Windows power-users are a fickle bunch, and to them the average list of "super-secret Windows tips" is about as fresh as the average Windows ME install. I found a surprising number of gems, however, in this Joel on Software discussion thread. Did you know, for example, that in Microsoft word you can type =rand() anywhere and it will be replaced with filler text (more if you put a number in the parentheses)? Or that Alt+Esc sends the active window the the background? Or that Shift+* will expand all of the subdirectories in a directory tree? Advice is also proffered in the form of registry tweaks and downloadable utilities. Post your own super ninja Windows tips in your comments.Windows power-user tips that you might not know about
Windows power-users are a fickle bunch, and to them the average list of "super-secret Windows tips" is about as fresh as the average Windows ME install. I found a surprising number of gems, however, in this Joel on Software discussion thread. Did you know, for example, that in Microsoft word you can type =rand() anywhere and it will be replaced with filler text (more if you put a number in the parentheses)? Or that Alt+Esc sends the active window the the background? Or that Shift+* will expand all of the subdirectories in a directory tree? Advice is also proffered in the form of registry tweaks and downloadable utilities. Post your own super ninja Windows tips in your comments.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
9-27-2006 @ 4:09PM
GreeneBastard said...
Super ninja windows tip #1......
LINUX!!!
Hahahahaha!
GB
Reply
9-27-2006 @ 4:18PM
duke hafa said...
old stuff
=rand(x,y)
x = # of paragraphs
y = # of sentences
The quick brown fox jumps over the lazy dog, sure Microsoft, that brown fox did pooped all over your ie, we knew it already
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9-27-2006 @ 11:06PM
Zaine Ridling said...
Doesn't work in Word 2007. :-(
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9-27-2006 @ 11:39PM
hubs said...
window key + e
window key + d
good stuff
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9-28-2006 @ 12:34AM
LazyMegaMan said...
You'd think this kinda stuff would come in the manual...
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9-28-2006 @ 2:42AM
Jeroen said...
Has anyone ever had that he ACCIDENTLY HIT THE CAPS KEY?
If you select the text in word and press SHIFT+F3 it will become lowercase with a first capital in each word. Hit Shift+F3 again and it will all be lower case. Saves time of typing it again
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9-28-2006 @ 3:19PM
Sergio said...
A very undiscoverable trick is to right-click-drag files from one folder to another.. instead of moving or copying, after you release the right button, it'll give you the opportunity to perform an operation on the dragged files. I find it handy to use with .zip files. Another drag-reated trick is that you can ALT+TAB during any dragging to make the desired window move to the top..no more dragging to the taskbar or arranging the windows prior to drag.
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9-29-2006 @ 1:11AM
Jim said...
If you're moving a bunch of files, holding down the SHIFT key while clicking "No" in the "do you want to overwrite this file?" dialog is interpreted by Explorer as "No to All" (even though you'll never find this tip on MS's site, in a manual, or even the GUI itself).
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9-29-2006 @ 6:16PM
pravijn said...
excellent post!
Reply