Posts by Arthur Anderson49

Walter Jackson48 said:Here’s how I deal with it: I just go straight to the Word 2003 icon on my desktop, launch the app first, then hit Open and grab the document from there. Basically, I don't try to open files directly from My Documents... Give that a shot, it works for me every single time!

Yeah, I tried that! But the problem is I keep forgetting and just double-clicking the file itself, which triggers the whole Word 2007 installation process instead! 🙄

frozenheron7 said:Have you tried right-clicking the .doc file and selecting Open with -> Choose default -> Open with -> Choose default? Does Word 2003 show up in that list for you?

Nope. Man, if only! That would be perfect. The real headache is that for some totally bizarre reason, Word 2003 isn't even showing up in the list of programs offered for file association.

There's another little workaround, kind of like how people do things on a Mac. Just drag and drop the .doc file directly onto the Word icon on your desktop. You just grab the file, pull it over the Word 2003 icon, and boom—it opens in that version. You just need to make sure you have a Word 2003 shortcut on your desktop. Hopefully, that helps! 🙂

Okay, I'll give that a go. Making a desktop shortcut is super easy.

Benjamin King2 said:Besides the program list, you should see a browse button at the bottom. Use that to find winword.exe inside the old Office installation folder.

That’s what I thought too! I actually tried that. But it looks like the computer treats that winword.exe file as being identical to the one it’s already using (the Word 2007 one), so it doesn't change a thing. Everything stays exactly the same. It still associates all my .doc files with Word 2007.

I'm about to lose my mind here!

The worst part is I have absolutely no clue why this happened. I was just swapping out power supplies in the PC, but everything else in the setup stayed exactly the same. Seriously, though—before, my .doc files were opening in Word 2003, and now they're jumping straight to 2007. It's a total mystery!

Dealing with a super annoying MS Word headache.

So, I’ve got both Office 2003 and 2007 installed on my machine. To be honest, the only reason I even bother with 2003 is for Word—for a ton of reasons, Word 2007 just doesn't cut it for me. (And look, I really don't want to get into all those messy details right now!) Because of that, I disabled 2007 a long time ago and manually set my .doc file association to go straight to Word 2003.

Fast forward to a few days ago: my computer's power supply decided to kick the bucket, so I had to jump on another PC to finish some work on my Word files. Unfortunately, that machine only had Word 2007 installed. Well, I didn't have much of a choice, so I rolled with it! I made sure to save everything specifically in the .doc format—which is what they were originally—instead of using .docx.

Now here's where the drama starts. Once my computer finally got fixed, I moved my files from my USB drive back onto my hard drive and sat down to get back to work. I click on my document, and instead of opening normally, it tries to launch Word 2007. Then, it actually starts trying to run an installation! I killed the installation immediately, but now this keeps happening with every single one of my Word files. It’s like Word 2007 is aggressively forcing itself open!

The only way I can get things to work is if I open the files directly from within Word 2003 itself. But if I try to open them by clicking the file through my browser or a folder, it insists on using 2007. Seriously, what a nightmare!

So, I thought, "Okay, let's fix this." I headed over to the Control Panel, went to Default Programs, and tried to Set File Associations. I selected the .doc format, but it only gave me one version of Word as an option. It wouldn't even tell me which version it was! Even after I picked it and hit OK, nothing changed. It still stubbornly wants to use Word 2007.

I went back and clicked Change Program. A list of all my programs popped up, but guess what? Word 2003 isn't even on there—even though it's clearly installed on my computer and working perfectly fine!

Does anyone out there actually understand what's going on here and know a fix? How can I shut down this stupid Word 2007 for good and stick with Word 2003?

The absolute worst part is that I can't even uninstall just Word 2007 by itself; the system makes me uninstall the entire Office suite, and I absolutely cannot do that because I still need the other programs.

Help me out here!

