Timesaving 101

Home Office Computing, Oct, 1999 by Helen Bradley

From turning up missing files to one-click Web searches, our tips, tricks, and shortcuts help you work smarter and faster

Every workday is different from the last, but they all have one thing in common: only so many hours to get things done. Although working harder and longer is always an option, we have a much better idea--make room in your hectic schedule for our 101 timesaving tips.

In these pages, you'll find fresh ideas on a wide range of subjects--everything from how to find and manage files and e-mail messages to how to get the most out of a team of collaborators. You'll find tricks for optimizing hardware and handheld PC performance, as well as for reducing errors in your applications and sidestepping computing disasters. Many reflect the applications you're likely using-Microsoft Windows and Office--but the bulk either can be applied to other applications or are vendor-agnostic.

Streamline

File Management

It's Around Here Somewhere You mistakenly saved a file to the wrong folder. Which one? In Windows Explorer, select Tools/Find/Folders. Type the filename (or a wild card such as *.DOC) in the Named area and click Find Now; then drag the discovered file to the correct folder.

My Documents-Not! Microsoft Word normally insists on saving your files to the My Documents folder. To point Word to a new default folder, select Tools/Options, the File Locations tab, and the Documents entry; then click Modify. Select a new target folder and click OK.

At Your Elbow For easy access to a document you're currently working on, drag the file from Windows Explorer onto the desktop to create a shortcut.

One-Crick Access Alternatively, Windows 95/98 Active Desktop users can drag often-used files as well as applications onto the Taskbar's QuickLaunch toolbar.

Pop-Up Spreadsheets If you frequently work on multiple Excel files simultaneously, saving them all to a single workspace lets you pop them all open at once. Select File/Save Workspace, and name the file.

Order in the Folder! Even a long filename can get lost in a crowded folder. Try prefixing your filenames with the type of file, client, or project name. Because folders are arranged alphabetically, like items will be grouped together

I Didn't Want This Program Sometimes new software stakes a claim to existing file extensions, which means that whenever you open the file, it wastes time by launching the wrong application. Hold down the Shift key as you right-click the filename, select Open With and the program you prefer, then check the "Always use this program to open this type of file" box.

Jar Your Memory Office 97 or Office 2000 users who suffer occasional amnesia (Where's that file? What'd I name it?) should check out the Journal in Outlook. There's a cheat sheet listing all the Office applications and files you've worked on and when.

Go, Fonts, Go! A large number of installed fonts slows your system; more than 700 can cause Registry problems. Take a font count by selecting Start/Settings/Control Panel, and then Fonts--the font count is on the Status bar. View a font by double-clicking its name; remove it by selecting File/Delete.

Faster Frequent Finds Save time on frequently run searches using Explorer's Find Files or Folders option. Before a search, select Options/Save Results. After the search, select File/Save Search to put a shortcut to the saved search results on your desktop. To run the search again, select Find Now.

Speed Up Surfing

One-Click Browsing Add the Web Address toolbar to your Taskbar by simply right-clicking the bar and selecting Toolbars/Address. To launch your default browser, copy and paste a URL onto the toolbar.

Quick History Lesson To access a recently visited site you neglected to add to your Bookmarks or Favorites folder, check your History list. In Netscape Navigator, select Communicator/Tools/History; in Internet Explorer, click the History button and browse the Details column.

Go Faster A quick way to reach a company or organization's Web site is to type "Go" and the organization name, such as "Go IRS." If there's no perfect match, you'll get a list of possible site matches to select from.

My Favorite Searches If you perform the same Web search repeatedly, bookmark the search results page (or add it to your Favorites). Selecting the bookmark runs the search anew.

Where's This Page From? To add the relevant URL address to Web page printouts in Netscape Navigator, select File/Page Setup, select the Document Location check box, and click OK.

Overcoming 404 When encountering 404 Not Found errors, removing elements from the URL one at time, from right to left, sometimes loads the page. Check out www. plinko.net/404/yikes.htm for more ideas.

Learn the Rules Before punching in your next search Engine query, take the time to read the site's instructions and Familiarize yourself with its unique syntax. You'll get better Results and save time in the long run.

Keep Track of Links It's easy to lose track of a page with lots of links you want to explore by following one or another. In Internet Explorer, open the page of links while holding down the Shift key to open the page a second time in its own window.