When you are dealing with a folder in Microsoft Windows containing numerous images, it is often very helpful to see thumbnail representations of those images in the Windows Explorer display. This built-in functionality is available in both Windows XP and Windows Vista, but how you turn the feature off and on is slightly different for each version.

One caveat for the resource-sensitive: turning on the thumbnail feature will increase the amount of resources being used by the operating system. Those little thumbnails take up space on the hard drive and in memory when they are being displayed. Depending on your system, the available resources, and the number of images involved, you can quickly bog down your PC if you are not careful. This is why many users will be interested in this tip for the opposite reason — they want to know how to turn off thumbnail creation in Windows.

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Windows XP

Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the folder of images for which you would like to see thumbnails. On the Windows Explorer menu, click Tools | Folder Options to get to the Control Panel. Click the View tab, as shown in Figure A.

Figure A

XP Folder Options – View

Under the Files And Folders section, you will see the Do Not Cache Thumbnails check box. If this box is checked, there will be no thumbnails cached on your hard drive. So if you want thumbnails, you will want to uncheck it. Click OK after you’ve made your selection.

To start seeing thumbnails, you have to change views in Windows Explorer. On the menu bar, click View | Thumbnails, and Windows will replace the normal file icons with thumbnails of the images. Windows will also create a new file in that folder called Thumbs.db, where the thumbnail information is stored, as shown in Figure B.

Figure B

cialis 20 mg tadalafil align=”justify”>Thumbnails – XP

The Thumbs.db file will be created in every folder you designate to display thumbnails. To apply your changes to all Windows Explorer folders, navigate to Tools | Folder Options and click the View tab. From there, make your changes and then click the Apply To All Folders button before you click OK.

Windows Vista

Turning on the thumbnail feature is slightly different in Windows Vista. Open Windows Explorer and navigate to the images folder where you would like to see thumbnails displayed. On the menu, click the Organize tab and then Folder And Search Options. On the ensuing control applet, click the View tab, as shown in Figure C.

Figure C

Vista Folder Options – View

Under Files And Folders, uncheck the Always Show Icons, Never Thumbnails check box. That will turn on thumbnails for that particular folder. If you want to apply the change to all folders, you should click the Apply To Folders button. Click OK to finish the process.

Just as you did in Windows XP, for Vista you have to take one more step to actually reveal thumbnails in Windows Explorer. On the Explorer menu, click the down arrow next to Views and select a view other than List or Details (see Figure D).

Figure D

Thumbnails – Vista

Windows Vista has an additional way to view thumbnails in Windows Explorer. Click Organize | Layout and choose to add the Preview Pane. That selection will add an area to the right of the display where a larger thumbnail of each image will be displayed as you highlight it, as shown in Figure E.

Figure E

Preview Pane – Vista

Once again remember the caveat: thumbnails take up resources. Be careful how you use them. And if there comes a time when you want to turn them off, just do the opposite of the procedures described here. In Windows XP, you would also want to delete the Thumb.db file in each folder.

Q:
I'm running a dual boot system with both Windows Vista and Windows XP. I would like the default setting to be Vista, but I can't figure out how to do that. Can you please help?

A:
Well, as a matter of fact, I can! This question is perfect for anyone out there who is running a dual boot setup on their computer. Now, I'm talking about a dual boot between Windows Vista and Windows XP. If that's buying cialis the setup you have, are you having trouble getting the Vista operating system to come up as your default system? Maybe you want to learn how to use Windows Vista, but you want to keep XP around too, just in case you run into some problems with Vista, etc.

If that sounds like your situation, make sure you keep reading to find out how you can easily change your default settings to be exactly the way you want them!

To do so, just follow these quick instructions:

1.) With your Windows Vista operating system turned on, right click on the Computer icon on your desktop and choose Properties.

2.) Click on Advanced System Settings.

3.) Next, under the Startup and Recovery section, click on the Settings button.

4.) Finally, select the operating system you want to be your default (in this case, Microsoft Windows Vista).

That's all there is to it! Now, you could use the bcdedit command from the command line to do the same thing, but trust me, this way is much easier. Once you have the operating system of your choice selected, just hit OK and you'll be all set!

You can then shut down your computer and restart it. Your new default operating system should start right up for you and you can then go back to happy computer land. Give it a try today!

As you may recall, last week, I ran a tip in the newsletter about changing the font size in Windows Vista (you can read that tip here). Well, ever since, several of you have been asking if there's a way to do the same thing in Windows XP. I wasn't sure off the top of my head, but I figured there had to be, so I made a note to myself to check on it. But before I had a chance to look, one of our loyal readers e-mailed me with the answer. So, today's quick tip is coming to you thanks to Mr. Dick Furst. Let's check it out!

If you want to increase (or even decrease) the size of the objects best cialis on your computer, in Windows XP, go to Start, Control Panel (make sure you're in the classic view) and double click on the Display icon. Next, click on the Settings tab and then hit the Advanced button. Under the General tab, you can select which DPI setting you prefer. You can choose from Normal size, Large size or you can even make a Custom size just for you.

Once you choose your setting, you will be prompted to restart your computer. When it boots back up, you'll be able to notice the size difference of the objects on your computer. Now, if you also want to change your font size, go back to Start, Control Panel and click on the Display icon again. From there, click on the Appearance tab and then use the Font size drop down box to choose between Normal, Large or Extra Large. Then just hit OK and you'll be all set. Your XP computer is now set up just the way you want it. Yes!

As you may recall, we have mentioned the term "system tray" in several of our tips, but we've never really explained exactly what it is. I guess I assumed most computer users know what where to buy cialis online it is, but I must be wrong, because several of you have e-mailed me about it within the last few weeks. So, I want to take this time to apologize for never writing a tip on it before. It should have been covered way back in the very beginning. But hopefully I'll make up for lost time today. Let's check it out!

Okay, so what is the system tray? Basically, the system tray is located at the very bottom of your desktop in the taskbar (the long bar that runs all the way across your desktop). If you look along the taskbar, you'll see some icons in the Quick Launch area, then you have some open space for any applications you have open and then on the very far right, you'll see where the system tray sits.

The system tray contains the clock icon, the volume icon and various other icons, depending on what all you have installed on your computer. Usually, your antivirus program icon will be there, it's where your printer icon shows up, your modem icon is there, the safely remove hardware icon sits there and so on. If you need to use any of the items in your system tray, all you have to do is double click on the icons and the programs will open. So, as you can see, the system tray is home to a lot of important applications on your PC. And now you know all about it. Yes!

Today, I'd like to share a little Microsoft utility with you that just might save your day! It's a free download and it's called the Windows Installer Cleanup Utility. It has a couple of small, yet helpful features if you ever happen to find yourself in a bind. Let's take a look!

Have you ever started up your computer and had the Windows Installer open automatically and try to install a program? If that's never happened to you, you're one of the lucky ones. When that type of problem happens, there are some very complicated steps to fix it. Luckily, Microsoft realized that and they created the Installer Cleanup Utility. In most cases, the utility will fix those issues.

The utility also fixes installer issues that are caused by incomplete installations. If you've ever had an install fail and you can't get it fixed on your own, the Cleanup Utility may be able to help you as well!

The Windows Installer Cleanup Utility is simple to download and run. Simply go here and scroll down the page a little bit. Then click on the link that says "Download the Windows non prescription cialis Installer Cleanup Utility package now."

At that point, you can choose Save or Run, depending on whether or not you want to save it to your computer. Either way, this utility is a great resource. Enjoy!