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While TechTrax was on hiatus for the summer of 2003, we also
turned off the Reader's Feedback feature, since we weren't readily available
to answer your questions. However, now that we're back, you'll notice the Feedback
option along the top menu. If you have any questions or comments about any articles
you find in TechTrax, you can use that menu option to pass us your concerns.
You can elect not to have your name used—in which case we'll
still use your comments, but will use them anonymously. Questions about specific
articles are passed back to the authors to answer.
We turned the Feedback on again about a month ago, and comments immediately
started to arrive. Below are those we've accumulated to date.
Feedback
Keith writes...
Greg, I downloaded your code for Word
Crayon and it works great for the majority of what I was looking for. I
have an instructor who has about 150 different words and phrases that he marks
off for in our papers, so I use your code to check my document and change the
color of the text he doesn't want to see. Then I am able to easily go back and
make changes without constantly looking at a list of his words and comparing
it to my paper.
One question I did have however...is there a way to make the code look for
the whole word, and not just the letters. For example, one of his words is the
word "is". I have added this to the text file (ColorKeyWords.txt)
as is=wdColorBlue. However, when it goes through the document it finds any instance
of "is" whether is just two letters in a larger word or the whole
word. I am wanting it to only look at the whole word and not color just the
two letters inside of a larger word.
Is there anything I can do to modify your code so that it looks only at whole
words? If not, that is fine, this is much better than me combing the entire
document myself. :)
Reply
Greg
Chapman writes...
First, I'm sorry about the delay. I've been busy and I won't bore
you with the details, but I will beg your forgiveness!
Second, yes, there is a way to cause the coloring to affect only whole words
instead of just pieces of the word. In the ColorWords subroutine, add the
MatchWholeWord property and set it to equal True in the Execute method:
Sub ColorWords(ByVal strText As String, ByVal MyColor As Variant)
With ActiveDocument.Content.Find
.ClearFormatting
With .Replacement
.ClearFormatting
.Font.Color = MyColor
End With
.Execute FindText:=strText, ReplaceWith:=strText, _
Format:=True, Replace:=wdReplaceAll, MatchWholeWord:=True
End With
End Sub
You can simply replace your existing ColorWords subroutine with the above
and you should then have the solution. Thanks for your patience!
Greg Chapman
http://www.mousetrax.com
Reader's Reply
Greg,
No need for you to apologize, I am grateful that you would email me back
at all, as I am sure you get a lot of unsolicited emails.
Thank you for the information, that worked great, and will cut down on
my work load even more. I just ran it on a 25 page document and it highlighted
all the 150+ words for me in less than two minutes. This is a great time
saver.
I told a coworker about it and she asked me to bring it in and install
it on her machine so she can run it against documents that she writes.
I also appreciate the fact that you have this stuff out there for free,
keep up the excellent work.
Keith
Feedback
Jeff Burke writes...
Jon,
Thanks very much for a great article in TechTrax [Scatter
Chart or Line Chart?] . It was very timely for myself as I embark on developing
a chart portfolio for our project. Your efforts are much appreciated, and I
look forward to your future articles.
Best regards, Jeff Burke
Reply
Jon
Peltier writes...
Thanks for the nice note. It's good to know that you found my article helpful.
If you have a suggestion for a future article, please let me know. Oh, and
good luck with your chart portfolio.
- Jon
http://www.geocities.com/jonpeltier/
Feedback
Brian Barber from Ottawa, ON Canada, writes...
On this page, http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=146
[Formatting Cells in Excel article] you mention that if you want to
add text to the beginning of a custom number format, you simply need to add
the desired characters. The correct way to do is to add the desired characters
in quotation marks or escape a single character with a backslash.
Please check this out and let me know if I'm correct. I tried what you suggested
on ExcelXP on Windows 2000. It wouldn't work until I added the quotation marks.
Reply
Linda
Johnson writes...
