BITS & BYTES: Be safe while online

Q: How can I be safer while using the Internet? There are so many companies claiming to sell software that will make me safe, but what do I really need?

BITS & BYTES: More Find and Replace uses in Word

Q. I’m looking forward to reading more of the Find and Replace uses in Microsoft Word.

BITS & BYTES: More advanced uses for Find and Replace

Q. I’m looking forward to reading more of the Find and Replace uses in Microsoft Word.

BITS & BYTES: Advance Find and Replace, part 1

Q: I use Microsoft Word a lot. There seems to be more power in the Find and Replace feature than I currently use or understand. Can you give me some ways to use Find and Replace that will help me understand it better?

BITS & BYTES: Fix, empty browsing history cache

Q: My browsing history cache is slowing my computer down. No matter what I try, I can't get rid of it. I tried deleting it from IE and AOL. I've clicked on "clear history on sign off," but that doesn’t work either. I'm using IE8 and Windows XP.

BITS & BYTES: Replacing blank cells that aren't truly blank

Q: I have an Excel spreadsheet. I want to replace all the blank cells with the word NONE. I did what you suggested in your last column, but it doesn’t work. Why?

BITS & BYTES: Replace blank cells in Excel

Q: I have an Excel spreadsheet. I want to replace all the blank cells with a zero. How do I do this easily and quickly?

BITS & BYTES: IE9 the safest browser by far

Q. Which browser should I be using if I want to be safe on the Internet?

BITS & BYTES: How to tell if your processor is 32-bit or 64-bit

Q: I am running Windows XP and want to upgrade to Windows 7. How can I tell if my computer has a 32-bit or 64-bit processor?

BITS & BYTES: Fast and efficient deleting within any application

Q: How can I use my keyboard more efficiently? More specifically, how can I delete items more efficiently?

BITS & BYTES: Ways to improve PC startup times, Part 3

Q: My computer is slow to boot and often slow to run. What can I do to improve its performance?

BITS & BYTES: Ways to improve PC startup times, Part 2

Q: My computer is slow to boot and often slow to run. What can I do to improve its performance?

BITS & BYTES: Ways to improve PC startup times, Part 1

Q. My computer is slow to boot and often slow to run. What can I do to improve its performance?

BITS & BYTES - Buying a new computer: the most important elements

Q: I only have so much money to spend on a new computer. Which should be the highest priority — a faster processor or more hard-drive space?

BITS & BYTES: Using Excel’s headers and footers

Q. How do I uninstall just Windows Messenger from my Windows 7 computer?

BITS & BYTES: Using checkboxes in Microsoft Word

Q: I need to type a list of items with checkboxes next to each item. Imagine a to-do list that has checkboxes next to each item that can be checked as each is completed. Can this be done in Microsoft Word?

BITS & BYTES: Destroying data on floppy disks or CDs

Q. I have many old 3.5-inch computer disks. I would like to dispose of them. Do I need to format them first to get rid of the data? I still have an old computer that can handle that task. Someone suggested running a magnet across the disk to eliminate the data. After the data is removed, whe…

BITS & BYTES: Get Word to behave by changing defaults

Q: Your July 5 column discussed two changes to make to Microsoft Word defaults as soon as it is installed. Do you have more than two?

BITS & BYTES: Change Microsoft Word defaults after installing

Q. I have finally broken down and purchased Microsoft Office 2010, which includes Microsoft Word. Do you have a short list of changes I should make to the program?

BITS & BYTES: Removing the Enable Editing notice in Office docs

Q: I receive many Microsoft Office documents through email. When I open them, I'm presented with a yellow bar at the top that reads: "Protected View. This file originated as an email attachment and might be unsafe. Click for more details." There is a button that reads Enable Editing. I'm tir…

BITS & BYTES: Mastering the mystery of Fonts, point sizes and case

Q: Would you explain font sizes to me? Why is a 24-point Times Roman font not the same size as a 24-point Arial font? Also, why do we call big letters “upper case letters” and small letters “lower case letters”?

BITS & BYTES: Unearthing Word's Save All and Close All features

Q: In the versions of Word before 2007, I could hold down the Shift key as I clicked the File menu, and Word would helpfully change the Save command to Save All and the Close command to Close All. This is no longer available in Word 2007 or Word 2010 since there is no File menu. Do you have …

BITS & BYTES: Getting two Excel files to appear on two monitors

Q: I have a system that uses dual monitors. I want to have one Excel workbook appear on one monitor and another Excel workbook appear on the other. I can do this only if I open two instances of Excel. The problem is I can't easily copy and paste information from one workbook to the other. Ho…

BITS & BYTES: Creating a shortcut to frequently–used items in Windows 7

Q: How do you create a Shortcuts link at the lower right of my Windows 7 taskbar for those tasks I use the most? How do I add items to this list?

BITS & BYTES: Shortcuts increase efficiency in all Microsoft applications

Q: A couple of weeks ago you wrote about some shortcuts to speed common editing tasks. Do you have any more if these jewels?

