I hope everyone is having a great spring break or is getting ready to enjoy spring break. My website is still a work in progress so check it regularly for new tutorials. Excel 2007 tutorials are almost finished and I am going to start on Outlook 2007. If you have any suggestions for the website please email me at jennifer@free-computer-tutorials.net and let me know what you think or what you would like me to add.

In this issue:

• Change the Clock
• Display settings
• Auto Save
• New Technology – Web searches in Internet Explorer 8

Changing the Clock

Changing the clock in windows seems like a very basic function but for a very beginner user you might need to know how to accomplish this.

If you take your mouse and place it over the clock in the lower right hand corner it will display the date for you.

• Now double click on the clock and the Date and Time Properties Window will open
• To change the Date click the down arrows in the date section and select the proper date.
• To change the time you can either click and hold the mouse down on the clock hands and drag them to the proper time or click on the digital clock underneath and type the correct time.
• Once changes have been made click the Time Zone tab.
• Click the down arrow at the top and it will give you the various time zones throughout the world.
• If you have daylight savings time you can check the box at the bottom and your clock will be automatically updated.
• Now click the Internet Time Tab.
• This will let you choose an online time server that you can synchronize your computer clock to.
• Click the down arrow and choose your internet time server
• Click Update Now
• Then Click OK to complete the task.

Display settings

Display setting can be fun to play with. Display settings allow you to customize your windows and desktop.

The easiest way to change display settings is to right click on your desktop and select properties. This will bring up the Display properties window.

This window gives you several tabs to make changes to the look and feel of your desktop and windows. I am going to go through the tabs quickly to give you and idea of the changes you can make. Then you can go back and play with each tab. You can also visit my website at http://www.free-computer-tutorials.net/windows-xp-tutorials.html to follow a step by step tutorial.

• The Themes tab lets you select a customized theme to change the background, sound, icons and other elements of your desktop. To make changes click the down arrow under Theme: Once you click on a selection you will see a preview in the Sample window.
• The Desktop Tab lets you change the picture on your desktop. You can choose from one of Microsoft’s default pictures or click the Browse button and select one of your own pictures.
• The Screen Saver tab lets you choose what will display on your monitor if your computer has sat idol too long.
• The Appearance Tab can be useful for people with poor vision. This is the tab where you can enlarge the font size on your windows. At the bottom you will see a section for font size. Click the down arrow and choose from normal, large, or extra large.
• The last tab is Settings. You probably don’t need to mess with this tab, but if you have questions about it please email me.

Now have fun playing with the Display settings on your computer. If you need a more detailed description of how to make specific changes either visit my website or email me with any questions.

Auto Save

The Auto Save feature in Microsoft Office can be a life saver. If for some reason your document closes or your computer shuts off before you have a chance to save your work the auto save feature will save your work for you.

To set this feature in either Word, Excel, or Power Point click on the Office Logo in the upper left corner of your document. Then select Word Options in the lower right corner of the menu.

The (Word, Excel, or Power Point) Options window will open. Click Save in the left menu.

This will give you the options to modify your Auto save settings. Check the Save AutoRecover information Every box then select how many minutes you want to pass before it does another auto save. Next make note of the location the auto save file is being saved in. If you don’t like this location change it by clicking browse and selecting the file location. When you are finished making the modifications click OK to save your changes.

Now that you have set your auto save function you don’t have to worry about loosing information.

Please email me if you have any questions.

New Technology – Web Searches in Internet Explorer 8

Internet Explorer 8 has some neat features. If you don’t currently have Internet Explorer 8 click here to download it

The new search feature lets you highlight text on a website, by holding down the left mouse button and dragging, a blue box will come up with options. You can select map it if the highlighted text is an address, you can do a search, translate, blog, or email specific text.

Click here to read more about Internet Explorer 8.

I hope this issue of Understanding the Basics of Computers was helpful. If you have any suggestions for next months issue or comments on this issue please let me know.

Keep learning about your computer,
Jennifer Anderson
www.free-computer-tutorials.net

P.S. If you would like to purchase ad space in my e-zine please mail me with Ad in the subject line.