Tips and Tricks: Windows Eco System

Use Skype for Business with older Lync Servers (Fix for error: Server version is incompatible)

2015-09-25T16:59:00.001-07:00

Skype for Business 2013 or 2016 will throw this error if you try to use it with older Lync servers.

Cannot sign in because the server version is incompatible with Skype for Business.

Fix: Add DisableServerCheck registry key. Reboot your computer (to reload the HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE registry hive). Your Skype for Business client will work after reboot.

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\16.0\lync
Name: DisableServerCheck
Type: DWORD
Value: 1 (00000001)

You may download this file (right click the downloaded file and select Merge to add to the registry).

Office: “Add to dictionary” option greyed out

2015-09-19T16:37:00.001-07:00

I have helped someone with their Word (& PowerPoint) for not able to add custom words into Dictionary. When the user selected an word and right click, the option for Add to dictionary is greyed out like below picture.

Fix/Solution: Add a Custom Dictionary and select a language in Proofing options.

Click File –> Options
Select Proofing –> Custom Dictionaries
Select the CUSTOM.DIC and a Language (English (United States) in my case) if not selected. If you don’t see your language, add it.

4. That’s all. Click OK’s to close all dialog boxes. Your problem is fixed. You can now add words into custom dictionary.

Excel: Paste multi-line text into a cell

2014-03-24T14:25:00.001-07:00

If you copy and paste multi-line text into a Excel cell, Excel pastes into multi-row or multi-column data. This blog tip is to show how to paste a text into a cell and preserve the tabs and paragraphs into the same cell.

Solution:

1. Copy your multi-line text (Control-C)

2. On Excel, Select the cell and click on Formula bar and paste text. OR Select the cell, press F2 and paste the text.

Hope it helped you. Enjoy

Windows 8.1: Where the heck is Start-up folder?

2014-03-17T22:01:00.001-07:00

Microsoft ditched the start-menu in Windows 8. I get that. BUT we used to get to the start-up folder using start-menu, so we can place few shortcuts to start automatically when we log in. How the hell am I going to find it in the GUI? No where.

I searching around and found where the heck is start-up folder. Its under freaking “C:\ProgramData” folder. Copy the following path and paste it in run box (Windows +R)

C:\ProgramData\Microsoft\Windows\Start Menu\Programs\Startup

Place your software/program shortcuts here.

How to Create a bootable Windows 2012 R2 USB Disk? (applies to Windows 8.1 also)

2014-03-06T21:05:00.001-08:00

Pre-requisites: 7-Zip software (Download it from here: http://7-zip.org/), Windows 2012 (R2) ISO (or Windows 8.1 ISO), 8GB or more USB disk

Open Command Prompt in elevated mode (Run as Administrator)
Type diskpart and press Enter
Type list disk and press Enter. Note the list of existing disks.
Insert the USB Disk
Type list disk and press enter again. Note the new disk showed up which is our USB disk. I assume the new disk is 2 for example purpose.
Type select disk X where X is your USB disk. E.g., select disk 2. Press Enter.
Type clean and press enter.
Type create partition primary and press enter to create primary partition 1.
Type select partition 1 and press enter.
Type active and press enter to make the partition 1 active
Type format fs=ntfs and press enter. This will format the partition 1 as NTFS volume.
Type assign and press enter to assign the USB disk to a drive letter.

Now right click on Windows Server 2012 R2 or Windows 8.1 ISO file, select 7-Zip –> Extract Files…
Select your USB disk to extract the ISO contents to the USB disk

That’s all. Boot the server or computer using the bootable USB disk.

Did it help you? Leave me a Thanks.

Outlook 2013 (&2010): Pictures in Signature–How to?

2014-01-20T22:19:00.001-08:00

In Outlook 2013 (& 2010) if you paste or insert an picture (e.g., Logo) in Signature Editor, it is not resizable. You are stuck and not able to do a correct sized picture in Logo. But No worries. There is an very simple trick that you can make the signature however you want.

Click New E-mail in Outlook 2013 (or 2010)
Type and insert the picture and make the signature that way you want.

