Archive for the ‘MS Office’ Category:
Microsoft Works, Word, and Wordpress
MS Word logo
Wordpress logo
Yvonne Bisk of the Long Island Business Networking Group asks:
Why does my Wordpress blog have a problem with Microsoft Word documents, while Microsoft Works always works??
MS Works logo
I’m assuming that you are referring to pasting text from Microsoft Word into Wordpress when adding a new post. If I’m wrong, send me more information on what you’re douing when you encounter problems between Microsoft Word and Wordpress. (Wordpress, for those unfamiliar with the program, is a web based blogging platform, that is, software that is used for publishing blogs. Skylarking, for one, is published using Wordpress.) FYI, Wordpress is not a Microsoft product.
Microsoft Works versus Microsoft Word
First, I’d like to mention that Microsoft Word is a more elaborate word processing program than Works is. I refer to Works as Word’s kib brother. Works is more family oriented, while Word is more business oriented, so Word has more features and capabilities than Works. Some versions of Works include Microsoft Word as the word processing application.
Pasting from Word to Wordpress
When you copy text from Microsoft Word you are also copying a lot of invisible code that Word uses in order to identify the fonts, bolds, italics, quotation marks, dashes, “&” or ampersands, and other information about your text. This code, invisible to us, is specific to Word, and as such, Wordpress will not interpret this code properly.
Works, on the other hand, being a less elaborate program, doesn’t have as much of this invisible code, so you have less troubles when you copy and paste from this program into your Wordpress blog.
Before you decide to stop using Word when copying to Wordpress, read on, Wordpress has some tools to help you avoid these problems.
Wordpress Tools
When you use Wordpress, you may notice this single row of tools when adding a new post to your blog.
If you point at the last button on the right hand side you will see a pop-up appears telling you this button is called the “kitchen sink”. Clicking this button will reveal a second row of tools, like so:
You’ll see that I’ve circled two of the tools on the toolbar. The one on the left is called “Paste as Plain Text” and the second is called “Paste from Word”. I prefer to use the “Paste as Plain Text” tool when working with Word and Wordpress, but you can experiment on your own and see what results you get.
For example:
- I can copy some text from a Word document.
- Then I go to my Wordpress application on my blog
- Then, while editing or adding a post, I can click the “Paste as Plain Text” tool, and pop-up window (shown at right) will appear that instructs me to “Use CTRL + V on your keyboard to paste text into the window”
- So now I hold the “CTRL” key — it’s on the lower left and right of keyboard, it doesn’t matter which you use — with one hand and tap the letter “V” with the other hand. Now my copied text from Word will appear inde the box.
- Then I click the Insert button onscreen.
Voila! My Word text has now been pasted into my Wordpress post. Any special code and characters from Word that may have been bothersome to Wordpress should have been stripped away.
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Subscribe to the comments for this postGreat Advice for New Computer Owners
Rob Pegoraro of The Washington Post has an excellent article, “Pre-Flight Instructions For Your New Computer”, for new computer owners. Whether you have a new PC or a new Mac he offers excellent advice for getting started with your new computer. Here are a few of the recommendations he’s made for users of Windows Vista and Mac OS X Leopard:
- Activate the pre-installed antivirus on a PC. (Skylarking note: Or download Avast at www.avast.com, and download the Home edition. It’s free if you only have it iusntalled on one PC in your household. Mac users can consider getting an antivirus program at the Apple Store online to spare your PC using friends from viruses you might accidentally pass on.)
- Turn on the firewall on your Mac: Click System Preferences >> Security>> Firewall >> “Set access for specific services and applications”. (Note: The firewall on Windows Vista PC is active out of the box.)
- Download system updates. Vista: Start >> Control Panel >> Check for updates. Mac: Apple-icon >> Software Update.
- Remove “trialware” and buy the $150 Home and Student Edition of Microsoft Office 2007, or download the free OpenOffice 3 at http://openoffice.org or use the free Google Docs Web-based software at http://docs.google.com. Uninstall software via Start >> Control Panel >> Uninstall a program.
- Declutter the Vista desktop: Drag and drop unwanted icons into the Recycle Bin, or use right-click and delete on the icons.
- Declutter the Mac’s Dock: Drag unwanted icons off the Dock, and they’ll vanish.
- Backup: Use Windows Vista’s Backup and Restore Center with an external drive, or, if you have a broadband connection, use a free online backup via Mozy at http://mozy.com.
- Backup on a Mac: Get an external hard driveand use Apple’s Time Machine software.
- Surfing the Web? Get Mozilla Firefox, http://mozilla.com, for free. Many people prefer it over the Microsoft’s Internet Explorer and Mac’s Safari.
- Rest: Don’t rush to install your old programs, and “don’t go crazy trying out new ones.”
- For an old printer or scanner: Go to the manufacturer’s web site and download the updated drivers instad of using the ones on the original CDs. (Skylarking note: You might also find that the Windows drivers are sufficient for operationg these items.)
He makes additional suggestions regarding email applications (Thunderbird, Windows Mail, Windows Live Mail), music and video playing software (iTunes), and photo editing tools such as Picasa.
Check out Rob Pegoraro’s article in full and enjoy your new computer. Happy holidays!
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How To Scan A Photo into Word 2003
I received a request yesterday on how to add photos from your scanner into a Microsoft Word document. They said they had Word 2003, and they were interested in creating family newsletters for their friends. They were also considering starting a newsletter for their building association. Many of the photos they had were hard copies, so they were going to have to scan them.
Here’s the method I offered:
Scanning Pictures into MS Word
- Start Word
- Type message or text first (optional)
- Click where you would like to place a picture
- Put photo into the scanner
- Click “Insert” >> “Picture” >> “From scanner or camera …”
- Click the “Insert” button. The scanner will scan the photo, when the scanner stops the photo will automatically be added. You may need to scroll down to find the photo in your document.
- Find the photo in your document, and then double-click the photo to adjust the size. The “Format Picture” dialog box should appear.
- Click the “Size” tab.
- Adjust the “Height” or the “Width” in inches.
- Click the “Layout” tab.
- Click the square above “Square”
- Choose to have the photo go to the “Left” or the “Right” side of the page.
- Click the “OK” button
- Click on another location on the page other than the photo.
- Repeat steps 3 through 5g for each additional photo.
Notes:
- After all photos have been added, if you need to resize photos, repeat steps 5 through 5g
- To reposition photos:
- Place the mouse on the center of the photo
- Hold down the left mouse button
- Drag the mouse to a new location to move the photo. A dashed outline will show the photos new location.
- Release the left mouse button when the outline is properly located.
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