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Below is the Feedback we received during November. If you have some comments
you'd like to share, you can do so by clicking the Feedback
menu item above. You will be given the option to have your name published, or
not. And yes...since we're pushing 4,000 subscribers these days, we do
get a lot of great comments from our readers...which we do appreciate!
Feedback
Ernie Mink from Denver, CO USA writes...
This is concerning the rating of the Audible.com Otis audiobook/MP3 portable
player listed on:
http://reviews-zdnet.com.com/Audible_Otis/4505-6490_16-8338249-2.html?tag=review
AND ABOUT YOUR
REVIEW TOO.
I see a lot of the ratings about this saying it is only "acceptable"
as a music player, but it sounds no worse and sometimes better than three
of the other portable music and MP3 players out there. What would be the point
of making it if that were not so? The people that say the bass is weak and
the separation of sound is not quite there is using some really bad headphones
or really needs to get their hearing checked. That is also why it has an equalizer.
Also, some people do not know how to download music properly for the best
sound to a portable. And guess what? I saved $100 plus dollars because I got
it for free and I do not even have to remain a member of Audible.com to have
it either.:) If anyone any comments that are intelligent, backed up by facts
and are good judges of sound and equipment, feel free to contact me at erniem1970@comcast.net
And by the way, "Dolby" AAC format sounds somewhat better, but I
do not have 300 to 400 dollars to throw around right now on an Apple iPod
for Windows use, and this player has the ability to expand to an additional
128 MB from a memory card, which I just bought, and it was FREE. And quality
FREE.
Reply
Kevin
Christy, author of Books
on Silicon: My Experience with Audible.com, writes...
Dear Ernie: Never having used the Otis for anything other than Audible-formatted
audiobooks, I'm glad your experience with MP3s has been a positive one.
You might want to join the Audible group at Yahoo! Groups and share your
experience with others on the list.
Best, Kevin Christy
Feedback
JimB from Toronto, Canada writes...
Comments on Greg Chapman's article on Pegasus...You are the man!
I've had the same struggles and fights with all of this nonsensical hellishness
out there and have tried 4 programs (and was about to go out and spend even
more money on other software.)
I found your page by doing a search on the error code of using Arcsoft's
dvd program and happened upon your page (The title of your article caught
my attention!!!)
Pegasus is so easy and rocket fast, that I wonder what the heck I was using
before...
Thank you so much for not only including the humorous technical points on
the software but also the screenshots of the program. Of course, at your suggestion,
Greg, I purchased this immediately after using it...
Serious props to you, dog...
-JimB
Reply
Greg
Chapman, author of At
Last!! Fast, Easy and Reliable DVD Authoring for the PC! writes...
Hey Jim! Thanks for the kind words! I was pretty certain from what I
had gone through and read on the web that I wasn't the only one having
problems.
There are two things that are truly amazing about TMPGEnc. First, its
performance is so smooth, fast and flawless that I'm puzzled as to why
none of the other products even come close and make such high demands
of our PCs. Second, I can't believe the other programs on the market are
all following the same paradigm and, seemingly, haven't managed to hear
from their consumers how awful their products are to use.
Now we all have a benchmark for comparison and, as far as I'm concerned,
the shopping is over!
Thanks for agreeing with me and taking the dive into the product! We'll
keep our eyes open for other products out there that are created by people
who can remember to get the basics right first!
Greg Chapman
"Counting in binary is as easy as 01, 10, 11!
With thinking this clear, is coding really a good idea?"
Feedback
Elise C. Miller writes...
Hi Dian,
I am finally getting ready to organize my Outlook folders and I wanted to
try your method. I followed this link and it isn't working. Is the article
still available?
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=3D52=20
thanks, Elise (from the MS Office list)
Reply
Dian
Chapman, author of Organizing
Outlook Mail writes...
Hi Elise...Yes, it's still there. The problem with the URL you have is
that it was corrupted in the passing of the email to the Office group. This
is due to the way email programs work with the groups. Sometimes they pick
up excess =3D and =20 codes!
Here is the true URL again...
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=52
Note that it SHOULD end with ?ID= and then JUST the number 52. If you check
the URL you had, there is a 3D and 20 mixed up in the URL.
Should the URL above get messed up...here's how you can find the article
without a direct URL. Go to MouseTrax.com.
