http://malektips.com/ New computer and technology tips from MalekTips. Topics include Windows (including Windows 7, Windows Vista, and Windows XP), DOS, Microsoft Office, anti-spyware, Internet Explorer, electronic mail, the Internet, and digital cameras and photography. en-us Fri, 3 Jul 2009 19:12:06 GMT Fri, 3 Jul 2009 19:12:06 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/ 88 30 http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-favorite-keyboard-shortcut.html Create a keyboard shortcut that opens up a Favorite website, even if Internet Explorer is closed.

Sure your favorite websites in Internet Explorer 8 may be easy to access - just open up the "Favorites" menu or click the Favorites button. You may even have Favorites accessible via the Windows Start Menu. But how about making them easier to access from anywhere by creating a global keyboard shortcut that opens up your browser* and displays the website?

1. From Internet Explorer 8, click the "Favorites" button in the Command Bar....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 3 Jul 2009 19:12:04 GMT http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-favorite-keyboard-shortcut.html http://malektips.com/publisher-2007-move-page.html Move an entire page when editing a Publisher 2007 document.

After working on a multi-page Microsoft Publisher 2007 document, you may find that a story, its related graphics, and all other objects on a page need to be moved elsewhere. Perhaps a story buried on page 5 of a newsletter suddenly has gained importance and needs to be moved to directly after the title page. Or the contents of a catalog need to be shifted around due to seasonal sales volume.

You do not need to copy and paste all objects on a page from one to another - here are two ways to move pages around:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 3 Jul 2009 17:58:30 GMT http://malektips.com/publisher-2007-move-page.html http://malektips.com/digital_waterfall_photography_0011.html Step back from waterfalls to avoid water droplets and water vapor getting on your digital camera.

Although most photographers recommend not using a zoom lens as much, recommending you physically getting closer to a subject, when taking digital photos of waterfalls you can get too close. Step back and then use a telephoto lens to zoom-in if necessary. Set your digital camera on a sturdy tripod if you have problems with camera shake due to the telephoto zoom.

Even if you think you are at a safe distance away from a waterfall, droplets can splash onto your lens. If this happens, be sure to quickly wipe off any excess moisture on your camera, not only on your lens but also on the entire digital camera body. Although getting your lens wet can cause problems, liquid getting through to your camera's internals could prove disastrous....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 3 Jul 2009 16:23:43 GMT http://malektips.com/digital_waterfall_photography_0011.html http://malektips.com/bing-enable-disable-search-suggestions.html Toggle having Bing display search suggestions as you enter queries.

Microsoft's Bing search engine by default displays search suggestions as you type a search query. This convenience feature is provided for several reasons including spelling difficult words, saving typing, and finding related queries.

While many people find these suggestions useful, there are those who would rather not have their searches broadcast over the Internet before finishing them. Some not accessing the Internet via broadband may find loading the suggestions slow. And others just may not like this feature. Thus here is how to disable them, plus instructions to re-enable suggestions later if you change your mind:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 3 Jul 2009 15:02:09 GMT http://malektips.com/bing-enable-disable-search-suggestions.html http://malektips.com/igoogle-feed-virtual-fish.html Don't want to purchase an aquarium and pay for the upkeep? Feed virtual fish on your iGoogle homepage.

Don't have the cash for an aquarium, exotic fish, fish food, and all the extras and maintenance? Add a virtual aquarium to your iGoogle page with the "Fish" gadget from Adam Bowman. Move your mouse pointer inside the gadget and the fish will follow. Press the left mouse button to release "food" and watch as the fish eat.

...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 3 Jul 2009 13:34:44 GMT http://malektips.com/igoogle-feed-virtual-fish.html http://malektips.com/fontlist-create-font-html-list.html FontList is a freeware application for Windows that creates HTML files displaying installed fonts.

FontList is a freeware Windows application from Edwin Martin that creates HTML files displaying all fonts installed on your system. The simple dialog box lets you customize the sample text, where the HTML file is placed, and whether or not to include Symbol, non-English, and Raster fonts in the output.

Besides displaying all installed fonts on your system, the output HTML file lets you preview fonts in bold and italics as well as switching between a small and larger font size. Via a "CharMap" button you can open a window displaying a font's character map, especially useful with symbol fonts....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 2 Jul 2009 19:58:52 GMT http://malektips.com/fontlist-create-font-html-list.html http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-wayback-machine-accelerator.html With an Internet Explorer 8 Accelerator, access the Internet Archive's Wayback Machine to see archived copies of a site you are browsing or a hyperlink on a page.

The Internet Archive's Wayback Machine is a growing archive of billions of web pages going all the way back to 1996. With it you can see how your favorite websites looked in the past or display sites that no longer exist.

Via an Internet Explorer 8 Accelerator you will not need to access this site directly. Just visit a website in your web browser, right-click, and use "Find with Wayback Machine" to view archives. Or if you find a link to a website that is no longer online, right-click the link and use "Find with Wayback Machine" to see archives of the page....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 2 Jul 2009 18:24:13 GMT http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-wayback-machine-accelerator.html http://malektips.com/pc-tools-file-recover.html PC Tools File Recover is a commercial program for Windows to help you preview and recover deleted files. Note the trial only lets you search for possibly recoverable files.

