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Computer FAQ (Frequently Asked Questions) Q: Can I Arrange My Favorites Folder A: If your Internet Explorer bookmarks are huge, finding things can take almost as long as going to a search engine to find what you're looking for - that is, if you don't have them arranged logically. Arranging your bookmarks into topical folders is the first thing to do, but even those folders become bloated and a pain to use. For my bookmarks, I prefer to keep them in alphabetical order. To arrange them in alphabetical order, click your favorites menu and right click on the drop down menu and choose "Sort by Name" and they will be rearranged into alphabetical order. That will arrange your main favorites menu into alphabetical order with subfolders on top, you'll have to do this inside every subfolder too. The 10 most used favorites should be placed in the "Links" folder. You will notice the Links tab is located to the upper right of your tool bar under the rotating logo. When you click on the little down arrow you will then see your most used favorites. » Bonus Tip! You can do this same trick with your Start button, Programs menu too Q: Can I Stop Programs from Starting Automatically? A: Do you have a program that starts automatically and you wish it didn't? I have had a few from time to time that think they are so important they need to start up as soon as you turn on your computer. Instant Messenger, Real Player, and a few others. There is an easy fix, but before I tell you about it, let me *WARN* you: don't mess with things in here that you don't know anything about or you could mess up your computer! Having said that, go to your Start Button and click the Run command. In the text input box type "msconfig" without the quotes. When the System Configuration Utility opens click the StartUp tab. Uncheck the applications that you don't want to start automatically then click apply. The next time you turn on your computer, the troublesome application won't start. If you miss it, you can always go back and recheck the application. Just don't uncheck things like ScanRegistry and things you don't understand or you may be sorry. Just use it for non-essential things like the ones I mentioned above. Besides stopping that annoying program from starting on boot up, your computer will boot faster and have more memory available. The downside is that the programs you uncheck will take a few seconds longer to start when you do want to use them. Q: Can I Change File Associations (advanced)? A: Sometimes when you install a program it changes your file associations and a file type that opened in one program now opens in another. Usually JPEG files from cameras or scanners. That often isn't the way you'd prefer, so here is how to change what program opens what file type when you click it. In My Computer or Windows Explorer, on the View menu, click Folder Options. Click the File Types tab. Scroll the list of file types and find the one you want to change and click it, then click the Edit button. In Actions, click Open, then click Edit. In Application used to perform action, enter the path to the program you want to use to open files that have this extension, and then click OK. It's usually easier to click the browse button and navigate to the program you want. That also helps avoid making an error in the application path. When you've found it, click the OK button. That's it. Make sure the application you choose is capable of opening that file type. For example, associating a jpg image with Notepad is like trying to unlock your car door with a toothpick. It just isn't going to happen, and we're happening kind of people. Q: Can I Change Mouse Properties? A: Did you know that your mouse probably has a lot of adjustments you can make? Click your Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and double-click the mouse icon. From there you may be able to: Adjust the speed of your double click. Adjust the speed the cursor moves across screen. Set the pointer so when it hits the edge of the screen it comes out on the other side. Set it so your cursor leaves trails when you move it. Change icons. Even set an odometer so you can see how many "feet" that darn mouse has traveled! Now there's a new twist in charging clients for mileage! Depending on your particular mouse and drivers, you may have more options than this, or less; but you'll never know until you check it out. Q: Changing Mouse Pointers? A: If you've ever wanted to change what your mouse pointer looks like, with Windows98 you have several options already built in. Open the Mouse Properties box by clicking the: Start button, point to Settings, click Control Panel. When the Control Panel opens double click the Mouse Icon, then click the Pointers tab. To change all your pointers at one time, click the box under Scheme. To change one pointer at a time, click the pointer type in the large window, then click Browse, and then double-click the file name of the pointer you want to use. Q: How do you print your address book in Excel? A: Several people have asked me how to print out your e-mail address book on one sheet. Here is step by step directions. l. Open excel and minimize it so you will see it on the bottom tool bar. 2. Open your e-mail address book and maximize it (click on the center square in the upper right hand corner. 