Archive for the 'Administration' Category
There may come a time when you need to save your work to a file format that’s easy to print or share. A perfect example of this is when you need to create a document that’s only going to be read or printed such as a newsletter or resume.
The ideal file format in this kind of scenario is a PDF (Portable Document Format). Thankfully Office 2007 has a free add-in that allows you to save Office files as a PDF.
Download: 2007 Microsoft Office Add-in: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS
Once you’ve installed the add-in you’ll be able to save your documents as a PDF. You can save to PDF from almost any Office 2007 application but for this tutorial I will explain how to publish a Word 2007 document as a PDF.
How to save to PDF in Word 2007
- Open the Word Document that you want to publish as a PDF
- Click the Microsoft Office Button which is in the top left hand corner of Word 2007
- Hover your mouse arrow over Save As
- Under Save a copy of the document click PDF or XPS
- In the Save as type: drop down list. Select PDF (*.pdf)
- Depending on how you want the quality of the file select either Standard (publishing online and printing) or Minimum size (publishing online)
- Click Publish
*Note: To open the newly saved file you will need software installed on your computer that can view PDFs. I suggest using Acrobat Reader or Foxit PDF Reader
The Transparent Glass feature in Windows Vista may look nice and pretty but it sure can slow down your computer if your graphics card isn’t up to par.
A way to speed up Vista and still get the benefits of Aero is to disable the Glass Transparency effect.
How to disable glass Transparency in Windows Vista
- Right click an area on the Desktop and then click Personalize
- Choose Windows Color and Appearance
- Uncheck Enable Transparency.
- Click OK
There might come a time when your computer has become so slow and clunky that you’ll need to add extra RAM (Random Access Memory).
Before adding the extra RAM though you’ll need to find out how much is already in your computer. I’ll now explain how to do this.
How to find out how much memory is in your computer
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- Click Control Panel
- Click System and Maintenance
- Click System
- Under the System category click View amount of RAM and processor speed
Under System you will see how much Memory is installed in your computer
Following on from the tutorial How to show or hide the recycle bin in Windows Vista I will now show you how to change the recycle bins appearance.
How to change the recycle bins appearance in Windows Vista
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- Click Control Panel
- Click Appearance and Personalization
- Click Personalization
- On the left side of the Window under the Tasks category click Change desktop icons
- From the list of icons click Recycle Bin (full) or Recycle Bin (empty)
- Click the Change Icon… button
- Select an icon from the list and then click OK
*Note: To restore the Recycle Bin back to its original icon click Restore Default and then OK
This might not be one of the most exciting tutorials that I’ve done but for people who like to personalize their desktop it might come in useful.
The Recycle Bin is usually located on the desktop, however there are ways to show or hide it.
How to show or hide the recycle bin
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- Click Control Panel
- Click Appearance and Personalization
- Click Personalization
- On the left side of the Window under the Tasks category click Change desktop icons
- To hide the recycle bin clear the Recycle Bin check box and then click OK
- To show the recycle bin select the Recycle Bin check box and then click OK
*Note: When you delete a file it will still be moved to the recycle bin. If you can’t see the recycle bin icon follow the above steps.
Most people today have a printer attached to their computer and sometimes have more than one PC in the household.
If there are multiple computers in the home the odds are they’re probably networked.
So in this tutorial I will show you how to share a printer that is attached to your computer and make it available over the network.
How to share a printer
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- Click Control Panel
- Click Network and Internet
- Click Network and Sharing Center
- Under the Sharing and Discovery category click the drop down arrow next to Password protected sharing
- Click the Turn off password protected sharing radio button and then click Apply
- If prompted by the UAC, click Continue
- This time under the Sharing and Discovery category click the drop down arrow next to Printer sharing
- Click the Turn on printer sharing radio button and then click Apply
- If prompted by the UAC click Continue
How to print using a shared computer
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- In the search bar type \\ followed by the name of the computer with the shared printer. e.g. \\mycomputer and then press the Enter key
- If Windows Vista locates the computer a folder will open. Double left click the Printers icon
- The shared printer will usually have a name similar to the installed print device. Double left click the shared printer icon.
- Windows will now automatically install the printer drivers
- The printer will appear in your printers folder. You will need to select the printer when wanting to print to that device.
*Note: If you’re unable to find the printer on the network. Talk to the person that owns the printer to confirm that it’s turned on and functioning correctly.
This is the fourth and final part of altering Windows Vista to look and feel like earlier versions of Windows. I will now show you how to change the Windows Vista theme to look like the classic version.
How to change the Windows Vista theme to classic view
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- Click Control Panel
- Click Appearance and Personalization
- Click Personalization
- Click Theme
- Under Theme, choose Windows Classic from the drop down menu and click OK
*Note: These tutorials are aimed towards people who prefer the Windows Classic View and not meant to discourage users from using the new Windows Aero interface.
I’ve previously written about how to change the start menu and control panel to classic view. I’m now going to explain how to change the Windows Vista folders to classic view.
How to change the Windows Vista folders to Classic View
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- Click Control Panel
- Click Appearance and Personalization
- Click Folder Options
- Under the General tab, click the Use Windows classic folders radio button
- Click OK
*Note: To restore the folders to their original setting, click the Restore Defaults button and then click OK.
Following on from the tutorial How to change the Windows Vista Start Menu to Classic View In the second part of this series I will show you how to change the control panel to the familiar Classic View.
How to Change the Control Panel to Classic View on Windows Vista
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- Click Control Panel
- On the left side off the pane click Classic View
*Note: To revert back to category view, click Control Panel Home.
the classic start menu from earlier versions of Windows is very recognizable and some people still prefer it. So In this tutorial I will show you how to change the Windows Vista start menu to classic view.
How to change the Windows Vista Start Menu to Classic View
- Click Start (Windows Orb)
- Click Control Panel
- Click Appearance and Personalization
- Click Taskbar and Start Menu
- Click the Start Menu tab
- Select the Classic Start menu radio button
- Click OK
The Windows Vista start menu will now been changed to the familiar classic view.
