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Do you ever wish you could click on a link in Internet Explorer but not lose the page you are on? You don't have to wade back through pages with the Back button. Just hold the shift key down while you click on the link. This creates a new window for the next site or page. I was reminded of this tip in a newsletter from NeatNetTricks. The website is http://www.NeatNetTricks.com.
You can organize all of your documents on the computer, whether they are Favorites (bookmarks) in Internet Explorer, messages in e-mail, files in My Documents, or elsewhere. In fact, you can change the name of the "My Documents" folder, perhaps using your name instead of "My."
You can make these changes from a number of places (Windows Explorer, the "Save As" or "Open" file box, Internet Explorer, Outlook Express or whatever mail program you use, etc.). For Instance, in "My Documents" I have subfolders for "2000 Taxes," "Computer Related," "Letters," "Images," "Speeches," etc. Some of these are broken down further with sub-folders of the sub-folders.
Let's look at Explorer (Windows Explorer, not IE) first. Open Explorer. From previous tips & shortcuts, you have learned (or knew already) that the quick and better way to open Explorer is to hold down the Windows key (the one with the Windows logo on it) while you press "E" once. Don't hold "E" down or you will get a bunch of copies of Explorer. If you don't have a Windows key, right click on Start and choose "Explore." If you used the shortcut and the C: drive has a "+" in front of it, click on the + to expand the tree so you can see the folders. Highlight the folder (in the left pane) to which you wish to create a subfolder. From Explorer's File menu, hover the mouse over "New" and click on "Folder." A new folder will appear at the bottom of the right pane ready for you to name. Instead of going to the File menu, you can just right-click on a blank area of the right pane and select "New." If you slip up and the folder gets the name of "New Folder," just right click on it and select "Rename" from the context menu that appears. In windows 9x, you can use up to 255 characters in a file name and spaces are OK. When you go out of Explorer and return to it, the new folder will be arranged alphabetically under the folder of which it is a subfolder (or you can just double-click on the folder or go to the View menu and select "Refresh").
To make a new folder from the "Save As" or "Open" box (in Word or another application), highlight the folder to which you wish to add subfolders and click on the "Create new folder" icon (the blank file folder) above the list and follow the same procedure as stated above.
To do the same thing in Outlook Express to organize your mail and newsgroup messages, go to the File menu and hover the mouse over "Folder." Select "New" from the options presented.
Your Favorites (bookmarks) in IE can be organized, but this is done differently. In Internet Explorer, click on Favorites in the menu bar (or the Favorites icon on the toolbar) and choose "Organize Favorites." On the box that appears, highlight the folder you wish to subdivide and click on the "Create Folder" button. If you highlight the "All Favorites" folder, your sub-folder will be a major division of your Favorites. In the favorites list, those that are not in subfolders are listed first, then the subfolders are listed. Following this procedure also will give you the opportunity to move individual bookmarks to a sub-folder.
It doesn't matter where you make the changes. They show up wherever folders and files are displayed. You can create new folders and organize them from many places in Windows and this can be accomplished in various ways. You can drag a folder or file and drop it on another folder to make the folder and its contents, or the file, a part of the folder dropped on. You also can right-click on a folder or file, select "cut" from the context menu, then go to the folder you wish to move it to and right click on it, then select "Paste." That does the same thing as drag & drop.
I was reminded of the following tip at the "Cheap Tricks Archive" at http://www.we-compute.com.
By default, Windows 98 and Windows Me have a folder on the Start menu showing your list of Favorite sites. You can also, or in the place of this folder, place a link to your favorite Web site on your Start menu.
Click on Start, hover on Settings and click on "Task and Start Menu". Click on the Start Menu tab, then the Add button. In the Command line field, type the Internet address (URL) of the site. Of course I would suggesthttp://www.questgems.com, but you may not agree.
Now, click on the Next button and then choose where you want it located. If you highlight Start Menu, it will appear in the popup menu when you click on the Start button. If you highlight Programs, it will be listed with the programs when you click on Start and hover on Programs. Click on Next and now give it a name. Now, click on Finish and then OK.
When you click Start, and then click on the name you gave the site, your Web browser will open and take you to that site.
With IE5, Microsoft has incorporated a self-repair feature. If your browser has problems, here's how to run IE5's self-diagnosis and repair. Go to the Control Panel (Start>Settings>Control Panel). In Control Panel, click on the Add/Remove Programs icon. Once there, scroll to Microsoft Internet Explorer 5 and Internet Tools. Select that item and click Add/Remove. This does not uninstall IE5. A dialog box will appear with 3 choices. Click on the Repair Internet Explorer radio button. Now click on OK. Follow the on-screen instructions. IE will attempt to diagnose its problem and repair it.
Would you like to have more room in your browser window for viewing web pages? Here's how.
The tool bar: Put your mouse pointer on the bottom edge of the lowest toolbar (above the browser window). When the pointer changes to a double arrow, hold down the left mouse button and drag it up toward the top of the screen, as far as you can. All of the bars will now be one. If you went up as far as you can, the Icons will have lost their labels, but who needs them? If you are unsure of what a particular icon does, just pause your pointer over it and a little box will pop up with the label. If you do not see all of your icons, don't panic; you haven't lost anything.
