PRACTICAL Microsoft Windows Millennium Faithe Wempen
I Starting Out with Windows 1 2 3 4 5
Windows Basics 7 Getting Help 29 Running Programs 43 Exploring the Windows Accessories 63 Managing Files and Folders 89
II Modifying Your System 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
Setting File Management Options 119 Organizing Your Programs 135 Installing New Programs 155 Customizing the Screen Appearance 169 Customizing System Settings 201 Installing Hardware 215 Managing Fonts and Printers 233
III Sharing Resources
Contents at a Glance
13 14 15 16
Sharing a PC with Multiple Users 249 Using Network Resources 261 Sharing an Internet Connection 281 Traveling with a Laptop 287
IV Using the Internet 17 18 19 20 21 22
Setting Up Online Connectivity 305 Exploring the Web 323 Bringing the Web to Your Desktop 353 Working with Email 367 Participating in Online Discussions 393 Creating and Publishing Web Content 423
V Maintenance and Problem Solving 23 Optimizing Your Computer 441 24 Safeguarding Your System 465 25 Troubleshooting Problems 475
VI Appendixes A B C D
Installing Windows Millennium 507 Windows Information Online 515 Accessibility Tools 523 Gaming with Windows Millennium 529 Glossary 533 Index 545
201 W. 103rd Street Indianapolis, Indiana 46290
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Practical Microsoft Windows Millennium Copyright © 2000 by Que Corporation.
Associate Publisher Greg Wiegand Acquisitions Editor Jenny Watson
®
All rights reserved. No part of this book shall be reproduced, stored in a retrieval system, or transmitted by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without written permission from the publisher. No patent liability is assumed with respect to the use of the information contained herein. Although every precaution has been taken in the preparation of this book, the publisher and author assume no responsibility for errors or omissions. Nor is any liability assumed for damages resulting from the use of the information contained herein. International Standard Book Number: 0-7897-2405-7 Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: 00-102231 Printed in the United States of America First Printing: July 2000 02 01 00
4 3 2 1
All terms mentioned in this book that are known to be trademarks or service marks have been appropriately capitalized. Que cannot attest to the accuracy of this information. Use of a term in this book should not be regarded as affecting the validity of any trademark or service mark. Every effort has been made to make this book as complete and as accurate as possible, but no warranty or fitness is implied. The information provided is on an “as is” basis. The author(s) and the publisher shall have neither liability nor responsibility to any person or entity with respect to any loss or damages arising from the information contained in this book.
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Development Editor Rick Kughen Managing Editor Thomas F. Hayes Project Editor Leah Kirkpatrick Copy Editor Sossity Smith Indexer Chris Barrick Proofreader Maribeth Echard Technical Editor Colleta Witherspoon Team Coordinator Sharry Lee Gregory Interior Designer Anne Jones Cover Designer Dan Armstrong Production Ayanna Lacey Heather Hiatt Miller Stacey Richwine-DeRome
Contents Introduction 1
2 Getting Help 29
Where to Start
1
Opening the Help and Support Window
What’s New in Windows Millennium? Special Helps
2
Exploring the Windows Tours and Tutorials 31
3
Let’s Get Started!
Browsing the Most Popular Help Topics
4
Looking Up Terms in the Index Searching for a Term
I Starting Out with Windows
Starting Windows
9
Using Your Mouse
9
Using Assisted Support
37
39 41
3 Running Programs 43 11
Working with Windows 14 Minimizing, Maximizing, and Restoring Windows 16 Resizing a Window 17 Moving a Window 18 Arranging Windows Automatically 19 Scrolling a Window’s Display 21 Closing a Window 22 Working with Menus 23 Drop-Down Menus 23 Shortcut Menus 25 Working with Toolbars
Restarting Windows
36
Registering Your Copy of Windows
Understanding the Windows Screen
Turning Off Your PC
8
33
35
Working with Found Help Topics
1 Windows Basics 7 What Is Microsoft Windows Millennium?
30
26 26
27
Starting a Program 44 From the Start Menu 44 From a Desktop Icon 46 From a Toolbar 46 From Windows Explorer or My Computer From the Documents Menu 48 With the Run Command 49 Navigating in a Program 50 Starting a New File 51 Typing and Editing Text 51 Selecting Text 53 Exchanging Data Between Programs Saving Your Work 54 Opening Files 56 Printing Your Work
58
Switching Among Running Programs Exiting a Program
53
59
60
Exiting a Running Program
60
Exiting a Program in the System Tray
61
47
4 Exploring the Windows Accessories 63 Introducing the Windows Accessories Word Processing with WordPad Creating Artwork with Paint
64
64
65
Doing Math with the Calculator
Deleting Files and Folders 69
Going Online with HyperTerminal
72
Renaming Files and Folders
74
Editing Video Clips 81 Taking the Windows Movie Maker Tour 81 Overview of the Movie-Making Process 82 Adding Clips to a Collection 82 Adding Content to a Collection 84 Assembling a Project 85 Setting Transitions 86 Previewing the Movie 87 Publishing the Project As a Movie 87
iv
95
112
Formatting Disks
113
109
115
II Modifying Your System 6 Setting File Management Options 119 Choosing How Files Are Displayed Customizing a Folder Sorting the File List 90
Navigating Drives and Folders 93 Displaying a Drive or Folder in My Computer 93 Displaying a Drive or Folder in Windows Explorer 94 Selecting Files and Folders
Creating Folders
Making a Windows Startup Disk
5 Managing Files and Folders 89 Choosing a File Management Method
106
Searching for Files and Folders
79
102
105
Working with File Properties
Playing MP3 Files and Other Digital Sound Clips 77 Recording Sounds
101
Working with the Recycle Bin 102 Retrieving a File from the Recycle Bin Emptying the Recycle Bin 103 Setting Recycle Bin Properties 104
Scanning and Annotating with Imaging 70
Playing Audio CDs
Moving and Copying Files and Folders 97 Moving or Copying with Drag and Drop 97 Moving or Copying with the Clipboard 99 Moving or Copying with Windows Toolbar Buttons 100
120
122 126
Showing or Hiding Toolbars and Other Window Elements 127 Copying a Folder’s View Settings
128
Global Folder Settings 129 Showing or Hiding File Extensions 129 Showing Hidden Files 131 Changing Global Folder Options 132
7 Organizing Your Programs 135 Customizing the Start Menu 136 Working with Personalized Menus 136 Changing Start Menu Settings 137 Reorganizing the Start Menu Content 139 Rearranging Items on the Start Menu 140 Restructuring the Start Menu 141 Adding a Shortcut to the Start Menu 143 Working with Desktop Shortcuts 144 Repositioning a Shortcut 144 Creating New Shortcuts 144 Deleting Shortcuts 146 Renaming Shortcuts 146 Changing Shortcut Properties 146 Customizing Toolbars 147 Customizing the Quick Launch Toolbar 148 Displaying Other Toolbars in the Taskbar 148 Creating Your Own Toolbars
Removing an Installed Program 165 Uninstalling a Program 165 Removing Leftover Program Elements
167
9 Customizing the Screen Appearance 169 Adjusting Video Settings 170 Describing Your Video Card and Monitor to Windows 170 Changing the Display Mode 177 Changing the Display Refresh Rate 181 Changing Color Schemes
183
Dressing Up the Desktop with Patterns and Wallpaper 185 Using a Screensaver 188 Setting Up Your Screensaver 189 Waking Up a Screensaver 190 Setting Energy-Saving Settings for Your Monitor 190
149
Controlling Programs Running in the System Tray 150 Managing Background Programs in the System Tray 151 Specifying Which Programs Load at Startup 152
8 Installing New Programs 155 Adding and Removing Windows Components 156 Installing a New Program 158 Installing a New Program from a Setup Disk 159 Installing a New Program from a Download 160 Setting Up a Program with No Installation Utility 164
Changing Icon Appearance 192 Changing the Desktop Icons 192 Changing an Individual File’s Icon Setting Visual Effects Using Desktop Themes
193
194 195
Changing How the Taskbar Operates Changing the Taskbar Size 197 Auto Hiding the Taskbar 198 Setting Taskbar Properties 199 Docking the Taskbar in a Different Location 199
197
10 Customizing System Settings 201 Controlling Keyboard Properties
202
Controlling Mouse Settings 203 Switching the Mouse Buttons 204 Changing the Double-Click Speed 205
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III Sharing Resources
Changing the Pointer Speed 205 Choosing a Different Pointer Scheme
206
13 Sharing a PC with Multiple Users 249
Controlling Multimedia Audio Settings 207 Controlling Sound Volume
209
Setting System Sound Effects Setting the Date and Time
Setting Up Multiuser Operation 250 Enabling Multiuser Operation 250 Adding Users 252
210
Working on a Multiuser System 254 Switching Between Users 254 Deleting a User 254 Changing a User’s Settings 255 Changing Global Options for User Profiles Turning Off Multiuser Operation 256
212
Adjusting Regional Settings
213
11 Installing Hardware 215 Devices You Can Install BIOS Setup
216
Setting and Changing Passwords 257 Changing a User’s Windows Password 257 Other Passwords 258 Choosing Which Logon to Present at Startup 259
217
Setting Up Device Drivers in Windows 218 Using the Add New Hardware Wizard 219 Setting Up a Printer 221 Setting Up a Scanner 224 Setting Up a Digital Camera 225
14 Using Network Resources 261
Installing a New Driver for an Existing Device 228 Removing Drivers for a Removed Device 230
12 Managing Fonts and Printers 233 Working with Fonts 234 TrueType Versus PostScript 235 Changing the View of the Font List 236 Printing a Font Sample Page 238 Installing New Fonts 238 Removing Fonts 240 Controlling a Printer 240 Setting Printer Properties 241 Managing the Print Queue 243 Sharing a Printer on the Network
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255
Working with Network Resources 262 Accessing Network Files 263 Mapping a Network Drive 265 Creating Network Shortcuts 267 Printing to a Network Printer 269 Setting Up a Home Network 269 Running the Home Networking Wizard 270 Manually Installing Network Components 273 Sharing Your Files and Printers 275 Enabling Sharing 276 Sharing Specific Devices or Folders 277 Linking to Another PC with Direct Cable Connection 278
15 Sharing an Internet Connection 281 Introducing Internet Connection Sharing
244
Installing Internet Connection Sharing Installing the ICS Component 283
282
282
Configuring Other Computers in Your Home Network 285 Sharing the Connection
Configuring Telephony Settings
Troubleshooting Connection Problems
18 Exploring the Web 323
286
Choosing Your Browser
16 Traveling with a Laptop 287 Laptops and Windows Millennium
288
Controlling Power Management Settings 288 Creating and Editing Power Schemes 289 Setting Power Alarms and Indicators 291 Viewing the Power Meter 292 Setting Wakeup Options
293
Controlling PCMCIA Devices
294
Synchronizing Files with My Briefcase Copying Files to My Briefcase 295 Synchronizing Briefcase Files 298 Using Hardware Profiles
295
300
IV Using the Internet
306 307
Running the Internet Connection Wizard 309 Setting Up a New Internet Account 311 Setting Up an Existing Internet Account 312 Setting Up the Internet Connection Manually 313 Establishing Your Internet Connection Connecting Manually 314 Connecting Automatically 315
324
Working with Web Pages 326 Understanding Hyperlinks 326 Browsing the Web 327 Viewing a Specific Page 327 Visiting Favorite Places 328 Managing the Favorites List 329 Adding a Favorite 330 Removing a Favorite 330 Organizing Your Favorites 332 Saving Web Content for Offline Use 332 Printing Content from the Web 333 Saving Web Pages on Your Hard Disk 334 Opening a Saved Web Page 335 Saving an Individual Graphic from a Web Page 336 Making Favorites Available for Offline Browsing 336 Finding People and Information 339 Using Web Search Engines 339 Using Internet Explorer’s Search Pane 340 Finding Contact Information for People 342
17 Setting Up Online Connectivity 305
Checking Your Modem
319
286
Managing the ICS Connection
Your Online Options
316
Customizing Internet Explorer 344 Changing the Internet Explorer Window Setting General Options 344 Setting Security Options 345 Programs and Plug-Ins 347 Setting Up Content Ratings 348 Setting Program Options 350 Advanced Options 351
344
314
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19 Bringing the Web to Your Desktop 353 The Changing Face of the Web Plug-Ins 354 MP3 354 Streaming Content 354 Push Technology 355
354
Working with the Active Desktop 356 Adding Active Controls 357 Placing Your Start Page on the Desktop 359 Using Active Controls 360 Customizing Active Controls 361 Setting the Update Interval 362 Working with Internet Radio 364 Displaying the Internet Radio Controls 364 Choosing a Radio Station 364
20 Working with Email 367 Choosing Your Email Program Introducing Outlook Express
368 369
Receiving Email 372 Reading New Email 373 Printing a Message 374 Reading and Saving an Attachment 374 Deleting a Message 377 Organizing Incoming Mail 377 Creating Message-Handling Rules 378 Blocking Certain Senders 380 Sending Email 382 Replying to a Message 382 Composing New Messages 383 Managing Addresses 384 Formatting a Message 387 Sending Attachments 389 Forwarding a Message 390 Setting the Delivery Schedule 391
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21 Participating in Online Discussions 393 Working with Newsgroups 394 Setting Up Your News Account 394 Subscribing to Newsgroups 395 Retrieving Messages from Subscribed Groups 397 Reading a Message 398 Sorting Messages 399 Marking Messages As Read 401 Displaying or Hiding Already-Read Messages 401 Downloading Messages for Offline Reading 401 Posting a Reply 402 Posting a New Message 402 Keeping in Touch with MSN Messenger 404 Signing Up for a Hotmail Account 404 Setting Up MSN Messenger 405 Adding Contacts to the Contact List 406 Controlling Your Online Status 408 Chatting with a Contact 409 Managing Your Contact List 411 More About MSN Messenger and Hotmail 411 Meeting Online with NetMeeting 412 Installing NetMeeting 412 Inviting Someone to a NetMeeting 414 Controlling NetMeeting Participation 415 Multimedia Controls 416 Sharing Programs in NetMeeting 416 Chatting with Other Participants 419 Using the Whiteboard 420 Transferring Files with NetMeeting 421
22 Creating and Publishing Web Content 423 Understanding Web Page Creation
424
Programs Used to Create Web Pages 426 Creating Web Pages with FrontPage 427 Creating Web Pages with Word 429 Publishing Finished Pages to a Server 433 Understanding Internet Addresses 433 Transferring Files with Web Folders 433
Transferring Files with FTP Locations 435 Transferring Files with the Web Publishing Wizard 436
V Maintenance and Problem Solving 23 Optimizing Your Computer 441 Checking for Disk Errors 442 Understanding Disk Errors 442 Running ScanDisk 443 Using the Defragmenter Using Disk Cleanup
445
448
Working with a Compressed Drive
450
Other Ways to Improve Performance 450 Keep the Display Simple 451 Check for Compatibility Mode 451 Using Sysedit 452 Using the System Configuration Editor 454 Tuning System Performance Settings 455 Updating Windows Millennium with Windows Update 456 Scheduling Maintenance Tasks Adding a Maintenance Task
460
461
24 Safeguarding Your System 465 How Data Gets Lost
466
Backing Up and Restoring Files
466
Protecting Your PC from Viruses 467 How Do Viruses Infect a PC? 468 How Can I Prevent Virus Infection? 469 How to Recover from Virus Infection 470 Using System Restore
471
25 Troubleshooting Problems 475 Troubleshooting Startup and Shutdown Problems 476 Restarting a PC That Won’t Restart Normally 476 Troubleshooting Missing File Error Messages at Startup 477 Troubleshooting Registry Errors at Startup 478 Starting a PC in Safe Mode 479 Booting from a Startup Disk 480 Creating a Bootable CD 482 Recovering from a Complete PC Failure 483 Startup Troubleshooting Tips 485 Troubleshooting Problems with Windows 488 Removing a Windows Update 489 Running System Information Utilities 490 Troubleshooting Problems with a Device 492 Checking a Device in Device Manager 492 Fixing a Device Seen As “Other Device” 493 Fixing a Resource Conflict 494 Running Diagnostic Tests on the Hardware 495 Troubleshooting Advice for Specific Devices 496 Troubleshooting Problems with a Program 498 Determining Why a Program Won’t Start 498 Exiting a Malfunctioning Program 499 Fixing a Program That Locks Up Frequently 499 Configuring DOS-Based Programs 500
VI Appendixes A Installing Windows Millennium 507 Upgrading from a Previous Version of Windows 508
ix
Starting the Windows Millennium Setup Program on a New PC 508 If You Have a Floppy That Came with Windows Millennium 509 If Your System Allows Booting from a CDROM 509 If You Have a Formatted, Bootable Hard Disk 509 If You Have a Startup Disk Created in Windows Millennium 510 If You Have Another PC with Windows Installed 510 What Else Can I Try? 510 Common Installation Problems 511 Missing Files 511 Prompt for Driver Disk 512 Mysterious Error Messages 512 Blue-Screen Error Reading CD 512 Certain Devices Don’t Work 513
B Windows Information Online 515 About This Appendix
516
Sources of Windows Software Top Picks 516 Other Sites 517
516
Places to Get Troubleshooting Assistance 519 Top Picks 519 Other Sites 520 Windows News and Reviews Top Picks 520 Other Sites 521
520
Usenet Newsgroups That Discuss Windows 522
C Accessibility Tools 523 Installing the Accessibility Tools and Options 524
x
Running the Accessibility Wizard Using the Magnifier
524
525
Introducing the Accessibility Options 526 Reviewing the Keyboard Options 526 Reviewing the Sound Options 527 Reviewing the Display Option 527 Reviewing the Mouse Option 527 Reviewing the General Options 528
D Gaming with Windows Millennium 529 Selecting Windows Gaming Hardware Understanding DirectX
530
530
Troubleshooting Common Problems with Games 531 Hardware Acceleration and Game Problems Game Performance Problems 532
Index 545
531
About the Author Faithe Wempen owns and operates Your Computer Friend, a computer training and troubleshooting business in Indiana that focuses on helping beginning users one-onone. She is also an A+ certified PC technician and holds a Masters degree in English. She is the author of more than 40 books on computer hardware and software including the best-selling Microsoft Office 97 Professional 6-in-1 (Que Corporation).
Dedication To Margaret.
Acknowledgments Many thanks to the wonderful editorial team for this book, whose names appear on the Credits page. Pearson Publishing truly has some of the best editors in the business!
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Tell Us What You Think! As the reader of this book, you are our most important critic and commentator. We value your opinion and want to know what we’re doing right, what we could do better, what areas you’d like to see us publish in, and any other words of wisdom you’re willing to pass our way. As an associate publisher for Que, I welcome your comments. You can fax, email, or write me directly to let me know what you did or didn’t like about this book—as well as what we can do to make our books stronger. Please note that I cannot help you with technical problems related to the topic of this book, and that due to the high volume of mail I receive, I might not be able to reply to every message. When you write, please be sure to include this book’s title and author as well as your name and phone or fax number. I will carefully review your comments and share them with the author and editors who worked on the book.
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Email:
[email protected]
Mail:
Greg Wiegand Que 201 West 103rd Street Indianapolis, IN 46290 USA
introduction W
elcome! Thanks for picking up this book. Before you get started with it, please indulge me and take a few moments to read through this Introduction. In it, I’ll explain the concept behind the book and help you figure out where to start in it. As a writer and computer consultant who specializes in training beginners, I know it can be frustrating when you are faced with a complicated piece of software such as Windows Millennium. You might have heard that it can do all these wonderful things, but you might not know how to make those things happen. In writing this book, my focus is to provide the answers to questions that I often hear from my clients—people just like you, who want to use Windows for useful things. Practical Microsoft Windows Millennium might be the only reference that you ever need for Windows Millennium. It covers installing the operating system, running programs, managing files, and many more basics such as setting up networking components, connecting to the Internet, and troubleshooting device problems. But I promise I’ll never throw scary technical jargon at you without explaining it, and I’ll never include details that don’t have some concrete, practical benefit. Along the way, I’ll also provide tips, tricks, and cautions that I’ve learned over the years as a consultant. You’ll learn things that can make your life easier, such as setting up shortcuts and toolbars to quickly access the programs you use the most. And you’ll find out what some of those mysterious utility programs are for that come with Windows, and when you might want to use them.
Where to Start This book starts at a very basic, “no experience required” level. If you have never used Windows before or feel as though you have missed out on a basic Windows education in the past, start in Part I,
PRACTICAL Microsoft Windows Millennium
“Starting Out with Windows.” Here, you’ll get a solid grounding in things such as windows, menus, folders, mouse actions, and program use. These are essential skills that every Windows user needs to know. More experienced Windows users will probably want to jump immediately to a chapter that fits what they want to do. If you’re interested in customizing how Windows looks and works, start in Part II, “Modifying Your System.” It teaches how to install new programs, change your color scheme, set up new hardware, and more. Part III, “Sharing Resources,” is for those of you who need to work with others. You’ll learn how several people can share a single PC (and each has its own chosen colors and other settings!), how you can work with shared files on a network, how you can share one modem among PCs, and how to set up and transfer files from a laptop. If your main goal in using a computer is to explore the Internet, jump right into Part IV, “Using the Internet.” You’ll find out how to set up a modem, configure an Internet connection, and get down to business with the Web, email, newsgroups, chatting, and other online communications. Part V, “Maintenance and Problem Solving,” teaches you to run your own preventive maintenance and system checks to prevent and solve problems. So many of my clients call me to come look at their computers and fix their problems when 75% of the time they could have fixed the problem themselves with a few simple actions that I’ll describe here. Part VI contains an assortment of helpful appendixes that help you install Windows, get more information about the program, look up unfamiliar terms, and more.
What’s New in Windows Millennium? If you are already familiar with Windows 98 or Windows 95, you will pick up on Windows Millennium very quickly. All three are quite similar in how they operate. Here are some of Windows Millennium’s advantages and improvements over earlier versions:
2
INTRODUCTION
■
■
■
■
■
■
■
Digital Cameras are fully supported; you’ll learn in Chapter 11, “Installing Hardware,” how to work with one. Home Networking is easier than ever thanks to the new Home Networking Wizard described in Chapter 14, “Using Network Resources.” MSN Messenger, an instant messaging program for the Internet, is now included with Windows. You’ll learn about it in Chapter 21, “Participating in Online Discussions.” AutoUpdate keeps Windows files updated over the Internet. You’ll learn about this in Chapter 23, “Optimizing Your Computer.” System Restore helps you return your computer to working condition if an error causes it to malfunction. See Chapter 23 for details. Media Player 7 is a vastly improved, powerful version of the old traditional media player that ships with earlier versions of Windows. It enables you to play sound, music, and video files in a wide variety of formats, and access Internet radio stations and other streaming audio. Windows Movie Maker is a brand-new utility in Windows Millennium that helps you edit and compile video content from video recorders and other sources.
There are other minor improvements too, such as an updated Help system, improved scanner support, and an easier-to-use, personalized Start menu system that remembers your frequently used commands.
Special Helps Each chapter starts out with a Roadmap section that lists the topics to be covered. You can skim this Roadmap and skip the chapter if you don’t need any of that information at the moment. (You can always come back to it later.) Within a chapter, step-by-step procedures (many with pictures) walk you through important tasks. You’ll never have to wonder exactly how something is done; just follow the steps.
3
PRACTICAL Microsoft Windows Millennium
I’ll use a kind of shorthand for telling you which keys to press. When you see a combination of keys separated by plus signs, such as Alt+F4, you should hold down the first key while you tap the second, and then release both keys. In a three-key combo, such as Ctrl+Alt+Delete, you hold down the first two while you tap the last. Extra Help I’ll also provide extra information, such as tips, cautions, and ideas, in boxed sidenotes like this one.
Buttons, menu items, and commands that you click on or select appear in this book in Bold. And Web addresses and text that you type appears in a special monospace font. Each chapter also is extensively cross-referenced with pointers to the exact pages where related information is covered. For example, if we’re talking about creating sound clips, I’ll let you know where you can find information about assigning system sounds and changing multimedia system settings.
Let’s Get Started! If you read through this entire introduction—thanks! I really enjoyed writing this book, and I hope you will enjoy reading it. If you’d like to let me know what you thought of the book, email me at
[email protected]. Happy Computing, Faithe Wempen
4
part
IVI STARTING OUT WITH WINDOWS Windows Basics
7
Getting Help
29
Running Programs
43
Exploring the Windows Accessories
63
Managing Files and Folders
89
1 2 3 4 5
chapter
1 Windows Basics What Is Microsoft Windows? Starting Windows Using Your Mouse Understanding the Windows Screen Working with Windows Working with Menus Working with Toolbars Turning Off Your PC Restarting Windows
• • • • • • • • •
PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 1 Windows Basics
What Is Microsoft Windows Millennium? Advanced Placement If you are already familiar with Windows, or are upgrading from Windows 98 to Windows Millennium, you can skip this chapter. It’s beginner-level stuff.
Microsoft Windows is the most popular operating system for personal computers (PCs) on the market today. These days you’d be hard-pressed to find a new PC that didn’t come with it! Windows has become the worldwide standard for which most software and hardware manufacturers design their products. An operating system does just what the name implies; it helps the computer operate on a basic level. Some of the tasks an operating system handles include ■
Creating the graphical display on your screen
■
Translating your keyboard and mouse actions into commands
■
Keeping track of where saved files are stored
■
■
■
Running programs that enable you to do useful things such as word processing Making the PC’s memory available to the running programs in the most efficient way Directing traffic to and from your computer’s processor (its “brain”) so no collisions occur
And that’s only a few examples. The operating system coordinates all the devices, files, and programs, making them all work together so that you can use your PC productively. Windows Millennium Edition (or Me, for short) is an upgrade for Windows 95 and Windows 98. It’s the Windows version designed for home and small office use. There is another flavor of Windows known as Windows 2000; it’s for corporate use. Windows 2000 replaced Windows NT 4 when it was released in late 1999. This book focuses on Windows Millennium Edition. If you have another version of Windows, some of the advice and instruction may still apply, but I encourage you to get a book about your specific version, for minimum frustration.
8
PART I Using Your Mouse CHAPTER 1
Starting Windows As soon as you press the power button on your PC, Windows begins its loading process, and a minute or so later, Windows is ready to roll. You might be prompted to enter your Windows username and password, depending on how your system is set up. If you see that prompt, enter the requested information in the boxes provided and click OK to continue. SEE ALSO ➤ To troubleshoot startup problems, see page 476 ➤ To change your password, see page 257 ➤ To set Windows to start without prompting for a password (unless you are on a network, in which case a password is required), see page 256
Using Your Mouse In Windows Millennium, some special mouse features are available that you might not have seen before. The biggest mouse thing to get used to is the use of the right mouse button. Normally when you click, double-click, or drag, you use the left mouse button. However, in Windows, there are these additional capabilities: ■
■
Right-click. Brings up a shortcut menu specific to the item you right-clicked on. From there, you can click normally on a menu option. Right-drag. Drags an object, but when you drop it, instead of the object plunking down normally, a shortcut menu appears. From it you can choose whether you want to move, copy, or create a shortcut for the dragged object.
Black Screen at Startup It is normal for the screen to go black temporarily as Windows starts up. As long as you can hear the hard disk turning or see the hard disk light flashing, Windows is still loading. If the screen goes black for more than a minute and you do not observe any disk activity, turn the power off and back on again. Refer to Chapter 25, “Troubleshooting Problems,” for troubleshooting help. Other Login Names? In addition to (or instead of) the Windows username and password, you might be prompted to log on to your local area network (LAN) or some other network system. Respond to each logon request with the correct username and password for that system. Pay attention to the title of the dialog box; it often tells what you are logging onto. For example, the network logon’s dialog box is titled Enter Network Password.
The mouse pointer is not always an arrow in Windows. Depending on what’s going on at the moment in Windows, the mouse pointer can look different. For example, when Windows is busy and not ready to accept another command, the mouse pointer turns into an hourglass. Table 1.1 shows some different mouse pointers you might see as you work in Windows Millennium.
9
PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 1 Windows Basics
Table 1.1 Common Mouse Pointers Can’t I Stick with the Keyboard?
Name
Seen When
You can use either the keyboard or the mouse to do most activities in Windows (and in Windows-based programs), but you will find that using the mouse is almost always the easier method. Throughout this book I’ll tell you about keyboard alternatives to many of the mouse operations you will learn about.
Normal Select (Arrow)
Windows is ready to accept your next command.
Busy (Hourglass)
Windows is busy and you must wait.
Working in Background (Hourglass/Arrow)
Windows is busy, but you can continue working.
Help Select (What’s This? Arrow)
What’s This? Help is activated (in some programs).
Text Select (I-beam)
The mouse pointer is over a text box where you can type text.
Other Mouse Features
Unavailable
Some mice have three buttons, instead of two, or a wheel between the buttons.
The mouse pointer is over a button or feature that cannot be used right now.
Link Select (Hand)
The mouse pointer is over a hyperlink.
Precision Select (Crosshair)
The mouse pointer is ready to draw a new object (in certain programs).
Resize (Double-Headed Arrow)
The mouse pointer is over the border of a window that can be resized by dragging here.
Move (Four-Headed Arrow)
The mouse pointer is over an object or window that can be moved by dragging here.
The wheel has no specific use in Windows. It scrolls and zooms the display in certain applications, such as some of the Microsoft Office programs. The third button also has no specific use, but you can use the software that came with your mouse to program it to do something if you like.
Pointer
Windows Millennium comes with several alternative sets of mouse pointers that you can choose to use instead of the normal ones shown in Table 1.1. If yours don’t look like the ones in Table 1.1, perhaps someone has set up one of those alternative sets. SEE ALSO ➤ To change how quickly the pointer moves across the screen when you move the mouse, see page 205 ➤ To change the appearance of the mouse pointer, see page 206 ➤ To switch the button functions on the mouse (for left-handed operation), see page 204
10
PART I Understanding the Windows Screen CHAPTER 1
Understanding the Windows Screen The Windows screen might seem mysterious at first, but it’s really fairly simple. Take the time to master its basic controls now, and you’ll be zipping around productively in no time. Figure 1.1 points out some of the parts of the screen.
FIGURE 1.1 Here’s a typical Windows screen; yours might look slightly different. Desktop Icons Start button System tray Taskbar Quick Launch toolbar
The Windows screen contains a number of basic items, including ■
■
Desktop. The colored background on which everything else sits. Just like on a regular desk, the items that you work with appear on it. Icons. Small pictures (with text beneath them) that appear on the desktop. An icon can represent a program to run, a folder to open, or a data file (such as a document) to edit. To open whatever program, file, or folder the icon represents, double-click it.
11
PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 1 Windows Basics ■
Shortcut to… Sometimes a shortcut includes the words “Shortcut to” in its text name, but don’t rely on this text to tell whether an icon is a shortcut. The Outlook Express icon on the desktop, for example, does not have this wording. If in doubt, right-click an item and choose Properties from the shortcut menu that appears. A dialog box will appear indicating whether the item is a shortcut, application, document, and so on.
FIGURE 1.2 A shortcut can be placed on your desktop without having to place the actual file there.
FIGURE 1.3 Most of the programs installed on your system can be run from the Start menu. Click the Start button. Point to each submenu name to open it. Click the program you want to run when you see it.
12
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Shortcuts. Some icons have a small arrow in the bottom-left corner. This indicates that the icon is a shortcut. A shortcut is a pointer to the actual program, folder, or file. The actual file that starts the program is safely stored somewhere else; the shortcut is merely a convenient way to access it. In Figure 1.2, compare the original program file (on the left) to the shortcut (on the right). Start button. Your gateway to the programs installed on your PC. When you click the Start button, the Start menu appears. From there, you can move through the menu levels to find and run a program. See Figure 1.3. You will learn a lot more about the Start menu (as well as other ways to start a program) in Chapter 3, “Running Programs.” Quick Launch toolbar. A cluster of small buttons next to the Start buttons. Each of these is a shortcut for launching a program or issuing a command.
PART I Understanding the Windows Screen CHAPTER 1
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Taskbar. The area to the right of the Quick Launch toolbar. It shows a rectangular button for each open window or running program. (You will learn about windows later in this chapter.) If no windows are open, it is blank. Figure 1.4 shows the taskbar with two open windows: My Documents and My Computer. You can use the taskbar to switch among the open windows by clicking the rectangular button for the window you want to work with. You also can close a window from the taskbar, as you will learn later in this chapter in the section “Closing a Window.”
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System tray. The area at the far-right end of the taskbar. It contains a digital clock and a cluster of icons. Each of these icons represents a program that is running quietly behind-the-scenes as Windows operates, performing some special function (such as virus protection or speaker volume control). You can point to an icon in the System tray to see a ScreenTip with its name or status. You can right-click a System tray icon to see a shortcut menu of actions you can perform on that running program. Depending on what programs are installed on your computer, your System tray might have different icons from the ones shown in Figure 1.5.
Menu Differences The menus shown in Figure 1.3, and in the rest of the book, are pictures from my own PC. There are other things on my menus than the default Windows programs because I’ve bought and installed other programs, such as Microsoft Office 2000. Your screen will probably look a little different. What Does That Button Do? You can find out what program or command a button represents both on the Quick Launch toolbar and on the desktop itself, by pointing at it. A ScreenTip appears, providing the button’s name.
FIGURE 1.4 There is a button on the taskbar for each of the two open windows.
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FIGURE 1.5 The System tray on a laptop computer; yours will probably contain different icons depending on the software loaded on your computer.
SEE ALSO ➤ To learn how to change the desktop’s appearance, see page 170 ➤ To create and delete shortcut icons on the desktop, see page 144 ➤ To alter the appearance of the permanent icons on the desktop, see page 192 ➤ To run programs from the Start menu, see page 44 ➤ To rearrange the programs and submenus on the Start menu, see page 136 ➤ To control what buttons appear on the Quick Launch toolbar, see page 148 ➤ To use the taskbar to switch between running programs or open windows, see page 59 ➤ To customize how the taskbar operates, see page 197 ➤ To shut down a program running in the system tray, see page 61
Working with Windows As you might guess from the name Microsoft Windows, windows play a big part in this operating system. Every program or folder you open appears in its own window. You can have multiple windows open at once and switch among them freely. Figure 1.6 shows several types of windows. ■
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Title bar. The bar across the top of the window containing the window’s title. Drag it to move the window, or double-click it to minimize the window. Minimize button. Minimizes the window (without closing it) so that it appears only on the taskbar until you need it again.
PART I Working with Windows CHAPTER 1
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Maximize button. Enlarges the window to fill the entire screen.
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Close button. Closes the window.
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Control-menu button. Opens the window’s Control menu.
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Window border. Can be dragged to resize the window.
FIGURE 1.6 Several windows are open at once. Notice that each is represented on the taskbar. A folder window A program (Notepad) A program (Calculator) A help window
You will review the use of each of these elements in the following sections. Almost every window has the following elements, as shown in Figure 1.7:
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 1 Windows Basics
FIGURE 1.7 Almost all windows provide these elements with which to control them. Minimize button Maximize button Close button Title bar Window border
Minimizing, Maximizing, and Restoring Windows Each window can be in any of three states: ■
FIGURE 1.8 A maximized window fills the entire screen.
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Maximized. Expanded to fill the entire screen. This lets you see as much content as possible onscreen at once in that window (see Figure 1.8).
PART I Working with Windows CHAPTER 1
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Minimized. Hidden except for its rectangular button on the taskbar. This is not the same as closed; the window is still open but it is not visible at the moment. Minimizing a window gets it out of the way temporarily while you work on something else. Restored. Visible but not maximized. When several windows are restored, you can arrange them onscreen to see them all at once.
FIGURE 1.9 A restored window floats on the desktop; a minimized window appears only on the taskbar. Minimized window (on taskbar only) Restored window on the desktop Restored window on the taskbar
You can change a window’s state by clicking one of the buttons in its upper-right corner: To minimize a window, click its Minimize button. To maximize a window, click its Maximize button. When a window is maximized, the Maximize button changes to a Restore button. Click it to return the window to its premaximized size.
Quick Minimizing To minimize all open windows at once, right-click any empty spot on the taskbar and click Minimize All Windows on its shortcut menu. This is the same as clicking the Show Desktop button on the Quick Launch toolbar.
Resizing a Window A restored window (that is, one that is neither minimized nor maximized) can be resized so that it is any size you want it to be. You might make a window smaller so that another window also can be
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 1 Windows Basics
open without the two overlapping, for example. Or, you might make a window larger so you can see more of its content onscreen at once. To resize a window, position the mouse pointer over the border of the window so that the mouse pointer turns into a Resize pointer (a double-headed arrow). ■
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To resize in only one dimension (height or width), position the mouse pointer over the top, bottom, right, or left border. To resize in both dimensions at once (both height and width), position the mouse pointer over one of the corners.
Then, hold down the left mouse button and drag to change the window size. An outline shows the new size (as in Figure 1.10). When the window is the size you want, release the mouse button.
FIGURE 1.10 This window is being resized by dragging a corner. Mouse pointer Outline shows the new size.
Moving a Window A restored window also can be moved. (Maximized windows cannot be moved because there is nowhere for them to go—they fill the entire screen.) You might want to move a window out of the way so
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PART I Working with Windows CHAPTER 1
you can see the icons on the desktop, for example, or move two windows around so that one does not overlap the other. To move a window, drag its title bar, as shown in Figure 1.11.
FIGURE 1.11 Move a window by dragging its title bar. Title bar Mouse pointer dragging Outline shows new position.
Arranging Windows Automatically In addition to moving and resizing windows manually as you learned in the preceding two sections, you can ask Windows to do the adjustment for you so that all the open windows are arranged in a uniform way. You can choose from three preset arrangements: ■
Cascade Windows. Arranges all windows so that their title bars are visible. Each successive window’s title bar appears slightly below and to the right of the one underneath it, resulting in a cascading look (see Figure 1.12).
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FIGURE 1.12 Cascading windows align the title bars of each window from top left to bottom right.
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Tile Windows Horizontally. Arranges all windows so that collectively they fill the entire screen in horizontal rows, but no window overlaps another (see Figure 1.13).
FIGURE 1.13 Tiled windows (horizontal) allot each window the same amount of space in horizontal rows.
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Tile Windows Vertically. The same as Tile Windows Horizontally, except the windows are tiled vertically (see Figure 1.14).
PART I Working with Windows CHAPTER 1
FIGURE 1.14 Tiled windows (vertical) allot each window the same space in vertical columns.
Arranging Windows
1. Right-click an empty spot on the taskbar. A shortcut menu appears. 2. Click one of the following commands: • Cascade Windows • Tile Windows Horizontally • Tile Windows Vertically
Scrolling a Window’s Display Sometimes, a window has more content than what will fit in the allotted space at once. In such cases, scrollbars appear on the right or bottom of the window. The scrollbar provides controls that help you scroll through the window’s content, bringing parts of the content that you want to see into view. Figure 1.15 shows a window with both vertical and horizontal scrollbars.
Undoing the Arrangement You can undo the last action you have taken with the taskbar’s shortcut menu. Simply right-click the taskbar again and choose Undo {command name}. The {command name} part varies depending on what the last command was. For example, if the last command was Tile Windows Horizontally, the command is Undo Tile. Undoing can be handy if you want to temporarily arrange the windows so you can see something, and then put them back the way they were right away.
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FIGURE 1.15 Here is a typical window with scrollbars. Scroll box Scroll arrow Scrollbar
To scroll through the window, you can do any of the following: ■
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To scroll slowly, click a scroll arrow. Each time you click a scroll arrow, the display moves one line. To scroll quickly, click and hold down the scroll arrow or drag the scroll box. To scroll one window-full at a time, click the scrollbar above or below (or to the right or left of) the scroll box.
Closing a Window Scrollbar Size Some windows have scroll boxes that change size depending on how much of the window’s content is not visible. For example, in Figure 1.15, the scroll box occupies about one half of the scrollbar. That means that about one half of the content from top to bottom is not visible. Not all scrollbars in all programs work this way; in some programs the scroll box is always the same size regardless of the content.
You will want to close a window when you are finished working with it so your Windows screen does not become cluttered. Closing a window also conserves your computer’s memory so it can be employed in other ways (such as running programs that you want to use). You can do any of the following to close a window: ■
Click the Close (X) button in the top-right corner.
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Double-click the Control Menu icon in the top-left corner.
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Open the File menu (if the window has one) and click Close or Exit (depending on the window). Right-click a window’s button on the taskbar and choose Close from the shortcut menu that appears. Click the window’s title bar to select it, and then press Alt+F4.
Figure 1.16 shows some of these methods.
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PART I Working with Menus CHAPTER 1
FIGURE 1.16 You have a variety of available options for closing a window. Choose Close from the File menu. Double-click here. Click here. Click here to select the window, and then press Alt+F4.
Working with Menus As you learned about windows in the last section, you had the opportunity to try out a few menu commands. In this section, you will learn more about the various types of menus that Windows Millennium provides for your use. ➤ To learn about the Start menu, and its new Personalized Menus feature in Windows Millennium, see page 44
Drop-Down Menus For most menus, you click the menu name on a menu bar to open it, and then click the command you want to select, as in Figure 1.17. Most menus have an underlined letter in their names; this is the selection letter. You can press Alt plus that letter to open the menu with the keyboard if you prefer that method. Each command on each menu also has a selection letter; you can press the selection letter (without the Alt key) when a menu is open to select the command. Note that I’ve marked those underlined keyboard shortcuts—often called shortcut keys or hotkeys—in the text to help you learn them. Figure 1.17 shows an open menu in a program called Paint that comes with Windows Millennium. It illustrates several important features that you will encounter on menus in Windows programs.
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 1 Windows Basics ■
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FIGURE 1.17 Here’s an example of a typical drop-down menu. I clicked this menu name to open the menu. I could have pressed Alt+V because V is the selection letter for the View menu. Selecting this command makes a submenu fly out to the right. Some commands are unavailable. Some commands have keyboard shortcuts.
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Check marks. Some commands are toggles; each time you select that command, you turn the feature on or off like a light switch. A check mark means the command is currently on. Keyboard shortcuts. In some programs, there are keyboard alternatives to selecting a particular command from the menu system. These shortcuts are listed next to the equivalent menu command for your reference. Unavailable commands. Depending on what you are working on, not all commands might be available. Unavailable commands appear dimmed or grayed out. Submenus. Selecting a command with a right-pointing arrow next to it opens a submenu with additional commands on it.
PART I Working with Toolbars CHAPTER 1
Shortcut Menus One of the handiest features in Windows Millennium (and many Windows-based programs) is the shortcut menu. When you rightclick virtually any object onscreen, a shortcut menu appears, providing you with easy access to some of the most common actions you can take with that object. Each object’s shortcut menu is different. For example, when you right-click the My Computer icon on your desktop, you see the shortcut menu shown in Figure 1.18. In contrast, when you rightclick the desktop itself, you see the shortcut menu in Figure 1.19. Each is appropriate for the chosen object.
FIGURE 1.18 This shortcut menu appears when you rightclick My Computer.
FIGURE 1.19 This shortcut menu appears when you right-click the desktop. (Yours might look slightly different.)
After a shortcut menu is open, you select a command from it by clicking (normally, that is—with the left mouse button) on the command you want. Or, to close the shortcut menu without choosing anything, click away from it.
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Working with Toolbars Switching Between Menus When one menu is open (such as the File menu in a folder listing), you can switch to another menu on that same menu bar without closing the first one. Simply slide the mouse pointer to the name of the other menu (you don’t have to click it), or press the right or left arrow key.
Many of the windows you will work with will have some sort of toolbar. A toolbar is a collection of buttons (usually graphical) that act as shortcuts for common menu commands. For example, in Figure 1.20, the Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons on the toolbar in a Microsoft Word document are shortcuts for the commands of the same name on the Edit menu. To use a toolbar button, just click it.
FIGURE 1.20 Toolbar buttons are shortcuts for menu commands. These menu commands have toolbar buttons. These buttons represent the commands. Pictures of the corresponding buttons appear to the side to help you remember in some programs.
Turning Off Your PC You do not have to shut off your computer every time you step away from it for a few hours. It doesn’t hurt anything to leave it on while you go do something else. I shut mine off only when I am going to be away from it for more than a day or so.
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PART I Restarting Windows CHAPTER 1
When you do shut down your PC, don’t just turn the power switch off. You must tell Windows to shut down first. This closes any open files and deletes temporary files that Windows has been using. If you fail to do this, you can cause errors in your PC’s file organization system. Shutting Down Your PC
1. Click the Start button. 2. Click Shut Down. The Shut Down Windows dialog box appears (see Figure 1.21). 3. Click OK.
Fixing Your Problems If you shut your PC down improperly, when you restart it, a program called ScanDisk will run automatically, checking for any errors that you might have caused and offering to fix them for you. You will learn how to run ScanDisk at other times in Chapter 24, “Safeguarding Your System.”
4. Wait for the PC to shut down. It will either turn the power off by itself, or you will see a message onscreen telling you it is safe to turn off the power. 5. If you see the message telling you it is safe to turn off the power, press the computer’s Power button to shut it off.
FIGURE 1.21 Choose to shut down the PC from here.
6. Shut off your monitor. If you have other devices attached to the system, such as a printer or external modem, you might want to turn them off, too (although it’s not necessary). SEE ALSO ➤ To check a disk for errors that might have been caused by an improper shutdown, see page 442 ➤ To shut down a locked-up program without shutting Windows down entirely, see page 499
Restarting Windows Sometimes, Windows starts acting weird. The definition of weird can vary. Perhaps your mouse pointer disappears, or all the folders
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Shutting Down Without the Mouse If your mouse pointer has disappeared, you can accomplish the preceding steps using the keyboard. Press the Windows key or press Ctrl+Esc to open the Start menu, and then press U for Shut Down. Press R to select Restart and then press Enter to select OK.
are suddenly gray instead of yellow. Perhaps a dialog box won’t close, or you start a program but the program never appears. When you start experiencing such anomalies, restarting Windows will often fix the problem. Restarting Windows
1. Click Start. 2. Click Shut Down. The Shut Down Windows dialog box opens, as shown earlier in Figure 1.21. 3. Click the down-pointing arrow to the right of Shut Down, opening a list of options. 4. Click Restart on the list. 5. Click OK. Windows restarts. If you see any warnings or messages after you click OK (but before Windows restarts) about programs not responding, click Shut Down in the box that appears to shut down the unresponsive program. Depending on what was causing your PC to act strangely in the first place, your PC might not restart using the preceding steps. After step 4, when it is supposed to restart, it might lock up (that is, stop doing anything and just sit there with the Windows desktop in the background). If that happens, see “Restarting a PC That Won’t Restart Normally” in Chapter 25.
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chapter
2 Getting Help Opening the Help and Support Window Exploring the Windows Tours and Tutorials
• •
Browsing the Most Popular Help Topics
•
Looking Up Terms in the Index
• • • • •
Searching for a Term Working with Found Help Topics Using Assisted Support Registering Your Copy of Windows
PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 2 Getting Help
The Windows Millennium Edition Help system is a great resource for all kinds of information about Windows. It provides tours and tutorials, step-by-step instruction, definitions, hyperlinks to Web resources, and much more. In this chapter, you’ll learn how it works and how to find what you want in it.
Opening the Help and Support Window “Where’s the manual?” you might have wondered when you got Windows Millennium. Well, there isn’t one. At least not a printed one. (Maybe that’s why you bought this book! Wise move.) To save paper (and printing costs), Microsoft does not include printed documentation; instead, it provides a Help file with all the information in it that would have gone into a printed manual. Opening the Help and Support Window
1. Choose Start, Help. The Windows Help and Support window appears, with the Home page displayed (see Figure 2.1). You can return to this screen at any time when using the Help system by clicking the Home button in its toolbar. Maximize Your View Like any other window, the Windows Help window can be resized and even maximized so that you can see more of its text onscreen at once without scrolling. Figure 2.1 shows it maximized.
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2. After the Help system is open, you can use several ways to look up the topics you want to read about. You can browse some of the most common topics, you can look up words in an index, or you can search for a particular word or phrase. We’ll look at each of those methods of finding information, and then discuss what to do with an article after you’ve found it. SEE ALSO ➤ To resize or maximize a window, see page 16
PART I Exploring the Windows Tours and Tutorials CHAPTER 2
FIGURE 2.1 The Windows Help system. Type a keyword to search for. Click here to use the alphabetical index. Click one of these topics to start there. Return to this window at any time by clicking Home.
Exploring the Windows Tours and Tutorials Although Chapter 1 gave you a firm grounding in Windows fundamentals, you might want to reinforce that knowledge by working through at least some of the Windows Millennium tours and tutorials. If you’re just starting out with Windows, you will probably want to work through the Welcome to Windows Millennium Edition Tour. Here’s how to get it started. Running the Welcome to Windows Millennium Edition Tour
1. Start in the Help and Support window. (Start, Help.) 2. Click Tours & Tutorials on the bar along the top. A list of tours and tutorials appears. See Figure 2.2.
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FIGURE 2.2 The Help system contains many tours and tutorials to help you get started.
3. Click the Welcome to Windows Millennium Edition Tour hyperlink. The tour opens in a separate window. 4. Read the tour instructions on the first screen. 5. Click a hyperlink in the vertical pane to the left of the main window to display information about that topic. See Figure 2.3.
FIGURE 2.3 Take the tour by clicking each hyperlink and reading its information.
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PART I Browsing the Most Popular Help Topics CHAPTER 2
6. To skip to the next section of the tour, click a hyperlink on the horizontal bar at the top of the main window. 7. When you are finished, close the window by clicking its Close (X) button or click the Exit the tour hyperlink in the bottomright corner of the tour window. Want to find out more? There are dozens more tours and tutorials to explore in the Help system. Just pick up the steps again at step 3, choosing a different one. You can close the Help system when you’re done with it (by clicking its Close (X) button), but the rest of this chapter uses it, too, so you might want to leave it open.
Browsing the Most Popular Help Topics The Home screen contains a list of broad topics at the left, under the What Would You Like Help With? heading. One way to locate information is to narrow it down by topic, starting with one of these broad categories, until you come to the article you want. For example, suppose you want to know about starting a program. You would go through the following process: Browsing for Help Topics
1. Click the Programs, Files, & Folders hyperlink on the Home screen. A list of subtopics appears (see Figure 2.4). 2. Click Running programs & utilities. A list of articles appears. You can tell they’re articles, rather than subtopics, because they have question-mark icons next to them. 3. Click Starting a program. That article appears, as shown in Figure 2.5. You can return to previous screens in the search by clicking the Back button (the left-pointing arrow) on the toolbar, or return to the Home screen by clicking Home on the toolbar. SEE ALSO ➤ More practice: To locate the Registration Wizard by browsing the Help system, see page 41
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 2 Getting Help
FIGURE 2.4 Select from the next level of topics. Subtopics
FIGURE 2.5 Moving through one or more levels of subtopics takes you to the article you want. Click the article you want to read. The article appears here.
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PART I Looking Up Terms in the Index CHAPTER 2
Looking Up Terms in the Index Browsing topics can be educational, but it is not the quickest method of finding an answer. If you know the exact term you want to look up (such as Printing or Recycle Bin), you can find that term in the index. The index is a big alphabetical list of terms. Finding a Topic in the Index
1. From the Help and Support window, click the Index button on the toolbar. 2. Scroll through the list and click the word you want to look up. or
Double-Click Shortcut
Type the first few letters of the word to jump to that place on the list, and then click the word you want to look up.
Instead of clicking a term and then clicking Display, you can double-click the word.
3. Click the Display button. Some of the terms in the index correspond one-to-one with certain articles. If you select such a term in the index list and click Display, that article appears in the right pane, as shown in Figure 2.6.
FIGURE 2.6 Look up terms alphabetically in the index. List of terms in index Type here to jump to that spot on the list if desired.
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Other terms in the index have multiple articles associated with them. If you double-click such a term in the index list, a Topics Found window opens, listing the articles associated with that term (see Figure 2.7). From there, you can select the exact article you want.
FIGURE 2.7 Many terms in the index are associated with more than one article. Double-click the term. This window lists the matching topics.
Searching for a Term My favorite way of using the Help system is to search it. Even if you don’t know the name of the article or exactly what an activity is called, you can still find it with Search. When you search, Windows looks in every article for that term and presents a list of articles in which it is found. Searching the Help System
1. Click in the Search box, moving the cursor there. 2. Type the word or phrase you want to find.
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PART I Working with Found Help Topics CHAPTER 2
3. Click Go or press Enter. The matching articles appear at the left. 4. Click the article you want to read. It appears in the right pane (see Figure 2.8).
FIGURE 2.8 Search for a certain word across all articles. Type the term here to search for. Click Go. Click the article you want.
Hyperlinks
Working with Found Help Topics The same articles appear no matter which way you retrieve them. After an article that you are interested in is onscreen, you can take advantage of the Help system’s many features to work with it. The following is a list of some of the activities you can do with a Help article: ■
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Jump to other help topics by clicking the underlined hyperlinks. For example, in Figure 2.8, a Related Topics hyperlink at the bottom of the article points to more information. Click a hyperlink with a Jump arrow next to it, as in Figure 2.9, to open a dialog box or execute some other command called for in the steps.
Throughout the Windows Help system, you will see underlined words. Clicking some underlined words displays their definitions; clicking other underlined words or phrases jumps to a different article. These underlined words and phrases that take you someplace else when you click them are called hyperlinks. You will learn more about hyperlinks in Chapter 18, “Exploring the Web,” which discusses Web pages.
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 2 Getting Help
FIGURE 2.9 A hyperlink with a Jump arrow next to it performs an activity when you click it. Jump symbol I clicked this hyperlink. This dialog box opened as a result.
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Print Dialog Box The Print dialog box that appears when you print a Help topic is the same one that you see when you print in Internet Explorer. You will learn more about it in Chapter 18.
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Return to the previously viewed article by clicking the Back button. Then, go forward again by clicking the Forward button. Print the article by clicking the Print button on the toolbar. This opens a Print dialog box. From there, just click OK.
SEE ALSO ➤ To learn more about hyperlinks, see page 326 ➤ To learn more about the Print dialog box, see page 333
PART I Using Assisted Support CHAPTER 2
Using Assisted Support If you have an Internet connection, you can use it to connect to Windows resources online. These resources include official information from Microsoft plus Microsoft-sponsored user-to-user message boards. You can also request help from Microsoft’s Technical Support staff. (If you do not yet have an Internet connection, see Chapter 17, “Setting Up Online Connectivity.”) Using Support Online
1. Click the Assisted Support link on the toolbar. A list of online resources appears, including • Contact Support: Use the links here to communicate directly with Microsoft about a problem you’re having.
Integrated Help Windows Millennium’s Help system is set up to provide help with various programs, not just Windows itself. However, when you first install it, Microsoft Windows is the only product shown there, because other programs must be written specifically to take advantage of this new Windows feature, and few are set up that way yet.
• Support Communities: Use these links to communicate with other Windows users to compare experiences and request help and opinions. • More Resources: An assortment of other links that, among other things, let you check the status of a support request you’ve submitted (see Contact Support) or get system information that a support representative might request. 2. Click the link for the item you want, and follow the onscreen prompts for it. For example, you might choose MSN Computing Central Forums. A list of the available forums appears, as shown in Figure 2.10. Click the forum you want (Hardware Forum, for example), and Internet Explorer opens to that forum. See Figure 2.11. Browse the forum as you would any Web page. (You’ll learn about Web pages in Chapter 18, “Exploring the Web.”)
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 2 Getting Help
FIGURE 2.10 The Assisted Support screen provides hyperlinks to various online resources.
FIGURE 2.11 The MSN Computing Central Hardware Forum, one of the forums you can visit through Assisted Support.
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PART I Registering Your Copy of Windows CHAPTER 2
Registering Your Copy of Windows When you buy Windows Millennium off the shelf or with a new PC, Microsoft has no way of knowing who you are or how to reach you. If product updates become available or other announcements are made, how will you get them? That’s why registering your copy of Windows is important. By letting Microsoft know your name and address, you make sure that you’ll get product notices and upgrade offers in the future. Microsoft provides a Registration Wizard that walks you through the steps of registering. When you install Windows, you’re asked whether you want to register your copy, but if you said No at that time, you can come back to the Registration Wizard later. One way is through the Help system, as described in the following steps. Register Windows
1. In the Help and Support window, navigate to the Registration Wizard in any of the following ways: • To browse for it: Click Home, and then choose the following: Using Windows Millennium Edition, Registering Your Programs, Registering Windows Online, and Microsoft Registration Wizard. • To search for it: Type register in the Search box and press Enter. Then, click Registering Windows Online, and then Microsoft Registration Wizard. • To find it in the index: Click Index. Type Register. Double-click Registration, Product. Click Microsoft Registration Wizard. 2. When the Registration Wizard starts, read the information on the first screen, and then click Next. 3. Continue through the wizard, reading the onscreen information and filling in the boxes as requested. 4. When you reach the last screen, click Register.
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5. What happens next depends on your computer system: • If you already were connected to the Internet when you began the registration, the wizard attempts to send your registration over the Internet using that connection. • If you were not already connected but you have a modem, it attempts to dial Microsoft’s toll-free number to send the information. • If neither of the previous applies, it provides instructions for sending the registration by mail. 6. Follow the prompts that appear to finish sending your information to Microsoft.
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chapter
3 Running Programs Starting a Program Navigating in a Program Switching Among Running Programs Exiting a Program
• • • •
PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 3 Running Programs
Windows has a lot of really fun features and customizations that you can spend many hours playing with—and you’ll learn about many of them in upcoming chapters. But the main purpose of Windows is to run useful programs that enable you to accomplish your daily tasks. Those tasks could include word processing, accounting, email communication, or any of dozens of other activities. In this chapter, you’ll learn how to make Windows run the programs that you want to use for work or play.
Starting a Program It’s Not on the Start Menu? Some small programs, particularly free or trial programs created by computer hobbyists, might not set themselves up to be run from your Start menu when you install them. Try the “From a File List” method described later in this chapter to run such programs. See “Setting Up a Program with No Installation Utility” in Chapter 8 to learn how to add it to your Start menu. On the Menu Most programs made by Microsoft place themselves directly on the Start menu when you install them. Most programs made by other companies place themselves in a submenu with the company name (such as Intuit) or the program name (such as WordPerfect).
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Starting a program is such an essential and common task that Windows provides several methods for doing it. You can choose which method is most convenient for you in each circumstance. The following sections explain the various methods and give you an opportunity to try them out. SEE ALSO ➤ To install a program, see page 158
From the Start Menu You have already seen in Chapter 1, “Windows Basics,” and Chapter 2, “Getting Help,” how to run a program through the Start/Programs menu (that is, the Programs menu, which is a submenu on the Start menu). This is the most common method of starting a program, and it works for almost all Windows-based programs. To open the Start menu, click the Start button. Then, point to Programs to see the list of programs. Some programs appear directly on the Programs list; others are in folders (submenus) off it. If you see the program you want to run, click it. Otherwise, point to the submenu name for that program’s category or manufacturer. The submenu opens. Figure 3.1 shows an example. Move through any additional levels of submenus as needed until you find the program’s name. Click the program’s name to start the program.
PART I Starting a Program CHAPTER 3
FIGURE 3.1 Move through the submenus by pointing with the mouse to find the program you want to start. Some programs are on the Programs menu directly. Other programs are on submenus. This symbol indicates more items are available on the menu; point to it to see them. Click the name of the program you want to start.
A new feature in Windows Millennium: personalized menus. Notice in Figure 3.1 the down-pointing double arrow at the bottom of the Programs menu. This indicates that there are more items on the list than currently appear. To see the rest of them, click this arrow, and the rest of the menu items appear. This feature is also available in Microsoft Office 2000 programs such as Word, Excel, PowerPoint, and Access. The purpose of this new personalized menu system is to immediately display the commands and folders you use most often, hiding the ones you seldom use. In keeping with that, the system monitors your usage, and based on it decides which commands and folders should appear immediately and which should be hidden until you click the arrow.
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 3 Running Programs SEE ALSO ➤ To run a program that doesn’t appear on the Start menu, see page 47 ➤ To install a program, see page 158 ➤ To reorganize the programs and submenus on the Start menu, see page 136
From a Desktop Icon Turn It Off If you don’t like this new system, and want to see all menu items immediately, right-click the taskbar and choose Properties. Then, deselect the Use Personalized Menus check box and click OK. I have turned the feature off to create the pictures in this book, so nobody will get confused by their menus looking different from mine because of personalization.
In Chapter 1, you learned about icons that sit on your desktop. You can double-click an icon to activate it. Some icons open folders and display file listings; other icons start programs. How do those icons get put on the desktop in the first place? Well, many programs place a shortcut for themselves on your desktop when you install them. For example, when you install Microsoft Office 2000, it places a shortcut for Outlook (a contact management and scheduling program) on your desktop. You also can create shortcut icons on the desktop for any program or file you want; you’ll learn how in Chapter 7, “Organizing Your Programs.” SEE ALSO ➤ To create shortcut icons on the desktop, see page 144 ➤ To remove shortcut icons from the desktop, see page 146 ➤ To change the way a particular shortcut works, see page 146
From a Toolbar You learned in Chapter 1 about the Quick Launch toolbar—the row of buttons to the right of the Start button. Some of these buttons start programs. For example, the button that looks like an “e” starts Internet Explorer. To start a program with one of these toolbar buttons, simply click the button. SEE ALSO ➤ To customize which buttons appear on the Quick Launch toolbar, see page 148 ➤ To create more toolbars to hold programs you want to run, see page 149
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From Windows Explorer or My Computer As you might already know, all the files on your computer are stored on your hard disk, including the files that run each program. If you can locate the file that starts a particular program, you can start the program by double-clicking it (see Figure 3.2). (The trick, of course, is to locate the right file. You’ll learn how to do that in upcoming chapters.)
FIGURE 3.2 You can start a program from a list of files by double-clicking it. This file starts the drawing program Paint.
You also can start a program by double-clicking a data file from that program in a file listing. For example, suppose you created a letter that you saved under the name Chimp using the Notepad program that comes with Windows. You could locate that saved letter in a file listing and double-click it to open it in the program that created it (see Figure 3.3).
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FIGURE 3.3 Double-clicking the data file opens it in its native program. Double-clicking this file… …opens it in the program that created it.
From the Documents Menu While we’re on the subject of data files, here’s a wonderful shortcut. Windows keeps track of the previous 15 data files you worked with in your various programs. That includes word processing documents, spreadsheets, databases, text files (such as the Notepad file shown in Figure 3.3), and all kinds of other saved work. You can reopen any of those files, along with the program that created them, with the following procedure: Starting a Program from the Documents Menu
1. Click Start. 2. Point to Documents. The Documents menu appears, with the previous 15 files you have worked with listed. Figure 3.4 shows an example. 3. Click the file you want to reopen. The program used to create it opens, and the file appears in it ready for editing.
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FIGURE 3.4 Reopen a recently used file in whatever program was used to create it.
With the Run Command The Run command is a rather “techie” way of starting a program. It’s not very convenient, and you will probably not use it very often. However, it does offer one great benefit: It lets you set commandline options for how the program will run. What does that mean? Well, the answer involves a bit of history. Back in the old days of MS-DOS, you ran programs by typing the program name on a command line. Some programs had several modes in which they could operate, and you chose a mode by typing a slash and some extra characters (a switch) after the command name. For example, you could open the program DRAWIT in black-andwhite video mode by typing DRAWIT /B. In contrast, when you run a program in Windows by choosing it from the Start menu, no opportunity occurs to enter any special instructions. (Most Windows programs don’t require any, so it’s not a great loss.) However, you might occasionally need to run a program for which you want to use a switch. The Run command allows you to enter extra instructions when you run a program.
Concerned About Privacy? To clear the Documents menu, right-click the taskbar and choose Properties. Then, choose the Advanced tab and click the Clear button. Click OK to close the dialog box when you’re done. You can also get add-on programs for Windows that will clear the Documents menu automatically each time you shut Windows down.
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Starting a Program with the Run Command
1. Click Start, Run. The Run dialog box opens. 2. Click Browse. The Browse dialog box opens. 3. Locate the program file you want to run, and click it. Then, click Open. The command for starting the program appears in the Run dialog box. See Figure 3.5. 4. (Optional) Type additional commands, filenames, or switches after the command, as desired. 5. Click OK. The program runs.
FIGURE 3.5 The Run dialog box enables you to edit and add to the command that runs the program before you issue it.
SEE ALSO ➤ To learn more about locating files in a Browse dialog box, see page 56 ➤ To set up DOS programs to run in Windows, see page 500
Navigating in a Program Every program works a little differently, of course, but most Windows-based programs have much in common. Most of them open, save, and print your work in the same way, for example. The figures in the following sections use WordPad as an example. (Start it with Start, Programs, Accessories, WordPad if you want to follow along.) These basic steps work in nearly all programs, however. You can transfer these skills to almost any other Windows program that you use.
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Starting a New File Programs usually store your work in data files. You can have separate files for each document, spreadsheet, or other item that you create. Most programs start a new file automatically when you start the program. That way, you can start creating immediately, without having to issue any special command. Most programs also have a File, New command (that is, a command called New on the File menu) that starts a new file anytime you want. Some programs (such as Microsoft Word) also have a New button on the toolbar. Starting a New Data File
1. Choose File, New or click the New button on the program’s toolbar if it has one. 2. Depending on the program, a New dialog box might appear, asking what kind of file you want to create. The one for WordPad appears in Figure 3.6. Make your selection, and click OK. 3. Depending on the program, a box might appear asking whether you want to save your changes to the existing file before starting a new one. Choose Yes or No as needed.
Buy Good Software If you plan to do any word processing (typing letters and reports, for example), do yourself a favor and buy a decent word processing program. Microsoft Word 2000 is arguably the best, but Corel WordPerfect and Lotus WordPro also are perfectly adequate and might be less costly. You might be able to buy a whole suite (such as Microsoft Office, Lotus SmartSuite, or Corel WordPerfect Suite) at a good price. If you can’t afford to buy a commercial word processing program, you can use WordPad, a simple word processor that comes with Windows 2000. You will learn more about it in Chapter 4, “Exploring the Windows Accessories.”
FIGURE 3.6 Some programs, such as WordPad shown here, enable you to choose the format of the new file or the template on which it is based.
Typing and Editing Text If you’re a typical home or business user, the majority of your work will probably involve typing and editing text.
Multiple Files Open? Some programs can have multiple files open at once; in such programs, starting a new file does not close the open file (as it does in WordPad).
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Text appears at the insertion point (the flashing vertical line) as you type. The insertion point moves over as you enter more text. To move the insertion point, use the arrow keys or click with the mouse where you want it. When the mouse pointer is over an area in which you can type, it changes to an I-beam (see Figure 3.7). Click to place the insertion point at the I-beam position.
FIGURE 3.7 You can type text in a variety of programs; WordPad is shown here. I-beam mouse pointer Insertion point; the next character I type will appear here.
No Return Unlike on a typewriter, you don’t have to press Enter (or Return) at the end of each line. Your words wrap to the next line automatically when they reach the end of a line. This feature is called word wrap. It is turned on by default in almost every program. Notepad is an exception, however; to turn on word wrap in Notepad, you must choose Edit, Word Wrap.
In some programs, the Insert key toggles between two text editing modes: Insert and Overtype. Insert mode is the default; when you position the insertion point and type, the text to the right moves over to make room. In Overtype mode, text to the right of the insertion point is replaced by whatever you type. Editing Text
1. Click to position the insertion point where you want it. 2. Do one of the following as needed to remove unwanted text: • Press Backspace to remove one character to the left of the insertion point. • Press Delete to remove one character to the right of the insertion point. 3. Type new text to replace it.
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Selecting Text You also can work with a block of text by selecting it. For example, you could select an entire sentence and then press Delete once to remove it all at once. Figure 3.8 shows some text selected in WordPad.
FIGURE 3.8 Drag across some text to select it, and then work with the selected block as a single unit. Selected text
Depending on the program, you also might be able to select text in other ways. The following are some selection shortcuts that work in many Windows-based programs: ■
To select all the text in the file, press Ctrl+A.
■
To select a word, double-click it.
■
To select a paragraph, triple-click it.
Exchanging Data Between Programs When a block of text is selected, you can copy or cut it to a special holding area called the Clipboard. Then, you can reposition the insertion point and paste that selection back into the document in the new location. Copying or Moving a Selected Block of Text
1. Select the text you want to copy or move. 2. Choose Edit, Cut to move it or Edit, Copy to copy it.
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3. Reposition the insertion point by clicking where you want it. You can open a different data file and a different program at this point if you want the selection to be placed there. 4. Choose Edit, Paste. In most programs, you can use the following shortcut keys and toolbar buttons for the Cut, Copy, and Paste commands: Ctrl+X for Cut Ctrl+C for Copy Ctrl+V for Paste In many programs, you also can right-click a selection and choose Cut, Copy, or Paste from the shortcut menu. Microsoft Office 2000 programs (Word, Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and so on) come with a more advanced Clipboard that can store multiple selections at once. If you cut or copy multiple times without having pasted, instead of the previous selection disappearing, it remains on the Clipboard, and a Clipboard toolbar appears so you can choose which of the stored selections to paste. Figure 3.9 shows the Clipboard toolbar from Microsoft Word 2000.
FIGURE 3.9 Microsoft Office 2000 programs have a Clipboard that can store multiple selections for copying and moving. Double-click a clip to paste it.
Saving Your Work Unless you save your work, the data that you enter in a program (typing text, drawing a picture, and so on) is lost when you exit from that program. If you want to keep something that you have created, you must save it.
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When you save your work, you can choose where to store the saved file. Some people always store all their data files in the C:\My Documents folder; other people like to create new folders for each project they work on. It’s up to you. Just make sure you remember where you stored the file so you can open it later when you want to work with it again. In some programs, you also have a choice of formats in which to save the file. For example, in some word processing programs, you can save the file in that program’s regular format or in the format of any of several other popular word processing programs. That way, you can exchange files with someone who does not use the same word processor as you do.
Toolbar Shortcut Many programs have a Save button on the toolbar that opens the Save As dialog box (if the file has not yet been saved) or saves the changes made to the file (if it has already been saved before).
Saving a File
1. Choose File, Save. The Save As dialog box appears. Figure 3.10 shows the one for WordPad; the one you see might be slightly different.
FIGURE 3.10 Save your work in the Save or Save As dialog box. (The exact name depends on the program.) Choose a location. Type a name. Select a file type to save as. Toolbar
2. (Optional) To change the save location (the default is probably C:\My Documents), do the following: • Open the Save in drop-down list and choose the drive where you want to save. A list of all the folders on that drive appears.
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• Double-click the folder in which you want to save. File Naming Rules Most Windows-based programs support long filenames, which means the names can be up to 256 characters and can include spaces. Filenames cannot include any of these symbols: forward slash (/), backslash (\), greater than sign (>), less than sign (<), asterisk (*), question mark (?), quotation mark (“), pipe symbol (|), colon (:), or semicolon (;). Some programs (mostly older ones) require you to stick to old DOS-style filenames, which can have no more than eight letters and cannot include spaces. Such programs will let you know if the name you have chosen is unusable.
• Double-click through additional levels of folders, if needed, until the name of the folder in which you want to save appears in the Save in box. 3. (Optional) To change the file format for the saved file, open the Save as type drop-down list and choose a different format. 4. Type the filename you want in the File name text box. 5. Click Save. You might have noticed in Figure 3.10 that the Save As dialog box has its own mini-toolbar with several buttons. You can find out what these buttons do by pointing at them to make a ScreenTip appear. Here are two that are extremely useful: Up One Level takes you up one level of folders. For example, if you are currently in C:\My Documents\Archive, it will take you to C:\My Documents. New Folder creates a new folder in whatever folder is currently displayed, so you can create organizational systems on-the-fly. SEE ALSO ➤ To create new folders for storing a data file, see page 112 ➤ To find a file when you have forgotten where you saved it, see page 95 ➤ To save a Web page that you have been viewing on the Internet, see page 332
Opening Files Toolbar Shortcut Many programs have an Open button on the Standard toolbar that opens the Open dialog box.
Saving a file enables you to open it again later when you want to edit or print it. For example, you might save a draft of your report and close it, and then open it later for more revisions. Opening a File in WordPad
1. Choose File, Open. The Open dialog box appears. The one for WordPad appears in Figure 3.11. 2. If the saved file is in a folder other than My Documents, navigate to that folder the same way you did in the preceding steps when you saved. 3. Click the saved file on the list of files that appears.
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FIGURE 3.11 Open files from the Open dialog box in a program. Choose where to look for stored files. Select the file.
4. Click Open. The Open dialog box has the same set of toolbar buttons as the Save As dialog box in WordPad, and you can use them the same way. Some programs have fancier Save As and Open dialog boxes with more toolbar buttons and other controls. For example, Figure 3.12 shows the Open dialog box for Microsoft Word 2000. In dialog boxes such as this, you can stick to the basic controls that you just learned about, or you can explore the various buttons and options on your own.
Help with Dialog Boxes Many of the more complicated dialog boxes in such programs have What’s This? Help buttons, as pointed out in Figure 3.12. You can click that button and then click one of the dialog box’s controls to find out what it does.
FIGURE 3.12 A more complex version of an Open dialog box, from Microsoft Word. What’s This? Help button
Some programs also allow you to have more than one file open at once. In programs that do, you can switch between them by selecting the file from the Window menu, which lists the open files.
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Printing Your Work Most people want a hard copy of their work to show to others. You might have just created a fabulous advertisement for your garage sale, for example, or an important report for your business. Almost every Windows program that enables you to create something also enables you to print it. Printing Your Work Print Button Many programs have a Print button on the toolbar. Clicking it prints a single copy of the default print range (in most cases, that’s the entire file).
1. Open the file containing your work. 2. Choose File, Print. At this point, one of two things happens, depending on the program. Either: • The file prints immediately on your default printer or • A Print dialog box opens, in which you can set print options (which is the case with almost all other programs). 3. If a Print dialog box appears, specify the number of copies, the page range, the desired printer, and any other options the box offers. Figure 3.13 shows one for WordPad, for example. 4. Click the Print (or OK) button to close the dialog box and print your work.
FIGURE 3.13 This Print dialog box is typical of most Windows programs. Set the number of copies. Set the page range. Choose a printer, if you have more than one.
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PART I Switching Among Running Programs CHAPTER 3 SEE ALSO ➤ To print a Web page, see page 333 ➤ To control the queue for your printer, see page 243 ➤ To share a printer on a network, see page 244
Switching Among Running Programs One of Windows Millennium’s best features is its capability to multitask—to run more than one program at a time. You can have lots of programs running at once, each in its own window. That means you can work on your report for work and then jump over to the Internet to check your stock portfolio without closing the report. Then, you can read some email, format a disk, and come back to the business report just as you left it. As you learned in Chapter 1, each open window has its own rectangular button on the taskbar. You can switch to any of your open windows by clicking its button there. That’s the easiest way to switch among windows. An alternate method also exists for switching: Alt+Tab. This method is great for people who prefer keyboard steps to mouse use, and it also enables you to switch to a window that does not appear on the taskbar even though it is open. (Those are rare, but they do exist. Windows dialog boxes are the worst offenders here.) Switching Among Windows with Alt+Tab
1. Hold down the Alt key. 2. Press and release the Tab key, but do not release Alt. A bar showing icons for all the open windows appears (see Figure 3.14).
FIGURE 3.14 This panel appears when you press Alt+Tab. Selected icon Name of the window
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3. Press the Tab key to select the icon you want on the bar. Each time you press Tab, the selector (the outline) moves one icon to the right. 4. When the icon you want is selected, release the Alt key. That window appears.
Exiting a Program Why Exit? Exiting a program when you are finished with it keeps the onscreen clutter to a minimum. It also can make your other running programs run faster and better. That’s because each running program consumes system resources (that is, memory), and the more programs that are running, the fewer spare system resources are available to go around. The average computer can easily run five or six average programs at once without any noticeable slowdown, but you will probably want to exit a program when you are finished working with it, just to keep your taskbar and desktop tidy.
Two kinds of programs run in Windows: programs that run automatically behind the scenes and programs that you start up yourself. You can exit either one of them.
Exiting a Running Program To exit a program, close its window. You learned how to close Windows in Chapter 1, remember? You can exit a program by doing any of the following: ■
Click the Close button (top right).
■
Double-click the Control menu icon (top left).
■
Choose File, Exit.
■
■
Right-click the window’s bar on the taskbar and choose Close from the shortcut menu. Shut down or restart Windows.
The only quirk when exiting a program (as opposed to closing a window that contains something else) is that in some programs it is possible to close the open data file without exiting the program entirely. In cases like that, you will see two separate commands on the File menu: Close and Exit. Close refers to the data file; Exit refers to the program itself. In such programs you also might see two Close buttons in the topright corner, one above the other. The higher one is for the program itself and the lower one is for the open data file. See Figure 3.15, which shows Microsoft Excel (a prime example).
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FIGURE 3.15 Programs such as these enable you to close the data file without exiting the program. Close command closes the document. Exit command closes the program itself. This Close button is for the program. This Close button is for the data file.
SEE ALSO ➤ To exit from a program that is malfunctioning and won’t exit normally, see page 499
Exiting a Program in the System Tray As you learned in Chapter 1, the icons in the System tray area (the area by the clock in the bottom-right corner) represent programs that stay running all the time to perform some behind-the-scenes function such as virus protection. You usually will not need to exit these programs. They start by themselves, and they stay running the entire time that Windows is running. However, you might occasionally need to exit or disable one of them for some special reason. For example, some installation programs will not run unless you disable virus protection temporarily. Exiting Program in the System Tray
1. Right-click the program’s icon. A shortcut menu appears. The commands on the menu vary depending on the program. Figure 3.16 shows an example.
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2. Do one of the following: • If an Exit or Close command is on the menu, click it. • If no Exit or Close command exists, look for (and click) a command that pauses or disables the program.
FIGURE 3.16 Right-click a system tray icon to open its shortcut menu, and then look for a command that shuts it down.
SEE ALSO ➤ To control which programs load at startup (and appear in the System tray), see page 152 ➤ To work with the programs in the System tray, see page 151
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chapter
4 Exploring the Windows Accessories Word Processing with WordPad Creating Artwork with Paint Doing Math with the Calculator Scanning and Annotating with Imaging Going Online with HyperTerminal Playing Audio CDs Recording Sounds Using Windows Media Player Setting Up DirectPlay Voice Chat
• • • • • • • • •
PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 4 Exploring the Windows Accessories
Introducing the Windows Accessories You will probably want to buy some software programs to run on your computer—perhaps a word processor, an accounting package, or a few games. But before you go out and spend that money, take a look at the free programs that come with Windows Millennium. In some cases, they are just as good as those that you would pay extra for in stores. Something Missing? If you try to run any of the programs described in this chapter and find that the program isn’t there, perhaps it needs to be installed. See “Adding and Removing Windows Components” in Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs,” to learn how to install any accessories that are missing.
This chapter showcases some of the free Windows accessories so you can get an idea of what they can do for you and why you might (or might not!) want to use them.
Word Processing with WordPad You got a sneak peek at WordPad in Chapter 3, “Running Programs,” when you were learning about running programs. WordPad is a simple but effective word processor that you can use to write letters, reports, and other documents. WordPad doesn’t have the fancy capabilities of a full-featured word processor such as Microsoft Word or Corel WordPerfect, but for a person who needs a word processor only occasionally it can be a useful tool. To run WordPad, open the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and click WordPad. After WordPad is running, just start typing. You don’t have to press Enter at the end of a line; just press it when you want to start a new paragraph. You can open, save, and print files in WordPad just as you learned in Chapter 3. Figure 4.1 shows a WordPad document, with some text already typed into it. With WordPad, you can not only create and edit text, but you can format it, too. The Formatting toolbar offers buttons you can use as shortcuts to quickly format text. Select the text and then choose from the following: Open the Font drop-down list and choose a different font. Open the Font Size drop-down list and choose a font size.
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Click Bold to make text bold. Click Italic to make text italic. Click Underline to make text underlined. Click Color to change the text color. Click the Align Left button to align the paragraph on the left. Click Center to center the paragraph. Click Align Right to align the paragraph on the right. Click Bullets to make the paragraph into a bulleted one (or to remove the bullet if it already has one).
FIGURE 4.1 WordPad can create, format, save, and print simple documents.
You can do more formatting with WordPad; check out its menu system. For example, from the Format menu you can choose to set up tab stops. You probably have some other word processor available (because most new PCs come bundled with a variety of software these days), so you likely won’t spend much time in WordPad.
Creating Artwork with Paint Paint is a graphics program that you can use to create simple illustrations with lines and shapes. It doesn’t have the capabilities that you’ll find in professional programs, but it’s adequate for simple drawings.
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Draw or Paint?
To run Paint, open the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and click Paint.
Two kinds of graphics programs are available today: vector (drawing) and bitmap (painting). A vector graphics program draws lines and shapes using mathematical formulas. Graphics created with such programs can be easily resized and are very precise. They’re used for such technical jobs as architecture and engineering. One of the best-known drawing programs is CorelDRAW.
In Paint, the screen is your blank canvas on which to create your artwork. You select a color, a tool, and any special attributes for the tool (such as the thickness of your “brush”), and then you drag on the canvas to create your art (see Figure 4.2). For more information about opening, saving, and printing files, refer to Chapter 3.
A bitmap graphics program (such as Paint) draws lines and shapes using little colored dots that are unrelated to one another. Scanned images are raster graphics and so are the more advanced programs that edit them (such as Photoshop).
