ISAC Computer Support Group

April 22, 2008

  Computer Support Subjects

Click here for printing instructions

142 - Printing Instructions

Topics Covered

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55 Internet Explorer - Reflet - animate logos, decorate your web pages
106 Outlook Express - Missing Toolbar
109 Outlook Express - Neat Tips
113 Outlook Express - Print Background
115 Outlook Express - Put Source Edit Preview buttons on Stationery
116 Outlook Express - Put Text Labels Back Under Icons
117 Outlook Express - Remove Original Message from a Reply Email
216 Internet Explorer 7 - Can't Open Hosting Site for My Home Page
217 Set up My Recent Documents in the Start Menu

   Tips of the Month
Open Questions & Answers

55 Internet Explorer - Reflet - animate logos, decorate your web pages
Reflet can be used to generate an animation simulating a wave effect and reflection. It can also animate logos, decorate your web pages, or add a special pix to your desktop. It can be used for images with water, portraits or creating text animations.

The application can be obtained by clicking on Reflet.
Download the application, Reflet-en.zip, and store it in an appropriate location such as My Documents\My Downloads\Reflet.
Use " FreeZip" or a similar application to unzip the files to the location chosen above.
Left click on the Reflet.exe and drag to and drop it at the end of the menu. (Have you sorted your Programs Menu lately?)
Left click on
Follow and left click on Reflet

When the Reflections generator window opens
Open a picture file and "play" with the Menu and Icon options
Export your creation to My Pictures for future use. 

 

106 Outlook Express - Missing Toolbar
When setting up OE, it sometimes loses features we have become accustomed to. OE is almost limitless in features as seen in the number of topics (~75) to be totally covered in our CSG sessions. 
To recover the missing Toolbar
Click on your link to OE

When the OE window opens
Right click any blank space on the Menu Bar
When the sub menu opens for the Menu bar opens
Left click on Toolbar

Note: - Any application can be treated similarly by right clicking on the bars you have visible to display a submenu of Toolbar options. When no submenu appears, check the Menu Bar and left click on View for Toolbar options. Many applications use both.

 

109 Outlook Express - Neat Tips
When you begin using OE, it appears almost too simple, it's really a wolf in a sheep's clothing. There so many good options to enhance OE and at the same time, screw it up completely. Most ISPs provide tips for OE, and you can also browse with one of the many Search Engines to find more OE Email tips.

M$ has some of the more general tips available for you already with OE.

Open OE.

 

When the OE window opens

Follow steps 1, 2 and 3.

Be forewarned - ignore all tips regarding Preview or Preview Pane

M$ has not acknowledged OE Preview Pane is the most vulnerable and accessible point for virus to your computer.

Example : - 
A new virus hits the internet and no antivirus checker has had the time to create a wall to block it.
It appears in your Inbox.
You are suspicious - the From or Subject have no meaning to you 
You click on it to Delete the message.
The E-mail automatically opens in the Preview Pane
Too late, the virus has established a foothold in your computer.

What to do : - See 111 - Outlook Express - Preview Pane

Once your Preview Pane is set properly, return to your e-mail and safely delete all suspicious looking messages.

 

113 Outlook Express - Print Background

You can enrich your emails by using Stationery 

When you send an email using stationery, they can see it, but if they want to print it, the background image is gone and much of the e-mail's grace with it.

If the recipient uses OE, there is a way to make it print background images. OE uses the print settings of IE believe it or not. Another one of those screwballs from M$. IE does not print background images by default to save ink and it usually makes the printout hard to read. This default can be changed to print an email with its stationery.

To print a message with its background images in OE
Open  IE.
Left click on Tools
Select Internet Options.
Select the Advanced tab.

Under Printing
Place a check mark next to Print background images and colors .
Left click on
Left click on
Open the message you want to print in OE.
Left click on File
Select Print... Ctrl +P from the menu.
Choose your printer options
Left click on

 

115 Outlook Express - Put Source Edit Preview buttons on Stationery
When using Stationery with your email, there are times when a bit of editing is required. The most common problem is the positioning where you begin to type your message. A Stationery file is an HTML file and can be edited using OE. 

