MS-Word --- Letter Wizard

Computer Info – July 19, 2000

This Week’s Program

Looking at layers and selecting and moving objects in Corel Draw 7.0

CorelDraw 7.0 – Layers and Moving Objects LAYERS
        We have shown the using of layers in PhotoShop and MS-Word. Layers are also used in Corel Draw. Once you have placed a few objects on your new CorelDraw worksheet, then you may wish to move them around and make decisions of which object will overlap another.
        To do this, click on the object that you would like to change – this will place handles on the corners and sides of the object. To make changes in the layering – choose ARRANGE – ORDER . This gives you the ability to move the object forward or backwards one layer – or move it to the very front of all the layers or to the very back of all the layers.
SELECTING AND MOVING
        One very important thing to remember when selecting an object in Corel Draw – you must click on a part of a object. In most cases you will find this to be no problem – but when you draw a line (including the spiral) – and then, try to select it – you must click directly on the line to select it or move it. If you draw a selection box around two or three objects that you want to move together – you will find that selection handles are created that surround these items – but, in order to move them, you must click ON ONE OF THE OBJECTS – NOT ON THE SPACE BETWEEN THE OBJECTS.
SYMBOLS
        If you do not see the icon for the Smybols on your toolbar, you can get to them from the menu under VIEW – ROLL-UPS – TOOLS - SYMBOLS .
        Symbols allow you to place many simple little pictures or special punctuation marks on your drawing – this might be nice if you are creating a Memories Scrapbook.. To use one of the Symbols, click on the picture with your left mouse button and drag the picture to your work area. When the picture is placed on your work area, handles are placed around the object which you can use to resize it. The Symbols are all in black and white – but once the picture in on your work area, you can right click on it and choose PROPERTIES from the menu. By using the Properties, you can change the width of the outline – change the color of the object – or fill the object with patterns. Purchasing Software by Downloading From the Internet         I found this comment and response on the News Journal web page and thought it might be interesting to any people.

You can be tripped up by confusing check-out procedures when you pay to download commercial software.
When I tried to order a boxed copy of WinFax Pro 10 from Buy.com, I pressed a button marked "You must click this button to get your product". When I saw something was about to be downloaded to my PC, I canceled out of the screen because I wanted the product shipped to me. Even though I didn't download the software, I was billed for a copy. I called Buy.com, but a rep refused to issue a refund, despite the site's promise of a 60-day refund policy for all software.
"Downloading software is another means of delivery," says Travis Fagan, vice president of customer support at Buy.com, "and just as your credit card is charged upon shipment of a product, it'll be charged upon download." To get a refund from Buy.com, buyers complete, sign, and return a "letter of destruction," a "good faith" contract promising they no longer have the downloaded software on their PC. Buy.com credited the person’s card for the inadvertent purchase. He ended up buying a copy of the program from Symantec.

Error Messages
(Info from Smart Computing Magazine on August 2000)         The operating system usually catches most of the blame for errors, but it’s not always at fault. Software foibles can muck up any operating system.
       Suppose you encounter the message "EXPLORER caused an invalid page fault in module VTCOMMON.DLL" when you attempt to open the Control Panel. This message has three main parts: the application name Explorer, the invalid page fault error, and the file name Vtcommon.dll. If you are not using Internet Explorer at the time, you can assume Win98 is referring to Windows Explorer, which is the basis for oepning application windows such as the Control Panel. An invalid page fault means the system can’t find data that an application has requested from memory, or finds the wrong data in a certain area of memory.
        The Vtcommon.dll file is the best clue. Vtcommon.dll isn’t a Windows file; it belongs to IBM’s ViaVoice 98 software. You might not realize this unless you knew where the file was stored. To find the directory path of a file in an error message, click START – FIND – and FILES OR FOLDERS. Next, type the file’s name (vtcommon.dll, for example) in the Named blank. Finally, choose your Windows hard drive in the Look In list, check the box next to Include Subfolders, and press ENTER. If Vtcommon.dll appears below, right-click it and choose Properties. The Versions tab of the Properties box (if that tab is present) usually tells you which application it belongs to.
        Title Bar: If your application’s name appears in the title bar of the error message box, don’t blank your operating system. Click Help on the application’s menu bar and try searching for troubleshooting section or for keywords in the error message.
        Recording the error: Writing down an error message is both tedious and prone to adding errors of your own through typos. A better way is to press the ALT and PRINT SCREEN keys simultaneously. This will take a screen shot of the error message box, although you won’t be able to see it just yet. To see the screen shot, click START – PROGRAMS – ACCESSORIES – PAINT. Next, open the Edit menu and select Paste. If Paint asks whether you would like to enlarge the bit map to accommodate the screen shot, click Yes. You should now see the error message box. Click File and Print to print it out.
        For Fewer Errors: Good file maintenance is the best way to head off potential errors. In Windows 98, occasionally run Disk Cleanup (Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, and Disk Cleanup) and then ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter in the System Tools folder. Also, never have less than 40-50MB (megabytes) of free hard drive space and consider a ram upgrade if you have less than 64MB.
        A more controversial method of error prevention and/or recovery is installing software such as Norton Crash Guard or Ontrack’s Fix-It Utilities. Some detractors complain that these tools cause as many problems as they prevent. Web sites Decide.Com
        This site offers comparisons of cellular phone service – long-distance phone service and calling cards.
                        http://www.decide.com
Family Fun – Crafts
        At this site you can input the materials you have on hand and you’ll get a list of projects. Browse categories including toys, coloring, recycled materials, holidays, gifts and wearable art.
                        http://www.familyfun.com/filters/mainindex/crafts.html
Michaels
        A large listing of crafts projects from Michaels Craft Store
                        http://www.michaels.com/projects/pro-main.html