MalekTips: 12-28-2005
 
Welcome to the latest issue of the MalekTips newsletter, providing computer and technology help and tips. We appreciate your subscription!
 
We have 30 new tips found below in the latest issue of MalekTips.
 
* Manipulate your digital photos with the IrfanView tool. Fix images where the horizon line is crooked. Make some pictures look more artistic or dramatic by converting them to grayscale. Plus perform tweaks to increase your efficiency by adjusting right mouse-button behavior and disabling status bars or captions you may not need.
 
* Having difficulty with Microsoft Word 2003? Irritated when you accidentally select text and type that the selected text disappears? Tired of not seeing enough toolbar buttons on your screen when developing documents with complex formatting? Wish the spellchecker would look through your entire document, including words typed in all caps? This newsletter has your answers.
 
* Increase your privacy when playing multimedia files with Windows Media Player 10. Stop the tool from remembering previously-visited files and URLs. Learn how to regularly clear the cache so others can't find out the names of CDs and DVDs you regularly play. Prevent usage data and IDs from being transmitted to content providers.
 
Plus, this newsletter contains tips and tweaks for those using HijackThis to help remove adware and spyware from their machines, Microsoft Excel 2003 information and formula descriptions including how to get the average or second-highest/lowest value of a series, and Opera 8 web browser tips including a tweak for dial-up users that can speed up web page browsing.
 
Remember - if you have a computer question, be sure to visit the MalekTips forums at http://www.malektips.com/forums
 
Andrew Malek MalekTips.Com
 
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* Tips! *
 
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HijackThis - Prevent HijackThis From Changing Your Home Page
Do you have a home page in Internet Explorer that HijackThis wants to change? Consider this tweak.
 
HijackThis - View and Delete Items HijackThis Ignores During Scans
Modify the list of items you have told HijackThis to ignore during system scans.
 
HijackThis - Calculate MD5 Checksums
Help determine if files listed in HijackThis results are actually what they report themselves to be.
 
HijackThis - Stop Confirmation Dialogs When Fixing or Ignoring Items
Expert users - keep annoying dialogs from appearing whenever you fix or ignore items in HijackThis.
 
HijackThis - Scan Your Ignore List After Updating HijackThis
When upgrading to new versions of HijackThis, you may wish to clear your old ignore list to avoid duplicate items.
 
IrfanView 3 - Rotate or Flip Images
Fix horizon line problems or digital photos taken at a 90 degree angle with IrfanView.
 
IrfanView 3 - Convert Image to Grayscale
Quickly create grayscale images and photos with IrfanView.
 
IrfanView 3 - Automatically Center the Window
Keep IrfanView centered on your Windows desktop.
 
IrfanView 3 - Toggle Status Bar, Menu, Toolbar, and Caption
Run IrfanView in expert mode, adding more screen real-estate for your images and photos.
 
IrfanView 3 - Toggle Right Mouse Button Function
IrfanView can be configured so your right mouse button either scrolls through large images or displays a context menu.
 
Microsoft Excel 2003 - Return the 2nd Largest or Smallest Value in a Series
Inside a Microsoft Excel 2003 spreadsheet, need to display the 2nd-highest profit-grossing month of a year, or the 2nd-worst?
 
Microsoft Excel 2003 - Repeat Rows or Columns on Each Printed Page
Make large printed Excel 2003 spreadsheets easier to read by repeating row and/or column descriptions on each page.
 
Microsoft Excel 2003 - Automatically Convert Keyed Numbers to Currency
Need to enter a huge series of dollar amounts into a Microsoft Excel 2003 spreadsheet? This tweak can save you from typing the periods between dollars and cents.
 
Microsoft Excel 2003 - Get the Average of a Series
Display the average value of grades, monthly profits, yearly expenses, etc. in a Microsoft Excel 2003 spreadsheet.
 
Microsoft Excel 2003 - Insert Organization Charts and Diagrams
Add pyramid, target, and organization charts into your Microsoft Excel 2003 spreadsheets.
 
Microsoft Word 2003 - Stop Replacing Selected Text
Prevent Microsoft Word 2003 from deleting text when you accidentally select it and start typing.
 
Microsoft Word 2003 - Uppercase Words and Spell Check
Allow Microsoft Word 2003's spellchecker to proof words typed in all caps.
 
Microsoft Word 2003 - Split the Standard and Formatting Toolbars into Two Rows
Add more commonly-used functions to the Microsoft Word 2003 toolbar by increasing its size.
 
Microsoft Word 2003 - Adding a Publisher Symbol to Your Documents
Add a symbol designating the publisher of a book, song, movie, etc. into your Microsoft Word 2003 documents.
 
Microsoft Word 2003 - Create Wide Text
Creating a sign, poster, or other advertisement with Microsoft Word 2003? Make text that stands out from the rest.
 
Opera 8 - Slow Bandwidth? Don't Load Images
If you browse the web on a dial-up connection, consider not viewing images to make webpages load faster with Opera 8.
 
Opera 8 - View All Webpage Links
Get a list of all of the hyperlinks referenced on a particular page.
 
Opera 8 - Take Notes as You Browse the Web.
Quickly note important or interesting information about a particular website browsed in Opera 8 without grabbing a pen or opening Notepad.
 
Opera 8 - Organize Your Notes
Make it easier to later find notes entered into the Opera 8 web browser.
 
Opera 8 - Change the Home Page
Change the first page that opens up whenever you start the Opera web browser.
 
Windows Media Player 10 Security and Privacy - Clean and Disable the History
Prevent Windows Media Player 10 from keeping a history of played multimedia files that others accessing your machine could potentially browse.
 
Windows Media Player 10 Security and Privacy - Keep Up-to-Date With Patches
Why it is important to keep Windows Media Player 10 up-to-date.
 
Windows Media Player 10 Security and Privacy - Turn off Player Usage Data
To help protect your privacy, prevent usage data from being transmitted to Microsoft via Windows Media Player 10.
 
Windows Media Player 10 Security and Privacy - Clear Information on Inserted CDs and DVDs
Prevent possible privacy violations by regularly clearing the Windows Media Player 10 cache information.
 
Windows Media Player 10 Security and Privacy - Do Not Send ID to Content Providers
To help protect your privacy, prevent a Windows Media Player 10 ID from being transmitted to content providers.
 
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* Copyright Notice *
 
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MalekTips is published by Envision Programming:
 
Envision Programming attn: MalekTips PO Box 11592 Knoxville, TN 37939-1592
 
This issue of MalekTips is Copyright 2005 Andrew Malek of Envision Programming. All other copyrights and trademarks are properties of their respective companies.

Note that due to tip recategorization, some of the URLs mentioned in the newsletter may have changed. If you have any problems finding a particular tip, use the MalekTips "Search" feature to conveniently find what you are looking for.