When a Microsoft Word 2003 document is opened, Word automatically displays it in the default "Reading Layout". This layout is supposed to make the documents easier to view as it repaginates them to better fit your screen. However, many people dislike this feature as it can mess up lists, tables, & long paragraphs.

To disable this feature & open documents in the "Print Layout":

1. Click the "Tools" menu & choose "Options".

2. When the "Options" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, click "General".

3. Uncheck "Allow starting in Reading Layout".

4. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.

Many of us use a desk calculator regularly. For years I've had a calculator on my desk, right next to my computer, for those times I need to do arithmetic quickly.

Nowadays, I just call up the calculator on my computer & use that instead. You can find the MS Windows Calculator under the Start Menu / Accessories. I’ve even created a shortcut on my desktop to access it quickly.

For those of us that like a more customized calculator, you may like to download one of the freeware versions that are available. My favourite is Excalibur32, which is an RPN calculator (like HP’s financial & engineering calculators). It’s a bit of a carryover from my engineering days, but I prefer RPN, where you enter the numbers then perform the function. It makes chain calculations much simpler. You can download Excalibur 32 from www.geocities.com/dbergis/freeware.htm

We've all received emails that were sent in a hurry & with little care. Poor grammar, incorrect spelling & clumsy sentences can confuse the meaning & even give the wrong impression.

A few “tricks of the trade” can help you minimize problems with your emails:

• Briefly proof read everything before you send it. That quick email that you sent in a hurry could be taken the wrong way or come across poorly to the recipient. Something sent with little thought could be “on the record” for a very long time, & even forwarded to a great many people!
• Use a spell & grammar checker. Microsoft Outlook allows you to use Word to edit email messages, along with all its powerful editing features.
• Consider using the AutoText feature. This is one of my favourite features in Outlook, as it allows me to insert commonly used phrases with just a couple of keystrokes. Over time, build up a library of these phrases, & use them as necessary in your emails.

When upgrading a computer, many of us think that a faster CPU is the only way to improve performance! However, adding more RAM (Random Access Memory) to your computer will usually improve its performance markedly.

In simple terms, the RAM is the computers primary workspace. Increasing RAM increases the amount of information the computer can hold in its memory rather than having to refer to further information on the hard drive. Windows XP will easily handle 1 Gb of RAM, & I know of power users running 4 Gb. The more you multi-task, the more significant an improvement you’ll find from additional RAM.

Many of us create a new document, spend considerable time & effort updating it, but only save our work at the very end. A system crash or other computer problem can render our hours of work lost forever.

A simple trick employed by the pro’s is to save your work early & often. As soon as you start, save it to the appropriate folder using a logical file name. If you’re creating multiple drafts, consider using the date at the end, such as 010607. You can separate different versions on the same day by using letters, such as 010607A, & 010607B. Then, when you’ve completed the final draft you can save if without the date & delete all earlier drafts. Remember Murphy’s Law when it comes to saving your data; “If it can go wrong, it probably will!”

When you download files from a scanner, digital camera, or other peripheral device, they often have meaningless names. You can rename several similar files at once with the following procedure.

1. Open the folder containing files that you want to rename.
2. Select the files you want to rename. If the files you want are not adjacent in the file list, press and hold CTRL, and then click each item to select it.
3. Right Click & select Rename.
4. Type the new name, and then press ENTER

All of the files in the series will be named in sequence using the new name you type. To specify a starting number for the series, type the starting number in brackets after the new file name. The files in the series will be numbered in sequence starting with the number you type. For example, if you type Christmas 2006 (1), the other files will be named Christmas 2006 (2), Christmas 2006 (3), and so on

Gone are the days when a computer monitor the size of a large microwave sat on your desk. Today, flat screens are the product of choice. Because they have a much smaller footprint, options become available that we may have never considered before. Extra large monitors (which can be expensive), or even two computer monitors become an option. Windows allows you to stretch your desktop across two, or even three screens, providing you with much more screen real estate. I personally use two monitors, with one positioned in portrait for displaying websites, & the other in landscape for spreadsheets & the like. It can be a tremendous time saver not having to constantly switch between windows!

The internet has become commonplace in our everyday interactions, whether it be for research, shopping, advertising or entertainment. One technology that is exploding is Podcasting. Podcasting is the posting of audio files to the internet. They can be music, messages, lectures - any sound file that you want to share with others. People can download the file to play on their computer, or commonly they play it on their iPod (hence the term Podcast).

To create a Podcast you'll need software that will record the sound, allow it to be edited & export it to an appropriate format. There are a number of options available, but two worth considering are Adobe Audition (available through Microworx at special pricing for charities) & Audacity, which is free, open source software.

Audacity lacks the sofistication & professional features of Audition, but may be fine for your needs. Audacity is available for Sourceforge at http://audacity.sourceforge.net/. A useful guide for using Audacity is available from http://www.geeks.com/techtips/2007/techtips-07Jan07.htm.

If you're considering upgrading to Windows Vista, you can access a couple of websites that will clarify hardware & software compatability issues with Windows Vista.

