OReilly windows XP pro the missing manual jan 2003 ISBN 059600348x

13.3ControllingPrintouts
BetweenthemomentwhenyouclickOKinthePrintdialogbox
andthearrivalofthefirstpageintheprinter'stray,there'sa
delay.Whenprintingacomplexdocumentwithlotsofgraphics,
thedelaycanbeconsiderable.
Fortunately,thewaitingdoesn'tnecessarilymakeyouless
productive,sinceyoucanreturntoworkonyourPC,oreven
quittheapplicationandgowatchTV.Aninvisibleprogram
calledtheprintspoolersupervisesthisbackgroundprinting
process.Thespoolercollectsthedocumentthat'sbeingsentto
theprinter,alongwithallthecodestheprinterexpectsto
receive,andthensendsthisinformation,littlebylittle,tothe
printer.

NOTE
Thespoolerprogramcreateshugetemporaryprinterfiles,soa
harddrivethat'snearlyfullcanwreakhavocwithbackground
printing.

Toseethelistofdocumentswaitingtobeprintedtheonesthat
havebeenstoredbythespooleropenthePrintersandFaxes
window,andthendouble-clickyourprinter'sicontoopenits
window.

NOTE
Whiletheprinterisprinting,aprintericonappearsinthe
notificationarea.Asashortcuttoopeningtheprinter'swindow,
justdouble-clickthaticon.


Theprinter'swindowliststhedocumentscurrentlyprintingand

waiting;thislistiscalledtheprintqueue(orjustthequeue),as
showninFigure13-8.(Documentsinthelistprintintop-tobottomorder.)
Youcanmanipulatedocumentsinaprintqueueinanyofthe
followingwaysduringprinting:
Putoneonhold.Topauseadocument(putitonhold),
right-clickitsnameandchoosePausefromtheshortcut
menu.Whenyou'rereadytoletthepauseddocument
continuetoprint,right-clickitslistingandreselectPauseto
turnoffthecheckmark.
Putthemallonhold.Topausetheprinter,choosePrinter
PausePrintingfromtheprinterwindowmenubar.You
mightdothiswhen,forexample,youneedtochangethe
paperintheprinter'stray.(ChoosePrinter PausePrinting
againwhenyouwanttheprintingtopickupfromwhereit
leftoff.)

NOTE
Youcanalsopausetheprinterbyright-clickingitsiconin
thePrintersandFaxeswindowandchoosingPausePrinting
fromtheshortcutmenu.(Toundothisprocedure,right-click
theiconandchooseResumePrinting.)

Addanotherone.Asnotedearlier,youcandragany
documenticondirectlyfromitsdiskorfolderwindowinto
theprinterqueue.Itsnamejoinsthelistofprintouts-inwaiting.
Cancelone.Tocancelaprintout,clickitsnameandthen


presstheDeletekeyor,alternatively,right-clickitsname
andchooseCancelfromtheshortcutmenu.Eitherway,if

youclickYesintheconfirmationbox,thedocument
disappearsfromthequeue;nowit'llneverprintout.
Cancelallofthem.Tocanceltheprintingofallthe
documentsinthequeue,choosePrinter CancelAll
Documents.(Alternatively,right-clicktheprintericonitself
inthePrintersandFaxeswindowandchooseCancelAll
Documentsfromtheshortcutmenu,asshowninFigure134.)

NOTE
Apageorsomaystillprintafteryou'vepausedorcanceled
aprintout.Theexplanation:Yourprinterhasitsown
memory(thebuffer),whichstorestheprintoutasit'ssent
fromyourPC.Ifyoupauseorcancelprinting,you'reonly
stoppingthespoolerfromsendingmoredatatotheprinter.

Rearrangethem.Ifyou'reusedto,say,WindowsMe,it
maytakeyouamomentoranafternoontofigureoutwhy
youcan'tsimplydragdocumentsupordowninthelistof
waitingprintoutstorearrangetheirprintingorder.In
WindowsXP,theprocedureisslightlymoreinvolved.
Startbyright-clickingthenameofoneoftheprintouts-inwaiting;fromtheshortcutmenu,chooseProperties.Onthe
Generaltab,dragthePrioritysliderleftorright(documents
withhigherprioritiesprintfirst).