Drawing a Rectangle with Paint
FIGURE 4.2 Create simple artwork like this with Paint. Foreground color Background color Choose a foreground/ background color. The Line tool
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You can choose two colors for each drawing action: a foreground color and a background color. To choose your foreground color, leftclick a color; to choose your background color, right-click a color. Give it a try. The following steps show how you would draw a rectangle in Paint. 1.
In Paint, click the Rectangle tool.
2. In the options area, click the second option (the shaded rectangle with the border). 3. Click with the left mouse button on the color that you want the border to be.
PART I Creating Artwork with Paint CHAPTER 4
4. Click with the right mouse button on the color that you want the center (the fill color) to be. 5. Position the mouse pointer on the canvas where you want the rectangle to start. 6. Hold down the left mouse button and drag to create the rectangle. (If you want a perfect square, hold down the Shift key as you drag.) 7. Release the mouse button. The rectangle appears. The rectangle is only one of Paint’s tools. Table 4.1 shows the other tools in Paint and explains what they do. You will want to experiment with them on your own. Table 4.1 Paint Tools Tool
Name
Purpose
Tips
Free-form Select
Selects an irregularly shaped area.
Use to mark an area for removal or copying.
Select
Selects a rectangular area.
Eraser/Color Eraser
Changes the area you drag across to the background color.
Use the right mouse button when dragging to replace the selected foreground color with the selected background one (Color Eraser).
Fill with Color
Fills an enclosed area.
Make sure the area is fully enclosed; otherwise, the fill will “leak” and “pour out” into the background. To undo if this happens, press Ctrl+Z.
Pick Color
Picks up the color of whatever you click.
Click with the left mouse button for foreground or the right mouse button for background. This is useful for matching colors.
Alternatives to Paint Paint Shop Pro is an excellent midlevel graphics program, and you can download a trial version for free from http: //www.jasc.com.
Unless you are a professional artist, you might not need more features than it provides. PhotoDraw 2000, which comes with Office 2000, is also very good. Moving up a level, Adobe Photoshop is widely recognized as one of the best professional graphics programs. It’s also rather expensive, however (several hundred dollars), and is probably not worth the expense for casual users.
continues…
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Table 4.1 Continued Tool
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Name
Purpose
Tips
Magnifier
Zooms in.
Pencil
Draws a free-form line with the foreground color.
Use this instead of the brush for a plain, precise line.
Brush
Draws a free-form line.
Unlike the pencil, the Brush lets you choose from a variety of brush “tips” that make different strokes.
Airbrush
Spray-paints.
Hold the mouse pointer in one spot longer for heavier coverage just like with a real spray paint canister.
Text
Places text in the drawing.
Click where you want the text and then type.
Line
Draws a straight line.
Hold down the Shift key to draw it straight vertical or horizontal.
Curve
Draws a curve.
Draw a straight line, and then drag the middle of the line to adjust the curve.
Rectangle
Draws a rectangle.
Choose between a border only (no fill), a fill only (no border), or both. Hold down the Shift key to draw a perfect square.
Polygon
Draws a free-form shape consisting of multiple straight lines.
Double-click to connect the beginning to the end to complete the shape.
Ellipse
Draws an ellipse.
Hold down the Shift key to draw a perfect circle.
PART I Doing Math with the Calculator CHAPTER 4 Tool
Name
Purpose
Tips
Rounded Rectangle
Draws a rounded rectangle.
Like a rectangle, but with rounded corners. Hold down Shift to make a rounded square.
Doing Math with the Calculator If you are always fumbling for your desktop calculator, you will appreciate that Windows Millennium has one built in. It works just like a regular calculator, too. You can either click its buttons onscreen or use your keyboard’s numeric keypad. See Figure 4.3. The Calculator program in Windows is really two calculators in one: standard and scientific. To change to the scientific calculator and take advantage of its extra functions, open the View menu and click Scientific.
FIGURE 4.3 The standard calculator (on the left) and the scientific calculator (on the right).
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Scanning and Annotating with Imaging Imaging is a special-purpose graphics tool that comes with Windows Millennium and Windows 98. (Windows 95 didn’t include it.) It has two rather specialized functions that you might be interested in: ■ ■
You can use it to run a scanner to acquire and then save images. You can use it to annotate image files in .tif, .awd (fax), and .bmp formats.
Annotation means making marks or notes on an image to comment on it. Suppose, for example, that you would like to label some scanned photos of people. You can use the annotation feature to type each person’s name on top of a picture, and the lettering becomes part of the picture. File Formats Imaging can open a variety of image formats, including .bmp, .pcx, .tif, .awd, and .jpg. However, you can annotate only .tif, .awd, or .bmp format files. In addition, when you save .awd and .bmp files, the annotations become a permanent part of the file, and you cannot remove them later. To get around this limitation, if you have a file you want to annotate that is in the “wrong” format for it, you can save it as a .tif file with the File, Save As command.
To use Imaging to run your scanner, open the File menu and choose Scan New. (The controls that appear after that depend on your individual scanner.) If that command is not available, set up the scanner first by opening the File menu and clicking Select Scanner. To annotate an image (provided it is the correct image type), use the following procedure: Annotating an Image
1. Open the image. If it is not in TIF, AWD, or BMP format, save it as a TIF file (with the File, Save As command). 2. Open the Annotation menu and choose an annotation tool. If you don’t see the list of tools shown in Figure 4.4, the image is the wrong type to be annotated. 3. Click the image or drag across it to create the annotation. Table 4.2 describes the available annotation tools. The exact procedure depends on the animation chosen. For example, if you choose the Typed Text animation, you click the image and then type the text.
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FIGURE 4.4 Select an annotation tool.
Table 4.2 Annotation Tools in Imaging Tool
Purpose
Freehand Line
Draws a freehand line.
Highlighter
Draws a see-through wash of color on the image, like a transparent highlighter.
Straight Line
Draws a straight line.
Hollow Rectangle
Draws a transparent-center rectangle.
Filled Rectangle
Draws an opaque rectangle.
Typed Text
Places the insertion point so you can type text.
Attach-a-Note
Places a rectangle into which you can type text.
Text From File
Lets you select a text file from which to import text.
Rubber Stamps
Lets you insert a saved block of text (a “stamp”), such as Received, Rejected, and so on.
The Imaging program does the job of annotation very well, but it doesn’t do a very good job of editing an image’s colors or shapes. For simple image editing, try Paint, covered earlier in this lesson, or download a trial version of Paint Shop Pro (http://www.jasc.com), a very good and inexpensive graphics-editing program. You also might
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want to experiment with PhotoDraw 2000, which comes with some versions of Microsoft Office 2000.
Going Online with HyperTerminal HyperTerminal is a communications program that lets you connect your PC directly to another PC through your modem, so the two can communicate. HyperTerminal is not the program you will use to connect to the Internet. It does not manage a TCP/IP connection, which is probably what you need to communicate with your Internet service provider. Instead, it connects to the PC at the other end in a more primitive, direct manner, appropriate for communicating with Bulletin Board Systems (BBSes) and individual PCs (such as connecting to a friend’s PC to exchange files). The most common use these days for HyperTerminal is to connect to a company’s BBS to download drivers and get technical help. Even in this golden age of the Internet, many companies still maintain such systems for the free use of their customers. The first time you connect to a certain site with HyperTerminal, you must set up the connection as described in the following procedure. If you later want to reconnect to the same site, you can open the saved connection information, bypassing the setup. Setting Up a New HyperTerminal Connection
1. Open the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and click HyperTerminal. The HyperTerminal program opens. Not There? Depending on your setup, HyperTerminal might be directly on the Accessories menu (Start, Programs, Accessories) rather than on the Communications menu. If it is not either place, it probably has not been installed. See Chapter 8 to install it.
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2. A Connection Description dialog box appears. Type a description for the new connection you want to set up. For example, if you are going to connect to the 3-Com Technical Support BBS, you might type 3-Com Tech. 3. Select an icon that you want to be associated with this connection.
PART I Going Online with HyperTerminal CHAPTER 4
4. Click OK. The Connect To dialog box appears. See Figure 4.5. 5. Type the area code and phone number in the text boxes provided. 6. If you have more than one modem, choose the one to use from the Connect using drop-down list.
FIGURE 4.5 Enter the phone number to dial and choose the modem to use.
7. Click OK. The Connect dialog box opens. 8. Click Dial. Your modem dials the number and connects. From this point, follow the prompts that appear on the screen. (It will be different for each BBS.) You will probably be prompted to enter your username (login) and password, as shown in Figure 4.6.
FIGURE 4.6 Most BBSes and other systems you dial will ask you to log in.
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New in Town? If you are calling a BBS or system that accepts new users, instructions will appear at the logon screen for setting up a new account. Look carefully for such instructions to find out how to proceed.
9. When you are finished with the call, request that the other computer terminate the call using the instructions onscreen for the BBS. 10. Open the File menu and choose Exit to exit HyperTerminal. You are asked whether you want to save the session. 11. To save the information so you can call the same BBS again in the future without going through setup again, choose Yes. Otherwise, choose No. If you choose Yes in step 11, you can reopen the saved connection by doing the following:
Hanging Up To terminate a call from your end, open the Call menu and click Disconnect. It is better to let the BBS terminate the call if you can, however, because that ensures that you log off its system properly.
Reopening a Saved HyperTerminal Connection
1. Open the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and click HyperTerminal. The HyperTerminal program opens. 2. Click Cancel to decline to create a new connection. 3. Open the File menu and choose Open. 4. Choose the saved connection and then click the Open button. 5. Go to step 8 of the preceding procedure to complete the call. SEE ALSO ➤ To set up an Internet connection with your local service provider, see page 309 ➤ To show or hide file extensions in a file listing, see page 129
Playing Audio CDs Do you like to listen to audio CDs while you work at your computer? So do I. And Windows Millennium will play them, right on your CD-ROM drive. All you need is a CD-ROM drive (or some variation thereof, such as a DVD drive or a writable CD drive), a sound card, and some speakers or headphones. When you pop a CD into your CD-ROM drive, Windows scans it to determine whether it contains computer data or audio files. If the latter is true, the Windows Media Player starts automatically, and it starts playing the disc, displaying the Now Playing tab of the player.
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Windows Media Player is a full-featured CD player, plus a player for computer sound files such as MP3s and WAV files. It replaces both the CD Player and Media Player from earlier versions of Windows, taking on all their functionality and more. I’ll show you the Now Playing and CD Audio tabs of the Windows Media Player here, and some of the other tabs in the following section, when we discuss MP3 files.
FIGURE 4.7 Use the CD Player the same as you would one on your stereo system. Scan forward or back. Skip to the previous track. Skip to next track. Pause (changes to a Play button when clicked) Stop Equalizer controls Track list; click a track to skip to it. Shows/hides the track list Visual representation of music appears here.
If the disc is already in the drive, you can start the Windows Media Player manually by opening the Start menu, pointing to Programs, Accessories, and Entertainment, and clicking Windows Media Player. Or, you can eject and reinsert the CD in the drive.
Shows/hides visual representation
In addition to the basic features pointed out in Figure 4.7, the Now Playing portion of Windows Media Player has the following extras:
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■
No Sound? If you don’t hear any sound while the CD is playing, check to make sure your speakers are plugged in and turned on. Also, check your multimedia settings (see Chapter 10, “Customizing System Settings”) to make sure your sound card is set up correctly. One more thing: To play CD audio through your sound card, a special cable must be connected from your sound card to your CD drive (inside the PC). Generally, this is referred to as the CD Audio connector cable and is usually a thin, gray cable that easily attaches to your sound card and CD drive. If your hardware supports it, you also might be able to take advantage of higherfidelity sound using a CD digital cable (SPDIF). Check your CD-ROM and sound card documentation or contact the manufacturer if you are uncertain. If you can hear other sounds from your speakers but not CD audio, check inside to make sure this cable is present and connected.
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You can run the player in full or compact modes. Compact takes up less space onscreen. Choose Full Mode or Compact Mode from the View menu. Full is the default. You can create custom playlists that exclude certain tracks you don’t want to hear. Select a track on the playlist, and then rightclick it and choose Disable Selected Tracks. To play tracks in a specific order, drag and drop tracks up or down on the track list, or right-click a track and choose Move Up or Move Down from the shortcut menu. To edit the track name that appears on the playlist, right-click the track and choose Edit, and then type a different name. For example, if the player doesn’t recognize the song titles, you could enter them manually. (That seems like a lot of trouble, though.) To change the visualization, click the right-pointing or leftpointing arrow button in the Visualization area. To switch to a different set of visualizations, open the View menu, point to Visualizations, point to a category or visualization, and then choose the one you want. To see different information in the Equalizer area, open the View menu, point to Now Playing Tools, and choose the tools you want to see onscreen. For example, you could choose to show Media Information, which tells the CD name, the record label, and other information.
When Windows Media Player detects an audio CD and starts automatically, the Now Playing tab appears, as shown in Figure 4.7. You can click the CD Audio tab to see a full version of the track listing, as shown in Figure 4.8. When you switch tabs, the CD keeps playing; you don’t have to stay on the Now Playing tab to continue to hear music. One really great feature shown in Figure 4.8 is the Copy Music button. Click it to copy the selected tracks (the ones with check marks next to them) from the CD to your hard disk, so you can listen to it without the CD being in your drive. This is legal, as long as you own the CD and you don’t give a copy to anyone else. It saves the tracks in .wma format (Windows Media Audio) in your My Music folder (C:\Windows\All Users\Documents\My Music) in a folder named for the CD title. You can play the tracks from the Media Library tab, described in the following section.
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FIGURE 4.8 The CD Audio tab offers a more complete look at the CD’s content. Remove the check mark to remove the track from the playlist. Double-click a track to play it now. Click here to download CD information from the Internet (if not already appearing). Click here to see information about the CD from the Internet (if not already appearing).
SEE ALSO
Click here to copy a specific track to your Media Library on your hard disk.
➤ To troubleshoot multimedia device issues, see page 207
Playing MP3 Files and Other Digital Sound Clips Windows Media Player is much more than just a CD player. It also enables you to play digital audio clips—that is, sound clips you’ve transferred to your hard disk from CDs, or MP3 files you have acquired from the Internet (or recorded yourself). For starters, fire up Windows Media Player and have it search your hard disk for all the music you already have there and catalog it in the Media Library for easy playing. The following steps show how.
Track Sampling You can use Sound Recorder to record excerpts from CD audio discs. However, the resulting files consume a huge amount of hard disk space, so don’t attempt this unless you have plenty of space to spare. A one-minute selection can take up tens of megabytes.
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Adding Existing Clips to Your Media Library Where Do MP3s Come From? You can download songs in MP3 format from a variety of Web sites online, including http://www.mp3. com. Some of these are legal; some are not. It depends on whether the artist and the recording label have given their permission to make the song available for free online. If you use an MP3-swapping service such as Napster (http://www. napster.com), it’s your responsibility to determine whether a clip is legal or not (and that might not be easy) and to avoid the illegal ones or risk prosecution. Realistically, it is very difficult for record companies to track down and prosecute people who download or share files illegally, but the possibility does exist.
1. Open the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Entertainment, and click Windows Media Player. The Windows Media Player program opens. You can also click the Windows Media Player shortcut on the Quick Launch toolbar to do the same thing. 2. Click the Media Library tab. 3. Open the Tools menu and choose Search Computer for Media, or press F3. 4. Click Start Search. The search begins. 5. When the search is complete, click Close. 6. Click Close again to close the Search box. All music files that it finds appear in the left pane of the Media Library (see Figure 4.9). To play a clip, simply double-click it. You do not have to search for media every time you use the player; do it once, when you first start using the program, and then do it periodically when you have acquired new clips that you want to add to the Media Library. The Media Library contains video clips, too, if you have any stored on your PC. You’ll find them under the Video category on the folder tree. They play the same way that audio clips play—watch the clip on the Now Playing tab. Here are some other features of the Media Library you can explore:
Media Guide The Windows Media Player opens to the Media Guide tab by default, showing Internet content (if you’re connected) such as free clips to download. You may choose to explore its offerings on your own at your leisure.
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You can edit a clip’s properties, such as Name or Genre, by right-clicking it and choosing Edit. To play only clips in a certain genre, such as Blues or Pop, open the drop-down list in the top-right corner of the window and choose a genre. To create a playlist (a list of clips that should play without selecting each one individually each time), click New Playlist, type a name for it, and click OK. Then drag tracks to the name of the playlist on the folder tree at the left. To remove a track from the Media Library, select it and press Delete. This does not remove the file from your hard disk; the
PART I Recording Sounds CHAPTER 4
next time you search the hard disk for audio files, it will reappear in the Media Library.
FIGURE 4.9 Windows Media Player organizes and plays music stored on your hard disk. Tracks with CD affiliation appear in the Albums section. To see a full list of tracks, click here. Open this drop-down list and choose a genre to play.
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To sort the list of tracks by a certain property, such as genre, click the column heading. To change the sizes of the columns, drag the divider between two columns to the right or left.
SEE ALSO ➤ To troubleshoot multimedia device issues, see page 207 ➤ To play audio CDs, see page 74
Recording Sounds With Sound Recorder and a microphone, you can create your own sound effect files to use in Windows. Lots of ways exist to use sound files: You can add them to PowerPoint presentations, for example, or assign them to events in Windows (such as a window or menu opening or an error message appearing). I know someone, for example,
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who recorded Dr. McCoy on Star Trek saying, “Dammit, Jim!” and used that as the sound that played every time Windows displayed a warning box. The following steps show how to record a sound from a microphone or the Windows Media Player’s CD player. Recording a Sound Copying CD Tracks with Media Player Windows Media Player offers a handy Copy feature that copies CD tracks to your hard disk in .wma format, as discussed earlier in the chapter. Practically the only reasons you might prefer to record a track with Sound Recorder would be if you needed it to be in .wav format rather than .wma format or if you wanted to record only a portion of the music track, rather than the whole song.
1. Open the Start menu. Point to Programs, Accessories, and Entertainment, and click Sound Recorder. 2. If you want to record from a microphone, make sure it is connected and ready. or If you want to record from an audio CD, start the CD Player and advance the CD to the spot where you want to begin recording; then click Pause in the CD Player window. 3. In Sound Recorder, click the Record button (see Figure 4.10). Then, quickly switch to Windows Media Player and click Play, or start speaking (or singing, or whatever) into the microphone. As the sound records, you can watch the line in the dialog box spike and change, reflecting the sounds being recorded.
FIGURE 4.10 A sound being recorded. Stop button Graphical representation of the recording shows here. Record button
4. When you have recorded the sound you want, click Stop in Sound Recorder. 5. Open the File menu, choose Save, and save the sound file the same as you would save any other file. (Refer to Chapter 3 for more information on Save, if needed.)
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Files that you create with Sound Recorder are saved in a format called Wave (with the .wav extension). You can play the recorded sounds in Sound Recorder to see whether you got them right; you also can play them with Windows Media Player (covered in the preceding section) or insert them in documents, presentations, spreadsheets, or other files. SEE ALSO ➤ To assign sound effects to system events in Windows, see page 210 ➤ To run the CD Player, see page 74 ➤ To save files in a Windows-based program, see page 54 ➤ To configure multimedia settings, see page 207
Editing Video Clips Windows Millennium offers a nifty utility called Windows Movie Maker that you can use to edit video footage. Just imagine—you can transfer that videotape of your last birthday party to your PC, and edit out that unfortunate episode with Uncle Jack and the punchbowl. (The transfer goes only one way—you can’t transfer back to videotape from your PC, unfortunately.)
Wave Files and the Windows Media Player By default, files with the .wav extension do not show up in the Media Library in Windows Media Player. When searching for new clips (covered in the preceding section), you can mark a check box to include WAV and MIDI files in the search. Or, you can play a WAV file by opening it in Windows Media Player with the File, Open command.
Taking the Windows Movie Maker Tour The first time you open Windows Movie Maker, a Help window appears offering to take you on a tour of the program. This is a really good idea—it’ll help you familiarize yourself with the program and its capabilities. Starting the Windows Movie Maker and Taking the Tour
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and click Windows Movie Maker. 2. At the Tour window, read the Welcome message. If the Tour window does not appear, open the Help menu and choose Tour. 3. Click the Record hyperlink at the left of the window, and read the information about recording. 4. Click on each of the other hyperlinks in turn and read the information. 5. When you are finished with the tour, close the tour window.
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Overview of the Movie-Making Process You can make a movie by combining any number of video clips from a video capture device, still photographs you have scanned or downloaded, sound clips, music, or animations. If you want to use video clips from your video camera or from a VHS tape, you must buy a Windows-compatible video capture device and hook it up to your PC, and then hook your camera or VCR into that device. Some inexpensive models suitable for casual or home use include a product called Snappy and another called Dazzle. But even if you don’t have such a device, you can still create nicelooking slideshows with still images and a soundtrack or voiceover narrative. Making a movie consists of the following broad steps: 1. Create your content. This can include • Importing existing video clips, sounds, and/or pictures into Windows Media Format (WMF) • Recording narration • Creating title slides that can serve as dividers between sections Content is stored in collections. For example, you might have a collection to hold imported video clips, another collection for sounds, and so on. You can have as many collections as you like. 2. Edit the content, perhaps to trim out part of a video clip, improve the quality of a sound clip, or make some other change. 3. Start a project, and copy the content you want from the various collections into the new project. 4. Publish the project as a movie. Windows Movie Maker has many features and capabilities, too many to cover here, but in the following sections I’ll briefly show you some highlights of the movie-making process.
Adding Clips to a Collection Before you can create a project (that is, a movie), you must import some content into Windows Movie Maker. You can organize the
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imported content into collections around whatever themes make sense to you. To create a new collection, do the following: Starting a Collection
1. On the folder tree at the left, make sure My Collections is selected. 2. Click the New Collection button on the toolbar, or open the File menu, point to New, and choose Collection. 3. Type the name for the new collection and press Enter. The new collection name appears on the folder tree, beneath My Collections (see Figure 4.11).
FIGURE 4.11 A new collection, ready to receive clips. New Collection button on toolbar Collection I just created
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Adding Content to a Collection The procedure for adding a clip to a collection varies depending on the type of clip. The following sections show the steps for the most common types.
Recording a Video or Audio Clip If you have a video capture device, you can use the Record feature to capture some video footage from a camera or VCR. The following steps show how. You can also use the following procedure to record audio clips from your stereo (just hook it into your PC’s sound card) or audio clips that you may have in Windows Media Player. However, it’s easier to simply import clips that are already stored on your PC, as you’ll learn in the next section. Recording Video or Audio
1. Click the Record button on the toolbar, or open the File menu and choose Record. The Record dialog box opens. 2. If the correct video or audio recording device does not appear next to Video Device or Audio Device, click Change Device and choose it (see Figure 4.12).
FIGURE 4.12 I have no video capture equipment, but my sound card appears here ready for use. Click here to change the input device. Click here when ready to record.
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3. Prepare the recording device. If recording from a camera, point the camera at the source. If recording from a VCR or stereo, pause the tape or other media at the desired beginning point. If recording from a CD or MP3 file in Windows Media Player, prepare that clip. 4. Click Record, and then quickly press Play on the VCR or stereo, or activate the recording feature on the video camera. 5. When finished recording, click Stop. The Save Windows Media File dialog box appears. 6. Enter a name for the clip, and click Save.
Importing a Clip In addition to your live-action video, you might want to employ still photographs in your movies. To import a photograph into a collection, use the following steps. The following steps also work to import other types of clips, too, in other formats, such as WAV and MP3 files, and digital video in other formats (such as MPEG or AVI). Importing a Clip
1. In the folder tree, choose the collection into which the clip should be placed. 2. Open the File menu and choose Import. The Select the File to Import dialog box opens. 3. Choose the clip, and then choose Open. The clip appears in the collection.
Assembling a Project After you have the clips imported into Windows Movie Maker, you can create your project (that is, your movie) by simply dragging the desired elements onto the storyboard, as shown in the following procedure. You have two views of the movie to work with: Storyboard and Timeline. Storyboard shows images (video clips and pictures) in a sequence of frames, like movie film; the Timeline shows all types of media. See Figures 4.13 and 4.14.
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FIGURE 4.13 The Storyboard view of a movie shows only the visual portion. Pictures or video clips to be displayed Click here to switch to Timeline view.
FIGURE 4.14 The Timeline view shows both the audio and the visual portions, but the visual parts are a bit squashed if they’re not very long. Soundtrack Pictures or video clips to be displayed Click here to switch back to Storyboard view. Click these buttons to expand or collapse the timeline.
Creating a Movie
1. Open the View menu and choose Timeline, displaying the timeline. 2. Click the collection you want to use a clip from, displaying its clips. 3. Drag the clip onto the timeline, in the spot where you want it. 4. Repeat for each clip to add. If desired, open the View menu and choose Storyboard to switch to Storyboard view.
Setting Transitions Rather than abruptly stopping one clip and starting the next, you can set a transition between the two. This fades out the first clip and fades in the next one, just like the professionals do on TV. To create a transition effect between two clips, do the following: Creating a Transition Effect
1. Display the project as a timeline (View, Timeline).
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2. Select the second of the two clips. 3. Drag the selected clip slightly to the left, so it slightly overlaps the earlier clip. The amount of overlap determines the length of the transition.
Previewing the Movie After you’ve created the project, you can preview it to see how it’ll appear when you publish it as a movie. To do so, open the Play menu and choose Play Entire Storyboard/Timeline, or click the Play button. It plays in the preview pane (the pane at the top-right part of the Windows Movie Maker window), along with any sounds or music associated with it. See Figure 4.15.
FIGURE 4.15 Preview the movie before saving it. Play Pause Stop The movie plays here.
Publishing the Project As a Movie When you’ve finished your movie, you can distribute it to friends and relatives on disk or via email. All the recipients need is a player
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such as Windows Media Player (available free from Microsoft’s Web site, in case they don’t have Windows Me). To save a movie, do the following: Saving a Movie
1. Click the Save Movie button on the toolbar or open the File menu and choose Save Movie. The Save Movie dialog box opens. See Figure 4.16.
FIGURE 4.16 Specify how the movie should be saved.
2. Open the Setting drop-down list and choose the quality level you want. Medium, the default, is best in most cases. 3. Enter a title in the Title box, and your name in the Author box. Quality Settings The higher the quality, the larger the file, and the longer it takes to send over an Internet or network connection. If you are preparing a movie for a low-speed connection distribution, choose a lowerquality setting. For distribution on a highspeed network, choose a higher quality.
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4. (Optional) Enter any other information you want to be saved with the movie in the boxes provided, such as Comments. 5. Choose OK. The Save As dialog box opens. 6. Click Save. The movie is saved. A prompt asks whether you want to watch the movie now. Choose Yes or No. Saved movies are stored in the folder C:\My Documents\My Videos. You can view a movie at any time by finding it there and doubleclicking it. You can attach the movie file to an email, or include a link to it on a Web page.
chapter
5 Managing Files and Folders Choosing a File Management Method Navigating Drives and Folders Selecting Files and Folders Moving and Copying Files and Folders Deleting Files and Folders Working with the Recycle Bin Renaming Files and Folders Working with File Properties Searching for Files and Folders Creating Folders Formatting Disks Making a Boot Disk
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 5 Managing Files and Folders
Choosing a File Management Method Multipane View The file listing in Figure 5.1 shows an extra pane to the left that reports information about the selected file, folder, or drive. If you resize a window to make it smaller, this extra pane might disappear; making the window larger will bring it back. In Chapter 6, “Setting File Management Options,” you will learn how to customize the view of a folder. One of the things you can specify is whether or not this extra pane appears.
FIGURE 5.1 The content of my C: drive, shown in My Computer. Information about the selected drive, folder, or file appears here.
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A file is a collected mass of computer data stored under a single name. Many types of files are on your computer system, each serving a unique purpose, such as storing a document, running a program, or displaying a graphic. A folder is a way of organizing files, much like paper folders or dividers in a filing cabinet. You create and use folders to store files of a common type or for a common purpose. For example, you might store all the files that run a game called Crazee in a folder called Crazee. One of the easiest ways to work with files and folders is through My Computer. From My Computer, you can select any of your local drives (that is, any drive directly connected to your own PC, excluding network drives) and view or manage its contents. Figure 5.1 shows a My Computer window for a typical hard disk (C:).
PART I Choosing a File Management Method CHAPTER 5
One of the most popular folders to work with is My Documents because that’s where, by default, most programs store your saved data files. Therefore, My Documents has its own separate icon on the desktop. You can double-click the My Documents icon to display the same type of window as shown in Figure 5.1, but the window is specific to that particular folder (see Figure 5.2).
FIGURE 5.2 You can browse the My Documents folder directly from the desktop by double-clicking its icon.
Windows Explorer is just like My Computer and the other file management windows (refer to Figures 5.1 through 5.3), except it has an extra pane. Its Folders pane on the left shows a list of folders and drives, and you can view the contents of any of them by clicking the folder or drive on that list (see Figure 5.4). Want to manage everything in one place? And switch quickly from folder to folder and drive to drive? Then the Windows Explorer tool is for you.
Drive Shortcuts If you browse the contents of a particular drive or folder frequently, consider creating a shortcut for that drive or folder on your desktop. To do so, right-drag the drive or folder from the My Computer window to your desktop, and choose Create Shortcut Here from the shortcut menu that appears when you release the mouse button.
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FIGURE 5.3 My Network Places provides access to files on other PCs on the network. My Network Places icon Home Networking Wizard icon
FIGURE 5.4 Windows Explorer shows the files in a certain location and provides quick access to other locations. Folders pane File list You can see the Network from here. You can access My Documents from here. Click the Folders button to toggle the Folders pane on/off.
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To open Windows Explorer, do any of the following: ■
Click Start, point to Programs, and click Windows Explorer. or
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Hold down the Shift key and double-click My Computer on the desktop. or
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Double-click My Computer on the desktop and then click the Folders button on the toolbar.
SEE ALSO ➤ To create shortcuts on your desktop for drives or folders, see page 144 ➤ To create new folders, see page 112 ➤ To work with network places in the My Network Places window, see page 262 ➤ To set up a home network, see page 269
Navigating Drives and Folders Before you can start working with files, you need to display the drive and folder that contain those files. Therefore, we’ll start out with some navigation basics.
Displaying a Drive or Folder in My Computer When you open the My Computer window, you see icons for each of the drives on your PC (see Figure 5.5). You can double-click a drive’s icon to open a list of folders on that drive. From there, you doubleclick a folder to see its contents.
My Documents Subfolders There is a My Pictures folder within My Documents by default. You also can create other folders within the My Documents folder to better organize the documents you create. Of course, you can store documents in any folder, not just this one. However, because most programs use My Documents as the default storage location, creating folders within it can save you time because you won’t have to be continually changing the save location. You will learn to create folders later in this chapter. Quick Switch In Windows Millennium, My Computer and Windows Explorer are identical except that My Computer has the Folders pane toggled off by default and Windows Explorer has it toggled on. You can easily switch between them simply by clicking the Folders button on the toolbar. This feature was not present in earlier versions of Windows.
Finding a File If you don’t know where a particular file is stored, you can use the Windows Find feature, covered later in this chapter.
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FIGURE 5.5 Choose a drive from the My Computer window. Floppy drive Hard drive CD-ROM drives Zip drive
Displaying a Drive or Folder in Windows Explorer Shared Drive The hand under the C: drive icon in Figure 5.5 indicates that the drive can be accessed by others on a network. This means the item is shared. For more information about network sharing, see “Sharing Your Files and Printers” in Chapter 14, “Using Network Resources.”
In Windows Explorer, you rely on the Folders pane to move around. Its “tree” of computers, drives, and folders can be collapsed or expanded. A plus sign (+) next to an item means that subordinate items exist for it that don’t currently display. Click the plus sign (+) to see them (or the minus sign (–) to hide them). When you see the name of the drive or folder you want to look at in the Folders pane, double-click it. Its content appears in the file list pane (see Figure 5.6). SEE ALSO ➤ To change the viewing options for a file listing, see page 132
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FIGURE 5.6 Use the Folders pane on the left to select the drive or folder you want to see and work with. This folder’s content appears on the right. Plus sign means more folders are hidden. Minus sign means subfolders are all displayed.
Selecting Files and Folders You must select a file or folder before you can do something to it. That something can include moving, copying, deleting, renaming, and so on, all of which you will learn later in this chapter. To select a file or folder, click it. To deselect it, click somewhere else (away from it). You can select multiple files and folders at once and act on the group of them as if they were a single unit. For example, you can select a range of items to delete, and then delete them with one command. Or, you can select a range and then copy the group to a floppy disk. Figure 5.7 shows multiple files selected.
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FIGURE 5.7 Multiple files are selected and are ready for a command to act on them. This group of files is contiguous (together). These files are not contiguous to the others but are still part of the selection. List of selected files and their collective size
Folders, Too Folders can be selected, moved, copied, deleted, and renamed the same way as files. I won’t say “files or folders” every time in this chapter when talking about these activities, but keep in mind that you can do the same thing to folders that you are learning to do with files.
The way you select multiple items depends on whether they are all together on the list (contiguous). Selecting a Contiguous Group of Files
1. Click the first file that you want to select. 2. Hold down the Shift key and click the last file. That file, and all the files between the two, are selected. 3. Release the Shift key. Selecting Noncontiguous Files
1. Click the first file that you want to select. 2. Hold down the Ctrl key and click individually on each other file you also want to select. 3. Release the Ctrl key when you are finished.
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Moving and Copying Files and Folders Moving and copying files and folders are such important tasks that Windows provides many ways to accomplish them. You get to pick the method that works best for you (and for the situation at hand). Broadly speaking, two major methods can be used: ■
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Drag and drop. You select the item(s) you want and then use the mouse to drag them to some other location. Cut (or copy) and paste. You select the item(s) you want and then cut or copy them to the Windows Clipboard. Then, you display the folder where you want them and paste them with the Paste command.
Each of those methods has some variations and alternatives; we’ll look at all that in the following sections.
Moving or Copying with Drag and Drop Drag and drop is a very easy way to get files and folders from Point A to Point B. You just drag them there; what could be simpler? Well, actually it’s not quite as simple as you might think. When you drag and drop, you are either moving or copying, according to the following rules: ■
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When you drag from one drive to another, the default is to copy the item to the new drive. If you drag without pressing any keys, it will copy. When you drag between folders on the same drive, the default is to move the item to a new location. If you drag without pressing any keys, it will move. You can force any drag-and-drop action to be a Move by holding down the Shift key as you drag. You can force any drag-and-drop action to be a Copy by holding down the Ctrl key as you drag. You can drag with the right mouse button (right-drag), and when you drop, a shortcut menu appears, letting you choose between moving, copying, and creating a shortcut.
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In addition to these rules, you should be aware of one more thing: You must be able to see both the starting location and the destination location onscreen at the same time. With Windows Explorer, that is not a problem because of that handy Folders pane. Moving or Copying in Windows Explorer with Drag and Drop Moving or Copying? You can tell whether Windows is moving or copying by looking at the mouse pointer. When copying, it has a small plus sign next to it.
1. In Windows Explorer, select the files you want to move or copy. 2. Expand the tree in the Folders pane as needed so that you can see the name of the destination drive or folder. 3. Hold down the Shift key to move or the Ctrl key to copy. 4. Drag the files to the destination on the (see Figure 5.8).
FIGURE 5.8 Drag the files to the drive or folder where you want them. File being dragged Mouse pointer while dragging Plus sign indicates it is copying.
But what about with My Computer, My Documents, and My Network Places? Each of these file listings stands alone with no Folders pane. This makes it harder to see both the current location and the destination at once. To move or copy from these, you can
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either turn on the Folders pane by clicking the Folders button on the toolbar, or open a separate window in which you display the destination drive or folder. By default, My Computer has only one open window at a time. When you double-click a folder to see its contents, those contents appear in the same window, replacing the previously viewed contents. You can change how Windows operates, however, so that each folder you double-click in My Computer (and My Documents and My Network Places) opens in its own window.
Going Up? You can press Backspace or click the Up button to move up a level in the folder structure.
Setting Up My Computer for Multiple Windows
1. In My Computer, open the Tools menu and click Folder Options. 2. On the General tab, click the Open each folder in its own window button. 3. Click OK. After completing the preceding steps, you will be able to open multiple windows with My Computer, each one containing a different drive or folder’s contents. You can then drag and drop among them. SEE ALSO ➤ To further customize the way files and folder windows are displayed, see page 120
Moving or Copying with the Clipboard As you learned earlier in this book, the Clipboard is a temporary holding area that Windows uses to move and copy things. “Things” can be files, folders, bits of text, graphics, or anything else that can be selected.
Drag and Drop to Shortcuts You can create shortcuts on your desktop for the drives and folders you move or copy to frequently, and then drag the files from any file listing onto that shortcut to move or copy files there.
I often use the Clipboard method of copying or moving files when I am working in My Computer and it isn’t convenient to open a separate window to display the destination folder. The Clipboard method is also great for times when you need to do some other action between copying (or cutting) and pasting. For example, suppose you want to copy some files onto a floppy disk from your My Documents folder. You aren’t sure whether the disk in the A: drive is empty, but it needs to be. So, you copy the files first
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from My Documents onto the Clipboard, and then you display the A: drive’s contents, delete any other files from it, and finally paste the files from the Clipboard onto that disk. Moving or Copying with the Clipboard Unavailable Command? If the Cut or Copy command is grayed out (unavailable) on the Edit menu, perhaps you do not have a file or folder selected. Make sure you do. However, for some odd reason, sometimes the Cut and Copy commands will appear grayed out (unavailable) on the Edit menu, even when a file is selected and ready to be cut or copied. If that happens, just use the keyboard shortcut instead. Missing Buttons Earlier versions of Windows had Cut, Copy, and Paste buttons on the toolbar in Windows Explorer and My Computer, but Windows Millennium does not. Instead, it has Move To and Copy To buttons, which are explained in the following section.
1. Select the file(s) you want to move or copy. 2. Do one of the following: • To copy the files, open the Edit menu and click Copy, or press Ctrl+C, or right-click the files and choose Copy from the shortcut menu. • To move the files, open the Edit menu and click Cut, or press Ctrl+X, or right-click the files and choose Cut from the shortcut menu. 3. Display the drive or folder where you want to place the files. Not sure how? Here are some ideas: • If the destination is a folder within the current folder or drive, double-click the folder to display its contents. • If the destination is on the network, open My Network Places and navigate to the computer, drive, and folder you want. • If the destination is a folder on the same drive as the current one, click the Up button until you see the list of folders for the drive. Then, double-click the folder you want. • Open the drop-down list for the Address line and choose a drive or folder. 4. When the destination folder’s content is displayed, open the Edit menu and click Paste, or press Ctrl+V. SEE ALSO ➤ To move or copy text in an application with the Clipboard, see page 53
Moving or Copying with Windows Toolbar Buttons New in Windows Millennium is an additional way to move or copy files and folders. You can select the files and folders and then use the Move To or Copy To button on the toolbar, as in the following steps:
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Moving or Copying with the Toolbar
1. Select the files and/or folders you want to move or copy. 2.
Click the Move To or Copy To button on the toolbar. A Browse for Folder window appears, shown in Figure 5.9.
FIGURE 5.9 Select the destination for the move or copy operation.
3. Navigate to the folder you want to place the files into, using the same navigation techniques as in the Folders pane of Windows Explorer. 4. Click OK. New Folder
Deleting Files and Folders Deleting files (and folders, too) is very easy. Many ways exist to do it. But do you know why you are deleting a particular file or folder? If not, you shouldn’t be doing it. Deleting files, especially ones that run programs, is serious business. Delete the wrong files in your C:\Windows folder, and Windows won’t work at all. Delete the wrong word processing file, and you’ve just lost that 12 hours of work you did on your big report. Don’t delete a file unless you are absolutely sure you don’t need it anymore.
To create a new folder onthe-fly, choose the folder in which the new one should reside and then click the New Folder button. Type a name for the new folder and press Enter to accept it.
Deleting Files
1. Select the file(s) to delete. 2. Do one of the following: • Press the Delete key. • Open the File menu and click Delete. • Right-click the files and choose Delete from the shortcut menu.
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•
Click the Delete button on the window’s toolbar.
3. If a confirmation box appears asking whether you want to send the files to the Recycle Bin, click Yes. Deleting a File for Good If you want to destroy a file right away, without letting it stop off in the Recycle Bin, hold down the Shift key as you delete it.
So, what should you do if you delete a file and then realize you shouldn’t have? Don’t worry; the file probably hasn’t been destroyed yet. You go to the Recycle Bin, explained in the following section, and see whether you can fish it back out again. If your deletion was the very last thing you have done, you can reverse it instantly with the Undo command. Open the Edit menu and click Undo Delete, or click the Undo button on the toolbar.
Working with the Recycle Bin Deleted files don’t get destroyed right away. Instead, they are banished to the Recycle Bin, a special folder that holds files and folders you have discarded (kind of like The Island of Misfit Files). You can empty the Recycle Bin to destroy the contents whenever you like or you can keep them there in case you need to recover any of them.
Retrieving a File from the Recycle Bin Other Utilities Some add-on programs you can buy for Windows, such as Norton Utilities, add features to the Recycle Bin or replace it with their own file deletion and recovery utility. If you have such a program installed, your Recycle Bin might not work exactly as described here.
Open the Recycle Bin by double-clicking it on the desktop. It looks much like any other folder’s window, but don’t let that fool you; all the files and folders in the Recycle Bin are on Death Row. You can spare their lives with the following procedure: Restoring a Deleted File
1. Double-click the Recycle Bin icon on the desktop to open it. 2. Select the file(s) you want to restore. 3. Click the Restore button to the left of the file listing, or open the File menu and click Restore (see Figure 5.10). The files vanish from the Recycle Bin. Where did they go? They went to their original locations from which you deleted them. Another way to undelete a file is to drag it out of the Recycle Bin and into another folder (or onto the desktop). You also can rightclick a file in the Recycle Bin and choose Restore from its shortcut menu.
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FIGURE 5.10 Restore selected files, sparing them from destruction. Select the file(s) to restore. Click Restore.
Emptying the Recycle Bin Emptying the Recycle Bin destroys all the files in it so that you can’t restore them anymore (at least not by normal means). Why in the world would anyone voluntarily limit options like that? Two words: disk space. When you delete a file and it goes to the Recycle Bin, you haven’t really freed up any space on your hard disk. That file is still taking up as much space as ever—just in a different location. If you are trying to tidy up your hard disk so you will have more space to install more programs, deleting unneeded files is a good way to do that. But sending them to the Recycle Bin is not enough. You must then empty the Recycle Bin to free up that space. You can do any of the following to empty the Recycle Bin: ■
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From the Windows desktop, right-click the Recycle Bin and choose Empty Recycle Bin. Then, click Yes. From the Recycle Bin window, open the File menu and click Empty Recycle Bin. Then, click Yes. With no files selected in the Recycle Bin window, click the Empty Recycle Bin button to the left of the file listing. (This button won’t appear if anything is selected.)
How Deleted Is “Deleted”? When you empty the Recycle Bin, the files in it can no longer be recovered through normal means. There are disk utilities available, however, that can undelete files even after you have emptied the Recycle Bin. That’s because deleting a file doesn’t really wipe the file from the hard disk; it merely removes its entry in the File Allocation Table (the disk’s index) and marks the space that it occupied as “available” so that other files you copy to the drive can use the space. An experienced computer user can sometimes use a utility such as Norton Undelete to recover the files, provided the file’s disk space has not been overwritten.
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Setting Recycle Bin Properties Files in the Recycle Bin are eventually destroyed if you don’t do it sooner yourself by emptying it. The Recycle Bin destroys deleted files, starting with the ones that have been there the longest, after a certain amount of time or when the total size of the Recycle Bin’s files exceeds the specified limit. You can set up rules governing how long the Recycle Bin saves files and what its total capacity is. You can also choose to have separate rules for each hard drive on your system. Configuring the Recycle Bin
1. Right-click the Recycle Bin on the desktop and choose Properties. The Recycle Bin Properties box appears (see Figure 5.11).
FIGURE 5.11 Set Recycle Bin properties here. You can configure each drive separately if you want. Use the individual drive tabs instead of Global if you are configuring drives separately. This turns the Recycle Bin off. Select how much space the Recycle Bin can use. Disable the deletion confirmation box here.
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2. (Optional) If you have more than one hard disk, and you want to configure each drive separately, click Configure drives independently. Then, perform the rest of these steps separately on the tab for each drive. 3. To disable the Recycle Bin so that files are destroyed immediately when you delete them, select the Do not move files to the Recycle Bin check box. 4. To adjust the amount of space on the hard disk that the Recycle Bin can occupy, drag the slider bar to a different setting. For example, if you choose 10% and you have a 10-gigabyte hard disk, the Recycle Bin will be allowed to use up to 1 gigabyte on that drive. If the total size of the files in the Recycle Bin ever exceeds that amount, it will start deleting files (oldest ones first) until it comes in under the limit. 5. To turn off the confirmation box that appears when you delete files, deselect the Display delete confirmation dialog check box. 6. Click OK.
Renaming Files and Folders Sometimes a file or folder’s name is important, and you shouldn’t change it—other times not. Generally speaking, files that run programs need to keep the same names, or the programs might not work. That’s because a program usually requires many files to work, all closely related to one another. If you change the name of one of them, the others might not recognize it, and it might not work correctly. Folders that contain Windows programs should not be renamed because you won’t be able to start the program from your Start menu anymore if you rename it.
Recycle Bin Storage? Some people place files in the Recycle Bin that they don’t really want to delete right away, as kind of a “trial separation.” But that’s not a good idea, because, as stated in step 4, when the Recycle Bin gets full, it starts automatically deleting some of the files there. File Renaming Caution Two cautions about renaming a file: First, make sure you keep the same extension for it so Windows will continue to recognize it as the same type of file. (If file extensions are not displayed, you don’t have to worry about typing them when you type the new name.) See Chapter 6 to turn file extension display on/off. Second, if you choose a name with more than eight characters and/or spaces, make sure that the program in which you will use that file can accept long filenames like that.
On the other hand, data files and folders that you create yourself can usually be renamed without causing problems. For example, suppose you created a memo called Memo. Later, you realize that wasn’t a very good name because it’s not descriptive. So, you decide to rename it Smith Promotion 8-1-00 instead. Good thinking. Or, perhaps you have created a folder called Projects, and you want to rename it to Home Projects (and possibly create another folder for business ones). That’s no problem, either.
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Renaming a File or a Folder
1. Click the file or folder you want to rename. 2. Open the File menu and click Rename, or right-click the file or folder and choose Rename from the shortcut menu, or press F2. An outline appears around the current name with an insertion point in it. The name is highlighted.
8.3 Filenames If you are planning to share files with someone who uses Windows 3.1 (a very early version of Windows) or MS-DOS, you should limit filenames to 8 characters with no spaces. That’s because those early operating systems had an 8-3 limit: 8 characters for the name, and 3 for the extension. When an operating system that can’t handle long filenames encounters a file with more than 8 characters, or spaces, in the name, it truncates it by adding a ~ (tilde) sign and a number. For example, C:\Registration Table.doc would become C:\regist~1.doc.
Hidden Files Not There? By default, Windows does not show hidden or system files in most file listings. You will learn how to set them to be displayed in Chapter 6, “Setting File Management Options.”
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3. Type a new name. It replaces the old name. 4. Press Enter or click away from the file or folder. Instead of completely retyping the name in step 3, you can edit it if you prefer. Notice that at step 3, the old name is highlighted and an insertion point blinks at the end of it. You can click anywhere in the name to move that insertion point to the spot you want to edit, and then use the usual text-editing methods (see Chapter 3) to edit the name. SEE ALSO ➤ To create new folders, see page 112 ➤ To edit text, see page 51
Working with File Properties Each file and folder has its own properties. Properties, in Windows lingo, are attributes or settings. Some of these you can change, depending on the file or folder type. First, we’ll talk about some of the properties that you can’t change, at least not from the Properties dialog box. A file’s properties include its name, its type, its location, and its size. The Properties dialog box reports all these facts in a read-only way (see Figure 5.12). You can, however, change a file’s attributes from its Properties box, which consist of the following: ■
Read-only. This prevents any program or person from changing or deleting the file. Important system files often have this attribute.
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Hidden. This prevents the file from appearing in file listings (unless you have turned on the display of hidden files, as you will learn in Chapter 6). Archive. This means that the file has changed since your last backup.
FIGURE 5.12 The Properties dialog box for a typical data file. This one happens to be a graphic. File attributes
In earlier versions of Windows, and in MS-DOS, there was a fourth property, System. It denoted a file reserved for the operating system’s use. However, Windows Millennium does not enable you to set or change that file attribute. The first two properties—Read-only and Hidden—you should not change without some serious thought; if a file has one of these attributes, there is probably a very good reason. For example, dire consequences might occur to your Windows operation if you modify or delete a read-only file, because some files must be read-only to ensure the proper operation of Windows. Generally speaking, you should not set or remove these properties for any files except those you have created yourself. The last property, Archive, is less critical. If you use the Backup program described in Chapter 24, “Safeguarding Your System,” to safeguard your files, you might change a file’s Archive attribute to include or exclude it in the next backup operation.
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Viewing or Changing File Attributes Changing Attributes: A Real Example Suppose you have a writable CD drive and have created a disk containing backups of some of your important documents. You copy one of the files back to your hard disk later and try to edit it, but you can’t. Why? Because it is readonly. All files on a CD are read-only, and when you copy one of them, the copy retains that attribute. To modify the copy, you will need to turn off the readonly attribute for it. Other Properties Some files have additional properties. For example, program files might have a Version tab that lists version information. You will seldom have to worry about any of the file’s other properties, however. The exception is DOS programs. If you have an MS-DOS based program (a game, perhaps) that you want to run in Windows, you can set various properties for it that control how the program runs. You’ll find out more about these in Chapter 25, “Troubleshooting Problems.”
1. Do either of the following to display the selected file’s attributes: • Right-click the file and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. • Select the file, and then open the File menu and click Properties. The Properties dialog box appears for that file (refer to Figure 5.12). 2. Select or deselect any of the Attributes check boxes as needed. (Heed my earlier warning about not changing these except for a good reason, however.) 3. Click OK. Data files have one other setting: file association. When you doubleclick on a data file, it opens in whatever program is set as the default for that file type. For example, you can see in Figure 5.12 that the file type PCX Image Document is set to open with the program Imaging Preview. When you install certain programs, they change file associations (sometimes very rudely, without even asking) so that when you double-click on certain file types, that program opens instead of the program you’re accustomed to. This can be a real pain! One good reason to change a file association is to correct this kind of “slamming.” To change which program the file opens in when you double-click it, follow these steps. Note that this procedure changes the association for all files of that type, not just the individual file you are working with. Changing a File Association for an Extension
1. Display the Properties box for the file. 2. Click the Change button. An Open With dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 5.13. Most of the programs you have installed in Windows appear on this list. 3. Select the program you want to associate with this file. 4. Click OK.
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FIGURE 5.13 Select the program to associate with the chosen file type.
SEE ALSO ➤ To control whether hidden files are displayed in file listings, see page 131 ➤ To back up important files, see page 466 ➤ To set properties to control MS-DOS programs running from within Windows, see page 500
Searching for Files and Folders Even people who are conscientious about file storage can misplace a file occasionally. Perhaps you have forgotten which project you created that really great tracking spreadsheet for, or what you named the file containing the Martinez report. Windows has a very versatile Search feature that enables you to find files and folders, computers on a network, data or people on the Internet, and more. In this chapter, you’ll learn about finding files and folders; the networking and Internet info comes later, in Chapters 14 and 18, respectively. You can search for a file or folder using whatever shred of information you know about it. For example, you can search based on filename, file type, size, date created, or even content. If you don’t know the file’s full name, you can search using wildcards. Wildcards are symbols that can stand for any character. An asterisk (*) can stand for any number of characters; a question mark (?) can stand for any single character. So, for example, if you know the file starts with S and has a .doc extension, you would search for S*.doc. Or, if you knew the file started with S and had exactly five letters in its name, but you weren’t sure of the extension, you could search for S????.*.
Other Programs If the program you want to associate the file type with doesn’t appear on the list in step 3, click the Other button to open a window in which you can browse for it.
Make It Quick Don’t get too carried away with search criteria. It is often faster to specify only minimal criteria for a search and then wade through the results than it is to painstakingly create criteria that will find only the file you want.
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Searching for a File or Folder Alternate Start New in Windows Millennium: You can also open the Search pane from any file listing by clicking the Search button on the toolbar. To search in a particular folder and its subfolders only, display the folder contents in My Computer or Windows Explorer first, and then click the Search button on the toolbar, and the Look in box will automatically have that folder’s name filled in.
1. Click the Start button, point to Search, and click For Files or Folders. The Search Results window appears. 2. Enter any information that you have about the missing file or folder (see Figure 5.14). Do one or more of the following: • Enter the filename (or a wildcard specification that includes it) in the Search for files or folders named box. • Enter text that you know is in the file’s content in the Containing text box. • Select the drive where you know the file is stored from the Look in drop-down list.
FIGURE 5.14 Enter whatever you know about the file in the fields provided. What filename to look for What content to look for What drive to search
3. (Optional) To set more search options, click the Search Options hyperlink. Check boxes appear for Date, Type, Size, and Advanced Options. Mark any of these check boxes as needed. When you mark a check box, additional controls appear in which you can set
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criteria. Figure 5.15 shows the controls that appear when all four check boxes are marked.
FIGURE 5.15 Narrow the search by specifying additional criteria if you know it. Date criteria File type criteria File size criteria Other criteria
4. Click the Search Now button. A list of files appears matching your criteria. It tells where each is stored. 5. Wait for Windows to find the file(s). The found files appear. You can work with the file(s) as you would in any other file listing. 6. Click the New button to start a new search, or close the Search Results window if you are finished with it. Windows Millennium has a new feature in which you can save your criteria for later use. To do so, follow these steps. Saving a Search
1. Perform a search using the criteria you want to save. 2. Open the File menu and choose Save Search, or right-click the file listing and choose Save Search. The Save Search dialog box opens.
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3. Type a name for your search in the filename box. Change the location if desired; by default searches are saved in C:\My Documents. 4. Click Save. Your search is saved. To reuse your saved search later, double-click its icon from the folder in which you stored it, and then click the Search Now button to begin the search. SEE ALSO ➤ To find computers on a network, see page 263 ➤ To find people and information on the Internet, see page 339
Creating Folders When you install a new program (see Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs”), the setup program usually creates a new folder to hold the program’s files. You can create your own folders, too, to organize your work. For example, I have a folder called Books on my hard disk, and within that folder I have a separate folder for every book that I write or edit. You might want a separate folder for each client you work with, separate folders for each family member, or some other folder organization. Creating a New Folder
1. Display the folder or drive that the new folder should be placed in. 2. Open the File menu, point to New, and click Folder. A new folder appears. Its name is highlighted so you can change it (see Figure 5.16). 3. Type the name for the new folder. 4. Press Enter or click away from the folder to accept the name. SEE ALSO ➤ To install a new program, see page 158 ➤ To delete a folder, see page 101
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FIGURE 5.16 This new folder is ready to be named. New folder
Formatting Disks In the “olden days”—a few years ago—when you bought floppy disks you had to format them before you could use them. Formatting prepared the disks for use with your system. These days, however, most floppy disks come preformatted. If you manage to buy unformatted floppies by mistake, or if you have a Macintosh disk, you will need to format the disk to work in your system. Formatting a disk wipes out all its content, so you should not format a disk unless it is empty, unreadable, or contains nothing that you want to keep. It doesn’t hurt a disk to format it again, even if it has been formatted before. Formatting it simply wipes out all the previous information, starting with a clean surface again on which to store your files. However, if a disk is functioning properly, there is really no reason to reformat it, either. Reformatting does not accomplish anything that deleting its contents doesn’t do.
You Say Diskette… The terms diskette and floppy disk are, for all practical purposes, interchangeable. In this book, I’ll be referring to them as floppy disks or simply disks.
Formatting a Floppy Disk
1. Double-click My Computer on the desktop. 2. Place the disk to be formatted into your floppy drive. 3. Right-click 3 1/2 Floppy (A:) in the My Computer window and choose Format. The Format dialog box opens (see Figure 5.17).
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FIGURE 5.17 Set formatting options here, and then click Start.
Disk Problems? If a disk is not functioning properly (for example, if it gives you errors such as Data error reading A:”), reformatting it might fix the disk, at least for a while. (Caution: Reformatting erases all the data on the disk, so it doesn’t help retrieve whatever was stored there. To fix problems on a disk that contains important data you want to preserve, see Chapter 23.) However, floppy disks are cheap, and after a disk has started having problems, it will probably never be totally trustworthy again. Personally, when I have problems with a floppy disk, it goes into the trash after I have retrieved any important files from it.
4. Choose the formatting capacity you want from the Capacity drop-down list. The default 1.44MB should work in most cases. 5. Set the format type you want: • Quick (erase). This reformats a disk that has already been formatted. Basically, it just erases the files on the disk. It’s very fast. • Full. You must use this for unformatted disks or Macintosh disks that you want to reformat for Windows use. It checks and formats each area of the disk. 6. (Optional) If you want a label for the disk, enter it (up to 10 characters) in the Label box. 7. Choose any of the following check boxes to set formatting options: • No label. Formats the disk without using a label. • Display summary when finished. Displays a summary box when the disk has been formatted, reporting its capacity and any bad areas detected. 8. Click Start. 9. Wait for the disk to be formatted. If you chose to display a summary, a Format Results box appears when it is finished. 10. If you see a Format Results box, click Close to close it. 11. Click Close to close the Format dialog box. You can format a hard disk, too, but remember, formatting a disk wipes out its content. That is almost certainly not what you want to
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do to your hard disk! Only in unusual situations, such as if you have just bought a new, additional hard disk and installed it in your PC, you might want to format a hard disk. To do so, right-click the drive icon in My Computer and choose Format from the shortcut menu. You can do the same thing to format other removable media such as Zip and Jaz disks. Windows Millennium’s Format dialog box does not give you the option of making a disk bootable as you format it. (Earlier versions of Windows did.) However, you can easily create a boot disk by following the procedure outlined in the following section. SEE ALSO ➤ To install new hardware such as hard disks, see page 216 ➤ To salvage files from a malfunctioning disk, run ScanDisk, described on page 442
Making a Windows Startup Disk A Windows Startup disk (also known as a bootable disk) is a disk that contains the necessary files to start your computer should something ever be wrong with your hard disk that prevents it from starting up. It’s a smart idea to always have a startup disk available in case of problems. Creating a Windows Startup Disk
1. Click the Start button, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. 2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. 3. Click the Startup Disk tab. 4. Click Create Disk. 5. Place a blank disk (or one that contains nothing you want to keep) in your floppy drive. 6. Click OK. 7. Wait for the needed files to be copied to the disk.
More on Capacity Almost all floppy disks sold today are high-density disks, which have a capacity of 1.44MB. Some older disks are double-density, however, which have a capacity of 720KB. Here’s an easy way to tell which capacity to choose for a disk: Look at it from the back. Two holes (one in the top-left corner, with a sliding tab, and one in the topright corner, with nothing) means high density. One hole (just the one with the tab, on the left) means double density. Label? The label you enter for a disk when formatting it doesn’t have any relationship to the paper label on the outside of the disk that you write on. The label you specify when formatting appears under the drive icon in the My Computer window when the disk is in the drive. You can use labels to help yourself remember what you plan to store on a disk. You can change a disk’s label at any time by rightclicking its icon in My Computer and choosing Properties, and then typing a new label in the Label box on the General tab.
If prompted, insert the Windows Millennium CD in your CD-ROM drive and click OK to continue. 8. When the disk is finished, choose OK to close the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box.
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PART I Starting Out with Windows CHAPTER 5 Managing Files and Folders SEE ALSO No Miracle Cure A Windows Startup disk will start your system, but it won’t necessarily help you repair whatever problem is preventing your computer from starting normally. To troubleshoot startup problems with your PC, see Chapter 25. Bootable CD The Windows Millennium Edition CD itself is also bootable, if you have a PC that allows you to boot from your CD-ROM drive. So, if you ever find yourself with a problem that prevents you from booting, and you don’t have your startup disk handy, you might try inserting the Windows Millennium Edition CD and trying to boot that way.
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➤ To use your startup disk to troubleshoot Windows problems, see page 480
part
IVII MODIFYING YOUR SYSTEM Setting File Management Options
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Organizing Your Programs
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Installing New Programs
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Customizing the Screen Appearance
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Customizing System Settings
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Installing Hardware
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Managing Fonts and Printers
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6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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6 Setting File Management Options Choosing How Files Are Displayed Customizing a Folder View Sorting Files and Folders Copying a Folder’s View Settings Showing or Hiding File Extensions Displaying or Hiding Hidden and System Files Setting Global Folder Options
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PART II Modifying Your System CHAPTER 6 Setting File Management Options
Choosing How Files Are Displayed Files (and folders) in a folder window can be viewed in any of five ways. To change the view for a window, open the View menu and choose one of the following: ■
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No Thumbnails in Zip Files If you display the contents of a Zip file as a folder with Windows Millennium’s Compressed Folders feature, the Thumbnail view will not be available.
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Large Icons. Shows each file and folder as a large icon, much like the ones on your Windows desktop, with the name underneath. The files are arranged in rows. When only a few items are in a window, large icons are great. You can see each item very clearly. However, because fewer items will fit onscreen at once than in other views, you might have to do quite a bit of scrolling if many items are in the displayed location. Small Icons. Shows each file and folder as a small icon with the name to the right. They are arranged in rows. This display is much more compact, so you can see lots of files at once in the window without too much scrolling. List. The same as Small Icons except the icons are arranged in columns. Some people find this column arrangement easier to use than the rows of the Small Icons view. Details. Shows the files in one long column with the size, type, and date last modified for each one. This display helps you look for files with certain attributes (for example, the file that has been most recently modified or the largest file). Thumbnails. Shows the files, if they are graphic files, in a small preview pane. Otherwise, the file’s icon appears in a preview pane box. This view is new in Windows Millennium. Because displaying the previews can slow down the display performance each time it updates, this view might not be the best choice for general use.
Figure 6.1 shows the first four views; Figure 6.2 shows the Thumbnails view. If you prefer, you can use the Views button on the window’s toolbar to change the view. Just click the Views button to toggle between views. Or, click the down arrow next to the Views button to open a list of views to choose from (see Figure 6.3).
PART II Choosing How Files Are Displayed CHAPTER 6
FIGURE 6.1 You can choose among four views for folders. Large icons Small icons List Details
FIGURE 6.2 Thumbnail view, new in Windows Millennium, lets you preview graphics. Graphic files appear in small preview panes. Nongraphic files show their icon in the preview pane instead.
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FIGURE 6.3 Select a view from the window’s toolbar.
When you choose one of these views, Windows remembers your choice for that folder, and displays that folder’s content using that same view when you open that folder again later.
Customizing a Folder There are several other choices you can make about a folder’s appearance. Windows Millennium comes with a Customize This Folder Wizard that walks you through these choices. It then remembers your choices for the folder, and uses them each time that folder is displayed. You can later use the same wizard to remove customization for the folder if desired. There are three customizations you can perform on a folder: Viewing a Folder As a Web Page
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Windows 98 users might recall that there was a View as Web Page command on the View menu that enabled you to toggle on/off the extra pane at the left of a folder display. The Customize This Folder Wizard in Windows Millennium replaces that option with a wider array of choices.
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Choose or edit an HTML template: HTML templates control how the files appear in the folder window. For example, your choice of HTML template dictates whether or not the extra pane appears to the left of the file listing, providing details about the chosen file, folder, or drive. Modify the background picture and filename appearance: By default, there is no background picture behind a file listing, but you can add one to dress up a particular window. You also can control the color used to display the filename. Add a folder comment: You can assign a comment to a folder that will appear in the left pane (if displayed) whenever the folder is selected. For example, you might add a comment for a folder you share on the network asking people to not make changes to certain files without asking you first.
PART II Customizing a Folder CHAPTER 6
Figure 6.4 shows a folder that has been assigned a different HTML template and a background image.
FIGURE 6.4 This folder uses the Simple template and a background graphic. Background image This dark border is part of the Simple HTML template.
Follow these steps to work through the Customize This Folder Wizard: Customizing a Folder
1. Display the folder for which you want to customize the view. 2. Open the View menu and choose Customize This Folder. The Customize This Folder Wizard opens. 3. Click Next to continue. 4. Place check marks next to each item you want to customize in the folder (see Figure 6.5). Then, click Next. If you are doing this just for practice, mark all the check boxes. 5. If you decided to choose or edit the HTML template, the Change Folder Template options appear, as in Figure 6.6. Choose one of the templates, and then click Next.
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FIGURE 6.5 Choose what customization you would like to apply to the folder.
Template Editing If you mark the I want to edit this template check box in Figure 6.6, a Notepad window opens containing the HTML coding for that template. Unless you are familiar with HTML, this will not mean much to you; beginners should simply close the window to move on. More advanced users familiar with HTML might choose to make changes to the coding. If you do so, you will be prompted to save your changes when you close the Notepad window. The changes you make affect whatever template you chose.
FIGURE 6.6 Select the template you want to use.
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The available templates are ■
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Standard: The folder appears with a separate pane on the left whenever the folder is sized large enough to accommodate it. Classic (icons only): The left pane does not appear regardless of the folder size; the folder is always single pane. Simple: A thick dark border appears around the folder window. Figure 6.4 showed this. Image Preview: A preview pane appears in the bottom part of the left pane area, and if you have a graphic file selected, its preview appears there.
PART II Customizing a Folder CHAPTER 6
6. If you chose to modify the background picture and filename appearance, the controls to do so appear, as shown in Figure 6.7. Select the background picture you want to use, if any.
FIGURE 6.7 Select the background graphic and filename color.
7. If you want to change the filename text color, click the Text button. This opens a palette of colors. Click the color you want. 8. If you want to change the filename background color, click the Background button, and then click the color you want. 9. Click Next to continue. 10. If you chose to add a folder comment, a Folder comment text box appears. Type the comment you want in the box, and then click Next. 11. When you see a Finish button, click it to close the wizard and apply your settings.
Other Graphics The graphics on the list depend on the graphic files stored in your C:\Windows folder; to make a graphic available here, copy it to that folder. You also can choose a graphic from a different location on-the-fly by clicking the Browse button and locating it.
If you aren’t happy with your folder customization, you can rerun the wizard at any time. You also can use the wizard to remove all customization from the folder by doing the following: Removing Folder Customization
1. Display the folder. 2. Open the View menu and choose Customize This Folder. The Customize This Folder Wizard opens. 3. Click Next to continue.
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4. Click Remove customizations, and then click Next. Check boxes appear showing the customizations currently in effect. 5. Remove the check mark from the check box for any customization you do not want to remove. Then, click Next. 6. Click Finish. The customization is removed.
Sorting the File List Why Sort? In Chapter 5, “Managing Files and Folders,” you learned about selecting multiple files. It is much easier to select multiple files when they are all together on the list, or contiguous. If you arrange the files so that all the files you want are together on the list, you can save yourself some time.
You can arrange a list of files in a folder by Name, Type, Size, or Date. This way, you can organize the files in whatever way makes the most sense for a particular task. For example, if you want to select and copy the most recently modified files, you might sort a list by Date. If you want to select and delete all files created in a certain program, you might sort by Type. Sorting a File List
1. Open the View menu and point to Arrange Icons. A submenu of the four available arrangements appears. 2. Click the arrangement you want to use: by Name, by Type, by Size, or by Date (see Figure 6.8).
FIGURE 6.8 Choose how files will be sorted within the folder window.
The fifth command on the submenu, Auto Arrange, is an on/off toggle. (It’s off by default.) When Auto Arrange is on, files rearrange themselves automatically as needed when you add or remove files from the folder. For example, if you added a new file to the folder and the arrangement was set to By Name, the file listing would be
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realphabetized immediately. When Auto Arrange is off, new files appear at the bottom of the listing until the next time you refresh the display (by pressing F5) or close and reopen the folder.
Showing or Hiding Toolbars and Other Window Elements By default, folder windows have several bars that give you easy access to tools and information. If you find that you do not use them, you might want to turn them off to save space (so you can see more files at once in the window without scrolling). Figure 6.9 points them out. ■
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Standard toolbar: This is the toolbar across the top that offers Back, Forward, Delete, and other helpful buttons. Turn it off or on with View, Toolbars, Standard Buttons. Address bar: This is the bar containing the Address text box, in which you can type the path to a folder or an Internet address to make that folder or Web page appear in the window. Turn it off or on with View, Toolbars, Address Bar. Status bar: This is the bar across the bottom of the window that reports statistics about the window’s content, such as the size of the selected file. Turn it off or on with View, Status Bar.
Other Toolbars Two other toolbars are available from the View menu—Links and Radio— as well as several Explorer Bar components. You will not want to turn these on for normal file and folder management, but you might find them useful when working on the Internet. See Chapter 18.
FIGURE 6.9 Default features of a folder window. Standard toolbar Address bar Status bar
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PART II Modifying Your System CHAPTER 6 Setting File Management Options SEE ALSO ➤ To browse the Internet, see page 326 ➤ For information about Internet radio, see page 364
Copying a Folder’s View Settings If you take the time to set up a folder with exactly the customization that you like, you might want to copy those settings to other folders. Otherwise, every time you open a different folder, you will have to set the viewing options for it individually. When you copy a folder’s view settings, the settings copied include all the settings you have learned about so far in this chapter: ■ ■
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View (large icons, small icons, and so on) Customization Wizard settings (HTML template, background, and so on) Arrangement (by name, by type, and so on) Window controls (toolbars and other controls displayed or not displayed)
Setting All Folders to the Same View As the Current One
1. Set up a folder with all of the viewing options you want. 2. Open the Tools menu and click Folder Options. 3. Click the View tab (see Figure 6.10).
FIGURE 6.10 Standardize the viewing options for all folders by clicking Like Current Folder.
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4. Click the Like Current Folder button. 5. Click OK. You can use the Reset All Folders button, also on the View tab, to reset all customization for all folders at once. This resets all folders back to the original default settings in all respects.
Global Folder Settings So far, all the settings you have learned about affect individual folders. But you also can control certain folder settings that pertain to all folders. To access them, open the Tools menu and click Folder Options. The following sections tell you about some of the more common settings you might want to adjust.
Showing or Hiding File Extensions File extensions are codes (usually three letters) that follow a file’s name that tell Windows what kind of file it is. For example, Smith.exe’s extension is .exe, which means it is a program (that is, an executable file). Smith.doc’s extension is .doc, which means it is a document. By default, Windows hides the extensions for every file type that it recognizes, so you don’t have to bother with seeing them. So, for example, the file Smith.doc and Smith.exe will both show up in a file listing as Smith. You can tell them apart by their icons; the icon for a program looks different from the icon for a document (see Figure 6.11).
FIGURE 6.11 These two files have the same names but different extensions. The extensions are hidden, however.
Beginners don’t mind not seeing extensions because they don’t know what those letters mean anyway, so the extensions don’t help them.
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But as you become more experienced with Windows, you might want to see the extensions for the files you work with. For one thing, it helps you make more intelligent decisions about which files to move or delete. If you know that a file has an .exe extension, you would be much less likely to delete it because you can guess that it probably runs a program that you might need. Showing File Extensions
1. In any folder or drive window, open the Tools menu and click Folder Options. 2. Click the View tab. 3. Deselect the Hide file extensions for known file types check box to turn on extensions. 4. Click OK. With file extensions turned on, you can see that the two files in our earlier example clearly have different extensions and therefore different purposes (see Figure 6.12).
FIGURE 6.12 The file extensions are now visible.
If you are interested in the various file extensions and what they indicate about their files, Table 6.1 explains some of the more common ones. Table 6.1 Common File Extensions
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Extensions
Used For
.exe, .com, .bat
Programs
.dll, .bin, .dat, .ini, .ocx
Helper files for programs
.doc, .wpd, .wri
Word processing documents
.txt
Text files
PART II Global Folder Settings CHAPTER 6 Extensions
Used For
.123, .xls
Spreadsheets
.pcx, .jpg, .bmp, .gif
Graphics
.zip
A compressed archive
Showing Hidden Files In an attempt to keep beginners out of trouble, Windows excludes files with the Hidden attribute from normal file listings. (For more information about file attributes, turn back to Chapter 5.) Intermediate and advanced Windows users might find it helpful to turn on the display of hidden files. For example, if you are trying to remove everything from a floppy disk, it is helpful to see what hidden files are on that disk so you can decide whether to include them in your deletion. Displaying Hidden Files
1. In any folder or drive window, open the Tools menu and click Folder Options. 2. Click the View tab. 3. Click Show hidden files and folders. 4. Click OK. Hidden files appear ghosted in file listings when they are displayed at all, so that helps you remember that they are special and should not be disturbed. Figure 6.13 shows an example.
FIGURE 6.13 Hidden files appear ghosted—dimmer than the others. Hidden files
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Changing Global Folder Options The General tab in the Folder Options dialog box controls to what extent you use some of the more modern features in Windows Millennium, such as viewing the desktop as a Web page. These features were new in Windows 98, and some people really like them. Others don’t, so you have a choice. By the way, these settings affect all folder windows you work with and the entire desktop, not just an individual folder. ■
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Active Desktop: You can choose to use the Windows classic desktop or to enable Web content. If you enable Web content, you will be able to use Active Controls to download Web content directly to your desktop, as you will learn in Chapter 19, “Bringing the Web to Your Desktop.” Web View: You can choose to enable Web content in folders or use Windows classic folders. If you choose to enable Web content, you can select an HTML template for a folder’s layout, as you learned earlier in this chapter. If you choose Windows classic folders, you won’t be able to do that. Browse Folders: You can choose to open each folder in the same window (the default) or to open each folder in its own window. The former is the default; the latter makes it easier to drag and drop between folders but can clutter up the screen. Click items as follows: The default in Windows is to doubleclick to open an item and single-click to select it. You have the option of setting single-click to open and point to select instead. This makes Windows work more like the content in a Web browser works (see Chapter 18, “Exploring the Web”) but can be confusing for long-time Windows users who are accustomed to the other way.
Setting Global Folder Options
1. From any folder window, open the Tools menu and click Folder Options. The Folder Options dialog box opens, with the General tab on top (see Figure 6.14).
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FIGURE 6.14 These are the global folder settings you can customize.
2. Under Active Desktop, choose either Enable Web content on my desktop or Use Windows classic desktop. If you are upgrading from an earlier version of Windows, I recommend you stick with the classic desktop until you get to Chapter 19. 3. Under Web View, choose Enable Web content in folders or Use Windows classic folders. Unless you are dead set against using that extra pane on the left of the folder windows, I would leave this set to enable Web content. 4. Under Browse Folders, choose Open each folder in the same window or Open each folder in its own window. Personally, I prefer to have each folder in its own so that I can drag and drop between folders. 5. Under Click Items As Follows, choose whether you want to single-click or double-click to open an item. If you choose to single-click, more options become available to specify whether icon titles will always be underlined or only when you point at them. 6. Click OK to close the dialog box. SEE ALSO ➤ To work with Active Desktop content and controls, see page 356
You’re on Your Own… The instructions in this book assume that you are using the double-click method of opening files; therefore, you won’t be able to follow along exactly with the steps in this book if you change the Click Items as Follows setting.
➤ To move or copy by dragging between folders, see page 97
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7 Organizing Your Programs Customizing the Start Menu Working with Desktop Shortcuts Customizing Toolbars Controlling Which Programs Load at Startup Managing Programs in the System Tray
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PART II Modifying Your System CHAPTER 7 Organizing Your Programs
Customizing the Start Menu As you install more and more programs, your Start menu can begin to get very crowded. Luckily, you can rearrange and reorganize the programs on the Start menu to make things more orderly. You also can control which commands appear on the Start menu, and choose whether or not to use the new Personalized Menus feature. The following sections outline some of the menu customizations you can make.
Working with Personalized Menus I showed you this feature in Chapter 1, but it’s worth looking at again. Windows Millennium keeps track of which folders you use on the Programs menu as you work. It displays only a partial list when you open that menu, hiding the other items until you click the downpointing double arrow at the bottom. This feature is called personalized menus, and it’s turned on by default with most installations. Figure 7.1 shows the Programs menu with personalized menus turned on. Figure 7.2 shows what happens after I click the downpointing double arrow.
FIGURE 7.1 This Programs menu has a double arrow at the bottom, indicating more items are available for display than are currently shown. Click here to see the rest of the content.
To enable or disable the personalized menus, or to clear the stored information, use the following steps.
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FIGURE 7.2 After clicking the arrow in Figure 7.1, the menu looks like this. Previously hidden items look “pressed in.”
Enabling or Disabling Personalized Menus
1. Right-click the taskbar and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. 2. Select or deselect the Use personalized menus check box. 3. (Optional) To clear the stored information about recently used menu items, click the Advanced tab and then click the Clear button. 4. Click OK. Windows uses an algorithm to track your usage of each command, and orders the menus according to the frequency with which you use the commands. So, in time, your most recently used commands will “float” to the top of the menu, making it even easier to use.
Changing Start Menu Settings Windows Millennium gives you a great deal of control over the Start menu—much more than earlier Windows releases did. You can choose which commands appear on the Start menu, and in what
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manner. (You also can add and remove shortcuts from the Start menu, but I’ll cover that later in the chapter.) Changing Start Menu Settings
1. Right-click the taskbar and choose Properties. 2. Click the Advanced tab. Figure 7.3 shows it. Another Route to the Properties
3. Select or deselect any of the check boxes in the Start Menu Settings area.
Instead of step 1, you can go to the Control Panel (Start, Settings, Control Panel) and double-click the Taskbar and Start Menu icon.
Most of the settings fall into one of two basic categories: options that limit the user’s activities, and options that make submenus from folders that normally appear as separate windows. Table 7.1 lists the available options and explains what each is useful for. 4. Click OK.
FIGURE 7.3 Use the Advanced tab to customize the Start menu.
Table 7.1 Start Menu Settings
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Setting
Purpose
Display Favorites
Adds/removes the Favorites menu; you might enable this if you use the Favorites list a lot.
Display Logoff
Adds/removes the Logoff command; you might remove the Logoff command to control security on the PC.
Display Run
Adds/removes the Run command; you might remove it to control security.
Enable Dragging and Dropping
Enables/disables this capability. Usually left enabled except to control security.
PART II Reorganizing the Start Menu Content CHAPTER 7 Setting
Purpose
Expand Control Panel
When enabled, the Control Panel items appear as a submenu of the Control Panel command. When disabled, Control Panel is a single item on the menu that opens a Control Panel window.
Expand Dial-Up Networking
Same as Expand Control Panel, except it pertains to the Dial-Up Networking folder.
Expand My Documents
Same as Expand Control Panel, except it pertains to the My Documents folder.
Expand My Pictures
Same as Expand Control Panel, except it pertains to the My Pictures folder within My Computer.
Expand Printers
Same as Expand Control Panel, except it pertains to the Printers folder.
Scroll Programs
When enabled, the Programs menu appears as a scrollable listing rather than its normal appearance.
Reorganizing the Start Menu Content The Start menu is actually a folder on your hard disk (C:\Windows\Start Menu), and its contents are determined by the folders and shortcuts stored there. For example, the Start menu contains a folder called Programs (C:\Windows\Start Menu\Programs); that’s the Programs menu you see when you click Start and point to Programs. Within that Programs folder is a folder called Accessories, and within Accessories is a folder called System Tools, and so on. So, when you create, delete, and rearrange submenus, you are actually working with folders. The programs on the Start menu’s various submenus are actually shortcuts to those programs, just like the shortcuts on your desktop. (You’ll learn to create desktop shortcuts later in this chapter.) Removing a shortcut from the Start menu does nothing to the original file that runs the program; you can still run it in any of the other ways you learned in Chapter 3. SEE ALSO ➤ To create desktop shortcuts, see page 144 ➤ To learn about the various ways to start programs, see page 44
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Rearranging Items on the Start Menu If you just want to reposition a folder or shortcut on the existing menu system, you can drag it around, as described in the following steps. This is definitely the simpler of the two ways I’ll show you. Moving an Item on the Start Menu
1. Open the Start menu and point to Programs to open the Programs menu. 2. Point to the item you want to move. 3. Press and hold down the left mouse button. (Do not click.) 4. Drag the item to the desired spot on the Start menu (or any submenu; point to a submenu to open it). A horizontal line shows where it is going (see Figure 7.4). 5. Release the mouse button.
FIGURE 7.4 To move a menu item around, drag it. New position Mouse pointer
The Programs menu’s contents are normally sorted with the folders at the top (alphabetically) and the program shortcuts below them (also alphabetically). When you install a new program, however, its folder or shortcut is placed at the bottom of the Programs menu. You can use the preceding steps to move it into its proper place alphabetically (or into any other position), or you can do the following to realphabetize the entire Programs menu.
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Re-Sorting the Programs Menu
1. Right-click the taskbar and choose Properties. 2. Click the Advanced tab. 3. Click the Re-sort button. 4. Click OK.
Restructuring the Start Menu You might decide that your entire Start menu system needs an overhaul. (I do this every six months or so, just for general good housekeeping.) For example, perhaps you have a lot of programs installed and need a way of organizing them. Or, perhaps you want to consolidate some of the folders, placing the shortcuts for similar programs together in a folder. As I mentioned earlier, the Start menu takes its content from the C:\Windows\Start Menu folder. This is a regular folder that you can work with using My Computer or Windows Explorer, as you learned in Chapter 5, “Managing Files and Folders.” After you have opened the Start menu as a folder, you can do all the normal file operations to “prune” the tree. You can create new folders, delete folders, move shortcuts between folders, delete duplicate shortcuts, and more. Restructuring the Start Menu
1. Right-click the Start button and choose Explore. The items on the Start button appear in Windows Explorer. 2. Double-click the Programs folder in the folder tree. All the shortcuts and folders on the Programs menu appear (see Figure 7.5).
