Basic Computing Tips for Windows 3.1 - Page 1



*1.   DOES ANYBODY REALLY KNOWWHAT TIME IT IS?--PART 2 OF 2

January 6th, 1999

In our last tip, we pointed out that you can be sure to actually see the
 time in your open Clock window by keeping the Clock minimized so that its
 icon--complete with a time display--appears at the bottom of the screen.
 Of course, if you frequently maximize open windows (so that they extend
 from one end of the screen to the other), Clock is still going to get
 buried. Fixing this problem is a job for the Always on Top option.

1. Open Clock, if it isn't already. (It's in Program Manager's
 Accessories group.)
2. If Clock is minimized, click the Clock icon at the bottom of the screen
 and select Always on Top. Otherwise, click the button in the top-left
 corner of the Clock window and select Always on Top.

From now on, nothing can get in the way of that clock. It floats to the
 top of the open window pile every time


*2.   CALLIGRAPHY 101

January 7th, 1999

When you draw text in your Paintbrush drawing, do you simply select the
 Brush tool, pick a color, and start writing with your mouse? If so,
 try spiffing things up a little with some calligraphy. You don't have
 to be an artist to pull it off. Paintbrush does the hardest part--keeping
 your 'pen' at the right angle.

1. Open Paintbrush, if it isn't already. (Paintbrush is inside Program
 Manager's Accessories group.)
2. Click the tool that looks like a paintbrush.
3. Choose Options + Brush Shapes, select one of the four flat-edged brush
 shapes, and click OK.
4. Choose an ink color (click a color in the palette).
5. If you want, adjust the thickness of your pen by clicking one of the
 lines at the bottom of the Tool palette.

Start writing, and you'll see how easy it is. In no time, you'll be
 addressing everyone's wedding invitations!


*3.   OUT, DARN COLOR!--PART 1 OF 2

January 8th, 1999

Just spill a can of red paint all over your Paintbrush picture? (Not really,
 but sometimes it may seem that way.) You can use Paintbrush's Eraser tool
 to erase (or replace) a single color. Drag the Eraser tool over any part
 of the drawing, and everything but the selected color remains untouched.

Assuming you're already in the middle of a Paintbrush drawing (if not,
 open Paintbrush; it's in Program Manager's Accessories group),
 follow these steps:

1. Click the color (in the palette) you want to erase.
2. Right-click the color you want to replace it with.
3. Select the Color Eraser tool just below the spray can.
4. Click and drag the mouse pointer back and forth over the color you're
 trying to erase or eplace.

How very discriminating! In our next tip, we show you how to wipe out all
 occurrences of a single color in one quick step.


*4.   OUT, DARN COLOR! PART 2 OF 2

January 11th, 1999

In our last tip, we showed you how to use Paintbrush's Color Eraser tool
 to erase a single color from your drawing. But when you want to wipe
 an entire color right off your drawing in a single step--no clicking
 and dragging necessary--follow these steps:

1. Click the color you want to erase.
2. Right-click the color you want to replace it with.
3. Select the Color Eraser tool (below the spray can).
4. Double-click the Color Eraser tool.

Adios! You'd never know that color was there. 


*5.   RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE--PART 1 OF 2

January 13th, 1999

When your floppy disks become filled to the brim with data you no longer
 need, what do you do with them? Toss them in a drawer? Or worse, throw
 them in the trash? Shame, shame. 'Tis the decade of recycling. Just like
 a videotape or cassette, a floppy disk can be used over and over again
 (assuming it's error-free). Just erase what's on the disk, reformat it,
 and slap on a new label (available at your local office supply store for
 a lot less than new floppy disks).

1. Place the floppy disk you want to recycle in your floppy drive
 (presumably drive A).
2. Open File Manager. (It's in Program Manager's Main group.)
3. Choose Disk + Format Disk and, if your floppy is in a drive other than
 A:, select the appropriate drive on the Disk In line.
4. If you want, type a label for the disk (you're limited to 11
 characters, max).
5. Click OK.
6. Click Yes to confirm.