Click the TRAINING menu and click TechTrax
Ezine. On that page, click the link to enter
TechTrax. Once in there...(note it has a green design rather
than the MouseTrax gray)...click the ARCHIVES
link on the TechTrax menu. In the search box marked KEYWORD, enter
the word OUTLOOK and hit search. This will pull up ALL the TechTrax
articles related to Outlook. Scroll down the list and you'll see one entitled:
ORGANIZING
OUTLOOK MAIL
That's the one you want. But there are many other good articles in there
that you also might find useful. Good luck!
Dian ~
Further reply from Elise...
Hi Dian, Thanks - for the link and the explanation! I am going to spend
some time on this and even try to show everyone else at my organization
how to do it! We'll see if that works. I have about 20,000 emails between
all the subfolders in my inbox and it is totally ridiculous. It also makes
Outlook run really slowly especially over my VPN. So I am looking forward
to making a big change.
Thanks again! Elise
Further reply from Dian...
Yeah...it works great. I use this method all the time. I have email
back to 1995! I just keep a currently named PST file for the year.
Then I keep a archive PST for various categories for that year.
Like this year...I have my PST named as DianMail_2003.pst. Then I
have a generic one called DianMail_Archive2003.pst. And there there
are various categories like Consulting_2003, WebSites_2003, TechMail_2003,
etc.
About once a month...I go into the various subfolders in the mail
DianMail_2003.pst (which is the one I keep open when OL displays)...and
pull out the old mail in each folder...or whole subfolders, say if
a web site or consulting job is done. Sure...I want to keep the files
in case the person comes back and need something else...but I don't
need to drag them open everytime I open email! So I temporarily open
the respective archive pst, like my general 2003 consulting one or
web sites for 2003 and move the email or folder into that one while
it's open. Then I just close it and it's safely tucked away on my
server for backup. When the year is done...I'll start a new 2003 general
mail and point new, incoming mail to go into that one. I usually keep
the 2003 open for about a month. By then it's usually safe to do a
final sort and close it out for the year.
After another year...I move the previous year files from my HD and
burn it to a CD. This keeps the current/active email handy. The email
from the last year easily accessible with a quick Open command to
get that specific pst category and old mail only a cd away.
And for files like TechSupport files and code files...I move those
to text files...as explained in another TechTrax article, Converting
Email to Clean Text Files...and use the FileCataloger
to link them for future reference through one master code or support
library document...as explained in yet another article (which you
can find linked, if you check out Greg's FileCataloger free
download at www.mousetrax.com/downloads.html).
Good luck and have fun showing everyone how to speed up their email
access and get organized!
Feedback
Johan Boholm from Finland writes...
Thanx for a valuable tip on how to make a Hyperlink to an Embedded Chart!
Your answer saved a lot of time for me. Appreciate your work.
Johan Boholm, Chydenius-Institute, FINLAND
Reply
Jon
Peltier, author of Microsoft
Excel Charting FAQs writes...
Johan - I'm glad to help. And thanks for the feedback. I like to hear what
readers find helpful.
- Jon
Feedback
Casier from Belgium writes...
Hi - May I ask something about the artikel "Using VBA to select the
paper tray". First thanks for the artikel. When I try to set the papertray
to manualpaperfeed via your code, there's nothing that changes. It still stands
on 'Automatically select'. I'm using a 'Brother HL-1260-laserprinter'. How
should that come?
A second question: a lot of information comes in 'strange' formats like 'char
PaperNames[cbinmax][cchbinname]'. Is there a site with some explanation?
Best Regards, Maarten Casier, Belgium
Reply
Jonathan
West, author of the series Controlling
the Printer from Word VBA, writes...
Casier -
Its a bit hard to know what is wrong without seeing the code. Initially,
two things need to be checked.
1. If the printer is a network printer, has a local copy of the driver
been installed in the PC running the code?
2. Does the paper tray number used to set the tray to manual feed match
the appropriate number obtained from the GetBinNumbers routine.
It would help to see the actual code that you have written.
As for the 'char PaperNames[cbinmax][cchbinname]' information, that isn't
anything in the actual articles I wrote - it looks like a declaration using
the C++ language. It is possible to convert these into VB declarations.
Visual Basic MVP, Ben Baird, wrote an article some time ago on how to do
this. It is called "How to Read C++" and you can read it here
http://www.vbthunder.com/articles/readcpp.asp
Regards, Jonathan
Feedback
A reader writes...
