Q: When sending e-mail to many people in Outlook Express, I put their names on the Bcc (blind carbon copy) line to preserve everybody’s privacy.

However, when I open my Sent folder and look at that e-mail, it doesn’t show the Bcc line listing the recipients. How can I see the Bcc recipients on e-mails that I’ve sent?

My son says he can see them in his Google mail. What am I doing wrong?

A: Bcc, also known as “Blind Carbon Copy,” lets you hide your recipients’ e-mail addresses from each other. You can mass mail your vacation photos to your friends — some of  whom may not know each other — and preserve everybody’s privacy by placing their e-mail addresses on the Bcc line.

Later, when you open your Sent folder to view your previously sent e-mails, you always see the To and Cc fields. But you might not see the Bcc field, making it difficult to see who received your e-mail. Plus, not seeing the list makes it difficult to send another e-mail to the same group of people.

Some e-mail programs list the Bcc line on previously sent e-mails; other programs don’t. Outlook Express, for example, doesn’t show the Bcc list on your Sent e-mails. Google’s Gmail, by contrast, does.

But even though Outlook Express doesn’t show the Bcc line on e-mails you’ve sent, you can still view the recipients by following these steps:

Click to read more »

Q: How do I search for files by date in Windows 7? It used to be so easy in XP.

A: Windows 7’s search works much differently than the one in Windows XP. Windows 7 ditched Windows XP’s tail-wagging little dog, for example, and built the basic search right into the Start menu.

To find just about anything in Windows 7, click the Start button, and, in the Search box, type something describing the file: a file’s name, a word inside that file, a music artist, or perhaps a tag from a photo or video.

When you press Enter, Windows 7 quickly searches all your files, and presents a list of matches.

But on today’s file-stuffed computers, Windows 7’s basic search often presents too many matches.

How do you narrow down your search, finding only the files that you’ve created or changed last year? Two years ago? Yesterday? Or even last week? Here’s how.
Click to read more »

Q: I was reading a manual on a printer I received recently.

One of the installation steps was “Close all currently running programs.”

I’m not sure how to do this.

What do I do? Help!

A: Whether you’re reading steps from a printer’s manual or installing a new program, you’ll almost certainly spot this phrase:

“It is recommended that you close all other applications before starting Setup.”

Unfortunately, nothing explains exactly how you’re supposed to close all those other applications.

How do you even find all those currently running programs? And should you even bother? Click to read more »

Q: It used to be easy to resize a photo and e-mail it in Windows 7.

Windows Live Mail no longer offers that option.

How am I supposed to shrink or resize a photo before I e-mail it?

A: The latest version of Windows Live Mail is the culprit here, and I’ll explain why.

Most digital photos today are enormous. They’re often too large to send through e-mail. For most e-mail programs (and Microsoft’s previous version of Windows Live Mail), you resize and e-mail your photos by following these steps: Click to read more »

Q: In Windows XP, I could move from one folder to the next higher folder by clicking on the Up Arrow icon.

For example, I could be working inside a folder within the My Documents folder. A click on my folder’s Up Arrow icon would quickly return me to the My Documents folder.

How can I do this in Windows 7?

A: Microsoft removed the Up Arrow icon from Windows 7, releasing howls of dismay from many. As you’ve noted, clicking Windows XP’s conveniently placed Up Arrow icon moved you up one folder, letting you revisit neighboring folders quickly and easily. Hardcore folder spelunkers were outraged, but Microsoft stood fast.

Apparently Microsoft’s study groups had revealed that most people never used that feature, so Microsoft removed it from Windows 7. But if you’re one of the few who treasured that Up Arrow icon, you’re not lost. Microsoft left you a quick way to move up one folder:

• Hold down the Alt key and press your keyboard’s Up arrow. That takes you up one folder up from your current folder.

You can also click the Libraries entry on every folder’s left side to return you to your Libraries folder. Once in there, you can start navigating inward toward your Documents, Music, Pictures, or Videos libraries to revisit them.

Those tricks aren’t as handy as the Up Arrow icon. But they may push you toward using keyboard shortcuts, which outpace the mouse for many quick tasks. WordPad offers many keyboard shortcuts, as well.

(Windows 8 places the Up Arrow icon back in its rightful spot.)