FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 156 (08/04/99)

TOP FORM

I use the spellchecker in Word 97 but have a habit of typing "from" as "form" which isn't picked up as mispelt. I sometimes miss the error when proof reading. Is there any way I can remove "form" from the dictionary so that it highlights the word whenever I type it?
Andrew Beckett
 

A

Provided you don't use the word 'form' too often in your writing the easiest solution would be to get Word 97 to AutoCorrect every time you type it. Go to AutoText on the Insert menu, click AutoText and select the AutoCorrect tab. In the Replace field type 'form', next to it under With enter 'from' and click OK. Of course from then on if you actually want to write the word form you'll have to go back and correct it manually or hit Crtl + Z, which undoes the last action.

YANK KEYS

My @ sign prints " (quotes), and quotes prints @. My pound sign prints # (hash), and my hash key prints \ (backslash). Nothing prints a pound sign. How can I change the keyboard settings so that I get what I press?
David Welsh

A

The most likely explanation is that the Windows keyboard configuration is set to the wrong language, it was probably left on the English (American) default when Windows was installed. Go to Start > Settings > Control Panel > Keyboard, double click the icon and select the Language tab. If, as seems likely it is set to something other than English (British) change it by clicking on the Add button and follow the instructions.

TODAY'S THE DAY

I am a newcomer to e-mail, the Internet and computers and would welcome your help. My question however is not of a technical nature, do you know of any web addresses from which I could find information on world events, political, sporting, humorous, social etc., for any given date? The date could be by the year or by the actual day, for example 1968 or January 12th 1982.
Alan Smith

A

There certainly is, lots of them in fact, they've even got their own home page. Check out the links at Today In History: http://www.re-quest.net/history/today-in-history/index.htm

CHARACTER BUILDING

I don't have a scanner yet but I understand I could use one to scan documents and then edit them using my word-processor. I have seen some scanners advertised as using something called 'OCR', is this what I need? I use MS Works for Windows 95.
Jeremy Rickman

A

An OCR or Optical Character Recognition program is a more or less standard component of the software bundle included with most scanners these days. Its job is to convert the scanned image of a printed page into a plain text file that can be read by your word processor. Provided the print is clear and reasonably sharp -- and in a plain font -- most OCR programs can achieve more than 95% accuracy. It can be quite handy if you need to convert a lot of documents on a regular basis but even the best scanners and OCRs take at least a couple of minutes to process a page and they all make mistakes. Even if your typing skills aren't up to much it's sometimes quicker to key in the odd page manually.

TRICKY FLICKER
I use a Zenith Z-Note laptop with a Dell monitor and the following happens every time I boot up. About two minutes after switching on, a flickering appears on both the top and bottom edges of the screen. This then works its way down and up, top to middle, bottom to middle for about seven minutes - and then it clears and there is no more trouble. It is as though there might be some sort of interference locally. In other locations, on a different monitor it does not happen. I read your comments on the 'Mystery (Degauss) Button' (F!F!F! 25th March) and wondered if this could have something to do with it? This has been going on for about six months and doesn't affect the computer programs.

Fred Pearson

A

The symptoms you describe are characteristic of a thermal fault inside the monitor, it is very unlikely it has anything to do with your laptop since you say it doesn't occur with other monitors. If the monitor is still under warranty have it checked. It's not going to get better of its own accord and the chances are the component causing the problem will eventually fail so its up to you, investigative surgery now or wait until it pops, possibly taking other components with it. 

DOME TRUTHS

The web site www.dome2000.co.uk was recently recommended to me and having accessed the site as a new Internet user, I am cautious to proceed beyond such boxes called 'Shockwave'. Please advise if these are 'free' and what happens next?
Paul Kidd

A

It can be bit unnerving when a web site asks if it can download files or programs onto your machine. You are wise to be cautious but in this case there's nothing to worry about. The Millennium Dome web site uses a lot of fancy graphics and animations, in order for you to view them your browser program needs to be upgraded, and this is what will happen if you click on OK. It is free and it should only take a few moments, after which you will be able to see the site in all its glory. If you choose not to install the upgrade you can still access the site and read the text content.

CARD SHARPS?

Please could you clarify a point for me? It was my understanding that the cost and quality problems associated with PC TV tuner cards was due to the hardware that converted the analogue signal to a digital signal so that the PCcan display the picture. For a better quality picture you needed to pay for a better 'converter' card. Now with the arrival of digital TV (the one you don't have to pay for) surely the cards would no longer require such converters and therefor be easier and cheaper to make and buy. I somehow doubt this to be the case as I have not seen any 'digital cards' in the shops or magazines. Please could you tell me what's going on here?

S. Butler

A

Most of the PC TV adaptor cards we’ve seen actually work quite well. The type of card is only one of the factors that determine picture quality, the PC's processor, amount of RAM memory and video card all have an important role to play. We suspect it will be a while before digital PC TV cards are as cheap as current analogue TV cards (around £50 upwards) since unscrambling a digital signal is a complicated business involving a lot of powerful processing microchips. We're not aware of any cards yet for the On Digital terrestrial TV service but you can get one that will pick up unencrypted 'free-to-air' satellite channels from SKY Digital and other European broadcasters. The Kiss SkyVision package (actually two cards) costs around £250 (excluding dish and installation), you can get more details from Satcom Europe, telephone (01932) 267423, www.satcom-europe.com