PC Tools File Recover can scan your hard drive, floppy drive, or other fixed media for files to possibly undelete. The commercial software works for Windows 2000 and up (when this tip was written, Windows 7 support was not mentioned).

PC Tools File Recover can deal with bad sectors and works with multiple file systems including FAT12 (floppy disks), FAT16, FAT32, and NTFS. Multiple scan types are supported - a quick scan for deleted file entries, deeper scan for unallocated clusters, and a physical scan that may be beneficial when dealing with corrupted media. Note that scans can take a long time to perform......

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 2 Jul 2009 16:53:32 GMT http://malektips.com/pc-tools-file-recover.html http://malektips.com/safari-windows-folder-downloaded-files.html Configure Safari for Windows to download files to another folder besides the 'My Documents' folder.

When you download files from the Internet via Safari for Windows, files are normally placed in your "My Documents" folder. If you'd rather place files elsewhere by default, do the following:

1. Press the general Safari settings menu button near the top-right of the browser (it looks like a gear)....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 2 Jul 2009 15:21:54 GMT http://malektips.com/safari-windows-folder-downloaded-files.html http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-read-plain-text.html Force Windows Live Mail to render all messages as plain text.

When you receive messages via Windows Live Mail in HTML, fonts, hyperlinks, and other features are displayed in the messages for a more rich text experience.

If you are concerned about phishing or other malicious hyperlinks (note that Windows Live Mail does come with phishing protection), hidden text inside e-mail messages, or possible security problems in the software that may be exploited by malicious HTML, this feature can be disabled. Or you just may rather turn off HTML formatting as a personal preference. All messages will be rendered as plain text, no matter the format used when sending....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 2 Jul 2009 13:52:25 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-live-mail-read-plain-text.html http://malektips.com/igoogle-labpixies-calculator-skins.html Need to perform some basic math? Do so in style with the LabPixies Calculator for iGoogle.

If you need to add a few numbers, it's easy to use Google as a calculator or use your operating system's calculator. However, what if you'd like to use a calculator that can be changed via skins?

The LabPixies Calculator for iGoogle provides just that. Perform basic math, exponentiation, and square roots, and if you want a little variety, click the "Change Skin" button to choose from a variety of colorful skins....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 1 Jul 2009 20:02:36 GMT http://malektips.com/igoogle-labpixies-calculator-skins.html http://malektips.com/typograf-font-manager-windows.html Typograf is a commercial font manager for Windows that provides font comparisons and contact sheet printing capabilities.

Typograf is an OpenType, TrueType, and Type 1 font manager for Windows. Besides displaying a list of fonts on your system, Tyograf displays font details such as copyright and trademark information, font metrics, and how fonts are displayed with kerning.

Other features include the ability to compare fonts by classes, Panose, and metrics; moving fonts into a database where font groups can be activated or deactivated as needed for particular tasks; displaying a virtual keyboard layout for fonts; and searching for possible duplicate fonts. You can print font contact sheets with up to 80 fonts per page; these pages can be customized as needed with different font sizes and sample text. Plus the program includes useful information on type classifications, mixing and matching fonts in a document, and typesetting tips. ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 1 Jul 2009 18:19:56 GMT http://malektips.com/typograf-font-manager-windows.html http://malektips.com/windows-xp-network-flush-dns-cache.html How to flush the DNS Resolver Cache if temporary problems are preventing accessing a particular website.

Windows XP caches DNS entries (these change human-readable names such as malektips.com and google.com into IP addresses that allow communication over the Internet). This way instead of having to access a remote DNS server every time you re-access the same web address, Windows can use the cached entry to speed communication.

If a negative response is retrieved when performing a DNS query, this negative response may also be cached. If temporary problems exist with your Internet connection or DNS server, it is possible that the query for a domain that should match with an IP address fails. As this failure is recorded, if network problems cease, future requests for the particular site will continue to fail for awhile as Windows uses the failed cached entry instead of checking with a DNS server. However, it is relatively simple to clear the DNS Resolver Cache if you are temporarily unable to access your favorite site:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 1 Jul 2009 16:52:07 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-xp-network-flush-dns-cache.html http://malektips.com/windows-7-change-account-name.html Change the name Windows 7 displays on the Welcome Screen and Start Menu.

(This tip is geared towards beginners). When you access the Windows 7 Start Menu or view the Welcome screen (if you lock your computer you will see this, for example) your account name is listed. If you wish to change this name, do the following:

1. Click the Start menu....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 1 Jul 2009 15:25:28 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-7-change-account-name.html http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-ftp-folders-explorer.html If you cannot access FTP sites through Explorer windows, ensure a configuration option has not been unchecked.

Internet Explorer 8 lets you access FTP sites inside folders in Explorer, providing a familiar interface to browse directories and drag-and-drop files to download or upload them from or to remote computers. If this feature does not work in that opening an FTP site, for example ftp://ftp.adobe.com, from the Windows Start Menu opens Internet Explorer instead of a folder in Explorer, make sure a configuration option has not been changed.

