UKC

Could be a shortcut, dodge, workaround, something micro$oft never wanted you to know about or something else??

Mine:
Been doing this for years and still instantly speed up folks PCs when I'm working on them - run/msconfig, strip out everything non essential from the start up tab and restart. If I want adobe reader and divx update checker etc etc to start when I switch on i'll do it manually and suffer the 3 seconds wait it'll take & bugger the consequences

In reply to blanchie14c:

Disabling safesearch in Google images..

In reply to blanchie14c: JAZZ for FREE ! Music for free ! Along with free Viruses ! Everyone's a winner.

In reply to blanchie14c: Does "How to program them" count?

In reply to blanchie14c:

Apart from a few not so complex programs for the ZX81 & Commodore 64 (yeh I know showing off now) , its probably turning them off then on again . . . ;0)

In reply to blanchie14c: Double-clicking on Format Paint when you need to use it more than once.

Genius!

In reply to blanchie14c:

I agree, and did this on my old PC which was running XP.
However, where do I find this facility on Windows 7?

In reply to owlart:
Depends, "minority" systems like RiscOS don't count

In reply to blanchie14c: touchtyping

In reply to Reach>Talent: Oh, damn

I can do php, does that count?

In reply to blanchie14c:

Ctrl + F
snipping tool
DEL

I'm shit at computers. Learnt these three in the past 3 months.

In reply to owlart:

I should hope so. The C Programming Language has paid my salary getting on for 20 years now.

In reply to owlart:
I'll give you that one although my only farays into programming this millenium have involved swearing loudly at VBA and attempting to read some slightly clunky SAS code.

In reply to Glyno:
Same as same as
start / all programs / accessories / run then type in msconifg

In reply to LaMentalist:
I built my zx80 and had the 16kb ram pack. Many an afternoon we'd spend 'programing' it
10 print 'blanchie'
20 print ' '
30 goto 10

In reply to blanchie14c: Ctrl+Alt+down/left/right. Mwhahaha.

In reply to owlart:

Absolutely. Php is the best thing I've ever learned for updating web sites (and a whole lot of automated functions besides).

In reply to Andy Mason:

Can you please tell me what horrible thing that does before curiosity gets the better of me!

In reply to blanchie14c:

Run > GPEDIT.MSC

You can enable/disable all sorts of things, like 'Auotrun'. "No stop trying to scan my USB key again! I know what I want!!!!"

In reply to Dave 88:
Screen flip

In reply to richyfenn:
Ah, not used that one in a while cheers for reminding me

Getting an automatic form filler.

In reply to blanchie14c:

aha! so that's where it was hiding - thanks

In reply to blanchie14c:

I use Word a lot.

The best three things are:

Ctrl spacebar = remove manual character formatting
Ctrl Q = remove manual paragraph formatting
and
Shift F5 = go to where the insertion point last was, 5 iterations. This works when you open a document you previously saved, and Shift F5 takes you to where you were working last

In reply to blanchie14c:
Ctrl + Alt + Del

Switching a mac on for the 1st time

In reply to blanchie14c:

ctr Z is Undo

In reply to nniff:
When you want to copy/paste from websites with right click disabled, ctrl+c is copy, ctrl+v is cut and ctrl+v is paste. its also handy for writing macros in word too.
shiftF5 is gonna help me at work, thanks!
Chris - alt+ctrl+del should be built into just one button for vista users!
andy - ctrlZ is plenty used by be at work too

Some great ones here, keep em coming!

In reply to blanchie14c:

Having a decent cordless mouse with built in navigation keys.

In Windows 7, CTRL + Shift + N makes a New Folder.

Knowing as many other Keyboard Shortcuts as is possible to remember. This is specially true, if you use something like Photoshop.

Setting the CTRL button, so that when it's pressed, it highlights where the mouse pointer is - particularly useful if you have more than one monitor.

System Restore Points.

Microsoft Security Essentials.

