What does OLE stand for

What does OLE stand for

Sometimes, when dealing with Windows programming or Windows applications, you will find the acronym OLE. But what does OLE stand for, and what does it do? And this blog post, I will explain OLE and why it was important and still is, even though Microsoft doesn’t promote it any longer.

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Notepad++ Go to line

Notepad++ Go to line

Sometimes when you are editing a text file, you want to go to a specific line. Here’s how you go to a line in Notepad++, along with a few more go to tricks.

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Replace carriage returns with commas in Notepad++

Replace carriage returns with commas in Notepad++

There are times when you need comma-separated lists but the data you have is separated by carriage returns instead. In this blog post, I’ll show you how to easily replace carriage returns with commas in Notepad++.

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Fast Copy: Best and fastest copier for Windows?

Fast Copy: Best and fastest copier for Windows?

People sure have strong feelings on their Windows copy utilities. Each of the command line utilities has their own strengths and weaknesses. But when it comes to copying with the GUI, a lot of times we just settle for Windows Explorer. Fast Copy is a utility that provides GUI ease of use with the power of the command line utilities. I think it might be the best file copier for Windows.

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Chocolatey package manager for Windows

Chocolatey package manager for Windows

There has been a recent spate of malvertising targeting popular downloads. These paid advertisements masquerade as legitimate download links for popular software packages. The files they serve up look legitimate, but they include software that you don’t want. Using a package manager is one way to avoid this problem. Chocolatey is the name of a good package manager for Windows. It sidesteps malvertising and solves other system maintenance problems for you too.

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Line count in Notepad

Line count in Notepad

Sometimes you need to count the number of lines in a plain text file. And sometimes notepad is all you have. Here’s how to do a line count in notepad.

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Update Windows third-party utilities semi-automatically

Update Windows third-party utilities semi-automatically

I used to have and recommend a tool for updating all your third party software on Windows machines. Unfortunately that tool went end of life several years ago. But Microsoft, of all people, has a tool that works suitably. Usage is similar to apt or yum on Linux. It’s called Microsoft App Installer, and at the command line, it takes the form of the command winget.

App Installer is a free tool that updates what Windows Update won’t. That means open source apps, but also some third party apps, and even some difficult-to-update Microsoft apps, like the Visual C++ runtime. It is capable of updating more than 3,000 apps.
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Move your user profile to a new Windows 11 PC

Move your user profile to a new Windows 11 PC

If you built or rebuilt a Windows 11 PC, moving your user profile to the new PC can be a pain. Here’s how to make it easier.
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Change your computer name in Windows 11

Change your computer name in Windows 11

If you thought changing your computer name in Windows 11 was just a matter of right clicking on an icon on the desktop, I have bad news for you. It’s not. That option hides from you now, though you can find it again behind a completely different right click. Here’s where Microsoft hid it.

The quickest way to rename a Windows 11 PC is to right-click the Start menu and click System. Right-clicking the start menu is a good trick to remember when you can’t find something in Windows.

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Mouse moves with arrow keys? The fix

Mouse moves with arrow keys? The fix

My Windows mouse cursor was moving on its own on my work laptop and driving me up the wall. Here’s how I traced the problem and how I fixed it. It turned out the mouse cursor was moving when I pushed the arrow keys. I’ve seen this happen in both Windows 10 and Windows 11. The obscure problem where keyboard arrows move the mouse is easy enough to fix, fortunately.

Two things can cause the Windows mouse cursor moving with arrow keys. Those are an obscure feature called Mouse Keys, or the venerable Microsoft Paint app.

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