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Windows

Make Windows XP Thumbnails Larger

Windows XP brought many new and useful features to computer users. Digital photographers benefited greatly with the roll out of Windows XP nearly three years ago. One of my favorite features is the ‘thumbnail’ view in my photo folders.

Thumbnails allow you to see mini pictures instead of just file names. Windows Me had this feature albeit not as elegantly implemented as in XP. To view your photos in thumbnail view, do the following:

  1. Open a folder containing your photos

  2. Click View from the menus

Lock the Taskbar

Lock the Taskbar is more than just a big hit from 80s punk band “The Clash” it is also a great tip for Microsoft Windows.

Windows XP has been out just over a week at retail outlets and more than a month from many computer manufacturers. (If you are thinking of upgrading, make sure you have at least a 400mhz processor with 128mb or more of RAM). Microsoft packed a good deal of improvements and stability into the new Windows and if you have the requirements, it will be a good upgrade.

One of my favorite new features centers on the taskbar. If you keep the default XP settings, the taskbar will be bright blue and a little more noticeable than before. However, by default, the taskbar is now locked…hooray! Many consumers will appreciate this feature if they have had children or grandchildren come by the house and move their taskbar to the side or the top of the screen. Or, heck, you may have done it a time or two on accident yourself.

Keep your system running clean

It’s easy to become a digital pack rat. However, using all this space on your computer can contribute to slower performance.

Here are some tips of how to keep your system clutter free.

* Use the Disk Cleanup utility (Windows 98 and Me users) to delete temporary windows and Internet files.
* If you use a digital camera or scanner, archive your older images on a ZIP disk or CDR (also important for backups).
* Keep your email folders cleaned out…especially delete unwanted Sent messages and don’t forget to empty your deleted email folder as well.
* Speaking of email, also delete any unwanted email attachments you have received (AOL users look for your downloaded files under the C drive, then AOL, then Download folder)

Instant Shut Down in Windows XP

One of the most popular tips from my book was the ‘instant shut down’ shortcut that can be used in place of clicking on Start –> Shut Down, etc.

Unfortunately, the tip does not apply to Windows XP. If you are a Windows XP and would like to create an icon that will shut down your computer, read on.

If you are a Windows 95/98/Me user, you can find the tip by searching my web site below for “instant shut down”. Or if you own my book, the tip is on page 63.

To create your Windows XP shut down icon, follow these steps exactly:

1. RIGHT click on your Desktop
2. Click on New
3. Click on Shortcut

Instant Shut Down

This tip requires strict attention to detail, so please print it out and follow it verbatim. If you don’t feel comfortable with the process do not attempt it.

1. RIGHT Click on a blank portion of your desktop
2. Click on New
3. Click on Shortcut
4. Type: C:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows
5. Click Next
6. Type: Shut Down My Computer
7. Click Finish

That’s it. Now to use it, simply double-click on it and your machine will shut down.

Finding Files You Thought Were Lost

Windows contains a powerful search agent to look for those lost treasures. Follow these steps to find your lost files.

1. Click on Start
2. Click on Find
3. Click on Files or Folders
4. In the Named box, type any part of the file name you lost
5. Make sure that the Look In box says My Computer and the box is checked to include Subfolders
6. Click on Find Now
7. The results will appear below the find box

NOTE: When you find your file, before opening it, make a note of where it is saved by looking at its location in the In Folder column.

Does Your Wallpaper Fit?

One tip that has evaded us over the years is sharing the magic of making wallpaper fit your screen. Wallpaper personalizes your computer and makes your desktop yours.

If you use Windows 98 and above, you can add any photo you want to your desktop as wallpaper. But often the picture doesn’t quite fit well on the screen leaving space around the picture. If you want to get rid of the space around your wallpaper, try this:

1. RIGHT Click on your desktop (not on an icon)
2. Click on Properties from the menu
3. Click on the Desktop or Background tab
4. In the position box, click and choose “Stretch”

Adding a Mail notification sound to your email

OK, I?m going to pick on AOL a little this week. Who believes that ?You?ve got mail!? is not only horrible grammar, but also pretty corny!

If you are an AOL user and want to change that sound or are an independent Internet user who uses Netscape, or Outlook Express, Eudora, etc for their mail, this tip will help you add your own customized sound to your email.

The first thing you need is a sound file. You can get this one of three ways:

1. Use the stock sounds that come with Windows
2. Download a sound from the Internet (see Links of Interest below)
3. Or my favorite, record your own sound (or record your children, grandchildren, friend, dog, etc )

Learn to Use Your Digital Camera’s EXIF Data

In the olden days of photography, a true student of the hobby would carry a note pad and write down the shutter and film speed as well as the lens setting and information such as whether or not a flash was used. The photographer would then use this information as a reference in becoming familiar with the camera.

Even with digital it is extremely important to learn how your camera reacts in various settings. Digital cameras often have very hot flashes that wash out a subject if it is too close. Other cameras may be picky about shooting strange lighting.

Whether a photo comes out perfect or awful, it is often useful to be able to go back and see how your camera was setup for the shot. Your digital camera automatically records such information but you have to know where to find it.

Flash Memory Drives

A flash memory drive (a.k.a. thumb drive or USB drive) consists of a chip of memory (flash) mounted in a plastic case with a USB interface on one end (see the illustration for some examples). With Windows Me, 2000, XP and Macintosh computers, flash memory drives automatically get recognized as another storage drive on your computer. No installation CD’s, no formatting, just fast, safe removable storage.

In addition to their instant recognition and portability, flash drives offer the BEST way to backup day-to-day information like financial data, address books, genealogy, word processing documents, and spreadsheet documents.

Two other great advantages of flash drives are their speed and durability. You can copy 200 megabytes worth of data (literally thousands of word processing documents), in less than a minute! And because there are NO moving parts, the memory is quite stable and long lasting.

To use a flash memory drive, follow these steps:

1. Insert the drive into a USB port on your computer.
2. Wait approximately a minute (first time only) for the computer to recognize and install the device (Windows 98 need to install a driver)
3. Double-Click your My Computer icon to verify that another drive shows up (usually the first letter after your CD-ROM
4. In Windows XP, you can now RIGHT click on any folder or file and then Click Send To —> Removable Drive. This will instantly make a copy of the document or folder on your flash drive.
5. In Windows Me or 2000, you can copy and paste a folder or file to the flash drive or open the flash drive in a new window and drag your files to it
6. If you use a financial program, simply use the program’s built-in backup function and have it back up to your flash drive
7. To delete information from a flash memory drive, open up its icon in My Computer, then click on the file or folder you want to delete, and push DELETE on your keyboard