Shortcuts for working with Win8 (Win7, too)

Readers disagree with Wi-Fi troubleshooting tips

Some LangaList Plus readers took exception to Wi-Fi advice given in a recent column. I reply.

Plus: Modifying Internet Explorer’s toolbars, dual-booting Windows 7 and 8, and handling mandatory sign-ins to public hotspots.

“Repulsed” by Wi-Fi channel–selection advice

Reader Steve Lilley, along with a number of other readers, was more than unhappy with my May 8 column, “Curing unexplained Wi-Fi interruptions.”

• “Just wanted to express my complete repulsion with one of Fred Langa’s suggestions in the latest edition of Windows Secrets.

  “In it, he encouraged users to change their home router’s non-overlapping Wi-Fi channels (1, 6, and 11) to something in between. In the example, he changed his home router to Channel 3.

  “That might sound like a great idea, but it’s actually terrible advice. In the 2.4GHz spectrum, only channels 1, 6, and 11 do not overlap. Wi-Fi was designed to ensure that different systems can coexist nicely. But this coexistence breaks down completely when using overlapping channels.

  “Fred’s solution reduces the performance for everyone else operating on channels 1 and 6. He’s also likely made his own performance worse. Fred’s Wi-Fi signal is now viewed as interference to the Wi-Fi systems using the standard channels 1 and 6.

  “Bottom line: Friends don’t let friends choose Wi-Fi channels other than 1, 6, or 11 at 2.4GHz! And if you want truly reliable Wi-Fi, start using 5GHz 802.11n or 802.11ac — their channels really are mostly non-overlapping.”

I agree that it’s best to use the default channels, if you can. As I said in the original text, channels 1, 6, and 11 are meant to be shared; they “should provide good signal separation between Wi-Fi devices within range of each other.”

For most users, in typical situations, the default settings are fine and should be left alone.

That said, my article was specifically about salvaging Wi-Fi service in situations where the defaults don’t work.

My advice was based on two Wi-Fi problems: a reader’s complaint that his Wi-Fi setup failed every hour or so, probably due to interference from another Wi-Fi-device; and my own setup, where too many devices compete for space on the default channels, causing my Wi-Fi to have terrible — even unusable — performance.

If channels 1, 6, and 11 don’t work, then it’s perfectly fine to use any other channel that offers better performance. That’s what the other channels are for! If routers were supposed to use only channels 1, 6, and 11, they’d come configured as 3-channel devices — they simply wouldn’t offer any other channels.

If a channel isn’t offered, it’s often for a reason beyond interference. For example, standard routers in the U.S. allow unrestricted use of channels 1–11, but they block channels 12, 13, and 14 because they’re used for special Wi-Fi applications.

Again, though the default channels (1, 6, and 11) work most of the time, sometimes you need one of the alternate channels — such as in the case of the reader who asked about Wi-Fi interruptions and in my own situation. In those and similar problematic Wi-Fi cases, using a nondefault channel is perfectly fine.

You’re correct that some channels overlap. In the original article, I clearly stated (and showed in Figure 1) that my use of channel 3 overlaps with channels 1 and 6.

I agree that using an overlapping signal isn’t ideal; it can, as you stated, possibly cause interference and sap performance from the adjacent channels. But there are instances where using a nonstandard channel is the lesser evil — and I have empirical proof.

When I switched my router to channel 3, my Wi-Fi throughput roughly doubled. (I’ve measured throughput speed with a variety of online tools from sources such as Ookla’s Speedtest and Broadband/DSLReports’ Speed Tests.)

The resulting improved speed proved that any interference caused by my use of channel 3 was inconsequential compared to fighting for space on one of the oversaturated default channels. (Note that interference is almost always two-way; if using channel 3 had caused significant interference with my neighbors’ Wi-Fi, it would have shown up on my wireless network, too.)

My neighbors also benefited: there was now one less router contending for airtime on the default channels.

Finally, we also agree about using 5GHz devices. As I noted in the original text, if simpler solutions don’t work, upgrading to 5GHz hardware is definitely the best option.

To bring this discussion full circle, let me restate one of the closing paragraphs in the original text:

“Not all channels may be available, and not all channels will improve performance. You have to experiment to find the setup that yields the best performance (least interference) for you and others sharing the Wi-Fi airwaves.”

I stand by that statement.

Modifying Internet Explorer’s toolbars

Hudson1298 would like more room on his IE Favorites bar.

• “Hello! I use IE 9, and I wonder if there is any way to expand my Favorites Bar to two lines?”

There are several ways to customize the IE toolbars, as explained in a Microsoft Windows info page. Alas, expanding Favorites to two lines isn’t an option.

However, you can squeeze more items into the one-line Favorites toolbar by gathering related Favorites into folders. Each Favorites-based folder can contain multiple Favorite sites.

That’s not ideal, but it’s the best IE can do.

