Joyce is confused by her email provider's changes
It has been so long since I could access my e-mail any way other than through Zimbra. I had a technician fix it, but as soon as I sign out, it comes back again to Zimbra, and has the word Meca on the page when I am in my e-mail. What is going on that I can't change it back and stay there?

Our answer
Hi Joyce. It seems that a number of things are confusing you. First, you're using Zimbra for your email client. Either you chose that, or your tech did. Zimbra is an email client. You could use OE Classic, Thunderbird, Outlook, or any number of email clients (programs). You can use whatever email program you choose.

Secondly, you're using a small ISP for email (mchsi.com). Many smaller ISPs cannot afford to keep up with the changing technologies and upgrade their mail servers anymore. The reason you're seeing MECA in your email client while using an @mchsi.com (Mediacom) email address is that Mediacom (your ISP) doesn't actually run its own email hardware anymore in the Midwest. Instead, they "lease" or share the email platform from MECA (Midwest Electric Community Association). MECA recommends Zimbra and encourages you to use it, but you can use any email program you choose.

As long as you're using your mchsi.com address (Mediacom) and the Zimbra email program, you will continue to see the MECA

You have other choices. For instance, you can get a free Gmail account and set it up in any email program or check your email with a browser. You will no longer see the MECA branding, and you'll be able to access your email from anywhere using any internet-connected device (computer, smartphone, tablet).

I hope this clarifies things for you, Joyce. If you need more help, please let us know.

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How to Close a Frozen Program with Just Two Clicks
Windows 11

Have you ever had one of those Windows moments where a program freezes up on you? Maybe it’s a browser tab that decided to stop responding or a game that’s taking up a bit too much of your computer’s resources.

Usually, when that happens, the little “X” in the corner does nothing. We’ve all been taught to open the Task Manager, find the culprit, and right-click on it and choose End Task to shut it down. It works, but it’s not quick and easy, is it?

Well, I stumbled across a little surprise today that makes Windows life just a little bit easier!

The “Two-Click” Solution to a Frozen Program

Microsoft has added a smart new feature that lets you “End Task” right from your taskbar. No more hunting through the Task Manager. If an app is acting up, you just:

1. Right-click the app’s icon on your taskbar.

2. Click End Task.

   

And just like that, the stubborn program is gone!

How to Turn It On

This feature might not be turned on by default on your computer yet. I’m not sure exactly which update brought it to my computer, but I’m glad it’s here. If you don’t see the option when you right-click, here is how you can enable it:

• Open the Settings app (click your Start button and then the little gear icon).

• Go to System and then click on Advanced.

• Look for the toggle that says “Enable end task in taskbar by right click” and switch it to On.

  

(Note: In some versions of Windows 11, you might find this under “System > For Developers” instead—don’t let the word “Developer” scare you, it’s perfectly safe for everyone to use.)

It’s a quick and easy change, but it really saves time when a program or app decides to act up and be difficult.

I’ll be using this tip a lot. I bet you will be too. 

The Mysterious Gmail “All Mail” Folder Demystified
Windows 10 / Windows 11 and Gmail

Most of you use Gmail. And all of you who use Gmail have an “All Mail” folder. Google defines the “All Mail” folder this way…

Gmail does not use Folders. We use Labels. Even Inbox is considered a Label

All Mail contains all of the mail in your Gmail account. Gmail only has one copy of any email, but can have multiple views of the same messages depending on what Labels you set up. Any email you delete from any view is deleted from all views. 

You cannot clear out the All Mail folder (it’s not a folder anyway). That would be like deleting all of your mail.

So the mystery grows because we call it a folder and Google says they don’t use folders – they use Labels. We’ll continue to call them “Folders” and not “Labels” because a rose by any other name is still a rose.

Anyway, if you check your Gmail accounts on your computer, tablet, and/or smartphone, you’ll be glad to know that all of your mail is stored in the “All Mail” folder, even if it’s in your Inbox or another folder (Label). No, there are not multiple copies of the same email – there’s only one copy – but regardless of how many other folders (Labels) a mail shows up in, it will always show in the All Mail folder. But there are no duplicates or triplicates. Got it?

The All Mail Folder is Your Friend

Let’s let go of the confusing notion of shadowing/mirroring and just remember that the All Mail folder can be your friend. If you’re searching for an email, search the All Mail folder -because regardless of the folder (Label) that it is in, it will always be in your All Mail folder.

If you delete an email from your Gmail inbox or any other folder (Label), it will be deleted from your All Mail folder and placed in your Trash folder (Label). And any mail in your Trash folder will remain there for 30 days. After that, Gmail will automatically delete it (unless you delete it from the Trash folder first).

If you want to clean out your Inbox without deleting the emails in the Inbox, select the email(s) you want to archive, and then click the archive icon. See the screenshot below.

All selected emails will disappear from your Inbox but remain in your All Mail folder.  This is a great way to back up your emails!

Where is the All Mail folder?

Your All Mail should appear in the list of folders (Labels) on the left when you open your Gmail account on the web. If you don’t see it, make sure you did not hide it. To check, log into www.gmail.com, click settings (the gear icon), and then choose Labels. You will see All Mail in that list. Be sure “SHOW” is chosen. See the screenshot below.

Another Gmail tip

While you’re there, it would be a great time to HIDE those folders “social, updates, forums, promotions” that are included by default.

Zoom Power!
Windows 10 / Windows 11

Over the months and years we’ve been around, we’ve received hundreds of emails from people asking for help because the text and other items on webpages or emails have become too small to read comfortably, and asking us, “How can I make things bigger and easier to read?”

While each browser and email program has its own “view” options, Zoom Power will work on almost any browser or email program. So, it’s kind of like “one size fits all”, only this one-size-fits-all really does!

