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Autohide the Bookmarks Toolbar in Firefox

Do you like to autohide toolbars such as the Menu and Status Bars to conserve screen real-estate? Now you can add the Bookmarks Toolbar to that list with the Bookmark Autohider extension for Firefox.

Before

For our browser there were three ways that we could hide the “Bookmarks Toolbar” if desired but all of them required manual intervention. First the “View Menu”…

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Then right clicking on one of the toolbar areas…

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And finally using a “specialty” toolbar button. If you can autohide the other toolbars why not the “Bookmarks Toolbar” as well?

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After

As soon as you have installed the extension it will automatically start working. That “Bookmarks Toolbar” is definitely out of sight…

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To display the “Bookmarks Toolbar” hover your mouse right at the bottom edge of the “Address Bar”. As long as you hold your mouse anywhere over the “Bookmarks Toolbar” it will remain visible.

Note: Depending on your theme the trigger area may not be as tight to the “Address Bar”.

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But the moment you move your mouse away the toolbar starts disappearing…

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Almost gone…

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Totally hidden again until you need it. More autohiding goodness is always a good thing.

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Preferences

In the preferences you can fine-tune the timing for the autohiding sequence, the amount of time the “Bookmarks Toolbar” remains visible after the mouse is no longer over it, and the amount of time before reappearing.

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Conclusion

If you like to autohide your toolbars and have been looking for a way to do the same with the “Bookmarks Toolbar” then your wait is over. This extension is worth trying even if you love to keep all of your other toolbars visible.

Links

Download the Bookmark Autohider extension (Mozilla Add-ons)


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Get Extended Access to WHS with Advanced Admin Console

Windows Home Server is easy to setup and use so anyone with basic computer knowledge can operate their own server. But what if you’re an advanced user and want more control over various administrative functions? The Advanced Admin Console Addin gives you exactly that.

Windows Home Server is definitely easy to use – even for the beginning computer geek. One thing they do though, is hide advanced server functions as a way to protect the end user from messing with the wrong thing. Advanced Admin Console is meant for those of us who want an easy way to access the advanced server features and utilities. It gives easy access to controls that are otherwise hidden deep in the server menus, right from the WHS Console, from any computer on the network.

Note: This addin is meant for advanced users who are familiar with server administration. If you start changing the wrong settings you might crash your server. Also we need to let you know it’s in beta but is in constant development.

Advanced Admin Console

You need to install this on the server, not on one of the machines on your network. It’s a simple msi install file, just work through the wizard and you’ll be ready to get started in no time.

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After you’re done with installation, open up the Windows Home Server console and at the top, you’ll notice the Advanced Admin Console button. This gives you access to all of the advanced server functions right from the WHS Console on any machine. Now you won’t need to RDP into the server to do administrative tasks.

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Here we take a look at the control panel view in the WHS Console under Advanced Admin Controls. You can easily start accessing different aspects of the server. For instance in this shot we pulled up the Firewall and can begin applying changes.

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There will be a series of buttons on the toolbar under the main buttons in the Console.

The following are the locations available…

  • Control Panel
  • Printers and Faxes
  • Administrative Tools
  • Start Menu
  • My Computer
  • Recycle Bin
  • My Network Places
  • Network Connections
  • Show Desktop
  • Search
  • Command Prompt
  • Windows PowerShell
  • Task Manager
  • Registry Editor

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Some of them are listed in the dropdown menu on the right of the toolbar.

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You can right-click an open area and select how you want to view and arrange the icons from the context menu. Also you have all of your standard choices that you’d normally have if you were actually on the server.

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Access to the server Registry…

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An awesome Show Desktop feature that brings you to the server’s desktop so you can easily navigate within the server if you need to.

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Here is a look at all of the Administrative Tools with Event Viewer currently pulled up.

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Click on the Customize shortcut from the dropdown menu…

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And here you can customize what feature shortcuts are displayed, and you can even add your own shortcut if you feel something is missing.

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This awesome Addin makes it exceptionally easy to access your server’s advanced controls and functions from any computer on your network. If you’re an advanced computer geek who knows there way around Server 2003, this is a must have Addin that you’ll probably install right away.

Download Advanced Admin Control v0.5.0

Check Out the Developers Site


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Automatically Mount and View ISO files in Windows 7 Media Center

Do you have a hard drive full of ripped movies in ISO file format?? Are you looking for an easy way to play them in Windows Media Center? Today we show you how to configure Windows Media Center so you can automatically view those ISOs directly from the Movie Library.