At the right end of each section of the toolbar that has additional icons, you will see a chevron (>>). Just click on the chevron and a box will drop down with the other icons. You can arrange the icons in any order. I'll tell you how. I pulled the menu slider to the left so that, after the Back and Forward arrows, I just have visible the icons I use most -- Refresh, Stop, Search, and Print. I'll click the chevron for the others. Next, I moved the Address slider to the left until only the menu items of File, Edit, View, and Favorites are visible. Then I moved the links slider to the right until only the word "Links" and the chevron are visible. I never use the Links section anyway. This leaves about three inches of the Address field showing when the window is fully expanded. You may prefer a different arrangement. Actually you can get rid of that Links section. Just right click on the toolbar and de-select "Links". If you later want it back, do the same and select "Links".
Here's how to arrange IE's toolbar icons: Right-click on the toolbar. Select "customize" from the context menu that appears. There, in the right pane of the double paned window that appears, you will be given the opportunity to move the icons. "Up" moves to the left. "Down" moves to the right.
It's easy to get rid of any buttons you don't use. Just right click on the toolbar and select "Customize." Highlight the ones in the right pane you don't want and click on "Remove." They will be moved to the left pane, waiting for you in case you later decide you do want them after all.
Don't like the toolbar change? Just put the mouse arrow on the lower edge of the toolbar. When you see the double arrow, hold down the left button and drag down. You can have everything on two bars or all the way back to three -- or even four.
Still want more space? My, you're hard to please. OK, press F11 and the title bar will go away, enlarging your viewing space. You can press F11 again and it will re-appear.
First, here is a brief overview of the Taskbar for those who may be new to computing. The taskbar is the blue tray, generally found along the bottom of the computer's desktop, although it can be moved to any edge on the desktop. It is composed of three basic sections. Assuming that the taskbar is at the bottom of your desktop, the left end section (next to the Start button) is called the Quick Launch Bar. It contains a "Show Desktop" icon and shortcut icons that you place there to provide quick one-click access to often used programs or tasks.
The right end of the taskbar is the Notification Area. In previous versions it was called the System Tray. This section contains the clock, icons for new mail notification, perhaps your audio volume control and others placed there by some of the programs you installed (such as your anti-virus program, network monitor, etc.). Speaking of the clock, it is at the right end of the Notification Area and shows the current time based on your system clock. If you rest the mouse pointer on it, the current date will appear. Double click on it and a dialog window will pop up, allowing you to set the time and date, in case it is incorrect.
The center section of the taskbar contains buttons for all opened windows. You can switch the focus from one application to another by clicking its button. Or you can right click and have other options.
Moving. To move the taskbar to another location, just place the mouse pointer to an empty area on the taskbar and drag it to another edge of the screen (left button depressed).
Resizing. To resize the taskbar, place the mouse pointer on its outer edge (to get the double arrow) and drag it toward the center of the screen to widen it or toward the nearest edge of the screen to narrow it.
If you make the taskbar too narrow, the Start button disappears and the taskbar is represented by a narrow blue line. You can point to the narrow line until you get a double arrow and pull the edge back out from the edge so that the Start button and taskbar will re-appear.
Visibility. You can cause the taskbar to always be on top (so no program will cover it) or you can hide the taskbar altogether -- until you need it. Here is how:
1. Right click on an empty area of the taskbar and choose Properties.
2. To determine whether or not the taskbar stays on top of other windows, select or clear the checkbox for "Keep the taskbar on top of other windows" checkbox and click OK. I want my taskbar always showing, so I have this box checked.
3. To control whether the taskbar automatically stays hidden until needed, select or clear the checkbox for "Auto-hide the taskbar" and click OK. If you check this box, the start button disappears and the taskbar is reduced to a thin line. However, as soon as your mouse pointer enters the area normally occupied by either of them they suddenly reappear.
You probably already knew all about the things I mentioned above, but here is something else of which you may not be aware. There are taskbar toolbars that can be added.. First I'll describe some of them and then tell you how to add them to your taskbar.
Address. This toolbar displays an address box when you double-click it. You can enter a URL to a website and your browser will take you there. Instead, you may enter a path to a folder or file & you will be taken to it in Windows Explorer. If the application program for the file you enter is running, the file will be loaded into the program for you. A popup helper will assist you in browsing to the destination. Double click the Address button to hide the address box
Desktop. The Desktop toolbar will contain, in a popup menu, a shortcut icon for each of the shortcuts on your desktop. After adding this toolbar to your taskbar, just click in the double chevron for the popup.
Links. The Links toolbar displays shortcut buttons for visiting choice websites. Just click on the double chevron and the links will appear. You can add and/or delete shortcuts on the Links bar. Initially, there will likely be four shortcut links on the bar: Windows Media, Windows, Free Hotmail and Customize Links.
If you click on Customize Links, you will be shown how to add, remove, rearrange and customize the shortcuts on the Links bar.
Taskbar Magnifier. This is an interesting one. It could really be helpful for a person with poor eyesight or for viewing fine detail. When you add this toolbar, everything your mouse points to is magnified (text, menus, images, etc.). You can lengthen the magnifier window on the taskbar by placing the pointer on the dots to the left of the word "Magnify" and drag. In this way more of the document will be included.