For more information and a how-to that’s specific to IE 9, see the Microsoft info page, “How to manage your favorites in Internet Explorer 9.”

Seeking help with dual-booting Win7 and Win8

Earl Sager would like to install both Windows 7 and 8 on the same PC.

• “Hi, Fred! Is it possible to partition the 1TB hard drive in a new PC so I can boot either Win7 or Win8?

Yes, but the specifics depend on whether you’re starting with a Win7 or Win8 system.

If you have a Win7 system and want to add a separate Win8 partition, Lincoln Spector’s April 11, 2013, Best Practices story, “Setting up a Win7/Win8 dual-boot system,” has all the information you’re likely to need.

Adding a Win7 partition to a Win8 system is much harder because the two operating systems use different disk/partition formats. By default, Win8 uses the relatively new GPT format; Win7 uses classic NTFS. The two formats handle boot operations differently and are not automatically interoperable. (For more GPT information, see the March 21, 2013, LangaList Plus, “Up against the 2TB drive-size ceiling.”)

Getting Win7 to work with GPT can be difficult, but Win8 works happily with NTFS. So the usual advice for people wishing to add Win7 to a native Win8 setup is to first downgrade the system from Win8/GPT to Win7/NTFS and then add back Win8. It’s messy and a lot of work, but if you really want to do it, you can. See, for example, Paul Thurrott’s article, “Windows 8 Tip: Dual-Boot with Windows 7.”

Fortunately, there’s a better option. If you’re starting with a Win8 system, I suggest installing virtual-machine software such as Oracle’s free VirtualBox (site). Then install Win7 — and any other PC-compatible OS — as a virtual machine.

Of course, that’s not a dual-boot setup: you have to boot to Win8 first and then run the Win7 virtual machine. But Win7 will operate normally inside that environment. (I strongly recommend you have at least 4GB of RAM installed.) It’s also a vastly simpler setup than dual-booting — and it lets you avoid all the GPT/NTFS hassles.

Using a virtual machine has another enormous benefit: you can run Win7 and Win8 simultaneously, switching between them at will and on the fly (see Figure 1). With a dual-boot configuration, you can run only one or the other.

Figure 1. A virtual machine makes it easy to run a complete, self-contained Win7 setup (foreground window) on Win8's Desktop.

Dual-boot if you must, but try the virtual-machine option first!

A question about signing in to public Wi-Fi

Gary Fritz runs afoul of those mandatory sign-in pages you hurdle in order to use most public Wi-Fi hotspots.

• “Public Wi-Fi hotspots — airports, hotels, and so forth — often use ‘gatekeeper’ pages to regulate access. It’s usually a page with liability waivers or something similar. But these pages often don’t work worth a darn.

  “At my local airport, I get a strong Wi-Fi signal, but I often have trouble getting a network connection. Sometimes I never get redirected to the gatekeeper page; other times the redirect page doesn’t work, either.

  “Eventually I get connected — sometimes after 10 to 15 minutes of trying and other times by disconnecting/reconnecting several times. From that point on, Wi-Fi works fine.”

  “Is there anything I can do to my laptop to make this connection process smoother? Or are these gatekeepers just flaky and difficult to work with by their nature?”

I agree, those public-hotspot sign-ins can be really annoying.

In my experience, you often run into trouble when your portable device (laptop, phone, tablet, or whatever) thinks it’s been previously connected to a given hotspot. The device uses the same settings to reconnect — without properly going through the redirect/sign-in page. You then end up in limbo; you’re connected to the local router, but you can’t reach the Internet.

In most cases, the best solution is to force your portable device to forget it was ever connected to a given hotspot. If it’s a particular chain store’s hotspots (Starbucks, for example), the device might have to forget it was connected to all specific hotspots with the same name.

There are several ways to do this.

• If possible, don’t let your portable device remember any public hotspot you connect to. For example, select “No” if your device pops up a “Remember this connection?” prompt or something similar.
• Delete any previously saved network information about a public hotspot. The method varies by Windows version.

  In Windows 8, simply click the Wi-Fi–network icon in the taskbar’s notification area (you might need to select “Show hidden icons”); a list of known and available connections should appear. Right-click on the public hotspot’s name (SSID) and select Forget this network.

  In Vista and Windows 7, right-click the Wi-Fi–network icon in the taskbar’s notification area and select Open Network and Sharing Center. When the Network and Sharing Center dialog opens, select Manage wireless networks in the left pane. In the list that appears, right-click the public hotspot’s name (SSID) and select Remove network or Delete.

• If you’re still having trouble connecting to a given public Wi-Fi network, don’t just disconnect from that one hotspot. Instead, totally turn off (disable) your Wi-Fi subsystem, then turn it back on. Restarting your Wi-Fi subsystem this way can help clear common connection problems in much the same way that an occasional reboot can help clear general PC problems.

