Windows 95 For Dummies #4



*1. PULL THE GOALIE          
          
June 3rd, 1999          
          
Most of the time, it's comforting to think that, should you leave your
computer unattended for a short period of time, your screen saver will
kick into action, at once concealing your work and protecting your screen
from dreaded phosphor burn-in. But sometimes, having your screen saver
pop on just seconds before you plan to return to work is a big pain in
the neck. 

If you'd rather NOT have your screen saver come to the rescue, try this:
Before leaving the keyboard untouched, click the Start button. 

As long as the Start menu is displayed, your screen saver will NOT
activate, no matter how long you leave the keyboard untouched. Of course,
that means a passing supervisor may see your Dilbert e-mails on-screen.


*2. MINIMAL TROUBLE          
          
June 4th, 1999          
          
Dummies Daily subscriber Lee Martin asks, "Is there a way to minimize a
window to the taskbar by using the keyboard instead of clicking the
Minimize button with the mouse?" 

You bet, Lee: 

Press Alt + spacebar + N (in that order). 

And in the interest of minimalism, we'll end this tip.


*3. WE DON'T KNOW WHY YOU'D WANT TO DO THIS, BUT. . .          
          
June 8th, 1999          
          
. . . You can make a copy of a file in the same folder. Windows 95 is
kind enough to tell you which version is the copy and which is the
original! Here's how it works: 

1. In any folder window, select the file you want to copy. 
2. Hold down the Ctrl key. 
3. Drag the file to another location in the folder window. 

Windows creates a copy of the file and names it "Copy of" whatever the
original file name is! Is that considerate, or what? 

By the way, this trick does NOT work in Windows Explorer. We show you
what does work in Explorer next time.


*4. SAME-FOLDER COPY IN EXPLORER          
          
June 9th, 1999          
          
Last time, we explained how, as you work in a folder window, you can make
a copy of a file in the same folder as the original. Today, we show you
how to accomplish the same task while working in Explorer: 

1. In the RIGHT PANE of Windows Explorer, find and select the file you
	want to copy. 
2. Hold down the Ctrl key. 
3. Drag the file to the folder icon for the SAME folder in the LEFT PANE
	of Windows Explorer. 

Windows makes the copy--again, thoughtfully adding the words "Copy of"
to the file name.


*5. BYE-BYE COLUMN          
          
June 10th, 1999          
          
Want to temporarily hide one of the information columns in Windows
Explorer's right pane? The procedure couldn't be easier: 

To hide a column: 

1. Point to the right edge of the column's heading button (a two-headed
	arrow pointer appears). 
2. Drag the edge of the heading button to the left, until the heading
	button vanishes. 

To unhide the column: 

1. Point to the line that's where the hidden column used to be (again,
	a two-headed arrow pointer appears). 
2. Drag to the right to display the hidden column (keep dragging until
	the column is as wide as you want it to be). 

More on this column-dragging next time.


*6. RECTIFY THE RTFS          
          
June 14th, 1999          
          
When you first started using Windows 95, any Rich Text Format (RTF) file
you double-clicked automatically opened itself in the WordPad accessory
that comes with Windows. Then you installed Word 97, and lo, your RTF
files open in Word. If you like this, fine. If you want to go back to
the good ol' WordPad RTF days, follow these steps: 

1. In ANY Explorer or folder window, choose View + Options. 
2. In the Options dialog box, click the File Types tab. 
3. Under Registered File Types, find and select Rich Text Format. 
4. Click Edit; then click Edit again. 
5. Click Browse, find WordPad (usually in
	C:\Program Files\Accessories\Wordpad.exe), and click Open. 
6. Click OK; click Close; then click Close again to make the change. 

-From now on, any RTF file you double-click opens itself in WordPad.


*7. SOMETHING A LITTLE TRICKY          
          
June 11th, 1999          
          
Suppose you've hidden a column by using the mouse (the topic of our last
tip). How can you then use the mouse to resize the column to the left of
the hidden column? 

1. Point JUST TO THE LEFT of the right edge of the column button you want
	to resize. The two-headed arrow pointer appears, even though
	you're not pointing on the line between column buttons. 
2. Drag to the left or right to resize the visible column, not the
	hidden one. 

Just a little detail we thought we should cover.


*8. ALT + TAB, WITH A DIFFERENCE          
          
June 15th, 1999          
          
By now, most of you know that you can press Alt + Tab to toggle between
the two applications you've used most recently. However, you may not
know that you can use Alt + Tab to quickly switch to ANY open
application or window on your desktop: 

1. Hold down the Alt key. 
2. Press Tab. A box appears showing icons for each of your open windows
	and a description of whichever icon is selected. 
3. Press Tab until the window you want to switch to is selected. 
4. Release the Alt key. You're switched immediately to the new window. 

Pretty neat, eh? Most folks use Windows 95 for MONTHS before they spot
this feature.


*9. TRY NOT TO SHOUT          
          
June 16th, 1999          
          
In e-mail-land, typing IN ALL UPPERCASE LETTERS LIKE THIS is known as
shouting. Sometimes, you want to shout; other times, you do so
accidentally because you hit your Caps Lock key by mistake. Fortunately,
you can set Windows 95 to "tell" you when you've pressed your Caps
Lock key: 

1. Click Start. 
2. Choose Settings + Control Panel. 
3. Double-click the Accessibility Options icon. 
4. Select Use ToggleKeys. 
5. Click OK. 

-From now on, your computer beeps at you every time you press your Caps
Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock key. Your computer also beeps at you in
a different tone when you press any of these keys a second time (thus
deactivating the key).


*10. SET 'ER UP          
          
June 17th, 1999          
          
Is your display looking a little less colorful than you might like?
Depending on your video display adapter, you can add a lot more color
with a few clicks of the ol' mouse: 

1. Right-click any blank area of the desktop and choose Properties from
	the shortcut menu. 
2. Click the Settings tab. 
3. In the Color Palette drop-down list, choose one of these options: High
	Color (16 Bit) or True Color (32 Bit). 
4. Click OK. 
5. If required, click Yes to restart Windows. 

Either of these settings shows more--and smoother--colors than Windows'
default 256-color display. Unfortunately, more colors require more
memory, which could slow down your system.