If someone in your home has limited sight, you may prefer to drag (pointer on the dots) the magnifier onto the desktop. There you can lengthen it to the width of your screen and vertically make it as tall as you want it. This might open up computing to a person with very poor eyesight, perhaps by including the lower third or half of the screen with the magnifier window.
You can right-click on the magnifer window and receive additional options such as "Always on top" and other magnification strengths. When finished, just drag the sides back in and the top down and drag the toolbar back on the taskbar or exit it by clicking the red X in the upper right corner.
Wrap-up. Any or all of the above toolbars can be floating toolbars. Just drag them onto the desktop by the little dots on the left end. You can put them back the same way. Even the Quick Launch Bar can become a floating toolbar that you can move around as you wish.
There are other options for adding toolbars to the taskbar. You can remove them the same way you added them. Just uncheck the boxes. Try some of these out just to see what they are like. You can easily get rid of them by un-checking their box. Some taskbar options can also be found in the Taskbar and Start Menu Properties box. It is found by clicking on Start, then on Control Panel. In the Control Panel click on the Taskbar and Start Menu icon.
Well, that's my brainstorm for this time. You might also want to take a look at the tips I have uploaded on this page. There are many more in the Archives.
Take care,
-- Don
I have between 4,000 and 5,000 links on this site. They are divided into about 70 major subject areas (some of the subjects are further divided). It would be an impossible task to manually keep up with URL changes and websites that have ceased to exist. I use a link checker program to do this. If a site has moved and the transfer is made, the program will give the new URL. One problem. Some URLs reported to be bad are OK. Often a "timed out" notation is given, but not always. I have it to list broken and changed URLs, Then I check them manually, before making corrections or deletions (I don't have to go through the entire list of links). The one I generally use is OppoSite Software's free Remote Link Checker available at http://www.tali.com/linker.html. Its Help menu gives a good overview of features.
Two more programs of this type are BiggByte Software's shareware InfoLink Link Checker (run 50 times free) at http://www.biggbyte.com/infolink/index.html (Click on Download) and Xenu's Link Sleuth (free) at http://home.snafu.de/tilman/xenulink.html. There also are services on the Internet that will check links for you. They either charge a fee or are free (with advertising). I had rather check my own.
Small errors may be in your website. Many browsers, such as IE5, may be forgiving of them and view the page perfectly, but other browsers may produce a blank page or have other problems. I learned the "blank page" bit by experience. The omission of one character caused Netscape 4.x browsers to get a blank Computer Stuff page. This was just after a newsletter had kindly referred to the many shortcuts that were on it (now in the Archives). Thanks to those kind people who alerted me about the problem.
An HTML validation program is a great tool for checking your site and reporting errors. A free simple one I like is CSE HTML Validator Lite. It is available at http://www.htmlvalidator.com/. The professional version is not free. The Lite (free) version is fast and easy to use. Also I like it because it does not change the formatting of my source code as many HTML editors do. However, the professional version (which I now use) also checks the syntax and provides more explanatory notes. It will also check for dead links. I do not use an editor, so .
There are many RGB to Hex converters, but this little free program is small and handy. It pops up with color adjusters for each of red, green and blue (to make any color) and shows the numerical value of each. Another field gives the Hex code for the selected color (important to web developers). Or you can just click on one of its 256 colors in a chart. It will show the selected color in a window, give the numerical values for R,G & B and the Hex code. For Instance, one shade of orange is given as R=255, G=153 & B=0. The Hex code is #FF9900. That's what you you would use for that color on a website. You can also copy & paste the Hex right onto the source document for your web page. I have other color selectors that will handle any range of colors and they are also in good graphics programs, but this one is handy & doesn't take up much space on the desktop. It is available at http://no-nonsense-software.com/. Once on the site, click on "Freeware."
You have access to a wide range of Web site development tools accessible from QuestGems, including tutorials for beginners. Just go to the Resource Center Table of Contents (accessible from the menu in the left panel of this page) and click on "Website Development" -- or just click here on Web Site development". You will be taken to a list of links to other websites providing helps. Also, when you see an item on a website, and you want to know how it was done, just right click on a non-graphics area and select source from the context menu that appears. You do not want to copy someone else's work, but the markup language is the same for everyone. So you can learn by looking at other's work. There are also some good books and websites for learning HTML, DHTML, Javascript, etc. as well as those on format and design.
If you are using the latest version of Internet Explorer, your pop-up windows can be blocked automatically, but what about those banner adds that appear on many websites? Even with pop-up windows blocked, those annoying ads still appear? Sometimes you have to wait for them to go away so you can read the page. The website owner gets paid for each time a visitor clicks them and the one clicking them may get a cookie placed on his/her hard drive by the ad service. In addition an entry may be placed in your Hosts file.
You can get rid of the ads in one of two ways: (1) Ad-blocking software utilities, such as PanicWare's Block+Scan, Guidescope (free for individual users, fee for business use),
AdSubtract (free & pay versions. Free version is very crippled),
The Ad Police (free, updated regularly),
AdBin (free, recently updated), and others that are available, or (2) block them yourself.
