Master

Windows System Backup

System shell folders are special folders that Windows uses to indicate the default location for lots of kinds of settings and data. Most of those special folders hold important configuration data, so it is strongly recommended to regularly back up lots of of the method shell folders. The locations will vary from method to system, as well as the only way to get out the right path for sure is to programmatically call the Windows method API function supplying it with the proper CSIDL value. Given below are typical folder locations for Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

The following folders are highly recommended for regular backup:

My Documents
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameMy Documents
The most important folder on your computer holding your personal documents. It is intended to be a users common repository for documents and folders. This folder usually already includes the My Music folder for music files and digital audio, the My Pictures folder for image files, as well as the My Videos folder for video files. Those folders usually take up a bunch of space, as well as they are therefore recommended to be taken care separately. Check the Backing up My Documents topic for possible backup strategies for My Documents folder, as well as other related information.

Start Menu
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameStart Menu
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart Menu
The file method folders containing Start menu items. These folders already include the users program groups, users Startup program group, common program groups that appear on the Start menu for all users, as well as the program shortcuts that appear in the Startup folder for all users. Recommended for backup if you do not want to lose your Start menu along with the program groups and icons.

Desktop Items
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameDesktop
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersDesktop
The file method directories used to store file objects and shortcuts on your desktop and on the desktop for all users. Recommended for backup if you want to keep your desktop icons and shortcuts safe and secure.

Favorites
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameFavorites
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersFavorites
The file method folders that serve as a common repository for the users favorite items. These favorites are usually displayed in the Internet Explorer menu. For some users this might be somewhat a huge collection of links they have been collecting for years, the collection they may be wanting to keep safe and saved.

Recent Documents
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameRecent
The method shell directory that contains shortcuts to the users most recently used documents. They are listed in the My Recent Documents submenu of the Start menu. In most cases backing up is not that necessary.

SendTo Locations
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameSendTo
The method shell folder that contains Send To menu items. These items may be backed up.

Internet Cookies
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameCookies
The file method directory that serves as a common repository for Internet cookies. Cookies are a means of saving web-site information, like browser settings, user preferences, personal information, as well as passwords, on the client machine. If you surf on the Internet a lot, it is recommended to back up cookies.

Internet History
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameLocal SettingsHistory
The method folder that serves as a common repository for Internet history items, like typed URLs etc. Internet Explorers AutoComplete feature uses this collection, so you may want to back it up.
There is generally no must backup the following folders:

Internet Cache
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameLocal SettingsTemporary Internet Files
The directory that serves as a repository for temporary Internet files. Internet Explorer uses this directory as a cache of recently downloaded documents to speed up the Internet access. You generally do not must back up this folder, rather you should clean it up from time to time.

Program Files
C:Program Files
The Program Files folder to store executable files for most of the programs and applications installed on your computer. In terms of a critical backup, executable files have low value, especially because lots of programs will not run or will run incorrectly if they have not been correctly installed in advance. A simple copy or restore just do not work.

Windows System Components
C:Windows
C:WindowsSystem32
The Windows method folders contain a bunch of method application components, like .exe, .dll, .ocx and more. The note from above applies to Windows method locations as well. Although you can choose to back up Windows folders, this backup will not help you much if you ever want to re-install Windows.
Additional important folder locations that demand special consideration for backup:

Application Data
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameApplication Data
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication Data
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameLocal SettingsApplication Data
These method shell folders serve as a common repository for application-specific data for a particular user, for all users on the computer, as well as for a particular user for local, non-roaming applications. Most Windows compatible applications keep your personal settings and, sometimes your document data, in these folders. For example, Outlook Express usually stores your e-mail database in the Identities subfolder. Similarly, Outlook places all of your folders and settings in the MicrosoftOutlook subfolder. The Application Data folders are generally recommended for backup, however, these folders usually demand special treatment and selective backup. See the paragraph below for more information.

User Profiles
C:Documents and SettingsUser Name
C:Documents and Settings
The folder locations containing users profile and all user profiles on this computer. The corner stone locations to store most of the configuration data and most of the personal documents and files. You can see now that lots of of the locations, recommended for regular backup, described in this article and in other topics of this Windows Backup Guide, are simply subfolders of the main Profiles folder. This makes this folder very important! You may have already arrived at an idea to back up this folder in whole. Actually, this idea may not be as good as it first seems, as the profile folders frequently include lots of huge files and a bunch of superfluous data, thus complete backup may be inefficient, slow, as well as simply unjustified. It is therefore recommended to do a selective, fine-tuned backup.

Messengers AIM, Yahoo!, MSN, ICQ Backup

Instant messages are text messages which you can send to other people who are online when you are. Your message is delivered immediately, as well as the person you sent the message to can respond immediately-just as in a face-to-face conversation. You can do much more than just send text messages to other people. You can have audio and video conversations, place a phone call from your computer to almost anywhere in the world, hold an online meeting, play games, share programs that are installed on your computer, as well as more. The messenger is a special software program to send and receive instant messages over the Internet.