Shortcuts for Browsing the Start Menu A shortcut for opening the C:\Windows\Start Menu folder in My Computer is to right-click the Start button and choose Open. To open it in Windows Explorer, right-click the Start button and choose Explore. As you learned in Chapter 5, these two windows are the same except the Explorer window has the folder tree in a separate pane for easy navigation.
Don’t Move or Rename the StartUp Folder It’s best not to rename or move the StartUp folder. This folder is special—it holds shortcuts for the programs that should load automatically at startup. If you move or rename it, Windows might not be able to find it.
3. Change the structure of the Programs menu system by doing any of the following: • Create new folders. These will become new submenus on the Programs menu. • Move folders into the new folders you create (or any other folders) to make them into submenus. • Delete any unwanted folders or shortcuts.
Alternative to Step 1 Instead of step 1, you can right-click the taskbar and choose Properties, then click the Advanced tab, and then click the Advanced button.
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FIGURE 7.5 Browse the Start/Programs menu in Windows Explorer. Start menu Programs menu Current contents of Programs menu
Alternative to Deleting from Windows Explorer Another way to delete shortcuts from the Start menu: right-click the taskbar and choose Properties. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the Remove button. A dialog box appears listing all the shortcuts. Select the one you want to delete, and click Remove. Click Close when you’re finished.
4. Check your work by opening the Start menu. Close it again by clicking away from it without selecting a command or pressing Esc. 5. When you are finished editing, close the Windows Explorer window. Not sure how to reorganize things in your Start Menu? The following are some of my favorite strategies: ■
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Create a few new folders with generic names such as Games, Utilities, and Business. Then, drag the shortcuts for various programs into the appropriate folders and delete all those specific folders for each application. Sometimes you might not want to delete the specific folder for an application. For example, if the folder contains the program shortcut and shortcuts to several related utilities, you might want to keep the folder to keep those shortcuts grouped together.
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If you want to tidy things up without getting rid of the specific folder, drag the whole folder into one of your generic-named new folders. It becomes a submenu of it. If you have a lot of programs that have installed themselves directly on the Programs menu, you can create a folder for them and place their shortcuts there instead. For example, Microsoft Office places shortcuts for all its applications on the Programs menu; you might create a folder called Office and move those shortcuts into it.
SEE ALSO ➤ To create folders, see page 112 ➤ To delete files and folders, see page 101 ➤ To move files or folders, see page 99
Adding a Shortcut to the Start Menu You will learn how to create shortcuts in the following section, “Working with Desktop Shortcuts.” After you have a shortcut, you can place it anywhere on the Start menu by dragging it to the Start menu. The Start menu will open, and you can drag the shortcut to any position you like on it. Another way to create a shortcut on the Start menu is shown as follows. This method is more formal, and does not require that you create the shortcut beforehand. Adding an Item to the Start Menu
1. Right-click the taskbar and choose Properties. 2. Click the Advanced tab. 3. Click the Add button. The Create Shortcut dialog box opens. 4. Type the path to the program to which you want to create a shortcut. Or, click the Browse button, locate and select it, and click Open. 5. Click Next. A tree showing the current Start menu organization appears. 6. Click on the folder in which you want to place the new shortcut.
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What’s a Path? A path is just what it sounds like: the route to take to get to a particular file. For example, if the file bingo.exe is in a folder called Games on your hard disk C:, its full path is C:\Games\bingo.exe. You can type a path in step 4 if you know it, but most people use Browse to find a path.
Or, to create a new folder, select the existing one into which the new one should go, and then click New Folder. Type the new folder’s name and press Enter. 7. Click Next. 8. Type the name that you want to be displayed on the menu for the shortcut. It need not be the same as the filename that starts the program. 9. Click Finish. The new shortcut now appears on the Start menu in the location you specified.
Working with Desktop Shortcuts As you know, your desktop contains shortcut icons to some of the most common programs and file management windows, such as My Computer, Network Neighborhood, Internet Explorer, and the Recycle Bin. Depending on what programs are installed, you might have other shortcuts, too, such as a game, an online service, or a utility program.
Repositioning a Shortcut You can drag shortcuts around on the desktop, placing them anywhere you like. For example, you might want to move the ones that you don’t use very often to an out-of-the-way corner. (For that matter, you could just delete the ones you don’t use often, unless they are shortcuts that can’t be deleted, such as My Computer.) If Auto Arrange is on, desktop items snap into an orderly column along the left side of the screen. To turn on/off Auto Arrange, rightclick the desktop and choose Arrange Icons and then Auto Arrange it from the shortcut menu.
Creating New Shortcuts You can create shortcuts on your desktop for any other programs, too. Shortcuts allow you to bypass the Start menu and start the program more quickly. I keep about a dozen shortcuts on my desktop most of the time, for the programs I use most frequently. Figure 7.6 shows them. Note that each one has a little arrow in the bottom-left
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corner indicating that the icon represents a shortcut, not the original file.
FIGURE 7.6 The desktop for my home PC, with many shortcuts I have created on it. Shortcut to a drive Shortcut to a folder Shortcut to a program
Creating a Desktop Shortcut for a Folder or File
1. Locate the file or folder in a file listing. 2. Right-click the file or folder and choose Create Shortcut. A shortcut for that item appears in the displayed location. 3. Drag that shortcut onto the desktop, placing it there. You can also right-click and choose Send To, and then Desktop. Creating a Shortcut for a Drive
1. Double-click the My Computer icon on the desktop. 2. Right-click the drive and choose Create Shortcut. A message appears, stating that you cannot create a shortcut in this location, asking whether you want to create the shortcut on the desktop. 3. Click Yes. You can create shortcuts anywhere, not just on the desktop. For example, suppose you have a folder called Projects in which you keep important files for the projects you are working on. One of the projects is a team effort with a friend in another office, so you have agreed to store all the files for it on the network. You could create a shortcut to that folder on the network and store the shortcut in your Projects folder. That way, you can quickly access that folder when you need it without physically placing the folder on your hard disk.
Alternate Method Another (possibly quicker) way to create a shortcut is to right-drag the item (file, folder, or drive) onto the desktop. When you drop it, a menu appears. Choose Create Shortcut(s) Here from that menu.
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Deleting Shortcuts Delete a shortcut the same as you would delete any file: Select it and press Delete, or right-click it and choose Delete from the shortcut menu. SEE ALSO ➤ For more information on deleting files, see page 101
Renaming Shortcuts Some shortcuts will have the words “Shortcut to” in their names, which can be cumbersome. You might want to rename the shortcut to remove that. You might want to rename a shortcut for some other reason, too. For example, if you are setting up a shortcut to an installation program for a friend who is not very computer savvy, a file called Shortcut to Setup32 might confuse him. You could rename that shortcut Double-click Here to Begin, a much friendlier name for a novice. Renaming a shortcut is the same as renaming any other file or folder. Select it and press F2, and then type the new name. (Or, right-click it and choose Rename from the shortcut menu.) SEE ALSO ➤ To rename a file, see page 105
Changing Shortcut Properties Each shortcut has its own properties, the same as each normal file does. You display them the same way you do for any file: Right-click and choose Properties. The General tab for a shortcut shows the same information as for any other file, including the size, the date, and the attributes. The properties for a shortcut have some extra settings that you don’t see for most other files. Figure 7.7 shows an example. For a shortcut, you can set the following: ■
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Target. This is the path to the file that runs the program. It is what the shortcut points to. If you aren’t sure of the path, use the Find Target button to locate it.
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FIGURE 7.7 Properties for a shortcut.
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Start in. This specifies the default folder for data created in that program if the program doesn’t have its own default separate from its own folder. Shortcut key. This assigns a shortcut key combination that you can use to activate that shortcut. Run. This lets you choose between Normal Window, Minimized, or Maximized.
You also can change the shortcut’s icon, as described in Chapter 9, “Customizing the Screen Appearance.” SEE ALSO ➤ To change an icon, see page 192
Customizing Toolbars As you learned in Chapter 3, the Quick Launch toolbar appears on the taskbar, providing easy access to Internet Explorer, Outlook Express, and more. You can control which buttons appear on that Quick Launch toolbar. You also can display one of the other toolbars that comes with Windows or create your own toolbars.
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Customizing the Quick Launch Toolbar Too Many Buttons Remember that the Quick Launch toolbar shares space onscreen with the rest of your taskbar. Don’t go overboard adding buttons to the Quick Launch toolbar, or there won’t be much room left to display the buttons for your running programs.
You can add buttons to and remove them from the Quick Launch toolbar as desired. If you use a certain few programs a lot, you might want to add shortcuts to them to the Quick Launch toolbar. For example, you might add a button for the dial-up networking connection that connects you to the Internet. The advantage of having a shortcut on the Quick Launch toolbar rather than (or in addition to) on the desktop is that the toolbar is always visible, whereas the desktop might not be without minimizing some windows. Adding a Button to the Quick Launch Toolbar
1. Select the file, folder, drive, or existing shortcut that you want to place on the Quick Launch toolbar. 2. Drag the item and drop it on the Quick Launch toolbar in the spot where you want it. Deleting a Button from the Quick Launch Toolbar
1. Right-click a button on the Quick Launch toolbar. 2. Choose Delete from the shortcut menu. The above procedures showed you how to create and delete shortcuts for the Quick Launch toolbar, but keep in mind in the next sections that you can add buttons the same way to any other toolbar, including one that you create yourself.
Displaying Other Toolbars in the Taskbar Three other toolbars come with Windows; you can display them in addition to the Quick Launch toolbar if you like. However, they take up a lot of space on the taskbar, so you will probably not want to have them displayed all the time. ■
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Address. Provides an Address box into which you can type URLs and other addresses that you want to browse, either on the Web, on your local network, or on your own PC. Links. Provides buttons that link to various Web pages. Desktop. Provides buttons for the shortcut icons on your desktop so that you don’t have to minimize all the windows for access to them.
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Figure 7.8 shows all the toolbars displayed at once. Notice that you can’t see all the tools on any of them. When a toolbar has hidden tools, a >> button appears at its right. You can click that button to see the remaining tools in menu form.
FIGURE 7.8 With all the toolbars turned on, they must all share the limited space available. Click here to see the rest of the buttons for the toolbar in menu form. Quick Launch toolbar Links toolbar
Choosing Which Toolbars to Display
1. Right-click the Quick Launch toolbar or any visible toolbar. 2. Point to Toolbars. A submenu appears.
Address toolbar Desktop toolbar System tray
3. Click the name of the toolbar you want to toggle on or off. After you have displayed a toolbar, you can turn off its name label if you want. (By default, its name appears to the left of its buttons, but that name takes up valuable space onscreen.) To turn off the name, right-click the toolbar and choose Show Title to remove the check mark next to that command. SEE ALSO ➤ To increase the size of the taskbar vertically so that each toolbar can have its own row, see page 199
Creating Your Own Toolbars Not interested in any of the toolbars that Windows provides? You might want to create your own toolbar to hold just the shortcuts that you specify. Why would this be better than adding your shortcuts to the Quick Launch toolbar? Well, it isn’t necessarily better. If you want to create shortcuts for programs that you use all the time, the Quick Launch
Taller Taskbar You can give the taskbar extra room by dragging its top border upward, toward the center of the screen. This creates extra “rows” on it, so the additional toolbars will have more breathing room. Drag the top border back down to normal size to go back to the default, single-row taskbar.
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toolbar is the better location for them because you will probably leave it displayed all the time. Custom Toolbars If you use a group of programs or folders only under certain circumstances (such as when working for a particular client), you might create a special toolbar for them. Then, you could display that toolbar only when you are working on things for that client.
Toolbars are created based on existing folders; you can’t just create one out of thin air. So, you must create a folder first, with the name you want to give your toolbar. If you plan to create multiple toolbars, you might even want to create a special folder (perhaps C:\Windows\Toolbars) in which you store the folders that should each become toolbars. Creating a New Toolbar
1. Using Windows Explorer or My Computer, create the new folder to be used as a toolbar. 2. (Optional) Create shortcuts in that folder for the items you want to appear on the new toolbar. (You also can add the shortcuts later, as you’ll see.) 3. Right-click a toolbar and point to Toolbars, and then click New Toolbar. The New Toolbar dialog box opens. 4. Locate and select the folder that you want to make into a toolbar. 5. Click OK. That folder appears as a new toolbar on the taskbar. 6. Add shortcuts to the new toolbar. Those shortcuts are placed in the folder you created. SEE ALSO ➤ To change the size and appearance of the taskbar, see page 197
Controlling Programs Running in the System Tray When you start your PC, Windows loads, of course, but so do some other programs. (Which ones depend on what you have installed.) For example, your virus protection program loads if you have one. Other programs that might load at startup include the Windows task scheduler, your fax software, and system utilities such as Norton Utilities or CrashGuard.
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It’s not a hard-and-fast rule, but most of these startup programs show their icons in the system tray to help you remember they are running and to help you manage them. (You’ll learn how to do just that in the next section.) Figure 7.9 shows the system tray for my PC, with some of the background programs identified. Yours will probably be different.
FIGURE 7.9 Each of the icons in the System tray represents a program that is running in the background. Task scheduler
Managing Background Programs in the System Tray When you point at a System tray icon, a ScreenTip appears. Depending on the program, it might tell you the program’s name, or it might report the status of the program. For example, when I point at the icon for the battery/power indicator on my laptop PC, its ScreenTip tells me that 98% of my battery power is remaining. To control a System tray program, right-click it. A menu of things you can control for it appears.
Battery/power indicator PCMCIA card manager Volume control MSN Messenger Service Windows AutoUpdate
The exact commands you see depend on the program, of course, but most programs give you a way to exit the program (or at least disable it temporarily). You also might see a command that lets you configure the program options (perhaps Properties, Configure, or Options) and one that opens the program window (such as Restore, Open, or Run). See Figure 7.10 for some examples.
FIGURE 7.10 Menu examples for System tray icons.
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Specifying Which Programs Load at Startup Why does a particular program load at startup? Good question.
Double-Click When you right-click a System tray icon, the menu that appears might have one command on it that is bold. That’s the command that will execute if you were to double-click the icon. If no bold commands are present, double-clicking the icon does nothing, or it opens the same menu as right-clicking does.
One reason might be that the shortcut for the program is in the StartUp folder. Open the Start menu, point to Programs, and point to StartUp, and you’ll see a list of shortcuts. All these programs load automatically each time you start or restart your PC. (This menu is in every other way like a normal menu; you can use the shortcuts on it to restart one of the programs if you have exited it.) To prevent one of these programs from loading at startup, remove it from the StartUp submenu. If you want to make a certain program load at startup that currently doesn’t, add a shortcut for it to the StartUp submenu. Some programs give you options for turning a program’s startup status on or off from within the program itself. Figure 7.11 shows such a program.
FIGURE 7.11 From within the program’s options, you can configure some programs to start automatically. Deselect the check box and the program will no longer start up automatically.
Customizing the Win.ini File Other programs have lines in a configuration file called Win.ini that load them. Win.ini is a text file in C:\Windows that contains configuration information. Each time Windows starts, the instructions in it execute. I do not recommend that you add programs to Win.ini, but if a program always loads automatically and you can’t turn it off in other ways, you might be able to edit Win.ini to stop it.
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Removing Startup Programs from Win.ini
1. Browse the contents of C:\Windows and locate the file Win.ini.
Load Minimized
2. Double-click Win.ini to open it for editing in Notepad.
Remember earlier in the chapter, when we looked at the Properties for a shortcut? You could choose between Normal, Minimized, and Maximized for the program’s startup. If you are placing a shortcut in the StartUp folder, you will probably want to set it to run minimized so that you don’t see a window onscreen for it at startup.
3. Look at the top of the file for LOAD= and RUN= lines. Programs listed after the equals sign on either line are set to run at startup. For example, Figure 7.12 shows one program set to load at startup. 4. Delete the reference to any program that you don’t want to load or run at startup. Leave the LOAD= and RUN= text there. 5. Close Notepad, saving your changes. 6. Restart Windows. SEE ALSO ➤ To add or remove shortcuts from the Start menu, see page 136 ➤ To edit text, see page 51
Load Versus Run LOAD starts up a program minimized; RUN starts it up in an open window.
FIGURE 7.12 The contents of Win.ini. To prevent this program from loading, delete this text.
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8 Installing New Programs Adding and Removing Windows Components
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Installing a New Program from a Setup Disk
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Installing a New Program from a Download
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Setting Up a Program with No Installation Utility
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Removing an Installed Program
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Adding and Removing Windows Components As you learned in Chapter 4, “Exploring the Windows Accessories,” Windows Millennium comes with several accessory programs, such as WordPad, Paint, and HyperTerminal. If you upgraded from Windows 95 or 98, during setup Windows Millennium automatically installed the same accessory programs as were previously installed. For example, if you had Paint, HyperTerminal, or the Phone Dialer in Windows 95 or 98, you also have them in Windows Millennium. If you installed Windows Millennium from scratch, however, you had the opportunity to choose which accessories you wanted during setup. (See Appendix A, “Installing Windows Millennium,” for more information about Windows Setup.) You can change the accessories installed at any time, adding or removing them as desired. (Why might you want to remove one? One of the best reasons is to save disk space on a full hard disk. But you also might want to clean up the Accessories menu, removing programs that you never use.) When you add or remove Windows components, you choose a category (see Figure 8.1) and then choose programs within that category. For example, if you wanted to add or remove Calculator, you would find it in the Accessories category. (You can browse the categories freely to find the program you want.)
FIGURE 8.1 Select a category of program. Information about the category appears here. Click Details to see a list of components in the category.
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On the category list, each category has one of three check box states next to it: ■
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A cleared check box means none of the components in that category are installed. A marked check box with a gray background means that some, but not all, of the category’s components are installed. A marked check box with a white background means that all the category’s components are installed.
Adding or Removing a Windows Component
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. 2. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. 3. Click the Windows Setup tab. 4. To add or remove an entire category, click its check box to place or remove a check mark there. Then, skip to step 8. or To add or remove a specific component, click the name of the category that contains the program you want to install or remove and proceed with the remaining steps shown here. Refer to Figure 8.1.
When Is a Category Not a Category? Two of the categories are not actually categories: Address Book and Outlook Express. They are individual components that just happen to be right there on the Categories list. (No, I don’t know why Microsoft chose to put them there.) When you select these, the Details button is unavailable because there are no choices to make.
5. Click the Details button, or double-click the category. A list of programs in that category appears. Figure 8.2 shows the ones for the Accessories category, for example.
FIGURE 8.2 Programs in the Accessories category.
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6. Place check marks next to the ones to install, and remove check marks next to the ones to remove. 7. Click OK to return to the category list. 8. Repeat steps 4–7 for other categories, if desired. 9. Click OK. 10. If prompted, insert the Windows Millennium CD-ROM and click OK. (You might not see this.) Depending on which components you are adding or removing, you might be prompted to restart Windows. Choose Yes if prompted; Windows might not work correctly if you don’t restart. SEE ALSO ➤ To install Windows Millennium, see page 508 ➤ To use some of the popular Windows accessory programs, see page 64 ➤ To use the Install/Uninstall tab in the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, see the following section, “Installing a New Program.” ➤ To use the Setup Disk tab in the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box, see page 115
Installing a New Program In the olden days of PCs, programs were so small that the entire program could fit on a single floppy disk. You could run the program directly from the floppy, without having to install it anywhere. (That was a good thing because most PCs didn’t have hard disks back then, either!) Nowadays, however, almost every program requires you to run a setup utility. The setup utility does two important things: It decompresses and copies the needed files to your hard drive so that you don’t need to have the setup disk in the PC at all times, and it sets itself up in Windows to know that the program is installed and available for use. The following sections explain how to install programs from different sources. You can read them all, or you can skip to the section that pertains to your situation at the moment.
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Installing a New Program from a Setup Disk The software that you buy in stores comes on a setup disk (usually CD-ROM, these days). Depending on the program, when you put the CD-ROM in your drive, the installation program might start automatically. (Nice feature!) Just follow the prompts onscreen to install it. If you pop the CD in the drive and nothing happens, or if the program comes on floppy disk instead, use the following procedure to start the ball rolling. Install a New Program from CD or Disk
1. Make sure the setup disk for the program is in one of your drives. 2. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. 3. Double-click Add/Remove Programs. 4. On the Install/Uninstall tab, click the Install button. The Install Program from Floppy Disk or CD-ROM Wizard appears. 5. Click Next. Windows scans your drives, looking for the setup program. 6. A box appears showing the path and file it found. See Figure 8.3. If it did not find the right setup program, click the Browse button and locate the setup program yourself. 7. Click Finish. The setup program runs, and the program installs itself on your PC.
Auto Startup If your installation program doesn’t automatically start, Windows might not have Auto Insert Notification turned on. To turn Auto Insert Notification on, double-click the System icon in the Control Panel. Then, on the Device Manager tab of the System Properties dialog box, click the plus sign (+) next to CDROM. Then, right-click the device under CD-ROM and click Properties. Click the Settings tab and select the Auto Insert Notification check box. Click OK and then exit Control Panel. Your installation programs will now start automatically—unless the particular disc you are using doesn’t support the feature. Some people find the automatic launching of whatever disk is inserted annoying, and turn the feature off. It’s up to you.
Of course, the setup program requires some interaction from you, but each program is different, so just follow the onscreen prompts.
FIGURE 8.3 Windows finds and suggests a setup program to run.
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If you are very comfortable with Windows file management, you might choose to bypass the previous procedure by manually searching for the file that starts the installation. You can browse the disk in Windows Explorer to look for a file with a likely name (a name such as Setup.exe or Install.exe is usually a dead giveaway), and then double-click it. SEE ALSO ➤ To remove an installed program, see page 165 ➤ To browse a disk’s file listing, see page 93
Installing a New Program from a Download Freeware Versus Shareware Have you ever seen one of those honor-system snack bars, where you are supposed to take what you want and drop your money into the slot? That’s what shareware is. The developers allow you to download the program without paying, but they ask that you pay for it if you like the program. Most of the software distributed on the Internet today is shareware. You also might find programs designated as freeware. That means it’s free to anyone who wants it, but you cannot make modifications to it. (Most of us don’t have the programming skills anyway!) Public Domain, a third kind, is not only free, but modifications are allowed, if not encouraged.
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The Internet is a very attractive source of new software. Thousands of programs are waiting out there for free (or at least free trial) or for a modest fee, usually payable by credit card. More and more people are acquiring new programs by downloading them. When you download software, it usually comes in one of two formats: ■
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An executable setup program (with an .exe extension) that you can download and run. It decompresses and installs all the needed files. A compressed archive, such as a Zip file (with a .zip extension). This file contains all the files needed to run the program (or to run its setup program), stored in a single compressed file for easy transport.
Windows Millennium supports the Zip file format, so you can open a Zip file just as you would open a folder. Simply double-click it, and all the files within the Zip archive are available for use. But if you don’t have Windows Millennium (if you have 95 or 98 instead, for example), you can download a variety of freeware or shareware utilities that will do the job. My personal favorite for Windows is WinZip, a shareware program that performs just as well as a commercial program you might pay big bucks for. You can download it from the Web site http://www.winzip.com. The file you will download will be an executable (.exe); when you run it, you will install WinZip. From then on, you can double-click a Zip file (.zip) to see and extract its contents. You’ll also be able to create your own Zip files to conserve hard disk space or to email larger files to other users.
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Downloading a Program As you surf the Web (see Chapter 18, “Exploring the Web”), you will probably find files you want to download. (If you haven’t found any yet, surf on over to http://www.shareware.com or http://www. download.com to find some.) The following steps take you through the process: Downloading a Program from a Web Site
1. Click a link on a Web page to a downloadable file. A dialog box appears, asking what you want to do with it. See Figure 8.4. 2. Choose Save this program to disk and then choose OK. A Save As dialog box opens. 3. Select the drive and folder in which you want to save the file, and then choose Save. 4. Wait for the download to take place. A box onscreen shows a progress bar and an estimate of the remaining time. 5. Depending on your setup, you might see a Download Complete box when it’s finished; if so, click OK to close it.
Where Should I Save It? When you run the setup program, it will create the new folders needed to hold the installed program. Therefore, the location where you store the download is not all that important because it’s just a temporary holding area. I have created a folder called Download on my hard drive where I always store the files I download. That way, I don’t have to remember where I have saved a particular file; they are all there. Occasionally, I clean out this folder by deleting the setup programs for programs I have already installed.
FIGURE 8.4 Your choices when downloading a file.
Installing a Downloaded Program After you have downloaded the file, navigate to the folder where you stored it and double-click it. If a setup program starts, you’re home free. Just follow the onscreen prompts. If the file you downloaded is a Zip file, and you have Windows Millennium, the compressed content is shown in a normal file window, just as if the Zip file were a folder. See Figure 8.5 for an example.
Keep On Surfing As the file is downloading, you can view other Web pages or even close Internet Explorer; the download will continue. Do not disconnect your Internet connection until the download is finished, however.
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Disk Compression Support If you double-click on a Zip file and nothing happens, then the Compressed Folders feature in Windows is not installed. To install it, use the procedure earlier in this chapter for adding Windows components.
If one of the files looks like an installation program (usually a file called either Setup or Install), double-click it to install. If you don’t see any installation program, the program might need to be manually installed. Look for a Readme file (Readme.txt, Readme.doc, and so on) and double-click it to read what to do. See the section “Setting Up a Program with No Installation Utility” later in this chapter for help. SEE ALSO ➤ To add Windows components, see page 156
FIGURE 8.5 In Windows Millennium, Zip files open as normal folders, with no utility needed. Here are the contents of the Zip file. I double-clicked the Zip file’s icon to open its contents.
Windows 95/98 Users: Unzipping with WinZip Windows 95 and 98 do not have built-in capability for handling Zip files. If you have one of these versions of Windows and you see a box asking what program Windows should use to open the file, it’s probably a Zip file and you don’t have a Zip utility installed. Visit http://www.winzip.com and download and install the latest version of WinZip. Then, try again to double-click the original file. It should open in WinZip.
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When you open a compressed archive in WinZip, WinZip displays a list of the files in the archive. It might look something like Figure 8.6. You will need to extract all these files (it’s best if you extract them into a new folder created for that purpose) and then run the installation program. Extracting Setup Files from a Zip File with WinZip
1. Download and install WinZip. (You will need to reboot your computer after installing.) If asked which mode you want to operate in, choose WinZip Classic. 2. Double-click the Zip file to open. WinZip opens the file, displaying the compressed files within it. See Figure 8.6 for an example.
FIGURE 8.6 A sample compressed archive’s contents.
3. Click Extract. The Extract dialog box opens. See Figure 8.7.
FIGURE 8.7 Select a location for the extracted files.
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4. Enter the folder into which you want to place the setup files in the Extract to text box, or select it from the Folders/drives list. If you want to create a new folder to hold the files, click the New Folder button, enter the folder name, and click OK. 5. Make sure the All files button is selected and then click Extract. The files are extracted into the folder you specified. 6. Close WinZip and open Windows Explorer. 7. Navigate to the folder where you placed the files and examine the extracted files. Then, do one of the following: • If one of the files looks like an installation program (usually a file called either Setup or Install), double-click it to install. • If you don’t see any installation program, the program might need to be manually installed. Look for a Readme file (Readme.txt, Readme.doc, and so on) and double-click it to read what to do. See the following section for help. SEE ALSO ➤ To work with files and folders in Windows Explorer, see page 93
Setting Up a Program with No Installation Utility A setup program takes care of the following important tasks: ■
■ ■
It makes changes in the Windows Registry as needed to allow the program to run. It copies the right files to the right locations. It creates a shortcut on the Start menu with which to run the program.
Some programs, particularly shareware or freeware programs and programs that run under MS-DOS, don’t come with any kind of setup utility. When you unzip their zip file, you will find all the files needed to run the program, but nothing about “Setup” or “Install.” With such programs, you don’t need to make any changes to the Windows Registry, but you do need to take care of the latter two steps (copying the files and creating the shortcut). To copy the files, open the Zip file and copy its content into a new folder you create for that purpose. Try to give the folder a descriptive name that matches the program.
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PART II Removing an Installed Program CHAPTER 8 SEE ALSO ➤ To move or copy files into the correct folders, see “Moving and Copying Files” and “Creating New Folders,” pages 97 and 112, respectively ➤ To add the shortcut to the Start menu, see “Adding a Shortcut to the Start Menu,” page 143
Removing an Installed Program The time might come when that exciting new program isn’t exciting anymore—in fact, it’s not even useful. Perhaps you solved the puzzle; perhaps you decided you had no use for a cross-stitch pattern creation program; perhaps the Swimsuit Babes on Ice screensaver prompted complaints from your co-workers. Whatever the reason, you might want to remove a program from your system.
Uninstalling a Program Some programs have an uninstall feature built into them. For such programs, an Uninstall command is usually located in their folder on the Start menu. For example, in Figure 8.8, you can see that Roller Coaster Tycoon provides an Uninstall utility. If a program offers this, by all means, take advantage of it! Just choose the Uninstall command from the program’s folder on the Start menu and follow the prompts.
FIGURE 8.8 Some programs include a utility that lets you uninstall.
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No such luck as to find an Uninstall program? Then, fall back on the next-best thing. If you installed the program using a Windows-based setup program, you might be able to uninstall it using the Uninstall feature built into Windows itself. The following steps show how to use it. Uninstalling a Program
1. If the program you want to uninstall is running, exit from it. 2. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. 3. Double-click the Add/Remove Programs icon. 4. On the Install/Uninstall tab, scroll through the list of installed programs and click the one you want to remove. See Figure 8.9.
FIGURE 8.9 Choose a program to uninstall.
5. Click the Add/Remove button. 6. Follow the prompts to remove the program. Depending on the program, it might uninstall automatically at this point with no further prompts, or you might be prompted to choose between adding options, removing options, and removing the entire program. 7. If prompted to keep or remove a shared file, choose to keep it. 8. If prompted, restart the PC when the removal is finished.
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Removing Leftover Program Elements Sometimes an uninstall does not remove all the files associated with a program. For example, if you have created data files in a program, Uninstall usually leaves them intact, in case you want to use them later with a different program. If all the files in the program’s folder are not removed, the folder itself won’t be removed, either. On the last screen of the Uninstall process, you might see a Details button. You can click it to get information about the files that were not removed (their names and locations) to make it easier to remove them yourself. You can clean up after an Uninstall by deleting the folder(s) left behind by the program, along with any files in them. Transfer any data files that you want to keep to another location first (such as C:\My Documents). Some programs also might leave behind their shortcuts on the desktop, on the Start menu, or in both places. You can delete those easily enough, or you can run the Disk Cleanup utility that comes with Windows, which identifies and deletes any shortcuts that point to nonexistent programs.
Keep or Remove? One or more dialog boxes might ask whether you want to keep or remove specific shared files. If you have any doubts at all, choose Keep. Removing a shared file that another program still needs can make that other program malfunction (or not function at all), and it’s difficult to tell which other programs might be using it. My general rule is this: If the file it is asking about is located in the folder for the program being removed (for example, in C:\Quickbooks if I’m removing Quickbooks), I choose to remove it. However, if the file in question is in a common folder such as C:\Windows, I choose to keep it.
SEE ALSO ➤ To run Disk Cleanup, see page 448
Not a Clean Sweep
➤ To delete shortcuts from the desktop, see page 146
The program might have left behind a few files in a shared location such as C:\Windows, but don’t worry about removing those. It is risky to remove files from C:\Windows or its subfolders because some other program might need those files, too.
➤ To delete programs from the Start menu, see page 141
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9 Customizing the Screen Appearance Adjusting Video Settings Changing the Desktop Appearance Choosing a Screensaver Changing Icon Appearance Working with Desktop Themes Changing How the Taskbar Operates
• • • • • •
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Adjusting Video Settings The display you see onscreen is controlled by (and limited by the capabilities of) your video card and your monitor as a team. In other words, your display will look only as good as the weaker of those two components can manage. The next sections take you through the following steps: ■
■
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Making sure that Windows has correctly identified your video card and monitor Choosing a color depth and display resolution appropriate for your needs (and your monitor size) Setting the refresh rate for optimal viewing
These are not the “fun” settings (those come later in the chapter), but they are important settings to make sure are correct before going further.
Describing Your Video Card and Monitor to Windows Are You Really Interested? Techies or avid game players might find this stuff about video drivers fascinating, but the average person probably won’t. Unless you are having a problem with your video drivers, feel free to skip the following sections. Pick up reading again at “Changing the Display Mode” later in this chapter.
For the best display, Windows needs to have accurate information about the video card and monitor you are using. That way, Windows can take advantage of the full capabilities of the devices. These are the settings in Windows that describe your video card and monitor: ■
Adapter. This is the make and model of video card you have.
■
Monitor. This is the make and model of monitor you have.
Depending on what adapter and monitor models Windows thinks you have, different driver files are installed in Windows. These drivers are extremely important for two reasons. First, they control the interaction between Windows and the devices. Second, they specify which display resolutions, color depths, and refresh rates you will be allowed to choose. (All those things are covered later in this chapter.) Why would the current settings be wrong? Well, when you install Windows (or when it is installed at the factory if your PC came with it preinstalled), Windows is supposed to detect your hardware and install the appropriate drivers. (That’s called Plug and Play.) Sometimes it works; sometimes not. For this reason it’s known in techie circles as Plug and Pray.
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Sometimes, Windows thinks it has detected a piece of hardware, but it is mistaken. Usually, the settings for the device it thinks you have are very similar to the settings for your actual stuff, so the device will probably function, more or less. Some features might not work just right, however, because Windows is using a driver for it other than its own. SEE ALSO ➤ To change the color depth or display resolution for your display, see page 176 ➤ To change the refresh rate for your monitor, see page 181
Checking to See What Is Already Set Up If you are not sure whether your PC is set up for the correct video card and monitor, you should check. The following steps show how to check: Checking the Video Driver and Monitor
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Settings tab. 3. Look under Display. It reports your video card and monitor names (see Figure 9.1).
When PnP Isn’t Playful While Windows Plug and Play technology will usually install the drivers needed to make your new video card work, it might work only in a minimal capacity until you install the custom drivers that came with the video card. In fact, PnP can lead you to believe your hardware is working properly when you’re actually being robbed of the performance you paid for simply because you don’t have the correct drivers installed. Always follow the installation instructions that come with your new hardware and keep floppies and CDs containing the necessary drivers in a safe place.
If the correct video card name does not appear, see “Changing the Video Driver” later in this chapter. If the correct monitor name does not appear, see “Changing the Monitor” later in this chapter. 4. Click OK, which closes the Display Properties box. Following are two procedures. Use the first one, “Updating the Video Driver,” if your video card is correctly identified but you want to see whether a better driver is available for it. Use the second, “Changing the Video Driver,” if Windows has not correctly identified your video card.
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FIGURE 9.1 Check to see which video card Windows thinks you have. Name of the video card Information about the video card
Updating the Video Driver You might want to update the video driver if the correct video card name appears, but the video display doesn’t seem right for some reason. For example, one of my clients was having a problem with his video display. Every time he would change it to a higher resolution and number of colors (as you will learn to do later in this chapter), it would default back to 16 colors and 640×480 resolution every time he restarted his PC. We were able to fix the problem by reinstalling the video driver from the disk that came with his PC. If that hadn’t worked, I would have checked the video card manufacturer’s Web site next to see whether an updated driver was available. Updating the Video Driver
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Settings tab. 3. Click the Advanced button. 4. Click the Adapter tab. 5. Click the Change button. The Update Device Driver Wizard runs. 6. Leave Automatic Search for a better driver marked and click Next.
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7. If prompted, insert the Windows CD and click Next. 8. A message appears telling you whether a better driver was found. (The message might say that the best driver is already installed.) Click Finish. 9. If prompted to restart your computer, click Yes and omit the rest of the steps. 10. Click Close to close the Properties box for your video card. 11. Click OK to close the Display Properties box. 12. If prompted to restart your computer, click Yes. SEE ALSO ➤ To install a program after downloading it, see page 160
Changing the Video Driver If the video driver shown in the Display Properties box does not match the make or model that you think you have, you can try using a different driver. For example, if Windows thinks that your video card is VGA, but you know that it’s really an AccelStar II 3-D model, you will want to change to the correct driver. To determine whether Windows has the video card make/model correct, you must know what the right answer is yourself. Most people buy the video card as part of a whole PC, rather than purchasing it separately and installing it themselves (obvious exceptions are gamers or people who work professionally with graphics and/or video). If you aren’t sure what kind of video card you have, now is a good time to look through the documentation that came with your PC and find out. See “Video Card Dilemma” later in this chapter for help. Some video cards come with their own setup program on disk. Browse the disk that came with yours; if a Setup.exe file is on it, go ahead and run that program instead of using the following steps (see Chapter 8 for details on installation and running setup programs). The setup program will automatically set up the video card and install any utility programs that came with it. Other video cards come with a disk that simply contains the drivers, with no setup utility. In that case, you must install the drivers as explained in the following steps.
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Changing the Video Driver
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Settings tab. 3. Click the Advanced button. 4. Click the Adapter tab. 5. Click the Change button. The Update Device Driver Wizard runs. 6. Choose Specify the Location of the Driver. 7. Click Next. A list of drivers appears for the card that Windows thinks you have. I Don’t Have a Disk! If you are prompted to insert a disk that you don’t have, you might be able to work around it. Perhaps the needed file is already on your hard disk from a previous installation, and the setup program simply doesn’t know where to look. Click OK, as if you had inserted the disk. A box will appear informing you that the file is not in that location and allowing you to browse for it. It also gives you the file’s name that it is looking for. Jot down that file’s name, and then use the Search feature in Windows (Start, Search, For Files or Folders) to see whether a copy of that file is already on your hard disk somewhere. If it is, use Browse to point the installation program to it.
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8. Choose the Display a list of all the drivers… option button, and then click Next. 9. Choose the Show all hardware option button. A list of video card manufacturers appears in the left pane. 10. Do one of the following: • If you have a disk that came with your PC or your video card that contains Windows drivers for it (preferably for Windows Millennium, but Windows 98 or even Windows 95 drivers will do in a pinch), insert that disk and then click the Have Disk button. Then, click Browse and navigate to the drive and folder that contains the drivers and click OK. • If you do not have a disk, choose the video card manufacturer and model from the list that Windows provides. See Figure 9.2. Then, choose Next. 11. When prompted that Windows is ready to install the new driver, click Next. You might be prompted to insert the Windows Millennium CD or the disk that came with your video card; if you see this prompt, insert whatever disk is requested and click OK. If you see a message telling you that a file being installed is older than the file already on your system and asking whether you want to skip that file, click Yes.
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FIGURE 9.2 Find the correct video card manufacturer and model.
12. When you see a message that the installation of the new driver is complete, click Finish. 13. Click Close to close the Properties box for the video card. 14. Click Close to close the Display Properties box. 15. If prompted to restart your computer, click Yes. SEE ALSO ➤ To use the Search feature in Windows to find a file, see page 109
Video Card Dilemma If you can’t figure out what make and model of video card you have, you can either assume that it is already set up correctly (and skip this section), or you can take the time and trouble to do some sleuthing work. Here are some ways to determine your video card’s make and model: 1. Watch the screen when the PC is first turned on; the name of the video card might briefly appear before Windows begins loading. 2. Look for a packing slip or receipt that came with your PC that might list it. 3. Remove the cover from the PC and locate a name and model number on the video card itself (make sure you turn off the computer before opening the case). If you’re new to PC hardware and you have a relatively new PC, you’ll find the video card
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mounted perpendicular to the motherboard (the main circuit board). The video adapter might have a cooling fan attached to it. If your monitor is still attached to the rear of the PC, you can quickly identify the video card simply by noting to which card the monitor is attached. 4. If the video adapter is built into the motherboard (meaning that you don’t have a separate video card), examine the motherboard to see whether you can find a chip that lists the video information on it. 5. If the video card is built into the motherboard and you can’t find any information about the video on it, locate the motherboard’s model number and visit the motherboard manufacturer’s Web site to see whether information is available.
Changing the Monitor As I mentioned earlier, the overall display quality is limited by the combined capabilities of your monitor and your video card. In the preceding sections, you set up the video card just right; now, it’s time to take a look at the monitor. Windows has probably detected your monitor as a Plug-and-Play monitor. That’s fine, unless your system is capable of higher refresh rates than what is specified by the plug-and-play monitor driver. (See “Changing the Display Refresh Rate” later in this chapter for details about that.) For the best quality image onscreen, you should set up Windows for the specific monitor you have, if possible. Changing the Monitor Setup
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Settings tab. 3. Click Advanced. 4. Click the Monitor tab. If the correct monitor name is shown, you’re done; click OK and then click OK again. Otherwise, go on to step 5 to change the monitor name listed.
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5. Click the Change button. 6. Choose the Specify the location of the driver option button and then click Next. 7. Choose the Display a list of all the drivers… option button, and click Next. 8. Choose show all hardware. 9. Select your monitor’s manufacturer and model, and then click Next. (Or, if your monitor came with a disk, click Have Disk and browse to that disk.) 10. Click Next to install the new driver. 11. Click Finish, and then click Close.
Image Doesn’t Fill the Screen? You might see a big black ring around the outside of the image onscreen. You can get rid of this by adjusting the controls on the monitor itself. If you have a really old monitor that doesn’t have controls, you can sometimes minimize the effect by changing to a different monitor driver from the same manufacturer.
12. Click OK to close the Display Properties box. 13. If prompted to restart your PC, click Yes. You’re done! Windows now knows the correct video card and monitor for your system, and the correct drivers are installed for them. Now, you can move on to setting the display mode you want to use.
Changing the Display Mode Based on the video card and monitor, Windows will let you choose among several display modes. The display mode is made up of two factors: resolution and color depth. I’ll explain each of those in the following sections.
Understanding Resolution Resolution is the number of individual pixels (dots) that make up the display mode. The higher the numbers, the smaller the dots and the sharper the image (and also the smaller the image). Common resolutions are 640×480, 800×600, and 1024×768. Which resolution is best? It all depends on what you plan to do with your PC and on the size of your monitor. As you can see in Figures 9.3 and 9.4, a higher resolution makes everything onscreen look smaller.
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FIGURE 9.3 A Windows screen in 640×480 resolution.
FIGURE 9.4 A Windows screen in 800×600 resolution.
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If you have a large monitor, you can use a very high resolution without straining your eyes to see things. On a small monitor, you might want to stick with a lower resolution. Think, too, about how you use your PC. Someone who works with large spreadsheets might appreciate a higher resolution because it allows him or her to see more spreadsheet cells on the screen at once. But someone who spends a long time sitting at the computer reading email each day might find that a lower resolution prevents eyestrain because things are easier to see.
Understanding Color Depth Color depth is the number of colors that can be displayed simultaneously onscreen. Standard VGA is 16 colors; most people run Windows in at least 256-color mode (8-bit). High color (16-bit) and True Color (24-bit) are higher modes that show more colors. Why is color depth important? Well, if you are displaying photographs or video clips onscreen, they will look much better at higher color depths because the colors shown onscreen will be closer to reality. When you use a lower color depth, such as 16 colors, Windows attempts to simulate the other colors by blending two or more colors in a crosshatch pattern. This is called dithering. From a distance it looks okay, but when you examine it closely it looks fuzzy. When you use a higher color depth, Windows has more “real” colors to work with, so it doesn’t have to dither as much. In general, more color depth is better. However, if you want to use a program (usually a game) that works best at a particular color depth (such as 256 colors), you might want to temporarily set the color depth for a lower setting than the maximum your system is capable of. Such programs usually state in the documentation, onscreen, or in both places that they prefer a certain color depth.
Understanding Video Memory Video cards have their own built in video memory (usually between 1 and 16 megabytes). It is much like the regular memory in your PC, but it is used only for video processing. The higher the resolution and the greater the color depth, the more video memory is required for the mode.
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For the techies, here is how the maximum resolution/color depth is calculated. If you have a 16-color display, you need 4 bits to control each dot because 16 combinations are possible with a 4-digit binary number (2 to the 4th power, or 16). If you multiply the number of dots in the resolution by the number of bits required for each dot, you have the amount of memory required to display that resolution. For example, 640×480 and 16 colors would be 640×480×4, or 1,228,800 bits. There are 8 bits in a byte, so that would be 153,600 bytes (approximately 154KB). Therefore, if your video card had 1MB of video memory, you could have the following: ■
640×480 in 24-bit color (922KB required)
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800×600 in 16-bit color (960KB required)
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1024×768 in 8-bit color (786KB required)
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1280×1024 in 4-bit color (655KB required)
Changing the Display Mode Now that you know what a display mode consists of, use the following steps to change yours. Changing the Display Mode
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Settings tab. 3. Open the Colors drop-down list and choose the color depth you want. 4. Drag the Screen area slider to the setting you want. For example, in Figure 9.5 it is set for 800×600. 5. Click OK. 6. Do one of the following: • If you are changing only the resolution (not the color depth), a box appears telling you that Windows will now change the display. Click OK to accept that. Then, a box appears asking whether you want to keep the new settings; click Yes. • If you are changing the color depth, a box appears suggesting that you restart Windows. Click Restart the computer with the new color settings and then click OK.
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If you do not restart your PC after changing the color depth, the colors might not look quite right, depending on which color depth you are changing from and to and the capabilities of your video card.
FIGURE 9.5 Set the resolution (screen area) and color depth (colors). Slider bar Colors drop-down list
SEE ALSO ➤ To use a different font size for onscreen text (such as in title bars), see page 183
Changing the Display Refresh Rate The refresh rate is the rate at which the image onscreen is “refreshed,” or repainted, by the light beams inside the monitor. The higher the refresh rate, the less flicker in the display. If you have ever seen video footage of a computer system in which the monitor appeared to be scrolling or blinking, that was because of a refresh rate on the monitor that is out of sync with the videorecording speed. The human eye doesn’t notice it as much, but it is obvious on video. The flicker of a low refresh rate (under 72Hz) can make your eyes tired if you look at such a display for a long time.
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The following are several choices of refresh rate: ■
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Adapter default. This is the default setting for your video card. It is not always the highest setting possible, but it works with every monitor, so it is a safe setting. Optimal. This is the highest setting possible, given the monitor and video card that you have told Windows you have. Windows examines the capabilities of both devices and calculates the best setting. Specific settings. You can choose a specific setting, in Hertz (Hz). Larger numbers are better.
If the refresh rate you choose exceeds the capabilities of either your monitor or your video card, the screen can become distorted or even scrambled. Running the system at a higher refresh rate than it supports can also damage the monitor and/or video adapter, so you should not fool around trying higher refresh rates than the documentation indicates. Setting the Refresh Rate
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Settings tab. 3. Click the Advanced button. 4. Click the Adapter tab. 5. Open the Refresh rate drop-down list and choose the setting you want (see Figure 9.6). If you do not know what to pick, choose Optimal. 6. Click OK. A message appears that Windows is going to adjust your refresh rate. 7. Click OK. The refresh rate changes and a message appears asking whether you want to keep the setting. 8. Click Yes. 9. Click OK to close the Display Properties box. After adjusting the refresh rate and video mode (resolution/color depth), the image you see onscreen might be slightly off-center, slightly too large (edges cut off), or too small (black ring around the outside) for the monitor. On most monitors, you can adjust the
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image size and positioning somewhat with its built-in controls. See the manual that came with your monitor for details. If that’s not an option, try a different refresh rate or monitor driver.
FIGURE 9.6 Set the refresh rate on the Adapter tab.
Changing Color Schemes Now comes the fun part—changing the colors on your display. These color changes don’t have any direct bearing on image quality; they’re just fun little tweaks that you can use to express your personality on your Windows desktop. You can change the colors of nearly all onscreen elements: the desktop, the window title bars, the menus, and so on. You can select one of the dozens of preset schemes, or you can customize any of the color schemes to fit your exact wants. Choosing a Different Color Scheme
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Appearance tab. 3. Open the Scheme drop-down list and choose a different color scheme. A sample of it appears above the list (see Figure 9.7). 4. When you are happy with the chosen scheme, click OK to accept it.
Not Just Colors Some color schemes include not only colors but also font choices. If you have a hard time seeing the tiny type onscreen in your chosen video resolution, you might want to choose a scheme that includes larger fonts, such as Pumpkin (Large) or Windows Standard (Extra Large).
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FIGURE 9.7 Select the color scheme you want. Sample area Scheme drop-down list
You can customize any color scheme, so if a scheme is not exactly as you want it, you don’t have to settle. For example, perhaps a certain scheme is perfect except for the background color or the font size. First select the scheme, and then customize it. Then, you can save your customized scheme as a new scheme to reuse whenever you want. Customizing a Color Scheme No Background Change? If you choose a scheme with a different desktop but you don’t see the change onscreen, your desktop might be covered by wallpaper. See “Dressing Up the Desktop with Patterns and Wallpaper” later in this chapter to learn how to remove the wallpaper so that you can see the chosen desktop color.
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1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Appearance tab. 3. Open the Scheme drop-down list and choose the scheme on which you want to base your new settings. 4. Select the element you want to change in that scheme. To do so, you can either click the element in the sample area or open the Item drop-down list and choose its name. 5. Set the Size and Color for the chosen element using the controls to the right of the Item drop-down list (see Figure 9.8).
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FIGURE 9.8 Customize the chosen item. Choose a different size. Choose a different color. Some items can have two colors in certain display modes. Choose a font. Set a font size. Set font color and other properties.
6. To change the font, open the Font drop-down list and choose a different one. 7. To change the font size, color, and/or attributes (bold and italic), use the controls to the right of the Font drop-down list (see Figure 9.8). 8. (Optional) To save your customized color scheme as a new scheme, click Save As and type a new name; then click OK. 9. Click OK to apply the new settings. SEE ALSO ➤ To change the color depth (that is, the number of colors used in your display mode), see page 177
Dressing Up the Desktop with Patterns and Wallpaper The desktop can be any color, as you just learned, but a plain, solidcolor desktop can be boring. You can dress up a plain desktop in two ways. One is to apply a pattern to it; the other is to apply wallpaper. A pattern is a small design that repeats on the desktop, with the chosen desktop color showing through behind it. See Figure 9.9. Wallpaper is a picture that appears on top of the desktop, obscuring the chosen color and pattern partly or completely (see Figure 9.10).
Two Colors? If you have your color depth set for 16-bit or 24-bit color, you can have two colors for some elements. If you choose two colors, they will appear as a gradient—a fade from one color to the other. Title bars look especially nice with a twocolor gradient. If you do not want a gradient, set both color settings to the same color.
Apply Versus OK The Apply button applies the new color scheme without closing the Display Properties dialog box. That way, you can find out whether you like the new scheme before you close the Display Properties box.
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FIGURE 9.9 The desktop with a pattern applied. This pattern is a small plaid.
FIGURE 9.10 The desktop with both a pattern and wallpaper applied. This image is the wallpaper. Behind the image you can see the desktop with its pattern.
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Choosing a Desktop Pattern
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties.
Create Your Own Pattern
2. Click the Background tab.
You can click the Edit Pattern button shown in Figure 9.11 to open a window where you can edit the chosen pattern, creating any pattern you want.
3. Click the Pattern button. 4. Select a pattern from the Pattern list (see Figure 9.11). 5. Choose OK. 6. Choose OK again, closing the Display Properties dialog box.
FIGURE 9.11 Select a pattern to use.
Wallpaper appears on top of the desktop, so it does not affect any color or pattern you have chosen. It merely covers them up. You can choose to center the image on the desktop (as in Figure 9.10) so that the desktop peeks out from the edges, or you can tile the image so that it repeats, covering the desktop entirely, as in Figure 9.12. You also can set it to Stretch, which enlarges (and distorts) the image so that a single copy of it exactly fills the screen. Choosing Wallpaper
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties.
Make Your Own Wallpaper You can use any picture for wallpaper; the one in Figure 9.12 is a picture of a friend’s dog. To make an image appear on the list of wallpapers, simply save it in .bmp format using a paint program and place it in the C:\Windows folder.
2. Click the Background tab. 3. Select the picture you want to use. Or, to remove the wallpaper, choose None. 4. Open the Picture Display drop-down list and choose Center, Tile, or Stretch. (Skip this if you chose None in step 3.) 5. Click OK.
Wallpaper from the Web On a Web page, if you see an image that you would like to use as your Windows wallpaper, rightclick it and choose Set as Wallpaper from the shortcut menu. This copies it to your C:\Windows folder under the name Internet Explorer Wallpaper.bmp.
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FIGURE 9.12 The wallpaper image is tiled, filling the entire screen. This is the wallpaper image; see how it is repeated.
Using a Screensaver The screensaver is a moving image or pattern that kicks in when your computer has been idle for a specified amount of time. The original job of a screensaver was to display a continuously changing image to prevent burn-in on your monitor. You have probably seen burn-in on old ATM displays or video games, where you can see a ghosted image of the text or picture that appears there most of the time (such as “Please Insert Card” on an ATM display). With today’s advanced monitors, burn-in is no longer a problem, but screensavers are so much fun that people continue to employ them anyway. A side benefit of using a screensaver is that you can assign a password to it so that the screensaver will not turn off until you type the password. That way, if you step away from your computer for a while, no unauthorized “visitors” can snoop.
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Setting Up Your Screensaver Setting Up a Screensaver
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Screen Saver tab. 3. Open the Screen Saver drop-down list and select the screensaver you want to use. (Choose None to turn the screensaver off.) See Figure 9.13. If you are not sure which one you want, choose one and click Preview. The screensaver appears onscreen until you move the mouse or press a key to stop it.
FIGURE 9.13 Choose the screensaver, and then set its Settings, Password, and so on.
4. To change the settings for the chosen screensaver, click the Settings button. Make changes in the dialog box that appears, and then click OK. 5. (Optional) To assign a password to the screensaver, do the following: a. Select the Password protected check box. b. Click the Change button to change the password. c. Type the password you want to use in the New Password box. d. Type it again in the Confirm new password box (see Figure 9.14).
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FIGURE 9.14 Type and then retype the password to use.
e. Click OK. A message appears that the password has been changed. f. Click OK again to close the confirmation box. Removing Password Protection If you later want to remove a password from the screensaver, click the Change button again and enter nothing as the new password. Or simply remove the check mark from the Password protected check box.
6. Enter the number of minutes to wait before activating the screensaver in the Wait box. 7. Click OK to close the Display Properties box.
Waking Up a Screensaver To wake up your computer when it is running the screensaver, press a key (the Esc key is a good one to use, because it won’t do anything) or move the mouse. If you have assigned a password, a box appears prompting you to type it. Type the password and press Enter to wake up the computer. If you forget the screensaver password, you can’t wake up the computer. To get back in, you must shut off the computer (which is not a good idea to do routinely, as I explained in Chapter 1). When it restarts, go back to Display Properties, go to the Screensaver tab, and change the screensaver password or disable it completely. SEE ALSO ➤ To recall why you should not shut off your computer’s power while Windows is running, see page 26
Setting Energy-Saving Settings for Your Monitor Many of the newer monitors have energy-saving features that allow them to shut themselves off after a certain period of inactivity. This can save your electric bill because the monitor takes quite a bit of electricity to stay powered up. This feature might already be enabled, depending on how Windows detected your monitor. On a laptop computer running on batteries, saving energy is especially critical. By setting your monitor to shut off after, say, 3 minutes
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of inactivity, you save your battery life during those times when you are called away from the computer unexpectedly and it is left running. Use the following steps to check and change the settings. Changing Your Monitor’s Energy Settings
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Screen Saver tab. 3. Click the Settings button. (If the Settings button is unavailable, you do not have a monitor that supports this feature.) The Power Options Properties dialog box opens (see Figure 9.15).
FIGURE 9.15 Set the power management properties for your monitor here.
4. Open the Turn off monitor drop-down list and choose an amount of idle time it should wait before turning off. I typically set this to After 1 hour for a desktop on AC power or After 5 minutes for a laptop on batteries, but it’s up to you. 5. Click OK. SEE ALSO ➤ To learn more about power management settings for laptops, see page 288
Different for Desktops The controls shown in Figure 9.15 are for a laptop; notice there are separate setting boxes for each line: one for Plugged in and one for Running on batteries. On a desktop PC, there is only one setting box for each option.
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Changing Icon Appearance Where Do Icons Come From? You can use icons from .ico, .exe, and .dll files. The .ico files are icon files; they are simply a single image for use as an icon. The .exe files are program files, most of which store multiple icons in them. (You don’t have to use the program in any way to borrow an icon from it.) The .dll files are helper files for programs. They, too often, contain multiple icons. You can search for icons by trial and error, opening each .exe and .dll file on your system to see whether any interesting icons are present. But that takes forever. Many interesting icons can be found in C:\Windows\System\Pifmgr. dll, C:\Windows\Progman. exe, C:\Windows\System\ Shell32.dll, and C:\Windows\Moricons.dll; try some of these first.
FIGURE 9.16 Select the icon to be changed. Click an icon to select it. Click Change Icon to change it. Click here to reset the icon to its default.
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The icons associated with each data file and with each program help you determine what they are for. The Recycle Bin looks like a trash can; the My Computer icon looks like a computer, a word processing document looks like a piece of paper, and so on. Beginners find this extremely helpful, as you can imagine. But in time you might grow tired of the same old icons. In the following sections, you will learn how to choose different icons, both for items on your desktop and for individual files.
Changing the Desktop Icons The icons on your desktop (for the Recycle Bin, My Computer, Network Neighborhood, and so on) can be customized. For example, you might want to use a different icon for the Recycle Bin or the My Documents folder. Changing Desktop Icons
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Effects tab. 3. Click the icon you want to change in the Desktop icons pane (see Figure 9.16).
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4. Click the Change Icon button. A box showing some alternative icons appears (see Figure 9.17).
FIGURE 9.17 Select a different icon to use.
5. Do one of the following: • Choose one of the alternative icons. or • Click the Browse button and locate the file containing the icon you want to use. 6. Click OK to accept the chosen icon. 7. Click OK, closing the Display Properties dialog box. SEE ALSO ➤ To change all the desktop icons at once, as well as other appearance settings, check out Desktop Themes, described on page 195
Changing an Individual File’s Icon Each file has a default icon. Most program files have icons that uniquely represent the program. For example, the icon for Microsoft Word 2000 has a big W on it. Most data files have icons evocative of the program used to create them. For example, the icon for Microsoft Word documents looks like a piece of paper with a little W on it (for Word). But you can choose any icon for any file. For example, if you have shortcuts to several files of the same type on your desktop (perhaps several word processing files), you can change the icon for each one to make it unique at a glance.
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Changing an Icon for Any File
1. Right-click the file and choose Properties. 2. Click the Change Icon button. A list of the icons associated with that file appears, as in Figure 9.17. 3. Do one of the following: • Choose one of the alternative icons. or • Click the Browse button and locate the file containing the icon you want to use. 4. After selecting the icon you want, click OK. The Properties box for the shortcut reappears. 5. Click OK to close the Properties box. SEE ALSO ➤ To set other file properties, see page 106
Setting Visual Effects You might have noticed on the Effects tab that there are a few other miscellaneous appearance settings you can control. See Figure 9.18. Here’s a brief description of them, along with my biased comments. To set any of these, right-click the desktop and choose Properties, and then make your selections on the Effects tab.
FIGURE 9.18 Change any of these visual effect settings as desired. Visual effects
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Use transition effects for menus and tooltips. This makes windows, menus, and lists open and close with a kind of “flourish.” A big waste of computing power if you ask me, but some people like it. In Windows 98, this was called “animation effects.” Smooth edges of screen fonts. Makes text onscreen look smoother by dithering any ragged edges. (Not necessary, in my opinion, but try it for yourself and see whether you notice a difference.) Use large icons. This makes the icons for all items and shortcuts on your desktop very large so that they are easier to see. Good for someone with a visual impairment; not useful for most people. Show icons using all possible colors. This enhances the look of your icons when you are using a large color depth setting (16-bit or 24-bit). A nice little extra that doesn’t hurt anything; I leave this enabled. Show window contents while dragging. Makes the mouse pointer look like it is dragging a shadowy version of the icon for a file you are moving or copying with drag and drop. It also shows the window contents when you drag an open file across the desktop.
Using Desktop Themes Desktop themes were introduced in the Microsoft Windows 95 Plus Pack. They were so popular that Microsoft included them for free with Windows 98 and Windows Millennium. A desktop theme is a combination of wallpaper, mouse pointers, icons, color schemes, fonts, sounds, and screensavers based on a particular topic or theme. For example, the one for the ’60s has tie-dye wallpaper, a peace sign for a mouse pointer, and so on. A theme takes over many of the settings that you learned to control individually in this chapter, but you can always change a setting back if you don’t like the one the theme has provided.
Installing Themes The Desktop Themes feature might not be installed by default on your PC. Use Add/Remove programs to add the Desktop Themes component, as you learned to do in Chapter 8.
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Applying a Desktop Theme
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Control Panel. 2. Double-click the Desktop Themes icon. The Desktop Themes dialog box opens. See Figure 9.19.
FIGURE 9.19 Choose a desktop theme to use. Select a theme. Deselect any parts of the theme you don’t want. Preview the theme here.
3. Open the Theme drop-down list and choose a theme. A preview of it appears in the window beneath the list. 4. Deselect any check marks along the right side for parts of the theme that you would prefer not to apply. For example, if you want to keep your current wallpaper rather than using the wallpaper associated with the theme, deselect the Desktop wallpaper check box. 5. (Optional) To see a preview of the screensaver associated with the scheme, click the Screen Saver button. Move the mouse or press a key to return. 6. (Optional) To see a preview of the mouse pointers associated with the scheme, click the Pointers, Sounds, etc. button.
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Check out the various pointers, sounds, and icons, and then click Close to return. 7. Click OK. The scheme is applied. If you ever decide you don’t want to use a theme anymore, return to these steps and choose the Windows Standard theme. This resets everything back to normal. SEE ALSO ➤ To add Windows components such as Desktop Themes, see page 156 ➤ To choose different sounds for system events (without using a desktop theme), see page 210 ➤ To use different mouse pointers (without using a desktop theme), see page 206
Changing How the Taskbar Operates The taskbar in Windows is a great little tool for controlling both running programs and programs that you would like to run. You have seen in earlier chapters how to use it; now, you’ll learn how to change its appearance and functionality.
Delete a Theme Themes take up a great deal of space on your hard disk. If you don’t like one of the themes and know you will never use it, you can remove it by selecting it from the Theme list and clicking the Delete button. You also can choose certain themes to uninstall from Add/Remove Programs. See Chapter 8.
Changing the Taskbar Size You will quickly find that when you turn on the display of several toolbars, as you learned to do in Chapter 7, your taskbar fills up and there is no room to see the buttons for the running programs and open windows. One solution for a crowded taskbar is to enlarge it vertically. Just position the mouse pointer over its top edge and drag upward, creating extra rows for it. That way, each toolbar can have its own row. Figure 9.20 shows an expanded taskbar with several of the extra toolbars turned on. SEE ALSO ➤ To display or hide toolbars in the taskbar, see page 148
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FIGURE 9.20 The taskbar takes up a lot more space now, but everything is more readable.
Auto Hiding the Taskbar You probably don’t use the taskbar every moment you’re on the computer, so why have it displayed all the time, especially when it’s monster-sized as shown in Figure 9.20? You can set it to Auto hide, which makes it go away entirely when you aren’t using it. Whenever you want to see the taskbar, move the mouse pointer to the bottom of the screen and it pops up automatically. Auto Hiding the Taskbar
1. Right-click the taskbar and choose Properties. The Taskbar Properties dialog box appears (see Figure 9.21). 2. Select the Auto hide check box. 3. Click OK.
FIGURE 9.21 Choose whether to Auto hide the taskbar.
You can repeat this procedure and deselect the check box to stop auto hiding at any time.
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Setting Taskbar Properties You might have noticed the other settings in the Taskbar Properties dialog box in Figure 9.21. These are less common to change, but you can experiment with them if you like: ■
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Always on top. If the taskbar is not set to Auto Hide, this controls whether it always appears on top of whatever else is onscreen. I don’t recommend that you turn this off; it makes the taskbar hard to access. Show small icons in Start menu. This switches the icons that appear on the first level of the Start menu to a smaller size. No big deal either way. Show clock. This shows or hides the clock in the system tray. You could turn this off, but why? It’s so handy. Use Personalized Menus. This one you already learned about in Chapter 3; it turns on/off the display of a smaller set of frequently used menu commands on the Start menu.
Missing Taskbar Here’s a problem that clients bring to me more often than you would think. Their taskbar is simply gone. There is a thin line at the bottom of the screen where it is supposed to be. Can you guess what has happened? That’s right, they have accidentally resized their taskbar right out of existence. The solution: Point at that thin bar and drag upward, enlarging the taskbar to its normal size again.
SEE ALSO ➤ To work with other items in the system tray, see page 151 ➤ To learn about personalized menus, see page 44
Docking the Taskbar in a Different Location The Windows taskbar appears at the bottom of the screen by default, but it’s not locked there. You can move it to the top, right, or left side of the screen if you prefer. (However, if you move it to one of the sides, some of the buttons might be harder to read and/or use.) Figure 9.22 shows it docked at the right. To move the taskbar, simply drag it. Position the mouse pointer over a blank area on the taskbar and drag to another side of the screen. You won’t see the bar moving as you drag, but when you release the mouse button, the taskbar will appear in the new spot. SEE ALSO ➤ To control which toolbars appear on the taskbar, see page 148 ➤ To control the height of the taskbar, see page 197
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FIGURE 9.22 The taskbar docked on the right.
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10 Customizing System Settings Changing the Keyboard Properties Adjusting Mouse Operation Setting Multimedia Properties Assigning Sounds to System Events Setting the Date and Time Changing Regional Settings
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Controlling Keyboard Properties The keyboard might seem like a straightforward device—you press keys and characters appear onscreen. Nevertheless, you can control several settings for it. For example, when you hold down certain keys, such as the period (.) key, the character types continuously onscreen. This is called character repeat, and you can use it to create long lines of a particular character quickly without pressing the key over and over. The rate at which it repeats the character onscreen is the repeat rate. The delay between when you press and hold the key and when the character starts repeating onscreen is the repeat delay. You also can set the cursor blink rate. This is the speed at which the insertion point blinks when it is in a text box. (This is a really minor setting, and most people don’t bother with it.) Setting Keyboard Properties
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Keyboard icon. The Keyboard Properties dialog box opens. See Figure 10.1.
FIGURE 10.1 Set keyboard properties here.
2. On the Speed tab, drag the Repeat delay slider bar to the setting you want. 3. Drag the Repeat rate slider bar to the setting you want.
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4. Test the settings by clicking in the text box below the sliders and holding down a key. Adjust the settings as needed. 5. Drag the Cursor blink rate slider to the setting you want. A sample cursor blinks to the left of the bar, showing how it will look. 6. Click OK. The Keyboard Properties dialog box also has a Language tab. See Figure 10.2. It enables you to use keyboards for other languages with Windows Millennium, and to specify which keyboard you want to use. On the Language tab, use the Add button to add a keyboard layout and set properties for the chosen language with the Properties button. Choose a key combination in the Switch Languages section to choose how you will switch among the keyboards.
FIGURE 10.2 Users of foreign language keyboards can control them here.
Controlling Mouse Settings Few things are more annoying than a mouse that doesn’t behave the way you want. Fortunately, Windows provides many adjustments that can fine-tune your mouse’s operation to your exact specifications. Some mice come with their own software that replaces the default Mouse Properties controls with their own. So, if the controls you see onscreen don’t match what’s described in the following sections, don’t worry. Consult the manual that came with your mouse to find out how to set its controls.
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Depending on your setup, you might have an actual mouse, or you might have a trackball or a touchpad. (The latter are very common on laptop PCs.) The Mouse controls in Windows adjust them all the same way, however, unless they have their own special software.
Switching the Mouse Buttons The idea of clicking with the left mouse button was developed by right-handed people because the strongest finger on the right hand, the index finger, is on the left side of the right hand. Left-handed people might prefer to work the mouse with their left hand, on which the strong index finger is toward the right. Lefties can switch the functioning of the mouse buttons so that the right mouse button “clicks” and the left mouse button “right-clicks.” Switching Mouse Button Operation
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Mouse icon. The Mouse Properties dialog box appears. See Figure 10.3.
FIGURE 10.3 Set the mouse button operation here.
2. On the Buttons tab, click Right-handed or Left-handed. 3. Click OK.
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Changing the Double-Click Speed The double-click speed is the speed at which you must press and release the mouse button for it to be considered a double-click rather than two single clicks in succession. If the double-click speed is set too high, it is difficult to click fast enough for your actions to be interpreted as a double-click. If it is set too low, you might find Windows interpreting two clicks in a row as a double-click when that wasn’t what you intended. A medium setting (halfway between Fast and Slow) works well for most people. Changing the Double-Click Speed
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Mouse icon. The Mouse Properties dialog box appears. Refer to Figure 10.3. 2. On the Buttons tab, drag the Double-click speed slider to the desired setting. 3. Click OK.
Changing the Pointer Speed The pointer speed is the distance that the pointer moves onscreen when you move the mouse a certain amount. With a faster pointer speed, the mouse is more sensitive, so you can move the pointer a greater distance onscreen with a smaller movement of the mouse. If the pointer speed is too slow, you might find yourself “rowing” (that is, picking up the mouse and repositioning it on the mouse pad because you have run out of room to move in a direction). If the speed is too fast, you might have trouble positioning the pointer.
Jumping Mouse? If your mouse pointer jumps erratically onscreen or “sticks” sometimes (that is, you move the mouse, nothing happens, and then it jerks into motion), the mouse settings described here won’t help you. Your mouse is probably dirty; you can take it apart and clean the internal rollers— one for the x-axis and one for the y-axis—with alcohol and a cotton swab. If that doesn’t work, you might need a new mouse; they do wear out eventually. I wear out a mouse every six to nine months (but then I use my computer a lot—at least eight hours a day). The best way to clean a mouse, however, is to use a can of compressed air to clean off the rollers.
You can set the pointer speed on the Pointer Options tab of the Mouse Properties dialog box. Adjusting the Pointer Speed
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Mouse icon. The Mouse Properties dialog box opens. 2. Click the Pointer Options tab. See Figure 10.4.
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FIGURE 10.4 Adjust the pointer movement here.
3. Drag the Pointer speed slider bar to the desired setting. 4. Click OK.
Choosing a Different Pointer Scheme Pointer Trails Another setting is available on the Motion tab: Show Pointer trails. Turning on pointer trails makes a “trail” when you move the mouse pointer, so you can see easily where it has come from and where it is going. This can help some people with visual impairment locate the pointer, but for most people it is merely irritating. Go ahead and turn the feature on temporarily, just so you can see what it is like; you will quickly want to turn it off again.
The default mouse pointer is a small white arrow. It also can take on a variety of other forms depending on the task you are performing, as you saw in Chapter 1, “Windows Basics.” This set of default pointers for various tasks and situations is a pointer scheme. You can choose from among several pointer schemes that come with Windows. Pointer schemes are not just for fun—you can choose a scheme that uses larger pointers, such as Windows Standard (Extra Large), if you have trouble seeing the regular-sized mouse pointers onscreen. You also can choose a specific pointer image for a specific position in the scheme. For example, perhaps you want to use the Windows Standard scheme except for the Busy hourglass; you would prefer the hourglass from the Windows Standard (Extra Large) scheme. The following steps include directions for setting that up, too. Changing the Pointer Scheme
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Mouse icon. The Mouse Properties dialog box opens. 2. Click the Pointers tab.
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3. Open the Scheme drop-down list and select the scheme you want. See Figure 10.5.
FIGURE 10.5 Choose a pointer scheme.
4. (Optional) To use a specific pointer for a specific position, do the following: • Select the pointer you want to change. • Click the Browse button. • Select the file for the pointer you want to use. The pointers that come with Windows are in the C:\Windows\Cursors folder. • Click the Open button. 5. Click OK. SEE ALSO ➤ To add Windows components such as pointer schemes, see page 156
Controlling Multimedia Audio Settings
Installing Pointer Schemes Two pointer schemes are always available: Animated Hourglass and Windows Standard. Three other schemes are available, too: 3D, Windows Standard (Large), and Windows Standard (Extra Large). However, these latter three are not installed by default with a standard Windows installation. If you want to install these extra pointer schemes, see “Adding and Removing Windows Components” in Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs.”
Audio settings are settings that affect your audio input and output devices. Most people’s systems have one audio output device, a sound card, and one audio input device, a microphone. However, if you have multiple input or output devices, you might want to choose among them, as in the following steps.
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Checking and Changing Audio Settings Use the Default Pointer To use the default pointer (the Windows Standard pointer) for a particular position, select it from the list and click the Use Default button.
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Sounds and Multimedia icon. 2. On the Audio tab (see Figure 10.6), do any of the following: • To change the default audio playback device (for example, if you have more than one sound card), choose it from the Preferred device drop-down list in the Sound Playback area. • To change the default audio input device (for example, if you have several microphones or other inputs devices), choose from the Preferred device drop-down list in the Sound Recording section. • To change the default MIDI playback device, choose from the Preferred device drop-down list in the MIDI Music Playback section. • To use only the selected preferred devices, mark the Use only preferred devices check box. (I normally leave this unmarked for greater flexibility.) 3. Click OK.
FIGURE 10.6 Select audio recording and playback devices here.
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Controlling Sound Volume You can easily access the volume control for your PC by doubleclicking the speaker icon in the System tray. (Or, if it’s not there, you can open the Start menu and choose Programs, Accessories, Entertainment, Volume Control.) A box of volume controls for each device type appears. By single-clicking on the speaker icon, you get a simple one-bar slider that adjusts the master volume. The Volume control panel has a master volume control on the left, followed by controls for each device type. Depending on your setup, you might see ones for CD, Wave, MIDI, Synthesizer, Microphone, Line, Auxiliary, Video, and Modem. Each device can be adjusted separately by dragging its slider bar up or down. See Figure 10.7.
No Speaker Icon? If you don’t see a speaker icon in the System tray, perhaps you are using software that replaces the default speaker icon with some other symbol. For example, Ensoniq, a popular sound card brand, provides a volume control with its own unique icon in the system tray.
You can control which devices have volume controls in this panel. The ones in Figure 10.7 are the devices I have chosen to display there because they are the devices I work with frequently. You can open the Options menu and choose Properties to open a list of devices for which you can enable or disable volume control display. See Figure 10.8.
FIGURE 10.7 Here is the Volume control panel on my system. Master volume You can mute any of the devices.
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FIGURE 10.8 You can control which devices appear.
If you do not have a volume control icon in the system tray, you can do the following to place it there. Displaying Volume Control in the System Tray
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Sounds and Multimedia icon. 2. Click the Sounds tab if it is not already displayed. 3. Select the Show volume control on the taskbar check box. 4. Click OK. If the check box in step 3 is unavailable, your sound card is not set up correctly; you might need to install a driver for it. SEE ALSO ➤ To install device drivers, see page 218
Setting System Sound Effects I remember back in the late ’80s, I had a friend who had a Macintosh computer. He had it set up to make all kinds of interesting noises when certain system events occurred. Whereas my DOS-based PC had only one generic beep, his had Captain Kirk saying, “Ahead, Warp Factor One,” each morning when he turned it on. And his onscreen error messages were accompanied by rude noises that approximated various bodily functions depending on the error type. I was quite envious! Nowadays Windows can do the same thing. You can associate any sound with any system event—and never have a moment’s silence in your office again.
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You can choose sounds for each event individually, or you can apply one of Windows’ sound schemes. Several schemes are available, each centered on a theme, such as music or nature. Another way to apply a set of sounds is to choose a desktop theme, as you learned in Chapter 9, “Customizing the Screen Appearance.” Each of the desktop themes that comes with Windows comes with a full complement of system event sounds. Choosing System Event Sounds
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Sounds and Multimedia icon. The Sounds and Multimedia Properties dialog box opens, with the Sounds tab displayed. 2. To choose a sound scheme, open the Scheme drop-down list and click a scheme.
System Event? A system event is any activity that Windows controls. System events include (but are not limited to) windows opening, windows closing, error messages appearing, system startup, system shutdown, and emptying the Recycle Bin. You do not have to assign sounds to every system event; you can pick and choose so that you hear noises only occasionally.
3. To preview a sound for a particular event (to see whether you like it), do the following: • Click the system event on the Events list. • Click the Play button (the right-pointing triangle). The sound plays. See Figure 10.9.
FIGURE 10.9 Check out an event’s sound by previewing it. Play button Speaker symbol means a sound is associated with this event.
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4. To change the sound associated with an event, do the following: No Schemes?
• Select the event from the Sound Events list.
If you do not see any schemes other than No Sounds and Windows Default on the list in step 2, the sound schemes are not installed. Use Add/Remove Programs to add the schemes. See Chapter 8 for help.
• Open the Name drop-down list and choose a different sound. (Preview it if you are not sure what it sounds like.) 5. To save a changed sound scheme, click the Save As button, enter a new scheme name, and click Save. 6. Click OK. SEE ALSO ➤ To choose a desktop theme, see page 195 ➤ To install Windows components (such as sound schemes), see page 156
Setting the Date and Time Use Your Own Sounds To use a sound that you have recorded yourself or downloaded from the Internet, click the Browse button next to the Name drop-down list and locate/select the sound file.
FIGURE 10.10 Check and change the date and time here.
Auto Adjust The Automatically Adjust check box is unavailable in Figure 10.10 because Indiana is chosen for the time zone, and Indiana does not change for Daylight Saving Time.
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When you install Windows, you confirm (and change if needed) the date and time. You can update the date and time settings whenever you like (for example, if you move to a different time zone or if your computer’s built-in clock loses or gains time). To display the Date/Time Properties dialog box, double-click the clock in the System tray or double-click the Date/Time icon in the Control Panel. See Figure 10.10.
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Then, set the date and time as needed. Click OK when finished. ■
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To change the date, choose a month and year from the Date drop-down lists, and then click a day on the calendar to choose a day. To set the time, type a new time in the Time box under the clock face. To choose your time zone, make your selection from the Time zone drop-down list. To automatically adjust for Daylight Saving Time (or not), select or deselect the Automatically adjust clock for daylight saving changes check box.
Adjusting Regional Settings The term region loosely refers to country. In different countries, the unit of measurement, the currency, and the way dates are written can be different. By choosing a region, you choose all the appropriate settings for it. To access the Regional Settings properties, double-click Regional Settings in the Control Panel. Then, you can do one of the following: ■
Select a country or region from the Regional Settings tab (see Figure 10.11), and let Windows choose the appropriate formats for you. or
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Select a country or region as a starting point, but then customize the date format, currency, and other items on the corresponding tabs in the dialog box.
Losing Time If your PC’s clock loses time consistently (more than a minute or so), your computer’s battery might need replacing. This battery (on new motherboards, it’s generally a coin-shaped lithium-type battery)— known as a CMOS battery—is easily replaced and generally can be removed with your fingers or gently pried out with a small screwdriver. If you are unsure about what type of battery you need, either remove it and take it to the computer store with you or write down the make and model number of your motherboard and take it to the store with you. Generally, the CMOS battery will last a very long time—years—in fact. After you replace the battery, generally you’ll have to reset some System settings, such as the Date and Time settings and any passwords you have assigned to your BIOS. If you have an older motherboard, your battery might look like a smaller version of standard household batteries.
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FIGURE 10.11 By simply choosing a country, you set all the settings on all the other tabs automatically.
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11 Installing Hardware Devices You Can Install BIOS Setup Updating a Device Driver Removing a Device Driver Setting Up a Printer Setting Up a Scanner Working with a Digital Camera
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Devices You Can Install New hardware: Nearly everyone wants some, right? If your PC is more than a few months old, chances are that you wish you had a new something. Perhaps it’s a bigger monitor, a DVD drive, a scanner, or a printer. Entire books are written about the physical installation of new devices. (I have even written one myself, called Upgrade Your PC in a Weekend.) But I’ll save you the money and tell you the secret of successful upgrading: Read the instructions. Each new piece of hardware comes with a manual—or at least an instruction sheet. Read it and follow the directions to the letter. You can add lots of devices to your system, but they all boil down to a few categories: ■
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Cards/Adapters. These are circuit cards you plug into expansion slots on the motherboard (inside the case). The card has a connector on it (usually) into which you can plug either an internal device (such as a drive) or an external device (such as a scanner). Drives. These are metal boxes that you install in drive bays inside the case. (Examples: CD-ROM, CD-R/CD-RW, DVD, hard disks, floppies, Zip drives.) You connect cables to them that run to your motherboard or a card (see previous) and to the PC’s power supply. External devices. These plug into ports at the back of your PC. The port might be one that came with the PC or one that you added yourself with a card (see previous). Printers, scanners, and some digital cameras fall into this category. External devices require their own power supply, so you must plug them into an AC outlet in addition to hooking them up to your PC. (Keyboards and mice are the exception; they don’t require separate power.) Memory. Minicards or individual chips that plug into the motherboard or a card. They increase the memory of an existing component (either the system as a whole or a particular device, such as the video card). The most commonly discussed type of memory is called RAM (Random Access Memory).