13.2Printing
Fortunately,thesetupdescribedsofarinthischapterisaonetime-onlytask.Onceit'sover,printingislittlemorethanaoneclickoperation.

13.2.1PrintingfromApplications
Afteryou'vecreatedadocumentyouwanttoseeonpaper,

chooseFile Print(orpressCtrl+P).ThePrintdialogbox
appears,asshowninFigure13-5.
Thisbox,too,changesdependingontheprogramyou're
usingthePrintdialogboxinMicrosoftWordlooksalotmore
intimidatingthantheWordPadversionbutherearethebasics:
SelectPrinter.IfyourPCisconnectedtoseveralprinters,
orifyou'vecreatedseveraldifferentlyconfigurediconsfor
thesameprinter,choosetheoneyouwantfromthisdropdownlistorscrollingpanelofprintericons.
Preferences/Properties.Clickingthisbuttonopensa
versionoftheprinter'sPropertiesdialogbox,asshownin
Figure13-6.

Figure13-6.WhenyouchoosePropertiesfrom
thePrintdialogbox,youcanspecifythepaper
sizeyou'reusing,whetheryouwanttoprint
sidewaysonthepage("Landscape"
orientation),whatkindofphotopaperyou're
using,andsoon.Here,you'remakingchanges
onlyforaparticularprintout;you'renot


changinganysettingsfortheprinteritself.
(Thespecificfeaturesofthisdialogbox
dependontheprogramyou'reusing.)

Pagerange.Thesecontrolsspecifywhichpagesofthe
documentyouwanttoprint.Ifyouwanttoprintonlysome
ofthepages,clickthePagesoptionandtypeinthepage
numbersyouwant(withahyphen,like3-6toprintpages3
through6).

NOTE
Youcanalsotypeinindividualpagenumberswithcommas,
like2,4,9toprintonlythosethreepagesorevenadd


hyphenstothemix,likethis:1-3,5-6,13-18.

ClickCurrentPagetoprintonlythepagethatcontainsthe
blinkinginsertionpoint.ClickSelectiontoprintonlythetext
youselected(highlighted)beforeopeningthePrintdialog
box.(Ifthisoptionbuttonisdimmed,it'sbecauseyou
didn'thighlightanytextorbecauseyou'reusingaprogram
thatdoesn'tofferthisfeature.)
Numberofcopies.Toprintoutseveralcopiesofthesame
thing,usethisboxtospecifytheexactamount.You'llget
severalcopiesofpage1,thenseveralcopiesofpage2,and
soonunlessyoualsoturnontheCollatecheckbox,which
producescompletesetsofpages,inorder.
Print.ThePrintdrop-downlistinthelower-leftsectionof
thedialogboxoffersthreeoptions:"Allpagesinrange,"
"Oddpages,"and"Evenpages."
UsetheOddandEvenpagesoptionswhenyouhaveto
printonbothsidesofthepaper,butyourprinterhasno
specialfeatureforthispurpose.You'llhavetoprintallthe
oddpages,turnthestackofprintoutsover,andrunthe
pagesthroughtheprinteragaintoprintevenpagesides.
Application-specificoptions.Theparticularprogram
you'reusingmayaddafewextraoptionsofitsowntothis
dialogbox.Figure13-7showsafewexamplesfrom

InternetExplorer'sPrintdialogbox.

Figure13-7.TheWebpageabouttobeprinted
usesframes(individual,independent,
rectangularsections).ThePrintdialogboxin
InternetExplorerrecognizesframes,andlets


youspecifyexactlywhichframeorframesyou
wanttoprint.Ifthepagecontainslinksto
otherWebpages(andthesedays,whatWeb
pagedoesn't?),youcanprintthoseWeb
pages,too,orjustprintatableofthelinks(a
listoftheURLaddresses).

