Ojatex's Laptop Tips

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• 7-7-1998 Laptop Tricks, added to LAPTOP.TXT by the author, and part of my ©Tricks + Secrets Files:

LAPTOP TRICKS 146 - 150

146. AWOL HOMEPAGE?: Web-site authors, after uploading new material to their FTP directories, should always re-check their web-sites. When there are unexpected results, a few simple steps can be taken:

Clear your Cache before you access the revised site.
If a picture appears to be missing, right click on the missing icon symbol and select Show Picture.
Close and reopen your browser. Sign off your ISP and/or close your ISP software.
If problems still occur, re-boot then re-access your web-site.
If still having problems, then re-upload the missing files.
Finally, complain to the web-site provider; they may be having FTP problems.

147. SHOW YOUR FILE: If you have a full-blown HTML-Mail program such as Netscape Communicator's Messenger or Outlook Express and your recipient can handle HTML mail, then send an HTML file on your system as a page instead of an attachment.

In Netscape's mail program, open the HTML file in Composer, copy it and then paste it into a new message. [The Send function from Navigator will only place a link to your internal file in the mail message; copying the file from Navigator will paste as text into your message without any graphics.]
In Outlook Express, open the HTML file with Internet Explorer, copy it and then select Mail from the GO Menu. Paste it into a new message. [The Send function on the File Menu will only place an attachment of the html file with no graphics in your message.]
If a picture is missing from the outgoing message, backspace over the missing picture icon, then insert the picture manually.

148. AOL "ART" FILES: If you use AOL3.0/4.0 for Windows95, then copying files from the Cache may produce "art" files in place of the expected "gif" or "jpg" files. When you try to read a copied-from-cache htm[l] file, some graphics may be missing. The graphic files with the "art" extension can be read in your browser individually, but it is necessary to rename them with a "gif" or "jpg" extension in order for them to appear in the htm[l] file.
However, even though renamed, the graphic files cannot be opened with a graphic program. To make these graphic files work in your graphic program[s], there are two methods:

When you open "art" files individually in your browser, right click on the picture. Save it is a "bmp" file. Then you may convert the "bmp" file to the graphic format of your choice.
If you have already re-named an "art" file to a "gif" or "jpg" extension in order to make it appear on a copied-from-cache htm[l] file, then right click on the graphic when you open the htm[l] file. Save it as a "bmp" file.

To avoid "art" file problems completely, don't browse the web with your AOL software. After signing on, open your browser as a "stand-alone". Then your copied-from-cache graphic files will maintain their native extensions.

149. ARTWORK OF YOUR OWN: You don't have to be a graphic artist to construct unique pictures. Many of us just stick a few pictures from our clip-art collections on a document rather than try to create our own "art". As discussed in Tip #131, graphic files can be manipulated, resized, flipped, shrunk, etc. in order for the graphic to fit on one page for printing. The same approach can be useful when creating a "compound" graphic - a new graphic that is a conglomeration of one or more clip-art files. If an existing graphic has a border that is unsuitable in the new compound graphic, shrink the width and height in both the normal view and upside-down view to shave the border off; usually just a one or two pixel reduction will work. Dissimilar background colors among pictures created with different colour palettes can be eliminated by a copy/paste operation into new files that use the same colour palettes; then backgrounds can be painted the same colour. With a little practice, you can make your own art-work that is customized to the content of your document and does not have that obvious "clip-art" look.

150. POPUP SLAYER: Geocity and Tripod offer free web-space, but there is a penalty for site visitors: the Popup Advertisement. [If you access Tripod or Geocity sites with the AOL shell over your browser, a full page ad rather than just a popup ad appears. All the more reason to never access the WWW with AOL as long as you have a browser which can be run as a standalone.] To the rescue come these freeware Close Popup programs.

