Thursday, August 31, 2017

Class Notes 8-31-2017

Blend photos together with Image Inc for Windows
http://tinyurl.com/y7atnmyj

How to delete Chrome’s browsing data super quickly
http://tinyurl.com/yawod7h8

SepPDF: Split PDF documents on Windows
http://tinyurl.com/y8yzewrb

Chrome: launch sites in borderless windows
http://tinyurl.com/yawod7h8

Explore Space with NASA’s Eyes
http://tinyurl.com/y92bs8j2

Backblaze Personal
A $5 per month online backup plan that promises unlimited storage, no file size limits and unrestricted bandwidth.
http://tinyurl.com/ybrh3sru

How to Load Google Play On Kindle Fire
http://tinyurl.com/y874mbgb

Windows 10 AutoPlay Options
http://tinyurl.com/y7wwyhqs

How To Recover Lost Files From SD Card, Hard Drive
http://tinyurl.com/y8kndena

Add your favorite websites to the Windows 10 Taskbar
http://tinyurl.com/yb5vo6v3

How to hide the Microsoft Edge button in Internet Explorer on Windows 10
http://tinyurl.com/y75mx57y

And here are the notes on pictures from the library class here in KY yesterday:

There are many great apps out there to manage and edit your images. We are going to look at using what came with your computer from Microsoft for most of these examples.

Uploading pictures from your camera or cell phone

If your camera has an SD card, eject it from the camera and place it in the SD slot in your computer. It will mount as an external disk drive. You can locate it and the images on it using Filemanager (Win+E). You will find them in a folder named DCIM.

If your camera does not have an SSD card, then all the images are in the memory of the camera. Using the charging cable for the camera, plug the USB end into a USB port on your computer. It will mount as an external disk drive. You can locate it and the images on it using Filemanager (Win+E). You will find them in a folder named DCIM.

If you have a Smartphone, using the charging cable for the phone, plug the USB end into a USB port on your computer. It will mount as an external disk drive. You can locate it and the images on it using Filemanager (Win+E). You will find them in a folder named DCIM.

Using File manager, drag the images to a folder on your computer. Typically you would create a new folder in the Pictures folder naming it something appropriate. If they are pictures of your recent vacation you might name it Vacation August 2017. Then locate the pictures you want to place in that folder and drag them to the new folder. (Remember the shift-click method to select multiple images) They will still be on the camera or phone when you are done.

Renaming your pictures

In File manager (Win+E), right-click on a picture and select Rename. You can rename a group of pictures by selecting them all and then right-click on any one of the selected ones and rename it. The first will get the new name followed by a number in parenthesis. The rest will have the same name with the number in parentheses incremented by one each. Name (1), name (2), name (3)...

Organizing your pictures

Use File Manager (Win+E) to create folders for groups of pictures giving them appropriate names to make it easier later to find the group of pictures you saved. It is good to have folders within folders. Perhaps a folder for 2017 and then inside that folder individual folders for various events.

Cropping your pictures

In the Photos app click the Edit button (pencil icon) or press Ctrl+E > Click Crop > Resize the anchors to your desired size, then click the Check Mark

In Microsoft Paint, use the Crop Selection button, then select the area of the photo you want to Crop, then click Crop. If you want to resize, under the same Home tab, click Resize, then enter dimensions

Adding captions to your pictures

In Microsoft Paint, use the A in the Tools group. Draw a box where you would like to see a caption and type away.

Uploading pictures to Facebook

Open your personal page and click the Photos tab.

Click Album and select the album you want the picture to be added to or create a new Album and add to it. Then click + Add Photo

Turning old photographs into digital images

One slow way is to use a scanner. However, with the increased quality of our smartphone cameras, I simply take a picture of a photograph and then enhance it with cropping and the other tools in the Photos app.

