Who Knew? #7 12-10-20

So, hopefully you’ve had a chance to enjoy our past Who Knew? segments. If not, head on over to TechKey.ca when you can or join us on Facebook. One of our past segments talked all about keyboard shortcuts. This week is along those same lines but with a focus on the improved ClipBoard feature of Windows 10.

Just a quick review – Most of us know the “cut” and “paste” option when working with windows. Or “copy” and “paste”. “Cut” actually moves an item from where it is, to the clipboard (This mysterious invisible thing that holds onto information in the background so you can use it later) for later “pasting” somewhere else. “Copy” does just that, copies the item to the clipboard for later “pasting” somewhere else. These functions can be accessed a number of ways in order to quickly move information from one area to another. One of the most popular and fastest way “cut” or “copy” to the clipboard would be to use the keyboard shortcut – once your item is highlighted or selected with your mouse, press “Ctrl” + “x” for cut… or “Ctrl” + “c” for copy. And then when you are ready to paste, click the area you would like to past to and press “Ctrl” + “V”.

So, now that you have refreshed your memory on the clipboard feature of Windows, let’s take a look at how the clipboard has been enhanced in the Windows 10 October 2018 update. Prior to this clipboard enhancement, if you put something onto your clipboard and then put something else onto the clipboard, the previous “thing” would be replaced. A real pain to be sure. Now, with this update, and when it’s turned on, the Windows clipboard actually retains a history of the items you have put there. To turn it on (it is not on by default) first navigate to “Settings” (right click “Start” icon in the lower left of your desktop and click “Settings”) then select “System” then scroll down and select “Clipboard” (or you can type “clipboard” in your “search” window and select from the result). Once there, make sure “Clipboard history” is turned on.

With that turned on we can now check out this new feature. If you are like me, you have often been working information from one document to another… copying this and pasting then needing to cut/copy something else but then, needing to copy the original item again and paste. It used to be a pain but now that you have extended the powers of the clipboard with this Windows Update (see previous paragraph) you can access all the items you have “cut” or “copied”.

Let’s try it… (assuming you have turned the feature on) next time when you want to paste something from the clipboard, instead of right clicking and selecting paste… or “Ctrl” – “v” from your keyboard, use the “Windows Key” (left of your space bar) + “v” combination instead. A window will pop up (your clipboard) showing you the last items you placed on the clipboard. You can use the down arrow keys and “enter” or your mouse to select the one you would like to paste. How handy is that! Don’t forget though, the previous method still works to paste the last item you cut or copied without having to do the extra step of opening and selecting.

Play around with it – select “Windows Key” + “v” – to open the clipboard. Then click the right corner of an item (three dots) to remove it, pin it or clear all to start new. I like the “pin” feature for those things you might use on a regular basis (I have a few emoji’s pinned that I like to use 😀 )

If this extended clipboard feature is not available on your Windows 10 system, you should look into getting your Windows 10 updates caught up. It is important to do this as each update not only brings new features such as this, but also plugs security vulnerabilities that have been discovered. TechKey can help you with that if needed, just give us a call.

As always, I sure hope you enjoyed this weeks Who Knew?! Please, don’t forget to “like” or “share”… or “like” and “share” 😀 if you enjoyed. If I miss you next week, please keep safe and have a Happy Holiday and Happy New Year!

Who Knew? #6
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So, hopefully you have had a chance to check out our previous Who Knew? segments. If not, head on over to TechKey.ca and check them out. Or our facebook page TechKey Computer Support For the topic this week we’re going to change things up a bit and talk about security and how to protect yourself when using your computer or even using the phone.

It is unfortunate that we live in a world where we have to be so cautious when using the computer… or even using our phones. There are so many scams out there but one of the more common threats on your computer comes from links. Links are those lines of text, usually blue and underlined, that when clicked, they take you to some other place on the web. If you click a link in an email, it will automatically open your browser and take you to the intended web site. If the link is malicious, some fancy computer code can be triggered in the background that could try to exploit security vulnerabilities within your computer. But, how do you know if the link is safe or not!? Well, that’s actually pretty easy. Before you click a link within an email or from the results of your recent Google search, or within a web page… hover your mouse over the link. When you do this within a browser, the “address” of the link will appear in the lower left corner of your browsers window. It will look something like this: https://some.website.com/more.text.and.stuff – I know, it looks a little complicated and somewhat overwhelming – some of these “addresses” can be quite long. The important part of the link though is the first section after the https. In this case – some.website.com . This tells you that if you click, you will end up at the website.com site on a page called “some” (seems kind of backward but that’s just the way it is – LOL). A real life example… you receive a very convincing email that appears to be from Microsoft (or UPS or your bank) and it has a link that they want you to follow. If the link says microsoft.support.com well, this looks kind of legit right? But this (sample) link will send you to a place called support.com and a page called microsoft and NOT Microsoft the company… or a link that says UPS.customersupport.help.com is going to send you to a site (or company) called HELP and NOT UPS. (Note: .com could be .ca, .org, .net, etc.)

