Here are the answers to a few of my reader's most often asked questions.

Q. When my friend prints a Web page from Internet Explorer, it has the Internet address at the bottom of the page. Why doesn’t this print on my computer?

A. The information appearing at the top and bottom of a printed Web page is controlled by the Page Settings in Internet Explorer. Click on File, then Page Setup. In the footer area, type:   &u  Then click OK. Now every time you print a Web page, the URL or Internet address will be at the bottom of the page. You can also enter other useful information. Type &u&b&d and the URL will print the date on the left. Add the text: Page &p or &P and the number of the page and total number of pages will print.

Q. What’s the difference between a CRT and an LCD screen?

A. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) technology is used in most televisions and computers today. In a CRT, an electron beam moves back and forth across the back of the screen. As it passes, the beam lights up phosphor dots on the inside of a glass tube, illuminating portions of the screen. Because the glass tube in the CRT is quite large, the monitor itself is big and heavy.

LCD  (Liquid Crystal Display) screens are used in many digital clocks and portable computers. Inside an LCD, two sheets of polarizing material are aligned separated by a liquid crystal solution. An electric current passed through the liquid aligns the crystals so that light cannot pass through them. LCDs are thinner and clearer than CRTs, but they are also more expensive.

Be careful when you are comparing the size of various monitors. CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) monitors, the large bulky monitors that have been around for quite awhile, are measured differently than the newer flat screen  LCD  (Liquid Crystal Display) monitors. A 12" LCD display has a viewing area similar to a typical 14" CRT monitor.

Q. Why doesn’t the Print Screen key on my keyboard work?

It does work, just not the way you would expect. In the old DOS days, the Print Screen key on a PC keyboard performed just as you would expect. When the Print Screen key was pressed, a paper copy of whatever was on the screen was printed. Unfortunately in Windows, the Print Screen key sends an image of the screen to the Windows Clipboard instead of the printer. In order to actually print the screen image, you must then paste that image in the Clipboard into a program, like a paint program, and print the screen from that program. (On many keyboards, you have to hold down the Shift key while pressing the Print Screen key.) This process is very cumbersome. Get yourself a good screen capture program like SnagIt if you often need to print out a copy of the screen.

Q. How do I increase the size of icons on my screen as well as the type on my computer?

A. If you are using Windows 95 or better, it’s an easy task. Right-click on any empty space on the Windows desktop. You will be presented with a menu. Choose Properties. Then click on the Appearance tab. On the right-hand side under the word Item, you will see a down arrow. (Windows XP users can change the font size on this screen but will have to click on Advanced to get to the screen with the word Item.) Click on that arrow and choose Icon from the drop-down list. Now you will see a place where you can change the size of the icon as well as the font size, which is the size of the text under the icon.

Most programs have a place, often found in the View menu, where you can change the size of icons and text. For instance, in Internet Explorer 5, click on View. Choose Text Size. Then choose the size of the text.

Here’s a useful quick tip: If you have a mouse with a wheel between the two buttons, you can use it to make the text larger in many programs such as Internet browsers and word processing applications. Just hold down the CTRL key while moving the wheel. Move the wheel up while holding down the CTRL key and the text will get larger. Moving the wheel down while pressing the CTRL key will make the text smaller.