PART II BIOS Setup CHAPTER 11
BIOS Setup Most of these devices are fairly straightforward to install. You just hook them up as described in their directions. (Make sure your PC’s power is off before installing or removing a device, of course.) The only wrinkle is that some devices (notably drives) might require you to set them up in the BIOS setup program. The BIOS is an automatically executed startup routine that runs certain tests and checks for installed hardware. The BIOS program is stored on a Read-Only Memory (ROM) chip mounted on the motherboard. Most systems have a setup program built into the BIOS that displays the BIOS settings and enables you to customize them. The customizations are stored on a special microchip called a CMOS chip (Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor). As the PC starts up, it first reads the “house rules” from the BIOS chip. Then, it reads the exceptions to the rules that you have set up on the CMOS chip. The exceptions override any of the house rules that they contradict. For example, if the BIOS says “you have one floppy drive” but the CMOS says “you have two floppy drives,” then the “two drives” setting will reign. When you start your PC, you probably see a message onscreen briefly that reads Press F1 for Setup—or Delete, F2, or some other key. If you follow that instruction (quickly, before the message goes away), you enter the BIOS setup.
Automatic BIOS Setup Some of the most modern computers detect new devices automatically and set up the BIOS for you so that you do not have to enter the BIOS setup program and manually configure the device. (This is known as a Plug and Play BIOS). Also, most new hard drives support what is known as Drive Autodetection, which automatically configures the BIOS with essential information about the drive (number of tracks, sectors, and cylinders). All of this happens without much interaction from you.
When you are in the BIOS Setup program, look for a place to set the drive type. For floppy or CD-ROM drives, set the drive type to the appropriate setting if it is not already correct. (Instructions onscreen should tell you how to change a type.) Most BIOS programs have specific drive types for CD-ROM and floppy. Some have a specific drive type for SuperDisks (LS-120 drives) and Zip drives, too. If you are setting up a hard disk, set the drive type to Auto, or use the AutoConfigure Drive Type feature if one is available. (Sorry I can’t be more specific, because every BIOS program is different.) Then, exit the BIOS program (try the Esc or F10 keys) and save your changes.
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Setting Up Device Drivers in Windows After you have installed a new piece of hardware in your PC (following the instructions that came with it to the letter, of course), you’re ready to see how it will interact with Windows. Most new devices that you buy these days are plug-and-play compatible. That means that, in theory anyway, you just plug them in (that is, install them), and they play (that is, operate) without any special setup. It’s a nice idea, but it doesn’t always work. Turn on your PC, and let Windows start up. Depending on the device, one of several things might happen: ■
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Turn It On Windows cannot automatically detect an external device, such as a printer or scanner, unless the device is turned on and online.
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Windows automatically detects the new device and installs one of its own built-in drivers for it. Windows comes with drivers for hundreds of popular devices, so if you buy a name-brand device, this is more likely to happen to you. (Lucky dog.) Windows automatically detects the new device and prompts you to insert the disk that came with it. Just do as you’re told onscreen. Windows acts as though it detected the device and installed a driver, but the device doesn’t work. This usually means you need to run a special setup program on the disk that came with the new device. (It also can mean a resource conflict exists; see Chapter 25, “Troubleshooting Problems.”) Windows doesn’t detect the device automatically at all, and you must use the Add New Hardware Wizard to ask Windows to look for it.
All the previous scenarios except the last one are easy to handle, so we’ll take a look at the Add New Hardware Wizard in the following section. SEE ALSO ➤ To run a setup program for a device, see page 159 ➤ To troubleshoot device problems, see page 492
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Using the Add New Hardware Wizard First, some bad news. If Windows did not detect the new device automatically, and it’s a device that’s supposed to be Plug and Play, there is probably a problem with it, such as a resource conflict or a mechanical failure. (Or maybe you just don’t have it installed correctly.) However, the next proper step, before you start troubleshooting (see Chapter 25), is to run the Add New Hardware Wizard, in the hope that something will shake loose and Windows will suddenly recognize the device. You also can use the Add New Hardware Wizard to configure an ealier, non-plug-and-play device in your system. Running the Add New Hardware Wizard
1. Close all running programs. 2. From the Control Panel, double-click Add New Hardware. 3. Click Next, and then click Next again. The wizard searches for new plug-and-play devices. If it finds any, it prompts you to complete the wizard without having to go through the rest of these steps; follow the prompts to do so. If it didn’t find any plug-and-play devices, continue to step 4. 4. It then asks whether you want to search for non-plug-and-play devices. Click Yes, and then click Next, and then Next again. 5. Wait for the detection results to appear. • If you see a message that it did not find any new hardware, click Cancel. It didn’t work. See Chapter 25 for troubleshooting help. • If you see a message that it found new hardware, click the Details button to see what it found. A list of the detected devices appears, as shown in Figure 11.1. 6. To install the device(s) listed, click Finish. Or, if the device(s) found is not the device you thought you were installing, click Cancel and see Chapter 25. You also can use the Add New Hardware Wizard to manually set up a new device. This might be useful if you want to set up a device that is not currently connected to your PC. Perhaps you share the device
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with some other user and that person currently has “custody” of it. You can still set it up in Windows so that the device will work when it does become available.
FIGURE 11.1 The new device(s) detected.
Setting Up a Device Manually with the Add New Hardware Wizard
1. Close all running programs. 2. From the Control Panel, double-click Add New Hardware. 3. Click Next, and then Next again to search for plug-and-play devices. 4. When asked whether you want to search for non-plug-and-play devices, click No, I want to select the hardware from a list, and then click Next. 5. A list of device types appears, as shown in Figure 11.2. Click the type you want, and then click Next.
FIGURE 11.2 Choose the device type to set up.
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6. Depending on the device type you chose: • A wizard might start for the device type chosen. (Printers, infrared devices, and modems fall into this category.) Work through the wizard by following the prompts. • A list of device manufacturers and models might appear, as shown in Figure 11.3. Choose the model you want to set up, and then choose Next. 7. Follow the prompts that appear to install the drivers for the device. You might be asked to insert the Windows Millennium CD-ROM, to reboot, or to answer some other questions, depending on the device type.
Got Disk? If you have a disk that came with the device, insert it in step 6 at the list of manufacturers screen, and then click the Have Disk button.
FIGURE 11.3 Some device types let you choose from a list of makes and models.
8. Shut down the PC and install the new device if it is not already installed and available. 9. Check the device to see whether it is working. If not, see Chapter 25 for troubleshooting help.
Setting Up a Printer Many times, Windows will detect a new printer automatically or at least detect it when you run the Add New Hardware Wizard. But if it doesn’t, you can use the Add Printer Wizard to set it up. The procedure for setting up a local printer is different from that of a network printer (that is, a printer that isn’t connected directly to your PC), so we’ll look at local printers first.
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Adding a Local Printer Its Own Setup Program?
1. Open the Start menu, point to Settings, and click Printers.
Don’t use the Add Printer Wizard if the printer comes with its own setup program on disk; use its own setup program instead. The setup program will accomplish everything that the Add Printer Wizard will, and it will install any extra software that came with the printer.
2. Double-click the Add Printer icon. 3. Click Next to start the Add Printer Wizard. 4. Choose Local printer and then click Next. 5. Do one of the following: Choose the printer’s manufacturer and model from the list provided, and then click Next. or Insert the disk provided by the manufacturer, then click Have Disk, and follow the prompts to select the model. 6. Select the port that the printer is connected to from the list of ports that appears. Then, click Next. The ones for my system appear in Figure 11.4; your list might be different. (Hint: Most local printers are connected to LPT1.)
FIGURE 11.4 Choose the port to which the printer is connected.
7. Type a descriptive name for the printer in the Printer name text box. This description will appear in the Print dialog box in applications from which you print. 8. Choose Yes or No to choose whether this printer is your default printer. Then, click Next. 9. Choose Yes to print a test page or No to skip it.
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If you chose to print a test page, a box appears asking whether it printed okay. Click Yes (assuming it did) or click No to open a print troubleshooting box, and then follow along with it to fix the problem. 10. Click Finish. The printer’s drivers are installed. If prompted, insert the Windows Millennium CD-ROM into your drive and click OK to continue. After you have installed the printer’s drivers, that printer appears in the Printers folder (Start, Settings, Printers) and also in all printer listings (such as in the Print dialog box in an application). If you are setting up to print from a network printer (that is, a printer that is not physically attached to your own PC, but to some other PC on your network), the Add Printer Wizard is the best way to accomplish that, as shown in the following steps. After you set up a network printer, it appears in all printer listings, the same as a local printer, and works the same way. Adding a Network Printer
1. Open the Start menu, point to Settings, and click Printers. 2. Double-click the Add Printer icon. 3. Click Next to start the Add Printer Wizard. 4. Choose Network Printer and then click Next. 5. Click the Browse button and locate the printer you want to use. Figure 11.5 shows a printer being found on another PC. Then, click OK.
FIGURE 11.5 Browse the network to find the printer you want to share.
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6. Click Next. 7. Type a descriptive name for the printer in the Printer name text box. This description will appear in the Print dialog box in applications from which you print. 8. Choose Yes or No to choose whether this printer is your default printer. Then, click Next. 9. Choose Yes to print a test page or No to skip it. If you chose to print a test page, a box appears asking whether it printed okay. Click Yes (assuming it did) or click No to open a print troubleshooting box, and then follow along with it to fix the problem. SEE ALSO ➤ To make your local printer available to others on a network, see page 244 ➤ To browse a network, see page 263 ➤ To control a print queue, see page 243
Setting Up a Scanner When working with a scanner, it is extremely important that you follow the instructions that came with the device. That’s because so many brands and types of scanners are available, and each one works a little differently.
TWAIN Compatible Most scanners these days conform to a standard called TWAIN. Such scanners can be used in a variety of programs to scan directly into that program. (Most of the Microsoft Office 2000 programs allow you to do this, for example.) That means you don’t have to use the software that comes with the scanner if you don’t like it.
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First, the physical installation of a scanner varies depending on what interface it uses. Some scanners plug into your PC’s USB (Universal Serial Bus) port; others share your parallel port with the printer; still others require a SCSI connection (a special add-on circuit card) or come with their own interface cards that you install. After you perform the physical installation and turn on the PC, Windows might automatically detect the scanner. However, you should always run the setup software that comes with a scanner because it will install a program that you can use to scan and edit pictures. (Many scanners come with a program called PhotoDeluxe for this purpose; others come with their own proprietary software.)
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Setting Up a Digital Camera As with scanners, you must be very careful to read the instructions that come with your digital camera because every one is different. The camera is basically a standalone device; you connect it to your PC only to transfer pictures from it. Some cameras save the pictures on floppy disks (notably the Sony Mavica cameras), so you don’t have to do any setup at all in Windows. Simply copy the .jpg files from the camera disk to your hard drive. Other cameras require you to connect them to one of the PC’s ports temporarily to transfer the images. Some cameras connect to a USB port, others to a serial port, a SCSI port, a PC Card port (for laptops only), or an infrared port. The setup program that comes with the camera will install the appropriate software to enable you to make the connection.
Scanner Management Windows Millennium has an icon in the Control Panel for scanners and digital cameras. Double-click it to open a list of installed scanners and cameras. Then right-click any of these devices and choose Properties to control its settings.
Still another kind of camera attaches more-or-less full-time to one of your PC’s ports and is used to capture and broadcast video images for videoconferencing. These are cameras, but in a different sense than is popular today. To use one of these, follow the instructions that come with it.
Setting Up a Digital Camera in Windows Windows Millennium offers full support for the type of digital camera that plugs into your PC to transfer its images. You can plug your digital camera into your PC, through a serial port or USB, and transfer the pictures from the camera to your hard disk with ease. (It also supports other kinds of cameras, such as video cameras, but in a more indirect way; you must use the software that came with the device.) First, set up your camera’s hardware according to the directions that came with it. This might involve shutting your PC down and attaching a serial or USB cable to it. You also might have to flip a switch on the camera to put it in some kind of “connect” mode. It’s different with every camera, so read the instructions. Then, turn on the PC, and run the setup program that came with the camera. (See “Installing a New Program from a Setup Disk” in Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs.”) Even if Windows
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automatically detects and installs the camera, you should still run its setup software, because there might be extra features enabled through the software. After you’ve done all that, an extra icon for your camera will appear in the My Computer window. It doesn’t replace the My Digital Camera icon; it appears in addition to it (see Figure 11.6). If you don’t have a digital camera that’s directly supported in Windows, you can use the My Digital Camera window to manage photos on disk. For example, if you use a camera such as a Mavica that stores images on floppy disks, you can check out the floppy’s content with the My Digital Camera window. See the following section.
FIGURE 11.6 Your digital camera is accessible through My Computer. Digital camera recognized by Windows
Transferring Images from a Digital Camera You can double-click the camera icon to open a folder window containing the images stored on the camera. From there you can copy or move them to your hard disk the same as you would with any other file on a disk (see Figure 11.7). The official name for this photoviewing window is FotoExplorer, and it’s just like any other file management window except the View menu contains a few specialpurpose commands. The first time you work with the camera, the Windows Picture Acquisition Wizard runs. This walks you through the process of transferring the camera images step-by-step. In the future, if you want to use the wizard, you can right-click the camera icon and click Use Wizard. The following steps take you through the wizard.
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FIGURE 11.7 The camera images, ready to transfer to your PC. If you do not see previews of the images, open the View menu and choose Thumbnails.
Transferring Camera Images with the Picture Acquisition Wizard
1. Make sure your digital camera is connected to your PC. 2. Right-click the camera’s icon in My Computer, and choose Use Wizard. The Windows Picture Acquisition Wizard runs. 3. Click Next to begin. 4. Thumbnails of the pictures in the camera appear. Click the ones you want to select for transfer, or click Select All (see Figure 11.8). Then, click Next.
FIGURE 11.8 Choose which of the images you want to transfer to your PC. If you need to rotate an image, select it and click the Rotate button before clicking Next.
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5. Enter a name prefix for the selected pictures in the Name box. Pictures are numbered sequentially with the text you enter as a prefix. For example, if you entered Pets, and there were three pictures selected, they would be named Pets001.jpg, Pets002.jpg, and Pets003.jpg. 6. Select a destination for the pictures from the Destination dropdown list (or use Browse to locate a destination). The default is the C:\My Documents\My Pictures folder. 7. (Optional) If you want to delete the images from the camera after transferring them, mark the Delete copied pictures from camera check box. 8. Click Finish. The images are transferred. Before you disconnect the camera, check its instruction manual to make sure you don’t need to do anything special to prevent damage to it. For example, on the Kodak camera I use, you must flip a switch to take it out of Connect mode before unplugging it. Most digital cameras come with their own software, which you might choose to use for image transfer instead of using Windows’ own interface. The camera-specific software might have extra features, for example, such as the capability to color-correct a photo. Use whichever program you feel most comfortable with.
Installing a New Driver for an Existing Device If you upgraded to Windows Millennium from an earlier version of Windows, the drivers for some of your devices might not be as good as they could be. Drivers written for a device for Windows 95 or 98 will usually work with Windows Millennium, but they might not always work very well. If you started having problems with a device (such as a scanner, a printer, a video card, a modem) after upgrading to Windows Millennium, a driver update might provide the fix you need. Several ways exist to acquire an updated driver. The device’s manufacturer might have a Web site where you can download one, for example. (Such downloads often come with their own setup
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programs; if so, you do not have to go through the procedure in the following steps. You run the provided setup program instead.) You can also get a new driver using AutoUpdate. Or you can use a driver from a disk that you have ordered from the manufacturer. (Check the device’s manual to see whether there is a phone number to call to order device driver updates.) SEE ALSO ➤ For more information about AutoUpdate, see page 456
Updating a Device Driver
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the System icon. (Or right-click My Computer on the desktop and choose Properties.) 2. Click the Device Manager tab. 3. Select the device whose driver you want to update. 4. Click Properties.
Manually Choosing a Driver In step 7, you can instead choose to specify the location of the driver and click Next. If you do so, the window in Figure 11.9 appears, prompting for the driver’s location.
5. Click the Driver tab. 6. Click the Update Driver button. The Update Device Driver Wizard opens. 7. Choose Automatic search for a better driver. 8. Click Next. 9. Follow the recommendation that appears, depending on what Windows finds. It might find, for example, that you are already using the best driver. Or it might recommend an update. Continue working through the wizard to its completion.
FIGURE 11.9 Choose where to look for updated drivers.
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Removing Drivers for a Removed Device Do I Have To? If you don’t remove the drivers for the removed device, probably nothing bad will happen. However, that device will continue to appear on lists of available devices, which might be confusing, especially to someone else using your PC. In addition, if the device driver is still loaded, Windows is still allocating system resources to the device, which is wasteful.
Sometimes, when you remove a device from your system, Windows detects that fact and removes the drivers for it. But more often, it doesn’t, and you must remove the drivers yourself. The Control Panel contains several icons for specific device types, such as Modems and Network, and you can remove devices from these Properties dialog boxes. Just select the component to remove and click the Remove button. Figure 11.10 shows the Modems Properties dialog box, for example. It’s even easier to remove a printer. Just display the Printers window (Start, Settings, Printers), click the icon for the printer, and press the Delete key.
FIGURE 11.10 To remove a specific type of device from Windows, choose Remove from the Properties for that device type. Remove button
You also can remove components from the Device Manager. The Device Manager presents a list of all the devices on your system, much like the tree in Windows Explorer. The following steps show how: Deleting a Device Driver from Device Manager
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the System icon. 2. Click the Device Manager tab.
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3. Click the plus sign (+) next to the type of device you want. A list of installed devices of that type appears, as shown in Figure 11.11.
FIGURE 11.11 Devices also can be removed through Device Manager. Selected device Remove button
4. Click the device for which you want to remove the driver. 5. Click the Remove button. 6. Click OK to close the System Properties dialog box. SEE ALSO ➤ For more information about Device Manager, see page 492
Remove to Reinstall If a plug-and-play compatible device isn’t working correctly, it can sometimes be coaxed into working by removing its driver from Device Manager and then clicking Refresh to force Windows to redetect it.
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12 Managing Fonts and Printers Installing and Removing Fonts Printing Font Samples Setting Printer Properties Controlling a Print Queue Sharing Your Printer on a Network
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PART II Modifying Your System CHAPTER 12 Managing Fonts and Printers
Working with Fonts Font Versus Typeface Officially, a font is a particular typeface at a particular size with certain attributes, such as Courier 12-point Bold, but I tend to use the terms font and typeface interchangeably to mean a named family of characters, such as Arial, Times New Roman, or Courier.
Fonts are typefaces that you can use onscreen and in printed documents. The more fonts you have, the more flexibility you have in creating documents with exactly the look you want. For example, you might create a newsletter that uses Arial for the headings, Times New Roman for the body text, Arial Black for the page numbers, and so on. Windows Millennium comes with several fonts, including Courier, Times New Roman, Arial, and Symbol. You also might have other fonts installed, depending on what other software you have. (For example, Microsoft Office comes with many fonts.) Figure 12.1 shows samples of some of the fonts on my PC. You can install more fonts yourself, as you’ll learn in “Installing New Fonts” later in this chapter.
FIGURE 12.1 A few common fonts are shown here.
One way to see a list of the installed fonts is to open the Font dropdown list or the Font dialog box in one of your word processing programs. For example, Figure 12.2 shows the Font drop-down list in Microsoft Word 2000. From that list you can choose the font you want to apply to the selected text (or to text that you are about to type). Another way is to open the Font listing from the Control Panel, as shown in the following steps. From here, you can not only view the installed fonts but also do the activities described in the following sections (sorting, filtering, adding/removing, and so on). Displaying the List of Installed Fonts
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Fonts icon. A window containing the fonts appears, as shown in Figure 12.3.
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FIGURE 12.2 Most word processing programs let you browse the list of available fonts.
FIGURE 12.3 The Fonts window shows all installed fonts for your PC. TrueType fonts (TT icons) Non-TrueType font (A icon)
TrueType Versus PostScript Most of the fonts on your system are probably TrueType fonts, designated by a TT icon. These are fonts designed for use in Windows (or on a Macintosh). You also might have a few other types of fonts available (for example, fonts that are built into your printer). In Figure 12.3, notice that the icon for Courier is different—it has an A on it, indicating a non-TrueType font.
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Font Previews Office 2000 enables you to see a real sample of each font on the Font drop-down list in its programs, as shown in Figure 12.2. Not all word processing programs do that; in most of them, you see only the font names on the Font dropdown list in plain lettering.
Using Unusual Fonts on Web Pages If you want to use a font on your Web page that most of your viewers won’t have, consider creating a graphic of the text to use instead. This will allow the user to see your text as you intended it to be seen, regardless of whether the user has the same font installed on his or her computer. To create a graphic from typed text, use the Paint, and use the Text tool to type the text in whatever font you want. Then, save the file as a graphic and place the graphic on the Web page.
Try to use TrueType fonts whenever you can in your work. They offer several advantages over other fonts. For starters, TrueType fonts are scalable—that is, you can use them in any size you want. (Other fonts might or might not be.) TrueType fonts also can be embedded in word processing documents (in some programs) so that a person working with your document on another PC can see and print it correctly even if he or she does not have the same fonts installed as you do. If you have a PostScript printer, you probably have access to 35 or more built-in, scalable PostScript typefaces. If you will be exchanging files with a professional printing service, the service might want you to use those PostScript fonts to create your work because they will be printing your final copy on a PostScript printer, too. Contact the printing service before you spend a lot of time formatting a document, to find out the exact requirements. Fonts are not just for printouts; you also can use different fonts in your Web pages and other documents designed for onscreen viewing. Keep in mind, however, that whoever views the page or document will need to have that same font installed on his or her own screens, or the document won’t look the same. You can provide the needed fonts for download on your Web page (subject to any copyright restrictions placed on a particular font by its creator, of course), but it is easier to stick with common fonts when designing Web pages, such as Arial, Times New Roman, and Courier.
Changing the View of the Font List The Fonts window appears to be a regular folder, but it is special in several ways. First, it has its own special toolbar with which you can display the fonts in any of four ways: Large Icons. Displays the fonts as large icons, as shown in Figure 12.3. This is the default. List. Displays the fonts in a list, with small icons. Similarity. Displays a special view in which you can determine how similar one font is to another. (More on this shortly.) Details. Displays details about each font, such as file size and date last modified.
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Of these four views, three will seem familiar. The odd one here, Similarity, can be used to sort fonts according to their similarity to a font that you choose. You might want to sort by similarity for several reasons. One of the most common is to weed out fonts that are virtually identical to another font so that you do not have to scroll through lots of similar fonts to find the font you need. If you have two fonts that look almost the same, you probably won’t want to have both installed and taking up space; you will want to keep one and discard the other. By choosing a font and then deleting any fonts that are marked Very Similar, you can trim your font list to a more manageable and useful size. Viewing Fonts by Similarity
1. In the Fonts window, click the Similarity button. 2. Open the List fonts by similarity to drop-down list and choose the font that you want to compare all others to. See Figure 12.4. 3. Examine the list of fonts. They are sorted from most similar to the chosen font to least similar.
FIGURE 12.4 Choose a font to compare to others.
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One other viewing option: You can display or hide the variations for each font. For example, suppose separate font files exist for Arial, Arial Bold, Arial Italic, and Arial Bold Italic. If you choose to hide the variations, you would see only one file on the list: Arial. To display or hide variations, open the View menu and choose Hide Variations (Bold, Italic, and so on). SEE ALSO ➤ To delete an unwanted font (from any view), see page 240.
Printing a Font Sample Page Font Sample Book You might want to print a sample page for each font on your system and then assemble the printouts into a binder that you can use for reference when you need to select a font for a project. Or, if you don’t want a whole page devoted to each font, you can create your own sample page in your word processing program, with text formatted in each of the available fonts. Alternative Method Instead of steps 1 and 2, you can select the font and then open the File menu and choose Print, or you can right-click the font and choose Print from the shortcut menu. Then, pick up the procedure at step 3.
It’s hard to tell what a font looks like just from the name, although some of the names are rather descriptive (such as Comic or Stencil). But you can easily see and print a sample page for a font to remind yourself what it looks like. Printing a Sample Page for a Font
1. From the Fonts window, double-click a font. A window opens showing the sample for it. The one for Arial Black is shown in Figure 12.5. 2. To print the sample page, click the Print button. 3. In the Print dialog box that appears, click OK. 4. Click Done to close the sample window.
Installing New Fonts Most of the sources of new fonts provide their own installation utility, so you will seldom need to manually install fonts. For example, if you buy a CD full of fonts, it probably contains a font browser and installation utility. Or, if you buy a new word processing program that comes with fonts, the same setup program that installs the word processor probably installs the fonts, too. However, you might occasionally need to install fonts through Windows. For example, if a colleague provides a font to you on disk (or emails it to you), you might need to install it. Or, if you bought an inexpensive disk full of fonts, no installation utility might be provided.
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FIGURE 12.5 A font sample page, ready to print.
When you install a font, you can choose whether to copy the font to the Fonts folder. (The default is to copy it there.) If you choose not to copy the font, the font will not take up any space on your hard disk. (For a single font this is not a big issue, but if you’re dealing with dozens or hundreds of fonts, it can add up.) However, the font will not be available unless the disk from which it came is available. For example, if you leave the fonts on the network, and the network is down, you won’t be able to use the font. Installing Fonts
1. From the Fonts window, open the File menu and choose Install New Font. The Add Fonts dialog box opens. See Figure 12.6.
FIGURE 12.6 Add new fonts here.
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2. Navigate to the folder/drive containing the new font(s). Fonts Online You can find a variety of freeware and shareware fonts available for download on the Internet. Some sites will try to sell them to you, but many free fonts are available that are just as good as the commercial ones. See “Downloading a Program” in Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs,” for information about locating and downloading files online. Different Versions of the Printer Properties You can access a printer’s Properties dialog box from an application’s Print dialog box in many cases. For example, in Figure 12.7 notice the Properties button, which will take you to the Properties dialog box. However, the Properties box that appears might not contain a complete set of options for the printer. For full access to its properties, use the following steps instead.
To do so, first choose the drive from the Drives list and then choose the folder from the Folders list. Or to browse the network, choose the Network button. 3. Click the font you want from the List of fonts. To select more than one font, hold down the Ctrl key as you click the ones you want. Or click the Select All button to select all the fonts in the chosen folder. 4. To copy the fonts to your hard disk (recommended), make sure the Copy fonts to Fonts folder check box is marked. 5. Click OK. The fonts are installed.
Removing Fonts To remove a font from your system, simply delete it from the Fonts folder as you would delete any file. (That is, select it and then press the Delete key.) Deleted fonts go to the Recycle Bin, so you can restore them from there as you learned in Chapter 5, “Managing Files and Folders.” SEE ALSO ➤ To restore a deleted font from the Recycle Bin, see page 102
Controlling a Printer Most of the time, you will control your printer through the Print dialog box of whatever program you are using. For example, in Word 2000, you would work with the Print dialog box shown in Figure 12.7. The Print dialog box enables you to choose how many copies and what portion of the current document you would like to print. (This was covered in Chapter 3.) In addition to setting how a particular print job will print, you also can set up the printer itself. You can set properties that control how it operates, you can control its queue (that is, the list of documents waiting to be printed), and you can choose to share your local printer on a network. You will learn about each of those things in the following sections.
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FIGURE 12.7 A typical Print dialog box for an application.
Setting Printer Properties Each printer has an array of properties you can set for it. The exact properties available depend on the type and model of printer; each one is slightly different. For example, some printers allow you to manage color settings; others don’t have color capability, so it’s not an issue. Working with Printer Properties
1. Open the Start menu, point to Settings, and click Printers. This displays the Printers folder. 2. Right-click a printer and choose Properties from the shortcut menu. (Or select the printer and then open the File menu and click Properties.) 3. Make any changes desired to the printer settings. (See Table 12.1 for guidance.) 4. Click OK. Because the properties for each printer are slightly different, I can’t give you a full list of the properties and what they do. However, Figure 12.8 shows the Properties box for one of my printers so that you can see the various tabbed sections, and Table 12.1 lists some of the more common properties that you might find for a printer and explains something about them.
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FIGURE 12.8 A Properties box for a typical inkjet printer.
Table 12.1 Common Printer Properties Setting
Description
Port
The port that the printer is attached to.
Copies
The number of copies the printer will print unless otherwise specified in an application.
Orientation
Page direction, portrait or landscape, unless otherwise specified in an application.
Form Size
The dimensions of the paper being used unless otherwise specified.
Tray
The default paper tray to use, if the printer has more than one.
Resolution
The image quality. Higher quality might equal slower printing speed.
Dithering
The fineness (or coarseness) of the dots that make up a shaded image.
Font Substitutions
Which of the printer’s built-in fonts (if any) should be used instead of certain TrueType fonts.
Sharing
Whether the printer should be available to other users on your network. (More on this shortly.)
SEE ALSO ➤ To print from a program, see page 58 ➤ To set up a new printer in Windows, see page 221
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Managing the Print Queue Each printer has its own queue in which documents wait to be printed. Most home users print only one document at a time and have only one PC and printer, so the queue will not be a big issue. However, if several people share a printer on a network, there sometimes might be a list of several documents waiting for their turns at being printed. You can view this list and (if you have the appropriate network permissions) rearrange and even delete print jobs on it.
Print Icon in System Tray When your default printer has print jobs to be printed, a Printer icon appears in your System tray. You can double-click it to open the print queue for that printer instead of performing step 1, if you prefer.
Managing the Print Queue for a Printer
1. From the Printers folder (Start, Settings, Printers), doubleclick the printer you want. The print queue for the printer appears. Figure 12.9 shows an example.
FIGURE 12.9 A print queue with several documents waiting. Owner of the print job Size When started Job status
2. Do any of the following: • To pause a particular print job, select it and then choose Pause Printing from the Document menu. To resume it, repeat. • To pause the entire printer, choose Pause Printing from the Printer menu. To restart it, repeat. • To delete a particular print job, select it and choose Cancel Printing from the Document menu, or press the Delete key. • To delete all print jobs, choose Purge Print Documents from the Printer menu.
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• To move a certain document higher or lower in the queue, drag it with drag and drop, just as you would drag any object on the desktop or in a file listing. 3. When you are finished with the printer’s queue, close the window. SEE ALSO ➤ To learn more about the System tray, see page 150 ➤ For more information on drag-and-drop, see page 97
Sharing a Printer on the Network After You, Please! Another way to move an item to the bottom of the queue is to pause it and let all the other jobs continue around it; then, release it when the others have finished.
If you are on a network, you might want to share your printer with others. For example, I have three computers in my home, networked, and two printers. Each computer can print to any printer, thanks to network sharing. Networking is not necessarily a two-way street. Just because you can access files or printers on the network does not mean that others can automatically access yours. You must specifically set up permissions to do so. The following steps assume that you have a network already set up. If you don’t, see Chapter 14, “Using Network Resources.” Sharing a Local Printer on the Network
1. From the Printers folder, right-click the printer and choose Properties. 2. Click the Sharing tab. 3. Click Shared As. 4. Type a name for the printer in the Share Name box. This name will appear when others on the network are browsing your resources. 5. (Optional) Enter a comment that others will see when browsing your resources. 6. (Optional) Enter a password to use the printer, if you want to require it. That way, you can restrict the printer use to those to whom you give the password. Figure 12.10 shows a completed Sharing tab.
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FIGURE 12.10 Fill out the Sharing tab to specify how others will be able to use your printer. Password is optional. Comments are optional.
7. Click OK. Now others can view your printer on the network and set it up to be used from their own PCs, as explained in “Setting Up a Printer” in Chapter 11, “Installing Hardware.” SEE ALSO ➤ For more information about file and printer sharing on a network, see page 275 ➤ To set up a network printer to be used on your PC, see page 223
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IVIII SHARING RESOURCES Sharing a PC with Multiple Users
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Sharing an Internet Connection
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13 Sharing a PC with Multiple Users Setting Up Windows for Multiple Users Managing a User’s Custom Settings Adding and Removing Users Working with Passwords
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Setting Up Multiuser Operation No Security Windows Millennium Edition’s passwords and multiuser operation do not provide any security per se. If someone doesn’t know a password, he or she can simply create a new user on that PC and start it right up. If you have sensitive documents to protect, assign a password to the document in the application that created it. (The Microsoft Office programs all support this.)
In an ideal world, each worker in your office (and each family member at home) would have his or her own computer, and nobody would have to share. But, of course, in reality budgets are tight, and often several people end up sharing one machine. Sharing isn’t so bad, except that people might have different ideas about what constitutes attractive screen colors or a useful arrangement of commands on the Start menu. Especially if you have kids that use your home computer, you might find that their screen appearance choices are not your own! Luckily, Windows allows each person to customize his or her own settings. When you log on with the multiple users feature enabled, Windows identifies you and loads your settings. Windows is not set up for multiple users by default, however, so some initial configuration is involved. You will learn how to set it up in this chapter. First things first: You need to turn on multiuser operation and create your first user. (That’s probably you!) Then, you’ll add more users and perhaps change the settings for particular users or delete them. The following sections show how.
Enabling Multiuser Operation One User, Multiple Purposes Even if you don’t share your PC with others, you might want to set up separate “users” for various tasks. For example, you might have a “business user” set up with shortcuts on the desktop to all your business applications. Then, you might create another “user” for when you are playing games with the PC, with shortcuts to your favorite games.
To enable Windows to keep track of separate settings for each user, you must enable the User Profiles feature. Doing so sets up Windows to keep track of a separate desktop and Start menu for each user. That desktop and menu can be customized freely without affecting those of any other user. Enabling User Profiles
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Users icon. The Enable Multi-user Settings Wizard appears (see Figure 13.1). If it does not appear, user profiles might already be turned on for this PC. See the following section to add, delete, or configure user settings. 2. Click Next. The Add User dialog box appears. 3. Type the name of the first user you want to set up, and then click Next.
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FIGURE 13.1 You’ll see this if multiple users are not already set up.
4. Type a password for the user in the Password box, and then confirm it in the Confirm Password box. Then click Next. You don’t have to use passwords; simply leave both boxes blank if you like. 5. On the list that appears (see Figure 13.2), place a check mark next to each item that you want to personalize for this user.
FIGURE 13.2 Specify which settings should be customizable for this user.
6. Choose how you want the user settings to be managed: • Choose Create copies of the current items and their content to duplicate all the chosen items on the list (step 5) for each user you create. I recommend you choose this if you are not sure. • Choose Create new items to save disk space to reduce the amount of hard disk space consumed by the feature. This creates new folders only for user content that differs from the default.
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7. Click Next to continue. Beware the Start Menu
8. Click Finish.
If you choose Start Menu from the list in step 6, and you choose Create new items to save disk space in step 6, your Start menu will be nearly empty, and you will not have access to any of the programs that are already installed on your system. Therefore, if you are planning to have a customized Start menu for each user, make sure you choose Create copies of the current items and their content in step 6.
9. When prompted to restart Windows, click Yes. 10. At the logon box, type your username (or select it from a list if available) and password (if you’re using one) and click OK. You are now logged on as yourself, and you are ready to set up other users.
Adding Users After the initial multiuser setup that you went through in the preceding section, you will probably want to add other users. To do so, revisit the Users properties from the Control Panel. This time, instead of the wizard running, a User Settings dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 13.3.
FIGURE 13.3 Add users and manage the settings for existing ones here. Click here to add a new user.
Adding a User
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Users icon. The User Settings dialog box opens. 2. Click New User. The Add User dialog box appears. (This will seem familiar; you saw it in the preceding steps.)
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3. Click Next to begin. 4. Type the name of the user, and then click Next. 5. If you want to use a password for this user, type it into the Password box, and then again in the Confirm Password box. Leave both boxes blank if you don’t want to use passwords. Then, click Next. 6. Place a check mark next to each item that you want to personalize for this user. 7. Choose how you want the user settings to be managed, just as you did in the preceding steps. If in doubt, choose Create copies of the current items and their content. 8. Click Next to continue.
Password Protection? Using a password for a user profile will not keep others from using your PC because anyone can create a new username at logon.
9. Click Finish. 10. Click Close to close the User Settings dialog box. You also can create a new user by copying the settings from an existing one. To do so, from the Users list select the user to copy and then click Make a Copy. The Add User Wizard starts, the same as in the preceding steps, except that the default settings are the ones from the user you are copying. New users also can set themselves up, unless you are on a network where that has been prevented. When Windows starts and the Welcome to Windows box appears, if you type a new name in the User box, Windows Networking will detect that this is a new person and will ask the following: You have not logged on at this computer before. Would you like this computer to retain your individual settings for use when you log on here in the future?
Click Yes to set up that person as a new user on-the-fly. Choosing No allows the person to log in to Windows but does not retain any of their settings. SEE ALSO ➤ To switch between users, see page 254 ➤ To delete a user, see page 254 ➤ To change a user’s properties, see page 255 ➤ To change a user’s password, see page 257
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Working on a Multiuser System Now that you have some user profiles set up, you can customize your Windows environment freely, confident that nobody else will have to put up with your choice in color schemes or your menu arrangement. The following sections explain how to use and configure a multiuser Windows PC.
Switching Between Users Each time Windows starts, you are prompted to log in to Windows by providing your username and password. That’s how Windows determines whose settings to load. To change users without restarting the PC, follow these steps: Switching Users
1. Click Start and then click Log Off name, where name is the user currently logged on. The Log Off Windows box appears. 2. Click Yes. The Welcome to Windows box appears. 3. Select (or type) the username and password (if any), and click OK.
Deleting a User When you delete a user, Windows deletes all the customized settings for that user. Because the settings for each user take up disk space, it is good housekeeping to delete any users who will no longer be using your PC. Deleting a User
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Users icon. 2. Click the user that you want to delete. 3. Click the Delete button. A confirmation box appears. 4. Click Yes. 5. Click Close to close the User Settings dialog box.
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Changing a User’s Settings The settings that you specify when you create a user are merely a starting point; you can change them at any time. For example, you might decide that users should not have separate Favorites folders and want to disable personalized settings for that item for each user. Or, you might decide that you don’t want separate copies of everything for each user taking up space on your hard disk. Changing User Settings
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Users icon. 2. Click the user whose settings you want to change. 3. Click the Change Settings button. The Personalized Items Settings dialog box opens. (This box has the same options as in Figure 13.2.) 4. Select or deselect items to be personalized. 5. Choose how you want them personalized (Create copies of the current items and their content or Create new items to save disk space). 6. Click OK. 7. Click Close.
Changing Global Options for User Profiles The settings you learned about in the preceding section must be set individually for each user. But you also can control a couple of important settings for all users as a whole. You can ■
■
Include desktop icons and Network Neighborhood contents in user settings. Include Start menu and Program groups in user settings.
(Those are the actual names of the check boxes, as you can see in Figure 13.4.) If you disable either of these, no user profiles will allow individual versions of those features, even if the individual profile has them turned on.
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FIGURE 13.4 You can control which settings are available for each user’s customization.
Setting Global User Profile Options
1. In the Control Panel, double-click the Passwords icon. 2. Click the User Profiles tab. 3. Select or deselect either of the check boxes in the User profile settings area. See Figure 13.4. 4. Click OK.
Turning Off Multiuser Operation If you stop sharing your PC with others, you might want to disable the multiuser capability. This can save time because you won’t be faced with a logon box every time you start Windows (provided you have not set a Windows logon password). Turning off multiuser operation does not delete the user profiles that you might have set up, or any settings from those profiles. It simply stops using them and reverts to the original settings that were in place before you turned on multiuser operation. If you later reenable multiuser operation, all the former users will reappear in the User Settings dialog box’s user list. Turning Off Multiuser Operation
1. In the Control Panel, double-click the Passwords icon. 2. Click the User Profiles tab.
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3. Click All users of this computer use the same preferences and desktop settings. 4. Click OK. 5. When prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.
Setting and Changing Passwords Passwords exist to prevent unauthorized individuals from using a particular PC or other resource, or to prove that someone is who he or she claims to be. If you need that kind of security, they’re great. But don’t assume that everyone must use passwords simply because Windows prompts for them. Personally, I don’t use passwords at all on my home PCs because there is simply no need. I don’t have anything to protect or keep secret from others in my household. If prompted for a password, I leave the box blank. However, your situation might differ. For example, if you work on a network in an office, you probably have a network password that you use to log on to the network. You also might have other passwords that you need to enter each time you start your PC, depending on what kind of equipment your employer has provided and how its security is set up.
Changing a User’s Windows Password When you have user profiles enabled, as you learned earlier in this chapter, Windows always prompts for a username and password at startup. This enables you to specify which user is logging on. You don’t have to use a password for this if you don’t want to; you can just ignore the Password box. As I stated earlier, the protection offered by a Windows logon password is very minimal because, network settings permitting, anyone can log on to the computer by creating a new username on-the-fly. So, you might want to save time in your logon by changing your password to be nothing (that is, no characters at all).
Password Storage Passwords are stored in PWL files in your C:\Windows\System folder. If a user forgets his password, you can delete his PWL file to reset.
You can change your Windows password in either of two places. You can change it from the User Settings dialog box or from the Passwords dialog box. (Both are accessible from the Control Panel.)
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Alternative Method If you do not have multiuser operation enabled, you can still change your Windows password. Instead of steps 1–3, double-click Passwords in the Control Panel, and then click the Change Windows Password button on the Change Passwords tab.
The following steps show how to do it from the User Settings, which is the slightly more versatile method because it allows you to change the password for any user, not only the one currently logged on. Changing a Windows Logon Password
1. From the Control Panel, double-click Users. 2. Click the user for whom you want to change the password. 3. Click Set Password. The Change Windows Password dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 13.5. 4. Type the old password in the Old password box. (You must know the old password or you can’t change it.) 5. Type the new password in the New password box and then retype it in the confirm new password box.
FIGURE 13.5 Change the password by typing the old and the new ones. The typed password appears as asterisks.
6. Click OK. A message appears that the password has been successfully changed. 7. Click OK to close the message. 8. Click Close.
Other Passwords Depending on your network setup, you also might be able to change your network password. Double-click the Passwords icon in the Control Panel, and look on the Change Passwords tab. If the Change Other Passwords button is available, click it and change your network or other passwords from there.
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You also can set screensaver passwords so that when you step away from your desk for a while, nobody can use your PC while you are away. See “Using a ScreenSaver” in Chapter 9, “Customizing the Screen Appearance,” for details. SEE ALSO ➤ To set a screensaver password, see page 189 ➤ To use network resources, see page 262
Choosing Which Logon to Present at Startup By default, the logon that appears when you start or restart Windows is the Windows logon. But you can change that. For example, you might want your network logon prompt to appear when you start Windows. To choose which logon you use, double-click the Network icon in the Control Panel and choose a logon from the Primary Network Logon drop-down list on the Configuration tab (see Figure 13.6). You’ll be prompted to restart your computer; click Yes.
FIGURE 13.6 Choose which logon should be your default. Select a logon.
SEE ALSO ➤ To work with networks, see page 262
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14 Using Network Resources Accessing Network Files Printing to a Network Printer Finding a Computer on the Network Setting Up a Home Network Connecting Computers with Direct Cable Connection
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PART III Sharing Resources CHAPTER 14 Using Network Resources
Working with Network Resources Is your PC connected to a network? If it isn’t, it probably will be someday. Networking has exploded in popularity in the last few years, and nowadays, even homes have networks that link their PCs to share files and devices. The term network can refer generically to any situation in which two or more computers are linked. The Internet qualifies as a network, as do local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and so on. But in this chapter, I will be focusing mostly on LANs. (You’ll learn more about the Internet in later chapters.) Some LANs are server-driven. That is, one computer on the network exists for the sole purpose of keeping the network running and “serving up” files from its hard disk to other computers as requested. The server’s hard disk functions as a repository for shared files. In such networks, if you want to share a particular file with your colleagues, the best way is to copy it to a shared network drive or folder. Having a server is desirable because it takes the network processing load off the other computers. But homes and small businesses might not be able to afford to dedicate one PC to LAN administration. Permission Needed You might not always have permission to access every drive, folder, or printer on your network. For example, the network administrator might have set up certain drives or folders for readonly access. That means you can open and examine files there, but you can’t make changes to them. If you are trying to use a network resource but receive messages that you don’t have permission, or if you receive a prompt for a password that you don’t know, contact your network administrator.
Other networks are serverless, or peer-to-peer. In a peer-to-peer network, all the computers are connected to one another without the help of a server, and all equally share the administration duties. Such networks are popular in homes and small businesses where no extra computer can be spared for a server. Network resources are any files or devices that are directly connected to one PC but that can be used by another through the network. Examples could include a file or folder, a printer, or a modem. These devices can be connected either to the server or to any of the individual PCs in the network. The first part of this chapter assumes that you are already connected to a network, as most corporate users will be, and shows you how to use it. If you do not already have a network set up, and want to (for example, to network several PCs in your home), skip to the section “Setting Up a Home Network” later in this chapter. SEE ALSO ➤ To share a modem, see page xx (first page of chapter 15) ➤ To set up a home network, see page xx (Setting up a home network, this chapter)
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Accessing Network Files You can browse shared files on the network through My Network Places. It works just like My Computer, except that it shows you network files instead of local ones. Browsing the Network with My Network Places
1. Double-click My Network Places on the desktop. The My Network Places window opens. 2. Double-click Entire Network. A list of workgroups on your network appears. (You may need to click the View the entire contents of this folder hyperlink first.) 3. Double-click the icon for the workgroup you want. (There is probably only one.) Icons for the computers in that workgroup appear (see Figure 14.1).
FIGURE 14.1 This network has three computers.
4. Double-click the computer whose files you want to browse. Icons for each of its shared drives and printers appear. Figure 14.2 shows an example. 5. Double-click the drive you want. Then, work with its files normally, as you would local files on your hard disk (provided you have the needed permissions). See Chapter 5, “Managing Files and Folders.” or Double-click the printer you want. Then, work with its print queue normally, as you would the queue for your local printer. See Chapter 12, “Managing Fonts and Printers.”
Enabling Sharing Each shared resource must be set up to be shared at the computer that owns it. See “Sharing Your Files and Printers” later in this chapter if you need to enable sharing on a PC.
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FIGURE 14.2 The shared drives and printers on the selected networked PC. Shared drive Shared printers
In many programs, you also can open files from (and/or save files to) network locations. (For example, all the programs in Microsoft Office allow this.) To do so, open the Look in (or Save in) dropdown list and choose My Network Places. Then, navigate to the drive and folder you want, as you did in the preceding steps. Figure 14.3 shows the Open dialog box from Microsoft Word with a workgroup called WORKGROUP selected.
FIGURE 14.3 In some programs, you can browse the network from the Open and Save As dialog boxes. Workgroup Computers in that workgroup
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Mapping a Network Drive Not all programs allow you to browse the network freely, as shown in Figure 14.3. Some programs can recognize only local drives. For the benefit of such programs, you can trick Windows into thinking that a particular drive or folder on the network is actually a local drive on your system. This is called mapping a network drive. You create a connection that leads all programs from an imaginary new drive letter on your system to the network location you desire. For example, you could assign the drive letter J: to a folder on the server called D:\Arts, so that whenever you display the contents of your J: drive, you are actually displaying the contents of that folder. Mapping a Network Drive
1. In My Network Places, navigate to and select the drive that you want to map. 2. Right-click the drive icon and choose Map Network Drive from the shortcut menu. The Map Network Drive dialog box appears (see Figure 14.4).
FIGURE 14.4 Select the drive letter that should refer to this location.
3. Open the Drive drop-down list and choose the drive letter to use. 4. To re-establish this connection each time you log on to the network, mark the Reconnect at logon check box. 5. Click OK. The chosen drive or folder opens for browsing. As you can see in Figure 14.5, the title bar shows the new drive letter designation, and the Address line shows it, too.
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FIGURE 14.5 The C: drive on the computer Wempen1 has been mapped as drive J:. Drive designation
After mapping a drive, the new letter appears in all drive listings. For example, Figure 14.6 shows the My Computer window with the networked drive, and Figure 14.7 shows the Open dialog box in a program called Collage (which does not support network browsing), with the J: drive listed on the Drives list. SEE ALSO ➤ To work with the My Computer window, see page 90 ➤ To print from a program, see page 58
FIGURE 14.6 You can access the mapped drive from your My Computer window. Mapped network drive
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FIGURE 14.7 This program can access the network through the mapped drive. The mapped drive is a choice on the Drives list.
Creating Network Shortcuts You don’t have to browse the entire network each time you want to use a particular network drive or folder; you can simply create a shortcut to it, and use that shortcut. You can create a shortcut to any network drive or folder on your desktop the same way you create other shortcuts there: Right-drag it onto the desktop and choose Create Shortcut(s) Here from the menu that appears. In addition, you can, in many instances, type the location of the network drive or folder into the address window in Windows Explorer or your Web browser. Typically, you will preface the network share or folder with two forward slashes //. Check with your System Administrator to see whether your network supports this simple means of navigation. You also can create a network shortcut that appears in the My Network Places window. This shortcut can point to any computer, drive, or folder on the network. The following steps explain how to create one. Creating a Network Shortcut
1. In the My Network Places window, double-click Add Network Place. The Add Network Place Wizard opens. 2. Click the Browse button. A Browse for Folder dialog box appears.
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3. Navigate to the computer, drive, or folder to which you want to create a shortcut, and select it (see Figure 14.8).
FIGURE 14.8 Browse for the computer, drive, or folder to which you want to create a shortcut.
4. Click OK. The path to the folder appears in the Type the location of the Network Place box. 5. Click Next to continue. 6. Type a name for the shortcut. This can be a “friendly” or descriptive name; it need not match the actual drive or folder name. 7. Click Finish. The chosen computer, drive, or folder appears in an Explorer window. From then on, the shortcut to that place appears in your My Network Places window, as shown in Figure 14.9.
FIGURE 14.9 The folder shortcut, ready to be used directly from My Network Places.
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Printing to a Network Printer After you set up a network printer (refer to Chapter 12, “Managing Fonts and Printers”), it works the same as a local printer in all your applications. Simply select the printer from the Print dialog box in whatever program you are printing from. For example, Figure 14.10 shows the Print dialog box from Word.
FIGURE 14.10 Select the network printer from the Name drop-down list, the same as you would any printer. Name drop-down list Network path to the printer
SEE ALSO ➤ To set up a network printer, see page 244
Setting Up a Home Network In most businesses, the end user is not responsible for setting up the network components. Your company probably has a computer administrator who installs and maintains the network. However, if you have a home network or a small office, you might have to take care of network setup yourself. Each PC must have a Network Interface Card, or NIC, installed. This can be a circuit card you install (on a desktop PC) or a PCMCIA card (on a laptop). Most cards come with their own setup software that installs the correct drivers. However, because networks vary, that setup software might not install all the needed network protocols in Windows.
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Protocol? Client? A protocol is a language that computers speak to one another. A network requires that each machine have a common protocol installed so that all the PCs in the network can communicate using a common language. The most common networking protocol is IPX/SPX, but others include NetBEUI and TCP/IP. You also must have the appropriate driver for your network client. This is either the Client for Microsoft Networks or the Client for NetWare Networks, whichever is appropriate for your server software. (If you are running a peer-to-peer network with no server, use Client for Microsoft Networks.)
Selecting a NIC You can buy NICs that fit into either an ISA or a PCI slot on your motherboard. If you have both kinds of slots free, go with PCI; it’s faster. There are also two standards for Ethernet-type NICs: 10BASE-T (slower and cheaper) and 100BASE-T (faster and more expensive). Let your budget be your guide. For home use, the cheaper 10BASE-T should be fine.
First, install the NIC (the network interface card). Instructions come with it; you also can refer to Chapter 8 of this book for hardware installation help. You will want to install the NICs in each PC you are networking, and run the cabling between them and the hub, before you start the software setup portion of the process. Next you must install the networking components in Windows. You can either do this manually or use the Home Networking Wizard (which is new in Windows Millennium). If you do the latter, it also sets up file and printer sharing as part of the process. I’ll explain the Home Networking Wizard first, in the following section, and then cover manual component installation later for those who might not have Windows Millennium (or who just want to do it themselves so they can understand better what’s going on with their systems).
Running the Home Networking Wizard After you install your NIC, you can configure a computer to use a network by working through the Home Networking Wizard. This wizard automates several procedures that used to be done manually in earlier versions of Windows, including installing the protocols, installing the clients, and configuring file and printer sharing. It also sets up Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) automatically, which you will learn how to set up manually in Chapter 15. Using the Home Networking Wizard
1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and click Home Networking Wizard. 2. At the introductory screen, click Next to begin. 3. When prompted, indicate whether this PC is connected to the Internet, and in what manner. See Figure 14.11. For example, if this PC has a modem that you use to connect, choose Yes, this computer uses the following. Then, choose A direct connection to my ISP using the following device and then select the dial-up networking connection from the dropdown list. Choose Next when you have made your selections.
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FIGURE 14.11 Specifying the Internet connection for the PC, if any.
4. Depending on your answer in step 3, you might be asked whether you want to share this Internet connection with other PCs on your network. Choose Yes or No. If you choose Yes, choose the network adapter to use. Then, choose Next. 5. Enter a name for this computer in the Computer name box. This will be the computer’s name on the network, the name that other computers will know it by (see Figure 14.12). 6. Accept the default workgroup name, or click the Use this workgroup name button to change it and then enter a different workgroup name.
Multiple Network Cards If you both have a cable modem and are on a LAN, you have two different NICs in your PC. One of them connects you to the Internet; the other to the network. Choose the Internet one in step 3 and the network one in step 4.
FIGURE 14.12 Specify a name for the computer and the workgroup.
All the computers on your home network must use the same workgroup name, so it is best to accept the default name unless
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you already have a home network set up with a different workgroup name and you are merely adding a new computer to it. 7. Click Next to continue. The Share Files and Printers screen appears, as shown in Figure 14.13.
FIGURE 14.13 Choose whether to share certain folders and printers on the PC.
8. Set your file sharing options, and then click Next: • To share your My Documents folder, leave the check mark in the My Documents folder and all folders in it check box.
Sharing Other Drives and Folders You aren’t limited to only the My Documents folder. After you have finished with the wizard, you can share any drive or folder. See “Sharing Your Files and Printers” later in this chapter.
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• If you would like to set a password for sharing My Documents, click the Password button next to it. Then, enter a password in the Password box, and type it again in the Confirm password box, and then click OK. If you do not specify a password, when you click Next to move on, you’ll see a warning. Click OK to acknowledge it and then click Next again to proceed without a password. • To share a printer, make sure the check box next to its name is marked in the list of printers. 9. Click Next. You are asked whether you want to create a setup disk to set up your network on computers that are not running Windows Me.
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If you have any Windows 95 or Windows 98 computers in your home that you want to be included in your network, click Yes and then click Next to create the disk. Then, follow the prompts to create it. If the other computers are already set up on the network, or if the other computers are running Windows Millennium, you do not need the Home Networking setup disk, so click No and then click Next. 10. When you reach the Completing the Home Networking Wizard screen, click Finish. 11. The needed files are copied. 12. If a message appears that you must restart your computer, follow the prompt to do so. The computer restarts, and a network logon box appears. 13. Log on to the network by entering your username and password. Then click OK. Your computer is now connected to the network. SEE ALSO ➤ To set up an Internet connection, see page 309
Manually Installing Network Components If the Home Networking Wizard is not available, or you simply prefer to go “on your own,” you can install the needed networking components yourself. The following procedure shows how. Installing Network Components
1. From the Control Panel, double-click Network. 2. Check the list of components on the Configuration tab. (See Figure 14.14.) 3. If you do not see your NIC listed, run the software that came with it to install it. Then, reboot and return to this dialog box. 4. If you do not see Client for Microsoft Networks, do the following: • Click Add. • Click Client.
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FIGURE 14.14 All the components needed for a basic network are installed: a NIC, a protocol, a client, and file/printer sharing. A client A NIC A protocol File and printer sharing
• Click Add. A list of Microsoft-provided clients appears, as shown in Figure 14.15. • Click Client for Microsoft Networks. • Click OK. • If prompted to insert the Windows Millennium disk, do so and click OK. You are turned to the Configuration tab when you’re finished.
FIGURE 14.15 Install the Client for Microsoft Networks.
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5. Next you need to add at least one protocol. The most common one to use for a non-Internet network is IPX/SPX-compatible. (TCP/IP is the protocol of the Internet; if you plan to share an Internet connection, you should install the TCP/IP protocol.) If you do not see the protocol you want on the list, do the following: • Click Add. • Click Protocol. • Click Add. • Click Microsoft. • Click the protocol to install (for example IPX/SPXcompatible protocol). • Click OK. • If prompted to insert the Windows Millennium disk, do so and click OK. You are turned to the Configuration tab when you’re finished. 6. Open the Primary Network Logon drop-down list and choose the client for your network (for example, Client for Microsoft Networks). 7. Click OK. 8. If prompted to restart your computer, click Yes. You also will want to set up file and printer sharing if you want others on the network to be able to use this computer (see the following section). SEE ALSO ➤ To install new hardware, see page 216 ➤ To run a setup program for your new hardware, see page 159
Sharing Your Files and Printers Just being connected to a network does not automatically make any part of your PC accessible to others. By default, nothing of your local PC is shared. You must specify which drives, folders, and/or printers you want to share.
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Enabling Sharing If you used the Home Networking Wizard to set up your network, it prompted you about file and printer sharing. However, if you set the network up manually, you must do the following to enable sharing. Follow these steps to check out the status and enable the sharing if needed. You can do this as you are installing network components (see the preceding section), but I have split it out into a separate procedure in this book so you can see how to enable file and printer sharing on a computer that already has a working network connection. Enabling Sharing on Your PC
1. From the Control Panel, double-click Network. 2. Make sure that the list of networking components on the Configuration tab includes this item: File and printer sharing for Microsoft Networks If it does not, see “Installing Network Components” earlier in this chapter. 3. Click File and Print Sharing. The File and Print Sharing dialog box opens (see Figure 14.16).
FIGURE 14.16 Make sure the check boxes are marked for what you want to share.
4. Make sure that both check boxes are marked to share both files and printers. 5. Click OK. 6. Click OK to close the Network dialog box. 7. If prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.
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Sharing Specific Devices or Folders The Home Networking Wizard allowed you to set up an entire drive for sharing, but you might want to share only a specific drive or folder. You can change the sharing for any drive or folder at any time. To set up a specific printer, drive, or folder to be shared, right-click it and choose Sharing. Then, set up the sharing specifications on the Sharing tab. You have several choices to make when it comes to sharing, as you can see in Figure 14.17:
FIGURE 14.17 Set the sharing options for the chosen printer, drive, or folder. Everyone will have read-only access. Only those who know this password will have full access.
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Share Name. This will be the name that the device is known by on other computers. Access Type. Read-only gives others the right to examine but not change files (or print jobs). Full grants full read/write permission. If you choose Depends on Password, you must specify two separate passwords: one for read-only access and one for full access.
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Read-Only Password. This box is enabled only if you chose Depends on Password for the access type. To give free read-only access to everyone, leave this box empty. Full Access Password. You can assign a password for full access here. To give everyone free access, leave it empty.
Sharing a Specific Device
1. Right-click the drive, folder, or printer that you want to share, and choose Sharing. 2. Make sure that the Shared As option button is selected. 3. Type a name for the device in the Share Name box. (Type a description in the Comment box, if desired.) 4. Choose an access type: Read-Only, Full, or Depends on Password. 5. Enter any passwords you want to use in the Passwords section. Sharing Individual Folders You can specify different sharing rights for various folders on your hard disk. You might, for example, set up the entire drive to be shared Read-Only, but then grant Full rights to a specific folder that contains files that several people will need to work on a project with you.
6. Click OK. SEE ALSO ➤ To share an Internet connection, see page 282
Linking to Another PC with Direct Cable Connection Direct cable connection is a substitute for networking. If you need to transfer files from one PC to another, but you do not have any networking equipment, you can accomplish the transfer by temporarily hooking the two computers together with a null modem cable. Before you begin, choose which machine should be the host and which should be the guest. The host computer is the one containing the resources to be accessed; the guest computer is the one that will be accessing those resources. Then, follow these steps. Connecting Two Computers with Direct Cable Connection
1. Make sure the Direct Cable Connection feature is installed on each PC.
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2. Shut off both PCs and connect a null modem cable from one PC’s serial port to the other. Then, restart both PCs. You also can use the parallel port, which provides faster transfer speeds, but a null cable for the parallel port is more expensive. These steps will assume you are using the serial ports. 3. On the host machine, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and click Direct Cable Connection. The Direct Cable Connection Wizard starts. 4. Click Host and then click Next. A list of available ports appears. 5. Click the port you want to use, and then click Next. 6. Click Finish. 7. On the guest computer, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and click Direct Cable Connection. The Direct Cable Connection Wizard starts.
Is It There? The Direct Cable Connection feature is not installed by default when you install Windows Millennium; to install it, refer to “Adding and Removing Windows Components” in Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs.” If you are not sure whether it is installed, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Communications, and survey the programs available there; if installed, Direct Cable Connection should appear on that menu.
8. Choose Guest and then click Next. 9. Choose the port to use and then click Next. 10. Click Finish. 11. Wait for the connection to be established. When it is, the contents of the host computer appear in a window, the same as if you had connected via My Network Places. You can work with the files normally from there. 12. When you are finished working on the guest PC with the host’s files, click Close to close the connection. 13. Back on the host machine, display the Direct Cable Connection box and click Close to close the connection on that end. 14. Shut down both PCs and disconnect the cable. SEE ALSO
Modem Cable? The term null modem cable does not have anything to do with modems per se. It simply refers to a cable that provides a direct passthrough of information. When you hook up most devices via cable, you use a cable with one male end (pins) and one female end (holes). A null modem cable is the same on both ends (female) because it connects from one PC’s serial port to the other, and both of the serial ports are male.
➤ To shut down a PC, see page 26 ➤ To work with files and folders, see page 93
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15 Sharing an Internet Connection Introducing Internet Connection Sharing Installing Internet Connection Sharing (ICS)
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Configuring Other Computers in Your Home Network
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Sharing the Connection
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Managing the ICS Connection
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Introducing Internet Connection Sharing Networking Requirements You can set up a home network fairly easily. All you need are network interface cards (NICs) for each PC, a hub to connect each one to, and cables to run from the NICs to the hub. There are several companies that offer networking kits containing everything you need to link two or three PCs. How Connection Sharing Works: The Techie Version For those of you who care about this sort of thing: The PC with the Internet connection provides private IP addresses and name resolution services for the other computers on the network, the same as if it were a service provider. In a sense, it is a service provider for its Internet connection. When a PC on the network sends data to the Internet, its private IP address is transmitted to the computer controlling the connection, which translates it to its own Internet IP address and sends it on to the Internet. When the results come back, the controlling computer translates the IP address back again and routes it back to the PC to which it belongs.
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If you have Windows Millennium (or Windows 98 Second Edition), you can take advantage of its capability to share an Internet connection over your home (or office) network. This is one of those “dream come true” features that folks have been asking Microsoft to provide for years; now, it’s a reality. Multiple PCs can use the same Internet connection (through a single phone line) and all be online at the same time. The only drawback is speed. If several computers try to send or receive information from the Internet at once, nobody’s request will be processed as quickly as a single request would be. It’s not a big issue if the shared Internet connection is a very fast and powerful one (ADSL, cable modem, satellite), but with a shared 56K modem, be prepared for some delays. The speed also is limited by the network connection itself. To use Internet Connection Sharing (ICS), your PCs must be networked. That means they must have network cards installed and networking must be set up in Windows. (You learned about that in Chapter 14, “Using Network Resources.”) When you set up ICS, it uses those network connections to relay Internet data. For example, suppose Tom’s PC has a very fast Internet connection (suppose it’s a cable modem—lucky Tom). Gloria’s computer, which also is on the network, connects to the Internet through Tom’s computer. It’s kind of like sharing a network printer; one computer “owns” the device but all the others can use it.
Installing Internet Connection Sharing The Internet Connection Sharing (ICS) feature is not installed with a default installation of Windows; therefore, you will probably need to install it. You install ICS on the gateway PC—that is, the one that has the modem or other connection. The machines that will use the connection through the network do not have to be running Windows Millennium; they can have Windows 95, Windows 98, or Windows NT.
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Installing the ICS Component Internet Connection Sharing is a Windows accessory, so you install it the same as you would install any other accessory program—from Add/Remove Programs. Then, you must set it up on the gateway PC and create a disk that sets up the other PCs. The following steps show how. Installing Internet Connection Sharing
1. From the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs. 2. Click the Windows Setup tab. 3. Click Communications on the list. 4. Click Details. 5. Place a check mark next to Internet Connection Sharing (see Figure 15.1). (If a check mark is already there, click Cancel and go on to the next section.)
FIGURE 15.1 Select the Internet Connection Sharing feature to install.
6. Click OK. 7. Click OK again. 8. If prompted, insert the Windows CD into your drive and click OK. 9. Wait for the Home Networking Wizard to start. When it does, click Next to begin. 10. Choose Yes, this computer uses the following.
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11. Choose A direct connection to my ISP using the following device. 12. Open the drop-down list and choose your Internet connection. It is a dial-up networking connection if you use a modem; it’s a network card if you use a cable modem. Figure 15.2 shows the choices for a system that uses a dial-up connection with a modem.
FIGURE 15.2 Choose which dial-up connection or network card you use to connect to the Internet.
13. Choose Next. 14. On the next screen, you’re asked whether you want to share your connection. Choose Yes. 15. Open the drop-down list and select the network card to use for the sharing. Then, click Next. 16. You are then prompted to create a setup disk. If you have PCs on your network that do not use Windows Millennium Edition, choose Yes. Otherwise, choose No and skip to step 19. 17. When prompted, place a blank disk (or one that contains nothing you want to keep) in your floppy drive and click OK. 18. When prompted, remove the disk from the drive and click OK. 19. Click Finish. 20. When prompted to restart your computer, click Yes. 21. After restarting the computer, a box appears that Home Networking has been set up. Click OK to close it.
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If you ever want to remove Internet Connection Sharing, return to the Add/Remove Programs dialog box (steps 1–4) and remove the check mark from the Internet Connection Sharing check box.
Configuring Other Computers in Your Home Network Use the disk that you created when you installed the Internet Connection Sharing earlier in this chapter to set up each of the other PCs. You can set up any Windows 95 or Windows 98 PC with this disk. You don’t need to use it for other Windows Millennium PCs; simply run the Home Networking Wizard on them to configure them. Before you go through this procedure, make sure that the PC with the Internet connection is turned on, logged on to the network, and connected to the Internet. Setting Up Another PC to Use the ICS Connection
1. Put the Setup disk that you created into the drive and display its file list in My Computer or Windows Explorer. 2. Double-click the Setup.exe file. The Home Networking Wizard starts. 3. Click Next to begin. 4. When asked about Internet connection, choose Yes, this computer uses the following. 5. Choose A connection to another computer on my home network that provides direct access to my Internet service provider (ISP).
Windows NT or Windows 2000 The setup disk won’t work with Windows NT/2000 PCs, but Windows NT/2000 machines should work automatically with the connection without special setup because NT is a more network-aware operating system. If the Internet connection does not work automatically on the NT machine, run the Internet Connection Wizard in Windows NT and set Internet Explorer to connect through the LAN that way.
6. Choose Next. 7. Keep clicking Next to move through the rest of the Home networking options, selecting the defaults, until you see a Finish button. 8. Click Finish. 9. If prompted to restart your PC, choose Yes.
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Sharing the Connection Home Networking Full coverage of all the options in the Home Networking Wizard is available in Chapter 14, “Using Network Resources.”
To share the Internet connection from one of the other PCs, first establish the connection on the gateway PC. Then, on the other PC, start Internet Explorer, your email program, or whatever Internet program you want to use. The connection establishes itself automatically through the network.
Managing the ICS Connection When you right-click the Microsoft Internet Connection Sharing icon in your system tray, the shortcut menu gives you four options. Use any of these as needed: ■
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Status. Tells you how many computers are using the Internet connection. Options. Opens the same Internet Connection Sharing dialog box shown in Figure 15.3.
FIGURE 15.3 Manage your Connection Sharing settings here.
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Disable Internet Connection Sharing. Temporarily prevents other computers from sharing your Internet connection. Rightclick and choose Enable Internet Connection Sharing to allow it again later. Hide Taskbar Icon. Just what the name says—it hides the icon in the system tray.
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16 Traveling with a Laptop Conserving Battery Power Controlling PCMCIA cards Synchronizing Files with My Briefcase Hardware Profiles
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Laptops and Windows Millennium More and more people these days are opting for the convenience and portability of a laptop computer. Even people who don’t travel can take advantage of the small size and go-anywhere flexibility. Other Portable PCs Laptop computers are just like regular computers except for their portability. However, a variety of other, smaller devices are available that run on different operating systems, such as Windows CE. These handheld devices are often called PDAs, or Personal Digital Assistants. Their primary function is to store contact information and scheduling data, but some of them also have games, email readers, and even mini-versions of popular Microsoft applications such as Word, Excel, and PowerPoint. To transfer data between a PC (laptop or desktop) and one of these handheld computing devices, consult the documentation that came with the device. I have a Palm IIIx, for example, and to sync it with Outlook, I place it in its cradle and push a button on the cradle. Each device works a little differently.
Laptops present a few special challenges in Windows, and you’ll learn about them in this chapter. Unlike regular computers, for example, a laptop has a battery that can be used to power the PC when no electrical outlet is available. And almost all laptops have a special slot called a PCMCIA into which you can insert credit cardsize devices such as modems and network cards. In this chapter, we’ll take a look at the laptop’s special hardware and you’ll learn how to control it. Some people who have a laptop also have a desktop PC, and they sometimes need to transfer files between the two. This chapter also explains a feature called My Briefcase that can help synchronize files between PCs simply and effectively.
Controlling Power Management Settings The biggest issue for most laptop users is battery life. The computer’s battery never seems to last long enough before it needs recharging. Some people carry extra batteries when they travel, but laptop batteries can be expensive ($200 or more for some models) and heavy (up to several pounds). The intelligent use of power-management features in Windows can help you stretch your battery life as much as possible. These powermanagement features shut off the computer’s screen and hard disk after a certain number of idle minutes so that the battery is not being used up when you aren’t actively working. The screen and hard disk wake up immediately when you press a key or move the mouse. Different power-management strategies might be appropriate in different situations. It can be rather annoying to have the screen black out if you pause to think for a moment, so you probably will not
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always want the most conservative settings. For example, if you are on an airplane and you need to make your only battery last for a fivehour flight, you want to be extremely conservative with power. On the other hand, if you have an extra battery with you on that flight, you could afford to be more liberal and let the monitor and hard disk stay active longer. Windows lets you create multiple powermanagement schemes and choose which scheme is most appropriate for a given situation. You also can set alarms and indicators that warn you when your battery is getting low so that you can change it or switch to AC power (or simply shut down to avoid losing data). SEE ALSO ➤ To set a screensaver password, see page 189 ➤ To set and change your Windows password, see page 257
Creating and Editing Power Schemes Windows comes with three power schemes. The one you pick depends on what kind of computer you have and how you use it: ■
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Home/Office Desk. Use this for a desktop PC or a laptop that is docked in a docking station. Portable/Laptop. Use this for a laptop that is not docked. Always On. Use this for a desktop PC that you leave turned on all the time.
You can customize any of these schemes, or you can create your own schemes. When you work with power schemes on a laptop, you see two sets of drop-down lists for each setting, as shown in Figure 16.1. On a desktop PC, you see only a single drop-down list for each one because the desktop PC does not have a battery. On a desktop PC, you also will not have all the tabs shown in Figure 16.1; you will see only the Power Schemes and the Advanced tab.
What’s a Docking Station? A docking station is a desktop PC case that the laptop slides into. It has an external monitor, keyboard, and mouse, so it looks and feels almost like a regular desktop PC. Having a docking station is the next-best thing to having two computers. It gives you the flexibility of having both a desktop unit at your desk and a laptop that you can disconnect and take with you when you travel.
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FIGURE 16.1 Set power schemes for the computer on this tab. Separate settings for AC versus battery Choose a scheme here.
Setting a Power Scheme Alternative Method
1. From the Control Panel, double-click Power Options.
Another way to open the Power Options properties: From the Display Properties dialog box, click the Settings button on the Screen Saver tab.
2. Open the Power schemes drop-down list and choose the appropriate scheme. For most laptops, it would be Portable/Laptop. 3. In the System standby section, set the amount of idle time before the system goes on standby, both when plugged in and when using batteries. In Figure 16.1, for example, it is set to Never when plugged in and 5 minutes for batteries. 4. From their drop-down lists, set the amount of idle time for turning off the monitor and turning off the hard disks (refer to Figure 16.1). 5. (Optional) To save your settings as a new scheme, click the Save As button. Enter a scheme name and click OK. 6. Click OK to close the Power Options Properties box.
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Setting Power Alarms and Indicators Your power scheme will do its best to preserve battery power, but eventually your battery will run low and require recharging. The Alarms tab in the Power Options Properties dialog box enables you to set alarms that warn you when the battery is getting low. As you can see in Figure 16.2, you can set two alarms: Low battery alarm and Critical battery alarm. You can define when these will go off and what will happen.
FIGURE 16.2 Set your alarm thresholds and choose alarm actions.
When you click the Alarm Action button in either of the sections in Figure 16.2, an Alarm Actions dialog box appears, as shown in Figure 16.3. In it, you can choose an action to accompany the alarm if desired. Choosing Standby suspends the computer’s operation but allows it to wake up again with a keypress or mouse movement. The alternative, Power Off, shuts the computer off completely so that you will need to restart when you return to it. If you use Power off, your PC stops using the battery altogether; if you use Standby, it uses only a tiny amount of battery power. Setting Battery Alarms
1. From the Control Panel, double-click Power Options. 2. Click the Alarms tab.
Suspend to Disk Some laptops have a “suspend to disk” feature that copies the contents of memory to disk. This allows the computer to stand by instead of shutting down, even when the battery is almost completely drained. Consult your laptop’s manual to see whether you have this feature, and if so, how to activate it.
3. To use the low battery alarm, make sure its check box is marked.
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FIGURE 16.3 Specify what should happen when the alarm goes off.
What to Pick? I recommend that you set the Low Battery Alarm to no action (in other words, leave the check box in step 7 deselected). For the Critical Battery Alarm, you might want to shut down or stand by.
4. Drag the slider bar beneath it to a percentage of battery life that should trigger the alarm. (The default is 10%.) 5. Click the low battery alarm’s Alarm Action button. The Low Battery Alarm Actions dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 16.3. 6. Select or deselect the Notification check boxes as desired: • Sound alarm. Emits an audible beep. • Display message. Presents a warning box onscreen. 7. If you want an action to be taken, select the When the alarm goes off, the computer will check box, and then choose either Standby or Power Off from the drop-down list. 8. (Optional) To shut down or stand by even if a program is not responding, mark the check box to that effect. 9. Click OK to return to the Alarm tab. 10. To use the Critical Battery Alarm, make sure its check box is marked. 11. Drag its slider bar to a percentage that should trigger its alarm. (The default is 3%.) 12. Click the critical alarm’s Alarm Action button and configure the alarm action the same as you did in Steps 6–9. 13. Click OK to close the Power Options Properties box.
Viewing the Power Meter By default on a laptop, a power icon appears in the System tray. When the laptop is connected to electrical current, the symbol is a plug; when it’s running on battery power, the symbol is a battery.
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To turn off this icon, on the Advanced tab of the Power Options Properties box, deselect the Always show icon on the taskbar check box. You can get information about the battery’s power status on the Power Meter tab of that dialog box, as shown in Figure 16.4.
FIGURE 16.4 Check the battery’s status here. Battery icon in the System tray
Force It? The setting described in step 8 has some ramifications that might not be obvious. If a program is waiting for you to answer a dialog box question (such as Save changes to your document?), the program is considered unresponsive to shutting down. Marking the check box in step 8 will allow Windows to shut down anyway, even if a program is waiting for an answer.
Setting Wakeup Options You can set Windows to prompt for a password whenever the computer is waking up from Standby mode. This acts somewhat like the password on a screensaver, which was discussed in Chapter 9, “Customizing the Screen Appearance,” except that the password it wants is your Windows password. To do so, on the Advanced tab of the Power Options Properties dialog box, select the Prompt for _password when computer goes off standby check box.
This can be good because if your system is going to shut down shortly anyway because it is out of power, a controlled shutdown is better than an uncontrolled one. (During a controlled shutdown, Windows closes all open files so that you don’t have file corruption potential.) But it also doesn’t give you the opportunity to respond to a prompt that might save your work.
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Controlling PCMCIA Devices Windows manages PCMCIA devices (PC cards) for you, so you don’t have to run any special management program for them. And unlike other devices, you don’t have to wait until the PC is off to plug in a PC card; it can be inserted at any time. When you insert a PC card, Windows detects it and you might hear an audible beep. If you are inserting it for the first time, Windows detects it and walks you through its setup. (See Chapter 11, “Installing Hardware,” for hardware installation information.) SEE ALSO ➤ To set up new hardware, see page 219
To manage your PC cards, double-click the PC Card (PCMCIA) icon in the Control Panel. Or, if you have a PC Card icon in your System tray, double-click that instead (see Figure 16.5).
FIGURE 16.5 Work with PC cards here. PC Card icon in System tray
Although you can insert a PC card at any time, you should not remove one as freely. The device might be in use, and you could corrupt files or harm the device by removing it before it has stopped its
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current action. To ensure that a device has stopped, use the following procedure prior to removing it. Stopping a PC Card
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the PC Card (PCMCIA) icon. 2. Click the device you want to stop. 3. Click the Stop button. 4. Wait for a message to appear telling you it is safe to remove the card. 5. Remove the card. 6. Click OK to close the dialog box. The exact procedure for physically removing a PC card varies depending on the laptop model, but most laptops have separate eject buttons for each PC card slot.
Synchronizing Files with My Briefcase If you use both a desktop and a laptop—or different computers of any type—you will appreciate the My Briefcase feature in Windows. It enables you to synchronize the copies of files between PCs. For example, suppose you are working on a report at work, and you want to take the latest draft home with you over the weekend. You copy the report from your desktop computer to the Briefcase on your laptop (using either a disk or your LAN). Then, you work on the report at home, and when you return to the office, you synchronize your Briefcase, copying the latest version back to the desktop to overwrite the earlier version.
PCMCIA PCMCIA, or PC card, is a standard for credit cardsize devices that plug into a laptop PC. Such devices can include modems, hard disks, network adapters, extra memory, or interfaces to external devices such as Zip drives or external CD-ROMs. No Icon? If you don’t have an icon in the system tray, select the Show control on taskbar check box in the PC Card (PCMCIA) Properties box to place one there in the future. Install It The Briefcase feature might not be installed yet on your PC. It needs to be installed on both PCs. To install the Briefcase feature, use Add/Remove Programs, as you learned in Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs.”
Copying Files to My Briefcase The first step in using My Briefcase is to copy the files from the PC containing the files (the main PC) to the My Briefcase folder on the computer that you will be working with (the remote PC). You can either use a disk or your local area network.
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Copying Files to My Briefcase with a Disk
1. Double-click the My Briefcase icon on the main PC’s desktop. The My Briefcase folder opens. If you see an introductory box, as shown in Figure 16.6, click Finish.
FIGURE 16.6 You’ll see this box the first time you open My Briefcase on the PC.
2. Copy the files you want to work with into the My Briefcase folder. Copy files to it the same as you would copy any other files from one folder to another. Figure 16.7 shows the My Briefcase window with six files copied into it. 3. Close the My Briefcase window. 4. Insert a blank disk into your floppy drive. 5. Drag the My Briefcase icon from the desktop onto the A: drive icon in the My Computer window. The entire briefcase is moved there. 6. Insert the disk into the remote PC and display its contents. You’ll see a My Briefcase folder there. 7. Double-click the My Briefcase folder on the A: drive. The My Briefcase window appears, listing the copied files. Use these files for your editing work. If you use the disk method, you must edit the files from the floppy disk and then transfer that same floppy disk back to your main PC later for synchronization. If you are lucky enough to have a network connection between the PCs, use the following procedure instead, which is simpler and does not require a floppy disk.
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FIGURE 16.7 The My Briefcase folder is like any other folder except for a few different toolbar buttons. Update All button Update Selection button
Copying Files to My Briefcase on a Network
1. Make sure both PCs are logged on to the network and that file sharing is enabled on the main PC (the one containing the files). 2. Double-click the My Briefcase icon on the remote PC’s desktop. The My Briefcase folder opens. If you see an introductory box, click Finish. 3. Still on the remote PC, open Network Neighborhood and navigate to the files you want to copy. 4. Drag the files from the Network Neighborhood window to the My Briefcase window. Now, you can disconnect from the network and take the remote PC with you. Edit the files in My Briefcase while you are on the road. Then, use the procedure in the following section to synchronize them when you get back.
Yes, the Remote One In the preceding procedure, you began at the main PC’s briefcase, but here you must begin at the remote PC’s.
SEE ALSO ➤ To copy files between folders, see page 97 ➤ To work with Network Neighborhood, see page 263 ➤ To enable file sharing, see page 275
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Synchronizing Briefcase Files When you synchronize files, you overwrite the originals with the updated versions from My Briefcase. You can update all the files from the briefcase or only selected ones. To see which files in the briefcase need updating, view the My Briefcase window in Details view. The Status column gives you the answer, as shown in Figure 16.8.
