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Backspace does not delete the highlighted text in Word 2003

2009-05-08T12:04:00.000-07:00

In Word 2003, if you highlight some text and press the Backspace key then instead of deleting the text, the cursor simply moves to the start of the highlighted block. You can change this behavior to make the text get deleted by hitting the Backspace key. Perform the following steps to do so.

1. Open Microsoft Word 2003.
2. Click Tools and click on Options.
3. From the Options dialog box that opens, click on the Edit tab.
4. Under Editing options, click to place a check mark to Typing replaces selection.
5. Click OK.

Now, try highlighting some text and delete it using the Backspace key.

Move the Quick Access Toolbar

2009-04-26T13:17:00.000-07:00

By default, the Quick Access Toolbar is placed to the right of the Microsoft Office button . You may move the Quick Access Toolbar below the Ribbon. You may also move the Quick Access Toolbar to the default position if it is placed below the Ribbon.

1. Move the Quick Access Toolbar below the Ribbon
Click on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar and then click Show Below the Ribbon.

2. Move the Quick Access Toolbar to the default location
Click on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar and then click Show Above the Ribbon.

Minimize the Ribbon

2009-04-26T13:07:00.000-07:00

To minimize the Ribbon, press Ctrl + F1.

You may also right-click on any tabs (Example: Home, Insert) and click on Minimize the Ribbon.

The third way to minimize the Ribbon is by double clicking on any tabs (Example: Home, Insert).

The fourth way to minimize the Ribbon is by clicking on the Customize Quick Access Toolbar and then clicking on Minimize the Ribbon.

Know the edition of Microsoft Office 2007

2009-04-22T13:19:00.000-07:00

To know the edition of Microsoft Office 2007, open any Microsoft Office application (like Microsoft Word, or Microsoft Excel) and perform the following steps. Here, we will perform the steps by opening Microsoft Word 2007.

1. Click on the Microsoft Office button and click on Word Options.
2. Click on Resources from the left pane and from the right pane, click About.
3. From the About Microsoft Office Word dialog box that opens, in the second line, the edition of Office 2007 is mentioned (For example: Part of Microsoft Office Professional 2007).

Change the color of the sheet tab in Excel 2003

2009-04-19T04:46:00.000-07:00

1. Select the sheet that you need to color.
2. Right-click on the sheet and then click Tab Color or click on Format menu, point to Sheet and then click Tab Color.
3. Pick the color and then click OK.

How to lock rows or columns in Excel 2003?

2009-04-18T12:51:00.000-07:00

In Excel 2003, if you have a worksheet that has a large number of rows and columns and you need to have a specific number of rows or columns or both rows and columns be visible always then you may do this by freezing the rows or columns or both rows and columns.

Freeze only rows

To freeze only rows, you must first determine the number of rows to freeze. For example, if you need to freeze the first two rows then click on the A3 section in the worksheet and then click on the Window menu and click on Freeze Panes.

Freeze only columns

To freeze only columns, you must first determine the number of columns to freeze. For example, if you need to freeze the first two columns then click on the C1 section in the worksheet and then click on the Window menu and click on Freeze Panes.

Freeze both rows and columns

To freeze both rows and columns, first determine the number of rows and columns to freeze. For example, if you need to freeze the first two rows and first two columns then click on the C3 section in the worksheet and then click on the Window menu and click on Freeze Panes.

Open submenus when I pause on them with the mouse pointer. What is this?

2009-04-18T00:54:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, when you click on the Start button and hover the mouse over All Programs or over the expandable items then after a short time, the sub menus gets displayed. This is a feature that is enabled by default in Windows Vista. You can also turn it off or on. To turn off this feature, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under You can customize how links, icons, and menus look and behave on the Start menu, click to remove the check mark from the Open submenus when I pause on them with the mouse pointer.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

To turn on the “Open submenus when I pause on them with the mouse pointer” feature, perform the first four steps as provided above and then from the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under You can customize how links, icons, and menus look and behave on the Start menu, click to place the check mark to the Open submenus when I pause on them with the mouse pointer. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box. Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Keep your genuine Microsoft products a genuine one

2009-04-17T02:48:00.000-07:00

Most Windows users purchase a genuine copy of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office but later on they come to know that their copy of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office is not a genuine one. This post provides you some information that may help you to make a note so that the copy of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office stays as a genuine one. This post is not applicable for the software programs that cover Volume Licensing terms but is intended for consumer level products (like home users). Before going in detail, you must understand.

Software programs for which the not genuine notification will appear

Mode of purchase of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office

Licensing terms for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office

Software programs for which the not genuine notification will appear
All editions of Windows XP except Windows XP Professional x64 edition, all editions of Windows Vista, Office XP, Office 2003, and Office 2007.