3. Highlight all addresses (Click on the first address then hold the shift key and click on the last address) 4.Click edit on the top tool bar to drop that window 5. Click on copy 6. Open your excel spread sheet by clicking on it in the bottom tool bar. 7. Place your cursor in top left corner of spreadsheet (Cell a1) 8. Click on edit 9. Click on paste At this point your addresses should all show up on your spreadsheet but the 2nd line of each reads "e-mail address". Here are the steps to remove that line in each address, but do a save first so you won’t lose anything during the next procedure. l. Click on the e-mail address line in the first address to highlight it. 2. Hold the ctrl button down and click on the line that says e-mail address in each of your addresses. This will highlight all of those lines that you want to remove. 3. Click edit 4. Click delete 5. Click entire row 6. Click OK 7. Click anywhere on the page to remove the highlight areas left. I am not sure if this will work on other spreadsheets but it is worth a try. You may even be able to use a word program in place of a spreadsheet. Q: What is a CD burner? A: It is an additional CD looking drawer that is capable of coping another CD, backing up files to it, coping music files from internet sites, etc. Music files can then be played in conventional CD players in your car or at home. It cost around $100-200. Q: How much does RAM cost? A: I recently purchased 256 mgs of RAM for $42.00 at Staples. If you supply the model number they can quote the cost. Working speed should make a big difference. Q: How much RAM memory is adequate for my computer? A: I like to see 64 megs of Ram, heavy users can benefit with 128 megs of RAM. Q: My Desktop icons are all over the place, can I align them? A: I like to keep all my icons to the left, so I leave my pointer in a blank area of the desktop, right click, click on Arrange Icons and then Auto Arrange. This keeps the icons in a neat order. Q: Can I print my Address Book in AOL(6 or 7) to paper? A: Yes you can. Once the Address Book is brought up, you will notice a box that says Print, click on it and print all contacts or selected ones. Q: Are there different ways of scrolling? A: Besides clicking on the arrows, you can drag the gray box and also click in the area to either side of the gray box to get one full screen movement. You can also sometimes use the down and up arrow keys on the keyboard. I prefer to use a mouse with a roller ball between the keys for scrolling. Q: I get tired of the same old colors on my Desktop screen, what can be done? A: Change your desktop theme by: Click Start, point to Settings, click Control Panel, and then double-click Desktop Themes. In the Desktop Themes dialog box, click the theme you want in Themes, and then click OK. If you don't want to use one of the theme's desktop items, like maybe the Recycle bin icon, make sure its check box is clear. Notes You can customize an existing theme by changing different desktop elements. You can also create a new theme by saving your changes to an existing theme and then just save it under a new name.(2/13/01) Q: I cannot make the mouse double click, my finger is too slow, is there something I can do? A: Click on Start, Settings, Control Panel, double click the Mouse Icon and slide the mouse double click speed to the left and test in the box with the jumping jack. Q: I noticed some computer screens have icons down near the Start button. Why? A: Icons on the Task Bar allow you to open software's with one click when the Desktop is not visible. Icons on the desktop can be dragged to the Task Bar and a copy is made there. Q: Sometimes my icons are not aligned or overlapped on the Desktop. How can I fix that? A: Put your pointer in a blank area of the Desktop, right click and click on Arrange Icons, this puts the icons in a straight pattern, like a grid. Q: I have lost my task bar, where did it go? A: You have probably pulled it down by mistake. Keep lowering your pointer until you see a double-headed arrow. When you see the double-headed arrow, hold the left mouse button down and drag up. Q: My computer freezes up once in a while, what should I do? A: Hold down the CTRL+ALT keys and tap the Delete key. Click on End Task button and End Task again. That should stop the conflict. If all else fails, turn your computer off at the button by holding it down for a count of 10. Then turn it back on and let ScanDisk run after a new boot-up. Back Up Early and Often People who don't back up the information on their computers run a far greater risk of losing that information. Amazingly, though, most people still don't take the time to back up their computer. If your hard disk suddenly crashed, there may be no way to retrive the information on the disk. Suddenly, years of accumulated financial and personal data could be lost. What if you get a virus on your computer and it corrupts all your Word files? There goes the novel you had been writing. What if your computer is stolen? There goes everything. There are a variety of companies that provide software that enable you to back up all or part of your hard disk onto a removable medium (a floppy disk, a Zip disk, a tape, or a CD disk) that you can keep separate from your hard disk. As long as you have a current backup of your files, you won't lose more than a day or two of work if something catastrophic does happen to your computer. Once your computer is up and running again, you can reinstall your files from the backup.
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Town of Sutton Massachusetts