There are currently two dominating messengers on the Internet: MSN Messenger from Microsoft Corporation, as well as ICQ Messenger from ICQ Networks. The latter has a longer life and a wider spread in Europe. Other messengers include Yahoo! Messenger, AIM (AOL) Messenger, Trillian, as well as more. A simple messenger enables you to send instant messages to anybody on your contact list, see when your friends are online, share photos and files easily, use expressive emoticons to quickly communicate your mood, page a contacts mobile phone, make worldwide phone calls, receive alerts about local traffic, news, weather, sports, as well as travel, get out instantly which you have a new e-mail in your Inbox.

Often times you are interested in having a backup copy of your message database and your messengers contact list, to be able to recover your contacts after a computer crash, a virus or method re-installation. Backing up your messenger data can be somewhat a challenging task. The recent releases of most messengers usually keep its data either under the folder they are installed in or under one of the user profile folder subfolders. Typically, you can start your search from:

C:Program Files

C:Documents and SettingsUser Name

Older releases of AIM (AOL), Yahoo!, MSN, as well as ICQ messengers keep their settings at the following registry paths:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMirabilisICQDefaultPrefs

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINESoftwareMicrosoftMessengerService

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareAmerica OnlineAOL Instant Messenger (TM)

in various registry variables. For example, ICQ stores the path to the message store in Database variable. Additionally, UIN Dir variable keeps track of the directory with the ICQ contact list (ICQ contacts). You can back up messenger data either through hand or automatically.

Mozilla and Netscape E-Mail Back up

Recent versions of Netscape Communicator are built on top of Mozilla (Thunderbird), so both e-mail clients share the same folder locations for e-mail database:

C:Documents and SettingsUser NameApplication DataMozillaProfiles
C:WindowsProfilesUser NameApplication DataMozillaProfiles
C:WindowsApplication DataMozillaProfiles

Mozilla profile contains your bookmarks, mail/news files and account settings, stored passwords, address book, security certificates and preferences.

Mail. Mail messages are stored in the Mail sub-directory. To back up your mail messages, save the files without extension, i.e. INBOX. To back up filters too, save the rules.dat file. The *.msf files are index files that will be automatically regenerated if removed. Save the whole Mail directory if you are uncertain what to save.

News. News settings and messages are stored in the News sub-directory. Your subscribed groups are stored in the *.rc files. The complete news server groups list is stored in hostinfo.dat. *.msf files store message summaries. To back up news, save the *.rc, *.dat, as well as *.msf files.

Address book. In your profile directory, save abook.mab (personal address book) and history.mab (collected addresses). If you have more than one address book, save all *.mab files.

Bookmarks. Save the bookmarks.html file.

Saved password data. Username and password data is stored in 12345678.s (the number segment is random). Save the file.

Junk filters. Save the training.dat file which stores information for the new smart filtering system.

Cookies. Save the cookies.txt file.

Outlook Express Backup

Outlook Express is the e-mail client included with Microsoft Internet Explorer 4, 5, six and Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000, XP operating systems. Outlook Express is created for home users who gain access to their e-mail messages. Built on open Internet standards, Outlook Express is created for use with Internet standard system, for example, SMTP, POP3, IMAPI, as well as NNTP. It provides full support for todays most important e-mail, news, as well as directory standards, as well as is very easy to use.

Outlook Express e-mail message store, along with the address book, usually resides in subfolders at the following paths:

C:Documents and SettingsUser NameApplication DataIdentities
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook Express
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook Express
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameApplication DataMicrosoftAddress Book

This is right for Outlook Express 4.0, however to correctly decide the location for Outlook Express 5.0, 5.5 and 6.0 e-mail store, it is recommended to search through the registry. HKEY_CURRENT_USERIdentities registry key contains ID subkeys which correspond to active identities. Under the each identity key there's a SoftwareMicrosoftOutlook Express5.0 subkey which holds the required Store Root string variable. To decide the location of the address book file, take a observe the following registry keys:

HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWABWab File Name
HKEY_CURRENT_USERSoftwareMicrosoftWABWAB4Wab File Name

Outlook Express e-mail data is usually comprised of the following items:

E-mail and news (.dbx) folders for Outlook Express 5, 5.5, 6.

E-mail and news (.mbx, .idx, .nch) folders for Outlook Express 4.

Address book (.wab) file.

Registry Backup

Microsoft Windows stores its configuration information in a database called the registry. The registry is the central storage for all computer configuration data. The Windows method configuration, the computer hardware configuration, information about installed programs, the kinds of documents that each program can create, as well as user preferences are all stored in the registry. Windows continually references this information during its operation. The registry stores the data in a structured hierarchy of keys, subkeys, as well as named values. Incorrectly editing the registry may severely damage your system. Microsoft recommends which you backup the registry before you edit it.

Although the registry appears to be in one file, it is actually placed on your computer in several files. Depending on your method configuration, registry files can be found in the following locations:

C:Documents and SettingsUser Name on Windows 2000, XP.
C:WindowsSystem32Config on Windows 2000, XP.
C:Windows on Windows 95, 98, ME.
C:WindowsProfiles on Windows 95, 98, ME.