Using images found on the Internet

Right-click on the image and either download it or save it to your computer. Some pictures are not able to be taken this way. But if the picture is on your screen you can grab it with PrintScreen; a key on your keyboard usually in the top right. Make sure the image is displaying on your screen. If it does not quite fit, try F11 to remove the bars at the top of your screen. (When done F11 will bring them back again) If that is not enough, Ctrl+- will make the image smaller. Once you have the picture on the screen > Win+PrintScreen. This places a picture of the screen in the Screenshots folder in your Pictures folder. Locate the picture using Filemanager (Win+E) and open it in the Photos app or Paint and crop it to show the image you want to use. Save it naming it whatever you want.



Another method to “grab” a picture off of the screen is to use the Snipping Tool that comes with Windows. Click New > drag a box around the image > let go of the mouse button > save the image

Backing up your pictures

You should keep your pictures in two places. Perhaps on your phone or camera and in your computer will work for you. I have too many pictures.to keep them all on my phone. Uploading them to Facebook is a good way to organize them as well as backing them up to “the cloud”. You can also make copies on CD’s or DVD’s or flash drives or an external hard drive. And if you have an Amazon Prime account, you can store them there for free. And a Google account gives you free unlimited storage in their cloud. More on these in future talks on Google and Backing Up.

In addition to my own research, I want to give thanks to Harold at the Club, Ghacks.net Newsletter, and DavesComputerTips.com for the useful ideas we take a look at each week.

Thursday, August 24, 2017

Class Notes 8-24-2017

Facebook Basics
http://tinyurl.com/y9268z7t

Safe Mode
Restart your PC by holding the shift key down and pressing the Restart button

Captura desktop recording program for Windows
http://tinyurl.com/y8zmzcej

Thunderbird 52.3.0 is out
http://tinyurl.com/yd6hrs5f

In addition to my own research, I want to give thanks to Harold at the Club, Ghacks.net Newsletter, and DavesComputerTips.com for the useful ideas we take a look at each week.

Thursday, August 17, 2017

Class Notes 8-17-2017

Storage Sense
http://tinyurl.com/ybnlak7j

78 rpm records archive is online
http://tinyurl.com/ycwttt84

Checklist Guide to Reinstalling Windows
http://tinyurl.com/y7992dbc

Microsoft Paint lives on, just not inside Windows 10
http://tinyurl.com/ybps2y2q

Windows 10 Updates Sharing
http://tinyurl.com/y8v3wqbx

Is Windows Defender Good Enough?
http://tinyurl.com/y9frrrk2

How to remove a user from a Windows PC
They must have an Administrator account. Sign in and then create a new user as an Administrator. Sign out and sign back in as the new user. Then remove the other user not saving their data. To get to the Control Panel: Windows+R, type Control Panel and hit Enter. Locate User Accounts.

Why web pages don’t work the same in all browsers
Each browser works a little differently in the way they render pages and other behind the scenes activity. When a website is designed right it takes into consideration all the possible browsers it wants the page to work on. Some sites work best with Chrome, some with IE, and some with Firefox. Some older sites do not play well with Chrome because it has not been around as long as Firefox or IE. If what you are doing does not work well in the browser you are using, try it in another one. I find this true with some Microsoft pages and some financial pages. It is a good idea to have all three on your PC--IE, Firefox, and Chrome.

Thanks gang for a great afternoon…



In addition to my own research, I want to give thanks to Harold at the Club, Ghacks.net Newsletter, and DavesComputerTips.com for the useful ideas we take a look at each week.


Thursday, August 10, 2017

Class Notes 8-10-2017

Ever look for a web site and it is no longer there? Well, here is a site that inventories sites that are no longer active for whatever reason. http://www.archive.org

Jigsaw Puzzles online
http://Jigzone.com

Keyboard Shortcuts
http://tinyurl.com/yb86gtpx

Registry Cleaner Scams
http://tinyurl.com/yckxur8u

How To Stop Auto-Play On Facebook App
http://tinyurl.com/ybvh5yjb

How To Set Up New Computer With Ninite
http://tinyurl.com/ybwwprwx

100% Free Cell Phone Service
http://tinyurl.com/ya2h2xma

Sys Minion: run Windows system commands
http://tinyurl.com/yb43gm7w

Turn Wi-Fi back on automatically on Windows 10
http://tinyurl.com/y8dxe27j

Display all time zones with TimeZonesView
http://tinyurl.com/y8nehrw6

Openmailbox Free eMAIL
http://tinyurl.com/yauaopgc

Use Thunderbird for your email and save them to your PC. Thunderbird is a free email application that’s easy to setup and customize - and it’s loaded with great features!
http://tinyurl.com/3dhvppf