Whenyou'vefinishedmakingchangestotheprintjob,clickOK
orPrint,orpressEnter.Thankstothemiracleofbackground
printing,youdon'thavetowaitforthedocumenttoemerge
fromtheprinterbeforereturningtoworkonyourPC.Infact,
youcanevenexittheapplicationwhiletheprintoutisstillunder
way,generallyspeaking.

NOTE
You'llprobablyneverwanttoturnoffbackgroundprinting.But


ifyoumustforsometechnicalreason,you'llfindtheon/off
switchintheAdvancedPropertiesdialogboxforyourprinter
(seeFigure13-10forinstructionsongettingthere).Select
"Printdirectlytotheprinter"toturnoffbackgroundprinting.

Figure13-10.Right-clickyourprinter'siconinthe
PrintersandFaxeswindow.Fromtheshortcut
menu,chooseProperties,thenclicktheAdvanced
tab,shownhere.Select"Availablefrom,"anduse
thetimesettingcontrolstospecifywhenyour
underlingsareallowedtousethisprinterfrom
acrossthenetwork.ClickingOKrendersthe
printerinoperableduringoff-hours.


POWERUSERS'CLINIC
PrintingfromaDOSProgram
Windowsprogramsdon'tneedanyspecialsetupstepstoprint.Butifyouwant
toprintfromaDOSapplication,youmustfirsttellitwhichportyourprinteris
connectedto.
Todoso,findtheprintingoptionsmenu.Thereyou'llbeabletotellthesoftware
thenameoftheporttowhichyourprinterisconnected(usuallyLPT1).
Unfortunately,thecommandsrequiredtoprintareuniquetoeachDOSprogram;
knowingthemisuptoyou.

13.2.2PrintingfromtheDesktop
Youdon'tnecessarilyhavetoprintadocumentwhileit'sopenin
frontofyou.Youcan,ifyouwish,printitdirectlyfromthe
desktopviaanopendiskorfolderwindow,orWindowsExplorer,
forexampleinanyofthreeways:
Right-clickthedocumenticon,andthenchoosePrintfrom
theshortcutmenu.Windowslaunchestheprogramthat
createditWordorExcel,forexample.ThePrintdialogbox
appears,sothatyoucanspecifyhowmanycopiesyouwant

andwhichpagesyouwantprinted.WhenyouclickPrint,
yourprinterspringsintoaction,andthentheprogramquits
automatically(ifitwasn'talreadyopen).
Ifyou'veopenedthePrintersandFaxeswindow,youcan
dragadocument'sicondirectlyontoaprintericon.
Ifyou'veopenedtheprinter'sownprintqueuewindow


(Figure13-8)bydouble-clickingthePrintersiconinyour
PrintersandFaxeswindow,youcandraganydocumenticon
directlyintothelistofwaitingprintouts.Itsnamejoinsthe
othersonthelist.

Figure13-8.Thefirstdocument,called
"MicrosoftWordVoicephones.doc,"hasbegun
printing;thesecondone,you'veputonhold.
Severalotherdocumentsarewaiting.Byrightclickingdocumentsinthislist,youcanpause
orcancelanydocumentinthequeueorallof
thematonce.

TheselasttwomethodsbypassthePrintdialogbox,and
thereforegiveyounowaytospecifywhichpagesyouwantto
print,norhowmanycopies.Youjustgetonecopyoftheentire
document.

13.2.3PrintingfromtheInternet
IfyouuseInternetExplorertobrowsetheWeb(seeChapter
11),thePrintdialogboxoffersatabcalledOptions,which
containsafewspecialfeaturesforprintingWebpages.Figure

13-7illustratesafewofthem.