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• 12-15-1997 Laptop Tricks, added to LAPTOP.TXT by the author, and part of my ©Tricks + Secrets Files:

LAPTOP TRICKS 71 - 75

71. THE NAME GAME: If you have Windows95, naming a file is no longer constrained by length like Win3.x and DOS files. The aim is to make file names descriptive of the contents regardless of the constraints. Naming E-mail [both incoming and outgoing] that you want to save serves as a good example. A straight forward practice is to name e-mail by correspondent and date, then send it off to a floppy disk where you can bundle up a month's worth of e-mail into a zip file. Adding a code letter to the file name such as "i" for incoming and "o" for outgoing will futher help describe the contents. For instance if you receive an e-mail from "Sender@xyz.com" on 12-07-1997, name your file "sender12-07i.txt". If you send an answer on the same day, name your file "sender12-07o.txt". Now if you have multiple e-mails back and forth on the same day with the same correspondent, add a little more detail such as "ai", "bi", "ci", etc. for successive e-mails received on the same day. For instance if you received and sent 3 e-mails on the same day with "Sender@xyz.com" your floppy disk directory would look like this:

sender12-07ai.txt
sender12-07ao.txt
sender12-07bi.txt
sender12-07bo.txt
sender12-07ci.txt
sender12-07co.txt

To complete the storage of your e-mail, create a new "zip" file on your floppy disk with the name "Dec97-email.zip". Periodically, drag your saved e-mail files into the zip file and delete the uncompressed files. Also file attachments which came with the e-mail can be stored on the same floppy in zip format.

72. CLIPBOARD TIMES MORE: Window's clipboard is a handy utility but limited - have you ever overwritten its contents with something you copied subsequently and then had to go back to re-copy the original contents?
Sometimes there are several different items you might want to save when creating a document or browsing the web and must work back and forth because the clipboard only holds one item at a time. Now there are several freeware/shareware multi-clipboard programs which can hold many items at the same time.

73. INSTALL TARGET: If your system is configured to run both Internet Explorer 3.x and 4.x [as outlined in items #39 and #40], when you install new software to the hard-drive, selecting the proper location can save disk space and preclude a dual-install. Since the IE3.x and IE4.x maintain separate "Program Files" and "Windows" folders, do not install the new software to these locations unless they are specifically for a certain version of Internet Explorer. Some software will install or update some files [usually "dll" files or "ini"] in your Windows folder. If you want to have the newly installed software work in both the IE3.x and IE4.x modes, you may have to install the program twice or at least copy the "ini" file from one Windows folder to the other. To update the dll files in the Windows/System folder, delete the installed files [but not the folder] for the new software. Then re-install the software in the same folder. Some program authors will indicate if the Windows/System folder is modified when the program is installed; you can also monitor the installation to see whether any files are landing in the Windows/System folder.

74. DOWNLOAD SPEED: So you have a fast modem and your system is tweaked for speed. Then when you download software off the net, the bytes seem to be dribbling in. Take a look at the File Download box and check the Transfer Rate of the incoming bytes; if the speed is down to a few hundred bytes per second, cancel the download. Look for another download site or get into the FTP location as outlined in Item #37. You can probably get a dramatic increase in speed.

75. GET THE FREE STUFF: You want more software - Don't run off to the store just yet. There's loads of new software on the web and it's free. But where is it and who has it? There are freeware and shareware web-sites; locate them through the search engines. The big services like PC World and ZDNet have large software libraries with hundreds of programs. To find the latest offerings, sign up for free e-mail newsletters. You will get a description of the software and the URL to its location. Unless you like to walk the wild side, stay away from BETA software; the bugs can bring your system down. And if you are looking for a specific type of program such as icon extractors or multi-clipboards, try out several programs with an eye to ease of use, features and size.