Now Copy the whole thing in the compose window.
Click Insert –> Signature –> Signatures..
Click New and type a name, click OK.
Paste the copied signature

That’s it. Enjoy.

Windows 8: All installed Applications in one folder like Mac OS X

2014-01-08T22:28:00.001-08:00

If you liked how OS X have an Applications folder, you can do that in Windows 8.x also. It’s very easy.

1. Open Explorer

2. Go to a location where you want to create Applications Folder (e.g., Documents)

3. Create a new folder and rename the folder to Applications.{4234d49b-0245-4df3-b780-3893943456e1}

4. That’s all. Open the Applications folder, you will see all installed applications on your computer including Metro apps.

Windows 8.1: Easy Shutdown method for touch screen computers

2013-12-29T22:24:00.001-08:00

The straight forward method of shutdown the Windows 8.x tablets is bring the charms bar (slide from right to left on the right side of the screen), click Settings, Power and then Shutdown. (Well, you can press and hold the power button too).

To make things little easier you can place a tile/icon on the start menu for the file "C:\Windows\System32\SlideToShutDown.exe". This executable will bring Windows Phone style shutdown screen (slide down to shutdown).

Step-by-step instructions (if you like).

1. Open Windows Explorer and go to C:\Windows\System32 and find the file SlideToShutdown.exe.

2. Right click on the file and choose Pin to Start. (Tip: You could use Obly Tile to create a new tile with cool looking icon).

Slide to Shutdown screen looks like this:

Windows 8.1: Photo Slide Show on your Lock Screen

2013-11-21T22:11:00.001-08:00

When you lock your Windows 8.1 computer/tablet, it shows the your default logon screen picture. You can enable photo slide show on your lock screen. To do this, make sure you have some photos or picture readily available on your Pictures folders (or anywhere on the computer hard disk).

Open PC Settings (Move your mouse cursor to bottom-right corner, click settings (gear icon) on the charms bar and click Change PC Settings)
Click on PC and Devices and them select Lock Screen

Turn ON the slider for Play a slide show on the lock screen
If you photos are in Pictures folder, you are done. If not, Add folder in the list.
Click Back button and close PC Settings (Alt-F4 would be quick way).

That’s all. Enjoy your slide show on the lock screen.

Windows 8.1/Windows Server 2012 R2: Task Manager Gadget on your desktop

2013-11-20T22:38:00.001-08:00

How about to display CPU,Memory, Disk and Network performance details on your desktop without any third-party software? Windows 8.1 has built-in cool display, gadget like, in Task Manager application.

It looks like this:

With that you can monitor you computer/server performance at a glance. To get this view,

Open Task Manager (right lick on task bar and select Task Manager) on your computer or server
Go to Performance Tab

Double click on one of the graphs on the left side strip

Enjoy the tip. Hope you like it.

Windows 8.1: Go straight to Desktop after logon (if you like)

2013-09-25T22:51:00.001-07:00

If you hate to see the start screen every time you logon to Windows 8.1, you can tune Windows to go to Desktop directly. (P.S. This is Windows 8.1 feature, will not work in Windows 8).

1. Go to desktop and right click on task bar and select Properties.

2. On Taskbar and Navigation properties window, select Navigation tab.

3. Select the check box for Go to the desktop instead of Start when I sign in.

4. Click OK.

That’s all. Enjoy your desktop.

PowerPoint: How to insert an monthly calendar?

2013-09-20T22:03:00.001-07:00

It’s very easy. In essence you find the calendar template, find the the month, copy the monthly calendar and paste it on your presentation. Those who want step-by-step instructions, here they are.

1. Click File –> New on your PowerPoint.

2. Type Calendar in search box. Browse through the results and find the one template you like.

3. Click on the template and click Create.

4. Enter any details/appointments on the dates.

5. Copy the Slide and paste it on your presentation.

Enjoy.

Windows 8: Capture Screens/Take screen shots with no third party tools

2013-08-14T21:59:00.001-07:00

In Windows 8 capture the whole screen is real easy. You simply press Windows Key + Print Screen Key. The captured picture will be stored in your Pictures folder under Screenshots.