13.1InstallingaPrinter
Aprinterisdesignedtofollowcomputerinstructionscalled
printercodesfromyourPC.Thesecodestelltheprinterwhat
fontstouse,howtosetmargins,whichpapertraytouse,and
soon.
Butthecodesaren'tidenticalforeveryprinter.Therefore,every
printerrequiresapieceofsoftwaretheprinterdriverthattells
theprinterhowtointerpretwhatit"hears"fromyourcomputer.
WindowsXPcomeswithhundredsofprinterdriversbuiltright
in;yourprinteralsocamewithasetofdriversonaCDor
floppy.Youcanoftenfindmorerecentdriversoftwareforyour
printeronthemanufacturer'sWebsite,suchas
or,orfroma
centraldriverrepositorylike.

13.1.1ExistingPrinters
DidyouupgradeyourPCtoWindowsXPfromanearlier
versiononethatworkedfinewithyourprinter?Inthatcase,
WindowsXPautomaticallynoticesandinheritsyourexisting
settings.Ifit'safairlyrecentprinterwithafairlyrecentdriver,
it'llprobablyworkfinewithWindowsXP.
Butiftheprinterisespeciallyelderly,theprintersoftwaremay
beincompatiblewithWindowsXP.Inthatcase,yourfirst
activityafterdinnershouldbetosearchtheprintercompany's
Websiteforanupdatedversion,orcheckMicrosoft'smaster
WindowsXPcompatibilitylistat />Ifyoujustboughtanewcomputeroranewprinter,however,

you'llhavetohookitupyourselfandinstallitssoftware.In


general,there'snotmuchtoit.

NOTE
OnlypeoplewithAdministratoraccountscaninstallanew
printertoaWindowsXPmachine(seeChapter16).

13.1.2USBPrinters
Ifyou'relikemostpeopleathomethesedays,youuseaninkjet
printerthatconnectstoyourPC'sUSB(UniversalSerialBus)
port.Asatechnology,USBhaslotsofadvantages:USBgadgets
areeasytoconnectanddisconnect,areveryfast,conserve
space,canbepluggedandunpluggedwhilethePCisrunning,
andsoon.
JusttheactofconnectingaUSBprintertoyourPC,for
example,inspiresWindowsXPtodigintoitsownbagof
includeddrivermodulestoinstallthecorrectone(Figure13-1).
SeeChapter14formoreonthisprocess.

Figure13-1.Yougotlucky.Windowsrecognizes
yourprinter,hastheappropriatedriver,andhas
putthesoftwareintoplace.Lettheprinting
begin.


13.1.3NetworkPrinters
Ifyouworkinanofficewherenumerouspeopleonthenetwork
shareasinglelaserprinter,theprinterusuallyisn'tconnected

directlytoyourcomputer.Instead,it'selsewhereonthe
network;theEthernetcablecomingoutofyourPCconnects
youtoitindirectly.
Ingeneral,there'sverylittleinvolvedinensuringthatyourPC
"sees"thisprinter.ItsiconsimplyshowsupintheStart
ControlPanel PrintersandFaxesfolder.(Ifyoudon'tseeit,
runtheAddPrinterWizarddescribedinthefollowingsection.
Onitssecondscreen,you'llbeofferedthechancetolookfor"A
networkprinter,orprinterattachedtoanothercomputer."
That'stheoneyouwant.)

13.1.4Parallel,Serial,andInfraredPrinters
AlthoughUSBprintersaretheworld'smostpopulartypetoday,
therewas,believeitornot,atimebeforeUSB.Inthosedays,
mosthomeprintersfellintooneofthesecategories:
Parallel.BeforeUSBchangedtheworld,mostprinters
connectedtoPCsusingaprintercableorparallelcable.The
cableconnectstoyourPC'sparallelport,whichMicrosoft's
helpscreenscalltheLPT1porta25-pin,D-shapedjack.(On
manyPCs,thisconnectorismarkedwithaprintericonon
thebackpanel.)
Serial.Otherolderprintersuseacableconnectedtooneof
yourcomputer'sserial(orCOM)ports,theconnectorsthat
oftenaccommodateanexternalmodem.Theprimary
advantageofaserialconnectionistheextendedcable
length:Parallelcablesmustbenomorethanninefeetlong,


whileserialcablesupto50feetlongworkfine.

