http://malektips.com/windows_help_and_tips.html Windows tips for Windows Vista, XP, 2000, 98, and 95. Topics include security, the Internet, Control Panel, the Desktop, tweaks, DOS, the taskbar, and multimedia. 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/windows_help_and_tips.html 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/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/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/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/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/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/internet-explorer-8-amazon-visual-search.html Shop Amazon directly from Internet Explorer 8 by performing a search, displaying matching images as search suggestions.

If you frequently shop on Amazon from Internet Explorer 8, why not add the ability to search the site directly from the browser? With Amazon Visual Search you can do just that, plus view images of matching products as you type via search suggestions.

First visit the following page from Internet Explorer:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 26 Jun 2009 19:29:17 GMT http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-amazon-visual-search.html http://malektips.com/file-transfer-ftp-sftp-cuteftp.html CuteFTP is a commercial file transfer program for Windows and Mac OS X available in several editions.

Available in Lite, Home, and Pro editions, CuteFTP is a commercial FTP and SFTP program for Windows and Mac OS X. Security options include supporting SSL certificates and proxy servers. The software has a variety of configuration options including adjusting concurrent transfers and retry attempts, toolbar customization, logging events and errors during transfers, encrypting information (including login passwords) of stored FTP sites, and optional sounds to alert you of transfer events if you're not sitting next to the computer.

The professional version supports several backup features including folder synchronization, site backup, and a scripting / macro engine. CuteFTP Pro also handles bandwidth throttling, useful if other applications are accessing your network. ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Fri, 26 Jun 2009 16:33:13 GMT http://malektips.com/file-transfer-ftp-sftp-cuteftp.html http://malektips.com/windows-7-start-menu-favorites.html Create a submenu from the Windows 7 Start Menu providing access to your Internet Explorer Favorites.

Are you an Internet Explorer user and would like your Favorites even easier to access? With the following tweak you can add a submenu from the Windows 7 Start Menu that provides instant access to your Favorites.

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose "Properties"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2009 20:21:09 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-7-start-menu-favorites.html http://malektips.com/flashpaste-clipboard-assistant.html Flashpaste lets you paste text copied to the clipboard and also supports permanent clips. A macro language supports advanced options.

Flashpaste is a commercial clipboard assistant for Windows. The application monitors text copied to the clipboard and lets you recall items for pasting. You can also create a folder-organized library of permanent clips, useful in storing frequently-pasted items such as your name, web or blog address, and Twitter account.

Besides pasting simple text clips, a macro language lets you create options to paste the time and date in any format, open documents or web sites, emulate the pressing of special keys such as Tab and Ctrl, and more. Also, to help protect against file corruption and other problems, Flashpaste automatically backs up the database of clips every three days (customizable). ...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2009 17:25:21 GMT http://malektips.com/flashpaste-clipboard-assistant.html http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-new-york-times-web-slice.html Display a selection of headlines from The New York Times on the Internet Explorer 8 Favorites Bar.

Want to keep up with the latest news by browsing the headlines, but don't want to jump back and forth between your web browsing and news websites?

With Internet Explorer 8 you can browse the latest news from the New York Times via the Favorites Bar. First visit the following website with Internet Explorer:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Thu, 25 Jun 2009 14:25:08 GMT http://malektips.com/internet-explorer-8-new-york-times-web-slice.html http://malektips.com/windows-7-taskbar-hide.html Hide Windows 7's Taskbar from the screen when not in use.

Windows 7's Taskbar is larger than in previous versions of Windows, and if screen real-estate is at a premium, as is the case with some netbooks, you may want to hide it when not in use to provide more room for open applications. Note when doing so you can switch between windows in other ways such as clicking on windows, using Ctrl + Tab, or Win + Tab.

1. Right-click an empty area of the taskbar and choose "Properties"....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2009 20:17:27 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-7-taskbar-hide.html http://malektips.com/windows-7-opt-out-help-experience-improvement.html Choose whether or not your help browsing habits should be sent to Microsoft to improve content and search results.

Microsoft runs a "Help Experience Improvement Program" in that when you use online help, information about your help browsing habits can be sent to Microsoft to help them improve search results and content relevancy. According to their privacy policy, "Microsoft does not use the information to contact you or identify you".

To opt out of this program on a Windows 7 machine, or later if you decide to opt back in, do the following:...

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Wed, 24 Jun 2009 14:38:12 GMT http://malektips.com/windows-7-opt-out-help-experience-improvement.html http://malektips.com/file-transfer-software-smartftp.html SmartFTP is a commercial Windows FTP client supporting a variety of themes and customization options.

SmartFTP is a commercial FTP application for 32-bit and 64-bit Windows, available in Home and Professional editions. FTP sites are managed via an Internet Explorer-like Favorites interface, and you can switch between open sites via tabs.

Customization features include adjusting the layout, changing the theme (options include various Office, Windows, and Visual Studio interfaces), and adding a context menu item to Windows Explorer. To diagnose transfer issues, view logs as well as a transfer speed statistics popup. Traffic can be throttled, allowing other network applications to function. SmartFTP can be configured to play event-based sounds in case you do not wish to sit next to your computer while transferring files....

Read more at MalekTips.]]> Tue, 23 Jun 2009 18:34:51 GMT http://malektips.com/file-transfer-software-smartftp.html