Sitemap
windows tips and tricks ( all versions)
Internet Explorer 6
Shortcut Keys
Zoom out. ALT+MINUS
Zoom in. ALT+PLUS
"When in the Address bar, move the cursor right to the next logical break in the address (period or slash). CTRL+RIGHT ARROW
"When in the Address bar, move the cursor left to the next logical break in the address (period or slash). CTRL+LEFT ARROW
Type the number of the page you want displayed. ALT+A
Toggle between full-screen and regular views of the browser window. F11
Stop downloading a page. ESC
Specify how you want frames to print. This option is available only if you are printing a Web page that uses frames. ALT+F
Set printing options and print the page. ALT+P
Select the text in the Address bar. ALT+D
Select all items on the current Web page. CTRL+A
Scroll toward the end of a document. DOWN ARROW
Scroll toward the end of a document in larger increments. PAGE DOWN
Scroll toward the beginning of a document. UP ARROW
Scroll toward the beginning of a document in larger increments. PAGE UP
Save the current page. CTRL+S
Remove the selected items and copy them to the Clipboard. CTRL+X
Refresh the current Web page. F5 or CTRL+R
"Refresh the current Web page, even if the time stamp for the Web version and your locally stored version are the same. CTRL+F5
Print the current page or active frame. CTRL+P
Open the Search bar. CTRL+E
Open the Organize Favorites dialog box. CTRL+B
Open the History bar. CTRL+H
Open the Favorites bar. CTRL+I
Open a new window. CTRL+N
Move to the end of a document. END
Move to the beginning of a document. HOME
Move selected item up in the Favorites list in the Organize Favorites dialog box. ALT+UP ARROW
Move selected item down in the Favorites list in the Organize Favorites dialog box. ALT+DOWN ARROW
Move forward through the list of AutoComplete matches. UP ARROW
"Move forward through the items on a Web page, the Address bar, and the Links bar. TAB
Move forward between frames. CTRL+TAB or F6
Move back through the list of AutoComplete matches. DOWN ARROW
"Move back through the items on a Web page, the Address bar, and the Links bar. SHIFT+TAB
Move back between frames. SHIFT+CTRL+TAB
Insert the contents of the Clipboard at the selected location. CTRL+V
"In the History or Favorites bars, open multiple folders. CTRL+click
Go to your Home page. ALT+HOME
Go to the previous page. ALT+LEFT ARROW or BACKSPACE
Go to the next page. ALT+RIGHT ARROW
Go to a new location. CTRL+O or CTRL+L
Find on this page. CTRL+F
Display the previous page to be printed. ALT+LEFT ARROW
Display the next page to be printed. ALT+RIGHT ARROW
Display the last page to be printed. ALT+END
Display the first page to be printed. ALT+HOME
"Display Internet Explorer Help, or when in a dialog box, display context Help on an item. F1
Display a shortcut menu for a link. SHIFT+F10
Display a list of zoom percentages. ALT+Z
Display a list of addresses you've typed. F4
Copy the selected items to the Clipboard. CTRL+C
Close the current window. CTRL+W
Close Print Preview. ALT+C
Change paper, headers and footers, orientation, and margins for this page. ALT+U
Add the current page to your favorites. CTRL+D
Add "www." to the beginning and ".com" to the end of the text typed in the Address bar. CTRL+ENTER
Activate a selected link. ENTER
To stop a CD from AutoRunning.
Hold down the SHIFT key as you insert the CD.
Multiple File Extension Copying
Command Prompt
How can I copy more than one file specification at a time from the command prompt?
