FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 110 (21/05/98)

THE RIGHT IMAGE

I was very interested in your reply to Mr M.C.G. Norman about the storage of photographic images (F!F!F! 7th May). You say that they can be compressed and stored much more efficiently in JPEG format rather than .bmp. I have a number of clip art images on my hard disk, they are no problem, but backing them up takes a very large number of floppy disks. I have tried WINZIP but this does not save much space and the images are not immediately available as are the JPEG ones I get from the Internet. Can these images be saved in JPEG format? If so how does one go about converting or compressing files and will I need a special bit of software?

Roger Hills

A

You probably won't save a lot of space by compressing simple graphics clipart images; they are usually quite small to begin with. The real savings come with the vast .bmp (bitmap) files created by scanning pictures and photographs. File conversion facilities are included in most graphics programs, including PaintShop Pro. You can try it for free, shareware versions are often distributed on computer magazine freebie CD-ROMs or you can download it from the Internet. Don't forget, if you intend to go on using it, pay for it! In PaintShop Pro (and most other graphics programs) to compress a .bmp image file all you have to do is open it, select Save As from the File menu, choose JPEG from the Save As Type menu box and click on Save. PaintShop Pro can be downloaded from: www.jasc.com

€LUSIVE €URO (ELUSIVE EURO)

Having tried to download from the Web one or two of the items that you suggest, I am never sure whether I should select 'Save to Disk" or "Run the program from its current location'. Afterwards, I can never find the downloaded information or use it. For example, I tried to download the updated set of Windows 95 fonts, including the Euro currency symbol in the Times New Roman font, from the Microsoft web site. I initiated the download and, according to the dialogue box, it appeared to load information to a temporary folder and install automatically. There is no visible change to, for instance, my Word 97 symbols. If I select Insert then Symbol there was, and still is, no subset button. Where is the new symbol and how do I get it into a Word document?

J.M. Bradley

STILL MISSING…

With reference your article regarding the Euro Currency Symbol. I have downloaded the core fonts from Microsoft.Com, which they state includes the Euro Symbol. After loading my computer shuts down and reboots so the changes can be made. The updated fonts include Times Roman, Arial etc. When I try to view the Euro Symbol using the character map supplied with Windows 95 I cannot see it.

Steve Warwick

A

First the missing Euro symbol, we've had a number of enquiries on this subject. If the download proceeded without any hitches then the symbol is now on your PC, however, you won't see it on the Symbol table, it is included in the character set of the font that was downloaded. To find it in Microsoft Word and assign a keyboard shortcut to it, click on Symbol on the Insert drop-down menu. In the 'Font' field type in the name of the updated font, i.e., 'Times New Roman', or look in 'Normal Text', and press return. Next choose Currency Symbols from the 'Subset' window, and you should see the Euro symbol about halfway down the table, four in from the left. Click on 'Shortcut Key', to make it available from the keyboard, try 'Alt' plus '3' (the same key as the £ symbol), this combination is easy to remember and usually unassigned to anything else.

Back now to that question of whether to open a download, or save it to disc. The safest option is always to save to disc as the file may contain a virus. The reason you can't find them is because you didn't take note of where it was being filed, or you didn't specify a location. It's a good idea to create a new empty folder especially for Internet downloads, so when the Save to Disc or Open File dialogue appears you can send it there by changing the path using the Browse button. The file will then be effectively quarantined, so you can run it through your virus checker, before opening or decompressing.

VIDEO TO PC

I recently purchased a Sony DCR-TRV7 camcorder, on which digital stills can be recorded as well as video. I expected to be able to download these stills

to my computer in the same manner as a digital still camera, but found no connecting cables supplied. The instruction book refers only to a Sony photo printer and a DV to DV cable, dealers have only offered a very expensive capture board which I expect would be unsuitable for my notebook. Surely there is a reasonable priced DV to PC card or serial port connector and some software that can do this job?

Robert Adamson

A

There is and the device you're looking for is called a Frame Grabber. There are several 'external' models that plug into a PC's parallel port, which would be suitable for use with your notebook. The two that spring to mind are the Snappy Video Snapshot, and Snap Magic. Both of them have composite video inputs that connect to the camcorder's video output. Snappy has a suggested retail price of £200 though it has been heavily discounted and PC World was recently selling it for just £50. Snap Magic normally retails for around £140 though once again shop around. Both devices use the camcorder's analogue video output to capture still images, the quality can be very good -- comparable with mid-market digital still cameras. Digital video capture cards with a FireWire (IEEE1395) interface, capable of processing moving digital video data are still quite expensive -- the cheapest ones cost around £500. As far as we're aware no one has yet developed an external module for portable PCs.  Snap Magic, Jessops, telephone (0116) 2320033, http://www.quanleap.co.uk

Snappy, Logitech: telephone (01306) 734317, www.logitech.com

MADDENING MOUSE II

Regarding the maddening mouse problem in F!F!F! 30th April. Does Cerie Sheeran start to use her PC at the same time each day? After four or five hours does she have the sun shining into her office and onto the mouse? My mouse becomes obedient again when I draw the blinds.

Andy Feely, London SW1

A

A number of readers came up with this suggestion, referring to the fact that a most mice use optical sensors -- to detect movement -- and that they can sometimes be affected by a strong light. Thanks too, for all the other ideas, however Cerie Sheeran has been keeping us up to date on the subject, and it now appears that Dell Technical Support may have resolved the problem. The erratic behaviour of the mouse pointer could, as we first suspected, be due to the graphics card. The latest theory is that there's a known conflict between Windows 95 and the AGP graphics card used in Cerie's system. A replacement Diamond video card is being supplied, we'll keep you posted.