50 Windows Tips & Tricks -4

31 Keep track of notes
It’s easy to lose notes kept on scraps of paper, so why not keep them handy on the desktop? Right-click the desktop, select New then Text Document. Call it ‘notes’. From now on, to make a note simply double-click the file, press F5 to insert the date and time, type a note then press the Control and S keys together to save.

32 Clever keyboard (Vista)
Windows Vista has an on-screen keyboard that can be accessed by pressing the Windows key and the R key together, then typing osk.exe and pressing Enter. For a more useful version, right-click the Taskbar, then select Toolbars followed by Tablet PC Input Panel. Click the icon that appears in the Taskbar, then click the keyboard icon in the dock that appears.

Select ‘Dock at Bottom of Screen’ from the Tools menu to dock this keyboard at the bottom of the screen. When the keyboard is not needed click the usual close button, and to bring it back click the small floating panel to the side of the screen.

33 Add a shortcut for updates (XP)
Windows Update means Windows XP can be set to check for security updates automatically. If you prefer to check yourself, you can create a desktop icon to simplify the process. Right-click an empty spot on the desktop and select New, then Shortcut. In the box that appears type www.windowsupdate.com, then click Next. Enter a name such as ‘Check for updates’ and click Finish.

Simply double-click this icon to start the update process.

34 Change Start menu power button (Vista)
By default, the power button in Vista’s Start menu activates sleep mode rather than switching the computer off. To fix this open the Control Panel, then Power Options, and click the ‘Change plan settings’ link beneath the currently selected power plan. Click ‘Change advanced power settings’ and expand the ‘Power buttons and lid’ entry.

Expand the ‘Start menu power button’ entry, click the menu next to Setting and select Shut down before clicking OK.

35 Type in quick shortcuts (XP)
There are a few programs in Windows that can be very handy but which are hidden in the Start menu. If you’re busy doing something else and don’t want to rummage around in the Accessories folder for the Calculator, though, don’t worry. Simply press the Windows key and R together, type calc and press Enter.

Similarly, for a quick way to start a text file press the Windows key and R together, type notepad then press Enter.

36 Preview documents (Vista)
To save having to open a document to see what it contains, turn on Vista’s file preview option. Open a folder, click the Organize button and select Layout followed by Preview Pane. Select a file, and a preview will be displayed to the right.

37 Give hard disks a friendly name (XP)
If your computer has more than one hard disk, it’s often a good idea to store different files on each one – programs on drive C, for example, and music files on drive D. If so, why not give each disk a friendly name? Open My Computer, right-click the hard disk and select Rename, then type in something appropriate – we called our second disk ‘music and video’.

38 Disable User Account Control (Vista)
Vista’s User Account Control (UAC) is a useful security feature, but some people find it incredibly annoying. It can be disabled. Open the Control Panel, then User Accounts, and click the link labelled ‘Turn user account control on or off’ before clicking Continue. Untick the box labelled ‘Use User Account Control (UAC) to help protect your computer’ and click OK.

Re-enabling UAC is simple – follow these steps again, then re-tick the box.

39 Check your specs (XP)
Sometimes it’s helpful to know some basic information about the parts inside your PC. For details on the processor and memory, right-click the My Computer icon and select Properties. Look at the bottom of the box that appears: under the word ‘Computer’ you’ll find, the type of processor inside, along with its speed (in MHz or GHz), and then the amount of memory, which will look something like ‘512MB of Ram’.

40 Scan again for wireless networks (Vista)
Wireless networks don’t always show up the first time you perform a scan. Vista will re-scan after a while, but there’s no need to wait. Simply press F5 to start another scan immediately.