Mode of purchase of Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office
If the copy of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office was purchased directly from Microsoft or from a retail store then these products is referred to as retail copies of Microsoft products.
If the copy of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office came pre-installed at the time of purchase of your computer from a computer manufacturer (like Acer, Dell, HP, Sony, or other) or purchased at a later time from the computer manufacturer then these products is referred to as OEM copies of Microsoft products.

Licensing terms for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office
The license for OEM copies of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office is not transferable. This means that Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office can be installed and re-installed only on the computer on which it came pre-installed.
The license for retail copies of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office is transferable. This means that Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office can be uninstalled from a particular computer and then installed on a different computer. A retail copy of Microsoft Windows can be installed on only one computer at any given time. Retail copies of Microsoft Office can be installed onto 1 desktop and 1 laptop. Only Office Student and Teacher 2003 and Office Home and Student 2007 can be installed on three computers in a household environment.

If the above provided information is clear then the following information will help you to keep the Microsoft product as a genuine one.
1. Do not install Windows XP or Windows Vista onto more than one computer.
2. Do not install the OEM copy of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office onto a different computer.
3. If the not genuine notification appears and you had not activated your copy of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office then try activating it and then perform the validation process.
4. Regarding the OEM copy of Windows XP or Windows Vista, the re-installation software is saved on your computer. Contact your computer manufacturer for creating the recovery disk.
5. Carry the disks of your genuine copy of Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office while taking your computer to a repair shop. If the software has to be installed then provide your disks to complete the installation.
6. Do not use other’s disks for installing Microsoft Windows or Microsoft Office.
7. If you have both the trial and full version of Microsoft Office then the full version of Microsoft Office will start giving the notification that the software is not a genuine one. Uninstall the trial version of Microsoft Office. This will solve the problem.

Locate the product key for Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office products

2009-04-17T00:14:00.000-07:00

Product key is a 25-character alphanumeric key that you use during the installation process. It is typically divided into groups of 5. You may locate the product key at the following places:

For Microsoft Windows:
1. Sticker on the bottom of a laptop or side of a PC (Windows only).
2. Sticker on shrink wrapped disk package.
3. Printed on product documentation.
4. Orange or yellow sticker on CD case.
5. Confirmation e-mail message if you had performed an online download.

For Microsoft Office:
1. Sticker on shrink wrapped disk package.
2. Printed on product documentation.
3. Orange or yellow sticker on CD case.
4. Confirmation e-mail message if you had performed an online download.

If you have installed Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office and want to locate the Product Key then the Product Key is present on the machine in some form that is not readable. To view it you need a tool such as Magical Jelly Bean 'KeyFinder'.
Click here to go to the Magical Jelly Bean Web site from where you can find the software download.

If Microsoft Windows came packaged with your computer and later on if you had installed a retail copy of Microsoft Windows then the product key that is retrieved by the Magical Jelly Bean Keyfinder will display the product key that is different from the product key that is at the side or bottom of the computer. This is because the product key that is at the side or bottom of the computer is the Microsoft Windows product key that came from a computer manufacturer like Acer, Dell, HP, Sony, or other.

If you are unable to locate the product key then contact Microsoft.

How do you add line numbers to a document in Word 2003?

2009-04-14T13:12:00.000-07:00

In Word 2003, you can add line numbers to
Entire document

To a particular section or sections in the document

To a particular text portion in the document
Please note that when you add line numbers to a particular section(s) or to a particular text portion then a page break will be inserted before and after the numbered lines. You have to switch to Print Layout view to view the line numbers. To switch to Print Layout view, click on View menu and click on Print Layout.

Add line numbers to the entire document

1. Click File menu, click Page Setup.
2. From the Page Setup dialog box, click on the Layout tab.
3. Under Preview section, in the Apply to drop down box, click Whole document.
4. Click Line numbers.
5. From the Line Numbers, dialog box, click to check the Add line numbering check box.

The number that you specify in the Start at: field will be counted as the initial value. For example, if you specify 5 then the first line in the Word document will have the line number 5.
The number that you specify in the From text: field will make the line number align closer or farther from the actual text.
In the Count by: field, the number that you specify will make the line number to display after the number of lines that you mentioned here, for example, if you enter 10 then after every 9 lines, the line number will be displayed, in total you will see 10, 20, 30 numbering.
The default setting for Start at, From text, Count by is 1, auto, 1.
Under Numbering section, if you click the Restart each page radio button then the line numbering will start from 1 for every page. The Continuos radio button selection will continually list the line numbers till the end of the document.

6. Click OK twice.

Add line numbers to a particular section or sections in the document.

1. Select the text that you need to number.
2. Click File menu, click Page Setup.
3. From the Page Setup dialog box, click on the Layout tab.
4. Under Preview section, in the Apply to drop down box, click Selected sections. Please note that Microsoft Word will add page breaks before and after the line numbers.
5. Click Line numbers.
6. From the Line Numbers, dialog box, click to check the Add line numbering check box.

