Ask Rosie

By Sandra Rosenzweig
     
      All the fitting questions; only some of the fitting answers
      When I was just a couple of steps above kid-dom, one of the people in our house named me Mrs. Yellow Pages. For several years afterward, whenever anyone asked me just about anything, I averaged nearly 100 percent for correct answers. But then I started covering computers.
      The trouble is that each year, as the computer industry tries to simplify the user experience, the problems get harder to fix. Kind of adds a golden aura to the days before hard drives and laser printers, doesn't it?
      As you can see, I'm making excuses for myself up front, before you discover that Ask Rosie doesn't have all the answers this month. I mean, if the manufacturer can't figure out a solution, how can I be expected to? Right? Right.
     
      I just bought a pocket PC device and tarted it up so the display is gorgeous. But the Install page and all of my lists are covered with so many stripes, I can't read the text. Tell me how to fix it, please.
      I'll bet you're using a black background on your Today (opening) page. Go to Start, Control Panel, Today, and change the background to a very light gray or any other color. Bye-bye stripes.
     
      Do you know of any expansion and compression programs that will open .RAR files as well as Allume System's StuffIt does? And do you know how to completely remove StuffIt from a computer? (Microsoft Outlook 2003 still goes looking for it every time Outlook starts.)
      Good old WinZip 11.x opens .RAR files. Go to www. winzip.com to download a free trial or a discounted upgrade to version 11. One app does it all?almost. As for getting Outlook to forget about StuffIt, in Outlook, go to Tools, Options, Other. Then click on the Advanced Options button, then Add-In Manager, and finally COM Add-Ins. Uncheck the StuffIt add-in. Ain't technology grand?
     
      Word. Word. Word. I'm so sick of Microsoft Word. I get Word all day through-first from clients, then from you. Where are all the shortcut tips for Corel WordPerfect?
      See the chart on this page for my brain dump. (Wherever possible, I've included Microsoft Word equivalents for those who need to know them.)
      But first, I'll tell you how to make your own keyboard shortcuts in WordPerfect Office 12 and WordPerfect Office X3: Click on Tools, then Settings. Click on Customize. In the resulting dialog box, select the Keyboards tab. Choose a keyboard from the list of those available. Select Edit. Choose a shortcut key combination from the "Choose a shortcut" key list.
     
      How do I import a Microsoft Excel worksheet into a Word table without losing half the table? Right now, I've written a letter and inserted the spreadsheet as a table into the middle of it. However, only the very first part of the table shows up-the part that fits onto the page it's inserted into. Word made the rest of the table disappear.
      Wrap text is the culprit. Highlight the Word table, go to the Table menu, Table Properties, the Cell tab, and then Options. One of the options is Wrap text. Try Fit text in cell instead. Go to the Format menu, select Cell, then the Alignment tab, and, finally, yes, uncheck Wrap text.
     
      Do you know where I can find a comparison chart of keyboard commands for Internet Explorer 7x, Firefox 2x, and Opera 9x-my three favorite Web browsers?
      Here, at left. [web edit: SEE BELOW] (For more on these three browsers, see Rosie's RAMblings, page 34.)
      I cribbed a lot of this chart from Mozilla's list of keyboard shortcuts (www.mozilla.org/support/firefox/ keyboard#win) and CNET Network's TechRepublic.com, a website full of tricks, shortcuts, and more efficient ways of doing everyday things. At first glance, TechRepublic looks forbiddingly technical, but any site that offers articles such as "10 Windows XP Tips" and "Tools to Simplify Your Work" is your friend.
      Note to all you Apple Macintosh users: Many of these shortcuts may work for you too. Try substituting the Mac's Option key for the PC's Alt, and the Mac's Cmd key for the PC's Ctrl key. If you'd like a complete list of Firefox shortcut keys for the Macintosh version, go to doctor.mozilla.org/doctor.cgi?file= mozilla-org/html/docs/end-user/moz_shortcuts.html&action=display.
     