1. Access the Internet Options dialog box. If the menu bar is visible, you can select "Tools" - "Internet Options". If the Command Bar is visible, click the "Tools" button and select "Internet Options". If neither are available, try typing Alt + T then O....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 1 Jul 2009 13:57:59 GMT http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-ftp-folders-explorer.html http://malektips.com/what-time-is-it-google-search.html Quickly answer the question "what time is it?" for many cities via a Google Search.

Before making a phone call or expecting a response to your e-mail or instant message, do you need to know what time it is for a city a few hundred miles away or halfway across the world? Instead of relying on third-party websites, use the Google search engine.

Performing a query in the format time CITY displays the current time in that city as well as its day of the week (Thursday in New York City may be Friday in Sydney). Some ambiguous searches where the city name matches multiple areas may show the times in both cities, or you can add the country name, province, USA state, etc. to hone in on the desired result. Instead of querying for the time in a city, you can also search for the time in a state, country, etc....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 20:03:57 GMT http://malektips.com/what-time-is-it-google-search.html http://malektips.com/igoogle-frogger-game.html Jump across the street and river to find your way home in this clone of Frogger for your iGoogle page.

Looking to play the arcade classic Frogger? If you're running Firefox and don't want to install a Frogger extension, or if you're running Internet Explorer, add a clone of Frogger to your iGoogle page.

You know the drill - avoid the cars and trucks, jump on the logs and turtles, and make it home before time runs out. Use the cursor keys to move. 'P' pauses the game in case you have an instant message or phone call to attend to, and 'Q' quits....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 18:58:27 GMT http://malektips.com/igoogle-frogger-game.html http://malektips.com/windows-7-fax-scan-play-sound-new-message.html A quick tweak to configure whether or not the Windows Fax and Scan tool in Windows 7 should play a sound when messages arrive.

Depending on your configuration, Windows 7's "Windows Fax and Scan" tool may play a sound whenever new fax messages arrive. This way you can be notified of new faxes without having to remain next to the computer.

If you find these sounds annoying or are in an environment where sounds are discouraged (i.e. some offices), they can be disabled. Or, you can enable sounds if they do not currently play....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 17:05:48 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-7-fax-scan-play-sound-new-message.html http://malektips.com/virus-malware-scan-virscan.html Scan a file for malware with a multitude of different anti-virus and anti-spyware engines.

While you may have an antivirus application installed on your machine, no scanner can boast a 100% detection rate. If you are particularly concerned that a file you have acquired may have spyware, adware, or other malware, increase the odds that problems will be detected by using a variety of different engines. Even though it is not recommended to run multiple engines simultaneously on your system, you can scan a file with multiple engines with the free scanner from VirSCAN.org.

VirSCAN.org lets you upload a file up to 20 megabytes for analysis (ZIP/RAR files can have up to 20 files) by the following scanners: ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 15:32:04 GMT http://malektips.com/virus-malware-scan-virscan.html http://malektips.com/windows-xp-change-resolution-multires.html The MultiRes utility lets you change the screen resolution via an icon in the System Tray or a batch file. Multiple monitors are supported.

Need to frequently change the display resolution on your Windows XP computer and tired of right-clicking the Desktop, choosing Properties, etc.? If your graphics card did not come with a resolution-switching utility, an older application that everyone may not know about called MultiRes, a 32-bit version of the Microsoft QuickRes utility, may serve your needs.

MultiRes places an icon in the system tray area of the Windows XP Taskbar. Click the icon to choose from the resolutions available for your graphics card/monitor. You can also change refresh rates (if applicable) or access the "Display Properties" Control Panel, useful if you have many windows open and don't want to hide them to right-click the Desktop and choose "Properties"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 30 Jun 2009 14:06:24 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-xp-change-resolution-multires.html http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-weather-channel-accelerator.html With the Weather.com accelerator, you can highlight a city name or US zip code to open a new tab that displays the weather forecast.

Visiting a travel website or another site with city names or US zip codes via Internet Explorer 8 and want to display the weather forecasts? There's no need to visit a weather website directly, then key in the desired city or zip code and press the "Search" button. Instead, highlight the city or zip code and view the weather forecast from The Weather Channel in a new tab via an Accelerator.

1. From Internet Explorer, visit the following URL: ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 29 Jun 2009 19:34:28 GMT http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-weather-channel-accelerator.html http://malektips.com/igoogle-english-yoda-translator.html Translate English to Yoda-Speak with this translator for your iGoogle page.

Star Wars fans, take note. If you would like to speak like the Jedi master Yoda, consider trying out the "Convert English to Yoda-Speak" translator for your iGoogle page. Simply insert a famous quote or some text, click the "Convert" button, and receive age-old wisdom.

To be or not to be, that is the question. - To be or to be not, the question, that is. Hmmmmmm....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 29 Jun 2009 18:07:48 GMT http://malektips.com/igoogle-english-yoda-translator.html