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This same problem perplexed my husband about a month and a half ago. Fortunately, he’s married to a Tech Jock, so he now is able to view most of his images while editing his documents in Word. We had to make a few settings adjustments and learn about how Word displays the different layers of a document to better understand the problem.

First, Word uses a text, drawing layer, and header layer. If a graphic, such as your logo, is placed in the drawing layer, it will exhibit the behavior that you describe whereas if it’s placed in the text layer, it will be visible in normal view. Graphics in the drawing layer are also called “floating” objects and are not visible in the Normal view. They are often created or inserted in the “drawing frame.” When presented with the drawing frame such as when using a drawing tool to create arrows or lines, click outside of the frame and draw outside of the box. This avoids placing the object in the drawing layer in the first place.

You can also go to the Page Layout view (aka Print Layout in some versions of Word) by going to the View menu. Also, check the settings in Tools > Options, View tab. The box next to Drawings should be checked while the box next to Picture Placeholders should not be checked.

When you copy and paste images into a Word document either first save the image to your hard drive and then use the Insert Picture command or use the Edit > Paste Special option to copy the graphic as a Device Independent Bitmap instead of HTML image.

While it’s a pain when you can’t see the image, this is the way those versions of Word are designed. It feels like an intermittent or new problem when you can’t see the object because most of the time, objects are placed in the text layer, such as when you use the Insert Picture command. Double check your Tools> Options> View settings and see if you can’t insert the logo using either Insert Picture or Copy> Paste Special> Device Independent Bitmap.

I run Word 2007 and cannot replicate this scenario on my version which leads me to believe that Word 2007 no longer has this idiosyncrasy.

Microsoft Office Picture Manager is a part of the Microsoft Office suite. It’s used to organize and edit photographs. However, like any application, Picture Manager occasionally runs into problems.

Photographs now come in huge file sizes which can further aggravate problems. For example, if working with a large file, your computer may not have enough available resources at the time. Since your problem appears to be intermittent, keep this in mind and see if you notice problems specifically with large files or certain file types. Part of troubleshooting computer errors is noticing trends. If so, consider closing most, if not all, of your other running applications when you must work with a particularly large file.

It’s also possible that Picture Manager itself has a problem. Like other Office programs, Picture Manager has a built-in repair utility! Go to the Help menu and click on Detect and Repair. This utility scans your installation of Picture Manager for corrupt, damaged, or missing program files and then replaces any instances found with fresh copies from your installation CD. Since you’ve reinstalled the program in an attempt to repair it, chances are that Detect and Repair won’t improve the situation, but it’s worth a try.

It’s also possible that your version of Microsoft Office needs to be updated. Updating Office periodically is a good idea because as Microsoft discovers flukes and flaws within their programs, they eventually fix them and issue the fixes via an update, hot fix, or service pack. In fact, Office 2007 Service Pack is now available.Top of Form

Several Web sites have documented a workaround for when Picture Manager loads slowly which may work in your case. However, as hard as I tried, I couldn’t find the OIScatalog.cag file in my computer.

If Picture Manager continues freezing, then consider the possibility that something else is interfering with your computer. Most likely, memory is in short supply though the error could be related to another process. For example, pay attention to the circumstances surrounding the error. Does the Picture Manager consistently freeze whenever you try to print? Whenever you have Microsoft Excel open at the same time? Whenever you receive a picture in e-mail messages?

Solving memory issues could very well solve the Picture Manager problem if the errors are due to limited resources. Start by reducing the number of running programs. Go to the Start button, click on Run, and then type in msconfig. Click the Startup Items tab and see exactly what programs are launching each time you boot up. Remove programs that you don’t need instant access to such as Google Desktop, Real Media Player, QuickTime, and so on.

In review, try Detect and Repair, update your version of Office with the latest updates from Microsoft, and limit program usage while working with Picture Manager. If you can find the OSIcatalog.cag file, delete it and see if that helps as well.  

I absolutely love Excel and use Excel workbooks for organizing groups of related data. Since a single workbook can contain countless worksheets, this makes Excel a useful tool. For example, I use a single Excel workbook to manage the various articles featured on the Filetonic Web site. One worksheet contains a master list of all “Ask a Tech Jock” questions that have come in. Another contains a list of ideas for future topics. Another worksheet contains a pivot table report that I use to compile data for sending to management. Another worksheet contains a list of passwords and credentials that I need to log into various accounts and Web sites. You get the idea.

