Handy hints and tips from your fellow readers Email us your tips: letters@computeractive.co.uk
TIP OF THE FORTNIGHT Delay your screen recordings in ShareX
I’ve been using ShareX (https://getsharex.com) to take screenshots since reading your Workshop on it in Issue 657 (page 38). It’s a great tool with lots of advanced features that are easy to learn.
One of its best features is the screen-recording function. I often record tasks on my screen to help fix PC problems that relatives and friends have, but I always need a few seconds to prepare myself. ShareX’s default is to start the recording straight away, but there’s a way of delaying this so you can double-check you’ve got everything in place.
Click the ‘Task settings’ option on the left ( 1 in our screenshot) then ‘Screen recorder’. Change the ‘Start recording after’ dropdown menu to a time of your choice. I’ve chosen five seconds 2 .
You can then start a recording by clicking Capture at the top left, then ‘Screen recording’. You’ll see a five-second countdown at the bottom left of your screen before it starts. Click ‘Stop’ when you’ve finished and you’ll see at the bottom right of your screen where your recording has been saved.
Don Clarke
Don wins a copy of our 2022 Back Issue CD Buy it from us at www.snipca.com/44660
SOFTWARE
Manage iPhone/iPad in Windows
Your response to Pamela Viccars’ question in Problems Solved (Issue 661, page 69) discusses the differences between iTunes and Apple Music. iPhone and iPad users can now manage their devices using Apple’s new Devices app for Windows 10 and 11. You can download it for free from the Microsoft Store (www.snipca.com/47078).
As with iTunes, you connect your device to a PC using a Lightning or USB-C cable. You may need to authorise the connection with its passcode. It will appear in the Devices app, where you can create a backup (see screenshot left), force a factory reset and check available storage. The app is still a preview version, but it performs better than iTunes in my experience.
Ben Ward
OFFICE
Overlap photos in Excel
Issue 663’s Make Office Better had a tip explaining how to overlap photos in Microsoft Word (page 47). I’ve found this is easy to do in Excel by opening a spreadsheet then clicking Insert at the top, followed by Illustrations, Pictures, then choosing where to import the image from.
When the photo appears you can reduce its size by clicking and dragging the corner arrows ( 1 in our screenshot above). If you right-click the photo you’ll see settings to ‘Bring to Front’ and ‘Send to Back’ (ie, overlapping) 2 .
David Shelton
INTERNET
Sync
