Author Archives: karl.kranich

Firefox: Open Search in New Tab

This is a great tip that I got from Tekzilla

If you’re like me, and you sometimes forget to open a new tab in Firefox before using the search box, this is a very useful tip.

Browse to about:config, find browser.search.openintab, double-click to change it to true, and then restart Firefox for the change to take effect.

Now your searches will open in a new tab!

Unlock Those Locked Files

If you’ve been around Windows very long, you’ve run into files that were locked by other users or processes.? The free utility Unlocker, which I read about in the February 2008 issue of TechNet magazine, will solve this problem for you.? Just right-click on the file and choose Unlocker from the context menu.

Thanks to Cedrick Collomb for this great, free utility.? Support it with a donation!

Reopen Closed Browser Tabs

Have you ever closed a browser tab and then wanted it back?? This is one of those things that I’ve needed for a long time, and didn’t even think to ask if it was possible.? I just assumed that it wasn’t!

In Firefox 2, there are at least three ways to reopen a closed tab:

  1. Right-click on a tab and choose “Undo Close Tab” to get back the one you closed most recently.
  2. Ctrl-Shift-T (think of it being the opposite of Shift-T, which opens a new tab).
  3. History menu -> Recently Closed Tabs will let you choose from among the last 10 tabs you closed!

In Internet Explorer 7, you could install the IE7 Open Last Closed Tab plugin (which I have not tested).

Finding IT Answers

Here’s a reminder (primarily for myself) of the places to look for answers when I have an IT problem:

  1. My local knowledgebase of tech answers
  2. My Outlook archives via Windows Desktop Search
  3. Google (what did we do before search engines?)
  4. TechSpot
  5. Technet (since I’m primarily working with Windows machines)
  6. The Windows Secrets archives (I’m a subscriber)
  7. My del.icio.us bookmarks
  8. My browser favorites