Registry data is usually stored in the following files, typically referred to as registry hives:

System.dat, User.dat, as well as Policy.pol, on Windows 95, 98 and ME.

Security, System.alt, Default, Sam, Software, System, Ntuser.dat, as well as other files, on Windows NT, 2000 and XP.

How To Back Up Windows Registry ?
Unfortunately, it is not possible to back up registry files under Windows NT, 2000, as well as XP, while the operating method is running. Registry files remain fully locked all the time while Windows is running, so there's no access to those files. You can how ever use an integrated Windows XPs System Restore feature for registry backup.

Alternatively, the registry editor (regedit.exe) allows you to export partial or complete copies of the registry, while the Windows is up, as well as the exported files can then be backed up with other traditional file backup utility. If there's a registry problem, the exported file can be easily imported to restore all or segment of the registry. And the exported file is a text file that is easily read and manipulated. You can follow these simple steps to back up the entire registry or particular registry subkey:

1. Click Start, as well as then click Run.

2. In the Open box, mode regedit, as well as then click OK.

3. Locate and then click the root subkey that contains all the child subkeys and values which you want to back up.

4. On the File menu, click Export.

5. In the Save in box, select a location where you want to save the Registration Entries (.reg) file, mode a file name in the File name box, as well as then click Save.

The exported registry file is about 10-50 MB in size on a typical Windows NT/2000/XP installation. The registry exported files are text files and are usually well-compressed (by up to 75percent and more). To restore registry subkeys which you exported, double-click the Registration Entries (.reg) file which you saved.

Outlook Data Backup

Outlook is a Microsofts premier application thats integrated into Microsoft Office 97, 98, 2000, 2002 and Microsoft Exchange Server. Outlook provides complete integration of e-mail, calendaring, as well as contact management. Outlook helps you get and organize information so which you can work seamlessly with Office applications, communicate and share information more effectively. Outlook enables you to filter and organize e-mail messages, integrate and manage e-mail from multiple e-mail accounts, personal and group calendars, contacts, folders, as well as tasks.

Outlook data is usually stored at the following paths:

C:Documents and SettingsUser NameApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameLocal SettingsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook
C:WindowsApplication DataMicrosoftOutlook
C:Windows

Outlook data is usually comprised of the following items:

Personal Folders (.pst) files. The most important Outlook files. Your personal folders .pst file contains all of your local Outlook folders, like Calendar, Inbox, Tasks, Sent Items, Outbox, Deleted Items, as well as user-created folders. When running, Outlook usually keeps its .pst folders partially locked, so it is recommended to close Outlook prior to making a backup.

Offline Storage (.ost) files.

Personal Address Book (.pab) files.

Rules (.rwz) files.

Nickname (.nick, .nk2) files for AutoComplete.

Additional Outlook settings files:

Toolbar and menu (.dat) settings.

Favorites (.fav) for the Outlook bar.

AutoSignature (.htm, .rtf, .txt) files.

Template (.oft) files.

How to Backup?

Back up regularly, back up often. It is important which you get into the habit of backing up your files on a regular basis. Just having things stored on your hard drive is not enough. A computer crash, a virus, or a hard drive failure can wipe out everything. Dont make this simple mistake! Back up everything at least once a week. Daily is better. If you use your computer daily, it is best to back up important files daily and other data weekly. At the absolute minimum, back up your files monthly.

Keep several backup copies. Never back up over a prior backup copy - keep several copies over time so which you can back up more than one version if necessary. Remember, a problem thats backed up will remain a problem when restored!

Be selective. You do not need to do a total method backup. In fact, why waste your time backing up all those executable program files when you can easily re-install them from the original media in case of a problem. Just back up your important files. Backing up the whole hard drive is time-consuming, not practical, as well as should not be done. A backup of specific data files is the way to go.

Know whats really important. The most important things to copy are files you make yourself. Be they text documents, e-mail messages, pictures, or game saves, if you made them, be sure to keep their current backup handy. Beyond that, its helpful to back up the configuration settings for a programs you use, along with critical Windows data like the registry.

Organize your folders. Backing up is easy if you set your folder structure properly. Its faster and easier to back up if all your files and subfolders are in a single folder, rather than having your documents scattered across the hard drive. The My Documents folder is a good place to store files on Windows computer. When all your personal files are in one place you are less likely to forget a file when you back up. Organization can be the key.

Use backup software. To automate your everyday backup tasks. You do not need to copy your files manually. You can accidentally omit something, or simply make a mistake. Many decent backup program are available which can creates the backup of your data reliably and automatically.

System backup

System shell folders are special folders that Windows uses to indicate the default location for lots of kinds of settings and data. Most of those special folders hold important configuration data, so it is strongly recommended to regularly back up lots of of the method shell folders. The locations will vary from method to system, as well as the only way to get out the right path for sure is to programmatically call the Windows method API function supplying it with the proper CSIDL value. Given below are typical folder locations for Windows 2000 and Windows XP.