The number that you specify in the Start at: field will be counted as the initial value. For example, if you specify 5 then the first line in the Word document will have the line number 5.
The number that you specify in the From text: field will make the line number align closer or farther from the actual text.
In the Count by: field, the number that you specify will make the line number to display after the number of lines that you mentioned here, for example, if you enter 10 then after every 9 lines, the line number will be displayed, in total you will see 10, 20, 30 numbering.
The default setting for Start at, From text, Count by is 1, auto, 1.
Under Numbering section, if you click the Restart each page radio button then the line numbering will start from 1 for every page. The Continuos radio button selection will continually list the line numbers till the end of the document.

7. Click OK twice.

Add line numbers to a particular text portion in the document

1. Select the text that you need to number.
2. Click File menu, click Page Setup.
3. From the Page Setup dialog box, click on the Layout tab.
4. Under Preview section, in the Apply to drop down box, click Selected text. Please note that Microsoft Word will add page breaks before and after the line numbers.
5. Click OK.

Switch between Windows icon missing from the Quick Launch toolbar in Windows Vista

2009-04-12T07:18:00.000-07:00

The Switch between Windows button on the Quick Launch toolbar is enabled by a file called Window Switcher.lnk in the Quick Launch directory. The original file is located in the %systemdrive%\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch directory. You have to copy it and paste inside the %userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch directory. Seems little complicated right. For performing it with ease, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , type Run in the Start Search field. Copy and paste the following in the Run dialog box.
%systemdrive%\Users\Default\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
This will open the window with Show desktop and Switch between windows icons. This window is the source window.

2. Now, click on Start button , type Run in the Start Search field. Copy and paste the following in the Run dialog box.
%userprofile%\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Internet Explorer\Quick Launch
This will open a window that will have all the icons that is present in the Quick Launch toolbar. This is the destination window where in you have to place the Switch between windows icon.

3. From the source window, right-click on the Switch between windows icon and click on Copy.
4. Go to the destination window. Right click on an empty space and click on Paste. You should see the Switch between windows icon in that window and also in the Quick Launch toolbar.

Show desktop icon missing on the Quick Launch toolbar in Windows Vista

2009-04-12T05:35:00.000-07:00

To restore the Show desktop icon on the Quick Launch toolbar, perform the following steps:
1. Open Notepad. Copy and paste the following text in the Notepad.

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=shell32.dll,34
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

2. Save the Notepad file as Show Desktop.scf and save the file on the desktop.
3. The Show desktop icon will be created on the desktop. Drag and drop the Show desktop icon onto the Quick Launch toolbar.

From the keyboard, press the Windows logo key and D key.

Right click on an empty space on the taskbar and click on the Show the Desktop.

Show desktop icon missing on the Quick Launch toolbar in Windows XP

2009-04-12T02:55:00.000-07:00

To restore the Show desktop icon on the Quick Launch toolbar, perform the following steps:
1. Open Notepad. Copy and paste the following text in the Notepad.

[Shell]
Command=2
IconFile=explorer.exe,3
[Taskbar]
Command=ToggleDesktop

2. Save the Notepad file as "Show Desktop.scf" - include the quotes while saving the Notepad file.
3. The Show desktop icon will be created on the desktop. Drag and drop the Show desktop icon onto the Quick Launch toolbar.

From the keyboard, press the Windows logo key and D key.

Right click on an empty space on the taskbar and click on the Show the Desktop.

Add or remove the Quick Launch toolbar in Windows Vista

2009-04-12T01:38:00.000-07:00

Quick Launch toolbar is a section on the taskbar. You add programs to the Quick Launch toolbar to open them by a single click of the mouse but you need to add the Quick Launch toolbar in order to hold the programs. You can also remove the Quick Launch toolbar if you do not wish to have it on the taskbar.

To add the Quick Launch toolbar, perform the following:
Right click on an empty space on the taskbar and point to Toolbars and click to place a check mark to the Quick Launch.

To remove the Quick Launch toolbar, perform the following:
Right click on an empty space on the taskbar and point to Toolbars and click to remove the check mark to the Quick Launch.

Add or remove programs on the Quick Launch toolbar in Windows Vista

2009-04-12T01:37:00.001-07:00

Quick Launch toolbar is a section on the taskbar. You add programs to the Quick Launch toolbar to open them by a single click of the mouse. You can also remove the programs from the Quick Launch toolbar. Please be informed that removing the programs only removes the programs from the Quick Launch toolbar and not the actual program.

To add the programs to the Quick Launch toolbar, perform the following:
Identify the program that you need to appear on the Quick Launch toolbar and then drag-and-drop the program onto the Quick Launch toolbar. In the figure that appears in the right, I had added FreeCell game by navigating to C drive, Program Files, Microsoft Games and FreeCell and then dragging and dropping the FreeCell game to the Quick Launch toolbar.

You may also drag and drop programs that appear when you click on the Start button and also the programs that appear when you click on Start, All Programs.
You may also place the programs to the Quick Launch by right-clicking on the program and clicking on Add to Quick Launch.