You typically use the Copy command to copy one file specification at a time. For example,
to copy all .log and .tmp files to the \temp directory, type
copy *.log d:\temp
copy *.tmp d:\temp
To copy more than one file specification at a time, use the plus symbol (+) between file
specifications. For example, to copy all .log and .tmp files to the \temp directory, type
copy *.log + *.tmp d:\temp
Windows Disk Defragmenter - Limitations
All Versions
Files that Windows Disk Defragmenter will not check:
Windows disk defragmenter utility does not defragment the following files;
- hiberfil.sys file (Windows 2000 and later)
- Bootsect.dos
- Safeboot.fs
- Safeboot.csv
- Safeboot.rsv
- Memory.dmp
- Files in the Recycle Bin (so it's a good idea to empty the Recycle Bin before you defragment a disk)
- Pagefile.sys (third-party products can defragment this file)
- Files that are in use when you run the disk defragmenter utility
(so it's a good idea to shut down all running programs and any
unneeded services before you run the utility)
Some Limitations with Windows Defragmenter:
1. If the disk that you're defragmenting has less than 15 percent free
space available, the disk defragmenter won't completely defragment the
volume; instead, the utility will complete only a partial
defragmentation.
2. You can not defragment a drive that's marked as
possibly having errors, you need to add the following switch for it to run;
chkdsk <drive>: /f
to get around this problem).
NOTES:
There are third Party Disk Defragmenters which will look at some of the above files that Windows Defragmenter wont look at. Diskkeeper is one but there are others.
Neat text Trick!_
To change the size of your text on a web page ... hold down the "Ctrl" key and move your scroll wheel up or down.
No need to go to "View > Text Size and choose from there.
Controlling cookies
Internet Explorer 6.0
Often, when you visit a Web site, it sends a cookie which is placed on your hard disk. Through the cookie, the site may steal and misuse information from your computer. To prevent this, Internet Explorer 6 comes with an option for blocking these cookies. In order to change this option to suit your requirements, right click on Internet Explorer, go to Properties, and click on the Privacy tab. Here you can select the option you want. For instance, in order to ensure maximum privacy, you can keep it on 'High'-all the cookies that contain your personal information and are sent to third-party Web sites without your consent are now blocked
Refresh your cache
reload sites
You ever notice how some sites just wont refresh??? well if you delete your temp internet files and stuff and your site STILL shows what it showed earlier and you know it has changed hold Ctrl and press F5 this will refresh your cache to the server's current content.
Minimizing Yahoo Messenger/Chat or Pm windows
Information
If you're using Yahoo Messenger, from PM or chat room window, pressing Ctrl+Z will minimize all PM windows, chat room window, and the buddy list to the system tray
Hide your IM windows with ease
Windows all versions
Do you ever find yourself minimizing your conversations when your perrents walk by? (or for all you guys it might be when your kids/grandchildren walk by) hehe couldnt resist, well theres a shortcut key thats simple to use and it minimizes all windows so you just see the desktop, you can do this by holding the windows key (between alt and Ctrl) then pressing M and letting go. Now the faster your computer the faster it will minimize ... try it right now its a cool feature.
To close a maximised Window
Ever gone to a website and you suddenly find your browser window has all the screen and you have no menu or scroll bars??
There is a quick way to close and get rid of that window.
Press ALT + F4 keys
this will close any active window open, in this case that annoying window with no options of closing it.
This will NOT close multiple windows only the active window but at least it will let you carry on
MSIE Keep Alive time
Editing of Windows Registry is needed for this tip - Backup Registry first
Internet Explorer Keep Alive default timeout can cause problems on high latency connections
By default it is set to 1 minute which if you are using likes of Satellite then this may help with your connection.
1. Launch regedit.
2. Open
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Internet Settings.
3. Create a subkey of type REG_DWORD called KeepAliveTimeout (NOTE: Uppercase is important!!!)
4. Set the data value to the number of milliseconds (ms) you want the connection to stay alive.
The valid data value range is from
60,000ms (1 minute) to 2,147,483,647ms (just less than 25 days).
A setting of no more than a few minutes should solve most connection problems.
5. Close Registry Editor
Error trying to start Computer?
Are you trying to start your computer and getting a;
NTLDR error - or -
"Non System Disk - Remove Disk and press any key"
Make sure there is not a floppy disk in the disk drive and also make sure there is no CD in the CD-Rom (especially with newer computers that can be booted from the CD-Rom)
Cannot play SVCD, XVCD or XSVCD?
