Tech Talk #51 – May 13, 2017
Delete an autocomplete entry from Outlook
Outlook “remembers” every email address you type into the address fields To: cc: and bcc: even you accidentally type in a wrong email address. If one of your contacts gets a new email address and you update their contact record, the new address and the old address will still show up as you type in any of the address fields.
Don’t give up, friend. We can totally fix this thing.
Outlook uses something called an Autocomplete list that keeps track of the email addresses you use. This list is separate from your Outlook Contacts.
Here’s how to remove bad or old Autocomplete entries in Outlook:
- Open Outlook
- Click on New Email
- Start typing the name or email address you want to remove
- Look at the suggestions below the To: field. Keep typing until you see the one you want to remove
- Before the address gets into the To: field, hover over the name and click on the X to the right of it. (Alternately, use the arrow keys to select it and the DEL key to delete it)
That’s it. The misspelled or out-of-date address is gone for good from Autocomplete.
If you suddenly have all new friends and co-workers or you get put into the Witness Protection program, and you need to delete absolutely every address in your Autocomplete list, here’s how you can do that:
- Open Outlook
- Click File > Options > Mail.
- Under Send messages, click Empty Auto-Complete List.
Does anybody know what day it is?
Have you ever been working on your computer and wondered what day it is? And by working, I may mean playing Solitaire, checking Facebook posts, watching cat videos, or researching the conductive properties of Peeps.
Sure, down there in the lower right-hand corner you can see the time and date, but is this fine day a Saturday or a Sunday? Or worse, a Monday?
Of course, you could just hover your cursor over the date/time area and find out what day it is (really, Thursday already?) Or, you could make your computer bow to your whims and force it to show you the day of the week and the date and time.
Here’s how:
- Open Control Panel – in Windows 10, press and hold the Windows key and press the “S” key to bring up the Search box and type “control.” Choose the Control Panel desktop app from the results
- Make sure View By: is set to Category
- Under Clock, Language, and Region, click on Change date, time, or number formats
- Click Additional settings at the bottom of the window
- Click on the Date tab
- We want to see the day and date displayed exactly the way it is in the Long date format, so copy and paste what’s in the Long Date box to the Short date box
- Be sure to click on Apply in the lower right corner to save your changes
- Keep clicking OK until you’re back where you started
Where did the Control Panel go?
Microsoft wants us to use the Settings App to adjust our, well, Settings. To check printers, uninstall apps, and change power settings, Control Panel is more familiar and, honestly, faster sometimes. Maybe because we’ve been using control panel for so long we just know where everything is.
Most people know that before the recent Creator’s update, in Windows 10 you could right-click on the Start button and find Control Panel in the list. It’s been there since Windows 8, but alas, it’s not there anymore.
If you’re a Control Panel fan, here’s how to put it on your desktop:
- Click on Start | Settings | Personalization | Themes | Desktop Icon Settings
- Check the box for Control Panel
- Click on OK
Happy now? I know I am.
Computer humor
Things some of us may have in common with our laptops:
- Slow
- Difficult to wake up from sleep
- Struggle to accomplish basic tasks
- Overheat when working even a little
- Look older than we really are
Do you have a computer or technology question? Greg Cunningham has been providing Tehachapi with on-site PC and network services since 2007. Email Greg at greg@tech-hachapi.com.