Some old and some new tips

Ctrl+Y to Redo

You make a mistake. What do you do? That's right, hit Ctrl-Z! That's the "undo" command the (almost) universal solution for mess-ups and mistakes! Ctrl+Y to Redo

So, what about when you want to undo an undo? Sounds messy, doesn't it? It's really, really easy and it works almost everywhere!

Just press Ctrl-Y. when I say easy, I mean it! This key combination will bring back the mistake you thought you made as quickly as it went away!

What is the Windows Clipboard?
The Windows clipboard is used to temporarily store stuff. This "stuff" can come in the form of just about anything. Images, files, documents, etc.—they can all be placed on the clipboard. Once something has been copied to the clipboard it can be pasted into another location.

The clipboard isn't a program you can actually access and play with. It's a built-in windows component that works transparently. When you copy or cut, the info is put onto this clipboard. When you paste, the information that's on the clipboard is put into whatever it is you're working on.

For instance, if I have some information on a web page that I want to put into a word processing document, this is what would happen:

1. I highlight and copy (CTRL-C) the text from the web page. When I do this, the text is placed on the clipboard.

2. Now, I open my word processor (MS Word 2000 and up must be open before you copy). Right now, the info is still sitting on the clipboard and can be pasted into my word processor or any other program that can handle text.

3. OK, now I right-click a blank area of my word processing document and choose Paste from the resulting menu (or just use CTRL-V) . This will take the info that's currently sitting on the clipboard (i.e. the web page text in this case) and attempt to put it into my word processing document and Paste.

I say "attempt to put the info on the clipboard into the word processor" because sometimes the info that's on your clipboard is not compatible with the program you're using. For example, if you try to paste a picture into notepad, that just isn't going to work.

For example, lets say you were working on a report in MS Word and you would like to quote some information you uncovered on the web. Rather than printing out the web page and re-typing the block of text you would like to quote, you can highlight the text on the web page and copy it to the clipboard (highlight by holding down your left mouse button and dragging it over the section of text you would like to have. Copy it by right-clicking that section of text and selecting Copy from the menu that pops up).

Now, head back to MS Word and position the cursor where you would like to insert the text. Hit CRTL-V and presto, the web page text you copied has now been pasted into your Word doc.

Ten New Vista Tips
So, you've already shifted to Vista, although most of the things in the operating systems released by Microsoft remain the same, each time, there are a few nifty functions, and tricks that can help ease the tasks you need to get done. Today, I am going to discuss with you some new helpful Windows Vista tricks.
1.) To quickly change the size of the desktop icons, select one and hold down the Ctrl key and scroll with your mouse wheel. You can do the same in other windows, in order to increase the font size too.
2.) Sharing a folder with other people in your network is even easier with Vista. Open any Windows Explorer window (say My Documents, for example) and highlight it. From the command bar, select Share. Then use the down arrow to select all the users in your list or you can type the name of the person in the network you want to share with and click Add. After that, you can select the permission level you want to grant to that person. Vista can also auto-generate an e-mail that will allow the recipient quick access to the shared document.
3.) The Vista magnifier is a very handy tool if you have trouble seeing what’s on your computer screen or if your eyes get strained from reading text. To access it, simply press Win + U (Win is the button with the flag on it). From there, select Start Magnifier.
4.) Microsoft releases a lot of operating system upgrades and at times, one can lose track of what updates have been installed on their PC. With Vista though, this job is a cakewalk. Go to Start, Control Panel, move to Windows Upgrade and in the left side bar, click View upgrade history.

5.) The Briefcase feature that has been a common fixture in previous Microsoft operating systems is a useful way to sync PCs. This is especially true for the ones that are not on the same network. This useful feature appears again in Vista.
Go to the folder where you want to create a new Briefcase and right click. Select New, Briefcase. Give the Briefcase a name so it’s easier to locate. Now, simply drag or copy any files that you want to sync into the Briefcase. Once you have selected all the files, right click the Briefcase and select Send To. Choose the removable media you want to copy it to.
Next, simply insert the media on which you copied the files into a second PC, open the Briefcase and make any changes you want to the files. Then save the changes. Once you're back on the first PC, reinsert the media, right click the Briefcase and select Update All.
If you are using the Briefcase feature over a network, simply move the Briefcase to the second PC and once you or the other user has made changes to the files, right click the Briefcase and select Update All.
6.) If you, for some reason, don’t like the sound of audio notifications in Vista, you can replace them with visual ones. Simply switch on the visual notifications for sounds and then choose the visual warning that you want.
Go to Start, type "Ease" in the Search box and hit Enter to open the Ease of Access Center (or press the Win key). Select "Use text or visual alternatives for sounds." Place a check mark on "Turn on visual notifications for sounds (Sound Sentry)." Then under "Choose visual warning," select the option you would like to use and click Save. Now, no more will you hear the repetitive Windows sounds. You have to love it!

