1. When you click on the back button when viewing a web page the same page is displayed rather than the previous one. Some web pages are displayed in two steps. The first step is to load a web page that contains coding to alter then load the actual page. This is done so that before the actual page is displayed, it can be changed to better suit the particular viewer. To overcome this, simply click on the back button twice quickly. You should then return to the previously viewed page.

2. When you are viewing a web page, it does not fit on the screen of your computer. Nowadays computer screens come in various sizes and width to height proportions. Therefore when you load a web page it may not fit. For example, some of the page may not show since it is outside the screen area. To view parts of the page not on the screen you can use the left/right scroll bar at the bottom of the screen to scroll the screen. But this is inconvenient, especially if there is text which extends from one side of the page to the other. A much better solution is to hold the Crtl (Control) key down, then roll the little wheel between the left and right mouse buttons. Rolling this wheel will increase or decrease the size of the web page on your computere screen so that you can make it fit.

3. What is PDF? What is Acrobat and why do I need it on my computer? Printed documents such as manuals or forms (such as government tax forms) do not display well on a computer screen. This is because the printing is often quite small and because most printed pages or forms have portrait orientation (they are higher than wide) while most computer screens have landscape orientation (they are wider than high). The Adobe company developed a file display format called PDF (Portable Document Format) which enables such printed materials to be displayed conveniently on a typical computer screen and to be printed if desired. To display a PDF file one must have the program called Acrobat installed on his or her computer. This can be downloaded from the World Wide Web and installed on ones computer at no cost. Since many computer progam manuals, manuals for such things as appliances and many government forms are made available in PDF format, it is important that anyone using the Web have the Acrobat program on his or her computer. Click on one of the following links to get instructions on how to download and install the Acrobat program on your computer. Webpage Instructions       PDF Instructions

4. Add a picture from a file into a Word document Pictures are very valuable in a document to provide graphical information as well as textual information and also to decorate the document to make it more readible. Click on the following button to see how to do this. Instructions

5. Create a Watermark Background for a Word document Sometimes it adds a little to a document to have the background be some picture associated with the text. So that the text shows well over this picture, the picture needs to be a watermark (viz, faded). Click on the following button to see how to do this. Instructions

6. Should you shut down your computer at night? Some people never shut down their computer but rather just put it into the standby state. For the most part this works okay. In the standby state the computer main disk is stopped but the Windows operating system is still on, waiting to be activated again when any keyboard button is touched or any peripheral device turned on. The display is also put into a low-power waiting state. The advantage of using the standy state when you leave your computer is that it starts up quickly when you wish to use it again. However, the disadvantage of using it is that none of the standard cleanup regularly done when the computer goes through its start up process happens. This can eventually cause problems. Therefore it is a good idea to put your computer in standy state if you intend to use the computer within, say, one or two hours but shut it down if you will not be using it within that time period. For example, it is a good idea to at least shut down your computer each night. The regular, daily cleanup done during the startup will fix many minor problems before they accumulate to cause difficulties with your computer.

7. How to change the homepage for your World Wide Web browser. When you start up your web browser to view web pages it presents a startup page. Often this is just the homepage for the company that provides you with your Internet access, the store that you bought your computer from or it could be the Microsoft homepage since your computer probably uses a Windows operating system. However, you can change this startup page to be any web page on the World Wide Web or even just a web page stored on your own computer. Click on the following button to see how to do this. Instructions

8. How to send a photo attachment with an email message. It is great to be able to send photographs along with an email message to relatives or friends. Especially nowadays when many people have digital cameras and/or scanners which let one create picture files of such photos. There are two steps to sending pictures with messages. First, you must prepare the picture to be suitable for use with email. Second, you must attach the picture to your email message. Click on the following buttons to see how to do these. Instructions - Reduce Picture    Instructions - Add Attachment    Simple Instructions