Some Internet Tips and tricks

Quick web address

Type the name of a web site such as 'myspace' into your browser's address bar and press CTRL+Enter to automatically add http://www and .com and be taken to the site.

Save a web page picture

To copy a picture from a web site on to your computer, right-click the image and select Save Image As or Save Picture As.

Move between web links

Use Tab and Shift+Tab to move between links on a web page and press Enter to follow the selected link.

Change the clock

Double click on the clock on the Taskbar to change the time and date shown.

Save web video clips

To download video clips embedded on a web page, in Firefox right-click the page and select View Page Info then click the Media tab. Select the video file and click Save As.

Check hard disk space

Double click on the My Computer icon on your Desktop and right-click on your hard disk (usually drive C). Click Properties to see the amount of disk space left on your computer.

Create a web shortcut

Right-click on a web page in your browser and select Create Shortcut to place a shortcut link on your desktop.

Change how you view file lists

You can change how your files are shown in a folder by clicking on View then choosing between Thumbnails, Tiles, Icons, List or Details.

Create Taskbar shortcuts

Drag a file, folder or shortcut on to the Taskbar for quick access to programs, files or web sites.

Change Desktop background

Right click on your Desktop and select Properties. Click on the Desktop tab, pick a new Background and click Apply to change your wallpaper.

Take a screen snapshot

Press Print Screen to take a snapshot of the whole screen or ALT and Print Screen for just the current window, then paste it into an image editor such as Paint to save it as a picture file.

Make web pages easier to read

To make text on web pages easier to read, click on View (or Page in Internet Explorer 7) then Text Size and choose a larger size.

Use BCC

To send an e-mail to several people at once without showing all their addresses at the top of the e-mail, use the BCC (Blind Carbon Copy) box in your e-mail client.

Burning CDs/DVDs

When writing a CD or DVD leave your PC alone, as using other programs at the same time could interfere with the burning process.

Alter music speed

In Windows Media Player, click the View menu then Enhancements and Play Speed Settings. Move the slider to speed up or slow down a song.

Picture slideshow

Open a folder of pictures and from the Explorer menu on the left click Picture Tasks and then View as a slideshow.

Change volume

Change your speaker volume by clicking on the Start menu and Control Panel, then click Sounds and Audio Devices to change your sound settings.

Open compressed files

In Windows XP, open compressed Zip files by double-clicking them. Click and drag the files inside out to another folder or the Desktop to extract them.