|
FAQS!
FACTS! FAX! 218 (29/06/00)
STICKY
FREEBIES
I have downloaded a freeware program from the
Internet called GenoPro (for creating family trees). Before downloading I read
the page and it explained that in order to fund the free software the site had
to carry advertising that would be installed onto my machine and appear when
Internet Explorer was loaded. They also said that if the program were
uninstalled the advertising would disappear. I accepted this in order to download
the program so that I could read a file sent to me in this format.
However, I have very quickly got fed up with the
splash screen advert that now appears when I open IE5, and the silly animation
that appears in the title and taskbar. As a result I have uninstalled GenoPro
using CleanSweep, however, these annoying clips are still appearing.
N. J. Styles
You should have read the instructions more carefully.
During the installation process, in the conditions of acceptance section --
which you have to ‘agree’ to by ticking a box -- it says quite clearly that the
only ways to get rid of the advertising is to either register the product or
uninstall it, using Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. Reinstall the
software and try again. It’s okay, we’re not about to get preachy, and you all
know the moral of this little story…
PDF
PUZZLE
Recently I have downloaded files from the Internet
ending with ‘.pdf’. When I attempt to open them Paint appears and tells me that
it doesn't recognise this file and cannot open it. Attempts to change text
files to .doc and open through MS Word presents me with a massive file
containing what appears to be gobbledegook. The process was working OK until
a few weeks ago and I can only assume that I have changed the settings in some
way.
R. Knightsbridge
The
.pdf extension stands for portable document format it’s a widely used file
format for distributing documents that contain illustrations and hypertext
links, such as instruction manuals etc. Pdf files cannot usually be read by
word processors, instead you will need a program like Adobe Acrobat, which can
be downloaded from the Internet and is frequently included on software
installation discs. If you were previously able to read .pdf files then you
must have unintentionally removed Acrobat or it has become corrupt, try
reinstalling it. If you haven’t got a copy you can download it from hundred of
web sites, including: http://www.qualityimage.com
/files/AdobeAcrobatReader(32-bit)-502.html
RULING
COUNCIL
Is there any way of preventing unsolicited
e-mails? I use Outlook Express and recently I have received a
number of them which have been sent from a website. I would add that I
have never visited this particular website. I do not want to email them
back as they will then have my full email address
Angela
Walker
You
can set Outlook Express to ignore emails by creating a ‘rule’ that identifies
the sender’s email address, or use the ‘Blocking’ command in OE version 5. In
the latter simply highlight the last instance of the message you want to block
in your Inbox, go to the Message drop down menu and click on Block Sender,
check the details are correct and select Yes. Alternatively in OE5 click on the
Tools menu and select Message Rules, then Mail, put ticks in the appropriate
Conditions and Actions boxes and enter in the email address of the sender. In
OE version 4 the Rules setup can be found under Inbox Assistant, also on the
Tools menu.
START AGAIN
I have a Compaq Presario PC using Windows 98. Up to a few days ago the
taskbar including the Start button has been positioned horizontally at the
bottom of the desktop. Because of some mistake I made when using the mouse the
taskbar and the Start button have switched to a vertical position on the right
side of the desktop. It now takes up about half of the desktop screen and shows
up similarly on any program I use. I want to get the Taskbar and Start button
back to its unobtrusive position at the bottom of the Desktop.
Vincent Williams
You
can reposition the taskbar manually, by clicking and holding the left mouse
button in an empty area of the taskbar and drag it back to the bottom of the
screen, but you need a steady hand. The simplest way to get your Taskbar back
to its default settings is to start your PC in Safe Mode by pressing the F8 key
after boot up, immediately before the ‘Starting Windows’ message appears.
Select option 3 Safe Mode and press enter, wait for Windows to finish loading,
exit in the usual way and restart your PC normally. You can then reset any
customisations (Hide Taskbar, Small Icons etc.) by going to Start > Settings
> Taskbar & Start Menu.
WORD
TO THE WISE
Concerning
the recent letter in F!F!F! (June 15th) regarding MS Word and
changing from landscape to portrait and vice versa, I totally agree with
Jonathan Lunt, but this is only a small example of the unnecessary difficulty
of Word. I am a committed WordPerfect user and to do what he wanted to do would
just involve clicking on Format, Page, Page Setup and then choosing either
landscape or portrait at the top of the page involved - no problem! As I say, this is just one small example - I
could list hundreds of others. All I can say to him and others like him get a
copy of WordPerfect - long may it continue to be the easiest and most logical
word processing package I have come across.
Wendy
Prout
Fair comment
though the actual number of actions involved is not that different. The main
problem with Word is that it is such a large and complex program and it is
sometimes difficult to find out how to do things from the cumbersome Help menu.
PHONE
HOME
I
will be moving abroad in a few months time and for a period will not have a fixed line telephone. As I need to still use email/web, I think the only
way forward is to use a mobile phone although I accept the data transfer rate
will be slower than a normal phone line. It seems that I can either use a wired
connection, or an infrared one. My Toshiba Satellite laptop has an
infrared port so this would seem to be the best solution since apart from
anything else, wired connections seem to be expensive
Eric
Roche
Only
a relatively small number of Nokia and Ericsson models are ‘IrDa compliant’ or
upgradeable with a clip-on adaptor module that allows them to communicate with
your laptop’s infrared port. Check with your phone supplier for details. Most
GSM phones are ‘data compatible’ and can link to a laptops or pocket organiser
using readily available PCMCIA data cards and a connecting lead, specific to
the make and model of phone. Most mobile phone accessory dealers should be able
to point you in the right direction. The cheaper alternative is a ‘soft modem’
a program that replicates the action of a data card and links the phone to the
PC by a serial data cable. Soft modems and a good selection of PC data card
solutions for a wide range of phones can be found at: www.premierelect.co.uk/gsmstart.html
and
www.peripheralcorner.co.uk
|