Once you’ve reconnected, you’ll still have to go through the sign-in pages and accept whatever terms are offered, but the process should now be a lot faster and smoother!

New home, new connections to Internet

After moving to Central America with five computers, new Lounge member sheila_c needed help getting connected to the Internet again.

She wanted tutoring in wireless technology, never having used it before. Not surprisingly, fellow Loungers give her the help she needs.

The following links are this week’s most interesting Lounge threads, including several new questions for which you might have answers:

Office Applications
General Productivity	Need a popup-ad blocker
Word Processing	Don’t want to save changes to document template
Spreadsheets	Maintenance schedule based on completion dates
Databases	Need help with code
Presentation Apps	PowerPoint: Macro to copy pictures in one set of slides to another
Visual Basic for Apps	Userforms and custom document properties in Word VBA
Microsoft Outlook	Navigation area in Outlook disappeared
Non-Outlook E-mail	Classic Yahoo email has a new annoyance
Other MS Apps	Microsoft Bing translator for Windows 7
Windows
General Windows	Checkbox selection in Windows Explorer
Windows 8	Problem with optional Win8.1 update
Windows 7	Two copies of Win7 on same PC
Windows XP	Connected to Wi-Fi but no Internet access
Windows Servers	IP-based location printing via terminals
Internet/Connectivity
Internet Explorer	Certificate errors
Third-Party Browsers	Firefox process not closing
Networking	How to move from Ethernet to wireless?
Software Development
Windows Programming	Launch app and make default selection?
Other Technologies
Non-Microsoft OSes	Linux Mint 17 (Qiana) released
Security & Scams	Recommendations for secure file deletion?
Maintenance	Cloning C: drive with True Image
Hardware	Startup problem
Graphics/Multimedia	Repairing music library?
Other Applications	Adobe XI Standard: Patch 11.0.07 won’t install; error 1603

starred posts: particularly useful

If you’re not already a Lounge member, use the quick registration form to sign up for free. The ability to post comments and take advantage of other Lounge features is available only to registered members.

If you’re already registered, you can jump right into today’s discussions in the Lounge.

Shortcuts for working with Win8 (Win7, too)

As with all preceding versions of the OS, Windows 8.1 includes many useful keyboard shortcuts and utilities for quick navigation and file management.

You just have to know where to find them.

For the most part, you can’t rely on Microsoft documentation to find these tools. And searching the company’s online help will likely get you mired in layers of unorganized feature descriptions and instructions.

But we’re here to help. Here’s a collection of useful utilities and tricks built right into the OS. They’ll make the task of working within Windows 8 surprisingly easier and more efficient than you might have expected. Many of these tips will be useful reminders for Windows 7 users, too.

Keyboard shortcuts for quicker window resizing

Once, the only way to maximize or minimize a window was to click on the dash and box icons in a window’s top-right corner. Windows 7 gave us more options, and Windows 8 adds still more.

For example, on the Win8 Desktop, you can quickly make a window full-screen by simply dragging its title bar toward the top of the desktop screen. Dragging the title bar down slightly reverses the process.

Pressing the Windows key (WinKey) plus either the up arrow or down arrow achieves the same ends.

A holdover from Windows 7 is the Windows-snap maneuver (assuming it’s enabled [more info]) that lets you quickly display two windows, side by side, on the desktop. Drag the title bar of one window to the left side, and it will snap into place; drag a second window’s title bar to the right side to snap it into place.

To snap windows using keyboard shortcuts, use the WinKey plus either the left arrow or the right arrow. Got two monitors? Use Shift + WinKey + left/right arrow.

Windows Peek — clearing off the desktop

In Win7, the Peek tool lets you clean up the desktop instantly. It doesn’t close open windows; it just minimizes them all in one step. You do so by clicking the small Peek box in the desktop’s extreme lower-right corner. (Hovering over the box simply makes open windows temporarily transparent.)

This option is still around in Win8. Glide the cursor over to the lower-right corner of the Desktop and right-click. (The charms bar will pop up, but ignore it.) You’ll now get two options: Show desktop and Peek at desktop.

To check whether Peek is enabled, right-click an open space on the taskbar, select Properties, and see whether Use Peek to preview the desktop … is checked. (While you’re in Properties, you might also check Show Windows Stores apps on the taskbar. It will let you run native Win8 apps without switching to the Start screen.)

