http://malektips.com/google_help_and_tips.html Tips and tricks related to Google, including tips for using the Google search engine, Gmail, Google Groups, and Google Chrome. en-us Tue, 2 Dec 2008 17:29:32 GMT Tue, 2 Dec 2008 17:29:32 GMT http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Custom webmaster@envprogramming.com (Andrew Malek) webmaster@envprogramming.com (Andrew Malek) http://malektips.com/graphics/logo_88x30.gif http://malektips.com/google_help_and_tips.html 88 30 http://malektips.com/google-gmail-move-chat-label-right.html Keep your chat and label options visible in Gmail by moving one or both to the right side.

By default, the chat and label boxes in Google Gmail are placed on the left side of the screen, underneath the left sidebar menu with options such as "Compose Mail" and "Contacts".

Unfortunately, this may push the label box below what is visible onscreen without using the web browser's vertical scroll bar. If you have a wide-enough monitor, you can move one or both of these boxes to the right, which may allow you to view your chat contacts and labels without having to scroll....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 1 Dec 2008 20:49:21 GMT http://malektips.com/google-gmail-move-chat-label-right.html http://malektips.com/google-flu-trends.html Use Google's technology to predict when the flu will spread in the USA.

Google has developed a prediction tool for when flu outbreaks will spread in the United States. Based on search engine queries, Google claims that their estimates "may indicate flu activity up to two weeks ahead of traditional flu surveillance systems".

The Flu Trends website shows a flu activity synopsis as well as a graph with current and predicted flu outbreak times, based on historical data. You can also query activity for a particular state....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 13 Nov 2008 14:27:20 GMT http://malektips.com/google-flu-trends.html http://malektips.com/gmail-snake-game.html Take a break responding to e-mail in Gmail with a Snake Game.

Tired of dealing with dozens of business e-mail messages in Gmail and need to take a break? Or are you logged in and waiting for someone else to join you for a chat?

You can take a break from chatting and e-mailing with Google's take on the old snake game. If you have used computers for awhile you may remember the old game. You control a small snake and must eat dots. As you eat, you grow and move faster. Continue to grow and eat dots until you run into a wall or yourself. ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 11 Nov 2008 16:53:05 GMT http://malektips.com/gmail-snake-game.html http://malektips.com/google-earth-label-roads.html Label roads and freeways in Google Earth.

If you are using Google Earth to help plan a drive, it's essential to label roads and freeways so you can find how to get from point A to point B.

To label roads in Google Earth:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 7 Nov 2008 16:50:36 GMT http://malektips.com/google-earth-label-roads.html http://malektips.com/google_earth_0003.html Display Google Earth in a full-screen mode removing many of the toolbars and panels.

When browsing the planet with Google Earth, you might find it useful at times to hide the sidebars and window frame and "fly" around the world in a full-screen mode.

To do so, select "View" - "Full Screen" or press the F11 key (in Windows, this even hides the "Start" menu). When you're finished, repeat to exit full-screen mode. However, this still does not turn off the toolbar. To do so:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 4 Nov 2008 17:11:47 GMT http://malektips.com/google_earth_0003.html http://malektips.com/google_earth_0005.html For privacy, clear the Google Earth history of places you have searched.

In Google Earth, in the left pane Sidebar you will notice the "Search" section. When you click on the pull-down buttons next to the query boxes you can view a list of your most previously-accessed searches, such as Fly-To searches, Business searches, and Directions Searches.

Many people find this history convenient in that they can quickly return to a location they recently queried without having to re-key the information. Others might find this feature a potential privacy violation, especially if they share their computer with others....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 30 Oct 2008 22:25:57 GMT http://malektips.com/google_earth_0005.html http://malektips.com/google_earth_weather.html Display clouds and weather patterns from within Google Earth.

Using Google Earth and need to check out the current weather for your home town or the forecast for where you're traveling? Curious if rain or snow is on the way?

There's no need to open your web browser and check the weather reports when you can view cloud cover, radars, and forecasts from within Google Earth itself. Here's how:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 29 Oct 2008 14:40:54 GMT http://malektips.com/google_earth_weather.html http://malektips.com/google_earth_0004.html Is Google Earth rendering satellite views poorly on your machine or not at all? This tip provides troubleshooting advice.

You may have difficulties when viewing satellite images of the world in Google Earth. For example, when zooming in and rotating the view, some graphics cards may display odd-colored shapes and blocks instead of satellite imagery. Or, graphics may display correctly but Google Earth may run extremely slowly as images are being rendered.

Some graphics problems may be attributed to network congestion or Google not having detailed-enough imagery for your particular zoom level. If graphics problems frequently occur, however, the following may help you diagnose graphics issues and tweak Google Earth so it can render satellite images correctly and quickly....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 27 Oct 2008 13:17:45 GMT http://malektips.com/google_earth_0004.html http://malektips.com/google-gmail-insert-emoticon-smiley.html Insert emoticons such as smiling faces, weather symbols, and food items into your messages.

Need another way to express yourself when sending e-mail via Google Gmail, and changing the text color just won't do?

Now you can insert all sorts of emoticons, such as animated smilies, stars, exclamation points, and mini clip-art of objects such as a computer, cell phone, or baseball. Inserting emoticons is simple:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 24 Oct 2008 15:57:24 GMT http://malektips.com/google-gmail-insert-emoticon-smiley.html http://malektips.com/toggle-google-maps-overview-map.html Toggle the Overview map at the bottom-right of the Google Maps application.