The following folders are highly recommended for regular backup:
My Documents
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameMy Documents
The most important folder on your computer holding your personal documents. It is intended to be a users common repository for documents and folders. This folder usually already includes the My Music folder for music files and digital audio, the My Pictures folder for image files, as well as the My Videos folder for video files. Those folders usually take up a bunch of space, as well as they are therefore recommended to be taken care separately. Check the Backing up My Documents topic for possible backup strategies for My Documents folder, as well as other related information.

Start Menu
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameStart Menu
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersStart Menu
The file method folders containing Start menu items. These folders already include the users program groups, users Startup program group, common program groups that appear on the Start menu for all users, as well as the program shortcuts that appear in the Startup folder for all users. Recommended for backup if you do not want to lose your Start menu along with the program groups and icons.

Desktop Items
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameDesktop
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersDesktop
The file method directories used to store file objects and shortcuts on your desktop and on the desktop for all users. Recommended for backup if you want to keep your desktop icons and shortcuts safe and secure.

Favorites
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameFavorites
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersFavorites
The file method folders that serve as a common repository for the users favorite items. These favorites are usually displayed in the Internet Explorer menu. For some users this might be somewhat a huge collection of links they have been collecting for years, the collection they may be wanting to keep safe and saved.

Recent Documents
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameRecent
The method shell directory that contains shortcuts to the users most recently used documents. They are listed in the My Recent Documents submenu of the Start menu. In most cases backing up is not that necessary.

SendTo Locations
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameSendTo
The method shell folder that contains Send To menu items. These items may be backed up.

Internet Cookies
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameCookies
The file method directory that serves as a common repository for Internet cookies. Cookies are a means of saving web-site information, like browser settings, user preferences, personal information, as well as passwords, on the client machine. If you surf on the Internet a lot, it is recommended to back up cookies.

Internet History
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameLocal SettingsHistory
The method folder that serves as a common repository for Internet history items, like typed URLs etc. Internet Explorers AutoComplete feature uses this collection, so you may want to back it up.
There is generally no must backup the following folders:

Internet Cache
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameLocal SettingsTemporary Internet Files
The directory that serves as a repository for temporary Internet files. Internet Explorer uses this directory as a cache of recently downloaded documents to speed up the Internet access. You generally do not must back up this folder, rather you should clean it up from time to time.

Program Files
C:Program Files
The Program Files folder to store executable files for most of the programs and applications installed on your computer. In terms of a critical backup, executable files have low value, especially because lots of programs will not run or will run incorrectly if they have not been correctly installed in advance. A simple copy or restore just do not work.

Windows System Components
C:Windows
C:WindowsSystem32
The Windows method folders contain a bunch of method application components, like .exe, .dll, .ocx and more. The note from above applies to Windows method locations as well. Although you can choose to back up Windows folders, this backup will not help you much if you ever want to re-install Windows.
Additional important folder locations that demand special consideration for backup:

Application Data
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameApplication Data
C:Documents and SettingsAll UsersApplication Data
C:Documents and SettingsUser NameLocal SettingsApplication Data
These method shell folders serve as a common repository for application-specific data for a particular user, for all users on the computer, as well as for a particular user for local, non-roaming applications. Most Windows compatible applications keep your personal settings and, sometimes your document data, in these folders. For example, Outlook Express usually stores your e-mail database in the Identities subfolder. Similarly, Outlook places all of your folders and settings in the MicrosoftOutlook subfolder. The Application Data folders are generally recommended for backup, however, these folders usually demand special treatment and selective backup. See the paragraph below for more information.

User Profiles
C:Documents and SettingsUser Name
C:Documents and Settings
The folder locations containing users profile and all user profiles on this computer. The corner stone locations to store most of the configuration data and most of the personal documents and files. You can see now that lots of of the locations, recommended for regular backup, described in this article and in other topics of this Windows Backup Guide, are simply subfolders of the main Profiles folder. This makes this folder very important! You may have already arrived at an idea to back up this folder in whole. Actually, this idea may not be as good as it first seems, as the profile folders frequently include lots of huge files and a bunch of superfluous data, thus complete backup may be inefficient, slow, as well as simply unjustified. It is therefore recommended to do a selective, fine-tuned backup.

Messenger backup

Registry backup

Outlook backup

My Documents backup

The My Documents folder most likely contains lots of of your important files. Most Windows programs, including Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint, as well as Access save their data in My Documents folder. The My Documents folder may contain subfolders such as My Pictures, My Music and My Downloads which you may wish to backup separately. Those folders usually take up a bunch of space, as well as they are therefore recommended to be taken care separately.

We recommend backing up only those files that cannot be easily re-created. Generally speaking, these would be files which you make and save to your hard drive. Files which you created usually have a name which you assigned to them. Do backup your personal files, such as files created or named through you, files that are difficult to re-create, your financial files, files used frequently, such as your contacts, files special to you, such as your digital pictures. Dont back up operating method files, program files or applications, those with the .exe, .dll, .ocx, .hlp or .chm extensions. Dont back up temporary files with the .tmp and .bak extensions.