So, the bottom line is, be careful before you click and follow a link that is in an email or the links you find after you have done a google search or the links you might find on a web page. If that last word (before the .ca, or .com, or .org etc etc) looks like it may not be a legit company, don’t click! If in doubt… don’t click!

And finally, I wanted to share another scam that is out there that comes to you through your phone. I do quite a bit of shopping on Amazon. So, when a call came in and my call display said Amazon, I wasn’t too surprised. I answered it. But straight away I knew it was bogus. There was an automated attendant at the other end who said I was in the call cue for customer service and if I wanted to continue to wait in the cue just say “Yes”. Don’t do it!! If you do that, what the scammers do is record you saying yes and they can use that along with other information they may already have on you – name, phone number, etc. – to authenticate your identity to other institutions. Don’t say anything, just hang up.

These are just two areas that we honest folk need to be aware of. There are so many scams out there feeding off the unsuspecting general public. Some of them look so convincing! At the end of the day, the buck stops with us. Be aware, educated, suspicious and practice safe computing!!

That’s all for this weeks Who Knew? As always, if you found it beneficial, go ahead and share… or like… or share AND like LOL… See you next week for Who Knew? #7. Be safe!

Who Knew? #5 12-3-20

Who Knew? #5
So, hopefully you have had a chance to check out our previous Who Knew? segments. If not, head on over to TechKey.ca or our Facebook page and check them out. Still working within Windows 10, last week we introduced to you a cool way to minimize all your open windows (applications) with a wiggle of the mouse. This week we are going to follow in that same train of thought – Window organization – and show you how you can work more efficiently with two windows (or more) at the same time. It could be two Word Docs… a spreadsheet and your accounting package… a web site and an email…

So, yeah… let’s say you are working on a document and you need to refer to another window (application) maybe for figures within a spreadsheet or information found on a web page. You could “Alt-Tab” back and forth which is quick but tiresome if you are constantly needing to go back and forth… or, you can use this little trick to quickly organize your windows applications . It’s really easy and handy.

Making sure both windows applications you need to work within are open, using your mouse, click and hold the top colour bar of one of your windows and drag it to the right (or left)… keep dragging as though you wanted to drag it off your screen until a transparent window frame appears and takes up half of your screen – that’s telling you where your window will fall when you let go. Now, let go of the mouse button and that window you were dragging will automatically drop into that transparent frame, positioning itself on half of your screen with the other half revealing your other windows that are available for selecting. When you click one of them it will take up position on the other half of your screen. Now you have the two windows you would like to work with, side by side allowing you to easily work back and forth.

What’s cool about this feature is, not only is it real easy to do but you can resize their relationship with each other by making one window bigger while the other gets smaller… you can do this by dragging (click, hold and move) the divider bar to the left or right. Both windows will adjust their size together. Another thing you will notice is, between these two windows, if you simply bring your mouse overtop of one you can automatically scroll within that window with your mouse wheel without the need to click on it. Move the mouse to the other window and it will then become active for scrolling.

Go ahead and give it a try. You won’t break anything and once you get the hang of it, you’ll see how handy it can be.

That’s all for this weeks Who Knew? As always, if you found it useful or beneficial, go ahead and share… or like… or share AND like LOL… See you next week for Who Knew? #6.

Who Knew? #4  11-26-20:

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Who Knew? #4

So, hopefully you have had a chance to check out our previous Who Knew? segments. If not, head on over to TechKey.ca and check them out. For this week, we wanted to continue the same organizational type Windows 10 theme as last week with a quick but cool tip on how to quickly minimize your open/active windows.

This short tip takes a bit to get used to but once you do, it’s kind of fun and can be quite handy. Let’s say you have lots of open windows and you are jumping around between them. Sometimes this can get a little confusing. “Where is that other window I have open” and you start minimizing them one by one in an effort to try and find it. Sometimes you may want to minimize them them all except for the main one you are working with. A real quick and easy way to do this is to single click and hold the top coloured bar at the top of your main window and while holding, wiggle your mouse. Just like that, all your other open windows will minimize to the taskbar. If you do it again, all your minimized windows will open back up. Cool Eh… Enjoy!

