Did You Know There Is A Way To Boot Directly To Your Desktop With Windows 8.1

Windows 8 caused quite a stir for the average PC user when it started shipping with new PC's mid to late 2012.  When Microsoft decided to introduce a Start Screen instead of a Start Menu, it had users shaking their heads and asking "Where is my Desktop?". 

With the upgrade of 8.1, you can have your Desktop back again!  When the computer boots up to start screen, click on the tile called Desktop. This brings you to your desktop.  Look for the Taskbar. The Taskbar is the little ribbon that runs along the bottom of the screen in the Desktop.

Right click the Taskbar then click on Properties.  On the Navigation tab under start screen, check off When I Sign In or Close All Apps on Screen, Go To The Desktop Instead of Start.  Make sure everything else in the Start Screen Section is unchecked.  Then hit okay.  Next time you start your computer it will boot up yo your desktop.

Do You Know You Can Use Your Pictures As A Screen Saver?

Last week in my newsletter I talked about saving and organizing files. I am sure by now you have a collection of pictures that are your favorites; grandchildren, family members, friends, special times. I know I do. Once you have your picture files organized in folders and sub-folders, you can now display them in a slide show as your screen saver. The screen saver takes over in X-amount of time after you leave your computer, while it is still on.

To open up the Screen Saver Settings you must first left click the Start Button. In the menu on the right hand side, click Control Panel. Click on title Appearance and Personalization. This brings up a list (menu). At the top is Personalization. In that sub-menu, click Change Screen Saver.

In the Screen Saver Settings dialog box, Click the button marked Settings. This bring up a dialog box that allows you to browse for your pictures. Click Browse. Now you are in the screen to Browse For A Folder. Click on Libraries, Documents, My Documents, My Pictures. Then click on the folder you created with your pictures in it. If you didn't put them in the My Pictures folder, then click Libraries, Documents, My Documents, then the folder you created that has your pictures in it. Once you have that folder highlighted, click Okay.

With the Photo Screen Saver Settings dialog box still showing, you can control the speed and whether you want the pictures shuffled or show them in order. Once you choose, hit Save.

With the Screen Saver Settings dialog box still open, Choose the time you want to wait until the slide show starts, then hit Okay.

After the time you allotted for the Slide Show to begin, sit back and enjoy! You will impress your friends as well.

These instructions are for Windows 7 Users. If you want to know how to do this using Windows XP, e-mail me at Pic1Cathy@verizon.net and I will send them to you.

Know Your File Extensions

Have you ever had anyone send you a file through e-mail and when you go to open it, you get a message that looks like this.

Now, how did that happen and how do I fix it?

There are ways to get around it.

I would first ask the person who sent it to you, what kind of a file is it. Was it suppose to be a document or a picture?

Sometimes an e-mail program can change the file extension during transmission. If you know what kind of file it should be; with the e-mail open and the attachment closed, right click on the attachment and go to Save As. The Save As screen comes up. In the file name, change the extension to what it should be. Then, Save As Type (choose) All Files. Now when you go to open it, it should open right up. As a good rule of thumb, you should always save your file to a folder you created so you will know where it is. When you click Save or Save As, your files automatically get saved in My Documents. If you have a lot of documents in there, it could get lost. At a later date I will cover, Cleaning up and organizing files.

Another way to attack the problem is to Google the file extension. You may find a good way around it there. Or you could call me!

Here is a good site that lists common file extensions, organized by file format.

Oh, and remember, never open an Executable File (exe) if you receive it in an e-mail. More than likely it is a worm or virus.