First, download and install Virtual Clone Drive. It’s a free application that allows you to mount an ISO file so that it appears as a CD/DVD drive. The install process is very simple and you can just take the defaults.

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Next, download and install Mikinho Mount Image. This add-in allows for the ISO image files to be displayed and mounted automatically in Windows Media Center. This is also a very basic install and is available in 32 & 64 bit versions.

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If you haven’t done so already, you’ll need to either copy your ISO files into your Media Center Movie Library, or add the folder containing your ISOs to the Movie Library. If you haven’t set up your movie library yet, make sure and check out our tutorial on adding folders to the movie library in Windows 7 Media Center.

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When you are ready to watch a movie, simply browse to the Movie Library and click on the ISO you wish to view.

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When you open an ISO file, you are presented with a “Please wait while mounting disc image…” message. The process will take several seconds. It may take a bit longer if another ISO file needs to be unmounted before mounting the new one.

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After the ISO is mounted, your movie will begin to play. Now just relax and enjoy the movie.

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When the movie is over you can eject the ISO image (which actually unmounts it from the virtual drive) just as you would with an actual physical DVD. You don’t have to, but it makes mounting the next ISO you want to watch load faster.

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These two apps work behind the scenes and it feels like the feature was built into Windows Media Center to begin with. There is nothing you need to setup or tweak, just install the two programs and you’re done. Of course with Virtual CloneDrive, you’ll get the extra benefit of having a virtual disc drive on your system for running other disc images.

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If you are looking for a simple, no hassle way to enjoy those ISOs in Windows 7 Media Center, then these simple apps will be a welcome addition to your Media Center setup.

Download Mikinho Mount Image

Download Virtual Clone Drive


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Create an XP Mode for Windows 7 Home Versions & Vista

One of the cool features in Windows 7 is XP Mode. However, it’s only available for Windows 7 Professional and above, leaving Home Edition and Vista users out of luck. Today we’ll show you how to create your own XP Mode to run on Vista or Windows 7 Home Premium.

How does this work?

Windows 7 Home Premium and Windows Vista are not licensed to run the free XP Mode download from Microsoft.? In fact, if you select Home Premium on the XP Mode download site, you will see the following message:

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Last week we showed you how VMware Player could help you run XP Mode without hardware virtualization. Even VMware Player doesn’t have a link to import XP Mode if you’re computer is running 7 Home Premium or Vista.

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However, if you have a legal copy of Windows XP, then you can easily recreate XP Mode with the free VMware Player.? This article will show you how quick and easy it is to get a virtual copy of XP running on any computer, even if it’s running 7 Home Premium or Windows Vista.

Getting Started

First, download and install VMware Player (link below).? It is a free download, but requires registration.

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You may see some prompts about installing drivers; simply approve them.? We didn’t see them on our latest test, but have in the past.? When you are finished installing VMware Player, you will have to restart your computer.

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Create your own XP Mode

Once your computer is rebooted, start up VMware Player and insert your Windows XP CD in your CD drive.? In this example we used a copy of Windows XP Professional, but it would work the same with any edition of XP.

In VMware Player, click the link at the top that says “Create a New Virtual Machine.”

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VMware automatically detects your Windows XP CD, and says it will install it with Easy install.? This will let you install XP with only 5 clicks!? Click Next to continue.

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Now enter your XP product key, and name and password of your choice.? We named it XP Mode to make it obvious what this virtual machine is for!

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Here VMware will automatically enter your operating system’s name and the default location to save the files.? Simply press next to accept the defaults, or change them if you wish.

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You can choose how large you want your virtual hard drive to be; the default is 40Gb, but you can choose a different size if you wish.? Please note that the entire 40Gb will not be taken up on your hard drive.? Our clean install only took up 1.4Gb on the computer.

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That’s all the settings.? You can review and make changes here, or simply press Finish to start installing XP.

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From here on, VMware will take over.? You do not need to click anything else until XP is fully installed!? It will automatically run the installer, format the virtual hard drive,

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Copies XP files to the hard drive,

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And finishes the install.

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Everything will work automatically, so you can literally leave it unattended while it’s installing.? In our tests it took about 20 minutes to install.? When it’s done, you’ll be presented with the Windows XP desktop ready for use!

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VMware Player will automatically launch the VMware Tools installer to integrate your virtual XP with your computer.? It may have to download or update the tools, so if you see the yellow banner at the bottom of your window simply click Update Tools or Install Tools depending on you situation.

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The tools will automatically download and install, though you may have to approve an UAC prompt.