Windows wipes the disk clean and reformats it (meaning that it scans the
 disk for bad sectors and prepares it for information storage). Good as new!


*6.   RECYCLE, RECYCLE, RECYCLE--PART 2 OF 2

January 14th, 1999

In our last tip, we suggested that you recycle used floppy disks by
 reformatting them. (Reformatting wipes the disk clean, scans the disk
 for bad sectors, and prepares the disk for information storage.) As you'll
 discover after formatting only one disk, this complete format routine
 isn't the fastest in the world. If you have some previously formatted
 disks that you're sure are free of errors (for example, they're new and
 hardly used), you can speed things up a bit by opting for the Quick Format.
 This routine simply erases the files on a disk.

To perform a Quick Format:

1. Pop the disk in your floppy drive.
2. Open File Manager and choose Disk + Format Disk.
3. Select Quick Format.
4. Click OK.


*7.   G-U-I SPELLS GOOEY

January 12th, 1999

Ever heard the term GUI and wondered what it meant? (Just in case you're
 curious, the acronym is pronounced 'gooey'). Written out the long way,
 GUI stands for Graphical User Interface. A GUI is an interface that allows
 you to communicate with your system by using graphical elements, such as
 windows and menus. Clearly, Windows is a GUI. DOS, on the other hand,
 is not a GUI; it requires lots of typing to get what you want and is
 definitely picture-less (ick).


*8.   ALL SYSTEMS GO

January 15th, 1999

Every Windows 3.x user should have a system disk. A what? Okay, let's back
 up a second. A system disk is a disk that you can use to boot your
 system--or get to a command prompt--just in case something inside your
 PC goes haywire and it can't get there by itself.

To make a system disk:

1. Place a floppy disk (formatted or not, empty or not) in your floppy
 drive (assumed to be drive A).
2. Open File Manager (it's in Program Manager's Main group) and choose
 Disk + Make System disk.
3. Click Yes to confirm.
4. Now just wait a few minutes as Windows formats the disk and then fills
 it with some MS-DOS operating-system files.
5. When you're done, put the disk in a safe place.

Oh, and one last thing. If you ever can't start your system, turn your
 computer off, pop the system disk in your floppy drive, and then turn
 the computer back on--and hope that someone who can help you from
 there is close by!


*9.   'A' IS FOR APPLE--OR IS IT ARCHIVE?

January 19th, 1999

Ever notice a column of seemingly random letters on the far right side of
 File Manager's right pane? A, R, H, S. . . what do these letters mean
 anyway? Believe it or not, these letters do have a purpose. They tell
 you which attributes (if any) are attached to a particular file, and
 they appear when you tell File Manager to reveal file attribute
 details (choose View + All File Details).

- A stands for Archive.
- R stands for Read Only.
- H stands for Hidden.
- S stands for System.

To see where these attributes originate, open any file's Properties dialog
 box (select the file and choose File + Properties). There you can see
 check boxes next to the four attributes we just mentioned.

(Tip-in-a-tip: If you don't see a single H or S in File Manager's
 attributes column, nothing is wrong. Your system is just not set to
 display hidden and system files. To display them, choose View + By File
 Type, select Show Hidden/System Files, and then click OK.)

In our next two tips, we tell you more about the Read-only and Hidden
 attributes.


*10.   SEE WITH YOUR EYES, NOT YOUR HANDS

January 20th, 1999

Want to protect some important files from wandering fingers or your own
 mistakes? You can prevent unwanted changes by marking your important
 files as read-only. Read-only files won't accept any changes and won't
 let you delete them unless you remove the read-only attribute first.
 (Bet you can't do all that by mistake!) Making a file read-only also
 makes it that much harder for someone else to slip in a quick change
 here or there.

To mark a file read-only:

1. Open File Manager (it's in Program Manager's Main group) and navigate
 your way to the file you want to mark as read-only.
2. Select the file and then choose File + Properties.
3. In the Attributes box, select Read Only.
4. Click OK.

If and when you need to remove the read-only attribute (to edit the file,
 for example), follow the preceding steps but deselect Read Only in Step 3.
 Just be sure to reselect Read Only after you make your changes.
