Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 012922

By | January 29, 2022
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Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 012922

It’s Saturday. The weekend is here and you know what that means. It’s time for more Bonus Questions & Answers.

Sometimes the best tips and tricks are hidden in the questions and answers we publish. And rarely do we post questions and answers on this website. Today, we’re featuring some of the questions and answers from past issues of our InfoAve Weekly newsletters. 

These answers were selected at random from past InfoAve Weekly newsletters.


Saturday Bonus Questions and Answers – 012922

Lee says his username is not listed in the Users folder on Windows 10
Hi TC and Darcy. Don’t want to sound thick but having read your recent reply to Clint regarding backing up folders to move to a new computer, where do I find the “C: \Users \Your Username\ folder”? I have found the Users folder but not one with my username. I currently use an external drive to back up my files and folders. Thanks for your help and advice over the past years, especially this terrible last year. Best wishes, Lee.

Our answer
Hi Lee. Your user account name may not be the same as the name you see on your log-in screen.

To see the username of your user account is, do this…

Type COMMAND in the taskbar search and press “Enter” when you see Command Prompt in the search results.

At the prompt type WHOAMI (that’s who am i – all in one word).

Cloueight Windows 10 Tips

You can see my computer name is syndey28 and my username is thunder. And though it says Thundercloud on my log-in screen, my username is thunder. And the Pictures, Documents, Desktop, Music, etc. folders, as well as all my files are located at C:\Users\thunder.

Hope this helps you, Lee.


Bev says that the shortcut to automatically add the date in notepad doesn’t work for her
For some reason, your tip: “In Notepad Press F5 to add the date and time to any Notepad file” doesn’t work for me.  What am I doing wrong?

Our answer
Hi Bev. If you are using a laptop, you may have to hold down the Fn key while you tap the F5 key.

Hope this helps you and others who use laptops.


Leora asks about screensavers and wallpaper
I don’t fully understand the difference between screen savers and Wallpaper. I always use wallpaper and change it a lot. What is the purpose of a screen saver?

Our answer
Hi Leora. Great question.

Wallpaper (desktop wallpaper) is a picture you use on your desktop as a background. A screensaver can be set to turn on when your computer has been idle for a period of time. A screen saver is usually a slideshow of different pictures, designs, and/or animations – some have music as well. A screen saver does not replace your wallpaper.

Back in the early days of computers when CRT monitors were popular, screensavers were necessary to prevent “screen burn-in” – that means whatever is on your screen for a long time gets burned into the monitor and can’t be removed. Modern computer monitors and screens have high refresh rates so burn-in is no longer a problem. However, many people still like to have a screen saver playing when they’re not using their computers.

Windows 10 comes with several screen savers. If you want to try one out, type Screensavers in taskbar search, and when “Change Screen Saver” appears, click “Open” or press Enter.

You’ll see the Screen Saver Settings dialog. As you can see from the screenshot below, Windows 10 comes with several screen savers as well as the option to use your “Pictures” folder (photos) as a screen saver.

Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly

No matter what screen saver you choose, it will not change your desktop wallpaper.

I hope this answers your question, Leora.


Julia has questions about OE Classic
My computer is Windows 8.1 and I use Thunderbird email.

I have two questions: In the old Outlook Express, I, like others, enjoyed creating my own background and adding music sometimes for a special personal note or occasion.

About OE Classic: You say “Scrolling, musical stationery does not work, but all Cloudeight Stationery for Windows Live Mail and Thunderbird works great!”

Does this mean OE Classic does not have the feature to let me create my own background and music, without having to add the music file as an attachment? (In Outlook Express I created my background and added the music. Wrote my note and sent…when opened the music auto-played for the recipient.)

Now a question about Thunderbird email… will my address book and folders transfer into OE Classic OK?

Thank you for your help.

Our answer
Hi Julia. You can create email backgrounds and you can attach music, the music will not play unless the recipient opens the attached file.

All our non-musical, non-scrolling stationery that we created for Thunderbird and Windows Live Mail works in OE Classic.

When we do the setup for OE Classic we include about 300 stationery designs to get you started.