Keyboard shortcuts for Windows/File Explorer

Although Windows 8 supports both mouse and finger gestures, many users still prefer keyboard navigation. As with Windows Explorer, File Explorer includes keyboard shortcuts that can be faster to use than multiple mouse clicks. Here are the highlights:

• F6 (or Tab) cycles through Favorites, the address bar, the main window, search, and so on.
• F4 selects the address bar and shows a drop-down menu of recently visited locations. Pressing Alt + D also selects the address bar but doesn’t open the drop-down menu.
• Press Backspace or Alt + left arrow to go back to the previously open folder.
• Alt + up arrow navigates instantly to the parent window of the file you were looking at. Alas, Alt + down arrow does nothing.
• F11 toggles Windows/File Explorer in and out of full-screen view (as it also does with Internet Explorer).
• Shift + Ctrl + N makes a new folder.
• Jump to a file: When viewing a folder populated with files, pressing the first letter of a file name will take you directly to that file. If there are several files whose names begin with the same letter, each press of that first letter key will move you to the succeeding file.

Managing metadata: Hide your file’s fingerprints

Every file includes metadata information that identifies the author, creation date and time, modified date and time, and more. Sometimes, you might want a file to be less revealing.

Right-click the file name, select Properties, and then click the Details tab. At the bottom of the Details box, click the Remove Properties or Personal Information link (see Figure 1). The Remove Properties dialog box lets you select which metadata you want removed, as shown in Figure 2. (Note: Some of a file’s properties infomation can’t be removed. You won’t see checkboxes for those properties.)

Figure 1. The Details tab lists a file's properties and includes a link to remove some personal information.

Figure 2. You can choose the metadata you wish to remove by checking the appropriate checkbox.

The Create a copy with all possible properties removed option is selected by default. That’s the better option if you want to keep the original file but share a copy that has less-personal information attached.

Reveal system files and extensions faster

For years, Windows has hidden critical system files so that users wouldn’t inadvertently delete them. To reveal them in Windows Explorer, you had to click Tools/Folder Options/View and pick the option under Hidden files and folders. With Win8’s File Explorer, you simply click the View tab in the ribbon, go to the Show/Hide section, and click the Hidden items checkbox.

Revealing file extensions in File Explorer is equally quick. Simply check the File name extensions checkbox directly above Hidden items. The third option in the Show/Hide section — Item check boxes — enables file selection by clicking checkboxes. It makes it a bit easier to cherry-pick files from a list instead of using the usual Ctrl + [click] method.

Know the number: Keyboard-based app selection

If you have numerous programs open, there’s a hidden number associated with their places on the taskbar, from left to right, starting with 1 and ending with 0 (for 10).

The option is limited to the first 10 apps on the taskbar. To open any one of them, press the WinKey plus its number. The assigned number isn’t fixed: dragging and dropping any of the taskbar options to another location automatically reassigns its number — handy if it will help you remember the number. (Recall that right-clicking a taskbar icon opens its jump list.)

By default, the Win8 taskbar shows icons only. As with Win7, you can have the taskbar display both icons and labels. Right-click in a free area of the taskbar, select Properties, and select Combine when taskbar is full from the Taskbar buttons drop-down menu. Click OK. Of course, icons take up less of the taskbar’s precious real estate. But the choice is yours.

While you’re in Win8’s Taskbar properties, check out the new Jump Lists tab. It lets you select whether the Taskbar stores recently open programs, recently opened items in the jump lists, or both.

Create toolbar shortcuts for your taskbar

If you typically open folders to access frequently needed files, you can create a quick-access toolbar within your taskbar. For example, I often need to open various files for my Windows Secrets articles. Instead of creating a desktop shortcut for each one, I created a toolbar with shortcuts to the folders in which they reside (Figure 3).

Figure 3. Creating a custom toolbar on the taskbar gives quick access to frequently used files.

Right-click on a blank area of the taskbar. Select the Toolbars menu and then New toolbar (Figure 4). An Explorer-like window opens to let you choose a folder. Press OK, and the new toolbar appears on the taskbar immediately left of the notification area next to the System Tray on the Desktop. Click the double arrows, and a list of the folders’ contents opens.

Figure 4. The taskbar's Toolbars feature includes a few predefined toolbars plus the option to create custom toolbars.

By default, Win7 and Win8 offer a handful of pre-made toolbars such as Address, Links, and Desktop. (None is active until you place a check next to it.) But, again, you’ll want to add them sparingly — they do soak up the taskbar’s limited space. For example, the Address bar, which merely duplicates the address bar found in your browser, isn’t really worth the space it commands.

More fine-tuning of the Windows taskbar

By default, Win8 consolidates multiple instances of running apps under one icon. If, say, you have multiple Word windows open, just one icon would appear. To see individual windows, hover your cursor over the icon.

But as with Win7, you can make each instance of an open app appear separately on the taskbar. Open the taskbar properties; in the Taskbar tab, click the drop-down list next to Taskbar buttons. Next, select either Never combine or Combine when taskbar is full (Figure 5). Note that unopened apps pinned to the taskbar won’t have labels. As Figure 6 shows, this can be a bit awkward-looking.

Figure 5. The Taskbar's buttons control lets you select how taskbar items are displayed.

Figure 6. Selecting the 'Combine when taskbar is full' option can create an awkward mix of labeled and unlabeled icons.

