Q: What exactly is shown on the DVD included in your Windows 7 For Dummies book/DVD bundle?

I can’t find that information anywhere.

A: Windows 7 For Dummies is often sold with a bundled training DVD.

The bundled DVD contains about two hours of video training that walks you through many of the steps described in the book.

For example, the video below describes how to save and download information you’ve found helpful on the Internet (it’s just one of many videos on the DVD): Click to read more »

Q: I want to e-mail a photo in Windows XP.

When I right-click the photo, choose Send To, and choose Mail Recipient, Outlook appears instead of Outlook Express.

How can I make Outlook Express appear, instead, so I can mail my photo?

A: Both Outlook Express and its pricier cousin, Microsoft Outlook, can send e-mail. So, when you want to e-mail something, Windows XP needs to know which program should automatically grab the mail and push it through the Internet’s tubes.

In computer terms, that means you need to choose which e-mail program should be the default program: the program to jump in when you say “mail this” but don’t choose a specific program.

Windows XP lets you handle that decision in the “Set Program Access and Defaults” area. So, to make Outlook Express handle your mail chores in Windows XP, follow these steps: Click to read more »

Q: I like Windows’ “Send To” menu, which appears when I right-click on a file or folder.

How can I add my own entries to Windows 7’s Send To menu?

I want to add a folder, for example, so I can right-click an item, choose Send To, and send it to that folder.

A: When you right-click a file or folder in Windows XP, Windows Vista or Windows 7, a pop-up menu appears; one of the options is Send To. Choose it, and a pop-up menu appears, listing all the places you can send that file or folder.

Many of your programs have already added themselves to your Send To menu. That lets you right-click a photo, for example, choose Send To, and select your favorite photo editing program. When the program loads, your picture’s already waiting to be edited.

Windows 7 adds another trick to the Send To menu: Hold down your Shift key while right-clicking an icon, and the Send To menu automatically sprouts even more destinations (shown below). Click to read more »

Q: In Windows XP’s Paint program, you could select the little square box at the top, and then crop around the photo like you wanted. Can that be done in Windows 7?

I can’t figure out how to do it in Windows 7’s Photo Viewer.

A: Yes, you can crop photos in Windows 7 using Paint. The problem is that you’re trying to crop using Photo Viewer, the Windows 7 program that pops up whenever you double-click a photo.

Instead, you need to open Windows 7’s built-in Paint program. Beware, however; Windows 7’s Paint program comes with a new menu system known as the “Ribbon.” Love it or hate it, the Ribbon menu takes some time to figure out.

To crop an image in Paint, follow these steps: Click to read more »

Q: I accidentally uninstalled the Slide Show gadget in Windows 7, and now the Slide Show gadget is gone.

Where did it go, and how do I get it back?

A: Windows 7 offers several “gadgets” — small programs you can embed atop your desktop. One gadget displays a clock, for example; another displays a small slide show of the photos in your Pictures library.

To see Windows 7’s built-in gadgets, right-click on a blank part of your desktop, then choose Gadgets from the pop-up menu.

Spot a gadget you like? Right-click its icon, and a pop-up window offers two options: Add or Uninstall. Choosing “Add” places the gadget atop the desktop. And clicking Uninstall, as you’ve discovered, removes the gadget from the window entirely.

Uninstalled gadgets aren’t gone forever, though. Follow these steps to retrieve any accidentally deleted gadgets to Windows 7’s Gadgets window: Click to read more »