| Setting your browser home page (Internet Explorer or Firefox) |
Some people like to open
Internet Explorer and
immediately see the
news. Others like to see
the weather. Still
others like the speed of
opening to a blank page.
No matter which you
prefer, here’s how you
set your home page.
Internet Explorer
- Click Tools/Internet
Options
- On the General
tab,
a. Enter the address for
your desired home page,
or
b. click Use Current to
use the page you are
currently visiting, or
c. click Use Blank to
start at a blank page.
Firefox
- 1. Click Tools/ Options.
- 2. On the General
tab,
a. Enter your desired
home page address in the
Location field, or
b. click Use Current to
use the page you are
currently visiting, or
c. click Use Blank to
start at a blank page,
or
d. click Use Bookmark to
select a page from your
bookmarks. |
| Internet Explorer (IE) Keyboard Shortcuts |
Keyboard shortcuts
can speed your
surfing. Here are a
few of the most
common shortcuts. If
you’re interested in
learning more
shortcuts, go to
IE’s Help and search
for “keyboard
shortcuts.”
- To add the current
page to your
favorites use CTRL +
D.
- To open the Find
dialog box to search
the current page use
CTRL + F.
- To open your
History use CTRL +
H.
- To open your
Favorites use CTRL +
I.
- To open a new
Explorer window use
CTRL + N.
- To print the
current page use
CTRL + P.
- To refresh the
current page use
CTRL + R or the F5
key.
To save the
current page use
CTRL + S.
- To open a new Tab
use CTRL + T.
- To close the
current Explorer
window use CTRL + W.
- To go to your
default homepage use
ALT and the
HOME
key.
- To go forward or
back one page
(equivalent to the
FORWARD and BACK
buttons) use ALT and
the right arrow
key/left arrow key.
|
| Deleting an item without sending it to the Recycle
Bin |
- Select the file,
folder or other item you
want to delete.
- Press and hold the
Shift Key and press
Delete.
|
|
Using your own Desktop
background |
Windows let’s you use
any image as the
background for your
desktop. So, if you want
to use a picture of your
family, or a picture of
your favorite painting,
or a picture from your
last vacation, follow
these instructions:
- Right-click on your
desktop and left-click
on Properties.
- Click the Desktop
tab.
- Click the Browse
button and browse to the
location of the image
you want to use.
- Click on the image
file and click Open.
- Select the desired
position by clicking the
Position drop-down and
choosing Center, Tile or
Stretch.
- Click OK.
|
|
Changing your screen resolution (Windows XP) |
Having trouble reading
text on your screen? Are
the icons too small?
Would you like to fit
more items on your
screen? Many of these
items can be fixed
individually, but an
easy way to make items
on your screen smaller
or larger is to decrease
or increase your screen
resolution. Here’s how.
- Right-click on your
desktop and left-click
on Properties.
- Click the Settings
tab and move the Screen
Resolution slider left
or right to decrease or
increase your
resolution. Your options
will vary depending on
your video card and
monitor.
|
|
Increase your Windows font size |
If you just want to
increase the size of the
text that appears under
your Windows icons, on
your Windows title bars
and Windows menus,
follow these
instructions:
- Right-click on your
desktop and left-click
on Properties.
- Click the Appearance
tab.
- Click the Font size
pull-down and select the
desired font size.
|
|
Increase the size of your icons |
If you want to increase
the size of your Windows
desktop icons, follow
these instructions:
- Right-click on your
desktop and left-click
on Properties.
- Click the Appearance
tab.
- Click the Effects
button.
- Click the checkbox
next to Use large icons.
|
|
Make My Computer open in Explorer mode with folder list (Windows XP) |
- In My Computer, click
the Tools menu, and then
click Folder Options.
- Click the File Types
tab. In the list of file
types, click on (NONE)
Folders.
- Click the Advanced
button.
- In the Actions
box, click on Explore
then click Set Default.
|
| Making the Start Menu appear more quickly (Windows XP) |
By default, Windows
delays the opening the
Start Menu when you
click the start button.
To speed things up, make
this change to the
System Registry
(Warning: You must be
very careful when
working in the System
Registry. Some changes
can cause your system to
stop functioning.)
- Click the Start
button and select Run…
- Type regedit in the
Open field.
- Browse to
HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Control
Panel/Desktop.
- Double-click on
MenuShowDisplay in the
right pane.
- Enter “0” in the
Value Data field.
- Close the registry
editor.
|
| Common Keyboard Shortcuts for Windows and other programs |
- Select All: CTRL +
A
- Copy: CTRL+C
- Cut: CTRL+X
- Paste: CTRL+V
- Undo: CTRL+Z
- Redo: CTRL+Y
- Save: CTRL+ S
- Print: CTRL+ P
- Find: CTRL+ F
- Display the Start
Menu: CTRL + ESC
- Switch between
open windows: ALT +
TAB
- Select a contiguous
group of text, files
or folders: SHIFT + click
- Select multiple,
individual files or
folders: CTRL + click
- Select text
as you move the cursor: SHIFT + arrow
keys
- Jump
to the top of a
document: CTRL + HOME
- Jump
to the bottom of a
document: CTRL + END
- Select all text,
files or folders
from the cursor
location to the top
of the document or
folder: SHIFT + HOME
- Select all text,
files or folders
from the cursor
location to the
bottom of the
document or folder: SHIFT + END
- Open Windows
or program help: F1
|
| Shortcuts using the Windows Key on your keyboard |
- Display the Start menu: Windows Key
- Minimize or restore all windows: Windows Key + D
- Display Windows Explorer: Windows Key + E
- Display Search for files: Windows Key + F
- Display Search for computer: Windows Key + Ctrl + F
- Display Help and Support Center: Windows Key + F1
- Display Run dialog box: Windows Key + R
- Display System Properties dialog box: Windows Key + break
- Undo minimize all windows: Windows Key + shift + M
- Lock the workstation: Windows Key + L
|
| Disabling Error Reporting |
By default, Windows XP
requests you to report
any application errors
to Microsoft. To turn
off this feature, follow
these instructions:
- Right-click on the
My
Computer icon on the
desktop.
- Select Properties and
click the Advanced tab.
- Click the Error
Reporting button.
- Click the checkbox
next to Disable error
reporting.
|
|
Speeding Up the Display of Start Menu Items |
An easy way to speed up
the display of the Start
Menu Items is to turn
off the menu shadow.
- Right-click on an
open area of the
Desktop.
- Select Properties.
- Click on the
Appearance tab.
- Click on the Effects
button.
- Uncheck Show shadows
under menus.
|
| Alphabetize your Program Menu |
Windows adds new
programs to the end of
your program list. After
a while, you may have
trouble finding the
program you’re looking
for. To alphabetize your
program list, follow
these instructions:
- Click the Start button.
- Open the All Programs
menu and right-click
anywhere on the menu.
- Select Sort by Name.
|
|
Get Rid of Unwanted Balloon Tips |
Annoyed by those tips
that constantly appear
in a little balloon
above your taskbar?
Here’s how to make them
go away:
- Click the Start button and select
Run…
- Type regedit in the Open field.
- Browse to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion
\Explorer\Advanced
- Create a new
DWORD value named
EnableBalloonTips and set the value to
0x00000000.
|