In reply to blanchie14c:

In word, highlight text then

Ctrl + ] makes it bigger
Ctrl + [ makes it smaller

easier to whizz it up to fit a page quickly rather than guessing at font size.

In reply to rj_townsend:

Gasp! You are my hero!

In reply to MJ:



Likes

ALT+F4. Automatically speeds up the computer processor for the current window.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Another Word one - Shift F3 is toggle upper case - none, initial or whole word (or selected text)

In reply to blanchie14c:

We done a similar 10 print, 20 goto 10 with expetives about someone in the classroom's mother and done it to every single BBC Micro computer in our computing class at the same time! Heads rolled!

In reply to blanchie14c:
www.radioparadise.com 'user-supported' (i.e. free) eclectic internet radio 24/7 from the west coast with no adverts and minimal interruptions. The 'Listen' tab on their home page lists a multitude of ways to engage with RP. I employ 64k AAC+ using VLC (on my Windows 7 machine)and pipe the output into my hi-fi system. You can take a look at a recent playlist to see if RP might be of interest:
http://www.radioparadise.com/content.php?name=Playlist

And also Ctrl+Alt+SysReq (all three held while the following are pressed and held sequentially for two or three seconds) R, E, I, S, U, B - to force a graceful shutdown of a 'hung' Linux system. Works with all incarnations of Ubuntu. It closes and saves all open files etc. before shutting down and rebooting - and is a good test of manual dexterity! (Mnemonic: 'Raising Elephants Is So Utterly Boring).

In reply to blanchie14c:

the one that gave me the most relief was getting a payroll running again (never worked on it before) after 2 days of trying while the person who could fix it was on Cyprus for 4 weeks - 1300 Kishorn "Bears" waiting to be paid if it hadn't been fixed. No one else on site to fix it...

I suppose also getting the site systems going again after being woken at 4am and finding 110 degrees F in the machine room and finding no damage had been done - nearedt help was in Edinburgh!

In reply to blanchie14c:

Backup, backup backup and do it regularly. Saved my skin a few times over the years.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Switching it off, making a cup of tea, and then switching it on again solves many problems.

Y.

In reply to blanchie14c:

When filling an online form in - instead of moving the cursor to the next box using the mouse use the tab button instead

E

In reply to blanchie14c:

Windows+ M (and Windows + Shift + M) is one of those very simple things I seem to use all the time on PCs.

In reply to NorthernGrit:

Windows+ M

The boss key!

The ultimate though, is Windows + L.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Lots of shortcuts I use constantly, mostly involving the Windows key
Win + d to go to desktop
Win + e to open a new explorer window
Win + up/down/left/right cursor key to move the current window around (maximise/minimise and then move to left/right half of screen)
Win + l to lock the screen
Win + tab to do the funky window selection (might be win 7 only)
Alt + tab has been mentioned before, but also alt + shift + tab goes through the windows in the opposite direction - handy if you miss the one you're looking for
Ctrl + tab is more of an application specific thing - in many programs it'll move through your tabs, like in Opera for example.

In reply to blanchie14c:

net send is good fun - especially if you stick it in a while loop with 500 iterations

I'm a software developer, too - mainly Uniface and SQL, plus a few others

In reply to blanchie14c:
Wow. Excellent topic. Loads of GOOOD hints.
Keep them coming!

In reply to blanchie14c: programming and DBA stuff pays the bills.

Right-click on the task bar gives you easy access to task manager if something crashes.

In reply to Milesy:

you crafty bugger.

I totally fell into that one....

In reply to blanchie14c:

Alt+0128 or AltGr + 5 = €

In reply to blanchie14c:

The CD tray makes an excellent cup holder.

In reply to Andy Mason:

this only works if you have an intel onboard video card and the shortcut keys enabled

if you are doing this on your machine and nothing happens don't worry

In reply to blanchie14c: overclocking using a phase change cooler, so my pc went from 1.8 gig to 3.2 and ran at minus 30c!