However, there are times when you might not want a worksheet to be visible to others. For example, if I needed to share this workbook with others, I wouldn’t want them to see the worksheet with all of my passwords and log in credentials. Another instance where one might want to hide worksheets is when the worksheets aren’t frequently needed. By hiding these extra worksheets, the Excel workbook becomes easier to navigate. The fewer worksheets visible, the easier it is to find the worksheets that you use the most.

If you can’t find a worksheet in Excel, chances are it is hidden. First, double check that you’ve looked at all of the visible worksheets and haven’t accidentally overlooked any. Sometimes, if you have multiple worksheets, not all of them show up in the area where the tabs to each sheet are displayed. You’ll need to click arrow that takes you to the first worksheet (it looks like this |<) and then click through each tab in search of the worksheet you need.

Didn’t find it? Then it’s probably hidden. Unhiding is easy. Simply right-click any worksheet’s tab and a small menu appears. Choose Unhide. A display box appears showing you the names of all hidden worksheets. Double click the worksheet that you want to unhide.

Hiding and unhiding Excel worksheets is a good way to keep all of your data in a single workbook without having the workbook grow too cluttered. Now that you know how to unhide worksheets, you also know how to hide them. Using the right-click submenu also gives you even more tricks up your sleeve including using colored tabs to color code your worksheets.

In the case of confidential data such as my worksheet containing log on credentials, hiding the worksheets isn’t the best way to prevent other users from viewing it because other users know how to look for hidden worksheets. If you must share a workbook containing sensitive data, your best bet is to hide the rows and columns containing the sensitive data and then protect the worksheet with a password. From there, you can also hide the worksheet. This way, if someone discovers your hidden worksheet, they can unhide it but they won’t be able to unhide the hidden rows and columns containing your confidential information unless they know the password.

I agree, Word in all of its various forms is a much better word processing application than WordPad and is loaded with features that I can’t live without. However, not all computers come with Word preinstalled and those that do, often only have “trial” versions which soon become inoperable if the user doesn’t purchase the full product.

Where is your copy of Word? This depends. First, did you previously have Word only to have your icons and shortcuts disappear or did you have a trial version that is no longer valid? Let’s start with the possibility that your computer has a working version of Microsoft Word on it but somehow you’ve lost your icons or your Word shortcuts no longer work (this happens).

First, if you have any desktop shortcuts that no longer work, delete them. You will create new ones so we might as well get rid of those that aren’t working. Next, go into Windows Explorer by right-clicking the Start button and choosing Explore. This opens a window where you can “explore” your computer’s folders in search of Microsoft Word.

Most software programs install themselves in specific folders and Word is no exception. With the various versions of Office and Word, the folder and file names may be a bit different but they are similar enough that you should be able to easily find Word’s executable file (winword.exe).

In Windows Explorer, click your main hard drive (usually C:). Next, click on Program Files. You should now see a bunch of folders representing the various programs installed on your computer such as Adobe, iTunes, Google, HP, Microsoft, Internet Explorer, Paretologic, and others specific to what you have installed. We are looking for Microsoft Office or Microsoft Word.

Click on Microsoft Office and a variety of subfolders will appear. Look for one that says “Office12″ (it may have a different number depending on the version of Office installed). Within the Office subfolder are even more subfolders and dozens of files. We are looking for Winword.exe. If you can’t see the “.exe” part, you may need to tell Windows Explorer to display the file extension by going to Tools and choosing Folder Options. Click the View tab and remove the checkmark near “Hide file extensions for known file types.” Apply this choice to all folders and confirm your choice by clicking OK.

Once you find winword.exe, right-click it. Choose Create Shortcut. This places a shortcut in the same folder where winword.exe is located. Now, you need to get that shortcut on your desktop. Do this by minimizing all windows until you see the Desktop. Make the Windows Explorer window small so that you can see both the shortcut as well as the Desktop. Drag the shortcut onto the Desktop and drop it. Test the shortcut to be sure that Word opens.

If your computer does not have Word or the trial version has expired, check to see if you have Microsoft Works installed. Works is like Office’s younger sibling with a basic word processor, spreadsheet, and other programs bundled together. Many computers come with a copy of Works that doesn’t expire and many users find the Works word processor a good compromise between Wordpad and Word.

If you prefer Word, you can go to Microsoft Office’s Web site and download a free trial or buy the full product here. If you’d rather try free alternatives, this article covers a few alternatives to Microsoft Office.