FIGURE 16.8 Details view lets you know which files have changed. Status column
When you are ready to synchronize, use one of the following procedures, depending on whether you are using the disk or the network method. Synchronizing Briefcase Files from Disk
1. Insert the floppy disk containing the briefcase files into the main PC. 2. Display the content of the A: drive and drag the My Briefcase icon onto the desktop, moving it back there. 3. Double-click My Briefcase, opening it.
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4. Do one of the following: To update all files, click Update All or open the Briefcase menu and choose Update All. To update only certain files, select them and then click Update Selection, or open the Briefcase menu and choose Update Selection. 5. Examine the report in the Update My Briefcase window (see Figure 16.9), to make sure it lists the actions you want to perform. If you need to change the action shown for an item, right-click it and select the desired action from the shortcut menu.
FIGURE 16.9 Modified files will replace the originals; unmodified ones will be deleted.
6. Click Update. The following steps show the network method for updating files: Synchronizing Briefcase Files from the Network
1. Make sure both PCs are connected to the network. 2. Double-click My Briefcase on the remote PC, opening its window.
Read Only If a message appears that some of the files are readonly and were not updated, that might indicate that the files that needed to be updated were in use on the main PC.
3. Do one of the following: To update all files, click Update All, or open the Briefcase menu and choose Update All. To update only certain files, select them and then click Update Selection, or choose Briefcase, Update Selection.
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4. Examine the report in the Update My Briefcase window (refer to Figure 16.9), to make sure it lists the actions you want to perform. 5. Click Update. If you decide that you want to discard a particular revision in the briefcase, simply delete it as you would delete a file from any folder. If you want to keep a revision but save it separately from the original, select it and then open the Briefcase menu and choose Split from Original.
Using Hardware Profiles Some computers have different hardware configurations at certain times. For example, a laptop connected to a docking station might have some extra ports and drives that it doesn’t have when disconnected. To allow for that, you can set up different hardware profiles. Here’s a real-world example. My new laptop PC comes with a builtin network adapter. Every time I start Windows, there is a oneminute extra delay while the PC tries to connect to the network, then fails, and then continues loading Windows. One way to eliminate that delay would be to remove the network adapter, but I can’t because it’s built in. But if I create a hardware profile that has the network adapter disabled, Windows will be able to load faster when I use that profile. As you can imagine, hardware profiles are most useful on laptop PCs, but you can set them up on any PC. When more than one profile exists, you’re prompted at startup to choose one if Windows can’t figure out automatically which profile to use. It might be able to determine, for example, that you’re plugged into your docking station, but it probably can’t determine whether your network connection is active. Your PC comes with one profile, called Original Configuration. To create a new profile, do the following.
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Create a New Hardware Profile
1. From the Control Panel, double-click System. 2. Choose the Hardware Profiles tab. 3. Click Copy. 4. Enter the name for the new profile, and choose OK. The new profile appears on the list, as in Figure 16.10.
FIGURE 16.10 Create additional profiles on the Hardware Profiles tab.
5. Click OK to close the System Properties dialog box. 6. Restart your PC. A menu appears asking which profile you want to use. 7. Select your new profile. Windows loads, with the new profile in effect. Now that your new profile is active, you can start disabling the devices that you don’t want to use in that profile. To disable a device in a particular profile, do the following. Disable a Device in a Particular Hardware Profile
1. From the Control Panel, double-click System. 2. Choose the Device Manager tab. 3. Select the device you want to disable in this profile. 4. Choose Properties. The device’s properties appear.
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5. Select the Disable in this hardware profile check box. See Figure 16.11.
FIGURE 16.11 Disable certain devices in the active hardware profile.
6. Choose OK. 7. Repeat steps 3 through 6 for each device that you don’t want to use in this profile. 8. Choose OK to close the System Properties box. Then, restart your PC, and choose that same hardware profile again when prompted, and the devices you deselected won’t be available, and won’t take up any system resources. To go back to single-profile operation, delete all the profiles except one. To delete a profile: Delete a Hardware Profile
1. From the Control Panel, double-click System. 2. Choose the Hardware Profiles tab. 3. Select the profile to delete. 4. Click Delete. 5. Repeat steps 3 and 4 to delete other profiles as needed. 6. Click OK.
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Exploring the Web
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Bringing the Web to Your Desktop
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Working with Email
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Participating in Online Discussions
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Creating and Publishing Web Content
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17 Setting Up Online Connectivity Checking a Modem Using the Internet Connection Wizard Working with Dial-Up Networking Configuring Telephony Settings Troubleshooting Connection Problems
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PART IV Using the Internet CHAPTER 17 Setting Up Online Connectivity
Your Online Options Most people connect to the Internet using a modem--a device that converts digital computer data to analog signal and sends it across a phone line. (Then, a modem at the other end, in turn, converts the analog signal back to digital for use there.) Modems are the focus of this chapter, because that’s still what the majority of casual users employ. However, depending on where you live, you might also have access to other, higher-speed Internet options, such as cable modems, DSL, ISDN, or satellite. Most of these are available only in large metropolitan areas as of this writing, and cost more than a normal Internet connection (at least $40 a month, generally). Briefly, here’s how each of those works: ■
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Cable modem: A cable split off from your cable TV runs to a network card in your PC, providing an always-on Internet connection. Your PC sees it as a network connection; it’s like connecting to the Internet through a network in a large corporation. Very fast—over 1Mbps in many cases. DSL: Stands for Digital Subscriber Line. A new technology that uses normal phone lines to send high-speed Internet through an unused portion of the cable. This doesn’t interfere with your phone use; you can be on the Internet and use the phone simultaneously. Very fast—not quite as fast as cable modems, though. ISDN: Stands for Integrated Services Digital Network. A digital phone line that allows you to connect to the Internet at a faster rate than a normal phone line (up to 230Kbps with the right equipment). Expensive, and not as fast as cable or DSL. Satellite: The most popular brand is DirecPC. Uses a satellite dish like the kind for your television to receive Internet content very quickly. It’s one-way, though, so you still need a regular modem to send, and sending occurs at normal 56K modem speed only.
If you go with one of these technologies, a technician will probably come to your home to do the installation, so you won’t need to worry about installing it yourself. If you’re lucky enough to have one of these high-speed connections already set up on your PC, you can skip the rest of this chapter.
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Checking Your Modem Unless you have one of the connections described in the preceding section, you will need a modem. A modem uses your telephone line to connect to an online service or an Internet provider. Most modems these days are Plug and Play; Windows detects and configures them automatically when you install them. (Look back at Chapter 11, “Installing Hardware,” if needed, for hardware installation help.) To make sure your modem is installed and is working correctly, go through the following procedure. Checking Modem Operation
1. From the Control Panel, double-click System. 2. On the Device Manager tab, click the plus sign (+) next to Modem. A list of installed modems appears. 3. Locate and click the modem you want to check. If you see a red X or a yellow exclamation point next to the modem, a problem exists with its installation; see Chapter 25, “Troubleshooting Problems,” for help. 4. Click Properties. The properties for the modem appear. 5. Look on the General tab in the Device status area. It should read: This device is working properly. 6. Click OK, closing the modem properties, and then click OK again, closing the system Properties. 7. From the Control Panel, double-click Modems. The Modems Properties box appears. 8. Click the Diagnostics tab. Click the entry in the Port column for your modem, as shown in Figure 17.2. 9. Click More Info. Windows checks the modem by sending it certain commands and noting the responses. If the modem is working correctly, results appear in a More Info box, as shown in Figure 17.3. If an error message appears instead, a problem exists with the modem.
Modem Trivia Modem is short for modulate/demodulate, which is what the device does to the computer data. It converts data to sound for transmission over phone lines, and then it converts sound back to data again on the receiving end. Modem Speeds Nearly all modems today are 56K, which means they transfer data at up to 56Kbps. A few years back, not all ISPs supported 56K connectivity, but they all do nowadays. There were originally two standards for 56K connection: Kflex and X2. A few years ago, modem-makers standardized on a third standard instead: V.90. If your modem is Kflex or X2 (check its documentation), visit the manufacturer’s Web site to see whether there is a software patch that can upgrade your Kflex or X2 modem to V.90. Your ISP might continue to provide Kflex or X2 support for now, but in the future, V.90 will be the only standard supported. Virtual Modems If you have used Direct Cable Connection, you will see your parallel (LPT) and serial (COM) ports on the Modem list. You can ignore those entries.
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FIGURE 17.1 Browse the list of installed modems on your system. The modem should be listed here. No warning symbols should be next to it.
FIGURE 17.2 Choose the port for the modem that you want to check out. Port for the modem
10. Click OK, and then click OK again. If you ran into any problems or error messages in the preceding procedure, something is wrong with the modem. Perhaps it is not installed correctly, or perhaps it has a resource conflict with another device. See Chapter 25 for troubleshooting help.
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FIGURE 17.3 This modem is functioning properly. OK on at least some lines indicates that the modem is working.
If your modem passes all the preceding tests, but you still can’t connect to the Internet or your online service, check out the section “Troubleshooting Connection Problems” later in this chapter. SEE ALSO ➤ To troubleshoot problems with modems and other devices, see page 492
Running the Internet Connection Wizard The Internet Connection Wizard (ICW) automates the process of setting up your PC for Internet connectivity. If you don’t have an Internet account yet, it can suggest a service provider in your area. If you already have an account, it can help you set up your PC to use it. The first time you run Internet Explorer on the PC, the ICW runs automatically. You also might have an icon for it on your desktop. If not, you can access it from the Start menu. (Click Start, point to Programs, then to Accessories, Communications, and then click Internet Connection Wizard.)
America Online If you want to use America Online, run the setup program on your America Online disk. Do not go through the Internet Connection Wizard. America Online’s software is separate and different. The same is true for CompuServe, also a separate service.
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The first screen of the ICW (see Figure 17.4) invites you to choose one of three options: ■
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I want to sign up for a new Internet account. (My telephone line is connected to my modem.) Choose this if you do not have an Internet account and do not know which Internet service provider (ISP) you want to use. The wizard will provide several offers from which you can choose. I want to transfer my existing Internet account to this computer. (My telephone line is connected to my modem.) Choose this if you already have an Internet account with a national provider such as MSN or Concentric Network, and you want to use the same account on this computer. I want to set up my Internet connection manually, or I want to connect through a local area network (LAN). Choose this if you want to share an Internet connection on your LAN (see Chapter 15, “Sharing an Internet Connection”) or if you use a local ISP that isn’t likely to be on Microsoft’s list of providers.
FIGURE 17.4 Select the option that most closely matches your situation.
Depending on which option you choose, skip to the appropriate section that follows. At some point during the Internet setup process, you might see a warning that file and printer sharing is running on the same TCP/IP connection you will use to access the Internet. It lets you know that the file and printer sharing will be disabled. Click OK to continue,
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and then click OK to restart your computer if prompted. When you restart, the Internet Connection Wizard picks up where you left off automatically. File and printer sharing should still work even after you have disabled its association with TCP/IP; it will simply work with one of the other network protocols instead, such as IPX/SPX. See Chapter 14, “Using Network Resources,” for more information about networking. SEE ALSO ➤ To learn more about TCP/IP, IPX/SPX, and other network protocols, see page 273 ➤ To share an Internet connection through a LAN, see page 282
Setting Up a New Internet Account If you choose to sign up for a new account from the Internet Connection Wizard (refer to Figure 17.4), it dials a toll-free number that retrieves a current listing of available ISPs in your area. Review the offers for the various providers (see Figure 17.5), select one, and then work through the wizard to sign up for the service.
FIGURE 17.5 Compare the offers presented and then click Next to continue through the wizard to sign up. Selected provider Current offering
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Setting Up an Existing Internet Account Choosing the second option from the Internet Connection Wizard (refer to Figure 17.4) dials the same toll-free number as in the preceding section and retrieves a similar list of providers. Figure 17.6 shows the list that came up on my PC. If your provider is listed— great. Click it. If not, choose My Internet service provider is not listed.
FIGURE 17.6 The wizard presents a list of providers in your area. (As before, however, this list is not comprehensive.)
If your provider is one of the ones listed, select it and click Next and the Wizard will dial your provider and help you configure the connection. The rest of the steps in the Wizard depend on the provider. If your provider is not listed, a message appears letting you know that you will need to configure the connection manually. (See the following section to learn how to do that.) The list of providers you see includes only providers who have made arrangements with Microsoft to appear on the list. Most of these are national providers, such as MSN (Microsoft Network), MindSpring, and EarthLink. Most local providers will not appear. Check your local newspaper or ask at a local computer store to find out what providers offer service in your area. Then, call a local provider and ask for a startup kit. The kit will come with directions for setting up your connection.
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Setting Up the Internet Connection Manually Most people will end up going through the connection setup manually because at this time, the Internet Connection Wizard supports relatively few service providers directly. But don’t worry—manual setup is not difficult. To set up a new or existing account on this PC, you will need the following information from your service provider: ■
The telephone number for your modem to dial.
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Your username (such as jdoe199).
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Your password (which might be case sensitive).
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The incoming and outgoing mail servers to use. These will probably be something like pop.mysite.net for the incoming and smtp.mysite.net for the outgoing. The IP address and/or DNS server address to use, if your provider requires that you use specific ones. These will be four sets of numbers separated by periods, such as 198.70.36.70.
Then, plug that information into the blanks provided as you work through the wizard. If you need to enter a specific IP address and/or DNS server address, click the Advanced button on the Step 1 of 3 screen. An Advanced Connection Properties box opens. Click the Addresses tab and then enter the IP address and/or the Primary and Secondary DNS server addresses on that tab, as shown in Figure 17.7.
FIGURE 17.7 If your ISP requires specific IP or DNS addresses, enter them here.
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Establishing Your Internet Connection You can establish your Internet connection either manually or automatically. The manual method lets you choose when to connect; the automatic method connects whenever you open a program that requires Internet access. Both methods are explained in the following sections.
Connecting Manually Working through any of the options in the ICW results in a dial-up networking connection being created. You can view it in the Dial-Up Networking folder. (Mine is shown in Figure 17.8.) To establish your Internet connection, double-click its icon.
FIGURE 17.8 Use the Dial-Up Networking connection to connect to the Internet.
Connecting to the Internet with Dial-Up Networking
1. Click Start, point to Settings, and click Dial-Up Networking. Connection Shortcuts I find it inconvenient to open the Dial-Up Networking folder every time I want to connect, so I usually create a shortcut to the icon on my desktop or on my Quick Launch toolbar.
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2. From the Dial-Up Networking window, double-click the icon for your connection. A Connect To dialog box appears. 3. Confirm that your username is correct, and enter your password if it does not already appear. As shown in Figure 17.9, the password appears as asterisks for security reasons. To save your password for future use, click the Save password check box.
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FIGURE 17.9 Change any settings as needed, and then click Connect.
4. Check the phone number. If it is incorrect, correct it. 5. (Optional) If you have multiple dialing locations set up (see “Configuring Telephony Settings” later in this chapter) and want to choose a different one, open the Dialing From drop-down list and make your selection. 6. Click Connect. Your Internet connection is established, and you are ready to surf! See Chapter 18, “Exploring the Web.” If your modem connects to your ISP, but the speed reported is less than your modem’s maximum speed, don’t worry too much about that. A 33.6K modem might connect at 31K, for example, or a 56K modem at 52K. The connection speed is negotiated between the two modems involved (yours and the one that answered the phone); therefore, it might vary from call to call.
Unneeded Area Code? If a 1 and the area code appear in the Phone number box and you don’t want it to, you need to change your telephony settings, as you will learn later in this chapter. Click the Dial Properties button and make sure that the correct area code appears in the Area Code box and the Dial As a Long Distance Call check box is not marked.
SEE ALSO ➤ To create shortcuts on the desktop, see page 144 ➤ To add an icon for your Internet connection to the Quick Launch toolbar, see page 148
Connecting Automatically Depending on how your Web browser and email programs are set up, your Internet connection might dial itself automatically whenever either of those programs needs to go online. To set up Internet Explorer and Outlook Express to connect automatically to the Internet, if they aren’t set up that way already, use the following procedure. (Outlook Express shares Internet Explorer’s connection settings, so making the change in Internet Explorer affects both programs.)
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Configure Internet Explorer to Dial Automatically
1. Make sure that you are not connected to the Internet. 2. Start Internet Explorer. (One way is to click the e icon on the Quick Launch toolbar.) If your modem dials and a Web page loads, Internet Explorer is already set up to dial automatically, and you can skip the rest of these steps. 3. Open the Tools menu and click Internet Options. 4. Click the Connections tab. (It’s shown in Figure 17.10.)
FIGURE 17.10 Configure Internet Explorer to dial your connection as needed. Automatic dialing controls
5. Click Dial whenever a network connection is not present. Password Saved? If you have not saved your password, the Connect To box will reappear when Internet Explorer needs to connect to the Internet rather than the connection being made automatically. That way, you can enter your password each time.
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6. Click OK. SEE ALSO ➤ To use Internet Explorer to surf the Internet, see page 326 ➤ To use Outlook Express for email, see page 368
Configuring Telephony Settings Telephony settings control such mundane but important options as whether to dial an area code and whether to dial using tone or pulse service. You also can set telephony to use a calling card, to disable call waiting, and more.
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Telephony settings are based on locations. A location is a profile based on a particular dialing situation. For example, you might have a location called Home in which you specified that you are in area code 217, you do not need to dial 9 for an outside line, and you must disable call waiting. Another location might be 765 Hotel, in which you are in area code 765, in a hotel that requires you to dial 9 for an outside line, and in which there is no call waiting. When you install Windows, you are prompted to create a dialing location. Those settings you specified appear in the Dialing Properties box by default. You can change them, or you can create a different location. The following procedure shows you how to examine and change telephony settings and create a new dialing location if needed.
Call Waiting You should disable call waiting before placing a call with your modem because the short beeps or pulses that signal another call can disrupt the modem communications.
Working with Dialing Location Settings
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Telephony icon. The Dialing Properties dialog box opens (see Figure 17.11).
FIGURE 17.11 Set the dialing options here.
2. (Optional) Change the name of the location in the I am dialing from box. (The default name is New Location, but you will probably want something more specific.) 3. Choose a country or region and specify your area code. 4. (Optional) To set specific rules for the area code, click the Area Code Rules button and then set any of the following in the Area Code Rules dialog box (see Figure 17.12):
More Locations To add a new location, click the New button and then click OK. To remove the selected location, click Remove.
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FIGURE 17.12 Set up rules here for when to dial 1 and when to dial area codes.
• To always dial the area code even when the number being dialed has the same area code as your own, mark the Always dial the area code (10-digit dialing) check box. • To specify certain prefixes that require a 1 to be dialed but not an area code, click the New button in the top area. Enter the prefix, and click OK. Repeat for each prefix to add to that list. • To specify certain area codes for which dialing 1 is not needed, click the New button in the bottom area. Enter the area code, and click OK. Repeat for each area code desired. 5. To dial a number to reach an outside line for local calls, enter it in the For local calls, dial box. 6. To dial a number to reach an outside line for long distance calls, enter it in the For long distance calls, dial box. Tone or Pulse If you hear musical tones when you dial your telephone, you have tone dialing. If you hear a series of clicks when you dial, you have pulse dialing. Tone phone systems will still work if you set them to Pulse dialing in this dialog box, but not vice versa.
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7. To disable call waiting, click the To disable call waiting, dial check box and then choose the needed code from the drop-down list. The most commonly used code is *70, but check with your local phone company. 8. Choose Tone dial or Pulse dial, whichever matches your phone service. Almost all phone service today is Tone dial, so pick that if you aren’t sure.
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9. To set up a calling card, click the For long distance calls, use this calling card check box, and then set up your calling card by clicking the Calling Card button and filling in the dialog box that appears. After you have set up a calling card, it appears on the drop-down list next to the Calling Card button, and you can choose among several calling cards for different situations. 10. When you have finished with the dialing properties, click OK.
Troubleshooting Connection Problems Problem: I hear the modem dialing, but then it keeps making those connection noises endlessly, until I finally have to abort it. Once in a great while, it does connect okay. This is often indicative of a poor-quality phone line. The phone line is probably so full of static that a connection can’t be established. It might be good enough to talk on, but your modem isn’t liking it. Ask the phone company to come out and check your line; there might be a loose connection somewhere. Problem: I hear the modem dialing and it sounds like it’s connecting, but the service provider’s computer always hangs up on me without making a successful connection. Several possible causes exist. One might be that your service provider is simply busy at some times and unable to accept more connections. If you are sometimes able to connect, this is probably the case. If you are never able to connect, perhaps you do not have your connection configured properly for your service provider. In the DialUp Networking window, right-click the icon and choose Properties. Then, ■ ■
Check the phone number on the General tab. Check the modem settings by clicking the Configure button on the General tab.
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On the Server Types tab, click TCP/IP Settings and make sure that if your provider requires a specific IP address or DNS server address, they are configured correctly there. On the Server Types tab, make sure that the TCP/IP check box is marked. You can deselect the NetBEUI and IPX/SPXCompatible check boxes.
If none of these helps, make sure that TCP/IP is installed in your Networking properties. From the Control Panel, double-click Network. If TCP/IP is not on the list, add it with the following procedure. Adding the TCP/IP Protocol
1. In the Network dialog box (from the Control Panel), click the Add button. 2. Click Protocol and then click Add. 3. Click Microsoft and then click TCP/IP. 4. Click OK. If prompted to insert the Windows CD-ROM, do so. 5. If prompted to restart your PC, do so. After rebooting, return to the Network window and confirm that TCP/IP now appears on the list. It should look like this: TCP/IP -> Dial-Up Adapter, as shown in Figure 17.13.
FIGURE 17.13 Check to see to which devices TCP/IP is bound. TCP/IP bound to DialUp Adapter
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If you don’t see the Dial-Up Adapter part, display the properties for the Dial-Up Adapter item on the list (click the Properties button), and on the Bindings tab, make sure a check mark is next to TCP/IP -> Dial-Up Adapter (see Figure 17.14).
FIGURE 17.14 Check the bindings for the dial-up adapter.
Problem: When I try to dial, I see a message No dial tone. The modem checks out okay, though. Plug a phone into that same line that is currently going into the modem. Do you hear a dial tone on the phone? If not, the cord (or its connection to the wall outlet) is faulty. If you do hear a dial tone from the phone, reconnect the modem and try it again. Some modems have a pass-through that enables you to connect a phone to the modem so that the modem and phone can share the line. The two jacks on your modem should be labeled Phone and Line, or Out and In. Make sure that you don’t have them switched. Some modems will not work if you have the incoming line attached to the Phone or Out jack. Problem: When I try to use the modem, the computer sometimes (or always) freezes up. This sounds like a device conflict to me. See the section “Troubleshooting Problems with a Device” in Chapter 25, “Troubleshooting Problems.”
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18 Exploring the Web Choosing Your Browser Viewing Web Pages Locating People and Information Organizing a List of Favorite Places Saving Web Content for Offline Viewing Customizing Internet Explorer
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Choosing Your Browser When most people talk about the Internet, they mean the World Wide Web, or Web for short. The Web is a vast network of documents, or pages, that are available for online viewing. You can visit a specific page if you know its URL (which stands for Uniform Resource Locator—in other words, its address), or you can hop from page to page by following hyperlinks. Millions of Web pages are available for your free, anonymous viewing pleasure, with information about every subject from Aardvarks to Zulus. Before you can use the Web, however, you must decide which Web browser software you want to use. Windows Millennium comes with Internet Explorer 5.5, which is a very good, feature-rich Web browser. It’s the only browser I use anymore; not only is it free, but it’s already installed, and it does everything I want to do (and then some). User Profiles in Navigator Netscape Navigator uses a system called User Profiles to allow multiple users to share a copy of the software, each with their own saved favorite links. The first time you start Netscape after downloading and installing it, you will be prompted to create a user profile. Just work through the wizard, answering the questions in the boxes provided.
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However, you might prefer instead to use Netscape Navigator, a competing browser that is just as good (some say better) and that is also free (although you might have to download it from www.netscape.com). Figures 18.1 and 18.2 show the same page in Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator, respectively, so you can see the difference. (There really isn’t much difference.) The examples in this chapter will all be based on Internet Explorer, but you are free to use either browser. SEE ALSO ➤ To download and install new software (such as Netscape Navigator), see page 158
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FIGURE 18.1 Microsoft Internet Explorer, which comes with Windows Millennium.
FIGURE 18.2 Netscape Navigator, the browser component in the free, downloadable Netscape Communicator package.
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Working with Web Pages Change Your Home Page You can easily choose a different page as your home page. In Internet Explorer, open the Tools menu, choose Internet Options, and on the General tab, specify a new address in the Address line.
When you start your browser, your Home page loads. (The default Home page for Internet Explorer is shown in Figure 18.3.) This is the page that your browser is configured to begin with each time. From there, you can click any of the links provided or type an address on the Address line. You can return to the Home page at any time by clicking the Home button.
FIGURE 18.3 The Home page loads each time you open the browser. Graphical hyperlink Text-based hyperlink Mouse pointer ScreenTip describing the hyperlink being pointed at Home button Back button Forward button
SEE ALSO ➤ To set program options for Internet Explorer, see page 344
Understanding Hyperlinks Hyperlinks are pointers to other Web pages. When you click a hyperlink, its associated Web page displays, replacing whatever page was showing before.
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You will encounter two types of hyperlinks on Web pages. Textbased hyperlinks look like regular text, except that they are a different color, underlined, or both. Graphical hyperlinks, as the name implies, are graphics with hyperlinks associated with them. Figure 18.3 shows both types. Regardless of the type of hyperlink, when you position your mouse pointer over a hyperlink, it turns into a pointing hand, indicating that clicking in that spot will display a different page. Sometimes a ScreenTip appears, too, indicating where that hyperlink will take you (see Figure 18.3).
Browsing the Web Click any hyperlink to view the page associated with it. You can surf the Web by jumping from link to link all day and probably never run out of links! Use these buttons on the Internet Explorer toolbar to help you explore: The Back button returns to the previously viewed page. The Forward button takes you forward again after using the Back button; if you have not gone Back, Forward is not available. The Stop button stops a page loading in progress. It is not available if a page is not currently loading. It is useful when a page is taking too long and you don’t want to wait. The Refresh button reloads the current page. This is useful when an error occurs in loading or when the page contains information that you want to update (such as stock quotes).
Non-Web Hyperlinks Some hyperlinks point you to something other than another Web page. Mail-to hyperlinks, for example, open a window where you can compose an email message to a certain recipient.
Can’t Go Back? Sometimes when you click on a hyperlink, it opens a new browser window. If your Back button is unavailable suddenly, that’s probably what happened. Simply close the Internet Explorer window with the unavailable Back button, and you’ll be back where you were. There are add-on programs you can buy that will prevent these extra windows from popping up, as well as suppress banner ads. Norton Internet Security is one such program that works well.
The Home button returns you to your Home page. Back, Back, Back
Viewing a Specific Page How many times have you been watching TV and seen a Web site address flash across the screen? Whether it’s Pepsi or Pepcid AC, it seems as though every product and movie has its own Web site these days.
The Back button has a down arrow to its right. Click it to open a list of previously viewed pages, and then click one of those pages to jump directly to it. The Forward button works the same way.
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Displaying a Specific Web Page Just Guess It If you don’t know the address for a specific movie, company, or product, sometimes you can guess it by taking the name and adding www. to the beginning and .com to the end. For example, www.reebok.com takes you to the Reebok Web site. This trick works for hundreds of brands and products.
1. Type the address of the page into the Address box, replacing whatever is there. 2. Press Enter or click the Go button. For example, Figure 18.4 shows the result of entering www.microsoft.com/windows. As a typing shortcut, you can leave out the http:// part, and Internet Explorer will assume it as long as the address starts with www (and it sometimes works anyway even if the address doesn’t start with that!). Or you can leave out the www part and Internet Explorer will assume it as long as you type the http:// part.
FIGURE 18.4 Type an address in the Address box and press Enter to visit that page. To get here, I typed http://www. microsoft.com/ windows.
Visiting Favorite Places Internet Explorer comes with several lists on its Favorites menu of suggested Web sites to visit. Yes, all of them appear on the list because of some commercial arrangement with Microsoft, so it’s not
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really an unbiased list of the best spots. But most of the links are to interesting, professionally done Web pages, so you might want to check them out. Loading a Page from the Favorites List
1. Open the Favorites menu. (Do not confuse the Favorites menu with the Favorites button. Internet Explorer has both.) 2. Click the link to the page you want to visit. (You might have to go through one or more layers of submenus, as you do with the Start menu. See Figure 18.5 for an example.)
Favorite A favorite is a stored hyperlink to a page. Internet Explorer comes with many favorites, and you can add your own favorite places to the list, too. You will learn to do so in the next section.
FIGURE 18.5 The favorites on the Media list provide a good starting place if you are looking for something to browse.
Managing the Favorites List The Favorites list is a great help; you can use it to store all those interesting links that you want to visit regularly. (You saw it in action in Figure 18.5.) Whether you’re checking the weather in your area every morning or checking your stocks every night, it pays to have your favorites set up on the Favorites menu and at your fingertips.
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In the following sections, you will learn how to add and remove items from the Favorites menu (you can even remove the ones that come preinstalled) and how to rearrange items on the Favorites menu to meet your needs.
Adding a Favorite As you saw in the preceding section, the Favorites list comes preloaded with some interesting pages to visit. But you will surely want to add your own favorites to it as well. Even if you’ve been using the Web only for the last 15 minutes, you have probably already found a Web page that you want to refer to again later. By adding it to your Favorites list, you create an easy-to-access shortcut to it. Adding a Page to the Favorites List
1. Display the page. 2. Open the Favorites menu and click Add to Favorites. The Add Favorite dialog box opens (see Figure 18.6).
FIGURE 18.6 Specify how and where the page’s link should appear on the Favorites list. Change the name if desired.
3. The page title appears in the Name box. To use different wording for the menu item, change it there. Alternative Method An alternative to step 2 is to right-click the page and choose Add to Favorites from the shortcut menu.
4. (Optional) To place the item in a submenu of the Favorites menu, click Create in. The dialog box expands, as shown in Figure 18.7. Click the folder in which you want it stored. 5. Click OK. The page is added to your Favorites list.
Removing a Favorite In time you might tire of a particular Web page, or it might become unavailable. For example, if you have added a page for an online auction to your Favorites list, that auction will end in a few days, and
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then the link will be outdated. Fortunately, you can remove any link from the Favorites menu.
FIGURE 18.7 Choose a folder in which to store the new favorite, if desired. Click here for a new folder.
Removing a Link from the Favorites Menu
1. Open the Favorites menu and click Organize Favorites. The Organize Favorites dialog box opens, as shown in Figure 18.8. 2. Click the item you want to delete. If it is in a folder, double-click that folder and then click the item. 3. Click the Delete button. 4. Click Close to close the Organize Favorites dialog box. You also can use the preceding procedure to delete entire folders; simply select the folder instead of a file before clicking Delete.
Make Available Offline? You will learn about the Make Available Offline feature later in this chapter, in the “Making Favorites Available for Offline Browsing” section.
FIGURE 18.8 Manage your favorites list from here, including deleting items.
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Organizing Your Favorites As you might guess from the Organize Favorites dialog box (refer to Figure 18.8), you can do a lot with the Favorites list besides adding and removing. Here are some ideas: Another Way to Rearrange Another way to move an item or folder is to drag it in the listing, the same as you move items around on the Start menu. You can use this method to reorder items within a menu as well as to move items from one menu to another.
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To rename a favorite, select it in the Organize Favorites dialog box and click the Rename button. Then, type a new name and click OK. To create a new folder, click the Create Folder button. A new folder appears. Type a name for it and press Enter. To move that new folder, or any other folder or item, to a new location in the list, select it and then click Move to Folder. A Browse for Folder box appears, as shown in Figure 18.9. Click the folder to move it, and then click OK.
FIGURE 18.9 Choose where you want to move the selected item or folder within the Favorites menu structure.
Saving Web Content for Offline Use Web browsing can be addictive—so much great information is out there! I rarely surf the Web without finding some unexpected treasure that I want to save for later rereading and enjoyment. Saving an item to the Favorites list is one way to mark it, but the item will be available only while you are online. Lots of ways exist to capture the information from a Web page and make it available offline. You can print a hard copy of it or save the page itself to your hard disk, for example. You also can subscribe to the page, so that it is available through Internet Explorer even when
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you are not online. You’ll learn all those techniques in the following sections.
Printing Content from the Web You can print any Web page easily. For a printout of the entire page (a single copy, on the default printer), simply click the Print button. To print with more options available, use the following procedure instead. Printing a Web Page
1. Display the page you want to print. 2. If the page has multiple frames (that is, multiple panes separated by divider bars), click in the frame that you want. 3. Open the File menu and click Print. The Print dialog box opens (see Figure 18.10). 4. Select the printer, the page range, and the number of copies. 5. If the page contains multiple frames, the Print frames area of the dialog box is enabled, as shown in Figure 18.10. Select how you want the frames to be handled: • As laid out on screen. Prints the page as it appears, with all frames together on the printout. • Onl y the selected frame. Prints only the content of the frame you clicked in step 2. • All frames individually. Prints each frame’s content on a separate page. 6. Click OK. The page prints. You might have noticed in Figure 18.10 that a couple of specialpurpose check boxes are available in the Print dialog box. They are ■
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Print all linked documents. Beware—this generates a lot of paper! It prints not only the current Web page, but all the pages that are hyperlinked to it. Print table of links. This prints a listing of all the hyperlinks on the page.
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FIGURE 18.10 Set printing options and then print the page.
SEE ALSO ➤ For general information about printing and Print dialog boxes, see page 58 ➤ To control a printer’s settings or queue, see page 240
Saving Web Pages on Your Hard Disk Web Cache Some Web browsers include a caching feature that saves each page you view into a temporary file so that if you want to view the same page again later, it will load more quickly. However, this is not the same as really saving the page to disk yourself because those saved temporary files are for the browser’s use only; you can’t work with them directly. You will learn to empty the cache later in this chapter.
When you view a Web page, your browser does not save that whole page to your hard disk; it merely displays it onscreen. When you log off the Internet, that page will no longer be available for viewing until you log back on again. You can save a Web page to your hard disk, however, so that it is available any time. You also can open and edit saved Web pages using Microsoft Word or some other program that supports that format. You can save a Web page in four formats: ■
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Web Page, complete. Saves the entire page, including any graphics, frames, and style sheets. Web Archive, single file. Saves the page in a Web Archive format with an .mht extension. Web Page, HTML only. Saves only the current Web page, but not the graphics or other files. Text File. Saves only the text from the current Web page.
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The default is Web Page, complete. I use this to retrieve the contents of public-domain books online (such as at www. greatliterature.com) and then save the book files to disk. Then I use Word to open the saved HTML files, and I can read them in Word whenever I want. If a page contains lots of graphics and you aren’t interested in saving them, Web Page, HTML only might be a better choice. This saves hard disk space by not saving anything except the text and the HTML formatting codes. Saving a Web Page
1. Display the page. 2. Open the File menu and click Save As. The Save Web Page dialog box opens (shown in Figure 18.11).
FIGURE 18.11 Save a Web page to your hard disk.
3. Change the save location if desired. 4. To change the filename (the default is the page title), type a different name in the File name box. 5. Open the Save as type drop-down list and choose the format you want. 6. Click Save. SEE ALSO ➤ To open Web pages for editing, see page 429
Encoding You should not have to change the Encoding settings in the Save Web Page box; leave it set to Western European (Windows). This setting is primarily for saving Web pages written in other languages that use character sets different from English.
Opening a Saved Web Page To open a saved page later, open the File menu, click Open, and then select the Web page to open, the same as you would open a file
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in any program. You can be either online or offline; because the page is saved on your hard disk, your connection status doesn’t matter. The exception is if you have chosen the format Web Page, HTML Only, and the page has graphics or other elements that were not saved. In that case, when you load the page in Internet Explorer, you will need to be online or those unsaved elements will not display.
Saving an Individual Graphic from a Web Page To save a particular graphic that you find online, right-click it and choose Save Picture As. Then use the Save Picture dialog box to save it in either JPEG or bitmap format. Most images used on Web pages are copyrighted, and you may not legally use them without permission. Nobody is going to come to your door and arrest you if you have an unauthorized picture of Bart Simpson on your desktop, but beware of reusing graphics that you have “borrowed” from other Web pages for any document or page that you are going to distribute publicly.
Making Favorites Available for Offline Browsing You learned earlier in the chapter how to add pages to your Favorites list so that you can revisit them later. But the Favorites items are accessible only while you are online. You can set certain favorites also to be available when you are offline, however. In addition, you can set them so that all the pages linked to them also are available. (You can go several levels deep with this!) That way, you can peruse an entire Web site at your leisure offline. Here’s how it works: When you turn on the Make Available Offline option for a page, Internet Explorer immediately transfers that entire page (and other related pages, if specified) to your hard disk, in a temporary folder. It waits there for you to choose it from the Favorites menu. Then, periodically (according to the schedule you specify), it updates the stored version of the page to synchronize it with the latest version on the Web. Making a Favorite Available Offline
1. Open the Favorites menu and click Organize Favorites.
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2. Click the item you want to make available. 3. Click the Make available offline check box. A Properties button appears, as shown in Figure 18.12.
FIGURE 18.12 Select a page from the list and then mark the Make available offline check box.
4. Click the Properties button. The Properties box for that link appears. 5. Click the Schedule tab. 6. Choose a scheduling option for updating this page: • Only when I choose Synchronize from the Tools menu (the default) • Using the following schedule(s) If you choose the latter, you must create at least one schedule. Click the Add button and specify a schedule, as shown in Figure 18.13. You can have different schedules for different links; some pages you might want to update daily, whereas others need updating less often. 7. Click the Download tab (shown in Figure 18.14). 8. Set options for the associated pages: • Specify a number of levels of links you want to download in the Content to download area. For example, to download all the pages that are linked from this page, choose 1. To download all that and all the pages linked to all those pages, too, choose 2.
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FIGURE 18.13 Create a schedule for automatic synchronization of offline content. Specify a number of days. Choose a time. Name the schedule. Click here to automatically connect if needed.
FIGURE 18.14 Specify how much information will be downloaded to your hard disk.
• To download only pages from this same Web site (that is, with the same domain address), deselect the Follow links outside of this page’s Web site check box. • To limit the total amount of hard disk space that these downloads can consume, select Limit hard-disk usage for this page to and then enter a number of kilobytes. • To omit images, sounds and video, or ActiveX controls and Java applets, click the Advanced button and deselect the
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undesired objects from the box that appears. (Then, click OK to return.) 9. Set any other options for the page as needed: • If you want an email sent to you when the page changes, click the When this page changes, send e-mail to check box and enter your email address and mail server. • If the page requires you to log in, click the Login button and specify your username and password for that site. 10. Click OK, closing the Properties box for the page. 11. Click Close, closing the Organize Favorites box. The chosen pages are immediately downloaded to your hard disk. You can now view them any time from the Favorites menu, even when offline.
Finding People and Information One of the first questions people ask when they start using the Internet is “How do I find X?” X can be anything: a person, a bit of information, a Web site for a particular company, and so on. The answer, unfortunately, is “Well, it depends.” No single directory exists that lets you find everything. However, many very good partial directories are available, and by visiting several of them, you are likely to find your answer.
Using Web Search Engines Search engines are a great way to look for information online. Search engine sites are organized around giant databases of Web page links, and they are free (that is, advertiser supported). You type in certain words, and it spits back to you a list of Web pages that match. The following are the addresses of some of the more popular search engines: http://www.yahoo.com http://www.excite.com http://www.lycos.com http://www.webcrawler.com
My Favorite Search Engine Of these, Yahoo! is the one I choose most often because the pages it lists are actually checked and reviewed by real human beings, and only the best pages are included. Most of the other sites use computers to gather and index Web content, so they have more matches for a particular query. You might wonder why more matches wouldn’t be better—and it is better to a certain extent. But suppose I’m searching for information about Shetland Sheepdogs. On Yahoo!, I get a list of 74 sites that have been checked and deemed useful by a real human. On Infoseek, I get 2,040 matches, including some really good sites and lots of crummy sites. Which would you rather wade through?
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The basic process for using a search site is simple. Type the keywords you are looking for, and then press Enter or click the button that activates the search (Find, Go, Seek, Search, and so on—it depends on the site). It presents you with a list of addresses, usually with some descriptive paragraph beneath each one, as shown in Figure 18.15. Each of the addresses is a hyperlink, and you can click any of them to visit that page. Use Back to return to the list and try another.
FIGURE 18.15 The results of a typical keyword search. This one is from WebCrawler. Hyperlink to the described site Pages are ranked by relevance to your keywords.
Using Internet Explorer’s Search Pane When you click the Search button on Internet Explorer’s toolbar, a separate Search pane opens to the left of the main browser window. This new pane provides access to several popular search engines and reports the search results in that same pane. That way, you can run a search without leaving the current Web page that you are working
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with. Figure 18.16 shows a search for Shetland Sheepdog. To close the Search pane, click the Search button again, or click the X in the top-right corner of the pane.
FIGURE 18.16 The Search pane enables you to search without leaving your current page.
Search Syntax
By default, the Search feature uses different search engines to be fair to all the major players (or at least those who have paid a promotional fee to Microsoft!). However, the Search feature can be customized to use particular search engines—or even one specific one—all the time. Customizing Internet Explorer’s Search Pane
1. With the Search pane open, click Customize. This opens the Customize Search Settings dialog box (see Figure 18.17).
Most search engines have a particular syntax you need to use for more complex searches. Unfortunately, the syntax is different for almost every site. On some sites, for example, to exclude a particular word you can type a minus sign before it. The search “bear -teddy” would find all pages that contained the word “bear” but that did not contain “teddy.” But on other sites, the minus sign doesn’t work at all—perhaps they use parentheses around the item to exclude, instead. If you are interested in narrowing down your search with criteria like that, read the directions at the site to find out how to proceed.
2. In the Find a Web page section, select the search engines you want to use by selecting or deselecting their check boxes. 3. Make your choices of search services for each of the other categories. (Scroll down in the dialog box to see the others.) 4. Click OK.
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FIGURE 18.17 Choose which search engines should be used when you search for specific data types. Scroll down for more data types. Select or deselect a site. Click here to reset the defaults.
Finding Contact Information for People Search Results in the Main Pane If you type a question mark followed by your search words, the search results appear in the main browser window.
Finding a person can be more difficult than finding a bit of information. A certain fact might be found on hundreds of pages; you need only to locate one page that happens to contain it. But a person is unique. To find a person, you can visit one of the popular directories, such as http://www.bigfoot.com http://people.yahoo.com http://www.worldpages.com
Is It Accurate? The contact information you get from a search directory online might be out of date. Sites typically don’t update their records very frequently, so if the person has moved within the last year or so, you might get the old info.
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Then fill in the blanks provided to search for the person based on what you know. For example, Figure 18.18 shows a search in progress at Yahoo!. You can use this site to search either for email addresses or real-world contact information (that is, street address and phone number). As with the information searching, you also can use Internet Explorer’s Search pane to access popular directories. To do so, open
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the Search pane and then click Find a person’s address. Then fill in the details you know (see Figure 18.19) and click Search.
FIGURE 18.18 Search for a person at a search engine site designed for that purpose.
FIGURE 18.19 You can search for people in the Search pane, too. Specify your search parameters. The main pane still shows whatever page you were looking at previously.
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Customizing Internet Explorer Like most good programs, Internet Explorer is fully customizable. You can change everything from which toolbars appear to how security is handled. Rather than going into exhaustive detail about the available settings, we’ll look at them in some general categories. This will give you an idea of what you can change and where you might start looking for the setting that changes it. Most of the settings you’ll learn about in the following sections (with the exception of the first section that follows) are controlled from the Internet Options dialog box. To display it, open the Tools menu and click Internet Options.
Changing the Internet Explorer Window On the View menu, you’ll find some commands that affect how the Internet Explorer window appears and how content looks within it: ■
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Toolbars, Status Bar, and Explorer Bar. These are the same in any Windows Millennium window; refer to Chapter 6 if you need a refresher. Text Size. This controls how large text appears by default on the Web pages you display. (In most cases, Web content does not specify its own font size; it relies on the browser to choose the font.) The default is Medium. Encoding. The default character set used. This is mostly an issue when viewing non-English pages. The default is Western European (Windows).
Setting General Options On the General tab of the Internet Options dialog box (see Figure 18.20), you’ll find the following settings: ■
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Home Page. Specify a different Home page (that is, start page) in the Address box if you like. You can use a Web address here (http://something) or a file on your hard disk (C:\something).
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Temporary Internet Files. Internet Explorer caches the pages you visit in a temporary folder on your hard disk to make the pages load more quickly when you visit them again. Click Settings in this section to set up this feature, or click Delete Files to clear the current cache. Clearing the cache can free up a surprising amount of hard disk space, so if you’re short on space, try that out. History. Internet Explorer saves links to pages you have visited in the History folder so that you can call up the pages again later. (The History button on the toolbar accesses the History list.) Specify an amount of time a link should remain in History, or clear the current list with Clear History. If you don’t clear the history list regularly, anyone who sits down at your PC can see what Web sites you’ve been visiting.
Create Your Own Home Page Here’s an idea: Create an HTML document in Word or some other program that saves in that format. Include hyperlinks to the Web sites you visit most often. Then, make that page (saved on your hard disk) the Home page, and it will load each time you start Internet Explorer. From there, you can click any of the hyperlinks to go to your favorite spots.
Colors. Click here to open a box where you can set default colors for Web page display. Fonts. Click here to open a box to choose a default font for text. (To choose a default size, see the preceding section, “Changing the Internet Explorer Window.”) Languages. Click here to open a box to select a language. (This is not necessary unless you plan to view pages in different languages.) Accessibility. Click here to open a box to set features that allow you to bypass a page’s formatting to make it easier to see onscreen.
Setting Security Options Many people are worried about security when they go online. Will a rogue program take over my PC? Will a virus destroy my hard disk? Will the government—or some evil secret agent—spy on me? When browsing the Web, you must decide how secure you want to be and balance that with how many of the newest whiz-bang features you want to take advantage of. The highest security levels in Internet Explorer let you explore completely anonymously, with no fear of anything. However, these very high security settings also prevent you from, for example, online ordering, viewing multimedia content, and playing Java-based games.
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FIGURE 18.20 General options include screen appearance and saved file and link options.
Certificates Certificates are a security measure that many companies are implementing for downloading content to their users. When you install a downloaded program, you may see a box pop up telling you that there is a certificate, and asking whether you want to accept the download. This happens with Microsoft products a lot. Here’s what’s really happening: Microsoft sends a security code that matches up with the downloaded file. If the file has been tampered with since Microsoft created it, the certificate won’t match, and a warning will tell you so. You can view and manage certificates by opening the Tools menu and choosing Internet Options, then clicking the Certificates button on the Content tab.
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On the Security tab (see Figure 18.21), you’ll find several content zones defined: Internet, Local intranet, Trusted sites, and Restricted sites. You can set a security level for each zone individually and specify which sites are part of that zone. (Click the Sites button to manage the list for a particular zone.) Any sites that are not on the list for the Local intranet, Trusted sites, or Restricted sites are automatically assumed to be in the general Internet zone. Each zone has a slider bar that you can drag to control the security level. The default for the Internet zone is Medium, which offers a good compromise between safety and capability. It lets you do almost anything that the page offers, but it prompts you to let you know what is happening before anything happens that could potentially be a security risk. You also can customize the security level for a zone by clicking the Custom Level button. This opens an exhaustive list of security settings (see Figure 18.22) that you can change for the zone, to specify how you want various types of content to be handled.
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FIGURE 18.21 Manage the security settings for each zone.
FIGURE 18.22 You can customize the security level for a zone here.
Programs and Plug-Ins Internet Explorer does a lot of stuff behind-the-scenes for you, without your even realizing it. One of those functions is to load external programs and plug-ins to handle content that Internet Explorer itself can’t process. External programs are programs that run outside of Internet Explorer to take on some special function. For example, when you click a hyperlink that sends an email, your email program opens, in a separate Window from Internet Explorer.
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Cookies A cookie is a file created on your hard disk when you visit a Web page that helps the company providing the Web page to identify you when you return for another visit. Generally, cookies are very useful because they can identify you without your having to log in when you visit a site. However, some people consider them a violation of privacy. You can set Internet Explorer to a higher security level to prevent it from accepting cookies or to force it to ask your permission before each cookie is accepted. Click the Custom Level button to find the cookies setting. You can also buy add-on Internet security programs that will manage your cookie list.
No Cookies, Thanks To set your security so that you receive a prompt each time a Web page wants to transfer a cookie to your PC, click the Custom Level button and then click the Prompt option button under Allow cookies that are stored on your computer.
If you’re curious, you can peek behind the curtain and see the program and plug-in settings. In IE, open the Tools menu and choose Options, and then look on the Programs tab. There you can specify which program to use for a variety of special functions, including HTML file editing, email, and newsgroup reading. Plug-ins are miniprograms that integrate with IE. Shockwave is one such program; it plays multimedia content or interactive games, and it works right from within a Web page, provided you have the Shockwave plug-in. If you visit a page that requires a particular plug-in that you don’t have, a box pops up offering to get and install the plug-in for you. You can normally just click Yes or OK to let that happen, and then poof, the plug-in is installed, and you don’t have to worry about it ever again.
Setting Up Content Ratings If you are a parent of minor children who use your PC, you might be concerned about your kids being exposed to adult content online. This is a valid concern! Internet Explorer provides a content rating feature that can help prevent some of the obvious smut from reaching your desktop. However, it is not perfect and can’t be relied on to filter out 100% of the material that you might find objectionable. The Content Advisor works by comparing the settings you choose to the ratings for a particular site. Not all sites have ratings, so you can choose whether you want sites that have no rating to be viewable on your PC. (If you go to all the trouble of setting up content ratings, I strongly suggest that you block sites with no rating; many explicit sites are without ratings.) You also can specify a password that can be typed to override the block (so that adults in the household might view sites that the children, who don’t know the password, cannot). Setting Up Content Restrictions
1. Start in the Internet Options dialog box (open the Tools menu and click Internet Options), on the Content tab. 2. Click the Enable button. The Content Advisor dialog box opens.
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3. On the Ratings tab, set a rating for Language, Nudity, Sex, and Violence. Drag the slider bar to choose an acceptable level. For example, in Figure 18.23, the Violence rating is set to Level 2. A description of what that entails appears below the slider bar.
FIGURE 18.23 Set the allowable level for each of the four categories.
Watch Your Kids!
4. (Optional) To block or allow certain sites, type the address on the Approved Sites tab, and then click Always or Never to set its status. For example, in Figure 18.24, the site http://www. wempen.com is set to always be viewable, regardless of its content, whereas the site http://www.hardcore.com is set to never be visible.
The Web is not a babysitter. Children should not be allowed to go online without an adult nearby, at least casually observing the action. Security measures and content filtering are helpful tools, but they are not a substitute for parental involvement in a child’s online experience.
FIGURE 18.24 Specify certain sites to always be or to never be viewable.
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5. On the General tab, do any of the following: • Select or deselect the Users can see sites that have no rating check box. If this is not marked, all sites with no rating are assumed to be objectionable. • Select or deselect the Supervisor can type a password to allow users to view restricted content check box. • Set a password by clicking Change Password. • Find and use other rating systems by clicking Find Rating Systems. (Some systems require you to pay to use them.) 6. Click OK to accept the new settings. Advanced Tab I intentionally skipped the Advanced tab in this dialog box because little is here that most Web users would need. If you are using a special ratings service that requires you to set up a ratings bureau or PICS rules, the service will provide instructions for setting the required options on the Advanced tab.
7. If you chose to use a supervisor password, the Create Supervisor Password dialog box appears. Type a password (and then type it again to confirm) and click OK. 8. A message appears that the Content Advisor has been enabled. Click OK. 9. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box. Try to visit some pages that are objectionable, to see whether the Content Advisor blocks them successfully. If you need to make changes to the settings, reopen the Internet Options dialog box (open the Tools menu and click Internet Options) and click the Settings button on the Content tab. To stop using content ratings, click the Disable button on the Content tab. When prompted for the password, type it and click OK.
Setting Program Options Internet Explorer can’t do all Internet activities single-handedly; it sometimes requires helper programs. For example, when you want to send email, Internet Explorer relies on a separate email program to take care of your request. On the Programs tab of the Internet Options dialog box, you can select which program should be associated with various external activities. For example, in Figure 18.25, notice that Outlook Express is the chosen program for both email and newsgroups.
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FIGURE 18.25 Select which programs should start when Internet Explorer needs help.
Advanced Options Most people never need to bother with the Advanced options in the Internet Options dialog box. These allow you to make very specific technical changes, and most people don’t understand the bulk of them—and don’t need to. That’s why I’m not devoting a special section to them in this chapter. However, you might occasionally run into some Internet game or other Web activity that requires you to make a change or two here. For example, I like to play an online Bingo game that required me to enable the Java console on the Advanced tab the first time I tried to play it. Just remember that these advanced options are there, and if you never have to work with them, lucky you. More advanced users might want to explore the Advanced tab’s settings to tweak the way IE performs. Here are a few examples of settings you might consider changing on the Advanced tab: ■
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In the Browsing section, you can choose whether or not to underline hyperlinks. The settings are Always (the default), Hover (underlines them only when you point at them), and never. In the Multimedia section, you can deselect Show Pictures to make Web pages load faster by omitting the graphics on them.
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You can also turn off Play Sounds and Play Videos here to further speed things up. ■
Under Printing, you can choose not to print background colors and images, for faster (and less ink-intensive) printing of Web pages.
SEE ALSO ➤ To use Outlook Express for email, see page 369 ➤ To use Outlook Express for newsgroups, see page 394 ➤ To use NetMeeting, see page 412 ➤ To manage addresses, see page 384
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19 Bringing the Web to Your Desktop The Changing Face of the Web Working with the Active Desktop Adding Active Controls Listening to Internet Radio
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The Changing Face of the Web Over the last few years, the Internet has changed dramatically from being primarily a text-based medium to including sounds, videos, and other multimedia content.
Plug-Ins I mentioned in the preceding chapter how add-on programs called plug-ins work with Internet Explorer to play content that IE itself can’t handle. Shockwave is one such program; Flash, RealAudio, and QuickTime are others. When you visit a Web page that has such content, the plug-in loads automatically and presents the content. If you don’t have the plug-in, a box will usually offer to download it and install it for you automatically. If not, there will be a hyperlink on the page pointing you to the Web site where you can download the plug-in you need. After a plug-in has been installed, it works all by itself, and you don’t have to do anything special to load it each time. What’s Legal? It’s illegal to make a copy of copyrighted music and give it to someone else unless the owner of that copyright has given permission to do so. Most of the MP3s exchanged on the Internet are therefore illegal. So, why hasn’t someone shut down the exchange sites such as Napster yet? Well, that might happen eventually. In the meantime, bear in mind that if you download a copy of your favorite artist’s songs in MP3 format, you might be breaking the law. Chances are good that you won’t ever get prosecuted, but there’s always that remote possibility. Consider yourself warned.
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MP3 The hottest file format on the Internet these days is MP3. MP3 files are digital audio tracks, much like audio tracks on a CD. People trade them online (sometimes illegally) through services such as Napster and through Web pages. Back in Chapter 4, I showed you how to use Windows Media Player, a multimedia player that can play the MP3 files you find online. When you double-click on a downloaded MP3 file, Windows Media Player starts automatically. Also in Chapter 4, you learned how to make playlists of your favorite MP3 and other-format media clips.
Streaming Content Another popular format for Internet sound and music is RealAudio. Unlike MP3s, which you typically download to your hard disk before you play, RealAudio content is streaming. That means that the file remains on the server, and feeds itself to your player a little bit at a time, so you can play it while you’re connected to the Web site, but you can’t save it for offline replay.
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Still another popular format is Internet Radio. I’ll devote an entire section to this technology later in the chapter. There are two ways to play Internet Radio in Windows Millennium; you can use the Internet Radio toolbar, described later in the chapter, or you can use Windows Media Player, covered in Chapter 4.
Push Technology In the preceding chapter, you learned how to go out onto the Web and find information. The Web is, at its heart, a pull technology because you are pulling the information from the Web with your commands. Nothing comes to your PC that you haven’t requested at that moment. But the Internet also supports push technology. Push technology delivers content to your desktop at regularly scheduled intervals so that you don’t have to manually request it each time. (Another name for push technology is Internet broadcasting.) Push technology can be a great timesaver if you find yourself looking up the same information frequently on the Web, such as the latest stock prices or weather forecasts. In the remainder of the chapter, I’ll show you how to enable push technology using Windows Me itself, through its Active Desktop and Internet Radio features. But these are far from the only ways to access Internet broadcasting technology. Visit some of the following Web sites, each of which can help you get set up to receive more content. Some of these are full broadcasting systems, complete with their own software that you will be prompted to download and install; others are simply links to RealAudio content. If you don’t have the RealAudio player, a box will prompt you to download it; go ahead and work through that for the installation if needed. Broadcast.com (Yahoo!) http://www.broadcast.com
ChannelSEEK http://www.channelseek.com
DENtv http://www.dentv.com/
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The Media Channel http://www.mediachannel.com/
Virtual Tuner http://www.radio-on-the-internet.com/
Working with the Active Desktop Windows Me allows you to add push content directly to your desktop, so it’s going on right there in the background as you do your daily work. Unlike with the media players I listed in the previous section, Windows’ push content controls are integrated right into the background of the desktop itself. To employ push technology through Windows, you must enable Web content on your desktop. This allows active controls (which are basically push players) to appear on the desktop. An active control is a window or a box that contains Internet content and that is automatically updated at a specified interval as long as you are connected to the Internet. For example, one very popular active control is the Microsoft Investor Ticker. It reports the latest prices for the stocks you specify. Figure 19.1 shows several active controls on a desktop. To check whether Web content is enabled, and to turn the feature on if needed, use the following procedure. Enabling the Active Desktop
1. Right-click the desktop and choose Active Desktop. A submenu appears. 2. If no check mark is next to Show Web Content, click it to place one there. SEE ALSO ➤ To change the wallpaper, see page 185
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FIGURE 19.1 Active controls on a desktop. This control plays music clips. This control reports the current weather conditions. This control reports stock prices and business news.
Adding Active Controls After you have enabled Web content, you will want to add some active controls to it. You don’t have to display every control at all times; you might want to add many controls initially but choose only a few at a time to display. Adding an Active Control
1. Establish your Internet connection if it is not already running. 2. Right-click the desktop and point to Active Desktop, and then click Customize My Desktop. 3. Make sure the Show Web content on my Active Desktop check box is marked. (It should be if you performed the preceding procedure.)
Channel Bar Internet Explorer 4.0 and Windows 98 (the original edition) come with an active control called the channel bar. It’s a bar that appears on your desktop, from which you can select any of a variety of multimedia “channels” (somewhat like Web pages). Windows 98 Second Edition didn’t come with this, nor does Windows Millennium, but if you have upgraded from the original Windows 98, it will still be available.
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4. Click New. The New Active Desktop Item dialog box opens. Investment Ticker The Microsoft Investor Ticker might attempt to install itself automatically after step 6. Click Yes. This does not actually install this control on your PC; it simply makes it possible to see an example of it on the Desktop Gallery Web page.
You can enter the URL of a specific control here if you know it, but you probably will need to browse the Desktop Gallery at the Microsoft Web site to find a control, so continue to step 6. 5. Click the Visit Gallery button. 6. On the Active Desktop Gallery page, click a button for a category (News, Sports, Entertainment, and so on). A list of the available controls in that category appears (see Figure 19.2). 7. Click the name of the active control you want to install. Information about it appears. 8. Click Add to Active Desktop. A prompt appears asking whether you want to add an item to your Active Desktop.
FIGURE 19.2 Select active controls from here. Category buttons Select a control from the category. Click here to install the selected control.
9. Click Yes. A box appears letting you know you have chosen to add a component to your desktop. 10. Click OK. The control itself downloads, along with the latest version of its content. This might take several minutes.
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When the download is finished, the control appears on your desktop. 11. Return to Internet Explorer and add more controls, or close Internet Explorer if you are finished.
Placing Your Start Page on the Desktop In Windows Millennium, you can place your Internet Explorer start page directly on your desktop, like “live” wallpaper. All the hyperlinks on it work, so you can surf the Web directly from your desktop. To turn this feature on, right-click the desktop, point to Active Desktop and then My Current Home Page. Figure 19.3 shows it in action. If you find this distracting, repeat the same procedure to turn it off again.
FIGURE 19.3 Your IE start page can be used as an Active Desktop item. Home page, right on the desktop
Displaying or Hiding Active Controls To quickly turn an active control on or off, right-click the desktop and point to Active Desktop. A list of the installed active controls appears at the bottom of the menu. Click the one you want to turn on or off.
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Using Active Controls You might not be able to get much benefit from an active control simply by looking at it. On the stock ticker, for example, the stocks and headlines scroll by, but you need to click a headline or a stock price to display the full information. The exact procedure for using a particular control might vary, but clicking them can activate most items, just as with any hyperlink on a Web page. For example, in Figure 19.4, the Audio Net Jukebox control appears; I can choose an artist or a format by clicking the corresponding buttons. Also in Figure 19.4, the Microsoft Investor ticker appears, along with a weather map. I can click any part of those windows to open an Internet Explorer window with details.
FIGURE 19.4 Each active control has its own controls, but most work by clicking them. Click an article to read it. Click an area to see its weather forecast. Click Artist to see a list of artists from which to choose.
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Customizing Active Controls Some controls can be customized as to the content they provide; others can’t. For example, in Figure 19.4, the jukebox and the weather map have no customization capability, but the stock ticker does. (You can tell because the stock ticker has a Custom button in its window, whereas the others don’t.) Because the stock ticker is such a popular item to use, I’ll review the procedure for customizing it in the following steps. Customizing the Microsoft Investor Stock Ticker
Update Customization All controls can be customized as to their update interval (that is, how often their content is updated, and in what manner). See the following section, “Setting the Update Interval,” for details.
1. Click the Custom button in the stock ticker window. A Properties box appears for it, as shown in Figure 19.5.
FIGURE 19.5 Customization controls for the stock ticker active control. Add stocks here. Choose an update interval.
2. Type the stock symbols you want to track, separated by commas, in the Enter additional stock symbols box. 3. Choose an update interval in the Update area. You can choose automatic or manual update. (If you choose manual, you will need to click the Update button in the stock ticker window when you want an update.) 4. (Optional) To choose different news headlines to appear, click the Modify News Categories button and add or remove categories from the list, as shown in Figure 19.6. Then, click OK to return to the Properties box.
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FIGURE 19.6 Select which news categories should be used for your scrolling headline ticker. Click a category. Click Add to add it to the list.
5. Click OK, closing the Properties box. Each of the active controls (the customizable ones, that is) has its own properties that you can set; the ones in the preceding steps are just an example.
Setting the Update Interval You can control the update settings for each active control separately. These include the update interval, how much information is downloaded with each update, and more. Setting Update Properties for Active Controls
1. Right-click the desktop, point to Active Desktop, and click Customize My Desktop. 2. Click the control you want to modify. 3. Click the Properties button. The Properties box for that control opens. 4. Click the Schedule tab. 5. Choose one of the following: Creating Schedules You learned about creating update schedules in Chapter 18, “Exploring the Web,” in the section “Making Favorites Available for Offline Browsing.”
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• Only when I choose Synchronize from the Tools menu. For manual updates only. • Using the following schedule(s). For automatic updates, in addition to any manual updates you might perform.
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6. If you chose to use an update schedule, do any or all of the following as needed to set the schedule: • Place or remove check marks next to any of the schedules on the list. • Edit a schedule by selecting it and clicking Edit. • Add a schedule by clicking Add and completing the New Schedule dialog box. 7. (Optional) To specify how much information can be downloaded during an update, click the Download tab and make your selections there, as shown in Figure 19.7.
FIGURE 19.7 You can limit the download that occurs when you update a control. You can limit the download to a certain volume. Click Advanced for more detailed download controls.
8. Click OK to accept the new properties for the control. SEE ALSO ➤ For more information about update and synchronization schedules, see page 336
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Working with Internet Radio Internet Radio works much like the active controls you saw in the preceding sections, except it is audio. I love Internet Radio because it enables me to listen to many of my local radio stations as I work (as long as I’m connected to the Internet)—without investing in a radio tuner for my PC and without worrying about static or antennas. You can also play Internet Radio through Windows Media Player, covered in Chapter 4. However, the radio controls I’ll show you in the following sections are nice because they’re built right into Internet Explorer, so you don’t have to open a separate program to listen as you surf.
Displaying the Internet Radio Controls You access Internet Radio through Internet Explorer. Remember back in Chapter 6 that you learned about the various toolbars available in a window? One of them was Radio. Turning on this toolbar gives you access to the radio controls. Displaying the Internet Radio Toolbar
1. Start Internet Explorer. 2. Open the View menu, point to Toolbars, and click Radio. The Radio toolbar appears, as shown in Figure 19.8.
FIGURE 19.8 The Internet Radio toolbar in Internet Explorer. Click here to select a station. Adjust the broadcast volume here.
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Choosing a Radio Station You can select which radio stations you want to appear on your list and then switch freely between them, just as you would switch to a Web page from your Favorites list. But first things first—which stations do you want? The following steps explain how to add them to your Favorites list.
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Adding a Station to the Favorites List
1. Click the Radio Stations button on the Radio toolbar. A menu opens. 2. Click Radio Station Guide. A Web page appears, listing the available stations, as shown in Figure 19.9. 3. Select any station from the listing by clicking its link. That station immediately begins broadcasting.
Local Stations To locate the radio stations in your area that broadcast on the Internet, enter your ZIP code on the Radio Station Guide page and click Go.
4. If you decide you want to add this station to your Favorites list, click the Radio Stations button again and click Add Station to Favorites. 5. Create a Favorites item for the station, the same as you would to add a favorite Web page. (Refer to Chapter 18 for help.) You might want to add it to the Radio folder on the Favorites list to keep all your radio station links together.
FIGURE 19.9 Select a station to listen to. Search by location, format, or some other criterion. Add the selected station to your Presets list.
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After adding the desired stations to your Favorites list, choose them from there any time you want to listen to them. SEE ALSO ➤ To add items to your Favorites list, see page 330 ➤ To play radio through Windows Media Player, see page 77
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20 Working with Email Receiving Email Sending Email Organizing Addresses Working with Attachments Managing Received Mail Setting Mail Controls and Options
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Choosing Your Email Program Dozens of perfectly good email programs are available, and most are available for free or as a trial download on the Web. Some of the most popular include Eudora, Pegasus, and Netscape Mail. Each has its own special set of features to recommend it; serious mailing-list participants or managers like Pegasus, for example, because of its excellent sorting and filtering capabilities. Owners of Microsoft Office also have a powerful program available called Outlook. Outlook not only handles email, but it also manages contacts, tasks, and calendars. I use Outlook for my personal email on my home PC. Figure 20.1 shows Outlook’s Inbox, where incoming mail comes.
FIGURE 20.1 Outlook comes with Microsoft Office. This is Outlook 2000, the version that comes with Office 2000.
Another program, Outlook Express, comes free with Windows Millennium itself. As its name implies, Outlook Express is a slimmed-down version of Outlook, focusing on email and newsgroup management only. Figure 20.2 shows Outlook Express.
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FIGURE 20.2 Outlook Express comes free with Windows Millennium.
This chapter focuses on Outlook Express because that’s a program that everyone has available. (It also contains a built-in news reader, as you’ll see in Chapter 21.) No matter which email program you choose, you will want to do the same activities: sending, receiving, replying, and so on. However, the steps for accomplishing those activities will vary somewhat from those presented here. SEE ALSO ➤ To work with newsgroups, see page 394
Introducing Outlook Express Outlook Express has a button on the Quick Launch toolbar; you can start it by clicking there. Or you can click Start, point to Programs, and click Outlook Express. When you first start Outlook Express, it might open to an introductory screen such as the one shown in Figure 20.3. From there, you can click any of the various hyperlinks to do certain tasks, such as create a message, set up a newsgroup account, and so on.
AOL and Web-Based Email Users If you have decided to go with an online service such as America Online, your email program is built in to the service, and you won’t be able to use a separate email program such as Outlook Express to get your AOL mail. You also can’t use a separate email program to check Web-based email accounts, such as Hotmail or Juno. By nature, such mail accounts can be accessed only through your Web browser.
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FIGURE 20.3 Outlook Express’s opening screen, unless you have set it to jump directly to the Inbox at startup. Click here to bypass this opening screen in the future.
Need Setup? If the Internet Connection Wizard runs when you start Outlook Express, it means that your Internet connection has not yet been set up on this PC. See Chapter 17, “Setting Up Online Connectivity,” for help with it.
When you click the Inbox icon in the folder tree or click the Read Mail hyperlink, you see your Inbox, shown in Figure 20.4. The Inbox is divided into four panes. The top-left pane lists the available folders, just like in Windows Explorer (see Chapter 5, “Managing Files and Folders”). The top-right pane lists the email messages in your Inbox. The bottom left lists addresses stored in your address book, and the bottom-right pane previews the selected email. As with most Windows programs, a toolbar across the top provides shortcuts to the most common activities. In addition to the Inbox, Outlook Express uses several other specialpurpose folders automatically for certain tasks: ■
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Outbox. Holds outgoing messages until they are sent to your ISP’s outgoing mail server. After being sent, a message moves to the Sent Items folder. Sent Items. Holds a copy of each message you send so that you can refer to it later.
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FIGURE 20.4 Familiarize yourself with the parts of the Outlook Express screen. Folder tree Incoming messages Preview pane Toolbar
Outlook Bar in Outlook Express
Outlook Express uses each of these folders, as needed, automatically; you do not need to do anything special to them. However, you can display a folder’s content at any time by clicking its name in the folder tree. SEE ALSO ➤ To configure your Internet connection with the Internet Connection Wizard, see page 309
There might also be a gray bar with shortcut icons on it to the left of the other panes, like the one in Outlook. This is called the Outlook Bar, and you can display or hide it, along with several other screen features, by choosing View, Layout, and then selecting or deselecting the Outlook Bar check box.
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PART IV Using the Internet CHAPTER 20 Working with Email ➤ To navigate folders in a folder tree, see page 94 ➤ To create your own folders in which to organize incoming messages, see page 377
Receiving Email Receiving email includes not only reading your new messages, but also deciding what to do with them afterward. You can delete them, print them, file them, and more. Multiple Mail Accounts If you have more than one mail account, you can send and/or receive from a specific one by opening the Tools menu, pointing to Send and Receive, and clicking the account you want to send and receive from.
FIGURE 20.5 The Inbox contains three new messages. Old (already read) message New messages appear in bold.
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Outlook Express might already be set up to receive new mail when you start the program (provided your Internet connection is established). To get your new mail at any time, open the Tools menu, point to Send and Receive, and then click Send and Receive All. Or, you can click the Send/Recv button on the toolbar. Pressing Ctrl+M also does the trick. New messages appear in your Inbox. Unread messages are bold so that you can distinguish them from messages you have already read. See Figure 20.5.
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Reading New Email Outlook Express gives you a Welcome email in your Inbox the first time you run it, so you will have some mail to work with. It’s shown in Figure 20.6. Notice that the message is selected in the list of messages, and a preview of it appears in the preview pane. You can read all your mail from the preview pane if you like, but you can also double-click the message in the list to open the message in its own window, as shown in Figure 20.7. This window features a message header area listing the sender, the date, the time, and the subject.
FIGURE 20.6 The Welcome message displayed in its own window. Message header Message
The Welcome message in Figure 20.6 is elaborately formatted with graphics, different fonts, different colors, and so on. It looks a lot like a Web page in that regard. That’s because it takes advantage of Outlook Express’s capability to read HTML formatting in messages. But most of the messages you receive will probably be in plain text format, such as the email newsletter shown in Figure 20.7. SEE ALSO ➤ To add formatting to your own outgoing messages, see page 387
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FIGURE 20.7 Most email messages from individuals come in plain text format like this.
Printing a Message To print a message, either display it (by double-clicking it on the list) or select it on the list. Then, to print it, click the Print button or open the File menu and click Print. The latter method opens the Print dialog box, from which you can select the printer, the page range, the number of copies, and so on. SEE ALSO ➤ For more information about printing, see page 58
Reading and Saving an Attachment Some messages come with attachments. An attachment can be any kind of file: a picture, a word processing document, a compressed archive (for example, a zip file), or any other type. If a particular message has an attachment, a little paper clip appears next to it in the message list. When you open the message in its own pane, the attachment appears there, as shown in Figure 20.8.
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FIGURE 20.8 This message contains an attached word processing file. Attachment
Saving an Email Attachment
1. Select the message on the message list or double-click it to display it in its own window. 2. Open the File menu and click Save Attachments. The Save Attachments dialog box opens (see Figure 20.9).
FIGURE 20.9 Save attachments to your hard disk using this dialog box.
3. If there is more than one attachment, select the one you want to save in a particular folder. If you want to save more than one in the same location, hold down Ctrl as you click each one to select it. To select all attachments, click the Select All button.
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4. Make sure the folder to which you want to save appears in the Save To box. If needed, click Browse and choose a different folder in which to save the file. 5. Click Save. The attached file is saved to the specified location. If you have multiple attachments and you want to save some of them to a different location than the others, repeat these steps as needed until all attachments have been saved. You do not have to save an attachment to view it. Do one of the following to open the attachment in whatever program it is associated with: ■
■
FIGURE 20.10 You can open an attachment for viewing before deciding to save it to disk. Click here to open the menu. Click the attachment to open. Click here to open the Save Attachments dialog box (Figure 20.9).
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Double-click the attachment name in the message (when the message is open in its own window). In the message preview pane, click the large paper clip in the top-right corner. A menu opens showing the attachments. Click the attachment to open from that menu, as shown in Figure 20.10.
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Deleting a Message To delete a message, select it from the message list and press the Delete key, or click the Delete button. This moves the message to the Deleted Items folder. Change your mind? You can undelete a message by locating the message in the Deleted Items folder and dragging it to the Inbox icon on the folder tree. To delete a message completely so that no record of it exists, switch to the Deleted Items folder and delete it there. (Of course, you can’t undelete the message after that.)
Organizing Incoming Mail It is perfectly okay to leave received messages in your Inbox as long as you like, but in time your Inbox will become crowded. If you get a lot of email (for example, if you participate in a mailing list, as explained in Chapter 21, “Participating in Online Discussions”), you might want to create subfolders within your Inbox in which to organize the mail. For example, you could create a folder for each mailing list you participate in, a folder for correspondence from your family, and a folder for advertisements that you might be interested in looking at when you have time. Creating a Mail Folder
1. Open the File menu, point to New, and click Folder. (Or press Ctrl+Shift+E.) The Create Folder dialog box opens. 2. Click the Inbox to place the new folder as a subfolder of the Inbox. Or to make the folder a top-level folder on the tree, parallel to Inbox, Outbox, and so on, click Local Folders. 3. Type a name into the Folder Name box. 4. Click OK. The new folder appears beneath the Inbox in the folder tree. Then, to move messages into the new folder, drag them from the Inbox’s message list onto the new folder’s name on the folder tree.
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If that seems like a lot of work to drag each message where you want it—you’re right. It is. Fortunately, you can create message-handling rules that do the work for you based on criteria you specify. The following section explains how to set it up.
Creating Message-Handling Rules Rules let you specify what should be done to a particular message based on one or more facts about it. Those facts could include who the sender is, what the subject line contains, what size the attachment(s) are, and so on. For example, suppose you belong to a mailing list called FunStuff. You could create a rule that automatically moved any messages addressed to the list into a special folder that you have created, called FunStuff. Creating a New Rule Rules in Other Programs This chapter focuses on Outlook Express Version 5, which is what comes with Windows Millennium. If you have a different version of Outlook Express, or if you use Outlook instead, the procedure for setting up message-handling rules will be different for you from what is shown here.
1. Open the Tools menu, point to Message Rules, and click Mail. If the Message Rules dialog box appears, continue to step 2. If the New Mail Rule dialog box appears (which will happen if you do not have any rules already defined), skip to step 3. 2. Click the New button. The New Mail Rule dialog box opens. 3. Click a check box in the Select the Conditions for your rule list to indicate the type of conditions you want to set. For example, to base the rule on a particular email address (or group of addresses) in the Sender field, choose Where the From line contains people. 4. In the Rule Description area, click the hyperlink to open a box in which you can specify the condition. For example, in Figure 20.11, the hyperlink is contains and clicking it opens a Select People dialog box.
people,
5. In the dialog box that appears (Select People, for example), set up the conditions for the rule. For example, in Figure 20.12, I have set up two certain email addresses for the rule to apply to. 6. Click OK to return to the New Mail Rule dialog box. The conditions you specified now appear in the Rule Description area.
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FIGURE 20.11 Select a type of condition, and then click the hyperlink to specify the exact settings. Type of criteria chosen. Hyperlink to open the Select People dialog box.
FIGURE 20.12 Specify the parameters for this part of the rule. I typed each address here and clicked Add to place it on the list.
7. (Optional) Choose other criteria types from the Select the Conditions for your rule list and set them up the same as you did the first one. 8. Choose an action from the Select the Actions for your rule list. 9. Click the hyperlink in the Rule Description area for the action you just added and specify its parameters in the dialog box that appears. Click OK when finished.
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For example, if you chose Move it to the specified folder from the Actions list, you would click the word specified under Rule Description to open a list of folders from which to choose. 10. Type a name for the rule in the Name of the rule box. Make it descriptive—something you will understand later when you see it. 11. Click OK to create the new rule. The new rule appears in the Message Rules dialog box. 12. Click OK to close the Message Rules dialog box. Your new rule will be applied to any new incoming messages. To modify or delete a rule later, return to the Message Rules dialog box and use the Remove or Modify buttons there.
Blocking Certain Senders You can create rules (see the preceding section) that filter out some of the mail that you don’t want. For example, you could create a rule that would delete all messages with the letters “XXX” in the subject line without ever having them appear in your Inbox. To block certain senders from sending you messages, you can create a rule, or you can use the Blocked Senders list. The Blocked Senders list is a bit easier to set up than a full-blown rule and you can quickly add senders to it on-the-fly. When you block a sender, any mail received from that sender is immediately moved to the Deleted Items folder. Blocking a Sender Who Has Sent You a Message
1. Select a message from the sender. 2. Open the Message menu and click Block Sender. A message appears stating that the sender has been blocked and asking whether you want to remove all messages from the sender now. 3. Click Yes or No. 4. If you chose Yes, a confirmation box appears; click OK. You can also block mail from senders who have not sent you anything yet. When you do it this way, you can block email, newsgroup messages, or both for the sender.
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Blocking Any Sender
1. Open the Tools menu, point to Message Rules, and click Blocked Senders List. The Message Rules dialog box opens with the Blocked Senders tab on top. 2. Click Add. The Add Sender dialog box opens (see Figure 20.13).
FIGURE 20.13 Enter the address of the sender to be blocked.
3. Type the address into the Address box. 4. Choose an option button describing what you want to block: Mail messages, News messages, or Mail and News messages. 5. Click OK. The address appears on the list of blocked senders. 6. Click OK to close the Message Rules dialog box. You can make changes to the list of blocked senders at any time. Just redisplay the dialog box (see Figure 20.14). Then select or deselect the check boxes next to each address. To remove an address from the list completely, click it and then click Remove.
FIGURE 20.14 Manage your list of blocked senders here.
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Sending Email Now that you can handle your incoming mail with ease, it’s time to tackle the other half of the equation: sending mail. You can reply to a message that you’ve received, or you can create a whole new message. You can rely on plain-text format (for maximum flexibility) or dress up a message with formatting (for greater impact). In the following sections, you’ll learn how to create, format, and send messages to others.
Replying to a Message The easiest way to send a message is to reply to one that you’ve received. This is great because you don’t have to look up the person’s email address or the subject; when you reply, the correct address and the previous subject are inserted automatically. When you reply to a message, the original message appears quoted below your reply. Each line of it is preceded by a symbol (such as >) that indicates the text is quoted and not original. You can type your reply above this quoted block, or you can insert the lines of your reply between the quoted lines to respond individually to certain points that the original writer made. Replying to a Message
1. Select the message that you want to reply to, or open it in its own window. 2. Click the Reply button. A new message pane opens. 3. Type your reply. See Figure 20.15. Email Addresses In Figure 20.15, the recipient’s name appears instead of the email address. That’s because I have set this recipient up in my Address Book. When I send the message, however, Outlook Express will look up the correct email address and use it.
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4. Click Send. The message moves to your Outbox. The message will be sent the next time Outlook Express is scheduled to send and receive messages. 5. To send the message immediately from the Outbox instead of waiting for the next scheduled delivery, click the Send/Recv button. When you reply to a message, its icon changes in the Inbox to show a little arrow, like this: . You can use this to tell at a glance which messages you have sent replies to and which you haven’t.
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FIGURE 20.15 Type your reply to the original message and send it on its way. Type your reply here. The recipient is already filled in. Click here to send when ready. The original message text is quoted.
