PC Power Users - Part 4

This is part 4 of a collection of tips for Windows users submitted as part of our Aug. 2000 Content Contest.

more tips.... (Continued from part 3)

• In Internet Explorer's address bar, you can enter a question mark followed by one or more words to search for, which brings up the search sidebar with the word already being searched and the first result being shown in the main window. (e.g., "? astronaut").
•  If that search didn't find what you want, try www.google.com which tends to find a lot more of whatever I'm looking for than the 'built-in' Internet search pages.
• Another program that is becoming more and more a standard for everyday use is Adobe's Acrobat Reader. It's used by many vendors to provide documentation for their products. Check that you have the latest version (v4.05) at www.adobe.com).
•  In MS Word, get into the habit of using Styles, especially for Headings (Heading 1, Heading 2 etc), that way Word can create Table Of Contents from those Headings automatically. If you move the text around then Word will be able to re-create the TOC if you right click on the TOC and choose Update-Field. In fact you should use Styles everywhere in Word if you're creating anything more than a simple letter or fax, that way you can achieve that consistent look (fonts, spacing, indents etc). You can also create your own style(s) if you want to use them in other documents later.
• In MS Word, select File, Properties and put some text in the Author, Title, Subject and Comment fields, as they are displayed by Explorer when you hover the cursor over them briefly, that way you don't need to open them up or use quick-view to see the contents.
• Always use good explanatory long filenames, you aren't restricted to the 8.3 format anymore. So instead of a cryptic filename of REP01WIC.DOC it could be "Fred Smiths Report to Calgary on new ideas.doc". I often include the date in the first part of the filename such as "2000 08 01 blah blah blah.. .XLS" so I know the date written, even though I'm not using the full detail display in Explorer where the date/time does show.
• If using MS Office products on a LAN where other users may want to access each other's docs, make sure you've entered your name etc in the Tools/Options menu, User-Info tab. That way when someone tries to open a file that someone else already has open, then the program will show the user the name of the person already opening it. 
• In Outlook, create folders under Inbox to store and organize your mail once you've initially read it (File, Folder, New Folder). You can drag-and-drop the mail straight into the folder(s) or set up Rules to automatically move or copy or colour mail using the Inbox Assistant or Rules Wizard (depends on your Outlook version but they work the same way). 
• In most Microsoft products you can Right Click on the menu-bar (the one with the File, Edit...Help etc menus on it) to bring up a context list of other toolbars that can be added or removed from the display. e.g., Internet
• Explorer can display a Radio bar. Just select or de-select the options required. 
• TWEAKUI is a good tool to use to customize your system. It's just a program that sets values in the Registry, but in a safe way for inexperienced users. It can be found on the Win98 CDROM at \Tools\Reskit\Powertoy folder. Right Click on the .INF file and choose install. Then it should be available in your Control Panel. 
• Contrary to popular belief you can cut and paste using a DOS box. To use it, click on the top left icon in the DOS box screen and it will show an Edit option there, from there you can choose Cut, Copy and Paste (but NOT use CTRL+C or V or X as in Windows).

About the author: Steve Fairbrother is a freelance programmer of large systems working out of Victoria, BC, and currently doing some remote work for a large aircraft corporation in Seattle. Steve has been in I.T. since 1977, doing a mixture of programming and consulting. Amazingly, he says he's still not fed up with it! Computer skills seem to run in the Fairbrother family as his son Jon (age 16) recently won a TeenTech competition on the 'net (via Ace Computer Camps) and was one of only five teen winners from Canada. He went for 4 days to Seattle, visiting Microsoft and staying at Univ. of Washington and, according to Steve, he loved it all!

Did you enjoy this article? Your feedback is encouraged!

For Further Reading

• See part 1, part 2 and part 3 of this feature for more