Number 205 - June 2000

Windows Tips
Internet SIG Notes Feb 2000 North Texas PC NEWS
Surprisingly, some of the best discussions centered on Windows shortcuts and tips. Attendees observed how the presenters were moving quickly from one screen to another, or how they brought up certain screens in 1-2 keystrokes that required several keystrokes for many. This prompted some questions as to how this was done.     For instance, do you ever have trouble finding the small square in the upper right corner of a window that maximizes the window? You can do the same thing by double clicking any where on the title bar--the blue bar at the top of your window pane. And if you want to restore it back to its smaller size, just double click the title bar again. [See also Jean Wilcox's article Cookies & Shortcuts, etc. - ed.]     Do you use Windows Explorer to look for files on your hard disk? To open Windows Explorer, you can go through the START button to Programs, and onward to wherever it is hiding. But a quicker way is to right click on START, then left click on Explore. It does the same thing--only quicker.	Occasionally, you may find your file, then double click on it to start its associated application. For instance, files that have a "doc" extension were created with Microsoft WORD. Those ending in "xls" use EXCEL. Clicking on such files starts the application, and your file is opened within it.     But what if double-clicking your file tries to start the wrong application? You can override Windows' default by holding the Shift key down and right clicking on the file name. The menu that pops up includes a normally unseen option - "Open With". If you left click on Open With, you get a menu of most application programs, and can pick the one that you think will work.     What if you cannot find the file you are looking for? If you have some idea about what it is called, or when it was created, click START and choose Find, then Files or Folders. You can search on all or part of a file name, in one folder or across the entire hard disk(s). The "Date Modified" tab lets you narrow the search to files created within a specified time frame, while the "Advanced" tab lets you specify text to look for within your hard disk files. Use any or all of these options to locate your "lost" files. (Find is easiest - ed)
Number 205 - June 2000