To remove the programs from the Quick Launch toolbar, perform the following:
Right-click on the program from the Quick Launch toolbar and click on Delete. Please be informed that removing the programs only removes the programs from the Quick Launch toolbar and not the actual program. To verify this, right-click on the FreeCell game from the Quick Launch toolbar and click on Delete. Confirm this action by pressing on Yes. Now, the FreeCell game is removed from the Quick Launch toolbar. Navigate to C drive, Program Files, Microsoft Games and FreeCell. In the FreeCell folder, you will see the FreeCell game.

Add or remove Printers item from the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-11T19:43:00.001-07:00

In Windows Vista, when you click on the Start button , you will see a list of programs like Documents, Music, Pictures, and more. By default, Printers item will not be present. You can add or remove Printers item from the Start menu.
To add Printers item to the Start menu, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under You can customize how links, icons, and menus look and behave on the Start menu, click to place a check mark to the Printers to make the Printers item display as a button when you click on the Start button.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

To remove the Printers item from the Start menu, perform the first four steps as provided above and then from the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under You can customize how links, icons, and menus look and behave on the Start menu, click to remove the check mark to the Printers to make the Network item be removed when you click on the Start button. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box. Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Remove the blue color box around the icons in desktop in Windows XP

2009-04-08T05:40:00.000-07:00

The border on the desktop icons will appear if the desktop items have been locked. To unlock the desktop web items, perform the following:
Right click on an empty area on the desktop and click to uncheck Lock web items on desktop if it has a little tick next to it.

If you do not have a tick mark on the Lock web items on desktop then perform the following steps to remove the blue color box around the icons in desktop.
1. Right click My Computer icon and click Properties.
2. Click on the Advanced tab.
3. Under Performance, click Settings button.
4. Under "Visual Effects" tab, tick the "Custom" radio button and in the box below it, scroll down and make sure the "Use drop shadows for icon labels on the desktop" is ticked.
5. Click Apply and then click OK.

This should remove the shadow border from your desktop icons.

Find License Terms for Software Licensed from Microsoft

2009-04-08T05:17:00.000-07:00

Microsoft had developed a huge number of applications. Microsoft products are being used by most people worldwide. The most popular software developed by Microsoft is the Windows operating system. The software's developed by Microsoft have a specific licensing term. The following web link provides information regarding the license terms for the software that is licensed from Microsoft or from the computer manufacturer.

Click here to go to the Microsoft License Term web page

Saving all the Word documents as .doc format by default in Word 2007

2009-04-08T03:02:00.000-07:00

By default, Word 2007 saves the documents in .docx format. If you had e-mailed a Word document that is in the .docx format then the recipient must have Word 2007 or if the recipient has a previous version of Microsoft Office then they must have installed the compatibility pack to view Word 2007 documents. If they do not have Word 2007 and have not installed the compatibility pack then they will not be able to view the document that you sent. However, there is an option in Word 2007 that you can do and that is to make Word 2007 to save all the documents that you create in a format that the previous versions of Microsoft Word can recognize. To do this, perform the following steps:
1. Open Microsoft Word and click on the Microsoft Office button and then click on Word Options. (Keyboard shortcut: Alt + F + I. Press Alt key and then H and then I).
2. From the Word Options dialog box, on the left pane click on Save. From the right pane, click on the Save files in this format: drop down box and select Word 97-2003 Document (*.doc).
3. Click OK.

From now onwards, all the Word documents will be saved in a format that the users of previous versions of Microsoft Word will be able to open.

Using keyboard to navigate in Word 2007 Ribbon

2009-04-08T02:59:00.000-07:00

If you had opened Word 2007 and pressed Alt key from the keyboard then you will see numbers and characters displayed in the ribbon. The numbers or characters that get displayed provide an easier way to use a command.
For example, the keyboard shortcut for making text appear bold is Ctrl + B. If you are not aware of the keyboard shortcut then you may click on the Alt key first. Bold command is under Home tab, so press H. For making text appear bold, press 1. In short, press Alt H 1 to make the selected text bold.
Try for other commands. You will definitely feel loving Office 2007 as these options were not made so easier in the earlier versions of Microsoft Office.

All Programs highlighted with orange color when you click on the Start button in Windows Vista

2009-04-05T22:55:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, if you had installed a new software and if the new software appears when you click on the Start button , All Programs then the Start menu will indicate that a new software(s) had been installed by having the All Programs highlight as shown in the figure. Once you click on the All Programs, you will see the new programs (To identify the new programs, they will be highlighted). You can have this feature turn on or off. By default, this feature is turned on in Windows Vista. If this feature is turned off then to turn on the feature to highlight the All Programs when a new software is installed, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under You can customize how links, icons, and menus look and behave on the Start menu, click to place a check mark to the Highlight newly installed programs.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