Regarding Controlling the Printer from Word VBA by Jonathan West, MVP Part
2:Using VBA to control Duplex, Color Mode and Print Quality
I have tried the code used to print duplex from VBA. It prints, but NOT in
duplex!?? My Word-version is Word 97 SR-2 (Windows NT40). I have also tried
the same from Windows XP/ Word XP with the same result. My (network-)printer
prints duplex when manually set to duplex before printing. I have tried to
print on a local printer and on a network printer, still the same result...
Is there any spesial things to remember when I try this out, apart from pasting
the code into a module?
Reply
Jonathan
West, author of the series Controlling
the Printer from Word VBA, writes...
It's hard to diagnose the problem without knowing the brand of printer
and being able to duplicate the hardware and software setup exactly. Companies
make their own printer drivers and some of them (even reputable companies
that ought to know better) make a complete hash of it. As far as I can tell,
things are getting a bit better for more modern printers on current versions
of Windows, but it appears that some companies are not all that keen on
making sure that their drivers are kept up to date for older versions of
Windows such as NT4.
You could try the following:
- Check that a local copy of the printer driver has been installed, even
for the network printer,
- See whether there is an updated driver available from the manufacturer's
website
- If the printer is a Postscript printer, try experimenting with a driver
for a different model of Postscript printer, and see if that improves
things
Regards, Jonathan
Feedback
Qian Tao writes...
I use powerpoint to make slides, I want to convert the slides to tif files,
with >300 psi, or CMYK format. My Powerpoint 2000 cannot do this job.
Can I get any other program to fullfil this purpose, or any other tricks
in Powerpoint 2000?
Many thanks, Qian Tao (Ph.D.)
Reply
Geetesh
Bajaj, one of our PowerPoint MVP authors writes...
I would send you to Steve's site for the answers:
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00075.htm
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00123.htm
http://www.rdpslides.com/pptfaq/FAQ00045.htm
Geetesh Bajaj, Microsoft PowerPoint MVP
Further reply
Steve
Rindsberg, another of our PowerPoint MVP authors adds...
A bit more information:
PowerPoint 2000's TIF export filter is broken. It seems not to produce
higher resolution images, where the other filters will.
My suggestion in this case would be to use one of the techniques outlined
in the links Geetesh sent to make PNG files at the needed resolution,
then use Photoshop or some other similar bitmap editing program to batch
convert them to CMYK TIF.
Feedback
A reader writes...
Hi! Thanks for putting the info for this on the site... I am not tryng to
start a war here.. I am just trying to improve the page for the next person..
The registry is a confusing animal.. But there are a few issues with the write
up!.. the max icon cache can only be 4096,, see this page
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=http://support.microsoft.com:80/support/kb/articles/Q132/6/68.asp&NoWebContent=1
When you reference the bit map there is no file by this name Bitmap=SHDOC401.DLL,6
in XP The file is there in 98SE also you tell people to copy and paste the
values the values are in exported syntax so if they copy and paste them they
will be blasted out of the water,,,
here is the page I am refering to...
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=56
Thanks!
Reply
Vic
Ferri, author of Registry
Tip for Increasing Icon Cache, writes...
1. shdoc401.dll is not only part of 98, but of Internet Explorer ,and also
ships with some Office apps, VB, etc. Most should have this file but, if
not, it doesn't matter - it is not at all necessary for this tip. It's just
used to provide a decorative icon for the Folder Options entry.
2. I wasn't aware that 4096 was stated as a max.. If you want 4096 as your
max, just skip step 5 in the article. (but no harm keeping the higher value
there)
3. Don't see anywhere in the article where copy - paste is mentioned.
cheers!
vic
Feedback
Steve writes...
Thanks for your helpful post about how to deal with the ever-so-irritating
"Do you want to merge this document" query that pops up in so many
of my Word documents. I would never have found the source of the problem without
it.
-- Steve
Reply
Beth
Melton, author of Do
you want to Merge Changes?, writes...
Hi Steve, I'm happy to hear you were able to find a solution to your problem
in TechTrax!
The "Automatic Review" option in Outlook 2002 is the source of
many frustrating problems. From the "Do you want to merge changes"
prompt to the automatic surfacing of the Reviewing Toolbar when opening
a document that has been sent as an attachment using Outlook 2002.
