http://malektips.com/windows_vista_help_and_tips.html Windows Vista help and technical support. Topics include installation, the Explorer, managing fonts, security, the Start Menu, and the Taskbar. en-us Wed, 3 Dec 2008 19:27:27 GMT Wed, 3 Dec 2008 19:27:27 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/windows_vista_help_and_tips.html 88 30 http://malektips.com/vista-start-menu-administrative-tools.html Provide links to Administrative Tools such as the Event Viewer and Task Scheduler directly from the Start Menu.

Depending on your Windows Vista Start Menu configuration, to access Administrative Tools such as the Reliability and Performance Monitor, you must either type the name of the tool into the Start Menu's search box, or first access the Control Panel and then the Administrative Tools section.

With a simple tweak you can place a link to an expanding Administrative Tools menu directly on the Start Menu, as well as a link from the "All Programs" menu....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 3 Dec 2008 19:27:26 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-start-menu-administrative-tools.html http://malektips.com/vista-hover-window-mouse-select.html Select windows just by hovering over them with the mouse pointer in Windows Vista.

Normally in Windows Vista, to switch focus from one window to another, you must click on the window to switch focus to with the mouse. In some computing environments, however, focus automatically switches between windows just by hovering over them with the mouse pointer.

Windows Vista, through its accessibility tools, offers this same feature, which can be a time-saver if you have multiple tiled windows open simultaneously....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 3 Dec 2008 16:26:40 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-hover-window-mouse-select.html http://malektips.com/windows-vista-show-file-extensions.html Prevent Windows Vista from hiding file extensions in Explorer, a possible security risk.

Depending on your configuration, Windows Vista may hide the file extensions of known file types in Explorer views. The reason for this is to "clean up" the display of files, as often the file icon signifies the type of file anyway.

Unfortunately, this configuration is a potential security risk. For example, it is possible that a filename that looks like it ends with ".txt", or a filename with an icon that looks like a notepad icon, actually has a hidden OTHER extension. If you double-click what you think is a simple text file, you may actually run malware instead!...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 20 Nov 2008 16:21:21 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-vista-show-file-extensions.html http://malektips.com/vista-explorer-send-to.html Add the ability to right-click on a file and send it to a text editor, a word processor, or other application.

When you right-click on a file or folder, a "Send To" menu appears, allowing you to create a Desktop shortcut, compress files, send files as attachments, and more.

In previous versions of Microsoft Windows, it was easy to modify this list of items. Simply creating a shortcut in the user's "SendTo" folder, directly underneath the "Documents and Settings" folder, did the trick. Windows Vista, however, places this folder in a different location....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 19:58:57 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-explorer-send-to.html http://malektips.com/vista-sidebar-gadget-stocks.html Add a Gadget to the Windows Vista Sidebar to view stock prices.

Curious to know how well your stocks are doing (or.. ahem.. otherwise) and would like such information directly available on the Desktop? You can add a Stocks Gadget to the Windows Vista Sidebar to display information about the stocks of your choice.

1. Right-click on the Windows Sidebar icon in the tray area of the Taskbar and choose "Add Gadgets"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 12 Nov 2008 19:59:28 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-sidebar-gadget-stocks.html http://malektips.com/vista-sidebar-uninstall-gadget.html Uninstall a Sidebar Gadget from your Windows Vista system.

For various reasons you may wish to completely remove an installed Windows Vista Sidebar gadget. Perhaps you no longer use the gadget, or perhaps you downloaded and installed a Windows Sidebar Gadget and it did not work for your system. To perform an uninstall:

1. Right-click on the Windows Sidebar icon in the tray area of the Taskbar and choose "Add Gadgets"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 10 Nov 2008 17:37:09 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-sidebar-uninstall-gadget.html http://malektips.com/vista-sidebar-gadget-notes.html Add a Gadget to the Windows Vista Sidebar you can use to jot down a quick note or two.

Need to jot down a quick note or two and don't want to fool with opening up Notepad, WordPad, or Microsoft Word? Instead, add a "sticky note" Gadget to your Windows Vista Sidebar.

1. Right-click on the Windows Sidebar icon in the tray area of the Taskbar and choose "Add Gadgets"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 6 Nov 2008 18:37:01 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-sidebar-gadget-notes.html http://malektips.com/windows-vista-hide-show-protected-os-files.html Toggle whether Windows Vista should show protected operating system files when browsing folders in Explorer.

By default, Windows Vista hides protected operating system files from view when browsing folders in Explorer. This is to prevent neophytes (and, ahem, some expert computer users) from damaging important files key to the operation of Windows Vista.

If you are troubleshooting Windows Vista problems such as the possibility that operating system files may have been damaged by viruses or spyware or other malware, you may wish to turn off this setting and show all files. To do so:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 5 Nov 2008 16:34:39 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-vista-hide-show-protected-os-files.html http://malektips.com/vista-explorer-folder-size-hover.html Toggle whether or not Windows Vista should calculate and display the size of files containined inside folders as a folder tip.

Depending on your configuration, when you hover your mouse over a folder in Windows Vista Explorer, Windows Vista calculates and displays the size of files and folders contained underneath in a popup folder tip. Note that for folders containing a large number of files, Windows will only spend a limited amount of time performing this calculation, giving up and just saying the folder is "larger than" a certain amount of Mb, Gb, or Tb.

Many people appreciate this convenience. However, others would rather disable this feature to reduce CPU and hard drive usage when navigating folders in Explorer. Thus, this option can be disabled:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 3 Nov 2008 16:32:46 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-explorer-folder-size-hover.html http://malektips.com/vista-sidebar-gadget-opacity.html Configure whether Windows Vista Sidebar Gadgets should appear slightly transparent.

