LyteByte » Tweaks

Tips to Reduce Gmail Memory Space and its Better Management in Outlook

Mr.Byte — Tue, 11 Aug 2009 15:30:00 +0000

Gmail lets you to view the same email in multiple locations or rather it stores in one place and uses tags to recall in different folder. But when you use IMAP to access Gmail in Outlook, each of these mails are stored in multiple locations, for example in the Inbox, the label folder you applied and in the All Mails folder. This means you are unnecessarily storing the same email in multiple places and wasting memory space. Each mail is stored at least in two places so potentially you can reduce the Gmail memory space in outlook by 50%

What do I do usually?

I like a clean inbox! So I organize all my mails in tags which are equivalent of Folders in Outlook.

Some rules I follow:

I don’t apply more than one tag or label to any mail. So each mail is in only one folder when you view in Outlook. I still wish there is a way to allow nested folders like feature when you use Gmail IMAP but that is a totally different story.
When a tag is applied it means, i move the mail to that folder and so it is not in Inbox folder.
My Inbox folder has only mails that I am currently working on and which cannot be categorized in the folders that I have.
If there is a mail in Inbox, which I am not working on it anymore and if it doesn’t fit in any of the folders or I don’t want to delete it permanently, I move it a folder called Arhive. (This is a self-made explicit folder called Arhive, not the Gmail archive feature). Gmail doesn’t let you create a folder called Archive.

Now it’s time to tune the Outlook to reduce the Gmail space.

Since you already have all the mails in at least one of the folders, it is redundant to have the All Mails folder subscribed in IMAP.

So how to unsubscribe Gmail’s All Mail IMAP folder in Outlook?

Right click the Gmail main folder and click on Data File Properties.

From the General tab, choose the Folder Size.

Here you can see the total size of gmail .pst in Outlook before tuning.

Now right click on the Gmail main folder and click on IMAP Folders.

Enter All Mail and click on Query. It will come in the results, choose it and click Unsubscribe.

Now if you go back and check the folder size of the gmail .pst, you can see how much it has reduced after removing the All Mails folder.

You can also remove other folders like Spam and Starred if you like.

This method helps you to keep your Gmail memory space in outlook to an optimum level and helps in better management.

What other tips that you follow for better management of Gmail in Outlook, let us know your suggestions in the comments.

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How to Export PowerPoint Text Contents to Word?

Mr.Byte — Fri, 07 Aug 2009 17:06:49 +0000

Some write a Word document and then make a PowerPoint from it but some write the main points in a PowerPoint and then write a document on it. If you are following the later, it maybe required to export all the text contents from the PowerPoint to Word. This makes it easy to jumpstart the word document.

There are different ways to approach for exporting all the text contents from PowerPoint to Word, lets explore.

Save PowerPoint Outline in Word

Note: This tutorial is explained using Office 2010 and it can be applied to Office 2007 as well

In a PowerPoint presentation, you will have titles, subtitles, points, some text in a Text Box and so on.

If you look at the Outline of the PowerPoint, you can view all the text contents excluding the text which are in the Text Box.

You can copy this Outline in a Word by saving the PowerPoint file as Outline/RTF format. Click Office Button and click Save As. From the Save as type, choose Outline/RTF.

When you view the output file in Word, you can view all the text contents.

Creating PowerPoint Handouts in Word (Send to Word)

You can also make handouts of the PowerPoint Presentation in Word in different formats for different purpose. Go to Office Button, Click Share and Create Handouts in Microsoft Word.

Click Handouts.

This will open Send To Microsoft Word window with different options like Note next to slides, Blank lines next to slides, Notes below slides, Blank lines below slides and Outline only. Except for outline only format, it will reproduce the slide within the Word.

Export all Text in PowerPoint Slide including Text in Text Box

As we saw before, you cannot directly export the text in text box but there is an indirect way to get all the text from PowerPoint including the ones in Text Box. First save the PowerPoint as PDF and then use Save as Text option from PDF. This will help you to get all the texts from a PowerPoint but usually this option gets you the text in unformatted way.

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How to Insert a Picture or Image inline in Outlook instead as Attachment?

Mr.Byte — Mon, 03 Aug 2009 22:05:43 +0000

It is easy to attach a file in Outlook 2010 or 2007 as all that you have to do is just drag and drop to the new email window. But sometimes it is required to insert or embed a picture inline so that it is viewable within the window when the email is viewed.

So how to insert a picture or image inline in Outlook?

First the format text has to be in HTML format. In Outlook 2010, go to Format Text and choose HTML if it is not already chosen.

