FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  196 (27/01/00)

VERSION VARIATIONS

Your column often resolves a problem I have experienced, the same seemed true with the item ‘Save for Later’ (F!F!F! January 13), about deferring a download of large emails. Unfortunately in my version of Outlook Express 5.0, under the Tools drop down menu, I do not see the entry for Inbox Assistant and searching through the Help pages failed to find anything relevant. 

Don Shore

The option in to limit the size of incoming emails for later downloading is included in OE version 5 but someone has had a fiddle around with it. It is still on the Tools menu but it is now under Message Rules. Click on Mail and a dialogue window called New Mail Rules appears. In box 1 ‘Select the conditions for your Rule’ scroll down the list and put a check mark next to ‘Where the Message is more than Size’, in box 2 ‘Select the Actions for your Rule’, find and check the item ‘Do not download it from the Server’, then in box 3 ‘Rule Description’ click on the underlined word ‘size’, choose your size limit then click OK.

In response to the same question here’s a helpful suggestion.

The reader who wanted to see what emails he had in his mailbox before downloading them may be interested in a handy little program called MailAlert. A trial version can be downloaded from:
http://www.diamondridge.com

/software/mailalert/. This program allows you to view the contents of your mailbox, together with sizes of the messages, without actually downloading any mail.
Dr. Andrew Emerson 

THE GOOD WORD

It was interesting to see the letter from Mr Warren (F!F!F! January 13) pleading for a simple word processor that he could use instead of Word 97. Like Mr Warren I find this and other Windows word processors immensely complicated. I think the answer is to be found in the December 30 edition of Connected when you featured the trusty Amstrad 9215 computer. There are a number of reasons why this machine enjoyed the huge success that it did and of these, the word processor supplied was probably the most important. It was the quirky LocoScript, which in its final versions - LocoScript 3 and 4 - worked beautifully.

When I bought my first PC I also purchased the DOS version of LocoScript - LocoScript Professional. I use this program every day and find it preferable to any of the several Windows word processor programs that I have. It is simple to use, has an excellent straightforward database and a number of features that, in my opinion are better than the pretentious Windows programs.

Martin Hooker

I vote for WordPerfect, it is so much more usable than Word. This is illustrated by the number of questions you get regarding Word where a WordPerfect
user would reply "that's easy you just do this...”. I have tried others but still come back to WordPerfect. As for Word being the most popular WP this just means that it is the most widely installed, which is not the same thing.

Don Allen

I have both Word and MS Works on my computer and for the majority of my word processing I use Works. Not only is it easier to use but also an identical document in Word is about twice the size in Word.  

Peter Bloomfield.

I have just started working for a school’s IT help line. They use a word processing package called Textease from Softease Ltd. It is a Word Processor, Desk Top Publisher, Multimedia Authoring and Web Page Creator - it certainly seems very useable and is considered suitable for Primary School children.

Kit Brunger

In my experience the very best word processing package is always going to be the one you're used to. I was a WordPerfect devotee for years and resented it very noisily (along with many colleagues) when forced to start using Word about 5 years ago.  In that time I have grown to love Word version 6.0 and would not now willingly give it up, especially not for the newer versions. 

Monica A Murphy
   

There are two answers to R K Warren's problem. The first, dare I say it, is to use a DOS based word processor. Having been brought up on DOS, I have continued to use one because of its simplicity, ease of use and, yes, speed, compared with the Windows based all singing all dancing versions.

The second is to use Microsoft Works 2000 which is a simpler version of Word and available for under £50. But it is still slower and more complex than my DOS word processor.
Dr. J. C. Shaw, Chichester, West Sussex

I have used several different word processing programs over the past ten years or so, including Word Perfect and Word.  I am currently using WordPro which is the word processor in Lotus SmartSuite 97 which I find to be very user-friendly, and easier to use than Word.

Angela Walker

We asked for nominations for your favourite word processor programs and by golly we got them, thanks for another tremendous response! The final result was inconclusive however. Many readers agreed with our suggestion, to persevere with Word or try WordPad, but the most popular alternative, by a very large margin, was Word Perfect, followed by Lotus WordPro, MS Works and there was a good showing from fans of the PC version of LocoScript.

SEND OFF BECKHAM

My daughter downloaded some David Beckham material from the Internet.When we start the PC, after the initial Windows prompts we get a picture of him with a message 'simply the best'. Similarly when shutting down the PC the last thing we see is a picture of him saying 'its safe to turn off'.  I've looked everywhere to try and locate the files to delete them to no avail - any suggestions?

Malcolm Sweeney

This sounds very much like a desktop ‘theme’. Usually, when a theme is installed a new icon appears in Control Panel, with the option to switch it off or change to another theme, but not always. If not you can hunt down the offending files using Windows Explorer, they are usually stored in an easily recognisable folder in one of two places, try looking in C:\Program Files\Plus!\Themes or C:\Program Files\Common Files\Microsoft Shared\Themes.

COME BACK COOKIES

I recently tried to buy a game online but was told that my browser did not accept cookies. I have tried looking at the settings button in 'Temporary Internet Files' but with no luck. How do I re-enable the cookie use?

Chris Southwell

In Internet Explorer 4 go to the View menu and select Internet Options then the Advanced tab, scroll down the list and check ‘Always Accept Cookies’ or ‘Prompt before Accepting Cookies. In IE5 it’s Tools, Internet Options and the Security tab, click the ‘Custom Level’ button scroll down the list to Cookies and click Enable.