SEE ALSO ➤ To work with the Address Book, see page 384 ➤ To specify when Outlook Express sends and receives automatically, see page 391
Composing New Messages Composing a new message is almost like replying, except that you need to specify the recipient’s address. You can look it up in your Address Book (see “Managing Addresses” later in this chapter), or you can type it. Creating a New Message
1. Click the New Mail button on the toolbar. A new message window opens. 2. Type the recipient’s email address into the To: box, or select it from the Address Book, as described in the next section. 3. (Optional) To send copies to other recipients, type their addresses into the Cc: box. 4. Type a subject into the Subject box. This should be a descriptive title that will help the recipient know what the email is about.
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FIGURE 20.16 A ready-to-send message. Recipient Subject Message
Bcc: Bcc stands for blind carbon copy. It is like a Cc, except that the other recipients don’t see the name on their copies, so they don’t know it was sent to the person. Outlook Express does not include the Bcc: field on new messages, but you can choose names for Bcc copies when you select from the Address Book, as you will see in the next section. You can also add it to the message composition pane by opening the View menu and choosing All Headers. Be careful when using Reply to All to reply to a sensitive message, because all the Bcc recipients could be replied to as well. This could result in embarrassment if the message content is confidential. When in doubt, start a new message rather than replying.
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5. Type your message into the Message area. Figure 20.16 shows a completed message, ready to send. 6. Click the Send button. The message moves to the Outbox. 7. To deliver the message immediately (before the next scheduled Send/Receive), click the Send/Recv button. SEE ALSO ➤ To control how often messages are sent and received automatically, see page 391
Managing Addresses Fortunately, you do not have to remember everyone’s email addresses. You can store them in Outlook Express’s Address Book and use them whenever needed.
Adding Addresses to the Address Book You can add someone to your Address Book in several ways. One of the easiest is to copy the address from a message that you’ve
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received. The person need not have been the sender; he can be one of the other recipients. Adding an Address Book Entry from a Received Message
1. Display the message in its own window. 2. Open the Tools menu and choose Add to Address Book. A submenu appears. 3. Choose Sender to add the sender, or choose one of the other addresses on the submenu to choose one of the other recipients. A Properties dialog box appears for the new address. 4. To file the person under her real name (not the email address), click the Name tab and type the correct First, Middle, and Last names into the boxes provided, as shown in Figure 20.17. 5. (Optional) Fill in any other information about the person on the other tabs (such as Home, Business, and so on). This is not necessary to send email to the person, but you might want to keep the information for your own records. 6. Click OK, adding the person to your Address Book.
Full Contact The Address Book lets you record much more information about a person than simply the email address. You might decide to go ahead and fill in complete contact information for each person, but you might prefer to include only the email addresses and keep the other contact information in some other program (or even on paper, the oldfashioned way!). If you synchronize your contact list with a portable device such as a PalmPilot, you might want to store complete information in the Address Book so that it will be handy while you are traveling.
FIGURE 20.17 Type the person’s full name on the Name tab if you want to use it for filing purposes.
You can also add a new address to the Address Book from scratch (that is, without having received any mail from that person). The following steps show how.
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Adding a New Address to the Address Book
1. From the Inbox (or another folder), click the Addresses button. You can’t do step 1 from a message composition window because no Addresses button is present on the toolbar in those windows. 2. Click the New button. A menu appears. 3. Click New Contact. A Properties box for the new contact appears. 4. Type the person’s email address into the Email Addresses box, and click Add to add it to the list. You can store multiple email addresses for a person. To choose which is the default, select it and then click Set as Default. 5. Fill in any fields for the new contact, as desired. I recommend that you at least fill in the First and Last names. 6. Click OK, adding the person to the Address Book. 7. Close the Address Book window when you are finished with it.
Selecting Addresses for an Email When composing an email, you can click the To: or Cc: buttons to open a Select Recipients box. It lists all the addresses in your Address Book and enables you to select any of them as primary recipients (To:), secondary or “copy” recipients (Cc:), and secret recipients (Bcc:). Addressing an Email with the Address Book Printing the Address Book Click the Print button on the Address Book’s toolbar to open a Print dialog box. From there, you can choose to print all or selected addresses in any of three styles (Memo, Business Card, or Phone List).
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1. From the message composition screen, click the To: button or the Cc: button. The Select Recipients box appears. 2. Click a name on the list, and then click the To:, Cc:, or Bcc: button to move the name to the appropriate list. Figure 20.18 shows two primary recipients and one copy recipient. 3. Repeat step 2 as needed to add more recipients, if desired. 4. Click OK. The names appear in the To: and/or Cc: fields in the message composition window. You can also start a new email and address it to a single recipient directly from the Address Book. With the Address Book open, click a name, and then click the Action button on the toolbar and choose Send Mail from the menu that appears.
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FIGURE 20.18 Choose who should receive the email in one of the three manners. Select a person. Click a button to add the person to the list.
Modifying or Deleting an Address To modify an address, return to the Address Book (click the Address Book button on the toolbar) and double-click a name. The Properties box reopens for it, and you can make your modifications. To delete an address, return to the Address book and select the name. Then, click the Delete button or press the Delete key on the keyboard.
Alternative Access You can also open the Address Book even when Outlook Express is not running. Just click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, and click Address Book.
Formatting a Message You can send messages in either plain text or Rich Text Format (RTF). Rich Text Format enables you to apply formatting such as bold, italic, various fonts, various colors, bullets, and so on. It might seem like a no-brainer: Of course, you want to use formatting if you can, right? Well, not necessarily. If you are sending email to someone whose email program cannot understand Rich Text formatting, your message will not look right on the recipient’s screen. It would be better for you to send a plain-text message to such a person because at least you can be confident in how it will appear on the other end. So, how do you know? You don’t. You can send a test message and find out whether it was received with formatting intact, or you can simply stick with text-only format and not have to worry.
Default Format You can set a default format for new messages by opening the Tools menu, clicking Options, and choosing a Mail Sending Format from the Send tab.
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But for now, let’s assume that you do want to include formatting in your message. When you click in the message area when composing an email, the Formatting toolbar might become available. If it does, you are already in Rich Text mode. If it doesn’t, open the Format menu and choose Rich Text (HTML). (Conversely, you can switch to Plain Text mode by opening the Format menu and choosing Plain Text.) Then, just use the Formatting toolbar’s buttons to format the message text as you type. It works the same as the toolbar in Microsoft Word or most other word processing programs. Figure 20.19 shows the toolbar, along with a formatted message. Additional commands are also available on the Format menu that let you add backgrounds, use stationery, and work with Font and Paragraph dialog boxes. I won’t go into the formatting in detail because you dabbled in formatting back in Chapter 4, “Exploring the Windows Accessories,” when you worked with WordPad, and the controls here are similar.
FIGURE 20.19 You can use the Formatting toolbar when composing a message. Bulleted list Bulleted list button Horizontal line Horizontal line button Different font Font drop-down list Italic text Italic button Background color chosen with the Format, Background command
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If you are sending a message to someone who you are certain has a compatible email program, you might want to take advantage of Outlook Express’s Stationery feature. It uses a graphic as a background to the message to make it look like you are typing on fancy paper. Figure 20.20 shows some stationery in use. To choose a stationery design, open the Format menu and choose Apply Stationery. (Choose More Stationery to browse the entire collection if you don’t see the one you want on the list.) If the recipient can’t use stationery in his email program, the stationery appears as an attached graphic file, which he can simply ignore.
FIGURE 20.20 You can choose stationery to dress up the background of your message. Graphic from stationery
Sending Attachments You might sometimes want to attach files to your email messages. For example, I often send my editor updated versions of my outline as email attachments. I write the outline in Word, save it as a Word file, and attach it to my message; when my editor receives it, she saves it to her hard disk and opens it for viewing in her own copy of Word. Before sending an attachment, you need to make sure that the person receiving your message has the appropriate program to open and read the attachment. For example, if you send an Excel file to someone who doesn’t have Excel, the file will be useless to the recipient.
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As a workaround if you aren’t sure, you can use the Clipboard (Copy and Paste) to copy text from a program such as Word, Excel, and so on directly into an email message. That way, the pasted information becomes part of the message and not an attachment that relies on a particular program to open it. Attaching a File to a Message
1. From the message composition window, click the Attach button. The Insert Attachment box opens. 2. Select the file to attach, changing drives and folders if needed. To select more than one file at once, hold down Ctrl as you click each file (in the same folder only). 3. Click Attach. The file(s) become attached to the email. 4. Finish and send the email normally. Use a bit of discretion when emailing attachments to others. People with slow Internet connections will not appreciate the several-minute wait required to receive a message containing a large attachment. In addition, some mail servers don’t allow incoming attachments greater than a certain size and will lock up the person’s mailbox if such an email is received.
Forwarding a Message Forwarding a message is somewhat like replying to it, in that the original message’s text is quoted. However, when forwarding, you specify the recipient. You might forward a joke that you have received to some other friends or distribute a memo from your supervisor to the employees who report to you. Forwarding a Message
1. Select the message from the list of messages. 2. Click the Forward button. A new message appears, containing the quoted text from the original message. 3. Enter or choose recipients as you normally would. 4. Type any comments you want to make into the Message area. 5. Send the message as you normally would.
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Like replied-to messages, forwarded messages have a special icon in the Inbox indicating that you have forwarded them.
Setting the Delivery Schedule The delivery schedule is the interval at which Outlook Express connects automatically to your mail server to send and receive mail. The default setting is 30, which means Outlook Express will send and receive mail every 30 minutes, but you can change this to any interval. You can also specify whether it should establish your Internet connection automatically as needed. Setting the Delivery Schedule
1. From the Inbox, open the Tools menu and choose Options. 2. Click the General tab. 3. Set the following options in the Send/Receive Messages section: • Play sound when new messages arrive. When enabled, this plays whatever sound is associated with new messages in the Sounds scheme. (Set this from the Sounds area of the Control Panel, as described in Chapter 10, “Customizing System Settings.”) • Send and receive messages at startup. When enabled, this sends and receives messages each time you start Outlook Express. • Check for new messages every ___ minutes. When enabled, this sends and receives email at the specified interval.
Online Versus Offline You can place Outlook Express in Offline mode so that it will not automatically connect to the mail server at the specified interval unless the preceding option is set to Connect Even When Working Offline. To do so, open the File menu and choose Work Offline. This is great when you need to limit your time online (when using a connection that charges by the hour, for example).
• If my computer is not connected at this time. Choose what action to take from this drop-down list. Your choices are Do not connect, Connect only when not working offline, and Connect even when working offline. 4. Click OK, closing the dialog box. If you have multiple email accounts set up in Outlook Express, you can specify whether a particular account is to be included in a general Send/Receive Mail operation. To do so, follow these steps.
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Including or Excluding a Mail Account from Automatic Send/Receive
1. Open the Tools menu and click Accounts. 2. Click the Mail tab if it is not already displayed. 3. Click the account you want, and then click Properties. 4. On the General tab, select or deselect the Include this account when receiving mail or synchronizing check box. 5. Click OK. 6. Click Close. SEE ALSO ➤ To change which sound is associated with new mail, see page 210
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21 Participating in Online Discussions Reading Newsgroups Posting Messages to Newsgroups Keeping in Touch with MSN Messenger Meeting Online with NetMeeting
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Working with Newsgroups Newsgroups are like bulletin boards. One person leaves a message that everyone can read; someone else posts a reply (again, which everyone can read), and so on. The whole conversation is completely public, and hundreds or even thousands of people may be chiming in with their own posts on the subject. Chaotic? Yes. But interesting. You can post a request for help on a certain subject and receive dozens of informative replies from experts. Outlook Express has a newsreader component that you can use to read and post to newsgroups. You learned about Outlook Express in Chapter 20, “Working with Email,” so its operation should be familiar to you. Many other newsreader programs are available, too, but because Outlook Express is free and already installed, this chapter uses it as the focus.
Setting Up Your News Account Your ISP probably provides a news server as well as a mail server, and its name is probably listed somewhere in the startup paperwork you received when you signed up. You will need that news server name to configure Outlook Express to read newsgroups. It’s possible that the news server is already set up on your PC; perhaps someone else set it up, or perhaps the Internet Connection Wizard walked you through entering the needed information. If you see your news server listed on Outlook Express’s folder tree (at the bottom), it’s already taken care of and you can skip the following steps. Setting Up a News Account Don’t Know the Name? Your news server name is probably news-dotwhatever comes after the @ sign in your email address. For example, if your email address is
[email protected],
your news server is probably news.mysite.com.
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1. Start Outlook Express if it is not already running. 2. Open the Tools menu and click Accounts, and then click the News tab. 3. Click Add, and then click News. The part of the Internet Connection Wizard that sets up newsgroup accounts runs. 4. Type the name by which you want to be known in newsgroup postings into the Display Name box, and then click Next.
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You might not want to use your real name here because newsgroup postings are very public. 5. Enter your email address into the Email Address box, and then click Next. 6. Type the news server name into the News (NNTP) Server box. This is probably something like news.yourprovider.com. 7. If the news server requires a logon, select the My news server requires me to log on check box. Some providers require you to log in to the news server with your username and password to ensure that nobody except their members can access it. Other providers are more flexible and do not require this. 8. Click Next. 9. If you selected the check box in step 7, prompts appear for your username and password. Enter them and click Next. You won’t see this if you didn’t mark the check box in step 7. 10. Click Finish. The new news account appears on the account list. 11. Click Close to close the Internet Accounts dialog box. A message appears, asking whether you want to retrieve a list of newsgroups from the server. 12. Click Yes. 13. Wait for the list of newsgroups to appear. It might take several minutes for the list to download. 14. Subscribe to the newsgroups you want, as explained in the following section. You should have to do the preceding procedure only once unless you want to use a different news server.
Subscribing to Newsgroups Each provider decides which newsgroups it will carry on its server. More than 30,000 newsgroups are available, but some of them are pretty “adult” (and beyond!), so some providers choose to exclude some of the more disgusting ones. (Of course, disgusting is a matter of opinion, so if your provider doesn’t carry a newsgroup you want,
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you can always ask for it to be made available, provided you have the guts to ask.) Microsoft News Set up the news server msnews.microsoft. com to view a list of public
newsgroups maintained by Microsoft. You can often get help with Microsoft products by reading here or by posting your own messages about problems you are having.
A lot of people are concerned about keeping their children away from smut on the Web but newsgroups are actually more of a danger than the Web because the “adult matter,” including pictures, is usually right there in the newsreader—no wading through several layers of hyperlinks to find it, as you would on the Web. As with the rest of the Internet, parents should always supervise children who are reading newsgroups. The list of newsgroups may already be displayed if you just finished setting up your news account. If not, click the Newsgroups button on the toolbar to open the list (see Figure 21.1). Then, select and subscribe to the groups you want, as explained in the following steps.
FIGURE 21.1 The list of newsgroups provided on my ISP’s news server; yours might be different.
Subscribing to Newsgroups
1. Start in the list of newsgroups (see Figure 21.1). If it doesn’t currently appear, click the Newsgroups button. 2. Scroll through the list of groups to locate a group that interests you. Type a word or phrase describing a topic that interests you to narrow the list to only groups that include that word in the name. For example, Figure 21.2 shows the list narrowed to groups that contain “dogs” in the title.
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FIGURE 21.2 You can narrow the list by typing words that you want to find. I typed here. Each group on the list includes the word “dogs.”
3. When you find a group that interests you, click it, and then click Subscribe. 4. Subscribe to other groups (repeat steps 2 and 3). When you are finished, click OK. You can subscribe to more newsgroups at any time simply by repeating the preceding steps. To unsubscribe to a newsgroup, right-click it and choose Unsubscribe.
Retrieving Messages from Subscribed Groups After subscribing to the groups you want, the newsgroups appear on a list in Outlook Express, as shown in Figure 21.3. (If you don’t see this list, click the name of the news server in the folder tree.) To retrieve the message headers in a newsgroup, double-click the newsgroup name. Its message subject lines appear in the upper-right pane, and a preview of the selected message appears in the lowerright pane, the same as with email (see Chapter 20). Figure 21.4 shows the new messages in one of my newsgroups, ready to read.
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FIGURE 21.3 These are the newsgroups I have chosen to subscribe to. Click the server on the folder tree to display this list.
300 at a Time Outlook Express retrieves only 300 message headers at a time. If the newsgroup contains more messages than that, you won’t see them. However, you can ask it to retrieve 300 more by opening the Tools menu and clicking Get Next 300 Headers. You can repeat this until all message headers for the newsgroup appear, or until enough messages appear to make you sufficiently weary of reading them! You can also set up Outlook Express to retrieve a different number of messages at a time. Open the Tools menu and click Options; on the Read tab, change the Get ___ headers at a time setting to some other number.
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Outlook does not retrieve the entire message until you specifically choose that message to display. Instead, it retrieves the message headers. The headers contain information about the message, such as its subject line, its date, its sender, and its size. When you read a message, as you’ll do in the following section, Outlook Express connects to the news server and downloads the message’s actual content.
Reading a Message Reading a newsgroup message is almost like reading an email message. Click it to make it appear in the preview pane, or double-click it to make it appear in its own window. Replies to a message appear immediately beneath the original. (See Figure 21.4 for examples.) If you see a plus sign next to a message, click it to see the replies. Then, read any of the replies the same as you would read a normal message.
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FIGURE 21.4 Here are the messages from the newsgroup rec.travel. caribbean, one of my
favorites for vacation daydreaming. Plus sign indicates that there are replies. Name of the displayed newsgroup. Newsgroup chosen on the folder tree. Selected message appears in the preview pane.
An unread message appears in bold; already-read ones appear in regular text. This is the same as the messages in your Inbox, as you learned in Chapter 20. SEE ALSO ➤ To read email messages, see page 373
Sorting Messages You can sort the messages according to any of the columns in the display by clicking the column name. For example, to sort by subject, click Subject. (Messages are sorted by subject in Figure 21.4.) You can sort in ascending or descending order; click the same column heading again to toggle between the two. Figure 21.5 shows a
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newsgroup’s content sorted by the sender name (From). In sort order, punctuation comes first, followed by numbers, and finally letters.
FIGURE 21.5 Click a column heading to sort by that column. Sorted by sender name
You might want to sort by a particular column for several reasons. Here are some ideas to get you started: ■
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When you’re scanning messages for information about a particular subject (for example, for information about Princess Cruises in the rec.travel.cruises group), sort by the Subject column. Because messages that have graphic images tend to be larger than those that are replies and comments, when you’re scanning a newsgroup that contains graphics, sort by the Size column to place all the larger messages together. When you’re looking for posts from a particular sender, sort by the From column.
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Marking Messages As Read When you read a message, it becomes marked as read. It stops being bold on the message list. You might not be interested in reading every single message, especially those on a particular subject in which you have no interest. To mark a group of messages as read, select them, and then open the Edit menu and click Mark as Read. To mark the entire contents of the message list as read, choose Edit, Mark All Read. Using Mark All Read affects only the displayed message headers in the current newsgroup; if more headers have not been downloaded yet (for example, if the 300-message limit has been reached and you have not yet selected Get Next 300 Headers from the Tools menu), those are not affected.
Displaying or Hiding Already-Read Messages One important reason to mark messages as read is to prevent them from showing up the next time you view this newsgroup. That way, only the messages you have not yet seen appear on the list. Sometimes, however, you might want already-read messages to appear on the list. For example, you might want to refer back to a message that you read yesterday, having thought of an appropriately witty reply to it overnight. You can choose whether to include read messages in the listing by opening the View menu, choosing Current View, and selecting Show All Messages or Hide Read Messages. If you have set Outlook Express to hide read messages but they still appear, switch to another newsgroup and then back again. The list should change so that only the unread ones appear.
Downloading Messages for Offline Reading As I said earlier, by default only the message headers are downloaded. This saves a lot of time because you probably don’t want to read every single message in the newsgroup, anyway. However, if you need to limit your time online, you might want to download the messages so that you can read them offline.
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Downloading Messages
1. Display the newsgroup you want to download from. 2. Open the Tools menu, point to Mark for Offline, and click Download All Messages Later. This marks all the messages in the newsgroup. 3. Open the Tools menu and choose Synchronize Newsgroup. The Synchronize Newsgroup dialog box opens. 4. Mark the Get the Following Items check box. 5. Choose All messages. 6. Click OK. The messages are transferred to your PC. A dialog box shows the progress; this box goes away when the transfer is complete. After the transfer is complete, you can hang up your Internet connection and, in Outlook Express, open the File menu and click Work Offline. The messages in that newsgroup will continue to be available for reading.
Posting a Reply You can reply to a newsgroup posting either publicly or privately. Usually, you will want to reply publicly, to share your information with others. (It’s considered good manners to share in newsgroups.) Be Brief It is considered bad manners (that is, wasteful) to quote an entire posting in a public reply. Delete the parts of the original message that are not relevant to your reply, making your posting shorter overall.
To reply to a message publicly, select the message and then click the Reply Group button. A message composition window appears, as shown in Figure 21.6. Notice that the complete text of the message appears, along with the name of the person who wrote the message you are replying to. Compose your reply and click Send. To reply privately using email, select the message and then click the Reply button. Compose your email in the window that appears and click Send. SEE ALSO ➤ For more information about creating reply emails, see page 382
Posting a New Message To post a new message in the active newsgroup, click the New Post button. Then, fill in the subject and your message, as shown in
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Figure 21.7, and click Send. You do not specify a recipient; that information is already filled in based on the newsgroup that was active when you clicked the New Post button.
FIGURE 21.6 Your message text appears in a window. Type your reply here. The original message quoted Click Send to send it when finished.
FIGURE 21.7 Compose a new message the same as you would compose an email. Subject Message Include your name. Include your email address if you want private replies.
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Keeping in Touch with MSN Messenger Be Cautious Don’t disclose personal information to strangers, especially your home address and phone number! If you have children who chat online unsupervised (which is a very bad idea to begin with, in my opinion), make sure you stress to the child that he or she should never reveal such information.
MSN Messenger is a totally free instant messaging program that you can use to communicate with friends all over the world one-on-one. Unlike with the public newsgroups, your messages here are private, so you can have personal discussions. MSN Messenger is a real-time chat program, which means that both parties must be online and signed on to MSN Messenger at the same time. The MSN Messenger window keeps track of the members you have entered into its database and tells you who is online and available for chat at the moment and who is not. To use MSN Messenger, you must have a Hotmail account (which is free) or you must sign up for a Microsoft Passport. The following section explains how to sign up for a Hotmail account.
What’s a Passport? A Microsoft Passport is associated with a Hotmail account, so you end up creating one during the signup for it, but a Passport also enables some special capabilities, such as online purchases with Microsoft Wallet. Most of the Passport stuff you won’t need right away, but you’ll see more and more uses for it as time goes by.
Signing Up for a Hotmail Account Hotmail is a Web-based email system. Accounts are free (funded by the advertising you see when you use the system). It never hurts to have an extra email address; you never know when it will come in handy. For example, you might want an email address that you use only when prompted to enter an address while surfing Web pages. That way, all the unsolicited advertising goes to one place. The following steps show how to sign up for a Hotmail account. Signing Up for Hotmail
1. Open Internet Explorer and go to http://www.hotmail.com. 2. Click the Sign Up Now! hyperlink. 3. Read the terms of service (a bunch of legalese!) and click the I Accept button at the bottom of that page. 4. The Hotmail Registration screen appears, as shown in Figure 21.8, asking for information about you. Enter it into the fields provided. Part of this includes choosing a user ID for yourself. This choice will form your email address. For example, if you choose sheldonwempen as your user ID, your Hotmail email address will be
[email protected].
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FIGURE 21.8 Enter the requested information.
5. Click the Sign Up button at the bottom of the page. If the name you chose is already taken, you’ll be prompted to select another; if your name is accepted, you’ll see a Sign Up Successful! screen. 6. When you get to the Sign Up Successful! screen, close your Web browser. You are signed up.
Setting Up MSN Messenger Now that you have a Hotmail ID, you’re ready to sign up for MSN Messenger. Follow these steps to do so:
The Good Names Are Gone Hotmail is very popular, so most of the short and easy names are already taken. If you hope to be
[email protected], for example, you will be disappointed. You might need to add your last name or some numbers to the ID.
Setting Up MSN Messenger
1. Double-click the MSN Messenger icon in your system tray, or choose Start, Programs, MSN Messenger Service. A Welcome dialog box appears. 2. Click Next.
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3. If you do not already have a Hotmail account, do the following to sign up for a Microsoft Passport: • Click the Get a Passport button. Your Web browser opens with a form to fill out. • Fill it out and click Sign Up. • Close your Web browser and return to the MSN Messenger Service dialog box. 4. Click Next. 5. Enter your sign-in name. This is either your Hotmail account ID (minus the @hotmail.com part) or your Microsoft Passport ID. 6. Enter the password for that ID in the Password box. New Version If prompted to download a newer version of MSN Messenger, click Yes to do so.
7. Open the Provided by drop-down list and choose either hotmail.com or passport.com, depending on which you are using. 8. Click Next. 9. Click Finish. MSN Messenger opens and logs you on. You’re connected! Figure 21.9 shows MSN Messenger up and running.
FIGURE 21.9 The MSN Messenger main screen.
Adding Contacts to the Contact List To chat with someone else with MSN Messenger, that person must also be signed up for the service. If you know the person’s Hotmail ID, you can add him or her to your Contacts list. You can also search the MSN Messenger directory. People can opt out of the directory,
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so it’s possible the person you are seeking is not listed, but it’s worth a try if you don’t know the exact ID. Adding a Contact
1. From the MSN Messenger window, click the Add button. The Add a Contact dialog box opens. See Figure 21.10.
FIGURE 21.10 Choose how you will specify the person to be added.
2. Choose one of the following, and follow these instructions: • By e-mail address: Choose this if you know the person’s email address. Then, click Next, and you are prompted to enter the person’s email address. Do so and click Next again. It looks up that email address in its database. If the person has a Hotmail account or a Passport, you see a Success! message. Continue to step 3. If the person does not have either type of account, a message appears to that effect. Continue to step 3 anyway, and make sure you choose Yes in step 3 to send the person a message explaining how to get one. • By Passport: Choose this if you know the person’s Microsoft Passport ID. Then, click Next. A Sign-in name box appears for you to enter the person’s ID. Enter it, and choose either hotmail.com or passport.com from the Provided by drop-down list. Then, click Next, and continue to step 3.
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• Search for a contact: Choose this if you don’t know either of the other two pieces of information. Then, click Next, and a form appears in which you can enter a name and country. Enter what you know about the person, and click Next to search for matching entries in the Hotmail member directory. A list of matching persons appears; select the one you want from the list and click Next. Then continue to step 3. 3. A message offers to send an email to the person explaining how to install MSN Messenger. Click Yes to send the person instructions or No to skip it if you know the person is already an MSN Messenger user, and then click Next. 4. If you need to add another contact, click Next and return to step 2. Otherwise, click Finish. Now the people you entered appear on your Contacts list. There are two separate listings: people currently online and people currently not online. Figure 21.11 shows both.
FIGURE 21.11 Two of my contacts are online; two others aren’t.
Controlling Your Online Status Whenever you are online and MSN Messenger is running, you will appear on other people’s Contacts list as Currently Online, as shown in Figure 21.11, and people can initiate conversation with you.
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If you are busy and don’t want to be disturbed, you can shut down MSN Messenger, or you can simply set your status to indicate that you don’t want to talk. To do so, click the Status button and choose a status from the menu that appears. Your status choice will appear next to your name on other people’s screens. For example, in Figure 21.12, one of my friends has set her status to Busy. To allow messages again, set the status to Online.
FIGURE 21.12 When you set an online status of other than Online, others will not be able to initiate conversations with you.
You can set up MSN so that it automatically converts your status to Away whenever you are inactive for more than a specified number of minutes. The default is 14 minutes. To set or change this setting, open the Tools menu, choose Options, and enter the number of minutes on the Preferences tab, or turn the setting off by deselecting the Show me as “Away” when I’m inactive for ___ minutes check box.
Chatting with a Contact You can initiate a conversation with anyone on your Contacts Currently Online list (except those with a status set, as you learned in the preceding section).
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Chatting with a Contact
1. Double-click the person’s name on your Contacts Currently Online list. An Instant Message box opens. 2. Type your message to the person in the lower pane, as shown in Figure 21.13, and click Send. When the person receives the message, a sound plays and a bar flashes on the taskbar of the receiver’s PC. Clicking that bar opens the message window, just like the one on your PC. He or she can type a reply to you and click Send. That’s all there is to it!
FIGURE 21.13 A simple chat between two people.
Chatting can be more than just a two-person operation. You might want to have a “conference call” type of chat with many participants at once. You can invite more people to the chat by doing the following. Inviting Others to Chat
1. Click the Invite button in the Instant Message window. 2. Point to To Join This Conversation. A submenu appears with all your contacts that are currently online. Select one of them from the list.
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Managing Your Contact List Here are some actions you can perform on your contact list: ■
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Block. If a certain person is being unpleasant or harassing, you can avoid further contact by blocking him or her. To block a person from participating in conversation with you, right-click the person from the MSN Messenger window and choose Block. To unblock the person, right-click them and choose Unblock. Delete. To remove a contact from your list, right-click the name and choose Delete Contact, or select the name and press Delete on your keyboard. Send Mail. To send an email message to that person, select the name and then open the Tools menu and choose Send Mail. Display Name. You can control what name other people see when you appear on their Contact list. Open the Tools menu and choose Options, and on the General tab, enter the desired name in the My Display Name area.
Managing Privacy Settings You can control the blocking settings for all users on your contact list by opening the Tools menu and choosing Privacy. This opens the Options dialog box with the Privacy tab on top, and you can block or unblock individual users there.
More About MSN Messenger and Hotmail This chapter touched only the tip of the iceberg with MSN Messenger and Hotmail. There’s so much more you can do! For example, clicking the Mail button in MSN Messenger takes you to your Hotmail mailbox (in Internet Explorer), from which you can send and receive messages. Also, when you visit the Web page http://www.msn.com (the default Home page for Internet Explorer), you can see your Hotmail messages and any MSN Messenger online contacts in a special pane. See Figure 21.14. You can also initiate online meetings with NetMeeting through MSN Messenger, through the Tools, Send an Invitation command. You’ll see this in the following section.
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FIGURE 21.14 Hotmail and MSN Messenger are integrated with Internet Explorer. Email notification from Hotmail Contacts online from MSN Messenger
Meeting Online with NetMeeting NetMeeting is like MSN Messenger for business users. It includes chatting capabilities but also the capability to run applications, draw on a whiteboard, see each other via video feed, talk via microphone, and more. It’s like having your own videoconferencing center!
Installing NetMeeting To use NetMeeting, both the inviter and the invitee must have Microsoft NetMeeting installed on their PCs. You can either install it from the Windows Millennium CD (using Add/Remove Programs in the Control Panel—see Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs”) or you can download the latest version from Microsoft’s Web site at http://www.Microsoft.com/windows/netmeeting.
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After NetMeeting is installed, you can run it by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, Accessories, and Communications, and then clicking NetMeeting. It will also start automatically when you invite someone to a meeting from MSN Messenger. The first time you run NetMeeting, you must configure it. A wizard walks you through the configuration, as described in the following steps. It’s best to do this upfront, before you invite someone to a NetMeeting, to minimize the waiting time before the meeting can start. Configuring NetMeeting
1. Start NetMeeting by clicking Start, pointing to Programs, Accessories, and Communications, and then clicking NetMeeting. The NetMeeting Wizard runs. 2. Click Next. You’re prompted to enter information about yourself, as shown in Figure 21.15. Enter it and click Next again.
FIGURE 21.15 Enter information to identify yourself in NetMeeting.
3. The next screen asks what directory server you want to use. Open the Server Name drop-down list and choose Microsoft Internet Directory. 4. If you do not want to be in the directory (for privacy purposes), mark the Do not list my name in the directory check box. 5. Click Next. 6. If you have a video camera attached to your PC, it will ask whether you want to use it. Choose the device from the list if it is not already selected, and click Next. You won’t see this screen if you don’t have any video capture devices.
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7. Next, it asks whether to put a NetMeeting shortcut on your desktop and/or your Quick Launch toolbar. Deselect either of those check boxes if you don’t want the shortcuts, and then click Next. 8. The Audio Tuning Wizard runs. Click Next to continue with it. Retune the Audio If you like, you can rerun the Audio Tuning Wizard later from within NetMeeting by selecting it from the Tools menu.
9. Click the Test button to begin playing the test audio, and then drag the Volume slider to adjust the volume to a comfortable level. Then, click Stop, and then Next. 10. Read the text that appears onscreen into your microphone to set the recording volume. The volume appears as a green bar beneath the text. See Figure 21.16.
FIGURE 21.16 Set your microphone level by reading this text into the microphone and adjusting the level, if needed.
11. Drag the Record Volume slider to adjust the volume. Then, click Next. 12. Click Finish. You are now ready to use NetMeeting.
Inviting Someone to a NetMeeting Start from MSN Messenger, just as you learned in the preceding sections. Then, do the following to invite someone to a NetMeeting. Starting a NetMeeting
1. In MSN Messenger, open the Tools menu, point to Send an Invitation, point to To Start NetMeeting 3.01, and click the person’s name whom you want to invite. A message appears on that person’s PC, with hyperlinks Accept and Decline.
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2. If the recipient clicks Accept, NetMeeting runs on both PCs and an Incoming Call box appears on your screen. Click the Accept button in it, as shown in Figure 21.17, and the NetMeeting connection begins.
FIGURE 21.17
Figure 21.18 shows an open NetMeeting between two people.
This box appears on the meeting initiator’s screen when a recipient accepts.
FIGURE 21.18 Two people, connected via NetMeeting, ready to share information. Video feed appears here if the other person has a video camera. List of people connected to this meeting
Controlling NetMeeting Participation Having the right participants in a meeting is crucial, both in real life and on the Internet. Here’s a quick overview of the ins and outs—— that is, getting people into the meeting and getting them out. To leave the NetMeeting, close the NetMeeting window or click the End Call button. To invite others to the meeting, click the Place a Call button. To look someone up in the directory to invite, click the Find Someone in the Directory button.
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Multimedia Controls If the people participating in the meeting have computers with sound cards and microphones, they can chat with one another through the microphones, just like with a telephone. And if both parties have a video camera connected, they can see each other, too. Figure 21.19 shows a PC that is feeding video to the meeting. Notice the Preview in the corner of the video feed window; this shows what others will see. If the other participant is feeding video, too, it appears in the main part of the video pane.
FIGURE 21.19 With a microphone and/or video camera, you can send multimedia data to the other participant(s). Preview pane shows what the other parties will see.
Here are the NetMeeting buttons that control those devices: To pause or continue the video feed, click the Start Video button. To toggle on/off the video preview, shown in Figure 21.18, click the Video Preview button. To adjust audio volume, click the Adjust Audio Volume button.
Sharing Programs in NetMeeting You can share any program on your computer with other NetMeeting participants. That means, for example, that if you are working on a PowerPoint presentation, you can get collaborative
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help on it from a person on the other side of the world, even if that person does not have PowerPoint on her PC. Is that cool, or what? Sharing a Program
1. Start the program on your PC and open the file you want to share with the meeting participants. 2. In NetMeeting, click the Share Program button. The Sharing dialog box opens, listing all open windows on your PC. See Figure 21.20.
FIGURE 21.20 Select what you want to share.
3. Click the Share button. Then, click the Close button, and switch to the application you want to share. The window appears on the other person’s PC, just as if it were on their own PC. The only difference is that the mouse pointer is a Do Not Enter sign rather than a regular pointer. Figure 21.21 shows Microsoft Word from the perspective of the remote PC. Meeting participants can watch the application’s “owner” work in it, and participants can make comments via their microphones or a chat window. (More on NetMeeting chatting momentarily.)
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FIGURE 21.21 As a meeting participant, I can see another participant using Microsoft Word and can monitor and comment on it. My mouse pointer The sharer’s mouse pointer appears gray to distinguish it from mine. This gray area represents unshared parts of the sharer’s screen.
Allowing Remote Control of a Shared Program As the sharer of a program, you can allow other participants to take control of the program temporarily (perhaps to enter some text or make some other change). Here’s how: Allowing Control of a Shared Program
1. In the NetMeeting window, click the Share Program button, or open the Tools menu and choose Sharing. The Sharing Programs dialog box opens. 2. Select the shared application you want to allow control of. 3. Click the Allow Control button. 4. If you want others to be able to take control without your permission for each one, mark the Automatically accept requests for control check box.
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5. Click Close. 6. Return to the shared application.
Taking Control of a Shared Program If someone else has given control of his shared program, you can take it as a meeting participant by doing the following. Taking Control of a Shared Program
1. From the shared window, open the Control menu and choose Request Control. After waiting for the owner to click Accept, if needed (see step 4 of the preceding procedure), control passes to you, and you can use the application just as if it were on your own PC. When you are done taking your turn with the program, you can allow someone else to take control of it by doing the following. Giving Up Control of a Shared Program
1. From the shared window, open the Control menu and choose Release Control.
Chatting with Other Participants NetMeeting has its own chat window. You can use it to communicate with the group. You can also use the regular MSN Messenger chat window while a NetMeeting is going on, but not all NetMeeting participants may be set up on your MSN Messenger contacts list. Also, MSN Messenger messages go to only a single person, whereas NetMeeting chat messages can go to the entire group. Chatting in a NetMeeting
1. In NetMeeting, click the Chat button. A Chat window opens. 2. In the Message box, type the chat message you want to send. 3. Click the Send button. Your chat is sent to all meeting participants. They can then type replies the same way. See Figure 21.22.
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FIGURE 21.22 A chat session in NetMeeting. Type your messages here. Send button The conversation appears here.
Using the Whiteboard The Whiteboard is a simple drawing program that meeting participants can use to communicate with one another. It’s kind of like a chalkboard at the front of the room—you can draw on it to convey concepts that don’t translate easily into text. It’s shown in Figure 21.23. Unlike shared programs, all participants can use the Whiteboard at once; you don’t have to worry about who has control of it. The Whiteboard resembles the Paint program that comes with Windows, but it has some important additional features. Figure 21.23 points out some of the controls. Here are a few of the most common activities: ■
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To select a drawing tool, click one of the buttons at the left, or open the Tools menu and select the tool you want. To draw, drag your mouse in the drawing area with the left button held down. To erase everything on a page, open the Edit menu and choose Clear Page, or press Ctrl+Delete.
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To save the session, open the File menu and choose Save.
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FIGURE 21.23 The Whiteboard in NetMeeting helps you discuss graphical concepts. You can have multiple pages; switch among them here. Choose a color to draw with. Drawing tools Adds text Locks the contents of this drawing from editing by others ■
If you want to make a drawing without having it appear immediately on everyone else’s screen, open the View menu and choose Synchronize, turning that feature off. Then, make your drawing, and when you are ready to show it, choose View, Synchronize again.
When one person closes the Whiteboard window on his or her PC, it remains on everyone else’s PC, so each person can choose to save or discard the contents independently.
Transferring Files with NetMeeting You can offer files from your computer for transfer to the participants’ computers. For example, at the end of a meeting, you might send the final version of a presentation or report that you all worked on collaboratively. Transferring Files to NetMeeting Participants
1. In NetMeeting, click the Transfer Files button. The File Transfer window opens. 2. Click the Add Files button. The Select Files to Send dialog box opens.
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3. Select the file(s) on your PC that you want to send, and click Add. The file appears on the File Transfer list, as shown in Figure 21.24.
FIGURE 21.24 Files to be transferred appear here.
4. When you are finished adding files (by repeating step 2 as needed), click the Send All button. On the participants’ screens, a box appears reporting the file transfer, shown in Figure 21.25. Each participant can choose to Open or Delete the file, or to Close the box without interacting with the file at all.
FIGURE 21.25 Choose what to do with a file that another participant has sent
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22 Creating and Publishing Web Content Planning a Web Site Understanding HTML and Hyperlinks Choosing a Web Page Creation Program Creating Web Sites in FrontPage 2000 Creating Web Sites in Microsoft Word 2000
• • • • •
Creating Simple Pages with FrontPage Express
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Publishing Pages to a Server
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PART IV Using the Internet CHAPTER 22 Creating and Publishing Web Content
Understanding Web Page Creation If you need to design a professional-quality Web site, and you don’t know anything about it starting out, I’m afraid I can’t help you in one chapter. There are lots of good books out there on the subject that can get you started. However, if you’re simply curious about Web page creation, and want to create a couple of simple pages for home or organization use, step right up, because that’s exactly what this chapter is for. To understand how Web pages are created, you need to know one important fact: The Web (in fact, the entire Internet) is, at its heart, a text-only medium. It transfers only numbers, letters, and symbols. It can’t directly work with programs, graphics, text-formatting commands, or other nontext items. Of course, without formatting and graphics, most Web pages would be deadly dull. And they were in the early days, until some clever programmers hit upon a solution. They embedded formatting codes in plain text files and struck a deal with browser manufacturers to include translation for them in their software. Therefore, the Web designer, for example, might have a line in the text file like this:
Abba is the coolest rock group of all time!
The Web browser program recognizes everything in angle brackets (<>) as a formatting code and translates the preceding line as follows:
Start a new paragraph.
Make the following bold.
Stop making text bold.
End the paragraph.
The result in the Web browser would look like this: Abba is the coolest rock group of all time!
Because of all these codes needed to generate the page, the file itself (called the source code) is hardly the attractive document you see in your browser. Instead, it’s a jumble of text and symbols that the Web browser translates into the proper formatting. For example, Figure 22.1 is a page I created that shows off my vacation pictures. Figure 22.2 shows the same page’s source code (that is, the codes that compose it).
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Content-wise, you can put anything on your Web page that you want. For security reasons, it might be best to avoid publishing your address and phone number, and it’s only good manners to avoid inflammatory rhetoric. But other than that, your Web page is absolutely your own.
FIGURE 22.1 My vacation pictures in Internet Explorer.
Structurally, your Web page should contain one or more of the following elements: ■
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Almost all Web page creation software can create all the preceding objects, although some do it much more easily than others. If you plan to use only text, graphics, and hyperlinks, any program will do; if you plan to create forms, you will have a much easier time of it
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with a high-quality program such as FrontPage or Word 2000. The next section takes a look at your Web page program options in more detail. SEE ALSO ➤ For an explanation of hyperlinks, see page 326
FIGURE 22.2 The source code for the vacation page. This line produces the page title. All these lines define the page layout. The rest of the text is farther down in the file.
Programs Used to Create Web Pages In the early days of the Web, people who wanted to create Web pages had to manually type each line of coding, as shown in Figure 22.2. People who created Web pages were rightly called Web programmers because the HTML codes needed to create the pages constituted a real programming language to be mastered (although it is far easier to learn than more involved languages such as C or Visual Basic).
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Nowadays, however, a variety of programs are available that can create Web pages almost as easily as a word processor can create documents. These programs make it easy for people with no programming experience (like me) to create good-looking Web pages like the one you saw in Figure 22.1. It’s possible to create pages “from scratch” in a text editor such as Notepad, but why would anyone want to? You probably have several programs on your system already that can be used to create Web pages. Here are a couple of good ones: ■
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FrontPage. Microsoft’s full-blown Web site creation software. This is a top-of-the-line tool that allows you to create multipage Web sites with links between them. And the newest version, FrontPage 2000, is very easy to use. FrontPage 2000 is included with some versions of Office 2000, and you can also buy it separately. Microsoft Word. Word 97 and Word 2000 can both hammer out a very respectable-looking Web page with ease. Of the two, Word 2000’s Web capabilities are much greater. Like FrontPage, Word 2000 can also create multipage sites that have pages that are automatically linked to one another.
You might also have some other software for Web page creation. Corel WordPerfect makes Web pages, for example, as does Lotus Word Pro. In addition, specialized Web creation programs such as Adobe PageMill work well. In this chapter, I’ll briefly cover FrontPage 2000 and Word 2000 for Web page creation.
Publisher 2000, Too If you happen to have it, Microsoft Publisher 2000 also creates very nice Web pages, although it doesn’t do very well for editing existing Web pages, as it can’t open HTML files. Publisher comes with some versions of Microsoft Office 2000. Earlier versions of Publisher are not much good for creating Web pages.
Creating Web Pages with FrontPage FrontPage really shines in Web page creation. It’s my program of choice whenever I want to create really professional-looking pages. (The only drawbacks are that not everyone owns it and that some of the fancier things it can do won’t display well in browsers other than Internet Explorer.) FrontPage can create a new Web site (multiple pages, linked) with a wizard that walks you through each step. Then, you can customize
Other Programs If you need a serious, professional-quality Web site, consider investing in some of the more hearty (and pricey) programs on the market today, such as NetObjects Fusion, Adobe GoLive!, or DreamWeaver.
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the Web site by adding your own text, formatting, hyperlinks, and other objects. One of the nicest features in FrontPage is Themes. Themes are preset combinations of backgrounds, formatting, fonts, and other elements that you can apply to your Web site at any time. To choose a different theme, open the Format menu, select Theme, and then pick a theme from the Themes dialog box. The following steps walk you through the process of creating a new Web site with FrontPage and customizing it. These steps are for FrontPage 2000, the latest version. Creating a New Web Site with FrontPage
1. Start FrontPage from the Start menu. 2. Open the File menu, point to New, and click Web. 3. Select one of the wizards from the list that appears and click OK. For example, for your family Web site, you might choose Personal Web. Depending on which wizard you choose, you might need to work through some more dialog boxes, selecting which pages you want to include. Do so as needed. 4. When the wizard is finished, the pages appear in FrontPage, ready for your customization. See Figure 22.3. 5. Replace all the sample text on each page with your own text. Double-click a page in the tree to switch to it. 6. Do any of the following to dress up a particular page: • Format the text using the formatting tools on the Formatting toolbar, the same as in any word processor. Other Activities You can do so much more with FrontPage than what can be covered here! Explore all the menus and toolbars, and you will find commands for inserting graphics, creating frames, and lots more.
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• Insert hyperlinks with the Hyperlink command on the Insert menu or the Hyperlink button on the toolbar. • Change the theme (the colors, the fonts, and the overall look) with the Theme command on the Format menu. 7. Save your work. SEE ALSO ➤ To save your work directly to the Web server, see page 433
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FIGURE 22.3 A personal Web page created with a FrontPage wizard, ready for customization. To view a different page in the site, double-click one. Use the Preview tab to see how the page will look in Internet Explorer.
Creating Web Pages with Word Whereas FrontPage creates Web pages exclusively, Microsoft Word is a more general-purpose tool. This word processor can save any document in Web format, converting it instantly for use on the Web, and Word 2000 can also create a group of linked Web pages (that is, an entire Web site). In the following steps, I’ll show you how to convert an existing Word document to a Web page. (This works in both Word 97 and Word 2000.) Following that, I’ll show you how to create a new Web site from scratch with Word 2000. Saving a Word Document in Web Format
1. Open the document in Word. 2. Open the File menu and click Save as Web Pag _e. A special Save As dialog box opens with some additional controls. See Figure 22.4.
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FIGURE 22.4 When saving as a Web page, you need to specify a page title as well as a filename. Click here to change the title.
3. Click the Change Title button and type a title for the page. Then, click OK. This text will appear in the title bar in the Web browser when readers view the page. 4. Type a filename into the File name box. 5. Change the save location, if desired. (To save directly to a Web server, see “Publishing Finished Pages to a Server” later in this chapter.) 6. Click Save. The preceding procedure is great for converting existing documents for use on the Web, but if you want a Web page (or a Web site) designed specifically for Web use, from the bottom up, you should use the following procedure in Word instead. You can create single Web pages in Word 2000 using any of its individual-page templates, or you can work through the Web Page Wizard to create a multipage site with links among the pages. Creating a New Web Site with Word 2000
1. Open the File menu and click New. 2. Click the Web Pages tab. 3. To create a single Web page, click one of the page templates (such as Column with Contents).
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or To create a multipage site, click Web Page Wizard. 4. Click OK. 5. If you chose Web Page Wizard in step 3, work through the wizard, specifying what type of site you want to create. Here are some tips: • The Web site title appears in the title bar when pages are viewed in a browser. • Choose a Web site location on your hard disk, and then later transfer the pages to your Web server. That way, you will not have to be online every time you want to save your work as you construct the site. • On the screen where you add pages to the site (see Figure 22.5), add all the pages that you think you will need. By adding them this way, you ensure that they will be linked to the others.
FIGURE 22.5 Add more pages to your Web site as needed. Click here to add a page based on one of the Web templates. Click here to add a blank page. Click an existing page and click Remove Page to remove it. Include an existing HTML file in the Web with this button.
• On the screen where you arrange or rename the pages, assign meaningful names to each page by clicking it and clicking Rename. (Blank Page 1 and Blank Page 2 are not terribly meaningful.)
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• When you are asked to choose a visual theme, click Browse Themes to see previews of each one. You might need to click Install in the box that appears to install a particular theme. 6. When the wizard has finished, a list of sample pages appears in the View bar, as shown in Figure 22.6. Customize the pages with your own content.
FIGURE 22.6 A Web site, created in Word. Click a link in the navigation bar to move to that page. Edit text as needed. You can insert other frames with the Frames toolbar.
You can do almost anything to a Web site in Word that you can do to a regular Word document: change fonts, change alignments, create lists, and so on. SEE ALSO ➤ For more information about formatting text in a word processor, see page 64
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Publishing Finished Pages to a Server To make your Web pages available on the Internet, you must copy them to a Web server. A Web server is a computer that is connected to the Internet full-time so that others can see the pages on it whenever they like. You can save the Web pages directly to your Web server as you create them, but you probably will want to wait until they are perfected before making them public.
Understanding Internet Addresses The address is the location, or path, to which you save or copy a file or folder. Your hard disk has its own addresses for each file—for example, C:\My Documents\memo.doc. A file on an Internet server has two addresses that both refer to the same location. One is its Web address, and the other is its FTP address. These are two ways of accessing the server. Web browsers use Web addresses, and FTP addresses are used by FTP programs. For example, the Web address of a file might be http://members.iquest.net/~fwempen/vacation.html
and the FTP address for the same file might be ftp://ftp.iquest.net/members/1033/fw/fwempen/public_html/ _vacation.html
The Web address is the one you will publicize; readers will use it to visit your page. Depending on the program you use to transfer the files, you might be able to use either the Web address or the FTP address to transfer the files to the server. You need to find out from your ISP what Web and FTP addresses to use for your server. If you don’t store the Web files in the right folder on the server, they might not be available to the public. Some ISPs don’t let you upload files into any folder except the correct one, so you don’t have the potential to put things in the wrong place.
FTP FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. It’s a method of downloading and uploading files that predates the Web. It’s a very quick, efficient means of transferring files, and it used to be very popular until the Web’s popularity explosion.
Transferring Files with Web Folders If you have created your page(s) in FrontPage 2000 or Word 2000, you can take advantage of a new feature in these programs—Web
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Not Available? If you see a message that the server cannot connect to the location, even though you know that the address is correct, try one of the other methods. Your server might not support Web-based uploading, or some other problem might exist. Try the FTP method or the Web Publishing Wizard.
folders—to transfer the files to the server. This technique uses the Web address, so you do not have to bother with FTP. Transferring Files to a Server Using Web Folders
1. In FrontPage 2000 or Word 2000, open the Web site to transfer. 2. Open the File menu and choose Save as Web Page. 3. Click the My Network Places button. 4. If you are saving to an existing Web folder, double-click the folder to open it. or If you need to create a new Web folder to save in, do the following: • Click the Create New Folder button. The Add Network Place Wizard runs. • Type the Web address of the location to add (for example, http://www.something.com/foldername), as shown in Figure 22.7. Then, click Next.
FIGURE 22.7 Create a new Web folder in the specified location.
• If prompted, enter a username and password for the site and click OK. • You’re prompted to enter a name for the Web folder. If you want to change the name of the Web folder (the default is the URL used to reach it), type the new name into the box. • Choose Finish. 5. Enter the filename and set the page title as you would normally. 6. Choose Save.
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Pretty slick, eh? If your server allows you to use Web folders, by all means do so.
Transferring Files with FTP Locations In most Microsoft applications (FrontPage, Word, and so on, versions 97 and later), you can save a file to an FTP location directly from the Save As dialog box. (This might work in other programs, too; check it out.) This method is not quite as easy as the Web Folders method you learned about earlier, but it makes a good fallback if you can’t make the Web Folders method work for some reason. (Another good fallback is the Web Publishing Wizard covered in the next section.) Saving to an FTP Location
1. Open the Web site or page in the program in which you created it (Microsoft Word, FrontPage, and so on). 2. Open the File menu and choose Save as Web Pag _e. 3. To work with an existing FTP location, skip to step 8. Or, to add a new FTP location, open the Save in drop-down list and choose Add/Modify FTP Locations. 4. Type the FTP site’s address into the Name of FTP site box. Do not include anything after the first slash (/). (If you do, you will get an error message and the address won’t work.) For example, if the address you were given was ftp.iquest.net/fw/fwempen, you would type ftp.iquest.net here. 5. If you must log in (very likely), click the User button and type your username. Then, type your password into the Password box. See Figure 22.8. 6. Click the Add button. 7. Click OK. The new FTP location appears on the list. 8. Double-click the FTP location to connect to it. 9. Using the path you were given, navigate to the folder in which you are supposed to save your files. 10. Make sure the filename in the File Name box is as you want it. 11. Click Save.
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FIGURE 22.8 Set up a new FTP location.
Transferring Files with the Web Publishing Wizard The Web Publishing Wizard is a bit more out of the way than the other methods, but it is also foolproof and thorough. It walks you through the transfer step by step, allowing for any quirks or peculiarities of your server. It’s also the method of choice if you don’t have FrontPage, Word, or any of those other fancy programs that enable you to do a more direct transfer. Using the Web Publishing Wizard to Transfer Files One at a Time The Web Publishing Wizard transfers a single file or a single folder each time you use it, so you might want to put all the files to be transferred into a folder before you transfer them; that way, you can do them all at once.
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Internet Tools, and click Web Publishing Wizard. If the Web Publishing Wizard is not there, install it using Add/Remove Programs (see Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs”). 2. Click Next to begin. 3. Click the Browse Folders or Browse Files button and locate the file or folder you want to transfer. Click Open to accept it, and then click Next. 4. Type a descriptive name for the Web server that you will recognize later. Then, click Next. 5. Type the Web address into the URL or Internet address box. Then, click Next. 6. If prompted, enter your username and password and click OK.
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7. Click Finish. The Web Publishing Wizard transfers the file or folder to the server. 8. When a message appears that the transfer was successful, click OK. SEE ALSO ➤ To install the Web Publishing Wizard, see page 156
Advanced? If the Web Publishing Wizard has not worked for you in the past, you might want to click the Advanced button instead of Next in step 4. This brings up a drop-down list of connection methods; ask your ISP which one you should use.
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Safeguarding Your System
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23 Optimizing Your Computer Checking for Disk Errors Defragmenting a Drive Cleaning Out Unwanted Files Converting to a 32-Bit File System Updating Windows Scheduling Maintenance Tasks
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Checking for Disk Errors Sometimes drives get errors on them, and those errors can affect your system’s performance. (See the next section, “Understanding Disk Errors,” for a technical explanation of these errors.) The primary cause of these errors is abnormal program termination—in other words, shutting off the computer’s power or restarting the system while it is in use. (Unexpected shutdowns aren’t always your fault, of course; sometimes you’ll have a power outage or your computer will lock up.) These errors sometimes manifest themselves in odd ways—I have seen these disk errors cause everything from missing files to out-of-memory errors. Fortunately, there is a cure: ScanDisk, which is discussed later in this chapter.
Understanding Disk Errors Before I show you how to use ScanDisk, you might want to learn a bit about these errors that ScanDisk is looking for and fixing. (Feel free to skip this section if you’re not interested.) Think of your hard disk as a grid of little compartments, like a wall of post office boxes. Each compartment holds a piece of data, and each compartment has a unique address. Your computer maintains a big chart that identifies the contents of each compartment; it’s called the File Allocation Table (FAT). The FAT is so important that your system maintains two identical copies of it in case one gets damaged. When the FAT copies get out of sync with each other, or when the actual content of the disk gets out of sync with the FAT, a disk error occurs. The kinds of disk errors you might encounter include the following: ■
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A file’s size being reported by the FAT does not match its size on the disk. (This is called an allocation error.) Allocation errors can cause the file to not open correctly because the FAT might not completely retrieve the file from all its address compartments. An address contains data, but the FAT does not know to which file the data belongs. (This is a lost cluster error.) This data might be important and belong to a file, but it also might just be junk that should have been deleted.
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A conflict in the FAT keeps the system from knowing to which of two files an address belongs. (The files involved in the dispute are cross-linked.) Of course, the data rightfully belongs to only one of the files, so when the wrongful owner is opened, it becomes corrupted because it contains data not its own. If that owner is a program file, the inappropriate data might prevent it from running properly in the future. The copies of the FAT do not agree because one of them has been damaged or is in error. This situation can happen if the computer loses power in the middle of a change being made in the FAT, and it can result in a file not appearing on a file list that you know should be there. A physical error on the disk causes it to be unreadable/ unwritable at a certain address. Whatever was stored there is probably lost. This situation can happen when you bump or jostle your computer’s case while the computer is on. The head that reads the hard disk is like a needle on a phonograph, and the needle can come crashing down, scratching the hard disk at whatever address it happens to be at when the trauma occurs. You can also have physical errors on a hard disk that is slowly going bad or “dying.”
Running ScanDisk Your system has both a DOS and a Windows version of ScanDisk installed. The DOS version runs outside the Windows environment. When you ran Windows Setup, the DOS version of ScanDisk checked your disk to make sure no errors existed. The DOS version also runs automatically the next time you start your PC whenever you have turned off the computer without shutting it down properly. You will most often use the Windows version of ScanDisk, however. I run ScanDisk weekly to make sure my system does not have any errors. (Left uncorrected, errors can tend to cause other errors, creating a snowball effect.)
FAT16 Versus FAT32 There are two file systems that Windows Millennium can operate under: FAT16 and FAT32. These are disklevel settings that you set up when you initially partition and format the drive. FAT32 is the newer system, and is more efficient. It’s used by default whenever you set up a new PC with Windows 98 or Windows Me. But if your computer is several years old, and you originally had Windows 95 on it, it probably still uses FAT16. That’s okay; there’s nothing wrong with FAT16, except that your FAT16 isn’t as efficient with your hard drive space as is FAT32, meaning that you won’t be able to store as much data on your drive if you continue using FAT16 with Windows Me. You can convert a FAT16 drive to FAT32 with a conversion utility. Windows 98 came with a Windowsbased Drive Converter utility on the System menu. Windows Me still comes with the converter, but only a DOS version of it: cvt.exe, located in the C:\Windows\command folder. You can also convert from FAT16 to FAT32 using a third-party program such as Partition Magic, or by repartitioning and reformatting the drive (although this wipes out all the content on the drive).
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Checking for Errors with ScanDisk
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click ScanDisk. 2. Click the drive you want to check (for example, C:). See Figure 23.1.
FIGURE 23.1 Choose the drive, the level of testing, and whether to fix errors automatically.
3. Choose Standard or Thorough. Standard checks for all errors except those on the physical surface of the disk; it is suitable for daily or weekly checks. Advanced Options For those who are techie enough to want the testing done a certain way, advanced options are available. Click the Advanced button to see and set them. These settings include which kinds of errors to look for, where to store the log file that lists the problems found, and how to correct the problems.
Thorough checks for all errors including physical surface ones. Use this if you have been getting Data error reading {drive letter} error messages, if you have bumped or jostled the PC while it was running, or if it has been a month since your last thorough check. 4. To correct errors automatically, select the Automatically fix errors check box. 5. Click Start. The testing begins. 6. If you did not choose to correct errors automatically, and if ScanDisk finds an error, it reports the error in a dialog box. Click Repair the error and then click OK to continue. Figure 23.2 shows an example. After correcting an error, ScanDisk might report that it needs to restart itself; click OK to continue if you see such a message.
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FIGURE 23.2 An error message found by ScanDisk.
7. When the testing is finished, a summary box appears. Click Close to close it. 8. Check any other hard disks on your system (if you have any). Then, click Close to close ScanDisk when you’re finished. Don’t use your computer for anything else while ScanDisk is running; if the drive contents change, ScanDisk has to start over. If ScanDisk has trouble finishing because it continually starts over, even when you aren’t doing anything, try some of the following to shut off programs that might be running in the background: ■
Close all running programs that appear on the taskbar.
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Close all programs in the system tray (as explained in Chapter 3, “Running Programs”).
Keep or Discard If ScanDisk finds lost clusters, it asks you whether to keep or discard the data. I almost always choose Discard. Any kept data will not be in a recognizable form and won’t be useful except perhaps to a data recovery specialist.
If you have Microsoft Office installed, Find Fast might be running. This utility indexes the files you use for faster access to them, but it can cause ScanDisk to restart repeatedly. To shut it down temporarily, double-click Find Fast in the Control Panel, and then open the Index menu and choose Pause Indexing.
SEE ALSO ➤ To exit a program in the system tray, see page 61
Using the Defragmenter Earlier in this chapter, I explained how your disk is arranged into compartments, each holding a piece of data and each with a unique address. The storage system on your hard disk is not sequential, which is why the FAT has such a big job of keeping it organized. For example, suppose you had a word processing document that took up 18 compartments (called clusters) on the disk. Those clusters are not
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necessarily adjacent to one another; they might be scattered all over the disk. The FAT keeps a record of which 18 clusters that file uses, and when you open the file, the disk’s read/write head hops around gathering up the pieces so they can be assembled into a file in your word processor. When a file is not stored in adjacent compartments, it’s considered fragmented. As you can imagine, hopping all over the disk to pick up the fragments takes time, which is why fragmentation slows down your system’s performance. Compared to an unfragmented drive, a fragmented drive needs more time to retrieve a file (for example, when you issue the command in your word processor to open a document), and it sometimes takes longer to save a file, too. How does fragmentation occur? When your hard disk is empty, files are written to it in sequential clusters. Suppose, for example, that you saved a word processing file that used 18 clusters. Then, perhaps you installed a new program. The new files are written right next to your word processing file. Now, you reopen the word processing file and type more pages, and it ends up needing a total of 20 clusters. No adjacent clusters are available next to the original 18, so the additional two are taken at another location. Over time, your file might be split into many locations over the disk.
Wait! Don’t use the PC for other things while it is running; any change to the disk forces the process to start over. See the notes at the end of the previous ScanDisk section for some tips on shutting down running programs if the defragmenter restarts continually and will not finish.
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When you defragment, a special program rearranges the content of your hard disk so that all files are stored in sequential clusters. That way, when the files are read, the disk read/write head reads from a single location rather than having to hop around, so it is able to read faster. Therefore, for best performance, you should defragment your drive regularly (say, once a month). This procedure won’t turn an old PC into a powerhouse, but it might result in a modest speedup. As with ScanDisk, you can use a Windows utility to defragment your drive. You will want to use this procedure for each of your hard drives at least monthly. You can also defragment removable drives of all types, but it is less critical to do so with those drives because their access time is rather slow already, and defragmenting will not help appreciably. Defragmenting takes a long time, so you might want to begin it before you go to bed or out for the evening, and let it run while you are away from the PC. Or, you can use the Task Scheduler to
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schedule it to run some other time, as you will learn at the end of this chapter. Defragmenting a Disk
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click Disk Defragmenter. The Select Drive box appears, asking which drive you want to defragment. 2. Choose your hard disk from the list. 3. Click OK. 4. Wait for the drive to be defragmented. Click the Show Details button if you would like to watch the process (see Figure 23.3).
FIGURE 23.3 Choosing Show Details enables you to see a graphical representation of the defragmenting process. Each square represents a cluster. Defragmenting fills in these gaps. Squares like this represent unmovable files.
5. When the defragmentation is complete, click Yes to exit the defragmenter.
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PART V Maintenance and Problem Solving CHAPTER 23 Optimizing Your Computer SEE ALSO ➤ To schedule tasks such as defragmenting to run at a certain time, see page 460
Using Disk Cleanup Disk Cleanup helps identify and remove files that you don’t need on your hard disk. This gives you more room to store the files that you do want to keep, and to install new programs. It also makes your Start menu and desktop more tidy by removing shortcuts that no longer point to a working program. I run Disk Cleanup once a month on my system. Running Disk Cleanup
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click Disk Cleanup. 2. Select the drive you want to clean up, and then click OK. 3. Wait a few moments for Disk Cleanup to analyze your system. A report appears in a Disk Cleanup window, as shown in Figure 23.4.
FIGURE 23.4 Disk Cleanup reports which files could be deleted. Description of the selected category
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4. Check each category that you want to delete from the list (see Figure 23.4) and then click the View Files button. (Close the file-viewing window after looking at the files.) 5. If you decide that you would like to delete the files in a category, make sure a check mark appears in the check box next to that category. 6. Click OK after selecting or deselecting each category, as desired. A warning box appears. 7. Click Yes to confirm. The files are deleted, and the Disk Cleanup dialog box closes. Disk Cleanup also has some additional options you can use to remove more files. On the More Options tab (see Figure 23.5): ■
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Which Files? As you might imagine, step 5 is the critical one in this procedure. If you are not short on disk space, I recommend that you stick with only the categories that are marked by default for your cleanup operation.
Click Clean Up under Windows Components to open the Windows Setup tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties box, from which you can remove Windows components as you learned in Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs.” Click Clean Up under Installed Programs to open the Install/Uninstall tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties box. From there, you can remove installed programs, as you learned in Chapter 8. If available, click Convert under Drive Conversion (FAT32) to open the Drive Converter utility. From it you can convert your drive to a 32-bit file system, as described in “Converting to a 32Bit File System” earlier in this chapter. This option is not available if you already have a 32-bit file system or if you have DriveSpace in use.
On the Settings tab, you can select or deselect the check box (there’s only one) to automatically run Disk Cleanup when the free space on the drive gets low. This option is on by default. SEE ALSO ➤ To add or remove Windows components, see page 156 ➤ To remove installed programs, see page 165 ➤ To convert to a 32-bit file system, see page 443 ➤ To compress your disk with DriveSpace, see the following section.
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FIGURE 23.5 Other options you can set for Disk Cleanup.
Working with a Compressed Drive Earlier versions of Windows came with a utility called DriveSpace that compressed a hard disk to double its storage capacity. However, it worked only with FAT16 disks, an older file system technology that I explained briefly earlier in the chapter. All new systems you buy these days come set up with FAT32, so DriveSpace is getting less and less useful to the average person. Windows Millennium Edition comes with a very limited version of DriveSpace, located on the System Tools menu along with ScanDisk and the other utilities discussed earlier in this chapter. It allows you to view the settings of and manage existing compressed disks, but not to compress any drives that are currently not compressed.
Other Ways to Improve Performance Windows Millennium is a great operating system, but it requires quite a bit of system resources. If you have an old or slow computer, try some of the following to see whether you can eke out a bit more speed.
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Keep the Display Simple Windows operates at peak speed when you are using a 32-bit video driver (in other words, a driver file designed to work with your specific video card under Windows Millennium) and when you use only the resolution and number of colors you need. For people with 14inch monitors, that would be 640×480 resolution and 256 colors. For 15-inch and 17-inch monitors, the most you would want to use if you’re looking for extra speed is 800×600 resolution and 256 colors. (This is not to say that other video resolutions and numbers of colors don’t look great and have practical uses, but we’re talking about wringing maximum speed out of your existing hardware right now.) SEE ALSO ➤ To check and change the video driver, see page 170 ➤ To change the video resolution and number of colors, see page 177
Check for Compatibility Mode If you have certain DOS-mode programs loaded in your startup files when you install Windows Millennium, Windows runs in a special DOS-compatibility mode so that those programs will continue to function. Perhaps you don’t need those programs anymore, but Windows has no way of knowing. DOS-compatibility mode can make Windows run much slower than normal. To find out whether your system is running in DOS-compatibility mode, use the following procedure. Checking for DOS-Compatibility Mode
1. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties. 2. Click the Performance tab. It should say Your system is configured for optimal performance, as shown in Figure 23.6. If it doesn’t, you will see an explanation about what is forcing the system to run in DOS-compatibility mode. 3. Make a note of the recommended change, and change your startup files accordingly (by editing Autoexec.bat and/or Config.sys).
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FIGURE 23.6 Check here for compatibility-mode issues. This message is what you want to see here.
4. Restart the computer and return to the Performance tab to see whether it now says that your system is optimally configured. If it doesn’t, repeat step 3.
Using Sysedit Windows draws initialization settings from several startup files each time you start the PC. Occasionally, you might need to edit one of these files (Autoexec.bat, Config.sys, Win.ini.System.ini, or Protocol.ini). You can open the file in Notepad, but an easier way is to use a utility called Sysedit. It’s like Notepad, except that it automatically opens several important Windows initialization files. To run it, follow these steps. Running Sysedit
1. Open the Start menu and click Run. 2. Type Sysedit. 3. Click OK. The System Configuration Editor window appears (see Figure 23.7). 4. Edit your startup files as needed.
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5. Close the System Configuration Editor window, saving your changes. 6. Restart Windows.
FIGURE 23.7 Edit system files here, as needed.
The average user will seldom need to edit startup files, but there are a few situations where it can come in handy. Here are some of them: ■
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You might remove a line from Autoexec.bat or Config.sys that refers to some piece of hardware you no longer have. For example, there might still be lines in them for a sound card that you’ve removed. You might remove the reference to a program from a RUN= line at the beginning of Win.ini. RUN={program} starts up that program automatically each time Windows starts; you can prevent that program from starting by removing the reference to it in Win.ini. If there’s a line you want to disable, in any of the files, but not delete (in case you later need to put it back into service and want to remember the exact syntax), type REM in front of it. Windows interprets REM as “ignore everything that comes after this on this line.” Windows Millennium Edition does not use Autoexec.bat and Config.sys directly. Instead, it moves variables from those files into the Windows Registry, and uses them from there. Therefore, a better way to adjust your startup is to use the System Configuration Editor, described in the following section.
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Using the System Configuration Editor Another way to control what programs load at startup is to use the System Configuration Editor through System Information. To open this, do the following: 1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click System Editor. 2. Open the Tools menu and choose System Configuration Utility. A message appears that it has copied the variables from Autoexec.bat and Config.sys; click OK to acknowledge it. 3. Click the Startup tab. A list of programs that load at startup appear. See Figure 23.8.
FIGURE 23.8 Use the System Configuration Utility to control how the system starts up and runs.
4. Click the Cleanup button. A message appears that the startup files have been cleaned up and obsolete entries removed. 5. Click OK to accept the confirmation message. 6. Remove the check mark next to a program to prevent it from loading automatically at startup. Be careful—don’t disable anything that you don’t understand the purpose of. 7. Click any of the other tabs, and deselect any check boxes there for items you don’t want to load. There are tabs for Win.ini and System.ini, as well as some other startup files. On the
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Environment tab, you’ll find variables that were moved in from Autoexec.bat and Config.sys. 8. Choose OK to close the window. The General tab in the System Configuration Utility offers three Startup options: Normal, Diagnostic Startup, and Selective Startup. Normal, of course, is your normal startup. Diagnostic steps through startup item by item, letting you confirm each one; this is useful for troubleshooting. Selective Startup lets you choose to exclude certain parts of startup such as System.ini, Win.ini, and so on. These are all fairly specialized options for advanced users such as technicians troubleshooting a problem.
Tuning System Performance Settings The following steps outline a few nit-picking settings you can change that will possibly speed up your system’s performance a little. Fine-Tuning Your System Performance
1. Right-click My Computer and choose Properties. 2. Click the Performance tab. 3. Click the File System button. A File System Properties dialog box appears. 4. On the Hard Disk tab (see Figure 23.9), open the Typical role of this computer drop-down list and choose Network Server. Don’t worry if the computer isn’t really a network server; this option merely sets the disk buffer settings to maximum.
FIGURE 23.9 Maximize the disk buffer by setting the machine role to Network Server.
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5. Make sure the Read-ahead optimization slider bar is set to Full. 6. On the CD-ROM tab, make sure the Supplemental cache size slider bar is set to Large. 7. Open the Optimize access pattern for drop-down list and select the appropriate setting for your CD-ROM drive’s speed. (Tip: Nowadays, almost all CD-ROM drives are quad-speed or higher.) 8. On the Troubleshooting tab, make sure that no check boxes are marked, unless you have previously marked one of them to eliminate a problem with your system. 9. Click OK to close the dialog box. 10. Click the Graphics button. 11. Make sure the Hardware acceleration slider bar is set to Full (unless you have set it lower for a reason). Then, click OK. 12. Click the Virtual Memory button. 13. Make sure the Let Windows manage my virtual memory settings option button is selected; then, click OK. 14. Click Close to apply your changes. 15. If prompted, click Yes to restart your system.
Updating Windows Millennium with Windows Update Windows Update helps you keep your copy of Windows Millennium current. It compares the drivers and installed programs on your PC with a master list of the latest items available at the Microsoft Web site and suggests downloads that can bring your system up-to-date. You can use Windows Update in two ways. You can run it manually from time to time, or you can configure AutoUpdate (a new feature in Windows Millennium) to automatically download updates or notify you when updates are available.
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When you install Windows Millennium, an AutoUpdate icon appears in your system tray. At some point, a Microsoft AutoUpdate box pops up, explaining the feature and asking you to agree to its license restrictions. Click OK to accept it. This happens only once, and by the time you read this, it has probably already come and gone on your PC. To configure AutoUpdate, do the following: Configuring AutoUpdate
1. From the Control Panel, double-click the Automatic Updates icon. The Microsoft AutoUpdate box opens, as shown in Figure 23.10.
FIGURE 23.10 Choose how you would like to be notified about updates.
2. Select one of the update options: • Automatically download updates and notify me when they are ready to be installed. This is the best option for most people. • Notify me before downloading any updates and notify me again when they are ready to be installed. This option caters to those who are suspicious about things being downloaded to their PCs without their permission, but who still want to take advantage of AutoUpdate.
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• Turn off automatic updating. I will update my computer manually. This setting turns off AutoUpdate completely. 3. Click OK. When an AutoUpdate is available, you will see a bubble over your AutoUpdate icon in the system tray announcing it. Click the AutoUpdate icon to open the Microsoft AutoUpdate window. From that window, click the Install button and wait for the update to be installed. When it is finished, a message to that effect appears; click OK to close the box. AutoUpdates appear in the Add/Remove Programs Properties box, on the Install/Uninstall tab, just like any other programs you install. You can remove an AutoUpdate from there the same way that you uninstall any program (see Chapter 8). SEE ALSO ➤ To uninstall an installed program, see page 165
In addition to using AutoUpdate, you can also run the regular Windows Update at any time to see whether updates are available for your PC. Use the following steps. Running Windows Update
1. Open the Start menu and click Windows Update. Internet Explorer opens and connects to the Microsoft Web site. 2. Click Product Updates. 3. If this is the first time you have used Microsoft Update, a security warning appears, asking whether you want to install and run Microsoft Active Setup. Click Yes. 4. Wait for Windows Update to check your system and for the recommended updates to appear. See Figure 23.11. 5. Place a check mark next to the ones you want. 6. Click Download. A list of the programs you have chosen appears.
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FIGURE 23.11 Windows Update recommends these downloads to update my system. No critical updates are needed.
7. Click Start Download. 8. Depending on what you chose, a licensing agreement box might appear. If so, click Yes to continue. 9. Wait for the downloads to transfer and install themselves. You will see a confirmation page in Internet Explorer when they are finished. 10. Depending on the download, you might be prompted to restart your PC. Click Yes. SEE ALSO ➤ To set up an Internet connection, see page 309
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Scheduling Maintenance Tasks Some of the tools you learned about in this chapter (most notably, ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter) take a long time to run and should be run on a regular schedule. Windows Task Scheduler can be set up to make such programs run when you are not home or when you are sleeping, so that their running does not interfere with your computing productivity. You can set up the maintenance using either Express or Custom modes. Express is very easy and great for beginners; Custom enables you to specify when and how often each individual program will run. Express Scheduling Maintenance Tasks
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click Maintenance Wizard. 2. If a box appears asking whether you want to do maintenance now or change the settings, choose Change my maintenance settings or schedule and click OK. 3. Choose Express and then click Next. 4. Choose when you want the maintenance to run: Nights, Days, or Evenings. Then, click Next. 5. (Optional) To run all the scheduled tasks for the first time right now, mark the When I click Finish, Perform each scheduled task for the first time check box. 6. Click Finish. Custom Scheduling Maintenance Tasks
1. Click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click Maintenance Wizard. 2. Choose Custom and then, click Next. 3. Choose when you want the maintenance to run: Nights, Days, Evenings, or Custom. Then, click Next. 4. A list appears of programs that start when Windows starts. Deselect the check box next to any that you want to disable from starting automatically. See Figure 23.12. Then, click Next. 5. To place Disk Defragmenter on the maintenance schedule, click Yes, defragment my hard disk regularly. Then, do the following:
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FIGURE 23.12 You can prevent any of the programs from starting automatically at Startup.
• Click Reschedule to specify when it should run. • Click Settings to change the default settings for the program. • Click Next when you’ve finished configuring the Disk Defragmenter. 6. To place ScanDisk on the maintenance schedule, click Yes, scan my hard disk for errors regularly. Then, set its schedule and settings the same as you did for Disk Defragmenter in step 5. Click Next when finished. 7. To place Disk Cleanup on the maintenance schedule, click Yes, delete unnecessary files regularly. Then, configure its settings and click Next. 8. (Optional) To run all the scheduled tasks for the first time right now, mark the When I click Finish, perform each scheduled task for the first time check box. 9. Click Finish.
Adding a Maintenance Task The Task Scheduler in Windows can be modified to run other programs at regular intervals, too. For example, in Chapter 24, “Safeguarding Your System,” you will learn about backup programs; you might want your backup program to run every night (or once a week).
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To open the Scheduled Tasks window, double-click the Task Scheduler icon in the system tray. Then, use the Add Scheduled Task Wizard to create a new task. Scheduling a New Task
1. Double-click the Task Scheduler icon in the system tray. 2. Double-click Add Scheduled Task. The Scheduled Task Wizard opens. 3. Click Next to begin. 4. A list of programs installed on your system appears, as shown in Figure 23.13. Click the one you want to schedule, and click Next.
FIGURE 23.13 Select the program to schedule.
5. Type a name for the scheduled task (or leave the default name). 6. Choose an interval at which to schedule (Daily, Weekly, and so on). Then, click Next. 7. Set the controls that appear, based on the interval you chose in step 6. For example, if you chose Weekly, you would work with the controls shown in Figure 23.14. Click Next when finished. 8. (Optional) To set advanced properties for the scheduled item, select the Open advanced properties for this task when I click Finish check box. 9. Click Finish. 10. If you marked the check box in step 8, set any additional properties for the item in the box that appears on the Settings tab. Then, click OK.
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FIGURE 23.14 Specify details for the chosen interval.
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24 Safeguarding Your System Backing Up Your Files Protecting Your PC from Viruses Restoring a Previous Windows Configuration
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PART V Maintenance and Problem Solving CHAPTER 24 Safeguarding Your System
How Data Gets Lost Hard disks are fairly reliable in terms of storage. When you save something to a hard disk, it usually stays there intact. However, the following exceptions might occur: ■
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Disk errors, which you learned about in Chapter 23, “Optimizing Your Computer,” can corrupt individual files, and the damage can spread to other files if you do not run ScanDisk to fix it. Physical trauma to the hard disk while it is operating (such as the PC falling off a table or being kicked) can damage areas of the disk, resulting in whatever data was in that spot becoming unreadable. Computer viruses can wipe out the FAT, so that although your data is still on the hard disk, you can’t access it. Some viruses can even erase the hard disk itself. A mechanical failure in the hard disk mechanism can cause the hard disk not to read or write at all; therefore, you can’t access your data even though it’s still there.
If the lost data is critical, you might want to employ a professional data recovery service. This is not cheap, however, so it’s much better to prepare for disaster ahead of time by making backup copies of your important files. SEE ALSO ➤ To correct disk errors with ScanDisk, see page 442
Backing Up and Restoring Files Backing up your files need not be a big production. If you have a few important data files (such as word processing documents or databases), you can copy them periodically to a floppy disk, to a Zip disk or other removable media, or to a network location. See Chapter 5, “Managing Files and Folders,” to recall how to copy files. If you ever need the copies, simply copy them back to your hard disk. If you have a lot of files to back up, however, you might want to use a backup program. Such programs provide two benefits:
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They compress the files as they back them up so that more files can fit on a disk. They remember lists of files to be backed up so that you don’t have to select each file individually each time you back up.
Because backed-up files are compressed for storage, you can’t use them directly from the backup disk. You must run a Restore program to uncompress them and copy them back to your hard disk. I’ll talk about restoring later in this chapter. Which backup program should you use? Well, unless your backup needs are heavy duty (for example, backing up a network server for a company), just about any backup program will suffice. If you have a Zip or a Jaz drive, or some other brand of removable large-capacity storage, that drive might have come with software you can use to back up your files. For example, my Zip drive came with a program called One-Step Backup that copies the files I specify to a Zip disk every day at a certain time. Microsoft Windows 95 and 98 came with a program called Microsoft Backup that did a decent job of backing up and restoring, but the program is not included in Windows Millennium Edition. SEE ALSO ➤ To copy files, see page 97 ➤ To schedule programs to run at certain times, see page 460
Protecting Your PC from Viruses Computer viruses can wipe out your hard disk’s contents, and in some rare cases even cause hardware damage. (A recent virus, for example, wiped out the computer’s BIOS information, rendering it unusable.) That’s the worst case. Many other less-devastating viruses exist, too, which corrupt individual files, play pranks, or merely attach copies of themselves to other files. In recent years, the most prevalent kinds of viruses have been email viruses, programs you receive as email attachments and unwittingly pass on to others. The “I Love You” virus, for example, automatically sends itself to everyone in your Outlook address book, plus it deletes certain kinds of files from your hard disk. To guard against email
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viruses, be very cautious about opening attachments that come with emails, even from your friends, because the friends might have been victim to a virus that mails itself to others automatically. And never open an attachment with a VBS extension; that’s almost always a virus. Trojan Horses Remember the old legend of the Trojan Horse? It appeared to be a gift, but it was actually filled with enemy soldiers. A type of computer virus called a Trojan horse does the same thing. It appears to be a useful program, but running it triggers something bad (such as file deletion) on the PC on which it runs.
