Double-clicking to open any Word document produces two windows. The first window attempts to open the Word document using Excel, with a message that the file is not valid (obviously because the file is a Word document rather than Excel spreadsheet). Closing the Excel window reveals the second window, which correctly opens the document using Microsoft Word. Running the Check Disk utility has not resolved the problem. This is not a critical problem, as I can still open the documents, but is still an inconvenience. How can I stop the document from incorrectly opening in Excel, and just opening in Word? (more…)

When pasting graphics into Word and PowerPoint, often the graphic has a background colour which carries through with the graphic. For example, if your PowerPoint slides have a blue background, and the graphic you insert has a white background, this will make the graphic have a boxed white background, somewhat ruining the nice look of the slides. However, you can set a particular colour as transparent within Word and PowerPoint. For Office 2003 users, insert the graphic and in the Picture toolbar that appears click the “Set Transparent Color” button and click the colour you would like to make transparent (if the Picture toolbar does not automatically appear, click the “View” menu > “Toolbars” > “Picture”). For Office 2007 users, insert the graphic and click the “Picture Tools ” Format? tab. In the “Adjust” section, click “Recolor” > “Set Transparent Color”. Then, click the colour you would like to make transparent. Now, any instances of that colour within the graphic will become transparent. (more…)

There are several issues with my Outlook Express email which have me stumped. First, I have a very well stocked Outlook Express and would like to save all these precious emails to CD. However, I cannot find how this can be done. Is there a simple way of doing this operation? Second, it seems I have lost the ability to send emails to a friend overseas. Whenever I send the email the following message appears: ?The following message to <********> was undeliverable. The reason for the problem: 5.4.7 - Delivery expired (message too old) 550-’Access Denied… 1ca5359861981d1d4c8989c1896815685d098c7901255d1ca11c25e99c0d8c6c6cfc…?. This was previously an intermittent problem, but now I cannot send anything to this person! However, when using a different internet connection this problem does not exist. Finally, an odd thing is that most of my incoming email messages show the paper-clip denoting an attachment, but there is no attachment to the message. Why is this happening? (more…)

I have a large collection of 35mm colour slides which I would like to convert into digital format and store on the computer. I am unsure of the best way to approach scanning these slides, and wanted to seek your advice. Do you know of any devices which are capable of slide scanning? (more…)

Windows Vista has a facility to always show particular icons within the system tray (i.e. the area next to the clock). This is handy for items you want to be visible such as the network status. To configure the always visible items, right-click on the “Start” button and select “Properties”. In the window that appears, click “Notification Area” and tick the items you wish to always be displayed under the “System icons” heading. (more…)