37 Internet and PC Time-saving Tips
A few well-chosen shortcuts and time-saving techniques can save you hours of time on the Internet and your PC, says Rose Vines.
Most of the things we do on our computers are repetitive, so implementing a few, well-chosen shortcuts and time-saving techniques can save you hours of time. These tips will help you speed up your life online and off and make working with your computer more enjoyable to boot.
INTERNET EXPLORER
Quick bookmark
If you want to bookmark a Web site for quick access, you can do so quickly by pressing the Ctrl key and the letter D at the same time. This will instantly add the page to the bottom of your Favourites list.
If you have a lot of favourites and the list is starting to get too long, you can clean the list up quickly by pressing the Ctrl key and the letter B to open the Favourites Control Panel from where you can edit, delete and organise them.
Upgrade to tabs
Tabbed browsers make browsing much more efficient. These browsers let you load multiple Web sites concurrently into a single window and switch between the sites via a series of tabs.
Internet Explorer doesn't offer this feature, but CrazyBrowser does. Best of all, CrazyBrowser wraps around Internet Explorer, so you don't have to learn a whole new browser, while getting a bunch of new features. It's a free download from www.crazybrowser.com .
Open links in new windows
To open a link in a separate window, hold down the Ctrl key whilst you click the link. This makes it easy to explore links on the current page while not losing track of your original location.
Avoid a bloated home page
Your home page loads each time you start your browser. A quick way to save time is to make sure your home page is fast-loading and useful. One of the best options is to use search engine Google (www.google.com) as your home page, because its simple design makes it load quickly and it's an excellent stepping off point for the rest of the Net. Other fast-loading search sites, such as www.altavista.com and www.alltheweb.com are good alternatives.
To change home pages quickly, surf to the page you want as your home, then click-and-drag the little Internet Explorer icon in the address box onto the Home Page icon on the toolbar and respond Yes when prompted to change home pages.
Dump the graphics
Graphics take a long time to load on a dial-up connection and on many pages they're nothing but advertisements anyway. Turn them off by clicking the Tools menu at the top of the page, then Internet Options and the Advanced tab, then scroll down the list and uncheck “Show Pictures” in the Multimedia section. While you're at it, you may want to eliminate some of the other time-sapping Multimedia features such as video and audio.
Images will now be replaced in Internet Explorer by an empty box with a small red X in the corner. If you want to see a particular image, simply right-click that red X and choose Show Picture from the pop-up menu.
OUTLOOK EXPRESS
Add an automatic signature
It’s always nice to end an email with a signature along the lines of “Yours truly”, followed by your name and contact details. You can use Outlook Express to automatically insert this whenever you write an email by clicking on Tools from the top menu bar and selecting Options. In the window that opens select the tab for Signatures and click New and then move to the bottom window, where the Text button is checked. Enter your signature here and it will appear on every email you send. Click Apply and OK to finish.
Keep your email separate
If you have more than one person using Outlook Express for email on your computer, you can set up profiles to allow people to have their own separate version of Outlook Express, which will save you from getting emails mixed up or lost. You can switch users easily by clicking on File from the top menu and selecting Switch Identities. Each identity needs to be set up separately, so make sure you have your ISP’s instructions on how to do this.
Don't load Windows Messenger
Outlook Express automatically logs you on to Windows Messenger when it starts. You can avoid this and keep your work uninterrupted by disabling this option:
1. From the Tools Menu, choose Options. 2. On the General tab, remove the tick beside “Automatically Log On to Windows Messenger”, then click OK. Scroll messages
When reading a long message in Outlook Express, press the spacebar on your keyboard to scroll down a page at a time.
Display contacts
Display your contacts by selecting the View menu then Layout, ticking the Contacts box and clicking OK. You can then quickly send an email to any of your contacts by double-clicking their name in the Contacts list. Outlook Express will pre-address the email for you.
Compact your mail folders
When you delete email in Outlook Express, it gets stored in the Deleted Items folder. Even when you right-click this folder and select "Empty Delete Items Folder" to clean it out, those deleted emails remain hidden within Outlook Express, consuming space and, eventually, making the program more and more sluggish.
To regain wasted space and speed up Outlook Express, click the File menu, then Folder and "Compact All Folders".
Tab around
Quickly move between the Folders list, Message list, Preview pane and Contacts list by pressing Tab on your keyboard.
WINDOWS XP
Controlling your windows
If you have a lot of windows open and you need to get back to the desktop to find something, you can do this quickly by using the Windows key and the letter D at the same time. This will minimise all windows and return you to your desktop immediately. If you want to return your windows to how they were, repeat the shortcut.
