Help with our Public Computer Stations
On this page you will find information on the following:
- How to change printer settings
- Help on printing images from the Internet
- Help on printing email messages, parts of pages, and frames
- Help on using the available software applications
- General information on using our Public Web Browser program
Changing Printer settings
Printouts made from our public computer stations are sent to our laser printer, and print in black & white by default.
At any computer station, you may change to the color printer, and change other print settings to get the type out printout that you desire.
When the Print window is on the screen, click the Properties button to open the printer settings window (if necessary). Please avoid using the "best" quality setting - printouts using this quality take approximately 5-10 times as long to print as they would at normal quality, and for most documents, the image quality will be about the same.
Help with printing images from the Internet
If you are trying to print out a particular image from a website, there are several ways to get the printout you intended.
- Move the mouse cursor over the image you wish to print, and click on the small printer icon that appears over the picture; or,
- Right-click on an image you want to print, and select "print picture" from the menu that appears; or,
- Click-and-drag with the mouse to highlight the image you would like to print, and choose "print selection" at the final print screen.
Large images that do not fit on the screen or page
Sometimes an image that you would like to print out is larger than the screen and/or the paper size in the printer. There are no settings within Internet Explorer that will allow you to change the size of the image as it is printed. You may be able to save an image on disk, and then print the image using Windows XP's built-in image viewer, which allows you to adjust the image for printing.
For additional assistance with printing images, please ask a staff member for help at the front desk.
Printing email messages, pages with frames, or parts of a web page
If you are trying to print an email message, and you are using a web based email service such as Yahoo or Hotmail, you may have trouble getting the message to print out correctly. Many other sites may cause similar problems when you try to print them out. These steps will help you print email messages, pages with frames in them, or only parts of a web page that you choose. (Some web pages may still not print correctly, or the way you want them to, even using these tips. If you have questions, or have a page that refuses to display properly in the Print Preview window, Library staff may be able to assist you with your printouts.)
One way to handle frames is to click with the mouse somewhere in the frame you wish to print (for example, the frame where the email message is displayed). Then click on the print preview button and Print (or press <Ctrl> + <P>). When the Print window appears, find the area named Print frames, and click on "only the selected frame." See the example image below.
Another way to do this is to open the message in a new window. Back up to the page before you viewed the message, right click on link to the message, and click on "Open in new window." (You can also hold down the <shift> key while clicking on the link to the messsage to accomplish this.) This will open the selected message in a new window by itself, which will allow you to print the message without side bars, menus, etc.
If you only want to print a portion of a lengthy web page or message, highlight (click and drag over) the portion of the message or web page that you would like to print. Then click on the print preview button and Print (or press <Ctrl> + <P>).
When the Print window opens, find the area named Print Range, and click the button for Selection. Now, only the part that you had highlighted will be printed.
Other available software
All public computer stations at the library currently have the following software installed:
- Public Web Browser using Internet Explorer 6
- Microsoft Word
- Microsoft Excel
- Microsoft Publisher
- Microsoft PowerPoint
- Windows XP's built-in image viewer
- Adobe Acrobat reader version 6 (or newer) for viewing PDF files
- Access to floppy discs, CD-ROM discs, and USB drives (for opening data file only)
A number of security programs and settings are also installed on all public computers.
For more information on software in use at the Ripon Public Library, look here.
Help with Public Web Browser
The Ripon Public Library currently uses a program called Public Web Browser to provide a secure yet fully-functional Internet experience for our users. While the Public Web Browser software limits access to certain functions which may change settings or pose a security risk to our network, it is based on the Internet Explorer engine, thus remaining fully compatible with most current Internet sites and their related content. Visit the public computer page for more information on PWB.
For more information on Internet Use at the Ripon Public Library, look here.
