Just about every version of Microsoft Windows in use today—from Windows XP to Windows Vista to Windows 7—has a set of useful software tools worth exploring. Here are 3 (of many) that we thought you might find of value. All of these are found by clicking Start, All Programs, and then Accessories.
Notepad. Ah yes, Windows long-time and venerable text-editor. If you need to jot some quick, unformatted notes, this is for you. To make it easier to use, don’t forget to turn on Word Wrap (go to the Format menu).
Calculator. A great tool, with a lot of features. If you have an extended keyboard, use the number keypad for this. Here’s a tip: get a more featured calculator by exploring what’s in the View menu. On Windows XP machines, it lets you switch to a scientific model. On later versions, View has a lot more!
Snipping Tool. Covered in a separate article, this one’s worth mentioning again. When you want to grab an image of all or part of your screen, you can use this to do so. Once you have the image, you can copy and paste it, or even save it in a number of formats. Note: only available for Windows Vista or later.
