Print Folder Contents

Q.  In a recent issue of your excellent newsletter you explained how to determine the number of files within a folder. I would like to take that one step further and ask if there is any way to print the contents of a folder so I can obtain a list of file names, sizes, and dates modified?

A.  Yes, you can print a list of the files and folders contained in any Windows folder. The easiest method is to use a third-party program such as PrintFolder (http://tinyurl.com/5kzrrm). PrintFolder, which is free, can print files, subfolders or both, plus several other user-defined options. PrintFolder isn’t fancy-shmancy, but it gets the job done.

It’s a bit more convoluted, but you can also accomplish this within Windows by following these steps: Using My Computer or Windows Explorer, open the folder you want to print, then press ALT + PRINT SCREEN to place an image of the active window on the Windows clipboard.

Click Start > Programs > Accessories > Paint. On the Edit menu, click Paste to insert the active-window image from the clipboard into Paint. On the File menu, click Print.

NOTE: If there are more files or folders than can be displayed in the My Computer or Windows Explorer window, you’ll have to repeatedly scroll down, capture another screen, paste it into Paint, print it, then repeat as often as necessary to include all files and folders.

Q.  I lost the icons that used to appear at the bottom left-hand corner of my screen. How can I get them back, Mr. M?

A. The icons you’re referring to reside on what’s known as the Quick Launch bar which appears to the right of the Start button. The Quick Launch bar contains shortcut icons to frequently used programs of your choosing.

To display the Quick Launch bar, right-click a blank area on the Taskbar. If there is a check mark in front of “Lock the Taskbar,” click it once to remove it. Next, right-click a blank spot on the Taskbar again, point to Toolbars and click Quick Launch. This will return the Quick Launch toolbar to your Taskbar.

You can easily add icons to the Quick Launch bar by dragging them from your Desktop or the Start menu. Doing so will not affect the icons on your Desktop or Start menu. If you experience any difficulty doing this, just repeat my personal PC mantra, “Icon if I think icon.” (It’s not nice to groan at the columnist.)

Mr. Modem’s Sites of the Week:
Chambers’ Book of Days
This famous tome, first published in 1869, has been scanned and its pages converted into searchable text. The Book of Days, is filled with fascinating facts, anecdotes, curiosities, biographies and “Oddities of Human Life and Character.” I particularly enjoy the Today’s Page link. For example, as I write this, today is the Feast Day for St. Aemilianus. It comes around so quickly, doesn’t it? 
http://tinyurl.com/59jxly

Stats Behind the News
When it comes to checking out the facts and figures behind the news, Stats is the place to turn. Visitors can browse a long list of news stories, then read about the misleading data that each news organization used to support them. Hosted by George Mason University, Stats fixes its gaze on areas such as public health, polls and surveys, crime and defense, education and gender issues
http://stats.org

For plain-English answers to your questions by email, plus useful PC tips, subscribe to Mr. Modem’s Weekly Newsletter. For information, visit www.MrModem.com.

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