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THANK YOU SO MUCH!

Donna wants to know if she can use Windows Photo Gallery on Windows 10
I am using Windows 10. Is there a way I can use Windows 7 Photo Gallery instead of the Windows 10 Photo app? Thanks so much for all the help and info you people provide. You're the best. Donna

Our answer
Hi Donna. Thanks so much. Just about four years ago, we published an article showing how to install Photo Gallery & Movie Maker on Windows 10. Because it's been so long, I went back and checked the laptop I installed them on - which is now running the latest version of Windows 10 and on another PC running Windows 11. And I'm happy to say Photo Gallery and Movie Maker both worked well.

We have not gotten around to updating the article, but the download link and the instructions are still good. You can read our article here.  We show you, in detail, how to download and install Windows Photo Gallery & Movie Maker on Windows 10 or Windows 11. You can see from the screenshot below that Photo Gallery works well on Windows 11 and it works just as well on Windows 10.

Again, Donna, thanks so much for your kind comments and your support.

Janet wants to change the name of the administrator account on her computer
My son got a new computer with Windows 11 on it and he gave me his Windows 10 computer. I really like it. But now my question is this. How do I change the administrator account name? Also, I'm using Thunderbird. How can I change it? I am having trouble changing this computer to my liking. I really like your newsletters and your website. They have helped me so much. Thank you.

Our answer
Hi Janet. Thanks! Here is how to the change administrator account name on Windows 10 using the Control Panel.

1. Type Control Panel into the Taskbar search
2. Then click Open or press enter when you see Control Panel
3. Under User Accounts, click on Change Account type
4. Select the account you want to rename.
5. Click on Change the account name.
6. Type the new user account name in the box.

Keep in mind when you look in C:\users\ you'll see the old name (whatever name he used) will be there but as far as logging in and the account name you see, it will be whatever you named it. Everything else will remain the same (including Thunderbird). You may need to add your account to Thunderbird if your son set it up. But that's easy to do and it's also easy to delete other accounts from it too. Thunderbird won't be affected by the administrator account name change - as the actual account name in C:\Users will not change.

Another thing you can do, if you want to, is creating a new administrator account with your name and sign-in information and once you get everything set up the way you want it, you can delete your son's account. Go to Settings > Accounts > Email & Accounts > Add account. You can choose to add a Microsoft account or a local account and give that account administrator privileges.

If you want, you can even change the password or PIN if you think it's necessary. If you need to do that, let us know.

We hope this helps you, Janet.
----------
Janet wrote back: "Thanks so much for your help. I created a new account of my own and deleted my son's account. I couldn't have done this without you!"

Rose wants to know if she should update her computer
Should I allow the Windows KB5025221 update to install or are there problems with it? Thank you, thank you for all your help over many years! Rose.

Our answer
Hi Rose. KB5025221 is a cumulative update for Windows 10 that was released on April 11, 2023. It addresses security issues for your Windows 10 computer and also contains several bug fixes. This update is part of the April 2023 cumulative updates for Windows 10. It adds no new features to Windows 10 and is not a version update. Since this is primarily a security update, you should install it soon. We hope this helps you, Rose.

Richard has a question about email privacy
I have a question for you. You caution computer users about showing/displaying their email addresses. Is there an app or a Google extension that would do this….though I would think it is not a good idea as transmitted emails sometimes need recipient address information. Perhaps it could be a “tutorial” for people who use email. When to hide an email address and why one would consider doing so?

Our answer
We don’t caution users about showing their email addresses when necessary (for instance, online orders, newsletter subscriptions, writing for help or support, etc.) We caution users from showing their email addresses on social media sites like Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter, as well as on public forums. In other words, never put your email address in a post or tweet where others can easily access it.

There is no magic program to prevent people from putting their email addresses on public display. The only option would be to use a throwaway email address when you sign up for things or request help or support, but you still wouldn’t want to publish it on social media or public forums.

Throw-away email addresses can be used in place of your real email address any time you want. Each throw-away mail service has its advantages & disadvantages. Here are 6 sites from which you can get and use a throw-away email address – and these are in no particular order.

EmailOnDeck

Mailinator

ThrowAwayMail

Maildrop

FakeMail

GishPuppy

We hope this helps you, Richard. 

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Sandy says Microsoft got into her computer and changed her passwords
I turned my computer on after being gone all day and I come to find out Microsoft changed all my passwords. I couldn't get into any of my Gmail accounts. I had a doozy of a time trying to change all of them. How can they do that?

Our answer
Hi Sandy. Microsoft would not arbitrarily change your passwords - it would result in billions of dollars worth of class-action lawsuits and perhaps criminal charges.

