[abcomputers] ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers, Volume 4: More Furniture Moving in Word
- From: Linda Johnson <linda@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: ABCfreelists <abcomputers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- Date: Fri, 03 May 2002 21:57:12 -0400
ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers
Volume 4; September, 2001 - mailed to 1107 subscribers
If you would prefer to read the online Web-azine, which includes
pictures and screenshots and is, basically, more user-friendly, follow
either of these links: http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ABC.htm
(frames) http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vol4.htm (no frames)
or, scroll down to the Contents where you can click on over to any
individual article
For definitions of any terms you do not understand, visit the GeekSpeak
Translator: http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
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ANNOUNCENT!!!!!
NEW SERVICE FOR SUBSCRIBERS!!!!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
!!!!
Do you have a website? If you do, I would like to help you....and you
can help me. Don't ya just love the way we can scratch each other's
backs on the Internet?
I am going to build a webpage where I will post links to all
subscribers' sites. If you put a link for this newsletter at YOUR site,
I will put a link to your site on this new page. Just link to this
newsletter using either of these links:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ABC.htm
or
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ABComputers
and send an email to ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
with the url where you put the link and I will link back to you!
Pleasure doing bizness wit ya .... and my back is a lot less itchy! LOL
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CONTENTS
(all links below these items take you to the non-frames Online versions)
(items with *** behind them include pictures and are viewed better
online)
1. Important How-To Message From Linda
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol4.htm#HowTo
2. What's In This Issue
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol4.htm#Current
3. Linda's Thought of the Month
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol4.htm#thought
4. Linda's Soapbox ~ Who Owns MY Website, Anyway?
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/linda4.htm
5. What's New at Linda's Computer Stop
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/NewABC4.htm
6. Subscribers' Exclusive Tip ~ Getting That Sticky Window To Open
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/NewABC4.htm#tip
7. GeekSpeak Translation from the Cap'n
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
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8. THIS MONTH'S FEATURE
CHAS' WORD WORLD ~~ CUSTOMIZING WORD, Part III
~~Charles Kyle Kenyon, J.D.
Moving the Furniture To Someone Else's Home:
Sharing Your Customizations With Other Users
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/chas4.htm
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9. Tina's FrontPage News ~ Help! I Need Some ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/tina4.htm
10. Hal's Hardware Haven ~ Partitions and Multiple Operating Systems
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/hal4.htm
11. Jack's Internet Connection ~ Sometimes You Can't Get There
>From Here
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/jack4.htm
12. James's Database ~ OK, I've Built My Database. Now What? ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/james4.htm
13. Parker's Mailbox ~ Sharing Information in Outlook ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/parker4.htm
14. Chad's Macro Mania ~ Clean Up This Mess! ***
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/chad4.htm
15. Corey's Network Corner ~ Configuring Windows To Recognize the
Network Cards *** http://personal-computer-tutor.com/corey4.htm
16. Kathleen's Spider Web ~ Website Accessibility
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/kath4.htm
17. Vic's Registry RoundUp ~ Assorted Windows Registry Tips
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vic4.htm
18. Outlook Express Tip from PCTechTalk's G Man ~ Backing Up the Address
Book http://personal-computer-tutor.com/gman.htm
19. NightSneak's Snoop Scoop ~ Links For Info on Online Privacy ~ from
Master Links 4 Master Investigators
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/NS4.htm
20. Subscription Management
21. Contact Information
*** includes pictures in the online version
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If you find this newsletter and/or my website at all helpful and would
like to give me a hand here, I am now accepting donations through
PayPal. To make a donation, go to Linda's Computer Stop and look for
the PayPal link in the left sidebar.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
Thanks in advance to all who do this!!
(NOTE: no one receiving this should feel obligated in any way to do
this.....this is a FREE newsletter!) Linda, editor
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(1.) IMPORTANT HOW-TO MESSAGE
If you decide to go to the Online "Web-azine" version, go here first for
navigation instructions:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vol4.htm#HowTo
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(2.) WHAT'S IN THIS ISSUE
Well....this is the issue that almost wasn't. It seems a LOT of the
Fleet had computer problems this month which slowed things down. Plus I
went on vacation to sunny Fenwick Island, DE and expected to get a lot
done down there but ended up with a very bad internet connection and
difficulties with my laptop. And, I just wanted to be at the beach.
Alas, I am human.
But the issue is here and jam-packed with great stuff!
First thing is....we have two new regular features!
One is VIC'S REGISTRY ROUNDUP. For any of you who want to learn more
about the Windows Registry and how it works, Vic is "da man"! Please go
to the MeetTheFleet page and learn all about our newest Fleet member,
VIC FERRI. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/meetthefleet.htm
And while you are there, check out our other new member, ANNA MORVEE,
who will be doing a monthly column, starting with the next issue.
Anna's specialty is COMPUTER SAFETY AND SECURITY so she will be teaching
us how to practice Safe Cyber.
The second new addition is NIGHTSNEAK'S SNOOP SCOOP.
NightSneak has graciously accepted my invitation for her to share some
links with us from her website, "Master Links 4 Master Investigators".
NS is a private investigator in real life and she has collected links on
everything imaginable. In this issue, she gives you lots of links to
help you with ONLINE PRIVACY. If you like what she shares here, check
out what she has to offer at her website.
Our FEATURED ARTICLE this month is by CHAS KENYON and it is full of his
usual great content on how to make WORD work the way we want, as
individuals. This guy is teaching me a lot and I thought I was a whiz
at Word. And, of course, he gets into macros again, and CHAD WELCH
chimes in with a great article on more ways to clean up these macros
made by using the macro recorder and he uses EXCEL in his examples, so
you can become more accustomed to using macros in both programs.
HAL CARDONA is here again with yet another one of his great articles
(don't ya just love this guy?). This time he explains how to setup
partitions on your hard drive so you can have your computer bootup with
MULTIPLE OPERATING SYSTEMS. This is something I setup on my own
machine, with Hal holding my hand. He knows this stuff very well!
And, KATHLEEN ANDERSON has started her series on
WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY. She's gonna teach us how to make websites that
everyone can enjoy and use. Rumor is that she will be using this online
web-azine as one she will test for accessibility. But we all know this
will pass with flying colors, because if you were having any problems
with it, you would let me know, right? :-)
And, if all of this website construction is just too confusing for you,
check out TINA CLARKE's great article about USING HELP menus and
online resources. A lot of what she tells you will help you get help
with
more than just FrontPage.
One of my favorite articles this month is JAMES LA BORDE's Access
article. Since I am newer to ACCESS than I am to the other Office
programs, I hang on James's every word. This article in his series
really gets into the meat of getting information into that database the
way we want it.
Don't miss PARKER RENAUD's article on SHARING YOUR OUTLOOK STUFF with
others on your network. It's clear and understandable and addresses
many of the questions I used to get when I worked helpdesk and supported
Outlook with Exchange Server.
COREY SEATON tells us how to setup Windows to recognize our NETWORK
CARDS. Boy, I wish I would have read this one before I did this. Makes
it all perfectly clear.
And, good ol' JACK TEEMS explains what can be effecting our INTERNET
SPEEDS and how to see if we can fix it. This is something we ALL want
to know!
And, please don't miss CAP'N PATT's GEEKSPEAK TRANSLATOR.
Even if you know what all the terms in the articles mean, it's worth
reading just to get to know the Cap'n.
Also, don't forget to check out GUITAR MAN's OUTLOOK EXPRESS TIPS. This
month's tip is about SAVING YOUR ADDRESS BOOK. He's building an archive
now, so soon we'll have a large collection.
And, last but not least, have a look at WHAT'S NEW AT LINDA'S COMPUTER
STOP. I've added some good stuff.
And please read LINDA'S SOAPBOX. This one means a lot to me!
Most important -- Enjoy this newsletter and let us know what you think!
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(3.) LINDA'S THOUGHT OF THE MONTH
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What's the ultimate level of trust between two computer geeks?
Sharing your passwords. :-)
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(4.) LINDA'S SOAPBOX
~~Linda F. Johnson, Editor
WHO OWNS MY WEBSITE, ANYWAY?
Well, people often warn me to stay away from controversial issues, but
it just ain't my nature. When something that comes up in this world
upsets me, I just HAVE to open my big mouth.
And this one upsets me BIG TIME.=A0
=A0
I don't know if any of you are aware of the recent hoopla concerning
Microsoft's newest version of IE that will be released in its final form
later this year. Seems Microsoft was trying to "help" Internet surfers
by adding "Smart Tags" to their browser, which would add to or replace
the links in websites. This means, you would see additional links
supplied by Microsoft when you clicked on any link at a website. Web
owners freaked out at this because we felt it was OUR right to direct
our viewers to the links WE chose and Microsoft was in fact changing the
content of OUR websites when they did this. Well, good for us for
screaming about this. Microsoft backed off on this idea for now. And,
to give credit to Microsoft, I must say that they did provide a meta tag
for website owners to use which would disable this feature.
Now, there is a new problem.
A program called KaZaa Media Desktop is now the number 4 download at
CNet. This program includes something called Top Text which does the
same thing noted above (that MS tried to pull on us) but this one offers
no way for website owners to disable it! (They do say we can write to
them and they will not include our site. My fear is that writing to them
will, in fact, alert them that we HAVE a site if they didn't already
know.)
Rather than tell you about this myself, I will quote some of my fellow
techies who say it well enough (with their permission, of course):
@@@@@
Hal Cardona:
"People. If you aren't sure what we are talking about, let me tell you
a little bit about it. TopText adds links to web pages when they are
viewed in your browser, I call it scumware because what they do is
terrible IMHO. They sell these links to advertisers. So, since I have a
web page and you visit it with the TopText plug in loaded, you will
see links on MY site that I didn't create! If you click on one of my
existing links they offer you a way to go to one of their advertiser's
sites instead of following the link. Basically they are hijacking MY
links and, IMHO, infringing on MY copyright for MY website. They=A0are
advertising on MY site and NOT paying me for the privilege. Right now
it's being distributed by KaZaa. Those of us who have our own web sites
would appreciate it if you would NOT use this."
G Man:
"While the main program may be good for peer to peer file sharing, it
also installs a secondary program without telling you the truth about
its use. This secondary program is called TopText from ezula.com and it
runs the Cydoor spyware trojan on your computer. The term Spyware is the
catch-all name for programs that watch what you choose to view/download.