PowerPoint files used to come in two basic flavors PPT and PPS files. The PPT file represents the actual editable presentation that you would use to add slides and other elements. The PPS file is the finished PowerPoint “show” which you would see as a slideshow. To complicate matters, Microsoft PowerPoint 2007 introduced a new format with two flavors of its own: PPTX and PPSX.

All of these formats aren’t as confusing as they sound but they do require that you have a way to open and use them. First, let’s look at problems opening PowerPoint presentations when you do have PowerPoint installed before moving on to how to open PowerPoint presentations when you don’t.

Let’s say that you have PowerPoint on your computer but when you click on a PPT or PPS file, nothing happens or the wrong program launches. This could be happening because the file association has been changed. You will need to reset the file association so that Windows understands that whenever you click on a PPT or PPS file, you want PowerPoint to open - not some other program. Do this by right-clicking the PPT or PPS file and then choosing Open (or Open With depending on your OS version). Next, click Choose Default Program and find PowerPoint in the list. You may need to Browse for PowerPoint if it’s not automatically displayed. Once you find PowerPoint, place a check mark in the box that will make it the default application for the PPT or PPS file type. Confirm your choices.

Okay, if that’s not the problem and you have a PPT, PPS, PPTX, or PPSX file but no compatible program, then you will need to get a program for opening these files. If you have an older version of PowerPoint, it won’t be capable of opening PPTX or PPSX files until you have updated it with the Microsoft Office 2007 Compatibility Pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint 2007 File Formats. This is a simple download that will allow you to work with PowerPoint presentations created in the PowerPoint 2007 software.

If you don’t have PowerPoint at all, the easiest option is to download the PowerPoint 2007 Viewer. This is a free download that will let you view PowerPoint presentations. However, it is a viewer only, so if you need to edit the presentation, this is a limited choice and won’t fill your needs. If you want the ability to edit or create your own presentations, you will need to purchase PowerPoint or download a free alternative such as OpenOffice.org’s Impress program.

Microsoft Office 2007 comes with a built-in diagnostic tool that will run a series of tests on your installation of Office and potentially solve errors with the program itself. If your computer keeps crashing whenever you are working with a Microsoft Office program, run this tool and find out what’s going on.

Among the tasks that Microsoft Office Diagnostics sets out to do are:

• Check for known solutions - Microsoft Office Diagnostics runs tests and then compares the results of your crashes with a database of known problems and solutions.
• Diagnose memory problems - If enabled, Microsoft Office Diagnostics tests the integrity of your computer’s installed RAM.
• Diagnose compatibility issues - This test specifically looks for two versions of Outlook that may be installed on your computer. When two versions of MS Outlook are installed on a single computer, instability is a result.
• Diagnose disk problems - Microsoft Office Diagnostics reviews system event logs and any SMART (Self-Monitoring, Analysis, and Reporting Technology) features related to your hard disk.
• Diagnose the Microsoft Office installation for file and registry corruption - Formerly called Detect and Repair, this test finds and replaces damaged program files or Office 2007 registry settings.
• Diagnose Update Status - This optional test is turned off by default. It is designed to see if your computer has all of the latest Office service packs from Microsoft. In order to turn this test on, you must go into the Trust Center and enable the option in the Privacy Options area that says, “Download a file periodically that helps determine system problems.” You can access the Trust Center by going to the Office button, clicking “<Program> Options,” clicking Trust Center, and then clicking Trust Center Settings.

Are you ready to run these tests? They take a good chunk of time to run, so plan on running them during a time when you do not need your computer. For example, the setup diagnostics test alone takes roughly 15 minutes.

In addition, if problems are found with the program files, you may be prompted to insert your original Microsoft Office 2007 installation discs. Make sure to have these discs handy as well as the CD key. This is because when problems are found with program files, Microsoft Office Diagnostics replaces the damaged files with clean ones from the original installation disc.

Okay, you have some spare time and the installation discs are handy. Close all programs on your computer, except one Microsoft Office program such as Microsoft Word. Now, go to the Office button and click on Word Options (or Excel Options if you are using Excel), followed by Resources. Find Run Microsoft Office Diagnostics and then click on Diagnose. The Start Diagnostics screen will appear showing you the tests it is planning on running. Click on Run Diagnostics.

If your Microsoft Office programs are damaged to the point where you can’t run Microsoft Office Diagnostics, don’t worry. You can start it manually by going to the Start button, clicking on All Programs, clicking on Microsoft Office, clicking on Microsoft Office Tools, and then clicking on Microsoft Office Diagnostics.