Category: Tech Tip

Tech Tip : Share Just The PDF Pages Someone Needs

Posted on by Paul Stradling

If someone only needs a few pages from a lengthy PDF, Google Chrome lets you save those pages as a separate document, making reports, instructions and supporting information easier to share.

How To Do It

  1. Right-click the PDF in File Explorer and choose Open with > Google Chrome.
  2. Press Ctrl + P and select Save as PDF under Destination.
  3. Under Pages, choose Custom and enter the pages required. For example, 2-4,7 selects pages two to four and page seven.
  4. Check the preview, then select Save and give the new PDF a different filename.

Your original PDF remains unchanged. Use the page positions shown in the preview, which may differ from the numbers printed on the document itself.

Tech Tip : Give Vaguely Named Emails A Useful Subject

Posted on by Paul Stradling

If important emails arrive with unhelpful subjects such as “Hello” or “Update”, classic Outlook lets you rename them, making them easier to identify and find later.

Why Is This Useful?

Adding a customer name, project reference or invoice number gives the message a more meaningful label. For example, changing “Documents” to “Acme Ltd – Signed Maintenance Agreement” makes its purpose clearer without needing to open the attachments.

How To Do It

1. In classic Outlook, double-click the received email to open it in a separate window.
2. Click inside the subject line and edit the wording.
3. Click the Save icon at the top left, then close the message.

What To Know

You cannot edit the subject directly in the Reading Pane. Also, if Outlook groups messages by conversation, the message list may still show the original conversation heading, even though your revised subject appears when you view the email.

This tip is for classic Outlook on Windows 10 or Windows 11; the steps do not apply to new Outlook or Outlook in a browser.

Tech Tip : Find Email Attachments Without Opening Every Message

Posted on by Paul Stradling

If you remember receiving a document but cannot find the email, Outlook’s attachment search can help you locate it without opening messages individually.

Why Is This Useful?

An invoice, contract or project document can easily disappear into a busy mailbox, particularly when you cannot remember the sender or subject line.

Filtering for attachments removes messages without files from your results, while adding a relevant keyword helps narrow the search further.

How To Do It In Classic Outlook

  1. Click the Search box at the top of Outlook.
  2. Type hasattachments:yes and press Enter.
  3. To narrow the results, add a keyword, for example invoice hasattachments:yes.
  4. Check the search scope beside the Search box and select Current Mailbox if you want to search beyond the selected folder.
  5. Open the matching email to access its attachment.

In New Outlook Or Outlook On The Web

  1. Click the Search box and enter a relevant keyword.
  2. Run the search, then select Has attachments to narrow the results.
  3. Alternatively, open the search filter options and tick Attachments.

Make Your Search More Precise

Choose a distinctive project name or phrase rather than a broad word such as “document”. Outlook can search message text and many attachment types, so the keyword does not have to appear in the email’s subject.

Note: The results show matching emails containing attachments, rather than a separate folder of downloaded files.

Tech Tip : Turn An Email Into Time Set Aside For The Work

Posted on by Paul Stradling

If an email contains a job you need to complete, classic Outlook can turn it into a calendar appointment, helping you reserve time for the work while keeping the instructions attached to that time slot.

Why Is This Useful?

Flagging an email can help you remember it, but it does not set aside time to deal with it. Creating an appointment makes the work visible in your schedule, which is useful for requests such as preparing a quotation, checking a report or reviewing a proposal.

Outlook copies the email’s subject and message text into the appointment, saving you from entering the details again or searching your inbox when you are ready to begin.

How To Do It

In classic Outlook for Windows:

  1. Find the email in your message list.
  2. Hold down the left mouse button on the message and drag it onto the Calendar icon in Outlook’s navigation bar.
  3. Release the mouse button to open a new appointment.
  4. Adjust the title if needed, then choose the date, start time and end time.
  5. Set Show As to Busy if you want the time to appear unavailable to colleagues checking your availability.
  6. Choose a reminder if useful, then select Save & Close.

What Happens To The Email?

The original message stays in your mailbox, while the appointment contains a separate copy of its text. Creating the appointment does not send a reply or invite the sender, so it can simply serve as time reserved for your own work.

Note: These instructions are for classic Outlook for Windows. Check that any attachments or other supporting information you need are available before relying on the calendar entry alone.