To turn off the feature to highlight the All Programs when a new software is installed, perform the first four steps as provided above and then from the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under You can customize how links, icons, and menus look and behave on the Start menu, click to remove the check mark to the Highlight newly installed programs. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box. Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Know the version of Media Center

2009-04-05T22:21:00.000-07:00

Media Center is available in Windows XP Media Center Edition and in Windows Vista Home Premium, Windows Vista Ultimate editions.
Windows XP Media Center has three releases namely Windows XP Media Center Edition, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004, Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005. Windows XP Media Center Edition 2005 is the final release. It was updated a number of times to incorporate new capabilities such as support for the Xbox 360 as a media center extender, DVB-T broadcasts, and support for two ATSC tuner cards. If you were using the 2002 year released version of Windows XP Media Center and have installed or upgraded to Microsoft Windows XP Media Center Edition 2004 or Windows Media Center Edition 2005, the version number that appears in the properties of My Computer is incorrect. The General tab displays "Version 2002". To know the version of Windows XP Media Center Edition that you are running, perform the following steps:
1. Start Media Center.
2. On the Settings menu, click General.
3. Scroll down, and then click About Media Center.
The version number of the application that you are running is displayed.

Now to Windows Vista, perform the following steps to know the edition of Windows Vista:

Click Start button , right-click Computer, and then click Properties. Under Windows edition section, the edition of Windows Vista is displayed.

Unable to drag and drop programs and also the right click on the programs in Start menu does not work in Windows Vista

2009-04-04T23:53:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, when you click on the Start button , you will see a list of programs that you had recently opened on the left pane. By default, you can move the programs up or down by dragging and dropping the programs and also you can view the context menu when you right click on any program. If you are unable to drag and drop programs and also if the context menu does not appear when you right-click on a program then you may perform the following steps to enable the drag-and-drop feature and also to make the context menu to appear in the Start menu.

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under You can customize how links, icons, and menus look and behave on the Start menu, click to place a check mark to the Enable context menus and dragging and dropping.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Know the version of Internet Explorer that is present in your computer

2009-04-03T06:11:00.000-07:00

At the time of writing this, Internet Explorer 8 was released and Microsoft offered free support till 31st December 2009 for issues related to Internet Explorer 8. But the same does not apply for other versions of Internet Explorer. If you are contacting Microsoft or other sources for support then they will ask for the version of Internet Explorer to assist you further. The following steps will let you know the version of Internet Explorer that you are using.
1. Open Internet Explorer.
2. Click on Help menu (Help menu is present in the Menu Bar. If you do not see the Menu bar then press the Alt key from the keyboard).
3. Click on About Internet Explorer.

The version of Internet Explorer will be displayed in the About Internet Explorer dialog box.

Add or remove Computer button from the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T17:53:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, when you click on the Start button , you will see a list of programs like Documents, Music, Pictures, and more. By default, you will see User Name, Documents, Pictures, Music, Games, Recent Items, Computer, Network, Connect To, Control Panel, Default Programs, Help and Support. You can add or remove these items (except user name) from the Start menu. Here, we will see about adding the Computer item if it is not present in the right pane of the Start menu. We will also see about removing the Computer item if you do not wish to have it in the Start menu list.
To add Computer button to the Start menu, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under Computer, click the Display as a link option to make the Computer item display as a button. You may also click on the Display as a menu option to make the contents under Computer to get displayed when you hover the mouse over Computer item.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

To remove the Computer item from the Start menu, perform the first five steps as provided above and then from the Customize Start Menu dialog box, under Computer, click the Don't display this item radio button. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box. Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Add or remove Default Programs button from the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T17:23:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, when you click on the Start button , you will see a list of programs like Documents, Music, Pictures, and more. By default, you will see User Name, Documents, Pictures, Music, Games, Recent Items, Computer, Network, Connect To, Control Panel, Default Programs, Help and Support. You can add or remove these items (except user name) from the Start menu. Here, we will see about adding the Default Programs if it is not present in the right pane of the Start menu. We will also see about removing the Default Programs if you do not wish to have it in the Start menu list.
To add Default Programs to the Start menu, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box, click to place a check mark to Default Programs check box.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

To remove the Default Programs button from the Start menu, perform the first five steps as provided above and then from the Customize Start Menu dialog box, click to clear the check mark of Default Programs check box. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Change the Start menu to Classic view in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T15:43:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, you have two views of the Start menu.
1. Start menu.
2. Classic Start menu (This menu style gives you the look and functionality of previous versions of Windows like Windows 98, Windows 2000).
By default, Windows Vista displays the Start menu style. To change to the Classic view, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click the Start Menu tab and then click the Classic Start menu radio button.
5. Click OK to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

Clear the programs from the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T15:10:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, when you open a program like Microsoft Word, Microsoft Excel, Notepad, Calculator or any other program then the program will be displayed in the Start menu, just below the pinned list of programs. For some reasons, you think to clear the programs from the Start menu then you may right-click on the particular program and click on Remove from this list. If you do not want the Start menu to display the list of programs all the time then you may perform the following steps to clear the programs.

