Here are some questions (and answers):

• Is Zero Really a Number?- Suzanne H (Dec 8 2006):
  
  I need to make a column in either a spread sheet or a data base with 11 numbers in it. Some of the numbers begin with '0' (zero).
  
  I can't get the zero to show up. Why? and how do I remedy this.?
  
  
  Do you simply need to display the numbers or do you need to calculate
  with them? If they just have to display, change the formatting for the
  column to text... I used to live in US Zip Code '07205'... when that
  Zip Code is treated as text, the leading zero displays... if the cell
  is formatted for numbers - or in the default formatting which tries to
  guess what it is- and guesses it's a number, it would display as
  '7205'.
  
  Well that was interesting. I tried several times before emailing you
  and I know I changed it to text, but it didn't work.
  You can't put the number in and then format it.
  You have to format the column first and then put in the number.
  It worked.
  
• Undo - Paginate Now- John B (Dec 4 2006):
  
  I hit "paginate now" and all my files now include the symbols for pagination....I thought it would only change the current document....
  
  Is there a way to UN-DO the "pagination" function on my 100 files that I did NOT intend to have "paginated" ?
  
  Let's back up a step or two... what software are you running? MS Word?
  MS Works? OpenOffice? What version of the software? (If you're not
  sure, click the Help menu, then About)
  
  The pagination symbol, paragraph symbol, carriage feed symbol, etc are
  all examples of formatting symbols that are normally hidden...
  however, some users like to see them, feeling it gives them more
  control over how their document is laid out. (Long-time Word Perfect
  users, for instance, often like that software's Reveal Codes command
  which shows those otherwise-hidden formatting symbols).
  
  Many word processors have a View menu, with an item in it to show
  'Hidden Characters' or 'Reveal Formatting Codes' or something similar-
  check the View menu, and if there's a suspicious-looking item with a
  checkmark beside it, try clicking it (to turn off the checkmark)... if
  you pick the wrong thing, little harm will be done, as you can simply
  open the View menu and click it again to reset it.
  
  I'm running WINDOWS 98  
  and WORKS for WINDOWS 95 VERSION 4.5
  
  There are no such options in the VIEW menu
  
  From what I can determine, the "paginate now" function under TOOLS is a "global" change.
  
  I thought (intended) this to be started ONLY on the file I was working on.
  
  All these "symbols" now appear in every file I ever created in WORD for the last 7-8 years.
  
  That certainly was NOT my intention....
  
  Is there any way to UNDO the "pagination" function ?  
  If I were to REINSTALL the original WORKS version 4.5 what impact would that have on the "old files"  ?    I certainly do NOT want to "erase" these files.
  
  
  OK.... in Works 4.5, the Paginate Now command does not add page break symbols- it simply checks over the open document to make sure that the paging (in Normal view only) is accurate.
  
  I suspect that you're seeing the Page Break symbols because, in the View menu, the All Characters option is checked... this is the Works 4.5 equivalent of the various menu options from other programs that I had mentioned... and once selected it remains checked for all documents... until you click on it again to uncheck it.
  
  I know this was simple for you, but as a non-techie I really thought I was going to have to "live" with those symbols forever.....
  
• Adding Sound Track - F & B Houghton (Nov 29 2006)
  
  If you add a sound track to the first slide, say, of a presentation in PowerPoint, it continues throughout the whole show, if required.  I find that when I open the same file with OpenOffice the sound stops after the first slide.  Is there a reason for this ?
  
  Hmmm... you're right. At first, I thought there would be a difference whether you chose the sound from the Transition section of the right-hand pane or using the Insert/Movie and Sound menu item, but there doesn't seem to be-- even using the Insert menu item, the sound cuts off when you change slides.
  
  This DOES seem to be a bug and not a feature... and could be a real pain if trying to create a self-running slideshow with music to run in kiosk mode.
  
  
• From Works to Word- Rosie M (Nov 15, 2006)
  
  Alan i use microsoft works and recently i had to send a document to a friend who has microsoft word.  he couldn't retrieve the document. is there a way to do this or should i purchase word?
  
  1) I'm not a big fan of MS Works... Microsoft hasn't really given it much attention in years, and there's really no reason it shouldn't work in the same file formats as the much more widely-used MS Office... instead, I recommend that Works users download and start to use the free OpenOffice ( www.openoffice.org)-- setting it up to use MS Office file formats by default (see my tutorial at: http://www.zisman.ca/OOSetup/) Note however that if you use the Works database, you may want to keep on with it-- but OpenOffice is a much better alternative for word processor, spreadsheets, etc.
  