Also note which you may have placed some or of the important files on your desktop, the common location for program shortcuts and start icons. Many users tend to do this. My Documents, a standard Windows folder for storing personal documents, is where we are advising you to put all the important documents, pictures, files, as well as other information you do not wish to loose, so that your data can easily be backed up from one central location. The default location of My Documents folder will vary depending on what version of Windows youre running:

C:WindowsPersonal on Windows 95.

C:My Documents on Windows 98, ME.

C:Documents and SettingsUser NameMy Documents on Windows ME, 2000, XP.

These are typical locations, as well as they may vary greatly across unique computer configurations.

Your most important personal files usually have some of the following common file data extensions:

Microsoft Word (.doc, .rtf, .dot) documents.

Microsoft Excel (.xls, .xlt) tables and spreadsheets.

Microsoft PowerPoint (.ppt, .pps, .pot) presentations.

Database (.mdb, .dbf, .csv, .db, .xml) files.

Internet (.html, .txt, .pdf) documents.

Digital photo (.tif, .jpg) pictures.

The Importance of Backup

The first thing a new or experienced computer user should learn is the importance of backing up. Are you still not backing up your data? You should know this through now: computers can and do fail. The problem is which you usually get no warning before its too late. This has happened to lots of people. In extreme cases, it has put companies out of business. Computers are becoming more and more reliable. This creates a false sense of security - we begin to think all our data are safe and secure and will never go away. Its not real - and never will be. If you do not back up your computer method regularly. Backups are really a necessity, as well as you are responsible for making backups of your files.

Photography Tips

»Testing a New Camera or a New Film
When testing a new camera or new film, keep a notepad handy to record simple information regarding exposures, apertures, time of day and other information that will help you keep in mind what you did. Have a proof sheet made along with the prints with your first roll. This way you can review your notes easier and see exposure differences quicker.

» Adding drama to your Image
By incorporating a silhouette in the foreground you can add dimension and drama to your images. Sunsets appear more intense and it gives the watcher a point of reference.

» Look for Patterns
Use patterns of everyday objects to make images of abstract art. When ever you are getting ready to photograph look in the places no one else thought of i.e.; above your head, below, left and right. Sometimes very interesting scenes are right there for you to capture.

» Use the Night
Night scenes can be very exciting. By using lengthy exposures, car headlights and tail lights make a parade of lights in motion. Use a tripod or a stationary surface to set your camera on. Set your aperture at f eight or f11 and open the lens for 30 to 60 seconds. Experiment with times and f stops to make multiple images.

» The perfect Exposure
If youre taking pictures outside and don't have or forgot your light meter, use the f16 rule to make images with the perfect exposure.
Take the ASA of the film and use that number as your shutter speed.
For example for ASA 200 use 1/250 sec or ASA 400 use 1/400 sec Then set your f stop at f16 on a bright sunny day. Adjust your f stop according to the quantity of light for example cloudy bright/f11, overcast/f8, heavy overcast/f 5.6
Using this simple guide will help you capture that perfect exposure every time.

» Favorite Accessory
My most valuable part of equipment is likely the least expensive. It is a bag of rice (bean bag). It is an ideal substitute for those times you don’t feel such as carrying a tripod. Its size and weight allows me to take it everywhere.
Most valuable part of equipment is likely the least expensive. It is a bag of rice (bean bag). It is an ideal substitute for those times you don’t feel such as carrying a tripod. Its size and weight allows you to take it everywhere. It conforms to most surfaces and provides protection to the bottom of your camera. You have used it on cars, rocks, handrails, signs, mailboxes, as well as whatever you can get to suit the situation. It can also be used against vertical columns (such as doorways, sides of buildings, trees, etc.) to stabilize the camera when there's nothing around to set it on.

Instructions
1.) Take too pieces of fabric (make it 1/4" larger on all sides than you need it)... Mine is about 4"x6".

2.) Place the two pieces on top of each other so the inside of the bag is facing out.

3.) Use the sewing machine to stitch around the sides (about a 1/4" in from side) but leave a small opening in the middle of one of the sides.

4.) Turn the bag inside out through the opening.

5.) Add the rice (a small funnel will help).

6.) Sew the opening closed.

I think it took about 30 minutes with almost no sewing experience.

» Dry Mounting
Dry mounting is a process in which a part of artwork or photograph is pressed and bonded to a foam board through heating an adhesive layer between the artwork and the board.
I highly recommend which you get your prints dry mounted. It will protect them from wrinkling if humidity is in the air.
I had a few huge prints dry mounted at a nationwide craft store. They damaged one in the process, but are very good with giving you options to fix or replace the artwork at their cost. You determinewhat is best for you. Now I go to a local art and framing shop. It doesnt take as lengthy for him to finish and he charges less.

» Psuedo Mattes
An cheap way to get an expensive look is to get the image printed with a border. This will save the extra cost of buying a mat. Special order borders can be done in color. My favorite is simply black with a white trim.

