Making your new printer the default printer

If you've just bought a new printer and want it to be your "default printer", so it is always used unless you specify otherwise when giving the print command (versus the printer you might be replacing) - it is easy:

·       Go to your Start Menu (easy access is tap the Windows Flag Key)

·       Devices & printers (on most current start menus)

·       When you open your printers, you will see your new printer listed along with your previous printer (s) - The one that is the current default will have a green or black check mark on it

·       Right click on the printer you want as your DEFAULT and when the action menu appears, choose Set as Default Printer

Close the Dialog Box and this new setting will be saved

Note-if you do not see the "Devices & Printers" listed on your Start menu, you are using an older operating system, but that's not a problem, simply open Control Panel, then Printers-which used to be listed in the Hardware & Sound Group on older operating systems)

Remember if you want to choose a different printer than the default at anytime, when you choosing option for your print job, simply change the printer - all printers will be listed in the first option line of the Printer Dialog box, with a drop down access arrow-when you left click on that arrow-you will see the various printers for your computer-just choose the one you want to use.

When you want to delete a printer that you may no longer have or use

·       Go to your Start Menu (easy access is tap the Windows Flag Key)

·       Devices & printers (on most current start menus)

·       When you open your printers, you will see your new printer listed along with your previous printer (s) - The one that is the current default will have a green or black check mark on it

·       Right click on the printer you want to remove and choose DELETE printer - and the driver software and icon for this printer will be deleted

Close the Dialog Box and this new setting will be saved

How to uninstall software programs from your computer

If all you are trying to do is remove an icon from your desktop, but want to leave the software program on your computer, simply hover your mouse over the icon on your desktop – right click and choose “delete”  With many software programs, you will receive a quick message dialog box reminding you that you are only deleting the icon and that if you want to actually remove the software, this must be done from the control panel.

Why would you remove a software program from your computer..  Programs we never use can take up extra storage space and can slow our computer’s down – or maybe you are changing Anti-Virus providers – remember you can only have one Anti-Virus program on your computer at a time, so you must remove one before you add a new one…

The Windows operating system has a program utility that makes it easy to uninstall unused or unwanted and it’s easy to get to through your Control Panel. 

1. Left Click the "Start" button on your taskbar.
2. When the Start menu appears, left Click "Control Panel."
3. When the Control Panel appears – left click “Add/Remove Programs”
4. It will take a moment and then list all software programs on your computer
5. Scroll thru the list to find the software program you want to install
6. Under each program on the right side, you will see a "Uninstall” button.
7. Left click on the “Uninstall” button and it will remove the program and once removed it will no longer appear on the program list
8. Once removed it will also remove icons from desktop, quick launch and taskbar)
9. Repeat process for any other programs you want to uninstall. 

Reminders…

Some programs include an option to change or repair the program in addition to uninstalling it, but many simply offer the option to uninstall. To change a program, click Change or Repair.

Some programs might ask you to enter an administrator password or confirmation before this can be done, so you’ll need to type the password or provide confirmation.

Have you used your "Windows" Magnifier?

MAGNIFYING GLASS - Did you know that the Windows Operating System includes a built-in magnifying glass?  Microsoft Windows has included a magnifying glass with every version of its operating system since Windows 98 and it is called Magnifier.  Each new version of windows has improved the ease of using the magnifier – so check it out… 

FOR WINDOWS XP USERS

To turn on Magnifier using your mouse Click the Start button

·         Click on All Programs, then click on Accessories, and then click Accessibility.

·         Click Magnifier to open the Magnifier Settings dialog box.

·         Adjust the level of magnification by typing a number from 1 to 9, or by selecting the arrow button to open the list of options from the drop-down menu

You can change “Magnifier size & position” by doing either of the following:

·         To change the size, make sure Magnifier is turned on. Move your mouse pointer over an edge of the Magnifier window. When the pointer becomes a two–headed arrow, hold down the mouse button and drag the Magnifier window to resize it.

·         To change the position, make sure Magnifier is turned on. Move the mouse pointer over the Magnifier window. Hold down the mouse button and drag the Magnifier window to reposition it. 

FOR WINDOWS VISTA USERS

To make items on the screen appear bigger (Magnifier)

The intention of Magnifier is to enlarge parts of the screen, which is really helpful when you are looking at objects that are difficult to see and can be helpful to anyone with vision challenges.

·         Open Magnifier by clicking the Start button ,

·         Now click All Programs, click Accessories, click Ease of Access, and click Magnifier.

·         Move the pointer to the part of the screen that you want to magnify. 

FOR WINDOWS 7 USERS

You can open it quickly by clicking Start, and then type Magnifier.

You can also change the screen resolution, which adjusts the clarity, size, and amount of things that fit on your computer monitor which is found in the Display section of your control panel.

Notes

To exit Magnifier, press the Windows Flag/Logo Key + Esc key.