Here is how you can block all but the few ads hosted by the website itself. Most websites do not host their own ads. They use ad servers for this. The largest ad-server is Double-Click.
A Hosts file is on your hard drive and located as follows:
• Windows 95/98/ME C:\Windows\Hosts
• Windows 2000/XP C:\Windows\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts
• Windows NT C:\Winnt\System32\Drivers\Etc\Hosts.
You can edit the Hosts file with any text editor, such as Notepad. Open that file and you will see the entries. The first section, with each line beginning with a Comments symbol, provides a sample to go by. The Comments symbol keeps your system from reading those lines as commands. After the sample area, you may see other entries.
There is a loopback IP address that computer programmers use to test network software without being on the network. This IP address loops back to your computer without accessing either the Internet or your network.
The example in the Hosts file may look like this:
127.0.0.1 localhost
When an ad is called for, before sending the request to a DNS server your computer checks the Hosts file to see if it has an IP address for that domain name. If it finds an IP address for the domain name, it uses that address instead of translating the URL. If it finds the loopback IP address (127.0.0.1) for the domain name it sends the request to the user's computer instead of the real IP address for the domain. In other words, the computer is talking to itself and the ad never appears.
To block the ads, you need to find any ad servers currently in your Hosts file and change the IP address to the loopback address. In addition you can place a list of other ad servers with the loopback address in the Hosts file. You should place them in alphabetical order for ease of checking for duplications and updating. The Hosts file we are talking about is the one with no extension (no .txt, .sam, etc)
In downloading a list of ad servers, don't worry with their IP addresses because you are going to give them all the loopback address. You will be able to find a list of ad servers at Mike's Ad Blocking Hosts File (free, loopback IP addresses already applied, recently updated) Just copy the list and paste it to the end of your hosts file.
If you are using a proxy server, be cautious about using 127.0.0.1. It may overload the proxy. Also remember to delete your temporary Internet files (Tool/Internet Options/Delete Files) to get rid of the ads you have already downloaded.
I have just copied Mike's list in my Hosts file. First, I backed up the Hosts file I had. Then I copied the Hosts file residing in the etc folder and pasted it in the empty disdn folder just above it. I renamed that file "Hosts_Old." Next I opened the Hosts file in the etc folder using Notepad. I copied the list on Mike's page, and pasted the list into the opened Hosts file, beginning just below the second listing (# 38.25.63.10 x.acme.com # x client host). I put a space between that line and the pasted portion. Finally, I moved the Hosts_Old file back into the etc folder. It works like a charm. Of course the few ads hosted by the website itself will still appear.
I wish I could leave my computer set up to block the ads but to inspect websites for adding to the Resource center, I need to see what kind of ads are displayed. So, I have now reverted to the no ads blocked setup.
NOTE: If you double-click the Hosts file in Windows Explorer to open it, you will likely get the "Open With" dialog window. Scroll down in that window to "Notepad," highlight it and click OK and the file will open, ready for you to edit. If Notepad is not in the list, you can add it by clicking the Browse button. The browse window will likely open displaying your Program Files folder, so you will need to click the little down arrow at the end of "Look in" field. Select the Windows folder and locate Notepad. Click on Notepad and click the Open button.
Another way to open the file is to open Notepad first and on the File menu select "Open." Click on the little down arrow at the end of the "Look in" field and navigate to the Host file and click Open.
In Windows XP, a picture identifies each user account. It probably appears on the Start Menu, unless you have only one account and have had the item removed. It will also appear when you restart Windows after Hibernating or putting Windows on Standby. If you have multiple accounts, a picture for each account will appear after starting your computer. Even with only one account it may appear, depending on how your computer is set up.
Why not replace the current picture with one of your family or the family pet or some other meaningful picture. If you have multiple user accounts, you could identify each one with a picture of the owner of that account. You may have other ideas. Here are the steps:
1. Open the Control Panel (Start>Control Panel or Start>Settings>Control Panel) and click on "User Accounts."
2. In the User Accounts window, under "Pick an account to change," click on the account with the picture you wish to change. Another User Accounts window will appear.
3. Click on "Change my picture." Another panel will appear with the heading, "Pick a new picture for your account."
4. You can choose one of the pictures Microsoft offers or click "Browse for more pictures" and navigate to the picture you wish to use. If you have a scanner attached to your computer, or a digital camera, you can click on "Get picture from camera or scanner" and download from the camera or scan a hard copy picture directly to be installed.
You can use pictures in .jpg, .gif, .png, or .bmp formats. The default pictures that came installed in Windows for account identification are all of the .bmp format. Their size is 48 X 48 pixels, but you can use other sizes & formats. The folder location for the pictures is C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\Application Data\Microsoft\User Account Pictures\Default Pictures. If you wish, you can copy and paste the picture directly into the Default Pictures folder and it will show up in the available selections in Step 4.
Windows provides a variety of mouse pointer sets from which you can choose. In addition, custom cursors are supported
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The mouse pointers in Windows default theme are white outlined in black. In addition to the basic pointer itself, the mouse pointer theme includes the hour glass, resize and move pointers, etc.