The first website to checkout is the Microsoft Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor located at http://www.microsoft.com/windows/products/windowsvista/buyorupgrade/upgradeadvisor.mspx. Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor is a downloadable web application that helps Windows XP users identify which edition of Windows Vista meets their needs, whether their PCs are ready for an upgrade to Windows Vista, and which features of Windows Vista will be able to run on their PCs. The end result is a report that explains which edition of Windows Vista to buy and provides suggestions about what, if any, hardware updates may be necessary to install and run the appropriate edition and features of Windows Vista. Running Windows Vista Upgrade Advisor is a great first step for anyone considering whether to install Windows Vista on a PC they already own.

Another free tool is available from CNet at http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3672_7-6671810.html. This service from CNET and System Requirements Lab looks at your computer's hardware and system software, to determine whether or not your current system's components are robust enough to adequately run Microsoft Windows Vista. Each of your computer's components is evaluated against the recommended Vista requirements, and suggestions are provided on how to update or upgrade each component that does not meet the recommended specs.

Hosted Services seems to be a concept that is starting to come to the fore. Rather than purchase the software & hardware outright, you “rent” the service from someone else. In certain circumstances, particularly organizations with small to medium networks, it can be very cost effective.

Hosted services include technologies such as hosted anti-virus & anti-spam as well as hosted Microsoft Exchange (email & collaboration server).

A hosted exchange server, like SureExchange, gives all the collaboration functionality of an exchange server, & is particularly useful for people who travel.

A technology we’ve just started to trial at Microworx is Trend Micro Email Security Services. Rather than run a multi-thousand dollar security solution on your email gateway, you can rent the solution from a company that specializes in IT security. We’ve been using it for 2 weeks & have been very impressed! Spam has reduced from over 80 to about 5, with no false positives. Seventy five percent of our spam was removed by the real time blacklist technology that stops mail from the IP address of known spammers. All the headaches of filtering are dealt with before it even hits your network. For those clients that are looking for a top-shelf solution to dealing with their spam problems, this is certainly one to consider.

Virtualization is a technology that has been around for years, but it's application is now filtering down to the everyday computer user. It is the creation of a virtual, rather than actual, version of something, such as an desktop computer, a server, a storage device or network resources.

By creating a virtual environment we can separate our software from the hardware it resides on. This allows great flexibility in the management, deployment, & recovery of computers.

Some common applications of virtualization are:

Virtual machines can be used to consolidate the workloads of several under-utilized servers to fewer machines.

Virtual machines can be used to run multiple operating systems simultaneously, allowing the use of applications running in entirely different environments.

Virtualization can make tasks such as system migration, backup, and recovery easier and more manageable. Using Virtualization, it is possible to create a standard image that can roll out to PC's across an organization. Policies & permissions can be set & locked down, greatly enhansing security & minimising maintenance from IT technical staff.

Your registry controls many of the basic functions of your computer. It can be a good idea to back-up the registry in case of some catastrophe..

Steps to backup your Registry:

Click 'Start', select 'Run' & type 'Regedit'. Select 'File', 'Export Directory', & save the file to a folder that you currently backup.

In case of major computer failure (from a virus or hardware problem) you’ll have the option of recovering the registry.

Often we may like to know the Filename & Path of a document that we have printed. A common way to do this is to place the filename & path of the document in the document footer.

Go to the ‘View’ Menu & select ‘Headers & Footers’. Click on the footer & place the cursor where you want the filename to go.

From the ‘Insert’ menu, select ‘Field’. In the ‘Field’ dialog box select ‘FileName’ from the field names available, & check ‘Add path to filename’ under the field options.

This technique can also be used to add other useful categories such as ‘Author’, ‘Date’, ‘Page Number’, etc.

Over time, your hard-drive can develop bad sectors which can lead to data corruption & files being lost. The Error Checking utility checks the integrity of the files stored on your hard-drive & repairs the error where possible. Here's how to run the Error Checking utility:

Close all files & folders prior to beginning.

Go to Start, My Computer, Right click the hard-drive that you would like to check. Click Properties from the resulting menu, Click the Tools tab, Select Error Checking & click Check Now. Select Scan for and attempt recovery of bad sectors, then click Start.

If you use Windows XP Professional, you can use the built-in Backup utility to help you make copies of files, settings, or everything on your computer. You can even use the utility to back up certain files on a schedule that you specify. Here's how to start using the Backup utility:

Click Start; select All Programs; select Accessories; System Tools; select Backup.

Run the Backup or Restore Wizard & follow the prompts. Note that you can schedule a regular backup to automate the process. For a step by step guide to usings Windows Backup Utility see http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/using/setup/learnmore/bott_03july14.mspx

If your using Windows XP Home, you'll find that the Backup Utility is not normally installed. You can add it, however, from the original Windows XP Home CD that came with your computer.

Insert the Windows XP Home CD into your drive; on the Welcome to Windows XP screen select Perform Additional Tasks; select Browse this CD; double-click the ValueAdd folder, then Msft, & then Ntbackup; double-click to install the Backup utility.

