Windows 10 leaves out a nice printer option
Q: I have multiple offices that I go to and usually stay four to five days. At each office I have to go to Control Panel Printers and Devices, and wait while the computer scans the network, and then changes my default printer to a local printer. Is there a one click or faster way to change default printers each time I go to a different office?
A: If you are still using Windows 7, there is a useful feature where your computer can default to a specific printer based on the network you are connected to.
Open up the Devices and Printer Control Panel and select the printer you want to assign to a specific network, and then select Manage default printers.
From there select Change my default printer when I change networks, and select the network you want to associate it with.
Repeat this process for any of your installed printers, and you’re all set.
Sadly, this feature seems to have been tossed out with Windows 10. Perhaps it was a little too obscure.
The only option I have found for Windows 10 is the option to enable your last used printer to become your default printer.
You can access this by going into the Settings, Devices, Printers and Scanners, and look for “Let Windows manage my default printer.” Here you can adjust the settings or turn it off if you don’t want to use it.
Q: I was given a new-to-me computer running Windows 10 to replace my old computer that was running Windows XP. I just realized that it doesn’t include Microsoft Office. I have an old copy of Office 2007. Can you tell me if that is compatible?
A: Microsoft Office 2007 is quite old and is no longer supported by Microsoft. That being said, it will work in Windows 10, but just barely.
If you don’t have money to spend on a more updated version of Microsoft Office, you may want to look at Apache Open Office from openoffice.org. This free suite of programs is similar to Microsoft Office and will allow you to read and create text documents and spreadsheets, much like Microsoft Office.
For the sake of total familiarity and compatibility, I still recommend Microsoft Office. But Microsoft does seem to be proud of its software, and that is reflected in the pricing.
Another option might be to get an older version of Office that is not quite as old as 2007. The 2010 version is still quite usable and is much cheaper than the latest version.