Steven Wood67 said:Hey everyone!
I was wondering if anyone could help me out with a little thing I'm wrestling with in Word. Basically, I'm constantly putting together lease agreements for apartments and rooms, and I really want to build a solid Word Template that stays fixed while I just plug in the specific details later (like square footage, rent, and dropping in some photos). I actually managed to hack something together using C code, but honestly, I need to get this done within Word. Ideally, I'd just fill out some kind of table with the info, and then Word would automatically slot everything into the right spots in the document. Is that even possible? 🙂
Best wishes to all!

Oh, that is super easy! Just write out and format your text exactly how you want that template to look. Then, go ahead and click click Save as and in the Save as type box (all the way at the bottom of that window), pick Template. Once you've saved it, you'll find that template waiting for you in the File / New drop-down menu. The first time you go looking for it, you might need to select On my computer, but after that, it should pop right up under Recently used templates.

cosmicbadger10 said:How do I get rid of this color background behind my text in Word?
Can anyone help me out??
I keep getting this gray color covering up my text.

If you're talking about a text highlight, there's an actual icon right on the toolbar for that! Just select the text you want to fix, click that icon where you pick your highlight colors, and then just choose 'No Color.' That should clear it right up!

Kyle Johnson2 said:My whole point was just to let him know that it doesn't actually have anything to do with the operating system—in this specific case, "Windows 7"
Hey there!

Yeah, you're totally right about that. This issue is strictly happening within Word.

Kyle Johnson2 said:To get rid of that button (the icon), just turn it off.

It really all depends on what his default settings look like! For me, that icon wasn't even on my toolbar by default.

vividmarlin10 said:I'm running Windows 7 and I can't figure out how to get rid of those little symbols for spaces and stuff... Where am I supposed to go to turn them off?

Tools
Options
View

Just head over to Formatting marks and uncheck whatever you don't want cluttering up your screen! Personally, I keep all of them turned on because they're a total lifesaver when you're fine-tuning a document, but most people prefer to keep them hidden.

Nicholas King said:It’s not gonna work. A Text Box is an object, and its content—ironically enough 🙂—isn't actually "text" (at least not in the way plain text functions).

You can't really pull stuff like this off without using macros.

I figured as much, but I just couldn't bring myself to write a macro for this specific gig. I haven't been doing this damn job for fifteen years, and I remember how messy it gets. (Some of the macros I've built in the past had like, a hundred steps!) But hey, thanks for the heads-up. In the end, I just did it all manually—round after bloody round. And of course, because life is just great, since it was a translation job, the text lengths weren't even close! Every third box got totally wrecked during pasting because they have fixed sizes. Even if I tried adjusting the size, if the new text was longer than the original, it would just shove all the neighboring boxes out of place... absolute nightmare. And wouldn't you know it? I'm getting paid by the damn word, not by the layout the text sits in.

Is there any way to rip all the text out of Text Boxes in Word without doing it manually?

I’m staring down this massive document I need to translate, and honestly, it’s a nightmare because almost everything is trapped inside these stupid little boxes. I don't even work with them! Apparently, someone thought they were being clever by making some "fancy" layout to mimic a flowchart or something.

The problem is, when I try to grab the whole thing and paste it as plain text, absolutely nothing happens. Zip. Zilch. Nada.

Does anyone know a trick to select the entire document—or even just those specific sections—to pull the raw text out? Or better yet, is there a single command (or maybe a quick series of shortcuts) that can just nukes the boxes while leaving the actual text untouched?

Do you guys even know what I'm talking about here???? 🤣

William Gonzalez3 said:We actually managed to get the necessary background thanks to ironmarlin1.
I think the core of this is really about the 'how'—you know, the actual mechanism of species evolution—rather than the 'why,' which is more about purpose or meaning.
In my view, the 'how' is something for the natural sciences to tackle, whereas philosophy tends to wander into different territory altogether.

From here, we could go in a few directions. We might debate whether we're actually mature enough to handle the facts of our origins, or perhaps argue over why some people still lean toward intelligent design instead of evolutionary theory. That’s pretty much the extent of it, I suppose.