With the high volume of email most of us receive each day, it's easy for your inbox to get cluttered. An unorganized Inbox can make it difficult to find what important email needs your attention. However, this messy situation can be remedied by applying a few simple procedures.

Sort your email when it arrives.

Actions for email in your Inbox: 1. Do it now 2. Discard / Delete 3. Date activate for future action 4. Delegate

Route mail automatically using mailbox rules.

By creating Outlook rules you can automatically perform actions on incoming and outgoing messages based on the criteria you establish. It can save time and make it easier to organize your e-mail. Consider filing email into sub-folders based on common subject classifications that will help you to find them later. Use them like manilla folders in a filing cabinet.

Reduce unwanted email with a spam filter.

Keep unwanted messages out of your Inbox by using a spam filter. Options include Microsoft's Junk Filter, Spambayes, Mailwasher, & many other programs. Automate the process of filtering the distracting & unwanted emails. Be sure to regularly check your junk email lists for the few legitimate emails that sometimes get captured unintentionally.

Customize Search Folders to find common searches.

Search Folders are virtual folders that offer a view of all your messages stored in the folders of your Inbox. You can find messages based on their content or some other attribute, such as who they're from or whether you want to follow-up.

Use flags & message colours to classify your mail.

Flags & message colours allow you to sort your mail into categories that help to identify the essential from the insignificant. Message colours can be set to automatically be applied to say mail from a particular person. Message flags can be used to track the progress of email correspondence or highlight tasks that need your attention. A useful article on customizing email flags is available at http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA011168451033.aspx.

A common issue for Microsoft Outlook users is an ever growing & unmanageable inbox. Sorting through large numbers of emails can make it difficult to find what you're looking for. Also, if Outlook grows very large the file can become unstable & work poorly or crash.

I've found two techniques particularly useful to managing email. Firstly, sort your inbox into useful categories, rather than one large & daunting folder. I use subfolders such as 'Personal Correspondence', 'Follow-up", 'IT News', 'Slush File', etc. The 'Slush File' is a handy little catch-all folder that takes anything that doesn't fit an important category, but that I may need later. Another trick is to drag the email to the tasks folder where you can assign a time & date for it to be actioned.

Archiving your Outlook folder regularly is another key way to keep your Inbox manageable. Right click on the folder in question, click on properties, then select the tab ÁutoArchive'. You can set individual settings for each folder. Then, all that you need to do is go to the File Menu, select AutoArchive, & then check 'Archive all folders according to their AutoArchive Settings'. Run AutoArchive regularly & you'll keep your inbox trim, taut & terrific.

We're all aware of the importance of regularly backing up our date, but what are the options for small organizations or individuals.

• Copy files to another computer on the network. This will give you a duplicate of important files in case of hardware failure or data corruption (perhaps because of a virus), but will not protect from fire or theft.
• Use a CD or DVD writer. This is a great method to backup data, in particular for archiving purposes. CD's can be read on most computers & they are cheap to purchase. The downside is that the backups can be slow to write.
• Use an external hard-drive. These can be quite cheap to purchase & provide lots of storage. Consider using them along with another method such as CD's to provide an archiving capabiltiy.
• Buy a USB Flash drive. These drives are extremely small & convenient, but only store relatively small amounts of data (usually less than 2Gb). They have the advantage of being very portable so you can easily take them offsite. A viable option if your not needing large backups.

The solution that's best for you may be one of those listed above, or even a combination. Consider regaularly backing up all your files. I'd suggest at the end of every day using an incremental backup utility (see earlier tech tip). Regularly take copies of all your important data offsite in case of fire or theft. And lastly, consider a method such as CD/DVD for creating archives of your data so that you can check on files from a particular date. Remember that a maintaining a regular backup routine can save you from a potential disaster & the loss of thousands of hours of work.

Purchasing your own internet domain name (such as www.microworx.com.au) can be cheaper & simpler than you may expect.

A domain name is the internet equivalent of prime real estate, & is the first step in creating your own web presence. It gives you the ability to create email addresses at your own domain, such as paul@microworx.com.au. By purchasing a web hosting package from one of the many providers, & using a product like Macromedia Studio 8 to design your web pages, you can set up a simple brochure style website relatively inexpensively.

Some domain name registration & web hosting providers (that I'm aware of) are:

• Trinity Digital Solutions: http://www.trinitydigital.com.au/trinityWEB.php
• Australian Church Web Hosting: http://auschurch.com.au/prices.php
• Aust Domains: http://www.austdomains.com.au/
• Christian Web Sites: http://www.christian.net.nz/
• Day3: http://www.day3.com.au
• InfoXchange: http://www.infoxchange.net.au/index.html

In a previous article we discussed how to disable programs that automatically load on start-up using the “MSCONFIG” command (see earlier Tech-Tip). This is often an effective way of improving your computers performance & reliability.

But how do you tell which programs are useful, & which programs are non-essential? A website called Startup Application Knowledge Base has over 6000 programs files listed for you to browse. They list the filename, a rating as to the files usefulness, & then comments describing what the program does. By using this list in conjunction with the MSCONFIG utility, you’ll be able to examine each of your startup programs & choose which ones you want to load automatically.