Hi Brian...I wish I could tell you why you need to add quotes in order for
a custom number to add a letter...I just tried it in Excel 2000, which is
the only version I have access to while I'm on vacation...but it worked just
fine. I made the custom format A000# (just like my tutorial explains) and
then I typed 12 into that cell and it was changed to A012.
Like I said, I don't have access to Excel 2002 (XP) while I'm away from home,
but I've done this hundreds of times on various versions of Excel and I have
NEVER had to use quotes. Good luck and take care.
Linda Johnson
http://personal-computer-tutor.com
Reader's reply
Wow, thanks for the quick response. I tried CPY00000000000# as a custom
format and it didn't work; "CPY"00000000000# worked just fine.
Could it be that more than one character requires quotes? Or perhaps my
laptop is sitting in some kind of Excel Bermuda Triangle. :)
Enjoy the rest of your vacation. Keep away from computers. They're not meant
to be used on holidays. :) Cheers, BB
Reply
Linda
Johnson writes....
Hi again Brian. Excel is recognizing CPY as a function name and that's
why it requires the quotes. Excel won't let you use a function name in
a custom format unless you put it in quotes. To see what I mean, make
a custom format like BBG000# and you will see it works fine. Then try
one like SUM000# and you will see you get the error telling you the format
is invalid because SUM is a function name. However "SUM"000#
works just fine. Hope that explains it.
Linda
http://personal-computer-tutor.com
Reader's reply
Brilliant! I totally overlooked that CPY is a named function. Time
for a coffee. And for you to get back to your vacation!!! You've taken
too much time away from it already. :) My profound thanks for taking
the time to straighten me out.
Have a restful time, BB
Feedback
David writes...
Thanks for some great info on your "Export
Graphics from PowerPoint" page. I do have one question though that
I'd be grateful if you could help with: you say the "Magic DPI" for
exporting from PPT97 is 96 if video is set to small fonts and 120 if video is
set to large fonts. I've managed to export at 96, but am not quite sure how
to switch my "video" between small and large fonts. Could you help
please? Also, is there any way of exporting at an even higher res?
Reply
Steve
Rindsberg writes...
To change video resolution from small to large fonts, you right click the
windows desktop, choose properties, then adjust things on the Settings tab.
The exact verbiage varies from one version of Windows to another.
Note that this only works for PPT97. PPT2000 and later use 72dpi for exports,
regardless of your video settings.
Our Image
Export PPTool makes all this a whole lot simpler, of course. ;-) And all
for just thirty bucks.
Editor's Note! Also, if you
need any additional help for this or any other PowerPoint or Microsoft technology
issues, know that you can find Steve and all the other MVPs providing free
support, 24x7, in the Microsoft
Newsgroups, which you can access via: http://support.microsoft.com/newsgroups.
This article will provide you with additional information for accessing the
MS newsgroups Get
Help!
Feedback
Daniel E. Fall from St. Paul, MN, writes...
Great article on finding the display
adaptor information. Recently, I did a hard drive replace/restore on a Dell
PC and neglected to find out the display adaptor info. Windows fell short and
couldn't help. Used Debug and found out the card in the machine. Thanks!
Reply
Dian
Chapman writes...
Thanks so much for your comments, Daniel, I know Greg will be glad to hear
that his article was valuable to you! And we appreciate you taking the time
to pass your words along. (I know Greg would wish to reply directly, but both
his parents had heart attacks within a week of each other, so he's flown off
to Ohio.)
Feedback
Wendy writes...
hi...i teach IT in adult ed. i stumbled on the tech trax website and think
its great. would it be possible to print/save and use the information in my
teaching sessions?
thanx, wendy
Reply
Dian
Chapman writes...
Thank you for your kind comments. And thank you for checking on our copyrights.
Unfortunately, each article is not only copyrighted by TechTrax, but also
by the Author who wrote the article. That means, first, you would have to
contact each author INDIVIDUALLY to request permission for each INDIVIDUAL
article.