BITS & BYTES: Insert the size of a file within a Word document

Q: I received a PPS (PowerPoint Slideshow) file from a friend with some beautiful photos in it. How can I use these pictures as a changing screensaver?

BITS & BYTES: Troubles with Excel's charting feature

Q: In a previous column, you said I could press F11 in Excel to get a chart. How come it's not working for me?

BITS & BYTES: Get the most from your new Kindle

Q: I also received a Kindle for Christmas. Do you have any tips for using it?

BITS & BYTES: PDF vs. PDF/A: Is there a difference?

Q: I know that Word can save a file to PDF (portable document format). I was recently asked to supply a file in PDF/A. Can Word do this? What's the difference between PDF and PDF/A?

BITS & BYTES: Control Excel's text-wrapping feature

Q: I formatted some Excel cells to wrap text. Even though the text in the cells wraps, Excel won't automatically adjust the row height to show all the wrapped text. Is there is a way to reset the row so that Excel will adjust its height based on the text being wrapped within the cell?

BITS & BYTES: Doppelganger domain names can be dangerous

Q: What is a doppelganger domain?

BITS & BYTES: Convert 9-digit ZIP codes to 5-digit counterparts

Q: Is there an easy way to convert nine-digit ZIP codes to five-digit ZIP codes in Excel?

BITS & BYTES: Hide Row 1 or Column A in Excel

Q: I know how to hide and reveal most columns in Excel. However, how do I reveal Row 1 and Column A?

BITS & BYTES: Find the VPC location on your Win 7 computer

Q: I am now running XP Mode in a virtual PC (VPC) on my Windows 7 computer. Where is this VPC stored on my hard drive?

BITS & BYTES: The last step: Install older software into Win 7's XP Mode

Q: Your last couple of articles showed readers how to install Windows 7's XP Mode. How do I install my older software now?

BITS & BYTES: Complete the setup of Win 7's XP Mode

Q: I have several applications that will run best from Windows XP. I hear I need to use the Windows 7 feature called XP Mode. How do I use this?

BITS & BYTES: Run older software using Win 7 XP Mode

Q: I recently bought a computer with Windows 7 on it, but I have several applications that will run best from Windows XP. I hear I need to use the Windows 7 feature called XP Mode. How do I use this?

BITS & BYTES: Replace single spaces between sentences with double spaces

Q: Last week, you helped a college student who must follow the American Psychological Association Style manual for all her papers. She asked if there was a way to replace all single spaces after her sentences with two spaces. You suggested that a macro would help. May I have that macro?

BITS & BYTES: Simple photo editors do the job quickly, easily

Q: I just need a simple photo editor and not something like Photoshop with a billion features. Do they make these for us simple folk?

BITS & BYTES: Remove many hyperlinks in Excel worksheets

Q: I receive Excel spreadsheets from my boss, and they are full of hyperlinks that must be removed. I want just the information, not the hyperlinks. Is there an easy way to do this?

BITS & BYTES: Excel does golf on weekends

Q: My three buddies and I play a weekly game of golf. Is there a way to use Excel to determine the low–score winner on a hole–by–hole basis? If there's a tie on a hole, I don't need to know who was involved in the tie.

BITS & BYTES: Find the RGB settings for colors in Word

Q: I have text in a Word document that has been formatted by someone else. I want to use Find and Replace to change the color throughout, but I don't know how to specify the custom color in the Find box. Is there a way to discover the RGB values of this custom color?

BITS & BYTES: Adding drives to the Windows 7 Quick Launch bar

Q: I access various system drives on my Windows 7 machine quite often. I'm always clicking Start, then Computer, and then double–clicking the drive to finally get access. How can I add an icon to my Taskbar or my Windows 7 Quick Launch Bar to make this easier?

BITS & BYTES: Creating a Quick Launch to your system drives

Q: I access various system drives on my Windows 7 machine quite often. I'm always clicking Start, then Computer, and then double–clicking the drive to finally get access. How can I add an icon to my Taskbar or my Windows 7 Quick Launch Bar to make this easier?

BITS & BYTES: Clearing the confusion about processor speeds

Q: I always thought an i7 processor was better than an i5, which was better than an i3. Your article last week discussed two of the three variables one should consider when buying a processor. What's the third variable?

BITS & BYTES: The 3 C's of processors: cores, cycles and cost

Q: I was looking at some ads for various computers and noticed some confusing CPU information. For example:

BITS & BYTES: Sync your Google calendar with your cellphone

Q: How do I synchronize my Google calendar with my cellphone?

BITS & BYTES: Use color to identify mail messages

Q: I use Microsoft Outlook. Is there a way to have all the messages from my boss appear differently from the rest of my messages?

BITS & BYTES: Extract words to create an index

Q: I need to create an index for a large Word document. This Word document contains keywords that are in bold. Is there a way to extract these bolded words and put them in a separate Word document so I can create my index?

BITS & BYTES: Use shortcuts to create foreign characters

Q: I write some things in French, but I don't want to change my language in Microsoft Word to French. Is there a way to use some of the unique letters and characters in French without changing my language?