This information is then stored on their server as your profile. This
profile can be used for many things that would place you and your
privacy in serious jeapardy. In addition to the above, this particular
program also creates links on websites to redirect you to sites that are
paying them a fee for this service. While this may not seem like a big
deal to you right away, it should be noted that it seriously hurts the
original site's webmaster by luring visitors away from her/his website
to other sites that are affiliated with the Spyware company and that
only want to sell you something (and collect information about you).=A0
To learn more about Spyware and why we should all be afraid of it, head
on over to http://cexx.org/problem.htm to read all about it. Here are
two more excellent sites for you to bookmark.
http://www.infoforce.qc.ca/spyware/index.html
Go to http://www.spychecker.com and click on the "What is Spyware?" link
at the top.
Luke:
"The flaw with KaZaa is the architecture and the means in which its
creators' promote it. Anyone can do a search on anything using KaZaa=92s
home page and get the IPs of 20+ online users. With a bit of net savvy
one can view all shared files from each user on the KaZaa network. Why I
think this is bad: KaZaa's search engine exposes the IPs of its users to
non-users and only to non-users! KaZaa users have no clear way of
knowing who they are downloading from as far as I can tell. Further, if
you use the software you don't download from a single user you download
from all (the source of KaZaa's praise). If a would-be bad person uses
the search engine and you happen to have a static IP you are not only a
target you are advertising your IP but also your shared files. One step
further into paranoia: With it your IP might as well be your street
address (even more so if it is static), if someone - anyone - doesn't
like the files you are sharing there are no limits to the repercussions.
If you have a shared Metallica song, lawyers can trace you to your ISP
with ease for example and send them a nasty letter, etc. What could be
worse? A bad person does like what you have. This would-be attacker can
look for ways into your computer for what you don't want to share."
@@@@@
Thanks to my friends who said this all so well.....please, readers,
think about this long and hard. This is truly big brother trying to
infringe on our rights. While I don't think we, as consumers, can stop
KaZaa from doing this, I DO believe we can stop CNet from distributing
this horrendous software by letting them know our feelings.
PLEASE go HERE and rate this software....not only will this let CNet
know how we feel, but it will alert others who may be considering
downloading this crud!
download.cnet.com/downloads/0-1896420-601-6885899.html?pn=3D1&lb=3D0&ob=3D=
0
*THE ABOVE LINK MUST BE COPIED, THEN PASTED INTO THE
ADDRESS BAR IN YOUR BROWSER TO WORK*
Click here for the full story on this.
http://gethighforums.com/Forum10/HTML/001386.html
**This editorial reflects the opinions of Linda Johnson and the other
three people mentioned. It does not necessarily reflect the opinions of
others associated with this newsletter.**
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Linda Johnson is a college instructor of all of the Microsoft Office
Programs, as well as Adobe PhotoShop, Windows, and TeleCommunications.
She has worked helpdesk and teaches and lectures at many local
businesses in her area. Support this newsletter by checking out Linda's
website
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/
and her ebook series, MS Word MAGIC!
Part I: Fonts, Fun & Formats http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?buntah
Part II: Table Wizardry http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic2/?buntah
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******************STATION BREAK********************
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Free Tutorials, Free eBooks, Free Courses, Free Guestbooks, Free
Autoresponders, Free Newsletter, Free Affiliate program and FREE
MEMBERSHIP. Wow! Did I mention it was Free? Newbies and Oldbies alike
are buzzing about the NEW Newbie Club. It's the most exciting Newbie
Site ever to hit the Web.
Join now - it's FREE!
http://newbieclub.com/?buntah
editor's recommendation:
They also have an online PC Clinic now where you can receive Computer
and Internet Technical problem solving advice 24/7 for only $29.80 a
year! I tested the service for them with some pretty tough questions
and they found the answers every time.....some took 3 or 4 emails back
and forth, but they DID solve it and they DID respond to each of my
mails within 6 hours.
I recommend this one!
http://newbieclub.com/clinic/?buntah
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(5.) WHAT'S NEW at Linda's Computer Stop
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/
This month was vacation month for me, so I didn't add as much to my site
as usual. But I do have some new goodies for you:
I. Two new members added to the ABC Fleet:
Vic Ferri
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vic_ferri.htm
and Anna Morvee http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/anna_morvee.htm
Please visit their bio pages and send us an email to let them know you
appreciate them!
II. And,
Vic has also added a Printing Tips page to my site and a list of some
great printing supplies vendors. Great prices, including FREE
CARTRIDGES!
Vic's Printing Tips http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/printing.htm
Printing Supplies
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/printersupplies.htm
III. WHAT'S A SUITE AND WHY WOULD YOU WANT ONE?
This is an article I wrote for Fred's Findings and have reproduced for
you here. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/suites.htm
IV. Software Trainers Resources
This is a compilation of some of the resources I came across on the net
when I was researching my newest ebook, How To Get Started as a Software
Trainer (due to be published soon by Dream Jobs To Go). If you like what
you learn here, keep an eye out for the ebook so you can learn LOTS
more! http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/STresources.htm
V. And, of course,
Lots has been added to Cap'n Patt's GeekSpeak Translator
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
and my FUN STUFF TO DO ON THE WEB pages. Look for
the revolving N's for the new ones:
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/internet.htm
so check them out too.
Well, that's the major highlights of what's new on this end. I hope you
all will visit my website regularly and while you're there, go to the
bottom of my homepage and sign my guestbook. I would love to "meet"
you!
Linda
http://personal-computer-tutor.com
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(6.) And HERE'S A TIP, presented FIRST to you subscribers
GETTING THAT STICKY WINDOW TO OPEN
Don't ya hate it when you go into your C:\Windows folder or your
C:\Windows\System folder and you get that message telling you not to
mess around in here and you must click on the link to "Show Files".
Just another example of Microsoft suggesting that it might be better
than us at managing our computers. Both the Windows and the Windows
System folders are controlled by a hypertext template file called
folder.htt. This file tells Windows to add this extra control and it is
in these two folders by default when you install Windows. If you no
longer want to be bothered by this nagging extra step every time you
enter one of these folders, simply rename this file (right click on it
and select "Rename" and name it folder.old and hit Enter). Now this
folder will behave like every other folder.
Want another way to make your Windows folder even more accessible?
Right now I assume you are going into Windows Explorer or My Computer
and navigating your way to it. Well, try this. In Windows 9X, go to
your Start button and select Run. In the Run Box, type two periods in
succession (thats ".." or dot dot) and hit the Enter key.....and voila!
There you are inside that Windows folder and if you renamed folder.htt
to folder.old, you have quick access to your Windows files.
But, remember that Microsoft adds these warnings and hides files for a
reason. The reason is that this is not a place to mess around if you
don't know what you are doing, so BE CAREFUL in there :-)
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******************STATION BREAK********************
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Bored in your job? Want to make a career change to something that you
have only "dreamed" of doing? I did this, at the age of 50, and you can
too. And, I've written an ebook about it, tentatively called "How to Get
Started As a Software Trainer", which is due to be published this Fall
by Dream Jobs To Go http://www.dreamjobstogo.com/?10456
Go here and see if your dream job has already been included in this
series. If so, snag the ebook for only $9.95 and you will be on your
way! If you are already employed in your dream job, go here and see if
you can sign up to write your own ebook to help others. They also have a
FREE weekly newsletter called Dream Jobs Dialog where you can get tips
and dialog from real life dream jobbers. When you get to the site, just
look for the subscribe button in the upper right corner.
Hey....even if you already have a job, it's still fun to DREAM!!
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(7.) THE GEEKSPEAK TRANSLATOR
~~Cap'n Patt Meara
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Visit the Cap'n's Official GeekSpeak Database at
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/capn3.htm
If the word you need defined is not there, just write to me at
ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and I will pass it on to the Cap'n.
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FEATURED ARTICLE OF THE MONTH
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(8.) Chas' Word World
Charles Kyle Kenyon, J.D.
CUSTOMIZING WORD, PART III
Moving the Furniture To Someone Else's Home: Sharing Your Customizations
With Other Users
In previous columns I've discussed customizing your own Word interface
to make it easier for you to get your work done. This can be done
through macros, AutoText, keyboard shortcuts, and custom toolbars. Once
you've gone to the work of creating these, it would be nice (and maybe
worth a few brownie points) if you could share them with your co-workers
and friends. These same procedures work to make a backup of your
customizations and make it easier for you to transport them to a
different machine.
Customizations in Word - Background
The customizations that you can make in Word include:
1. Macros - recorded or written using VBA - these are kept in templates
(default Normal.dot) or documents. Unless you have a definite reason and
know what you are doing, keep them in templates.
2. AutoText entries - also kept in templates (default Normal.dot).
AutoText entries cannot be stored in documents. For more on AutoText,
follow the links on my Web Resources page.
http://www.addbalance.com/word/wordwebresources.htm#AutoText
3. Custom toolbars - also kept in templates (default Normal.dot) or
documents. As with macros, you will want to keep toolbars in templates
with rare exceptions. You make these with Tools =3D> Customize... or =
with
VBA.
4. Custom toolbar buttons and menu commands - really a subset of custom
toolbars except includes customizations to built-in toolbars and menus.
5. Styles - also kept in templates except that after creation documents
have their own styles which are generally not updated by the styles in
the document's underlying template. See Understanding Styles for more
about styles. http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/styles.htm
6. UserForms - homemade dialog boxes and wizards
7. Keyboard shortcuts (also called keybindings) are stored in templates
or documents.
8. AutoCorrect entries - for the most part stored in separate files and
very different from AutoText in construction if not in use.
9. Your user preferences (Tools =3D> Options) - stored in the =
registry's
Word data key. We won't mess with the registry here. (Keeping with the
metaphor of moving furniture, working with the registry is closer to
rewiring your house, with all of the implications that go with that
image.)
We will first look at the customizations that are stored in templates
and copying/moving them to a different template. That is: Macros,
AutoText, Custom Toolbars, Keybindings and Styles. We will then look at
those stored elsewhere: AutoCorrect Entries and user preferences.
Open the target template or a document based on the target template.
I would suggest that you move the items you want to share into a global
template. The simplest way is to open the template or create a new
document based on the template. You will want to use a document template
instead if the customizations only are used in a specific kind of
document that will have its own document template.
Starting a new global template
If you don't already have a global template, go to File =3D> New and =
click
"New Template" in the bottom right corner of the dialog box.
Select blank document. You can use this document to keep notes on what
you have done if you want. Save it using a name like "MyGlobal.dot."
Don't close it.
Copy your Styles
Use the Organizer:
(Tools =3D> Templates and Add-Ins... =3D> Organizer (button) =3D> Styles
(tab)) to copy your styles to a document or document template. I
recommend making the copies three times. This is so any styles based on
other styles will "take." Specifically, copy all of the styles you need
to copy once. Then copy the same styles again, and again a third time.
The second and third times you will be asked if you want to overwrite
the existing style(s). The answer to this should be "yes." Failure to
make the multiple copies may mean that your styles won't transfer
properly. If any of your macros apply your styles, you should copy the
styles before the macros.
