Windows 7 and 10 System Restore - How to Create a Restore Point

1. When your computer is working properly, click in the Search box and type: Restore point.
2. Click, Create a restore point (Control panel).
3. On the System Protection tab, click Create...
4. Type any name for the restore point.
5. Click Create. The system will create a restore point.  (This may take several minutes.)
6. When the restore point has been created, you will see a message that the restore point was created successfully.
7. Close the message.
8. Click OK to close the System Properties window.

NOTES:

• A restore point contains registry entries and copies of certain critical programs including drivers and key system files.  When you restore to a restore point, you replace the current settings and programs with the older versions.
• Try to remember to create restore points at least once a month.
• Restore points take up space on your hard drive.  If you want to delete old restore points, view the System Properties window, click Configure, and then next to "Delete all restore points for this drive", click the Delete button.

Restore your Computer to an Earlier Version

If you are having computer problems and you think the problem is due to something that was recently installed, you can roll back your computer to an earlier version if you have created at least one restore point.

1. Close all running programs.
2. In the search box, type: restore point
3. Click, Create a restore point (Control panel).
4. On the System Protection tab, click System Restore..
5. Click Next.
6. Select a restore point.
7. Click, Scan for affected programs, to see what will be changed or deleted.  Click Close.
8. If you don't see any problems with the restore point, click Next.
9. Follow any instructions on your screen to complete the Restore.  
10. The restore will take several minutes.  Be patient!  It will let you know when the restore is completed successfully.

Microsoft Outlook - Create a Calendar Entry from an Email using Quick Steps

If you are using the desktop version of Outlook, be sure to check out Quick Steps.  There are some predefined shortcuts in the list for saving time on repetitive tasks, like emailing the same group of people or automatically moving emails to a specified folder. You can even create your own Quick Steps!  I created a Quick step to turn an email message into a calendar appointment.  Here’s how:

1. Open Microsoft Outlook Email.
2. On the Home tab, in the Quick Steps group, click, “Create New”.
3. In the Name box, give your Quick Step a name, like, “Appt from email”
4. In the Actions dropdown, select, “Create an appointment with text of message”.
5. Click Finish.
6. The Quick Step appears in the Quick Step selection box by the name you assigned.

• To use your new Quick Step, view an email that you want to convert to a calendar appointment. On the Home tab, click the Quick Step name, i.e. Appt from email. The calendar window opens with the email message displayed.  Set the date/time, edit the subject if necessary, and then click Save & Close. The appointment appears on your calendar with the email content included.

The Quick Step will be there anytime you want to convert an email to an appointment!

Allow Pop-ups in Google Chrome Browser

Some websites use pop-ups to show you specific data from the website.  Without the pop-ups, you will not be able to see all the data.  If pop-ups have been blocked, you will need to unblock them for some sites.  Follow the steps below to allow pop-ups for specific websites using Google Chrome browser.

1. Open Google Chrome.
2. Click the 3 vertical dots in the upper right corner.
3. Click Settings in the menu.
4. Scroll to the bottom and click Advanced.
5. Scroll down to the Privacy and Security section and click the arrow to the right of Content settings.
6. Click the arrow after Popups.
7. Next to Allow, click ADD.
8. In the pop-up window, type the complete address of the website you wish to allow pop-ups. i.e. https://www.manwillercomputertraining.com 
9. Click ADD.
10. Close the Settings tab.
11. Finished!

How to Create Custom Numbers in Excel

If you want your data to have leading text in each cell, i.e. ACCT - 12345, without typing the text each time, set up Custom formatting!

1. In Excel, select all the blank cells where you want to apply the custom format.
2. Press CTRL+1 (to open the Format cells dialog box).
3. Select Custom from the Category list.
4. Under Type, enter the text you want to automatically display followed by the minimum quantity of numbers (represented by zeros).
5. Click OK.
6. Now try typing just the numbers in the cells.  The text should automatically display!

Create a Checkbook Register in Microsoft Excel

You can download a free check register directly from Excel.  Here’s how:

1    1.  Open Excel.
2.  Click File > New
3.  In the search box, type: “check register” and then press ENTER.
4.  When the results of your search are displayed, select one.
5.  Click Create.
6.  Save the register to a location of your choice.

You now have an electronic check register that will automatically calculate your balance.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Enter your current balance in the first Deposit field so as not to delete the formula in the Balance column.
 
If you want to print the last few lines of the register to put in your checkbook to use while you are away from your computer, do this:
1.     Select only the data you want to print.
2.     Press Ctrl+p to view the print options.
3.     Select “Print Selection” (instead of “Print Active Sheets”)
4.     Click “Print”.