Once again, if you liked this weeks tip please spread the love by sharing. I’ll see you next week for Who Knew? #5.

Who Knew? #3 11-19-20:

Last weeks Who Knew introduced you to the many Windows Keyboard Shortcuts that are at your fingertips when using Windows 10. One of those short cuts was Windows Key + Tab. This combination reveals a feature that can be quite handy for those who strive to be as organized as possible. The Virtual Desktop.

Virtual desktops are kind of like having multiple monitors on your desk. Users who are so lucky will often group task minded icons in different areas of the two monitors. Virtual Desktops allow you to create multiple virtual desktops (virtual monitors if you will) which can be organized to keep you organized. For example, you could create a virtual desktop that only has icons for your most used spreadsheets, or maybe projects. You could open up all your accounting related apps under one desktop, then change pace for a bit and switch desktops to do some marketing projects. If you use your computer for personal and business use you could create a virtual desktop for each, easily switching back and forth.

To create a virtual desktop press Windows Key + Tab, this will reveal the Task View (another cool feature we can talk about another time). At the top left click the + New Desktop. And just like that, a new fresh desktop is created. When you click the new desktop, your main desktop will disappear. Don’t panic! Simply press Windows Key + Tab again, and choose your main desktop. In fact, you can switch from desktop to desktop by pressing Windows Key + Tab, or Windows Key + Ctrl + (left arrow) or (right arrow). Pretty cool eh… now you have two (or 3 or 4…) monitors in one!

I sure hope you enjoyed this weeks Who Knew segment. Please “share” this if you enjoyed and I’ll see you here next week!

Who Knew #2:

So, hopefully you found last weeks Who Knew helpful. For this week, Who Knew that the windows key (Windows logo key beside the space bar) could be so handy with some everyday tasks. In fact, there are tons of keyboard shortcuts that exist within Windows that are worth checking out…

Here are some of my Windows Logo Key + favourites:

Windows Key by itself: Pressing it just once of course opens your “Start” Menu

Windows Key + D: Show or hide the desktop – effectively minimizes all your open windows revealing the desktop… press it again and your windows open back up.

Windows Key + E: Opens your file explorer

Windows Key + L: Lock your computer – handy at lunch break

Windows Key + P: Opens up your monitor/presentation side bar… great for people with multiple monitors or hooking up for presentations.

Windows Key + (+) or (-): Zoom in and out with your display.

As I mentioned earlier, there are many more keyboard shortcuts to explore. In fact, there is undoubtedly one or two that you may find real handy. This article is from cNet… it is safe to click this link… I promise!
https://www.cnet.com/how-to/all-the-windows-10-keyboard-shortcuts-you-need-to-know/

Who Knew #1:

As we all know, Windows has evolved quite a bit over the years. Each and every iteration is an attempt by Microsoft to perfect the users experience and make it easier to use. Some would argue they have succeeded (now in Windows 10) and others say… “how do I do that now!?” (I admit, I get frustrated from time to time too).

One little known tool that existed in previous versions of Windows is the “snipping tool”. A really cool tool used for capturing things from your screen, mark them up as needed and save. With Windows 10, Microsoft is phasing this tool out in favour of “Snip and Sketch”. At first I was thinking “leave it alone, I like the snipping tool!!”. You can still use both for now, but I have forced myself to get used to “Snip and Sketch”. And… I LIKE IT!

Microsoft has made it easy to access by using the handy Windows Logo Key (more on that in another post). Simply press the Windows Logo Key (that’s the key to the left of the space bar that looks like a window) and while holding it, press “shift” and “s”. When you do that, you are automatically put in “snip” mode and your cursor changes to a + . Now click and hold the cursor at the upper corner of what you want to capture and drag to the opposite corner and release the mouse button. Don’t worry, you’ll see the capture square get big as you drag, letting you know what will be captured when you release the mouse button. When you release the mouse button, a window will pop up. Go ahead and click the resulting window and you will have an opportunity to review and alter (that’s the “Sketch” part) with mark ups etc. Then, save it for later or paste into whatever project you have been working on.

Besides the square for snipping, there are 3 other capture types – lasso capture, window capture and full screen capture. Go ahead and play with it … it works great and, you can’t break anything. Have fun!

Stay tuned for next week’s “Who Knew?!” and if you liked this week’s post, please don’t forget to share!