Copy your macros
(Tools =3D> Templates and Add-Ins... =3D> Organizer (button) =3D> Macro
Project Items (tab)) to copy a macro module.
Probably, the macros will be in the Macro Module "New Macros." in
Normal.dot. If you already have a Module named "New Macros" in your
template, rename it "OldMacros" for now so you can copy the Module from
Normal.dot to your template. If there are other modules in Normal.dot
you want to copy those as well.
Then close the Organizer and save your template. Don't close the
template, yet.
Use the VBA Editor (Alt-F11) to look at the New Macros module in your
template (not the one in Normal.dot). You should be able to spot the
macros that you use. Delete any other macros and Ctrl-S to save your
changes to the Template. If you already had macros in your template and
had to rename "New Macros," double-click on that "OldMacros" module. For
now, you will want to move all the macros to your new "New Macros"
module. Then right-click on the "OldMacros" Module and remove it. Word
will ask you if you want to export first;
answer: No. With your insertion point back in the New Macros module of
your template, press Ctrl-S to again save your template.
Then double click on the Module "New Macros" in Normal.dot and delete
the macros that you transferred to your template. (Don't delete the ones
that you decided you don't use, just yet, in case you were wrong about
them.) Ctrl-S to save your changes to Normal.dot.
If you have macros that are called by toolbar buttons or keybindings,
the macros must be in place before you move these customizations. They
must have the same name and be in a module with the same name in a
project with the same name that they were in before. i.e., the macro
named MyMacro that is in a module named TrustedMacros in project named
TemplateProject, will not work with a moved toolbar or keybinding unless
it, and the project and module keep the same names they had when the
toolbar/keybinding was created. They will run just fine if you give them
new names, but your toolbars and keybindings won't be able to find them.
Save your global template.
Copy your toolbars
If you have toolbars that you want to move, copy those as well, after
you have copied any macros, styles, or AutoText that the toolbars call.
Again, Styles won't do you much good in a global template.
Save and close your global template. If this is a new template, close
Word and move the global template to your Word Startup folder.
Open a new blank document. Tools =3D> Customize =3D> Toolbars
(1st Tab) and check your custom toolbars. Right-click on the selection
and rename it xxx Old Toolbar. (We are doing this before deleting it.
Want to check if new toolbar works and can't really do that without
changing the name.) Close the Customize dialog box.
Create a new document from your template. File =3D> New... Check to see =
if
your toolbars and macros function the way you want them to. Type
something in the document and then close it without saving it. You
should be prompted as to whether your want to save the changes made to
MyGlobal.dot. Answer "Yes."
Assuming that your toolbars and macros function properly, you can now
use Tools =3D> Customize (this time customizing Normal.dot) to delete
"Anne's Old Toolbar." Quit Word and save your changes to Normal.dot.
Next time, when you create a toolbar using the Customize command under
the Tools menu, or Tools =3D Macros... to record a macro, check to make
sure that it is being saved in the template that will be using it rather
than in Normal.dot. Likewise, make sure that any changes you make to
that toolbar or macro get saved in the template.
This way, if you pass your template on to someone else, they will have
the benefit of your toolbar and macros. Also, Normal.dot corrupts from
time to time (even without the assistance of a virus). Rebuilding your
customizations can be a real pain.
How to create copy-able customizations to the built-in toolbars and
menus:
Organizer will not copy customizations to built-in toolbars and menus,
so you have to work around this limitation. You cannot copy
customizations made directly to these toolbars or menus. The way I have
used is:
I create a shadow toolbar in my global template to hold my
customizations. It has a custom menu for each built-in menu or toolbar
that I customize.
MyFile MyEdit MyView MyFormat, etc.
I use a separate shadow toolbar for the shortcut menus but you could put
them all on one if you wanted to, it depends on how many customizations
you do. I include a custom menu named Chas that has some of my favorite
templates and commands. That menu is one of the main customizations of
my global template and I want to be able to back it up or move it. It
was designed to go on the main menu bar, but if I created it there (as I
did at first) I would not be able to copy it.
I put the customizations on those custom menus on this custom toolbar
first. That means using Customize to add the commands. Then, once I've
added a command to the custom toolbar, I Ctrl-drag it to the built-in.
You can use custom menus as a submenus to hold the deleted items, the
simplest way to do this would be to move the items from the File menu to
the MyFile =3D> Deleted Items submenu and so forth.
This isn't perfect but it makes rebuilding the customizations to the
built-ins a lot less painful because the custom toolbar can be copied to
another template using the organizer.
How to copy/move Userforms:
If you don't know what a userform is, chances are real good that you
don't have any that you have written. It is a VBA construct - a homemade
dialog box or wizard, not a piece of paper that you fill out, or an
online simulation of this. If you have created and are using userforms,
you probably don't need this tutorial and certainly don't need explicit
instructions, so: Within the Visual Basic Editor either drag the
userforms from one project to another or export the form from one
project and import it into another.
Userforms can be very simple or elegantly complex. If you are doing VBA
programming and not using them because you don't know how, take a look
into the tutorials on the MVP website.
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/index10.html
How to copy/move Keybindings:
These are the custom key assignments made to macros and commands. I use
Chris Woodman's Add-In ShortCut Organizer, which looks and works like
the regular Organizer except that it deals with keyboard shortcuts. You
can download this from ShortCut Organizer download page.
http://www.chriswoodman.co.uk/Shortcut%20Organizer.htm
Copying Customizations not stored in templates
How to copy/move AutoCorrect entries
AutoCorrect entries are stored in *.acl files and in Normal.dot. The
files are language-specific. The best way to do this is to use the macro
you can find at "How can I import and export all my AutoCorrect entries,
so they can be transferred to another machine?" There is a macro
included with Word that is supposed to do this, but it has several bugs
that are fixed in this one available on the MVP website.
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/ExportAutocorrect.htm
How to copy/backup user preferences that are stored in the Registry's
Data Key.
This requires a simple macro, which you can record! Start up Word for a
fresh session and record a macro called "MyUserSettings." The action to
record is opening the Tools =3D> Options dialog box and clicking on the
tab for every page on that box. Then close that dialog and open the
Tools =3D> AutoCorrect dialog and do the same thing - click on each tab
and then close the dialog box. This is based on instructions by Beth
Melton in the article "What exactly does the Data Key in the Registry
store". http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/Customization/DataKeySettings.htm
I also include the Customize dialog box and Keyboard button from that
box in this but am unsure that it actually helps. Stop recording. You
now have one method to return to these settings: Just run the macro.
Unfortunately, this won't save all of your user preferences, just a lot
of them!
To save all of them, you can use RegEdit (Start =3D> Run =3D> RegEdit). =
Do
not change anything in the Registry without (1) making a backup, and (2)
having a good idea what you are doing! That is not for the
faint-at-heart! I am suggesting making a specific backup of the Data Key
for Word. The article by Beth Melton explains how to find the Data Key.
If you right-click on it you can export it (make a copy) of your Word
settings. This is a good idea because the Data Key seems to be easily
corrupted. Doing this will not make any changes to the registry itself.
See Template Basics for more on templates (user and workgroup), global
templates and Normal.dot.
http://www.addbalance.com/usersguide/templates.htm
See also Assigning Custom Button Faces to Your Toolbar and Menu Buttons.
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/MacrosVBA/CustomButtonFaces.htm
See Distributing Your Macros to Other Users by Jonathon West, MVP.
http://www.mvps.org/word/FAQs/MacrosVBA/DistributeMacros.htm
We've covered a lot in the last few articles. Next month we'll take a
look at dates in Microsoft Word. If you have a topic you would like to
see covered in one of my columns' please write me at
kenyonck.abc@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx
**********************************************************
Chas Kenyon is a trial lawyer concentrating in criminal defense with a
long interest (obsession?) with making word processing work well in the
law office. His websites are: http://www.kenyonck.addr.com/index.htm
http://members.aol.com/~marspd/index.html
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK********************
**********************************************************
Discover How To Create Stunning Letters, Presentations, Greetings Cards,
Promotional Materials, Memos, Reports And More - Just Like The
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Book 1: Fonts, Formats and Fun http://newbieclub.com/wordmagic/?buntah
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**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(9.) TINA'S FRONTPAGE NEWS
~~Tina Clarke, AccessFP - Frontpage Resource Centre
HELP! I NEED SOME.
Where=92s the Best Place To Ask for Help?
Before asking your FrontPage question in a list, group, club, or forum
etc., think about using the Help menu. It is at the far right end of the
menus, and from it you can search through an index of all the on-disk
help. You can also press F1 to access it.
You might like to know about the FrontPage Online Help files, which are
duplicated on the Microsoft web here.
http://support.microsoft.com/support/office/inprodhlp/contents/frontpage
/toc
fptochhc.asp
Microsoft also has a knowledge base of articles about FrontPage (all
versions) here. http://search.support.microsoft.com/kb/c.asp?ln=3Den-gb
You should also upgrade your help files at Office XP Update: Additional
Help Files http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/ofHelp.aspx
This downloadable file contains the most current Microsoft Office XP
Help files and replaces the existing Help files available in Office XP.
If you are using a screen reader that doesn't work with expandable links
in Microsoft Office XP online Help, you can download alternative Help
with pre-expanded content Office XP Add-in: Expanded Help File
http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/Ofexhelp.aspx
Plus, Office XP Add-in: Microsoft Document Imaging Expanded Help File
http://office.microsoft.com/downloads/2002/Mscexhelp.aspx
If you are using a screen reader that doesn't work with expandable links
in the Microsoft Document Imaging, Microsoft Office XP Small Business,
and/or Microsoft SharePoint Team Services online Help, you can download
alternative Help with pre-expanded content.
If you aren't sure what a specific command or button does, or if you
want to know more about an option in a dialog box, you can get help
through ScreenTips. ScreenTips show information about different elements
on the screen.
To get help about a specific command or button, click =91What's This?=92 =
on
the Help menu, and then click the element you want information about.
To get help about a dialog box option, click the question mark in the
upper right corner of the dialog box, and then click the option.
Copy examples from Help:
If you see an element in a Microsoft FrontPage Help topic that you'd
like to include on one of your Web pages. For example a form field or a
hover button, you can copy that element from Help and paste it into a
page in Page view. You can then customize the Help example with your own
text, pictures, labels, etc.
In the Help topic window, select the element that you want to copy,
right-click, and then click Copy on the pop up dialog box.
Note: If the element you want to copy is a non-text element, for
example a table, you may need to begin and end the selection at the text
just before and after the element that you want to copy.
In Page view, open the page to which you want to copy the element from
Help. Position the insertion point where you want to insert the element,
right-click, and then click =91Paste=92 on the pop up dialog box.
What if you want to find more help about FrontPage from a third party?