Double Click's a Bust

When you double-click a cell, Excel opens that cell in Edit mode. This may or may not be a problem for you. If you get users inadvertently double-click and destroy data in Edit type without realizing what theyre doing, its a problem for you.

Fortunately, you can inhibit this behavior. Choose Tools, Options, then click the Edit tab. Next, deselect the Edit Directly In Cell option. Then, click OK to return to your worksheet. The next time somebody double-clicks a cell, Excel will just select the cell.

Shortcuts for Changing Fonts

If youre in a hurry, there's a quick, mouse-free way to adjust font sizes. By typing Ctrl-Shift-> or Ctrl-Shift-< you can increase or decrease, respectively, your font size next to the incremental values specified in the Font pull-down menu. For more pinpoint adjustments, press Ctrl-Shift-] or Ctrl-Shift-[ to increase or decrease, respectively, the font size through one point

Search and Replace

Youre likely familiar with the search and replace feature in your word processing application. This feature finds every instance of a particular word or phrase and replaces it with another word or phrase. Excel can also support this feature. If you misspell a name or must update a frequently used reference, use Search and Replace.
First, select Edit, Replace. In the Replace dialog box, enter the text you want to replace in the Find What text box. In the Replace With text box, enter the replacement text. Next, from the Search drop-down list, tell Excel whether you want to search through rows or through columns.
Deselect the Find Entire Cells Only option if what youre browsing for may be only segment of whats in a cell. Click Find Next, as well as Excel will get the first instance of the text for which youre searching. Click Replace All to change all references at once, or click Replace to select each occurrence individually.

Selecting a Line of Text without the Mouse

Having to reach for the mouse when youre typing always slows down your work. Here are a couple of useful keyboard shortcuts for selecting a single line of text in Word 2000: To select everything on a line to the right of the insertion point, press Shift-End; to select everything on a line to the left of the insertion point, press Shift-Home.

Selecting an Underline Style

Although it may seem such as overkill, you may be interested to know which you can choose from no less than 17 unique styles for underlining text in Word 2000. Choose Format, Font to open the Font dialog box, then click Underline Style and observe the myriad underlining possibilities. You can choose one of these underlining styles through selecting it and clicking OK to exit the Font dialog box.

Speed Up Your Typing with AutoCorrect

If you get yourself typing lengthy words again and again, you should consider setting up typing shortcuts, so you only must mode in segment of the word and Word fills in the rest. For example, if I must mode New Smyrna Beach (the town where I live), I just mode NSB; then I press the SPACEBAR, Word automatically spells out all the words.

Heres how I configured this shortcut:

On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect. Select the Replace text as you mode check box.

In the Replace box, mode an abbreviation you will rememberÃ¢â‚¬â€for example, NSB.

In the With box, mode the complete spelling of the word for example, New Smyrna Beach.

Click Add.

Repeat steps two and three to add additional terms, then click OK.

You can also use this tip to quickly mode peoples names, technical terms anything you want. And once you add a term to your AutoCorrect list, it also works in PowerPoint and Outlook if you use Word as your default e-mail editor.

Understanding Date Arithmetic

Most applications store dates as an integer and time as a decimal value. As a result, you can use simple calculations to create date- and time-specific values. For instance, to learn the number of days between two dates, you could use the simple formula
enddate - startdate

In a similar manner, you could return a date in the future through adding a value to a date in the form
startdate + days
Since one of your formula references contains a date, you may must format the cell containing the above formula as a Number cell to display the actual value.

Most of us are familiar with the Undo button on the Standard toolbar. Clicking this button will undo your past actions. Unfortunately, its easy to forget every little process youve made, as well as consequently you may undo an action you meant to leave intact. If youd want to refresh your memory, simply open the Undo buttons drop-down list. Every action that is undoable is listed there. The Redo button has a similar drop-down list.

Easy Access to Functions

If you use lots of functions in Excel, you might want to know there is a simple and efficient way to enter functions without accessing the Insert menu.
Try using the keyboard shortcut--Shift-F3--which opens the Paste Function dialog box. From here you select the function category and then specify the actual function. Excel will display the functions arguments and hints about the function. Using the Paste Function dialog box, youll avoid typos and argument errors.

Adding a Calculate button

One feature missing from a button or menu in Word is the ability to calculate a string of numbers and paste the total at the end, i.e. you might have the sequence 49+88= in the text and want Word to calculate the sum for you.

This feature is available as a WordBasic command which can be added to a menu, toolbar, or shortcut key combination. To add the item to a menu, choose Tools, Customize, Menus. In the Categories list box, select All Commands, then highlight the Tools Calculate command in the Commands list box. Select a menu for it in the Change What Menu box and select a position in the Position on Menu box. Designate a menu item name in the Name on Menu box, then click the Add Button.

One cool way to make your headings stand out from the body of your text is to offset them to the left of the body text margin; this is called a hanging heading. With hanging headings, a reader can quickly scan the left margin of your document and get a feel for how the work is organized. One easy way to make a hanging heading is to indent the heading line through a negative number, thereby moving the heading text into the margin. Click on the line containing the heading and choose Format, Paragraph. Under Indentation, enter a negative number in the Left box (try -.2 inch) and click OK.