I have no idea what happened but we can assure you it was not Microsoft. It almost sounds like you were scammed by someone pretending to be Microsoft - it happens more than anyone realizes.

You should use a good password manager to generate, store, and protect your passwords. There are several good free password managers out there -including Bitwarden, LastPass, and RoboForm. All of those also offer inexpensive paid versions with more features.

We hope this helps you in some way, Sandy.

Jay says CalendarPal lost his appointments and wants us to recommend a new calendar app
CalendarPal suddenly lost all my appointments. Is there another (free) calendar that you can recommend for use on my Windows desktop computer?

Our answer
Hi Jay. We're sorry to hear you've had problems with CalendarPal. But you'll be happy to know that you have a really nice calendar app on Windows 11 already. Type CALENDAR in the taskbar search. Press Enter when you see Calendar App appear. You can sign into the calendar using your Hotmail.com address. To make it even more convenient, when the calendar is open, right-click on its icon in the taskbar and choose "Pin to taskbar". That way, all you have to do is click the taskbar icon to open the calendar.

Here's an article we wrote about the Windows Calendar App.

We hope this helps you, Jay.

Leslie asks about Windows Screen Recorder
Hi, Darcy & TC. Someone told me that Windows has a built-in screen recorder that will capture your clicks as a series of screenshots. Does Windows 11 have that? And if so, where is it? Thanks, Leslie.

Our answer
Hi Leslie. Both Windows 10 and Windows 11 come with a built-in screen recorder that you can use to capture your screen activities including onscreen clicks.

Here are the steps to use the screen recorder in Windows 10 or Windows 11:

Open the app or screen that you want to record.

Press the Windows + G keys on your keyboard to open the Xbox Game Bar.

If prompted, select "Yes, this is a game" to proceed.

Click on the "Capture" icon in the Game Bar menu, or press the Windows + Alt + R keys on your keyboard to start recording. The recording will start after a 3-second countdown.

You can click the red "Stop" button in the Game Bar menu or press the Windows + Alt + R keys again to stop recording.

Your recorded video will be automatically saved in the "Captures" folder by default. The Captures folder is located in your Videos folder.

Note: If you don't see the Game Bar, make sure it's enabled by going to Settings > Gaming > Xbox Game Bar and turning on the "Record game clips, screenshots, and broadcast using Xbox Game Bar" option.

Also, you can customize the screen recorder by going to Settings > Gaming > Captures and selecting your preferred options for recording, audio, and video quality.

We hope this helps you, Leslie.

Make a donation today and help us keep on helping you!

Our Spring Donation Drive Has Begun!

Four times a year we have donation drives. We hope that you will continue to help us keep helping you. Today, we are beginning our spring donation drive.

Any donation, large or small is appreciated.

If you can help us during our spring donation drive, we would really appreciate it. If not, we understand and we’ll be here for you to help you with your computer questions and problems. You’ll always get our best, no matter what.

Read more about our Spring Donation Drive here.

THANK YOU SO MUCH!

How to Clean Up Your Messy Desktop
This tip has been revised and updated for Windows 10 and Windows 11.

Are you one of those fine folks who have a beautiful desktop background with dozens and dozens of desktop icons and shortcuts cluttering up your view?

There’s a cure for messy desktops, you know. And you won’t lose any of your desktop icons or shortcuts. Impossible you say? Nope! We’re going to show you how to clean up desktop clutter without removing a single desktop icon or shortcut.

Messy Desktop > Windows 10

The cure for your messy Windows 10 desktop.

a.) Right-click on an empty area on your desktop.
b.) Click “View”.
c.) Uncheck “Show desktop icons”.

The uncluttered desktop. Look ma! I can see my desktop wallpaper!

Getting your shortcuts and desktop icons back… sort of.

a.) Right-click on your taskbar.
b.) Click “Toolbars”
c.) Select “Desktop”

 All of your desktop icons and shortcuts are back– but not on your desktop.

That’s right, every desktop icon and shortcut that was on your desktop is now available in a toolbar. Click on your new desktop toolbar icon (double right arrows).

And voila! There are all your desktop shortcuts and icons in a list.

Messy Desktop > Windows 11

The cure for your messy Windows 11 desktop.

a.) Right-click on an empty area on your desktop.
b.) Click “View”.
c.) Uncheck “Show desktop icons”.

And wow! Look at that beautiful clean desktop!

Unfortunately, unlike Windows 10, Windows 11 does not allow you to create a desktop toolbar, so to see the icons/shortcuts on your desktop – you’ll need to open File Explorer (Windows key + E) and click on “Desktop”. Your desktop is nothing but a folder, you know – a Windows system folder.

And whether you’re using Windows 10 or Windows 11…

And should you ever want your messy desktop back again… no problem! Right-click an empty area of your desktop, click “View” and then check “Show desktop icons”. Your messy desktop is back again, just like you left it.