There are also a number of sites that provide online tutorials
http://tutorials.beginners.co.uk/ http://www.trainingtools.com/
http://www.qarbon.com/
more are listed here. http://accessfp.net/freefrontpagestuff.htm
There are expert sites staffed with volunteers where you can ask a
FrontPage question for free.
AskMe
http://www1.askme.com/ShowCategory.asp?cid=3D3041
Yahoo Experts
http://experts.yahoo.com/topics/Microsoft_FrontPage-383026380
AllExperts http://www.allexperts.com/getExpert.asp?Category=3D1558
You can find a listing of Newsletters, Tip lists, E- Lists, Forums,
Discussion forums, Chats, Bulletin Boards, Clubs, Specialist lists and
Magazines, all about FrontPage at: http://accessfp.net/plists.htm
How can you help other people visiting your site with information,
explanations and on the spot help?
When writing your html pages and you find the need to explain an
uncommon or technical word, you might like to use the title tag which
works like the alt tag on pictures and pops up with your explanation
inside.
For example:
<A title=3D"What You See Is What You Get">WYSIWYG</a>
Paste the above code in your html view in the body section, go to
preview and mouseover =91WYSIWYG=92 and you will see a pop up with the =
text
=91What You See Is What You Get=92 inside.
You can find more about the title tag here.
http://www.w3.org/TR/REC-html40/struct/global.html#adef-title
The above coding is done with html but you can do something similar with
JavaScript, however please note that not everyone has JavaScript enabled
in one=92s browser.
Visit http://www.bosrup.com/web/overlib/
for some neat JavaScript pop up solutions.
Remember there is usually a solution out there; it=92s just a matter of
knowing where to look and who to ask.
**********************************************************
Tina Clarke is the Webmaster of AccessFP - FrontPage Resource Centre
http://accessfp.net/ and an editor of "AnyFrontPage Bytes Ezine".
Subscribe to the FrontPage ezine and get FREE FrontPage E-Books upon
joining. http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnyFrontPageBytes
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK********************
**********************************************************
Do you want to know the latest on FrontPage? Do you want Tips, news,
articles, links and ebooks on FrontPage? Well the AnyFrontPage Bytes
Ezine is the best place for your FrontPage and web crafting needs, join
up at: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/AnyFrontPageBytes
Are you looking for resources for FrontPage? Want to know where all
the best FP links are? The hosts, the lists, the forums? Use AccessFP -
FrontPage Resources Centre as the start site for your FrontPage
Information facts. http://accessfp.net/
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read the online version of
the following article which includes pictures and might make this
clearer for you. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/hal4.htm
**********************************************************
(10.) HAL'S HARDWARE HAVEN
~~Hal Cardon, PC Sleuth
PARTITIONS AND MULTIPLE OPERATING SYSTEMS
Hello again. First I want to thank everyone that wrote in about my last
article on System Resources. Hopefully I didn=92t get too geeky. As
always if you have any comments about my writing please e-mail me at
abcomputers@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
This month=92s topic is actually two:
Partitions and Multiple Booting your computer.
Unfortunately these topics are pretty geeky (sorry), so please bear with
me, hopefully by the end of the article it should make some sense.
Creating a multiple boot computer can cause data loss, so if you decide
to try this make sure that you have a good back-up and test it to make
sure that you can recover. I used to work at a motorcycle shop where we
has a sign on the wall that said "If you have a $10 head, wear a $10
helmet". Well the same holds true for your data. If it is important to
you, BACK IT UP.
In order to understand Multiple Boot systems, you will need to
understand Partitions, and Hard Drive geometry.
Geek Terms
Let=92s start by defining some terms.
PARTITIONS
- A partition is a section of your drive. You may not realize it, but
all hard drives have partitions. If your hard drive has a single
partition then you see that as drive C in Windows or DOS. Partitions
are created with partitioning software like fdisk for Windows or DOS.
You can use fdisk to create more than one disk on a single hard drive.
There are certain rules for Partitions:
Partition rules
- You can have no more than 4 partitions on a hard drive. However one
can be an extended partition and it can contain multiple logical drives.
- To be bootable (by DOS, Windows and some Operating Systems (OSes),
partitions must be primary, active and the first sector must be below
the 1024 cylinder limit (8 GB). For DOS in particular the boot code
MUST reside beneath a 2GB barrier.
- DOS and Windows 9.X should have only one visible primary partition, or
data corruption may occur.
FORMATTING
Before a partition is usable it must be formatted. When you format a
partition, a File Allocation Table (FAT) is created. The FAT maps out
the available space in the partition into clusters so that when you
write data to the hard drive it can found again.
CYLINDERS
Hard Drives are constructed out of platters; the platters are round and
look like a stack of pancakes with a little gap in between them. We
define the size of a hard drive in Cylinders, Heads and Sectors. A
track is the section of a platter that can be read with out moving the
head. When we look at all the heads, a cylinder is a collection of all
the tracks on the platters that can be read with out moving the heads.
It may help you to think of Cylinders like this: Take our stack of
pancakes (platters) from above and cut a circle out of the middle of
them. Now cut a ring off the outside. If you remove the inner circle
and the outer ring from the stack, what remains is a cylinder with each
pancake ring being a track.
SECTORS
Sectors are a subdivision of tracks. They are smallest size unit that
can be written to a hard drive.
CLUSTERS
Clusters are created by formatting a partition, they are sized by the OS
and the type of FAT used. Clusters are a collection of sectors on the
hard drive. Each cluster can only contain one file or portion of a
file. Each cluster is represented by an entry in the FAT. The size of
each cluster is determined by the OS and type of FAT.
MULTIPLE BOOT
Multiple Boot refers to computer that can boot to more than one OS, for
example my main desktop computer can boot in to Windows 98, Windows XP,
Windows 2000 Pro, Linux Mandrake 8.0 and BEOS 5. In a multiple boor
scenario you normally choose the OS to boot when you turn on your
computer.
WHY YOU MAY WANT TO HAVE A MULTIPLE BOOT COMPUTER
Run More than one Operating System
A multiple boot computer is great way to try out an OS without having to
make a long term commitment to a new OS. For example one of the reasons
I multiple boot my computer is to give me the ability to try out the
beta versions of Windows XP. Using a multiple booting system I can try
out beta OS on my main desktop safely, with out putting my important
data at risk.
Some other OSes you might want to try.
- Other versions of Windows ie: Windows 9.5, 98, NT 4.0, XP
- DOS
- BEOS
- Linux
- Unix
CAVEATS
There several things you need to know before you create a multiple boot
computer.
1024 Cylinder Limit
Several OS have a requirement that either all or some their bootable
partition reside below the 1024 cylinder barrier. The 1024 cylinder
barrier equates to 8 GB. OSes of this type include all versions of
Windows.
Primary Partitions
Most OS must reside on a Primary Active Partition to be bootable.
Tools
Partitioning Tools
Before I talk about some specific partition managers, I have to warn you
that playing around with the partition table of your hard drive may
cause you to lose everything on your hard drive. So if your data is
important, BACK IT UP.
Partition Managers are software utilities that are used to manage your
partitions. Before you try and create a multiple boot system, create a
bootable diskette that will give you access to your partitioning tool.
Make sure that you TEST IT!
Fdisk
Fdisk is a command line based partitioning tool that is included with
DOS and Windows, there are also versions of fdisk included with many
Linux distributions. Fdisk, while very functional is a very bare bones
utility, it often can=92t recognize partitions that were created by a
different partitioning tool, also repartitioning your hard drive with
fdisk WILL ERASE your data.
Partition Magic
http://www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic/
Partition Magic is GUI based partition manager that allows you create,
resize, copy and move partitions. It also allows you to convert
partitions between different formats. In most cases you can do all of
these things without losing any data. You have to buy Partition Magic.
In my opinion Partition Magic is the best bet of all partitioning tools.
It also includes the boot manager Boot Magic.
Ranish Partition Manager http://www.users.intercom.com/~ranish/part/
Ranish Partition Manager is a free utility to help you manage your
partitions. It allows you to:
Save and restore MBR,
Create and delete partitions,
View hard disks' IDE information,
Format and resize FAT-16 and FAT-32 file systems.
It includes Advance Boot Manager.
Partition Commander
http://www.v-com.com/product/pc_ind.html
Partition Commander is GUI based partition manager that allows you to
create, resize copy and move partitions. Like Partition Magic you have
to buy Partition Commander, it also includes the boot manager System
Commander.
Boot Managers
Boot Managers are software that provide an easy way to choose which
operating system you want to run. The can often hide unused primary
partition(s) and set a partition as Active.
Windows NT
The boot manager included with Windows NT, 2000 or XP. It is a very
powerful tool but can be tricky to configure. It must be booted from a
partition inside the 1024 cylinder limit.
System Commander
http://www.v-com.com/product/sc2_ind.html
System Commander is my favorite boot manager, it has features that the
others don=92t and is fairly straight forward to configure. You have to
purchase System Commander.
Boot Magic http://www.powerquest.com/partitionmagic/pm7details.html
It is the boot manager included with Partition Magic. Boot Magic is
very easy to use, but isn=92t as configurable as System Commander.
Advanced Boot Manager
Advanced Boot Manager is included with the free program Ranish Partition
Manager.
Lilo
Lilo is the LInux LOader. It can be used to load other OSes as well. I
t can tricky to configure properly.
How to create a multiple boot computer
There are a number of ways to create a multiple boot computer, I will
cover 2 common scenarios, but they can be expanded and combined to
create the others.
Scenarios
One Primary Partition
It is possible to create multiple boot computers with only one primary
partition. That partition must contain your boot manager. Since almost
all OS can read and write to FAT16 your primary partition is usually FAT
and therefore limited to 2 gigabytes in size. You can do this having
one primary partition and at least one other partition (which can be on
another drive). What you do is load Windows 9.x or DOS on your primary
partition then insert the set-up disk for a Windows NT based OS (NT,
2000, XP) and run set-up but have it install the NT based OS to a
partition other than C:.
The limitation to this method is if you want to remove one OS, you will
still be booting to FAT partition, If that partition does not contain an
OS it may get confusing. For example in DOS/Windows nomenclature, your
autoexec.bat will be on drive C: while Windows is located on drive D:\.
It must be noted that Microsoft no longer supports more than one OS on a
single partition.
You need to be careful in this scenario, some programs default to
installing to C:\Program Files, so if you remove the Windows 9.X OS you
will loose access to those programs from the other OS.
Multiple Primary Partitions
This is my preferred method of running more than one OS on a system.
What I do is create 3 primary partitions on a hard drive, with each
partition having a presence below the 1024 cylinder limit. The
advantages to this method are:
Each OS is completely hidden from the other OSes on the computer. I can
use a logical drive on an extended partition as a programs drive that
can hold programs that are accessible to other OSes.
