Gadget's Tips

Gadget loves the idea that Windows XP is full of keyboard shortcuts, and he thinks there are a few every doggone user should know. They all involve holding down the Windows key, then pressing a letter key.

E will launch Windows Explorer, R will launch the Run box, F will launch the Find utility, M will minimise all open windows to show the desktop, and L will instantly lock the computer (make sure you know your log-in before you use this one!).

There's nothing like shortcuts to save a dog's time (and his paws).

Being a very busy K9, Gadget is frustrated when he has to go to the Start menu for programs he uses every day. After all, when he's seriously engaged with a game of CatChaser, he doesn't want to rummage around in the Accessories folder for things like Calculator.

Luckily, he's found a quick and easy way to get what he wants fast. He just presses the Windows key and R together, types:

calc

and presses Enter.

And, is he wants a text file, then again he presses Windows and R together, types:

notepad

and presses Enter again. Simple when you know how.

Gadget often used to lose track of notes kept on scraps of paper, especially those all-important ones telling him where in the garden his secret stash of bones is buried. Then he found out a way to keep them handy on his desktop. Right-click the desktop, select 'New' then 'Text Document'. Call it 'notes'.

From now on, to make a note simply double-click the file, press F5 to insert the date and time, type a note then press the Control and S keys together to save.

Barking brilliant, thinks Gadget - no reminders can go astray now!

 As a switched on K9 Gadget knows you can't always tell if a bBroadband connection is broken, or there's simply a problem with the web browser. So before he barks at the support desk he presses the Windows key and R together to launch the Run box, then types:

ping www.foxhallsolutions.com

Gadget hates running out of space on his Taskbar - for example when he's working on several versions of a letter to his canine friends and has several of his favourite websites open (so he can check for the latest news on http://www.doglost.co.uk/, for example).

He's sniffed out a way to solve the problem by grouping together different Taskbar buttons from the same program.