Depending on your configuration, Windows Vista Sidebar gadgets may appear slightly transparent, allowing the Desktop or applications running behind the Gadget to partially show through. Some appreciate this visual eye-candy, especially if they have undocked a Sidebar Gadget to the Desktop; others would rather not see a blending of the Gadget and whatever lies underneath.

To configure the opacity for a particular Gadget:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 31 Oct 2008 14:26:13 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-sidebar-gadget-opacity.html http://malektips.com/windows-vista-icon-thumbnail-display.html If thumbnails are not displaying in Windows Vista Explorer folders, or if you wish to turn off thumbnail display for speed, perform this tip.

Depending on your Windows Vista configuration, when opening folders in Explorer and viewing files as icons, image thumbnail previews may appear for many popular image file types.

Instead of seeing thumbnails, some people may see icons instead and not know how to view thumbnail previews. Others who are currently viewing thumbnails might rather see icons as thumbnail previews. Especially with folders containing many images, these previews may take time to render. Thus, this option can be tweaked:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 30 Oct 2008 15:21:01 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-vista-icon-thumbnail-display.html http://malektips.com/windows-vista-taskbar-autohide.html Hide the Windows Vista Taskbar when not in use to provide more room for your opened windows.

By default the Windows Vista Taskbar is displayed on the bottom of your Desktop and remains there as you open new windows and software. This provides one-click access to the Start Menu while working in virtually any Windows application that is not running in full-screen.

If you require more room onscreen for your running applications you can force the Taskbar to "hide" when not in use. When the Taskbar is hidden, merely moving your mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen (or the side where your taskbar is placed) displays it again....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 27 Oct 2008 16:52:10 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-vista-taskbar-autohide.html http://malektips.com/vista-start-menu-remove-games.html For business machines, clear the Games option from the Windows Vista Start Menu.

In many Windows Vista configurations you can find an options for "Games" on the Start menu. This provides quick access to default games such as Spider Solitaire, FreeCell, and Minesweeper.

For business-oriented machines you may wish to disable this option from appearing on the Start Menu to discourage its use....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 24 Oct 2008 19:49:48 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-start-menu-remove-games.html http://malektips.com/applications-certified-windows-vista.html Need to see if an application works with Windows Vista? Check the official lists.

Microsoft keeps track of applications that either are certified for use with Windows Vista or work with Windows Vista.

Certified applications pass a test that "target four core areas: reliability, security, compatibility with Windows Vista and future operating systems, and installation and removal"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 21 Oct 2008 19:12:01 GMT http://malektips.com/applications-certified-windows-vista.html http://malektips.com/vista-taskbar-desktop-toolbar.html Access Desktop icons quickly on the Windows Vista Taskbar.

Need to access icons on your Windows Vista Desktop quickly, and without hiding all open programs? You can do so by creating a toolbar item on the Taskbar.

1. Right-click an empty area of the Windows Vista Taskbar....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 16 Oct 2008 16:59:02 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-taskbar-desktop-toolbar.html http://malektips.com/windows-vista-explorer-status-bar.html Toggle a status bar at the bottom of Explorer folder views in Windows Vista.

Depending on your configuration, Windows Vista may display a status bar at the bottom of Explorer folders. This provides helpful information such as:

* Information about menu bar commands as your mouse hovers over them...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 14 Oct 2008 18:54:38 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-vista-explorer-status-bar.html http://malektips.com/windows-vista-explorer-copy-file-folder-path.html Copy the name of a file or folder's path to the DOS command window, a Windows application, a text file, or other locations.

There may be times where you need the complete path to a file or folder in your Windows Vista system. Perhaps you need to copy a file's path to insert into a batch file in a DOS command window. You might want to copy and paste a long file path into a Windows application so you don't have to find it again later. Or, you may want to run an application with a command-line switch and don't want to re-type the entire application's path.

Windows Vista has a somewhat secret trick that lets you copy a file or folder's path to the Clipboard....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 10 Oct 2008 18:23:58 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-vista-explorer-copy-file-folder-path.html http://malektips.com/vista-taskbar-view-clear-recently-opened-files.html View or clear a list of recently accessed files from the Windows Vista Start Menu.

From the Windows Vista Taskbar, if you click the "Start" button and select "Recent Items", a list of files recently-opened in most Windows Vista applications appears. This way if you frequently access the same files you will not need to navigate Explorer to find them again.

What if you want to clear this list of items from the Start Menu? It's easy....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 9 Oct 2008 15:18:50 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-taskbar-view-clear-recently-opened-files.html http://malektips.com/vista-explorer-forward-back-keyboard.html Windows Explorer in Vista supports some of the same navigation keyboard shortcuts as those in Internet Explorer.

Windows Vista Explorer has some of the same keyboard shortcuts as Internet Explorer. The following shortcuts may be useful when navigating folders:

Back to Previous Folder: Alt + Left Arrow...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Mon, 6 Oct 2008 23:41:09 GMT http://malektips.com/vista-explorer-forward-back-keyboard.html http://malektips.com/windows-vista-explorer-select-all.html Quickly select all files and subfolders of a folder when performing operations in Windows Vista Explorer.

You may occasionally need to select all files and subfolders of a folder in Windows Vista without selecting the folder itself. Perhaps you want to compress a folder's contents, move files to a new location on the network, or attach multiple files to an e-mail message at once - all without including the parent folder's name. If so, there are multiple ways to select all files and subfolders from Explorer:

A. Click the "Organize" button and choose "Select All"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 3 Oct 2008 02:23:52 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-vista-explorer-select-all.html