I use my partitioning tool to unhide the first primary partition and set
it as active and hide the other 2 primary partitions.
I then install the oldest OS on the first primary partition; along with
my Boot Manager (I keep the first partition=92s size below 2 GB if it =
will
contain DOS or Windows 95 original).
I then use my partitioning tool to hide the first primary partition and
set the second primary partition as active.
Now I load the second OS. I usually make this Partition just under 6
GB.
I again use my partitioning tool to hide the First and second Primary
Partitions and unhide the third primary and set it active. Remember
that the third primary partition MUST have enough of it existing (large
enough section to contain the boot files) below the 1024 cylinder limit
in order to be bootable for most OSes.
Now I load my third OS.
After loading the three primary OSes, I use my partitioning tool again
to hide the third primary partition and set the first primary partition
as active and unhidden.
I boot to the first OSes and reload my boot manager and configure it to
boot to my 3 OSes.
Now I load my programs under the appropriate OSes on to drive D:.
Remember that each program you wish to use with an operating system must
installed under that Operating system. You can however install to the
same drive and directory to save space.
Recommendations
I prefer the Multiple Primary Partition method for multiple booting my
systems. I find that if one OS goes down, I don=92t lose my other OSes
and therefore I can still use my computer.
My favorite partition manager is Partition Magic; I find it safe and
easy to use.
My favorite boot manager is System Commander; I find to be the most
powerful, it makes it easy to boot from more than one hard drive.
I know this topic was very geeky. Hopefully it helped you understand
some the issues surrounding multiple booting your computer. I know that
it got fairly deep, but that is what the topic required. Unfortunately,
creating a multiple boot computer is not a trivial undertaking. I
recommend that you read the documentation for any OS you wish to use,
and for the tools that you choose before you start. Please back-up your
data before you start, it is very easy to make a mistake and lose
everything on your hard drive.
As always please let me know (abcomputers@xxxxxxxxxxxx) if you find this
article too hard or not in-depth enough.
See you next month!
Hal Cardona
PC Sleuth
***********************************************************
Hal Cardona, PC Sleuth, serves as tech support and/or offsite Sys Admin
for over 200 clients around the US. He designs, builds, and
troubleshoots networks and builds custom computer systems.
http://www.pcsleuth.com
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(11.) JACK'S INTERNET CONNECTION
~~Jack Teems, Neat Net Tricks
SOMETIMES YOU CAN'T GET THERE FROM HERE
When things slow down while you are surfing the Net, you may be tempted
to blame your dinosaur computer, your Internet service provider, a full
moon, or all of the above. Likely, none of the above is the correct
answer. Your connection on the Internet follows a number of points, or
hops, in going from your computer to the desired site. The distance
usually involves several thousand miles and a dozen or more systems, any
one of which may malfunction.
Before you are quick to affix blame, use a handy feature in your Windows
operating system to find a problem. It's called "tracert=94 and you
simply enter that word followed by the Web site address (URL) either in
the box created when you click on Start and Run; or, go to Start,
Programs, MS-DOS Prompt, and enter this information immediately
following the prompt that is displayed. The second technique is
preferred so that the display window will remain on your screen until
you click it off.
If, for example, I am having difficulty in getting to my Web site, I can
enter "tracert neatnettricks.com=94 (without the quotation marks) and =
some
13 or so hops will be displayed showing the systems through which my
transmission has gone to reach its destination. If there's a breakdown
or a slowdown in this path, this will be shown.
This sounds a lot more complicated than it really is and if you would
like a nice graphical display instead, consider downloading Neoworx
http://www.neoworx.com/
or VisualRoute. http://www.visualware.com/visualroute/index.html
These interfaces have much more going for them than the built-in tracert
utility. While they all allow you to test your Internet connection and
identify whose system may be the culprit, Neoworx and VisualRoute also
enable you to investigate domains and identify Internet service
providers. These are valuable tools in contacting the right people if
you wish to hunt down and complain about spammers.
Several Internet sites such as The Internet Weather Report sample
conditions and present a geographic map showing "lag time"=94
http://www.mids.org/weather/
This is a term to denote how long it takes for a packet of data (in
other words, your transmission) to get to an Internet node and return to
your computer, much like shouting from a cliff and waiting to hear an
echo. If the lag is too long and the echo never returns or is extremely
slow in returning, you can expect a problem in your communication.
Remember, since things are measured in nanoseconds on the Internet, any
delay seems like an eternity. When this happens, turn in early and get a
good night=92s rest. Maybe it's the moon after all.
**********************************************************
Jack Teems' Neat Net Tricks is available in three flavors:
You can subscribe to the free twice-monthly ezine by sending a blank
email or click the subscribe button on the NNT Web site. If that=92s =
not
enough, you can subscribe to a special edition, Neat Net Tricks PLUS,
for just $10 a year at the NNT Web site. And, if you want every Neat
Net Trick ever published on diskette 4 times a year, the ArchivesExpress
is as little as $20 (details are also at the NNT Web site.)
http://www.NeatNetTricks.com .
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read the online version of
the following article which includes pictures and might make this
clearer for you. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/james4.htm
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(12.) JAMES' DATABASE
~~James La Borde
OKAY, I'VE BUILT MY DATABASE, NOW WHAT?
Well Folks, it certainly is nice to see all of you again. In case you
missed the previous articles, our trek along the Access database
creation highway has taken us through preparation
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/vol2.htm#james
and into the realm of the various data types available to us.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/james3.htm
We are going to continue this adventure with Populating the Database.
Now you have all your planning done, and your tables are built,
normalized and ready to go. You are probably asking yourself "What
Next?" I answer, "Populate the database!" In Database terms, that
merely means putting the data in or data entry. We will discuss several
methods of populating our database including datasheet entry, forms, and
importing and linking tables.
Adhering to the K.I.S.S. Principle
The simplest method of entering data in the database, for a beginner, is
by using the datasheet (see figure 1). The datasheet is a simple
representation of the table with one row for each record.
The datasheet has several advantages and disadvantages to its use. Some
of the advantages include the simplification of data entry by
eliminating unnecessary graphics, the ability of the user to see all of
the data; (this can be a disadvantage as well.) A simple tab through of
all the fields in the table.
While there are some advantages, the datasheet is generally not accepted
as a viable means of data entry in a user database. The main
disadvantage of the datasheet is the fact that the creator does not have
as much control over what the user can do or see. Another disadvantage
lies in the inability to use some of Access=92s more advanced features.
To enter data using the datasheet you merely highlight the table in your
database window and click Open. This will bring you up in the datasheet
view.
(see online version for Figure 1)
Steering the User
While the datasheet is quite simple, the Form can be quite complex. The
form gives the developer a great deal of control over the user=92s =
ability
to enter and view data. To see the difference between a datasheet and a
view, take another look at Figure 1, and then look at the same data in
Figure 2. Both of these are based on the same table. The form in Figure
2 also has a sub form. We will touch briefly on these a little later.
By using the form=92s greater variety of controls, the developer can =
steer
the user into only the actions that are desired.
(see online version for Figure 2)
Going to the forms tab and clicking the New button creates the form. You
are given the opportunity to select the table you choose to make a form
for and several methods of creating the form. We will be discussing two
of these, Design View and the Form Wizard.
The Form Wizard is a simple tool that will take the guesswork out of
creating your form. I highly recommend the Form Wizard when you are
first starting out. It is a great tool to learn about the basics of
creating a form. It will automatically create your form with the fields
that you designate. You can then go into the newly created form and add
additional elements to it.
Now that you have your form created, you are ready to set your form and
field properties. This is where you steer the user. We will briefly
discuss some of the major elements of form control here. Next month=92s
issue will cover forms in greater detail. For our purposes here, we
will concentrate on the Data tab of the Form properties.
The data tab (See Figure 3) is where you control what the user is able
to see as he/she enters new data into the table. A few of the key
controls are Allow Edits, Allow Deletions, and Data Entry. Allow Edits
does just what it sounds like it does. If set to no, it will not allow
the user to edit data once it has been entered. Allow Deletions, again,
is exactly what it sounds like. If set to yes, you are allowing the
user to delete a record.
Finally Data Entry, this property is not quite as obvious as it sounds.
However, it can be the most restrictive of these properties. By setting
Data Entry to yes, the form will open to a new record only. Once a user
leaves a record, they can no longer view it. This can be very useful
when the user is dealing with confidential data, such as a social
security card number. They can enter it, do what they need on the
current form, then after they leave the form, the data is secured from
their view.
There are numerous other property controls on a form that can be used to
steer the user in a particular direction, from tab settings and stops to
input masks. All of which guide the user into entering data the way the
developer wants them to. We will cover each of these in greater detail
in next month=92s issue.
(see online version for Figure 3)
Another little treat of using forms is the sub-form. A sub-form is
another form that is made part of your form. If you look back at Figure
2, there is a sub-form on it. Basically the sub-form is a subset of
data from another table that matches a part of your current form. In
this case, it is all the products within the category. With this one
form, you can view all of your categories and the products within each
category. Sub-forms will be addressed in a future article.
"My Data already exists in a database, why should I Re-enter it?"
If you already have access to your data in another database there is no
reason to duplicate your efforts. You can get that data into your
database in one of two ways. If you want the complete set of data and
it will not change, you can simply import the data, or if the data is
likely to change, (or is simply too large for your database) you can
link to the data.
The process for importing or linking are much the same, the only
difference being where the data will be stored. As with most Microsoft
products, there are conversion wizards to allow you access to various
forms of data. In the import selection box, you can choose another
Microsoft Access Database, Microsoft Excel, Text Files, HTML Files,
Dbase versions 3, 4, and 5, Microsoft FoxPro databases and ODBC
databases which opens up a whole new set of databases.
The process for either is quite simple, provided you are selecting any
option other than the ODBC database. Merely click file, Get External
Data, then select whether you want to Import or Link. Next select your
input type and navigate to its location. Select what you want to import
and a wizard will walk you through the rest.
ODBC (Open DataBase Connectivity) databases require a little extra
preparation to get to their data. The advantage of doing this extra
work is that you can link to a much larger database. ODBC databases
include Microsoft SQL Server, Oracle, Sybase SQL Anywhere, and
PostgresSQL. When you select ODBC for a database type, you will get a
new window asking you to select the ODBC connection you wish to use.
You may also set up a new connection at this point. Let=92s use an SQL
database as an example. In our example, we want to connect to the
Products table in the Northwinds database on the Sales server. The
first selection you will need to make is whether you want this
connection to be for this machine or for this particular file. Which
you choose will depend on how often you will need to make this
connection. For our purposes we will select Machine and click on that
Tab. After clicking New, we are presented with another option. Do we
want this to be a User or System connection? Again this will depend on
your situation. Will multiple users be using this application from this
machine? Select system. If only one use will be using this particular
application but others use the machine, select User. This will provide
an extra layer of security for your application, as even if someone were
to open it, they would be unable to access the data.