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• 12-9-1997 Laptop Tricks, added to LAPTOP.TXT by the author, and part of my ©Tricks + Secrets Files:

LAPTOP TRICKS 67 - 70

67. DEAD LINKS REVIVED: Do you get E-mail which has lots of links but they are all dead, i.e. clicking on them gets you nowhere. Of course you can always copy and paste them into your browser/ bookmarks/ favourite places one by one. But if you see several URL's that you want to investigate, you can make those links come alive as long as your text editor [such as "Notepad Plus"] supports a REPLACE function. First save the e-mail as a file.
Now take a look at the style of the dead links; suppose you see a link like this:

http://www.webstuff.com/index.htm

With the REPLACE function [usually from EDIT on the MENU BAR] change the front end of the URL by replacing the term:

http with <A HREF="http

and select REPLACE ALL. Now to change the back end of the URL, replace the term:

.htm with .htm">click here</A>

and select REPLACE ALL. Often URL's don't end with the standard .htm or .html extension; there are various configurations. To fix these non-standard endings, find the first link in the file and enter:

">click here</A>

at the end of the URL. Now, COPY what you just entered and PASTE it at the end of each non-standard URL. Save your work and open the file in your browser. The links are now alive.

68. FIX YOUR PRINT: Does your printing sometimes go awry? Maybe you tried to print some numbers on a spreadsheet and ended up with a series of ###### where the numbers were supposed to be even though the spreadsheet itself showed no sign of character overflow as denoted by ######. To fix this problem you can reduce font size, increase column width, and change the number format to eliminate dollar signs, commas and number of decimals. Now open the "Print Preview" selection and zoom-in to see if the ###### symbols have been eliminated.

A. More Print Space: When you print documents especially multi-column spreadsheets, you may need as much width as you can get. Decrease the print margins to the minimum using "Page Set-up". Keep your column width and font to the smallest useable sizes. Set the print style to Landscape rather than Portrait. Eliminate printing the grid-lines and disable Print as Draft, if applicable.
B. Bigger Paper: Buy a supply of legal size paper if your Printer supports it. Most Copier stores will sell you a small supply if you don't need an entire ream. With all these adjustments, a 14 columm spreadsheet with a Description column and 13 columns for monthly and yearly totals is feasible - ideal for an Income Statement.

69. FORCE A FONT: If you like to use a special font such as a "float" or other non-standard font on your web-site or other graphic-enabled document that you transmit to others, your recipients may not see that font. For instance, if they have specified user defined fonts or have turned off dynamic fonts when viewing web-sites, your special font may be translated to a less unique configuration. Suppose you want to start your page with a large-sized heading in your special font. To accomplish this open your favourite graphics program, even "MSPAINT" will do. Select the Font tool and your target font with the desired attributes. Create your heading and save the file; if necessary convert the file type to a "gif" from a "bmp". If you want to enhance your header for a more striking presentation, make several colour variations of your file. Then string them together in an "animated gif".

70. SIGN IT: When you compose and print a letter, before mailing do you always remember to sign it? If you have a scanner, sign your name on a blank sheet of paper or on a piece of paper where you have typed your name and address. Now scan the sheet of paper and save the output as a "bmp" file.
You can alternatively add your address after scanning with a "paint" program.

Your Signature
Street Address
City, State, Zip

When you write a letter using a program that supports images, such as Wordpad or MsWorks, just insert the Signature "bmp" at the end of your letter. If you use HTML to write letters, convert the "bmp" file to a "gif" file. If you are an accomplished graphic "artist" you can skip the scanning by writing your signature directly in your graphics program [or "cheat" and use a "handwriting" font]. Then save the results as a bmp or gif file.

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• 12-4-1997 Laptop Tricks, added to LAPTOP.TXT by the author, and part of my ©Tricks + Secrets Files:

LAPTOP TRICKS 60 - 66

60. BIGGER IS BETTER: Laptop screens are small at the onset; some programs add top and bottom bars that put a real squeeze on working screen real estate. Most programs have an options or preference menu wherein you can turn off the "extra" bars; the standard MENU BAR is usually enough to operate many programs satisfactorily. For Windows 95, hide the TASK BAR by selecting SETTINGS/TASKBAR from the START button and checking the "Auto hide" option in the Taskbar Properies box.