      Since installing Adobe Acrobat 8x, I can't produce any PDF files. Sometimes nothing happens, and sometimes I get an error message. This is probably related to the error message I got when I installed Acrobat 8, something like "Warning 20225: Adobe Acrobat 8 Setup was unable to create a new item: Adobe PDF Converter. The Adobe PDF Printer may be unavailable. GetLastError: The specified module could not be found."
      On its support website (www.adobe.com/cfusion/ knowledgebase/index.cfm?id=333221) Adobe lists 13 solutions (13!) and says, at the bottom, that you may have to make all 13 fixes to get your copy of Acrobat to make PDF files. Another search result suggests: Use a Postscript file to convert to PDF, or print to the Adobe PDF printer when the regular conversion method fails to convert.
      What manufacturer releases a hugely expensive program ($449 and counting for the Professional version) that doesn't work? And that requires you, the user, to disable a rather long list of drivers every single time you boot up your computer? Or that tells you to edit the Windows registry, and then posts a disclaimer saying it isn't responsible for the messes you may create, even if you followed its instructions precisely? Yes, many software manufacturers do this because users have stopped protesting. But this is the most egregious example I've seen in a long time. I have the same problem on one of our machines, and I've tried all 13 routines. It is annoying beyond belief.
     
      What does MrSmarty say about USB thumb drives?
      MrSmarty Sez this: "I've seen you at state and local Bar meetings, and around courtrooms all over California. I've seen your dangling USB drives suspended from your necks, pinned to your shirt pockets, and hanging from your key chains. You're the smart ones who've taken Martin Dean's advice about how to quickly move data from one of your computers to another, and how to keep that data secure-by attaching it to your body! Now there's an even better security method: the fingerprint scanner. Yep, now you can buy a 4GB USB flash drive that you won't have to sleep with just to protect your client data. Even though the manual for this little Axiom BioDrive is thicker than the drive itself, you'll want to check it out (www.axiommemory.com). With the snazzy new fingerprint scanner?you run your finger over the tiny sensor in front of the drive and BAM?your entire thumb drive or directory or even a single file are protected from access by anyone whose fingerprints don't match yours. Worst- case scenario (you lose your finger in an industrial accident), you can still enter a password. Check it out!"
     
      What else does MrSmarty have to say?
      MrSmarty Sez, "We tested the Disc Makers Elite2 automated duplicator and printer for DVDs and CDs recently (www.discmakers.com/dupli cators/products/automated/elite.asp) because so many law offices are adding CD/DVD ROM duplication to their client-support menus. Our reviewers have called this dandy little machine a 'coffeepot on steroids,' and they've used it to distribute copies of electronic documents (Sarbanes-Oxley), send documents to multiple parties, make multiple copies of backups, create and distribute marketing materials, and even do court filings. They all loved it. Installation is super simple, and operation requires only that you drop a master disk on top of a stack of blank disks (up to 175) and off you go. We liked being able to copy a disk and make a label at the same time. Off-site copying often costs more than $1.85 per disk; here your cost will be about 36 cents. Priced around $2,500, it won't be long before this critter pays for itself. And an Elite2 may be just the thing for distributing your first garage-band recordings!"
     
      I have an external sound card from a popular manufacturer. Most of the time it works fine, but occasionally it just quits. The various lights that indicate it's alive aren't working. And even when they do, the sound board remains silent. If I had wanted a silence board, I'd have bought a generic-and much cheaper-model. Oh, by the way, it connects using USB. And speaking of USB toys that don't work, my Dell Axim connection occasionally disappears. I thought USB was a pretty stable connection.
      Without getting the specs on each and every USB item you have connected, let me make a fairly tame guess: You have these two gadgets (and any other USB gizmos that work only intermittently) plugged into a USB hub rather than directly into a USB port on the computer itself. Most Windows Mobile PDAs prefer to be plugged directly into an on-computer USB port rather than into an external plug. The latest and final Dell Axim models, the X50v and X51v, are both more open-minded and more fickle. Some Axims prefer the direct port, while others prefer a good, strong, self-powered hub. That makes your problem a bit harder to solve, but try all the permutations. If you're lucky, one of them will work.
      As for external sound cards, I've found that they will work for a while attached to a hub, but ultimately they insist on an onboard port. Printers may be equally finicky. Keyboards and mice, however, know what they want and stubbornly cling to their own permanent umbilical to the mother ship. PDAs, keyboards, printers, external hard drives, external DVD burners, and hubs so you can plug in more USB peripherals ... all that calls for a whole lot of built-in ports on your computer. Now, when I spec out a new computer system, I stipulate at least eight high-speed USB ports on the back (usually on two USB cards) and another four on the front, or somewhere equally accessible.

