Jing Project is a free tool for both Mac and Windows users, that lets you capture your computer screen as a static image or a screencast, and then share your screen capture as a URL. Which means that not only are they providing the software to create the capture, they are also providing free hosting. How could you use this? It’s up to you. Add your Jing captures to your chats, your social networking, or your websites. Use to for fun, or to demonstrate computer stuff to friends and co-workers.

If you’ve ever wanted to print a text listing of files in a Windows folder, this week’s tip is for you. First, create a simple batch file (you can put it in your Windows folder) called filelisting.bat with a single line in it (without the quotes): “dir /a /b /-p /o:gen >filelisting.txt”. Then modify the Folder context menu so that your batch file displays whenever you right-click on a folder in Explorer. For complete instructions, read The Elder Geek.

With the Send To function on the right-click contextual menu, Windows users have one-click access to various destinations such as Mail, Desktop, and My Documents. You can easily add new shortcuts to frequently used folders such as My Pictures or My Music by following these instructions for Windows XP. Vista users will also need this tip to avoid a common error.

The part of a computer filename that starts with a dot and is followed by three characters is called the extension. It usually tells your computer what kind of file it is, and what program is needed to open it. If, however, your computer meets a file extension it doesn’t understand, you’ll need to do some research to figure it out. Here are two sites that will help: FILExt and File Extensions.

By default, Microsoft Office 2007 uses a new file format with the extension “.docx”. If you are trying to share files with users of older versions of Office, this can be a problem. Depending on whether you are the creator or the receiver, there are two ways to solve this problem. To create a more compatible file, users of MS Office 2007 can “Save As” in Office 2003 format. On the receiving side, users of older Office versions can grab a free upgrade from Microsoft that will allow them to read the new format.

Have you ever wanted to convert a file into a different format, but didn’t own the proper software? Zamzar is an online service that will convert files for free. It handles dozens of file conversions including documents, images, audio and video. Simply upload your file, choose your desired format, and enter your email address. When the conversion is complete, you will receive an email with a download link.

Even if you do not own an iPod, the free iTunes Jukebox is an excellent desktop tool for both Windows and Apple. It organizes and plays digital music, and it also rips (converts CDs to digital format) and burns (creates CDs from digital files.)

Although Picture and Fax Viewer is the default graphics viewing application for Windows XP, you can easily change this. Open Windows Explorer, and then right-click on any picture file. Select Open With, and then (even if your graphic program is listed) click on Choose Program. Now highlight your graphics program, and check the box titled “Always use the selected program to open this kind of file”. Repeat the process for each file extension (just as .gif or .jpg) you want to open this way.

Portable Document Format (PDF) is an increasingly popular standard for e-books (and hundreds of other uses) because of how well it preserves formatting across many platforms. The most robust tool for creating PDFs is Adobe Acrobat (which starts at $299.) For cheaper alternatives, try Adobe’s online convertor or pdfFactory. Both let you try before you buy.