Creating Order From Chaos

By Wayne Maruna

You may know me as the computer guy, the fellow who writes the computer articles for the Tribune, runs the Taberna email distribution list, answers emailed and telephoned questions about PC problems, and when called upon vanquishes viruses and heals sick PCs.  What most people don’t know is that computers are just my hobby.  By day, I’m an accountant.  And if you know anything about accountants, you know we like things orderly.  That extends to my computer as well.  My desktop icons are all neatly arranged, my programs list is alphabetically arranged, all programs are logically nested, and I run backups according to a set cadence.  I’m really irritating that way.  As a bonus, I’m blessed with an inability to see dirt.  So while I am a fanatic about organization, I believe a little dust never hurt anybody except perhaps the boy who lived in the bubble.  My long-suffering wife though is the complete opposite. She sees dirt as if equipped with magnifier eyes, but requires periodic instruction in the value of organization, which I freely dispense.  Fortunately after 30 plus years, we’ve learned to tolerate each other’s ways with quiet resignation.  Most of the time. 

OK, some of the time. 

As I write this, the wife is busy in the basement constructing some sort of concrete block enclave that appears to me to be too small to be of much value for anything.  I tried to assist by helping arrange her building materials, but she sent me away and told me not to come back until she was good and ready for me.

And so instead it is your turn, dear reader, for a little talk about organization as it relates to your computer.

Click on your Start button, then on All Programs.  What do you see?  Are your programs listed haphazardly?  We learned the alphabet early in life; it is a basic tool in the fight against disorganization.  Use it to your advantage by RIGHT clicking anywhere within that list of programs.  A context menu will pop up.  One of the choices will be ‘Sort By Name.’ Left click that choice with your mouse.  Voila!  Your programs are all arranged alphabetically!  Surely your day is brighter already.

Now, how many programs do you see listed?  Two columns worth?  Three?  Do you get a message that Windows cannot display all programs for lack of space?  Consider organizing your program list by combining similar programs into one folder in the program menu.  For example, if you use a lot of graphics programs, like PrintMaster, Print Shop Deluxe, Create-A-Card, and Print Master, you could create a new folder called ‘Graphics Programs’ and drop all four of those programs into that new folder.  Now your programs list is shorter by three less entries, and you immediately know where to look for all your graphics programs.  The same goes for games.  Gamers end up with lots and lots of program listings for various games and publishers.  Make your program list less cluttered by dumping all those programs into a ‘Games’ folder.  The process is relatively simple, and I’m here to help.

Find that Start button again, but this time RIGHT click it.  Then left click on the choice to ‘Explore All Users’.  An Explorer style screen will pop up with the words ‘Start Menu’ highlighted, and under that an indented listing for Programs.  Click on that and you will get a dual pane listing of all your program folders.  To add a new folder to the list, go to the top of the window and click on File, then on New, then on Folder.  A new folder will appear which you can name as you please.  Let’s assume we call this folder ‘Multimedia’.  Once created, you can click on any other program folder, hold down the mouse key, and drag the old folder into the new folder.  For example, into a Multimedia folder, I might drag Apple QuickTime, Real Player, Windows Media Player, a DVD movie player, and perhaps a sound editor.  It’s as simple as that.  This process is called nesting, layering one folder inside another.  When finished, simply close the window.  Your Programs list will be a bit more compressed and better organized.

            My, how time flies.  The wife has completed her project. Turns out it was some sort of small wine cellar.  Funny, she doesn’t even drink.  Yet here she is, asking me to come down and sample some variety of wine I’ve never heard of, something called Amontillado.  She certainly is full of surprises.

            Oh, just one more thing. You know those new folders you created with the nested programs?  Do be sure to right click in your Programs listing again to re-sort those new folders into alphabetical order.  We don’t want to leave things untidy now, do we?