61. GOLDEN OLDIES: If you suddenly are not able to get on the web even after re-installing your internet/browser software, drag out an older version of your software and give it a try. For instance if you are a Win95 user with a 32Bit browser and you cannot connect to the internet, drag out the 16bit software and try again. The good news: it is likely you can connect with the oldie. The bad news: a re-install of Win95 may be necessary to return to 32bit browsing.

62. GET AN ARM: Unless you have a really skinny laptop, you can add a swinging arm to hold printed materials. Get a two-part, adjustable arm where you can remove the arm and leave the bracket attached to the side of your laptop case.

63. TAPE IT UP: When you receive those free floppies in the mail, do you erase them for your own use after you disable the write protect function by moving the tab over the opening? Join the club. Well some companies that send out these floppies have tried to foil your efforts by removing the tab. An old VCR trick works on floppies too. Just put a small piece of vinyl tape over the opening and delete the contents. The floppy is now yours.

64. FIX A FORM: If you have a scanner, you can fill in forms such as registrations even without form-filling software. Bring your scanned form up in a graphics program [Windows Paint will do] and fill in the blanks. But there is a downside; it's difficult to stay well positioned between the fill-in lines on the form. Try this: before filling in the form, delete the fill-in lines with Paint's eraser "tool" and add "underline" to the font you are using. If it is a two-sided form, after filling both sides in Paint send them to a "paused" printer. Before printing, pause the second document in the que so you can print on both sides of the same piece of paper. If the fill-in form is of the "fold, seal and mail" type, just put your printed filled-in form inside the original, seal and mail.

FAST RETURN: When you receive a letter which requires minimal response, scan it and write your answer on the bottom of the page. If you have a colour printer, use a bright colour and a bold font.
THE CHECK IS IN THE MAIL: When you buy merchandise that merits a rebate, scan the rebate form and the receipt. Depending on whether the vendor requires originals or accepts copies, mail your forms accordingly.
Also if you use financial software such as Quicken, record your expected rebate as a Receivable [asset]; this serves as a method of following-up on an expected rebate check; even if you don't have a scanner, record expected rebates. And, if your financial software has that nagging "reminder" feature, set up a "bogus" future transaction that will remind you 6 to 8 weeks hence of the expected rebate.

65. SCAN FOR SAM: Uncle Sam [IRS Division] wants proof for all those figures on your 1040 plus his share of the take.

GAMBLING WINNINGS: Did you win a jackpot of $1,200 or more at a casino? When you are paid off the casino fills out a W-2G much like the regular W-2 your employer sends to the government to report your wages.
The IRS taxes gambling winnings as regular income. Although you can't claim gambling losses as a deduction, you can offset your winnings up to the amount of your losses. So maybe you lost twice as much or more during the tax year in pursuit of that jackpot. The IRS wants you to submit proof of your bad luck; so save and scan those cash withdrawal slips especially the ones from the ATM machine in the casino. Print your scanned slips and attach them to your return.
WHAT DID IT COST? When you sell securities, your Capital Gains are taxable; your Capital Losses can be used as offsets and [with limits] are deductible. Scan the details of each purchase and sale you receive from your broker. You may need those details to prove the cost of a security you purchased several years ago. Somewhat similar rules apply to the sale of Real Property; scan the documents which back-up the original cost and additions to the property.

66. SHAKE, RATTLE and ROLL: Have you ever booted up and heard an ominous grinding sound? Maybe even a message on your screen of "Disk controller failure"? Don't panic. When a laptop sits around for awhile unused or isn't in a relatively level position, it may need a more gentle wake-up. Just shut down, wait a few seconds, level the laptop and re-boot. Usually boot-up will then proceed normally.