I'm pleased to note our pleas have been heard and this option has been
turned off by default in Outlook 2003. :-)
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton, Microsoft Office MVP
Feedback
Andrew Barnard from Brussels, Belgium, writes...
I found your page "Paste Special Unformatted Text At Your Fingertips"
on a Google search. Thanks for explaining to me how to make a macro that I
wrote on my own years ago on an early version of Word! I hadn't been able
to figure out how to re-make this handy macro in any of the more "advanced"
versions of Word imposed on me since the mid-90s. Your instructions worked
just fine, and now years of suffering are now at an end - thanks again!
Reply
Herb
Tyson, author of Paste
Special Unformatted Text At Your Fingertips, writes...
Thanks for the feedback. It's good to know that macros can still be accessible,
albeit harder to understand for many of us. Sometimes, an easy opportunity
presents itself, however.
In moving from WordBASIC to Visual BASIC for Applications, Microsoft increased
the power of what can be done through its macro language. At the same time,
however, working in the macro language became more difficult for many users,
and thereby less accessible. I've always questioned the wisdom of exchanging
power for accessibility/ease. For many of my clients who used to use macros
all the time, but who now hardly use them at all, it's hard to argue that
VBA has been an improvement.
Cheers, Herb
Feedback
Iain Campbell, Moorgate London UK, writes...
Hi Dian - Great document on what is contained in the normal.dot.
I had a user today stating that they did not like the size of the font in
the save dialog box, and for some reason her colleague next to her was convinced
that there was something wrong with the machine.
All i did was renamed the normal.dot and now the save dialogue box is the
correct size and the correct font size.
any reason for this happening ???, cos she is bound to want to know
Many thanks
Reply
Dian
Chapman, author of Normal.dot
Template—Explained, writes...
Thanks for the comments!
As versions go in Word...it seems like each version puts more weight on
the NORMAL.DOT template, which is the master template that runs a lot of
Word. Folks want more and more stuff and features...and much of it is piled
into the Normal...or controlled by it. So as each version comes out...it
seems that we hear of more and more problems with normal.dot becoming more
easily corrupted.
However, know that I use Word to death and I have only had to rename it
ONCE in many years! And mine are LOADED with lots of junk...from tons of
macro modules that get swapped in/out...styles everywhere...lots of test
styles, junk code, recorded macros from user scenarios to troubleshoot and
gobs of autotext.
But one thing I FAITHFULLY do is regularly search my hard drive for ~*.tmp
to remove all my crashed (temp) files on my hard drive...which can cause
Word to think docs are still live after a crash. So although I can't give
you a REAL ANSWER as to WHY, I can tell you that...even if you abuse Word...if
you regularly clean up after yourself by removing temps...I rarely have
problems.
So check their temp dirs...remember to check the PERSONAL one in Win2k and
WinXP...under their user name/local setting/temp and see if they have a
ton of garbage piled up in there. If so...teach them how to clean that out.
If not...then your guess is as good as mine. The cycles of the moon, maybe?<g>
But whatever causes the problems, renaming it does help to reset things
and then it's just a matter of trying to get back things in the old one
you might need, like favorite styles, macros, toolbars, etc.
A better solution is to teach them to save a backup copy or two of Normal
and then...if it goes south...they can go back to a working version without
losing so much junk. Hope this helps!
Feedback
UlricTheRed writes...
At the link below, you have an article which talks of modifying the behavior
of the average computer user.
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=218
If I might add a couple of suggestions:
1] Even easier than creating a signature do this: in your address book,
add the following address at the top of the address book: ~~virus!!@virus.virus.
The address is non-deliverable, so within a few minutes (or hours as the
case may be with AOL users) maildaemon returns this as undeliverable, so
you now know you have a virus that is trying to e-mail itself to your address
book. Something else I have been doing is to put my initials in the subject
line, a few spaces out past the subject, NO Virus in the world will do this,
and I really don't think it is possible for a virus to be written to do
this. everyone I send mail to knows that if the initials are not in the
subject line DELETE IT, With extreme prejudice.
2]As far as Credit Card security on the internet goes what I have done
is this: I applied for a new card and set the limit to $300, that way if
someone does get the card # they can't hurt me too bad and the CC company
will call me direct if someone tries to overextend it, at which point I
let them know it is an unauthorized usage, so they cancel the account and
issue me a new card. This has already happened once.