How would like to change the color scheme or even the images used. Microsoft provides for that. You can view each image in a scheme before selecting. If you don't like one set of pointers, you can select another, or you can customize your own scheme. If you don't like any of them you can revert back to the Windows Default scheme. Other Mouse pointer/cursor themes can be downloaded from the Internet.
In Windows, I changed my mouse pointer scheme to "3-D Bronze." The change has been recent, so time will tell if I like it for the long haul.
Here's how to make the change. Anyone can do it:
1. Open the Control Panel (START/Control Panel, or for some computers, START/Settings/Control Panel)
2. Double-click on the Mouse icon. The Mouse Properties window will open.
3. In the Mouse Properties window click on the Pointers tab. In the Scheme field you will see the name of your currently selected pointer scheme. Below that, in the Customize panel, you will see the various pointers of that scheme and the purpose of each. Scroll down to see them all. If you want more information on any one of them, just highlight it and right-click. A little box will appear with the question, "What's this?" Click on that question and you will receive more information. Also, an image of the highlighted item will appear in the upper right-hand corner box. If the item is animated, it will move around.
4. To see other schemes just click on the little down arrow at the end of the scheme field. Click on any scheme you would like to view.
5. When you find a scheme that pleases you, click the Apply button. You may wish to check the "Enable pointer shadow" box. Now you can explore options under the other tabs if you wish. When finished, click OK. That was easy, wasn't it?
If you would like to explore other possibilities, mouse pointers are available from various sources on the Internet. When installed, I believe some of them may automatically place the cursor sets in the proper folder on your hard drive so they can be set up in the Mouse Properties window.
The Cursor folder in Windows XP is located at C:\Windows\Cursors. If you need further help in installing, using & removing alternative mouse pointers, Microsoft's Alternative Cursors and these Knowledge Base items provide instructions.
Here are a few sites with mouse pointers. I don't know anything about some of these sites, so you will have to make your own judgments:
More Insight, FREE
PC World. Some are FREE; others are shareware.
Idyls, FREE
The High Visibility Animated Curser Page, free
Mouse Pointers Free Download Software, free
Free Cursors, FREE
Tucows, FREE
DirFile.com, Fifteen cursors for the left-handed user. Free & priced.
You might think you can simply design a pointer in your graphics program. Most programs do not allow you to save a program in the .cur format. Also cursors have a hotspot, which is a pixel that marks the exact location of the pointer. That is essential for the clicks of a mouse button to bring about the expected result. Windows keeps track of this point's location.
Another requirement of the cursor is the size. It must be 32X32 pixels.
Having said all of that, there are programs designed to allow you to edit or create your own cursors/pointers. I have not used these programs, so I cannot vouch for them. Below are some of the sites for obtaining programs to edit or create mouse pointers.
Make Your Own Animated Mouse Pointer
Cursor Arts using Icon Forge
Axialis Software
G.D.G. Software using G.D.G. Convert (to convert icons into mouse pointers/cursors)
An office suite contains several programs to address most of the computing needs for the home and business. In addition, most businesses will need certain specialized programs to meet particular needs.
Microsoft Office is dominant among office suites. But it is expensive. Below, I will first present an overview of Microsoft Office editions, along with the programs included and the prices at the time of the writing of this article.
Following the Microsoft information, I will indicate several alternatives. Some are free or low cost. A number of them are rather full-featured. All prices are in US dollars. Often a full program price and an upgrade price will be shown. An upgrade usually requires that some version of the program is already installed on your computer. A link to the website of each product will be provided so you can explore the features. First, let's see what Microsoft has to offer, starting with the most feature filled edition of Microsoft Office. Then I will mention Microsoft Works and Works Suite. The rest will be in alphabetical order.
We will start with Microsoft's most feature filled edition of Microsoft Office and proceed to the ones with fewer features. To qualify for the upgrade prices of most editions, you currently must have Microsoft Office XP, Office 2000, Microsoft Office 97 or Microsoft Works.
Microsoft has provided a chart that will let you see the differences among the various editions of Office.
• Office Professional Edition 2003. New user price: $499; Upgrade price: $329. Volume pricing is available through an authorized reseller. Student/teacher price: $199.
This edition contains Access 2003 (database), Excel 2003 (spreadsheet), Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager (e-mail), PowerPoint 2003 (presentation), Publisher 2003 (for doing booklets & other publications) and Word 2003 (word processing).
• Office Small Business Management Edition 2006. New user: $569 (after a $100 mail-in rebate); Upgrade: $399 (after a $100 mail-in rebate). Volumes licensing is available.
Included in this edition are Access 2003, Excel 2003, Outlook 2003, PowerPoint 2003, Publisher 2003, Small Business Accounting 2006, and Word 2003.
• Office Small Business Edition 2003. New user: $449; upgrade: $279. Volume licenses and leasing programs are available.
This edition includes Excel 2003, Outlook 2003, Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager, PowerPoint 2003, Publisher 2003 and Word 2003.
• Office Standard Edition 2003. New user price: $399; upgrade $239. Volume pricing is available. Student/teacher edition: $149.
This edition includes the following programs: Excel 2003, Outlook 2003, Outlook 2003 with Business Contact Manager, PowerPoint 2003, and Word 2003.