  2) That doesn't help you with the problem you mentioned, however... not will it help access your saved documents if you move to OpenOffice (or MS Office for that matter)... but all is not lost!
  
  Open the document in the Works word processor, and click on the File Menu, selecting Save As... near the bottom of the dialogue you should see an option labelled something like "Save File As Type", with a drop-down list currently reading Works Word Processor (or similar). Click on the 'v' at the end to drop down the list and choose something like "Microsoft Word 97/2000/XP *.DOC"
  
  This will allow you to convert and save the file into a Microsoft Word file type-- allowing you to resend it and let the rest of the world-- everyone who doesn't have MS Works installed-- to read your file.
  
  Unfortunately, MS Works does not allow you to set this as the default file type-- so you need to go through this each time you want to save a file so that others can read it. Moreover, after doing that, Works will annoyingly ask to Save (in Works format) even though you've just saved it in Word format.
  
  But given these annoyances, you CAN use it to save files (one at a time) in the more common Microsoft Word DOC format.
  
  
• IE7 Menu Bar - Michael L (Nov 8 2006)
  
  I realize Programmers for Microsoft have less strict parameters when writing code for various software programs than Apple. Hence, the expression "Macs are more intuitive". Is Microsoft, itself allowed to drop the Menu Bar down lower than the top line of a window? I have never seen such a thing before. I use the Menu Bar quite frequently by habit since it is usually the same layout as all other  microsoft software ex. HELP---ABOUT to give me more details about the version #'s etc or VIEW-----SOURCE to examine metatags or html code or FILE -----SAVEAS to review an article of interest later. Some of this stuff can be right-clicked or added to a Tool Bar (and some can't), but that takes up more space on the browser window and I'm not interested in adding buttons when drop-down items can be made available. As far as I can find, there is no setting to move the Menu Bar to the top line. That's rather odd.
  
  Also.comparing the location of the "HOME" button to version 6, it appears there is a lot more mousing around with travel distance. Maybe the simplistic appearance of my browser is actually making things more difficult for me? Unlocking the Tool Bar doesn't allow me to slide the HOME button over to a more convenient location. There is reasons why one would want to return to the HOME page before clicking to a new site. I think it is a fairly common practise. They have their reasons for laying out the browser the way it is but I don't agree with their methods of testing efficiencies and convenience.
  
  You can find a little Registry script here that, when run, will place the IE7 menu bar back at the top where many of us feel it belongs. (I've used it with all the various computers I have IE7 installed on).
  
  I'm in general not impressed with Microsoft's new anti-menu user interfaces... the one in the upcoming (Nov 30 release) Office 2007 is even more of a shock to long-time users-- and unlike IE7, cannot be changed... there's no way (that I know of).
  
  Personally, I use Firefox as default browser, in preference to IE7... as I think I indicated in the article.
  
  
• Win95 Administrator Help- Jason G (Oct 26 2006):
  
  I looked at your website and read how to secure a stand alone system.  My problem is that I need to make a former network system into a stand alone system. 
  
  I was given an old Win95 laptop for me to use in college for note taking.  It was previously used by Honeywell and I am sure that it had some security settings in place.  When I start the computer I can hit cancel to log-on as a guest user and even create a new log-on and password.  When I am in the system, I go to the User Accounts and it prompts that I need to be an Administrator to open this.  The problem is that the previous owner does not know anything about the laptop or the security in place.  I need to be able to clean up the laptop, including removing old user profiles and would like to recover the Administrator account and password.
  
  Frankly, I would suspect that the best thing to do would be to boot to a boot floppy and reinstall Win95 (or Win98 if it has enough RAM and drive space)... if you're able to boot into Win95 (press ESC at the log-in), go to Control Panel/Device Manager to make sure you know what the installed video card, sound card, modem and network card (if any) are...
  
  
• Dreamwriters- Karen H (Oct 25, 2006):
  
  Are Dreamwriters alive and well or are they now a thing of the past.? My school district purchased 20 back in 1998/9 and after I moved to a different school they have been stored in a closet.  I am currently trying to “charge” them but not sure if they can be revived!!!  Help!!!
  
  The company that made Dreamwriters was local to me (in Vancouver BC)-- I haven't been able to find a way to get in touch with them in a while, so I'm assuming they've disappeared.
  
  I was never much of a fan of the Dreamwriters, finding them awkward to use- especially to save work, export it to computers, or print... it's now possible to get older Windows 98 laptops for next to nothing (my school got about 40 for literally nothing); I would recommend something like that over Dreamwriters any day.