NOTE
Toprotectitsinnards,turnoffthePCbeforeconnectingor
disconnectingaparallelorserialcable.

Infrared.CertainprintersfromHP,Canon,Citizen,and
othercompaniesprintusinginfraredtechnologythatis,
there'snocableatall.Instead,ifyourPChasaninfrared
lens(asmanylaptopsdo),itcancommunicatewiththe
printer'ssimilarlenswirelessly,aslongastheprinterand
PCarewithinsightof,andrelativelycloseto,eachother.
Ifthetechnologygodsaresmiling,youcanjustconnectthe
printer,turnonyourWindowsXPmachine,anddelightinthe
"Foundnewhardware"messagethatappearsonyourtaskbar.
You'rereadytoprint.
ButifWindowsdoesn't"knowabout"theprintermodelyou've
hookedup,itcan'tinstallitsdriversautomatically.Inthatcase,
theAddPrinterWizardappears(Figure13-2)oryoucanalways
openit.(ChooseStart ControlPanel PrintersandFaxes;
clicktheAddPrinterlink.)ClickNexttowalkthroughthe
questionsuntilyou'vecorrectlyidentifiedyourprinterand
installedtheappropriatesoftware.

Figure13-2.Top:Asthenoteexplains,usethe
AddPrinterWizardonlyifyourprinterdoesn't
connecttoyourUSBorFireWire(IEEE1394)
port.Bottom:Inthiswindow,trythe
"AutomaticallydetectandinstallmyPlugand
Playprinter"optionfirst,asshownhere.If
Windowscan'tautomaticallydetectthebrand

andmodeloftheprinteryou'veattached,return
tothisscreenandturnoffthisoption.You'llwind
upinthedialogboxshowninthenext
illustration.

Herearetheguidelinesforusingthenextscreen:
Trythe"AutomaticallydetectandinstallmyPlugandPlay
printer"checkboxfirst(seeFigure13-2atbottom).Ifit
doesn'tsucceedinlocatingyourprinterandinstallingthe
software,runthewizardagain,thistimeturningthatoption
off.


Ifthe"Automaticallydetect"optiondidn'twork,you'llbe
askedtospecifywhichPCportyourprinter'sconnectedto.
You'llthenbeaskedtoindicate,fromagiganticscrollinglist
ofeveryprinterMicrosofthaseverheardof,yourexact
brandandmodel(Figure13-3).

Figure13-3.Theleftpanelistseveryprinter
manufacturerMicrosofthaseverheardof.
Onceyou'veselectedyourprinter's
manufacturer,alistofalltheprintermodels
fromthatmanufacturer(thatWindowsXP
knowsabout)appearsintherightpane.Click
theHaveDiskbuttonifyourprinter'sdriver
softwareisonadisksuppliedbythe
manufacturer.

Atthispoint,youmustleadWindowsbythenosetothe


printer'sdriversoftware.OntheAddPrinterWizardscreen,
selectyourprinterfromthelistofprinters.IfWindows
doesn'tlistyourprinterthere,orifitsmanufacturer
suppliedtheWindowsXPdriveronadisk,clicktheHave
Diskbutton,andthennavigatetotheCD,floppydisk,or
downloadedInternetinstallationfilethatcontainsthedriver.
Eitherway,subsequentwizardscreenswillinviteyoutotypea
shortnameforyourprinter,inordertomakeitavailableto
othercomputersonthenetwork(yes,Windowscanevenshare,
forexample,aUSBinkjet,eventhoughit'snottechnicallya
networkprinter),toprintatestpage,andsoon.(Ifthetest
pagedoesn'tprintoutcorrectly,WindowsXPlaunchesits
printertroubleshooteraspecializedwizardthatoffersyouone
troubleshootingsuggestionafteranotheruntileitheryouor
Windowsquitsinfrustration.)