In Windows 7, there are three Magnifier modes:

·         Full-screen mode. In full-screen mode, your entire screen is magnified. Depending on the size of your screen and the zoom level you choose, you might not be able to see all of the screen at the same time.

·         Lens mode. In lens mode, the area around the mouse pointer is magnified. When you move the mouse pointer, the area of the screen that's magnified moves along with it.

·         Docked mode. In docked mode, only a portion of the screen is magnified, leaving the rest of your desktop unchanged. You can then control which area of the screen is magnified. 

WHEN YOU ARE ON THE INTERNET - Another quick way to enlarge the text and what you are viewing on your monitor is to use the CTRL and + key to enlarge and CTRL key and – to reduce what is on the monitor…   This doesn’t work however when you are in various application programs such as word, excel, power point etc - then you will have to simply ZOOM the page.

Different ways to shut down your computer or laptop..

Before shutting down your computer, it is always a good idea and beneficial for the life of your computer, to close all applications you have running, such as your email, multiple websites/tabbed browsing, word, excel, power point or games or other  application programs.

·         This can be done by Left clicking the "X" in the upper-right corner of each program page (often in a red box)

OR

·         Using your task bar at the bottom of your monitor, Right click on each open program and then left click on “close group:.  If you have open applications such as Word, Excel and the like, you may be promoted to confirm whether or not you want to save any changes made to those documents, spreadsheets or power point presentations..

Using keyboard shortcuts

·         Press and hold the following three keyboard keys at the same time: "Control, ALT and Delete (CTRL + ALT + DEL)" keys on your keyboard

·         This will open the “"Shutdown" menu

·         Using your navigation arrows on the keyboard, press the downward (or upward) arrow to highlight the "Shut Down" option.

·         Once “Shut Down” is highlighted, simply press the "Enter" key on the keyboard and the computer will shut down and power off

Using your mouse

·         Simply left click on your “Start” Button

·         When the Start Menu Appears, note that the right bottom side of the start menu list, you the “Turn off computer” button

·         Left click on this button or arrow

·         The “ShutDown” action box will appear and depending on the version of Windows you are using, you will have the choice of choosing “Standby”. “Restart” or “Shut Down”

·         Left click on whichever option you choose and that is the action that will occur

On an apple Mac:

·         Click on "Finder" at the top of your computer screen to access a drop-down menu (usually next to the Apple icon).

·         Highlight the "Shut Down" option from the drop-down menu.

Allow your computer the time it needs to completely shut down before you close the lid on your laptop or remove the power supply from your computer.

How to change what programs run at Start-up

How & why to change what programs run at “start-up” when you turn your computer on..Many of the programs installed on your computer, automatically “RUN” as soon as we start our computer each time and stay running the entire time our computer is on – Most run with or without our permission and can slow our computer down considerably…

We can control which programs run and which don’t when we start-up our computer and it’s easy to do this… When you want to see what is running at Start-Up, Open your Start Menu (Windows Flag Key) and you can then modify ~ add or delete ~ the programs in your Microsoft Configuration Utility…

• Open the Start Menu (either click on Start or the Windows Icon, or Tap your Windows Flag Key on the keyboard)
• At the bottom of the start menu, type "msconfig" into the search bar.
• Press "Enter" and then open the "Startup" tab of the window that appears. Programs that run at startup have checks next to their listing.
• Uncheck the boxes next to programs you don't want to run at startup.
• Check the boxes next to programs that you do want to run at startup.
• Click "Apply" and "OK."

How to find a lost file on your Computer?

If you are using Windows XP – this is a quick way to find lost files on your computer.

Open the “Start Menu" (either left click on the Start Button left side of the Task Bar OR tap the Windows Flag Key on your keyboard)

When the Start Menu appears, choose “Search” and the Search Dialog Box Opens, with 3 search options:

1. All or part of a file name
2. A word or phrase in the file
3. Look In

Use Option 1 when you know all or part of the document-file name, but you can also add the file extensions (for example for word file, type *.doc, Excel *.xls, Acrobat *.pdf, *.ppt and *.exe for executable files.

Use Option 2 when you don't know the name of file but know that it contains a string of text, by typing the text you want to find from any file or folder. This is time taking process but creates very precise result.

Use Option 3, Look In, to Look in Specific Drives, Folders or Networks that you want to Search for what you put in Option 1 or Option 2 In Look in, click the drive, folder, or network you want to search.

To save time, always select the specified drive or location instead of whole computer
Click Start Button, point to Search, and then click For File or Folders, a Search Results dialog box will appear.

In Search for files or folders named, type the file name or folder name you want to find in containing text.

To specify additional search criteria, click Search Options, and then click one or more of the following options to narrow your search:

• Select Date to look for files that were created or modified on or between specific dates
• Select Type to look for files of a specific type, such as a text or WordPad document
• Select Size to look for files of a specific size
• Select Advanced Options to specify additional search criteria
• Click Search now.