Paste) or;
2. Right mouse button click and select from the fly-out list, "Paste" or;
3. Use the keyboard sequence, "Ctrl and V".

There you have it, three methods of quickly copying, cutting and pasting information.  You can also do this with images in your favorite image program. However, be aware that you should be
clearing your clipboard after performing the paste option especially if you're working with large graphics.  One way of clearing your computer's memory of large blocks of information when you're playing with copy and paste, is to simply select and copy a single letter because each new item deletes the previous one.  Voila! You've just cleared the memory of a large block of memory sucking data.

What's the difference between Cut and Copy?

When you copy text or an object such as an image, a copy of that information is placed in a little utility called the Clipboard. This data is now available for you to paste into another document, or even the same document but in a different location.  The data will remain in the Clipboard until you copy something else, at which time the new data replaces the old in the Clipboard.  The exception is if you are using Windows XP, in which case it is possible to retain multiple clipboard items, depending on your Clipbook Viewer's configuration.  (That's what the applications called in XP.)

Cutting text or an object is similar to the copying function with one important difference.   You have just visibly deleted the text or object from the current working page, so it's no longer on the page, but it is loaded into the Clipboard.

How do we know for sure?

The Clipboard Viewer is available for review.  It's location is in the Accessories folder, (on my computer it's Accessories and then System Tools), unless you're using XP, in which case it's hiding in the System32 folder, just off of the Windows folder, (you may want to create a shortcut to it on your desktop if you're using XP).

Open the Clipboard Viewer and you will see that it has a copy of your text or image in it.  If you want the text to remain, just leave it alone and close the Clipboard viewer - the text stays without you even seeing the viewer.

While in Clipboard, if you want to clear the clipboard because you don't need the information in it or because you want to free up memory you can select "Edit, then Delete".  This will clear the clipboard.

So there you have it - no more need to continue to type out portions of text that you already have on your paper.  Want to move that second paragraph to another page, just cut it.  And what if that was a mistake and you want it back to where it was? Simply select "Edit, Undo Editing" from your menu bar BEFORE you do anything else.

Practice these time saving methods and you'll be Cut, Copying and Pasting with ease like a pro.

About the Author:

Pencil Dude is the publisher of the popular e-zine, Pencil Dude's Picks! What's he picked this month? Click on over and take a look:
http://pencildude.com/

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Free Fully Functioning Business Software!

No tricks, no catches - Serif offers versions of their popular software completely free at Free Serif Software:

http://www.freeserifsoftware.com

The packages offered :

• PhotoPlus
• PagePlus
• WebPlus
• DrawPlus
• 3DPlus

These would cover most desktop publishing and web design needs.

Why do they do it? They hope to make you a raving fan and share your opinions with others, making them raving fans and so on. You see, Serif also sell software but, as I said before, there is no catch. 

You can even either download it or receive it all on CD for the price of shipping (at the time of writing, that was $2.95 and available only to the US).

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