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Computers 101

Q:
How do I Copy & Paste?

A:
If you're a long time reader, you know I've ran this before. However, I've been getting 4 or 5 requests a day asking about this, so here it is :-)

First off, you'll be glad to learn copying and pasting is easy. You can copy and paste just about anything your little heart desires: text, web pages, files, pictures, you name it. The idea behind the process is to take information from one place and deposit it into another.

For example, let's pretend you're working in a word processor and need to copy and paste a section of your document into an e-mail. Here's how:

1. First, you'll need to select the text you wish to copy. You do this by putting your mouse cursor at the first character you want to copy and, holding down the left mouse button, drag the cursor to the last character you need copied. As you drag, you'll notice everything gets highlighted (selected).

2. Next, right-click the selected area. Choose Copy from the menu that pops up (or you can use CTRL-C if you like keyboard shortcuts).

3. Finally, right-click the area in your e-mail document where you would like to insert the word processor text. Click Paste from the menu that pops up (For this, CTRL-V is your keyboard shortcut).

That's it. The steps are basically the same for any copy & paste procedure you need to do.

Here's another example. In the animated image below, we'll take a line of text, copy it, and paste it below the original line:

If you want to get a little more fancy, place your cursor at the first character you want selected and, while holding down the SHIFT key, click next to the last character you want selected. It's sometimes easier to follow this procedure than to make selections by dragging, especially when your wrestling with a lengthy document. I can't remember the number of times the area I wanted to stop selecting at zipped right by me on a document!

Another fun way to use the SHIFT key is adding to an existing selection.

Let's say you select an area of text and you came up short of what you really needed. Rather than trying to re-select the whole thing, just hit the SHIFT key and click your mouse where you would like the selection to end. (You can also shorten a selection by doing this too.)

After you have used the SHIFT key to get your text selected, follow the pervious steps to copy / paste.

Tip of the Day

XP Clock Trick

Web Link - http://www.worldstart.com/tips/xpclocktrick.htm

If you are running Windows XP, you'll never have to worry about manually setting your computer's clock again!

Just double-click the little clock in the System Tray and it will bring up the Time and Date Properties screen. Click the Internet Time tab and you'll see a button that lets you instantly synchronize your clock with one on the internet. Of course, you have to be online for this little trick to work.

Also, you'll notice that there's a check box on that screen that says "Automatically synchronize with an internet time server". If you uncheck that box, you won't be able to do a manual synchronization as described above. However with this feature enabled, not only can you do our little trick, but your computer will automatically update its time once a week - all by itself.

Of course, you need to be online when it's time for the synchronization in order for this to work.

Anyhow, no matter how it gets updated - manually or automatically, it's still a handy way to keep your computer's clock right on time.

Amanda's Cool Site of the Day

About Dracula

What could be better on a Friday than to have a fun and interesting site about Dracula? A site for horror buffs or just the average curious visitor. Click on the Site Map button to navigate your way through this site. You'll find pictures of Transylvania, Bran (the castle of Dracula), and Brasov the quaint little town where Castle Bran is located. A history vs. Myth site. Lots of fascinating information on both the history of Vlad the Impaler and the Myth of Dracula.

http://www.transylvaniacastle.com/

Do you have a cool site that you want to share? Send it to Amanda! Here's her address:

amanda@worldstart.com

Oh, and we're looking for non-commercial sites. We generally don't run sites that are strictly for shopping.