PC Doctor June 3, 2010

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Dear PC Doctor:

            I can’t understand why when I look at a web page and increase the size of the text and then go to print it, it doesn’t print larger.  It is still too small.  I end up having to use a magnifying glass to read some of the print.  Is there any way to make it bigger while printing?

            Maureen

Dear Maureen:

            One thing to understand first is that when you enlarge the text on your screen that you are enlarging the display not the actual settings for printing.  So that explains the problem you are having.

            To change the print settings, open up Internet Explorer and find something you would normally print.  From the upper menu, select File and then choose Print Preview.  Look at the options on the menu bar.  The one to the far right should say ‘Shrink to Fit’ with a down arrow next to it.  When you click on the down arrow, you will see a list of percentages from 30% up to 200% and ending with Custom.

            Play with these numbers by choosing one and noticing how that changes the print on the page.  You won’t have to actually print them to see it; it should show in the display.   Once you find what you like, just click the printer icon on the far left.  It should print properly with the larger text.  Just remember that this setting will not hold until the next time you print so you will have to change it whenever you find you need larger printed text.

            PC Doctor

Dear PC Doctor:

            How can I tell how much space is available on my hard drive?  I want to get some new programs but I have a feeling I don’t have enough room.  Thanks for your help!

            Joe

Dear Joe:

            Go to the Start button or Orb and select My Computer.   You may also have an icon on your desktop for My Computer but not always.  In the window that opens find your C drive icon and right click on it.  From the drop down menu choose Properties.  Another window will open that will show you all about your hard drive with purple being the free space on the pie chart.  Don’t forget that you can hit the Disk Cleanup button while you are there to free up more space.

            PC Doctor

Tip of the day: Ever notice that when you install a new program and then try to find it on your Start menu, you can’t find it?  If that’s the case then you probably don’t have the sorting feature turned on.  To have your Start menu appear in alphabetical order, just click on Start, then All Programs and point to any item on the menu.  Right click and from the drop down menu, click on Sort By Name.  From now on every time you add new software, it should appear in the correct alphabetical order.

Until next time… happy computing!