You AutoComplete Me

One very helpful feature built into Internet Explorer is AutoComplete. When you begin to write a word in a text box, AutoComplete will make a dropdown box appear with the completed word. You can then just use the down arrow to select the word and hit Enter.

This can greatly speed up entering repetitive data into web-based forms.

To ensure that AutoComplete is enabled, open up Internet Explorer. In the menu bar, go to Tools and select Internet Options…. Then click on the Content tab. The dialog box should look like this:



Click on the AutoComplete… button. You’ll now see a dialog box that looks like this:



Ensure that the first 2 check boxes are checked as shown. You can check the third box unless you are at a computer that multiple people use. Click OK, then Apply (if not grayed-out), then OK. Now AutoComplete is enabled for most circumstances that you type information into an Internet Explorer window.

Speed Up Your PC in 3 Easy Steps

Is your computer running sluggishly? Here’s a 3-step process for giving it a quick tune-up: CLEAN, DEFRAG, PREVENT. You might find that doing so improves your PC’s performance substantially.

CLEAN.
First, let’s tell the computer to delete unnecessary files from your PC with the “Disk Cleanup” accessory application. Don’t worry: Disk Cleanup won’t delete any of your files, programs, or user data. This application only deletes temporary system files that accumulate on your PC from extensive internet usage and applications that don’t “clean up after themselves”.

1. Go to Start and click on All Programs.
2. Select Accessories, then System Tools, then Disk Cleanup.
3. The program will begin by scanning your hard drive. After a minute or two, a dialog box will pop up with suggestions on what can be cleaned up. I recommend checking all the boxes that are available in the dialog box.
4. Then click OK and let Disk Cleanup run in the background. It may run for up to an hour in some cases.

DEFRAG.
Over time, your hard drive becomes cluttered, just like your desk. Files are scattered in fragments throughout your hard drive and it becomes harder and harder for your system to locate and read those files when it needs them. A “defragmentation” program will scan your hard drive and rearrange all the files on your hard drive in a streamlined, organized fashion so that your computer can find what it needs in a fraction of the time it took before.

There is a defragmentation program built into Windows XP. To run it:

1. Go to Start / All Programs / Accessories / System Tools
2. Choose Disk Defragmenter
3. Click on the Defragment button
4. Let the Disk Defragmenter run!
5. It will tell you when it’s finished…you can close out of the application when it’s done.

PREVENT.
Here’s one way to ensure that your PC won’t accumulate a ton of unnecessary files in the future.

1. On your desktop, right-click on the Internet Explorer icon (the blue “e”) and select Properties.
2. Click on the Settings button.
3. In the white box, change the number to a low number such as 5. (This changes the maximum amount of temporary data that Internet Explorer can leave on your hard drive.) Click OK.
4. Now click on the Advanced tab.
5. Scroll down to the Security section. Look for an item that says “Empty Temporary Internet Files folder when browser is closed” (should be the 8th item listed under Security). Check the box next to this item if it isn’t already checked. This will ensure that whatever files Internet Explorer creates will automatically get deleted every time you finish using it.
6. Click Apply.
7. Click OK.

(NOTE:  Click here to read the 2008 sequel to this Tech Tip, which explores third-party applications that improve upon the Clean-Defrag-Prevent model of PC health.)

Microsoft WHAT?!?

I’ve found that a lot of people get 3 very different Microsoft products confused: Windows, Office, and Works. This week, I will attempt to clarify what each of these products are and how they are different.


MICROSOFT OFFICE

This is the suite of business applications that includes the following:

• Microsoft Word
• Microsoft Excel
• Microsoft PowerPoint
• Microsoft Outlook

Some versions also include Microsoft Access (a database application), Microsoft Publisher (a desktop publishing application), and Microsoft FrontPage (a webpage design application), as well as a number of smaller utility applications.

Microsoft Windows does not come with Microsoft Office. Although some computers are sold with both Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office, most computers don’t necessarily come with Office. New computers almost never come with Office installed; it is usually purchased as an add-on option (for an additional cost) or separately. You’ll know if you have it at home because it cost you between $200 and $500.

• Versions of Office include “2003”, “xp”, “2000”, and “97”.
• Versions of Windows include “xp”, “2000”, “me”, “98”, and “98se”.

MICROSOFT WINDOWS

This is the “operating system” for most PCs…the environment in which applications can run. Without an operating system, your computer wouldn’t do anything. You would just turn it on and it would sit there with a blank screen. So it’s just an environment – something that runs in the background that gives you the ability to do stuff.

