TechnoBB – Page 10

Set The Size Of The ‘Save As’ Window In Windows 7 And Up

We’re all familiar with the window that shows up when you’re saving a file. The window shows the location that the file will be saved to, lets you name it, and lets you specify the type of file being saved. One annoyance of the whole process is that the window is often set to some arbitrary size which is often too small. That makes it harder to navigate, see what’s already present in the folder, and even make sure you’re saving the file in the right place. In Windows 7 and up, there is a small trick that lets you set a default size of your choosing for the Save As window for each app. Follow this procedure to specify a windows size for the Save As window.

1. Open any app that can save files. This can be Microsoft Word, Photoshop, etc.

2. Then click Save As to open the Save As Window. You can also hit Ctrl+S to open the save window.

3. Resize the window so that at least one row of folders or files is visible in the window. You can also make it larger than this but not smaller.

4. Hold the Ctrl key down while clicking the close button on the top right.

5. Now when you go to Save As from that app, the Save As window will remember the size you set and will appear with that size from then on. The window can also be resized and set with the same procedure.

Unfortunately this has to be done on an app to app basis so you can’t just set a universal Save As window size. As long as you remember to perform the process on your most used apps however, you’ll only need to do it once and the window size will be remembered for future uses. This is just another small trick that can potentially save a few seconds that add up to a lot over time.

Disable Automatic Driver Updates In Windows 10

By default, Windows 10 downloads and installs driver updates for devices automatically. While this is useful for many users who don’t want to manually update or constantly wonder whether their devices are using the latest drivers, for others it can become a major headache. Most people have experienced problems with device drivers at some time and it can be a mightily frustrating experience to uninstall/reinstall and search for appropriate drivers once something stops working. In some cases it’s best to adhere to that old advice of, “If it’s not broke, don’t fix it,” and just leave working drivers alone. In some cases, older drivers even work better depending on the system, OS, and other factors.

If you don’t want Windows 10 to automatically apply new device drivers, it’s quite easy to disable this feature. Just follow these steps to easily disable driver updates.

1. Search for ‘Control Panel’ in the search bar and open it.

2. Now navigate to ‘System and Security’, then ‘System’, and then ‘Advanced system settings’.

3. Next click the ‘Hardware’ tab, then click the ‘Device Installation Settings’ button below.

4. Now select ‘No, let me choose what to do.” You will be given two more options below.

5. If you want to completely disable automatic driver updates, select ‘Never install driver software from Windows Update’. If you want to continue letting Windows download and install driver updates, then you can click the top bubble, ‘Always install the best driver software from Windows Update’. On the bottom you can also toggle a box that allows Windows to download related apps and info for your device.

6. Once you disable automatic updates, keep in mind that this disables driver updates globally for all devices on your system. In the future you will need to keep track of, search for and download any device driver updates if you need or want them. Unfortunately you can’t specify a single device or type of device that you don’t want updated.

That’s all there is to it. This is an easy way to ensure that your current drivers remain as they are and continue to work with your system. There are of course benefits at times to updating drivers for security and functionality so you’ll have to use your own discretion when it comes to updating.

Faster Navigate Of The All Apps List In The Windows 10 Start Menu

One noticeable change in upgrading to Windows 10 from previous versions is that now when you click the Windows button to open the Start Menu, you are given a list of only your most used apps. To access the full list, you’ll need to click ‘All apps’ which then opens a somewhat cumbersome alphabetical listing of every single app on your system. While it’s nice to have everything there in a list, it can grow very large if you have dozens or hundreds of apps installed and an alphabetical listing isn’t the most useful way to list apps as you might have to repeatedly scroll down to get to the app you want. The space available on the screen can also be an annoyance as the list only occupies a small portion of the side of the screen so icons can be small and scrolling takes longer.

There is however a helpful little tip that can potentially save you a few seconds every time you want to pull up a specific app using the Start Menu. First, click the Windows button to open the Start Menu and then click ‘All apps’ to bring up the familiar alphabetical listing of all available apps. Now, you might have noticed that each letter has its own section with the letters listed above all apps beginning with that letter. What you might not have known is that clicking each letter will bring up an alphabet menu that can be clicked as a shortcut to all entries under that letter.

To use this shortcut menu, simply click the top ‘A’ letter to bring up the alphabet menu and then click the letter that corresponds to the first letter of the app you want to find and open. So you could click ‘A’ to open the alphabet menu, then click ‘S’ to jump to all apps that begin with ‘S’ if you’d like to open Skype. Letters that don’t have any corresponding apps will be greyed out and cannot be clicked so that also saves a little time and searching.

Of course you could also just quickly type the app name in the search bar or add desktop shortcuts but this method is great for those with many apps and who frequently use the Start Menu.

Uninstall Or Delete Pre-Installed Windows 10 Apps

With the release of Windows 10, Microsoft has created a great number of new default apps which are integrated into the new OS. These apps come pre-installed and there is no convenient method to remove or uninstall them as you can with other apps. With a bit more digging and a few commands in Windows PowerShell however, you can indeed remove these apps included by Microsoft by deleting their Appx packages. Before you try these steps, check in the Settings app under System and then Apps & features and see if the app can be uninstalled directly. If it’s not one of the restricted default Microsoft apps, it can be removed with this method. If it’s not available to remove through Settings, then follow these steps to remove the app directly.

