I don’t know if it’s in other versions, but in Word 2003, the Format menu has a “Change Case” option. Of course, you’ll have to put in the capitals for the beginnings of sentences, but it’s easier than retyping the whole thing.
I always use the windows key for bringing up Windows Explorer. Windows key + e = Windows Explorer.
What kind of programming are you doing? Or are you using coding in a different sense?
This is indeed a good use for the mode. But fewer and fewer modern files have strict rules on columnar tabulation, and the last punch-card descended languages of any modern relevance whatsoever have gone free-form.
You know, it never struck me that I could just pop the damn key out of the keyboard. A simple and elegant solution that satisfies.
(Especially because this way I get to fling the key across the room and watch it thwack into the wall. ;j )
It makes a lot more sense when you also have your backspace key bound to “insert a space here and move back a charecter” rather than “delete”. I find it useful for editing banner style comments and long lists of similar looking arguments so that my spacing doesn’t become all screwed. Also, if your creating ASCII art, it comes in handy.
How do you do this?
Do a who in the where with a what, then?
Much easier: make sure you’re not in “Insert,” then just put some Elmer’s Glue under the motherfucker.
Windows key + L is also useful. It force-locks your WinXP session so you have to enter your password to resume. (Basically it’s the same as if you’ve got the screen saver set with password protection except you don’t have to wait for it.) Very handy if you’ve got to run down to the shared printer or the soda cooler for a couple of minutes and you’ve got something confidential on your desktop you don’t want a random passerby to read (or, alternatively ten SDMB windows you’d rather the boss didn’t happen across).
But yeah, re the OP, the INS typeover toggle stabs me in the mental scrotum probably two or three times a week. Totally agree.
Excellent! Does that work in 2000, too?
The workaround I mentioned is for if you want to still be able to use Ins in other situations. On my keyboard it’s the same key as Print Screen, which I definitely want to keep.
AHHHHHH!!! No shit.
I used the nail file solution - took the F1 key off so that I didn’t have to worry about it. But it took my fingers a couple of weeks to memorize that change - I kept hitting F3 instead of F2. Thankfully that’s an easy one to escape from.
There ya go! One of my old keyboards had a damn reset button just below the delete key! Can’t tell you how many times I crashed my computer accidentally before I figured out the screwdriver workaround!
Sorry, no idea. I learned about it after I got XP and I don’t have a Win2K enviro to check.
No. To quickly lock your computer in Windows 2000, hit CTRL-ALT-DEL, which should bring up the Windows security dialog box. Hitting enter on the ‘lock computer’ button (which should be highlighted by default) will lock your machine. (I do this about 15 times a day.)
Actually you don’t even have to put the capitals in. If you select Change Case under Format, one of your options should be Sentence Case.
I do that too, and as many times too. Keeps the boss from coming into my pod when I am not there and find “Weird Earl’s” on the monitor.
Highlight your text. Format\Change Case. Enjoy 
I use the insert key every single day at work. I work with insurance claim feeds, which look like the opening scene of The Matrix and I am constantly changing digits to different digits, or in some cases, erasing them by using the spacebar. Since these feeds are interpreted based on which column they are in, using the backspace key would not only require two keystrokes (bksp and then the new digit, rather than just the new digit) but would throw off the columns of everything else in that line if I don’t replace every amount with the exact same number of digits in the new amount.
I can second the F1 key. That thing can slow down the fastest computer on earth, especially if it is hit in explorer mode
Ditto what fusoya said: I work on a lot of fixed-format data files, and it’s nice to be able to just type over a value without disturbing the rest of the line. But I’m 1.) a programer who’s 2.) working on archaic file formats, so we’re probably a pretty small percentage of PC users.
And I HATE that F1 opens online help. Do anyone really need to use help that much that it needs it’s own function key? What a pain. And when I do need to look up something in the help file, I never remember the F1 key, and open help through the menus…
More Windows key goodness: Win + D minimizes all applications, showing the desktop. Another job saver. 