Word-Processing Keyboard Shortcuts (PC)
Align center
     WordPerfect: Shift + F7
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + E
Align left
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + L
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + L
Align right
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + R
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + R
Bold, turn on/turn off
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + B
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + B
Center text
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + E
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + E
Close document
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + F4
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + F4
Copy the selection to the Clipboard
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + C
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + C
Exit
     WordPerfect: Alt + F4
     Microsoft Word: Alt + F4
Font, change
     WordPerfect: F9
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + D
Grammar, check and correct
     WordPerfect: Alt + Shift + F1
     Microsoft Word: F7
Hard page break
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Enter
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + Enter
Hard return
     WordPerfect: Enter
     Microsoft Word: Enter
Help
     WordPerfect: F1
     Microsoft Word: F1
Hyphen, hard
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Hyphen
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + Hyphen
Hyphen, soft
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Shift + Hyphen
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + Shift + Hyphen
Indent current paragraph one tab stop
     WordPerfect: F7
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + M
Italic, turn on/turn off
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + I
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + I
Insert Clipboard contents at the cursor
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + V
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + V
Jump to a specified place in the document
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + G
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + G
Justify
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + J
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + J
Line break
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Shift + L
     Microsoft Word: Shift + Enter
Margin release (hanging indent)
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + F7
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + T
Move the cursor to the beginning of the document
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Home
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + Home
Move the cursor to the beginning of a line
     WordPerfect: Home
     Microsoft Word: Home
Move the cursor to the bottom of the screen
     WordPerfect: Page Down
     Microsoft Word: Page Down
Move one cell up in a table
     WordPerfect: Alt + Up arrow
     Microsoft Word: Up arrow
Move one cell down in a table
     WordPerfect: Alt + Down arrow
     Microsoft Word: Down arrow
Move one cell right in a table
     WordPerfect: Alt + Right arrow
     Microsoft Word: Right arrow
Move one cell left in a table
     WordPerfect: Alt + Left arrow
     Microsoft Word: Left arrow
Move one column to the right
     WordPerfect: Alt + Right arrow
     Microsoft Word: Right arrow
Move one column to the left
     WordPerfect: Alt + Left arrow
     Microsoft Word: Left arrow
Move selection to the Clipboard
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + X
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + X
New document
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Shift + N
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + N
New page
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Enter
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + Enter
Open document
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + O
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + O
Print
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + P
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + P
Reverse the last undo
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Shift + Z
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + Y
Save
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + S
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + S
Save as
     WordPerfect: F3
     Microsoft Word: F12
Search
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + F
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + F
Spelling, check and correct
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + F1
     Microsoft Word: F7
Underline, turn on/turn off
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + U
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + U
Type over
     WordPerfect: Insert
     Microsoft Word: Insert
Undo
     WordPerfect: Ctrl + Z
     Microsoft Word: Ctrl + Z