To remove pre-installed Microsoft apps that can’t be removed through Settings:

1. Type ‘powershell’ into the Windows search bar on the taskbar. The top entry will be ‘Windows PowerShell’. Right-click this entry and select ‘Run as administrator’.

2. Now you need to know the name of the Appx package you want to remove. Copy and paste this command into the PowerShell window: Get-AppxPackage | ft Name, PackageFullName -AutoSize. You’ll see a list of all apps and their names.

3. Finally, enter the following command and change the text between the asterisks to match the app you want to remove: Get-AppxPackage *AppName* | Remove-AppxPackage. So to remove the Maps app for example the command would be Get-AppxPackage *windowsmaps* | Remove-AppxPackage.

For the most part, unless you truly hate a specific app or you just really want to clear up your system, there is little reason to remove these default Microsoft apps. You can easily download them again if you find that you miss them as well. If you really want to banish the app for good however, it’s easy to do so with PowerShell and a little bit of searching.

Create A WiFi Hotspot With Your Mac’s Wired Connection

If your Mac is connected to a network via an ethernet cable but there is no associated WiFi hotspot, you can actually create one using the Internet Sharing feature in Mac OS X. This is incredibly useful for sharing your internet connection with other devices without an ethernet cable. You can also use this technique to boost your WiFi network by forwarding the WiFi connection through your Mac if it is receiving a good signal. Just follow these quick steps to create a shared WiFi hotspot using only your Mac with a wired internet connection.

1. Open System Preferences, then select Sharing.

2. Now, check the box titled ‘Internet Sharing’ on the left. Then under ‘Share your connection from:’ select ‘Ethernet’. If you have a more recent MacBook, this might be titled ‘Thunderbolt Ethernet’ instead.

3. Beneath that, under ‘To computers using:’, check the box for ‘Wi-Fi’.

4. Now click the ‘Wi-Fi Options’ button below to begin configuring your new hotspot.

5. For Network Name, enter the name you’d like to be broadcast for the new hotspot. This is equivalent to an SSID.

6. You can also set a wireless channel, security type, and password for your hotspot. Click ‘OK’ when you’re done changing the settings.

7. Now back in the Sharing window, check the box for ‘Internet Sharing’ and then ‘Start’ in the confirmation window to create the WiFi hotspot.

With your WiFi hotspot created, you can now connect any number of devices wirelessly to this new hotspot. It’s also a great way to create an additional network for guests or family that can remain separate from your main internet or wired connection. Unfortunately this technique only works if your Mac has a wired ethernet connection and will not work if you are only connected via WiFi in the first place. If you want to forward your WiFi connection you’ll need a separate USB WiFI adapter.

The 5 Best Tools To Edit A PDF

PDF files are amazing for creating a final draft of a digital document that can then be distributed with its formatting intact. It’s no surprise that many companies use PDFs for their internal documents, product manuals, and anything else that needs to have a set format but be flexible enough to store and distribute digitally. This formatting strength is also the main weakness of the PDF and it can be a major hassle trying to edit PDF files. Thankfully there is software available that can edit PDF files though they vary in their features and price. Check out these 5 recommended PDF editing apps.

1. Adobe Acrobat DC

It’s no surprise that the best PDF editor comes from Adobe, the creator of the PDF format itself. With Adobe Acrobat DC, you can have nearly full control over a PDF file from replacing text and images, to a helpful find and replace function, as well as altering the formatting of the document itself. All of this functionality doesn’t come cheap however but you can choose between a permanent license, monthly access, or just try it out for 30 days free.

2. PDFescape

This is an online tool that lets you edit a PDF of up to 10MB and 100 pages in size for free. You just drag and drop or upload your PDF, perform edits such as adding or removing drawings and text, and then save the edited document with all changes intact. It’s great for quick and dirty editing on smaller PDF files and you don’t need to install anything on your computer to use it.

3. Dochub

Dochub is another great online PDF editor. You can delete and hide text and images or add your own new ones, all while preserving the original and saving a copy with your edits. It offers an interesting ability to create comments on documents, sign them, or request a signature. These features are definitely useful in a business or cooperative setting. You will need to sign into a Dochub or Google account to use Dochub.

4. Nitro Pro

Nitro Pro is nearly as feature rich as the official PDF editor from Adobe but is much cheaper. You can fully edit a PDF file and even alter the metadata. Editing features include the ability to remove and alter images and text, change layout and formatting, merge PDFs and more. As with Adobe’s software, you can also try Nitro Pro free for a 14 day trial period.

5. PDF Edit

A free alternative to other desktop PDF editors, PDF Edit performs many of the same functions as Adobe Acrobat DC and Nitro Pro. It’s easy to add and remove images and text and you can even search for terms within the PDF document for easier editing.

If you have some PDF files that need editing, check these apps out.