FAQS! FACTS! FAX!  466 (17/05/05)

Q

Having recently bought a widescreen laptop I feel it should be possible to display two Word documents side by side. I have not found MS Help any use. Perhaps I cannot find the right keywords. Any ideas?

H. A. Richardson, via email

A

Yes, you can display and work on as many open documents as you like. Simply open the two (or more) documents then go to the Window menu, click Arrange All and they will appear one above the other. You can then rearrange the shape and position of the windows by dragging the top and sides so that they appear next to each other.

Q

I recently had to run my recovery CD on my Mesh PC due to a virus and since doing so I have been unable to open links (in blue) including one recently received from The Daily Telegraph. I have been told to cut and paste but cannot do this using edit in the task bar.

Ian Grant, via email

A

This is not uncommon following a re-installation of Internet Explorer or a program that makes an incorrect registry entry. You can reset the relevant Registry keys by going to Run on the Start menu and type ‘regsvr32 actxprxy.dll’ (without the quotes) and click OK, when the message

‘DllRegisterServer in actxprxy.dll succeeded’ appears click OK. Repeat the process, this time by entering ‘regsvr32 shdocvw.dll’ and you will see another confirmation message. Reboot and all should be well again.

Q

I am contemplating buying an Apple to replace my current PC. My problem is our software and in particular the kids games.  Is there any way to play the PC based games on a new Mac or mini Mac or to run things like Encarta?

Rick Seeley, via email

A

In general yes, it can be done and you’ll be pleased (?) to know that following a recent acquisition Microsoft is now one of the leading lights in this area with an application called ‘Virtual PC for Mac’. This is what’s known in the trade as a Windows Emulator and it creates a Windows ‘environment’ on the Mac that will allow you to run many PC programs and games, though often not at anything like the speed the Mac is capable of. There’s a few ifs, buts and maybes, depending on the Mac and the Windows programs concerned so visit: www.microsoft.com/mac/ and follow the link to Virtual PC to learn more. You’ll find details of other Windows emulators for the Mac at: www.macwindows.com/emulator.html#WinonMac

Q

I work from home as a technical translator using email and the Internet all the time. Being located 8 kms from our local enabled exchange, broadband has only recently become available to us. However each time I try to take up an offer, I find that one of the conditions is that I have to be a BT customer.

I switched to OneBill Telecom two years ago on account of their considerably cheaper services (line rental now £10.99 per month) and still have 8 months of a 3 year contract to run, carrying a £264 penalty for early cancellation.

Do you know of any broadband supplier that does not require the end user to be a BT customer? There must be many other people out there like me.

Fred Rawson, via email

A

At the moment you do need a BT line, unless you live in an area served by cable TV (or Kingston Communications). The situation is changing and Local Loop Unbundling (LLU) will eventually mean that BT will make some local networks -- the copper wires that run from your home to the exchange -- available to other companies, but it’s a fairly slow process and almost certainly won’t be of any use to you in the time remaining on your current contract.

Q

I was surprised to find quite by chance recently, that every inquiry I have made into search boxes on the various search engines and web site pages that I use (Google & Amazon for example) appears to be retained and can all be displayed by clicking the mouse in the blank search box. I have various security products on my computer as recommended by you including 'CC cleaner'. Despite a lengthy investigation I cannot work out how to clear these items.  Please can you advise how these inquiries are retained either locally or remotely and as to whether there is a setting on the PC to clear and prevent the occurrence of these items?

Warwick Prior, East Boldre

A

Search keywords can be stored both by the browser and by add-ons, like the Google Toolbar. If you have installed the latter then click on the Google logo and select ‘Clear Search History’. If you are using Internet Explorer you can clear and disable the Search History facility by going to Tools > Internet Options > Content > AutoComplete and click Clear Forms you can also take this opportunity to stop it saving any future information by unchecking the ‘Forms’ box. Next go to Tools > Internet Options > General, click Clear History and set ‘Days to keep pages’ to zero. In Mozilla Firefox go to Tools > Options > Privacy > History, click the Clear button and set ‘Remember Visited Pages…’ to zero, and then do the same for Saved Form Information.

Q

In Word, when I type the year followed by a return my computer automatically puts month and day after it.  For example, 2005 ends up as 2005-05-04.  I find this very irritating.  Is there any way of turning this facility off?

Liz Coke, Cheltenham

A

It’s called AutoComplete and you can disable it by going to Insert > AutoText > AutoText > AutoFormat tab and uncheck the box ‘Show AutoComplete tip…’

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© R. Maybury 2005, 1005