Tech Tip : Give Your PC A Built-In Health Check

Posted on by Paul Stradling

Windows includes a useful health-checking tool that can spot common problems with your PC before they become more troublesome, without needing to install any extra diagnostic software.

Why Is This Useful?

The Device performance & health section of Windows Security automatically checks several areas that can affect how reliably your computer works.

For example, it can warn you if your PC is running low on storage space, if something is putting extra strain on a laptop battery, or if apps and software need attention. It also checks that the Windows Time service is working correctly, which helps keep your computer’s clock properly synchronised.

Rather than having to investigate each of these areas separately, the health report gives you a quick overview and highlights anything Windows thinks needs attention.

How To Check Your PC’s Health

In Windows 10 or Windows 11:

  1. Click Start and search for Windows Security.
  2. Open the Windows Security app.
  3. Select Device performance & health.
  4. Look at the Health report displayed on the page.
  5. If Windows has identified a problem, select the affected area to see its recommendations.

Windows runs a fresh health scan when you open the page, so the report should show the current status of your PC.

What Should You Look For?

A green tick means Windows has not detected a problem in that area, while a yellow warning means something may need attention.

This is not a replacement for specialist hardware diagnostics or security software, but it is a quick and easy way to check for some of the everyday problems that can affect a PC’s performance and reliability.

Note: On computers managed by an organisation, IT policies can hide the Device performance & health section, so it may not appear on every work PC.

Tech Tip : Protect Important Folders From Ransomware

Posted on by Paul Stradling

Windows includes a lesser-known security feature called Controlled Folder Access that can stop untrusted apps changing files in important folders such as Documents, Pictures and Desktop, helping protect them from ransomware.

Why Is This Useful?

Ransomware often works by encrypting or changing files so you can no longer access them. Controlled Folder Access adds another layer of protection by allowing trusted apps to make changes while blocking apps Windows does not recognise or trust.

It protects common folders such as Documents, Pictures, Videos, Music and Desktop by default, and you can add other folders if needed.

How To Turn It On

In Windows 10 or 11:

  1. Open Windows Security.
  2. Select Virus & threat protection.
  3. Scroll to Ransomware protection and select Manage ransomware protection.
  4. Turn Controlled folder access on.

Once enabled, Windows will alert you if an app is blocked from changing a protected file.

What If A Trusted App Gets Blocked?

If a legitimate program is stopped from saving or changing files, return to the Controlled Folder Access settings and choose Allow an app through Controlled folder access.

Only allow apps you recognise and trust, because anything added to that list will be able to change files inside your protected folders.

It’s a simple built-in way to make your most important files harder for ransomware to tamper with.

Tech Tip : Automatically Clear Out Repetitive Emails

Posted on by Paul Stradling

If automated alerts or regular notifications gradually fill your Outlook inbox, Sweep can automatically clear out older messages from particular senders so you do not have to keep tidying them manually.

Why Is This Useful?

Sweep is particularly useful for emails where you normally only need the latest message, such as regular status updates, delivery notifications, automated reports or promotional emails.

Instead of creating a more complicated Outlook rule, you can select one message from the sender and tell Outlook what should happen to their messages automatically. For example, you can keep only their latest email or automatically remove messages once they are more than 10 days old.

How To Use Sweep In New Outlook

In new Outlook:

  1. Select an email from the sender you want to manage.
  2. Click Sweep on the ribbon.
  3. Choose what you want Outlook to do with messages from that sender.
  4. Select the folder where applicable, such as Deleted Items.
  5. Click OK to apply the setting.

Depending on the option selected, Sweep can deal with messages already in your inbox as well as automatically handling future emails from that sender.

How To Use Sweep In Outlook On The Web

The process is very similar in Outlook on the web:

  1. Select a message from the relevant sender.
  2. Click Sweep on the toolbar.
  3. Choose the action you want Outlook to take.
  4. Confirm your choice.

Options include automatically removing incoming messages from that sender, keeping only the latest email, or deleting messages older than 10 days.

A Simple Way To Keep Your Inbox Under Control

Sweep can be especially useful for repetitive emails that are useful when they arrive but quickly become irrelevant afterwards. Once configured, Outlook keeps applying the instruction automatically, helping prevent one regular sender from gradually filling your inbox with messages you no longer need.

One thing to remember is that Sweep runs once per day, rather than immediately when each message arrives, so it works slightly differently from a normal Outlook inbox rule.

