Computer Info – October 31, 2001
This Week’s Meeting
Look at PowerPoint Viewer –
add a music file to your PowerPoint presentation – moving the taskbar –
troubleshooting with the HELP files.
Norton – LiveUpdate Problems
Numerous people have been having
problems with the LiveUpdate of their Norton AntiVirus program. I went
to the Norton website and found this bulletin.
http://service4.symantec.com/SUPPORT/sharedtech.nsf/docid/2000121413465213&src=hot
This page is about this error message: "Update was not completed" or
"LiveUpdate was not able to complete this update" which is seen when they
are running the LiveUpdate to a Symantec product.
Adding a Music File to a PowerPoint Presentation
To add a music file that will
play all during your PowerPoint presentation -- from the VIEW menu, choose
SLIDE SORTER. This will allow you to view all of your slides as thumbnails.
Double click on the first slide and this will take you to the screen where
you can edit the slide. From the top menu, choose INSERT – MOVIES AND SOUNDS
– SOUND FROM A FILE. This will allow you to locate a WAV or MIDI file on
your computer. When you return to the edit slide screen, you will notice
a small speaker icon on the slide. This icon will be visible on the slide
– if you do not wish it to show, then move it off to the side of the slide.
If you preview your slide, you will notice that you can not hear the music.
To change that, right click on the slide, and choose CUSTOM ANIMATION.
Click on the TIMING tab and you will notice that your music file is listed
in the section entitled SLIDE OBJECTS WITHOUT ANIMATION. Highlight your
music file and click on ANIMATE and then AUTOMATICALLY. This will place
it in the top box where the other animated items are and you can then determine
the order. Try previewing your slide show again and you will notice that
your slide show is paused until the music has ended. To change this feature,
again right click on the slide, and choose CUSTOM ANIMATION. Click on your
music file and then the PLAY SETTINGS tab. You will notice that it says
to pause the slide show while playing. Change this to CONTINUE SLIDE SHOW.
Again preview your slide show and you will see that the music will play
throughout the animation of your first slide and then will quit. So, make
this final change – right click on the slide, and choose CUSTOM ANIMATION.
Click on your music file and the PLAY SETTINGS TAB. This time change the
Stop playing to AFTER xx SLIDES.
If you right click on the
speaker icon and choose EDIT SOUND OBJECT – you will be able to determine
the length of time that the music file is. This will help you determine
the length of time that each slide will have to remain on the screen.
To set the time that the
slide remain on the screen, go to VIEW – SLIDE SORTER. Right-click on one
of the slides, and choose SLIDE TRANSITION. Here you can set the time –
and, if you want, you can click APPLY TO ALL, and this will give you a
starting point by making all of the slides an equal amount of time.
The rest comes from continuous
testing and changing of the slide transition time.
PowerPoint Viewer
If you receive a file that has
an extension of PPT (PowerPoint presentation) or PPS (PowerPoint
Show)– then it is a PowerPoint file. In order to view the file, you have
to have PowerPoint installed or download the PowerPoint Viewer from Microsoft.
You can download it at
http://office.microsoft.com/Assistance/9798/viewerscvt.aspx
The difference between PPS (PowerPoint Show) and PPT (PowerPoint presentation)
files is this:
PPS files have an "S" as
the final character in the file extension.
PPT files have a "T" as
the final character in the file extension.
That's it. They're the same other than that.
Uninstalling AOL
A question came up about uninstalling
AOL and can it be done. Look at the handout from February 7, 2001 and see
the information that we wrote before.
Troubleshooting Printer Problems
When you tell someone that your
printer doesn’t work, it helps for you to remember actually when and what
is happening – what program you are in – what you are trying to do – what
is the error message – what does the output look like?????
To help you determine if
the problem is with your printer – or with the connection between the computer
and the printer – or with the driver installation (software) on your computer,
here are some things that you can try -----
(1) Disconnect the
connection between the computer and the printer and then perform the self-test.
If the self-test prints correctly, then the problem must be in the connection
or the drivers. How do you perform a self-test? For the instructions on
doing that, you will have to consult your manual – it is usually done by
turning the printer on (power button) while holding down another button.
There might be some printers that do not have this ability.
(2) Be sure that
you have both of your ink cartridges installed. Some printers when they
are purchased have only one cartridge installed and you must purchase the
other cartridge.
(3) Try another printer
cable – does your printer need a bi-directional cable – is your printer
port configured for bi-directional
(4) Uninstall your
printer and its drivers and then reinstall them. Are you using drivers
for the right version of Windows (your operating system)? Are you using
the latest version of the print drivers?
(5) Pay attention
to the error messages that you are getting. They will usually lead you
in the right direction.
(6) If you are installing
a new printer that has USB and parallel connections, you must be sure that
you install the correct printer driver. You should be given a choice of
USB or parallel.
(7) Have you tried
troubleshooting your printer in the HELP files of Windows. From the START
menu, choose HELP. Then look for the troubleshooting section.
One Source of Information for America’s War on Terrorism
America’s War Against Terrorism
– This may be the single most extensive collection of links on one page
documenting the Sept. 11 attacks and America's war on terrorism. Brought
to you by the University of Michigan.
http://www.lib.umich.edu/govdocs/usterror.html