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• 12-2-1997 Laptop Tricks, added to LAPTOP.TXT by the author, and part of my ©Tricks + Secrets Files:

LAPTOP TRICKS 57 - 59

57. CAN'T DO SPREADSHEETS? Spreadsheets are ideal vehicles for keeping track of income and expenses as well as other numerical data. However if you are not a "numbers" person but can do some simple HTML, you can keep track of figures by just making some basic templates. Additionally you can add links to underlying scanned documents such as outlined in item #54 above.
Just create a simple text file that you can use to record the amount of monthly electric bills as follows:

1998 ELECTRICITY JAN $ FEB $ MAR $ APR$ MAY $ JUN $ JUL $ AUG $ SEP $ OCT $ NOV $ DEC $

A- After saving the text file, rename it with an HTM extension and open it in your browser. It will look like this:

1998 ELECTRICITY
JAN $
FEB $
MAR $
APR $
MAY $
JUN $
JUL $
AUG $
SEP $
OCT $
NOV $
DEC $

B- When the Jan 98 electric bill is sent, open the htm file as a text file and fill in the "form" by entering the amount next to the dollar sign. When the file is re-opened in your browser it will look like this:

1998 ELECTRICITY
JAN $121.68
FEB $
MAR $
APR $
MAY $
JUN $
JUL $
AUG $
SEP $
OCT $
NOV $
DEC $

C- If you also scan in your electric bills, you can tie the image to you file with a link. From the example in item #54, add a link like this:

<A HREF="98elecbills.htm">1998 Electric Bills</A>

D- You can use this htm-template approach for many categories of text documents and add links to other text and scanned documents within your file structure.

58. SCANDISK FILES: Have you ever run Scandisk and ended up with some CHK files that Scandisk created when it found errors? First add the CHK extension to registered file types, then associate it with a word processing program.
Often when you open these CHK files, they may be nothing but blanks. However they may hold some lost files that you want; check over the file to find clues from where it came. Sometimes these files are from DOS programs that were run in a DOS window that did not shut down properly. If you can't determine exactly what the proper file name and extension should be, compare the file's size to a directory list as outlined in Item #35.

59. TAKE A PEEK: If you don't already have it, get and install Quickview - a free CD-ROM extra from Microsoft. Go through the list of FILE TYPES [accessed from VIEW/OPTIONS on the MENU BAR of Windows Explorer as outlined in item #44]. From the "Add New File Type" box, check the "Enable Quick View" option for the file extensions you often use. Using Quickview to "look" at a file doesn't require the underlying application to open or even be available. For instance a spreadsheet file whose application is on a portable disk that isn't currently loaded in the portable drive can be opened with Quick View.
If you are an AOLer and want to review the E-Mail you have stored in the Personal Filing Cabinet without opening the AOL program, you can rename your "screenname" file in the "Organize" folder with a Quick View enabled word processing extension. Then just open the file with Quick view; after reading the "screenname" file, eliminate the file extension.

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• 11-26-1997 Laptop Tricks, added to LAPTOP.TXT by the author, and part of my ©Tricks + Secrets Files:

LAPTOP TRICKS 55 + 56

55. CORD WRAP: Laptop AC adapters are prone to breaking right near the connection where the adapter plugs into the computer. A little prevention is in order. Use vinyl tape to wrap the cord from the connector for a length of about two inches to prevent constant crinking/bending of the cord in the same place. Often the handle of the laptop is partly to blame for stress on the cord; remove the handle to relieve the pressure.

56. CORD DOCTOR: When your AC cord breaks you don't necessarily have to shell out $100 or more for a new adapter. Your local electronic store (e.g. Radio Shack) may have the repair part you need for a couple of bucks. Get a matching connector and splice it onto the good part of the old cord. [Unplug the power first.] Be sure the two wires do not make contact with each other. Very small pieces of vinyl tape wrapped around exposed wires can prevent the wires from touching.

