Is the text on your computer screen looking a bit smaller than normal these days? While this is a natural part of the ageing process, we can help a bit. Here’s how you can increase the size of the text on your computer screen:
1. In any browser, at least the ones that we’ve tested, as well as programs such as Word, simply hold down the CTRL key (control key) and roll your mouse button away from you. To make the text smaller, roll the mouse button towards you.
2. Alternatively, just in case you are using a laptop or an older mouse, hold the CTRL key and press the key just to the left of the backspace key, the one that has the = and + symbols on it. This is easy to remember because of the + sign. Conversely, hold the CTRL key and press the – key, just to the left of the + key, to make the text smaller.
Here are they keys to look for.
If you’re using a photo editing program, Irfanview for instance, you can zoom in or zoom out using this same key combination. This won’t work on menus but it will work in just about every software program that we’re tried. When you want to change the text back to normal, in Google Chrome anyway, look for the magnifying glass icon up on the top right. Click it and you can instantly set the text back to its default size.
This is at 110% but click Reset to bring it back to normal.
While you may not need the zoom all the time, remember this tip for those times when you do. Also, if a friend or a relative seems to be having a problem with this, show them how to make use of this tool.
We’re starting a series on different aids that are available to computer users who require special tools to assist them while using technology. At this point, we’re gong to concentrate on free aids that are currently available inside Windows itself or in other applications. Let’s start with Magnifier, a handy tool…even if you are not visually impaired.
Head to the start button (the globe down on the lower left of your taskbar in Windows 7). Click it and then click on All Programs. Scroll down to Accessories and click there:
Start, All Programs, Accessories then Ease of Access.
The Ease of Access folder contains different tools to assist various users who need them but, of course, anyone can use those same mini-apps.
Click on Magnifier.
In this post we’re going to use the Magnifier. Once you click it, everything on your screen gets much larger. Since your actual screen doesn’t get any larger, obviously, you are faced with only one section of your desktop. Move your cursor (mouse) around the screen and the desktop or current application will move around accordingly. Everything seems a lot larger.
Icons, images and type are all larger.
Everything is still there, it’s just magnified by whatever percentage the magnifier is currently using. You can adjust that percentage by clicking on the icon of the magnifying glass.
The – and + icons zoom in or out, depending on which one you click.
Zoom in or out. You can make things a lot bigger or just a bit larger, it’s up to you. When you’re finished, click the X up on the top right of the menu to go back to normal. We’ve found this tool to be very handy when we’re examining old photos or handwritten documents. Details that aren’t visible in the originals are often much easier to see or read using it. Try Magnifier out yourself and we think you’ll find quite a few uses for it.
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We had some AVI files that we’d recorded over the last few months. While they play well on a computer, we wanted to share them with family members during the upcoming holiday season. As is the case in most families, not all of our relatives are experienced computer users. What we needed was a way to convert those AVI files into a format that would allow them to be played on a standalone DVD player.
We searched the Internet for different options, with free being the key word. In the past we had used PowerDVD but none of our current computers came with that bit of software. Sure, there are several professional solutions but we were looking for something that didn’t cost money. We finally found that solution. As it turns out, it was right under our nose. Here’s how to make a DVD from an avi file.
Tip: This process works with Windows 7. You may be able to download the software from Microsoft but, at this point, Windows DVD Maker is only available in some versions of Windows 7.
1. Get your AVI files together. Total time for a DVD is about 150 minutes so you can make chapters with several different AVI files as long as the total time doesn’t exceed 150 minutes.
2. Insert a blank writeable DVD into your CD/DVD burner. The following menu should pop up:
Choose ‘Burn a DVD video disk’.
A DVD video disc is one that will play on a DVD player or on a computer. It is different from a data DVD, one that may contain AVI files plus documents, etc. , because it is presented in the same style as a DVD that you rent or buy from a video store. There will be a splash screen when the DVD opens, the same as what you see when you play a Hollywood or Bollywood blockbuster video disc.
2. Here’s the next screen that you will see:
Drag and drop your AVI files into this window.
You can either add items using the ‘Add items’ button or drag and drop files into this window. Take note of the little icon on the bottom left, the grey pie with ‘0 of 150 minutes’ beside it. As you add AVIs, this icon will show how many minutes are left out of the initial 150 minutes. If you go over the limit, a section of the pie will be in red.
Also, see where it says ‘DVD title’ with the date? Click in that area to make a name for your DVD. You can do it later but it’s easier to do it now.
3. Once you’ve added the AVI files, click Next. This menu pops up:
The AVI icon shows as a strip of film. Cool huh?
We’re using a 32 second film just to show you how this is done but you will see the timing of every AVI file you add to the previous menu. There is a status indicator and the pie chart shows a whole lot of open space. Your menu will be different. Note where we have typed ‘Family Movie’ . Click Next and this menu pops up:
Here is where you choose the look of your splashscreen.