In reply to Got a job rob:
Nice, beats my F700 laptop board with a 1p coin acting as a video chip heat sink! <works very well>

In reply to Paul F:

Alt 0176 = °

In reply to ebygomm:

Yeah - plus one!

In reply to blanchie14c:

To bring a laptop screen up like new...

Slightly moisten a very soft lint-free cloth (glasses cloth?) with a 50/50 solution of white vinegar & water and wipe with gentle circular action across the screen.

In reply to Glyno:

for the above, preferably use an 'atomiser' bottle to spray a fine mist onto the cloth

In reply to blanchie14c:

Oh - and just ask on UKC if you are ever having computer problems. It's solved them for me every time, no matter what the topic!

In reply to Removed User:


Just like that?

In reply to blanchie14c: I am going to go all geeky, but I quite enjoyed making clocks and various other apps pop up on the UNIX machines populated by new 1st year computer science students, back in the days when there was almost no security on the average network.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Pressing the 'Any' key

In reply to blanchie14c:



CTRL + mouse wheel also increases/decreases text size

Infact the CTRL key has saved me loads of time, I very rarely right click.

Windows key + r = Run

Run services.msc and you can restart services that are not working. Often saves having to reboot a PC

Windows + Pause/Break for quick access to system preferences

In reply to blanchie14c:

Working with visually impaired people was the revolution in my computer usage - getting away from using the mouse and using keyboard shortcuts has made me much more efficient. ctrl+Z is probably the single most useful command for when everything goes tits up. alt+tab has saved me from getting fired more than once!

In reply to FiendishMcButton:



Mouse wheel just changes zoom. ctrl +] actually changes the size of the font in word and other office packages.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Syncing my phone, Ipad and computers adress books and calendars. Brilliant. i can even see what the wife is up to

In reply to blanchie14c:

Getting a Wacom pad.

In reply to jdawg_85:

Me like this one.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Just read in a copy of Micro Mart that modern cheap keyboards are washable and will dry happily on a radiator.

In reply to blanchie14c:


When using the arrow keys to move the cursor through some text, pressing CTRL+leftarrow or CTRL+rightarrow will move the cursor over whole words. CTRL+home or CTRL+end move the cursor to the start or end of the line

If you're in a job which involves a lot of text editing, this makes it a lot quicker!

In reply to blanchie14c:

Learning HTML has had many uses. Most recent workaround I found helpful is reading the HTML code when you want to take photographs off websites that try to disable the 'right click / save as' function.

If you go into the HTML ('view source' from the browser menu) you can find the direct link to the JPG file and just download that

In reply to blanchie14c:

Agggggggg

I pressed a few of these key combinations and now I do not have access to my NAS box.

Could people please explain what these key combinations do?

In reply to The Lemming:

Pressing ALT+F4 on this window will bring it back again.

In reply to The Lemming:

Yep, true. Used to be able to do that with the older Mac keyboards too. I got some funny looks when I was washing one in the sink in the canteen a few months back! Not sure if it works with the newer aluminium ones though.

In reply to Toby S:

So you have done this?

Ran it under a tap and got it working again?

In reply to Toby S:


It does, although I normally use deionized water for washing. Tap water followed by a bit of ethanol should do the job as well.

CB

In reply to The Lemming:

Yep. Got a bit carried away and used a wee bit of fairy liquid too! Gave it a thorough rinse afterwards and all was fine.

In reply to no one in particular: it is much easier to push a laptop than a server out of a 3rd floor window.

There are days when I chuffin hate computers.

Still, I guess if this stuff was easy I'd be out of a job.

Steve D

In reply to blanchie14c: page up and page down buttons when reading a pdf or looking at slides rather than using the scroll button on your mouse

In reply to The Lemming:

I want a keyboard that has a tiny chip it can read or write to. Could then have some programable hot buttons that'll sent the computer the signal to 'type' my email addy, postal address etc stuff like that. Cause it'd be built in to the keyboard the comp wouldn't need drivers and it'd work with any program requiring text input.