3] Use a go-between like Pay-Pal or one of the similar online payment
methods that way you only have to put your CC # in once and you have a party
which is responsible for the security of your CC info. This keeps your CC
info from being spread all over the web. If you come accross a site that
does not use one of these, e-mail them and suggest they do so.
Another way of protecting yourself against viruses is to use web-based
mail and set your anti-virus to scan it as it downloads.
All of these are easily implemented and highly effective methods of protecting
yourself.
They DO WORK, as I have been doing this for the last 5 years or so and have
had it proven to me, especially with virii.
UlricTheRed, Enjoy the ride!!
Reply
Greg
Chapman, author of As
the Worm Turns...Your Computer into a Zombie, writes...
Ulric,
Excellent suggestions. While I wouldn't have thought of these as techniques
for the basic user, I can readily agree to them being fundamental and well
thought out guidelines. Looks like you, and those who follow your suggestions,
have already decided to take responsibility for themselves and their computers.
That's all, and more, than I had hoped for!
Greg Chapman
"Counting in binary is as easy as 01, 10, 11!
With thinking this clear, is coding really a good idea?"
Feedback
Mark Thorpe from Chicago writes...
Great article by Anne. I knew a lot of similar shortcuts, but a few of these
were new to me. Here are a few more I've picked up, many of them at a one-day
seminar by Padgett Thompson (www.pttrain.com).
- Shift+Space; Highlight entire row (or rows, if multiple cells are already
highlighted)
- Ctrl+Space; Highlight entire column(s)
- Ctrl+Page Up, Ctrl+Page; Down change worksheets within a workbook
- Ctrl+; put today's date in current cell
- Ctrl+Shift+; put current time in cell
- Alt+Enter; type multi-line text within a single cell
- Ctrl+D; Copy cell above
- Ctrl+R; Copy cell at left
- Shift+F1; Show help cursor. Then click on any menu item or button bar
to learn about it.
- To enter a series of consecutive numbers or dates in a column, type in
the first two, highlight both, then drag down the small square in the lower-right.
- To make a copy an entire worksheet, hold down the Control key and drag
the worksheet's tab (at the bottom).
- Mark Thorpe
Reply
Dian
Chapman replies for Ann
Robson, author of How
to Excel Without Really Trying—To Learn...
Thanks for the comments and terrific additions to Ann's tips, Mark. Unfortunately,
Ann is currently busy dealing with a personal issue right now and is unable
to make time to reply...but I know she's thrilled to know her first article
was well received. And we wish Ann the best of luck...so we can snag her
back here and make her work some more!<wink>
Feedback
Rose Lasker from Bluefield, WV, writes...
EXCELlent Tips!
1.To select the complete range of data surrounding a cell, select the cell
and press Ctrl + Alt + 8.
2. To randomly sort a list, either alphabetically or numerically, create
a random column of numbers in the next column by entering =RAND() in the first
cell of the blank column. Copy the formula down the length of the list. Then
sort the range by the column containing the random numbers. You can then hide
or delete the column containg the random numbers, and you have a randomly
sorted list.
Reply
Dian
Chapman replies for Ann
Robson, author of How
to Excel Without Really Trying—To Learn...
Thanks for these cool, additional tips, Rose. Ann is unable to reply at
this time, but I know she's very happy that folks are sharing their tips
to further enhance her article. In the near future, we will add Mark's and
your tips to Ann's EXCELlent article, as updates. ;-)
Feedback
A reader writes...
Hallo,
I am so sorry, my name is *** Kolpak and I am verz interested becose of the
name of the victim. Is it possible to get anz contact on her familz thanks
a lot
Reply
Dian
Chapman, author of Attending
the Microsoft Office System 2003 Launch in New York City (which included
a visit to WTC Ground Zero), writes...
I wouldn't feel comfortable giving you their personal information...I hope
you can understand. But I do apreciate your concern for their loss.
So allow me to provide you with a little information in which you can locate
them publicly, since the family does own a public restaurant and has public
information on the Internet.
Vanessa Kolpak's uncle is Andrew Przybylo. He runs Przybylo's White Eagle
Restaurant in Niles. You can see the address at this URL if you care to
drop them a written note. I don't know if they have an email address for
the restaurant.
http://www.aspe.org/~aspechicago/maps/weagle.htm
And you can read a little more about them here: http://www.dispatch.com/news/trips/portraits/mike0912.html
And you can read more about Vanessa and the story behind her loss, here.