Trying to play a Video in WinAMP or Windows Media Player (WMP) or RealPlayer and cannot play it and getting an error "Cannot download codecs" or "Server Error"?
Then the movie file could be in SVCD, XVCD or XSVCD format
What is SVCD, XVCD and XSVCD??
SVCD stands for "Super VideoCD". A SVCD is very similiar to a VCD, it has the capacity to hold about 35-60 minutes on 74/80 min CDs of very good quality full-motion video along with up to 2 stereo audio tracks and also 4 selectable subtitles. A SVCD can be played on many standalone DVD Players and of course on all computers with a DVD-ROM or CD-ROM drive with the help of a software based decoder / player. It is also possible to use menus and chapters, similiar to DVDs, on a SVCD and also simple photo album/slide shows with background audio. The quality of a SVCD is much better than a VCD, especially much more sharper picture than a VCD because of the higher resolution. But the quality depends how many minutes you choose to store on a CD, less minutes/CD generally means higher quality.
XVCD stands for eXtendedVCD. XVCD has same features as VCD but it is possible to use higher bitrates and higher resolution to get higher video quality. XVCD is basically everything that uses MPEG1 video, is not within the VCD standard and burnt in "VCD"-Mode.
XSVCD stands for eXtendedSVCD. XSVCD has same features as SVCD but it is possible to use higher bitrates and higher resolution to get higher video quality. XSVCD is basically everything that uses MPEG2 video, is not within the SVCD standard and burnt in "SVCD"-Mode.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
OK, so I want to play my movie on WMP how do I?
SVCD uses a MPEG2 codec which you can get a codec bundle here for running this as well as other formats. Seems to work very very well and plugs in automatically to likes of WinAMP and WMP without you doing anything.
Elecard make and produce a codec bundle which seems to work well here is the link Elecard MPEG2 Video Decoder v. 2.0 build 2313 (758,882 bytes, ZIP) <http://www.elecard.com/download/>
Save the file to your hard drive DO NOT CHOOSE Run from this location. Once downloaded unzip it then run the install file.
If you want the player which they make then you click on the next links down from the above on that download page.
Changing Directories with Long Filename
Command Prompt Tip.
As most of you will know under DOS or the command prompt it is normally limited to the 8.3 file format. When Windows came out it introduced the long filename format but still retained the 8.3 format.
for example
Program Files in the 8.3 format ended up being progra~1
which is not exactly helpful when trying to use the Prompt to get into those folders esp when have more than one of them likes of Microsoft
If you try and use CD Program Files then chances are it will give you an error saying cannot find folder.
To change into a folder with a split name you encase the name in quotation marks; for example
cd "program Files" <enter> will change you into the program files folder if you want to say change from the root and then move into Microsoft Office you encase the lot within quotes
cd "program files\microsoft office" <enter>
To move back one level the command is cd..
To move back to the root from wherever it is cd\
To get a window back that has
gone off screen
Off Screen Window
Ever have a window that has wandered partially off-screen? Not a big problem, unless you can't get to the title bar to move it.
For example, what do you do if you have a window that gets its title bar hidden above the TOP of the screen?. The problem is, you can't grab the title bar with your mouse to move the window.
How to move the window;
1. Make sure the window is the active window (just click on it to make it active)
2. Click ALT + SPACE, then press the letter "m"
3. Now, use your arrow keys to move the window back to where you want it.
4. Press enter to "drop" it when it is where you want it.
Visual Display of Folder
If you are at the command prompt and your wanting a visual display of the folder your in if you type at the command prompt start. then this will open a folder window in windows for that folder
eg if your sitting in
c:\games> if you type
start.
then a window will open on your desktop in that games folder.
Disable "Recent" Document Menu
Involves editing Windows Registry - Backup Registry before attempting.
This setting can be used to remove the recent Documents folder from the Start Menu.
Normally when you open or access a document or file it is added to the list of recent documents on the Start Menu. This tweak will stop files from being added to the list.
