How to do things I used to do on my Mac

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I've recently started a new design job, and I have to use a PC. I have a few
questions about the XP OS. Below are the two things that bug me most about
WIndows that I cannot figure out.

1. What's the keyboard shortcut in Windows XP to create a new folder? On my
Mac, I just press Shift + Command + N and presto, I have my new fodler. I
know I can Right-Click, then select "New" and then select "Fodler" but isn't
there a faster way?

2. How do I type a Trademark, Copyright, Registration, or a Bullet point
while using applications (such as Photoshop or Illustrator) in Windows XP?
On my Mac, I jsut press "Option + 8" for a bullet point, "Option + g" for a
copyright symbol. How do I do this in XP?

That's all for now. I keep discovering things that are very easy and
intuitive on my Mac that Windows seems to lack. Any help is appreciated.

Thanks
 
You could write a macro to do the new folder thing - but there's no native
way to do it automatically.

Each program has it's own options for typefaces, etc. Also, if you fool
around in the Accessories menu (Start...All Programs...Accessories) you may
find a component called Character Map - it'll allow this behavior (but it may
not be installed on your PC).

- John
 
ox4dboy said:
I've recently started a new design job, and I have to use a PC. I
have a few questions about the XP OS. Below are the two things that
bug me most about WIndows that I cannot figure out.

1. What's the keyboard shortcut in Windows XP to create a new folder?
On my Mac, I just press Shift + Command + N and presto, I have my new
fodler. I know I can Right-Click, then select "New" and then select
"Fodler" but isn't there a faster way?

2. How do I type a Trademark, Copyright, Registration, or a Bullet
point while using applications (such as Photoshop or Illustrator) in
Windows XP? On my Mac, I jsut press "Option + 8" for a bullet point,
"Option + g" for a copyright symbol. How do I do this in XP?

That's all for now. I keep discovering things that are very easy and
intuitive on my Mac that Windows seems to lack. Any help is
appreciated.

Thanks
Click to expand...

In Windows Explorer, hold down the ALT key and press F, W, F in sequence for a new folder.


Use the Character Map in Windows for special characters. Each character will have an alphanumeric shortcut displayed at the bottom of the CM dialog.
 
Thanks for the quick responses. It appears that sometimes, the slow way is
the fastest way to do things in Windows. The character map thing is just
plain ridiculous! I guess I'll set up a cheat-sheet that I can copy and
paste from for future use of "special" characters.

As for the new folder "shortcut" that's a bit silly too. I think it's just
faster to use the three step right-click, "New Fodler" option. Alt + F, W, F
is pretty interesting; are there others?

Is it possible to hook my Mac's keyboard up to my Dell and use it's keyboard
layout/shortcuts? I think it is a Windows limitation, and not hardware, but
I though I'd ask. Maybe some sort of keyboard emulation software? KVM
switch of some sort?

Thanks again,
 
ox4dboy said:
Thanks for the quick responses. It appears that sometimes, the slow way is
the fastest way to do things in Windows. The character map thing is just
plain ridiculous! I guess I'll set up a cheat-sheet that I can copy and
paste from for future use of "special" characters.

As for the new folder "shortcut" that's a bit silly too. I think it's just
faster to use the three step right-click, "New Fodler" option. Alt + F, W, F
is pretty interesting; are there others?

Is it possible to hook my Mac's keyboard up to my Dell and use it's keyboard
layout/shortcuts? I think it is a Windows limitation, and not hardware, but
I though I'd ask. Maybe some sort of keyboard emulation software? KVM
switch of some sort?

Thanks again,
Click to expand...

Don't worry about a thing. It'll take a few days to get used
to doing things on the Windows machine, just as it takes a few
days for a Windows user to learn how to use the Mac keyboard.
It'll become second nature...you'll see.
 
To type most of the symbols you request (if you are using a typeface that
has the character) you press the Alt key and type a 4 digit number from the
numeric keypad (the numbers at the top of the keyboard won't work). The
codes for the various characters if using Times New Roman are: © = Alt +
0169, ® = Alt + 0174, T is Alt + 0153 and . is Alt + 0149. To make sure the
codes for these and others will work with your normal typeface, open
Character Map, change to your normal typeface and click on the character you
want to see. The code will be displayed in the lower right corner of the
Character Map window. You can make your cheat sheet from there.

As for the creating a new folder. Most windows programs will allow you to
create a new folder from the Save menu. When the menu is displayed, click
on the folder icon with the starburst on its right top edge. This is
normally the third icon (the first is a right angle arrow pointing upward
which is the back button, the second button is for favorites and the
third.... well. These icons are to the right of the Save in: dialog box.

Hope these help, let us know.
 
Today =?Utf-8?B?b3g0ZGJveQ==?= spoke these views with
conviction for everyone's edification:
Thanks for the quick responses. It appears that sometimes,
the slow way is the fastest way to do things in Windows.
The character map thing is just plain ridiculous! I guess
I'll set up a cheat-sheet that I can copy and paste from
for future use of "special" characters.
Click to expand...
I created a simple Notepad TXT file with my most commonly used
special symbols and saved it to my Desktop. To use it, I just
double click on the icon, select the character(s) I want, copy
them to the Clipboard and paste into whatever app I need. Hardly
automatic or simple but I don't do this often enough to require
more speed, so it is acceptable.

The alternative, using the ALT key and the numeric key pad would
work just as well, but as you observe, a cheat sheet is
necessary if you don't use the 3 digit combinations often enough
to memorize them.
 
In
All_Things_Mopar said:
Today =?Utf-8?B?b3g0ZGJveQ==?= spoke these views with
conviction for everyone's edification:

I created a simple Notepad TXT file with my most commonly used
special symbols and saved it to my Desktop. To use it, I just
double click on the icon, select the character(s) I want, copy
them to the Clipboard and paste into whatever app I need.
Hardly
automatic or simple but I don't do this often enough to require
more speed, so it is acceptable.

The alternative, using the ALT key and the numeric key pad
would
work just as well, but as you observe, a cheat sheet is
necessary if you don't use the 3 digit combinations often
enough
to memorize them.
Click to expand...


Another alternative, and the one I prefer, is to use a
third-party program.
I use a little freeware background program called AllChars. This
lets me (in all applications, not just OE) type many common
special characters (many of these are used in other languages) by
pressing the ctrl key followed by a two character mnemonic
combination.

For example, for ñ the two characters are ~ and n. For ç it's c
and , For ü it's u and "

Go to http://allchars.zwolnet.com/
 
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