Open sesame: Select your default programs

Although it might still seem that Microsoft determines which programs open particular file formats, the user actually has the power to decide. But the Default Programs utility that lets you do so is easy to miss; there’s no obvious link in the Control Panel. From the Control Panel’s Category view, click Programs/Default Programs. (In Win8, you can also type “default” into the charms bar Search box.)

Click the Set your default programs link to see a list of installed applications (including native apps in Windows 8). Highlighting a program brings up two links. Set this program as default is automatically selected for opening associated file formats.

You can also customize which file formats are associated with the default program by clicking the Choose defaults for this program link. A list of supported file formats will appear (Figure 7); check or uncheck those you want to be automatically associated with the app.

Figure 7. In this example, the associations dialog box displays all file types that will automatically open in Microsoft Paint.

One of the joys of Windows has been, and still is, the many ways you can manage computing tasks. The preceding shortcuts can help speed you through some of those tasks. If you have trouble remembering them all, this article might make a good cheat sheet. For more Win8 keyboard shortcuts, see the Nov. 1, 2012, Best Practices story, “Navigate Win8 quickly with keyboard shortcuts” (paid content).

Word tips — for the task of writing words

Microsoft Word has a tool or option for formatting almost any type of document you could want or need.

But the original purpose of Word was to process words — and it has tools to make that task easier, too.

Text is still the basis of communication

When people talk about a word processor’s power, they typically mention font options, paragraph design, styles, headers and footers, graphics support, and other formatting tools. I know; I wrote about that subject in the Aug. 11, 2011, Best Practices story, “Word 2010 tricks for more polished documents.”

Word’s formatting tools have become immensely more powerful over time, but the app’s core function remains unchanged: processing words. When creating or editing a document, you spend a lot more of your time entering words, rearranging them, reconsidering word choice, and fixing punctuation than you do picking a font or margin. (At least I hope you do.)

Writing is hard work. Believe me — as a professional writer, I know that fact all too well. But I’m paid by the word; most likely, you’re not! There’s no reason to make writing harder than necessary.

Formatting aside, Word has tools that can make the writing process easier. Below, I’ll describe two ways to create reusable, boilerplate text. I’ll also explain quick and easy ways to switch between uppercase and lowercase text, and I’ll review Word’s proofing tools.

These tips work in Word 2010 and 2013. Some might work — perhaps with slight changes — in earlier versions of Word.

Boilerplates: Never type the same sentence twice

Do you find yourself typing the same string of words over and over again? Maybe it’s your name and address; perhaps it’s a legal disclaimer — or “Please don’t look over my shoulder while I’m trying to write this report.”

In this context, boilerplate refers to text you type once and then save in some place from which you can quickly reuse it at will. Word offers several ways to handle boilerplate text. Here are the best two:

• AutoText: Word’s official boilerplate tool is called AutoText. You’ll find it, appropriately enough, in the Insert tab’s Text section.

  To create boilerplate, enter text into the document, format it, and then select it. Click the Quick Parts icon on the ribbon’s Insert tab. (The words “Quick Parts” might not be visible; it’s the icon highlighted in Figure 1.) Click the icon and select AutoText/Save Selection to AutoText Gallery.

  

  Figure 1. Word's Quick Parts tool lets you quickly save and reuse chunks of boilerplate text.

  In the resulting dialog box, give the new boilerplate a name you’ll remember. If you’re in doubt about the other options, stick with the defaults.

  To insert a specific boilerplate, simply select it from the Quick Parts/AutoText menu.

• AutoCorrect: The Quick Parts menu is easy to use, but it would be faster to simply type two of three letters and let Word automatically insert the boilerplate text you want.

  Word lets you do that via its AutoCorrect tool. As the name implies, AutoCorrect is intended for correcting typos. Type “yuo,” and it automatically changes the word to “you.” It’s probably saved you more than a few times — and occasionally made unintended fixes.

  But you might not know that AutoCorrect can also work as a fast and convenient boilerplate tool. The only drawback is that you’ll have to remember the abbreviations you create for your boilerplate.

  To create an Auto Text boilerplate, select text within the document. Next, select File/Options and then click Proofing. Click the AutoCorrect Options button, shown in Figure 2.

  

  Figure 2. AutoCorrect options are found under File/Proofing.

  With the AutoCorrect dialog box up, you’ll find that your selected text is already in the With field in the Replace text as you type option (see Figure 3). Choose whether you want the boilerplate saved as plain text or formatted text. Keep in mind that only Formatted text can insert paragraph breaks.

  

  Figure 3. Use AutoCorrect's Replace text as you type option to create easily accessed boilerplate text.

  Type your abbreviation into the Replace field. Pick your abbreviations with care, however. Obviously, you don’t want to use common letter combinations. I once created an AutoCorrect that turned “ms” into “Microsoft.” I quickly replaced “ms” with “mst” after it turned “Ms. Smith” into “Microsoft. Smith.”

