Alvin's Educational Technology Blog

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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Point your mouse to this link – My Digg.  As your mouse passes over this link, can you see the URL at the very bottom of your browser?  If not, you don’t have the Status Bar turned on.  Use the View menu to select Status Bar.  This will turn on a thin band across the bottom of your browser.  Without clicking on a link, you can mouse-over it and see where the link is going to take you.

You can also turn on the Status Bar in Windows Explorer.  The status bar there will tell you things like how much free space is available on your hard drive and the combined size of the files you have selected.  This is handy information if you want to select exactly enough files to fill one CD.

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This tip dates back to the days of DOS programs.  When faced with a dialog box where some of the options have letters that are underlined, use Alt-Letter to select that option.  For the dialog box on the right, Alt-Y selected Yes and Alt-N selects No.

The Alt-Letter keys are built into every menu of almost every program in Windows.  Press Alt-F right now.  Most programs will open the File menu.  Alt-E is the Edit menu.  Personally I use Alt-E, S to get to the Paste Special menu in any Microsoft application.  I use that feature often and the Alt-Letter method is the quickest way to get there.

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Have you tried to double-click on something only to miss by just a little on the second click?  Make sure you are holding the mouse properly.  The picture on the right shows the wrong way to hold a computer mouse.  Too much weight from the hand is on the mouse.

Most of the weight from your hand should be on your desk.  Your wrist and the base of your hand should rest firmly in one place in such a way that the mouse can be easily pulled from under your hand. 

The mouse should be moved using only the finger tips.  As you move the mouse, your wrist and the base of your hand should not move around the desk.  The only time your wrist should change location on the desk is during a major cursor move from one side of the screen to the other.

By using the fingers to guide the mouse instead of using the elbow, more precise movement with much more control will keep the cursor under control.  During a double-click there should be little more touching the mouse than the finger used for the clicking.

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