• Office Student and Teacher Edition 2003 sells for $149 if you qualify. This suite includes Excel 2003, Outlook 2003, PowerPoint 2003 and Word 2003. Price: $149.
• Office Basic Edition 2003. The following programs are Office Basic Edition 2003: Excel 2003, Outlook 2003 and Word 2003. Microsoft Office Basic Edition 2003 is available only as a preinstalled option from participating computer manufacturers. It's designed for customers with limited document authoring, analysis, and communication needs.
We still have two alternatives that are from Microsoft - Microsoft Works & Microsoft Works Suite. These two suites have most programs in common but Microsoft Works Suites has some additional features. I will point these out and provide the prices of each.
Microsoft Works costs $49.95 and Microsoft Works Suite costs $99.95. Microsoft's Comparison Chart will help you see the differences.
One
alternative to Microsoft Office is 602PC Suite, version 4.1. New user price is $39.95 for one user and discounts for 3 or more users. Upgrade price for one user is $19.95.
This Suite is compatible with Word and Excel files, using the same document formats (.doc & .xls) as Microsoft Office. It is composed of four full-featured applications: a word processor, spreadsheet, graphics editor and digital photo editor & organizer.
Ability Office 4 is produced by Ability Software. This suite is available in several combinations. The price ranges from$44.99 to $74.99 for first time purchase and $31.49 to $52.99 for upgrades. You can explore the features of this suite at the web site.
EasyOffice by E-Press Corp. costs $59.00. This office suite includes the following programs. Several of these listed programs are comparable to features in Microsoft Office applications, but they will give you some insight into the program:
EasyMail, EasyMailServer, EasyPad (notepad), EasySpreadsheet, EasyImage, EasyDiagram, EasyGraphicsSuite, EasyVoiceRecognition, EasyDatabase, EasyPresentation, EasyContactManage, EasyCalendar, EasyBarCode, EasyWebPageCreator, EasyBookkeeper, EasyCalculator, EasySpeaker, EasySpeller, EasyThesaurus, EasyZip, EasyFTP (file transfer), EasyBackup, EasyProject, EasyVoIP (for free phone calls worldwide), EasyHelper (tutorials for all the programs & more), EasyCustomInstaller, EasyPad (notepad), EasyWebCapture, EasyNewsReader (up-to-date news headlines), EasyIM (instant messaging), EasyTranslator (translate words, many languages), Easy SVG Viewer (web browser plug-in allowing users to view SVG vector graphic files), EasyDataRemover, EasyFileEncryption, EasyFileCleaner, EasyFileSynch, EasyOpen (to find suitable programs for opening files of various formats), EasyUserManual, EasyPDA and EasyUninstall.
GoBeProductive v3, by GoBe Software Corp, costs $49.95 and is shipped in one or two business days by UPS.
This Office package combines the features of an office suite into one program. This includes word processing, photo touch-up, resizing, expense reports, presentation -- slide show with transition effects, spreadsheet, print, e-mail, post to the web, save files in numerous formats, output files in Word or Excel, save in PDF or HTML.
There are minimal system requirements, such as Intel Pentium or compatible processor, Microsoft Windows 98, ME, 2000, or XP and CD-ROM drive for installation only.
OpenOffice.org is an open-standard format office suite. This program is completely FREE of any license fees -- for any purpose, private, commercial, institutional, government, etc. You can pass it on to others free of charge. The source code for the software is freely available under a full OSI certified license, so a person with programming ability can make changes if he/she wishes.
OpenOffice.org version 2.0.1 is translated into over 30 languages and is available on all major computing platforms (Microsoft Windows, Mac OS X X11, GNU/Linux, Solaris).
This office suite contains Writer (word processor), Calc (spreadsheet), Impress (for multimedia presentations), Draw (for diagrams, 3-D illustrations & special effects) and Draw (to manipulate database data, Create and modify tables, forms, queries, and reports, using your own database or Base's built-in HSQL database engine).
Quickoffice is a mobile software suite. There are three versions and each suite has three programs. The programs are Quickpoint (work with PowerPoint presentations), Quickword (integrates with Microsoft Word) and Quicksheet (Integrates with Microsoft's Excel). Following are the three versions with some information about each.
• Symbian UIQ -- Quickoffice Premier 3.0. This version costs $49.95 for first time users and, at this writing the upgrade special is $29.95. Compatible Phones are Sony Ericsson P800 / P900 / P910, Motorola A1000 / A925, BenQ P30 and Arima ASP805 phones The device will require 4 MB RAM to install. Quickoffice Premier occupies 2 MB following installation. Microsoft Office files should be Office 97 and 2000 with the Excel add-in or Office XP and newer.
• Palm OS -- Quickoffice Premier 7.6. The price is $39.95 and at this writing the upgrade special is $19.95.
Compatible devices include Acer s10, Acer s50/s60, Garmin iQue 3200, Garmin iQue 3600, GSL Xplore G18, GSL Xplore G88, Handspring Treo 180, Handspring Treo 270, Handspring Treo 300, Handspring Treo 90, Handspring Visor, Handspring Visor Deluxe, Handspring Visor Edge, Handspring Visor Platinum, Handspring Visor Prism, Handspring Visor Pro, IBM Workpad, IBM Workpad c3, IBM Workpad c500, IBM Workpad c505, Kyocera 7135, Kyocera QCP 6035.