We have chosen system, as we will have several users for our example.
Now you are presented an option of what kind of driver you need to use,
this will be selected based upon your data source. In our case, we have
a Microsoft SQL Server database so we will select that. If you do not
see the connection you need, do not fear, not all are loaded with the
default install of Access and more are available from Microsoft. The
next page to come up is a summary showing you what you have selected.
If you are following along, you should see:
System Data Source
Driver: SQL Server
If this is correct, click Finish. You are not actually finished; this
will bring you into a new wizard to set the properties of your SQL
Server connection. The name of your Data Source will play a part if you
choose to use it again. Name it appropriately so that you know what it
actually is. The description field is to help you in finding it again.
The Server field is critical; you must enter the name of the server
exactly as it appears in the network. In our example, the server is
named Sales, so we enter that and click next. This is where the
authentication is set up. Do you want to use the network authentication
(if you are on an NT
network) or do you want to use SQL authentication. These setting depend
on what the SQL database is set up to handle. This is where you want to
check the box marked change to default database and enter your database
name, in this case, we will enter Northwinds. Click Next. The one thing
to watch for here, is one of the default settings. Use ANSI nulls and
paddings can cause corruption in an SQL database, uncheck it! The rest
of the settings here depend largely on your SQL database but most are
acceptable as defaults as are those on the next page. Click Next and
then after perusing your settings on that page, click finish. You will
now be taken to a Test Your Connection screen. Click on the Test
Connection and make sure that you get a Test Completed Successfully
message. Then click close. We are now ready to select our table. They
will be listed in a text box with a check box beside them. Select the
box next to the tables you want, in this case, Products. Before
clicking finish, decide whether you want to save the password. If you
do not check this box, the password you entered in the ODBC connection
must be entered by the user when they enter this table. Click Import,
then close. You now have your table linked.
Any changes made to that table are now made on the SQL Server. The user
will also be able to see any changes that have been made in the table on
the server.
"What about Excel?"
Excel imports are pretty much the same as the procedure for importing
data from another database. It is actually one of the options
available. Here are a couple of methods to keep you on the right track.
As my wife often reminds me, it isn=92t just importing the data, it=92s =
the
quality of the data. When importing from Excel it is imperative that
your data be in good shape. Clean data is the key to a successfully
importing data from Excel to Access.
The first method is by far the simplest, a simple copy and paste of your
data. Open both Excel and Access, then highlight and copy your data in
Excel, switch to Access and click on the Tables tab, then click paste.
It will only ask you one question; "Does your first row contain field
names?" A Yes response uses the first row as your field names and a No
response gives you a simple, but unhelpful Field1, Field2, etc.
The second method is the one described above in the Importing section.
Simply click, File, Get External Data, Import and then on the pull down
list at the bottom for files of type, change it to Microsoft Excel.
This will start a wizard that will assist you in importing your Excel
spreadsheet. The first page will ask you whether you want to import
worksheets or ranges and show you a sample of your data to be imported
as well. Click next and you will be taken to another question, does your
first row contain field names for your table? Next is the option of
importing into a new table (highly recommended) or into an existing
table. Until you have done this numerous times, I highly recommend
importing into a new table then moving it into your existing table after
you ensure that you have a good import. Next in the wizard is the field
options page. This lets you set up to three options on each field,
first the field name, second is the data type, and last is whether or
not to index the column. You can also elect to skip an entire column if
necessary. If you have calculated fields in your Excel spreadsheet and
are importing all your component fields it is recommended that you skip
the calculated field. Access can do the calculations on the fly. It
also allows you to change the fields without worrying about having to
change the result manually. Next is the primary key selection. After
clicking next all that is required is a table name to import to. Click
Finish and your data is in. Access will produce an Import Errors table
so that you know if data failed to import, what it was and why.
Still yet another method and a slightly automated one at that is to use
the macro command Transfer Spreadsheet. While it is not quite as
detailed as the Import Wizard, it does automate the tasks for repeated
imports. The macro requires six pieces of data. First is the transfer
type, you can import, export or link. Next is the database type. You
simply select your spreadsheet format from a pull-down list. Next is
the table name that you would like it to import into. This is followed
by the File Name, unless your file is in the same directory, give the
full path.
Then the Has Field Names option is needed, simply select yes or no.
Finally you will need to input your range. You have three options in
this field. Leave it blank and you get the entire spreadsheet or you
can input your range as either a range of cells or a named range. After
saving your macro you are ready to go.
As you can see you have numerous options for getting the data into your
database. Direct Input requires either the Datasheet or a form,
depending on your users skill level and the level of security you want
on it. If the data already exists, you can opt to import or link to it,
largely depending on how dynamic the data is. And of course, you can
get your data from an Excel spreadsheet.
Stay tuned in coming months for:
September:
Forms - an in depth look at creating various types of forms to guide
your user through your database.
October:
Queries - What you can do with your data once you have it in the
database
November:
Reports - Presenting your data in an end user friendly format.
**********************************************************
James La Borde works in the computer department at a Credit Union, where
he uses Access, SQL Server, VBA, and ODBC daily.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read the online version of
the following article which includes pictures and might make this
clearer for you. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/parker4.htm
**********************************************************
(13.) PARKER'S MAILBOX
~~Parker Renaud, IT Manager, Colliers Keenan, Inc.
SHARING INFORMATION IN OUTLOOK
If your kindergarten report card said "Doesn=92t share well with =
others",
its time to get over it! To increase your efficiency with Outlook, you
need learn to share information. Outlook 2000, running on Microsoft
Exchange Server, offers several ways to share information with others.
You can set access "permissions" for the default folders through folder
properties, share access by creating "delegates" in the Tools>Options
menu, or create public folders and set access permissions on them. Today
we will talk about setting access permissions on the default folders.
Why would you want to share information with someone?
There are many reasons. Maybe you would like to have someone check your
e-mail when you are away from the office and contact you if something
important comes in. Or you might need the information contained in one
of your contacts while traveling, or want to know when you sent a
particular e-mail.
To share access to your folders:
1. Display your folder list and right click on the folder you wish to
share. Click Properties, select the Permissions tab, and the Properties
box will appear.
2. Click on Add and the Add Users dialog box will be displayed.
Only the users with accounts on the same exchange server will be listed.
You cannot share information with people outside your network using this
method.
3. Highlight the name of each of the users with which you want to share
and click add. You will notice that, though this will add the users to
the list, their role is "None". (A role simply signifies the level of
permission.)
4. To assign a role to a user, highlight the name and click the button
next to "Roles" to open the "Roles" drop down list. (You can also click
the option button next to each permission to set them individually.) If
you want multiple users to have the same Role, you can select all of
those users at one time, then select the desired role.
5. There are nine available Roles, plus "Custom". They range from None,
which only makes the folder visible, all the way to Owner, which gives
other users the same rights you have as the folder owner.
There are some limitations to the use of permissions. You can share only
six of the default Outlook folders: Calendar, Contacts, Inbox, Journal,
Notes, and Tasks.
Now that someone has permission to access your folders, how do they do
it? It is very easy in Outlook 2000:
1. Click on File>Open>Other Users Folder.
2. Select the name of the "other person" and the folder to which you
have access.
3. The folder will then open in a new window.
4. If you have not been given access to a folder, a message will
appear, telling you the folder could not be found. In other words,
Outlook will neither confirm nor deny the existence of the folder!
That=92s all there is to it.
Next month I will talk about creating delegates to access your Outlook
information.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Parker Renaud is the one-man IT department at Colliers Keenan where he
manages 90 PCs on 5 servers.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read the online version of
the following article which includes pictures and might make this
clearer for you. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/chad4.htm
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(14.) CHAD'S MACRO MANIA
Chad K. Welch
CLEAN UP THIS MESS!
Part 2
Last month we learned a few steps to clean up the code that the macro
recorder records. http://personal-computer-tutor.com/chad3.htm
As you may recall, the recorder will record all steps that you make
regardless of whether or not it is a necessary step. For example, begin
recording a macro in Excel. Select cell C4, type =9145=92 and press =
enter.
Stop the recorder and select Tools>Macro>Macros.
In the dialog box that opens highlight the macro you just recorded and
click on Edit.
The following lines of code are recorded:
Range("C4").Select
ActiveCell.FormulaR1C1 =3D "45"
Range("C5").Select
As we learned last month, those three lines can be reduced to:
Range(=93C4=94) =3D 45
VBA does not need to select the cells to place a value in it. The
general rule of thumb is:
If the first line contains Select or Activate and the following line
contains Selection or Active___, the lines can be rewritten on one line.
There are a couple of exceptions to these rules. Let=92s record another
macro to see an exception. Once again in Excel start the macro
recorder. Select cells D8:F11. Press the copy icon on the toolbar.
Select cell A1 and press the paste icon on the toolbar. Stop the
macro, and go into the VBE again to view the code. This is what was
recorded:
Range("D8:F11").Select
Selection.Copy
Range("A1").Select
ActiveSheet.Paste
The first two lines contain a Select and a Selection. Those lines can
be consolidated to:
Range(=93D8:F11=94).Copy
The last two lines also contain a Select and an Active___. However,
consolidating these lines to Range(=93A1=94).Paste would create a =
run-time
error. The reason is that the selection is a range, but the Paste
method is used on a sheet object.
WHAT!? I know; that was confusing. Let me rephrase that and leave out
the Geekese.
Range(=93A1=94).Select selects a cell, while ActiveSheet.Paste is =
performing
an action (paste) to a worksheet.
Because the Select and Active___ refer to different components of a
workbook, they cannot be consolidated. Let=92s rephrase our rule of
thumb:
If the first line contains Select or Activate and the following line
contains Selection or Active___ and refer to the same object, the lines
can be rewritten on one line.
Good Luck and Happy Coding!
Chad
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Chad K. Welch works as a technician/enabler in Utah. He is available
for consulting or application programming with Microsoft Office and VBA.
Contact him directly for more information at chad@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
EDITOR'S NOTE: It is recommended that you read the online version of
the following article which includes pictures and might make this
clearer for you. http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/corey4.htm
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(15.) COREY'S NETWORK CORNER
Corey Seaton
CONFIGURING WINDOWS TO RECOGNIZE
THE NETWORK CARDS
(I'm sorry but I don't have any experience with Macintosh networking,
and Linux networking is completely dependent on your distribution=85 =
Feel
free to email me for general tips, but for anything complex you'll need
to ask someone with specific experience)
Now that you've installed the hardware, you need to configure Windows to
recognize and use the network card properly. This means Windows needs a
"device driver" for the card, which is basically a piece of software
that tells Windows how to control your hardware (that is, how to
"control" your "device", hence the name). With any modern network card
this should be simple - when you start up your computer, Windows should
recognize that there's new hardware and look for drivers for it. Insert
the driver disk that came with your card (it did come with one, right?!)
and install the device drivers. If there's anything unusual about your
card, e.g. the drivers are in an obscure directory on the disk; the card
will (hopefully) have come with instructions on how to install the
drivers.
