Tech Tips 30/98


A Selection of Technical Tips to help you get more FUN from your PC



MS Excel

Patch Me Up!

In April of this year, Microsoft released an update patch for Excel that resolves recalculation issues identified in Excel 97. This patch specifically addresses and repairs issues related to shared formulas. If you're not sure whether your version is updated, you should apply this patch. If you're already up to date, the installer will notify you and install only the necessary files.

You'll find the patch at the following address: www.microsoft.com/office/download/xl8patch.exe
 



 Netscape Navigator

Where Did I Put That Bookmark?

If you find yourself losing bookmarks from time to time, get in the habit of saving them after important additions. As a rule, Navigator only saves the bookmarks when you exit the program. But if Netscape (or your system) crashes, you'll lose recent additions. To save your bookmarks, choose Bookmarks, Go to Bookmarks. Then choose File, Save As and, when the Save Bookmarks File dialog box opens, click Save.



Windows

Left-handed? I am!

Are you a left-handed mouse user? Then you're probably getting good and tired of dragging your right hand all the way over to the left side of the keyboard to use Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C, and Ctrl-V--the Cut, Copy, and Paste equivalents. And no, not using them isn't an option! (Nor is picking your left hand up off the mouse.)

If you're hooked on keyboard combinations, you'll be happy to know there are keyboard combination equivalents for Cut, Copy, Paste, and even Undo, on the right side of your keyboard. Still around from the days of Windows 3.0 and before but just not documented), the following CUA (common user access) commands spell relief for sore wrists:

                Shift-Delete = Cut
                Ctrl-Insert = Copy
                Shift-Insert = Paste
                Alt-Backspace = Undo (also Ctrl-Z, for right-handers)

These commands are supported by many (but not all) applications and also by Windows 95. You'll have to try them out in your own applications. Of course, the one hitch is that you can't use Shift-Delete outside of an application (for example, to cut a selected icon from an Explorer folder). Remember, as far as Windows 95 is concerned, Shift-Delete means you want to delete the items without sending them to the Recycle Bin. So be sure not to use this combination unless you're inside an application, such as Word or Notepad.
 


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