Technology Q&A

Questions on shortcuts that don't clutter the desktop and knowing what day of the week it is using Windows 7 are answered. Fortunately, Windows XP, Vista and Windows 7 offer neat alternatives that may ease your problem. You can slide shortcuts that launch either files or applications into the Start button and they will line up, like a totem pole, one above the other. The steps to create a keyboard shortcut are essentially the same for all versions of Office. The easiest way to create one, say, for Word, is first to create a desktop icon shortcut for it. Separately, you can customize the time/date format in multiple ways, but first you've got to find where those controls are situated. They are in the Control Panel under Region and Language. A click on the Region and Language label opens to the default Formats tab, where you can design any combination of date, day and time.