If your card didn't come with drivers, the chances are that it will be
compatible with an older card that Windows has device drivers for. Let
Windows "search for the best driver for this device", and it'll probably
come up with something like "RealTek=85" or "3Com=85=94 Whatever it =
says, just
try it out - it will probably work!
If Windows didn't display any message about detecting new hardware,
don't worry. You just need to go into the Windows Control Panel and
choose "Add New Hardware" and follow the prompts.
Let Windows search for new hardware. With any luck it should now find
your card and ask you for a driver disk - if you have one, use it,
otherwise let Windows use whatever driver it comes up with (as above).
If Windows still can't find your card, you're probably in trouble - the
card may be faulty. Ask the vendor for help.
Checking that the card is there: Now go into Windows Control Panel and
choose "System". In Windows 95/98/ME, go to the "Device Manager" tab; in
Windows 2000, go to the "Hardware" tab and click on "Device Manager"=94
Look for the "Network adapters" section. In this section you should find
the network card that you just installed (and on the computer that's
acting as the server you should also see the network card that came with
the cable modem). Make sure the card is working properly - click on the
card and then click on the "properties" button. Windows should tell you
"this device is working properly". If not, you'll need to work out why
not - there may be a hardware conflict, or you may need to restart your
computer, or you may be using the wrong device driver, or the card may
be faulty. In any case, you need to have the card working properly (i.e.
getting the message "this device is working properly") before you
proceed to the next step.
Happy Networking!
Corey
**********************************************************
Corey Seaton is a Systems Support Officer with Queensland Health. He
also moderates an email group on Home Networking. Why don't you join and
talk to others who are networking their home PCs?
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/networkinghelp
**********************************************************
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(16.) KATHLEEN'S SPIDER WEB
Kathleen Anderson, Spider Web Woman Designs
WEBSITE ACCESSIBILITY
You keep hearing this phrase more often these days=96 More and more web
sites you visit even have an =91accessibility policy=92 link on their =
site,
or a graphic.
What do they mean? Accessibility? Who (or what) is Bobby?
Web site accessibility means making web sites accessible to persons with
disabilities. This month=92s article focuses on three types of visitors
to your site and the problems they might encounter.
People who cannot see will be unable to use the graphics or colors on
your site for navigation. To experience this for yourself, launch your
browser (my examples will use IE 5), and go to http://www.abcnews.com
and take a look at their use of graphics, especially the ones that are
links.
Now, with the page still loaded, choose Tools | Internet Options |
Advanced in the Multimedia section, uncheck the "Show pictures" box and
click Apply. Reload the ABC News page in your browser, and notice that
the graphics are gone - in their place are boxes with the words "Click
here" (or worse, no words at all) in them. "Click here". Why? What=92s
going to happen when I do that? There=92s nothing there to let me know
where you=92re going to take me when I click that link. What if it takes
me to a page that=92s going to download something to my computer, or
worse, to a site that I shouldn=92t be going to while I=92m at work? =
There
should be something a bit more descriptive, don=92t you think?
You might be interested in knowing that another group of people for whom
this is an issue are people using low-end computers, with slow or
pay-per-minute connections. They turn off the images in their browser
to make web pages load faster.
OK, you can turn the pictures back on now.
People who don=92t use a mouse will most likely be using only their
keyboard for navigating around your site. Bring up your favorite site in
your browser and then put away your mouse (don=92t disconnect it - just
move it or put it on the floor). Now using only the Tab key, move around
the page until you find a link you want to try out, and hit the Enter
key.
(Hint: Shift + Tab will let you tab in reverse, back towards the top of
the
page.) One thing to look out for is the =91tabbing order=92 of the links =
on
the page. Do they flow in some kind of logical order or are they all
over the place? With no logical order, getting to a specific link is
going to be very frustrating and time-consuming for someone who can=92t
just =91point and click=92.
Something else you might want to try sometime is going to your favorite
online shopping site, and see how well you can use the online order
forms with just your keyboard. Some of those forms with dropdown boxes
and radio buttons can be quite tricky, and sometime impossible, to use
correctly without a mouse.
Someone with a hearing impairment is going to have a problem with a lot
of the multimedia content being delivered over the web today. As an
example, pay a visit to another popular news web site
http://www.msnbc.com and choose one of their Video or Live Video links.
But first, turn off your computer=92s speakers. Do you have any idea =
what
that newscaster is saying? It sure would make more sense to you if the
news broadcast was close-captioned, wouldn=92t it? They do it TV - why =
not
on the web?
OK - who is Bobby? Bobby is a free service provided by the Center for
Applied Special Technology (CAST) to help Web page authors identify and
repair significant barriers to access by individuals with disabilities.
You can run Bobby against a single page on your site (or someone =
else=92s)
by typing in the URL on this page. http://www.cast.org/bobby/
Or, you can download Bobby and run it on your own computer against your
entire site (or someone else=92s). Bobby checks your page for
accessibility, using the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines at the
W3C: http://www.w3.org/TR/WCAG10/
If your site passes the Bobby test, you are entitled to place the Bobby
logo on your page to show you that you took the time and care to make
your site accessible to persons with disabilities.
Next month we=92ll run a few web pages through Bobby and discuss the
problems we might find.
**********************************************************
Kathleen Anderson is a webmaster at the State of Connecticut and chairs
their committee on web site accessibility for persons with disabilities
http://www.cmac.state.ct.us/access/
She also has her own web design company,
Spider Web Woman Designs, at
http://www.spiderwebwoman.com/
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK********************
**********************************************************
Are you into Video Computing?
VIDEOMAKER is the world's most popular monthly consumer video production
publication and covers the use of digital video editing, camcorders,
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Published monthly, and is available on select newsstands and to
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In addition, you receive a password giving you full access to Club VId,
Videomaker's vast online resource of information about making video.
And the best part is, it's CHEAP! Only $14.97 for 13 issues!
http://www.angelfire.com/rnb/vxdoin/VideoMaker.html
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(17.) VIC'S REGISTRY ROUNDUP
~~ Vic Ferri, Windows Tips & Tricks
ASSORTED WINDOWS REGISTRY TIPS
(These tips were tested on Windows 9x and\or NT
WARNING! Altering your Registry can have devastating effects. If you do
not know how to backup your registry, go here.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/registry.htm
If you do not know anything about the Registry, go here.
http://newbieclub.com/cgi-bin/sgx/d.cgi?rfncopy-vic
Linda's Computer Stop and Vic Ferri are NOT responsible for your
computer....YOU are.)
Regedit Command Line Options
Here are some of the command line options, along with examples for each,
that can be used with regedit.exe in native DOS or in a batch file. Note
that some of these options may not apply to all Windows operating
systems.
The syntax to follow is:
regedit.exe [options] [filename]
For example: regedit.exe /s myfile.reg
/s
Using this option(as in the example above) imports the reg file without
any confirmation. It hides the dialog box stating that your file has
been successfuly imported into the registry.
/e
This option is used to export the registry or part of it to a file.
example: regedit.exe /e myfile.reg HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SOFTWARE
This would export the entire Software key to myfile.reg.
Note that it doesn't have to be a reg file you export to - it can be a
text or document file, as well.
/L:system /R:user
This is to specify the location of the system.dat and user.dat files to
use
Example:
regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /r:c:\windows\user.dat /e
c:\windows\newreg.reg This would be used in native dos to export the
entire contents of system.dat and user.dat to newreg.dat
/c
This stands for create
Example:
regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /r:c:\windows\user.dat /c
c:\windows\newreg.reg
This would create a new registry from the contents of
"c:\windows\newreg.reg"and is normally used in conjunction with the
previous example. Note - your current system.dat and user.dat are
destroyed during this process. New dat files are built from the contents
of newreg.reg
/d
This is to specify a key to delete and is available only in Win98\Me
Example:
regedit /l:c:\windows\system.dat /r:c:\windows\user.dat
/d HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\McAfee
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Extensions - Forcing a Never Show
Windows uses a special flag to make sure that file extensions they
really don't want you to see aren't displayed, even when you have your
options set to show all extensions. They do this by adding a REG_SZ
value to the root of the file extension. This example is straight from
the registry, showing the flag cloaking SHS - Shell Scraps - extensions:
[HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.shs]
"@"=3D"ShellScrap"
[ HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\ShellScrap]
"NeverShowExt"=3D""
The "NeverShowExt" will cloak the extension type - no matter what
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Passwords - Disallowing Local
If you use Windows 9x on a network, and you don't want to bother with
keeping two passwords - one for the network, and one for Windows, you
can disallow local passwords by setting the registry with this entry:
[HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows
\CurrentVersion\Policies\Network "HideSharePwds"=3Dhex:01,00,00,00
"DisablePwdCaching"=3Ddword:00000001
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Importing Reg Files without Confirmation Notice
If you need to write a lot of information into the registry, and you
don't want to script it out , you can use REGEDIT with a /S switch
(followed by the name of your file) to load a registry file into the
registry "quietly" (no external notifications).
Example: regedit /s myfile.reg
You can run the command in the Run box, batch file or right at the DOS
prompt.
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Startup Sequence
You can start various applications or events at controlled time in
Windows, by dictating when the 32-bit process should be activated. Here
is the areas in which you should assign tasks, based on when you want
them to start:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\
CurrentVersion\RunService(Once) - As soon as Windows enters 32-bit mode,
these applications/services are started - these are running prior to the
logon script, or logon box
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows
\CurrentVersion\Run(Once) - run after a user logs on, after the logon
script finishes, but before the desktop is fully loaded in.
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows
\CurrentVersion\Run(Once) - once the logon script is finished, and
Windows has loaded the desktop STARTUP folder from the Start Menu - last
place Windows starts programs from
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Internet Explorer Restrictions
Using the Windows registry, there are a number of restrictions one can
make on the operation of Microsoft Internet Explorer. The restrictions
below were tested on IE 5 but should work with other versions as well.
NoBrowserClose : Disable the option of closing Internet Explorer.
NoBrowserContextMenu : Disable right-click context menu.
NoBrowserOptions : Disable the Tools / Internet Options menu.
