How can I open and edit a .SHS ’scrap’ graphic file, as neither The Gimp nor Microsoft Paint are able to open this file type? Also, how can I extract and save a sound file which has been inserted into a PowerPoint presentation? The computer is running Windows XP Home Edition.

Scrap (SHS) files are special files created when you drag a selected section of a Word or Excel document onto the Windows desktop. For example, if you select a portion of text (or graphics) in a Word document, and then drag this selection onto the Windows desktop, a SHS file will be created which contains this information. You can then send this file to another person and if they drag the file into another Word document, it will put the selected data (text or graphics) into their document. As such, SHS files are not readable or editable themselves - you can only drag them into a Word or Excel document. When you say the SHS file contains a graphic, this is likely to be a graphic within a Word or Excel document that was dragged onto the desktop, creating the SHS file. To open this file, you will need to drag the file back into a Word or Excel document. You could then copy the graphic from Word or Excel and paste into The Gimp or Microsoft Paint for editing. For more information on SHS files, visit: support.microsoft.com/kb/q138275. Please be aware: if you receive an SHS file through email or another means, be very wary! These files are executable and thus can contain malicious code. In the past, such files have been used to distribute viruses such as internet worms. If you receive an SHS file, even from a trusted source, still be careful since many viruses (such as worms) distribute by emailing themselves and spoofing the senders address, to make it look like it’s from a legitimate person. As a rule of thumb, you should never open an SHS file (or any other type of executable file) received through email, even if it looks legitimate. Ask the sender to resend the data in the SHS file in another format, such as a Word or Excel document.

Regarding saving audio from PowerPoint presentations, you will be glad to know this is possible. If the audio is simply inserted into the presentation, the original audio file should still be on your computer somewhere. To determine the location, right-click on the sound object icon in PowerPoint and select ‘Edit sound object’. In the Sound Options window that appears, you should see the ‘File’ field which should tell you the location of the original file. However, should the sound be embedded in the presentation itself, we need another method. You can tell if the sound is embedded, because the ‘File’ field will read: [Contained in presentation]. There is no function in PowerPoint for this operation, but there is another method. If you save the presentation as a web page, non-textual elements (e.g. graphics, and sound files) will be extracted and stored as separate files. Once this has occurred, the sound file will also be a separate file. To save the presentation as a web page, go to the ‘File’ menu > ‘Save as web page’. Alternatively, go to ‘File’ > ‘Save As’ and in the ‘Save as type’ box, select ‘Web Page (*.htm; *.html)’. Once you have specified the file name, click ‘Save’. Then, go to the location where you saved the presentation as a web page and you should see a folder with the name of the presentation, followed by ‘_files’. For example: if you saved the presentation as ‘MyPresentation.ppt’ the folder will be named ‘MyPresentation_files’. Open this folder and inside you should see the sound as a .WAV file.