PC Help Journal

Use Snipping Tool to take all of your screen shots.  It’s a very nice feature of Windows 7 that can eliminate the tedious steps that we were all forced to do back in the ol’ days… crtl+ PrtScn, paste into Paint, and crop.

You can just go to start and search for “snipping tool” or browse to C:\Windows\System32\SnippingTool.

So I don’t understand why they have an option for the default save path in almost all the other Office products except Outlook.  The only way to do this (that I know of) is to modify the registry key.

Instructions (Assuming you have Windows Vista or 7)

1) Go to Start
2) Type in

Open Registry Editor (regedit), browse to HKEY_CURRENT USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\14.0\Outlook\Options
Right click an empty spot on the right pane
Choose New > String Value
Rename the String Value you created to DefaultPath
Double click DefaultPath
Fill in new value data typing the full path of the new default Save As location

Microsoft Outlook 2010

1) Click on the File tab.

2) On the left, click on Info.

3) In the middle section, go down to where it says Mailbox Cleanup.  To the left of it, click on the box that says Cleanup Tools and then Mailbox Cleanup…

4) Finally, Click on View Mailbox Size…

In Microsoft Word, you can choose the background of your document to the color of your liking.  But when you go to print it, the background won’t show up.  Very frustrating.  Luckily, there is a way to fix it.  Microsoft actually posted a solution for it.  I don’t know why this option is disabled in the first place.

To work around this issue, use the method that is appropriate for your version of Word.

Word 2010

1. On the File menu, click Options.
2. On the Display menu, click to select the Print background colors and images check box under Printing Options, and then click OK .

Word 2007

1. Click the Microsoft Office Button, and then click Word Options.
2. On the Display menu, click to select the Print background colors and images check box under Printing Options, and then click OK.

Word 2003

To work around this issue in Word 2003 or when you use Word 2003 as the e-mail editor in Microsoft Office Outlook 2003, turn on the Background colors and imagesoption. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Tools menu, click Options, and then click the Print tab.
2. Click to select the Background colors and images check box, and then click OK.

Word 2002

Method 1: Use the Printed Watermark feature

To work around this issue in Word 2002, use the Printed Watermark feature. To do this, follow these steps:

1. On the Format menu, point to Background, and then click Printed Watermark.
2. In the Printed Watermarkdialog box, use one of the following methods:
   • To insert a picture watermark, follow these steps:
     1. Click Picture watermark.
     2. Click Select Picture.
     3. Click the picture that you want to use as a watermark, and then click Insert.
     4. Click to select the Washout check box if it is not already selected, and then click OK.

        Note The Washout feature adjusts the brightness and contrast on the image to make the image less visible behind the text.

   • To insert a text watermark, follow these steps:
     1. Click Text watermark.
     2. In the Text box, type the text that you want to use as a watermark.

        Note You can also select the text that you want to use as a watermark by clicking the text in the Text list.

     3. Select the other options that you want to use with the text watermark, such as Font, Size, and Color, and then click OK.

Method 2: Use Microsoft Internet Explorer

To work around this issue when you use Word 2002 as the e-mail editor in Microsoft Outlook 2002, follow these steps:

1. Open the e-mail message that contains the background that you want to print in Outlook 2002.
2. On the File menu, click Save As.
3. In the Save Asdialog box, follow these steps:
   1. In the Save as type box, click Web Page (*.htm; *.html).
   2. In the File name box, type a new name for the message.
   3. In the Save in box, select the folder in which you want to save the HTML copy of the e-mail message.
   4. Click Save.
4. Close the e-mail message in Word 2002.
5. Start Internet Explorer.
6. On the File menu, click Open.
7. In the Open dialog box, click Browse.
8. Locate and then click the HTML copy of the e-mail message that you saved in step 3, and then click Open.
9. In the Open dialog box, click OK to open the HTML copy of the e-mail message in Internet Explorer.
10. On the Tools menu, click Internet Options.
11. Click the Advanced tab.
12. In the Settings list, under Printing, click to select the Print background colors and images check box.
13. Click OK to close the Internet Options dialog box.

There were numerous times where I left my computer unattended or if I’m in a game that Windows Update decides to reboot my machine.  You only have the option to “postpone” this reboot.  Thanks to the guys over at HowtoGeek, I found a quick fix to this.  You’ll have to mess with the registry but if you’re uncomfortable with that, there is a registry file you can dowload.  You’ll still get the pop-up but atleast it won’t force you to shut down. 

1) Go to Start > Run

2) Type in regedit.exe

3) Navigate to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Windows\WindowsUpdate\AU

4) Create a new 32-bit DWORD value named NoAutoRebootWithLoggedOnUsers and give it a value of 1 to prevent automatic reboot while users are logged on. Delete the value to put things back to the way they were.

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Alternatively, you can download the registry file.  Download it and then double click on WUNoAutoReboot.reg to disable automatic reboots. The other script will remove the hack.

Download WUNoAutoReboot.reg

Windows Update Prompt

I, personally, have not used this feature but I know many others out there that would love to know how to password protect their documents. It’s beneficial to have the document protected in the case of having confidential information. I created a video tutorial to do just that. There is a little bit of fuzz in the beginning and the end (I don’t know how to get rid of it). Remember to watch it in HD and Full Screen mode for the best quality.

My girlfriend, who is also computer savvy, came to me for help on formatting her Word document.  She wanted only certain pages of the document to be in landscape orientation and the rest portrait.  You can’t do this unless you create page breaks.  I researched and found a website with text tutorials so I thought why not make an easy to follow video tutorial.  Enjoy and I will add audio later to the video.  Watch the video in full screen and high definition for the best quality.

[Source]

I know we are all lazy nowadays and every click saves us time.  Going to Start and clicking on shutdown is such a drag.  No worries.  I am here to simplify your life.  Check out my video tutorial on how to add a shutdown shortcut.  This will work in Windows XP, Vista, and 7.  You should probably watch it in HD and Full Screen mode.

On-screen keyboard are useful for those have tablets or touchscreen PCs. I decided to make a video tutorial instead of screenshots and directions (I know I’m lazy to take those screenshots).  Enjoy.

For Windows Vista & 7,

Go to Start and type in On-Screen Keyboard and hit “Enter”

I know most of us at some point wanted to add a little flash movie to our presentation to try and spice things up a bit to keep our audience viewers awake.  The only problem is that there is no option to add a little Youtube video or any .swf object.  Even though there is an option to add movies, you can’t insert a hyperlink or web address where you found the video online.  In this video tutorial, I will show you how to insert a Youtube video into your PowerPoint presentation.