How to play CD's and DVDs in Windows 10

In case you are not aware, Microsoft removed the media player in Windows 10 for many people. This means you may not automatically be able to play a CD or DVD. 

According to Microsoft, if you upgraded your computer from Windows 7 Home Premium, Professional, Ultimate or 8/8.1 Pro they have provided you an app that will install automatically with Windows updates. (Although I haven’t seen it.) It is named, “Windows DVD Player”.  If you did a clean install of Windows 10 or purchased a new computer with Windows 10, you will not have a Microsoft player.  You can purchase the player from the Microsoft Online Store at a current price of $14.99.

I found a free player, VLC Media player, which works great! Click on the link below to download.
http://www.videolan.org/vlc/index.html

Windows 10 Shortcut - Remove a Program

Here’s a quick shortcut to remove a program in Windows 10: 

1. Right-click on the Start button.
2. Click Programs and Features.
3. Right-click on the program you want to uninstall.
4. Click Uninstall.

Remove Hyperlinks from Data Copied from Internet

Sometimes when you copy data or pictures from the internet and paste it into your own document, you might notice that there is a link connecting the data to a location on the web.  
If you want to remove that connection, when you see the pointing hand indicator (with a suggestion to click to follow link), do not click, but right click instead, and from the context menu, select Remove Hyperlink. 

Using the Index in Windows 10

If you've upgraded or purchased a computer with Windows 10, you probably haven’t found all the changes to the Start menu. Check out the new Index.

First click the Start button, and then click “All Apps” (no longer “All Programs”).  

You will see a list of all the apps loaded on your computer in ABC order. (Note: The first time, you might only see a blank section. Just click in the blank section to bring up the index or app list.)

J
When you see the list of apps, just click on the “&” at the top of the screen, OR simply click the letter at the top of the list to view the index.

When the Index appears, click on the letter to view the list that begins with the selected letter.  For example: To open the Microsoft Solitaire Collection, click the letter “M” and then click the app name.

Copy and Paste Subtotal Rows to Another Location

Back in August 2015 I did a Helpful Hint on how to shade the subtotal rows, all at the same time, but I recently was asked if you could take only the subtotal rows, copy/paste them elsewhere.  Yes you can, using the same technique.

1.      Once you’ve applied subtotals, click on the “2” to view only the subtotals.

2.      Click in a cell containing a subtotal.

3.      Press Ctrl+a to select all.

4.      Press Alt+: (colon) to only select the subtotals and not the supporting data rows.

5.      Press Ctrl+c to copy the subtotal rows.

6.      Go to where you want to place the subtotals, click in the first cell.

7.      Press Ctrl+v to paste the subtotal rows!

Change the Default Browser in Windows 10

The default browser in Windows 10 is called Edge.  If you want to change the default browser to something different, the browser you want to use has to currently be installed on your computer.

Follow the steps below to change your default browser.

1. Click the Start icon in the lower left corner of the taskbar.
2. In the Search box type: default programs.
3. Click "Default Programs" to open the list of default programs.
4. Scroll down to Web browser and click Microsoft Edge.
5. A list of installed Browsers displays.  Click the Browser name to be your default browser.
6. Close the window by clicking the "X".
7. You're finished!

Format Subtotal Rows ONLY in Excel

IF YOU ALREADY USE SUBTOTALS IN EXCEL, HERE IS A GREAT TIP:

Did you know that you can easily format the subtotal lines to stand out from the rest of the rows?  Here’s how:

1.  First apply subtotals to your data.

2. Click the "2" (top left corner) to view only the subtotals.

3. Click in a cell containing a subtotal.

4. Press Ctrl+A (to select all the subtotal data).

5. Press Alt+: (colon) to only select the viewed data and NOT the hidden rows.

6. Click the HOME tab and select a format of your choice.

7. Finished! Click back on "3" to view all data and only the subtotal rows should be formatted.

Excel Tip - Wrap Text

Do you know the secret for wrapping text within a cell when the text you want to wrap is less than the cell width?

ANSWER: Click in a cell and type what you want to appear on the top line of the cell.  Press Alt+Enter and then type what you want on the next line.  If more lines are needed, repeat Alt+Enter, if finished, press ENTER.

EXAMPLE: 

Make sure the cell width is wide enough to display the longest line.  Type Bev Manwiller; press Alt+Enter; type phone number; press Alt+Enter; type website; press Enter.

