Change Your Default Program to Open Files

Many times when we install programs, the install process will scan your computer for file types and then ask you if you would like these files to be open with the program being installed. Once the program is installed certain file types will be open with that program. For instance, if you install iTunes, the install will ask you if you want to open these music file types with iTunes. The file extensions can be mp3, wma, wav, etc. This short tutorial will show you how to change the file association with a particular program. In other words when you double click on a picture file you can designate which program opens the file.

Step1

Select: Start, Control Panel, Tools, Folder Options.

Step2

In the folder option box select, File Types tab.

Step3

Let’s use picture files as an example. Scroll down and locate jpeg which is one of the most common picture files used. All the file extensions are in alphabetical order so it makes it easy to quickly locate a file extension.

Step4

Below the file extension window you will see “Opens with:” to change the program to open picture files, select the “Change” button. Select the new program that you want to use to open your jpeg picture files with.

Step5

If your program is not found in the “Open with:” box then select, “Browse” button and then locate your program within the Program directory.

Step6

Apply the exact same procedure for any other file types you wish to change your program association with. You can apply this method to movie files, sound files, pdf files, html files, etc. You can Google “File Types” to get a complete list of Microsoft file types and what they are used for.

Change a Word Document Into a PDF File

I will show you step by step how to get your word document converted to a PDF file. Note: You will have to have Adobe Acrobat not just Adobe Acrobat Reader. (It can be purchased online or at almost any electronics retailer.)

Step1

First open the document that you want to be converted. After it opens in Microsoft Word click file on the menu bar.

Step2

Then you will click on print, this will open the print dialogue box. In the drop down box select Acrobat and then click OK.

Step3

This will open a SAVE PDF FILE AS box. Rename the file as you want it, and make sure the SAVE FILE AS box says .PDF. Then click save, you have now converted your Microsoft Word document to a PDF file. The document will be saved as a Microsoft Word and Adobe PDF file. (You can delete the word document now if you dont want it.)

Burn a Copy of Your Computer Files

Do you hear about Virus' and Trojans and the first thing that comes to your mind is your precious files? What would happen if your computer went down and you had no chance of getting your files back, are your files too important to lose? Don't wait until it's too late, read below for more information on Burning a Copy of Your Computer Files!

Step1

There are many great ways to store your Back up files for your computer. You can create more drives on your hard drive to seperate important files, you can even sign up for accounts online that act as Storage, holding your precious files safe and secure.

Step2

If you are only thinking about saving a few things, maybe a bunch of folders with pictures and videos, a great way to copy your files is Burning it to a CD. CD's can hold alot of data storage and can be hidden away safely for back-up.

Step3

So you have more files than a CD can hold? Try burning your files to a DVD. A DVD has more available space than a CD and can hold more information, and you can still keep your DVD's along side your CDs for future referance.

Step4

External Hard drives are another great way to keep your files safe and secure. Small chips holding 2 gigs fit on your keychain, other bigger sizes are similar to other hard drives. Burning a copy of your Computer files are easier than ever, dont wait until its too late!

Backup Digital Pictures

My family's pictures are our most treasured possession. We would be devastated if anything were to ever happen to them. Our pictures include years of memories from our wedding, honeymoon, births of our two daughters, birthdays, and numerous holidays. If you share our concern, then I hope I can help you by sharing our strategy for backing up our digital

Step1

Best Option - Online Storage. I purchased a Flickr PRO account for $24.95 a year. This allows me to load an unlimited number of pictures to their site. If your concerned about privacy, like I am, then you can set all of your pictures to be private. In my research, Flickr was the least espensive online storage solution for pictures (this could have changed). Online storage keeps your digital pictures safe from your computer crashing, burning, getting a virus, being stolen...etc.

Step2

I've also gotten into the habit of backing-up all my documents and pictures onto an external hard drive. This is a good backup solution, but not perfect. A backup hard drive can also fail, is vulnerable to viruses, theft, disasters...and has a limited lifespan.