You can find the Startup Application Knowledge Base at

http://www.windowsstartup.com/wso/browse.php

Viruses & Worms are small but destructive programs that are commonly spread by e-mail. They come in the form of cleverly disguised attachments to messages that trick unsuspecting users into clicking on them. Once installed, viruses infect programs & files and can destroy your data. They can self-replicate across your network & spread by e-mailing themself to people in your address book.

A common internet scam is known as Phishing (yes, it is spelt correctly). Some e-mail messages ask for credit card numbers, network passwords or account numbers. Links in these messages actually take you to websites that, whilst legitimate looking, are in fact run by internet thieves. If you enter your data, you give those thieves the information they need to access your computers or bank accounts.

Security Policy Recommendations:

• Never open suspicious or unexpected email attachments.
• Use extreme caution when responding to messages that ask for passwords or account information. If there is any doubts about the validity of the e-mail, contact the sender by phone and verify the legitimacy of the request.
• In the event a virus-infected attachment is opened, make sure your antivirus software is up-to-date & that you’ve installed security updates for your operating system & other software.

Adaptive menus are a function available in recent editions of Microsoft products. They display only your most commonly used commands in the drop-down menu, while the rest of the commands are hidden from view. It can seem an appealing feature until you start searching the menu system trying to find a command that's been hidden by the intuitive software.

If you'd prefer to turn off adaptive menus, go to the Tools menu / Customize / Options / then check the "Always show the full menus" box.

Broadband Internet has recently become much cheaper & more readily available. For those people who are considering migrating from dialup, or are looking at upgrading their existing broadband internet account, there are a plethora of cost effective options available.

Choosing the best option can be complicated & confusing. However, there are tools available to make your decision easier. A free service called Broadband Choice gives an excellent comparison between the various Internet Service Providers. By entering your telephone number you can get a list of the ISPs which service your area. Then you can compare ISPs to determine the plan that best suits you. Note that many of the cheaper plans have a monthly download limit. Once this limit is reached the broadband connection is shaped (speed restricted to about dialup speeds), or an additional charge is allocated per megabyte. Be aware that the additional charge once your download limit is reached can become very expensive if your not careful.

Consider taking out a fairly short-term contract where possible, as ADSL broadband seems to be getting faster & cheaper all the time.

The URL for Broadband Choice is: http://bc.whirlpool.net.au/

A good firewall should be protecting your computer from hackers & automated programs that are looking for computers with vulnerabilites. These vulnerabilites are open ports that act as doorways allowing unwanted intruders access to your computer system. You can test how effective your firewall is by visiting www.grc.com & running a free ultility caled Shields Up! It will provide information on what ports are open & how to fix firewall breaches. Note that it is not essential to get a completely stealthed PC providing that all the ports are closed.

https://www.grc.com/x/ne.dll?bh0bkyd2

A "Certificate of Authenticity" (COA) is a label to help you identify genuine Microsoft software. For preinstalled Windows operating systems, the COA label should be affixed to the PC chassis and should not be removed from the PC. The COA label also includes the Product Key needed in the event the operating system needs to be reinstalled. When the Windows is purchased separately from the PC the COA will be glued to the top of the product box.

Genuine Microsoft software comes with an Edge-to-Edge Hologram CD. An Edge-to-Edge Hologram CD features a three-dimensional holographic image over the entire surface of the CD. This holographic image is part of the CD itself, rather than a sticker on the CD's surface.

One of the many benefits of owning genuine Microsoft software is gaining access to Microsoft Windows Updates. Below is a link to help you determine whether your version of Windows is genuine.

http://www.microsoft.com/resources/howtotell/ww/windows/default.msp

Strong passwords are usually at least eight characters, include a combination of letters, numbers, & symbols and is easy for you to remember, but difficult for others to guess.  The easiest way to create a strong password that you won't have to write down is to come up with a passphrase.  A passphrase is a sentence that you can remember, like "My daughters have two Guinea Pigs called Sunshine and Moonlight."  You can make a pretty strong password by using the first letter of each word of the sentence.  For example, mdhtgpcsam.  However, you can make this password even stronger by using a combination of upper and lowercase letters, numbers, and special characters that look like letters, to produce; Mdh2GPc$&M.

The safest password technique is to create a new, strong password for every Web site or login that requests one.  This is almost as impractical as remembering a long string of random characters.  An easier solution is to create a handful of strong passwords and use those at sites you want to keep most secure, such as bank or bill paying websites.  Then create another small set of easier to remember passwords that you can use everywhere else.

Many of us have filing cabinets full of paper we’d either rather not have to store, or experienced times when we’re unable to find a particular document when we want it.  What are some of the ways that we can save paper & reduce the clutter in our lives?

Saving documents electronically can be a great solution.  However, we need to make sure that we can still open them at some unspecified future date.  Most of the Microsoft products such as Word or Excel, are fairly “industry standard” & create files that can usually be opened by later versions. 