Launch Taskbar Programs With This Keyboard Trick
Press the Windows key and then the number corresponding to the position of the program on the taskbar. Windows Key + 1 opens the program to the right of the start button and so on. Works from 1-10 (10=0)

In addition to my own research, I want to give thanks to Harold at the Club, Ghacks.net Newsletter, and DavesComputerTips.com for the useful ideas we take a look at each week.

Friday, August 4, 2017

Class Notes 8-3-2017

We covered a number of topics as I answered questions from the group both in the meeting room at the club and on the hangout site. We will do this both ways again next week and then I will be traveling again and doing hangouts only. If we had someone who could run the netting in the club meeting room, we could open the room up each week. I would be on the screen and not in the room itself. So if you would be willing to learn how to do that it would be a big help. Let us know and we will make the arrangements. Thanks!

If you are on the internet and want to join in on the meeting from home, just open a browser and go to this URL: http://tinyurl.com/dickevans. This will open the hangouts page and let you JOIN IN. If you do not have a webcam you can still join in. We just will not see you. You will be able to see and hear what is happening.

Here are the things I talked about from my notes. But we did cover a number of other questions during the class. If you have something you remember and want we to type it up, let me know.

Text from your computer, sync'd with your Android phone & number. This site allows you to text with others on their cell phone without you having a cell phone.
http://tinyurl.com/z7dymtd

Access free movies and TV shows. This is not Kodi but will let you see some current run movies right on your PC. Be aware that there are some links to a few XX sites you might want to avoid. And do not download any extras.
https://fmovies.se/

Google keeps a complete list of almost everything you've looked at on the internet. Yes they do keep track of everything you do. However, you can turn their tracking off. This article tells how. And we checked, incognito searches are not tracked.
http://tinyurl.com/ya39qsro

Windows 10 Fall Creators Update: Removed Features. This article tells about the upcoming version of 10 that is coming soon in your automatic updates. Paint is being removed from the release in favor of Paint 3D.
http://tinyurl.com/y8prjbw5

How To Recover Forgotten Windows Password. This article outlines how to be ready in advance to recover. This is not a secret door into locating or changing your password.
http://tinyurl.com/yazlzm6w

Harold presented on passwords in January. Here is a link to that talk: http://cccgc.info/wp-content/uploads/Password-Jan2017.pdf

Here is a summary of one of his slides and an easy way to create and never forget a password:

-----------------------------------------------------------------------
Easy to remember passwords

First 3 letters of mothers first name, & first 3 letters of father's first name.

• Insert a “&” between the names
• Add your birth year – the last three digits
• *************************************
• My mother: rose, father: howard, my birth year 1944
• Base password: ros&how944

Now use the first letter of the site you are needing the password for, a capital letter. And use the last letter of that site as the last letter of the password, a lower case letter.

If the password is for Amazon, place an A in front and n at the end.
Aros&how944n

If the password is for Microsoft, place an M in front and a t at the end.
Mros&how944t

If the password is for Yahoo, place a Y in front and an o at the end.
Yros&how944o

Get the picture? All your passwords are easily remembered by you.

-----------------------------------------------------------------------

How to Sync Your Desktop PC with Google Drive (and Google Photos).
http://tinyurl.com/yco4pkfr

I presented on this topic at the August club meetings. Here is the link to my notes from that talk: http://cccgc.info/wp-content/uploads/Sync-Google-Drive-8-1-2017.pdf

In addition to my own research, I want to give thanks to Harold at the Club, Ghacks.net Newsletter, and DavesComputerTips.com for the useful ideas we take a look at each week.