Click on the menu styles on the right and choose which one looks good to you. There are other choices here, too. You can preview how things will look or customize the menu or create a slide show. We’ll deal with the last choice in another post.
Make sure you have changed the title. If you forgot, click on ‘Menu text’ and this menu will allow you to change the title and a few other things:
You can change the title here, add notes, change the names of the buttons, etc.
4. Once you’re ready to go, click on the Burn button and Windows DVD Maker will go to work and, depending on the speed of your computer, will shoot out a completed DVD in a matter of minutes. For us, on a relatively fast computer, the process took anywhere from 5 to 20 minutes. The time seemed dependent on the source material. We made DVDs from different types of files, not just AVIs. You can experiment with which files work and which don’t. We had an OGV file that stalled the program but there aren’t many OGV files around these days.
We love free! Here is a very cool bit of software that’s tucked inside of some versions of Windows 7 and we were lucky enough to find it. We were amazed at how easy and intuitive the whole process was and we were just as amazed at how good the final product looks. With this free app, you can create very professional results in just a few minutes.
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Sometimes things go wrong with your computer. It starts to act different, freezing or locking up after you’ve installed some software or added a new driver for a piece of hardware. In the old days, you’d have to figure out the problem, sort it out and maybe reload Windows. Remember those days? Well, thanks to Microsoft Window’s restore function, there’s no need to do any of this. Just go back in time to when your computer was functioning properly. Here’s how you do that:
1. Head over to the Start/Windows icon button, click it and look for Control Panel.
Click ‘Control Panel’
2. Here’s the next screen. Look for System and Security.
System and Security up on the top left then ‘Find and fix problems’
3. The next screen that pops up is pretty much vacant but down on the lower left, look for the word Recovery on the bottom left, as in this photo:
The last word on the lower left is ‘Recovery’. Click it to continue.
4. The next menu explains what system restore is all about. There is even a recommended time and date, basically the last restore point. Read the menu then click on ‘Scan for affected programs’. Restore does not affect anything that you have created, such as a document or photo. All it does is restore your computer to an earlier date and time, getting rid of any changes to system files or installed software. When you ‘scan for affected programs’, Windows will tell you what software you’ll have to reinstall. Here’s the menu that we’re talking about:
Once you’re read this menu, click on ‘Scan for affected programs’.
5. Let’s see what would be affected if we restored this computer right now:
We installed Photoshop Elements recently so it is the only software affected if we use restore right now.
6. If you know that the suggested restore point is not the one you want, click on the button to the left of ‘Choose a different restore point’. Like this:
Click Next after select ‘Choose a different restore point’.
7. At any given point in time, Windows has several restore points to choose from. Obviously, the farther back you go in time, the more programs will be affected. Here’s a list of the restore points for this computer:
There are eight restore points on this computer, each one just before software was installed.
8. Before Windows installs any software or even its own updates, it creates a restore point. That way, if something screws up, you can go back to the time before that software was installed and start over again. If you’ve made a mistake in the installation process, you get to go back in time to fix it. Wouldn’t it be great if life were like that?
9. Once you decided on which restore point, click Next and the final menu pops up:
Here are all the details of what you’re about to do.
10. Once you click ‘Finish’, Windows will start the process and reboot. When you log in again, your computer will be set back to the date you chose, complete with all of your documents, photos, etc. but without the offending software or update. Life is good again, right?
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Every now and then Microsoft releases updates for its different versions of Windows. Usually these updates are beneficial, good for you and your computer. Sometimes, these updates can cause your computer to malfunction, not often but every now and then. There are two things you can about this, the easiest being to simply delete the offending update. Here’s how you do that.
1. Head to your Control Panel (Start/Windows icon on the lower left of your taskbar then look for the words Control Panel up on the right middle and click on them). Like this:
See ‘Control Panel’?
2. Clicking on the words Control Panel opens up this screen:
What we want is the section that says ‘Programs Uninstall a program’
3. Click on Programs and the following screen pops up:
Look up on the top left for the words ‘View Installed updates’ and click them.
4. You have to view the updates carefully to find the one that you want to delete. Better if you know the number of it, KB971033 for instance. If you don’t, you can sort the updates according to different parameters. We suggest you sort them by date of installation. Here’s what that looks like:
There is even a calendar that appears if you hover up on the top right.
5. Once you’ve found the correct update, simply right click it and choose ‘uninstall’. You could also click it once and then choose ‘uninstall’ at the top. Either way, Windows will remove the offending update.
Right click and choose ‘Uninstall’.
Depending on which update you uninstall, you might have to reboot your computer.
Back at the start we said there were two ways to get rid of an update. What’s the second? You could restore your computer to previous day before you installed the update. We’ll explain how to do that in our next post. Stay tuned.
Thanks for reading!
a little bit of hi-tech, a little bit of common sense and a lot of fun