Another option, if you have Microsoft Office, is to use a printer driver called Microsoft Office Document Image Writer. Instead of printing to a printer using the File / Print menu, it prints to an image file in the .MDI format.

However, the most elegant solution is to archive your information using pdf (portable document format).  It has become industry standard for archiving & distributing electronic documents, it has a reader that is widely distributed for free & it is likely to be around for many years to come.  There are a number of pdf creation tools available, some even for free, that vary in ease of use, functionality, & quality of output.  Two of the most popular pdf creation tools are Macromedia Contribute (available at discount pricing), & Adobe Acrobat (the creators of the pdf format).

Various computer surveys have estimated that the majority of computer users have become infected by Spyware or Adware.  The programs can range from unwanted pop-up-ads to key-stroke loggers that can transmit sensitive information such as passwords.  You can become infected by downloading software from certain websites, or even by visiting particular URL’s.

There are a number of programs that will protect you & remove adware from your computer, some of which are free.  The general consensus is that it is safest to install a couple of programs & run them all for maximum protection.

Some antiadware programs are listed below:

Microsoft AntiSpyware Beta is available for free at http://www.microsoft.com/athome/security/spyware/software/default.mspx

SpyBot is available for free (voluntary donation) at http://www.safer-networking.org/en/download/

Webroot SpyAudit http://www.webroot.com/services/spyaudit_03.htm?WRSID=36248217d5d21e70187629e55accf0a7

SpyBlaster is freeware & available at http://www.javacoolsoftware.com/spywareblaster.html

IE-SPYAD is a list of websites that are known to do things like install adware.  It is available at https://netfiles.uiuc.edu/ehowes/www/resource.htm

Lavasoft’s free version of Adaware is available at http://www.download.com/Ad-Aware-SE-Personal-Edition/3000-8022_4-10045910.html?part=dl-ad-aware&subj=dl&tag=top5

Microsoft Outlook will let you setup appointments with nothing more than Outlook and an email account.  All you need to do in create an appointment in the “Calendar” section of Outlook, then click “Invite Attendees” to select who you wish to email the invitation to.  The invited attendees can respond simply by clicking a button, to “accept, decline, tentative or propose new time”. 

Lookout is a FREE utility for searching Microsoft Outlook, available at http://www.microsoft.com/downloads/details.aspx?familyid=09b835ee-16e5-4961-91b8-2200ba31ea37&displaylang=en

It operates entirely within Outlook, adding a toolbar to your Outlook views. Lookout has the option to fine-tune the indexing (including an option to totally rebuild the index after a set number of days) as well as a word stemming option (so a search for house will also return houses and housing).

Search results appear in a separate normal Windows dialog box with one line for each result. If you hover your mouse over a line there's a tooltip that shows more details. The column headings can be clicked on to re-sort the results and the 'Restrict to ' option lets you quickly narrow down the search by date, location or whatever else you like.

If you find that your digital photos are too large to email, then consider downloading the FREE Image Resizer from the Microsoft PowerToys for Windows XP webpage. http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/downloads/powertoys/xppowertoys.mspx

Once you’ve installed Image Resizer, simply right click on the image files you wish to resize. The Resize Pictures option will appear from the context menu. The wizard lets you choose Small, Medium & Large sizes, as well as a Custom option under the advanced menu.  With practice, you’ll be able to determine what screen size corresponds to an appropriate file size that is suitable for emailing.

Sometimes we get asked the question, “How could I have got a virus when I have antivirus protection installed?”  Most people have taken the precaution of installing antivirus software, or perhaps had it preinstalled when they purchased their computer.  A common problem, however, is that they may not have kept the product up-to-date, or perhaps their operating system & browser have not had the latest "patches" installed.  Also, new viruses are appearing all the time, & may infect some computers before a "fix" is written for them.  To be effective, antivirus software should be updated regularly.  Personally, we like to set our antivirus to automatically check for updates as frequently as possible, which are 3 hourly in our case. 

One particular danger with out-of-date antivirus is that it lulls you into a false sense of security.  Your antivirus vendor is constantly posting updates as new threats become known.  Download and install the latest update when it becomes available, then regularly do a full scan of your system.

Often computers become “infected” by unwanted programs such as Pop-up Ads, Spyware, Trojans & other Parasites.  These may be unsolicited commercial software or even malicious programs that may have wormed their way onto your computer.  A properly configured firewall & antivirus will prevent infection, but software such SbyBot (which is available for a voluntary donation), or Ad-aware (which is commercially available) will help remove these unwanted programs.

SpyBot is available at http://spybot.eon.net.au/en/download/index.html

The "Microsoft System Configuration Utility" is a utility built into Windows 98, 98SE, ME & XP, designed to help you troubleshoot problems with your computer.  “MSCONFIG” can also be used to ensure that your computer boots faster and crashes less.