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Once the tools are downloaded or updated, they should automatically run in XP. If not, click Start, then My Computer, and finally double-click on the CD drive which should say VMware Tools.

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Now, simply run the Tools installer with the Typical setup type, and reboot XP when it’s finished.

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Now your XP is fully installed and setup, so you can proceed to integrate with your computer just like XP Mode!

Integrate XP Mode in VMware Player with Windows 7 or Vista

The real advantage of the default XP Mode in Windows 7 is that the XP programs are fully integrated with their Windows 7 counterparts.? You can run them seamlessly with other programs, copy between them, and even open and save files to the same folders.

Let’s set this up in VMware.? Copy and paste from Windows 7 or Vista to XP in VMware is activated by default.? To use your XP programs seamlessly with Windows 7, click VM on the top of the VMware window, and click “Enter Unity.”

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You can easily access any program or file in XP mode through a dedicated XP Mode Start Menu.? When you hover over your Windows 7 Start button, a new button called “Windows XP Mode” will above it.? Click there to access a full start menu from XP Mode right in Windows 7.

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And it works the exact same in Windows Vista.

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Here is an IE 6 window from XP running side-by-side with IE 8 in Windows 7, thanks to VMware Player!

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And notice, this is guaranteed to work on any edition of Windows 7 or Vista, including Home versions.

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By default, the virtualized windows will have a border and the VMware logo on their edge.

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To remove this logo, click VM in the VMware player window, then settings.? Click on the Options tab, and choose Unity on the left.? Now uncheck the boxes that say “Show borders” and “Show badges.”

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Without having the VMWare borders and badges give everything a more authentic XP Mode look and feel.

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You can even use removable devices, such as flash drives, in XP in VMware Player.? Whenever you connect a new device to your computer, VMware will remind you that you can add it to XP.

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Simply click VM, then Removable Devices.? Select your device name, and click Connect.

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Save Files in XP Mode to My Documents in Windows 7 or Vista

By default, files created in XP in VMware Player will be saved inside the virtual machine.? It’s more convenient if they’re saved directly to the My Documents folder in Windows 7 (or the Documents folder in Vista), so let’s change this.? Click VM, then Settings.? Click the Options tab, and then choose Shared Folders on the left.? Now click the bullet for “Always enabled” and check the box for “Map as a network drive in Windows guests.”

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Now click Add at the bottom of that window.? This will let us add a shared folder.

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Let’s add the My Documents folder from Windows 7 (or the Documents folder in Vista).? Click Browse, and then select your My Documents folder.? Click Ok, and then click Next.

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Make sure the box is checked that says “Enable this share” and then click Finish.? You can now close the settings window as well.

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Back in XP, click Start, then right click on My Documents, and select Properties.

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Click Move to find the new My Documents folder.

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Find the folder we just shared from Windows 7 or Vista by clicking My Computer, then the drive that says “Shared Folders on ‘vmware-host’” or something similar.? Now select the folder we shared, Documents, and click Ok.

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Click Ok in the main properties window.? It may offer to copy the files from your old My Documents folder to the new one; choose Yes to make sure you have all of your documents in Windows 7.

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Now, whenever you go to save a file in XP, it will automatically save in your My Documents folder on Windows 7 or Vista, depending on your circumstance.? You can repeat the same process for any folder you wish, such as your My Pictures and My Music folders.

Conclusion

And that’s all there is to it!? You now have a fully functioning copy of XP running right inside your 7 or Vista computer.? Almost everything works the same as XP Mode in 7 Professional or Ultimate.? The only difference is that you used your own copy of XP, but if you have an old copy already then it doesn’t cost you any more than XP Mode would.? And, even if your computer is running Windows 7 Professional, you may find it easier to use a copy of XP you already own instead of importing XP Mode.? VMware Player does a great job at integrating XP with your computer, and in our tests it worked as good or better than the actual XP Mode.

You can actually run Windows Virtual PC on any Windows 7 computer, even ones running Home Premium that aren’t eligible for XP Mode.? You could install XP in it, then install Virtual PC’s integration components, and it will work exactly like the default XP Mode.? However, we’ve found VMware’s solution easier to use and much faster to setup.? If you would like to try this out, download Virtual PC at the link below (be sure to select Professional as your edition of Windows … even though Home Premium is licensed to run Virtual PC and can run it fine, the download isn’t offered by default).