Besides protection against ActiveX controls and cookies in Internet Explorer, SpywareBlaster also attempts to restrict actions taken by sites potentially carrying spyware, malware, adware, or those performing potentially-undesirable actions. This is done by placing the sites in Internet Explorer's Restricted Sites list, where (depending on your configuration) such sites will not be able to activate ActiveX Controls, download ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 23 Oct 2008 15:06:33 GMT http://malektips.com/toggle-google-maps-overview-map.html http://malektips.com/google-chrome-keyboard-shortcuts.html Useful keyboard shortcuts for the Google Chrome web browser.

For those who dislike constantly switching from the keyboard to the mouse when browsing and searching the web, Google Chrome supports a wide array of keyboard shortcuts, including some used by other browsers. These include:

Alt + Left Arrow: Previous page ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 21 Oct 2008 21:27:12 GMT http://malektips.com/google-chrome-keyboard-shortcuts.html http://malektips.com/google-maps-not-displaying.html What to do if Google Maps fails to run in your web browser.

Having difficulty displaying maps in Google Maps? Are you experiencing reduced or no functionality, or distorted or no images?

If so, be sure to check out the online help tool at Google, specifically the following URL:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 20 Oct 2008 13:32:42 GMT http://malektips.com/google-maps-not-displaying.html http://malektips.com/google-image-search-size.html Filter your image searches in Google to either small or large images.

When using Google Image Search, you may tire of viewing small pictures and only want higher-resolution images. If so, there are a couple of ways to perform searches for images that Google deems small, medium, large, and extra large:

A) Advanced Image Search...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 10 Oct 2008 17:12:35 GMT http://malektips.com/google-image-search-size.html http://malektips.com/google-image-search-faces.html Display faces related to your Google Image Search queries.

When performing queries with Google Image Search, you may not always be looking for places and things, but people related to those places and things. To help, Google can limit its image search results to pictures that Google recognizes to contain faces. Thus, for example, a search for 'computer' might include photos of people working with computers.

1. From Google Image Search, click the "Advanced Image Search" link....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 7 Oct 2008 20:36:01 GMT http://malektips.com/google-image-search-faces.html http://malektips.com/google-chrome-zoom-text.html Having a hard time reading text? Increase its size by zooming in.

Having a hard time reading text in a webpage browsed in Google Chrome? Or would you like to fit more text on a page?

The following options / keyboard shortcuts let you increase or decrease the size of text. Note that text inside images, Flash animations, etc. will not change. Depending on the webpage, zooming in or zooming out may affect the webpage's layout, causing inadvertent affects. Also, there are limits to how large/small you can make text:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 3 Oct 2008 18:28:06 GMT http://malektips.com/google-chrome-zoom-text.html http://malektips.com/google-chrome-right-click-tab.html Right-click on the Google Chrome Tab Bar for more tab opening/closing options.

When more than one tab is open in Google Chrome's tab bar, several tab opening/closing features are available by right-clicking on a tab:

Duplicate: Creates a duplicate copy of the content in the tab in a new Google Chrome window...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 1 Oct 2008 16:42:29 GMT http://malektips.com/google-chrome-right-click-tab.html http://malektips.com/google-chrome-home-button-toolbar.html Provide one-click access to your home page in Google Chrome.

If you frequently access your home page in Google Chrome, you may wish to provide one-click access to it at all times. To do so you can add a homepage button to the toolbar:

1. Click the Tools button....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 30 Sep 2008 14:32:35 GMT http://malektips.com/google-chrome-home-button-toolbar.html http://malektips.com/google-chrome-prompt-download-file.html Have Google Chrome prompt you where to save downloaded files instead of placing them in a default location.

By default, Google Chrome places all downloaded files in a "Downloads" directory underneath the user's "Documents" folder.

While many people may find this location acceptable and appreciate Google Chrome downloading files immediately without an added dialog box, power users may wish to be prompted every time a file is to be downloaded. This way you can choose where to place each file, putting movies in one folder, games in another, and utilities in yet another folder, for example....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 29 Sep 2008 22:48:57 GMT http://malektips.com/google-chrome-prompt-download-file.html http://malektips.com/google-chrome-pop-up-notify.html Prevent Google Chrome from announcing when it finds and blocks a pop-up window in a webpage.

While pop-up windows do have legitimate uses in navigating certain websites, they are often used for advertisements. Google Chrome, by default, blocks them. When pop-up windows are blocked, Google notifies you with a "Blocked Pop-up" alert at the bottom-right of the browser window.

If you frequently visit websites where pop-up windows are blocked, you may grow tired of this notification. If so, it can be disabled:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 29 Sep 2008 16:18:38 GMT http://malektips.com/google-chrome-pop-up-notify.html http://malektips.com/google-chrome-drag-tab-from-firefox.html You can drag and drop a tab from Firefox to view the same page from within Google Chrome.

Viewing a webpage in Firefox and want to see how it looks in Google Chrome? Instead of copying the URL from Firefox and pasting it into Google Chrome, or even retyping it, there's an easier way.

(This has been tested with Firefox 2 and Firefox 3.)...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 26 Sep 2008 23:30:59 GMT http://malektips.com/google-chrome-drag-tab-from-firefox.html