Many of us are aware that the more programs you have running on your computer at once, the more likely it is to run slowly or perhaps even crash.  In general, whenever you startup your computer a number of programs load in the background.  Often these programs are installed as non-essential components of legitimate software that are always running even though you use them occasionally.  Some of these programs are necessary, but many aren't.  Turning off some of these non-essential programs can significantly increase your computer's performance and reliability.

Here is how to use MSCONFIG on Windows 98, 98SE, ME, and XP to disable some of the unnecessary programs that automatically load on start-up.

Click Start

Select Run

Type msconfig in the text box

The "System Configuration Utility" window will open.  

Clicking Startup (the tab at the far right) shows you all the programs that are capable of being executed during the windows boot process.  Clicking on the check box in front of the program enables that program so it automatically loads during boot.  Unchecking the box (so it is blank) removes that program from the startup sequence so it does not load automatically.  Remember, disable only those programs that you recognize and don't need to have running all the time.  When in doubt, leave it on.

When you finish with the changes click the OK button to close the window.  A message will pop up telling you that you must restart your computer before these changes will take effect. Click on "Yes" and your computer will automatically reboot.

Most of us have learnt by now the necessity of regularly backing up our important data.  However copying the “My Documents” folder to a network drive or removable media can be slow & tedious.  Only a small amount of the data changes from day to day, yet we are recopying everything every time we make a backup.

In order to automatically copy just the new or modified files, you can create a BAT file that will copy to your existing backup directory just the required changes to files.  Then you can easily make it an icon on the desktop and rapidly backup with a double-click on that icon.

Use Word to write one line similar to this: xcopy "C:\Documents and Settings\yourname\My Documents" Z:\My_Backup /S /D /I /Y where Z is the drive letter of the Backup drive.  Save it in the Windows folder as MyBackup.bat, making sure that the Save as type is selected as Plain Text (*.txt). Now, all you have to do is to right-click on this new BAT file, & create a shortcut to the desktop. This method will create a new folder called My_Backup and subsequently copy only new or changed files. 

Getting a new computer often requires repeating much of the same setup configuration you originally did with your old computer.  Locating this data and figuring our how to move it to your new PC can be difficult & painful.  However, users of Windows XP can streamline this process with the Files and Settings Transfer Wizard.

Migrated setting groups include Internet Explorer settings & Favourites folder, Outlook settings and data, Dial-Up connections, Phone and modem options, Taskbar settings, Mouse and keyboard settings, Regional options, Office settings, Network drives and printers & My Documents folder.

A more detailed guide is available from Microsoft at http://www.microsoft.com/technet/prodtechnol/winxppro/deploy/mgrtfset.mspx

A number of our clients ask if they should upgrade the old computers running Windows 98 SE.  Our recommendation is that if your operating system is reasonably stable, then you do not need to upgrade it.  Also, some old hardware (say Pentium 3 400Mhz or slower) will usually not run Windows XP very well.  Upgrading may in fact create more problems than solve them.  

Microsoft has recently announced it will now support Windows 98, 98 SE and ME until June 2006.  Even after this date the knowledge base will not be removed from the web.  Our general advice is keep these old computers running the original operating system until you replace the whole computer.  

Recently a friend of mine developed repetitive strain injury.  His work of developing written language for a people group in Cambodia requires extensive use of a computer keyboard.  This constant keyboard work exacerbates his injury & requires significant changes to resolve it.  Like most things in life, prevention is better than cure.

What are the key elements for good office ergonomics? 

Place your monitor & keyboard in the correct position.  Further information is available at websites such as http://www.healthycomputing.com

• Maintain good seating position, & if need be, get a better seat.  Good posture is vital for good ergonomics.
• Consider using a headset with your telephone, particularly if you’re on the phone regularly.  This can be a cheap yet very effective solution.
• In serious cases, look at options such as zero pressure keyboard & mouse.  Although expensive, they are revolutionary & offer genuine alternatives to RSI sufferers.
• Move around, stretch, & get some exercise throughout the day.

• Most of us are aware of the need to purchase antivirus software, but in many cases we may not have configured it correctly. 
• Make sure you antivirus subscription is up-to-date.  This includes the antivirus engine, as well as the new definitions that are regularly downloaded.  In my opinion, out of date protection is worse than no protection at all, as it provides a false sense of security.  Note that the licensing with software maintenance is a great way to get & keep this current.
• Consider checking for updates more regularly.  Most antivirus solutions have facility to set how often it automatically checks for updates.  The shorter the time between a virus outbreak & when you download the update, the greater the level of protection.
• Use some form of firewall, even the “Internet Connection Firewall” supplied in Windows XP.  A firewall can be configured to lock down open ports, & prevent mass mailing that is often a feature of modern viruses.
• Make a habit of not opening suspicious attachments without contacting the sender beforehand.

Because Microsoft Windows stores new data in whatever free space is available, data files become spread out across the Hard-drive as they are updated.  Large files may be broken into thousands of fragments, causing the read/write head to move back and forth numerous extra times to read the data.  Defragmenting your hard-drive rewrites all the files and stores them in adjacent sectors.

Windows comes with a Defragmenting utility, which can be activated in Windows XP via Control Panel / Performance & Maintenance / Rearrange items on your hard disk to make programs run faster.  Other versions of Windows have it under System Tools.

