Computer & Internet Newbie Guide

Edit The Send To Menu

The Send To Menu is a handy tool for sure, but sometimes it does get filled with unnecessary extra software programs. You’ll find the Send To Menu by right clicking on a file and you can use this option to send files to your A: (to copy onto a disk), or email the file, etc.

Here’s how you can clean out that menu:

• Open Windows Explorer (right click on the Start button on your bottom taskbar and click Explore)
• Find the Windows folder
• Select Send To folder
• Delete items you no longer want or drag and drop items into this folder that you want added

Note: You may not find the Send To folder within your Windows folder. If this is the case, the folder is hidden. While you’re in Windows Explorer, click ‘Tools’ on the top menu, click Folder Options, click the View tab, and click ‘Show Hidden Files and Folders’ button. Click ‘Apply’ then ‘OK’. You should now see the Send To folder with your Windows folder.

That’s all you need to do to add or remove items to your Send To menu. Simple!

If you have important emails you need to keep copies of, here is how you can make backups of your emails (in case anything happens to your computer).

Saving Copies Of Emails In Outlook Express

• Open Outlook Express
• Find your mail folder by clicking ‘Tools’ then ‘Options’
• You will be presented with the ‘Options’ dialog box
• Click on the ‘Maintenance’ tab

• Select the ‘Store Folder’ button
• You will now see the ‘Store Location’ dialog box – highlight the entire content in that box by right clicking, select all, then right click, then copy

• After copying the location, click ‘Cancel’
• Paste the location to Notepad (or any text editor)

Look at the location of the mail and then right click on your ‘Start’ button for your Windows operating system Start Menu and click ‘Explore’ to access Windows Explorer. For example: If your location begins with – C:\WINDOWS\Application Data\Identities\ – you would double click the Local Disk (C):, then find the ‘Windows’ Folder, click that to open the contents, then click the ‘Application Data’ folder to open the contents, then click the ‘Identities’ folder to reveal the contents, you should then see the alpha/numeric file folder that was indicated in your mail location. Keep clicking the folders within that folder til you reach the ‘Outlook Express’ folder. Open that folder up and you should see a bunch of .dbx files – these are all the files you need to backup.

Right click on the Outlook Express folder and send to ‘A:’ to copy to a floppy or right click and copy to paste into a backup folder on your computer. It is recommended that you keep copies of all important documents and files on a floppy disk – just in case your computer crashes.

This may seem somewhat complicated, but it really isn’t. It’s just a matter of finding where your emails are stored on your computer, going to that location then copying the emails to a floppy or another location.

If anything happens to your computer or if you want a copy of your address book on another computer, saving your address book to a floppy is a snap.

Saving A Copy Of Your Address Book

• Open Outlook Express
• Click ‘File’
• Choose ‘Export Address Book’
• Choose ‘Text File’
• Click ‘Export’
• Enter a filename you choose to save copy as (ie. addresses)
• Click ‘Browse’ to select the location you would like to save the copy to
• Click ‘Next’
• Select the fields you wish to save by ticking the boxes
• Now click ‘Finish’
• Click ‘OK’
• Click ‘Close’

Check the location you saved the file to and ensure the copy was made (it will be a .csv file). Keep a copy of this file on a floppy disk that you can use to transfer your address book to another computer (and to restore in case your computer crashes), as well as a copy in a master backup folder you keep on your computer (recommended) to easily reload your address book in case of mistaken deletions.

If you find no useful purpose to have the yellow speaker displayed in the lower right corner (by the clock) of your tray, it’s easy to remove the display.

• Go to your Start Menu
• Click Settings
• Click Control Panel
• Click Sounds and Multimedia (may just say Multimedia)
• Click the Audio tab

Playback section:

• Tick off ‘Show Volume Control On The Taskbar’ (This tick box may also show in the first tab ‘Sounds’)
• Click Apply
• Click ‘OK’

If you want to display the yellow speaker again, simply go through the above steps and check the ‘Show Volume Control On The Taskbar’ on. That’s it!

