Free Newsletter
If you would like to receive our weekly newsletter just send
an email to
Mary Hanson at:
ComputerTutorTeam@gmail.com.
There are no fancy sign-up forms — just mention newsletter in the subject line of your email.
We've been sending out this PC Help Newsletter
for over a dozen years, and it contains no advertising of any kind - just useful computer tips.
Furthermore, your email address is safe with us - we don't share it with anyone under any conditions whatsoever.
|
Backing Up Favorites & Bookmarks
Gary Hover wrote asking how to back up his Internet Explorer Favorites to a CD.
First it's helpful to understand what an "IE Favorite" is. It's a link to a Web site's URL (universal resource locater). In other words, it's an Internet address (such as http://www.pcdon.com) and is called a link because an underlying HTML (hypertext markup language) code causes it to connect to a site automatically when clicked. These links normally have a shortcut name, such as Don Edrington's Music Pages for http:/www.pcdon.com/page90.html.
Historically, such links appeared as underlined blue text. More recently, however, they often appear without underscoring and in different colors. Some links even appear as an image. In any case, it's a link when your mouse cursor changes from an arrow to a pointing finger.
A "Favorite" (which is called a "Bookmark" by Firefox and Netscape) is simply a link that has been saved in a special folder to make it more easily accessible. Bookmark and Favorite folders are built into the various browsers and come with Import/Export options that let you copy their contents into a folder on your Desktop, as well as onto an external storage device such as a CD or a flash memory drive.
Internet Explorer users click File>Import and Export> and follow the prompts to copy their favorite links to another location. Firefox users click Bookmarks>Organize Bookmarks>Import and Backup>Export HTML for this purpose.
An Easier Way
Personally, I find all the above unnecessarily complicated. When I run across an interesting site I simply drag its URL icon onto my Desktop. When I subsequently want to access the site I double-click the icon.
Beyond that I've created a few Desktop folders into which I drag similar links. (Right-click your Desktop and choose New>Folder. These folders are easily dragged and dropped onto an external storage device for backup purposes and/or for being copied to another computer.
Regarding the import/export options mentioned above, they can also be used for copying settings from one browser into another.
Using OpenOffice Instead of Microsoft Office
Ted Hillock called to ask if the free OpenOffice suite of programs would be compatible with files he'd previously created with MSOffice programs. Yes, Ted can open MSWord files with OpenOffice Writer by clicking File>Open and choosing the appropriate "Word .DOC" listing shown in the All Files (*.*) field.
Conversely, a Writer file can be saved as a Word file by clicking File>Save As and making the appropriate choice in the Save as Type field. The same steps can be used to open and/or save WordPerfect files, as well as documents created in WordPad or the MSWorks word processor.
Make OpenOffice Writer the Default for MSWord .DOC Files.
OpenOffice programs can be set as the defaults for opening and/or saving MSOffice files, thus bypassing the special steps described above. Within an OpenOffice program, click Tools>Options>Load/Save and choose the default settings you prefer.
When you go to buy a new PC it's comforting to know that buying an office suite for it is not necessary. OpenOffice is a free download from
www.openoffice.org and includes spreadsheet, presentation, database, and drawing features.
Information on a legitimate free registry scan and repair by Microsoft can be found here:
Free Registry Scan/Repair.
© Donald Ray Edrington - All Rights Reserved
Top of Page |