Do you agree with that assessment? Or do you think the conversation is headed toward something we might call philosophical? If it is indeed moving in that direction, what kind of path do you imagine we'll take?

I have to say, I disagree with that translation big time. That's the real issue here! Look, I've been working professionally with the English language for twenty years now, so I'm pretty damn sure that isn't a solid translation. And once you get that wrong, it triggers a massive domino effect of questions regarding how Dawkins phrased things, what his actual intended message was, and so on and so forth.

Honestly, I have no clue where that debate would lead or if it even counts as philosophy. And hey, I'm not exactly throwing a tantrum because the thread got locked. I'm not out here trying to start a protest or anything! I was just genuinely curious about why it was shut down, because it felt like a really great discussion was finally getting moving. As far as I'm concerned, you can manage the thread however you see fit.

I don't know about you guys... but if you ask me, this wasn't even really a linguistic issue. It was just that we needed to fix the translation so everyone could actually grasp the backstory! How are we supposed to have a real debate about the plot if we can't even understand what's going on? But hey, whatever; it's not like my life depends on getting this one thing right, right?

It was really starting to pick up steam, too, and then—poof!—just gone. Like, what’s even the point of shutting it down? I actually thought it was getting pretty interesting!

Justin Newman38 said:You’re still using the exact same approach, and what’s even worse is you haven't changed your tone at all—it's still exactly like the stuff I highlighted here.

You’ve written seven posts here that are incredibly insulting toward Catch-22, yet he’s still a member of this forum. Plus, he’s gone MIA.

1. In your first post on this thread, you wrote: this moron got banned.
2. In the second: when I was dealing with this jerk
3. Then: this guy is spreading stench everywhere
4. And then: everyone can see he’s an idiot
5. And: just because one scumbag
6. Then you added: he went from crap to violets
7. And finally: it took me a while to realize he's a psychopath. — I totally agree with breaking his nose.

You’re assuming he’s a psychopath, but everyone else here knows he’s a person with a disability, and yet you claim to agree with breaking his nose. So, you're basically advocating for that kind of treatment toward people like him.

And you haven't even been sanctioned for those seven posts yet. I really hope you will be.

So, where is all that "American decency" you love to brag about? 🙂

Look, I don't brag about any kind of "decency." I’m just a pragmatic pig with a massive interest in moral issues.

All these terms you're throwing at me fall perfectly within the bounds of normal forum talk when dealing with trolling on this scale. The fact that this guy might be ill is completely irrelevant to this discussion. This conversation would be identical if he were perfectly healthy but just malicious. That's why I decided to stick to my guns regarding my choice of words.

And as for that guy—if he is indeed sick, there’s simply no place for him here. All respect to a man in a wheelchair; he’s just as worthy as anyone else, but he shouldn't step onto the track while people are running a sprint. He’ll just put himself and others in a terrible position. And nobody else should be blamed for that. People will have every right to be absolutely livid with him. A handicap doesn't excuse acting like garbage. And Catch-22 (in all his various iterations) has done things that just aren't tolerable.

EDIT:

People here tend to take arguments personally. I trust you won't, but just in case... All this intense disagreement we just showed doesn't change my opinion of you one bit. I view this as a simple difference of opinion. I still respect you just as much as before.

Since you’ve voiced an unusual amount of grievances here, I have to assume that some of this actually hit a nerve for you. Who knows; maybe you have someone close to you dealing with similar issues? Or something along those lines. If that's the case, I'm sorry for poking at your sensitivities. That wasn't my intention, and I apologize.

Without backtracking on anything I said above.

Rachel Gray said:Look, when a psychopath is just talking trash, I don't expect anyone to sit there and keep chatting with them. But when they go around lifting skirts on people like Michelle Flores40? Well, I definitely expect them to get their teeth knocked out.

It honestly took me a while to wrap my head around the fact that the guy is just a straight-up psychopath. Seriously. And man, I am totally with you on the whole "broken nose" part.