Palm i705, Palm III , Palm IIIc, Palm IIIe, Palm IIIx, Palm IIIxe, Palm m100, Palm m105, Palm m125, Palm m130, Palm m500, Palm m505, Palm m515, Palm V, Palm VII , Palm VIIx, Palm Vx, palmOne Treo 600, palmOne Treo 650, palmOne Tungsten C, palmOne Tungsten E, palmOne Tungsten T, palmOne Tungsten T2, palmOne Tungsten T3, palmOne Tungsten T5, palmOne Tungsten W, palmOne Zire, palmOne Zire 21, palmOne Zire 31, palmOne Zire 71, palmOne Zire 72.
Samsung SGH-i530, Samsung SPH -i300, Samsung SPH -i330, Samsung SPH -i500, Sony CLIE N Series, Sony CLIE N760C, Sony CLIE NR Series, Sony CLIE NX Series, Sony CLIE NZ Series, Sony CLIE S Series, Sony CLIE S320, Sony CLIE SJ Series, Sony CLIE SL Series, Sony CLIE T Series, Sony CLIE T415, Sony CLIE TG Series, Sony CLIE TH55, Sony CLIE TJ25, Sony CLIE TJ27, Sony CLIE TJ35, Sony CLIE TJ37, Sony CLIE UX40, Sony CLIE UX50 Series, Symbol SPT 1500, Symbol SPT 1550, Symbol SPT 1700, Symbol SPT 1740, Symbol SPT 1800, Tapwave Zodiac, Tapwave Zodiac 2, TRGpro
• Series 60 -- Office Premier 2.0. The cost is $49.95 and as of this writing the upgrade special is 29.95.
Compatible Phones: All Series 60 phones running on Symbian OS version 7 and later will operate Quickoffice Premier v.2.0. Some of these phones currently available include Nokia 6600, Nokia 6630 and Panasonic X700.
The following smartphones are NOT fully compatible, however you can still use Quickoffice to view e-mailed Microsoft Word files, or to load and present PowerPoint presentations: Nokia 3650, Nokia 7650, Siemens SX1 and Sendo X.
System Requirements: Quickoffice Premier v2.0 for Series 60 requires your smartphone to have Symbian OS version 7 or higher. Some older Series 60 phones will not work with Quickoffice Premier v2.0, however version 1.0 Quickoffice Viewers will allow you to open attachments for viewing only.
StarOffice 8, by Sun Microsystems, can be downloaded for $69.95. It is Sun's full-featured replacement for Microsoft Office and is available for Solaris, Linux and Windows platforms.. It replaces StarOffice 6.
StarOffice 8 contains the following modules: StarOffice 8 Writer (word processor), StarOffice 8 Impress (presentation tool), StarOffice 8 Calc (spreadsheet), StarOffice 8 Base (database), StarOffice 8 Draw (draw program for organizational charts, floor plans, etc.), Enterprise Tools & Support (document security, Java Desktop System Configuration Manager, & the OASIS OpenDocument XML file format). Tools for easily migrating from Microsoft Office to StarOffice software are included.
Though this is a word processor instead of an office suite, I am including it for the benefit of PDA users who may be looking for a full-featured word processor that maintains the formatting given by a program such as Microsoft Word.
TextMaker for Pocket PCs, by SoftMaker Software GmbH, costs $49.95. It is a complete word processor for Pocket PCs. The program includes a multi-language spell-checker, does graphics and provides for footnotes. Also, it will handle tables and sophisticated character and paragraph formatting. The company claims lossless conversion of Microsoft Word .doc files onto your Pocket PC.
TheOpenCD 3.1 is a collection of FREE for download programs. They are made available by TheOpenCD project team. For download you will need a blank writable CD and a CD burner. If you do not have a CD & burner, copies are available on CDs through a variety of links listed on the site. This is open source software so you can use it any way you wish. You can edit the code, even sell it or give it away. You cannot claim authorship for the programs. If you market the product for sale, the project team would like to know so they can add your site to its list of venders. The programs run in Windows and cover tasks such as word processing, presentations, e-mail, web browsing, web design, and image manipulation.
The following applications are included in TheOpenCD 3.1:
• For productivity: AbiWord 2.4.1, MoinMoin 1.3.4 (to manage website documents, such as on a wikiwiki. Wikiwiki is a Hawaiian term meaning "quick." Wikiwiki websites are designed for the user to be able to make additions or edit any page of the site.), OpenOffice 2.0 and PDF Creator 0.8.1 RC9.
• For Design: Blender 2.37a (3-D modeling, animation, etc.), GIMP 2.2.9 (work with digital photographs, design & export graphics to the web, convert from one format to the other, etc.), and NVU 1.0 (pronounced "en-view." Like Macromedia's Dreamweaver. What-you-see-is-what-you-get web page editor. Develop web pages without having to learn HTML).
• For Internet/Networking: FireFox 1.5 RC2 (light-weight web browser), Thunderbird 1.5 RC2 (e-mail client with spam filters, spell checker, etc.) and Gaim 1.5 (instant messenger [IM] client).