Open OE

When the New Message window opens
Left click on View
Select Source Edit

A new Toolbar with Edit Source and Preview will appear at the bottom of the New Message window
Left click on Format
Select Apply Stationery
Select your choice of stationery
Type a few characters to note alignment with any images on the Stationery
Misalignment of text will require changes to the Stationery
Left click on Source on your new Toolbar

This example displays where you would change the MARGIN-LEFT: to less or more than shown to align your text to the images on your Stationery
In OE you can switch between Source / Edit / Preview modes when designing html emails. 
In Edit mode, you can use the wysiwyg tools to embed images, tables fonts, etc into your email.

Click on this icon for basic instructions to create/edit web pages

 

116 Outlook Express - Put Text Labels Back Under Icons
There are no set M$ standards for putting "text labels under icons". Some applications require you to right click on the toolbar and select Customize/Options, some will require a left click on View on the Menu bar and select Customize/Options and there are some with no Customize/Options. However, there is one standard you can use, when an application is active and Toolbar icons are visible, place your mouse pointer over the icon and a small popup will appear to tell you what the icon is used for. Many icons are standard with different application manufacturers. Spreadsheets, word processors, internet browsers, etc use very similar recognizable icons

OE is unique, its icons don't appear to be used by any other application except possibly, this  Print (Ctrl+P)

The unorthodox means of restoring Text Labels Under OE Icons requires you to 
Open OE
Left click on Inbox (do not use the Outlook Express folder)
Left click on View
Select Layout...

When the Window Layout Properties opens

Left click on

When the Customize Toolbar window opens
Choose your Text Options:
Note the other options available with this window. 
Add, Remove and place the icons anywhere you want on the Toolbar using Move Up and Move Down
Left click on
When the Window Layout Properties window reappears
Left click on

 

117 Outlook Express - Remove Original Message from a Reply Email
When you Reply to an Email, seldom is it necessary to include the original message. Dial-up users especially, do not need the excess time required to repeat something to a sender who already has a copy of what was sent to you. 

When you select the message to be replied to
Left click on
When the Replay window opens
Left click Edit
Left click on Select All   Ctrl+A
Press Delete on your Keyboard
Proceed to complete Email 
Left click on

To bypass all this nonsense.
Open OE
Left click on Tools
Select Options

When the Options window opens
Select the Send tab
Left click on the box for Include message in reply to "remove" its checkmark
Left click on

 

216 Internet Explorer 7 - Can't Open Hosting Site for My Home Page
Internet browsers use Temporary storage for all web sites you visit. This speeds up the process of displaying web pages when you use Back to    Forward to or when you want to go back a number of pages and use History to go immediately to the page you previously displayed. Over time, one of these pages could become corrupted due to improper closing of the browser or a power outage/surge. 

The first option to use when a Page hangs including your Home Page
Left click on  Stop (Esc) at the end of the Address field to cease browser communications to the internet
Allow a moment for the browser to stop and then left click on Refresh (F5) 

If the problem persists
Left click on Tools
Select Internet Options
Select the General tab
Under the Browsing history section, left click on

When the Delete Browsing History window opens proceed with caution

Do you have a record of all your passwords?

To start with a clean slate, left click on

Left click on

Under Browsing history, left click on

When the Temporary Internet Files and History Settings window opens
Check the radio box (circular) of Every time I visit the webpage. this will cause IE to refresh your web pages every time you display them. If you do NOT do this, you may end up viewing a damaged or an old outdated page.
Left click on

SPECIAL NOTE: From time to time, return and Delete your Temporary Internet Files. This will also help your computer performance.

 

217 Set up My Recent Documents in the Start Menu
To add to your Windows Start menu, 
Right click on
Select Properties

When the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window opens
Select the Start Menu tab
Left click

When the Customize Start Menu window opens
Select the Advanced tab 
Locate the Recent documents section
Left click to add a check mark to the List my most recently opened documents checkbox
Left click on to close the Customize Start Menu window
Left click on again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window 
Now when you left click you will see
Place your mouse pointer on and you will see the files you have most recently used. 
Left click on any file in the list to open it

To periodically clear the items from

Right click on  
Select Properties
When the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window opens
Select the Start Menu tab
Left click
When the Customize Start Menu window opens
Select the Advanced tab 
Locate the Recent documents section
Left click on  
Left click on to close the Customize Start Menu window
Left click on again to close the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties window 
The files listed in will remain on your computer but will no longer appear in

 

Tips of the Month

Click in the Icon for an article on E-mail Fraud.

Open Questions & Answers

 

NEXT MEETING - TUESDAY, May 13, 2008 @ 13:00 P.M. 

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Revised: May 11, 2008 .