No Recent Documents History

In Windows XP Pro, you can make it so that Windows does not keep a running document history. Go to Start > Run and then type "gpedit.msc" and enter. Now go to User Configuration - Administrative Templates - Start Menu and Taskbar. Double click "Do not keep history of recently opened documents" and click on "Enabled". Hit OK. Then you are done.

Clear Swap File on Shutdown

The swap file is a file which your computer uses on the hard drive that acts as virtual memory. Whenever Windows does not have enough actual memory to do what it needs to do, it uses the swap file. In some instances, people may want to delete the swap file whenever they shut down their computer. For instance, if the work you are doing is sensitive, you might want to do so as somebody with knowhow could read your data from the swap file. To enable this in XP, do the following:

1. Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SYSTEM > CurrentControlSet > Control > Session Manager > Memory Management
2. Select ClearPageFileAtShutdown from the list on the right.
3. Right on it and select Modify.
4. Change the value to 1 to enable.
5. Reboot your computer.

Note that this will significantly increase the amount of time it takes to shut down your computer.

Identify Windows Processes

Looking at the process list in Windows is a trip down confusion lane. You might recognize some of them by filename, but in most cases you won't. In such a case, how would you know if the process is legitimate or some spyware program running in the background? Its easy - search the internet. And while you can go and Google it, I have a site for you - http://www.processlibrary.com/. The site is published by Uniblue Systems, the people behind WinTasks Professional. Do a search for the process name or a DLL and you will get a full description (in English) of what the process is and any potential security risk. Can be quite useful, and Uniblue is in the business, so they keep it pretty up to date.

If you want this information right on your PC, check out WinTasks 5. It will help you identify your Windows processes, but also offer you fine-tuned control over them, and hence your whole PC.

Print Image Without Saving

What if you come across a picture on a web page that you want to print, but not save?

With Internet Explorer and AOL just right click and select "Print Picture".

With Firefox and Netscape you need to right click and choose "View Image" to bring the picture up in its own window, then you can print the page.

Adding Table of Contents in Word 2003

First, create a backup copy of your document ("Save As..." then reload the original document).

If you have not already written your Microsoft Word 2003 document in outline mode, then you need to signify what text should be mentioned in the table of contents. Highlight the document text that you want to show up as table of contents major sections. Then, hold down CONTROL, ALT, and the 1 key. This will change that text's style to what is called Heading 1. This text stands out from the rest of the text and is good for signifying major sections of the document.

Depending on your document, you may have sub-headers and sub-sub-headers. Highlight text and press CONTROL-ALT-2 to make it a sub-header, and highlight text and press CONTROL-ALT-3 for Microsoft Word 2003 to make it a sub-sub-header.

Once you have your document headers ready (or if you wrote your document in outline mode), it's time to add a table of contents. Scroll to the top of your document and select "Insert", "Reference", "Indexes and Tables".

When the "Indexes and Tables" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, select the "Table of Contents" tab. Press "OK", and your table of contents is ready!

When you change your Microsoft Word 2003 document, you need to update your table of contents to reflect new headings and/or page numbers. Just right-click on it and choose "Update Fields". An "Update Table of Contents" dialog box may appear. If it does, select "Update entire table" and press "OK".

Create a Shutdown Shortcut

Follow these directions to create a one-click shutdown shortcut on your desktop:

1. On your desktop, right-click on a blank spot and point to New, then click on Shortcut.
2. In the "Create Shortcut" window, type the following depending of the version of Windows you are using.

For Windows 95, 98, or Me type (or even better, copy and paste:
C:windowsrundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows

For Windows XP type or copy:
SHUTDOWN -s -t 01

3. Click the "Next" button.
4. Name the shortcut whatever you would like, and click the "Finish" button. Now whenever you want to shut down, just double click on this shortcut.

For tips on Windows 7 click here.... and for other computer tips click here

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