Sometimes when you install software on your computer, an entry for that software is made into your right click menu. One extra entry isn’t so bad, but they can sure add up! Here is how to edit your right click menu:

Warning: This involves modifying your Registry. If you make a mistake, your computer and/or programs can stop functioning properly. Use this tip at your own risk.*You could decide to export your registry file to your desktop before making any changes. That way you can return anything that you’ve changed your mind on. (Once in the Registry Editor, Click the top option ‘Registry’ then ‘Export Registry’ and follow the prompts – then to replace your registry settings, choose ‘Import Registry’).

Edit Right Click Menu

• Go to your Start Menu
• Click Run
• Type: Regedit
• Click OK
• Go to this folder in the Registry: HKEY_CURRENT_USER
• Then folder: Software
• Then folder: Microsoft
• Then folder: Internet Explorer
• Then folder: MenuExt

Now in this last folder (MenuExt) you will find folders representing the items you want to remove.

Simply delete the folders that you no longer want included in your right click options.

This method simply removes the various software addons, not the built in Microsoft entries such as ‘Properties’ ‘Print’ ‘View Source’ etc.

Changing Your Desktop Background To A Web Graphic

Have you come across a website graphic that you’d love to have as your desktop background? That’s easy enough to do. Simply:

• Surf to the website that contains the graphic you want

Once page is loaded, right click on the graphic and select:

• Set As Background

That’s it! The picture should now be displayed on your desktop

Now you can customize this by right clicking on an empty spot on your desktop then:

• Select ‘Properties’
• Select the Desktop Tab (may have ‘Background’ tab)
• Choose ‘Stretch’ or ‘Center’ or ‘Tile’ to customize the look you want

Changing Your Desktop Background – Another Option

You can also change your desktop to a graphic that’s preloaded with your Windows system.

• Right click an empty spot on your desktop
• Select ‘Properties’

In the ‘Background’ Tab, you’ll see an open box with various graphic files. Just click through these (watching the top display example to see the graphics as you click them) and when you’ve decided on which one to use, make sure you’ve selected that graphic by highlighting it then clicking ‘Apply’ then ‘OK’.

Your desktop should now be changed to the graphic you selected.

Changing Your Desktop Background To One Of Your Pictures

Do you have a picture of your family or a pet that you’d love to have as your desktop graphic? It’s simple to do! Ensure you have a copy of your picture on your computer (save it to a folder and note which one), then:

• Right click on an empty spot of the desktop
• Click ‘Properties’
• Choose the ‘Background’ Tab
• You’ll notice a ‘Browse’ button – click that
• Now go to the location on your computer where you’ve saved a copy of the picture you want to use
• When you find the picture, select it
• Click ‘Open’
• Click ‘Apply’
• Click ‘OK’

That’s it!

For Windows XP settings – here’s a quick reference from Microsoft:

Microsoft.com: Change Your Desktop Background (Win XP)

If you have a picture or graphic that you’d like to use as a screensaver, here’s how you do that:

• Ensure you have a copy of the picture on your computer (save it to a unique folder and note which one)
• Right click on an empty spot of the desktop
• Click ‘Properties’
• Choose the ‘Screensaver’ Tab
• In the Screensaver scroll box, click the arrow and go to ‘My Pictures Screensaver” (or Sideshow)
• Select the ‘Settings’ button
• Select the ‘Browse’ button
• Go to the location on your computer where you’ve saved the picture you want to use
• Click ‘OK’
• Click ‘Apply’
• Click ‘OK’

If you want to have a slideshow of various pictures for your screensaver, just save a few pictures in the same folder and tweak the settings to your liking.

Did you know you can use shortcut keys instead of desktop shortcuts to gain quicker access to programs? Here’s how you can do that:

• Find the shortcut to the program you want to have fast access to (you may have set it on your desktop, or you can create a shortcut in the program folder itself
• Right click the shortcut
• Click ‘Properties’
• Select ‘Shortcut’ Tab
• You’ll see information provided about that shortcut, look for the Shortcut Key box, it should read as: None

• Click in that box and enter a letter you’d like to use for your shortcut (example: f)
• The text in the box will now read as: Ctrl + Alt + F

• Click ‘Apply’
• Click ‘OK’

Now to access that program, all you need to do is click Ctrl + Alt + F (at the same time) to gain fast access to that program.