Alvin's Educational Technology Blog

If you have used computers for more than twenty years, this one will make perfect sense.  Otherwise, stay with me on this.

I talked about running the Command Prompt back in #13.  To get there we used the Windows-R shortcut to open the Run dialog window.  At that point, typing CMD saved time because CMD is only three letters.  It’s a quick thing to type.

What if you wanted to run Word by typing the command into the Run dialog window?  You could type

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\WINWORD.EXE

but that would take me about five minutes, given the number of typos I usually make.  What if you could just type “word” to make the program run?  That would be quick.

This is one of the efficiency tips that involves some work up front, but gives a long lasting benefit.  Before you start, make sure your “shortcut” isn’t already used by another program.  Click Start/Run and type the shortcut you want to use.  I will demonstrate “ppt” as my shortcut.  When I type “ppt” in the Run dialog window, I get an error saying the file can’t be found.  That’s good in this case.

To create your custom “batch” file you will need to open Notepad – Start/Run/notepad

In Notepad type the long “path” to the program you want to run.  Here is my shortcut for PowerPoint.

C:\Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office12\POWERPNT.EXE

Now save the file, but don’t use the default “TXT” ending.  Change it to “BAT” instead.  This is the file extension for Batch files.  In addition, save the file in your C:\WINDOWS directory.  By doing this your computer will always find it when you type its name.  I named my file

PPT.BAT

I used PPT because that is the type of file that is created by PowerPoint.  Now, to start PowerPoint,  I click Windows-R and type PPT.  It’s much quicker than clicking

Start/All Programs/Microsoft Office/Microsoft Office PowerPoint 2007

Different batch files can be created for Word and Excel.

DOC.BAT
XLS.BAT

TSPY=2.90

The first tip I gave you was to use the Windows key to open the Start menu.  The top area of the Start menu is customizable and it is called the Pin area.  You can “pin” any application there giving you quick access to the things you use most.

You may have noticed the programs you use most are at the bottom of the start menu.  Windows will keep track of the six (that’s the default number but you can change it) programs you use the most and will automatically place them there.  The order of the placement is based on the number of times each program is used.  More use makes the program move higher in the list.  This is the “popular” list and it can change often.

If you want a “popular” program permanently placed at the top of the Windows Start menu (the Pin area), right-click the program in the Start menu and select Pin To Start Menu.  If you pin a popular program it will disappear from the popular area and reappear in the pin area.  Windows won’t show it in both places.

The program doesn’t have to be in the popular area to be pinned.  You can pin any shortcut or executable from any part of the Start menu.

You can also rearrange shortcuts in the pinned area.  If you want a certain program at the top of the Start menu, click and drag the shortcut to the location you desire.

TSPY=2.19

Back in the day, when most people only had dial-up access to the Internet, it was important for your browser to “remember” as much as possible about the sites you visited on a regular basis. This “browser memory” is called cache. Your browser saves a copy of graphics and static text in the form of cache on your hard drive. Over time, you can build up a large cache and your browser can’t sort through it as efficiently. Instead of speeding up your access to the Internet, it can slow it down.

If you find your browser taking a long time to process pages, it could be time to empty the cache.

Find your computer’s “option” menu and look for a place to clear the cache.

Internet Explorer – Internet Options – General – Delete History
Firefox – Tools – Options – Privacy – Private Data – Clear Now

You will see several options when you clear the cache. I usually uncheck everything except “cache” because I want to retain my history and cookies. If you want your computer to remember your password, be sure to uncheck that box.

TSPY=0.09 to 3.01 (depends on size of cache)