Many other types of viruses exist as well. Word macro viruses, for instance, infect Microsoft Word files and cause problems in Word (for example, one such virus forces every new document you create to be saved as a template).
How Do Viruses Infect a PC? Viruses get into a PC in one of the following ways: ■
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Booting from an infected startup disk (floppy, hard disk, and so on) Running a program (often attached to an email) containing a virus Opening a Word or Excel file containing a macro that contains a virus
You cannot get a virus from reading an email message (unless it has a program attached to it that you run). Be careful, though, because some email programs display attachments automatically, and they have to run them to display them. (There is a patch for Outlook available through Windows Update that will stop it from doing that.) You also cannot get a virus from surfing the Web or reading newsgroups (again, unless you download and run a program as part of that activity). Generally speaking, viruses cannot infect data files; they infect only program files and the boot sectors of disks. An exception to this is if a data file (such as a Word document) contains an infected macro (which is, essentially, a miniprogram); opening that data file and allowing the macro to run can infect your PC. This doesn’t mean, however, that a virus cannot harm data files. A virus can wipe out an entire hard disk, data files and all. It simply cannot be spread through them (except via macros). In the following section, I’ll outline some ways to avoid virus infections.
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How Can I Prevent Virus Infection? To check for viruses and to prevent new ones from infecting your PC, you need an antivirus program. Windows Millennium does not come with any virus-protection programs. However, you can download trial versions of popular antivirus programs on the Internet such as McAfee VirusScan and Norton AntiVirus. I strongly urge you to get one of these programs and leave it running at all times, especially if you use the Internet a lot, and once you find one you like, to pay the $10-$15 a year required to be able to access the updates. You can download free trials from these locations: McAfee VirusScan http://www.mcafee.com/
Norton AntiVirus http://www.symantec.com
You can also buy antivirus programs in any computer or office supply store. You can prevent a lot of virus infection risk, however, just by being aware. It’s like walking down a city street at night; you need to be alert to possible dangers and not engage in risky behavior. The following are some tips: ■
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In Internet Explorer, make sure that your security levels are set to at least Medium for the Internet Zone. See Chapter 18, “Exploring the Web.” Do not open attachments or run programs that you receive with email from unknown senders. Even attachments from known senders can be suspect because of some viruses’ capability to automatically forward itself to people in the victim’s address book. If in doubt about an attachment, check it with your antivirus program before opening it. Download updates for your antivirus software from the company’s Web site at least monthly. If you read about a new virus in the news, download an update immediately. If you open a Word or Excel file and see a message stating that it contains macros and asking whether you want to enable them,
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choose Disable. Then, open the Tools menu and click Macros and take a look at the macros in the file to see whether there are any suspicious-looking ones. ■
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Check in your BIOS setup program to see whether a boot sector protection exists that you can turn on. This prevents a program from writing to that critical startup area of your hard disk. If you accidentally start up the PC with an untested floppy disk in the drive, and you receive a message saying to remove it and press a key to continue, remove it and press Ctrl+Alt+Del to completely restart the boot process. This prevents any boot sector viruses that might have been on that floppy from infecting your PC. Use your antivirus program to make an emergency startup disk, and then write-protect it. In the event of a virus infection, start your PC using that disk and follow its onscreen instructions.
SEE ALSO ➤ To set Internet Explorer’s security level, see page 344 ➤ To work with a PC’s BIOS, see page 217 ➤ To use Internet Explorer, see page 326 ➤ To receive email with attachments, see page 374
How to Recover from Virus Infection If you suspect a virus infection, check your computer with an antivirus program. Most commercially available antivirus programs check your system for viruses when you run their Setup programs. If you don’t have an antivirus program and don’t want to buy one, find a friend who has an antivirus program installed on his or her PC and ask the friend to make you an antivirus boot disk. Most programs have a feature that creates a bootable floppy disk containing the virus-checking program. You start your PC with this disk in the floppy drive, and the virus-checker loads and runs automatically. Such utilities typically do not remove viruses; they merely identify them. So, if it turns out that you do have a virus, you must then buy an antivirus program. Another way to check for viruses is through the Internet. Some antivirus program manufacturers offer basic virus detection through
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their Web sites. For example, at http://www.mcafee.com/centers/ anti-virus, you can find a hyperlink for VirusScan Online. It costs $19.99 a year to use the service, but you can get a free trial. The most drastic way to remove a virus is to reformat your hard disk. This removes almost all types of viruses. The exception is one nasty type of virus that affects the master boot record (MBR) on the hard disk; to remove that type, you must repartition the drive from the command prompt with the command FDISK /MBR. Buying an antivirus program is almost always a better investment than taking the time to reformat your drive and reload everything from scratch, however.
Using System Restore System Restore is a new feature in Windows Millennium. For several years now, other software companies have been making a fortune selling products that back up your system configuration and then restore it whenever you mess things up. Microsoft has finally caught on to this, and Windows Millennium has this capability built in. System Restore works by saving a “snapshot” of your system configuration—your Windows settings, a list of which programs have been installed, and so on. You can then restore that configuration in the future if your system starts having problems. For example, suppose your system is working fine, and you install a new program you have downloaded from the Internet. Suddenly you’re getting errors, so you try to uninstall the program, but that doesn’t help. You can use System Restore to restore your system exactly the way it was yesterday, before the unfortunate incident. You can select a snapshot to restore from in three ways: by checkpoint, by date, or by event. When you install Windows Millennium, it takes its first snapshot, called a “system checkpoint.” Then it saves several other checkpoints each day and stores about two weeks’ worth of checkpoints. You can restore any of those checkpoints. You can also restore by date. Whenever you install a new program or change your system configuration, System Restore saves a snapshot of the system. That way you can use System Restore by event, instead of by system checkpoint, if you like.
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Preserving Data System Restore does not restore any files in the My Documents folder or any files that use common data file extensions, such as .doc or .xls. If you are not sure whether a particular file extension is included and you want to make sure files are not affected by System Restore, store them in C:\My Documents.
If you use System Restore to restore the system but don’t like the results, you can undo them. You can experiment, restoring your system to earlier or later events until your system is running right again. To restore your system to an earlier configuration or return it to a later one, use the following procedure. Restoring Your System Configuration
1. Click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click System Restore. The System Restore box opens. 2. Click Next to accept the default choice, Restore my computer to an earlier time. 3. On the calendar, click the date to which you want to restore. Dates in bold are available dates. If a date is not bold, no system information was saved that day. Today’s date appears circled in red. 4. In the pane to the right of the calendar, click the snapshot you want to restore. See Figure 24.1.
FIGURE 24.1 Choose a snapshot to restore. Select a date; Windows maintains records for the last two weeks. Select a snapshot within that date.
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5. Click Next. A confirmation appears. 6. Click Next. Another confirmation appears.
More Info
7. Click Restore. The system files are modified as needed and your computer is restarted to implement the changes.
If you would like to read more about System Restore before you continue, click the Learn More About System Restore hyperlink at step 1. The Help system opens and displays information. Close the Help window and return to the System Restore window when you are finished.
8. After the system restarts, the System Restore box reappears. Click Close to close it. To reverse a Restore operation, simply repeat the process and choose the Restore operation as the snapshot in step 4. You saw a previous Restore operation as one of the choices in Figure 24.1, for example.
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25 Troubleshooting Problems Startup Problems Windows Problems Problems with a Device Problems with a Program
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PART V Maintenance and Problem Solving CHAPTER 25 Troubleshooting Problems
Troubleshooting Startup and Shutdown Problems The following sections deal with problems that occur when you are starting up, restarting, or shutting down your PC.
Restarting a PC That Won’t Restart Normally Back in Chapter 1, “Windows Basics,” you learned how to restart Windows. But sometimes Windows refuses to restart normally, and you must shut things down in a more “forceful” way to terminate whatever program has locked up. The following steps show how to do this. Restarting a PC That Won’t Restart Normally
1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del. The Close Program dialog box appears. If nothing happens when you press Ctrl+Alt+Del or the mouse is not responding, skip to step 8. 2. Look for a program on the list that says Not Responding next to it, and click that program. If you don’t see one, skip to step 7. 3. Click End Task. 4. Wait for the computer to restart (up to one minute). 5. If the computer will not restart, repeat steps 1 through 4. 6. If the computer still will not restart, press Ctrl+Alt+Del again to reopen the Close Program dialog box. 7. Click the Shut Down button. This shuts down the computer rather than restarting it. 8. If the computer will not shut down, turn off its power. Wait a few seconds before turning it back on. This is a last resort because such an ungraceful shutdown can cause problems, but if none of the preceding steps worked, it is your only recourse. If you are forced to shut down the PC by turning off its power before Windows says it is safe to do so, it might cause disk errors.
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When you restart the PC, ScanDisk will probably run and check for these errors. If ScanDisk doesn’t run, you can run it yourself to check for errors; see Chapter 23, “Optimizing Your Computer.” SEE ALSO ➤ To restart Windows normally, see page 27 ➤ To run ScanDisk, see page 443
Troubleshooting Missing File Error Messages at Startup If you see an error message (usually gray on a black screen) at startup that tells you files are missing, one of the following is probably true: ■ ■
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The files are actually missing. The files have been corrupted because of a disk error, which may or may not have already been repaired. Nothing is really wrong, but the computer has somehow gotten confused. (This is especially true if the missing file is HIMEM.SYS.)
Because you can’t be sure which of the preceding is the case, use the following procedure to troubleshoot. Starting Up with a Missing File Error Message
1. Turn the computer’s power off. Wait five seconds, and then turn it on again. 2. If you still see the same error message, jot down the filename on paper. 3. Press any key to continue loading Windows. If Windows won’t load, see “Starting the PC in Safe Mode” later in this chapter. If that doesn’t work, go to “Booting from a Startup Disk.” 4. When Windows finishes loading, run ScanDisk. 5. If ScanDisk found and corrected any errors, restart the PC. Do you still get the same error message? 6. If you still get the error at startup, use Find to locate the file on your PC, if possible. If you can find where it is (even if it’s corrupted), you will know where to put the fresh copy you are going to extract in the next step.
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7. Extract a fresh copy of the file from the Windows CD-ROM. See “Extracting a File from a CAB” later in this chapter for help. If you aren’t sure where to put it, place two copies: one in \Windows and one in \Windows\System. 8. Restart the PC. If you still get the error, refer to “Checking System Files” later in this chapter.
Troubleshooting Registry Errors at Startup The Windows Registry is the repository of settings and controls that tell Windows how to operate. The Registry includes everything from which programs are installed to which colors you have chosen for your color scheme. If this important file becomes corrupted, Windows might not start. Editing the Registry There’s a program in the C:\Windows folder called regedit.exe (a.k.a. the Registry Editor) that allows you to make manual changes to the Registry, but I don’t recommend it except for advanced users. You can really screw up a system with a careless change to the Registry. The System Restore feature can sometimes help you recover from bad edits, but other times a complete reinstallation of Windows is required. Yuck! It’s better to not edit the Registry at all unless you are certain you know what you’re doing and have backed up all of your critical files first.
To correct Registry errors, use the program Scanreg.exe at the MS-DOS prompt. (You can’t do this from inside Windows; you must start the PC in MS-DOS mode.) Use the following steps. Repairing the Registry with the Registry Checker
1. Restart the computer. Press and hold down the Ctrl key until the Startup menu appears. 2. Choose Command prompt only. 3. At the command prompt, do one of the following: • Type scanreg /restore and press Enter. (It is customary to use a space before the slash.) Use this if you got the error immediately after installing a new program or device, and you want to put the registry back the way it was. This replaces the current Registry with the most recent backup of it. • Type scanreg /fix and press Enter. Use this if you have not just installed something new, and you want to fix the existing copy of the Registry rather than going back to the last backup. 4. After the Registry Checker finishes repairing the Registry, press Enter.
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5. At the command prompt, type scanreg
/opt
and press Enter.
The /opt switch causes the Registry Checker to optimize the Registry by removing unused space. 6. Restart your PC. If you use the /restore switch and see a message that the Registry was not restored, perhaps a third-party program (such as Norton Unerase) has the drive’s disk access locked. To work around this, step through the startup routine using step-by-step prompting from the Startup menu and choose N for every prompt except the one that loads HIMEM.SYS. Then, when the command prompt reappears, try scanreg /restore again. Sometimes Windows can detect a Registry problem itself and correct it by copying the most recent Registry backup. You might see a message such as this: You have restored a good registry. Windows found an error in your system files and restored a recent backup of the files to fix the problem.
If you see that, restart your PC, and the problem should have corrected itself. If it doesn’t, running Scanreg.exe with the /fix switch should clear up the problem.
Starting a PC in Safe Mode Safe mode is a special troubleshooting mode that you can use to fix problems with Windows Millennium that prevent it from starting normally. For example, perhaps you have inadvertently installed the wrong video driver—one that scrambles your display. You can use Safe mode to start Windows Millennium in plain VGA mode and then make the driver change and restart normally. If Windows fails to start, the next time you attempt a startup the Startup menu appears (see Figure 25.1). If the Startup menu does not appear automatically, you can force it to appear by holding down the Ctrl key as the computer boots. (You can also press F8 when you see the message Starting Windows Millennium, but that message flashes by quickly and it’s easy to miss it.) From the Startup menu, you can choose Safe mode (option 3).
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FIGURE 25.1 The Startup menu, from which you can choose Safe mode.
Safe mode starts Windows in a bare-bones state, with a generic driver for the essential components, such as video, mouse, and keyboard. It does not load any programs that normally load at startup or any drivers for “unnecessary” hardware such as scanners. As you can see in Figure 25.2, the words “Safe mode” appear in each corner so that you remember that you are not in regular Windows Millennium. Usually when Windows will not start normally, an error message appears, giving you a hint as to why. If the problem is a certain program or device, correct the problem as described later in this chapter in the sections “Troubleshooting Problems with a Device” and “Troubleshooting Problems with a Program.” SEE ALSO ➤ To work with display modes, see page 177
Booting from a Startup Disk If Windows will not start and none of the solutions I’ve given you so far have worked, you may need to start it using your Windows Millennium startup disk. (Remember, you made one in Chapter 5, “Managing Files and Folders.”) If you don’t have a startup disk, you can make one on another Windows Millennium PC if one is available. (Ask around!)
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FIGURE 25.2 Safe mode enables you to start Windows when it won’t start normally. Safe mode indicators in corners Display mode is 640×480, 16 colors (standard VGA).
The startup disk not only contains files that start your PC, but it also contains many helpful utilities you can run from the command prompt. So many of them are available, in fact, that they don’t all fit on a single floppy; they have been compressed to fit. You can’t use them in their compressed state. When you start your PC with the startup disk, it creates a RAM disk (a virtual hard disk made from extra memory) and decompresses the utilities there. When working with a PC that has been started with the startup disk, you will have an additional drive letter available, and that drive will contain the utility programs. Starting a PC with a Startup Disk
1. Place the startup disk in the PC’s floppy drive and turn it on. You will see a menu like the one shown in Figure 25.3.
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FIGURE 25.3 Choose whether to load CD-ROM support.
2. If you think you will need CD-ROM access to fix the problem, press 1. Otherwise, press 2. (If in doubt, press 1.) 3. Wait for the startup disk to finish loading drivers and decompressing files. The A:\> prompt appears when the loading is finished. 4. Do either of the following, as needed: • Copy whatever files are needed from your CD or other disks to get Windows working again. (You might need to get some expert help with this.) Then, restart the PC and cross your fingers! • Use the utilities on the RAM drive to check and rebuild your system. See “Recovering from a Complete PC Failure” next for details.
Creating a Bootable CD If you are lucky enough to have a CD-R or CD-RW drive on your system, you can make a CD that contains the files needed to start your PC in the event of a problem. The basic procedure for creating a bootable CD is as follows: 1. Create a bootable floppy for the operating system you want to install on the CD. See the preceding section.
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2. Place a blank CD-R disc it into your CD-R/CD-RW drive. 3. Start your CD-R software. Because all CD-R software packages (such as Adaptec’s Easy CD Creator) operate differently, you may have to poke around to find some of the settings I mention in the next steps. 4. Choose ISO 9660 for the CD format. ISO 9660 doesn’t permit long filenames, so make sure that any additional files you add to the CD have no more than eight characters and no more than three characters for the filename extension. 5. Be sure to enable the bootable option. 6. When prompted, insert the floppy disk containing boot. 7. These files are copied to your CD. 8. Add any other files you want on your CD, such as operating system install files and any critical. For example, you may copy the files required to reinstall Windows from the Windows Millennium Edition CD. 9. Start the CD creation process (generally, there is a Create CD button). 10. Close your mastering program. 11. Insert the bootable CD into your CD drive. 12. Restart the computer. Your system should boot from the CD. If your system won’t boot from the CD, you may need to go into your BIOS setup program (there should be a key you press at startup to get there, such as F2 or Delete—watch the screen for a clue) and change the boot sequence to boot from the CD.
Recovering from a Complete PC Failure If you are reading this section, I’ll assume that the worst has happened—your hard disk has failed and you’ve had to replace it, or a virus has wiped out its contents, or for some other reason you need to rebuild from square one. You have just booted from your startup disk (see the preceding section), and now a cursor is blinking at you from an A:\> prompt. What next?
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Repartitioning an Old Drive If you have an old hard disk that you need to reformat anyway, and you are unhappy with its current partitions, now is the time to repartition it! For example, suppose you had a 2GB drive. Under Windows 95, the old operating system that you originally bought with the PC, you were limited to hard disks of 512MB in size, so your 2GB drive is broken into four logical drives. Now that you are using Windows Millennium, which supports larger drives (as did Windows 98), you could delete all those partitions and create one large one so that you could have a single drive of 2GB. Repartitioning wipes out everything on a drive, so you would not normally be doing this, but because you have to reinstall everything anyway, you can take advantage of the situation and set up your partitions the way you have always wanted them.
Out with the Old If your old drive has partitions and you want to change them, press Esc and then use option 3 to delete all existing partitions.
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First, can you access your old hard disk at all? If so, copy off any essential data files onto floppy disks. If you have already installed a new hard disk, you should make sure your BIOS detects it properly, and then partition and format it. You should reformat your old hard disk if your disaster was due to virus infection. To partition a drive, use the FDISK command, which is on your startup disk (A:). Partitioning the drive sets up the drive in one or more chunks, and each chunk can be formatted as a separate drive letter. You should not need to partition your drive unless you just installed a brand-new hard disk. You can partition a physical drive into one or more logical drives, which are separate drive letters. Depending on your system’s BIOS limitations, you might need to break up an extremely large drive into chunks of about 2GB apiece. FDISK will help you with this, suggesting the appropriate maximum size for the primary partition and helping you create additional partitions (extended partitions) from the remaining space. Partitioning a Drive
1. At the command prompt, type FDISK and press Enter. 2. At the message about enabling large disk support, type Y. 3. Choose option 4 to display existing partition information for the drive. 4. Do one of the following: • If you see partition information that indicates that drive C is partition 1, the drive has already been partitioned. Press Esc to return to the FDISK main menu and then press Esc again to exit FDISK. Then, go on to the next procedure, “Formatting a Drive.” • If you see a message that no partitions exist, press Esc if needed to clear that message. Then, continue to the next step. 5. Type 1 to choose Create Primary DOS Partition, and then press Enter.
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If you see the message Primary DOS partition already exists, press Esc twice to exit from FDISK. Otherwise, FDISK checks the disk and creates the partition, and then this message appears: Do you wish to use the maximum available size for a Primary DOS partition and make the partition active (Y/N)?
6. Type Y and press Enter. FDISK verifies the partition. Then, you see this message: You MUST restart your system for your changes to take effect. Any drives you have created or changed must be formatted AFTER you restart.
7. Press Esc to exit FDISK.
Partitioning Partitioning prepares the drive for use by dividing up its big physical surface into one or more logical compartments. Each will have its own drive letter. If you can, it’s usually best to make the drive one big, single partition, unless you have a reason for needing multiple drive letters.
8. Restart your PC again using the startup disk. After you partition and reboot, you must format each partition. To do so, change to the RAM drive and then type FORMAT and the drive letter to be formatted. For example, to format the C: drive, type FORMAT C:. To make the drive bootable, add an /S switch at the end: FORMAT C: /S. After formatting, check each drive to make sure it is readable from the prompt. Switch to the drive by typing its letter and a colon and pressing Enter. Then, type DIR and press Enter. Because the drive is empty, a File not found message appears. That’s good—it means the drive is formatted and usable. After partitioning and formatting, you can install Windows on the drive. Refer to Appendix A, “Installing Windows Millennium.” Partitioning and formatting can be a pretty intimidating process. Partitioning can be made a little easier, and a little less scary, by using a program called PartitionMagic. It costs about $40, and can guide you through partitioning and formatting a drive.
Startup Troubleshooting Tips If your PC still won’t start, here are a few last-ditch things to look at or try.
Blank Screen If you don’t see anything at all onscreen, and you hear nothing, not even a fan, the computer is not getting power, or the power supply is defective.
You Might Be Able to Skip All This… If you plan on reinstalling Windows Millennium on the drive, you can simply boot from the Windows Me CD. If the drive isn’t partitioned or formatted, the Setup program will take care of it automatically.
Large Disk Support Choosing Y in step 2 enables 32-bit file system support, which is more efficient and modern; choosing N forces the drive to use the 16-bit file system for backward compatibility. Do not confuse 16- and 32-bit file systems with 16- and 32-bit programs. The file system is the underlying structure that determines how your disk stores files. It doesn’t have anything to do with the individual programs or how they run.
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Is the computer plugged into an electrical outlet? Does that outlet have power? Sometimes a light switch that you would not expect can turn the power on/off for an outlet. If the computer is plugged into a power strip, is that power strip’s switch on? Is the power cable plugged firmly into the back of the PC?
If the screen is blank and you hear nothing except the power supply fan (no disk activity), something is wrong with either the motherboard or the processor, or the video card is not installed correctly. If you see a blank screen and hear a series of beeps, the memory is not installed correctly or is defective, or some kind of motherboard error exists. If you see a blank screen, hear a single beep, and see or hear some disk activity, the computer is starting normally, but the monitor isn’t showing it. Try to figure out where the disconnect is between the monitor and the computer. ■
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Is the monitor getting power? Check to make sure it is plugged in and turned on. A light should illuminate on its front when it has power. Is the light on the front of the monitor solid green? That’s good. If it’s amber or blinking, the monitor is in Standby mode, which could indicate one of two things: • The monitor is fine but is not receiving any signal from the computer. • The monitor has set itself in Standby mode and needs to be awakened. Try pressing the buttons on the front of the monitor to see whether any of them will wake it up.
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Are the monitor contrast and brightness controls set appropriately? Is the monitor firmly plugged into the video card? Has the video card become dislodged from the motherboard inside the PC case?
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Can’t Boot from a Floppy If you try to boot from a floppy but the system keeps asking you to insert a bootable floppy and press Enter, your BIOS program might not be aware of the floppy drive, or the BIOS may have been set up so that it doesn’t boot from the floppy drive (or doesn’t boot from it first). Enter the BIOS setup program and confirm that the floppy drive is set up there. Then, check the boot sequence in the BIOS setup program. This command is probably in the Advanced section of the BIOS options. Make sure that the first boot device is set to A: (or Floppy) and that the second is set to C: (or IDE-0). Then, exit the BIOS program, saving your changes. If this problem persists, you might have a bad floppy drive or floppy cable.
Hard Disk Not Bootable If you see a message such as No Operating System or No Command Processor, or something prompting you to insert a disk with startup files, your hard disk does not contain the startup files needed to start the PC. Perhaps a virus has erased them, or perhaps you have accidentally deleted them yourself. Or, more commonly, perhaps the ribbon cable connecting the hard disk to the motherboard has wiggled loose. Boot from a floppy (your Windows startup disk works fine for this). If the computer starts and you see the A:\> prompt, try switching to C: by typing C: and pressing Enter. If you can get to a C:\> prompt like that, you know that the hard disk is partitioned and formatted and merely needs to have the system files retransferred. On the other hand, if you see Invalid Drive Specification or something about the drive not being readable, you will need to reformat it, as explained earlier in this chapter. To transfer the system files to the hard disk from your bootable floppy, type SYS C: at the A:\> prompt and press Enter. This copies the system files to your C: drive. When you see the message System Transferred, you know it’s finished. Then, remove the floppy from the drive and restart your PC.
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Troubleshooting Problems with Windows In this section, I’ll talk about those times when Windows starts but doesn’t work correctly. Perhaps it locks up frequently or gives you error messages when you try to do anything. The problem could be any of the following: ■
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You have used Windows Update to update your copy of Windows Millennium, and something about the update is causing the problem. Somehow one or more of the Windows system files have become corrupted, damaged, or deleted. The Registry has become corrupted or damaged, or invalid information has been written to it. A specific program you have installed is causing Windows in general to malfunction.
First things first: What have you done recently that changed your system? Whatever it was, try to undo it. If you have recently used Windows Update, remove the update as described in the following section, “Removing a Windows Update.” If you have recently installed a new program, uninstall it (see Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs”). Next, do you see any error messages about particular files causing a problem? If so, jot down the names of the files and try extracting fresh copies of them from the Windows Millennium CD. See “Extracting a File from a CAB” later in this chapter for details. If you can’t think of what might have caused the problem, you might try running a general check of your system files, as described in “Checking System Files” later in this chapter. Try using System Restore to return to an earlier Windows configuration; sometimes that will do the trick if the problem is being caused by a recently installed program. Finally, if nothing else works, try reinstalling Windows Millennium. See Appendix A.
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PART V Troubleshooting Problems with Windows CHAPTER 25 SEE ALSO ➤ To remove an installed program, see page 165 ➤ To reinstall Windows Millennium, see page 508
Removing a Windows Update To remove an update, revisit the Windows Update Web page (see Chapter 23, “Optimizing Your Computer”) and choose Show Installed Updates. This changes the list of updates to include the ones you already have (see Figure 25.4). To reinstall one, reselect it. Some updates have an Uninstall button next to them; for these, you can click it to uninstall the update.
FIGURE 25.4 If you show installed updates, you can reinstall or remove one of them. Some updates have an Uninstall button here; this one doesn’t.
You can also uninstall Windows updates even if you can’t connect to the Internet. To do so, open System Information (as explained in the following section) and choose Tools and then Update Wizard Uninstall. SEE ALSO ➤ For more information about Windows Update, see page 456
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Running System Information Utilities System Information is a great utility in Windows that provides detailed information about your system. Start it from the Start menu by choosing Programs, then Accessories, and then System Tools, and clicking System Information. Your System Information appears in a Help and Support window. You can use System Information to troubleshoot a variety of device problems (which you’ll learn about later in this chapter), but it also contains a Tools menu with several important utilities on it. See Figure 25.5. In the following sections, I’ll outline some of these tools that can help fix Windows problems.
FIGURE 25.5 The Tools menu in System Information.
Checking the Registry You saw earlier in the chapter how to fix the Windows Registry from the command prompt when you can’t start Windows. But you can also check and correct smaller Registry problems from within Windows.
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Checking the Registry from Windows
1. Start System Information if it is not already running. (Open the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click System Information). 2. Open the Tools menu and choose Registry Checker. The checker runs, looking for errors. If it finds any, it offers to fix them. 3. After checking for errors, the Registry Checker offers to back up the system registry. Choose Yes or No. 4. If prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.
Disabling a Program That Loads at Startup As I showed you briefly in Chapter 23, the System Configuration Utility helps you manage the contents of your startup files and control which programs load at startup, too. If you are having a Windows problem because of a program that loads at startup, you can disable that program from starting automatically with the following procedure. Disabling Startup Programs
1. Start System Information if it is not already running. (Open the Start menu, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to System Tools, and click System Information.) 2. Open the Tools menu and click System Configuration Utility. Click OK at the message about variables being moved to the Registry. 3. Click the Startup tab. A list of programs that currently load at startup appears. See Figure 25.6.
FIGURE 25.6 Deselect any program that you do not want to load at startup.
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Other System Information Utilities Lots of other utilities are available on the Tools menu in System Information, as you can see from Figure 25.5; you might want to explore some of these on your own.
4. Remove the check mark next to any program that you do not want to load at startup. Be careful not to disable something important; if you don’t know what a file does, leave it alone. 5. Click OK. 6. If prompted to restart your computer, click Yes.
Troubleshooting Problems with a Device Perhaps Windows itself works okay, but a particular piece of hardware is giving you fits. Maybe it doesn’t work at all, or maybe it works sporadically or poorly in general. In this section, I’ll help you figure out why and explain how to fix it. Here’s the general outline for troubleshooting a device: 1. Make sure that Windows knows the device is installed. 2. Make sure no resource conflicts exist. 3. Run diagnostic tests for the device, if available. The following sections explain how to do each of those things.
Checking a Device in Device Manager If a device isn’t functioning, your first stop should be Device Manager. It can tell you whether Windows sees the device and whether resource conflicts exist that might prevent it from working. Locating a Device in Device Manager
1. Right-click the My Computer icon on the desktop and choose Properties. 2. Click the Device Manager tab. 3. Locate the device on the list. Click the plus sign next to a device type to expand the list, as needed. See Figure 25.7. If the device appears in the right category on the Device Manager listing, and no special symbols are shown next to it, the device is probably installed correctly.
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If a yellow circle with an exclamation point appears next to the device, as shown in Figure 25.7, the device has a resource conflict. See “Fixing a Resource Conflict” later in this chapter.
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FIGURE 25.7 Use Device Manager to see whether Windows thinks the device is installed correctly. This device reports no obvious problems. This device has a problem or conflict.
If a device has a red X next to it, the device has been disabled, either in Windows or in the BIOS program. Double-click the device to open its properties, and then make sure the Disable in this hardware profile check box is not marked. Then, check in your BIOS setup to make sure the device has not been disabled. Most BIOS programs allow you to enable or disable serial and parallel ports, for example. If the device is not on the list, look for an Other Device entry. If the device appears there, you need to reinstall the drivers for it or run its setup program again. See “Setting Up Device Drivers in Windows” in Chapter 11, “Installing Hardware.”
Fixing a Device Seen As “Other Device” If the device is in the Other Device category instead of the one it is supposed to be in, Windows has partially detected the device but can’t figure out what kind of device it is. You can help it by running the device’s setup program that came with it or by installing updated drivers for it. SEE ALSO ➤ To install updated drivers for a device, see page 228
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Fixing a Resource Conflict If you find a yellow circle and exclamation point next to a device, a resource conflict exists. First, let me explain what I mean by resources. Each device that communicates directly with the processor has a base address and an interrupt request (IRQ) number. The base address is a hexadecimal code that refers to the memory location in which the device’s information is contained. For example, COM1’s base address is usually 2F8H, and COM2’s is usually 3F8H. Each device (including each COM port) must have its own unique base address. IRQs are communication lines between the device and the processor, and most systems have 16 of them (0 through 15). Generally speaking, each device has its own, but some devices share a single IRQ (such as some COM ports). The term resource refers generically to either the IRQ or the base address. Windows dynamically assigns base addresses and IRQs to devices through Plug and Play each time you start the PC. However, some devices are quirky and will work only with certain settings, and other devices are not Plug-and-Play compatible. Still others might require you to set jumpers on the circuit board to permanently select certain IRQs or addresses, and those settings might conflict with the automatically assigned settings Windows has chosen. Thus, sometimes you might need to set a device’s resource allocation manually, bypassing Plug and Play. Manually Assigning Resources to a Device
1. Locate the device in Device Manager (see the preceding section) and double-click it. Its Properties box appears. 2. Click the Resources tab. 3. Check the Conflicting Device list. If a conflict is listed, note whether it is an Input/Output Range conflict or an IRQ conflict. For example, in Figure 25.8, the problem is an IRQ. 4. Deselect the Use automatic settings check box. 5. Open the Settings based on drop-down list and choose a different configuration. Keep trying different configurations until you find one that reports No conflicts in the Conflicting Device list. 6. Click OK to close the dialog box.
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FIGURE 25.8 This device has a resource conflict with another device.
In rare cases, all the configurations on the list (in step 5) have a conflict. If you face this situation, you can try changing the interrupt request (IRQ) and the Input/Output Range separately. Keep choosing configurations until you find one with only one conflict. Make a note of which type it is. Then, click the matching line in the Resource Settings list. Next, click Change Setting. One of two things might happen: You might see a message that the setting cannot be modified, or you might see a box containing alternative settings. If you see the latter, try a different setting. Repeat this procedure until you find a setting that produces no conflicts. If Windows tells you that the setting cannot be modified, try this: In the Conflicting Device list, note the device that is the other half of the conflict. Then, try modifying the settings for that device so that it no longer conflicts. Another possible remedy is to go into your BIOS program and disable one of your COM ports that you are not using, freeing up an IRQ and address that one of the devices might be able to use.
Running Diagnostic Tests on the Hardware Some devices come with their own software that can run tests. (Sound cards, for example, typically come with such programs.) Consult the documentation for the device to see whether such a utility is available.
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You can test a modem’s operation directly from the Modem Properties in the Control Panel, as you learned in Chapter 17, “Setting Up Online Connectivity.” SEE ALSO ➤ To test a modem, see page 307
Troubleshooting Advice for Specific Devices The following sections contain some extra tips I have picked up over the years in troubleshooting three types of devices that give users more grief than any others: video cards, modems, and sound cards.
Checking Video Devices If the monitor’s display looks scrambled from the moment you turn it on (not just in Windows), the monitor is broken. You need a new one. (They are very expensive to repair, and new monitors are fairly inexpensive.) If the monitor’s display looks scrambled in Windows only, you need a different video driver. Use Safe mode (explained earlier in this chapter) to restart the PC, and then change the video driver. If the image doesn’t fill the entire monitor or is off center, your monitor’s image controls need to be adjusted. Refer to its manual to find out how. If the display flickers noticeably, the refresh rate is too low. If pictures don’t look very good, change to a greater color depth. SEE ALSO ➤ To change the video driver, see page 170 ➤ To change the refresh rate, see page 181 ➤ To change the color depth, see page 177
Checking Modems If the modem appears to dial and connect, but it keeps making staticky noises and beeping until the remote modem finally hangs up, your modem is not set up correctly in Windows (perhaps Windows has detected it as the wrong make or model), or the telephone wiring connection is very poor quality.
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If the modem won’t stay connected to your ISP (especially if you use America Online as your provider), perhaps the setup string that the program is sending is inappropriate for that modem. Different modems require different setup strings in the form of Hayes commands. Each setup string begins with AT (attention), followed by a series of two-character codes (the Hayes commands) that turn on or off certain modem features. When you install a communication program such as America Online, it asks what kind of modem you have. This is important because the America Online software knows what strings to send to what modems. If you tell it that you have the wrong type of modem, it will send the wrong string. Even though it might be able to connect briefly, it won’t be able to stay connected. Call America Online’s technical support for help. If there is no dial tone but the modem appears to be installed correctly, perhaps you do not have a working telephone line plugged into the correct jack on the modem. You should see two jacks on the modem; one for the incoming line and one for the outgoing phone. Make sure you have the phone line plugged into the incoming one. If they are not labeled, switch the lines and try again. If that doesn’t help, try plugging a telephone directly into the line that is feeding into the modem. Do you hear a dial tone? If not, your phone line is the problem. If you still keep getting a No Dial Tone message when trying to dial out, you might have a resource conflict.
Checking Sound Cards If you aren’t getting sound, you need to figure out whether the sound card isn’t working at all or only in certain programs. Ask yourself the following questions: ■
Do you have speakers plugged into the sound card?
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If the speakers have a power switch, is it on?
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Are the speakers plugged into an electrical outlet if they run on AC power? Have you installed the driver software that came with the sound card? Most sound cards won’t work unless you do so. Have you run the diagnostic program that came with the sound card?
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If the sound card does not work at all, even in its own diagnostic program, it is either defective or improperly installed. If the diagnostic program acts like everything is fine, but you don’t hear anything, probably something is wrong with your speakers. If Windows appears to have the sound card set up correctly (in Device Manager), but you don’t hear anything, perhaps the volume is set too low. If you have a speaker icon in your system tray, doubleclick it and make sure that the volume is neither muted nor turned down all the way.
Troubleshooting Problems with a Program Program problems fall into these categories, generally speaking: ■
You can’t figure out how to run the program.
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The program won’t start.
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The program locks up while running.
Unfortunately, I can’t help you with that first one, except to tell you to check the documentation, but in the following sections I’ll help you troubleshoot startup and lockup problems with individual programs.
Determining Why a Program Won’t Start If you are trying to start the program from the Start menu and nothing happens, perhaps the shortcut there no longer points to the program. Recall that the programs listed on the Start menu are only shortcuts; the real programs are stored on your hard disk. Using Windows Explorer, try to locate the file that starts the program and double-click it there. If the program runs that way, you need to change the shortcut on your Start menu. (See Chapter 7, “Organizing Your Programs.”) If the program appears to start but then its window vanishes, or if you get an error message, try restarting Windows and giving the program another try. If a problem still occurs, remove and reinstall the program.
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PART V Troubleshooting Problems with a Program CHAPTER 25 SEE ALSO ➤ To modify the Start menu’s programs, see page 136 ➤ To uninstall a program, see page 165 ➤ To install a program, see page 158
Exiting a Malfunctioning Program If a program has stopped responding to commands, you won’t be able to exit from it normally. Don’t panic when this sort of thing happens; it’s an expected part of computing. Exit the program using the following steps and then restart your PC (as explained in Chapter 1, “Windows Basics”). Exiting a Program That Has Stopped Responding
1. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del. The Close Programs dialog box opens. 2. Select the malfunctioning program from the list. It might say (Not Responding) next to it, but it might not. 3. Wait several seconds while Windows attempts to shut the program down. 4. If a dialog box appears, asking whether you want to Wait or End Task, click End Task. 5. Restart your PC. You should always restart your PC after shutting down a problem program because whatever caused it to malfunction might also cause problems with other programs. By restarting, you flush the problem out of the computer’s memory (in most cases). SEE ALSO ➤ To restart your computer, see page 27 ➤ To check your hard disk for errors that could be causing program malfunctions, see page 442 ➤ To troubleshoot continued problems running a program, see page 498
Fixing a Program That Locks Up Frequently The best way to fix a problem that frequently locks up is to uninstall the program and then reinstall it.
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If that doesn’t solve the problem, perhaps the program has a conflict with one of your devices (or maybe just one of the drivers for one of the devices). Try visiting the manufacturer’s Web sites for each of your devices to see whether driver updates are available. Then, visit the Web site for the program manufacturer to see whether the problem you are experiencing is a known bug and whether a workaround is available.
Configuring DOS-Based Programs Almost all programs you buy today are designed for Windows, but you might run into the occasional older program (probably a game) designed to run under DOS. Such programs sometimes work fine under Windows, and sometimes they don’t work at all. You just never know until you try them.
Setting Up a DOS-Based Program The following steps show how to set up a DOS-based program to run under Windows Millennium. It’s an optimistic procedure, which depends on everything working as it should. Try this first, and resort to the procedures later in this chapter only if this doesn’t work. Installing a DOS-Based Program
1. Insert the CD or the floppy for the program. 2. Browse the file listing for the program and locate the setup program (usually Setup or Install). Then, double-click it. 3. If the installation program appears in a pinched-looking window rather than full screen, press Alt+Enter to make it fill the entire screen. 4. Follow the prompts to complete the installation. If you are not sure what to pick for an option, stick with the default. If the program asks whether it should detect your sound or video, choose Yes. If the program asks whether you want it to be set up to be launched from within Windows, choose Yes.
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If the program wants to modify your setup files (Config.sys and Autoexec.bat), choose No. 5. When the program is finished, if you see a DOS prompt, type exit and press Enter. 6. If the setup program told you to restart your computer, do so. 7. Browse your disk’s file listing and locate the folder where the new program was installed. 8. Locate the file that runs the new program and double-click it. The documentation that came with the program should tell you which file to use; see the following note for help with this. 9. After you’re sure the program works, create a shortcut for it on your desktop or on your Start menu. SEE ALSO ➤ To create program shortcuts, see page 164
Troubleshooting DOS Program Operation If a DOS-based program doesn’t work using the preceding setup routine, you will probably need to make some changes to its properties. When you make changes to the properties for a DOS program, Windows creates a separate shortcut (with a PIF extension) to hold those changes. You then use the PIF file to run the program.
Which File Runs the Program? If you see a file that ends in .pif, use that file to run the program. PIF files are shortcuts to DOS applications that include special running instructions that help them run better under Windows. If a DOS program comes with a PIF file, you should use it. If you see a .bat file, use that. If no .pif or .bat files are present, look for a .com or .exe file with a name similar to the program name.
What changes should you make? Well, the best place to start is the Windows Help system’s MS-DOS Programs Troubleshooter. To locate it, do the following. Starting the MS-DOS Programs Troubleshooter
1. From the Start menu choose Help. 2. In the Search box, type DOS Programs Troubleshooter and press Enter. 3. Click the MS-DOS-based programs troubleshooter hyperlink. Then, to walk through the troubleshooting process, use the troubleshooter controls that appear. See Figure 25.9.
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FIGURE 25.9 Windows Help can offer suggestions for configuring your DOS program to run.
To display the Properties box for the program, right-click it and choose Properties. Notice that the Properties box for a DOS-based program or a PIF file has more tabs than a regular (Windows) program. Some of the most common changes to make to properties for MS-DOS programs include the following: ■
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■
■
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If the program starts with the window squashed (that is, not full screen), you can switch it to full screen with Alt+Enter. But if you set the Usage setting on the Screen tab to Full Screen, it will always start full screen. If your DOS program locks up every time your screensaver kicks in, deselect the Allow Screen Saver check box on the Misc tab. Some DOS programs have their own shortcut key combinations that you might be accustomed to using. If these key combinations conflict with Windows’ own, the Windows ones take precedence. To make the DOS application’s shortcut key combinations dominant, deselect any of the check boxes in the Windows Shortcut Keys area on the Misc tab. Some earlier programs require you to type switches or parameters after the command to run them at the DOS prompt. To
PART V Troubleshooting Problems with a Program CHAPTER 25
execute those extra instructions every time the program runs, enter the extra text into the Cmd line box on the Program tab. ■
The Close on Exit check box on the Program tab determines whether the DOS window closes when you exit the program. Usually this is a good thing, but if you are trying to troubleshoot why a program isn’t working under Windows, you might want to read any error messages that appear before the program terminates. In such cases, you could deselect this check box so that the DOS window with the error messages remains onscreen until you type exit.
SEE ALSO ➤ To run programs with the Run command, see page 49
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Windows Information Online
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Accessibility Tools
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Gaming with Windows Millennium
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Glossary
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A B C D
Appendix
A Installing Windows Millennium Upgrading from a Previous Version Starting Setup on a New PC Troubleshooting Common Problems
• • •
PART VI Appendixes APPENDIX A Installing Windows Millennium
Upgrading from a Previous Version of Windows Auto Insert Notification If the Windows Millennium setup program doesn’t automatically start, Windows might not have Auto Insert Notification turned on. To turn Auto Insert Notification on, double-click the System icon in the Control Panel. Then, on the Device Manager tab of the System Properties dialog box, click the plus sign (+) next to CDROM. Then, right-click the device under CD-ROM and click Properties. Click the Settings tab and select the Auto Insert Notification check box. Click OK and then exit Control Panel. Installation Key When installing Windows, you will be prompted for a key code. You’ll find this string of numbers and letters on your CD-ROM case or on a certificate that came with your PC, depending on whether you bought Windows in a store or received it with a new PC purchase. Make sure you have this key code handy before you start installing.
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If you have Windows 95 or 98, and you haven’t turned off the Auto Insert Notification on your CD-ROM drive, a message appears when you insert the Windows Millennium CD into your drive. It reports that the version on the CD is more recent and asks whether you want to upgrade. Click Yes, and you’re on your way; just follow the prompts. Make sure that any antivirus software is disabled before you upgrade; sometimes such software can interfere with the setup process. If the setup program doesn’t start automatically, you can start it by browsing the CD-ROM’s contents with My Computer and doubleclicking the file Setup.exe. When you upgrade over an earlier version (Windows 95 or 98), Windows keeps all the same settings as before. The Setup program does not ask about your preferences, your desired accessories, your time zone, or any other details, because it picks them up from your current system. A typical upgrade from Windows 98 requires approximately 195MB of free hard disk space, but it might range between 120MB to 295MB, depending on your system configuration and the options you choose to install. If you don’t have enough disk space, delete some files or uninstall some programs before you run Setup.
Starting the Windows Millennium Setup Program on a New PC The main challenge in installing Windows Millennium on a new PC is getting started. Windows Millennium comes on CD-ROM, but a PC with a totally blank (possibly unformatted) hard disk does not have the CD-ROM drivers set to load at startup. The following sections cover what to do in various scenarios, ranging from ideal to nightmarish.
PART VI Starting the Windows Millennium Setup Program on a New PC APPENDIX A
If You Have a Floppy That Came with Windows Millennium If Windows Millennium came with a floppy disk in addition to the CD, place it in the floppy drive and restart the PC. Then, follow the instructions onscreen.
If Your System Allows Booting from a CD-ROM The Windows Millennium CD-ROM is bootable, which means you can start your system from it, if your system’s BIOS supports that. Try starting your system with the CD-ROM in the drive. If the A: drive and your hard disk do not contain the files needed to boot, it might recognize the CD-ROM’s bootable files and start the setup program. Some computers might have the capability to boot from the CD but that capability might be turned off by default. Try entering the BIOS setup program and looking for a boot sequence setting that will enable you to specify that you want to boot from the CD.
Windows NT and Windows 2000 Windows Millennium is not an upgrade to Windows NT 4 or Windows 2000. Windows 2000 is the upgrade for Windows NT, whereas Windows Millennium is the upgrade for Windows 98. NT and 2000 are primarily for the corporate market, whereas 98 and Millennium are primarily for home and small business users.
If You Have a Formatted, Bootable Hard Disk If you can boot from your hard disk to a DOS prompt (that is, if you turn the computer on and you see a black screen with a gray text prompt such as C:\>), do the following: Running Windows Setup from a DOS Prompt
1. Place the Windows Millennium CD into the CD-ROM drive. 2. Type the CD-ROM drive letter and a colon (for example, E:). 3. Press Enter. 4. Type Setup and press Enter. If you see the message Invalid drive specification at Step 2, the CD-ROM drivers have not been loaded. Locate the disk that came with the CD-ROM drive and run the installation program on it to install the CD drivers. Then, reboot the computer and try the previous steps again.
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If You Have a Startup Disk Created in Windows Millennium If you previously had Windows Millennium installed, you might have created a startup disk (as described in Chapter 5, “Managing Files and Folders,” in the section “Creating a System Disk”). If so, you can boot from that. Starting the PC from a Windows Emergency Disk
1. Insert the bootable emergency disk in the floppy drive and turn the PC on. 2. When prompted, choose Start the Computer with CD-ROM Support. 3. Place the Windows Millennium CD into the CD-ROM drive. 4. At the DOS prompt, type the CD drive letter and a colon (such as E:). 5. Press Enter. 6. Type Setup and press Enter.
If You Have Another PC with Windows Installed If you or a friend has Windows 98 or Windows Millennium on another PC, use that PC to make a startup disk (see Chapter 5), and then follow the steps in the preceding section. A startup disk made in Windows 95 will start the PC, but it won’t contain the drivers needed to access your CD-ROM. See the following section for more information about manually loading a CD-ROM driver.
What Else Can I Try? We’re heading toward the bottom of the barrel, folks. It starts to get complicated if you don’t have the resources needed for any of the preceding scenarios. I strongly suggest that you try to get someone else who has Windows Millennium or 98 to make a startup disk for you so that you don’t have to go through any of the following rigmarole.
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To start the Windows Millennium Setup program, you need to do two things: 1. Start the PC. 2. Load the CD-ROM drivers so that you can access the CD, or copy all the files from the CD to a drive that the PC can read from. To start the PC, you need any bootable disk. It can be an old DOS disk—just about anything. You can make a bootable disk from any computer by typing SYS A: at the DOS prompt. The CD-ROM drivers load only at startup, so you must include them in the Config.sys and Autoexec.bat files on whatever disk you are starting up from. That means you will need a text-editing program (such as Notepad in Windows or Edit in DOS). In Config.sys, you need a DEVICE= line that points to the CD-ROM driver. You can copy the driver file to the boot disk so it is available. It might look something like the following: DEVICE=A:\MYCDROM.SYS /D:CDROM1
if the file is called MYCDROM.SYS and it is located on your floppy (A:) drive. In the Autoexec.bat file, you will need a pointer to the file MSCDEX.EXE, something like this:
More Setup Help Read the file Setup.txt on the Windows CD using any text editor; it provides detailed assistance for getting CD-ROM drivers to work. Disable BIOS Shadowing If you have continual problems installing Windows on a PC, and you can’t make it work using any of the methods here, try going into the BIOS setup (see Chapter 11, “Installing Hardware”) and disabling the BIOS Shadowing feature.
A:\MSCDEX.EXE /D:CDROM1
Common Installation Problems After you get it started, the Windows Millennium Setup program works fairly well. But in case you run into problems, here are some ideas for solving them.
Missing Files As you are installing, you might see a message that the Setup program cannot locate a particular file on the CD. Sometimes just clicking OK to let it try again is enough to jolt things back into working order. (This is especially true on systems with old, slow CD-ROM drives.)
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If that doesn’t work, and you are upgrading from a previous version, you might try pointing the Setup program to your C:\Windows folder or C:\Windows\System to see whether an earlier version of the file is there and will suffice. If that still doesn’t work, I would (reluctantly) choose Skip File. The file might not be crucial, so it’s possible that the Setup program can continue without it.
Prompt for Driver Disk As Windows is detecting your hardware, it might ask you for a setup disk for a particular device. Dig through the disks that came with your PC and find and insert the one it wants. Using the disk that came with the device is usually the best choice because the drivers on that disk are specifically designed to work with that particular model. However, if the device is old (more than a year, as an estimate), and if Windows Millennium provides a driver for that exact make and model, you should use that instead. After Windows Millennium has finished installing, you can go to the device manufacturer’s Web site and download newer drivers for it if desired.
Mysterious Error Messages If you have Internet access on another PC, go to http://www. fixwindows.com/howto/98error.htm, where there is a wonderful list of Windows 98 Setup error messages along with explanations of what each one means. Many of these are applicable to Windows Millennium, too, so even though this site is not designed specifically for your version of the program, it is still very helpful. (The solution provided to a lot of the error messages is “Install from the DOS prompt.” Doing so avoids a multitude of annoying setup problems.)
Blue-Screen Error Reading CD If you see a blue screen with white writing that tells you it can’t read the CD-ROM, take out the CD and clean it with a soft, lint-free cloth, removing any fingerprints and dust specks. Then, try it again.
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If that doesn’t solve the problem, you either have a defective (return it for a refund) or a defective CD-ROM drive (contact your PC manufacturer).
Certain Devices Don’t Work After you upgrade to Windows Millennium, some devices might not work anymore, such as a sound card or modem, for example. Try reinstalling their drivers, as you learned in Chapter 25. If that doesn’t work, try going to the device manufacturer’s Web site to see whether an update or patch is available that might solve the problem.
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Appendix
B Windows Information Online Windows Software Available for Download
•
Windows Troubleshooting Help
• • •
Windows News and Reviews Windows Usenet Newsgroups
PART VI Appendixes APPENDIX B Windows Information Online
About This Appendix This appendix lists places you can go online to find out more about Windows, or to download cool add-ons and extras. Because there were very few sites available on Windows Millennium when this book went to press, most of these sites focus on Windows 98. However, Windows 98 and Windows Millennium are similar enough that most of what you find will apply. And by the time you read this in print, many of these sites will have updated to include Windows Millennium, too. Most of the following topics are broken down into two sections. In the first, I list my top picks and tell you a bit about each of the featured resources. In the second, I provide a longer list of other sites you might want to check out on your own.
Sources of Windows Software There’s lots of great software out there for Windows in shareware or freeware distribution. Check out the following sites to find what you crave before you shell out the bucks for it at a retail store.
Top Picks Dave Central Shareware Archive http://www.davecentral.com
I’m not sure who Dave is, but his software archive is great. You’ll find software here both for Windows and Linux (another operating system). Dave also provides software recommendations and a “pick of the week.” Download.com http://www.download.com
This site is run by the information powerhouse CNET, so you know it has to be good. It includes software both for PCs and Mac. Not all the software for PCs here is for Windows necessarily, so choose carefully. You can run DOS-based programs under Windows (see Chapter 25, “Troubleshooting Problems”), but it’s easier to stick with Windows programs.
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ZD Net Software Library http://www.zdnet.com/swlib/
ZD stands for Ziff-Davis, a publisher of computer magazines (among other things). This site features reviews, lots of downloads, a searchable index, and links to articles in the Ziff-Davis magazines (surprise!).
Other Sites Albert’s Ambry http://www.alberts.com/
A well-categorized library of software in many areas, including games, programming, technical, utilities, and so on. Clicked.com Top 20 Shareware Gallery http://www.clicked.com/shareware/index.html
Lots of shareware available for download, including lots of games. Completely Free Software.com http://www.completelyfreesoftware.com/
Focuses on freeware (that is, software you aren’t expected to pay for, even if you keep it). Download.net http://www.download.net/
Many game downloads, as well as other programs. Includes a classic arcade gaming section. File Mine http://www.filemine.com/
Downloads for business, Internet, system management, and so on. More directed toward productivity than games. FileDudes http://www.filedudes.com/
Links to mirror sites all over the world with files available for download.
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Garbo Anonymous FTP Archive http://garbo.uwasa.fi/
A shareware distribution library. Not much on graphics or fancy formatting but good content. Jumbo! Download Network http://www.jumbo.com/
Tons of programs—more than 300,000 to be exact. High on quantity, but not screened for quality, as you might imagine with that heavy volume. Pass the Shareware http://www.passtheshareware.com/
Nicely organized site with shareware in a variety of categories for productivity and fun. Shareware Central http://www.q-d.com/swc.htm
Standard shareware archive, plus the capability to interact with the shareware authors in many cases. SOFTSEEK.com http://www.softseek.com/
Shareware, freeware, and evaluation demos in many categories. This site is sponsored by Ziff-Davis, so it has some corporate muscle behind it. WinPlanet http://www.winplanet.com/
A great information-rich Windows site that also has quite a bit of shareware available for download. Washington University Data Archive http://wuarchive.wustl.edu/
Typical of many college-run sites, this one is mostly text-based, but offers lots of content.
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Places to Get Troubleshooting Assistance Need some help with a tough Windows problem? Try some of these sites.
Top Picks FixWindows.com http://www.fixwindows.com/
This site is devoted to fixing Windows problems. You’ll find a wealth of troubleshooting ideas and information, as well as step-by-step how-tos, downloadable drivers and patches, and links to shareware. Also check out the troubleshooting flowcharts for Windows 98 at http://www.fixwindows.com/charts/98/win98cht.htm. Windows 98 is similar enough to Windows Millennium that the troubleshooting information should be valid for the most part. Microsoft—Personal Online Support http://support.microsoft.com/support/default.asp
Your link to the vast libraries of information about various Windows products, including all versions of Windows and virtually every other product Microsoft has ever made. This site is always my first stop if I can’t find something I need to know in the Help system in Windows. Troubleshooters.com http://www.troubleshooters.com/twin98.htm
This link points to the Windows information on the site; the site itself is much larger. A wealth of information is available here for the intermediate to advanced user. WinDrivers.com http://www.windrivers.com/
Wondering whether an updated driver is available for one of your devices? Find it and download it here. Quite a bit of troubleshooting data also is available.
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Other Sites 24-Hour Support.com http://www.24hoursupport.com/
Lots of answers to frequently asked questions, primarily for users of a specific ISP but some of the information is general enough that anyone could benefit. A Troubleshooting Guide to Windows 98 http://members.aol.com/Knows98/index.htm
Cool troubleshooter broken down into categories of problems. Help! Channel from ZD Net http://www.zdnet.com/zdhelp/
The Help and How To section of ZD Net, a content-rich corporatebacked site. Troubleshooting Microsoft Windows http://www.windowsgalore.com/windows.95/
Lots of good info on troubleshooting Windows system problems, focusing mainly on the intermediate to advanced user. Windows Annoyances http://www.annoyances.org/win98/
A collection of information compiled from real users of Windows, with problems they’ve encountered and fixes they’ve devised.
Windows News and Reviews Looking for general information about Windows and Windowsrelated products? Look here.
Top Picks Hardware Central http://www.hardwarecentral.com/
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Reviews the latest hardware upgrades that you might want to buy for your PC. (This site is part of a larger site, My Desktop, at http://www.mydesktop.com.) Absolute WinInfo http://www.barkers.org/windows/main.html
A very content-rich and nice-looking site devoted to Windows, including downloads, articles, opinions, and a discussion area. WinPlanet http://www.winplanet.com/
News, information, opinions, and downloads specifically about Microsoft Windows; you might spend more time here than you intended to reading the articles. Also, click the Tech Support link on the navigation menu to visit VirtualDr, a troubleshooting discussion area. (WinPlanet also is part of My Desktop, at http://www.mydesktop.com.) Windows Galore: Windows 98 Tips and Tricks http://www.windowsgalore.com/windows.98/index.htm
There is tons of information here about troubleshooting, customizing, tweaking, and otherwise fiddling with Windows. Learn about “Easter eggs” (hidden programs that appear when you press certain key combinations), get information for changing passwords and removing viruses, and more.
Other Sites Bob Cerelli’s Windows Page http://www.halcyon.com/cerelli/
Tips, tricks, and application info. PC Computing: Windows 98 http://www.zdnet.com/pccomp/features/windows98/welcome.html
Another site sponsored by ZD Net, with lots of great content.
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Windows 98 Megasite http://www.winmag.com/win98/
Windows tips and hints, sponsored by Windows Magazine. Windows Help-Net Windows 98 Tips and Tricks http://www.windows-help.net/windows98/
News about Microsoft, plus tips and other helps for Windows in several categories.
Usenet Newsgroups That Discuss Windows Group Not There? Not all news servers carry all the newsgroups listed here. To read a newsgroup that your news server doesn’t carry, visit DejaNews (http:// www.deja.com); this Web site lets you browse—and even post to—almost every newsgroup on the planet.
You can read newsgroups such as these using Microsoft Outlook Express or any other newsreader program. See Chapter 21, “Participating in Online Discussions,” for details. In addition to these groups, your news server might carry others, too. alt.windows98 alt.win98 comp.os.ms-windows.apps.compatibility.win95 comp.os.ms-windows.apps.utilities.win95 comp.os.ms-windows.networking.win95 comp.os.ms-windows.setup.win95 comp.os.ms-windows.win95.misc comp.os.ms-windows.win95.moderated comp.os.ms-windows.win95.setup microsoft.public.internetexplorer.win95 microsoft.public.win95 microsoft.public.win95.dialupnetworking microsoft.public.win95.filediskmanagement microsoft.public.win95.msdosapps microsoft.public.win95.multimedia microsoft.public.win95.networking microsoft.public.win95.printingfontsvideo microsoft.public.win95.setup
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Appendix
C Accessibility Tools Installing Accessibility Tools and Options Running the Accessibility Wizard Overview of Accessibility Features Enabling or Disabling Options
• • • •
PART VI Appendixes APPENDIX C Accessibility Tools
Installing the Accessibility Tools and Options The Accessibility features are broken down into two groups: Tools and Options. ■
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Tools. The Accessibility Wizard and the Magnifier, both of which can be run from the Start menu (in the Programs\ Accessories\Accessibility folder). Options. The Accessibility settings you can change from the Control Panel.
Accessibility Options are installed by default; Accessibility Tools are not. To install them, use the Adding and Removing Windows Components procedure in Chapter 8, “Installing New Programs.” SEE ALSO ➤ To add or remove Windows components, see page 156
Running the Accessibility Wizard The Accessibility Wizard configures Windows Millennium to use the accessibility features that you need for your special situation. It is a great timesaver; if you run it, you won’t have to configure the individual options separately. To run the Accessibility Wizard, click Start, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Accessibility, and click Accessibility Wizard. Then, follow the prompts onscreen. For example, the first screen of the wizard, shown in Figure C.1, asks which of the lines you can read. Click the smallest line of text that you can comfortably see, and then click Next to go on to the next screen. Each of the settings that the Accessibility Wizard changes can also be changed manually, as you will see later in this appendix.
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FIGURE C.1 The wizard asks questions about your abilities; click the appropriate responses. A blue box surrounds the current selection.
Using the Magnifier The Magnifier blows up whatever the mouse pointer touches in a pane at the top of the screen. For example, in Figure C.2, the pointer is in the Magnifier Settings dialog box, and the check boxes it hovers over appear magnified. To turn on the Magnifier, click the Start button, point to Programs, point to Accessories, point to Accessibility, and click Magnifier.
FIGURE C.2 The Magnifier at work. Magnified area Click Exit to turn off the Magnifier.
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The Magnifier Settings box remains onscreen as you work. To turn off the Magnifier, click Exit. To hide the Magnifier Settings but leave the feature on, minimize it. SEE ALSO ➤ To choose which programs load at startup, see page 152
Introducing the Accessibility Options Startup Add a shortcut to the Startup menu (on the Start menu) to make the Magnifier load automatically each time you start Windows. See Chapter 7, “Organizing Your Programs.”
In the Control Panel, double-click Accessibility Options, and the Accessibility Properties box opens. Here, you can set each of the individual accessibility features that the Accessibility Wizard configures automatically. Many of these features have two things you can set: First, a check box turns the feature off or on. Then, a Settings button opens a dialog box with which you can configure that feature.
Setting the Settings After turning a particular feature on, don’t forget to click its Settings button to find out how to use the feature and to fine-tune it. For example, the Settings for the StickyKeys box appears in Figure C.3.
Reviewing the Keyboard Options Set any of these keyboard options as needed to control how the keyboard works: ■
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StickyKeys. This feature treats Ctrl, Shift, and Alt as toggles, so that each time you press them, they toggle between Off and On. That way, you can issue key combinations (such as Alt+F) without having to press two keys simultaneously. FilterKeys. This sets Windows to ignore brief or repeated keystrokes that might occur if a mobility impairment makes it difficult for you to type. ToggleKeys. This plays sounds when you press the Caps Lock, Num Lock, or Scroll Lock, so that you will notice when you have pressed them.
PART VI Introducing the Accessibility Options APPENDIX C
FIGURE C.3 Each option has its own settings.
Reviewing the Sound Options The features on the Sound tab provide visual cues for deaf or hardof-hearing users when a sound is played. ■
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SoundSentry. With this on, Windows generates a visual warning onscreen whenever the system makes a sound. ShowSounds. This turns on “closed captioning” when available in certain programs so that you can read the speech or sounds being generated.
Reviewing the Display Option Only one feature is on the Display tab: Use High Contrast. Use this if you want Windows to use colors and fonts designed for easy reading. This can be very helpful if you have a visual impairment that prevents you from distinguishing subtle shades of color.
Other Display Settings You also can use the Display Properties (from the Control Panel) to choose a color scheme with high contrast or to choose to use larger fonts in general.
Reviewing the Mouse Option Only one feature is on the Mouse tab, too: Use MouseKeys. With this feature on, you can use the arrow keys on the numeric keypad to move the mouse. This works great for those with a mobility impairment that makes it difficult to control a mouse.
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Reviewing the General Options Other Mouse Settings You also can use the Mouse properties in the Control Panel to choose a different pointer size and/or to use Mouse Trails. A larger pointer and mouse trails can really make the mouse pointer more visible onscreen. You’ll find more about mouse settings in Chapter 10, “Customizing System Settings.”
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The General tab’s settings help you control how the accessibility features work in general: ■
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Automatic reset. This turns off accessibility features after the PC has been idle for a set number of minutes. (This does not turn the feature’s check box off in the Accessibility Options; it merely suspends the feature temporarily.) You can turn them back on by reselecting them in the Accessibility Options box. Notification. This plays sounds and warning messages when an accessibility feature is being turned off or on. SerialKey devices. This enables support for special devices that allow alternative keyboard and mouse access designed for handicapped individuals.
Appendix
D Gaming with Windows Millennium
PART VI Appendixes APPENDIX D Gaming with Windows Millennium
More and more people are enjoying the latest games in Windows, and most games will run just fine with no special setup required. This appendix talks a bit about selecting and configuring gaming hardware, mostly for those who are serious about wringing every drop of performance out of their systems to make the most resourcehungry games run perfectly.
Selecting Windows Gaming Hardware If you spend a lot of time playing 3D shoot-’em-up games such as Quake and Halflife, you might want to spend the extra money for a top-notch video card, sound card, and game controller. When selecting a video card, look for one with 3D capability advertised prominently in its specifications. 3D video cards take some of the burden off of the processor in rendering moving 3D images such as those in many popular games. The result is that the video looks a lot smoother and more realistic. Lots of great video cards are out there, but one that really shines is the Matrox Millennium G400 Max. For maximum realism, you will probably want a good-quality sound card with wavetable capability. A wavetable uses stored instrument sounds rather than computer-simulated ones, so the sounds are more natural and the overall experience is more realistic. You might also want a joystick or some special type of game controller. Chapter 11, “Installing Hardware,” discusses how to set up and calibrate a game controller in Windows. Many are available, including flight yokes, foot pedals, steering wheels, sticks, and shifting levers.
Understanding DirectX DirectX is a set of standardized drivers that programs (particularly games) can use to communicate with your system’s multimedia hardware—that is, the video card, the sound card, the game controller, and so on. DirectX is a great invention because it standardizes the way games talk to hardware. That way, a game developer doesn’t have to worry about whether a game will run on all the thousands of different hardware combinations out there.
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PART VI Troubleshooting Common Problems with Games APPENDIX D
Windows Millennium comes with the latest version of DirectX, so you already have it. Microsoft periodically releases new versions of DirectX, so you might want to use Windows Update to check for new versions and install them when they become available. It’s always a good idea to have the latest version of DirectX installed. Some games come with DirectX so that the games will run on PCs that don’t have DirectX already installed. (It didn’t come with Windows 95, for example.) However, the version that comes with the game might not be as recent as the one you already have, so pay attention when the game is installing, and if the setup program offers to install an earlier version, choose No. If you are having trouble with a particular game, such as frequent lockups or refusal to run, check to make sure you have the latest DirectX drivers installed. If you do, check the video card manufacturer’s Web site; some video cards work best when they have a customized version of DirectX written especially for them.
Troubleshooting Common Problems with Games The following sections take a look at some of the problems you might experience with games, and how to fix them.
Hardware Acceleration and Game Problems If a game is not working properly (perhaps it’s locking up or the video display is poor) and you’re sure the DirectX drivers are not to blame (see the section on them earlier in this appendix), you can try decreasing the hardware acceleration setting. To do that, follow these steps: 1. From the Control Panel, double-click System. 2. On the Performance tab, choose Graphics. 3. Drag the slider bar to the left, decreasing the hardware acceleration setting one notch. 4. Choose OK. 5. Restart the PC and try the game again.
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PART VI Appendixes APPENDIX D Gaming with Windows Millennium
Repeat this if it still doesn’t work, notching down the hardware acceleration one setting each time, until the game works. If the game still doesn’t work after removing all hardware acceleration, you can assume that hardware acceleration was not the problem, and you can return the hardware acceleration setting to Full.
Game Performance Problems If the game plays, but not well (that is, too slowly or with choppy sound or video), the problem is likely that your hardware lacks the power to handle the game. This is especially true with a several-yearold computer and a brand-new game. Game manufacturers can be “hardware snobs”—they assume that everyone who buys their game has the latest hardware, and that’s not usually true. To improve game performance on a system, here are some tips: ■
■
■
Where Can I Learn More? Although the advice I provide here will help you if you are new to PC gaming, you’ll want to consult a more complete reference if you are a hard-core gamer. I’d recommend “Building the Ultimate Game PC,” by Loyd Case, published by Que. This book walks you through the software and hardware considerations you should keep in mind if performance is your ultimate goal.
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■
■
Shut down all other running programs, including programs in the system tray such as antivirus and fax, before running the game. Make sure your video resolution uses the lowest setting at which you can comfortably play the game. I have a game, for example, that runs really well at 640×480 but too slowly at 800×600. Along those same lines, set your video color depth to the lowest that you can tolerate and still have decent realism in the game. Many games are optimized for 256 colors, and using a higher color depth does not improve their display, and it slows down the performance. If you have a choice when installing the program, choose a Full or Maximum installation. This copies more of the game files to your hard disk so that the game plays faster (because your hard disk is more efficient than your CD-ROM drive). Turn off any extra features in the game options that you can do without, such as synthesized voices, animated characters or cursors, and so on.
Still unhappy with the performance of a certain game? Visit the manufacturer’s Web site and look for patches, updates, or troubleshooting tips specific to that game.
GLOSSARY
Active controls Utilities or display windows that are dynamically updated with Internet content. (see Active desktop) Active desktop A feature in Windows that enables you to place active controls directly on the desktop. Active window The window that is being displayed or used at the moment. Adapter Generically, this can refer to any card in a motherboard slot, but it usually refers to the video card. Address The location, or path, to which you save or from which you open a file or folder. ADSL
(see DSL)
Allocation error An error in which the file’s size being reported by the FAT does not match its size on the disk. America Online A popular online service and Internet provider. Application A computer program that helps you accomplish some task or activity.
Archive attribute An attribute for a file that indicates it has been changed since it has been backed up. AUTOEXEC.BAT A startup file that processes its batch of commands whenever the computer starts. AutoUpdate A feature of Windows Millennium that automatically downloads updates to Windows and installs them. BIOS Stands for basic input/output system. An automatically executed startup routine that runs certain tests and checks for installed hardware. The BIOS program is stored on a Read-Only Memory (ROM) chip mounted on the motherboard. BIOS setup program A built-in program in a PC that enables you to configure the PC’s base-level settings. Bitmap An image made up of colored dots, such as a photo or a scanned drawing. Also called a raster graphic. Compare to vector graphic. Also can refer to a specific graphics format (.bmp).
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GLOSSARY Boot
Boot
To start up a computer.
Boot disk A disk (hard or floppy) that contains the startup files needed to boot a computer. Sometimes called a Startup disk. Bps Stands for bits per second, a measurement of data throughput (for example, in Internet file transfer). Related terms are Kbps (kilobits per second) and Mbps (megabits per second). Briefcase A special folder on the Windows desktop that helps synchronize files between two computers. Browser A program that enables you to browse the World Wide Web. (see Web browser) CAB file Short for cabinet file. A compressed archive of files; part of the Windows Millennium setup. Cable modem A device that allows you to get high-speed Internet access through your cable company, if you are signed up for the service. A coaxial cable connects to a network card in your PC to make the connection. Card A circuit board that you plug into a slot on the motherboard to add hardware capability. Also can refer to a PCMCIA card. Cascade To arrange open windows so that the windows overlap with each title bar visible in an orderly, cascading alignment. Compare to Tile.
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Channels Internet content similar to Web pages, but viewed in a special browser window. Character repeat Holding down a key on the keyboard so that it types continuously onscreen. Click To press and release the left mouse button once. Clipboard A holding area for Windows programs, used to transfer and copy data. Close button The X button in the top-right corner of a window, which can be used to close the window. Cluster A small physical section of a disk. An organizational unit by which files are stored. CMOS Stands for Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductor. A microchip on the motherboard that stores the BIOS setting changes you make with the BIOS setup program. Coaxial A type of cable used in some types of networking. Coaxial cable is typically round, thick, and covered with a plastic outer sheath. Color depth The number of colors that make up the display in a particular video display mode. A common color depth is 256 colors (8-bit). Compression A method of making a file fit into a smaller amount of disk space by storing it more compactly. Two kinds of compression are file compression and disk compression.
GLOSSARY Driver
CONFIG.SYS A startup file that lists the drivers and system settings the PC should load when it starts. Cross-linked files An error in which a conflict in the FAT keeps the system from knowing to which of two files an address belongs. Defragment To reorder the data on a disk so that all files are stored contiguously rather than in multiple noncontiguous pieces. Desktop The colored background behind the icons and menus on the Windows screen. Also can refer generically to the background and all icons on it. Device driver
(see Driver)
Digital camera A camera that saves images in electronic format and feeds them into your PC instead of putting the images on conventional film. Digitize To scan an image or record it with a digital camera so that it becomes a computer file. DIMM Stands for dual inline memory module, a type of RAM in a PC. The other common RAM type is SIMM (single inline memory module). Directory An older, MS-DOS name for folder. DirectPC A satellite dish system for receiving Internet access. DirectX A standard for multimedia hardware interaction with programs
that makes it possible for program designers to develop advanced multimedia software that works well with any sound cards, drives, and so on. Disk compression A compression method that compresses an entire disk. The DriveSpace program in Windows is a disk compression program. Compare to a file compression program. Document A data file containing primarily text, such as a word processing document. Also can refer generically to any data file. DOS Stands for Disk Operating System. For many years, the definitive operating system for PCs. The most popular brand was MS-DOS. Newer systems that use Windows 95/98/Millennium do not rely on a DOS user interface. Double-click To press and release the left mouse button twice quickly in succession. Download To transfer a file from an Internet location to your own PC. Drag To click and hold down the left mouse button while moving the mouse. Dragging moves whatever was pointed at. Drag and drop An editing technique whereby you can drag text, an icon, or some other object to move it. Driver A file containing instructions that helps Windows interact with a particular hardware device.
535
GLOSSARY DriverSpace
DriveSpace A program that compresses your hard disk so you can store more files on it. DSL Stands for Digital Subscriber Line, a kind of high-speed Internet connection available through regular phone lines. There are two common kinds of DSL: ADSL (asynchronous) and SDSL (synchronous). DVD drive Stands for Digital Versatile Disc (or Digital Video Disc). A type of super CD-ROM drive that can read DVD discs holding as much as 8.5 gigabytes on each side. DVD drives also can function as regular CD-ROM drives. Email Short for electronic mail. A message sent or received over the Internet. Ethernet A popular system for networking PCs. The terms Ethernet and network are sometimes used interchangeably, but Ethernet is actually just one type of network. Explorer Can refer to Windows Explorer’s file management tool, or Internet Explorer’s Web browser. Extension
(see File extension)
FAT Stands for File Allocation Table. A system chart stored on your hard disk that keeps track of which files are using which physical spots on the disk. FAT16 is the older, 16-bit file system; FAT32 is the newer system. FAT32 offers many advantages;
536
you can convert your drives to it with the FAT32 Converter in Windows. File compression A method of compressing an individual file so that it takes up less space on your disk. Programs such as PKZip are file compression programs. File extension The code following the period in a file’s name that indicates what type of file it is. File system The method of file handling on a drive. (see FAT) Popular file systems are FAT16 and FAT32. Windows NT and Windows 2000 can use yet a different file system, NTFS. Folder An organizing unit into which files can be placed on a disk. Fonts Typefaces that you can use onscreen and in printed documents. Fragment A part of a file that is stored noncontiguously with the rest of the file. File fragmentation slows down system performance. (see Defragment) Freeware Software that might be freely distributed without charge but that might not be modified without the owner’s consent. Compare to shareware and public domain. FTP Stands for File Transfer Protocol, a method of transferring files between computers on the Internet.
GLOSSARY Mbps
FTP address The address needed to access a particular computer on the Internet via FTP. FTP addresses generally begin with ftp://. Gigabyte Approximately one billion bytes. Abbreviated as GB or G. Graphical User Interface (GUI) A computer interface that relies on graphics rather than text. Windows is a GUI; MS-DOS is not. HTML Stands for Hypertext Markup Language, the programming language in which Web pages are written. Hub A network device into which cables from several NICs connect. The hub helps route the signals from the various PCs to the appropriate destinations. Hyperlink An active link to another Web page or address, typically underlined. Click a hyperlink to jump to the specified document, page, or other destination. Incremental backup A backup that backs up only the files that have changed since the previous backup. Internet A vast interconnected network of computer networks all over the world. Internet Explorer The Web browser program that comes with Windows. Interrupt request
(see IRQ)
IRQ A path from the processor to a device on the motherboard. Each system has 16 IRQs (0 through 15), and each device should be assigned its own IRQ. ISDN A type of high-speed Internet access that uses a special digital telephone line and an ISDN terminal adapter to achieve Internet speeds of around 128Kbps. DSL and cable modems have recently overtaken ISDN in popularity. Kbps Stands for kilobits per second, a measurement of data throughput. Note that this is kilobits, not kilobytes. A kilobit is a thousand bits. Kilobyte 1,024 bytes of data or storage space. Abbreviated KB or K. LAN Stands for Local Area Network, a network confined to a small area such as a single building. Lost cluster An error in which an address contains data, but the FAT does not know to which file the data belongs. Macro A recorded set of keystrokes or mouse actions that you can play back later to save yourself time performing repetitive tasks. Maximize To expand a window to fill the entire screen. Mbps Stands for megabits per second, a measurement of data throughput. See also Bps and Kbps.
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GLOSSARY Megabyte
Megabyte Approximately one million bytes of data or storage space. Abbreviated MB or M. Message header The area of an email message containing the sender, the receiver, the subject, date, and time, and other details. MIDI Musical Instrument Digital Interface. A format that allows communication of musical data between devices, such as computers and synthesizers. Minimize To shrink a window so that it does not appear onscreen except for a button for it on the taskbar. Modem MoDulator Demodulator. A device that allows computers to send and receive data through phone lines by converting it to audio and back. Multimedia An activity involving more than one medium, such as a game that includes both visuals and sounds. Also can refer to certain hardware components that make such activities possible (sound cards, CD-ROM drives, speakers, and so on). Multitasking To perform more than one task at once. My Computer A window containing icons for each drive on your system, along with several other special-purpose icons (such as for dial-up networking and printers).
538
Net
(see Internet)
Netscape Navigator A competitor Web browser to Internet Explorer. Network A group of computers connected, usually with cabling and network interface cards (NICs) or through the Internet. One popular type is a Local Area Network, or LAN. Network Neighborhood An icon on the Windows desktop that opens a window in which you can browse your LAN. Newsgroup A public area online where people can post and read messages on a particular subject using a newsreader program (such as Outlook Express). NIC Stands for Network Interface Card. A circuit card or PCMCIA card that plugs into a computer and makes it possible to connect to a network. Operating system (OS) The software that starts and runs your computer. Windows is an operating system. Paint A simple graphics program that comes free with Windows. Parallel port A port that sends several bits of data at once (that is, in parallel). Most printers run on a parallel port, as do some scanners. Compare to serial port.
GLOSSARY Registry
Partition To prepare a hard disk for formatting by assigning drive letters to one or more sections of it.
Program A set of instructions for a computer to execute. Sometimes called an application.
Path The full location of a folder, file, or other object. For example, C:\Windows\System is the path to many of the files that run Windows.
Public domain Software that is free to distribute and free to modify. The original owner has given up all rights to it. Compare to freeware.
PCMCIA card A credit card-sized hardware device that plugs into a laptop computer, providing additional functionality. PCMCIA stands for Personal Computer Memory Card International Association, the group that developed the standard by which it operates.
Quick Launch toolbar The group of icons to the right of the Start button that provides quick access to several popular Windows tools.
Plug and Play A method of identifying and configuring new hardware in Windows. If your motherboard and the new device are both Plugand-Play-compatible, Windows detects and configures them automatically when you add your upgrade components. Pointer scheme The set of default pointers for various tasks and situations. Pointer speed The distance that the pointer moves onscreen when you move the mouse a certain amount. Pointer trails A feature you can turn on in Windows in which the mouse pointer leaves “trails” wherever it moves so that you can see it moving more easily. This is great to help locate the cursor for someone with a visual impairment.
RAM Random Access Memory. The main memory that holds the programs and data currently being used. Raster graphic
(see Bitmap)
RDRAM A new, rather expensive type of high-performance RAM found in the newest and most powerful PCs. This also is called Rambus RAM. Recycle Bin An icon on the desktop that opens a window of files you have deleted. You can undelete to restore deleted files to their original locations. Refresh rate The speed at which the display on your monitor is repainted or “refreshed.” Higher refresh rates mean less flicker. Registry A file containing all the settings, preferences, installed program information, and other data about your copy of Windows.
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GLOSSARY Repeat delay
Repeat delay The delay between when you hold down a key and when character repeat starts. Repeat rate The speed at which character repeat occurs. Resolution The number of pixels that make up a display. Common resolutions are 640×480 (which is standard VGA) and 800×600. Resource conflict A situation in which two or more devices on a system are trying to use the same base address or IRQ. Resources
(see System resources)
Restore To change a maximized window so that it is no longer maximized. Also, to undelete files from the Recycle Bin. Also, to copy files from a backup back to the original locations from which they were backed up. Right-click To press and release the right mouse button once. Right-click menu menu)
(see Shortcut
RIMM A memory module composed of RDRAM RAM chips. RIMM stands for Rambus Inline Memory Module. ROM Stands for Read-Only Memory. A small amount of nonvolatile memory (that is, it doesn’t blank out when you shut off the PC) that stores important startup information for your PC.
