Castellini on Computers - Computer help for beginners » print

Printing Error Messages*

Rick — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:27:04 +0000

NOTE: This tip is an off-shoot of our Print Screen tip that you also want to read. We all have computer mishaps and end up having to call for help. One of the first questions the helper (tech support) always asks is, ?What was the message you received?? Most of the time, in our frustration, we failed to write down the content of the message. Here is a tip that will bypass the writing altogether and allow you to answer that first question from your digital helper. When an error occurs follow these steps:

Rick Answers his Email Videocast – 053

Rick — Mon, 10 Aug 2009 02:50:27 +0000

The summer has kept me busy and I let a few too many question stack up (remember that you can make a small donation when asking your question to get priority). I answered all the questions you asked the last 2 weeks in these two videos. The first video contains questions from Doris, Henry, Andrew, Jean, [...]

Save paper & ink – PrintWhatYouLike.com

Rick — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 01:44:49 +0000

If you haven’t taken advantage of my tip on how to print just what you select from a web site/email or my tip on finding printer friendly versions of articles you want to print (which can be combined with the first tip), then you might want to take a look at the Print what you [...]

How to print the contents of any folder in Windows – Video Tip

Rick — Wed, 22 Apr 2009 02:14:32 +0000

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, [...]

Stop a document from printing – Video Tip

Rick — Fri, 13 Mar 2009 03:22:42 +0000

We all run into a problem sooner or later where something we printed didn't print correctly or we want to stop it from printing. In today's tip, I explain how to stop the printer from printing and then clean the print job from your computer.

Turn off your printer using its power switch
Immediately watch for a message by your clock that has anything to do with your printer
Click the little bubble message (if you see it)
If you don't see the options in steps 2 & 3, then:

Click Start --> Control Panel
Double-click Printers
Double-click your printer

When the printer queue dialog box appears, click one time on the document you want to delete
Click Document from the menus, then Cancel (If you have multiple documents, click Printer --> Cancel all documents from the menus)
Once the documents disappear (should be just a few moments), you can close all open windows and turn your printer on again.

I have a few more little tips and you can see this technique in action by watching the video below (2 1/2 minutes):

How to add the print and other buttons to Firefox toolbar – Video Tip

Rick — Thu, 27 Mar 2008 20:53:41 +0000

We love the Mozilla Firefox browser, but out-of-the-box it doesn't show the print button. Also, some people like to have the Bookmark and History buttons available as well. This tip shows you how to add any or all of these buttons as well as others you might want.

In Firefox, RIGHT click on a blank part of the toolbar (or Click View --> Toolbars --> Customize from the menus)
Click and drag the buttons you want to the toolbar (you can also drag buttons you don't need back into the customize box to delete them)
Click Done

To see this tip in action, watch the short demo below!

Print just what you want…

Rick — Wed, 02 Jan 2008 05:09:05 +0000

I am resurrecting this great tip from my archives. This tip first appeared about four years ago on the show and then the web site. I wanted to share it again because of our new listeners and the extreme usefulness of the tip.

Printing information from the web can sometimes be frustrating. A long web page yields reams of paper when you only wanted a couple of pages. Read on to learn how to print only the pages you want!

Firefox/Internet Explorer/AOL

Highlight the part of the page you want to print with your mouse
Click on File ---> Print

Print Folder Contents

Rick — Wed, 24 Oct 2007 23:24:14 +0000

The ability to print out the contents of a folder (directory) on your computer does not exist in Windows.

"Why would I need to print out a list of what is in my folders?", you ask. A couple of reasons actually; 1) it can serve as a quick glance reference to your computer's contents and 2) you might want to print a copy of file names that you backed up.

Thanks to the hard work and ingenuity of programmers everywhere, you can print out those folders' contents. One such program is called Folder Print 3. It is a FREE utility that you can download and install to satisfy this need.

Print Envelopes with One Click – Video Tip

Rick — Thu, 18 Oct 2007 18:08:22 +0000

Using Microsoft Word and a little customizing of the Word toolbar, this tip will get you printing envelopes easily. If you write business letters with the recipient's address in the body of the message, Word will pick up the address and insert it into your envelope when you use the envelope tool. Click on the Tools menu and then Envelopes and Labels. From there, you can print your envelope and set your default return address. Experiment with your printer a little to get the direction and feed of the envelope correct to make your printing easier. Now to get the button on your toolbar for one-click access, follow these steps for Microsoft Word versions 2003 and prior (the video shows the methodology for Word 2007 and OpenOffice Writer as well): 1. Click on Tools from the menus 2. Click on Customize 3. Click on the Commands tab 4. Click on Tools in the Categories column 5. Scroll and find the Envelopes and Labels button in the Commands column 6. Click on it and drag it out to your toolbar...you can place it anywhere you want (I put mine next to the printer button) 7. Click on close Now anytime you need to print an envelope your button is within reach. The short video tutorial demonstrates these steps for you in pre-Word 2007 steps, Word 2007, and OpenOffice Writer. Tip within a tip: Use these same steps to add any button you want to the toolbar.

Printing your email address book – Outlook Express & AOL

Rick — Fri, 30 Dec 2005 23:52:57 +0000

As promised, here is the technique for Outlook Express and AOL users: Outlook Express Users 1. Start Outlook Express 2. Click on Tools from the menus 3. Click on Address Book 4. In the address book window, click on File from the menus, then Print 5. The print window gives you "style" options. Choose Business card for simplicity and to save paper AOL Users Use the "Print" option in your address book and choose from a single user, entire address book and choose whether you want all details for just essential information...choose the latter.