Kokomo PC Users Group

Volume 20 Issue 4 ...April 2002

Presidents Message:

Well, it looks like we’ve had our last hurrah for the PC Computing season. Lots of snow and cold for a few days, and then it was gone. I can hear the crab grass growing already.

The March Meeting was a good one. We reviewed spreadsheet operation again. This time we actually did many of the projects that were listed in the February Newsletter. It was very well received and everyone learned something new. (Even me.)

It looks like our 2002 Budget is in trouble already. The US Postal Service has gotten approval for a rate increase. This will increase our costs for postage on the newsletter.

Please encourage your friends to come to the group meetings. We have a good time and provide an excellent opportunity to learn more about our computers.

I have included an article with the list of memberships that are about to expire. This article was very effective last month. We had several renewals at the meeting.

We are very close to having John Haynes on board as Treasurer. The last detail we need to figure out is the Groups Tax Number. If anyone has any knowledge about our number, or lack of one, please let me know.

I would like to thank Ron Rich for his donation of 1001 Windows 98 Tips to the Group. We will be using the book to provide filler when we run low on newsletter articles.

Mark Pendergast

Da Prez

[email protected]

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Computer Detective Work

Every once in a while we wonder what our computer has been doing. Either we have done something and forgot what we did with it, went somewhere and forgot where it was or we want to know what someone else has done with our computer.

As amateur computer detectives we will look for clues and follow the trail of our computer by consulting the many informants built into the Windows operating system and many Windows applications. So get out your trench coat and magnifying glass and prepare for an interesting adventure.

Most versions of Windows are very similar. I will be writing for Windows 98, but 95, ME and XP work in a very similar manner.

The first stop on our investigation is pretty obvious, the Documents Tab on the Start Menu. This shows the last 15 or so files that were updated with well behaved applications. (Some low budget applications don’t bother to update the Documents Tab.) If you just created a document yesterday and forgot what it was, the Documents Tab is a good place to find it.

The next stop is a sneaky place, so all you good amateur sleuths should smile. Of course, it is the garbage. Well, the new politically correct name is the Recycle Bin, and we as amateur gumshoes will recycle any information we find there. Just double click the recycle bin on the desktop and see what was thrown out recently. You can find a wealth of information this way.

We have run out of obvious places to look. Now the journey will get a little more interesting.

The next stop is our applications themselves. In the File menu of most applications, towards the bottom, it will list the last 4 to 8 saved files. So, even if the Documents Tab on the Start menu gets overrun with files from another application, the individual applications will remember what they opened recently. You will have to check each application individually, but nobody said being a gumshoe was easy.

The next place to look is a tip I have written about many times. It is, of course, the Windows Explorer Find by Date feature. Open a Windows Explorer window. From the menu bar select Tools > Find > Files or Folders ... From the Find: All Files dialog select the Date Tab. On the Date tab click the ‘during the previous’ radio button and select a number of days that seems appropriate for your search. Then press the Find Now button.

You may also notice there is a drop down selection after the ‘Find all files’ radio button that will allow you to specify if you want files that were created, modified or accessed. Usually modified gets the job done, but Last Accessed can show you what people have looked at without changing it.

You have just earned your Detective - Junior Grade badge. Happy sleuthing.

Mark Pendergast

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Virus Alert

I saw this virus at school. Be on the lookout. It can be very dangerous in the wrong hands.

Subject: Amish Virus

You have just received the Amish Virus. Since we do not have electricity nor computers, you are on the honor system. Please delete all your files. Thank thee.

Martin Pendergast

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Time to renew .....

I have noticed that some people have not figured out our system of putting the membership renewal date on the mailing label of the newsletter. Right above your name you will see the year and month that your dues expire. Although we do continue to send the newsletter for a few months after your dues expire, we would like to be as prompt as possible with your renewal. We are happy to accept early renewals and multi-year renewals.

Below I have included a report of members who are currently past their renewal date. If you are on the list, please mail me your dues or bring them to the next meeting. If you know someone on the list, please encourage them to renew their membership.

Name DUES

LINDA COLE 2001-10

JAMES COLE 2001-11

STEVE K. HART 2001-11

LEO McDERMOTT 2002-01

ELLEN MILLER 2002-02

RICHARD SEAGRAVE 2002-04

Mark Pendergast

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AN ONLINE DICTIONARY

ATOMICA is an on-line instant answering service. It is primarily intended for people in industry who need a quick source for answers to many questions. However, I use it as a very handy dictionary for finding the definition of a word appearing in any website you may be reading. It is free to use. You may access their web site at www.atomica.com and download it. You can set it for running in the background. It can then be accessed by placing the cursor on the word you want the definition of and hitting ALT F-12. In a few seconds a window appears with the definition. You can make a desktop icon for ease in accessing it once for each session with your computer.

