Home

    Services

    Web Design

    FAQ

    Links

    Contact

    eStore

    Sitemap

    
    Telecoms ~
    Would you like to own a number     like this ... 07017-666-777 ?

    MCP & MCSE ~
    What's an MCP & MCSE?

    Vista ~ Introduction
    Vista ~ Installing
    Vista ~ Finfing your bearings
    Vista ~ Windows Search
    Vista ~ New Explorer
    Vista ~ User Accounts
    Vista ~ Parental Controls
    Vista ~ Breadcrumbing
    Vista ~ Performance Tech
    Vista ~ Tips & Tricks
    Vista ~ Troubleshooting

Tick to select

If you find selecting multiple files using Ctrl+click cumbersome, turn on Vista's checkbox selection method:

1. Tap Alt to display the menu bar.
2. Click Tools -> Folder Options to display the Folder Options dialog box.
3. Click the View tab and in the Advanced Settings section tick Use Check Boxes To Select Items.

The change will affect all folders. As you move your mouse pointer over the files, you’ll see an unticked checkbox; click the file to select it. This is particularly useful on a notebook computer where making multiple selections using the built-in controls can be a real pain.

Make multi-file selection easier by enabling checkboxes.

Here’s a bonus tip: To make global changes to folder options without opening a folder, click Start, type control folders in the search box and press Enter.

Get more right-click options

Right-clicking a file or folder displays a list of shortcut commands. If you hold Shift while you right-click you’ll see an extended list of options. The additional options change depending on the type of file you right-click but usually include Pin To Start Menu, Add To Quick Launch and Copy As Path.

Copy As Path is useful if you need to use the full pathname of a file either in a document or to run another command. The other two commands are so handy it’s strange Microsoft didn’t include them in the default right-click menu. When you use Shift+right-click on a folder instead of a file, one of the added options is Open Command Window Here, which displays a command prompt window opened to the selected folder.

Vista has some really esoteric right-click options tucked away in unexpected places. For example, try this:

• Click a file and press F2 to edit the file name.
• Right-click while in editing mode.

You’ll see the usual Cut, Copy and Paste options plus interesting settings such as Right To Left Reading Order and the ability to display or insert Unicode control characters.

Show the Run command

The Run command is useful for accessing many of Vista’s advanced commands and functions, but it’s no longer visible by default on the Start Menu. While it’s easy enough to add it, in most circumstances you won’t need it. That’s because the Start Menu’s search box is a run box.

For example, in Windows XP to open the Registry Editor you click Start -> Run, type regedit and click OK. In Vista, you click Start, type regedit in the search box and press Enter.

If you’d like to have the Run command appear on the Start Menu nevertheless, here’s how to make it appear:

1. Right-click the Start orb and select Properties.
2. Click Customize.
3. Tick the Run Command box and click OK twice.

Another quick way to open the Run box is to press Winkey+R.

Run as administrator

When you run a program in Vista, even if you’ve logged on using an administrator account the program runs in least privileged mode, which places restrictions on what the program can do. This protects your system from malicious software and from self-inflicted errors.

Sometimes, though, you’ll want to run programs with elevated privileges; that’s particularly the case if you like to get in and tweak your operating system’s innards. In that case, you’ll need to run the program as an administrator. A simple way to do that is to type the command in the Start search box and then press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

So, for example, if you’d like to run a command prompt with elevated privileges you click Start, type cmd and press Ctrl+Shift+Enter.

Use an elevated command prompt

If you frequently use the command prompt, here’s a way to create a desktop shortcut to a command prompt with elevated privileges:

1. Right-click an empty space on the desktop and choose New -> Shortcut.
2. Type cmd in the box and click Next.
3. Give your shortcut a name, such as Elevated Command Prompt and click Finish.
4. Right-click your newly created shortcut and select Properties from the pop-up menu.
5. Click the Advanced button.
6. Tick Run As Administrator and click OK twice.