Links

Download VMware Player 3

Download Windows Virtual PC if you wish to run XP in it


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Find Similar Websites in Google Chrome

Have you ever found that a quick recommendation for a similar site to the one that you are looking at would be handy? If so then you might want to check out the Google Similar Pages extension for Chrome.

Google Similar Pages in Action

We chose three different types of websites for our test. The first was for “fileforum”, a software download site.

Note: If a website is still new to the Internet you may receive a “No similar pages found.” message.

google-similar-pages-04

Clicking on the “Toolbar Button” opened a “Popup Window” that displayed four similar and very useful recommendations for software download websites.

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Our second example was “photobucket”, a photo and video hosting website…

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Once again we received a nice set of recommendations.

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And just for fun we tried it with the “Google Search Page”…

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In this particular instance two of the four recommendations were from the same “originating source”…

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Conclusion

If you need quick and easy recommendations for webpages that are similar to the one that you are viewing then you will definitely want to give this extension a try. You just might find that next great website to add to your bookmarks collection.

Links

Download the Google Similar Pages extension (Google Chrome Extensions)


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Setup Windows Media Center Connector to Windows Home Server

One of the advantages of Windows Home Server with Power Pack 3 is its integration with Windows Media Center. Here we take a look at installing the Windows Media Center Connector and the features it has to offer.

Install Connector

After you’ve installed Windows Home Server (WHS) you’ve probably noticed a message pop up when you start Windows Media Center (WMC). Just click Ok to that message, you don’t need to set it up right away unless you want to. We know we can set it up from the Start menu at any time.

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Here we take a look at installing it on Windows 7 Home Premium. Open the Start menu and click on Windows Media Center Connector as shown here.

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The setup wizard starts and you can click Next…

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Enter in the password to your WHS…

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That was easy! You’re all set…however a restart of the machine is required.

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After returning from the reboot, open WMC and in the main menu you’ll see an entry for Home Server that includes TV Archive and Console View.

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TV Archive

The TV Archive feature let’s you move recorded TV to your WHS with ease. You can select individual shows or have all of your recorded programs archived to the server.

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You can have a compressed copy saved to the server or Public Videos folder as well. You can choose from Original Resolution, 320?240 for Windows Mobile, or 720?480 for the Zune –each in WMV format. The nice benefit to this is you can record your favorite shows and have the original and / or a compressed version stored on the server.

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Console View

The other neat feature is Console View. It lets you see different statistic about your server right from the comfort of your couch – or computer, whichever the case may be.

From the Console View you can see:

  • Storage
  • Drives
  • Backup
  • Shared Folders
  • Media Counts
  • Server & Network Health
  • Windows Home Server Hardware Information

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Now when you go into your Recorded TV folder you’ll see it is pulling the shows from the server. This saves drive space on your local machine, and relieves you of the hassle of manually transferring the files over.

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It also works with Media Center in Vista as well…

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The Windows Media Center Connector adds additional functionality for managing your recorded TV files. It keeps them off your local machine’s hard drive saving you the hassle of moving them yourself. Also, having the ability to view basic server statistics from the couch is a definite plus too.


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Easily Control a Large Amount of Tabs in Google Chrome

Do things start to get out of control for you when you have a lot of tabs open in Google Chrome? Get control back and easily manage those tabs with the Tab Menu extension.

Before

One of the irritating things about using Chrome is that when you have a large number of tabs open it becomes harder to know exactly which one to open without a lot of “trial and error”. As you can see here some of the tabs no longer display the favicon and some of the tabs all have the same favicon. Either way you go this is not good for quickly finding the tab that you want to view.

tab-menu-01

Setup

The options are not complicated to sort through but some minor adjustments may help to better personalize how Tab Menu works for you. The default “Keyboard Shortcut” is “Ctrl + m” but can be expanded by adding “Alt and/or Shift” to the combination. You will also be able to modify the appearance of the “Toolbar Icon” if desired. The default setting is for a “static icon” but can be changed to always display the number of tabs open or only display the number when hovering the mouse over the “Toolbar Icon”. You can see that the three tabs open in the “Tab Bar” are also shown in a “Tabs List” below the options.

There are two important points to keep in mind while using the extension:

  • The number of open tabs shown on the “Toolbar Icon” pertains to that particular window and its’ tabs only.
  • Use of the “Keyboard Shortcut” will open the “Options Page” (instead of the drop-down window) and give you access to the “Tabs List” for a particular window there.

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If you have the “Options Page” open you can also view an identical list in the drop-down window. One of the very nice things about this extension is that you can access the “Tabs List” in the manner that best suits your needs.