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click the Start Menu tab. Under Privacy, click to clear the Store and display a list of recently opened programs check box.
5. Click OK to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

Change the e-mail application to show on Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T14:51:00.000-07:00

If you are using more than one e-mail application in Windows Vista (For e.g., Microsoft Office Outlook, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail) and you have an e-mail application that displays in the Start menu and need to change it to a different e-mail application so that the e-mail application that is of your choice appears at the Start menu then you may perform the following steps to change the web browser to display in the Start menu.

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box that opens, under Show on Start menu, click the E-mail link: drop-down box and select the e-mail application to appear in the Start menu. In the figure that appears to the left, I have Microsoft Office Outlook appearing in the Start menu and I am making Windows Mail to appear in the Start menu by selecting it.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Change the browser to show on Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T14:34:00.001-07:00

If you are using more than one browser in Windows Vista (For e.g., Mozilla Firefox, Google Chrome, Safari) and you have a browser that displays in the Start menu and need to change it to a different browser so that the browser that is of your choice appears at the Start menu then you may perform the following steps to change the web browser to display in the Start menu.

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box that opens, under Show on Start menu, click the Internet link: drop-down box and select the browser to appear in the Start menu. In the figure that appears to the left, I have Mozilla Firefox appearing in the Start menu and I am making Internet Explorer to appear in the Start menu by selecting it.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Set Default settings to the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T14:21:00.001-07:00

If you had made changes to the Start menu by adding Run Command button, adjusting the size of the programs to appear in the Start menu and are not satisfied with it then you can restore the default settings to the Start menu by performing the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box that opens, click Use Default Settings button.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Adjust the Start menu size in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T14:05:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, by default 9 programs appear on the Start menu when you click on the Start button . You can adjust this number by performing the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box that opens, under Start menu size, enter the number of programs to display in the Number of recent programs to display box.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Remove programs from the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T13:27:00.000-07:00

When you click on the Start button , you will see a list of programs. Some programs might be pinned to the Start menu and some may not be. You may remove both the pinned and unpinned programs from the Start menu by right-clicking on the program and clicking on the Remove from this list.
Removing the programs from the Start menu does not uninstall or remove the program from your computer.
Please note that if the programs list does not display any programs when you click on Start button then check out whether the Store and display a list of recently opened programs option is cleared. If so, you have to check the Store and display a list of recently opened programs.
To reach Store and display a list of recently opened programs, right-click on the Start button and click on Properties. Click on the Start Menu tab. Under Privacy, click to place a check mark to the Store and display a list of recently opened programs check box.

Clear recent items from the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T13:08:00.000-07:00

When you open a file (e.g., a Notepad file, music file, Word document, Excel Spreadsheet, or any other file), the entries will be seen in the Recent Items list. You can clear these entries by clicking on the Start button , right-clicking on Recent Items, and then clicking on the Clear Recent Items List.
Please note that clearing the recent items will not remove the actual files.

Run button missing from Start menu. How to add Run button to Start menu?

2009-04-01T12:38:00.000-07:00

In Windows Vista, you may see the Run button by clicking Start, All Programs, Accessories. You may also add the Run button to the Start menu and when you add the Run button, it will appear to the right side of the Start menu. Perform the following steps to add the Run button to the Start menu.

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click on the Start Menu tab and then click on Customize...

5. From the Customize Start Menu dialog box that opens, scroll the list and click to place a check mark to Run command.
6. Click OK to close the Customize Start Menu dialog box.
7.Click OK again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box.

Now, you may click on Start button to see the Run command.

Pin a program to the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T11:38:00.000-07:00

If you use a program regularly and need that program to be present in the Start menu so that you open it up by clicking on the Start menu and then the program icon. You can do this by pinning the program to the Start menu.
If the program that needs to be pinned appears in the Start menu then you may right-click on the program and click on the "Pin to Start Menu" option. You may also drag-and-drop the program just above the horizontal line. If the program does not appear by clicking on the Start button but instead is located at some other place in your computer then you may right-click on the program and click on the "Pin to Start Menu" option. The following figure shows all the three possibilities.

Remove Recent Items button from the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T11:19:00.000-07:00

Recent Items displays a list of the files that you've used recently. It is located at the right side of the Start menu. It appears by default in the Windows Start menu. You can remove the Recent Items button from the Start menu. To remove the Recent Items button, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click the Start Menu tab, under Privacy, click to clear the check mark to the Store and display a list of recently opened files check box.
5. Click Apply.
6. Click OK.

Add Recent Items button on the Start menu in Windows Vista

2009-04-01T10:33:00.000-07:00

Recent Items displays a list of the files that you've used recently. It is located at the right side of the Start menu. It appears by default in the Windows Start menu. If you had remove the Recent Items from the Start menu then you may perform the following steps to add Recent Items back to the Start menu.