Browser Keyboard Shortcuts (PC)
Add bookmark
     Firefox: Ctrl + D
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + D
     Opera: Ctrl + T
Back
     Firefox: Backspace
     Internet Explorer: Backspace
     Opera: Backspace
Bookmark
     Firefox: Ctrl + B
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + I
     Opera: F4
Close tab
     Firefox: Ctrl + W
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + W
     Opera: Ctrl + W
Close window
     Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + W
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + W
     Opera: Ctrl + W
Complete .com address in address bar
     Firefox: Ctrl + Enter
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + Enter
     Opera: Ctrl + Enter
Complete .net address
     Firefox: Shift + Enter
     Internet Explorer: N/A
     Opera: N/A
Complete .org address
     Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + Enter
     Internet Explorer: N/A
     Opera: N/A
Copy
     Firefox: Ctrl + C
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + C
     Opera: Ctrl + C
Cut
     Firefox: Ctrl + X
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + X
     Opera: Ctrl + X
Decrease text size
     Firefox: Ctrl + -
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + -
     Opera: 9
Delete
     Firefox: Del
     Internet Explorer: Del
     Opera: Del
Delete individual form auto-complete entry
     Firefox: Shift + Del
     Internet Explorer: Del
     Opera: N/A
DOM inspector
     Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + I
     Internet Explorer: N/A
     Opera: N/A
Downloads
     Firefox: Ctrl + J
     Internet Explorer: N/A
     Opera: Alt + Ctrl + T
Find again
     Firefox: Ctrl + G
     Internet Explorer: N/A
     Opera: F3
Find previous
     Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + G
     Internet Explorer: N/A
     Opera: Shift + F3
Find in this page
     Firefox: Ctrl + F
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + F
     Opera: Ctrl + F
Forward
     Firefox: Shift + Backspace
     Internet Explorer: Shift + Backspace
     Opera: Shift + Backspace
Full screen
     Firefox: F11
     Internet Explorer: F11
     Opera: F11
Go down one line
     Firefox: Down
     Internet Explorer: Down
     Opera: Down
Go up one line
     Firefox: Up
     Internet Explorer: Up
     Opera: Up
Go down one page
     Firefox: Page Down
     Internet Explorer: Page Down
     Opera: Page Down
Go up one page
     Firefox: Page Up
     Internet Explorer: Page Up
     Opera: Page Up
Go to bottom of page
     Firefox: Ctrl + End
     Internet Explorer: End
     Opera: End
Go to top of page
     Firefox: Ctrl + Home
     Internet Explorer: Home
     Opera: Home
Help
     Firefox: F1
     Internet Explorer: F1
     Opera: F1
History
     Firefox: Ctrl + H
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + H
     Opera: Ctrl + 4
Home page
     Firefox: Alt + Home
     Internet Explorer: Alt + Home
     Opera: Alt + Home
Increase text size
     Firefox: Ctrl + +
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + +
     Opera: 0
New tab
     Firefox: Ctrl + T
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + T
     Opera: N/A
Next tab
     Firefox: Ctrl + Tab
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + Tab
     Opera: N/A
New window
     Firefox: Ctrl + N
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + N
     Opera: Ctrl + Alt + N
Open file
     Firefox: Ctrl + O
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + O
     Opera: Ctrl + O
Open link
     Firefox: Enter
     Internet Explorer: Enter
     Opera: Enter
Open link in new tab
     Firefox: Ctrl + Enter
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + Enter
     Opera: N/A
Open link in new window
     Firefox: Shift + Enter
     Internet Explorer: Shift + Enter
     Opera: Shift + Enter
Open address in new tab
     Firefox: Alt + Enter
     Internet Explorer: Alt + Enter
     Opera: Shift + Enter
Page source
     Firefox: Ctrl + U
     Internet Explorer: N/A
     Opera: Ctrl + F3
Paste
     Firefox: Ctrl + V
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + V
     Opera: Ctrl + V
Previous tab
     Firefox: Ctrl + Shift + Tab
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + Shift + Tab
     Opera: Ctrl + Shift + Tab
Print
     Firefox: Ctrl + P
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + P
     Opera: Ctrl + P
Redo
     Firefox: Ctrl + Y
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + Y
     Opera: Ctrl + Y
Reload
     Firefox: Ctrl + R
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + R
     Opera: Ctrl + R
Restore text size
     Firefox: Ctrl + O
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + O
     Opera: 6
Save page as
     Firefox: Ctrl + S
     Internet Explorer: File menu + A
     Opera: Ctrl + S
Select all
     Firefox: Ctrl + A
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + A
     Opera: Ctrl + A
Select address bar
     Firefox: Ctrl + L
     Internet Explorer: Alt + D
     Opera: F8
Select tab [1 to 9]
     Firefox: Ctrl + [1 to 9]
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + [1 to 9]
     Opera: N/A
Stop
     Firefox: Esc
     Internet Explorer: Esc
     Opera: Esc
Toggle checkbox
     Firefox: Spacebar
     Internet Explorer: Spacebar
     Opera: Spacebar
Undo
     Firefox: Ctrl + Z
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + Z
     Opera: Ctrl + Z
Web search
     Firefox: Ctrl + K
     Internet Explorer: Ctrl + E
     Opera: Shift + F8

     

---