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  MS Publisher

MS Publisher is a software application that can be used to create and customize a variety of materials that can be published in hard copy print or published on a web page. This includes all types of newsletters, brochures, flyers, catalogs, web pages, and more.

The Drop Down Menu

The drop down menu, or list box, is an excellent option for presenting your Web site’s visitors with pre-entered choices. For example, when visitor’s click the control, a list of choices that you have pre-created appear in a drop down list. The text label may be something along the lines of, “What is your favorite color?” By entering several options (such as red, blue, purple, and so on) in the drop down menu, you are presenting acceptable choices while limiting them as well.

Inserting a Drop Down Menu in Microsoft Publisher

First, go to the Objects toolbar and click on the Form Control icon. Choose List Box and go to Data Processing. Look for the “Return data with this label” box and enter your desired list box values.  Go to the Appearance option and make any adjustments as desired.

While we’re at it, let’s take a look at another useful tool in Publisher, the Navigation Bar.

Accessing the Navigation Bar Options

To add a new navigation bar within your web page, you need to follow this set of directions.

1)      Navigate to “Insert” at the top of your page.

2)      Select “Navigation Bar” and click “New.”

3)      A “Design Gallery” dialog box opens. Look through the “Objects by Category” tab and click on the type of navigation bar that you want.

4)      Click “Insert Object.”

5)      A “Create New Navigation Bar” dialog box opens. Type in a name for the navigation bar that you are creating.

6)      Navigate to “Insert Options” and select one of the following tasks:

a)      Click “Insert on every page” to insert your navigation bar on each one of your web pages.

b)      Click “Insert on this page only” to insert your navigation bar on only this one of your web pages.

7)      Navigate to “Automatic Update” and select one of the following tasks:

a)      Select “Update this navigation bar with links to existing pages in this publication” and click on “ok.” This allows each of the web pages to be included in the new navigation bar.

b)      Select “Update this navigation bar with links to existing pages in this publication” and specify the exact pages that you want to be included.

How to Obtain a Free Office Download

Yes, there is another way to get a copy of Microsoft Office on your computer. First, head on over to Microsoft Office Online and download a free 60-day trial version. Microsoft offers several versions of Office 2007 for this two month trial period including: Office Professional 2007, Office Home and Student 2007, Office Standard 2007, and Office Small Business 2007.

Select the version you’re most likely to invest in. For example, while it might be nice to download the fully loaded Pro version, if you have no intention of shelling out the big bucks for programs you’ll never use you’ll save yourself some grief by having the version you really want.

I opted for the Home and Student version when I did this because I really only needed Word and Excel. Compare the different versions and their price tags before you download.

Microsoft Office is huge, so if you don’t have broadband, it could take hours to download.

Using and Activating the Trial Version

Once downloaded, you have 60-days to make up your mind. If you’re set on buying the product like I was, then go ahead and purchase it right away. If you want to explore your options, such as by trying the free OpenOffice.org software, then stick with the trial version and try out both.

The first time you open one of the Office applications, you’ll be prompted to activate it. You’ll need to enter the trial version’s Product Key followed by agreeing to the license terms. At the end of the 60 days, Office will no longer function as normal. You will be able to view and print existing files but you will not be able to create new ones or make changes to existing ones.

Alternatives to Microsoft Office

I mentioned OpenOffice.org as an alternative. This suite is an open source (free) alternative that is giving Microsoft a run for the money. If you’re not sure you want to spend hundreds of dollars on software right now, this is an attractive option. Like the Office suite, this suite has a word processor, spreadsheet, presentation application, and database. You can download the entire suite and begin using it right away, never paying a penny. This download may take a long time as well if you don’t have high speed Internet access.

What to Do if you Have an Office CD

Now, if you have already purchased a copy of Microsoft Office and belatedly realized you had no way of installing it, I believe you can use the product key on the product you just purchased. I saw some incredible deals on Microsoft Office over the Thanksgiving weekend and can imagine snapping up a copy only to bring it home and say, “now what?” If the trial version doesn’t accept it, and it might not as Microsoft has so many controls over their digital rights systems, a call to customer service should straighten it out. Explain your situation and they should be able to help.