Defragmenting your hard-drive regularly is good practice because it makes programs run faster, & will reduce wear and tear on the drive mechanism. 

With the holidays rapidly approaching, now is an opportune time to put in place some good computing habits.  

If you haven’t done so already, back-up all of your data files to some form of removable media (such as CD or tape).  In earlier tech tips we have discussed how to gather all of your data, including Outlook files, Autotext files, Internet favourites & so on.  I would suggest locating each of these files & copying them to your “My Documents” folder so that they are all backed up from one place. 

It’s a good habit to archive a copy at a remote location in case your office is ever burgled or in the event of fire.  Make sure you check that the back-up was successful by opening files on your back-up & checking that the data is readable.  Also, it’s helpful to note on the cover what the disk contains & the date it was made.

By employing a few of these simple steps, you can face the holiday season assured that you’re prepared for any computing disaster which might come your way.

Recently a client lost 100 Gb of data when a hard drive failed.  With no effective back-up for much of the data, thousands of hours of work were lost.  Are you able to cope with such a disaster?  Many of us go through life hoping that it will never happen to me!

What are your options for back-up regimes? These will vary depending upon the amount of information you need to back-up, whether you have a network, & the degree of automation that you want.

Use a CD or DVD burner.

A cheap & convenient method for back-up of up to 700 Mb of data for CD & around 4.7 Gb of data for DVD.

Back-up to another computer on a peer to peer network.

This is a good solution if you're able to get access to a shared hard-drive, but will not protect you against fire or theft. Perhaps it can be coupled with back-up to a CD / DVD burner. Remember to take a disk offsite for added security.

Back-up your network server using Win back-up (ships free with Windows Server), or use a totally automated solution like Veritas back-up Exec.

Common Traps for the Unwary.

Always test the back-up to confirm it was successful.

Has the file be corrupted in any way?  The IT industry abounds with stories of people who have made back-ups for years, then learn after some computer disaster that they were recording onto the cleaning tape.

Rotate your recording media regularly.

Archive back-ups at regular intervals so that, if need be, you can rollback files to a particular date.

REMEMBER - neglect to back-up at your peril.

Many of us think surfing the Internet is a one-way experience like watching television.  However, just as the Internet enables you to connect with websites all across the world, other computers are also able to connect to you!  This two-way connection can be used by "hackers" to look at your personal information, delete important files or even control of your computer.

We all lock the front door of our home when we go out. Likewise, it's important to use a firewall to protect your computer from unauthorized access!  Firewalls can be implemented in both hardware and software, or a combination of both.

You may be aware that a limited "Internet Connection Firewall" is included in Windows XP.  For information on its setup & the pro's & con's of using it, you may like to refer to a useful article on the website Practically Networked. http://www.practicallynetworked.com/sharing/xp/ic_firewall.htm

For those who want more comprehensive protection from spyware, Trojan horses, or other hacker tools, a commercial firewall product is worth considering.  (Spyware is a component of some free software that tracks your Web browsing habits, whilst Trojan horses are programs disguised to appear desirable, but perform some malicious function, such as recording your passwords or deleting files.)

Zone Alarm Pro, one of the premier software firewalls for small networks & home users, is now available at a discount for charities & churches.

Right click on a file in Windows explorer or any file open window for that matter and you will notice the “Send To” option about half way down the drop down window. How would you like to add your own locations? It’s easy. I have added several.

First of all you need to find your “Send To Folder”. Open up windows explorer and go to the “Documents and Settings Folder”.  Locate “your user name” folder and open it.  Then the “Send To” folder.  Open it up and here you will find the current places you have in your send to folder.  Now all you have to do is add some new ones. It is that easy.

Go to file, new, and create a shortcut.  Once you have created the shortcut you can rename it and change the target location to suit your needs. To do this right click on the short cut and then click on properties.  You can even change the icon to give you a graphic representation of the place you are sending the file.

Remember that the send to folder is just like any other folder structure on your computer. So you can add folders and subfolders with shortcuts for any location you like on your computer or computer network. So get creative and make it work for you today.

- Russell Drowley

For many of us, computer upgrades (& sadly sometimes system recovery) is a fairly regular occurrence.  Yet most of us don’t plan for such eventualities!

You will be familiar with the folder called “My Documents” which contains your office files such as Word & Excel documents. Unfortunately, many other useful files such as your MS Outlook files, AutoText, Internet Explorer Favourites, etc., are stored all over the place.  By copying these files to your “My Documents” folder, (or better still having the program use the data from “My Documents”), you only need to backup your “My Documents” folder & all your useful information will be saved in one place.

How then do you move these files to “My Documents”?  First, you will need to determine the file type that you are dealing with. Outlook files have the extension “.pst”, Template files (refer last Newsletter) have the extension “.dot”. You can even run your Outlook file from the “My Documents” folder. Simply open Outlook, then select File / Open / Personal Folders File, then browse to “My Documents” & select your “.pst” file.  The simplest way to find where your internet favourites are is simply to save any web page with an unusual name, then search for that name by using the search functions found at the “Start” Menu.  Then simply go to that location & copy the whole folder to “My Documents”.