If you want to capture a window or part of the screen, you can still use Snipping Tool. (Press Windows key and type Snip, select Snipping Tool from the search results). Snipping Tool is available since Windows 7.

Use Lync 2013 client with Office Communications Server 2007 R2

2013-04-21T21:21:00.001-07:00

As a first step to upgrade to Lync 2013 environment it’s better to push Lync 2013 client to all user’s computers and enable Lync 2013 to see OCS 2007 R2 servers.

It’s as simple as adding an registry key. Disabling Server version check on the registry makes Lync 2013 client to see the OCS 2007 R2 Front-end servers. Add the following registry key and reboot the computer.

Key: HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Policies\Microsoft\Office\15.0\lync
Name: DisableServerCheck
Type: DWORD
Value: 1 (00000001)

You may download this file (right click the downloaded file and select Merge to add to the registry).

Of course there is always a catch. Lync 2013 client with OCS servers works only with basic instant messaging (no audio/video, screen sharing, etc.,). One good thing is if you use Outlook 2013, Lync 2013 client can save IM history in Exchange Mailbox.

Beautiful Mouse Cursors

2013-03-24T22:15:00.001-07:00

I found boring after using Windows default cursors. I get my cursors at Deviantart.com. You may also try some of the beautiful and useful cursors.

Get it here: http://browse.deviantart.com/customization/skins/windows/cursors/

Windows 8: IE 10 Flash Player issues

2013-03-05T21:45:00.002-08:00

I suffered flash player issues in Windows 8, I am guessing after a Microsoft Windows Update. I am not talking about Metro IE. Desktop IE 10 wouldn't play flash content at all. Every web site I visit IE or website complained I don't have Flash installed.

Adobe Flash support/help is good for IE 10. But it didn't help me at all. Blogs and Newsgroups were blabbering about I have to use desktop IE browser for Flash support. I have tried to update Windows, but there was no updates. I tried to uninstall updates from reverse date order. I even downloaded the Windows 8/IE 10 supported Flash Player ActiveX OCX files from Adobe and replaced it with my current files. It didn't help either.

SOLUTION (that worked for me):

1. Open Command Prompt in Administrator Mode (Run As Administrator)
2. Change your current directory to C:\Windows\System32\Macromed\Flash
3. Type REGEDIT32 Flash.ocx

Try IE10 now. Hope it works for you also. Leave me a Thanks note.

Windows 8: Handy Dandy Quick Admin Menu

2013-02-25T21:42:00.001-08:00

If you click Lower-Left corner, you go to Start menu. Right click on the same spot (Lower-Left) you will get special admin menu. Look it has Run, Control Panel, System, etc.,

Windows Mouse Scroll Tricks

2012-11-11T22:42:00.001-08:00

Most mice have a scroll wheel. Sure, it takes you up and down on a page, but in combination with other keys, it can do much more:

Scroll sideways: In many versions of Excel, holding down the shift key while scrolling will take you sideways. That's super helpful in a big spreadsheet.
Scroll wheel as back button: In most web browsers, if you hold the shift key while using the scroll wheel, it works like the back button: You can fly through all the sites you've recently visited. (Some mice have side buttons that work like back and forward buttons in your browser, too.)
Scroll to zoom: Holding ctrl and scrolling lets you zoom in or out of the page you're viewing. Ctrl-scroll up zooms you in; ctrl-scroll down zooms you back out. On a Mac, this trick will zoom in and out your whole screen, not just the document you're in.

Windows 7/8: Hold the sleep or screen saver–cheat the Windows settings

2012-11-11T22:41:00.001-08:00

Say you are talking to someone, your computer goes to sleep while you are not on the computer. You hate that you have to log in again. It happens many times of the day. You may not want to change the sleep settings (or locked out evil IT department Group Policy Objects).

Here is a little tip to cheat the system. Click the clock on the task bar to bring the analog clock and calendar like below. Leave the mouse on top of the analog clock. Your screen won’t lock or go to sleep. The Analog clock second hand movement is tracked by your mouse, so the computer thinks you are busy doing something.