You can export your contacts (Address book) from Thunderbird as a CSV file and import it into OE Classic. If your email accounts in Thunderbird are set up as IMAP accounts, all your IMAP folders will show in OE Classic.

I hope this helps you, Julia.


Bernie asks about reducing the size of images
It may have been there for a while, but I just “discovered” Easy Way to Search Our Tips & Tricks. Thank you, thank you, thank you. I now have a far more reliable means of searching for articles instead of the printed articles that now fill two 3-ring binders!!!

That said, although I can’t find it, I seem to recall a program or programs you mentioned for reducing the size of JPEGs, GIFs, and other pictures. Am I dreaming, or did you? If yes, could you point me to the article?

Every so often, I think about how much you two have taught me about this computer beast. I say “beast” because it often seems like a snake in the grass that is just waiting to strike out and bite me. I know that is a little over-dramatic but just allow me to marvel at your smarts and wisdom (yes, I do separate those two words: anybody can be smart but not everyone can be wise).

Our answer
Hi Bernie. Thanks for your nice comments and your long-time support.

Reducing the size of pictures can mean reducing the size of the amount of disk space the picture uses (its file size) or it can mean reducing the dimensions of the pictures.

Reducing the file size of the picture (the disk space it uses) is one thing we covered here.

If you’re talking about reducing the dimensions of pictures, we covered that here.

Windows Powertoys also has an easy-to-use image resizer. 

We hope this helps you, Bernie.


Mildred is getting a new computer and wants to know if she needs a PDF program
Buying a computer is serious business and I have chosen the one I prefer. Do I need a PDF program such as Adobe or Foxit which is an add-on and pricey? Some government documents (income tax forms and such) come in PDF. Can they be printed off without a PDF file program? Your thoughts would be appreciated. Thanks…Mildred

Our answer
Hi Mildred. You don’t need a PDF program like Adobe or Foxit… you can open and print PDF files with your browser. Google Chrome and/or Microsoft Edge works great and that’s what we use. Also, note that Windows 10 comes with Microsoft Edge so if you’re getting a new computer with Windows 10 – you don’t have to download anything at all.

I hope this helps you, Mildred.


Cheryl asks about Xtra-PC
Good morning… I saw this on the internet https://tinyurl.com/y2jfr64r and wondered if either of you has ever heard of it? If so, what is your take on it? Thought it might be something you two would want to test out in case any of your followers were to ask you questions about it. Might also be something you can put in the newsletter with your findings, whether good or bad. Stay safe. Cheryl

Our answer
Hi Cheryl. Xtra-PC has been around for years. It’s a USB flash drive with Linux on it. When you plug it into a USB drive it boots into Linux instead of Windows. I don’t know if we would call it a scam or not, but it’s very misleading. It does not make your computer like a new Windows computer – but that is what is implied.

You can make your own Linux USB drive for free (other than the cost of a USB drive). It’s called PenDriveLinux. It’s free and all you need is a $5 USB flash drive.

Linux is not Windows and when you run from a USB flash drive you will not have access to any of the files, folders, apps, or programs on your Windows computer.

I hope this helps you, Cheryl.


Benoit wonders if it’s better to leave a computer running all the time or to shut it down daily
I was having a heated discussion with one of my geek friends: Is it better to leave our computers running all the time and just reboot after an update or turn it off daily?

Our answer
Hi Benoit. We have had that discussion ourselves! We both leave our computers running 24/7. The only time we reboot is when it’s necessary – for instance when a Windows update requires it.

If we’re going to be away for a few days, we shut our computers down in case of a storm.

Here is an article we wrote some time ago.


Euan wants to know if Windows 10 has predictive text features like Smartphones
Is there a way to write emails on my computer that will automatically show up the words that are similar to the suggested ones that I am looking for like it does with Predictive Text? Just similar to as it does with mobile phones? Many thanks to you and good wishes.

Our answer
Hi Euan. Windows 10 offers a predictive text feature. Whether or not it works with your email program depends on the email program.

Here’s how to enable text prediction in Windows 10.