Finally, if you have a CD and your laptop can connect to a home or work network, you can access the CD via a shared network drive. You may need to set up a CD-ROM on one of the network computers for sharing. But once set up and connected, you can access the drive through the network, just as if it were a local drive. Let me know if you need details on how to do this and I’ll be glad to go over it for you.  

In Search of Microsoft Excel

I’m not sure if you previously had Excel and lost a shortcut or if something when awry and Excel can no longer be found. Perhaps you had a trial version of Microsoft Office on your PC but can no longer access it. Maybe Excel works fine but the data has been lost? In the meantime, let’s see if we can’t poke around and find your wayward program.

Trial Versions of Excel

If you downloaded a trial version of Microsoft Office or Microsoft Excel, it will eventually expire though it shouldn’t completely disappear. Once expired, Microsoft will want their money. Usually, when the trial period ends, you will be prompted to upgrade to the licensed version.

Missing Excel Shortcut

Many computer users become so accustomed to launching their favorite applications in a certain way, such as by clicking on a Desktop icon, that they forget that there are other ways to start the program. For example, if a Desktop icon no longer launches Excel (icons and shortcuts can and do fail), you can still launch your program using other methods. First, try the Start menu. Go to Start, Programs, and then scroll for Excel.

If the Start menu no longer lists Excel, right-click the Start button and choose Explore. This opens Windows Explorer where you can navigate to the Microsoft Office folder. Navigate to C:\Program Files\Microsoft\Microsoft Office\Office12\excel.exe. (Note: C is the hard drive. If you have a different drive letter, make the adjustment. Also, “Office12″ is the version of Office. You may have a slightly different version such as “Office10″.)

If found, clicking the excel.exe file will launch your Excel program. Want to create a fresh shortcut? Right-click the file instead and choose Create Shortcut.

Launching Excel from the Run Line

You can also enter a command directly into the Run line of your computer and launch Excel that way. Go to Start >Run and type in excel.exe. Depending on your operating system, you may have to type in cmd first to open a Command Prompt window. From there, enter excel.exe.

If you have Windows Vista, try entering the word “Excel” directly in the Start menu’s Search bar. Now, look in the results pane and you should see Excel listed under programs. Click the icon and Excel will launch.

What if Excel is Corrupt?

If you can find Excel but it doesn’t want to cooperate, the program files could be corrupt. Fortunately, Microsoft Office comes with some built-in repair tools. In versions prior to 2007, these tools were called Detect and Repair. In Office 2007, they are called Microsoft Office Diagnostics. You can read more about using these tools here:

• Detect and Repair
• Microsoft Office Diagnostics

Microsoft Templates

Fortunately, Microsoft Word comes with a variety of templates for creating specific document types. For example, if you need to create a flyer, dozens of pre-designed templates exist. Likewise, if you want to create invoices, greeting cards, memos, agendas, calendars, postcards, business cards, contracts, newsletters, resumes, or even legal pleadings, Microsoft Word has already done the difficult part of formatting basic documents. All you need to do is load the template and customize it.

Using the Legal Pleading Template in Microsoft 2003

The process is a bit different for Microsoft Word 2007 and earlier versions. Let’s start with Word 2003 before moving on to Word 2007. First, go to File and then choose New. A task pane appears. Look for Templates and then select On my computer. Click on the Legal Pleadings tab. This launches the Legal Pleadings Wizard. Follow the prompts.

Note: you may need to install the wizard from your original Word 2003 discs if it is not showing up in the Templates dialog box.

Using the Legal Pleading Template in Microsoft 2007

The process is a bit different in Word 2007 thanks to a complete redesign by Microsoft. If you have Word 2007, you’ll need to go to the Office button and then click New. A template list appears. This list is extensive and you probably won’t find the Legal Pleading template through simple browsing. Instead, use the Search tool. Enter “Legal Pleadings” into the Search tool while connected to the Internet. This will search Microsoft Office Online for the relevant documents. Your copy of Word 2007 will be verified to make sure you are using a valid copy before you can download the template.