How to Pin Tabs in Your Favorite Browser and Save Space
Windows 10 and Windows 11 - Chrome, Edge, Firefox and most other browsers

If you’re like us, you visit a lot of websites when you’re browsing the Web. And sometimes you like to go back and forth between the sites you’ve visited. But after a while, you have so many tabs open at the top of your browser you can’t tell which page is which.

Did you know you can pin tabs in all modern browsers and save a lot of real estate in your browser?  When you pin a tab it reduces the size of the tab, yet makes it easy to tell what each tab is. You can open a lot of tabs in a fraction of the space compared to using full-sized tabs.

The next time you find yourself browsing the Web with a ton of browser tabs open, this tip will save you space and maybe even some time. And you’ll be glad to know that pinning tabs works virtually the same in most modern browsers.

The screenshot below was taken in Firefox, but pinning tabs works the same in Chrome, Edge and other modern browsers. You can see I have 9 tabs open, but 8 of them are pinned.

Look how much space all those open tabs (above) would take if they were not pinned.

If you’re worried you won’t be able to tell what page is what if the tabs are pinned, don’t worry, be happy. It’s easy. Just hover over the pinned tab and you’ll get a full description of the pinned page. If you want to open the page, just left-click the pinned tab.

OK. So how hard is it to pin a tab? It’s as easy as pie and a whole lot easier than pi! Right-click the tab you want to pin and choose “Pin Tab” from the dropdown menu which appears when you right-click a tab.

Want to pin more than one tab? No problem. Hold down the CTRL key while you right-click all the tabs you want to pin. In the screenshot below, I pinned all 9 open tabs at one time. See?

That saved a lot of space, didn’t it?

And what if you don’t want a tab pinned anymore? Just right-click on the pinned tab and select “Unpin Tab” from the dropdown. And if you want to unpin multiple tabs, hold down the CTRL key, right-click on all the tabs you want to pin, and select “Unpin Tabs”.

And finally, feast your eye upon Microsoft Edge. As you can see it works the same way in Edge as it does in Firefox and Chrome. Isn’t it nice they all get along?

Once you pin a tab, it works just like a full-size tab. Left-click it to open the page, right-click and choose “Close tab” if you want to close the tab without opening the page. Or if you want to close multiple pinned tabs just hold down the CTRL key, right-click each tab you want to close, and choose “Close tabs”. 

Here’s a bonus tip.  You can select multiple tabs and close them all using CTRL+W.

Four Mouse and Keyboard Tricks for You
Windows 10 & Windows 11

Here are four seldom-used mouse and keyboard tricks that can save you time.  

1. Use your mouse wheel to close a browser tab.

You can do it, yes you can. Most of us use the mouse wheel to scroll pages and other common mouse wheel stuff. But if you press down on your mouse wheel you’ll notice it depresses just a bit. Well, did you know that just a bit is enough to allow you to close a browser tab (among other things)? Try it and see. Position your mouse pointer in the middle of a browser tab and press down on the control wheel. See?

2. Use the Shift key + the right mouse button to extend the Context Menu.

When you right-click on the desktop document icon, you will see a context menu. But did you know there’s another context menu called the extended context menu? To see the extended context menu, n just press and hold the Shift key and then right-click on an icon to open the extended context menu. Here’s an example from Windows 11.

In the screenshot below, on the left, you can see the standard Windows 11 context menu, but by using the Shift key and the right mouse button you can open the extended context menu. See?

3. Use the Shift key to select text.

Most of you know that you can select files and folders by holding the Shift key and clicking on the first and then the last file/folder. But this also applies to selecting text in documents like MS Word docs as well as text files (and Web pages).

All you have to do is click on the first character in the text you want to copy, then hold down the Shift key and point to the last character you want to copy. All the text between the first click and the last click is selected. Now just press CTRL + C to copy the selected text and CTRL+V to paste it wherever you want…like a Word doc, an email, or a text file.

You can practice the tip above right here. Just click on the Y at the beginning of this paragraph, then hold down the Shift key and click on the period at the end of this sentence.

4. Maximize any program window with a double-click.

Instead of fumbling around looking for the maximize button between the – and the X in the top-right corner of most program and file windows, just double-click anywhere on the title bar (or top bar) to maximize or minimize the window.

The title bar or top bar in Firefox (also referred to as the menu bar.

The top bar or title bar (Microsoft Edge)

The top bar or title bar (Google Chrome)

The title bar (OE Classic)

The title bar (Microsoft Word)

That’s enough, you get the idea. You can maximize or minimize a program window by double-clicking on the title bar, menu bar, or top bar. 

Want more tips, tricks, and information?