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Tab Menu in Action

Now for the fun part. Here you can see our original window with its’ twenty-four open tabs and our second window with the other three tabs in it.

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A close-up view of our “Toolbar Icons” and tab counts. The first thing that we decided to do was to combine all of our tabs into one window by clicking on “Merge Windows”.

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One click later and all of our tabs were in the same window with an updated tabs count and a scrollbar for our “Tabs List” in the “Options Page”.

tab-menu-10

We decided to close one of the tabs shown in the list. The currently opened tab will have a powder blue color highlighting it and any entry you hover over will be lighter blue in color. Whichever entry you are hovering over will also have a “Close X” appear at the right end. Click the “X” and that tab will be instantly gone from both lists…

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Hovering your mouse over an entry will also let you see the full title for that particular webpage.

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Clicking on a particular entry will immediately focus that tab so that you may read the article, write that important e-mail, etc.

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Perhaps you would prefer to conduct a search for a tab instead…just start typing the title/name/URL for the webpage in the text field and watch the list focus on possible matches for your query.

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Conclusion

If you suffer from tab overload on a daily basis then Tab Menu will definitely help you to get control of your tabs back.

Links

Download the Tab Menu extension (Google Chrome Extensions)


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Easily Control a Large Amount of Tabs in Google Chrome

Do things start to get out of control for you when you have a lot of tabs open in Google Chrome? Get control back and easily manage those tabs with the Tab Menu extension.

Before

One of the irritating things about using Chrome is that when you have a large number of tabs open it becomes harder to know exactly which one to open without a lot of “trial and error”. As you can see here some of the tabs no longer display the favicon and some of the tabs all have the same favicon. Either way you go this is not good for quickly finding the tab that you want to view.

tab-menu-01

Setup

The options are not complicated to sort through but some minor adjustments may help to better personalize how Tab Menu works for you. The default “Keyboard Shortcut” is “Ctrl + m” but can be expanded by adding “Alt and/or Shift” to the combination. You will also be able to modify the appearance of the “Toolbar Icon” if desired. The default setting is for a “static icon” but can be changed to always display the number of tabs open or only display the number when hovering the mouse over the “Toolbar Icon”. You can see that the three tabs open in the “Tab Bar” are also shown in a “Tabs List” below the options.

There are two important points to keep in mind while using the extension:

  • The number of open tabs shown on the “Toolbar Icon” pertains to that particular window and its’ tabs only.
  • Use of the “Keyboard Shortcut” will open the “Options Page” (instead of the drop-down window) and give you access to the “Tabs List” for a particular window there.

tab-menu-06

If you have the “Options Page” open you can also view an identical list in the drop-down window. One of the very nice things about this extension is that you can access the “Tabs List” in the manner that best suits your needs.

tab-menu-07

Tab Menu in Action

Now for the fun part. Here you can see our original window with its’ twenty-four open tabs and our second window with the other three tabs in it.

tab-menu-08

A close-up view of our “Toolbar Icons” and tab counts. The first thing that we decided to do was to combine all of our tabs into one window by clicking on “Merge Windows”.

tab-menu-09

One click later and all of our tabs were in the same window with an updated tabs count and a scrollbar for our “Tabs List” in the “Options Page”.

tab-menu-10

We decided to close one of the tabs shown in the list. The currently opened tab will have a powder blue color highlighting it and any entry you hover over will be lighter blue in color. Whichever entry you are hovering over will also have a “Close X” appear at the right end. Click the “X” and that tab will be instantly gone from both lists…

tab-menu-11

Hovering your mouse over an entry will also let you see the full title for that particular webpage.

tab-menu-12

Clicking on a particular entry will immediately focus that tab so that you may read the article, write that important e-mail, etc.

tab-menu-13

Perhaps you would prefer to conduct a search for a tab instead…just start typing the title/name/URL for the webpage in the text field and watch the list focus on possible matches for your query.

tab-menu-14

Conclusion

If you suffer from tab overload on a daily basis then Tab Menu will definitely help you to get control of your tabs back.

Links

Download the Tab Menu extension (Google Chrome Extensions)


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Add Folders to the Movie Library in Windows 7 Media Center

Do you have a collection of movie files on your computer? Perhaps you have an external hard drive or two loaded up with AVI or MPEG video files? Well, today we’ll show you how to add those files to the Movie Library so you can watch them in Windows Media Center.

You can add any number of folders to your Media Center Libraries. Even if you have videos or movies stored in a variety of locations, including other Windows 7 computers on your network, they can be added to your Media Center Movie Library.