13.1.5ThePrinterIcon
Ifyourdriver-installationeffortsareultimatelysuccessful,
you'rerewardedbytheappearanceofaniconthatrepresents
yourprinter.
ThisiconappearsinthePrintersandFaxeswindowanimportant
windowthatyou'llbereadingaboutoverandoveragaininthis
chapter.Exactlyhowyouarrivetheredependsonhowyou've
setupWindowsXP:
Ifyou'vesetupyourStartmenutodisplayasubmenufor
theControlPanel(OpeningtheControlPanelWindowWhen
YouCan't),justchooseStart ControlPanel Printersand

Faxes.
IfyouviewyourControlPanelinClassicview(Section9.1),
chooseStart ControlPanel,andthenopenthePrinters


andFaxesicon.
IfyouviewyourControlPanelinCategoryview,choose
Start ControlPanel,clickthePrintersandOtherHardware
link,andfinallyclickthe"Viewinstalledprintersorfax
printers"link.
ThePrintersandFaxeswindowshouldbelistedinyour
Startmenu,whichsavesyousomeburrowingifyouusethis
featurealot.Ifit'snotthere,forsomereason,right-click
theStartbutton.Fromtheshortcutmenu,choose
Properties.OntheStartMenutab,clickCustomize,then
clicktheAdvancedtab.Scrolldowninthelistof
checkboxes,andfinallyturnon"PrintersandFaxes."Click
OKtwice.


TROUBLESHOOTINGMOMENT
IfYourPrinterModelIsn'tListed
Ifyourprintermodelisn'tinthelistofprinters(Figure13-3),thenWindowsXP
doesn'thaveadriverforit.Yourprintermodelmaybeverynew(morerecent
thanWindowsXP,thatis)orveryold.Youhavetwochoicesforgettingaround
thisroadblock:
First,youcancontactthemanufacturer(oritsWebsite)togetthedrivers.Then
installthedriversoftwareasdescribedintheprevioussection.
Second,youcanusetheprinteremulationfeature.Asitturnsout,manyprinters
workwithoneofseveralstandarddriversthatcomefromothercompanies.For

example,manylaserprintersworkfinewiththeHPLaserJetdriver.(Theselaser
printersarenot,infact,HPLaserJets,buttheyemulateone.)
Theinstructionsthatcamewithyourprintershouldhaveasectiononemulation;
themanufacturer'shelplinecanalsotellyouwhichpopularprinteryourscan
impersonate.


GEMINTHEROUGH
InstallingFakePrinters
Ifyourprinterhastwopapertrays,switchingtothesecondaryoneissomething
ofahassle.YoumustspendtimemakingthechangesinthePrintdialogbox,as
describedlaterinthischapter.Similarly,switchingtheprintoutresolutionfrom,
say,300dpito600dpiwhenprintingimportantgraphicdocumentsisamultistepprocedure.
That'swhyyoumayfinditusefultocreateseveraldifferenticonsforthesame
printer.Thebeautyofthisstuntisthatyoucansetupdifferentsettingsforeach
oftheseicons.Onemightstorecannedsettingsfor600dpiprintoutsfromthe
toppapertray,anothermightrepresent300dpiprintoutsfromthebottomone,
andsoon.Whenitcomestimetoprint,youcanswitchbetweenthesevirtual
printersquicklyandeasily.
Tocreateanothericon,justruntheAddPrinterWizardasecondtime,as
describedontheprecedingpages.Atthepointintheinstallationwhereyou
nametheprinter,inventanamethatdescribesthisprinter'salternatesettings,
likeHP6-600dpiorLexmark-LegalSize.
Whentheinstallationprocessiscomplete,you'llseebothprintericonstheold
andthenewinthePrintersandFaxeswindow.Right-clickthenew"printer"icon,
choosePrintingPreferencesfromtheshortcutmenu,andchangethesettingsto
matchitsrole.
Tospecifywhichoneyouwantasyourdefaultprintertheoneyouusemostof
thetimeright-clicktheappropriateiconandchooseSetasDefaultPrinterfrom
theshortcutmenu.

