One of the slowest loading, most used programs is Adobe Acrobat. On top of loading at a snail’s pace, it will prompt you all too often for updates. The best thing to do is stop using it.
You will still undoubtedly need to open PDF files. After you un-install Acrobat, install Foxit. It will load many times faster than Acrobat and it won’t prompt you for an update every time you open it.
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Open Word and save a file. If you let your computer make all the decisions you will end up with a file named Document1 in the My Documents folder. Excel isn’t much better at deciding things for you. It will name your spreadsheet – Sheet1. Apparently a name like this is good enough for some people as 1.4 million spreadsheets in the Google database have this name.
Give your files names that mean something. If you are creating a resume for a Google job, name it “Resume for Google job.doc”.
Downloading files is another story. Depending on your browser and how you have things setup, it may automatically save downloaded files to an obscure location like
C:\Documents and Settings\username\Local Settings\Temp\{00CF420F-4511-461E-BD60-D835BD4D2698}
where you will never find it.
Never click “Save” until you are certain the location is OK for your file.
I have talked before about organizing documents in folders. I have a similar strategy for downloading files. I have a folder called “download” on my hard drive. Everything goes in there. Some downloads get a sub-folder. I have a folder called WordPress which holds all the updates for my blog software as well as any new themes and plugins.
Computers are poor at anticipating how we want to manage our information. Don’t let the computer make the important decisions. Be intentional when you save files. This will increase your probability of finding the files later.
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Watch how this new project from Microsoft can automatically create “hyperlinks” between different photos on the web. This is way beyond geotagging. You can find out more about the software here – Photosynth.
The default settings for Windows include an “animated screen character” or as I call it – the animated dog.
Each time you search for something, this friendly guy sloooooowly walks onto the screen and asks what you are looking for. The “cute” factor wears off after a search or two. The dog is not as annoying as the Office paperclip, but close.
You can click Change Preferences and turn off this animation. Your searches will start quicker. If you really want an online “friend” to play with, get a Webkinz.
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When you need to select several files from different parts of a list, use the Ctrl key when you click. Hold down on Ctrl and single-click the files you want to select. The Ctrl button will permit you to select non-consecutive files from a list.
If you select a file by mistake and need to remove it from your selected list, Ctrl-click it a second time. This will de-select it.
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