Introduction to Windows XP Computing
by Tim Potter, April 17, 2006 Okemos Community Education
Motto: Session II
Have no fear – experiment, explore & learn!
A. My Computer: - View, move, delete the contents (data) of your computer thru My Computer; looking at your files thru other programs will not display all your files and end up confusing you (make you think you’ve lost files, etc.). - My Computer>Tools>Folder Options> General tab to change how the folder windows appear, how you browse them, change from double-click to single-clicking to open folders & other items; View tab for more advanced viewing options (Apply to All Folders makes your settings universal); File Types tab tells you what programs open what types of files. - View menu changes how the content looks (large/ small icons, list, details; details lets you view date/time, size and full file names); back and forward arrow helps you navigate in the order you’re exploring; Up level button allows you to go up a level in the folders where your data is stored; Search is self-explanatory; Folders let’s you easily move/ copy data around your computer. B. Search tool (listed on Start menu) Locate any type of file by any part of a file name, keyword within file itself, creation or modification date, size of the file. C. Web Browsing More Effectively:
Tweaking Internet Explorer
Turn on inline Auto Complete for easier surfing to sites you visit often (Tools menu>Internet Options>Advanced tab>check “Use inline Auto Complete” Automatic Image Resizing: enabled by default; might want to disable it if you’d like to view photos up-close. Turn off “Print background colors and images” (under Printing category) to save ink, or turn it on if you really want to print it.
On the Content tab, under Personal Information, AutoComplete options are handy;
go here to also clear them out if security is a concern. Content Advisor on this same screen can help filter some web site content if enabled (like when kids come to visit, etc.). Unlock the toolbars and use the Links toolbar for quick access to favorite sites; modify link names to fit more in. Right-click over any toolbar area and then go to Customize; options to improve visibility of toolbars, add/ remove items. Put Favorites into sub-folders when adding new ones; use “Organize Favorites” when wanting to re-organize currently existing favorites into sub-folders. Right-click over favorites and do “Sort by Name” to alphabetize them. Do CTRL+I to have your Favorites visible as left menu. Left-click and drag toolbars around to arrange them how you want them. Use View>Full screen when trying to view something at maximum size. To back-up a page use right-click>Back or ALT+ left or right arrow keys to go back and forth rather than clicking on browser’s arrow buttons. Having trouble getting a web page to print out on 1 page? Copy text and paste into a Word document then print it. Need to refer to a couple different web pages at the same time? Open new windows and leave them open rather than going back and forth (CTRL+N to quickly open new window; can also right-click on a link and click “Open in New Window”)
HOT TIP
Try Firefox web browser for even more effective web browsing; uses tabs instead of having to open new windows. usefulness. www.mozilla.com/firefox/ Firefox has lots of different extensions, like Forecast Fox, for even more fun and
D.
Web Fun & Research Tips for Google
Google, a wonderful resource with many more tools than just searching. Google’s Image search for photos Google’s Local for finding businesses combined with mapping. Go to Google then click “More>>>” on the far right for a menu of lots of other great tools: www.google.com/intl/en/options/
Here are some of them
Google’s Froogle – excellent way to shop w/out biased advertisers; excellent tie-in with Google Local; gives you maps to the vendors. Google Maps satellite and hybrid views Try the Gmap Pedometer to calculate distances: www.gmap-pedometer.com
Or Google Earth to see places in a totally different way: earth.google.com Google Book Search lets you search the full text of books: books.google.com and with Scholar Search you can find info. from academic papers: scholar.google.com Use Google’s Language tools for translating any text or web page into any language. Gmail – free email with over 2 GB of space for emailing and file storage. Other Google search help & tricks: see www.google.com/features.html Google phonebook name removal request form: maps.google.com/help/pbremoval.html Google Groups - Create, search, and browse groups to discuss and share ideas.
H.
Working with Digital Photos
Viewing & very simple editing built-into Windows XP (Open My Computer, then open folder with photos, choose view as Filmstrip from View menu, then you can rotate images, view as slideshow, etc. Default (built-in) Windows Picture and Fax Viewer: offers a few more editing tools Microsoft Photo Editor: also built-in (older) gives even a few more advanced editing tools (crop, resize, rotate, color balance, effects, sharpening). ACD See, (www.acdsystems.com) is a great, full-featured photo editing group of tools. Helps immensely when working with lots of photos.
I.
Emailing Photos
Photos these days can be huge, so be careful to check and down-size them if necessary before emailing to family/ friends. If you have a lot of photos you’d like to share, consider using Webshots.com, Shutterfly.com or photos.yahoo.com (all offer free services) to upload your photos rather than emailing them. They all offer easy print ordering too for people who want hard copies (Shutterfly does a great job w/ prints; I’ve used them for over 3 years now for both personal and professional jobs).