Click on Start to show the Start Menu.
• Above the line are shortcuts pined to the Start Menu. They will stay there.
• Below the line are frequently used shortcuts. They come and go as you use the programs.
• Note the annoying message “Some Items cannot be shown”, telling you there is not enough room to display the items.

Here is how you fix that.

Make room for more shortcuts on the Start Menu:
• Right click on “Start”, click on “Properties”, and under “Start Menu” click on “Customize...”
• Click on “General” and under “Select an icon size for programs” choose “Small icons”.
• Click “OK”, “Apply” and “OK”.

With 18 you can have many of your program shortcuts here instead of cluttering up your desktop.

Move some frequently used shortcuts to the permanent part of the Start Menu.
• Drag them from the shortcuts below the line and drop them above the line.
• Put the pointer on “All Programs” and then on a program you want pinned to the Start Menu.
• Right click on it and choose “Pin to Start Menu” or drag and drop it to the Start Menu.

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Add System Restore to the Start Menu.
• Place the pointer over “Programs”, then “Accessories”, “System Tools”, then on “System Restore”.
• Right click “System Restore” and click on “Pin to Start Menu”.

Now when you click on System Restore you can force a Restore Point. We talked about forcing Restore Points before installing a program at the last meeting. Fill up the Start Menu with shortcuts you want to be there permanently.

Now you can get rid of the annoying message “Some Items cannot be shown....”
• Right click on “Start”, click on “Properties”, and under “Start Menu” click on “Customize...”
• Click on “General” and under “Number of programs on Start Menu” click the down arrow to reduce it to zero. Click “OK”, “Apply” and “OK”. Now the Start Menu will not get anymore frequently used programs.

To remove or unpin a shortcut.
• Right click on it and choose “Remove from This List”.

Change how the Control Panel looks from the Start Menu.
• First click on Start, then Control Panel.
• It opens in a separate window.
• You can change this to open as a submenu.
• Right click on Start, click on “Properties”, and under “Start Menu” click on “Customize...”
• Click on Advanced.
• “Under Start menu items:” scroll down to “Control Panel”, choose “Display as a menu”.
• Now click “OK”, “Apply” and “OK”.

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Change All Programs to one long List
• One final tip. Click on “Start”, then place the pointer over “All Programs”.
• See how the list of shortcuts repeats to the right.
• If you have many shortcuts the lists will go off the right side of your screen and it will be difficult to see them.
• To fix this right click on “Start”, click on “Properties”, under “Start Menu” click on “Customize...”
• click on “Advanced”.
• Under “Start menu items:” scroll down to “Scroll Programs” and click in the box beside it.
• Now click “OK”, “Apply” and “OK”.
• If the list exceeds the screen height, the items will be displayed in a single scrollable list.
• Now click “Start” and place your pointer over “All Programs”.
• All Programs is now one long list, no moving off to the side.

Spam Control:

I have tried to ensure all members get the club emails. Meeting Notifications and Special items of interest. The Internet Service Providers, ISPs, have taken action on spam. They have employed aggressive spam removal scanners that remove spam. Now instead of getting too much spam we are not getting emails we want. Last meeting a member mentioned that Xplornet has spam on web-based email accounts. I was missing some emails and I found them in my web-based email account that I never used.

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There are similar ways that your ISP is removing what they call spam from your email. It may not be spam to you. You should find out how your ISP handles it. I will show you how Xplornet handles it.

Log in to your Webmail from the Xplornet website.
• Click on Spam.
• See if it is spam.
• If it is delete it.
• If it is not spam click on “Safe Sender”.
  • Under “Settings”, click on “Mail”, and “Sender List”.
  • In “Block Sender List” you can enter sender’s email addresses you do not want email from.
  • In “Safe Sender” list you can enter senders you want to get email from. You can enter an ISP also.
  • I added *xplornet.com and most of the popular ISPs.
• For Sympatico and other ISPs please check your spam or junk mail folder frequently for emails you want and mark them “Not spam”.