Just search down the page for "Vanessa" and you'll find her listing:
http://www.sept11thmemorial.com/last_name.asp?Letter=K
Take care and thanks for your kind note.
Dian ~
Feedback
Lou Melton writes...
Let me say how much I appreciate your TechTrax Ezine. I have every issue
and even though some of it is beyond me, I have really learned a lot. I appreciate
all the effort you and the other writers put into providing us with great
"how to" articles. The amazing thing is that the ezine is free!
By the way, have you done any other articles on Training Rocky? I have the
first one, but after checking ABC and TechTrax, couldn't find any others.
Thanks, Lou Melton
Reply
Dian
Chapman, Editor of TechTrax and author of Fun
with VBA and Training Your Office Assistant, writes...
Thanks for the wonderful comments, Lou! Thanks like yours are why folks
like us continue to do what we can to help others learn. It's all about
being appreciated for your efforts!<wink>
As for more articles on Rocky...no, I only wrote that one. But it might
be time to introduce Rocky to the masses again, eh?
I'm not sure if I mentioned this in the article, but one of the first things
that got me hooked on VBA development (actually, it was called WordBasic
back in those early days of Word)...was when I realized I could easily reprogram
Word's message boxes to leave personal messages for colleagues as they were
using the program. Obnoxious fun when a friend, Mark, hit the Spell Checker
and he freaks to see Word say, "So Mark, I see you STILL haven't learned
how to spell!"<hee, hee>
Stay tuned...I'll work on a new Rocky article, soon.
Feedback
A reader writes...
Have selected from the menu 'Ms Word shortcut list' which looks most promising;
unfortunately having left that site and returned to the main menu I find that
every item I click ( e.g. Letter Wizard - Custom Dialog Boxes, et al) puts
me back in the 'Word Shortcut list' box so I am unable to access any of your
undoubtedly splendid offerings on the other matters.
When in Word Shortcut list the back button is greyed out so my exit has to
be by the red exit button. Am running Word 2000 in Windows XP.
Reply
Dian
Chapman, author of Microsoft
Word Shortcuts List, writes...
Sorry for the confusion, but realize that, sometimes, we use the target
in our links of blank. This will cause a linked article
to open in a new browser. If your browser has been maximized to
fill the entire computer screen, you may not realize that the linked article
is now in a new window. And since this article is a new item in
this new window, the back button will be grayed out...since
there is now previous site in which to return.
If you close the new window, you will see that your previous browser session
is still opened in the windows behind the current window. You can
also cycle to it by holding down the Alt key and
tapping on the Tab key. This will cycle you through all
your currently opened application windows. When you see the one you want,
release the Alt key and you'll now be sitting within the application window
you select...it will now have the focus on your computer screen.
So if you ever get tangled up like that again, just realize that if you
cycle through your open applications...OR...close the new window on top,
you will return to the browser session you were in before and you'll be
able to again use the Back button to return to previously viewed sites.
Hope this helps!
Feedback
Rohn Solecki from Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada, writes...
I think the zipped word verison of your newsletter is a great idea, makes
offline viewing very easy, and I don't miss the graphics too much (no I'm
not a blind user).
Suggestion, if you changed your file naming standard just slightly I think
it would make the file organization more logical, ie current:
TechTrax_mm_yyyy_screenreaderversion.doc
Unfortunately in your zip file you have files from 2 years, so there is no
easy way to sort them into correct sequential order. If you changed the month/year
sequence then the files would sort into logical order 'automatically', ie:
TechTrax_yyyy_mm_screenreaderversion.doc
Reply
Dian
Chapman, Editor of TechTrax, writes...
Thanks, Rohn...this is an excellent suggestion! I'm glad you enjoy
the doc version and, although I do generally try to think best organization,
I overlooked this one. Particularly now that we are in our second year of
archives. So, as soon as I finish this December issue, I'll work on reorganizing
the download version on the main TechTrax site (at www.mousetrax.com/techtrax).
I have reorganized the files already, per your suggestion, but I plan to
put them all up on a separate download page, so folks can easily get the
back issues they need.
Note to readers...these Word doc archives are separate from the
standard article Archives you can access through the Archive
link above in the online issue.