To do this;
1.Open the registry editor
2. Look for the following registry keys;
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
and
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
3.Look for a DWORD called NoRecentDocsMenu (Note the capital letters they ARE important) if it does not exist create it by right clicking and choosing NEW > DWORD
4.Set the Value to 0 (zero) to disable or 1 to enable
5.Close registry editor
6.Restart for changes to take effect
Restart Windows without Rebooting
In most cases, like after the installation of new software, there is no need to reboot the computer, but rather you just need to restart Windows.
To do this;
Hold down the Shift key while pressing OK in the Shutdown dialog.
Disable F3 Search
WIndows Explorer / Internet Explorer
Involves editing of windows Registry - Backup Windows registry before attempting
To disable the F3 key search capability, perform the following steps:
1. Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\InternetExplorer\Restrictions registry subkey.
If this subkey doesn't exist, open the Edit menu and select New, Key to create it.
3. From the Edit menu, select New, DWORD Value.
4. Enter the name NoFindFiles, then press Enter.
5. Double-click the value, set it to 1, then click OK.
6. Log off and log on for the change to take effect.
Change Default Title In Windows Media Player
Involves editing of Registry - Backup Windows Registry before Attempting
To modify the default WMP title that displays Windows Media Player, perform the following steps:
1. Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\WindowsMediaPlayer registry subkey.
3. From the Edit menu, select New, String Value.
4. Enter the name TitleBar, then press Enter.
5. Double-click the setting, enter the text you want to add to the title (e.g., Patches Classics), then click OK.
6. Close the registry editor.
Quick Searches
Internet Explorer 6
Involves editing of the registry - Backup Windows Registry BEFORE attempting
In IE 6 the functionality of searching for say a Microsoft Knowledge Base for a specific Article was removed for example to find KB article Q86539 you would type in the address bar
MSKB Q86539
but you can reenable this feature as well as add your own shortcuts by performing the following steps:
1. Start a registry editor (e.g., regedit.exe).
2. Navigate to the
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\InternetExplorer\SearchUrl registry subkey.
3. From the Edit menu, select New, Key.
4. Enter the name that you want to use as the shortcut command (e.g., MSKB), then press Enter.
5. Select the new key, then double-click the Default value in the right-hand pane.
6. Set the value to be the Web address you want to use and append "%s" (without the quotes) to the end of the URL that the shortcut
points to. For example, type
<http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=%s> to enable the Microsoft Knowledge Base functionality.
7. Click OK.
8. Close the registry editor.
The change will take effect immediately.
The table below presents other popular shortcuts.
Key Name Default Value
-------- -------------
AV (AltaVista) <http://www.altavista.com/sites/search/web?q=%s>
GGL (Google) <http://www.google.com/search?q=%s>
WINFAQ (Windows NT/2000 FAQ) <http://search.winnetmag.com/query.html?col=faq&qt=%s>
After you create a shortcut, you simply type the shortcut, followed by
your search terms, in IE's address bar. For example, type
WINFAQ active directory
to search the Windows NT/2000 FAQ Web site for the term "active
directory." To save time, you can paste the following information into
a .reg file to automate the addition of the shortcuts I've mentioned:
Windows Registry Editor Version 5.00
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\AV]
@="http://www.altavista.com/sites/search/web?q=%s"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\SearchUrl\Ggl]
@="http://www.google.com/search?q=%s"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\SearchUrl\MSKB]
@="http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=%s"
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\SearchUrl\WINFAQ]
@="http://search.winnetmag.com/query.html?col=faq&qt=%s"
Saving Attachments Locally
Outlook Express 6
By default and as a security precaution to avoid saving a virus to your computer, Outlook Express doesn't let you save files locally. To enable file saving within Outlook Express, perform the following steps:
1. Start Outlook Express.
2. From the Tools menu, select Options.
3. Select the Security tab.
4. Clear the "Do not allow attachments to be saved or opened that could potentially be a virus" check box, then click OK.
To reverse this and stop saving of attachments then retick the option "Do not allow attachments..."
| Site Map Sitemap |