FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  216 (15/06/00)

ORIENTATION EXPRESS

I need to print a lengthy document using Word 2000. I want to change just one (and only one) page from landscape to portrait in the middle of the document. Surely this cannot be difficult but I find that either the page after changes and not the one I want.... or the page before and the one I want change. Or the whole document from this point on changes. How can Microsoft release such a dodgy piece of word-processing nonsense? I have just joined the army of those who swear at their PC (and Bill Gates).
Jonathan Lunt

MS Word 2000 has its fair share of quirks and foibles but in this case you are being a tad harsh. Changing the page layout part way through a document is something that Word can do quite easily and is covered in Help, under Print Orientation. Highlight the text you want to appear in landscape format and go to Page Setup on the File drop-down menu. On the Paper Size tab select Landscape in the Apply To box click on ‘Selected Text’ and section breaks are automatically inserted. If you are in Normal view check the changes by switching to Print Layout on the View menu and if -- as will probably happen -- text overflows onto a second landscaped page go to Margins on the Page Setup menu and adjust the settings until all the text you want to appear is accommodated, or edit the text accordingly.

CALL ME A CAB

On my PC there is a folder called ‘Cab’ containing 35Mb of files from July 1995, around about the date that Windows 95 was released.  I have always assumed that such files are there for a reason, but can they be deleted? Could you tell me what .cab files are?  Also, what are .dun files, which I have just stumbled across while trying to sort out problems with my new ISP software? I can't find anything in Help Topics describing what all the different file suffixes mean and which ones can be safely purged.  Can you give more detailed guidance?

David Bennett

Generally speaking you shouldn’t delete any files on your PC unless you know exactly what you are doing. We looked at aspects of safe file deletion in Boot Camp 129 (April 20th 2000) and covered file extensions in Boot Camp 85, (August 12th 1999). There are also plenty of file extension dictionaries on the Internet try: http://bton.com/tb17/formats.html. You can also get brief explanation of what most file extensions mean and which programs they are associated with by clicking on the View menu in Windows Explorer, choose Folder Options and the File Types tab.

More specifically ‘Cab’ is short for cabinet and it relates to a data compression system used by Microsoft. Cab files are usually only found on Microsoft software installation discs but some PC manufacturers try to be helpful and put a set of Windows cab files on to the hard disc, so that Windows, or parts of it can be restored if the PC suffers a serious crash. Cab files contain driver software libraries, so that if you install a new piece of hardware or change the PCs configuration Windows won’t ask you load the installation disc. You can delete the Cab files if you are desperate to recover some hard disc space but in general it is better to leave them alone. Dun files contain data for dial-up networking, the program responsible for configuring your modem and Internet browser and email programs, you should definitely leave them alone, unless you want even more problems with your Internet connection!

MUSIC ON THE MOVE

I recently bought a MP3 player (Diamond 300) and in order to download files to it I have use the parallel port used by the printer. Which means disconnecting it every time, which I don't like, as it involves moving the computer and reaching to back of the desktop unit. This can't be good practice as I'm sure it may damage the card over a period of time. 

Andrew Southwell

You have two options. The simplest is to use a parallel data switch box; they are obtainable from most PC suppliers, usually for between £10 and £15. The alternative is to install a second parallel port inside your PC; we showed how to do it in Boot Camp 69 (April 22nd 1999) – it’s in the Electronic Telegraph archive, see web site details above -- and it’s covered in the book of the series, Boot Up Projects, obtainable from good bookshops everywhere.

CHECK OUT

I ran the disk defragmenter on Windows 95 recently and have noticed a number of large files with the suffix *.chk on my hard drive. What are they and is it safe to delete them? Incidentally, none of them are associated with an application.

Robin Carr

Files with the extension *.chk are generated by the Windows housekeeping utilities Scandisk and Disc Defragmenter. They contain collections of file fragments and detritus left behind after a crash, or by programs that were not closed down properly. It is highly unlikely they will ever be needed, but Windows keeps them, just in case. If your PC and its programs have been behaving normally since you last ran Scandisk or ‘defragged’ your hard drive then you can safely delete those *.chk files.

SIGNING OFF

Is it possible to program the Function keys on the keyboard with frequently used data e.g. my email and postal address etc.?  If not is there any other way of achieving the same result?

Keith Trainer

The actions of the Function keys varies from one program to another and cannot normally be changed, however, you can easily insert frequently used blocks of text into emails by other means. If you compose your emails in a word processor like Word create an AutoText entry and assign that to a keyboard shortcut – see Word Help for details.  If you are using Outlook Express create a ‘Signature’ by clicking on Tools then Options, select the Signature tab and enter the text you want to appear at the end of your emails in the Signature box. You can set Outlook Express to add your signature text automatically to every email you send, or insert it manually by clicking the Sign button on the New Message window.