I hope this helps you, Euan.
—–
Euan wrote back, “It works! Many, many thanks. Euan.”


Rhonda’s keyboard does not have a Caps Lock indicator
My keyboard does not have a caps lock indicator. Some time ago I had an app that sat in the system tray and indicated the status of the Caps and Num lock. It has disappeared and I can’t remember what it was called. Do you know a safe app for visual caps lock indicator?

I do like your newsletter and your useful information. Thanks, Rhonda

Our answer
Hi Rhonda. I spent some time looking around for something that would do what you need it to do. I found one and tested it on my laptop -even though I have a Caps lock indicator. The program worked well and you don’t even have to install it – just click to run it. It will alert you when the Caps lock key is on as well as NumLock and Scroll Lock keys are on. You can also configure it just to show when Caps Lock is on and nothing else if that’s how you want to configure it.

The program is called Caps Lock Indicator and you can read more about it and/or download it here.

We hope this works for you.


MaryLee has a problem with Microsoft Edge
I’ve been having trouble updating Edge. I was just going to search Cloudeight for instructions on this and found your article about running SFC and DISM. So I followed instructions; it took about half an hour to get to 8%. Three hours later, it’s stuck at 8%. I think I’ll have to use my Repair Key, which I purchased when you first made them available.

Our answer
Hi MaryLee. You don’t have to use a repair key to fix Edge. All you need to do is reset it.

See this page to learn how to reset Microsoft Edge.

Once you do that, close and reopen Edge. Then type (or copy/paste) this into the Edge address bar…

edge://settings/help

It will tell you if your Edge browser is up to date and if not, give you the option to update it.

DISM/SFC scans are for finding and fixing or replacing Windows system files. If the scans stop when running them, you might want to close all open programs before running them again.

We hope this helps you. MaryLee.


Sharon found an AI-powered Writing Companion called Wordtune
I recently came upon Wordtune, AI-powered Writing Companion, and I’m wondering what your thoughts are about it. It appears to be something that would be helpful to me but is it safe as an extension for Chrome? Thanks

Our answer
Hi Sharon. It looks excellent. I read the reviews of users and installed it myself – I need all the help with my writing I can get since we don’t have money to hire real editors. So any help I can get is welcome.

After doing some searching and reading the reviews, I think it’s something you can install without worry. Whether it’s as good as they say, only time will tell.

If you decide to use it, let us know what you think. This is an excellent find, Sharon. Thanks!


Jean has crazy colors on her screen
I have messed up the colors on my PC. This page has a black background with white text. The title “Your Questions, Comments, or Suggestions are Welcome” is in Coral. The taskbar is white. The Start menu with all the tiles has a white background. The apps are Aqua. How do I get out of this mess?  I’ve tried to figure it out but not getting very far. I just want to go back to the original. Please help!

Our answer
Hi Jean. Try this…

1. Press and hold down the Windows Key and tap the U key to open Settings > Ease of Access.
2. In Settings > Ease of Access click on Color Filters (on the left side)
3. In Color Filters if the switch is turned on, turn it off.

Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly

4. Next click on “High contrast” in the menu on the left and make sure the switch is turned off.

Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly

That should fix your crazy colors.


JoAnn S. wants to make a shortcut to Sleep mode
Hi Darcy or TC. Thank you for all the wonderful tips in your newsletters! I really like the one-click “restart” tip. Is there a way that I can do a shortcut for sleep mode? Again, thank you for the fantastic help you share in your informative newsletters!

Our answer
Hi JoAnn. Thanks for your nice comments.

There’s no reason to create a shortcut to sleep since Power Options allows you to set the number of minutes of inactivity before your computer automatically goes to sleep.

If you right-click on your Start buttons and click on “Power Options” you can set your computer to automatically go to sleep after whatever number of minutes or hours you choose. You can have your computer automatically go to sleep after anywhere from 1 minute all way up to 5 hours (or never).

The number of minutes or hours you choose is the number of minutes/hours of inactivity before your computer goes to sleep. Your computer will not go to sleep while you’re using it.


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