Feedback
A reader writes...
I found both articles explaining bits/bytes interesting, and probably useful
to novices.
Suggestion, could you encourage your writers to submit their articles in
the same format as the first one. I don't know what the specific diff is,
except that the first one wrapped the text when I resized the window, the
second one didn't, forcing horizontal scrolling.
Keep up the good work.
Reply
Dian
Chapman, Editor of TechTrax, writes...
Thanks for your comments and suggestion about the way the articles in TechTrax
are formatted. To be honest with you, although I prefer to have the article
reformat with the window, sometimes there are items in the article that
cause the layout to be forced larger then you might want.
In Vic's article, he uses a string of 1s and 0s that does not have a space
in it, i.e., 1010101010100101. So Windows thinks that is all one
word and hesitates to break up the word...thereby causing the window to
max out to the length of that presumed word string. Some articles
also contain large images or wide tables that cause the maximum width of
the window to be fairly large.
Rather than putting any limits on the author's content...I allow them to
express themselves as they wish. Granted, this will cause some articles
to be a bit wider than a small PC screen and may cause horizontal scrolling
issues. I appologize for that. But in most cases, changing the content could
cause the article to be less than the author wanted it to be.
Do realize that we do offer a Word doc version, that might be easier to
read, although it contains no images. You can also hit Ctrl + A to select
all of the article and then Ctrl + C to copy it to the clipboard, and Ctrl
+ V to paste the article into a Word document for better formatting.
However, I will keep this issue in mind more often in the future and will
do what modifications I can to help ensure that as many articles as possible
conform to better minimized window wrapping.
Feedback
A reader writes...
Where could I find free information on how to develope a form in Word?
Reply
Dian
Chapman, author of several free articles, as well as
eBooks and Video courses on creating Forms in Word, writes...
I have several articles on Forms on MouseTrax.com.
If you go to this URL: http://www.mousetrax.com/techpage.html#autoforms,
you'll find the section all on AutoForms. Scroll down to the beginning series
called "Please fill out this Form"...that'll get you started and
then the other articles will enhance that info.
If you'd like to REALLY learn how to do it right, like creating an invoice
form that can do automatic calculations using VBA...you might be interested
in my AutoForms & Beginning VBA course, which is available as an online,
step-by-step eBook or video CD training course. You can find more info on
that here: http://www.mousetrax.com/techcourses.html.
Feedback
Gus writes...
Looking fabulous . . . . Tons of good tips in Tech Trax.
Reply
Dian
Chapman, Editor of TechTrax, writes...
Thanks so much for your terrific comments!!
Feedback
William Lau from Vancouver, BC, Canada, writes...
Regarding this article: http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=221
In your workaround, you have a "." in front of your With statement.
I don't think that line will be valid with the "." there.
Also in your workaround, if you do a Sub Document_Open in your Normal.dot's
"This Document" module with the code you write for AutoExec, you
disable the review bar everytime the document opens (without closing Word).
Please let me know what you think of these suggestions.
Reply
Beth
Melton, author of Review
Toolbar Annoyance, writes...
Hi William,
Thank you so much for your feedback. :-)
Most definitely the extra period before each With statement is a typo.
Good catch!
I'm not sure how they got there, I reviewed the my original code and of
course they were omitted, but I submitted a correction to Dian and the article
should be corrected soon.
As for using Document_Open vs. AutoExec: I don't see a reason the code
should run each time a document is opened. It only needs to run once so
the Reviewing toolbar will be disabled for the Word session.
Now, if I were setting only the Visible property then I could see running
the macro each time a document opens. BUT I personally dislike running code
more than necessary. Many users utilize various macros and using the Document_Open
event could create a potential delay in opening documents. Granted it would
be minimal but these days if it doesn't happen immediately.... <grin>
Not to mention if the Reviewing toolbar isn't set to display then the macro
would be running unnecessarily. In light of both scenarios I opted to use
an AutoExec macro and the Enabled property so the code only needs to run
once per session.
But feel free to modify the code to suit your needs. :-)
Additionally, if interested, here's a little background on why all of this
is even necessary (Note some of this is speculation and unconfirmed by Microsoft):
In Word 97 and Word 2000 a nasty bug was encountered regarding the Toolbars.