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Root directory The top-level directory on a drive. Safe mode A Windows operation mode in which generic drivers are loaded to enable the PC to start when it otherwise would not because of a system problem. Safe mode is for troubleshooting; you would not want to do normal work in Safe mode. ScanDisk A utility program that checks a disk for errors. Scanner A device for digitizing pictures so that you can use them in your computer. Some scanners also come with optical character recognition (OCR) software, which allows you to scan text and then translate the picture of the text into real text in a word processor. SDRAM A type of RAM used in many newer PCs. SDRAM is typically a DIMM, as opposed to a SIMM. SDSL
(see DSL)
Serial port A port that sends data one bit at a time (that is, serially). You can plug external modems, mice, and many other types of devices into a serial port. Compare to parallel port. Shareware Software that is freely distributed in trial form; users are honor-bound to pay for it if they like it and continue to use it. Compare to freeware.
GLOSSARY Theme
Shortcut An icon or menu item that points to a file. The shortcut is not the original, so deleting the shortcut does nothing to the original. Shortcut keys Key combinations you can press instead of issuing certain commands or selecting certain icons. For example, Ctrl+C is a shortcut for opening the Edit menu and choosing Copy in most programs. Shortcut menu A menu that appears when you right-click an object. SIMM Stands for Single Inline Memory Module. A type of RAM in PCs. SIMMs are increasingly being replaced by DIMMs (Dual Inline Memory Modules) as the dominant memory technology. Source code The programming script behind a macro, a program, or a Web page. Start menu The menu that appears when you click the Start button. Status bar The bar at the bottom of a window that reports messages, amounts, or other data. Subscribe To add a newsgroup to the list of newsgroups you want to monitor. Or, for an email newsletter or discussion group, to sign up to receive it. Swap file A portion of the hard disk set aside to be used as a temporary holding tank for information
that won’t fit in the computer’s memory as it operates. System event Any activity that Windows controls, such as opening a window, closing a window, exiting Windows, and so on. System resources Generically, this means the memory available for running the operating system and your programs. In Windows, it also includes virtual memory created with a swap file. System Restore A feature of Windows Millennium that lets you return your system to an earlier configuration. System tray The area in the bottom-right corner of the Windows screen in which icons for programs running in the background appear. Taskbar The bar at the bottom of the screen, showing buttons for each open window or running program. Temporary file A file that Windows or some other program creates to hold data as it calculates; it deletes the file automatically when it is finished with it (or at least, it’s supposed to; sometimes unwanted temporary files can be left behind). Theme A collection of settings you can apply as a whole. There are mouse themes, sound themes, desktop themes, and themes in applications such as FrontPage.
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GLOSSARY Tile
Tile To arrange windows so that each window fits onscreen and none overlap. Compare to cascade. Toggle
To turn a feature on or off.
Web
(see World Wide Web)
Trojan horse A type of computer virus that masquerades as a useful program but that does damage to your system.
Web address The address by which you access a Web page. Most Web addresses begin with http://. Also called URL.
Upload To transfer a file from your own PC to another computer through the Internet or a communication program.
Web browser A program designed to view Web pages.
URL Stands for Uniform Resource Locator. Synonymous with Web address. Vector graphic A graphic created with mathematical formulas rather than with individual dots. Compare to bitmap. Video driver A file that tells your operating system (Windows) how to work with your video card. Virtual memory A portion of the hard disk set aside to emulate memory, to compensate for a PC’s need for more memory than it actually contains. Virus A destructive piece of programming that attaches itself to useful files and spreads from computer to computer, infecting more files and often causing damage. Wallpaper A graphical image placed on the desktop for decoration.
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WAN Stands for Wide Area Network. Like a LAN, but spread out over a wider geographic area.
Web page A file created in the HTML programming language that can be made available on a Web server and viewed with a Web browser. Web server A computer connected to the Internet full-time, which “serves up” Web pages to other computers on the Internet that request access to them. Web site A collection of Web pages tied together with hyperlinks and organized around a common subject (usually all created by the same company or individual). Windows Explorer A program in Windows that helps you view and manage files. WinZip A third-party program for managing compressed (zipped) file archives. Wizard A series of dialog boxes that help you accomplish an otherwise tricky task by asking you a series of questions.
GLOSSARY Zip file
Word A powerful word processing program that you can purchase separately from Windows. It also can be purchased as part of the Microsoft Office suite. Wordpad A simple word processing program that comes free with Windows. World Wide Web An interconnected network of Web pages available on the Internet. Zip file A compressed archive of files in the Zip format. Many programs you download from the Internet come this way. You must unzip them by using a utility such as WinZip.
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INDEX
Symbols 3D video cards, 530 8-bit color, 179 16-bit color, 179 24-bit color, 179 24-Hour Support.com Web site, 520
A Absolute WinInfo Web site, 521 accessibility display options, 527 general options automatic reset, 528 notification, 528 SerialKey devices, 528 Internet Explorer, 345 keyboard options, 526 mouse options, 527-528 sound options, 527 tools Accessibility Wizard, 524 Magnifier, 524-525 Accessibility Wizard launching, 524-525 option settings, 524-525 accessing network files (My Network Places), 263-265 accessories Calculator, launching, 69 HyperTerminal, BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems), 72 Imaging annotation function, 70 scanning function, 70
Paint canvas appearance, 66 launching, 65 rectangles, 66-67 tools, 67-69 Sound Recorder, sound files format, 80 recording, 79-81 Windows Media Player audio CDs, controls, 75 audio CDs, copying to hard disk, 76 audio CDs, no sound troubleshooting, 76 audio CDs, playing, 74-76 MP3 files, playing, 77 sound clips, organizing, 78-79 Windows Movie Maker launching, 81 movies, clip collections, 82-84 movies, creating, 82 movies, editing, 85-86 Storyboard view, 85-86 Timeline view, 85-86 video clips, importing, 85 video clips, recording, 84-85 WordPad Formatting toolbar, 64-65 launching, 64 active controls customizing, 361-362 enabling, 356 hiding, 359 Microsoft Investor Ticker, 356 selecting on desktop, 360 update intervals, 362-363
Active Desktop controls activating, 356 adding, 357-358 Gallery page, controls, adding, 358-359 global folder options, 132-133 home pages, placing, 359 push technology, enabling, 356 adapters, 216 video drivers, 170-171 Add a Contact dialog box (MSN Messenger), 407 Add Favorite dialog box (Internet Explorer), 330 Add Fonts dialog box, 239-240 Add Network Place Wizard, shortcuts, creating, 267 Add New Hardware Wizard devices, manual configuration, 220-221 launching, 219 Add Printer Wizard local printers, adding, 222-223 network printers, adding, 223-224 printer installations, 221-224 Add User dialog box, 252 Add/Remove Programs (Control Panel), 157-158, 166
545
INDEX adding adding active controls to desktop, 357-359 addresses to Address Book (Outlook Express), 384-386 components, 156-158 contacts (MSN Messenger), 406-408 Favorites list (Internet Explorer), 330-331 local printers (Add Printer Wizard), 222-223 maintenance tasks (Task Scheduler), 461-462 MP3 files (Windows Media Player), 78-79 network printers (Add Printer Wizard), 223-224 protocols on home networks, 275 Quick Launch toolbar buttons, 148 shortcuts to Start menu, 143-144 TCP/IP, 320-321 user profiles for multiuser operations, 252-253 Address Book addresses, adding, 384-386 Outlook Express, 382-386 printing, 386 Address toolbar, 127, 148 addresses adding (Outlook Express), 384-386 deleting (Outlook Express), 387 modifying (Outlook Express), 387 primary recipients (To:), 386-387 secondary recipients (Cc:), 386-387 secret recipients (Bcc:), 386-387
546
selecting (Outlook Express), 386-387 Web servers, Web page uploads, 433 Adobe GoLive!, 427 Adobe PageMill, 427 Adobe Photoshop, 67 ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line), ICS connections, 282 Alarm Actions dialog box, 291 alarms (laptops) Critical Battery, 291-293 Low Battery, 291-293 messages, 292 Power Off, 291 sounds, 292 Standby, 291 Albert’s Ambry Web site, 517 Alt+Tab keystroke, window switching, 59-60 AltaVista Web site, 339 America Online, email, 369 annotating images (Imaging), 70-71 Annoyances.org Web site, 520 antivirus programs Internet downloads, 470-471 McAfee VirusScan, 469 Norton AntiVirus, 469 applications launching (Start button), 12-13 sharing (NetMeeting), 416-419 archive file attribute, 107 Arrange Icons command (View menu), 126 arranging files, sort methods, 126
assigning screensaver passwords, 189 system sounds to events, 210-212 Assisted Support link, online help, 39 associations, files, changing, 108-109 asterisks (*), file search wildcards, 109 attachments, email (Outlook Express), 374-376, 389-390 attributes (files) archive, 107 changing, 108-109 hidden, 107 read-only, 106 setting, 106-107 audio. See also MP3 Internet Explorer, 351-352 input devices, settings, 207-208 output devices, settings, 207-208 volume control, 209-210 audio CDs (Windows Media Player) controls, 75 hard disk, copying to, 76 no sound, troubleshooting, 76 playing, 74-76 playlists, 76 audio clips recording (Sound Recorder), 79-81 recording (Windows Movie Maker), 84-85 audio feeds (NetMeeting), 416 auto hiding taskbar, 198 Auto Startup, new programs installations, 159 automatic Internet connections (Internet Explorer), 315-316
INDEX children, site content ratings (Internet Explorer)
B Back button (Internet Explorer), 327 background colors (Paint), 66 background printing, Web pages (Internet Explorer), 351-352 backgrounds, folder customization, 122-125 backups compressed states, restoring, 467 media types, 466 Jaz drive, 467 Zip drives, 467 Microsoft Backup, 466 system configuration (System Restore), 471-473 banner ads, Web pages, suppressing, 327 batteries (laptops) alarms, 291-293 cost, 288 power-management features, 288-289 weight, 288 BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems), 72 HyperTerminal connection configuration, 72-74 reopening saved connections, 74 Bcc: (blind carbon copy), Outlook Express, 384 Bigfoot Web site, people directories, 342-343 BIOS (Basic Input/Output System) CMOS chip, 217 devices, configuring, 217 Plug and Play, 217
program settings, exiting, 217 ROM chip, 217 shadowing, disabling, 511 bitmap graphics, 66 blank screen, troubleshooting, 485-486 blind carbon copy (Bcc:), 384 blocking contacts (MSN Messenger), 411 senders (Outlook Express), 380-381 blue screen errors, common installation problems, 512 Bob Cerelli’s Windows Page, 521 boot disks, creating, 115 bootable CDs burning, 483 creating, 482-483 booting PCs startup disk, 480-482 Windows Millennium Edition CD, 116 Broadcast.com Web site, push technology, 355 browsing networks (My Network Places), 263-265 Building the Ultimate Game PC, 532 burning CDs, bootable CDs, 483 Busy (Hourglass) mouse pointer, 10 buttons (mouse) double-click speeds, 205 left versus right settings, 204 wheel, 10
C cable modems ICS configuration, 282 speed, 306 Calculator (Windows Accessories), 69 Cancel Printing command (Document menu), 243 canvas (Paint), 66 cascading windows, 19-21 CD-R drive, bootable CDs, creating, 482-483 CD-ROMs access patterns, 456 bootable, 483 drivers loading, 511 Setup.txt file, 511 new program installations, 159-160 CD-RW drive, bootable CDs, creating, 482-483 certificates, security (Internet Explorer), 345-346 Change Windows Password dialog box, 258 ChannelSEEK Web site, push technology, 355 chatting contacts (MSN Messenger), 409-410 participants (NetMeeting), 419-420 check box states, component categories, 156-158 checking disk errors (ScanDisk), 443-445 checkpoints (System Restore), 471-473 children, site content ratings (Internet Explorer), 348-350
547
INDEX cleaning mouse rollers cleaning mouse rollers, 205 Clicked.com Top 20 Shareware Gallery Web site, 517 Client For Microsoft Networks, 270, 273 Client for NetWare Networks, 270 clip collections (Windows Movie Maker), 82-84 Clipboard files copying, 99-100 cut-and-paste method, 97 moving, 99-100 multiple selections, 54 clock, CMOS battery, changing, 213 Close button, 15 program exits, 60-61 Close command (File menu), 23 closing windows, 22-23 CMOS chip (Complementary MetalOxide Semiconductor) BIOS location, 217 system clock, changing, 213 color depth monitors 8-bit (256 color), 179 16-bit (high color), 179 24-bit (True Color), 179 changing, 180-181 video card memory, calculating, 179-180 color schemes, desktop customizing, 184-185 selecting, 183-184 colors display accessibility options, 527 Internet Explorer, 345
548
command line, programs, launching (Run command), 49-50 commands Document menu Cancel Printing, 243 Pause Printing, 243 Edit menu Copy, 53, 100 Cut, 53, 100 Paste, 54, 100 Undo Delete, 102 File menu Close, 23 Delete, 101 Empty Recycle Bin, 103 Exit, 60-61 Install New Font, 239-240 New, 51 Open, 56 Print, 58 Properties, 108 Rename, 106 Restore, 102 Save, 55 Save Search, 111 grayed out (unavailable), 100 New menu, Folder, 112 Printer menu Pause Printing, 243 Purge Print Documents, 243 Start menu Help, 30 Run, 50 Uninstall, 165-167 Tools menu, Folder Options, 129 View menu Arrange Icons, 126 Customize This Folder, 123 Completely Free Software.com Web site, 517
components adding, 156-158 categories, check box states, 156-158 home networks, manual installation, 273-275 removing, 156-158 composing email (Outlook Express), 383-384 compressing files (WinZip utility), 160 backups, restoring, 467 hard disk (DriveSpace), 450 computer viruses. See viruses computers. See PCs configuring device drivers, 218 devices BIOS setup, 217 manually (Add New Hardware Wizard), 220-221 digital cameras, 225-226 existing accounts (Internet Connection Wizard), 312 home networks, 269-270 Home Networking Wizard, 270-273 ICS, 285 manual installations, 273-275 HyperTerminal connections, 72-74 manual connections (Internet Connection Wizard), 313-314 My Computer, multiple windows, 99 NetMeeting, 413-414 new accounts Internet Connection Wizard, 311 Outlook Express, 394-395 PCs, direct cable connections, 278-279
INDEX Crtl+V keystroke (Paste) scanners, 224 screensaver properties, 189-190 telephony settings, 316-319 connecting Internet Dial-Up Networking (manual connection), 314-315 Internet Explorer (automatic setting), 315-316 modem troubleshooting, 319-321 contacts (MSN Messenger) adding, 406-408 blocking, 411 by email address, 407 by Microsoft Passport, 407 chatting, 409-410 deleting, 411 search options, 408 content ratings, Web sites (Internet Explorer), 348-350 contiguous files, selecting, 96 Control Panel Accessibility Options, 526-528 Add/Remove Programs, 157-158, 166 Date/Time icon, 212-213 Device Manager tab, 301-302 fonts display methods, 236-238 print samples, 238 viewing, 234-235 Hardware Profiles tab, 301 Keyboard icon, 202-203 PC Card icon, 295 Power Options, 290 Regional Settings icon, 213 Sounds and Multimedia icon, 208
Control-menu button (window), 15 controlling online status (MSN Messenger), 408-409 participants (NetMeeting), 415 shared programs (NetMeeting,) 418-419 sound volume, 209-210 cookies, security (Internet Explorer), 348 Copy command (Edit menu), 53, 100 Copy keystroke (Crtl+C), 54 Copy To button (Toolbar), 100-101 copying audio CDs to hard disk (Windows Media Player), 76 files Clipboard, 99-100 Copy To button (Toolbar), 100-101 drag-and-drop method, 97-99 for synchronization (My Briefcase), 295-297 folders, view settings, 128-129 text (WordPad), 53-54 copyright law, MP3 controversy, 354 countries, regional settings, adjusting, 213 Create Folder dialog box (Outlook Express), 377 Create Shortcut dialog box, 143 creating boot disks, 115 bootable CDs, 482-483
clip collections (Windows Movie Maker), 82-84 desktop shortcuts, 144 for drives, 145 for files, 145 email handling rules (Outlook Express), 378-380 files, 51 folders, 112 hardware profiles for laptops, 301 mail folders (Outlook Express), 377-378 movies (Windows Movie Maker), 82 network shortcuts (My Network Places), 267-268 patterns for desktop, 187 shortcuts on desktop, 144 for drives, 145 for files, 145 startup disks, 115, 510 toolbars, 149-150 transition effects (Windows Movie Maker), 86-87 user profiles, multiuser operations, 250-252 Web pages FrontPage 2000, 427-428 Microsoft Word 2000, 427-432 program evolution, 426-427 Publisher 2000, 427 Critical Battery alarm (laptops), 291-293 Crtl+A keystroke (Select All), 53 Crtl+Alt+Del keystroke (Restart), 476 Crtl+C keystroke (Copy), 54, 100 Crtl+V keystroke (Paste), 54, 100
549
INDEX Crtl+X keystroke (Cut) Crtl+X keystroke (Cut), 54, 100 Customize Search Settings dialog box (Internet Explorer), 341 Customize This Folder Wizard, 122-126 customizing active controls (desktop), 361-362 color schemes (desktop), 184-185 folders, 122 background pictures, 122-125 comment additions, 122 HTML templates, 122-124 removal, 125-126 Internet Explorer window, 344 Microsoft Investor Ticker, 361-362 Quick Launch toolbar, 147-148 Cut command (Edit menu), 53, 100 Cut keystroke (Crtl+X), 54 cut-and-paste methods, 97 cutting text (WordPad), 53-54
D data backing up, 466 loss, reasons for, 466 programs opening, 56-57 printing, 58 saving, 54-56 data clusters defragmentation, 446 fragmentation, 445-446 lost, removing (ScanDisk), 445
550
date, setting, 212-213 Date/Time Properties dialog box, 212-213 Dave Central Shareware Archive Web site, 516 deactivating multiuser operations, 256-257 defragmenting hard disks Disk Defragmenter, 447-448 frequency of, 446 time requirements, 446 DejaNews Web site, 522 Delete command (File menu), 101 deleting addresses (Address Book), 387 contacts (MSN Messenger), 411 desktop shortcuts for drives, 146 desktop themes, 197 drivers (Device Manager), 230-231 email (Outlook Express), 377 files, 101-102 folders, 101-102 fonts, 240 Quick Launch toolbar buttons, 148 shortcuts on desktop, 146 users from multiuser operations, 254 delivery schedules, setting (Outlook Express), 391-392 DENtv Web site, push technology, 355 deselecting files, 95 desktop active controls adding, 357-359 customizing, 361-362 enabling, 356
hiding, 359 selecting, 360 update intervals, 362-363 color schemes customizing, 184-185 selecting, 183-184 icons, changing, 192-193 patterns, 185-186 creating, 187 selecting, 187 push technology, 355-356 screen appearance, 11 shortcuts creating for drives, 145 creating for files, 145 deleting, 146 properties, changing, 146-147 renaming, 146 repositioning, 144 taskbar auto hiding, 198 moving, 199 properties, 199 resizing, 197 themes applying, 195-197 deleting, 197 visual effects dragging, 195 font smoothing, 195 icon color, 195 icon size, 195 transitions, 195 wallpaper, 185-186 images, saving as, 187 selecting, 187 Desktop toolbar, displaying, 148 detecting viruses, 470-471 Device Manager devices locating, 492-493 resource conflicts, 494-495 drivers, removing, 230-231 modem properties, 307-309
INDEX disabled users devices adapters, 216 Add New Hardware Wizard launching, 219 manual configuration, 220-221 BIOS setup, 217 cards, 216 diagnostic tests, 495 digital cameras configuring, 225-226 image transfers, 226-228 drivers configuring, 218 detection process, 218 removing, 230-231 updating, 228-229 drives, 216 external, 216 failures, common installation problems, 513 home networks, sharing, 277-278 memory, 216 modems absence of dial tone, 497 faulty connections, 496 setup strings, 497 monitors, display troubleshooting, 496 network resources, 262 Plug and Play, detection failures, 219 resource conflicts, repairing (Device Manager), 494-495 scanners, configuring, 224 sound cards, troubleshooting, 497-498 troubleshooting (Device Manager), 492-495 troubleshooting (System Information utility), 490 Dial-Up Adapter, bindings, 321 Dial-Up Networking, manual Internet connections, 314-315
Dialing Properties dialog box, 317-319 dialog boxes Add a Contact (MSN Messenger), 407 Add Favorite (Internet Explorer), 330 Add Fonts, 239-240 Add User, 252 Alarm Actions, 291 Change Windows Password, 258 Create Folder (Outlook Express), 377 Create Shortcut, 143 Customize Search Settings (Internet Explorer), 341 Date/Time Properties, 212-213 Dialing Properties, 317-319 File Properties, 106 File System Properties, 455-456 Format, 113 Internet Options (Internet Explorer), 344-345 Keyboard Properties, 202-203 Map Network Drive, 265 Message Rules (Outlook Express), 380 Modem Properties, 230 Mouse Properties, 204-206 New Mail Rule (Outlook Express), 378 Open, 56 Organize Favorites (Internet Explorer), 331 Print, 58 network printer selection, 269 properties, 240-241 Print (Internet Explorer), 333 Recycle Bin Properties, 104 Run, 50 Save As, 55-56
Save Attachments (Outlook Express), 375-376 Save Movie (Windows Movie Maker), 88 Select People (Outlook Express), 378 Shut Down Windows, 27 Sounds and Multimedia Properties, 211 Taskbar Properties, 198 User Settings, 252 What’s This? button, 57 digital audio clips. See also MP3 adding (Windows Media Player), 78-79 organizing (Windows Media Player), 78-79 playing (Windows Media Player), 77 digital cameras configuring, 225-226 FotoExplorer, 226 images port transfers, 225 transferring, 226-228 DirecPC, satellite Internet connectivity, 306 direct cable connections host machines, 279 null modem cables, 279 PCs, configuring, 278-279 versus networks, 278 DirectX, 530 lockups, troubleshooting, 531 versions, 531 disabled users display accessibility options, 527 general accessibility options, 528 keyboard accessibility options, 526 mouse accessibility options, 527 sound accessibility options, 527
551
INDEX disabling disabling BIOS shadowing, 511 hardware profiles, devices, 301-302 personalized menus, 137 startup programs (System Configuration Utility), 491-492 disk buffers, 455 Disk Cleanup Cleanup option, 449 Convert option, 449 launching, 448-449 running frequency, 448-449 uninstallations, 167 Disk Defragmenter, launching, 447-448 disk drives, defragmenting (Disk Defragmenter), 447-448 disk errors checking (ScanDisk), 443-445 FAT, reasons for, 442-443 fragmentation, 445-446 repairing (ScanDisk), 444 tools Disk Cleanup, 448-449 Disk Defragmenter, 447-448 ScanDisk, 443-445 diskettes. See floppy disks display refresh rates (monitors), 181-183 displaying drives My Computer, 93-94 Windows Explorer, 94 files details style, 120-121 extensions, 129-130 hidden, 131 large icons, 120-121 list style, 121 small icons, 120-121 thumbnails, 120-121 Views button (Toolbar), 120
552
folders My Computer, 93-94 toolbars, 127 Windows Explorer, 94 fonts (Control Panel), 234-238 Internet Radio toolbar, 364 toolbars Address, 148 Desktop, 148 Links, 148 on taskbar, 148-149 Volume Control icon (System tray), 210 dithering (printers), 242 docking stations (laptops), 289 docking taskbars, locations, 199 Document menu commands Cancel Printing, 243 Pause Printing, 243 documents print queue jobs, deleting, 243 jobs, pausing, 243 Web format, saving (Microsoft Word 2000), 429-430 DOS-based programs filename limitations, 106 installing, 500-501 PIF files, 501 troubleshooting, 501-503 DOS-compatibility mode, performance optimization, 451-452 double-click speeds (mouse), 205 down-pointing double arrow (personalized menus), 45 Download.com Web site, 161, 516-517
downloading MP3 files Napster Web site, 78 possible copyright infringement, 354 NetMeeting, latest versions, 412 newsgroup messages, offline reading (Outlook Express), 401-402 programs from Web sites, 161 Windows Millennium updates (Windows Update), 456-459 WinZip utility, 162 downloads freeware versus shareware, 160 installing, 161-162 new program installations .exe file extension, 160 .zip file extension, 160 saving, folder location, 161 sources Download.com Web site, 161 Shareware.com Web site, 161 drag-and-drop file methods copying, 97-99 moving, 97-99 dragging effect (icons), 195 drawing rectangles (Paint), 66-67 drawing controls, Whiteboard (NetMeeting), 420-421 Dreamweaver, 427 driver disk prompt, common installation problems, 512 drivers devices configuring, 218 detection process, 218 removing, 230-231 updating, 228-229 removing (Device Manager), 230-231
INDEX FAT32 file system drives CD-ROMs, bootable, 483 displaying (My Computer), 93-94 displaying (Windows Explorer), 94 networks, mapping (My Network Places), 265-266 shortcuts, creating, 145 DriveSpace, hard disk compression utility, 450 drop-down menus, 23 DSL (Digital Subscriber Line), 306
E Edit menu commands Copy, 53, 100 Cut, 53, 100 Paste, 54, 100 Undo Delete, 102 editing initilization files (Sysedit), 452-453 movies (Windows Movie Maker), 85-86 startup files (System Configuration Editor), 454-455 text (WordPad), 52 email applications, selection criteria, 368-369 Bcc: (blind carbon copy), 384 Eudora, 368 Hotmail, account signup, 404-405 Netscape Mail, 368 Outlook Express Address Book, 384-386 attachments, 374-376, 389-390 blocking senders, 380-381
composing, 383-384 Deleted Items, 371 deleting, 377 delivery schedule, 391-392 Drafts, 371 folders, creating, 377-378 formatting, 387-389 forwarding, 390-391 handling rules, 378-380 Inbox, 370 launching, 369-370 message headers, 373 messages, printing, 374 multiple accounts, 372 Outbox, 370 reading, 373 receiving, 372 replying, 382 screen appearance, 368-371 Sent Items, 370 sound schemes, 391 stationery designs, 389 text formatting, 373 toolbar, 371 unread indication, 372 Pegasus, 368 virus transmission, 467-468 emergency disk, launching, 510 Empty Recycle Bin command (File menu), 103 emptying Recycle Bin, 103 enabling file sharing on home networks, 276-278 ICS, 286 personalized menus, 137 printer sharing on home networks, 276-278 push technology, 356 user profiles in multiuser operations, 250-252 energy-saving settings (monitors), 190-191
error messages, common installation problems, 512 Ethernet, NIC standards, 270 etiquette, newsgroup messages (Outlook Express), 402 Eudora (email), 368 events, system sounds, assigning, 210-212 Excite Web site, 339 existing devices, driver updates, 228-229 Exit command (File menu), 60-61 exiting BIOS program, 217 programs methods, 60-61 not responding message, 499 system resources, 60 System tray, 61-62 extensions (files) common types, 130 displaying, 129-130 hiding, 129 external devices, 216 extracting setup files (WinZip utility), 163-164
F FAT (File Allocation Table), 442 defragmentation, 446 disk errors, reasons for, 442-443 fragmentation, 445-446 FAT16 file system, 443 FAT32 file system, 443
553
INDEX Favorites list (Internet Explorer) Favorites list (Internet Explorer), 328-332 offline browsing, 336-339 Web pages adding, 330-331 folder organization, 332 managing, 329 removing, 330-331 viewing, 328-329 FDISK command, hard disks, partitioning, 484-485 File Allocation Table. See FAT file extensions associations, changing, 108-109 common types, 130 displaying, 129-130 hiding, 129 file formats, Web pages, saving, 334-335 File menu commands Close, 23 Delete, 101 Empty Recycle Bin, 103 Exit, 60-61 Install New Font, 239-240 New, 51 Open, 56 Print, 58 Properties, 108 Rename, 106 Restore, 102 Save, 55 Save Search, 111 File Mine Web site, 517 File Properties dialog box, 106 file sharing, access levels, 277-278 File System Properties dialog box, 455-456
554
File Transfer Protocol. See FTP FileDudes Web site, 517 files accessing (Windows Explorer), 91 associations, changing, 108-109 attributes archive, 107 changing, 108-109 hidden, 107 read-only, 106 setting, 106-107 backing up, 466 compressing (WinZip), 160 copying Clipboard, 99-100 Copy To button (Toolbar), 100-101 drag-and-drop method, 97-99 creating, 51 deleting, 101-102 deselecting, 95 display methods details style, 120-121 large icons, 120-121 list style, 121 small icons, 120-121 thumbnails, 120-121 Views button (Toolbar), 120 hidden, displaying, 131 icons, changing, 193-194 laptops copying to My Briefcase, 295-297 synchronizing from disk (My Briefcase), 298-299 synchronizing from network (My Briefcase), 299-300 lists, sorting, 126 management overview, 90-93
moving Clipboard, 99-100 cut-and-paste method, 97 drag-and-drop method, 97-99 Move To button (Toolbar), 100-101 My Computer, 90 My Documents, 91-92 My Pictures, 93 naming rules, 56 NetMeeting, transferring, 421-422 opening, 56-57 printing, 58 Recycle Bin emptying, 103 restoring, 102 retrieving from, 102 renaming, 105-106 cautionary advice, 105 DOS limitations, 106 saving, 54-56 searching, 109-111 selecting, 95-96 contiguous groups, 96 noncontiguous groups, 96 sharing (home networks), 276-278 shortcuts, creating, 145 virus infections, 468 FilterKeys, keyboard accessibility, 526 FixWindows.com Web site, 512, 519 Flash, 354 floppy disks capacities, 115 formatting, 113-115 full, 114 no label, 115 quick (erase), 114 new program installations, 159-160 nonbootable, troubleshooting, 487
INDEX games Folder command (New menu), 112 Folder Options command (Tools menu), 129 folders attributes changing, 108-109 setting, 106-107 copying Clipboard, 99-100 Copy To button (Toolbar), 100-101 drag-and-drop method, 97-99 creating, 112 customization, 122 background pictures, 122-125 comment additions, 122 HTML templates, 122-124 removing, 125-126 deleting, 101-102 display methods details style, 120-121 large icons, 120-121 list style, 121 small icons, 120-121 thumbnails, 120-121 Views button (Toolbar), 120 displaying (My Computer), 93-94 displaying (Windows Explorer), 94 downloaded programs, saving, 161 email (Outlook Express), 377-378 Favorites list, organizing (Internet Explorer), 332 global options, 128-129, 132-133 management overview, 90-93
moving Clipboard, 99-100 cut-and-paste method, 97 drag-and-drop method, 97-99 Move To button (Toolbar), 100-101 My Computer, 90 My Documents, 91-92 My Pictures, 93 renaming, 105-106 cautionary advice, 105 DOS limitations, 106 searching, 109-111 selecting, 96 shortcuts, creating, 99 toolbars Address, 127 creating, 150 displaying, 127 hiding, 127 Links, 127 Radio, 127 Standard, 127 Status Bar, 127 view settings, copying, 128-129 fonts, 234 Control Panel display methods, 236-238 print samples, 238 desktop color schemes, changing, 184-185 display accessibility option, 527 freeware, 240 icons, smoothing effects, 195 installed, viewing, 234-235 installing, 238-240 Internet Explorer, 345 PostScript, 235-236 removing, 240 self-installing utilities, 238 shareware, 240 TrueType, 235-236 versus typefaces, 234 Web pages, usage criteria, 236
foreground colors (Paint), 66 Format dialog box, 113 formatting email (Outlook Express), 387-389 floppy disks, 113-115 full, 114 no label, 115 quick (erase), 114 hard disks, 114-115 text on Web pages, 424-426 formatting toolbar (WordPad), 64-65 Forward button (Internet Explorer), 327 forwarding email (Outlook Express), 390-391 FotoExplorer, digital camera image viewer, 226 fragmentation (disks), 445-446 freeware fonts, 240 versus shareware, 160 FrontPage 2000 Themes, 427 Web folders, page uploads, 433-435 Web pages, creating, 427-428 frozen programs, exiting, 499 FTP (File Transfer Protocol), 433 locations, page uploads, 435
G games Building the Ultimate Game PC, 532 color depth, 532 DirectX, 530-531 installation size, 532 joysticks, 530
555
INDEX games sound cards, 530 troubleshooting scenarios hardware acceleration, 531-532 performance problems, 532 video cards, 530 video resolution, 532 Garbo Anonymous FTP Archive Web site, 518 global folder options, 132-133 graphical hyperlinks, 326-327 graphics bitmap, 66 vector, 66 Web pages, saving (Internet Explorer), 336 grayed-out commands (unavailable), 100
H handling rules (Outlook Express), 378-380 hard disk compression (DriveSpace), 450 data loss, reasons for, 466 defragmenting (Disk Defragmenter), 447-448 file removal (Disk Cleanup), 448-449 formatting, 114-115 fragmentation, 445-446 nonbootable, troubleshooting, 487 partitioning (FDISK command), 484-485 repartitioning, 484 viruses, 471 hardware acceleration settings, 531-532
556
diagnostic tests, 495 gaming DirectX, 530-531 joysticks, 530 sound cards, 530 video cards, 530 profiles devices, disabling, 301-302 laptops, 300-301 Hardware Central Web site, 521 Help commands (Start menu), 30 Help Select mouse pointer, 10 Help system articles, 37-38 Assisted Support link, 39 hyperlinks, 37 launching, 30 terms, searching, 36-37 topics browsing, 33-34 index, 35-36 search methods, 30 Tours & Tutorials, launching, 31-33 underlined words, 37 window size, 30 helper programs (Internet Explorer), 350 hidden files attribute, 107 displaying, 131 hiding active controls on desktop, 359 file extensions, 129 folder toolbars, 127 newsgroup messages as already-read (Outlook Express), 401 Home button (Internet Explorer), 327
Home Networking Wizard file sharing, configuring, 277-278 home network settings, 270-273 printer sharing, 277-278 home networks components, manual installation, 273-275 configuring (Home Networking Wizard), 270-273 file sharing, 276-278 ICS, computer configuration, 285 passwords, share options, 277-278 printer sharing, 276-278 protocols, adding, 275 home pages Active Desktop, placing, 359 Internet Explorer, 326, 344 horizontal tiling (windows), 19-21 HotBot Web site, 339 Hotmail accounts, signing up, 404-405 integration with Internet Explorer, 411 Microsoft Passport, 404 HTML templates, folder customization, 122-123 classic, 124 image preview, 124 simple, 124 standard, 124 hyperlinks banner ad windows, suppressing, 327 Favorites list adding (Internet Explorer), 330-331 folder organization (Internet Explorer), 332 removing (Internet Explorer), 330-331
INDEX Internet graphical, 326-327 Help system, 37-38 Mail-to, 327 text-based, 326-327 HyperTerminal BBSes (Bulletin Board Systems), 72 connections configuring, 72-74 saved, 74 launching, 72
I I-beam, text insertion point, 51-52 icons color effects, 195 desktop, changing, 192-193 file extensions .dll, 192 .exe, 192 .ico, 192 files, changing, 193-194 screen appearance, 11 size effects, 195 ICS (Internet Connection Sharing), 282 computers, configuring, 285 connection speed drawbacks, 282 controlling computer, 282 data transmission process, 282 enabling, 286 installing, 282-284 management options, 286 networking requirements, 282 removing, 285 identifying video cards, 175-176 images annotating (Imaging), 70-71 digital cameras port transfers, 225 transferring, 226-228
formats, 70 scanning (Imaging), 70 Imaging (Windows Acessories) annotation tools, 70-71 image formats, 70 launching, 70 scanning functions, 70 importing video clips (Windows Movie Maker), 85 index (Help system), 35-36 InfoSeek Web site, 339 Infospace Web site, people directories, 342-343 initialization files, performance optimization, 452-453 input devices (audio settings), 208 Install New Font command (File menu), 239-240 installed fonts, viewing, 234-235 installing Client for Microsoft Networks, 273 DOS-based programs, 500-501 downloaded programs, 161-162 fonts, 238-240 home networks, manual configuration, 273-275 ICS, 282-284 NetMeeting, 412 new drivers for existing devices, 228-229 new programs, 158 Auto Startup settings, 159 from CD-ROMs, 159-160 from floppy disks, 159-160 from Internet downloads, 160 from setup disk, 159 no setup utility, 164-165
printers (Add Printer Wizard), 221-224 Windows Millennium common problems, 511-513 on new PCs, 508-510 instant messaging (MSN Messenger) configuring, 405-406 contacts adding, 406-408 blocking, 411 chatting, 409-410 deleting, 411 Hotmail, account signup, 404-405 online status, 408-409 international settings, adjusting, 213 Internet automatic connections (Internet Explorer), 315-316 connectivity options cable modems, 306 DSL line, 306 ISDN line, 306 modems, 307 satellites, 306 downloads .exe file extension, 160 freeware versus shareware, 160 new program installations, 160 sources, 161 .zip file extension, 160 ISP accounts existing, 312 manual connections, 313-314 new, 311 manual connections (DialUp Networking), 314-315 modems, connection troubleshooting, 319-321 TCP/IP, adding, 320-321
557
INDEX Internet broadcasting Internet broadcasting. See push technology Internet Connection Sharing. See ICS Internet Connection Wizard (ICW) connection options, 310 existing accounts, 312 launching, 309-310 manual connections, 313-314 new accounts, 311 TCP/IP, disabled file and printer sharing, 311 Internet Explorer accessibility, 345 advanced options audio/video seetings, 351-352 underlined hyperlinks, 351-352 automatic connections, 315-316 buttons Back, 327 Forward, 327 Home, 327 Refresh, 327 Stop, 327 character sets, 344 colors, 345 external programs, 347 Favorites list adding, 330-331 folder organization, 332 links, removing, 330-331 managing, 329 offline browsing, 336-339 viewing, 328-329 fonts, 345 helper programs, 350 home pages, 326 placing on desktop, 359 specifying, 344 Hotmail, integration with, 411
558
languages, 345 MSN Messenger, integration with, 411 page history, 345 plug-ins, 348 Search pane, 340-341 security certificates, 345-346 cookies, 348 zones, 346-348 temporary Internet files, 345 text size, 344 Web pages addresses, 327-328 background printing options, 351-352 content ratings, 348-350 graphics, saving, 336 printing, 333 saving to hard disk, 334-335 window customization, 344 Internet Options dialog box (Internet Explorer), 344-345 Internet Radio radio stations, selecting, 364-366 streaming content, 355 toolbar, displaying, 364 invitations (NetMeeting), 414-415 IPX/SPX, 270 IRQs (interrupt requests), 494-495 ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network), 306 ISPs (Internet service providers) listings, 311-312 manual connections, 313-314
newsgroups adult matter, 395 child safety, 395 messages, etiquette, 402 messages, hiding as alreadyread, 401 messages, marking as read, 401 messages, offline reading, 401-402 messages, posting, 402-404 messages, reading, 398-399 messages, replying, 402 messages, retrieval, 397-398 messages, sorting, 399-400 subscribing, 395-397 unsubscribing, 397
J-K JASC Web site, Paint Shop Pro, downloading, 67 Jaz drive, backups, 467 joysticks, 530 Jumbo! Download Network Web site, 518 Keyboard Properties dialog box, 202-203 keyboards accessibility options FilterKeys, 526 ShowSounds, 527 SoundSentry, 527 StickyKeys, 526 ToggleKeys, 526 properties blink rates, 202-203 character repeats, 202-203 language selection, 203 setting, 202-203 versus mouse usage, 10 keywords, search engines, 340 Kflex modem standard, 307
INDEX memory cards
L languages Internet Explorer, 345 keyboard properties, 203 LANs (local area networks), 262 laptops batteries alarms, 291-293 cost, 288 power-management features, 288-289 weight, 288 energy-saving settings, 190 files copying to My Briefcase, 295-297 synchronizing from disk (My Briefcase), 298-299 synchronizing from network (My Briefcase), 299-300 hardware profiles creating, 301 function of, 300 PC cards insertion of, 294 managing, 294 stopping, 295 PCMCIA cards, 269 power meter, viewing, 292-293 power schemes always on, 289 docking station, 289 portable, 289 setting, 289-290 versus desktop computers, 288 wakeup options, 293 large icons, displaying, 120-121 launching Accessibility Wizard, 524-525 Add New Hardware Wizard, 219
applications (Start button), 12-13 Calculator, 69 Disk Cleanup, 448-449 Help system, 30 HyperTerminal, 72 Imaging, 70 Internet Connection Wizard (ICW), 309-310 NetMeeting, 413 Outlook Express, 369-370 Paint, 65 PCs from emergency disk, 510 programs from desktop icons, 46 from Documents menu, 48-49 from My Computer, 47-48 from Quick Launch toolbar, 46 from Run command, 49-50 from Start menu, 44-46 from Windows Explorer, 47-48 Registration Wizard, 41-42 setup program (Windows Millennium), 508-511 System Restore, 472 Tours & Tutorials (Help system), 31-33 Windows, 9 Windows Explorer, 93 Windows Movie Maker, 81 WordPad, 64 Library (Windows Media Player) sound clips, 78-79 Link Select (Hand) mouse pointer, 10 Links toolbar, 127 displaying, 148 loading CD-ROM drivers, 511 local area networks. See LANs
local printers adding (Add Printer Wizard), 222-223 networks, sharing, 244-245 locating devices (Device Manager), 492-493 logons multiuser operations, selecting, 259 passwords, 9 usernames, 9 Low Battery alarm (laptops), 291-293 Lycos Web site, 339
M Magnifier, 524-525 Mail-to hyperlinks, 327 maintenance (Task Scheduler) custom scheduling, 460-461 express scheduling, 460-461 task additions, 461-462 malfunctioning programs, 499 manual Internet connections (Dial-Up Networking), 314-315 Map Network Drive dialog box, 265 mapping network drives (My Network Places), 265-266 master boot record (MBR) viruses, 471 Maximize button (window), 15 maximizing windows, 16-17 McAfee VirusScan, 469-470 Media Channel Web site, push technology, 356 memory cards, 179-180, 216
559
INDEX menus menus drop-down, 23 personalized disabling, 137 down-pointing double arrow, 136 enabling, 137 shortcut, 25 Message Rules dialog box (Outlook Express), 380 microphone (Sound Recorder), 79-81 Microsoft Investor Ticker, 356 customizing, 361-362 Microsoft newsgroups, 396 Microsoft Passport, 404 Microsoft Personal Online Support Web site, 519 Microsoft Word 2000, 427 documents, saving in Web format, 429-430 Web folders, page uploads, 433-435 Web pages creating, 429-432 naming, 431 single page versus multipage sites, 430 text formatting, 432 themes, 432 Minimize button (window), 14 minimizing windows, 16-17 minus (-) sign, Windows Explorer, 94 missing files common installation problems, 511 troubleshooting, 477-478 Modem Properties dialog box, 230
560
modems 56K standards, 307 absence of dial tone, 497 connection problems, 319-321 diagnostics, 307-309 faulty connections, 496 ICS, speed drawbacks, 282 properties, 307-309 setup strings, 497 transmission process, 307 virtual, 307 modifying addresses (Address Book), 387 file attributes, 108-109 icon appearance, 192-194 monitor settings, 176-177 passwords, multiuser operations, 257-258 shortcut properties, 146-147 Start menu properties, 138-139 monitors color depth 8-bit (256 color), 179 16-bit (high color), 179 24-bit (True Color), 179 changing, 180-181 display, troubleshooting, 496 energy-saving settings, 190-191 Plug-and-Play, possible detection problems, 171 refresh rates, changing, 181-183 resolution changing, 180-181 performance optimization, 451 pixels, 177 selecting, 177-178 video card memory, 179-180
screensavers function of, 188 password protection, 188-190 settings, 189-190 waking up, 190 size controls, 177 video cards checking, 171 settings, 170-171 video drivers changing, 173-175 updating, 172-173 mouse accessibility options, 527 buttons, 10 left versus right settings, 204 double-click speeds, 205 operations, 9 pointers Busy (Hourglass), 10 Help Select, 10 Link Select (Hand), 10 Move (Four-Headed Arrow), 10 Precision Select (Crosshair), 10 Resize (Double-Headed Arrow), 10 schemes, 206-207 Select (Arrow), 10 speed adjustments, 205-206 Text Select (I-Beam), 10 trails, 206 Unavailable, 10 properties, 203-204 right-click, 9 right-drag, 9 rollers, cleaning, 205 text insertion point, 51-52 versus keyboard usage, 10 visibility of, 528 Mouse Properties dialog box Buttons tab, 204-205 Motion tab, 205-206 Pointers tab, 206
INDEX Whiteboard, drawing controls Move (Four-Headed Arrow) mouse pointer, 10 Move To button (Toolbar), 100-101 movies (Windows Movie Maker) clip collections, adding, 82-84 creating, 82 editing, 85-86 previewing, 87 quality settings, 88 saving, 87-88 transition effects, 86-87 moving files Clipboard, 99-100 cut-and-paste method, 97 drag-and-drop method, 97-99 Move To button (Toolbar), 100-101 Start menu contents, 140-141 taskbar, docking locations, 199 windows, 18-19 MP3 files adding (Windows Media Player), 78-79 copyright controversy, 354 downloading, 78 Napster Web site, 78 playing (Windows Media Player), 77 MS-DOS Programs Troubleshooter, 501-503 MS-DOS shareware, executing, 164-165 MSN Computing Central Forums, 39 MSN Messenger configuring, 405-406 contacts adding, 406-408 blocking, 411
by email address, 407 by Microsoft Passport, 407 chatting, 409-410 deleting, 411 search options, 408 Hotmail account signup, 404-405 integration with Internet Explorer, 411 online status, 408-409 versus NetMeeting, 412 Multi-user Settings Wizard, 250 multimedia (NetMeeting), 416 multiple windows, configuring (My Computer), 99 multitasking, 59 multiuser operations lack of security, 250 network logons, selecting, 259 passwords, 257 personalized settings, 250 reasons for, 250 security, lack of, 250 turning off, 256-257 user profiles adding, 252-253 enabling, 250-252 global options, 255-256 password changes, 257-258 users deleting, 254 settings modification, 255 switching between, 254 music, MP3 format, 354 My Briefcase, laptop files copying to, 295-297 synchronizing from disk, 298-299 from network, 299-300 My Computer drives, displaying, 93-94 files, viewing, 90
folders displaying, 93-94 toolbars, creating, 150 viewing, 90 multiple windows, configuring, 99 programs, launching, 47-48 My Documents files, viewing, 91-92 folders, viewing, 91-92 My Network Places network drives, accessing, 265-266 network shortcuts, creating, 267-268 networks, browsing, 263-265 My Pictures files, viewing, 93 folders, viewing, 93
N naming files, rules, 56 Napster, 354 Web site, MP3 downloads, 78 navigating programs, 50 NetBEUI, 270 NetMeeting configuring, 413-414 directory, searching, 415 ending, 415 files, transferring, 421-422 installing, 412 invitations, sending, 414-415 launching, 413 multimedia controls, 416 participants chatting, 419-420 controlling, 415 programs, sharing, 416-419 versus MSN Messenger, 412 Whiteboard, drawing controls, 420-421
561
INDEX NetObjects Fusion NetObjects Fusion, 427 Netscape Mail (email), 368 Netscape Navigator, 324 network interface cards (NICs), 282 network printers adding (Add Printer Wizard), 223-224 sharing, 244-245 networks browsing (My Network Places), 263-265 client driver, 270 components, manual configuration, 273-275 drives, mapping (My Network Places), 265-266 files, accessing (My Network Places), 263-265 home configuring (Home Networking Wizard), 270-273 file sharing, 276-278 ICS computer configuration, 285 printer sharing, 276-278 LANs, 262 logons, 9 startup configuration, 259 NIC (Network Interface Card) desktops, 269 Ethernet-types, 270 laptops, 269 motherboard slots, 270 peer-to-peer, 262 permissions, 262 printers, printing to, 269 protocols IPX/SPX, 270 NetBEUI, 270 TCP/IP, 270
562
resources, 262 shortcuts, creating (My Network Places), 267-268 versus direct cable connections, 278 WANs, 262 New command (File menu), 51 new installations, Windows Millennium, 508-510 New Mail Rule dialog box (Outlook Express), 378 New menu commands, Folder, 112 new program installations, 158 from CD-ROMs, 159-160 from floppy disks, 159-160 from Internet downloads, 160 from setup disk, 159 newsgroups accounts, configuring (Outlook Express), 394-395 adult matter, 395-396 benefits, 394 child safety, 395-396 DejaNews Web site, searching, 522 messages (Outlook Express) etiquette, 402 header limits, 398 hiding as already-read, 401 marking as read, 401 offline reading, 401-402 posting, 402-404 reading, 398-399 replying, 402 retrieving, 397-398 sorting, 399-400 Microsoft, 396 subscribing, 395-397 unsubscribing, 397 Windows topics, 522
NIC (Network Interface Card), 269 Ethernet-types, 270 motherboard slots, 270 no label formatting, floppy disks, 115 noncontiguous files, selecting, 96 non-starting programs, troubleshooting, 498-499 Norton AntiVirus, 469-470 null modem cables, 279
O Office 2000, Clipboard storage, 54 offline browsing (Internet Explorer), 336-339 online help (Assisted Support link), 39 online status, controlling (MSN Messenger), 408-409 Open command (File menu), 56 Open dialog box, 56 opening files, 56-57 operating systems, 8 optical storage, bootable CDROMs, burning, 483 Organize Favorites dialog box (Internet Explorer), 331 outdated drivers, removing, 230-231 Outlook Express Address Book, 382-386 deletions, 387 modifications, 387 selection, 386-387 Deleted Items, 371 delivery schedule, setting, 391-392
INDEX PCs (personal computers) Drafts, 371 email attachments, 374-376, 389-390 blocking senders, 380-381 composing, 383-384 deleting, 377 folders, creating, 377-378 formatting, 387-389 forwarding, 390-391 handling rules, 378-380 printing, 374 reading, 373 receiving, 372 replying, 382 stationery designs, 389 text formatting, 373 unread indication, 372 Inbox, 370 launching, 369-370 message headers, 373 multiple accounts, 372 news accounts, configuring, 394-395 newsgroups messages, etiquette, 402 messages, header limit, 398 messages, hiding as already-read, 401 messages, marking as read, 401 messages, offline reading, 401-402 messages, posting, 402-404 messages, reading, 398-399 messages, replying, 402 messages, retrieval, 397-398 messages, sorting, 399-400 subscribing, 395-397 unsubscribing, 397 Offline mode, 391 Outbox, 370 screen appearance, 368-371 Sent Items, 370 sound schemes, 391 toolbar, 371
output devices (audio) settings, 208 volume control panel, 209-210
P page history (Internet Explorer), 345 Paint (Windows Accessories), 65-66 background colors 66 bitmap graphics, 66 canvas, 66 foreground colors, 66 launching, 65 program alternatives, 67 rectangles, 66-67 tools, 67-69 Paint Shop Pro, 67 participants (NetMeeting) chatting, 419-420 controlling, 415 file transfers, 421-422 Partition Magic, FAT file system conversion, 443, 485 partitioning hard disks (FDISK command), 484-485 Pass the Shareware Web site, 518 passwords logons, 9 network sharing options, 277-278 PWL files, 257 reasons for, 257 screensavers assigning, 189 removing, 190 setting, 258-259 user profiles, multiuser operations, 257-258
Paste command (Edit menu), 54, 100 Paste keystroke (Crtl+V), 54 pasting text (WordPad), 53-54 patterns (desktop), 185-186 creating, 187 selecting, 187 Pause Printing command (Document menu), 243 Pause Printing command (Printer menu), 243 PC cards (PCMCIA) inserting, 294 laptop network connections, 269 stopping, 295 PC Computing Magazine Web site, 521 PCs (personal computers), 26-27 abnormal startups, 476 complete failures, 483-485 direct cable connections configuring, 278-279 null modem cables, 279 home networks, ICS configuration, 285 launching from emergency disk, 510 new Windows Millennium installations, 508-510 restarting, 28 Safe mode, 479-480 shutting down, 26-27 startup disk, booting, 480-482 startups blank screen, 485-486 nonbootable floppy disks, 487 nonbootable hard disks, 487 versus laptops, 288
563
INDEX PDA (Personal Digital Assistants) PDA (Personal Digital Assistants), 288 peer-to-peer networks, 262 Pegasus (email), 368 people search directories Bigfoot, 342-343 Infospace, 342-343 World Pages, 342-343 Yahoo!, 342-343 performance optimization DOS-compatibility mode, 451-452 fine-tuning guidelines CD-ROM access pattern, 456 disk buffer size, 455 graphics, 456 hardware acceleration, 456 supplemental cache size, 456 system properties, 455 virtual memory, 456 initialization files, editing (Sysedit), 452-453 monitor resolution, 451 startup files, editing (System Configuration Editor), 454-455 video card drivers, 451 permissions (network resources), 262 personal computers. See PCs personalized menus disabling, 137 down-pointing double arrow, 45, 136 enabling, 137 properties, setting, 46 PhotoDraw 2000, 67 Picture Acquisition Wizard, digital image transfers, 227-228 PIF files (DOS), 501
564
pixels, monitor resolution, 177 playing audio CDs (Windows Media Player), 74-76 MP3 files (Windows Media Player), 77 Plug-and-Play, 217 hardware detection, 170-171 detection failures, 219 possible problems, 171 plug-ins function of, 354 Internet Explorer, 348 Internet Radio, 364 station selection, 364-366 toolbar display, 364 popular programs, 354 plus (+) sign (Windows Explorer), 94 pointers (mouse) schemes, 206-207 speed adjustments, 205-206 trails, 206 ports (printers), 242 posting newsgroup messages (Outlook Express), 402-404 PostScript fonts, 235-236 power management (monitors), 190-191 power meter (laptops), 292-293 power schemes (laptops) always on, 289 docking station, 289 portable, 289 setting, 289-290 wakeup options, 293 Precision Select (Crosshair) mouse pointer, 10 previewing movies (Windows Movie Maker), 87
Print command (File menu), 58 Print dialog box, 58 network printer selection, 269 printer properties 240-241 Print dialog box (Internet Explorer), 333 print queue example, 243 jobs deleting, 243 pausing, 243 Printer menu commands Pause Printing, 243 Purge Print Documents, 243 printers Add Printer Wizard, installing, 221-224 fonts PostScript, 235-236 TrueType, 235-236 local, adding (Add Printer Wizard), 222-223 network, adding (Add Printer Wizard), 223-224 networks printing to, 269 sharing, 244-245 properties copies, 242 dithering, 242 form size, 242 orientation, 242 port, 242 Print dialog box, 240-241 resolution, 242 sharing, 242 tray, 242 queue example, 243 jobs, deleting, 243 jobs, pausing, 243 removing, 230 sharing (home networks), 276-278
INDEX real-time chat (MSN Messenger) printing Address Book, 386 articles (Help system), 38 email (Outlook Express), 374 files, 58 font samples (Control Panel), 238 to network printers, 269 Web pages, 333 background settings (Internet Explorer), 351-352 programs chronic malfunctions, reinstalling, 499 DOS-based installing, 500-501 troubleshooting, 501-503 downloads, installing, 161-162 exiting, 60-61 from System tray, 61-62 system resources, 60 files creating, 51 opening, 56-57 printing, 58 saving, 54-56 installing, 158 Auto Startup settings, 159 from CD-ROMs, 159-160 from floppy disks, 159-160 from Internet downloads, 160 from setup disk, 159 launching from desktop icons, 46 from Documents menu, 48-49 from My Computer, 47-48 from Quick Launch toolbar, 46 from Run command, 49-50 from Start menu, 44-46 from Windows Explorer, 47-48
multitasking capability, 59 navigation, 50 no setup utility, installing, 164-165 nonstarting, troubleshooting, 498-499 not responding message, exiting, 499 paths, 144 sharing (NetMeeting), 416-419 Start menu moving, 140-141 reorganizing, 139-143 StartUp folder, 152 switching (Alt+Tab keystroke), 59-60 system tray appearance, 150-151 controlling, 151 ScreenTip, 151 uninstalling, 165-167 Web sites, downloading, 161 Win.ini file, removing from, 152-153 properties Recycle Bin, 104-105 shortcuts 146-147 Start menu 138-139 taskbar, 199 Properties command (File menu), 108 protocols (networks) home networks, adding, 275 IPX/SPX, 270 NetBEUI, 270 TCP/IP, 270 Publisher 2000, 427 publishing Web pages to servers, 433-437 Purge Print Documents command (Printer menu), 243
push technology, 355 active controls, adding, 357-359 desktop, enabling, 356 Web sites Broadcast.com, 355 ChannelSEEK, 355 DENtv, 355 Media Channel, 356 Virtual Tuner, 356
Q-R question marks (?), file search wildcards, 109 quick (erase) formatting (floppy disks), 114 Quick Launch toolbar buttons adding, 148 deleting, 148 customizing, 147-148 programs, launching, 46 screen appearance, 12 QuickTime, 354 radio stations, selecting (Internet Radio), 364-366 Radio toolbar, 127 read-only access (file sharing), 277-278 read-only file attribute, 106 reading attachments (email), 374-376 newsgroup messages, 398-399 offline, 401-402 real-time chat (MSN Messenger) configuring, 405-406 contacts adding, 406-408 blocking, 411 chatting, 409-410 deleting, 411
565
INDEX real-time chat (MSN Messenger) Hotmail, account signup, 404-405 online status, 408-409 RealAudio, 354 recording audio clips Sound Recorder, 79-81 Windows Movie Maker, 84-85 video clips (Windows Movie Maker), 84-85 rectangles, drawing (Paint), 66-67 Recycle Bin files deletion benefits, 103 emptying, 103 restoring, 102 retreiving from, 102 function of, 102 properties, setting, 104-105 Recycle Bin Properties dialog box, 104 Refresh button (Internet Explorer), 327 refresh rates (monitors), 181-183 regional settings, countries, adjusting, 213 registering Windows Millennium, 41-42 Registration Wizard, launching, 41-42 Registry editing warnings, 478 repairing (Registry Checker), 478-479 settings, troubleshooting (Registry Checker), 490-491 startup errors, troubleshooting, 478-479
566
Registry Checker, 478-479, 490-491 reinstalling programs, chronic malfunctions, 499 remote control (NetMeeting), 418-419 removing components, 156-158 device drivers, 230-231 Favorites list (Internet Explorer), 330-331 folder customizations, 125-126 fonts, 240 ICS, 285 printers, 230 screensaver passwords, 190 startup programs (Win.ini file), 152-153 updates (Windows Update), 489 viruses, 470-471 Rename command (File menu), 106 renaming desktop shortcuts for drives, 146 files, 105-106 cautionary advice, 105 DOS limitations, 106 folders, 105-106 cautionary advice, 105 DOS limitations, 106 shortcuts on desktop, 146 reopening HyperTerminal saved connections, 74 reorganizing Start menu contents, 139-143 repairing devices, resource conflicts (Device Manager), 494-495 disk errors (ScanDisk), 444 Registry (Registry Checker), 478-479
repartitioning hard disks, 484 replying email, 382 newsgroup messages (Outlook Express), 402 repositioning desktop shortcuts, 144 shortcuts on desktop, 144 Resize (Double-Headed Arrow) mouse pointer, 10 resizing taskbar, 149, 197 windows, 17-18 resolution monitors changing, 180-181 pixels, 177 selecting, 177-178 printer property, 242 video card memory, 179-180 resource conflicts (Device Manager), 494-495 restarting PCs, 28 Crtl+Alt+Del keystroke, 476 Restore command (File menu), 102 restoring files (Recycle Bin), 102 system configuration (System Restore), 471-473 windows, 16-17 retrieving files (Recycle Bin), 102 newsgroup messages (Outlook Express), 397-398 Rich Text Format (RTF), email messages, 387-389 right-click mouse, shortcut menus, 25 ROM chip (Read-Only Memory), 217
INDEX selecting rules, email handling (Outlook Express), 378-380 Run command (Start menu), 50 Run dialog box, 50
S Safe mode, PCs, starting, 479-480 satellites, Internet connectivity, 306 Save As dialog box, 55-56 Save Attachments dialog box (Outlook Express), 375-376 Save command (File menu), 55 Save Movie dialog box (Windows Movie Maker), 88 Save Search command (File menu), 111 saving attachments (email), 374-376 downloaded programs, folder location, 161 files, 54-56 graphics from Web pages (Internet Explorer), 336 images as wallpaper, 187 movies (Windows Movie Maker) 87-88 Web pages file formats (Internet Explorer), 334-335 to hard disk, 334-335 Word documents in Web format, 429-430 ScanDisk advanced options, 444 disk errors checking, 443-445 repairing, 444
DOS version, 443 Find Fast index, 445 improper PC shutdowns, 27 lost data clusters, removal of, 445 standard testing level, 444 thorough testing level, 444 Windows version, 443 scanners, configuring, 224 scanning images (Imaging), 70 scheduling maintenance tasks (Task Scheduler), 460-461 screen elements desktop, 11 icons, 11 Quick Launch toolbar, 12 shortcuts, 12 Start button, 12 system tray, 13-14 taskbar, 13 typical appearance, 11 screensavers function of, 188 passwords, 188 assigning, 189, 258 removing, 190 setting, 259 settings, 189-190 waking up, 190 ScreenTip, system tray icons, 151 scroll arrow, 21-22 scroll boxes, 21-22 scrollbars, 21-22 scrolling windows, 21-22 search engines AltaVista, 339 Excite, 339 HotBot, 339 InfoSeek, 339 keywords, 340
Lycos, 339 people directories Bigfoot, 342-343 Infospace, 342-343 World Pages, 342-343 Yahoo!, 342-343 syntax, 341 WebCrawler, 339 Yahoo!, 339 Search pane (Internet Explorer), 340-341 searching files, 109-111 folders, 109-111 Help system index, 35-37 NetMeeting directories, 415 newsgroups (DejaNews Web site), 522 security certificates (Internet Explorer), 345-346 cookies (Internet Explorer), 348 multiuser operations, 250 passwords, reasons for, 257 viruses, prevention, 469-470 zones (Internet Explorer), 346-348 Select (Arrow) mouse pointer, 10 Select All keystroke (Crtl+A), 53 Select People dialog box (Outlook Express), 378 selecting active controls for desktop, 360 addresses (Address Book), 386-387 color schemes for desktop, 183-184 files, 95-96 contiguous groups, 96 noncontiguous groups, 96 folders, 96
567
INDEX selecting Internet Radio stations, 364-366 monitor resolution, 177 mouse pointer schemes, 206-207 network logons, multiuser operations, 259 network printers, 269 patterns for desktop, 187 programs for StartUp folder, 152 text (WordPad), 53 wallpaper, 187 Web browsers, 324 word processing software, 51 senders, email blocks (Outlook Express), 380-381 sending email attachments (Outlook Express), 389-390 invitations (NetMeeting), 414-415 SerialKey devices, general accessibility option, 528 setting alarms, laptop battery status, 291-293 date, 212-213 delivery schedule (Outlook Express), 391-392 file attributes, 106-107 folders, global options, 132-133 keyboard properties, 202-203 mouse properties, 203-204 power schemes for laptops, 289-290 printer properties, 240-241 Recycle Bin properties, 104-105 screensaver passwords, 258-259 time, 212-213
568
setup disk, new program installations, 159 setup program, Windows Millennium, 510-511 shareware executing under MS-DOS, 164-165 reviews Absolute WinInfo Web site, 521 Hardware Central Web site, 521 Windows Galore Web site, 521 WinPlanet Web site, 521 sources Albert’s Ambry, 517 Clicked.com Top 20 Shareware Gallery, 517 Completely Free Software.com, 517 Dave Central Shareware Archive, 516 Download.com Web site, 516 Download.net, 517 File Mine Web site, 517 FileDudes Web site, 517 Garbo Anonymous FTP Archive Web site, 518 Jumbo! Download Network Web site, 518 Pass the Shareware Web site, 518 Shareware Central Web site, 518 SOFTSEEK.com Web site, 518 Washington University Data Archive Web site, 518 WinPlanet Web site, 518 ZD Net, 517 troubleshooting assistance 24-Hour Support.com Web site, 520 Annoyances.org Web site, 520
FixWindows.com Web site, 519 Microsoft Personal Online Support Web site, 519 Troubleshooters.com Web site, 519 WinDrivers.com Web site, 519 ZD Net Help! Channel Web site, 520 versus freeware, 160 Shareware Central Web site, 518 shareware fonts, 240 Shareware.com Web site, 161 sharing files access restrictions, 277-278 home networks, 276-278 printers home networks, 276-278 networks, 244-245 properties, 242 programs (NetMeeting), 416-419 Shockwave, 354 shortcut menus, 25 shortcuts desktop creating, 144-145 deleting, 146 renaming, 146 repositioning, 144 folders, creating, 99 networks, creating (My Network Place), 267-268 properties, changing, 146-147 screen appearance, 12 Start menu, adding, 143-144 ShowSounds, deaf accessibility option, 527 Shut Down Windows dialog box, 27 shutting down PCs, 26-27
INDEX storage, optical, bootable CD-ROMs site indexes AltaVista, 339 Excite, 339 HotBot, 339 InfoSeek, 339 Lycos, 339 WebCrawler, 339 Yahoo!, 339 slow clock, troubleshooting, 213 small icons, display method, 120-121 snapshots, system configuration (System Restore), 471-473 SOFTSEEK.com Web site, 518 software reviews Absolute WinInfo, 521 Hardware Central, 521 Windows Galore, 521 WinPlanet, 521 sources Albert’s Ambry Web site, 517 Clicked.com Top 20 Shareware Gallery, 517 Completely Free Software.com, 517 Dave Central Share Archive, 516 Download.com Web site, 516 Download.net, 517 File Mine, 517 FileDudes, 517 Garbo Anonymous FTP Archive, 518 Jumbo! Download Network, 518 Pass the Shareware, 518 Shareware Central, 518 SOFTSEEK.com, 518 Washington University Data Archive, 518 WinPlanet, 518 ZD Net, 517
troubleshooting assistance 24-Hour Support.com, 520 Annoyances.org, 520 FixWindows.com, 519 Microsoft Personal Online Support, 519 Troubleshooters.com, 519 WinDrivers.com, 519 ZD Net Help! Channel, 520 word processing, selection criteria, 51 sorting files by lists, 126 newsgroup messages (Outlook Express), 399-400 sound cards, 530 troubleshooting, 497-498 sound effects, events, assigning, 210-212 Sound Recorder (Windows Accessories), 79 sound files format, 80 recording, 79-81 Sounds and Multimedia icon (Control Panel), 208 Sounds and Multimedia Properties dialog box, 211 SoundSentry, deaf accessibility option, 527 speakers, sound cards, troubleshooting, 497-498 Standard toolbar, 127 Start button, 12-13 Start menu commands Help, 30 Run, 50 Uninstall, 165-167 contents moving, 140-141 reorganizing, 139-143
programs launching, 44-46 submenus, 44 properties, changing, 138-139 shortcuts, adding, 143-144 starting PCs in Safe mode, 479-480 startup disks booting from, 480-482 creating, 115, 510 startup files, performance optimization, 454-455 StartUp folder moving, warning, 141 programs, selecting, 152 renaming, warning, 141 startup screen, black appearance, 9 startups blank screen, troubleshooting, 485-486 bootable CDs, 482-483 disabling (System Configuration Utility), 491-492 missing file error messages, 477-478 nonbootable floppy disks, troubleshooting, 487 nonbootable hard disks, troubleshooting, 487 Registry errors, 478-479 stationery, email (Outlook Express), 389 Status bar, 127 StickyKeys, keyboard accessibility, 526 Stop button (Internet Explorer), 327 stopping PC cards on laptops, 295 storage, optical, bootable CD-ROMs, 483
569
INDEX Storyboard (Windows Movie Maker) Storyboard (Windows Movie Maker), 85-86 streaming content Internet Radio, 355 RealAudio, 354 submenus on Start menu, 44 subscribing newsgroups (Outlook Express), 395-397 supplemental cache, 456 switching mouse buttons, left versus right orientation, 204 programs, 59-60 users in multiuser operations, 254 synchronizing laptop files (My Briefcase) from disk, 298-299 from network, 299-300 Sysedit, initialization files, editing, 452-453 System Configuration Utility, startup programs disabling, 491-492 editing, 454-455 System Information utility, devices, troubleshooting, 490 System Restore launching, 472 system configuration, restoring, 471-473 system sounds events, assigning, 210-212 volume control, 209-210 System tray Printer icon, 243 programs appearance, 150-151 controlling, 151 exiting, 61-62 ScreenTip, 151 Volume Control icon, 209-210
570
T Task Scheduler maintenance frequency, 460-461 task additions, 461-462 taskbar auto hiding, 198 dock positions, 199 missing, 199 properties Always on top, 199 Show clock, 199 small icons in Start menu, 199 Use personalized menus, 199 resizing, 149, 197 screen appearance, 13 toolbars, displaying, 148-149 Taskbar Properties dialog box, 198 TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol), 270 adding, 320-321 Dial-Up Adapter bindings, 321 telephony call waiting, disabling, 317 dialing locations, 316-319 pulse dialing, 318 settings, 316-319 tone dialing, 318 temporary Internet files (Internet Explorer), 345 text copying (WordPad), 53-54 cutting (WordPad), 53-54 editing (WordPad), 52 magnification (Magnifier), 525 pasting (WordPad), 53-54 selecting (WordPad), 53 typing (WordPad), 51-52 Web pages, formatting codes, 424-426
text searches, Help system, 36-37 Text Select (I-Beam) mouse pointer, 10 text-based hyperlinks, 326-327 Themes (FrontPage 2000), 427 thumbnails, display method, 120-121 tiling windows, 19-21 time setting, 212-213 slow clock, 213 Timeline (Windows Movie Maker), 85-86 tips, Web sites Bob Cerelli’s Windows Page, 521 PC Computing, 521 Windows Help-Net, 522 Windows Magazine, 522 Title Bar (window), 14 ToggleKeys, keyboard accessibility, 526 toolbars Address, displaying, 148 Copy To button, 100-101 creating, 149-150 Desktop, displaying, 148 folders displaying, 127 hiding, 127 graphical appearance, 26 Links, displaying, 148 Move To button, 100-101 Quick Launch button additions, 148 button deletions, 148 customizing, 147-148 taskbar, displaying, 148-149 Tools menu commands, Folder Options, 129
INDEX usernames, logons topics (Help system), 33-36 Tours & Tutorials (Help system), launching, 31, 33 transferring digital camera images, 226-228 files (NetMeeting), 421-422 transition effects in movies (Windows Movie Maker), 86-87 Trojan horse viruses, 468 Troubleshooters.com Web site, 519 troubleshooting abnormal startups, 476 devices Device Manager, 492-495 diagnostic tests, 495 System Information utility, 490 DOS-based programs, 501-503 games hardware acceleration, 531-532 performance problems, 532 installation, 511 blue-screen error reading CD, 512 device failures, 513 error messages, 512 missing files, 511 prompt for driver disk, 512 jumpy mouse, 205 missing taskbar, 199 modems absence of dial tone, 497 faulty connections, 319-321, 496 setup strings, 497 monitors, display, 496 nonstarting programs, 498-499 PCs, complete failures, 483-485
Registry settings (Registry Checker), 490-491 slow systems, 60 sound cards, 497-498 startups blank screen, 485-486 missing file error messages, 477-478 nonbootable floppy disks, 487 nonbootable hard disks, 487 Registry errors, 478-479 Safe mode, 479-480 Web sites 24-Hour Suuport.com, 520 Annoyances.org, 520 FixWindows.com, 519 Microsoft Personal Online Support, 519 Troubleshooters.com, 519 WinDrivers.com, 519 ZD Net Help! Channel, 520 TrueType fonts, 235-236 TWAIN standard (scanners), 224 typefaces versus fonts, 234 typing text (WordPad), 51-52
U-V unavailable mouse pointer, 10 underlined hyperlinks (Internet Explorer), 351-352 Undo Delete command (Edit menu), 102 Uniform Resource Locators. See URLs Uninstall command (Start menu), 165-167
Uninstall utility, program removal, 165-167 uninstalling programs, 165-167 updates (Windows Update), 489 unsubscribing newsgroups (Outlook Express), 397 Update Device Driver Wizard, 173-175 updates, removing (Windows Update), 489 updating active controls, intervals, 362-363 device drivers, 228-229 video drivers, 172-173 Windows Millennium versions (Windows Update), 456-459 upgrading to Windows Millennium, 508-509 uploading Web pages FTP locations, 435 to Web servers, 433 Web folders (FrontPage 2000), 433-435 Web Publishing Wizard, 436-437 URLs (Uniform Resource Locators), 324 browser entry, 327-328 Usenet newsgroups, Windows topics, 522 user profiles (multiuser operations) adding, 252-253 enabling, 250-252 global options, 255-256 password changes, 257-258 User Settings dialog box, 252 usernames, logons, 9
571
INDEX users (multiuser operations) users (multiuser operations) deleting, 254 settings modification, 255 switching between, 254
V V.90 modem standard, 307 vector graphics, 66 vertical tiling (windows), 19-21 video cards 3D capabilities, 530 checking, 171 identifying, 175-176 memory resolution settings, 179-180 performance optimization, 451 Plug-and-Play, possible detection problems, 171 settings, 170-171 video clips (Windows Movie Maker) editing, 85-86 importing, 85 previewing, 87 quality settings, 88 recording, 84-85 saving, 87-88 transition effects, 86-87 video drivers, 170-171 changing, 173-175 checking, 171 monitor display, troubleshooting, 496 Plug-and-Play, possible detection problems, 171 updating, 172-173 video feeds (NetMeeting), 416 View menu commands Arrange Icons, 126 Customize This Folder, 123
572
viewing archive contents (WinZip utility), 162 Favorites list (Internet Explorer), 328-329 fonts, 234-235 by similarity (Control Panel), 237-238 My Computer, 90 My Documents, 91-92 My Pictures, 93 Web page addresses, 327-328 Views button (Toolbar), 120 virtual memory settings, 456 virtual modems, 307 Virtual Tuner Web site, push technology, 356 viruses affected files, 468 antivirus programs McAfee VirusScan, 469-470 Norton AntiVirus, 469-470 email attachments, 468 varieties, 467 infection, removing, 470-471 master boot record (MBR), 471 potential damage, 467 prevention, 469-470 Trojan horses, 468 VBS extensions, 467 Word macros, 468 visual effects, desktop, 194-195 dragging, 195 font smoothing, 195 icon color, 195 icon size, 195 transitions, 195
volume, controlling (System tray), 209-210 Volume Control icon (System tray), 210
W wakeup options, laptops, 293 wallpaper (desktop), 185-186 images, saving as, 187 selecting, 187 Web page source, 187 WANs (wide area networks), 262 Washington University Data Archive Web site, 518 Web browsers Internet Explorer Back button, 327 Forward button, 327 Home button, 327 Home pages, 326 Refresh button, 327 selecting, 324 specific pages, viewing, 327-328 Stop button, 327 Web pages, printing, 333 Web pages, saving to hard disk, 334-335 Netscape Navigator, 324 Web pages addresses, 327-328 content ratings (Internet Explorer), 348-350 cookies, security permissions, 348 Favorites list adding (Internet Explorer), 330-331 folder organization (Internet Explorer), 332 removing (Internet Explorer), 330-331
INDEX windows file formats, saving, 334-335 fonts, usage criteria, 236 FTP locations, uploading, 435 graphics, saving, 336 hard disk, saving, 334-335 hyperlinks banner ad windows, 327 graphical, 326-327 Mail-to, 327 text-based, 326-327 offline browsing (Internet Explorer), 336-339 plug-ins, 354 printing, 333 programs evolution, 426-427 FrontPage 2000, 427-428 Microsoft Word 2000, 427-432 Publisher 2000, 427 search engines AltaVista, 339 Excite, 339 HotBot, 339 InfoSeek, 339 keywords, 340 Lycos, 339 syntax, 341 WebCrawler, 339 Yahoo!, 339 streaming content Internet Radio, 355 RealAudio, 354 structural elements, 425-426 text formatting codes, 424-426 URLs, 324 wallpaper sources, 187 Web Publishing Wizard, uploading, 436-437 Web servers, publishing to, 433-437 Web Publishing Wizard, 436-437
Web push technology, 355 Web servers addresses, page uploads, 433 Web pages, publishing, 433-437 Web sites 24-Hour Support.com, 520 Absolute WinInfo, 521 Albert’s Ambry, 517 AltaVista, 339 Annoyances.org, 520 Bigfoot, 342-343 Bob Cerelli’s Windows Page, 521 Broadcast.com, 355 ChannelSEEK, 355 Clicked.com Top 20 Shareware Gallery, 517 Completely Free Software.com, 517 content ratings (Internet Explorer), 348-350 Dave Central Shareware Archive, 516 DENtv, 355 Download.com, 161, 516-517 Excite, 339 File Mine, 517 FileDudes, 517 FixWindows, 512, 519 Garbo Anonymous FTP Archive, 518 Hardware Central, 521 HotBot, 339 InfoSeek, 339 Infospace, 342-343 JASC, Paint Shop Pro trial version, 67 Jumbo! Download Network, 518 Lycos, 339 Media Channel, 356 Microsoft Personal Online Support, 519 Napster, MP3 downloads, 78
Pass the Shareware, 518 PC Computing, 521 programs, downloading, 161 Shareware Central, 518 Shareware.com, 161 SOFTSEEK.com, 518 Troubleshooters.com, 519 Virtual Tuner, 356 Washington University Data Archive, 518 WebCrawler, 339 Windows Galore, 521 Windows Help-Net, 522 Windows Magazine, 522 WinDrivers.com, 519 WinPlanet, 518, 521 WinZip, 160 World Pages, 342-343 Yahoo!, 339, 342-343 ZD Net, 517, 520 Web View, global folder options, 132-133 WebCrawler Web site, 339 What’s This? Button, dialog boxes, 57 Whiteboard (NetMeeting), drawing controls, 420-421 wide area networks. See WANs wildcards, file searches, 109 Win.ini file, startup programs, removing, 152-153 windows arrangement cascading, 19-21 horizontal tiling, 19-21 vertical tiling, 19-21 closing, 22-23 elements Close button, 15 Control-menu button, 15 Maximize button, 15 Minimize button, 14 Title bar, 14 Window border, 15
573
INDEX windows examples, 14 maximizing, 16-17 minimizing, 16-17 moving, 18-19 resizing, 17-18 restoring, 16-17 screen elements, 11 desktop, 11 icons, 11 Quick Launch toolbar, 12 shortcuts, 12 start button, 12 system tray, 13-14 taskbar, 13 scrolling, 21-22 startup screen, black appearance, 9 toolbars, graphical appearance, 26 Windows 2000 versus Windows Millennium, upgrade status, 509 Windows 95 upgrading to Windows Millennium, 508-509 Windows 98 upgrading to Windows Millennium, 508-509 Windows CE, PDA devices, 288 Windows Explorer drives, displaying, 94 files, accessing, 91 folders displaying, 94 toolbars, creating, 150 launching, 93 pane views, 91 programs, launching, 47-48 tree minus (-) sign, 94 plus (+) sign, 94 Windows Galore Web site, 521
574
Windows Help-Net Web site, 522 Windows Magazine Web site, 522 Windows Media Player (Windows Accessories), 74 audio CDs controls, 75 copying to hard disk, 76 no sound, troubleshooting, 76 playing, 74-76 playlists, 76 audio clips, file format, 81 MP3 files, playing, 77 sound clips adding, 78-79 organizing, 78-79 recording, 79-81 Windows Millennium (Windows Me), 8 booting from CD, 116 common installation problems, 511 blue-screen error reading CD, 512 device faliures, 513 error messages, 512 missing files, 511 prompt for driver disk, 512 latest versions (Windows Update), 456-459 new PCs, installing, 508-510 registering, 41-42 setup program, launching, 508-511 startup disk, creating, 510 upgrading from Windows 95/98, 508-509 versus Windows 2000, upgrade status, 509 versus Windows NT 4.0, upgrade status, 509
Windows Movie Maker (Windows Accessories) launching, 81 movies clip collections, 82-84 creating, 82 Storyboard view, 85-86 Timeline view, 85-86 video clips importing, 85 recording, 84-85 Windows NT 4.0 versus Windows Millennium, upgrade status, 509 Windows Update AutoUpdate settings, 456-459 manual settings, 456-459 updates, removing, 489 WinDrivers.com Web site, 519 WinPlanet Web site, 518, 521 WinZip, 160 archive contents, viewing, 162 downloading, 162 setup files, extracting, 163-164 Web site, 160 word processing software, selection criteria, 51 WordPad (Windows Accessories), 64-65 files, opening, 56-57 Formatting toolbar, 64-65 launching, 64 text copying, 53-54 cutting, 53-54 editing, 52 pasting, 53-54 selecting, 53 typing, 51-52 World Pages Web site, people directories, 342-343 writable CD-ROM drives, 483
INDEX zones, security (Internet Explorer)
X-Y-Z X2 modem standard, 307 Yahoo! Web site, 339 people directories, 342-343 ZD Net Web site, 517, 520 zip files backups, 467 downloads, installing, 161-162 extracting (WinZip utility), 163-164 zones, security (Internet Explorer), 346-348
575
