FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  443 (30/11/04)

Q

I’ve been trying to think of a way to assign a keyboard shortcut to insert my (long) e-mail address into a form when asked for instead of laboriously typing it each time?

David Montgomery, via email

A

Most web browsers, including Internet Explorer and Mozilla Firefox have an ‘Autocomplete’ feature that remembers and suggests a frequently used email address, password or username as soon as you start typing it. To enable it in IE go to Tools > Internet Options and click the AutoComplete button and make sure that ‘Forms’ is checked. In Firefox go to Tools > Options, select the Privacy icon, click Saved Form Information and check ‘Save Information…’. For a slightly more elegant solution try a freeware utility called Clipboard Buddy. This saves email addresses and anything else you use on a regular basis in a permanent ‘clipboard’ that loads with Windows and stays discretely off to one side of the screen until needed.  Simply copy your email address into Clipboard Buddy then click on your email address position the cursor into the box on the web page, right-click the mouse and select Paste. Clipboard Buddy works in all flavours of Windows and can be found at: www.iquesoft-online.com/

Q

Can you, please, tell me if I can use MS Word to produce a list that will automatically order the entries alphabetically? If so, what should I do? J. Erkann, via email

A

Word has both alphanumeric and number sorting capabilities though it is well hidden on the Table menu. Highlight the list then go to Table > Sort, check the Type box to make sure that Text or Numbers has been correctly selected and the order you require (Ascending or Descending) then click OK.

Q

I am trying to install the Shutdown shortcut as described in F!F!F! (November 16th). I have created the icon, but when I right click and enter "switch"-s into the Target box after the command it tells me that this name is not valid. What has gone wrong?

John martin, via email

A

Several readers had problems with this one and I’m afraid that it was my fault for not clearly explaining how to enter command line switches. For shutdown you just add ‘-s’ (without the quotes, or the word switch) to the end of the line, so it should look like this:

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s

If you want to modify the shutdown time delay to 3 seconds, say, then add the ‘-t xx’ switch, thus:

C:\Windows\System32\shutdown.exe -s -t 03

And watch out for those spaces before the hyphens and between the t and the numbers.

Q

How can I delete an old document, which appears every time I log on to Word in order to create a new document? There must be a way of deleting this old letter but I cannot find it.

Tony Middis, via email

A

You have inadvertently saved the letter as your blank master or 'normal' document template. You can edit a template just like any other document, so in Word go to Open on the File menu and work your way to: C:\Documents and Settings\<yourname>\Application Data\Microsoft\Templates, open normal.dot, delete the text Save the document and all should be well once again.

Q

My 19-inch CRT monitor has an intermittent fault and I am considering replacing it with a LCD flat screen type.  I run my monitor at a resolution of 1024 x 768, which I find most comfortable. The flat screen equivalent of my CRT monitor would be a 17-inch model. However, these all appear to be designed for a resolution of 1280 x 1024, and manufacturer’s user guides indicate that best results will be obtained by using this setting rather than a lower one.  I find that many web sites and bespoke applications are unsuitable for display at 1280 x 1024. Will I get good results if I use the lower setting of 1024 x 768 or should I stick to CRT type?

David Bickell, via email

A

I’m afraid it’s a case of suck it and see. LCD monitors have what’s known as a ‘native’ resolution, which refers to the actual number of pixels that make up the display, and it is true that in general they work best at that setting. Reducing the PC’s display from 1280 x 1024 to 1024 x 768 will force the monitor to rescale the image to fit the screen area and this may degrade clarity and the crispness of the display. On some models this can be quite noticeable, especially on text. On others the effect is less obvious or not apparent so my advice is to visit your local PC showroom and ask to see a few monitors in action at your chosen display setting.

Q

Some of my emails are taking some days to reach me and I hear this may be because I am not on broadband. If so what can I do about it?

Margaret Osborne, via email

A

It is true that if you are on broadband emails can appear to arrive quicker simply because your connection is always on and most users set their email program to check for new messages every few minutes. However, that doesn’t explain the lengthy delays you have been experiencing and in general most emails take less than a minute and rarely more than half an hour to deliver. If the delays affect the same senders then the hold-up is likely to be at their end, with their ISP. However, you can check the progress of an email by right-clicking on a message in your Inbox, select Properties then the Details tab and in amongst all of the gobbledegook there are ‘time stamps’ detailing the various stages of its journey across the Internet and this might reveal the bottleneck.