Insert Accents and Special Characters in Word

If you are tired of the intricate steps involved in inserting accents and special characters, here is a quick and easy way.
To insert an accent or special character through typing a character code:
Click where you want to insert the accent or character.
Make sure the NUM LOCK is on.
Hold down the ALT key, as well as then, using the numeric keypad, mode the character code.
Here are some commonly used codes:

Add Links to Web Pages in your Files

SUMMARY: Here are two ways to add hyperlinks to WebPages inside your Microsoft Word 2000 documents.

Adding links to WebPages in your Microsoft Word 2000 documents is easy. Just mode in a internet address, starting with http:// and Word will automatically convert your link to a hyperlink.

However, would you want to mode in some text, such as "Link to my homepage", as well as have that text displayed in your document, instead of the actual URL? That, too, is simple. Click on the "Insert" button and choose "Hyperlink" (you can also press CONTROL-K). On the "Insert Hyperlink" dialog box that follows, click on the "Text to display" field and enter the text which you would such as visible in your document. Then, underneath "Type the file or Web page name", mode in the webpage to which you want the hyperlink to link. When you are done, press "OK" to close the dialog box and see your link inserted in your current document.

In our past tip, we showed you how to insert hyphens through hand into words. Keep in mind that these types of hyphens differ from those you would get just through pressing the Hyphen key--they disappear if they become unnecessary. Its also possible to have Word 2000 hyphenate your documents automatically. Go to Tools, Language, Hyphenation and select the Automatically Hyphenate Document check box. You may end up having to return to this dialog box to fiddle with the Hyphenation Zone (the quantity of blank space on the right margin necessary to require a hyphenated word) and the number of consecutive hyphens (having too lots of in a row makes for difficult reading). When you have these settings where you want them, click OK.

Ever wish you had a bigger monitor? Well, maybe you do not really need a bigger monitor--what you need is a bigger watch of your worksheet. Just choose View, Full Screen. Excel will display only your worksheet and the menu bar--everything else has been neatly tucked away out of watch. That means you can see more of your work. When youre ready to return to the average watch, choose Close Full Screen from the small floating toolbar that Excel displays during Full Screen watch. Or simply deselect Full Screen on the View menu.

Charts-- Selecting Different Types of Charts

In this series of tips, were examining the built-in chart features of Word 2000. By default, Word 2000 opens a simple chart that lists three types of data over four periods, but this is only one of an infinite number of possibilities for charts. The kind of data youre dealing with--and the way you want to present it--will dictate the formatting for your chart.

First, you must insert a chart through selecting Insert, Picture, Chart. You can then choose the kind of chart you want to use through right-clicking on the chart and selecting Chart Type. Youll see upwards of a dozen unique types of charts in the left column, more than we ever knew existed, including Doughnut charts (which unfortunately have nothing to do with measuring how delicious doughnuts are), Radar charts, as well as Column charts. Click on the charts in the left column, as well as on the right youll see a handy one-line description and several examples of what the chart looks like. The best thing to do when youre just starting is to experiment with unique chart types to see which best expresses the kind of data youre dealing with.

If you determineyou do not such as the changes you made, or you delete a menu and you can not figure out how to get it back, you do not need to reinstall Excel. To return a menu bar or toolbar to its original settings, open the Customize dialog box through choosing Tools, Customize. Select the menu bar in question and click the Reset button. Doing so will return the menu bar to its original condition.

Edit Text in Print Preview

Sometimes when you watch a Microsoft Word document in Print Preview mode, you notice adjustments or edits youd want to make to graphics and text. Did you know you can make those changes while youre still in Print Preview mode? Heres how you do it:

Click Print Preview on the File menu.

Click the text in the area you want to edit. Word zooms in on the area.

Click Magnifier on the Print Preview toolbar. When the pointer changes from a magnifying glass to an I-beam, you can begin making your changes to the document.

To exit Print Preview and return to the past watch of the document, click Close

Fit Multiple Pages on One Page

SUMMARY: Heres how to fit more pages of your Microsoft Word 2000 documents on less sheets of paper.

Short on paper? You can have Microsoft Word 2000 print 2, 4, or more pages of your document on one sheet of paper. To attempt this trick, choose the "File" menu and select "Print". On the "Print" dialog box that appears, head to the bottom-right section of the window labeled "Zoom". Click the "Pages per sheet" pull down and select how lots of pages which you want printed on one sheet of paper.

Note that, especially if you want to print more than six pages per sheet of paper, your printer needs to handle 600 dpi or better. Most modern printers can handle this with ease, but if your printer is several years old, you should test this feature on draft documents first.

Youve likely noticed that the new versions of Microsoft applications make use of a solid triangle as a pointer. You can use these yourself since theyre included in the Marlett font. Just specify one of the values three through six and apply the Marlett font to the value. The following identifies the pointer direction with a value:
3 Left pointer four Right pointer five Up pointer six Down pointer

How do I Insert a Copyright Symbol in My Document?