However, we do say on our copyright
page that you are allowed to use this information for your own personal
training and that you can write for permission to use our articles in non-profit
company/organizational training newsletters or company web information.
What you are involved in SEEMS to be a training class/course of some sort,
which I'm assuming adults have to pay to attend. In that case, the answer
would be no. Although you are free to learn from the information and then
write up your own lessons using skills that you will have learned...making
sure to provide links to any SHORT quotes or referenced articles you might
include...but you cannot, however, copy the articles directly and use them
in your training.
If I have misunderstood your circumstances and these classes are free, please
enlighten me. However, it would still stand that, even if TechTrax says yes,
you would still have to contact and get written permission from each author
prior to any use of an article. The reason our copyrights are dual-owned is
because our writers are all volunteers. And because of that, they retain the
rights to anything they care to SHARE with the TechTrax readers.
Let me know if you are involved in some type of non-profit/community type
training that is FREE to all who attend, as that would at least change the
TechTrax part of the answer to yes.
Reader's Reply
thanks for replying. i understand what you are saying and appreciate the
work gone into it.
I work in a computer training centre in an area of low waged/unemployed
people. all the courses we offer are free to everyone, whether working or
not. i hope that makes a difference.
thanks again, wendy
Reply
Dian
Chapman writes...
As for TechTrax, then yes, that does make a difference. If you are using
the info to help folks for FREE and these folks probably don't have PCs
at home where they can look the information up themselves...then you can
repost any article, as long as you have the proper permission and properly
add the copyright information so readers know that the information was
not from you, but from TechTrax...with the proper links and the articles
must remain in full and complete.
However, as I also said, due to the dual copyrights...you'd also have
to email each author and ask their specific permission to use anything
they have written.
As for anything written specifically by me...Dian Chapman...yes, you now
have my permission to use any of *my* TechTrax articles for the
purpose of free training as you've stated. However, be sure each article
is complete and also add the following at the bottom of each of my articles:
===========
This article is reprinted with the permission of the author, Dian D. Chapman,
Technical Consultant & Microsoft MVP and is being used for free training
purposes. You can find further information about Dian as well as many
other free tutorials from her web site at www.mousetrax.com.
This original article is reprinted with permission from TechTrax Ezine
at www.MouseTrax.com/TechTrax.
===========
Feedback
Sue Hartman from Washington, PA, writes...
Dian, I can't figure out how you have the time to assemble and deliver all
this invaluable, free info to us and still make a living. Your answers in the
newsgroups are right on; the ezine is just the icing on the cake for me, another
WP user who came kicking and screaming over to Word. THANK YOU!!
Reply
Dian
Chapman writes...
Well, being out of work helps!<g> After losing my job to the
9/11 economic backlash, I discovered I had a lot more time on my hands. Know
anyone who wants to hire a computer geek?<smileSend them to my Consulting
page. But don't worry, TechTrax will continue...it's become a huge labor
of love!
Feedback
Alex writes...
Hello, Dian. I just came across your "Microsoft
Word Shortcuts List" article in the Internet. I would like please to
ask how you have digitally signed the document MSWordShortcuts.doc (its macros)
so that the user is asked to approve the running of macros.
(I have a certificate published by Verisign and tried to use my digital signature
on a macro but I can't see how this feature works.)
Thank you. My regards, Alex
Reply
Dian
Chapman writes...
Glad you found this article helpful, Alex. As for digital signatures, David
Horowitz wrote a TechTrax article that explains how to use digital signatures.
See his TechTrax article: Using
SelfCert to Create Digital Certificates in a Network Environment.
Reader's Reply
Thank you, Dian. That was very helpful.
Feedback
Ron Bedgood from Lakeland, FL, writes...
Thanks for publishing a real tech site (unlike Comando's "hollywood"
approach). Can you steer me in the direction of how to search/destroy whatever
continually writes to my HD.