In reply to blanchie14c: It is possible to create macros and assign them to keys to carry out quite complex tasks. There are even applications available to help you do this.

Al

In reply to Gaston Rubberpants:
yea macros, a word macro only works within word though. Want something that'l type what i need in any program require text input, internet etc

In reply to Toby S:

Yep. Got a bit carried away and used a wee bit of fairy liquid too! Gave it a thorough rinse afterwards and all was fine.

State mine is in, I think a jet wash and a good dose of bleach is required...

In reply to MJ:



If you keep looking at those sites, then you will go blind and your willie will fall off.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Its not exactly revolutionary, but in Internet Explorer and Chrome (not sure about other browsers), if you type in the website name in the web address bar eg. ukclimbing and follow that with CTRL+ENTER, it automatically adds the www. and .com parts of the web address.

In reply to blanchie14c: No there are apps available that allow you to automate processes and run script directly from windows. Here is an example http://www.automationanywhere.com/landing/macro-recorder.htm?r=google&w... there are many more out there and I'm sure you will be able to find a free one.

Al

In reply to Gaston Rubberpants:

yep used one called auto-it before

was great

In reply to blanchie14c:

Delete browsing history.....

regular expressions - saved a few years of my life

In reply to Chris Harris:

and private browsing mode

no, we didn't make that so you could buy your girl friend something nice from the jewellers without her knowing, you know darn well what it's for

now what would be clever is when you put your browser into private mode, it switches the mouse to left handed

(ahem)

In reply to SFM:

I found Alt 248 gives the same = °

Mine is PrtScn and then pasting in powerpoint and running slideshow on an unsuspecting idiot is my fav.

In reply to grumpybearpantsclimbinggoat:

from the desktop

PrtScrn

save image in folder somewhere
set image as desktop wallpaper
set task bar to auto hide

move all the desktop shortcuts into a folder in "my documents"

even better... it survives a reboot

In reply to blanchie14c:

The best one by far is how to access the PC of everyone that posts on this forum

In reply to blanchie14c: I discovered many years ago that Apple is much better than windows and Microsoft are constantly playing catch up.

In reply to subseasniper: Linux

In reply to subseasniper:


Really, and how do you work that one out?

In reply to blanchie14c:

- To get a screen-shot/capture of video playing full screen hit 'print screen', open an image editor, and paste.

- Ctrl+shift+esc opens the Task Manager if anything gets stuck. Usually just bringing up the Task Manager (or a bunch of them) unfreezes the computer. If that doesn't work then the means to kill the program is just there.

- The little screws holding the cable to the monitor are not strong enough to hold the monitor if it falls out the window into the garden.

- Punching the monitor causing it to fall out the window won't bring back the 4 hours of work you lost when your computer crashed and ctrl+shift+esc didn't respond.

- Placing your monitor right in front of a window might seem like a good idea, but is probably not recommended if you get frustrated easily and don't have the habit of regularly saving your work.

- On the other hand, Playstation controls are sturdy little things, and still work fine after being thrown out the window.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Press and hold down the on/off key. It switches off the comp without having to go through all that clising down malarkey.


And I love.....cntl+z

Sx

In reply to Sarah G:

I thought this was not exactly a safe way to turn off your PC?

In reply to Sarah G:

Erm. Press it once to initialise shut down. Hold in to cold shut down your machine and potentially break your hard drive or damage your files.

In reply to rallymania:
"it switches the mouse to left handed" and you can multi-task with your right ...

In reply to blanchie14c: The day I learnt that Macs are better than PCs

In reply to BlakeyDerbyshire:

In reply to blanchie14c:

Open txt file
type .LOG
then save as whatever
next time you open the file bingo...

Great for report writing

In reply to blanchie14c:

To be honest, it probably was the day I got my first Mac.

I'm not an Apple Nazi (well not much of one, though have got an iPod and iPhone too) and genuinely like my PC at work but for everyday computing, Macs really do blow PCs out of the water.