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Click the Start Menu tab, under Privacy, click to place a check mark to the Store and display a list of recently opened files check box.
5. Click Apply.
6. Click OK.

Turn off auto-hide to make the taskbar appear permanently on the desktop in Windows Vista

2009-03-06T10:29:00.000-08:00

When you have the Auto-hide the taskbar option turned on then the taskbar will get displayed only when you hover the mouse over the portion of the screen where the taskbar is present. By default, the taskbar appears at the bottom of the screen, you may also move the taskbar to the left, right, or top of the screen.
You may perform the following steps to make the taskbar appear permanently:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Clear the Auto-hide the taskbar check box.
5. Click Apply.
6. Click OK.

Shortcut

You may open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box by right-clicking on an empty-space on the taskbar and clicking on Properties.

How to hide the taskbar in Windows Vista?

2009-03-06T09:11:00.000-08:00

The taskbar normally appears at the bottom of the desktop as shown in the following figure.To hide the taskbar, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Taskbar and Start Menu to open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box.

4. Clear the Lock the taskbar check box.
5. Click to place a check mark to Auto-hide the taskbar check box.
6. Click Apply.
7. Click OK.

Shortcut

You may open Taskbar and Start Menu Properties dialog box by right-clicking on an empty-space on the taskbar and clicking on Properties.

How to change the desktop theme in Windows Vista?

2009-03-05T11:30:00.000-08:00

Themes provide users a different look and feel. You can change a theme by a single click from your mouse. Windows Vista includes two themes namely Windows Vista and Windows Classic. Windows Vista theme gives you a new look and Windows Classic theme gives a look that is similar to earlier versions of Windows. You may also add themes that are developed by software companies. To change the desktop theme, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Personalization.

4. Click Theme.

5. From the Theme Settings dialog box, under Theme:, select the theme and click on OK.

Shortcut

The result of the first three steps can be achieved by right-clicking on an empty space on the desktop and clicking on Personalize.

Resize desktop icons in Windows Vista

2009-03-05T03:41:00.000-08:00

To resize the desktop icons, you have to right-click on an empty space on the desktop and point to View and click on Large Icons, Medium Icons, or Classic Icons.

The figure on the left shows the icon size for Large Icons, Medium Icons, or Classic Icons for Computer icon. You may also use the scroll wheel on your mouse to resize desktop icons. To do this, press and hold Ctrl key from the keyboard and scroll the mouse to make the icons appear larger or smaller.

Hide the desktop icons in Windows Vista

2009-03-05T01:28:00.000-08:00

On the desktop, if you choose to hide all the icons then you may do so. Once you hide the desktop icons, the desktop items do not get deleted. They remain hidden on the desktop until to choose to show them again.

Right-click on an empty space on the desktop, point to View and then click Show Desktop Icons.

No icons on desktop. How to view the desktop icons in Windows Vista?

2009-03-05T01:10:00.000-08:00

If your desktop appears clean then you may perform the following to show the desktop icons.

Right-click on an empty space on the desktop, point to View and then click Show Desktop Icons.

Place Control Panel icon on the desktop in Windows Vista

2009-03-05T00:48:00.000-08:00

You may view the Control Panel icon by clicking on the Start button . To place the Control Panel icon on the desktop, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Personalization.

4. Click Change desktop icons.

5. From the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box, under Desktop icons, click to place a tick mark to the Control Panel check box.
6. Click OK.

Shortcut

The result of the first three steps can be achieved by right-clicking on an empty space on the desktop and clicking on Personalize.

Place Network icon on the desktop in Windows Vista

2009-03-05T00:10:00.000-08:00

You may view the Network icon by clicking on the Start button . To place the Network icon on the desktop, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Personalization.

4. Click Change desktop icons.

5. From the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box, under Desktop icons, click to place a tick mark to the Network check box.
6. Click OK.

Shortcut

The result of the first three steps can be achieved by right-clicking on an empty space on the desktop and clicking on Personalize.

Place Computer icon on the desktop in Windows Vista

2009-03-05T00:02:00.000-08:00

You may view the Computer icon by clicking on the Start button . To place the Computer icon on the desktop, perform the following steps:

1. Click Start button , and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Personalization.

4. Click Change desktop icons.

5. From the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box, under Desktop icons, click to place a tick mark to the Computer check box.
6. Click OK.

Shortcut

The result of the first three steps can be achieved by right-clicking on an empty space on the desktop and clicking on Personalize.

Recycle Bin icon missing from desktop. How do I restore the Recycle Bin icon in Windows Vista?

2009-03-04T07:28:00.000-08:00

The Recycle Bin icon normally appears on the desktop. If you had accidentally removed the Recycle Bin icon from the desktop then you may perform the following steps to place it back on the desktop.

1. Click Start button , and then click Control Panel.
2. Click Appearance and Personalization.

3. Click Personalization.

4. Click Change desktop icons.

5. From the Desktop Icon Settings dialog box, under Desktop icons, click to place a tick mark to the Recycle Bin check box.
6. Click OK.