Do not use the attach item or attach file links but go to to Insert tab and click on Picture. Browse and insert a picture.

In Office 2010, you can also format the picture. Click on the picture and and click on Format tab under Picture Tools.

When you send mails to other Outlook or Gmail or Yahoo, it will appear inline within any contents of the mail.

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How to Disable Child or Guest Account User to Change Password in Windows 7 and Vista?

Mr.Byte — Thu, 30 Jul 2009 00:55:38 +0000

Previously we have seen how to setup Guest Account in Windows Vista and Windows 7. If you are a parent then probably you have Child account enabled with parental controls. As you would like to monitor the child account or guest account and have access at any given time, you would like to know the password at all time. So, here is a quick tip on how to disable child or guest account to change password so that you are always in control.

Note: This tutorial is explained with Windows 7 and it works with Vista just the same.

Click Start and type ‘lusrmgr.msc’ without quotes.

You will get the local users and group users control page.

Here you can see different users, both users and groups. Double click on any user to get its Properties.

Just make sure you have checked the User cannot change password option. Here you can also set the password to never expire, disable an account.

Let us know have you ever considered disabling the password change for your child account?

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How to Disable or Change Windows Startup, Shutdown and Other System Sounds? – Reader’s Question

Mr.Byte — Fri, 24 Jul 2009 04:57:58 +0000

Long back we saw how to disable the clicking sound from Internet Explorer and Windows Explorer in Vista and Windows 7, and on similar note one of the LyteByte reader has asked how to change or disable the windows startup sound? Well, many may be interested in disabling or changing the windows startup, shutdown and other sounds like Windows logon, Windows logoff, System Notification, Mail notification and other similar sounds.

So how to disable or change Windows startup, shutdown, logon, logoff and other system sounds?

This article is explained using Windows 7 and it should be the same with Vista.

Click Start –> Control Panel –> Hardware and Sound –> Sound (or just search for Sound in Start and click Sound under Control Panel)

Go to the Sounds tab.

Here you can control all different system sounds like, Startup Sound, Shutdown Sound, Windows Logoff, Windows Logon, Windows User Account Control, System Notification, Email Notification etc.

How to disable it?

If you want to disable any of the sounds, just choose the Program Event and choose None from Sounds drop down menu.

How to change it?

Likewise as above, choose the Program Event and use Browse to select a new sound. (Note: It has to be WAV format and keep the size small to enable a good startup or shutdown process.)

Disable Windows Startup Sound?

Just uncheck the Play Windows Startup Sound.

How about changing Windows Startup and Shutdown sound?

If you had scrolled down and up to see Windows Startup and Shutdown sound, you might have been disappointed to not see it there. But these sounds are stored in C Drive –> Windows –> Media (C:\Windows\Media)

If you want to change any particular sound here, just paste your sound file here and rename it to the name here. For example, Windows Startup and Windows Shutdown. (Note: Here also, it has to be WAV format and keep the size small to enable a good startup or shutdown process.)

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How to Set Windows Media Player to Start Playing Music Automatically at a Certain Time? – Use as Morning Alarm Clock

Mr.Byte — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 15:30:03 +0000

Did you always get bugged by the alarm that goes off near your bed or from your mobile phone? And you always just keep snoozing it for almost an hour before you get up? How about setting Windows Media Player to start playing some nice warm music in the morning to wake you up? I always prefer to play some music when I get up but now its better as its already playing when I get up!!!

Now you can use your computer as an alarm clock without any third party software!

So how to set WMP to start playing music automatically at certain time?

Recently I have been playing with scheduled tasks in Windows 7 and this is an achievement through that feature. (This tutorial is written from Windows 7 but its the same in Windows Vista.)

Click Start and search for Task Scheduler. Click Task Scheduler under Program.

Now click on Create Basic Task on the right sidebar from the Task Scheduler Library.

Give a name and a description as per your own liking. I gave the name as Morning Music. Click Next.

Choose Daily and click Next.

Set the time.

Under Action, choose Start a program and click Next.

Now here are few things you might need to know to help you customize better.

Play only one song – Just browse the song and leave the rest blank.

Play a playlist – Browse wmplayer.exe, usually it resides in ‘C:\program Files\Windows Media Player\wmplayer.exe’. Under arguments type ‘/Playlist playlistname’ (playlistname should be the actual name of the playlist that you want to play.