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LAPTOP TRICKS 51 - 54

51. HTML AIN'T JUST FOR WEB SITES: If you have sort of a "Plain Jane" E-mail program that supports attachments, write your friends an HTML file with graphics of your choice. Just zip up the HTML file with the associated "gifs" and attach it to your E-Mail. If you haven't created your own web-page yet, it's a good way to practice the skills you will need.

52. CAN YOU SCAN?: If you have scanning capabilities, there are many uses you can put it to such as receipts for large items especially computer hardware/software with the date of purchase and serial number. Often receipts fade in time, are partially unreadable or are missing salient information. After you scan, open the item in a graphics program and add the missing or unreadable information. It's much easier to find a scanned item on a disk than looking through a pile of papers for an elusive receipt. The scanner is also ideal for saving tax information especially those W-2's and 1099's that have to be dealt with by April 15th. If you are making or collecting monthly payments based on an amortization schedule, scan that schedule into your computer. Save it as a graphic or a word processing document if you have an OCR program. Each month, mark off each payment with the date and check number.

53. ORGANIZE THE SCAN: If you have a lot of scanned documents, make a folder named "Scanned Docs" and organize them into sub-folders by type such as Taxes, Insurance, Computer, Monthly Payments, Utilities, Correspondence, Appliances, etc. Don't forget to convert those large byte scanned documents to smaller "gif" files and toss the originals. If you use a portable drive, put the Scanned Docs folder onto a separate disk along with your scanning software, OCR program, form-filling applications, and any other software which involves scanning. Now make a new folder on the portable disk named "Scanning" and put all you scanning-related folders in it. For your "Scanned Docs" folder [or for the individual sub-folders if they are extensive], Scanning software, OCR program, form-filling applications, etc. make shortcuts and paste them into the "Scanning" folder. Make a shortcut to the "Scanning" folder and paste it on your desktop and/or into your Windows/Start Menu folder. Now when you have scanning to do or want to retrieve a scanned document, all the relevant tools are available from your master shortcut.

54. SUPER ORGANIZED SCAN: Now that you have all your scanned documents all sorted and converted to gifs, wouldn't it be great to see each group all at once rather than having to open each picture individually? No problem. Just write a little HTML file to which the gifs will attach. For example, if you happen to scan your monthly electric bill, write an HTML file and embed each months bill. You can write a template HTML which will hold a whole year's bills as follows:

<CENTER>ELECTRICITY 1998
Jan98<A HREF="jan98.gif"><IMG SRC="jan98.gif" ALT="Jan 1998"></A> 
Feb98<A HREF="feb98.gif"><IMG SRC="feb98.gif" ALT="Feb 1998"></A> 
Mar98<A HREF="mar98.gif"><IMG SRC="mar98.gif" ALT="March 1998"></A> 
Apr98<A HREF="apr98.gif"><IMG SRC="apr98.gif" ALT="Apr 1998"></A> 
May98<A HREF="may98.gif"><IMG SRC="may98.gif" ALT="May 1998"></A> 
Jun98<A HREF="jun98.gif"><IMG SRC="jun98.gif" ALT="June 1998"></A> 
Jul98<A HREF="jul98.gif"><IMG SRC="jul98.gif" ALT="July 1998"></A> 
Aug98<A HREF="aug98.gif"><IMG SRC="aug98.gif" ALT="Aug 1998"></A> 
Sep98<A HREF="sep98.gif"><IMG SRC="sep98.gif" ALT="Sep 1998"></A> 
Oct98<A HREF="oct98.gif"><IMG SRC="oct98.gif" ALT="Oct 1998"></A> 
Nov98<A HREF="nov98.gif"><IMG SRC="nov98.gif" ALT="Nov 1998"></A> 
Dec98<A HREF="dec98.gif"><IMG SRC="dec98.gif" ALT="Dec 1998"></A></CENTER>

Every time you scan your monthly electric bill, convert the output to "gif" format and the bill will show up in your HTML file in chronological order. You can create many types of HTML files such as ones for taxes of all kinds, computer expenditures, credit card statements, etc. Also you can easily use a prior year's HTML file to make one for the next year by just replacing 98 with 99 for example.

