Computer and Web Articles

Is there a particular problem you run into over and over while using your computer? Chances are, you’re not alone.  Today we’ll learn how to fix a few common problems that many people run into everyday.  Let’s get started.

CHANGING FONT SIZES IN AOL

Web Browsers such as Internet Explorer, Mozilla, and Firefox make it easy for Internet users to increase and decrease the text size on most webpages.  Many AOL users, however, become frustrated when they happen upon a website with teeny-tiny, unreadable text (or, on the other end of the spectrum–gigantic text-though this tends to be less of a problem).   This is because AOL’s font size settings are often linked to the settings chosen for Internet Explorer.  How frustrating is that?!

Trying to figure out how to change a webpage’s text-size in AOL on your own can be downright tricky.  Worry not!  Here are the not-so-secret steps to making websites’ text more comfortable for you to read:

1. Are you in AOL right now? If so, exit AOL.
2. Open Internet Explorer (the big blue “e” icon on your desktop)
3. Look at the Menu Bar at the top of the Internet Explorer Window.  Choose View.
4. Now, choose Text Size.
5. Next, select your preferred text size.  Medium works for many people.  Large or larger is great if you have poor vision or a large screen resolution, though.
6. Close Internet Explorer.
7. Open AOL and your text should be much easier to read!

MOVIN’ AROUND LIKE LIGHTENING IN MICROSOFT WORD

Are you still using just your arrow keys to move around in your Microsoft Word documents?  If so it’s time to learn a couple new navigation tricks.

Let’s say you’re smack dab in the middle of a paragraph and you want to move to the beginning of that paragraph.  Don’t you dare tap your up and left arrow keys repeatedly!  Instead, simply hold down your Ctrl key in the bottom left of your keyboard and tap your Up Arrow key once.  Wallah!  (Bonus tip: Holding down Ctrl and tapping your Down Arrow key will move you to the beginning of the next paragraph.)

Let’s say your cursor is located at the end of a sentence, and you want to add a word near the beginning of the sentence.  Again, don’t move your mouse and don’t tap your left arrow key repeatedly.  This time, simply hold down your Ctrl key and tap your Left Arrow key to keep moving to the previous word in your sentence!  Much quicker, eh?  (Obvious bonus tip: Ctrl and your Right Arrow key will move you to the beginning of the next word on the right.)

WHAT WAS THAT AREA CODE?

Using Search Engines to decode where area codes are from can be tricky.  (Where WAS the unfamiliar number on my Caller ID from?)  Yahoo now makes this task a snap.

Simply head over to www.yahoo.com, type in the 3-digit area code you’re wondering about, and hit “Yahoo! Search.”  Your answer will appear immediately.  Cool.