Show the menu bar

The menu bar which used to be displayed in folder windows provides many more options than the new dumbed down command bar. Folder windows no longer sport the menu bar, but you can easily display it by tapping the Alt key. If you'd like to display the menu bar permanently:

1. Click Start, type control folders and press Enter.
2. Click the View tab.
3. In Advanced Settings, tick Always Show Menus and click OK.

Integrate your calendars

In Vista's new Calendar application, you'll notice a subscribe button on the toolbar. This button is the gateway to integrating your desktop calendar with any iCalendar-based (.ics) calendar. You can use this feature to subscribe to a public or shared online calendar, such as your local bushwalking club's activity schedule. Or, if you're already a fan of an online calendar such as Google Calendar, you can continue to use it and incorporate its contents into a handy local format.

To subscribe to an online calendar, you'll need to grab the calendar's address. Here's how to do it with Google Calendar:

1. Connect to Google Calendar and click the Settings link on the top right.
2. Click the Calendars tab and click the calendar to which you'd like to subscribe.
3. On the Calendar Details tab in the Private Address section, right-click the ICAL button and choose Copy Link Location or Copy Shortcut from the pop-up menu.
4. Open Windows Calendar and click the Subscribe button.
5. Press Ctrl+V to paste your Google Calendar's private address into the Calendar To Subscribe To box and click Next.
6. After a few moments, the connection will be made and you can then provide a name for the calendar and set other options. Set the Update Interval to an hour or less to ensure your desktop calendar includes the latest from your online calendar, then click Finish.

Integrate iCalendar content with your local Windows Calendar.

Once you've subscribed to a calendar, its name will appear in the list of calendars on the left of the Windows Calendar window and its contents will appear in-line with any local entries. You can use the Color option in the Details section to distinguish one lot of appointments from another.

Avoid the UAC prompts

User Account Control (UAC) does a lot to protect your system's security, but the UAC prompts are undeniably annoying and also confusing for some users.

If you share your computer with youngsters, computer neophytes or others who shouldn't be tinkering with system settings, a simple way to maintain security while minimising UAC interruptions is to deny all elevation requests from Standard users by default. When you do this, although the user will see a message saying access has been denied if they try to install software or change system settings, they won't experience the screen-dimming and system-locking of traditional UAC prompts and they'll be able to proceed without calling for administrator assistance. This process does not entail turning UAC off, which is not a good idea; instead, you set your system to disallow any action that would normally spawn a UAC prompt.

To do so:

1. Set up a Standard account and make sure all the settings are just so and all required software is installed.
2. From your Administrator account, open the Local Security Policy editor by typing secpol.msc in the Start search box and pressing Enter.
3. Click Security Options in the Local Policies section and scroll down the list on the right to User Account Control: Behavior Of The Elevation Prompt For Standard Users.
4. By default, the setting is Prompt For Credentials. Double-click the setting and select Automatically Deny Elevation Requests from the drop-down list, then click OK and close the Security Policy editor.

Step by step: Isolate your data

If you have a second hard drive or a separate partition on your system drive, it pays to relocate your data. By isolating your data from your system and applications, you'll find backups easier to do and you can even format and reinstall Windows without touching your data.

This process involves two steps: first, establish the practice of storing all your data in centralised locations such as Documents, Music, Pictures and so on; second, relocate those folders to your second drive.

To move these folders to drive F:, for example:

1. In Windows Explorer create a new folder on F: for each user of your system and then create sub-folders within these folders named Documents, Music and so on. You should end up with something like:

F:\Eamon\Documents
F:\Eamon\Music
F:\Eamon\Pictures
F:\Eamon\Videos
F:\Alice\Documents
F:\Alice\Music

and so on.

2. Click Start and then click your logon name under your logon picture to open your profile folder.
3. Right-click the Documents icon and select Properties.
4. Click the Location tab and click Move.
5. In the Select A Destination dialog, double-click Computer, double-click the F: drive, click the documents folder you created in step 1, click Select Folder and then click OK.
6. Respond Yes to the two prompts.

Repeat these steps for the other folders you wish to relocate, and then logon to the other user accounts and repeat the process for each user.

Copyright Rose Vines

Click here to check out
The Little Venice Social Badminton Club - London W2!