Reply
Dian
Chapman writes...
Thanks so much for the kind words, Ron! (And since I used to write for a
tech mag with Kim Comando also as a writer, those words are particularly appreciated!<evil
grin>)
Not quite sure what you mean, Ron. But I'm guessing you mean the obnoxious
indexing feature in Office that continually attempts to presort files whenever
you leave your system unattended...and then you have to wrestle your mouse
back from it!?!? Here's some basic info:
"When you install Office, a program called Find Fast is added to the
Control Panel. When you start your computer, the Office program located in
the Startup folder automatically runs Find Fast. When Find Fast runs, it creates
a hidden index on each of the hard disk drives on your computer. These indexes
contain words, titles, and OLE properties for each file on that drive. The
indexes help speed up finding and opening files when you use the Advanced
Find and Open commands in the Office programs."
See this article for further details and info about how to disable it (or
just do what I do...and use the custom install method and never install that
sucker!)
How to Turn Off the Find Fast Indexer
http://support.microsoft.com/?scid=199787
Feedback
A reader writes...
I must admit to being a technical writer and an avid FrameMaker user, but sometimes
I have to use Word, so I have a couple of questions.
1. I am working on documents created by people who did not use styles correctly.
I am faced with things like multiple carrier returns to move to a new page,
justified body text and mandated orders to put two spaces after every period.
Needless to say, styles are a mess! I am trying to clean them up, but I noticed
that there are several variations on styles, for example, "Body Text,char,char,char".
What is happening here? It doesn't happen when I am using styles, but the other
writers insist it happens all the time with this version of Word. We are using
Word XP.
2. What is the best reference book you could suggest for beginning and advanced
Word users?
Reply
Dian
Chapman writes...
I feel your pain! As an editor/designer for many years myself, I know EXACTLY
what you are facing. Yes, you'll have to run a lot of search and replace processes
to remove double spaces and replace with period/single space. Same with removing
returns. If you check under the SPECIAL button on the expanded Find/Replace
dialog, you'll see ways to remove many of those items, such as ^p^p for double
para, etc.
As for the styles, well, since so many folks don't understand styles, yet
Word is BASED on using styles, if they just apply more formatting, the pseudo
style tacks on the added formatting. That's how you end up with *style, char,
char, char*. That means they added 3 more types of formatting, but never *properly*
updated the style. Had they entered the style properly and modified the formatting,
they would have ended up with ONE style name, as you get. But since they didn't
do that/or didn't know to do that, properly...they're just piling more and
more formatting onto the same style.
The first thing they need is a lesson in styles!<smile> You might
want to point them to this page for some basic info about the value of using
styles:
Getting Started with Styles
www.mousetrax.com/styles.html
As for books, we have a page on MouseTrax
where we list some of the best tech books available—ones *we* use. See
www.mousetrax.com/books.html.
Good luck!
Reader's reply
Hi Dian, Thanks so much for your empathy <smile> and the links you
suggested.
I will tell the folks I work with about them. Let's hope they look at them.
:-)
Feedback
A reader writes...
I bought the application 3D-Album [as recommended in your 3D-Album
article] and i am very fond of the software but the images are flickering
as if it was unrendered. I'm trying to figure it out, if you can e-mail me telling
me what to do, it would be greatly appreciated. Thank You
Reply
Dian
Chapman writes...
Sorry, but I'm really not sure what might be the problem, other than the
fact that you might not have enough computer resources to do the job...or
maybe your video driver needs to be upgraded.
I would suggest you read this article, Maintaining Your Computer at: www.mousetrax.com/maintain.html
to make sure your computer is in good running order. It'll also show you how
to check and update your video driver. If you get a new video driver (these
are free from the manufacturer's web sites) then give it another shot. It
might help solve the problem.
Other than that...I'd have to suggest you check out the 3D
support web site to see if they can offer you any other suggestions. Good
luck!
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