Many people are frustrated by the way Microsoft Outlook remains in your taskbar (the list of open applications at the bottom of the screen) and doesn’t minimise by default to the system tray (on the right-hand side of the taskbar). It is simple however to fix this irritating issue.

1. Open Microsoft Outlook and right-click on the system tray icon.

2. Select the “Hide When Minimized” option.

You should now notice Microsoft Outlook disappears from the taskbar but remains in the system tray. This means that you can open Microsoft Outlook whenever you want throughout the day without it getting in the way.

Sources at Microsoft have announced that ‘Microsoft Office 14’ as it has been code-named will be on show at the Professional Developers Conference (PDC) next week. Office 14 will debut alongside the next version of Windows, Windows 7 and Windows Cloud.

Steve Ballmer, Microsoft chief executive has already described some of the features for us to expect in Office 14 which includes office running inside the web browser and we can expect many more to come be announced at the PDC.

Windows Vista comes pre-loaded with two themes (Windows Vista and Windows Classic) however there are many websites that can provide you with alternative free Windows Vista themes. In order to change your Windows Vista theme simply right-click on the desktop and select “personalize” from the menu.

Next select the “theme” application from the Personalization menu

Finally select the Windows Vista theme you’d like to use and press the “ok” button, this will enable your Windows Vista theme

Adobe PDF documents are one of the easiest and secure ways of sending business documents over the Internet, however you cannot create them easily by default using Microsoft Word.

Why use PDFs?

PDF documents can be secured using encryption or passwords, they are also lightweight (as they are compressed) and they can be quickly and easily created. By far the greatest advantage of printing a Word document to PDF is that if you track changes to documents they cannot be viewed by the recipient (this has been known to cause embarrassment in large organisations).

How do I print to PDF?

To print to PDF using Microsoft Word you need to install a PDF Printer, my favourite is CutePDF Writer. Simply download and install the CutePDF software and then open Microsoft Word and print the document selecting CutePDF from the printer dropdown menu.

• Windows Logo + D
  This handy shortcut minimises all open windows and takes you to the desktop.
• Alt + Tab (or in Vista: Windows Logo + Tab)
  Allows you to switch between open applications easily. This shortcut looks even better in Windows Vista as it gives you a preview of the windows you have open.
  
• Windows Logo + R
  Opens the Windows Run dialogue box
  
• Alt + F4
  Closes the application you currently have open.
• Ctrl + Alt + Delete
  Allows you to view the Windows Task Manager, which lets you terminate processes/applications.
  
• Ctrl + X (Cut), Ctrl + C (Copy), Ctrl + P (Paste)
  Although this is technically three shortcuts they should be used together, the cut, copy and paste shortcuts allow you to cut, copy and paste any text, image or document from one location to another.
• Windows Key + F1
  Quickly opens Windows Help and Support which gives you access to a large archive of support documentation for Windows written by Microsoft.

If we’ve missed your favorite, please let us know!