To enlarge the text in your email reading pane or when using your Web browser, hold down the CTRL key and move the mouse wheel away from you until the text is as large as you want it. You can also hold down the CTRL key and keep tapping the + (plus) key until the text is as big as you want it. This works when reading an email, as well as when composing an email. It also works on most web pages in most browsers.

If you want to make the text smaller, hold down the CTRL key and move the mouse wheel toward you. Or hold down the CTRL key and keep tapping the – (minus/dash) key until the font is the size you want it. As with making text larger, this works in most email programs when reading mail as well as when composing mail. It also works in most browsers on most web pages.

Above is the compose window in Thunderbird. The text is the normal size. But, my eyes are weary, and I’m having trouble reading that, so a little CTRL Key + moving the scroll wheel away from me (toward the screen) and look!

No matter how blurry my eyes were or where my glasses were, I could still read that!

And it works the same in the reading pane (window):

Above. I was feeling patriotic and decided to send myself the Preamble to the U.S. Constitution. But when I received it, sans glasses, I couldn’t read it very well. But then, a little Ctrl Key magic and… look ma! No more squinting!

Now, look up there. See? Now I can see the double comma I didn’t realize was there.

So if you’re having problems reading or writing an email because the text is too small and you want a quick way to make it bigger, just use Zoom Power!

In Thunderbird (and some other email programs), the text will remain larger until you restart the programs. In most browsers, changing the text size as above only works for the current tab or Web page.

Note: When composing an email, you also make your font bigger in your email program’s options/settings. But be careful with this: If your recipient has normal vision, your text may look HUGE to them if you change the font size in your email program. If you use the method above, the recipient will see the normal text size set in their email program, but you’ll see the text as big as you need it to be.

Zoom Power works in any browser, too!

This works in any browser, including Firefox, Chrome, Opera, Microsoft Edge, Brave, Vivaldi, and more. You can make page contents, including text, bigger or smaller using the Ctrl key and your mouse wheel.

Let’s use Zoom Power on some webpages…

Here’s a site more familiar to you (we hope)…

You can use Zoom Power on any webpage to make the text and images on it any size you want – from the minuscule to the magnificent. You can control the size of the items on any page using Zoom Power!

Did you know that you can use Zoom Power to make File Explorer or Desktop icons bigger (or smaller)?

Yes, you can! You can use CTRL + mouse wheel to make your desktop icons larger or smaller. You can also use the same method to change the size of icons in File Explorer. Check out the screenshots below:

Above: Changing the size of icons in File Explorer.

Below: Changing the size of icons on the Desktop.

Now you know how to use Zoom Power to make the text and content in emails and web pages larger (or smaller). And how to use Zoom Power to increase or decrease the size of items in File Explorer and/or make your desktop icons bigger or smaller.

IYKYK! 

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AbleWord: A Free, All-In-One Word Processor & PDF Editor

While many modern word processors have become cluttered with complex ribbons and expensive subscription models, AbleWord stays true to what most of us actually need: a fast, clean, and completely free way to write and edit.

Also, many readers have asked about converting PDF to MS Word docs and converting MS Word docs to PDF. Newer versions of MS Word (and most word processing programs in free office programs) can open PDF files and save them as Word Docs. But very few can open Word Docx files and convert them to PFF files. AbleWord can.

So, if you don’t want to install a modern, fancy, full-blown office program full of AI tools and integrated cloud connections, and you’d prefer an old-fashioned, really nice, light-weight, MS Word-like word processor that can create, open, and edit both PDF and Word documents, you’ll find AbleWord worth a look.

The folks at AbleWord describe it this way:

AbleWord is a very capable word processing application that can read and write most popular document formats, including PDF’s. It is fully featured, supporting image formatting, tables, headers & footers and includes spell checking and print preview functions. Best of all, it is totally free even for commercial use.

And in our tests, it worked extremely well despite being a free program that hasn’t been updated since 2015. But don’t let that worry you. It works on Windows 10 and all versions of Windows 11, even though the website only includes Windows versions up to Windows 10. Don’t you worry! We tested it on Windows 11, and it works well.

You can create, open, and edit the following formats with AbleWord:

Word.doc
Word.docx
PDF
RTF (Rich Text Files)
TXT (Plain Text Files)
HTM (Web page)
HTML (We page)

More information from the AbleWord Web site:

…AbleWord is highly compatible with popular document formats, including .DOC & .DOCX, but AbleWord can also open and save as a PDF, which makes it a very useful tool to have.

AbleWord is very simple to install and use. It is commonly used as a PDF Editor and also for converting PDF to Word®, but of course, it is also a splendid Word processor and supports most of Microsoft Word® features..."

We found AbleWord very easy to use. The PDF editing function works well on most common PDF files, but is so-so on more complex ones. So, we’re not saying that it’s as good as an expensive, professional PDF editor like Adobe Acrobat Pro. But AbleWord doesn’t cost hundreds of dollars either. It’s 100% free. Yay!

While it hasn’t been updated in eleven years, AbleWord still looks great. It has a nice, simple, almost quaint but functional, easy-to-use interface.

Here are some screenshots:

If you have MS Office or MS365 installed, listen up! AbleWord will try to associate itself with MS Word DOC and DOCX, which is great if you don’t have MS Office installed or some other Office program that handles DOC and DOCX formats installed. BUT If you have MS Office or another office program installed, you might want to uncheck this during installation.

If you’re looking for a free, functional, easy-to-use Word processor that can edit both Word documents and PDF files, then AbleWord might be just what you’re looking for.

Read more about, and/or download it from the AbleWord Website.

If you’re concerned about downloading AbleWord from a non-HTTPS (not secure) website, you can download it from SnapFiles.