Internet Tips, February 2006

Extensions make Firefox better

With its use of tabs and the ability to change its appearance, the Firefox Web browser has taken a bite out of Microsoft's Internet Explorer's market share. But what really sets it apart is a collection of unique and useful extensions.

Extensions are programs that add features and functions to the original are hidden until you right-click in the browser. This allows you to have dozens of extensions installed without cluttering up your browser.

To find extensions, open Firefox and click Tools>>Extensions. Click Get More Extensions at the bottom of the dialog box. This opens up a new browser window. You can search for an extension by category, highest-rated or most popular. Each listing provides a brief description, ratings and comments by users and a link to download the extension. To install, click the download link. A dialog box will appear prompting you to install the extension. In most cases, you must close Firefox and reopen it to make the extension active. http://www.mozilla.com/firefox/

Handling Thumbs files

Q. I just bought a digital camera so I can take pictures of my grandson. I am able to download the photos without any trouble. However, there is a file named "Thumbs" that appears in Windows Explorer. What is it? Can I just delete it?

A. Three of my fingers are willing to write this answer, but my thumb and forefinger are opposed. Sorry, I couldn’t resist.

The file you are seeing, Thumbs.db, is created by the Windows operating system. It contains thumbnails, or smaller versions of your photos.

These thumbnails are shown in Windows Explorer when you're in Thumbnails view. Wondering how that happens? From Windows Explorer or My Computer, click View and Thumbnails and you'll see a little thumbnail of each picture in the folder.

They're intended to help you work with your digital photographs. This way, you don't need to open files to see what photos they contain.

Windows caches the thumbnails so they load quickly when the folder is opened. But you can delete Thumbs files without any adverse effects.

I recommend you send them to the Recycle Bin to err on the safe side. With them deleted, it will take longer for the pictures to appear in Thumbnails view. You may find that annoying. In that case, just restore the Thumbs.db files.

Keep in mind that Thumbs.db files will keep reappearing in Windows Explorer. They could cause you to question your sanity! To prevent this from happening, you can hide the Thumbs.db files.

To do that, click Start>>Control Panel and double-click Folder Options. On the View tab, select "Do not show hidden files and folders." Click Apply and OK.

Thumbs.db is a hidden file, so it won't appear in your folders. However, it is still there, quietly doing its work.

You can also get rid of it by turning off thumbnail caching.

Click Start>>Control Panel and double-click Folder Options. On the view tab, select "Do not cache thumbnails." Click Apply>>OK. With caching turned off, Windows won't generate the Thumbs.db file.

How to attach a file to e-mail using Outlook Express

Open Outlook Express and click the Create Mail button. Enter the address, the subject and your message. Then click the Attach button (it has a paper clip on it). Use the dialogue box to navigate to the folder in which the file is stored. Click the file once, then click Attach. The file will be attached. Click Send.

Keeping picture sizes small for email

Windows XP has a built-in tool that optimizes photos for e-mail. It is so simple to use.

In Windows Explorer or My Computer, right-click on the photo. On the shortcut menu, click Send To>>Mail Recipient.

Select "Make all my pictures smaller." Click "Show more options" to select the photo size. Small is selected by default. Then click OK.

Your e-mail program will open a blank message with the photo attached. A copy of the photo is saved in your e-mail program's temporary folder. The original photo is not altered.

I tried it with a photo that was 1.4 megabytes. The photo that was sent was only 38 kilobytes, so it is very effective.

Microsoft Office Templates

If you use Microsoft Office, you know that sometimes a regular old letter can look pretty boring with just plain text on the page. Sure, you can brighten it up a little by changing the font, but there is a better way that will make your document look much more original: an Office template.

You can find all kinds of templates, created by Microsoft, by clicking here. http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/default.aspx

A template is just a document in a sort of "starter" format. It might be an Excel spreadsheet configured to act as a checkbook, a Publisher greeting card with a Christmas wreath, or a Word document for a teacher to use as a field trip permission slip. The basic premise is that the template is already designed for a particular purpose, and you just have to add your own content.

The templates available are in the following general categories:

- Business and Legal

- Calendars, Labels, Planners and Stationery

- Education

- Healthcare and Wellness

- Holidays and Occasions

- Home and Community

- Your Career

All of these templates are available free from Microsoft. However, you must use Internet Explorer to download them. Get in the habit of checking the Microsoft site for templates whenever you need to create a new Office document, and your creations will look very impressive!

Also - in addition to the Office templates, the Microsoft site offers a large selection of clip art in a variety of categories.

http://office.microsoft.com/clipart/default.aspx?lc=en-us

Organize Your IE Favorites

By default IE lists Favorites in the order that you add them. To make items easy to locate, you can reorganize the list alphabetically or in any other order that you prefer. To sort Favorites alphabetically, open the Favorites menu, right-click any item in the list, and click Sort By Name. IE lists all folders in alphabetical order first, followed by individual bookmarks. Unfortunately, as you add items, IE places them at the end of the list. You must repeat the Sort By Name selection to alphabetize your list again. In addition to alphabetizing the list, you can customize the order by dragging items to any location.

This feature functions with the Favorites menu, the Favorites icon, and the Organize Favorites option. When you use the Favorites icon or the Organize Favorites option, you can also use the ALT-Up arrow key combination to move an item up the list and ALT-Down arrow keys to move an item down the list. You also can rename a bookmark or change its underlying URL. To rename an item, display your Favorites list, right-click the item, and click Rename. Type the new name and press ENTER. To modify a bookmark’s URL, right-click the item, click Properties, and click the Web Document tab. Edit the data in the URL field and click OK.