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LAPTOP TRICKS 49 + 50

49. PLUS the RIGHT ARROW: Another use of the Right Arrow is to quickly reveal or "explode" a folder in Windows Explorer that holds subfolders. When in the left pane of Windows Explorer, to reveal the sub-folders, just select the "+ folder" and hit the Right Arrow. The use of the Right Arrow to open the "+ items" is especially useful when in Safe Mode as you navigate Device Manager with the default cursor.

50. SOFTWARE UPGRADE?: Companies that issue software generally come out with an "upgrade" to their old standards every so often; that doesn't mean you need to buy it. Try a demo if available - many of these "upgrades" are filled with a lot of zingy new graphics but little in the way of new content. When an upgrade goes from 16-bit to 32-bit it won't necessarily be any faster because several megabytes may have been added. Often your old stripped down version will be just as fast or faster without all the cute little pictures and added "features".

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LAPTOP TRICKS 45 + 48

45. COMPRESS THE CLUTTER: Is your desktop overrun with icons? Not an empty spot to be found? Some icons have even fallen off the right edge of the screen. If you can't bear to part with them, then squeeze them down to fit your little screen. Open the Control Panel and select DISPLAY. Click on the Appearance Tab and from the ITEM line scroll to ICON. In the relevant SIZE box shrink the current size to a lower value until you get a good fit of the icons on your desktop.
You can also decrease the size of the font that is used in the Icon's Title.
Additional desktop free space can be reclaimed by decreasing the spacing between icons. Re-access the Appearance Tab as before and from the ITEM line scroll in turn to Icon Spacing [Vertical and Horizontal]. Decrease the size to move the icons closer together.

48. WINDOW WIGGLES: There are many keyboard shortcuts, but few of us learn them all.
One handy keyboard shortcut that can keep you from reaching for your mouse when you want to maximize /minimize /restore /close a WINDOW is to use the following commands:

ALT+SpaceBar-X = Maximize a Window
ALT+SpaceBar-N = Minimize a Window
ALT+SpaceBar-R = Restore a Window
ALT+SpaceBar-C = Close a Window

If there are additional open windows running inside the application, just press Alt+SpaceBar-RightArrow to access each Window's top left icon.

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LAPTOP TRICKS 14 - 16

Your portable computer doesn't have to be the poor step-child of the computing world. Afterall it cost plenty. Though there are inherent limits vis a vis a desktop, there are several things you can do to power up your machine. Portable users have one over-riding advantage. They don't have to go to their machines; their machines go with them - outside, inside, all around the house.

NOTE: Most of the following Laptop Tips are for Windows 95, but many will work with DOS and/or Windows 3.x systems too.

14. FREEZE UP: Are you sometimes plagued with a computer freeze-up? Even a cold shut-down and boot-up won't solve the problem. Here's an undocumented solution that often works. Shut down your computer, unplug the AC current if you are connected, and remove the battery. Then reverse the process - put the battery back in, reconnect to AC and restart your computer.

15. PAUSE THE PRINTER: If you move around with your computer a lot, chances are you are not connected to your printer very often. Always keep your Printer on Pause until you get connected. And if you are going to print pages as well as envelopes, put the latter on "Documents-Pause" so you can make the necessary printer adjustments before you print envelopes.

16. RE-PRINT: If you are going to print documents from files which are on a portable disk [but not an internal drive] and you don't want to drag your portable drive along when you go to your printer, then send the files to "Holding" before you give the Print command. Print from the files in the "Holding" folder; too often you may not get the expected results when you print the first time and if the source document is on a portable disk you will have to reconnect to the portable drive. By printing from files on the hard-drive you can easily re-access them if necessary. Remember to delete the hard-drive file copies after printing and to re-pause the Printer.

If you have questions, tips of your own or portable problems, please contact the author via E-Mail at Ojatex@aol.com

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