Technology for small businesses
A little something for when it’s just too much work to reach for the mouse:
Instead of clicking the File menu, pointing to New, etc or right-clicking into the file pane, you can often just press the F+W+F keys while holding down the ALT key and a new folder is created on most systems.
On some you can try to use F+W while pressing ALT and then hit the Enter key.
Roadkil’s Unstoppable Copier recovers files from disks with physical damage. It allows you to copy files from disks with problems such as bad sectors, scratches or that just give errors when reading data. The program will attempt to recover every readable piece of a file and put the pieces together. Using this method, most types of files can be made useable even if some parts were not recoverable in the end.
You can download it at http://www.roadkil.net/program.php?ProgramID=29
If you are thinking of buying Office 2007 for a computer that didn’t have it before, you may think you are stuck buying it at full price. You are not.
You can save some money by buying for example “Microsoft Works 9.0” and then the “Microsoft Office 2007 Upgrade” which is combined often much cheaper than the same suite without upgrade.
You may also qualify for the upgrade price with older Microsoft software you already own. Office 2007 can be upgraded from “Microsoft Works 6.0-10; Microsoft Works Suite 2000-2006 or Later; Any 2000-2007 Microsoft Office Program or Suite and Any Microsoft Office XP Suite.” according to the information on the Microsoft website.
Just make sure to compare the Office suite versions so you buy the one with the programs you want. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/suites/FX101635841033.aspx
Oh – and the same way you can save on many single components like Word 2007 if you don’t need the full suite.
Select the object that you want to move.
Press an arrow/cursor key to move the object a large step.
Press and hold the CTRL key while you press the arrow/cursor key to move the object a small step
When you create a table that spreads across multiple pages, table headings do not appear on each page.
You can have Word display table headings on each page when in Print Layout view.
Select the heading row or rows, including the first row of the table.
Under Table Tools, on the Layout tab, within the Data group, click Repeat Header Rows.
Move the pointer over the table until the table move handle appears.
Click the table move handle to select the table.
Under Table Tools, on the Layout tab, within the Data group, click Sort.
Select the options that you want from the Sort dialog box.
With hard drives getting cheaper and cheaper, it gets less likely that you run out of space than it was a few years ago. Still, you may not want to upgrade that particular drive for one reason or another. Or you are really collecting a lot of stuff.
If you don’t quite know what is taking up the space, then you can call WinDirStat to the rescue. It is a free program which you can download at http://windirstat.sourceforge.net/.
It scans your hard drive – or just some folders if you wish – and then displays how much space the items are taking up.
While it does have a funky-looking graphical display, personally, I find the text display more useful. (My wife really likes the graphic display though.)
And with file-deleting capabilities just a right-click away, it re-calculates file usage immediately when you remove files from within the program.
Maybe you’ll find some long-lost humongous files you forgot about and can delete? I was able to clean up about 20GB of files I had all forgetten about and don’t need any more.
Sorry – this doesn’t work on older versions of Outlook.
Right-click the Outlook folder you want to show the all items count for
Click Properties
On the General tab click Show total number of items
Click OK
Launchy for XP
If you have been working any time on Windows Vista, you may have used the searchable start menu.
Launchy is a utility for Windows XP that has similar functionality. No more hunting through the start menu to find the link to the program you know is there somewhere, but instead now it is just a few keystrokes away.
Go To http://www.launchy.net/ to download the software and/or have a look at what you may be missing.
Vista’s file search is missing some files in the display you see. At least in the standard configuration.
Vista’s file search is supposed to be making searching for files and documents faster and easier.
I agree with many people that it is really not easier to find specific files and that it is faster in part only because it doesn’t search all files you actually have. Oh yes – and it indexes – that’s why it is faster.
For information on how powerful the Vista file search is and how to get the most of it, read the article at windowsvistablog.com.
For more information about the issues that the search doesn’t really find all files – even if they do exist, just read the comments below the article.
And here is my favourite program when I do have to find files: Agent Ransack is a freeware version of a commercial search program that can help you find more files if Windows Vista search doesn’t find them.