Web User - UK (2019-06-12)

Readers’ Tips

Send yourtips [email protected]– win aWeb User Back Issues disc! 12 - 25 June 2019^69

Drives’, then right-click the hard drive
and chooseFormat. In the next box,
leave all the options as they are but tick
the QuickFormat box, then clickStart.
Next,you needto runrecovery software

• I usedRecuva (www.ccleaner.com/
  recuva) because it has a freeversion.The
  software should be ableto recover the
  data saved to the drive – but only ifyou
  ticked that QuickFormat box earlier.
  Geoff Mills, via email

BROWSERS

Pinwebsites to the desktop
I usedto be ableto drag awebsite icon
from Internet Explorer and drop it on the
desktop to create a shortcutto the site.
Edge doesn’t have this option, but there
are acouple ofworkarounds. Goto the
menu and select ‘Moretools’, then ‘Pin
this pageto Start’.This adds a tileto the
Start menu that instantly opens the
website inEdge. Aneven better solution
is to switchto a different browser–
Chrome letsyou drag the padlock icon
situated to the left of a URL and drop it
on the desktop to create a shortcut.
Mike Balding, via email

VOICE ASSISTANTS

Use Alexa hands-free ona PC
I wasn’tkeento own an AmazonEcho,
particularly because of the security and
privacyworries, but Ireceived onefor
mybirthday and now I find Alexa
absolutely invaluable and use it daily.
I even downloaded the Alexa app on
Windows10, but itwasn’tvery good
because thevoicecontrols onlyworked
oncertaincomputers. Finally, the app
(bit.ly/alexa477) hasreceived an update
that lets it listen outfor the‘Alexa’ wake
word on any PC, including mine.
Download the app from the Microsoft

Store, sign intoyour Amazon account

and let Alexa access your computer’s

microphone.Congratulations,you’ve just

turnedyour PC into a super-powerful

smart speaker!

Jules Macdonald, via email

ANDROID

Getmore themes for Gboard

Android has somecolourful themesfor

its built-inkeyboard and ifyou have

a rooted device, you can geteven more

using the Magisk module GboardThemes

(bit.ly/gboard477). Open Magisk (bit.ly/

magisk477), searchgboard themes

and tap the download button.After

restartingyour device, tap Gboard’s

paint palette iconto view theme settings.

Lookfor an option in the menu called

Systemto see the new themes in Gboard

Themes. Find the oneyou like and apply

it asyou normallywould. Easy!

Mike Gant, via email

iOS

Hidefolder names oniPhone

and iPad

I lo ve usingfolders onmyiPhone, placing

all myTV appstogether or tidyingaway

mysocial-media apps, but thefolder

names make the screenfeel very busy.

You can create folders in the dock that

don’t have names, butfor all others,

the method is trickier.

First, open a blanktext message or

email and type[ ](note the space

between the brackets). Next, press and

hold the space between the brackets and

selectto copyit. Now, go backto your

folders on the Home screen and press

and hold one until theystartto shake–

usually,you do thisto move icons around

the screen. Open thefolderyou want to

rename, use the Xto clear its current

name and double-tap in the space. Select

Paste when the option appears and the

iPhone will add the spaceyou copied

earlier into the field.Ta p Done andyou

now have a folder with no name.This

method should alsowork on the iPad,

though I haven’t tried ityet.

Andy Lawler, via email

IMAGE EDITING

Round your photos’ corners

Rounding thecorners ofyour photos

makes themstand out from the crowd

and GIMP (www.gimp.org) is a greattool

for this.Loadyour photo and select

Filters, Décor,

RoundCorners. In

the settings window

that appears, set

the edgeradius

(roundness of

corners), add

a shadow, use blur

and more. It’s

a great effectfor

your images.

Colin Shepherd,

via email

Use GIMP to add

eye-catching

effects to photos

BLUNDER OF THE FORTNIGHT

Have you managedto fix a PC-related disaster?

If so, please sendyour [email protected]

Closing the lid ofyour laptop will send

it into Sleep mode but because I often

have mineconnectedto a larger screen

via a mini DisplayPort cable, I often

leave mylaptop open and runningto

avoid this. However, in these eco-aware

days, that’s not ideal.

After exploring someWindows 10

settings(one ofmy favourite thingsto

do), Ifound a setting in theControl

Panel that let me close the lid without

sending the laptopto sleep.

Right-click the battery icon in the

SystemTray and selectPower Options.

On the right, click ‘Choose what

closing the lid does’ andyou can set it

Close your laptop and still keep it on

HARDWARE

to send the laptopto Sleep, Hibernate,

Shutdown or, inmycase, ‘Do nothing’.

Joseph Linde, via email

Change this power setting to keep your

laptop awake

You don’t have to delete all your data
when reformatting a hard drive

Transform your PC into an Amazon Echo

Livenup your phone with more than 100

Gboard themes