A small icon also appears in the lower right corner of your screen that can be used for the definition of any word in any document you may have on screen. This is effective as long as you are on line, because it goes back to their web site to obtain the definition. Don't worry, it only takes a few seconds.

Submitted by Chet. Hanna.

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1001 Windows Tips

(Donated by Ron Rich)

Tip #11

You can access the Start Menu from the Keyboard by holding down the <CTRL> key and pressing the <ESC> key. You can close it again by pressing the <ESC> key alone. This is handy if you have your mouse die and need to shut down.

Tip # 15

If you have a large number of windows open on your desktop, you can switch between them by holding town the <ALT> key and pressing the <TAB> key until the program you desire is highlighted. Then release the <ALT> key. This is very handy when you have several programs open and need to jump back and forth between them.

Tip #27

If you forget today's date, you can display the current date very easily. Just hover your mouse pointer over the time display in the right hand side of the Windows Task Bar. The date should appear as a popup above the time.

Tip #40

If you forget a command that you used from the run command window in the start menu, you can access it using the Run drop-down menu. When open the Start > Run ... menu, you will be prompted to type in the name of a program. If you have used it in the past, try pressing on the down arrow at the far right hand side of the entry window. A list of previously executed commands is displayed. Select the one you want and it will be entered into the run input window.

Tip #51

You can use hot keys to execute many options in Windows. Hot keys are key combinations that are processed as though you made several mouse clicks. I will use the standard notation A + B to indicate hold down the A key and press the B key and then release the A key.

Ctrl + S - File > Save

Ctrl + X - Edit > Cut

Ctrl + C - Edit > Copy

Ctrl + V - Edit > Paste

Ctrl + Z - Edit > Undo

Mark’s Tip

Related to tip #51 you can execute many Windows commands using the keyboard and the alt key. If you look at the menu bar you will see that all the commands have one letter underlined. This is the key code for that menu selection. For example File has the ‘F’ underlined. Also note that Format has the ‘o’ underlined because ‘F’ is already used.

I will use the standard notation A + B to indicate hold down the A key and press the B key and then release the A key. The notation A + B + C indicates hold down the A key and press the B key and then press the C key and then release the A key.

Alt + E + T - Edit > Cut

Alt + E + C - Edit > Copy

Alt + E + P - Edit > Paste

Alt + E + U - Edit > Undo

Alt + F + S - File > Save

Alt + F + X - File > Exit

Note that File > Exit has no hot key, but it can be accessed using the Alt key combinations.

Tip #73

You can use ‘tool tips’ to identify what an icon does without actually pressing it. The icons for a program are usually located just below the main menu bar. Just hover over the icon with the mouse pointer for a few seconds and a popup will appear over the icon to describe what it does. This popup is called a tool tip.

Tip #104

When performing a drag and drop operation you sometimes change your mind and want to undo the drag. You can just press the ESC key and the drag will be canceled. When you drop nothing will happen.

Tip #108

Within the Windows Explorer you can issue an Undo command. Use the undo icon on the toolbar or use Edit > Undo from the Main Menu. (You can also use the Ctrl + Z hot key combination.)

If you intended to do a copy and did a move instead, this is a great way to undo the damage. It is also a good way to get out of trouble if you forget tip # 104.

Tip #115

If you are looking for a file in the Windows Explorer file pane and the directory has quite a few files it can be hard to find the one you want. You can use the View > Arrange Icons menu command to sort the icons by name, type, size or date. This will usually help you select the correct file quickly.

Mark’s Tip

When looking for files in Windows Explorer use the View > Details option to see the small icon, name, type, size and date in the file pane. You can then click on the headers of the columns to sort the files in the correct order. Click once for ascending order and again for descending order. Click once on the name column heading to put them back in name order when you are done.

Thanks again to Ron Rich for his donation of 1001 Windows 98 Tips by Kris Jamsa.

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Works calendars

It is a little known fact that MS Works will make monthly calendars so you can track your schedule.

Open Works and from the Task Launcher and select the Task Wizard tab. From the list select Business Management and Calendars and press OK. This will start the Calendar Wizard.

You may see a dialog that asks if you want to run the Wizard, if so press the button next to ‘Yes, run the wizard.’.

From the Task Wizard select the One Month Calendar and press ‘Create It’. This will create your calendar as a spreadsheet.

Just enter the month and date into the appropriate cell and the calendar will reconfigure to that month.

Mark Pendergast

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