Microsoft provides a set of instructions for adding the ability to print the contents of a folder in Windows XP or Vista, but the instructions will be over the head of many computer users. Years ago, I found and added a free folder print utility called FolderPrint to my web site. In all those years, however, I never provided a… Read More »How to print the contents of any folder in Windows – Video Tip
You can easily delete and rename files from within almost any computer program.
I answer this question a lot throughout my week both in person and in email, so I thought it was a great one to start with today. Remember that this tip applies to both files and folders. Enjoy and let me know what other quick tips you would like to see!
Email truly revolutionized communication. The ability to retrieve a message from anywhere in the world in a matter of seconds is mind boggling. However, judging by the size of your inboxes (see this week’s poll), you could benefit from some tips on how to keep your inbox clean.
I used to keep as many as many as 50 or so email stacked up in my inbox, but I always felt that I was behind in my work and consequently much of the email went unread and unanswered. A little more than a year ago, it all changed after I read an article that struck a chord with me called Email Zen. I immediately started practicing the techniques and suggestions in the article and found myself with a cleaner inbox and a better overall outlook (no pun intended) about email and my email communication. I continue to strive for the empty inbox and find that if i get more than 10, I start to get a little jumpy.
From reading that article and my own experience over the past eighteen months, here are my suggestions for reaching harmony with email:
These techniques should be standard tools for any computer user. However, many computer users find these techniques elusive.
The ability to move (cut) or copy information from one computer program to another sets you free to do so much more with your computer. Cut, Copy and Paste function by temporarily storing the information, cut or copied, into a temporary holding spot of memory known as the clipboard (Click here for the Webopedia definition).
The information held in the clipboard stays there and is available to Paste until either the computer is restarted or another item is cut or copied. Make special note of this fact when using the "Cut" command, because if you cut or copy another item before pasting the first item, the first one is lost.
Before choosing Cut or Copy, the computer needs to know what you want to cut or copy. This is done by using the mouse to
Since I’ve been featuring tips on file management this week, I thought I would demonstrate how to work with and customize the Mac OSX file management tool known as Finder. The finder is quite powerful as is, but sometimes having quicker access to tools you use often is helpful. Watch this short video to learn how to do just that.
Windows XP, Vista and the upcoming version 7 continue to help us accomplish certain computer tasks more quickly.
One of my favorite features involves the renaming of files. You can still use the techniques I outlined in a previous tip, but renaming files can be even faster with the right steps. If you have the need to rename a group of files (for example a group of freshly downloaded pictures from your digital camera), you can select them and rename them in groups. Here’s how:Read More »A quicker way to Rename folders and files in Windows
This tip gives you the tools you need to help organize your email with Outlook Express or Windows Mail. Using Filters is like having an assistant go through your email for you and sort it before you see it. Click here for a previous tip on how to use filters to keep spam out of your inbox.Read More »Email Filters – Outlook Express
This week’s tip also applies to Windows Vista users who use Windows Mail…which is basically Outlook Express with a new name.
I still recommend that emailers save their important pictures and documents sent to them via email to a folder on their computer for easier backup (see my video tip on how to do this by clicking here), but many people also save a great deal of email and don’t want to lose it. Outlook Express (Windows Mail) saves all email in files with a .dbx extension. The files are named for the folders you have created in your email, so you will see files like inbox.dbx, saved.dbx, family.dbx, etc. Whatever email folders you have created will have a corresponding .dbx file.
These files, unfortunately, are buried in the Windows files system. This week’s video tip demonstrates how to locate these files on your computer so you can then copy them to flash drive (best idea) or CD/DVD.
I closed Outlook and started using Gmail exclusively one year ago. At first, I thought it would be a good experiment to see what Gmail was really all about, but I was also fed up with Outlook and its limitations. It took me two or three weeks to wean myself of thinking of my email in the same way that I used to with Outlook. For the experiment to work, Gmail had to satisfactorily accomplish 3 key functions of email that I handled pretty well with Outlook:
If Gmail could equal or exceed what I could do with Outlook, then I would consider it a success. Gmail’s spam filtering quickly impressed me. In fact, one year later, I can say confidently that Gmail’s spam filtering is superior to that of the Cloudmark system that kept me sane for years with Outlook. Feature #1, check!
I learned to use the Accounts feature in Gmail to successfully and seamlessly pull all my email addresses (and sort them) into my Gmail account. Beautiful; Feature #2, check!
Organizing my email, without the use of folders, proved to be the