NoBrowserSaveAs : Disable the ability to Save As. NoFavorites : Disable
the Favorites. NoFileNew : Disable the File / New command. NoFileOpen :
Disable the File / Open command. NoFindFiles : Disable the Find Files
command. NoSelectDownloadDir : Disable the option of selecting a
download directory. NoTheaterMode : Disable the Full Screen view option.
Launch regedit and go to the following key:
HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Policies\Microsoft\Internet
Explorer\Restrictions
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Hide Display of Drives in My Computer
If for whatever reason you want or need to hide the drives shown in My
Computer, here's how to do it. This will disable the display of both
local and networked drives in My Computer.
Click Start>Run, type in regedit and click Ok, to launch the registry.
Go to this key: HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows
\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
In the right pane for the Explorer key, create a new DWORD value by
right clicking in a blank area and choosing New>Dword Value. Name it
NoDrives. Now double click it and enter a Hexadecimal data value of
3FFFFFF And that's it. Exit the registry and press F5 to refresh. Open
up My Computer - all your drives should now be invisible. To enable
their display again,Computer, simply delete the DWORD value OR change it
to 0.
You can automate the hiding and display of drives with two simple reg
files as follows: To hide drives: REGEDIT4
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows
\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer]
"NoDrives"=3Ddword:03ffffff
To show drives: REGEDIT4 [HKEY_CURRENT_USER\
Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion \Policies\Explorer]
"NoDrives"=3Ddword:00000000
xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Better DVD playing on slower computers - Win 9x- ME
With DVD,s even a 450 mhz processor is considered on the slow side for
playing DVD's smoothly without dropped frames, from your DVDROM drive.
With that in mind, here's a reg hack that should greatly help boost
performance of your DVD's.
Launch Regedit and go to this key:
HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\System\CurrentControlSet\ Control\ FileSystem\CDFS.
In the right hand pane you should notice the following three values with
the corresponding default data values:
CacheSize =3D 0x0000026b (619)
Prefetch =3D 0x000000e4 (228)
PrefetchTail =3D 0x00000080 (128)
Double click each one of the above values and edit the data so it reads
as follows.
CacheSize =3D 0x00000800 (2048)
Prefetch =3D 0x00000800 (2048)
PrefetchTail =3D 0x00000200 (512)
Reboot, and then try playing a DVD. Note - it's assumed you know
how to enter the above values.
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Vic Ferri owns the very popular WinTips and Tricks email group
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/WinTips-Tricks
and his website which accompanies it.
http://www.angelfire.com/on3/vxdoin2/windows.html
He is also in charge of the Printing Tips page at Linda's Computer Stop.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/printing.htm
**********************************************************
******************STATION BREAK********************
**********************************************************
NOTE FROM THE EDITOR: On my Windows page at Linda's
Computer Stop, I list many email groups that deal with Windows and other
related PC issues.....one of my favorites is PCTechTalk, a great group
for newbies and techies alike. It's run by a guy named Guitar Man and
he does a fantastic job.
You might be interested in subscribing to this free, 24-hour-a-day email
tech list where you can submit any questions you may have about computer
hardware & software. You can request fixes for specific problems you're
having with your system or just sit back and learn from the
conversations of the other members. This list is one of the only PC
Groups I've found that truly caters to newbies and nerds alike so you
can be assured that your questions will be taken seriously. Here's just
one of the tips you'll learn.
@@@@@@@
(18.) OUTLOOK EXPRESS TIP
~~PCTechTalk's Guitar Man
BACKING UP YOUR ADDRESS BOOK
If you're like most folks, your Address Book is your lifeline to the
world of email. As such, it's EXTREMELY important that you back up the
info it contains on a regular basis.
To back it up, open up Outlook Express and go to File/Export/Address
Book.
When the Export Wizard opens, select the "Text File (Comma Separated
Values)" option and click on the Export button. The wizard will ask you
to give the file a name. I suggest using something like "OE Address Book
8_26_01" to help you to remember what it is and when you created it.
After giving it a name, click on the Browse button and show the wizard
where you'd like to store this file (the My Documents folder works great
for this).
Click on the Next button to continue creating the back up. Select the
fields you want to export (unless you have a good reason for not
allowing some of them, I suggest selecting all of them). When you're
finished, click on the Finish button to complete the creation of the
back up.
While the default My Documents folder works fine for storing the backup
on your hard drive, I recommend that you now copy the resulting file
onto a floppy or some other form of storage outside of your computer.
This is necessary in case of a full hard drive crash or if the need for
a hard drive format ever comes up.
@@@@@@@
EDITOR'S NOTE: ABC is building an archive of G Man's OE Tips
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/gman.htm
@@@@@@@
The group's motto of "The only dumb questions are the ones that are
never asked." reflects their philosophy that ALL questions are important
and they sure do treat them that way. Also, if you've ever been a
member of an email list, you'll appreciate that this list's moderators
do not allow Spamming, flaming, cursing, etc.. To sign up, just send a
blank email message to
PCTechTalk-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
(20). NIGHTSNEAK'S SNOOP SCOOP
~~Links For Info on Online Privacy ~
from "Master Links 4 Master Investigators"
There is a whole world of knowledge available on the Internet. Do you
run a firewall? Do you run a virus scanner? Do you know how much
information you provide just surfing the Internet sites, giving out your
e-mail addresses, or posting messages to lists that you are on?
Check out some of these links.
Electronic Frontier Foundations Top 12 Ways to Protect Your Online
Privacy http://www.eff.org/Privacy/eff_privacy_top_12.html
Enonymous=97Improve Your Privacy, Check a Site=92s Privacy Rating-- =
still
the most comprehensive study of privacy policies ever conducted (over
30,000 sites are analyzed). http://www.enonymous.com/
U.S. Senate Judiciary Committee .pdf files on Internet Privacy. You will
need to have Adobe Acrobat Reader (Free) on your computer to read .pdf
files. Get it here. http://www.adobe.com/products/acrobat/readstep.html
Please remember, these are US Government sponsored documents. My point
in bringing you these points-of-view, along with specific programs or
steps to take, is to give you search options, ideas on what can be
learned from you surfing the web, and your vulnerability if you don=92t
take some precautions: Know the Rules Use the Tools-- Privacy in the
Digital World: A resource for Internet users
http://judiciary.senate.gov/privacy.htm
Is Windows always crashing? Does your browser keep shutting down after
performing an "illegal operation"? Are your system resources always
running dangerously low, even without that many windows open? You may be
transmitting your personal information across the Internet without your
knowledge or consent. Beware of Freeware--It might be SPYWARE
http://www.saratoga-ca.com/dave/spyware.htm
Here is a site to check if one of those programs on your computer is
"sending home" messages:
The Spyware Infested Software List http://www.infoforce.qc.ca/spyware/
XXX-CELL-ANT=97Scary---Analyze Your Internet Privacy http://privacy.net/
Check Your Firewall XXX-CELL-ANT
http://nortonweb.cnet.com/=A0
and then click at "Symantec Security Check"
This site below is made for activists to hide their activity, but they
provide some of the best methods for providing us "little people" with
ways to protect our own privacy in this world of the Internet. They do
advocate the most severe measures on maintaining privacy, but this site
will show you ways to alleviate spamming, and for protection of your
children or yourself.
Computer & Internet Security, Privacy, Anonymity and more
http://security.tao.ca/
Computer Professionals for Social Responsibility--A public-interest
alliance of computer scientists and others concerned about the impact of
computer technology on society, http://www.cpsr.org/ especially Privacy
and Civil Liberties http://www.cpsr.org/program/privacy/privacy.html
Find these and more links at our easily-searchable site of over 15,000
links. Subscribers to this newslist will be given a free trial period.
E-mail me at the below address for access.
nightsneak
Master Links 4 Master Investigators
http://www.ml4mi.com/
info@xxxxxxxxx
**********************************************************
**********************************************************
Well, gang.....that's about it for this edition of ABC ~ All 'Bout
Computers. I sure hope you enjoyed it! If any of it was over your head
and you need some clarification from one of the Fleet, just send me an
email at ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx and I will pass it on to
them. Remember that they do this in their spare time on a voluntary
basis, so you might have to wait for an answer. To make all things work
more quickly, include as many details as you can in your email and make
your questions as specific as possible. Also, feel free to write to me
and let us know what you want the Fleet to teach you. This is YOUR
newsletter!
Happy computing, my friends!
Linda Johnson
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
**********************************************************
READ THIS CAREFULLY!
**********************************************************
-------------------------------------
(18.) SUBSCRIPTION MANAGEMENT
-------------------------------------
In order to get what you want, you must send your email to the right
place. These are the correct addresses to use:
Subscribe: ABComputers-subscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Unsubscribe: ABComputers-unsubscribe@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Ezine owner: ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
Or, you can go to the homepage for this newsletter and change any of
your subscription preferences: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ABComputers
This FREE publication is sent ONLY to people who have requested it.
Note: My subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies. I
value every subscriber and respect your privacy. Do you know anyone who
might be interested in receiving this newsletter? Please feel free to
forward it on to them and invite them to subscribe.
-------------------------------------
(19.) CONTACT INFORMATION
-------------------------------------
Routine Disclaimer: Although I make an effort to check out every
advertisement and link, I cannot assume responsibility for the actions
of my advertisers, or the availability of links. You use the information
provided at your own risk, it is always wise to back up your data before
editing.All advice given in this newsletter/ezine or at Linda's Computer
Stop is given with the best of intentions and should only be taken as a
suggestion and not a definite fix to a problem. ABC ~ All 'Bout
Computers and Linda's Computer Stop are the property of Linda F.
Johnson. The views expressed by readers or contributors are not
necessarily those of Linda F. Johnson and, as editor, she reserves the
right to deny inclusion of any contributions if she feels they could be
harmful to someone's computer. However, just because she allows it to be
included, does not mean she is responsible if it causes problems. ALL
READERS ARE RESPONSIBLE FOR THEIR OWN COMPUTERS! Please help promote
ABComputers by linking to my sites.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ABC.htm
or, click on these links to become an affiliate under me and you will
earn money if you sell any of my ebooks (or any other books published by
these companies, for that matter):
http://newbieclub.com/cgi-bin/sgx/d.cgi?affiliate-buntah
http://intellectua.com/cgi-bin/sgx/d.cgi?affiliates-10456
Thank you for reading "ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers".
(Copyright) 2001 - ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers, Linda F. Johnson, MA. ABC
may only be redistributed in its unedited form. Written permission from
the editor must be obtained to reprint or cite the information contained
within this newsletter. Please feel free to forward this newsletter to
any of your associates who might benefit from this information. If you
are receiving this issue as a forward, and would like to get your own
free subscription, please see subscription management above, or visit
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/abcomputersarchives.htm
to see back issues.
Thank you and I hope to continue to bring you a newsletter that you will
actually want to read.
Linda Johnson
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com
ABComputers-owner@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
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