  When you’re done, click Add and then OK.

  Inserting the boilerplate is extremely simple — just type the abbreviation. Word inserts the text when you hit the spacebar or type some punctuation.

  If you unintentionally insert some boilerplate text, press Ctrl + Z to remove it and leave the letters you actually typed in.

  If you end up using the AutoCorrect dialog box often, you can pin it to Word’s Quick Access toolbar. Here’s how:

  1. Right-click the Quick Access toolbar and select Customize Quick Access Toolbar.

  2. In the Choose command from: drop-down menu, select Commands Not in the Ribbon. From the list, select the AutoCorrect Options with the icon next to it.

  

  Figure 4. Adding AutoCorrect Options to the Quick Access toolbar

  3. Click the Add button between the columns and then OK.

Changing case: Lower to upper and vice-versa

We all do it. We inadvertently press Shift or Caps Lock, and an a (or any other letter) shows up as an A on the screen. In most cases, Word automatically corrects those errors — but not always. Fortunately, Word has some not-so-automatic tools that can help correct the rest.

But before we get to those tools, let’s review Word’s automatic case corrections.

As you know, Word automatically converts the first letter of any sentence to uppercase. It also recognizes some proper nouns and automatically capitalizes them. For instance, type “george and i will go to kansas,” and Word changes the text to “George and I will go to Kansas” automatically.

But Word’s AutoCorrect is somewhat simplistic and far from perfect; it doesn’t, for example, always recognize proper nouns, including common names such as “john,” “howard,” or “frank.” It will also capitalize when it shouldn’t. Again, immediately pressing Ctrl + Z will correct the error.

Word’s Change Case tool gives you more options. You’ll find it on the Home tab, in the Font section. The five options it gives you (see Figure 5) are pretty easy to understand, but here are a few caveats:

• Sentence case seems somewhat pointless. To work, the cursor must be within the first word of the sentence — or more than one word must be selected. The option will then capitalize the first letter of the sentence or sentences. But it might also change already capitalized proper names to lowercase.
• If no text is highlighted, whatever option you pick will change only the word containing the cursor. For example, highlight multiple words, sentences, and so forth, click Capitalize Each Word, and all words will start with a capital letter. On the other hand, place the cursor on one word, and only that word will start with an uppercase letter.
• Keep in mind that Capitalize Each Word does exactly that — even if the word is one that’s not supposed to be capitalized. For example, The title “The Power and the Glory” will get changed to “The Power And The Glory.”

Figure 5. Word's five options for quickly changing word case

Want something quicker and more convenient? Press the Shift + F3 key combo. This toggles the current word or selection from uppercase to lowercase to Capitalize Each Word.

Word doesn’t offer a way to quickly toggle single letters between uppercase and lowercase. But if you want it, you can do so with this macro:

First, you need Word’s Developer tab. If you don’t see it, right-click the ribbon and select Customize the Ribbon. In the Choose commands from column, select Main Tabs from the drop-down list. Highlight Developer in the list, click Add, and then OK.

Once you can access the Developer tab, follow these steps:

• Put the text cursor in front of a letter — any letter.
• On the Developer tab, click the Record Macro icon, highlighted in Figure 6.
  

  Figure 6. Word's macro recorder is found in the Developer section, which you might have to enable.

• In the Record Macro dialog box, name the macro ToggleCase and click the Keyboard button.
• In the Customize Keyboard dialog box, click the Press a new shortcut key field and then press a key combination, such as the Alt + B combo. If you get a Currently assigned to message, press Backspace to delete your key combination and try something else.


Figure 7. If you pick a keyboard shortcut that's already assigned, you'll get a warning, as highlighted above.

• When you’ve entered a key combination that doesn’t result in a “Currently assigned to” message, click Assign and then Close.
• You’re now recording the macro. Hold down the Shift key and press the right-arrow key once. This will select a letter.
• Go to the ribbon’s Home tab, select Change case, and then tOGGLE cASE.
• Press the right arrow again, this time without holding down the Shift key.
• Go back to the Developer tab and click the Stop Recording icon.

From now on, pressing that key combination will toggle the case of the current letter.

Proofing your spelling, grammar, and vocabulary

Word offers several tools to keep you from looking illiterate. You’ve probably already encountered some of them, but understanding them can help you use them better.

You’re likely familiar with those colored, squiggly lines under some words. And you probably know that red lines are for misspelled words — at least as far as Word knows. Right-click the word, and you get possible correct spellings.

But the word might not be misspelled. It could simply be a word that’s not in Office’s spelling dictionary. Right-clicking the underlined word lets you select Ignore, Ignore All, or Add to Dictionary. Select that last option if it’s a word you’ll be using frequently from here on out. (You can, of course, simply ignore the squiggly line.)