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Now available: Reg Organizer 9.1

If you purchased or renewed Reg Organizer through Cloudeight within the last 12 months, you're entitled to a free version upgrade to Reg Organizer 9.1. Works great with Windows 10 and Windows 11!

Save $14 on Reg Organizer right now!

Reg Organizer - A Swiss Army Knife of Windows Tools - Works Great on Windows 10!

Bulk Rename Utility – Advanced File Renaming Made Easy

Today, we’re going to discuss renaming files. One thing almost all of us computer users do is rename files. There are many reasons why we all need to rename files, but let’s use an example we can all relate to. Photos. Most of us take photos with a smartphone (or digital camera) and when they’re saved they are given arcane names like 0101142003 or DSC2301. Maybe that works for general everyday pictures, but what about those special pictures like the birth of your grandchild, a special vacation, a wedding, etc.?

You can rename files using nothing more than File Explorer in Windows 10 or Windows 11. And for general file renaming, it works well. Most of us won’t need anything else… See this page for our tutorial.

But some of you want to do advanced file renaming – for example using different prefixes and/or suffixes for files in a folder. Our freeware pick automatically renames photos individually using the EXIF (metadata) that’s included in the coding for all JPG files. You can’t do advanced file renaming with Windows File Explorer. You’re going to need something else.

Several weeks ago, Cynthia wrote to us because she needed a utility to do some advanced file renaming, and asked us for a suggestion. We suggested Easy File Renamer as a good choice for renaming files, but even it would not do the advanced file renaming she needed to do (adding different suffixes and prefixes to files in the same folder). But our suggestion did lead her to a program called “Bulk Rename Utility” which allowed her to do all the complex file renaming she needed to do, including adding different prefixes/suffixes to files in the same folder.

Although we didn’t have any advanced file renaming we needed to do, we did put the program through some tests and barely scratched the surface of what this amazing program can do. Perhaps the most amazing thing about the Bulk Rename Utility is that it is FREE for personal/private use.

Here are some screenshots we took during our test just to show you some of the features the Bulk Rename Utility has…

From the screenshots above,  you can see many of the features of this program and how many renaming options this program provides. And we’ve barely scratched the surface.

And here come the developers of Bulk Rename Utility to tell you more about this amazing application:

Bulk Rename Utility: file renaming software for Windows.

Bulk Rename Utility is free of charge for personal, private use, at home. To use Bulk Rename Utility within a business entity, company or for commercial purposes, a commercial license is required.

Bulk Rename Utility allows you to easily rename files and entire folders based upon extremely flexible criteria.

Add date/time stamps, replace numbers, insert text, convert case, add auto-numbers, process folders and sub-folders….plus a whole lot more!

Rename multiple files quickly, according to many flexible criteria. 
Rename files in many ways: add, replace, insert text into file names. Convert case, add numbers. Remove or change file extensions.

Check the detailed preview before renaming.

Rename photos using EXIF metadata (i.e. “Date Picture Taken”, “Resolution” and other information embedded in all JPG photo files) Rename your holiday pictures from a meaningless dsc1790.jpg to NewYork1.jpg in a flash.

Rename MP3 files using ID3 tags (a.k.a. MP3 ID3 tag renaming).

Rename files using Windows File Properties (e.g. media video length, width, height, rate, publisher, etc.).

Change files’ creation and modification time stamps.

Easy to Install. Download and start renaming your files now!

So… if you need to do some advanced file renaming, make it a lot easier on yourself and download Bulk Rename Utility. You’ll be amazed at all its advanced features and how easy it can make renaming files any way you need to rename them. It’s so good, it’s now a Cloudeight freeware pick! 

Read more about and/or download Bulk Rename Utility here. 

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Why is an email program called an email client?

The term "client" in this context refers to a software application that communicates with a server to access or request resources, such as email messages. In other words, the email client is a software program that acts as a client to the email server, which is responsible for sending, receiving, and storing email messages.

So an email program is often called an email client because it acts as a client program that enables users to interact with the email server, much like a customer interacts with a service provider.

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Reg Organizer: Reg Organizer is the Swiss Army Knife of Windows tools. It's far more than just a registry optimizer and cleaner... it's a Windows all-in-one toolkit. Reg Organizer helps you keep your computer in tip-top shape and helps you solve annoying Windows problems. Reg Organizer works great with Windows 10 and Windows 11! Get more information about Reg Organizer (and get our special discount prices) here.

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We hope you have enjoyed this issue of Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly. Thanks so much for your support and for being an InfoAve Weekly subscriber.

Have a great weekend... be safe!

Darcy and TC
Cloudeight InfoAve Weekly - Issue #1019
Volume 20 Number 25
April 21, 2023 

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