However, Windows XP does come bundled with a few rudimentary applications, such as Internet Explorer, Windows Media Player, Messenger, Movie Maker, WordPad (a seriously-lame word processor), Notepad (a text file editor/generator), Paint, Calculator, and a bunch of system tools and other goodies.

Windows also comes with a program called “Outlook Express”. As stated in a previous Tech Tip, this program is in no way related to Microsoft Outlook. It is essentially a stripped-down version of Outlook that only does e-mail (no calendar, contacts, or anything else). If you use the full Outlook, you should never even attempt to open Outlook Express on the same PC. At home, you may find that Outlook Express is a useful e-mail client.

Today, everyone using Windows should be using Windows XP. Older versions, such as “2000”, “me”, “98”, and “98se” are truly obsolete. If your computer at home is a Pentium III (400 MHz) or better, upgrade to Windows XP if you haven’t already. If your computer is a Pentium II (less than 400 MHz) or older, it’s time to throw it in the trash and buy a new computer!

MICROSOFT WORKS

Like a spork, Microsoft Works tries to be multiple things, and in doing so, is a failure at all of them. (I suppose it would compare better to the serrated spork / “grapefruit spork”.) For about $50, Works gives you a spartan word processor, a crummy spreadsheet program, a PowerPoint viewer (no editing capability), and a Fisher-Price version of Outlook.

The word processor doesn’t make .DOC files like Microsoft Word – it makes .WPS files. These .WPS files can be opened in Microsoft Word…but Microsoft Word .DOC files cannot be opened in Microsoft Works! Because this has become such a headache for so many people who transfer files between work and home (and can’t afford the hundreds of dollars that it costs to get Microsoft Office), some versions of Microsoft Works now come with the full Microsoft Word instead of the second-rate Works word processor.

The same compatibility issue can be said of Microsoft Excel and the spreadsheet in Microsoft Works.

If you work at home at all or have children in school, I recommend getting Microsoft Office. As an educator or an employee of a school, or a student, you can qualify for three reduced-cost versions:

• “Microsoft Office Student & Teacher 2003”
• “Microsoft Office Professional 2003 Academic Version”
• “Microsoft Office Standard 2003 Academic Version”

These versions only cost between $100 and $160…an incredible discount over the versions available to the general public, as they offer all the same features. You can find the academic versions of Office at most locations that sell the standard versions.

Sign Your Name (Across My Heart)

I’ve fielded some requests to explain how to create a signature block that automatically gets put at the bottom of outgoing email. First I’ll explain how to create a signature, then I’ll give some tips on how to make your signature block look more professional:

1. In Microsoft Outlook, click on Tools, then Options. Click on the Mail Format tab.

2. Click on the Signatures... button.

3. Now in the top box you’ll see a list of all signatures that you’ve created in the past. (It may be an empty list.) What we’re going to do is create some new, different signature blocks to use either in different circumstances or just to rotate to keep things interesting. Click the New... button to create a new signature block.

4. Give your new signature a title (maybe something like “Professional” or “Informal” or “Purple” or “Tuesday” or “Ketchup” or “Big Papi” or “Menudo”, etc.). If you’ve already created a signature block, you can save yourself time re-typing your personal info by clicking on the radio button next to “Use this existing signature as a template:”. Otherwise, you’ll need to start from scratch. Click Next >.

5. Now you can type in your signature block just the way you want. After all the text is there, select all of it and click on the Font... button to get the font and color just the way you like. Click on the Paragraph... button to make your signature block right-justified, left-justified, or center-justified.

6. Click Finish when you’ve got it the way you like.

7. Now, you’ll see the signature block you just created in your list of stored signature blocks. Click OK.

8. Finally, you can choose which signature block you want to use. In the drop-down box next to “Signature for new messages:” pick the signature block that you just created.

9. There is also an option to put a signature on replies and forwards. The default is none. We strongly recommend leaving this at the default. It’s rather annoying emailing back and forth with someone with a long string of identical signature blocks in the string of previous emails.

10. Click OK to finish.

Now here are a few ways of punching-up your signature block:

• You can put a dividing line between your signature block and the text of the email by putting a long string of underscores (“_”) in the first line of your signature block, like this: _____________
• Pick a light text color that doesn’t draw the eye away from the text of your email messages. The text color “Silver” is the one I use; it’s subtle, almost like a watermark. Avoid bright colors.
• Only use one font throughout the whole signature block…
• …but vary the text size and the use of boldface. Give your name and title more prominence with a larger font and/or boldface text.
• For a different look, make your signature block right-justified or center-justified.

The appearance of this weekly e-publication with the views and opinions of authors, products or services contained therein does not constitute endorsement of Terence Trent d'Arby or Columbia Records.