Quick burn
Want to burn (write) a bunch of files to CD? Select one or more files (or folders), right-click any of the selected items and choose Send To then CD-RW Drive (your menu option may be named differently – just look for your CD burner in the Send To list). A balloon will appear in the taskbar letting you know you have files waiting to be written to CD. If you have other items to burn to disc, repeat this procedure until you've queued all the files you want burned.
Your files are not burned yet! This procedure simply places them in a “Files Waiting to be Burned” temporary folder. To finish the burn, click the "You have files waiting…" balloon (or open My Computer and double-click your CD burner's icon) and click “Write these Files to CD” in the CD Writing Tasks pane.
Pinning
Gain quick access to your favourite programs by pinning them to the Start menu. Click Start then All Programs, locate the program you want, right-click it and choose "Pin to Start Menu".
Next time you click the Start button, you'll find that application conveniently located on the initial Start Menu.
Rapid photo delivery
Let XP save you time when emailing photos: 1. Open the folder containing the photos you want to send. 2. Select the photos, then click "Email the Selected Items" in the Tasks pane. 3. XP will offer to resize your photos to make them more suitable for emailing. Click the "Show More Options" link in the "Send Pictures Via Email" dialog to adjust the size settings, then click OK. 4. Your photos will be attached automatically to a new message. Fill in the recipient's name, adjust the subject line, add your own message and click Send. Rapid expansion
In Windows Explorer, expand a folder's entire contents by clicking the folder and then clicking * on the numeric keypad of your keyboard.
Mass rename
Surprisingly, XP is the first version of Windows that lets you rename a group of files in one go. To do so: 1. Select the files you wish to rename. 2. Press F2. 3. Type the filename, for example, Egypt Photos.jpg, and press Enter. XP will rename the first selected file Egypt Photos.jpg, the next Egypt Photos (1).jpg, the next Egypt Photos (2).jpg and so on. Quick selections
To quickly select all items in a folder or all the text in a document press Ctrl and A on your keyboard.
WINDOWS 98
Stop the CD autorun
In some computers, the autorun feature in Windows 98 (allowing the CD to start automatically when it is inserted into the drive) can slow the machine down when you insert a CD. However sometimes it is necessary to keep the autorun feature enabled so some programs can function correctly. Next time you insert a CD but don’t want to it run automatically, hold down your Shift key until the drive has stopped spinning.
Get your system settings
If you ever call a technical support line it’s a good idea to know what your system settings are so you can tell the technician. To do this click on Start, Programs, Accessories and then System Tools. Double click the icon labelled System Information Utility and then click File from the top menu bar and select Export. Choose the location where you want to save the text file with your system details and press Enter. You can print this out if you choose or have it open on the desktop in case you need it.
Take charge of your desktop
The Auto Arrange option keeps your desktop icons neat and tidy by snapping them into place and corralling them in the left-hand side of your screen. It's neat, but it is by no means efficient.
The first step in taking charge of your desktop is to turn Auto Arrange off. To do so, right-click an empty space on the desktop and select Arrange Icons from the pop-up menu. If the Auto Arrange sub-option is ticked, click it to turn it off.
Now, drag your icons into usable categories. For instance, isolate your Recycle Bin so there's no chance of accidentally dropping an item on it. Place folders together, group programs and stick drive shortcuts in their own section. Never again will you waste time searching for an icon in a crowded clump.
An easier Start Menu
To make your Start menu more manageable, right-click in the Programs list and choose "Sort By Name". This will sort the list alphabetically.
Print in draft
You'll get the biggest speed boost to your printing by choosing draft printing mode as the default. This will have a marked effect on printing speed and you can easily switch to higher quality printing from within an application whenever it's required. To set draft mode as the default: 1. Click Start, Settings, Printers. 2. Right-click the printer you wish to adjust and choose Properties from the pop-up menu. 3. Look for the settings related to print quality. The exact location depends on the make and model of your printer. You'll often find these on the Graphics tab or on the Options or Printer Options tab. Some Hewlett-Packard printers have a Finishing tab for the quality settings. 4. Choose the lowest or mid-level quality setting. If there's a Details or Options button, you may be able to make finer adjustments. 5. For even faster speeds and cheaper printing, select greyscale printing on your colour printer. When you need colour, you can alter this setting as you go. Navigating dialogs
Pressing Tab moves you quickly through options within a dialog box, while Shift and Tab together moves you backwards through the options. If any of the options are underlined, holding down the Alt key while you press the underlined letter will activate that option.
Tiling windows
You can save a lot of time by working with two or more programs or several folder windows side-by-side. The easiest way to do this is to open the desired windows (make sure all other windows are closed or minimised), then right-click the clock in the taskbar and choose "Tile Windows Vertically". Your windows will be resized and positioned side-by-side. Say you have two Explorer windows open, you'll now find it easy to move or copy files from one folder to another.
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