Butthereafter,wheneveryouwanttoswitchtotheothersetofprinter
settingswhenyouneedbettergraphics,adifferentpapertray,orotherspecial
optionsforadocumentjustselecttheappropriateprinterfromthePrinterName
drop-downlistinthePrintdialogbox(seeFigure13-5attop).You'vejustsaved
yourselfahalf-dozenadditionalmouseclicksandsettingschanges.

Figure13-5.Top:TheoptionsinthePrintdialogboxare
differentoneachprintermodelandeachapplication,soyour
Printdialogboxmaylookslightlydifferent.Forexample,here
arethePrintdialogboxesfromMicrosoftWordandWordPad.
Mostofthetime,thefactorysettingsshownherearewhatyou
want(onecopy,printallpages).JustclickOKorPrint(or
pressEnter)toclosethisdialogboxandsendthedocumentto
theprinter.Bottom:Duringprinting,thetinyiconofaprinter
appearsinyournotificationarea.Pointingtoitwithoutclicking
producesapop-uptooltiplikethisthatrevealsthebackground
printingactivity.


NOTE
Ifyou'reusingyourStartmenuinClassicview(Section9.1),
yougettoyourPrintersandFaxeswindowbyclickingStart
Settings PrintersandFaxes.

Inanycase,thePrintersandFaxeswindownowcontainsan
iconbearingthenameyougaveitduringtheinstallation
(Figure13-4).Thisprintericoncomesinhandyinseveral


differentsituations,astherestofthischapterclarifies.

Figure13-4.Atfirst,thetaskpaneinthePrinters
andFaxeswindowoffersonlytwocommands.But
whenyouclickaprintericon,alonglistofuseful
optionsappears,asshownhere.Manyofthem
duplicatetheoptionsthatappearwhenyourightclickaprintericonsomethingyou'dbewiseto
rememberthedayyourrightmousebutton
breaks.


Chapter11.Web,Chat,and
Videoconferencing
MicrosofthasgonetogreatlengthstointegratetheInternet
intoeverynookandcrannyofWindowsXP.Linksandbuttons
thatspuryourmodemintoadialingfrenzyareeverywhere:on
theHelpscreens,intheSearchwindow,andeveninthe"Send
errorreporttoMicrosoft?"dialogboxesthatappearafter
programcrashes.Onceyou'vegotyourInternetconnection
working(Chapter10),youmayfindthatit'seasiertogoonline
thanitisnotto.
TheInternetoffersdozensofdifferentfeatures,mostofthem
gracedwithsuchunhelpful,invented-by-government-scientistsin-the-sixtiesnamesasFTP,Telnet,Gopher,andsoon.Buta
fewofthemostpopularInternetservicesarebotheasyto
understandandeasytouse:theWorldWideWeb,email,online
chatting,video¬conferencing,andfreephonecalls.
Youcanusewhicheversoftwareyoupreferforthesefunctions.
ToconnecttotheWeb,forexample,useNetscapeNavigatoror
anyofseveralless-famousWebbrowsers.Tocheckyouremail,
useEudora,LotusNotes,andsoon.
ButmostWindowsXPuserswindupusingtheInternet

programsthatarebuiltrightintotheoperatingsystem:
InternetExplorerorMSNExplorerforWebbrowsing;Outlook
Expressforemail;andWindowsMessengerorNetMeetingfor
chatting,freelong-distance"phone"calls,andteleconferencing.
ThischaptercoversalloftheseprogramsexceptOutlook
Express,whichisdescribedinChapter12.


Chapter16.Maintenance,Backups,and
Troubleshooting
Likeyou,itshumansidekick,yourcomputerrequiresperiodic
checkupsandpreventivemaintenance.Fortunately,Microsoft
hasputquiteabitofeffortintoequippingWindowsXPwith
specialtools,alldedicatedtothepreservationofwhatMicrosoft
callsPCHealth.Here'sacrashcourseinkeepingyourPCandits
harddrivehumming.