• For Multimedia: Audicity 1.2.3 (sound editing program), Celestia 1.3.2 (simulation of the entire universe) and Really Slick Screensavers.
• Utilities: 7-Zip 7.23 (for creating or unpacking archived & compressed files. Can unpack 7zip, ZIP, CAB, RAR, ARJ, GZIP, BZIP2, TAR, CPIO, RPM and DEB files, or create files in those formats) and Notepad2 1.0.12 (replacement for Microsoft's Notepad).
• Games: Sokoban 1.253 (Sokoban is a Japanese word for "warehouse keeper." Simple game in which you move crates to storage spaces.) and Battle for Wesnoth 1.0.1 (strategy game).
ThinkFree Office 3 is available in three editions as stated below.
• ThinkFree Office Online. This is the basic edition and is a FREE service that lets you create, access and edit Microsoft Word, Excel or PowerPoint documents within a web browser. Open and edit your Office documents anywhere at anytime. Convert your existing documents to PDF format FREE 30 MB of upgradable online storage is provided.
The programs are thinkfree Write, thinkfree Show and thinkfree Calc.
• Download Edition. Cost is $49.95. Upgrade is $29.95.
• iPod Edition. Cost is $29.95. Supported iPod models and iPod requirements for ThinkFree Office Show 3 (iPod Edition) are listed on the website.
Corel's WordPerfect Office 12 is a popular alternative to Microsoft Office. It comes in several editions. They are listed below, starting with the most expensive.
• Word Perfect Office 12 Professional. This suite is almost as pricey as Microsoft Office, so may not be a good trade-off for many people. The full program cost is $399.00 and the upgrade is $249.00. Volume discounts are available.
The principal modules of this suite are also stand-alone programs that have been widely used for years (kept up-to-date of course). This office edition includes WordPerfect for word processing, Quattro Pro for spreadsheets, Presentations for multimedia slide shows and Paradox for relational databases, an address book for managing contacts, WordPerfect Wireless Office Suite, powered by ZIM (to keep you connected with WordPerfect Office via your mobile phone), WordPerfect OfficeReady (template browser that manages WordPerfect Office templates, including the 40 templates bundled with WordPerfect Office 12), Microsoft Internet Explorer 6.0 and Acrobat Reader 6.0.
This suite does not include a mail program, except for ZIM SMS Mail, the Wireless e-mail program included in WordPerfect Wireless Office. WordPerfect Mail is offered as a separate program. Of course, in Internet Explorer, you have the Outlook Express e-mail program built in.
• WordPerfect Office 12 Small Business Edition. The Small Business edition is priced at $349 for the full version and $179 for an upgrade.
This edition includes WordPerfect 12, Quattro Pro 12 (spreadsheets), Presentations 12 (slide shows, etc.), WordPerfect Mail, PaintShop Pro 9, Norton Internet Security 2005 and Business templates. You also receive the Pocket Oxford English Dictionary, an Address Book, WordPerfect OfficeReady browser and WordPerfect Wireless Office - Powered by ZIM.
• WordPerfect Office 12 Standard Edition.
The boxed choice of this edition sells for $299.99 for first time users and $99.99 for upgrade. The downloads are $189.99 and $89.99 respectively.
The Standard edition includes WordPerfect 12, Quattro Pro 12 (spreadsheets), and the Presentations 12 (slide shows, etc.). You also receive the Pocket Oxford English Dictionary, an Address Book, WordPerfect OfficeReady® browser and WordPerfect® Wireless Office - Powered by ZIM.
This suite does not include a mail program. WordPerfect Mail is offered as a separate program. Of course, if you have Internet Explorer, you have the Outlook Express e-mail program built in.
This suite does not include a mail program, except for ZIM SMS Mail, the Wireless e-mail program included in WordPerfect Wireless Office. WordPerfect Mail is offered as a separate program. Of course, if you have Internet Explorer, you have the Outlook Express e-mail program built in.
• WordPerfect Office 12 Home Edition. The Home Edition sells for $109 ($69 after mail-in rebate) and includes the following eight programs, or modules: WordPerfect 12 Home edition, Quatro Pro 12 Home Edition, WordPerfect Office Ready --Personal Finance Essentials, Encyclopedia Britannica Ready Reference 2005, Corel Photobook, Corel PhotoAlbum Pinnacle Instant CD/DVD v8LE, and Norton Internet Security 2005.
• WordPerfect Office 12 Student & Teacher Edition.
The Student and Teacher Edition sells for $99.99. Volume and school discounts are available. WordPerfect mail is available with this version for $29 more.
WordPerfect Office 12 Student and Teacher Edition includes WordPerfect 12, Quattro Pro 12 (spreadsheet), Paradox (database), and Presentations 12 (multimedia presentations). You also receive the Pocket Oxford English Dictionary, an Address Book, WordPerfect OfficeReady browser and WordPerfect® Wireless Office - Powered by ZIM.
If you were looking for an alternative to Microsoft Office, I hope you have found something that will meet your needs. If you are looking for a specialty program to accomplish tasks not included in any of the Microsoft programs, I hope you discovered the application you need.
Take care, and go to church somewhere Sunday.
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