7.) If you can't or don't like pressing combination keys (like Ctrl + Alt + Del, for instance), you can set up your keyboard so you can press the keys one at a time. Again, go to Start, type "Ease" and hit Enter to open Ease of Access Center. Select the option that says “Make the keyboard easier to use." Under "Make it easier to type," place a check mark next to "Turn on Sticky Keys" and then hit Save.
8.) One of the coolest things that ever happened to mankind was speech recognition for computers. Speech recognition allows you to control your computer by voice. By using it, you can do virtually all the tasks you can do with a mouse and a keyboard. For example, starting programs, opening menus, dictating text into documents, e-mails, etc. To activate the speech recognition feature, click Start, type "Windows Speech" in the Search box and hit Enter to open the Windows Speech Recognition window. Select Start Speech Recognition and follow the simple tutorial to set up your microphone and the actual speech recognition. Once you're done, remember to set the speech recognition to start each time you log on to your computer.

9.) If you are a busy bee and have multiple documents open in applications (like, say five Word documents that you are simultaneously working on), you can switch between each document by pressing the Ctrl + F6 key combination.
10.) So, one of your close friends has moved away and you can’t seem to keep track of their time difference. No problem! You can simply add an additional clock in Windows Vista. To do so, click the clock, go to Date and Time Settings and click the Additional Clocks tab. You can add two additional clocks to the tray and select the time zones for both.
I am sure all you Vista users will find these tips useful and the ones who haven’t upgraded yet can at least get an idea of the new features available with the new operating system.

Number your Lines in MS Word

Sometimes it's just a good plan to have the lines of your Word documents numbered.

They could come in handy if you're trying to communicate with someone about specific portions of the document or maybe they would be useful for your own editing notes.

Whatever the reason, sometimes it's just a good idea to have them and that makes it an even better idea to know how to display them.

With that in mind let's take a look at what's available.

First, if you're using an older version of MS Word then click here to view my tip containing the information you need.

For everyone else let's take a look at where the line numbering options are now located in Word 2007.

You'll need to head over to the Page Layout tab of the Ribbon.

In the Page Setup section you'll see the Line Numbers button.

As you can see, when clicked it offers a variety of line numbering choices allowing you to maximize their usefulness to you.

If you'd like to make changes to the way the numbers are displayed… maybe control which line is the first to display its number or have it number every fifth line instead of every single one… then choose Line Numbering Options.

It will take you to the Page Setup dialog box where you'll need to click the Line Numbers button. In turn, this will take you to the Line Numbers dialog box where you can make your preferred changes.

And that's all there is to it.

A quick click of a button, an even faster choice of how to have Word treat the numbering system and you're all set to go.

Check Hard Drive Space

Curious to see just how much hard drive space you have left on your computer?

In either Windows XP or Vista, click Start>Computer (My Computer for XP users). Right-click on the drive that you'd like to check and select “properties”. A window will pop up with a pie-chart that details how much space you have left to work with.

Alternatively, you can just go Start>Computer and single left click on the drive you want to check. Depending on which version of Windows you have, you should see a sidebar with the HDD info.

Gulliver's Icons

Maybe you've got a whole bunch of stuff you want to see on your Start menu, or perhaps it's a matter of personal preference. Either way, today's tip is going to show you how to shrink your Start Menu icons in Windows Vista and 7.
First, Right-Click on a blank area of your Task bar and select “Properties”. A window will pop up. Select the Start Menu Tab and click the
“Customize” button. Once in this window, scroll the list all the way down to the bottom.
Just un-check the check-box that says “Use Large Icons” and hit OK, then apply then OK again. If you don't like what you see, then follow the same steps and re-check the box

If you have a mouse with a scroll wheel on it, here's a cool trick. Try Holding the Shift Key on your keyboard and then spin the mouse wheel. In both Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox you'll go forward or back a page depending on which way you spun the wheel! How cool is that?

Give it a try. Open up your browser, follow a few links, and then hold the Shift key and spin the wheel!

http://www.metacritic.com