You’ll see dozens of templates with several Legal Pleading templates listed at the top. For example, you can choose between legal pleading documents with 28, 32, 25, and 26 lines. In addition, dozens of other legal document templates are listed. Make your selection and the template will be downloaded to your computer.

Once downloaded, you can make your changes and save the template to your computer for future use.

The Excel Template

It sounds to me as if somehow a file was saved as the default template. While Excel normally loads a blank workbook, if a template has been created and is stored in the Excel system startup folder, Excel will load that workbook every time you go to create a new file such as by using File > New.

Double Check the Excel Startup Folder

First, let’s check to see if there’s a file in the Excel Startup folder. Go to:

 C:\ Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\xlstart

Is there an Excel file inside this folder? Is it the file in question that usually displays when you start Excel? If so, this is the culprit. Try moving the file to your My Documents folder instead and see if Excel won’t load a blank page. If so, problem solved. If not, let’s create a new template of our own and place it in the xlstart folder.

Creating a Default Excel Template

This trick can be useful if you have your own preferred fonts and information that you’d like to have as standard elements in all of your Excel spreadsheets. In your case, you’ll need to start out with a blank Excel workbook. Since your version keeps loading the same workbook, you can either delete the existing sheets and add new blank sheets so that you start out with an empty workbook.

Once you have an empty workbook, if you want to add any custom fields such as inserting a company logo, you can do so. Just keep in mind that all of your future spreadsheets will come pre-populated with this information, so don’t overdo it or you’ll be in the same boat.

Now, go to File >Save As. Browse to the C:\ Program Files\Microsoft Office\Office\xlstart folder and name your file book. Choose the file type to ‘save as’ as a template, or *.xlt. Now, the next time you open Excel, the book.xlt template should open along with it.

Why System Restore Didn’t Work

System Restore is a useful utility for restoring your system to a previous state. However, many people mistakenly believe it will restore everything. It does not restore programs or data - only system files. For example, if an operating system file like a device driver or DLL file gets deleted, System Restore is an excellent choice. But if someone were to delete a document or program, System Restore wouldn’t have any effect because it is not designed for those purposes.

Why Data Backups Won’t Work

If you regularly back up your computer, you may be tempted to restore Microsoft Word from your backup media. Unless you have a sophisticated backup system such as a mirrored hard drive, a backup isn’t likely. Most computer users back up their data files only, not applications. After all, most people have their original installation CDs nearby.

Data Recovery Tools

Data recovery software can recover deleted files including program files. However, programs such as Microsoft Word have so many files located in various folders that a data recovery software solution may be more difficult than it’s worth. It’s possible in a pinch and if you use a product such as Paretologic Data Recovery to do it, run the scan and check both the Folders and Other Files section.

Your Best Bet for Recovering Microsoft Word

If you have the original installation disks for Microsoft Office, your best bet is to reinstall Word. It doesn’t take long and it won’t overwrite your saved data. If you originally downloaded Word from Microsoft or it came preinstalled on your computer, you may have a few challenges as far as reinstalling Word.

First, if you downloaded and purchased Microsoft Office from Microsoft’s website, you can certainly do so again but you will need your original confirmation code in order to avoid having to repurchase the product. Try checking your e-mail to find the original purchase confirmation email from Microsoft. If you didn’t delete that e-mail, you should be able to download a fresh copy and install it using your original order’s confirmation code.

If not and other Microsoft Office products such as Excel weren’t deleted, you can easily find your Office 2007 product key by going into the other application such as Excel, clicking the Office button, choosing Excel Options, and clicking About Excel. This information is available in the Help >About menu for earlier versions of Office. While the product key is different than the confirmation code, it may be helpful to have this number when you call Microsoft Tech support for help. They may be able to look up your license and confirm that you have a valid license. You can get help from Microsoft by going to the Help and Support center.

If your computer came preinstalled with Microsoft Office from the computer manufacturer, contact your manufacturer for assistance. This web page lists contact information for various manufacturers.

Hopefully, you have the original Word or Office CD and can easily reinstall the program without having to jump through hoops.