Posts by Nicholas King

Charles Ramos7 said:I have a PHP reservation form running on my website, and currently, all the data just lands in my inbox via email. I was wondering—is there any way to actually link that incoming data directly to Excel so it can automatically list everything out and sort it chronologically?

It’s doable—if nothing else, you could go the "semi-automatic" route. You just dump all those emails into a plain .txt file and then you have some room to maneuver—either dive straight into Excel to crunch the data, or maybe start by cleaning things up in Word first. I guess it depends on how much manual labor you're actually willing to stomach.

ruggedmaker2 said:So, I’ve been running into this incredibly annoying little hiccup lately—it’s one of those small, nagging technical glitches that just makes you want to throw the whole machine out the window. Every time I try to send certain Word documents to my printer, it doesn't actually... well, it doesn't just *print*. It sits there, staring at me, completely idle. To get the damn thing to actually move, I have to physically walk over and mash the "start" button on the printer itself just to kick things into gear. It’s not happening with every single file, which is perhaps the most frustrating part—it seems to be specific to certain Word docs, though I couldn't tell you exactly why. I guess there might be some weird communication breakdown between the software and the hardware, or maybe it's just a driver issue acting up? I'm not entirely sure, but it feels like a massive waste of time to have to manually intervene every single time I need a hard copy. It's just inefficient, really.

Take a look at what paper size is actually set in the settings—you might find out it's stuck on Letter, or perhaps the printer itself is just defaulted to Letter mode by mistake. Also, double-check which "paper source" the printer is looking at. It’s highly likely that the machine is just sitting there waiting for you to manually change the paper size to match whatever the Microsoft Office document is demanding—or, I guess, maybe it's just expecting you to put something in the manual feed tray.

I’ve been wondering—how does the printer actually behave when you’re printing from different applications—say, if you're pulling up a PDF file, for instance?

boldcrane6 said:Hi there! 🙂

How do I get Word to automatically capitalize the first letter of every sentence?

Honestly, don't even bother mentioning which version of Word you're using—it's probably not going to matter much anyway. 🙂

If you happen to be stuck using Word 2003, you can find it under Autocorrect Options -> Tools -> Autocorrect Options, then just check the box for "Capitalize first letter of sentences."

briskeagle52 said:Does Word actually have some kind of feature where I can just select everything and have it convert automatically, or am I really stuck doing this manually?

Microsoft Office doesn't offer a built-in way to do that.

Maybe you'll get lucky if you check here.

Using Ctrl/+ increases the font size in your browser—is that not quite what you were looking for?

Arthur Ramirez20 said:I was wondering if anyone could point me toward some software for creating geographic maps... I'm really hoping someone can help me out here. Thanks!

That is a bit too broad, I suppose.

It really all depends on how complex your project is—as the detail increases, so does the complexity and, inevitably, the price tag of the software you'll need. For something relatively simple, you could probably just use any standard vector graphics program. However, if you're looking at more serious, high-level applications, you’re going to need actual GIS software—though that really depends on whether you want to build everything from scratch or if you're planning to work with existing data sets.

Jack Smith5 said:Can anyone make this in Word?

Not in Word—no. You’d want to use some kind of vector graphics software. If you actually have the fonts, it’s probably a two-minute job at most. I just can't tell if those blotches in the background are an intentional design choice or just a mistake. 🙂

Honestly, why don't you just find some college kid nearby who'll knock it out for you in exchange for a couple of beers?

Jack Smith5 said:How do you make text curve in Word—like, I want black letters, but instead of just reading left to right, I want them to arch, kind of like how a rainbow looks in the sky?

Maybe try using WordArt, though if you ask me, it’s pretty tacky. 🙂

graniteheron323 said:Just one quick question—how can I set up Excel 2010 so that numbers round to two decimal places? For instance, if it goes from 0 to 99, but if someone enters 100, I want it to just show 99 instead.

I’m honestly lost here. Could you give me a few specific examples of what you mean?

Douglas Garcia52 said:Oh, I didn't quite catch that—were you suggesting I should use PDF format? I have Foxit Reader installed, so... can I just use that to convert it into a PDF?

No. Reader is strictly a "reader." If you want something that actually works, CutePDF is free software and it does its job quite decently enough.

I don't personally use 2010, but I've heard people say it has built-in PDF output—you might want to check that out first.

Douglas Garcia52 said:That’s exactly why I’m asking—I don't know much about this, and I really appreciate any help you can give me.
I haven't actually had any reason to use these types of programs until now, so I haven't touched them—not that I plan on doing any actual work within them, mind you. I'm just sending my request via email, which is why I'm trying to figure out which format I'll need just to be able to read what they send back.

Do you happen to know why I might not be able to save things as a .doc?

The Portable Document Format (PDF) is actually quite different from Word. The whole point of its design was to ensure it stays portable, meaning the content shouldn't change or break regardless of which specific software was used to create it. You typically view them using some kind of viewer—like Adobe Reader or Foxit Reader...

