Making the Euro Symbol (€) on Your Computer
John Kelly asked how to create the Euro currency symbol with his computer's keyboard. This can be done by pressing ALT+0128, using one's numeric keypad. Also, the Euro symbol can be copied from this site's Special Characters page.
Converting an MSWorks Spreadsheet to Excel 2007
Marcia Allen wrote that she had created a spreadsheet with MSWorks and asked how she could convert it to an Excel 2007 file. Well, since the Works file was a relatively simple worksheet, we selected its data with Edit>Select All, and copied it with Edit>Copy. Then we pasted it into a blank Excel sheet by clicking into its A1 cell and doing Edit>Paste. Voila — a duplicate of the Works spreadsheet.
Alternatives to Word 2007
Lloyd King asked if I would teach her to use her new Vista PC. When I asked how she would be using it she replied, "Mostly for writing stories"
Lloyd's laptop came with Word-2007, which some might argue is the world's best program for writing stories. Well, I might agree if it were any previous version of Word. However, in the time it would take Lloyd to learn Word 2007 she could do a lot of writing.
So I started her off with Wordpad, the bare bones word processor included with Windows.
WinXP users can access Wordpad via Start>Run and typing the program's name into the Run box. Vista users can type it directly into the Start>Start Search box.
Wordpad's main limitation is that it has no spell-checker, nor does it support columns, headers, footers or page-numbering.
Nonetheless, Wordpad files can be copied into any word processor that does have these features. They can even be pasted into an outgoing email message for spell-checking, and then copied back into Wordpad. In fact, if your main use for a computer is to just write, any email program can be a viable word processor.
Furthermore, you can email yourself copies of your work as you write. Gmail, for instance, offers nearly unlimited online storage, which gives users the advantage of free backups as they go.
Having said all this, however, I downloaded AbiWord into Lloyd's computer. This very comprehensive word processor is similar to earlier versions of Word, and even easier to use. It is completely free from www.abiword.com.
AbiWord files can be saved as Word ".doc" documents, and previous Word files can be opened and edited with the program (except Word 2007 ".docx" files).
Converting a Photo in a Word Document to a JPG File
Speaking of Word, Bill Swedell emailed me some pages that contained photos, which he wanted converted to JPG files. Well, I double-clicked the attached Word files to open them, and then right-clicked each photo and chose Copy. I then opened Irfanview (my default image-editor - free from
www.irfanview.com) and pasted in the photos one at a time with Edit>Paste.
I then converted each photo with File>Save As, and chose "JPG Format" from the "Save As Type" list. Next, I cropped out the extraneous Word "white space" with my mouse, and emailed the trimmed photos back to Bill. He called to say everything came out beautifully.
© Donald Ray Edrington - All Rights Reserved
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Google Docs
Free Online Word Processor
Google.com's
free online word processing program is named Google Docs (it was originally called Writely).
At first I wondered why would anyone need a free word
processor when Windows comes with one called Wordpad, not to mention the
fact that most PC users also have MSWord.
Well, the answer is collaboration. If two or more people need to work on a given document, they
can all access it without needing an in-house network (assuming each
participant has an Internet connection). The document remains on Google's
server, and is only downloaded if and when any of the collaborators decides
to do so.
Wordpad — Windows' Built-in No-Frills Word Processor
Speaking of Wordpad, some folks prefer it to MSWord or WordPerfect simply
because it's a smaller, less complicated program. However, it does have some
notable limitations, such as no built-in spell-checker.
Notepad — Handy Program for Brief Notes
Another word processor that comes with Windows is Notepad, a plain text
program that only displays one size of black type on a white background. The
default font is rather ugly, but you can choose another by clicking
>Font. Notepad is handy for entering quick notes that don't need
special formatting.
"ReadMe" files are usually written in Notepad, and, despite its simplicity,
it is often used for creating HTML Web pages. To launch Wordpad or Notepad,
click Start>All Programst>Accessories, and choose your program. If you use
the programs frequently, you can create a Desktop Shortcut by right-clicking
the Wordpad or Notepad icon and choosing Send To>Desktop (Create Shortcut).
Back to Google Docs (Writely), it is can save files in DOC, RTF, and PDF formats, with PDF
being compatible with Acrobat Reader. Files can also be saved as HTML
documents.
A number of other utilities can be found under
Start>All Programst>Accessories, such as an On-Screen
Calculator and Paint, the Windows no-frills image-editor and painting program.
For Those Who Prefer Typing to Mousing...
You can go to Start>Run, type in a program's name, and press
Enter to activate it.
For instance, pressing your keyboard's Windows key (with the flag icon)
will bring up the Start Menu, whereupon pressing R will display the Run box.
Type in notepad and press Enter to launch the program. You can bring up the
Calculator by typing calc or MSWord by typing winword.
This kind of keyboarding fixed a reader's problem recently when he said his
mouse had stopped working. He replaced it with another mouse, but the
problem remained. I suggested trying System Restore.
So he pressed his Windows key, used his keyboard Down Arrow to reach All
Programs, pressed Enter, and continued using the Arrow keys to reach
Accessories>System Toolst>System Restore. He then pressed Enter, and set a
Restore Date, along with pressing N when prompted to go to the Next screen.
The Left Arrow key let him choose a previous date on the Restore Calendar,
and voila — his mouse came back to life.
Pressing Alt+F4 will exit any program, and subsequent Alt+F4 clicks will
take you through an orderly shut-down of the computer.
© - Donald Ray Edrington - All Rights Reserved
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