Windows
6.
Windows XP/Vista/7
Selecting extended system information in one
go
Instead of searching for a separate tool
for each of these tasks, the System Information tool for Windows can simply
display everything you need in one go. You can find the free version 2011 for
home users at www.gtopala.com. There is
also a paid business version on the website. You must authorize the tool during
installation and create exceptions in your antivirus and firewall software,
since its system accesses can be viewed as possible signs of malicious
activity. However, the program has one huge advantage: it rarely offers you the
option to directly change visible settings and information of the system. Thus
you can click to find out about everything without the danger of changing any
sensitive parameters.
Thematically arranged into sections for
software, hardware and network, you can view numerous details such as
'Operating system', 'Drivers', 'Open files' and 'Autostart' or even 'Processor
Info', 'Sensors', 'Network cards' and 'Storage'. From 'File | Save report as…/,
you can export the results into an HTML file. By selecting the menu option,
‘Tools | Microsoft', you can get direct access to many system dialogs of your
Windows installation.
Check
out the vital statistics of your PC at a single glance with this free utility.
7.
Windows XP/Vista/7
Sorting product keys for Windows and Office
easily
The summary about which licenses of
Microsoft Windows and Office are running on which computer is easily lost while
managing multiple computers. But during reinstallation or sale of one unit, you
must know the corresponding license. Standard tools don't let you identify
individual licenses—do not confuse the visible Product ID with the sensitive
Product Key. Use a free tool called ProduKey to find these. The tool is practical
since both license keys can be revealed with ease, and it functions on all
versions of Windows. You can find the free download, even in the 64-bit system
version, at wvyw.niirsoft.net.
Since the program has access to important
license data that can be misused, the download is often blocked by security
software. You will need to temporarily disable your security software for the
download. Then extract the ZIP archive and start the program 'ProduKey.exe'. It
lists the license key of the active system without any installation or
configuration. Licenses of SQL Server and Exchange Server, if present, are also
recorded. The data can be saved and selectively copied as text. Using the
command 'File | Select source', select another source and you can also get keys
of external computers, plus Windows folders or registry data, as long as you
have necessary access rights.
If
you need to uncover the product keys your system is using, this tool will help
you.
8.
Windows Vista/7
Determining and changing default file handlers
You double-click on a file and it suddenly
opens in an unexpected program or does not open at all. The reason for such
behavior is often a modified assignment of the respective file type handler or
an improperly uninstalled program. In XP, you could still use the dialog for
file types in Folder Options to correct the associations. But later versions of
Windows offer no such option. There is a similar dialog but it is in the
Control Panel under 'Programs' | 'Default programs' and under the option 'Assign
a program to file type or extension'. Finding such a buried option can be a bit
tediuous and this is much easily achieved through the command prompt. For this,
type 'cmd' in the search field of the Start menu and press [Enter]. The command
'assoc' lists all assignments. To a selective request for a file type, enter it
as parameter in the form '.xxx'. For example by using 'assoc.mp3', we learn
which program is defined as the default application for playback.
Delete erroneous assignments by entering an
equal sign after the file extension and leave the necessary new assignments
blank. This functions only if you have opened the command line with
administrator rights. Fundamentally, you can also enter a new association
yourself. But since the name of the program for this purpose is often unclear,
it is better to do this using the dialogs in the system. For this, it is
sufficient to double-click on an unassigned file and then navigate to the
desired program using the popup dialog box.
A
text command is often quicker to execute than navigating through several dialog
boxes.
Applications
6.
Word 2007/2010
Printing a table of contents and cover page
without numbers
Cover pages and the table of contents do
not usually have page numbers. However, when you add page numbers in Word, it
applies to all pages. The easiest way to get rid of page numbers on certain
pages is to subdivide your document into sections. Then you can individually
define the numbering on the pages for each section which Word can manage
easily. For this, position the cursor where you intend to have a section. Under
the tab "Page layout" in the multifunction bar, click on "Page
Setup" then on "Breaks" and select the command "Next
page" under "Section Breaks". Word adds the desired section
break and begins a new section at that point.
Now position the cursor in the second
section from where the page numbers should start. Under the "Insert"
tab click on "Header" or "Footer", depending on where you
want the page number to appear. In the next menu, click on "Edit
Header" or "Edit Footer". Separate the current section's header
or footer from the previous one by deactivating "Link to previous" in
"Navigation". Move the cursor to the position where the page number
should later appear. Select "Page number | Number of pages" and
lastly, close the header or footer.
Sections
can help you eliminate page numbers from cover
pages in documents.
7.
Outlook 2007/2010
Displaying e-mail accounts in tabular format
Managing a large number of e-mail accounts
in Outlook can be a daunting task, as you may not always be able to figure out
the source of each e-mail message. You can solve this problem by sorting them
into individual columns. To do so, click on 'View' and then from the
'Navigation Pane', activate the 'Current View Pane' option. Now, on the left
hand pane, you will find the 'Current View Tab'. Here, click on the 'Custom
Current View' option, which opens a new window. Now click on the on the
'Fields' tab, and in the drop down menu, select 'All Mail Fields'. Now in the
list below, you will find the 'E-mail Account' option. Select it and click on
'Add' and confirm the settings with 'OK'.
The results may take a little time to be
implemented as Outlook collects all the necessary data from the PST files for
each account and only then displays it. Clicking on the column header can sort
the inbox quickly in the future, and you can also group the entries by size or
date range.
Numerous
additional columns can be used to represent a variety of data.