I suppose it’s fair to say that it has become the modern standard for exchanging documents like the one you're trying to send.

Maybe you could just download CutePDF, install it, and it should show up right there in your list of printers. From inside Word, you just "print" to it (which actually just generates a PDF file); when the prompt pops up, you just give the file a name, and voilà—you've got your PDF.

Douglas Garcia52 said:So, what format should I be saving this as—a PDF or whatever—so it actually opens correctly in any version of Word (since everything moved to .docx now)?

Also, how do you even change the file format in Word or one of those other programs in the Office suite? I'm not really an expert when it comes to text editors.

Gosh. Actually, two gorshes.

Gosh number 1: I don't know what your profession is or where you're planning to apply, but you have to—and I mean you simply must understand what a PDF is, how to create one, and what software is needed to read it. If you don't, you can't exactly claim on that same Resume that you're computer literate.

Gosh number 2: You aren't familiar with text editors? Well, go learn. Unless you are some absolute superstar in your field—in which case you wouldn't be writing cover letters at all, but rather choosing which mountain of job offers to accept—you aren't really in a position to just shrug your shoulders, say "I'm not really familiar with it," and expect people to be understanding about it.

driftingangler11 said:Sure, maybe there's some technical reason for it—but honestly, at my firm, they didn't have any patience for that kind of nonsense, and people who insisted on it were basically shown the door immediately. If you actually want to land a job, you need to realize that employers value YOUR flexibility and how professionally you present yourself, rather than some pedantic obsession with whether you're using the absolute latest Word document format. 🙂

That makes sense.

Like I said before, anyone with half a brain understands the utility of a PDF—and frankly, if you try to work for a company that doesn't know how (or can't) open a PDF, you might want to reconsider if that's somewhere you'd actually want to be employed anyway.

Dana Diaz8 said:In 2003, you won't get 100% compatibility—not unless you avoid saving files in Word 2000 or anything newer!

I wouldn't be quite so bold with those percentages. 🙂

If you just Google "Microsoft Office Compatibility pack for Word, Excel, and PowerPoint file formats"—that actually 😁 brings the failure rate way down; once that's installed, it can read pretty much everything (aside from specific features that 2003 simply lacks compared to later versions).

Douglas Garcia52 said:Hey guys, I'm currently working on my resume and cover letter using Word 2010

will I be able to open those files if the employer is using an older version like Word 2007 or maybe even Word 2003?

It should work fine in 2007—but with 2003, well, it really depends on whether they have that specific Microsoft Office Compatibility pack for Word installed. Honestly, my two cents? Just use a PDF. It's much safer! 🙂

wearyjackal72 said:I'm really not sure here... I downloaded a few books on poker and everything seems to be acting up—it just won't open properly... I don't know, maybe I'm doing something wrong... how do you normally download books so they actually open correctly in Word right away?

Why on earth do you need—or feel compelled—to open them specifically in Word? 😕

Take a look at the file extension; check how Windows identifies it (basically, what its "type" is)—that determines which specific program will actually display it correctly.

Then again, maybe the fact that you can't even get those poker books to open is just some sign from the universe telling you to stay far away from the poker table entirely? 😁

wearyjackal72 said:I download a book from the web onto my computer

Are you absolutely certain that the book is actually in Word format? I mean—honestly—that sounds highly improbable to me.

Walter Jackson48 said:Just pop this formula into cell B1: =IF(A1<>0;A1;"")

😕

The problem with doing it his way—and I suppose this is where things get a bit messy—is that if cell A1 actually contains a zero, the logic treats it as an empty cell, so it won't carry over to B1 at all.

=IF(A1<>"";A1;"")

Austin Young6 said:For instance, imagine seven main concepts, where each one branches out into three sub-points—each of which carries its own lengthy textual explanation.

Regardless of how you attempt to structure it (even if you did receive some decent technical advice), using a "lengthy textual explanation" is essentially sacrilege in a presentation. It’s unnecessary, it looks terrible, it’s hard to read, and—honestly—it distracts from the actual message for about a million different reasons.

The only scenario where you might perhaps be able to "get away" with something like that is a "kiosk-style presentation" (one running without a presenter).

So, please, don't go searching for a tool just to help you build a subpar solution—just build a good one instead. 🙂

swifttinker40 said:How do I get rid of all those unused styles?

Honestly, Microsoft Word is pretty thick-headed when it comes to managing unused styles. I mean, looking at the screenshot you shared, those styles are just sitting there in the menu regardless of whether you’ve actually applied them to anything or not—it’s just how the software handles things, I guess.

The easiest workaround—and probably the most foolproof way—is to just copy everything from your current document and paste it into a brand-new, blank document. In that fresh file, you'll end up with only the styles that are actually being used.

briskbison252 said:I can start at points that are 200mm apart and I can only draw lines at 45-degree increments (45°, 90°, 135°...).

First things first—just turn off Snap to Grid.