Microsoft Windows

Content:

 

Stripping metadata from Microsoft Office documents

Many file-types automatically save certain additional information in so-called metadata, whether you want them or not. In Office files, metadata contain the author and the person who last saved the file, for example. While you may sometimes find this information useful for yourself, metadata can also give away a great deal of personal information about you and your work on the computer when sharing or publishing files. To better protect your privacy, the metadata information hidden in your files can be deleted if necessary.

In Windows Explorer

  1. In Windows Explorer, right-click on the file from which you want to delete the metadata. You can also delete metadata from several files at once – select all of the files and right click on them.
  2. Select “Properties” from the menu, then go to the "Details" tab. Click on the blue link below that says "Remove Properties and Personal information".
  3. In the next window, Windows offers two different methods to remove the information:
  • With the default option, "Create a copy with all possible properties removed", Windows will create a copy of the selected file with the same name, when you click on the "OK" button. In this copy, all metadata are deleted, while the original file with metadata is kept intact.
  • If you want to decide yourself which metadata should be deleted and which should be kept, choose the option "Remove the following properties from this file" and tick the information that should be taken out. After you click on the "OK" button, the selected information will be removed directly from the original file.

In Microsoft Word and Excel 2010

  1. Click on the "File" tab and then on  "Info " in the menu column.
  2. Click on "Inspect Document" under  "Check for Issues" in the  "Prepare for Sharing" zone. When the  "Document Inspector " window appears, click on the  "Inspect " button.
  3. Click on the  "Remove All " button, under  "Document Properties and Personal Information" in the list.

Opening several folder windows at once in Windows Explorer

You can open several folder windows at once in Windows Explorer in just a few clicks.

  1. In the right-hand area of the Windows Explorer window, select the folders that you want to open, while holding down [CTRL].
  2. Press Enter.

Each folder will open in a separate window.

Setting keyboard shortcuts to open programs faster

A longstanding but little-known feature of Windows is the possibility to launch frequently used programs with keyboard shortcuts.

  1. On the  "Start" menu, right-click on a program and select  "Properties".
  2. Click in the  "Shortcut key" field, and enter the key combination you would like to use to run the program.

You will then be able to access the program from anywhere.

N.B.: This feature also works with folders in Windows Explorer.

Renaming multiple files or folders quickly

To rename multiple files or folders simply:

  1. Select a file or folder in Windows Explorer.
  2. Press [F2].
  3. Enter the new file name.
  4. Then press the [Tab] key instead of Enter.

Windows Explorer moves to the next file and selects the file name to change.

Taking screenshots without the [PrtSc] key

Windows offers another option, allowing you to take screenshots using the Snipping Tool.

  1. Open the program under Start > All Programs > Accessories.
    => The screen will turn light grey.
    => The mouse pointer will become a cross.
  2. Click within the program window on the arrow next to the New button.
  3. Choose a snip mode.
  4. Click and drag with the mouse across the area that you would like to capture.
    => The snipped screenshot will appear in the program window and at the same time be saved into the clipboard.
  5. In the program window, you can edit the snipped screenshot using a pen or highlighter and save the image in HTML, PNG, GIF or JPG format.
  6. You can also insert the image into a document using [ctrl.]+[v].

The Snipping Tool is also integrated into Word:

  1. Place the mouse pointer in the position where you would like to insert the screenshot.
  2. Go to the Insert ribbon.
  3. Click on the Screenshot button in the Illustrations section, and select the option Screen Clipping.
    => The screen will turn light grey.
    => The mouse pointer will become a cross.
  4. Click and drag with the mouse across the area that you would like to capture.
    => The clipped screenshot will be inserted into the Word document.

Closing an unresponsive programme with a mouse click

A programme has crashed and is blocking several processes. If the programme stops responding, you can shut it down without going through the Task Manager:

  1. Right-click on a free area of the Desktop.
  2. In the context menu, choose “New” > “Shortcut”.
  3. In the “Create Shortcut” dialogue, enter the following text in the “Type the location of the item” field: taskkill /F /FI "STATUS eq NOT RESPONDING
  4. Click on the “Next” button
  5. Choose a recognizable name for your shortcut (eg. “End unresponsive processes”).
  6. Click on the “Finish” button

Now you will be able to stop all unresponsive processes by clicking this shortcut.

NB.
Any unsaved files in the programme will be lost!

Startup folder

The Startup folder, for programmes that should start automatically when the operating system is launched, still exists in Windows 10, although it is generally not visible. There are different ways to open the folder:

Via the File Explorer address line

  1. Place the cursor in the File Explorer address line.
  2. Enter the command shell:startup.

File Explorer will open the Startup folder immediately.

Via the File Explorer folders tree

  1. Click on the View tab in the File Explorer ribbon.
  2. Click on the Options button.
    => The Folder Options dialogue will open.
  3. Switch to the View tab.
  4. In the Advanced settings list, select the option Show hidden files, folders and drives.
  5. Click on the OK button.
    => The Folder Options dialogue will close
  6. You will now find the Startup folder in the system drive at
    C:\Users\<username>\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup.

Restoring folder windows on login

When you shut down the computer, Windows closes all the windows you have been working on. It is possible to change one of the folder options settings so that the current session with all open windows will be saved and reopened when you log in:

  1. Click on the View tab in the File Explorer ribbon.
  2. Click on the Options button.
    => The Folder Options dialogue will open.
  3. Switch to the View tab.
  4. In the Advanced settings list, select the option Restore previous folder windows at logon.
  5. Click on the OK button.
    => The Folder Options dialogue will close.

From now on, windows will now keep track of the last windows opened and will restore them the next time you log in.