Finding Text on a Page

James Pace asked how he could find a specific word or phrase on a Web page. Well, in all browsers and in most documents, including spreadsheets, pressing Ctrl+F will bring up a "Find" box into which you can type your target text. Then press ENTER.

Find & Replace Text

In Microsoft documents pressing Ctrl+H will bring up a "Find & Replace" box. Type the target text into the "Find" field and the text to replace it in the "Replace" field. This is handy for changing, say, Miss Jones to Mrs. Smith in a story about a recently wed woman.

Red X instead of a Picture

A number of readers have asked why emails they receive that should display a picture show a red X instead. There can be many reasons for this; here are a few: Many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) block pictures by default, and require users to click something that says it's OK to accept them.

Outlook Express users can click on Tools>Options>Security, and uncheck "Do not allow attachments that could potentially be a virus" along with deselecting "Block images and other external content in HTML email." For sending pictures, Outlook Express, Windows Live Mail, and AOL offer "Insert" and "Attach" choices. OE users who insert pictures should also click on Format>Send>Picture with Message.

Emails received as greeting cards with animated graphics are usually prepared as HTML (Web page) documents that should look the same to all recipients. However, not all email services interpret HTML the same way, and often have different ways of handling pictures. If an AOL user forwards pictures to other AOL users they will arrive intact. If forwarded to users of other services, this may not happen.

Attach rather than Insert

If pictures you are sending are not an integral part of the message (as in a greeting card) it's better to send them as attachments. Look for "Attach" in your email program's toolbar or for a "Paper Clip" icon and follow the prompts.

IMPORTANT: Protect Yourself and Your Friends from Email Address Harvesting!
Use BCCs (blind carbon copies) rather than CCs (carbon copies)!

Every day we receive a number of jokes and/or inspirational messages forwarded to us by well-meaning people who wish to share the stories. Sadly, however, many of these messages contain dozens of email addresses of folks to whom the email has already been forwarded and sent on.
    When forwarding to your friends, you should never put their addresses in the CC field.  Rather, use the BCC field.   This assures that each recipient sees only his or her address, and not the dozens of others that often end up in forwarded messages.
If you do receive a message showing multiple addresses, after clicking FORWARD be sure to delete them all before sending the message on. One of the main methods used by spammers who are harvesting for new victims is looking for messages displaying multiple email addresses.

More information on using Blind Carbon Copies can be seen here.

© Donald Ray Edrington – All Rights Reserved

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Don Edrington - Computer Columnist for The Californian and San Diego's North County Times

Senior Computer Tutor
Don Edrington

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