Computer won’t wake up after going to sleep?

The standard power settings for Windows 7 are to put computers to sleep after 30 minutes of inactivity.  Normally this isn’t a problem but some computers refuse to let the user wake them up again after they have fallen asleep.

A workaround is to change the power settings and stop the computer falling asleep in the first place.  To do this click on the “Start” button in the bottom left, then click on “Control Panel”.  Then click on “Power Options” followed by clicking on “Change when the computer sleeps”.  Select “Never” from the drop down list labelled “Put the computer to sleep” and finally click on “Save Changes”.

File synchronisation

When working on documents saved to the university file stores using different PCs in the library there are a couple of things you can do to ensure that you see the most up-to-date version with your latest edits in place.

  • Save your file and allow a bit of time for file changes to be uploaded to the server copy before you switch your PC off or log off. This will help to counter busy periods on the network.  
  • Save your work before shutting down rather than relying on the prompt to save work as software is closed automatically as the system shuts down.
  • Run a manual sync for individual files by right clicking the file and going into ‘Properties’, ‘Offline Files’ and select ‘Sync Now’.
  • Right click on the Synchronisation icon on the Windows 7 ‘System Tray’ and select ‘Sync All’ Sync Icon

Easy screenshots

Ever wanted to embed a screenshot in a document or presentation? With Windows 7 this is now easier than ever to do.

Click on the Windows start button (bottom left of screen) and choose All Programs, Accessories and Snipping Tool. The screen will now go slightly pale and the cursor will change to a crosshair (+). Simply move the cursor to the top right of where you what to copy, then hold the left-mouse button down and drag the cursor to the bottom right.

When you release the mouse button a new window will pop up showing your screenshot. There are option to take a new screenshot (if your not happy with the results), save the screenshot (in PNG format by default) or copy the image ready for pasting into a document.

And remember if you think you’re going to use the snipping tool a lot then why not pin it to your start menu.

Connecting to IT Services Staff printers

The Networked Staff printers need to be set up for each person who logs into a PC. The process is quite easy (when it works) and we can set it up for you. However, there may be occassions when you are using a shared PC or that of a colleague, so I thought it would be useful to provide instruction for those who would like to try this themselves. Quict steps for connecting to a printer are listed below and a guide with screen grabs is also available (Connecting to IT Services Networked Printers).

  • Click on the Microsoft Button (Start)
  • Select ‘Devices and Printers’
  • From the devices and printers window select ‘Add a printer’
  • Select ‘Add a network, wireless or Bluetooth printer’
  • Select ‘The printer I want isn’t listed’
  • Enter the pathname of the printer (\printersStaff-Mono) then click ‘Next’
  • The drivers will be installed on the PC
  • The printer will be installed, click ‘Next’
  • Set at the default printer, print a test page (unless you are connecting to the A0 printer) and then click ‘Finish’
  • The printer appears in the ‘Devices and Printers’ folder and is identified by the green tick icon
  • Repeat the process to connect to the Staff-Colour (\printersStaff-Colour) or A0 printer (\printersA0_cc_plain_hp) and remember to un-tick ‘Set as the default printer

Quick access to regularly used programs

If you regularly use the same program every day, why not Pin it to your Start Menu or Task Bar. Locate the program in the All Programs list, Right click on the program and select Pin to Start Menu or Pin to Task Bar, easy peasy!

Start Menu

The Start Menu can be seen when you click on the Microsoft Button (Start)

 
Task Bar

The Task Bar is alongside the Microsoft button (Start) bottom left of your screen

 

Scanning directly to the LB-Shared-Drive

Normally when you scan documents on the print/copiers the files are sent as email attachments. This is fine when there are only a few documents to scan or if your email still below quota. But what happens if you have lots of scanning or no room left in your inbox.

Fear not!

Simply log on to the staff printer/copier (or the one in the Academic Services Team) as usual. Then do the following:

  1. Press the scan button on the console (this had a rectangular symbol with a line coming out of it)
  2. Click on the Folder tab on the touch screen
  3. By default documents will be scanned as black and white TIFF files, if you want something different then click on Scan Setting on the touch screen and make your selection
  4. Click on [00001] Library button on the touch screen

Now simply put your document under the glass or in the document feeder and click the green go button. The results will be uploaded directly to the “Store – Interim” on the LB-Shared-Drive. Files are named with the date and time that the scanning was done.

When finished scanning please click on the MENU and log off as usual.

Manipulating scanned PDF files

Have you ever spent the best part of an hour scanning an item for the e-reserve only to find out that you have missed a couple of pages out, scanned one in twice, and one has some missing text? Or, have you used our photocopier/printers to scan to email and wondered how on earth you are going to get all the individual pdf files into a single document? Well, all your troubles are over because now you can take a quick squint at the ‘Manipulating scanned PDFs‘ guide to find solutions to these common problems.

Where have all my files gone?

There are several ways to access files you saved to the network or PC stores.

  • Your networked files (previously U: drive) are located in ‘My Documents’ in the ‘Document’ library. This can be accessed by clicking on the ‘Windows Explorer’ icon on the ’Task Bar’, click the expand icon alongside ‘Documents’, and then click on the ‘My Documents’ folder.
  • Notice that you also have other Libraries for organising your music, images and videos.
  • The ‘Public Documents’ library is for temporary storage on your PCs hard drive.My Documents

Alternative routes to the same location are as follows:

  • Click on the Microsoft button (aka ‘Start’) then click on your name ‘My Documents’.
  • Click on the Microsoft button (aka ‘Start’) then click on ‘Computer’ to access from the navigation pane

Please remember that unless you save your files to ‘My Documents’ you will not be able to see them on other networked PCs, and if your hard drive fails your work will be lost.

Taskbar thumbnails – or no thumbnails!

Do the thumbnail images which appear as you hover your mouse over program and system icons on the Taskbar make you feel a bit queasy? Would you rather your open programs, web pages and folders have their own icon on the Taskbar, as in Windows XP? No worries, this feature of Windows 7 is easy to adjust to your personal preference.

  • Right click on the Taskbar (bar at the bottom of your screen)
  • Select ‘Properties’ from the context menu (you should now see the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box)
  • Make sure the Taskbar tab is selected
  • Look for the ‘Taskbar and buttons’ option
  • From the dropdown box alongside select either ‘Combine when taskbar is full’ or, if you really hate loath and detest the thumbnail previews, select ‘Never combine’
  • Click the ‘Apply’ button and notice the change to your Taskbar.

If you have a change of heart, just change the ‘Taskbar and buttons’ setting back again.

Introducing the Sample button


When photocopying a document a large number of times it is often useful to use the Sample button. The Sample button is white, round and located directly above the green Copy button.

Pressing this button will produce one copy of the document, perfect for checking before you produce lots more copies. Also, this sample copy is included in the total number of copies required – which makes it much easier than setting up the photocopier to print 1 copy then changing it for 99 more copies.