Quickly get to the file or folder in a cluttered w...

Today I helped a client organize his photos for a project he was working on. I moved all of the photos for the project into a folder in My Pictures. He had dozens of folders in his My Pictures folder all full of pictures from other projects. He called me about an hour later to tell me that the folder I had created had suddenly disappeared. "What have you done since I left," I asked. I wasn't accusing him of...

Picasa Picture Manager Video Tip – Part 2

In Part 1 of our Picasa Video tip , we discussed how to use many of the editing and organizing tools available in Picasa. In this tip, you will learn about: Transferring your digital camera photos to your computer with Picasa Selecting photos from multiple folders Creating a web album Printing your photos Ordering prints from your photos and more! Click the Read More option below to start the video if it has not already...

Moving to a new computer requires patience

I've helped many new people this fall move to a new computer. Like moving to a new house, it takes time and patience before everything gets just right on your new computer. It is important to know that you can't simply hook up a new computer and start using it. You need to uninstall any unwanted software, properly configure and update your security software, setup your Internet and email connections, and then most...

Using “Run” to get places

If you have listened to the show much, you have probably heard us tell people to go into "msconfig." This tip works in Windows XP for sure, but some commands may not work in other versions of Windows. msconfig is one run command that takes you into the Microsoft Configuration Utility, but there are other handy run commands, here are most of them. To use any of these click on START -> RUN and type the word or...

Fix a slow loading Thunderbird (email) program

This happens when an e-mail file that gets built each time you open e-mail gets corrupted. It is: {inbox.msf}. Here's how to fix it: Close Thunderbird. Click Start –> Search (or Find –> Files and Folders in Windows 98/Me). Type: inbox.msf in the search box. Make sure you have the box checked to search hidden and system files. When it finds it, click one time on in and then delete it. Start...

Removing one of the built-in search engines in Fir...

We love the Mozilla Firefox web browser because of its safety, speed, and customizability. One of my favorite customizations is the ability to add sites to the built in search engine that let me quickly search web sites I visit most often…weather, recipes, downloads, movies, etc. Occasionally, it is nice to be able to remove one that I'm not using any further or maybe isn't working at all. Here's how to do...

Organizing and Viewing Digital Photos

Organizing and Viewing Your Digital Photos The key to organizing your digital photos is sorting them from the beginning. I begin by saving a folder to my desktop called "Camera pix," but it can be named anything. Inside this folder, I put a folder for each month. Inside each of those folders I make new folders as I need. For example, In my Camera Pix folder for last year I had a folder called...

Organizing and Backing Up Photos

Getting organized: The best way to get your photos organized is to start with a system that works for you. My system is to create a single folder for all my digital photos on my hard drive. Inside that folder, called "Digital Pictures," I place a sub-folder for each month of the year. In each month's folder I may place more folders for each activity held during that month. For example: Digital Photos...

File Management: Why is it so hard to figure out?

As I have mentioned before on the show and in these articles, I teach the local basic computer classes for the Parks and Rec. department. I teach the classes as a four-part series in which I dedicate an entire two hour session to file management. Teaching the concept of how your computer organizes information is a huge struggle for me. I don't think it is because if my teaching technique or the inability of my students to...

Creating Data and Music CD’s – July 20...

Creating Data CD's How Stuff Works articl on how CD Burning works . And a second article from them specific to CDR disks . Windows XP aims to help simplify the process and does a reasonably good job at it. Here's how to burn a CD with Windows XP: Go to the folder containing the files you want to copy to a CD (usually My Documents) Find the files or folders you want to copy and RIGHT click on them (remember...

Create Your Own Slideshows and Screensavers

Create Slideshows and Screensavers Here are some of the basics we discussed at the Meeting   FINDING THE RIGHT PROGRAM   Good Shareware Sites: Hotfiles Download Make sure to check if the software is trialware or freeware. HOW TO MAKE A SCREENSAVER USING YOUR OWN PICTURES IN WINDOWS XP Windows Me had a similiar screen saver option, but Windows XP made the feature even better. Since many...

The backdoor to your Outlook Express addressbook

If your hard drive crashes and you need to find your Outlook Express addressbook – here is where you will find it in Windows XP. C:/Documents and Settings/(your user folder)/Application Data/Microsoft/Addressbook/(here you will find your addressbook). Before you try this maked sure you go into Tools/Folder Options and choose to show hidden folders. The addressbook will be called something like...

Picasa 2 Revisited

We discussed Picasa 2 late last year, but since then I have discovered many more wonderful things that can be done with the program. In fact, I now use it more often than any other program for my day-to-day digital photography. HOW TO GET PICASA: 1. Either click on this button, or go to www.picasa.com and click on the Free Download button. 2. After downloading, install the program by double-clicking on the Picasa icon...

Interesting Web Finds

After 30+ years of reading magazines, I finally came up with a plan that helps me organize and follow up with interesting facts and tips. I now keep a reporter’s notebook with me when I read and then I jot down the tip or web site and then I can share or recylce the magazine. Today, I was going through my recent findings and found some great sites that you might want to check out as well. Spongecell - an online,...

Backup Outlook Express Email

The most reliable way is to search your computer for *.dbx files using Start –> Search. Make sure you check the option to search for hidden folders and files. Then backup any of the dbx files. To restore these files on a new computer or new installation, Start Outlook Express, Click File –> Import –> Messages. Follow the wizard and choose Outlook Express 6 as the type of email you are importing,...