Microsoft Word 2000s AutoCorrect feature can be a pain at times, but in other instances it can be somewhat helpful. Take copyrights and trademarks for example. Normally, you would need to go through a couple of menus to insert such symbols in your documents. As lengthy as AutoCorrect is turned on, just typing (c), (r), or (tm) in your document should result in a copyright symbol, registered trademark, as well as trademark symbol being displayed, respectively.

How Many Sheets

If youd want to see a fast list of the sheets in the current workbook, simply open the files property dialog box. To do so, choose File, Properties. Then, click the Contents tab, as well as Excel will display a complete Complex workbooks usually contain several worksheets, as well as keeping up with all those sheets can be a list of sheets in the current workbook.

Increase or Decrease Line Spacing in Word

To quickly change the line spacing of a paragraph in Microsoft Word:

Select the text you want to change.

Do one of the following:

To set line spacing to single-space lines, press CTRL+1.

To set line spacing to double-space lines, press CTRL+2.

To set line spacing to 1.5-line spacing, press CTRL+5.

Im showing my age here, but years ago you couldnt display Excel text at an angle. Now, angled text is a simple format. Right-click the cell that contains the text you want to display at an angle. Next, select Format Cells from the context menu, as well as then click the Alignment tab.
To the right of the dialog box, youll see the Orientation options. If you want a vertical label, click the thin box on the left--it displays the word Text as a vertical label. The control next to the vertical option allows you to drag the text angle line to indicate the desired angle. Or if you prefer, you can simply enter the angle value in the Degrees control.

Password Your Document

You do not need complicated security features to protect your confidential data. When you save

To learn the sum of a range of values, you need to enter a formula that refers to the values you want to sum. Right? Not really. Excel has a feature called Auto Calculate that will display the result of several functions without ever fooling with a formula. Lets suppose cells A1:A4 contain the values 1, 2, 3, as well as 4, respectively. If you want to see the sum of all four values, select cell A1. Then, drag the mouse over cells A2:A4.
Now, look on the right side of the status bar. Youll see a short message, Sum = 9. If youd rather see the normal value instead of the sum, right-click the message in the status bar and choose Avg from the context menu. Youll get several other functions available.

Open Web Pages

The Web is a treasure trove of facts and data which you may get beneficial. If you can get that data into Excel, you can even track and analyze it. Fortunately, you do not need to reenter the data, or even cut and paste it, because Excel supports HTML files. Simply download the page and open it in Excel. Or better yet, open it directly from Excel. First, link to the Internet. Then, select File, Open. Enter the URL of the page that contains the data you want to capture. Click Open. Finally, save the file to your local method as an Excel file.

Prevent Your Sheet from Scrolling

A while ago, we showed you how to copy data from one sheet to another. You simply hold down the Alt key while you drag the cell or cells to the appropriate sheet tab at the bottom of your screen. Excel automatically jumps to that sheet and continues to drag the data to its new home in the target sheet.
You can also use the Alt key while dragging data to prevent the sheet from scrolling. If youve ever had to drag data right to the edge of the worksheet, you already know that Excel can overreact and send you scrolling into oblivion. Holding down the Alt key allows you to move a block of data right to the edge without all that trouble.

Quick Column Width Change in Print Preview

You likely know you can change a columns width through dragging that columns right border cell. You can do the same in Print Preview.

First, display your worksheet in Print Preview. The right column margin is represented through a small square at the top of the page. If the column squares are not visible, click the Margins button. Then, simply drag a column square, as well as Excel will adjust that column accordingly.

Quickly Zoom Your Document

SUMMARY: A shortcut to zoom in and out of your Microsoft Word 2000 documents.

If you have a mouse with a wheel, press and hold the CONTROL key and scroll the wheel up to zoom in your document. Press and hold the CONTROL key and scroll the wheel down to zoom out.

Repairing Word Installation Errors

If your copy of Word 2000 seems to have a few unexplainable bugs, a last-resort solution to your problems might be to check for installation errors. Word 2000 comes with a module for checking its own integrity.

(Ah, what a feature--wouldnt it be nice if our politicians came with such capabilities?) First, shut down other running programs, then choose Help, Detect And Repair. Click the Start button, as well as Word will give your installation a look to see whether it finds problem. Be warned that this process takes at least 20 minutes to complete, so do not run the Detect And Repair option if youre in the middle of something important.

Retain paragraph formatting while pasting

Have you ever noticed that when you copy and paste a paragraph from a Word document, its formatting will change to the same formatting as the formatting of the text around it. How does one retain its original formatting when you need to copy it at another location?

Click the Paragraphs Markings button from the toolbar. It looks like. Now, copy and paste your text. The formatting will stay the same.

Save or Close Multiple Documents at a Time

You can save multiple documents at a time. While holding Shift down, click on the File menu. The Save option would have changed to Save All.

Similarly you can also close all the open documents through holding Shift down and clicking on the File menu. The Close option would have changed to Close All.

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