Blue squiggly lines tell you that the word is a contextual spelling error. Examples include using “there” instead of “their” or “it’s” instead of “its” or “to” instead of “too.” Again, a right-click lets you ignore it or change it to Word’s suggestions.

Green squiggly lines in Word 2010 or blue lines in Word 2010 are grammar errors. Word’s grammar checker will help with simple errors, but for the most part it’s fairly useless. It will, for example, erroneously mark some sentences as fragments.

You can tweak the grammar checker — or turn it off — in File/Options/Proofing. In the When correcting spelling and grammar in Word section, click the Settings button and check or uncheck the various options. Or just uncheck Mark grammar errors as you type back in the main dialog box.

Of more use is Word’s thesaurus. Part of proofing a document is checking that descriptive words aren’t repeated in the same sentence or paragraph. Just right-click a word and select Synonyms. You can either pick from a short list or select Thesaurus for more choices. Pressing Shift + F7 will also pop up Word’s thesaurus.

A warning: Never select a word in the thesaurus you don’t already know. I heard a story — possibly true — about a student who mentioned his “melancholy car” in a class paper. Wanting to impress his teacher, he’d picked the longest synonym for “blue.”

Sending out a document with word, spelling, and grammar errors could come back to haunt you. That’s why professional writers rely on good editors. We don’t all have that luxury, but Word — if used right — can help you make a good written impression.

Little box works at purposelessness

Someone went to a lot of trouble to build a handsome little wooden box — with no utility whatsoever. Which isn’t to say it doesn’t do anything. It has mechanical innards that enable it to beep, sing, mutter, turn itself about, raise its lid, turn itself off — repeatedly — and, finally, raise a white flag. Why, why, why? you might ask. If the box had a mind of its own rather than merely the appearance of contrary impulses, it might answer: Why not? Click below or go to the original YouTube video.

Cleaning up May's Windows and Office updates

May updates proved mercifully uneventful, though one update caused some headlines for Hyper-V deployments. .NET Framework and Office updates were generally well behaved.

Unfortunately, the now-notorious Windows 8.1 Update (KB 2919355) is still causing problems, and there seems to be no end in sight.

2919355

It’s a bumpy road for Windows 8.1 Update

As Woody Leonhard reported in an InfoWorld article, Microsoft is tracking several issues with KB 2919355 — the patch that is Windows 8.1 Update — and has listed them in an MS Community Forum post.

The upshot is that there’s no easy fix for some Windows 8.1 users. In some cases, the solution requires rebuilding or reinstalling Windows. And because there’s no Win8.1 Update media available from Microsoft or OEMs, some Microsoft customers have to roll back to their original Windows 8 configurations and start over.

In the meantime, the update clock is still running. As any Win8 user should know, Microsoft has required Win8.1 users to upgrade to Win8.1 Update in order to receive future security updates for the OS. Microsoft moved the deadline for installing KB 2919355 to June 10, as noted in a Windows Experience Blog post, but customers would have been better served if the company had provided true Windows 8.1 media to those having difficulty with the upgrade.

To complete a Win8.1 repair installation, some customers have resorted to scouring forums for dubious Win8.1 download links and using a generic product key from an MSDN website.

If you’ve not successfully installed KB 2919355, rest assured that you’ll still get the June security updates. And when you finally do get Win8.1 Update installed, you’ll be offered the May and June updates that are coded for Win8.1 Update.

What to do: If you are still struggling with KB 2919355, prepare yourself for a reinstall or repair install. There’s no sign of a magical fix coming from Microsoft.

MS14-024

All-clear for May’s many Office updates

It appears I erred on the side of caution with three patches for MSCOMCTL.OCX, a binary that provides a common set of ActiveX controls and is included with a number of Microsoft products. In the past, updates to MSCOMCTL have caused problems with line-of-business apps. But I’ve not seen nor heard of any side effects from installing KB 2817330 (Office 2007), KB 2810073 (Office 2010), or KB 2880502 (Office 2013). So I’m giving them the all-clear.

The patches in MS14-024 are all rated important and include:

• KB 2589288 – Office 2010
• KB 2596804 – Office 2007
• KB 2760272 – Office 2013
• KB 2810073 – Office 2010
• KB 2817330 – Office 2007
• KB 2880502 – Office 2013
• KB 2880507 – Office 2007
• KB 2880508 – Office 2007
• KB 2880971 – Office 2010

What to do: Install all updates offered in MS14-024.

MS14-026

.NET Framework updates become less problematic

There appear to be no major issues with May’s .NET releases, though they did take some time to install. I’m assuming that most of the .NET update failures were on XP platforms. But as you know, XP is no longer receiving them. I, for one, am glad to see a quiet .NET patch release.

What to do: Install offered .NET updates included in MS14-026.