Once you have saved all your useful files to “My Documents”, & get into the habit of backing them up regularly, you’re able to face planned upgrades or the unfortunate system disaster with a degree of poise & good humour.

You may have noticed that Microsoft Word has the ability to fill in commonly used words & phrases. What you may not be aware of is that these can be customized to suit your work habits. Any frequently used signature, expression, statement can be recorded as AutoText for Microsoft Word to fill in as you need it.

You can wait for AutoText to prompt you for the rest of the phrase, or you can select it from the AutoText menu, which is under the Insert Menu (see earlier newsletter for instructions on customizing your desktop so that you can access the AutoText menu more easily).  It is even possible to save these changes to a template file called Normal.dot for use when you upgrade your computer or recover from a system disaster. You can access Normal.dot via Tools / Templates & Add-ins / Organizer.

Be aware that if you are using Outlook as your email client, you can specify it to use Word as the email editor.  This way you can access all the spell checking & AutoText features that are available in Microsoft Word

The Quick Launch Toolbar is a group of small icons next to the Start button. If you can’t see yours, right-click on an empty spot down at the bottom of your screen in the Windows Taskbar. Choose Toolbars | Quick Launch.

To put your applications on the Quick Launch Toolbar, click Start / Programs, right-click on an application, and drag it down to the Quick Launch Toolbar. Pick a location, release the right mouse button, and choose Create Shortcut Here.

In Windows 98, ME and 2000 it’s easy to make the Quick Launch Toolbar taller - just click and drag the little dividing line.  (This also increases the height of the bottom band that registers what programs are running. By increasing the size of this bottom band, you can access these programs more easily.)  In Windows XP, though, you have to right-click on a blank part of the Toolbar and uncheck the line that says Lock the Toolbar. When you have the Quick Launch Toolbar re-organized the way you want it, right-click and check the line again. 

Note that if you don’t want a particular icon on your Quick Launch Toolbar, right-click on it and pick Delete. 

Are there tasks that you perform regularly in your favourite applications & find that you are constantly going to the pull down menu’s at the top of your screen to find them?

There is a much faster solution! Simply go to TOOLS / CUSTOMIZE / COMMANDS, select the menu category that you want to use, & then paste the icon for the function you want on the toolbars at the top of your screen.  It’s that easy!

Some functions you may like to consider are

• Changing the printer icon default to prompt you for which printer you wish to use. Great if you have more than one printer, or frequently change the print settings on your document.
• Change font size 1 point at a time.
• Change Case (from capitals to lower case or visa versa).
• Line spacing.
• Insert Columns.
• Insert page break.
• The list is endless. Note that you can delete unwanted items from your toolbars if you wish.

How many times do you copy a section of a document, paste it into your own file & discover its also copied the font & formatting of the original (much to your chagrin)?

There is a way around it.  When you’re about to paste, simply go to the edit menu at the top of your screen, click on paste special & select paste unformatted text.

Creating a Macro to Paste Unformatted Text automatically.

If you want to change the behaviour of the Word paste shortcut key combination, Ctrl+V

Start Word.

Bring up Visual Basic for Applications by clicking Tools | Macro | Macros. Type a good macro name in the box - say, PasteUnformatted - and click Create.

VBA comes to life, and writes a little program for you that looks something like this:

Sub PasteUnformatted()

  ' PasteUnformatted Macro

  ' Macro created 07/10/2001 by Paul Zarb

End Sub

Immediately before that "End Sub" line, you need to type one short line of VBA code. When you're done, the macro should look like this:

  Sub PasteUnformatted()

  ' PasteUnformatted Macro

  ' Macro created 07/10/2001 by Paul Zarb

   Selection.PasteSpecial DataType:=wdPasteText

  End Sub

You're done with the programming part of the exercise. In VBA, click File | Close and return to Microsoft Word.

Now you need to tell Word to run that macro every time you press Ctrl+V. That's easy, too. Click Tools | Customize. Make sure "Save in" shows normal.dot and click the Keyboard button.

In the Categories box, pick Macros. In the Macros box, pick PasteUnformatted. Click inside the Press New Shortcut Key box and hit Ctrl+V. Click Assign.

You're done. From that point on, every time you press Ctrl+V, Word will paste the contents of the clipboard, and ignore any formatting.

Ever wondered how to change the default spell checker from American English to the real thing, Australian English? You have tried all the tricks in Word and nothing has changed next time you launch it. How annoying!

In XP go to control panel and check out the Regional and Language Settings Icon. Two settings need to be looked at; Regional Options and Advanced. Now you will see the culprit. Change them both to Australian English and you have solved that problem.

In 95, 98, 2000 & ME go to control panel and check out the Keyboard Properties. The language setting must be on Australian English. You may have to add this language. (I hope you have your original disks that came with your machine. Tut, tut if you borrowed them from someone else.)

- Russell Drowley