Step3

Burning pictures to CD or DVD is another practice I use for back-up. CD/DVDs have the benefit of a longer lifespan than hard drives, they're not vulnerable to viruses or failures. However, they will not protect your pictures against theft or disasters. In addition, backing up files to CD/DVD can be time consuming. CD/DVDs can take 30 minutes or more to burn.

Step4

The final strategy I use for backing up our pictures is from the stone-age... I print them out.

Backup a Whole Computer

Step1

The first step is to figure out where you will be backing up the computer to. You need an external hard drive with enough space to store a full backup. To determine how much space you need on a Windows PC, go to My Computer, right-click the drive, and click on "Properties". From there, click on the "General" tab, and look at the size of the drive. If there are multiple drives on the computer, figure out the total size of all the hard drives. Buy an external (USB) hard drive that's at least twice the size of your computer's hard drives.

Step2

Once you have the hard drive, you must acquire backup software. There are several options available, like Norton Ghost and Macrium Reflect. Each piece of software is similar, but Macrium Reflect has a free edition, which will be used for this article. A download link is in the "Resources" section, located near the bottom of the page. Follow the instructions on screen to install the software.

Step3

Plug in the USB drive, following the manufacturer's instructions, and then load the backup software. Once you have the software loaded, you must create a new backup. In Macrium Reflect Free Edition, click on the "Create a backup image of an entire disk or selected partition(s)" button. Read the instructions on screen and select the disks to backup. You will need to select the backup location as well; make sure you select the USB hard drive!

Step4

Run the backup. The backup will take a long time, depending on the size of the hard drive. Once the whole backup has been completed, exit the backup program.

Automate the Backup of Files on Your Hard Drive under Windows XP

If you have a home computer, you likely have important files that you cannot afford to lose. Files can be lost due to a hard drive crash, severe Windows malfunction, virus infection, computer loss or theft, or other causes. Many people do not think about backing up their files until it is too late, perhaps because they are not sure how to do it or do not remember to do it. This article will show you how to methodically back up your important files in a fast, automated, and organized fashion using functionality built into Windows.

Download the free Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools from Microsoft using the "Download RKTOOLS.EXE" link below in the Resources section. Save the file to your Windows Desktop. The Resource Kit includes the ROBOCOPY.EXE program that you will need.

Step2

Install the Windows Server 2003 Resource Kit Tools on your computer by double-clicking the RKTOOLS.EXE file on your Windows Desktop. The installation will automatically place the ROBOCOPY.EXE file (as well as others you do not need) onto your C drive.

Step3

Purchase a USB thumb drive or external hard drive. Thumb drives are currently available in sizes up to 64GB. Unless you have a massive number of critical files, using a thumb drive may be more convenient than an external hard drive.

Step4

Carefully examine your hard drive for any important or irreplaceable files. If any files are not located within your My Documents folder, move them to that location. It is always a good idea to keep all of your files in one central location on your computer, preferably your My Documents folder. If you have some important files on your Windows Desktop, you can leave them there -- we will be backing up your Windows Desktop as well as your My Documents folder.

Step5

Plug your external hard drive or USB thumb drive into your computer.

Step6

Double-click on the My Computer icon on your Windows Desktop and note the drive letter assigned by Windows to your external hard drive or USB thumb drive. For the purpose of this article, we will assume it is drive letter "E".

Step7

Open a Windows Command Prompt by clicking Start - Run, typing CMD , and pressing Enter.

Step8

In the command prompt window, type: MD C:\LOGS and press Enter
This creates a directory which will store the log files generated when you run the backup process.

Step9

In the command prompt window, type: SET USERNAME and press Enter.

This tells you the username you are using on your computer, which in part determines where on your hard drive your files are stored. Make note of the response, which is in the format USERNAME=[user] where the text that appears on your screen in the place of [user] is your username.

Step10

In the command prompt window, type EXIT to close the command window.

Step11

Check the location of your My Documents folder on your computer by right-clicking the My Documents icon on your Desktop and clicking Properties. Look at and make note of the path in the "Target folder location" text box. Click OK to close the Properties dialog box.

Step12

Open Windows Notepad by clicking Start - All Programs - Accessories - Notepad, OR by clicking Start - Run, typing NOTEPAD , and pressing Enter.

