Answers to some problems may be found in the pages listed
in the menu on the left. All of the pages are in the PDF format and can be
saved to your own machine. If you are unable to find the answer you are looking
for, please ensure you have researched your problem before making a request
by email to Bob
PrettyI
I do not guarantee to have answers to your problems. The main programs that
are used have been covered in the menus, if you are looking for something
not so popular like Power Point then search in the Others
menu option. These tips were published on this site in March 2011 new tips
are made available on a reasonably regular basis.
Activate PDF Windows Tips File

Windows Tips
Technical Support - System Restore:
Downloaded something that's messed up your
computer? Bob Rankin explains how System Restore will take your computer back
to the pre-download status (and expunge the offending program) without losing
recent valuable data.
(To read the article scroll down past the ads) http://askbobrankin.com/system_restore.htm
A virus is a small computer program, which attaches
to a computer file. Viruses can be spread via email, downloading from the
Internet or file transfer via floppy or CD-ROM.
Do not open attachments you were not expecting
Install and maintain anti-virus software
Use the software's features to automatically update it.
Back up your files regularly
If you have Windows XP, you can arrange for your computer to regularly update its clock against the Crown Institute Industrial research atomic clock right here in New Zealand. To do this do the following:
Right click on the time display at the right-hand side of the task bar.
From the menu click Adjust Date/Time
From the dialogue select Internet Time tab
In the Server Time text box type msltime.irl.cri.nz
Click the Apply button and OK button
Connect to the Internet
Go back to the same dialogue box and
Click the Update Now button
Wait while the server is polled for the time and you should see the message
regarding the time check change to the current time it should also tell you
when the next time check will take place one week from now. Of course this
will not happen if the computer is switched off or not connected to the Internet.
It also will not happen if the check box (Automatically synchronies with an
Internet Time Server ) isn't checked.
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With the following keystrokes if the keystroke is listed as Ctrl + S. You Do Not press the plus sign key at all. This is the way that the keystroke is explained. It means Hold down the Ctrl and the S key together. The easiest way to do this is to hold down the Ctrl key then type the other key. If two control keys are involved (Ctrl + Shift) then hold down both these keys and type the other key once. Remember once you have learned the ones useful to you and you use them instead of the mouse pointer they will work in many other applications. |
|
| Keystrokes to move the insertion point around text, or select text | |
| Keystrokes to move the insertion point around text, or select text | |
| Press SHIFT+ any of the following keystrokes to select text: | |
| LEFT ARROW | Left one character at a time |
| RIGHT ARROW | Right one character at a time |
| DOWN ARROW | Down one line at a time |
| UP ARROW | Up one line at a time |
| CTRL+ LEFT ARROW | Left one word at a time |
| CTRL+ RIGHT ARROW | Right one word at a time |
| HOME | To the beginning of the current line of text |
| END | To the end of the current line of text |
| CTRL+HOME | To the beginning of the document |
| CTRL+END | To the end of the document |
| PAGE UP | Up one full screen |
| PAGE DOWN | Down one full screen |
| CTRL+PAGE UP | To the beginning of the previous page |
| CTRL+PAGE DOWN | To the beginning of the next page |
| Common shortcuts | |
| Common shortcuts means that they work with all of Microsoft's Office applications. They also work with many non Microsoft Applications I.E. Word Perfect Office and OpenOffice.org | |
| CTRL+O | Open |
| CTRL+Z | Undo |
| CTRL+Y |
Redo. In some programs, if there is nothing to redo, this repeats the last action. |
| CTRL+S | Save |
| CTRL+P | |
| ALT+F4 | Close the active window |
| CTRL+B | Bold. Note: If text is highlighted then that text is formatted Bold. Else text after keystrokes are bold. If text is already bold and highlighted then this keystroke will format text as normal |
| CTRL+I | Italic |
| CTRL+U | Underline |
| CTRL+R | Align right |
| CTRL+E | Align center |
| CTRL+L | Align left |
| CTRL+C | Copy |
| CTRL+X | Cut |
| CTRL+V | Paste |
| CTRL+C+CTRL+C | Open the clipboard |
| CTRL+F | Find |
| CTRL+H | Replace |
| CTRL+A | Select whole document |
| F7 | Spell checker |
| SHIFT+F7 | Thesaurus |
| CTRL+SHIFT+S | Style box |
| CTRL+SHIFT+F | Font |
| CTRL+SHIFT+N | Change font to Normal style |
People that download trial software (usually shareware) ask me how they can reload the software in working order after un-installing it? This is the easiest thing in the world to fix, in fact I would go as far as to say no fix is simpler even for a very basic novice. The fix.
BUY THE SOFTWARE OR FORGET ABOUT USING IT!
If you accidentally delete an important file from your computer and it does not land in the recycle bin - here's the solution.
It is called Recover Files
This program is free, small, easy to use, quick and it works.
So, if you ever delete a file that you really need
back you can get it here / deleted files need to be recovered quickly or they
will be overwritten by other data. Having this on hand may be a good idea.
http://www.undeleteunerase.com
A utility program is one that usually only does one job either for an application or for the system. An anti-virus protection program is a utility program it protects your machine against known viruses. A firewall program is another utility it places a firewall between your machine and the Internet stopping unwanted people attacking your machine trying to take control of it unbeknown to you.