Tech Tip : Make Important Emails Stand Out Automatically

Posted on by Paul Stradling

If important emails sometimes get lost among everything else in your inbox, Outlook can automatically make messages from particular people, or about particular subjects, appear in a different colour so they immediately catch your eye.

Why Is This Useful?

Unlike an Outlook rule that moves messages into another folder, Conditional Formatting leaves emails in your normal inbox but changes how particular messages appear.

For example, you could make emails from an important customer appear in red, messages from your manager appear in blue, or emails containing a particular project name appear in green. This makes important messages much easier to spot when quickly scanning a busy inbox.

How To Set It Up In New Outlook

In new Outlook:

  1. Click Settings.
  2. Select Mail > Conditional Formatting.
  3. Click + Add rule.
  4. Give the rule a name, such as “Important Customer”.
  5. Choose the condition you want to use, such as a particular sender.
  6. Choose the colour you want those messages to appear in.
  7. Click OK, then Save.

New Outlook has fewer conditional formatting options than classic Outlook, but it is ideal for straightforward rules such as highlighting messages from particular people.

How To Set It Up In Classic Outlook

Classic Outlook gives you more control:

  1. Select View > View Settings.
  2. Click Conditional Formatting.
  3. Click Add and give your rule a name.
  4. Click Font and choose the colour, font or style you want Outlook to use.
  5. Click Condition and tell Outlook which emails should receive that formatting.
  6. Click OK to save your changes.

For example, you can highlight messages from a particular person or make emails containing certain words in the subject stand out automatically.

A Simple Way To Make Your Inbox Easier To Scan

Once configured, Outlook applies the formatting automatically whenever a matching email appears, helping important customers, projects or colleagues stand out without moving messages around or requiring you to remember to flag them manually.

Note: Conditional Formatting is available for work or school accounts with a qualifying Microsoft 365 subscription. The feature is more comprehensive in classic Outlook, so some of the more advanced options may not be available in new Outlook.

Tech Tip : Protect Chrome Autofill With Windows Hello

Posted on by Paul Stradling

If you save personal information in Google Chrome to speed up completing online forms, you can now require Windows Hello verification before Chrome autofills it, helping prevent anyone else using your PC from accessing your saved details.

Why It Works

Chrome’s Enhanced Autofill can now securely store more types of personal information, including your home address, phone number, date of birth and payment details, making it much quicker to complete online forms. By turning on “Verify it’s you when filling sensitive info”, Chrome will ask for your Windows Hello fingerprint, face recognition or PIN before autofilling sensitive information, even if your browser is already open.

How To Turn It On

  1. Open Google Chrome.
  2. Click the three-dot menu and select Settings.
  3. Go to Autofill and passwords > Autofill settings.
  4. Turn on Verify it’s you when filling sensitive info.

The next time Chrome autofills sensitive information, you’ll first be prompted to verify your identity using Windows Hello or your Windows sign-in method.

Why It Matters

This simple setting adds an extra layer of security with very little inconvenience, making it much harder for anyone else using your computer to view or autofill your saved personal information while still keeping the convenience of Chrome’s Autofill feature.

Tech Tip : Find Email Attachments Faster In Outlook

Posted on by Paul Stradling

If you’re trying to find a PDF, Word document or spreadsheet someone emailed you weeks or even months ago, Outlook’s search tools can narrow down the results in seconds, saving you from scrolling endlessly through your Inbox.

Why It Works

Rather than searching every email, Outlook lets you filter messages that contain attachments, making it much quicker to locate important files without remembering exactly when they were sent or who sent them.

You can then narrow the results even further by searching for a particular attachment type or combining the search with other keywords.

How To Do It

Click in Outlook’s search box.

Type hasattachments:yes and press Enter to display only emails that contain attachments. This works across Outlook versions.

If you’re using classic Outlook for Windows, you can narrow the results even further by searching for a specific attachment type. For example:

  • ext:pdf – finds emails with PDF attachments.
  • ext:docx – finds emails with Microsoft Word documents.
  • ext:xlsx – finds emails with Microsoft Excel spreadsheets.

You can also combine these searches with other keywords or a sender’s name to pinpoint exactly the attachment you’re looking for.

Things To Remember

The hasattachments:yes search works across Outlook versions, while the ext: search operator is available in classic Outlook for Windows. Even if you only use the attachment filter, it’s a quick and easy way to track down important files without remembering when they were sent.