Stump the PC Club is a free tech-advice column written by members of the North Orange County Computer Club, which has been in existence since 1976. Visit the club’s site at noccc.org.
QUESTION: In Windows XP when I opened the My Pictures folder there was a menu bar. Now, with Windows 7, it is not there. Has this been removed or is there a way to show it.
PC CLUB: In most Windows 7 installations the menu bar is turned off by default. To enable it temporarily just press the Alt key on your keyboard. If you want it to be permanently enabled, click Organize, Layout and place a checkmark in the first item from the top which is labeled Menu bar.
Once enabled, if you press the Alt key, you will notice that the first letter on each menu entry is underscored. For example, if you press Alt-F, the File menu will open and so on with the rest of the menu choices.
In Windows XP this is controlled by clicking View, Toolbars. To enable or disable the menu, use View, Toolbars. Standard Buttons.
With Windows 7 if you enable the menu bar for Documents as an example, it will be enabled for Music, Pictures and Videos. It will also be enabled on Windows Explorer. In other words, there is no need to enable it in several places.
Internet Explorer is another story. If your menu bar is missing there just click View, Toolbars and place a checkmark in Menu Bar. Notice that Microsoft calls it a ”Menu bar” in one place and “Menu Bar” in others. No surprise here. But if there is no menu bar how do you click View, etc.? You have to right-click an empty spot on the bar along the top to give you a selection of toolbars to enable. Firefox works the same way. However, the easiest way is to press the Alt key to enable the toolbar temporarily allowing you to make the change permanently.
If you’re using almost any feature of Windows and a menu bar is not showing, try using the Alt key. For example, if you open Windows Paint in Windows 7 it uses the new type of interface called the Ribbon Interface. For example the traditional File, Save does not appear. To open the menu simple use Alt-F. Similarly, to show the ruler, use Alt-V, and without letting go of the Alt key press R.
Ed Schwartz is a member of the North Orange County Computer Club. To send in a question, go to edwardns.com and click the Contact Me menu. Archives of previous columns are also on the website.