FAQS! FACTS! FAX! 180 (30/09/99)

MINE OF INFORMATION

I was wondering if there was a record for the best time for the Minesweeper game in Windows? I have played it 'on the odd occasion' and my fastest time for the Expert level is 144 seconds, which I think is pretty good. I know most people secretly play Solitaire, FreeCell and Minesweeper, so there must be some kind of league table somewhere.

Phillip Lewton,

A

We found several web sites devoted to this popular little game, the best time we've seen for the Expert level is 120 seconds, so you've still got a bit of work to do on your mine detecting skills. Try the Minesweeper page at: http://www4.ncsu.edu/~ajschult/mine.html

It contains some useful hints tips high scores and details of a cheat that shows up mined squares!

SUMMING UP

I try to show my class of six-year-olds that our computer can be put to many uses. One child spent quite a while playing with the Windows 95 calculator and then wanted to show the class what she had learnt. However, it seems impossible to enlarge the calculator window to fill the screen. Is there a way? If not do you know of a simple shareware calculator that will do the job?

Kevin Lacey

A

We're not aware of any simple way of enlarging the Calculator window but there is an easy of making it look bigger using a screen magnifier program. For a good selection of shareware, freeware and demo programs try the Screen Magnifiers home page at: http://www.magnifiers.org/index.html

We were particularly impressed with one called Lunar95, which works with all Windows applications, it's flexible, easy to set up and use. Incidentally Windows 98 has it's own built-in screen magnifier utility. This is included in the Accessibility Options on the Accessories menu, though it may not be installed by default. You can load it from the CD-ROM by going to Windows Set-up in Add/Remove Programs in Control Panel. If anyone knows of a full screen calculator program for Windows, suitable for very young children, please let us know and we'll pass it on.

BIN AND GONE

How can I re-name the Recycle Bin icon on my desktop? A shortcut is easy to
create and rename but then the original icon can not be deleted! Any ideas?
Gerry Singleton

A

It can be done but it involves editing the Registry so please do not attempt it unless you know what you are doing and make a backup first. You can do that by going to Run on the Start menu and type in Regedit to open the Registry Editor. Highlight the entry HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE, on the Registry menu, click Export Registry file, give it a name (e.g. regbak) and save it in an empty folder. If anything goes wrong clicking on regbak.reg will restore the original settings. When that is done go back to the Registry Editor and navigate your way through the directory tree by clicking on the plus signs next to the following sequence of entries:

HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE > SOFTWARE > Classes > CLSID > {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}. Click on the entry and then the Default icon that appears the right hand pane. Change the name to whatever you like in the Value Data field click your mouse pointer onto the Windows desktop, press F5 to refresh and the new name will appear.

FIX THE FIELD

When I set up a document template in Word I sometime insert the date as part of the document. Later, opening the template to write a memo, the date automatically sets to the current machine date. I might also include it in the footer along with my name, title etc. However, if some weeks later I need to retrieve a copy of the memo, the date defaults to the new current date. Even if I change it to the original date (origination date obtained from the document properties) it changes back to the current date just before I print. Is there a way of inserting the auto date and making sure it is fixed on the document?
Glyn Reed, Uffington

A

The automatically updating date field in Word causes a lot of annoyance and we've dealt with this topic on several occasions but for everyone who may have missed it here's what to do. Click on the date field and it will appear with a grey highlight. Press and hold the Ctrl + shift + F9 keys and it will change to a normal black highlight, click the cursor onto another line and the date field changes to normal text.

BUY SAFE?

The Internet has many sites with products, which are cheaper than in the shops. My father is concerned about security with credit card numbers. Is there a way of decoding them? Or could you give me a list of sites that are really safe to shop over?

Helen Whalley

A

Buying products or services with a credit card by telephone or in person always involves you giving the vendor your credit card details. You have no way of knowing what happens to that information, or the counterfoils bearing your signature, so in that respect the Internet is no riskier than any other kind of credit card transaction. Most credit cards issued by UK companies protect you against fraudulent use but you should check the small print to find out the extent of your liability and the protection offered. Buying over the Internet is generally safe and if you stick to the following guidelines you will minimise the chances of anything going wrong.

1.      Only buy from sites that provide a secure link that encrypts your credit card details, most well-established UK companies trading on the Internet offer such a facility

2.      Avoid buying from sites whose prices seem much too good to be true

3.      Always print out the order from, keep a permanent record of any order numbers or order confirmation supplied by the vendor

4.      If possible use one credit card solely for Internet transactions

5.      Check your credit card bill carefully every month for unauthorised transactions, if you find any alert the card issuer immediately

6.      Be aware that if you buy products abroad you may have to pay an additional delivery charge, VAT and import duty, before the good are delivered, so it might not be as cheap as it seems…

CASE STUDY
I am using Windows 95 and Word 97. I frequently find I have typed text in upper case instead of lower case. Is there an easy way of changing from upper to lower, and vice versa, without re-typing?
Rachel Nield

A

Simply highlight the letter, word or block of text and press Shift + F3 to toggle between upper and lower case and leading capitals.