Editor’s note: While Mr. C. enjoys some time off, we are reprinting a few frequently asked reader questions.
Q. We have just upgraded our home computers to Windows XP and Office 2003. When we insert pictures into a Word document, the Format Picture option does not seem to work. The pictures are inserted, but they are either at the left or right margins.
When we change to absolute positioning and click OK, the changes are ignored. Interestingly, I was able to do the Microsoft online tutorial on graphics in Word, but I could not get the position to work on a new document.
Any ideas on a missing setting? Are you aware of any problems in this area? We have installed all the required updates to Office 2003 as of May 15.
Elaine [email protected]
A. There are a couple of points to review here, Ms. O., but otherwise your settings can be fixed simply by forcing Word to rebuild the default settings file it uses each time it is booted up.
Do that anyway so we’re both on the same page as I suggest a fix.
So right-click on Start and then click the magnifying glass icon for Search. Now type normal.dot in the search terms box and click OK. When this file appears in the panel on the right of the search display, give it a right-click and select rename from the pop-up menu that appears. Change it to something like xnormal.dot so you can restore it in case you have changed other settings that you still need.
Now to ensure that you’re doing it all correctly, open your document and select the Print Layout setting in the View item on the toolbar. This assures that your document will appear on the screen just like it will look when printed.
More Top Picks What Color Overlay Works Best For Visual Stress
Now put the cursor near where you want to insert the picture and then click on the Insert menu and then select Picture and From File. Use the browser box this summons to find the picture file you need to center in the document.
Click Insert in the file browser and the image will appear at the cursor location with text above and below it. Now right-click on the image and select the Format Picture option that appears in the list of choices. This brings up a tabbed menu where you need to select Layout.
This brings up a display with icons showing various ways the picture can be placed on the page, including centered or on the left or right margins.
Be sure to select the icon for square rather than the default that puts it on the left-hand side of the page. Now check the alignment buttons below these icons and make certain that yours is set to Other instead of left, right or center. Now click Advanced and select “Move with text.”
With this done you can click on the inserted image and drag it wherever you want, and the text will flow around it or alongside it. Now save the document and then close it. It will come up where you want it when the file gets opened again.
Q. I enjoyed reading your recent Binary Beat article on the new Mac OS X 10.4 Tiger operating system. I upgraded myself as well, and think it is the best OS I have ever used.
I wanted to give you a tip. In your article you stated: “And I remain irritated that the Mac operating system and software use print that is quite small and thus evermore difficult to read for American’s aging masses.”
However, Apple has provided a solution for this problem. In the system preferences, there is a control panel “Universal Access” in which a user can zoom in up to 20 times normal! Although two to four times should be plenty for most people with normal, aging eyes. I hope this improves your experience with Mac OS X, and thank you for your excellent coverage.
Craig Chepke, M.D.
A. Thanks for the advice, Doc. Not long after I read your message I got a note from another fellow asking for help because he couldn’t see his Outlook e-mail. So let me use your note to explore the issue further for both Mac and PC users.
After all, with more Baby Boomers experiencing the middle-age curse of nearsightedness, people need to know how to make both Macs and PCs display type large enough to read. I’ll add a thought about Macs in a bit, but first let me tell you that I often find myself helping Windows-afflicted officemates with this same woe, and the fix is simple.
Move the cursor arrow to the desktop and give a right-click, and pick Properties in the menu that comes up. In the Properties menu select the Settings tab.
There you will find a slider bar that can either lower or increase the screen resolution of the computer. Low resolutions mean larger letters, and most of us need to slide the bar to the 800-by-600 mark.
Let me hasten to add that it’s important to remember how to undo this move because computer users can encounter times when they need higher resolution to fit stuff across the screen. Wide Web pages and lengthy spreadsheets come to mind.
The magnification feature you cited is intended as a service for users with serious vision problems, and using it takes something away from the experience for other users. It’s better to change the resolution of the screen just as one can do with PCs.
This is done by going to the Preferences tool under the Apple menu that you mentioned. Click on Displays and look for a list of possible resolutions. Try it out until you get something you like.
Hopefully PC-makers will find ways in the future to let us enjoy the full benefits of high-resolution video, while the actual wording throughout the computer accommodates the minions with changing eyes.
Q. After I reinstalled Windows XP Home, the cursor jumps to the position of the mouse pointer. How do I turn off this feature?
It makes typing very time consuming. I have to make sure the mouse pointer is always in front of what I am typing.
Linda Later, Baltimore
A. There are a number of optional features for mice built into Windows that all users should know about, including this one, Ms. L.
Click on the Start button and go to the Control Panel icon. Click it open and then click on the icon for Mouse in the folder this opens.
There you will get a tabbed menu with a large number of settings to tweak the performance of one’s pointer rodent–or mouse. Open the Pointer Options tab and you will find a click box that will warm your heart: “Hide cursor while typing,” it says. One click and your problem is over.
Perhaps equally as useful is an option that will display a large circle at the cursor’s location in case one loses track of it, which gets to be ever more of a problem as monitor screens get larger and software becomes more complex. With this enabled you can simply tap the Control key to make the circle appear.
A final option that I prefer (and others detest) will create a trail of ghost images of the pointer arrow as it sweeps across the screen. This is a godsend when lighting conditions mess up screen visibility.
More Top Picks Best Planners For Students
———-
Contact Jim Coates via e-mail at [email protected] or via snail mail at the baiduhai, Room 400, 435 N. Michigan Ave., Chicago IL 60611. Questions can be answered only through this column. Add your point of view at chicagotribune.com/askjim.