Microsoft Word - Insert the File Path to the Footer

I often print Word documents that I have saved and then forget where I saved them.  If you insert the file path in the footer, you will always know where the file is saved.  Here's how:

1. Open the document in Word.
2. Click the Insert tab of the Ribbon.
3. Click Footer > Edit Footer.
4. On the Header & Footer Tools - Design tab of the Ribbon, click Document Info.> Field
5. Select FileName.
6. Under Field Options, click the checkbox, "Add path to filename".
7. Click OK.

When you print the document, you will see the complete file path in the footer, of where you have saved the file.

NOTE:  These instructions apply to Word 2007, 2010, and 2013.

How to Quickly Locate Your Mouse Pointer on the Screen

Press the Ctrl key on your keyboard.
A circle will appear around the mouse pointer to show you where the mouse is currently located.

NOTE: If this feature is turned off, follow the steps below to turn it on.

1.     In the search box in Windows 7 or 8, type “Control Panel”.

2.     From Control Panel, open “Mouse”.

3.     Click the Pointer Options tab, in the Mouse Properties dialog box.

4.     Click the check box, “Show location of pointer when I press the CTRL key.”

5.     Click OK.

 

Now try it out…press the Ctrl key on your keyboard.

How to change the size of your desktop icons

If you'd like to make your desktop icons smaller or larger, follow these steps:

1. Right-click on your desktop.
2. Click View 
3. Click ONE of the following:
• Large icons
• Medium icons
• Small icons.

SHRINK A WORD DOC TO 1 PAGE

If your MS Word document is automatically printing on 2 pages but you’d prefer to have it on 1 page, use a command to quickly shrink it to 1 PAGE!

The command is called, “Shrink One Page” and it’s found on the “Print Preview Edit Mode” tool.  

NOTE:  If you have Word 2007, skip this next section, because you already have this tool.  See section, Shrink your Word Document.

If you have Word 2010 or 2013, this tool is not found on the Ribbon or Quick Access Toolbar (QAT).  You will need to add it to the QAT. (The QAT is located in the top left corner of your MS Word screen, either directly above or below the Ribbon.)

Follow the instructions below to add the Print Preview Edit Mode to your QAT:

(NOTE: You will only need to add the tool once.  Then it will always be available every time you open MS Word.)

1.  Open Microsoft Word 2010 or 2013.
2. Right-click anywhere on the Ribbon.
3. Click Customize Quick Access Toolbar... 
4. In the Choose Commands from drop-down box select All Commands.
   
5. Scroll down the commands and select Print Preview Edit Mode.
6. Click the Add button in the center of the screen.
7. The command is added to the Quick Access Toolbar on the right.
8. Click OK.
9. Now the Print Preview Edit Mode can be opened from the QAT.

Shrink Your Word Document

1. Open the Word document you wish to shrink to 1 page.

2. DO ONE OF THE FOLLOWING
    --FOR WORD 2010 OR 2013: Click the Print Preview Edit Mode command on the Quick       Access toolbar

    --FOR WORD 2007: Click Office Button > Hover over Print > Click Print Preview

3. Click the “Shrink One Page” command on the Ribbon.

Add caption

If Word is able to shrink your document, it will automatically shrink to 1 page.  
Note: If your document contains graphics or tables, Word might not be able to shrink the document.

GoBack

When you press SHIFT+F5 (function key) in Microsoft Word, your insertion point will move to the last text that was edited in the document.  Press SHIFT+F5 again and it moves to the section that was edited prior to the last one.  Press SHIFT+F5 again and it moves to the section that was edited prior to the last two.

This feature is called "GoBack" and can be applied to the last 3 edits.

How to Edit the Subject of a Received Email in Outlook

If you receive an email in Microsoft Outlook from someone and you would like to save the email with a different or revised Subject, follow the steps below.

1. Double-click on the email message to open it.  (Note: you cannot change the subject in the Reading Pane.) 
   
   
2. Click in the subject text and edit it. 
   
   
   
   
3. Press Ctrl+s to save it.
4. You're finished!

Delete Unwanted Automatic Line in Word

Microsoft Word has a feature that creates an automatic line when you type 3 or more of the following same characters and then press ENTER: * (asterisk), - (hyphen), _ (underscore), or  = (equal)

Line Example:

 

The line above was created by typing the equals sign (=) three times and then pressing ENTER. Creating the line is easy, but I struggled to find a method to delete it (after it was too late to UNDO)!
After researching the problem, I found this solution on Allan Wyatt’s Word Tips, so I am directing you to his website link below:

http://wordribbon.tips.net/T006022_Removing_Automatic_Lines.html