Nonsecurity updates okay to install

May saw a long list of nonsecurity fixes for Office 2013 and the various components of Windows 8.1. There are no reports of serious or widespread problems with any of them. (Because Windows systems have many configurations, there’s always the possibility that a specific system will run into difficulty with an update.)

Again, most of the following will be seen only on systems running Windows 8.1 and Office 2013. They include:

• KB 2852386 – Clean-up tool for Win7 and Server 2008 R2 SP1
• KB 2920540 – Stop error for sysprep issue
• KB 2932074 – Win8 app launcher for Windows Embedded 8.1 devices
• KB 2932354 – Update for Embedded Lockdown Manager
• KB 2934950 – Client backup to Home Server/SBS 2011 Essentials fails after installing .NET patch
• KB 2938459 – Win8 Windows Communication Apps
• KB 2939153 – Windows Defender for Win8
• KB 2950153 – Windows Update Standalone Installer freezes when Win8.1 update installed
• KB 2954879 – .NET native on Win8.1
• KB 2955163 – May rollup for Win8
• KB 2955164 – May rollup for Win8.1
• KB 2956037 – Update randomizes Device Setup Manager task-creation time
• KB 2956575 – Win8.1 Store and Windows Update improvements
• KB 2958262 – Win8.1 compatibility

General Office stability and performance fixes:

• KB 2825635 – Office 2010
• KB 2863819 – Outlook 2010
• KB 2817302 – Office 2013
• KB 2826040 – Office 2013
• KB 2837644 – Office 2013
• KB 2878319 – Word 2013
• KB 2880455 – Word 2013
• KB 2880461 – Office 2013
• KB 2880462 – Office 2013
• KB 2880464 – Office 2013
• KB 2880466 – Office 2013
• KB 2880470 – Outlook 2013
• KB 2880475 – Excel 2013
• KB 2880476 – Office 2013
• KB 2880478 – Office 2013
• KB 2880480 – OneDrive for Business
• KB 2880482 – Office 2013
• KB 2880980 – MS Lync 2013

Miscellaneous other fixes:

• KB 2726952 – Publisher 2013 – Stability and performance
• KB 2837587 – Visio Viewer 2010 – Stability and performance
• KB 2878281 – MS Filter Pack 2.0 – Stability and performance
• KB 2878315 – PowerPoint 2013 – Fixes various display errors
• KB 2880526 – Visio 2010 – Latvian/euro currency fix

What to do: Install these updates, if offered.

2962824

Some workarounds for a troublesome UEFI patch

If you use Windows 8.1 or Server 2012 R2 to host virtualization, be forewarned that KB 2962824 might need some extra attention. The update is a rollup of revoked, noncompliant Unified Extensible Firmware Interface modules. The update issues, documented in MS Support article 2962824, include an inability to restart the system after installing the update or an error message during the installation process. Workarounds include:

• Install the BitLocker optional component on servers that have Secure Boot enabled. (You don’t have to configure BitLocker.)
• Don’t install the update on Generation 2 virtual machines. They’re not vulnerable in this case, so the patch is not needed.

Alternatively, as noted in a forum post, you can take the following steps:

• Shut down the virtual machine.
• Disable Secure Boot.
• Restart the VM and install the update.
• Shut the VM down again.
• Enable Secure Boot.
• Restart the VM.

What to do: Before installing KB 2962824, check out MS Support article 2962824.

A workaround for XP

I’d be remiss if I didn’t point out a recent headline that’s probably causing some angst at Microsoft. As noted by Larry Seltzer in a ZDNet article, there’s a way to “hack” a Windows XP system so that it continues to receive updates — possibly until April 9, 2019. In short, you trick Windows Update into thinking the system is running Windows Embedded POSReady 2009, a version of Windows used in devices such as dedicated retail systems.

Microsoft doesn’t support this trick and certainly doesn’t test POS updates on standard XP platforms. In other words, this is a risky tactic for protecting XP.

I’m sticking with my standing recommendation: if you continue to use XP, run only local apps and don’t access the Internet. XP served us well, but it’s time to move onto a newer platform. We can’t make the OS as secure as it needs to be, given the sophisticated malware that’s in the wild. If you’re not ready for Win8.1 — possibly you’re waiting until the full, desktop Start menu returns, as rumored in a ZDNet article — then at least upgrade to Windows 7.

What to do: XP served us well, but its time is done.

Regularly updated problem-patch chart

This table provides the status of recent Windows and Microsoft application security updates. Patches listed below as safe to install will typically be removed from the table about a month after they appear. Status changes are highlighted in bold.

For Microsoft’s list of recently released patches, go to the MS Security TechCenter page. See our “Windows Secrets master Patch Watch chart” post for a more extensive list of recent updates.

Status recommendations: Skip — patch not needed; Hold — do not install until its problems are resolved; Wait — hold off temporarily while the patch is tested; Optional — not critical, use if wanted; Install — OK to apply.