Many users encountered the Toolbars, or Commandbars, completely missing
from the Word application. The resolution involved a Registry hack and the
recreation of the Toolbars value in the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\8.0\Word\Data or HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Office\9.0\Word\Data
For more information see this article:
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/AppErrors/MissingMenusEtc.htm
To say the least a Registry hack is not a viable workaround. Now here is
where my speculation comes into play, in an effort to prevent the "missing
toolbars" bug the Toolbars value in the Registry, or portions of it,
is recreated each time Word starts. Microsoft's solution works since so
far there have been no reports of the "missing toolbars" bug in
Word 2002 or Word 2003. However, the caveat to their solution results in
Toolbar protection being reset in the majority of the built-in toolbars
each time Word starts, one of which is the Reviewing toolbar.
Prior to Word 2002 one could run a macro once to disable a toolbar and
it would require a macro to enable it or recreation of the Toolbars value
to 'resurrect' it. So unfortunately we now need to workaround their workaround.
But given the number of users the "missing toolbar" bug affected
I'll take this workaround any day. :-)
Thanks again for your feedback, it is much appreciated.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Beth Melton, Microsoft Office MVP
Feedback
Tom writes...
Dian, are you experienced with MS Project 2000? I need to start using it
and have run into some snags. I have a couple of good books, but they aren't
helping - or I'm not finding the information I need.
If you can offer some advice or point me to a good source, please let me
know.
Reply
Dian
Chapman, Editor of TechTrax, writes...
Well, Tom...funny you should ask because the November issue will FEATURE
Mike Glen's series that he's been doing on Project in TechTrax!
Mike is a Project MVP and he also lists some other resources in some of
the articles.
See www.mousetrax.com/techtrax.
That'll take you into the magazine where you can click the LIBRARY
link along the top menu inside the magazine, click SERIES
and you'll find the link to all his lessons. Start with # 1.
Also be sure to check out Mike's
Author bio, where you will find the link to the Microsoft
Project FAQ (frequently asked question) web site and there you'll find
a ton of other information.
Hopefully that'll keep you going. But if you want even more...you can access
the free Microsoft Newsgroups at http://support.microsoft.com/newsgroups.
From there, drill down to locate the Project support group where you can
post questions to the MVP, including Mike. Then just go back to get your
answers.
You might want to read this article, which provides further info about
using the free Microsoft support newsgroups:
Get Help
http://www.computorcompanion.com/LPMArticle.asp?ID=124
Good luck!
Feedback
A reader writes...
I tried taking the steps on how to disable the above( i even tried removing
the reg key) and it didnt work, it would be great if someone could get back
to me as it is crippling our company!!!
Reply
Beth
Melton, author of Do
you want to Merge Changes?, writes...
It looks like you missed the Update at the bottom of the article, J:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Update!
Changing the option in Outlook will only affect new email attachments. However
you can clear the list of AdHocReview files by locating: AdHoc.rcd and either
rename it or delete it.
The Custom File Properties will still be present in the document(s) but
the annoying Merge Changes message should no longer appear.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Further reply from J...
Thanks a million, this has really helped.
Feedback
Duane Hakala from Lakewood CA, writes...
Regarding Windows Scripting Resources in Nov issue, another very good scripting
resource is http://cwashington.netreach.net/main/default.asp?topic=news
I have been using them for several years as a resource that gets things done.
Duane
Reply
Dennis
Roche, author of Windows
Scripting Resources, writes...
Duane -
Hey thanks a lot. I completely forgot to add Win32
Scripting site into this article, even though I had it planned.
Thanks Duane!
Dennis Roche
Feedback
Ken Bowles from South San Francisco, Calilfornia, writes..
I am not certain, but I think there was an article about how to add "Move
To..." and "Copy To..." to those menus when right clicking
on a file/folder in TechTrax. Am I way off? Or, is this the place? I can't
find the instructions and I have a new desktop, so I'd like to get those instructions
again.
I really enjoy TechTrax. We use MS Office a lot in this office.
Thanks, Ken
Reply
Dian
Chapman, Editor of TechTrax, writes...
I think we have found which article you mean, Ken.
Vic
Ferri wrote an article about adding both copying/moving content menus.
See this article and please let me know if this one hits the mark so I can
check this one as done. Thanks!
Add Copy/Move to Content Menu at http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=230
Further reply from Ken...
That's it.
Thank you very much; you are always very helpful.
Ken Bowles
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