In reply to mikehike:

16 years in IT and I never knew that!

In reply to BlakeyDerbyshire:

The day I learnt that Macs are better than PCs

The day I learnt that you could build your own PC, that is better than a Mac and at half the cost.

In reply to blanchie14c:

For someone that doesn't touch type, swapping 2 keys over on their keyboard can really p1ss them off when they try to log on with a password. :0)

In reply to blanchie14c:

Saturday trips to Bangor in my teens involved trawling Woolies/Boots/WH Smith and Debenhams all of whom sold Spectrums, BBCs, Atoms, VBic20s/64s, etc
Print 'F*ck 0ff' was followed by some esoteric Poke command that froze the system and prevented the sales assistants from re-setting the system...
ah those where the days

In reply to blanchie14c: Finding incognito mode on Google Chrome.

In reply to Milesy:

Really? works ok so far.

Sx

In reply to Sarah G:

Having been given a warning, why not take the time to find a bit more out about this for yourself?

http://www.computerrepairtips.net/why-you-should-shut-down-your-computer-an...

Oh - that's right - it will take you too long.

In reply to blanchie14c:

When a colleague leaves their machine (PC) unlocked one can right click on the dashboard, choose Graphics Options>Rotation>Monitor(if you have 2 monitors you have 2 options)>180 Degrees

Turns the monitor display upside down

In reply to balmybaldwin:
I quite enjoy swapping left and right mouse buttons around when collegues nip for a wee...

In reply to tlm:
Now now, grow up and don't be nasty.

Sx

In reply to Sarah G:


Yeah - I was a bit short, wasn't I!

I guess I am always a bit taken aback when someone explains why something is not a good idea and is then ignored. Good luck with your computing and hope you have a good backup routine!

In reply to balmybaldwin:
unlocked one can right click on the dashboard,

Not familiar with the dashboard, what is it and where is it?

In reply to escalator:
It must only be laptops that works on as laptops can work in cars

In reply to escalator:

sorry was obviously thinking about work... meant desktop!

In reply to blanchie14c:

Learning to put one together when I was 7.

And having the patience to not get mad when people at work are being stupid and blame the machine!

In reply to jenniwat001:
I have the same problem explaining that it isn't the computer its the one pressing the button thats buggered it

In reply to balmybaldwin:

Sorry, not trying to be awkward. But how do you right click on a desktop? I'm still not understanding what you mean. Thanks.

In reply to escalator:

Mouse Right Click on an empty part of your Desktop will bring up a series of options.

In reply to MJ:

Yep you are right it does. But on mine there isn't one that says Graphics, like was mentioned in the original post that sparked my question.

No replies necessary.

In reply to escalator:
On win7 do the right click thing and when the pop up menu appears the bottom listed option should be personlise, choose that then on the next screen screen on the bottom right click 'display' and once there you'll get the options for screen res, colour options etc. It seems to differ if you have an on board VGA or a seperate VGA card & software package.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Thank you sir.

In reply to blanchie14c:

Another vote here for touch typing. Other than that lots of what has been put on here is beyond me!!!

I'm definitely not very technically minded. Mine son used to arrive at my house, sit down at my PC and say "Ok let's see what you've done at it this time.' and proceed to check it through and sort anything out. Now I just take my laptop to him every so often and he has a look or I ask on here.

It's good to know you are here to help so thanks from me.

In reply to Knitting Norah:
Yes it could be that this thread is worth prining out and saving on the computer desk, some great tips here

In reply to blanchie14c:

One for the Nikon users, running Windows 7 64 bit. There is now a Codec, downloadable from Nikon, that means you can view RAW thumbnails in Explorer.

In reply to MJ:
is there?

10 print "thank you MJ"
20 goto 10

In reply to blanchie14c: Manual restore of System Registry Failure

In reply to lithos:

^^ that. With knobs on. Best lifetime investment you can make if your life involves computers.