Step13

Copy and paste the following five lines, in order, into the Notepad window. This is the actual program (called a batch file) which you will be run to perform the backup.

Copy and paste everything below the dashes
------------------------------------------

Step14

@echo off

Step15

echo Backing up data . . . .

Step16

del /s /f /q "C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Local Settings\Temp"

Step17

robocopy "[PATH_TO_MY_DOCUMENTS_FOLDER]" "E:\backup\My Documents" /fp /tee /mir /np /r:1 /w:1 /log+:c:\logs\robo_MY_DOCUMENTS.txt

Step18

robocopy "c:\documents and settings\[USERNAME]" "E:\backup\documents and settings\[USER]" /fp /tee /mir /np /r:1 /w:1 /log+:c:\logs\robo_USER_PROFILE.txt

Step19

-------------------------------------------
Copy and paste everything above the dashes.

Step20

In line 3 (del /s /f /q "C:\Documents and Settings\[USERNAME]\Local Settings\Temp"), replace [USERNAME] with your actual username from step 9. Be sure to erase the brackets, but not the quotation marks.

Step21

In line 4 (which begins: robocopy "[PATH_TO_MY_DOCUMENTS_FOLDER]" "E:\backup\My Documents"):
-- replace [PATH_TO_MY_DOCUMENTS_FOLDER] with the actual path to your My Documents folder from step 11. Be sure to erase the brackets, but not the quotation marks.
-- if the drive letter of your external hard drive or thumb drive is something other than "E", replace the "E" with the correct letter.

Step22

In line 5 (which begins: robocopy "c:\documents and settings\[USERNAME]"):
-- replace both occurrences of [USERNAME] with your actual username from step 9
-- if the drive letter of your external hard drive or thumb drive is something other than "E", replace the "E" with the correct letter.

Step23

In the Notepad window, click File - Save As. Save the file to your Desktop, and name it BACKUP.CMD

Step24

Exit out of Windows Notepad.

Step25

To run your backup, simply ensure your external hard drive or USB thumb drive is plugged into your computer, and double-click the BACKUP.CMD file on your Windows Desktop.

Step26

If you would like the backup to run automatically at a pre-determined interval (e.g., every day at midnight), follow the steps in the Microsoft Knowledge Base article linked below which relates to Scheduled Tasks.

Step27

If you ever need to recover a file from your backup (for example, a file which you inadvertently deleted or saved unwanted edits to), use Windows Explorer to locate the file on your backup drive (in the E:\backup folder), and drag-and-drop it back into its original location on your C drive.

Apply Formatting in Excel

If you need Microsoft Excel help, look no further. This Microsoft Excel tutorial will teach you everything you need to k

Step1

Microsoft Office How to Use Excel - Font: To change the font, or add bold, underlining or italics to the cells in Excel, simply select the cells you want to change, then choose the font or other formatting from the Formatting toolbar.

Step2

Microsoft Excel Alternatively, to change the formatting you can right-click on the selected cells and choose Format Cells. Click on the Format tab for formatting options.

Step3

MS Excel Help How to Use Excel - AutoFormat: AutoFormat is a quick and simple way to format data. Select from a variety of preset formatting options to give the data a professional and easy-to-read look.

Step4

Microsoft Office How to Use Excel - Number Type: If you want to use Currency formatting so that your numbers have a dollar sign, or change your numbers to dates, etc., then select the cells that you want to format, right-click and choose Format Cells. From the Number tab you can choose the type of number format that you want from the Category list.

Step5

MS Office How to Use Excel - Alignment: To change the alignment of data in a cell, or to apply text wrapping, just select the cells to be formatted, right-click and choose Format Cells, then click on the Alignment tab.

Step6

Microsoft Excel Help How to Use Excel - Merge Cells: If you want to create a heading at the top of your spreadsheet in Excel, you can use the Merge Cells feature to do this. Just click and drag across the empty cells across the top of your Excel spreadsheet and click on the Merge and Center button on the Formatting toolbar. Those cells are now merged into one single cell that you can type a heading into.

Step7

For additional Microsoft Office Excel help, see the 'Resources' section below.