Play from DVD – Program is same as above. under arguments type ‘/device:DVD’

Play from Audio CD – Program is same as above. Under arguments type ‘/device:audio CD’

Make sure you check Open the Properties dialog for this task when I click Finish as we need to change some properties. Click Finish.

Now you will get the properties. Here you can view and change any of the settings.

Go to the Conditions tab and change the settings in the Power section like you prefer. You can set it to run only if the computer in on AC power. But make sure you check Wake the computer to run this task as probably you will computer will go to sleep mode when you go to sleep!

Now the Windows Media Player will start at the specified time every day and play the songs from the playlist.

Note: The computer will not start the Windows Media Player if the computer is not switched on and it needs to be logged in.

How to delete this Scheduled Task?

Open the Task Scheduler and click on the Task Scheduler Library on the left sidebar. You will see the list of scheduled tasks. Choose the task and click on Delete from the right sidebar.

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How to Show Thumbnails in Office Word like in PDF?

Mr.Byte — Tue, 07 Jul 2009 06:27:44 +0000

Did you like the thumbnail features that show small thumbnails on the side of a big PDF file which lets you to easily go through and browse the whole file. You can also enable the thumbnails in Word from Office 2007.

So how to show thumbnails in Word 2007 like in PDF?

Go to the View tab and check Thumbnails under Show/Hide section.

Now you can view the thumbnails as a left sidebar which will help to navigate and browse the contents of the word better.

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How to Create a Custom Keyboard Shortcut to Open a Favorite Webpage Link in Internet Explorer?

Mr.Byte — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 03:22:04 +0000

Well, you may have thousands of links in the favorites in Internet Explorer but among them you might open a few every day. Like for example, Yahoo, Gmail or News sites like CNN or Some video sites like Youtube, Hulu or Netflix. Have you ever wondered to open these sites in another tab without going through the links by just using a Keyboard Shortcut? Here is a solution!

So, how to create a custom keyboard shortcut to open a favorite website link in IE?

Expand the favorites in the side to view the links. Right click on the link that you want to create Keyboard Shortcut for and click Properties.

Click on the Shortcut Key box and click Ctrl + Alt + Key of your choice.

I have used this to create keyboard shortcuts for webpages like,

Hulu – Ctrl + Alt + H

Netflix – Ctrl + Alt + N

Gmail – Ctrl + Alt + G

Yahoo – Ctrl + Alt + Y

CNN – Ctrl + Alt + C

You can try this in all IE versions. This is done in IE8.

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How to Protect only certain Cells, Columns or Rows in Excel?

Mr.Byte — Mon, 15 Jun 2009 15:30:00 +0000

In the last post we saw how to Protect and Unprotect Excel sheets with password in general and in this post for advanced users who want just to protect only certain cells, columns, rows in an Excel sheet. This makes only certain sensitive cells as read-only while allowing the user to edit other cells or information.

So how to protect only certain cells in Excel 2007?

This tip is written for Excel 2007 but the idea maybe applied to earlier version like Excel 2003.

When you protect a sheet all the contents are protected because by default all the cells are set to be locked.

So Press the Keyboard Shortcut Ctrl + A to select all the cells of the sheet. Right click and choose Format cells. Go to the Protection tab and uncheck Locked option and click Ok.

Now select only the cells or columns, rows that you want to protect. Right click and choose Format cells again. Go to the protection tab and check Locked option and click Ok.

Go to Review tab, click Protect Sheet and protect the sheet using a password. See the previous post (How to Protect and Unprotect Excel Sheets) for more details.

Now only certain cells of the sheet will be protected.

To unprotect, just go to the review tab, and click Unprotect sheet and enter the password.

Additional Tips: If you want users to be able to change the colors or fonts, choose format cells, columns and rows option while you protect the sheet.

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How to change Double Click to Single Click Mouse Selection in Vista and Windows 7? – Readers Question

Mr.Byte — Wed, 10 Jun 2009 04:47:47 +0000

By default in Windows Vista and Windows 7, you need to double click to open any file or folder. But some may prefer to open the files and folders using a single mouse click.

So how to change double click to single click mouse selection in Windows?

Go to My Computer –> Press Alt in the Keyboard and you will see the File and Edit menu. Select Folder Options from the Tools menu.

Under the General tab, change the Click items as follows from Double-click to open an item (single-click to select) to single-click to open an item (point to select).

You can also change the settings to underline the icon titles always or only when you point at them.

Click Apply and Ok to make the changes. Now you can use single click using mouse to open files and folders in Windows Explorer.

Note: This post is based on one of our LyteByte readers question. If you have any questions or tips contact us to have a post about it.

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