Customising your computer - PART 1

Okay…you buy a new computer with all the typical Microsoft applications on it. You open up Word. Should you just start typing straight away? NO! Should you assume that the way your computer looks and works is how it has to stay? NO!

I honestly believe that before you start using Word or any of the other applications, you should customise pretty much everything…to death! As there are quite a few things to customise, I will start with a couple, and then in my next instalment (which I hope you won’t have to wait 4 weeks for…apologies), I will give you some more tips.

This is what I do before I even start using my computer and what I get my clients to do in our one-one-one computer tuition sessions.

1. Discover your Quick Launch Bar

Right click on the bottom tool bar to the right of the Start Button (normally, that’s the big button on the left with the word Start on it…sorry, but some people don’t know where their Start button is), and select Properties. Then select untick Lock the taskbar and tick Show Quick Launch. While you are there, you should probably select Group similar taskbar buttons as this will mean that all your Word documents will sit together and all your internet pages will sit together etc. Try it to see what I mean.

By selecting the Quick Launch Bar and by unlocking the Taskbar, you can clean up your desktop quite a bit. This is because you can literally drag program files, folders, and commonly used applications down to your Quick Launch bar, which means that you don’t have to go to Start>Programs>Microsoft Office>Word etc just to open Word. Also, it means that if you are working in, say, Excel, you can open up any other program with just a mouse click .

In order to put your regularly used programs and other applications on your Quick Launch bar, go to:
Start>Programs>Microsoft Office - then right click on Word (which should appear in a sub-window). A horizontal black line should appear. Drag the program and line down to your Quick Launch Bar where the black horizontal line will become a black vertical line, then lift your finger off the right click button, and it will come up with a little box that says: Copy here or Create Shortcut here. DON’T SELECT Move here. I always use Copy here.

It takes a little bit of practice to get this manoeuvre right with the right clicking and dragging etc, but once you have mastered it, you will be able to put all sort of manner of things in your Quick Launch bar including regularly viewed websites by just dragging the internet symbol to the left of the website address down to your Quick Launch bar. It’s fabulous and will make opening files and applications so much easier and quicker.

2. Windows Explorer

In my opinion, Windows Explorer is a must have addition to your Quick Launch Bar. To find Windows Explorer, go to Start>Programs>Accessories. Windows Explorer is normally about third from the bottom. Right click (as above) and drag to your Quick Launch Bar. The reason for using Windows Explorer is this - actually, there’s probably a few, but I use it for the following reason:

If you click on any of the files that sit on your desktop, it will open in the appropriate program (providing you have that program installed on your computer). However, if you are in Word, say, and you want to open a PDF document or an Excel document, and you go to File>Open and then try to find that PDF or Excel document, it will not appear, unless you click on All files, but even then, you cannot open that document, because you are in Word. By using Windows Explorer, you can see your whole computer and everything that is there. Windows Explorer is like using your desktop - anything in Windows Explorer will open in the appropriate program (again, if you have the program installed on your computer).

Please call me if you have any questions about the above.

Online Computer Support

Do you ever wish you had someone you could call when you are not sure how to do something in Word? Well, Miss-Organisation is now offering online computer support. By clicking on a link on our website, we can “hook” into your computer and show you how to solve your problem while you are sitting at your desk. Please contact admin@missorganisation.com.au for more information.

Custom Designed Templates for the Victorian Bar

Miss-Organisation has created a set of legal document templates for the Victorian Bar. If you are interested in purchasing a set of these templates, please contact us on 07 3831 5959. They can be customised to your requirements.

The templates are:
• Affidavit
• Affidavit (Federal Court)
• Standard Pleading
• Statement of Claim (Supreme Court and Federal Court)
• Memorandum
• Letter and Facsimile
A short period of training will also be provided via Remote Access. These templates are fabulous as with some of them, you only have to enter the information once and it is automatically updated throughout the document. A huge timesaver!