We’ve written a very long time ago about how totoggle hidden files in Ubuntuwith a simple shortcut key. But what about keyboard ninjas using Windows instead? After doing some research, I’ve got a simple downloadable solution for you. You’ll immediately see any hidden files in that folder, or any folders that are open. Hit the same hotkey sequence again, and the hidden folders will disappear again. I usually create a folder under my user directory for applications and save them there....

Have you ever wondered what is on your clipboard? Next, bang out in %windir%\System32\clipbrd.exe without the quotes and click next. You will then be asked to name the shortcut and continue. After youre done anytime you want to check what is on the Clipboard just double-smack the shortcut. Now we can go ahead and create a shortcut to the Clipboard in Vista. The steps are very similar to XP, first create a new Shortcut on the Desktop....

Today we will look at an easy way to keep your most important documents readily available within Office 2007. You will notice that every time you pop pop the Office Button there is a list of Recent Documents. A similar version of this feature was also available in 2003 as well. Now with 2007 we can utilize the pushpin icon next to each document. Simply poke the pushpin icon to enable it to tack the document on the list....

Some days you might have so many applications running you are not able to keep track of them all. One of the programs bound to be taking up space is Outlook. You may have noticed that by default when you minimize Outlook it still shows in the taskbar. Another notification balloon will pop up notifying the change and how to change it back if needed. Now there will be additional space on the Taskbar for other programs....

(This screenshot is from the “Junkyard” level 4.) There it goes… not pretty, but looks like it’s gonna make it! And sure enough, it did. Now I can move on to the next level. This one required building an extremely complicated machine that pushed the balls across. Don’t even get me started on this one…

For this example I will go ahead and scan my local drive. While scanning you’re free to view the progress. Check out the cool Pac-Man animations! WinDirStat has three sections the Directory List, Extension List, and the graphically crazy colored Treemap. The colors on the extension list correspond with the location of the jot down of file on the Treemap. Use different view options to change the look of the utility or amount of data shown in the Treemap....

Compacting Outlook Data Files From the Outlook main window, choose Data File Management from the File menu. The Account prefs dialog will open up on the Data Files tab. Highlight Personal Folders, which should be located on the local drive, then punch the configs button. Now with the Personal Folders dialog box open, select Compact Now. A message indicating compacting is taking place will pop up then disappear when done....

Hardly a problem if your sidebar doesn’t even work anymore. First, right-tap on the Sidebar icon in the system tray, and then choose Exit. If there are, just right-click and use End Process on each of them. This file contains your current sidebar configuration. With any luck, you should now have a working sidebar.

Since this was news to me, I figured that I’d write it up for everybody else. Note that you’ll need to have your email in HTML or Rich Text mode for this to work. Of course, you should always use this feature with caution. Nobody wants to get some gigantic picture as the background image for an email.

The problem is thatFTPis insecure and managing it can be painful. Note: you might also read more about the differences between Single Wrench and FTP fromtheir website. Using SingleWrench For a simple “how-to” we will walk through uploading files to the site. To start simply click onUpload files. After the Java applet has been installed you will get an easy to follow toolbar. go for the Open button. You will be shown the progress as the files are uploaded....

Email notifications are a great way to keep tabs on important incoming messages. If the desktop notifications are distracting you we can simply turn them off. With Outlook open click onTools\Optionsand then theE-mail Optionsbutton. Now in the E-mail Options window choose theAdvanced E-mail Optionsbutton. When you come in to turn the alerts back on you might want to experiment with these.

Once the scan is complete you’re able to choose specific drivers to save or select them all. To back up the drivers just press the Backup button. All of the drivers are placed into their respective folders automatically for easy management. Another handy feature is printing out the divers list or saving them as a text file. This comes in very handy if working on multiple PC’s at a time.

This guest article was written by Emma fromLaptopical.com, a site covering news and reviews for laptop computers. Virtual desktops are an excellent tool for anybody who likes to multitask. Each of these desktops can have its own background and have its own applications loaded. I like to use it as an easy way to separate my business applications from my leisure ones. Then double hit the file and select “Complete” install....