Shortcut

The result of the first three steps can be achieved by right-clicking on an empty space on the desktop and clicking on Personalize.

Enable or install Windows games in Windows Vista Business Edition

2009-03-03T20:27:00.000-08:00

Windows games are not installed by default in Windows Vista Business and Windows Vista Enterprise. To install them, perform the following steps:

1. Click the Start button , click Control Panel.
2. Click Programs.

3. Under Programs and Features, click Turn Windows features on or off.

4. Accept the UAC by clicking on Continue button.
5. In the Windows Features dialog box, select the Games check box, and then click OK.

If you are prompted for an administrator password or confirmation, type the password or provide confirmation.

What are the editions of Windows XP?

2009-03-03T20:10:00.000-08:00

Microsoft offered six editions of Windows XP:

Home Edition
Media Center Edition
Professional Edition
Tablet PC Edition
Professional x64 Edition
Starter Edition - in selected emerging markets

What is the version of Windows that I am using?

2009-03-02T13:50:00.000-08:00

You may perform the following to know the version of Windows that you are using:

Click Start , right-click Computer and click on Properties.

The version of Windows is displayed under Windows edition section.

If you do not see the button but instead, if you see the Or button then perform the following steps:

1. Click Start and click Run.

2. Type winver, and then click OK.

The version of Windows is displayed in the About Windows dialog box.

Know the edition of Windows Vista that you are using

2009-03-02T13:24:00.000-08:00

You may perform the following to know the edition of Windows Vista that you are using:

Click Start , right-click Computer and click on Properties.

The edition of Windows Vista is displayed under Windows edition section.

Press Windows logo key + PAUSE to display the System Properties display box.

Which type of user account are you using? Administrator or Limited User account!!

2009-03-02T07:14:00.000-08:00

To see which type of account you are using, move your mouse pointer over the clock on the bottom right of your screen. Right-click the clock, and then click Adjust Date/Time.

If you're using a Limited User account, you will get a message reading "You do not have the proper privilege level to change System Time."
If you are using an Administrator account, a small window will open with controls you can use to change the time and date on your computer.

Download Windows Vista Product Guide

2009-03-01T22:57:00.000-08:00

The Windows Vista Product Guide is a free download from Microsoft. It is a comprehensive feature-by-feature guide to Windows Vista with Service Pack 1. The download is available in two formats namely XPS and PDF.

To view the XPS document, you will need to install Microsoft XPS Viewer. To view the PDF document, you will need to install Adobe Acrobat reader.

If you are a Windows Vista user then Microsoft XPS Viewer is included in Windows Vista and you do not have to install the Microsoft XPS Viewer.

Download Information

Click here to go to Microsoft Download Center to download Windows Vista Product Guide.

You may also look for other downloads under the Labels section. If the download information is not available then contact me. I will try my best to find it for you.

How to increase the Quick Launch bar icon size in Windows Vista?

2009-03-01T08:04:00.000-08:00

To increase the Quick Launch icon size as shown in Figure 1 to the icons as shown in Figure 2, you have to perform the steps provided below.

1. Uncheck the "Lock the Taskbar" by right-clicking on an empty area in the Taskbar and clicking the "Lock the Taskbar" option.

2. Right click on the Quick Launch area and click "View" and click "Large Icons".

To lock the Taskbar again, right click on an empty area in the Taskbar and check the "Lock the Taskbar" option.

This patch package could not be opened error message while installing Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats

2009-02-28T09:41:00.000-08:00

During installation of Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats, if you receive the This patch package could not be opened. Verify that the patch package exists and that you can access it, or contact the application vendor to verify that this is a valid Window Installer patch package error message.

This means the registry contains Microsoft Windows Installer information from an earlier Office installation. To resolve this issue, download Windows Installer CleanUp utility to remove the Windows Installer registry settings, and then reinstall Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats.

Download Information

Click here to download Windows Installer CleanUp utility from Microsoft website or manually download from the http://support.microsoft.com/kb/290301 link.

After clicking on the link, if you see the "File Download" dialog box, click on "Run" (It is a small file and so you may click on Run).

1. Once Windows Installer CleanUp utility is installed, open it by clicking on Start, pointing to Programs, and then clicking Windows Install Clean Up.

2. In Windows Installer CleanUp utility application, you will see a list of applications. Try to locate "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats" entry. If you see "Compatibility pack for MSFT Office 2007 File Formats" or "Compatibility for the 2007 Office System" then you may try removing both (or the entries that you see corresponding to "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats)" by clicking on it and then clicking on the "Remove" button.

3. Once the above applications are removed, try installing "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats".

Once the "Microsoft Office Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats" package is installed, you may confirm the functionality of the package by opening a Word 2007 document in Word 2003 or Excel 2007 file in Excel 2003 or PowerPoint 2007 file in PowerPoint 2003.