Outlook 2010/2013: Office document attachments aren’t opening

2012-11-04T22:35:00.001-08:00

When I try open the attached office document files, I get Word/Excel/Powerpoint experienced an error trying to open the file like the following popup.

Don’t search any Outlook settings. This is not the Outlook issue. It is the respective program (Word or Excel or Powerpoint) refused to open the document from unsafe origins.

The solution is to fix the corresponding program. You may end up fixing all office programs. To fix the issue follow the instructions.

Open Word (or Excel or Powerpoint).
Click File tab and select Options.
Click Trust Center and click on Trust Center Settings… button.

Click to select Protected View

Uncheck Enable Protected View for Outlook attachments. You may choose to uncheck all the options here, I would left other checked.

Now try open the attachment from Outlook. It will open normally. Enjoy!

Windows 7: How reliable is your computer?

2012-08-09T23:00:00.001-07:00

Windows 7 collects all the crashes, driver issues and other problems. It also sends those information to Microsoft servers, if you are OK with it. You can check reliability of your computer using Reliability Monitor program.

To to get this report, Click Windows button and type Reliability. Select View Reliability History from the search results and check it out.

PNotes: Free Wonderful Sticky Notes Program

2012-08-07T22:30:00.001-07:00

What’s great about PNotes? It’s portable. You can format the text anyway you want. You can have Pictures. You can have bullet points, numbered lists. You can even password protect the notes. It has some pretty good skins at developer’s website.

Here is how I use it. I store the portal Pnotes program at my DropBox cloud storage along with the notes I take and keep. It’s available all of my computers and mobile devices. Wherever I go my Notes follows me.

Download it HERE: http://pnotes.sourceforge.net

Windows 7: Automatically expand Navigation tree to the current folder

2012-03-04T22:48:00.001-08:00

Once I learned this option exists, it is a breeze to use Explorer on multi-level sub trees. It’s better then changing sub folder levels in address bar. Once you enable this setting, this is you see it.

If you are interested, follow the steps to enable it.

On you Explorer window, click Organize and select Folder and Search options
Check the box for the Navigation pane option Automatically expand to current folder
Click OK to close.

Huge Pointer Stick to replace the mouse pointer–Great for presentations

2011-12-09T09:22:00.001-08:00

PointerStick is a portable tool that presents on the Windows Desktop a virtual pointer stick, for example for Presentations to highlight the current mouse position and the emphasis on presenting will be better.
The use of the virtual pointer stick is ideal for projectors (Beamer) and larger LED/LCD screens.
# Features:
# Very Small Program
# Low CPU usage
# Adjustable size of Pointer Stick
# Several Pointing-Stick textures (bitmaps)
# Optional alpha transparency
# Optional deactivation by mouse or keyboard input
# Optional translation feature
# Portable
# Multilingual

Download it here: http://www.softwareok.com/?seite=Freeware/PointerStick

Outlook: Recover deleted items from any folder (not just Deleted Items folder)

2011-08-18T23:24:00.001-07:00

Outlook provides a way to recover items after you have permanently deleted them, including after emptying the Deleted Items folder. Your Exchange server administrator specifies the retention time for permanently deleted items on the Exchange server. After this time has elapsed, you cannot recover the deleted items.

By default, to use the Recover Deleted Items command on the Tools menu, you must be viewing the Deleted Items folder. By modifying the registry, this command is available regardless of which Outlook folder that you are viewing. You can view and recover deleted items, including those items that were permanently deleted by using SHIFT+DELETE, for the folder that you are viewing.

To enable this feature follow the steps below.

Exit Outlook.
Open the Windows registry editor.
Browse to My Computer\HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Exchange\Client\Options.
On the Edit menu, point to New, and then click DWORD Value.
Type the name DumpsterAlwaysOn.

Note Do not type any spaces in the name.

Set the DWORD value to 1.
Restart Outlook.

The Tools menu now has the Recover Deleted Items command for every Outlook folder.

Source: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/outlook-help/recover-deleted-items-from-any-folder-HA001116528.aspx