Supported Video Files

Windows Media Center supports the viewing of the following file formats by default.

Video File Formats File Extensions
AVI files .avi
MPEG-4 .mp4, .m4v, .mov,
MPEG-2 .mpeg, .mpg, .m1v, .mp2, .mpv2, .mpe, .mod, .vob
Windows Media .wmv, .wm, .asf
Windows Recorded TV .wtv, .dvr-ms
Apple QuickTime .mov, .qt
AVCHD files .m2ts, .m2t
MPEG-1 .m1v

Adding Folders to the Library

Open WMC and click on Tasks ?Settings

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Click on Media Libraries

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Select Movies and click “Next.”

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Select Add Folders to the Library and click “Next.”

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Now you’ll need to select the folder location of your movie files. Choose “On this computer” if you are adding a folder from a local hard drive, a folder on mapped network drive, or a folder from USB attached hard drives.

You can also choose to add folders from other Windows 7 computers on your network by selecting “On another computer.”

Note: You’ll need to setup media streaming before you’ll be able to view video from another Windows 7 computer. You can find a link to our article on how to setup streaming media below.

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Browse the file directory for the folders of your choice. Click on the the plus (+) symbol to view sub-folders. You won’t be able to “see” the video files themselves, only the folders, so you’ll need to know where your videos are located ahead of time. Click to the check box to the left to select each folder.

Click “Next” when you’re finished.

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Media Center will confirm your changes. Only the first five media directories are shown on the screen. Scroll to see any additional folders by clicking the up or down arrows. If you want to add more folders, click “No, I want to make more changes” and repeat the process to add your additional folders.

When you are done, select “Yes, use these locations” and then click “Finish.”

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Your video files should now appear in your Movie Library. Depending on the amount of files you are adding, it may take a few minutes for Media Center to add and display all of them.

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Then simply browse for any of your selections and click to play them.

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Now you are setup to enjoy your entire movie collection from directly in Windows Media Center. Check out our previous tutorial if you need help setting up streaming media from other Windows 7 computers.


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Add Folders to the Movie Library in Windows 7 Media Center

Do you have a collection of movie files on your computer? Perhaps you have an external hard drive or two loaded up with AVI or MPEG video files? Well, today we’ll show you how to add those files to the Movie Library so you can watch them in Windows Media Center.

You can add any number of folders to your Media Center Libraries. Even if you have videos or movies stored in a variety of locations, including other Windows 7 computers on your network, they can be added to your Media Center Movie Library.

Supported Video Files

Windows Media Center supports the viewing of the following file formats by default.

Video File Formats File Extensions
AVI files .avi
MPEG-4 .mp4, .m4v, .mov,
MPEG-2 .mpeg, .mpg, .m1v, .mp2, .mpv2, .mpe, .mod, .vob
Windows Media .wmv, .wm, .asf
Windows Recorded TV .wtv, .dvr-ms
Apple QuickTime .mov, .qt
AVCHD files .m2ts, .m2t
MPEG-1 .m1v

Adding Folders to the Library

Open WMC and click on Tasks ?Settings

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Click on Media Libraries

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Select Movies and click “Next.”

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Select Add Folders to the Library and click “Next.”

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Now you’ll need to select the folder location of your movie files. Choose “On this computer” if you are adding a folder from a local hard drive, a folder on mapped network drive, or a folder from USB attached hard drives.

You can also choose to add folders from other Windows 7 computers on your network by selecting “On another computer.”

Note: You’ll need to setup media streaming before you’ll be able to view video from another Windows 7 computer. You can find a link to our article on how to setup streaming media below.

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Browse the file directory for the folders of your choice. Click on the the plus (+) symbol to view sub-folders. You won’t be able to “see” the video files themselves, only the folders, so you’ll need to know where your videos are located ahead of time. Click to the check box to the left to select each folder.

Click “Next” when you’re finished.

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Media Center will confirm your changes. Only the first five media directories are shown on the screen. Scroll to see any additional folders by clicking the up or down arrows. If you want to add more folders, click “No, I want to make more changes” and repeat the process to add your additional folders.

When you are done, select “Yes, use these locations” and then click “Finish.”

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Your video files should now appear in your Movie Library. Depending on the amount of files you are adding, it may take a few minutes for Media Center to add and display all of them.

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Then simply browse for any of your selections and click to play them.

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Now you are setup to enjoy your entire movie collection from directly in Windows Media Center. Check out our previous tutorial if you need help setting up streaming media from other Windows 7 computers.


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