Anyway, let's move on to something a little more intellectual, shall we? This Reddit thread is dying for some actual substance!

Justin Newman38 said:Because you’re the only one—out of everyone he actually admitted to liking—who's left. And well, we all saw how that turned out.

His second post over on the "Bread..." subreddit was basically this:

"Man, is anyone even going to accept me on this sub anymore? I'm just a lonely, tiny, pathetic little guy and a total jerk. What does a person even have to do to be accepted by this community?

The truth is, I'm just trying to connect with you guys on here so I don't feel so isolated living in this freaking middle-of-nowhere wasteland.

I really vibe with a lot of you: Judas, Arthur Anderson49, silvercyclist32, Hercules, Lester, and so on. I feel a real connection with you guys (...). I just want to feel like I belong somewhere..."

Look, Sarah Garcia46, that whole thing was just his first attempt at playing the victim—right after he’d spent his previous account being a complete nightmare to everyone. You get what I mean? It’s like a husband who beats his wife until she ends up in the ER, and then he starts sobbing, "Please don't leave me, please! I loooooooove you, and *sniff* I can't live without you!" After that, he kept doing that exact same thing—constantly flipping from being a total piece of trash to acting all sweet, then back again.

The absolute worst part about all this is how we’re all acting now. We used to have such a chill, respectful vibe going on, right? But instead, we’re out here tearing each other apart and creating unnecessary drama. All because one idiot—whether he’s actually a jerk or just completely clueless, it doesn't even matter since the outcome is the same—managed to fly under the radar without facing any consequences early on.

Honestly, this whole mess is doing us no favors. Definitely not doing anything for me, either. So, I’m officially bowing out. I’ve already said my piece, and frankly, being part of this toxic back-and-forth just feels gross. There's zero point to this argument, and honestly? It just stinks.

Justin Newman38 said:- Everyone has a special responsibility toward people with disabilities, including you.

- No one should be taking their frustrations out on a person with a disability, not just the first guy who starts it.

- You didn't find an appropriate way to communicate because you failed to recognize who you were actually talking to.

- These days, we don't isolate people with disabilities; the whole goal is integration.

- That part I bolded was actually an insult directed at a forum member who isn't even here anymore.

Look, Sarah Garcia46, I really do respect you—seriously, props to you. But man, you're totally off base here. Honestly, I think my approach to this guy was the most constructive one out of everyone involved! I didn't treat him like some fragile patient or anything. In fact, right up until the very end, I (along with wanderingbadger44) was the one catching all the verbal crap from everybody else without making a huge scene about it. So why is it that now, suddenly, when everyone realizes he’s being an absolute idiot (whether he's sick or not, it doesn't matter!), everyone is suddenly ganging up on *me*? I don't get it one bit. Seriously, what's gotten into you?

Justin Newman38 said:I disagree. Catch-22 mentioned having Asperger, so from that perspective, they're disabled (and let's be real, "Asperger" is probably just a euphemism here).

In elementary school, we're taught to be tolerant toward people who have any kind of impairment.

And you're an adult now—you should’ve figured that out through sheer maturity alone. That part I bolded is honestly a bit weird. 🙂

I don't get why you're tagging me in this.

Why should I feel some special obligation to be tolerant toward someone who was straight-up insulting me? Why doesn't anyone else have that same obligation? I'm not the first person to give him a piece of my mind. In fact, I kept trying to talk sense into him and actually ended up getting penalized because my persistence was flagged as "feeding the trolls."

Look, if someone is struggling with something like that, I'm sorry, but it still doesn't mean they belong on this forum. If someone is spreading toxic vibes everywhere they go, it crosses the line of what's expected in decent communication—regardless of whether that toxicity is intentional or caused by an illness.

vividtiger922 said:Back when that guy was trashing you and wanderingbadger44, it actually got sanctioned because we were living in the good old days with a moderator who actually gave a damn about stuff like that. Honestly, the garbage he was spewing back then was nothing compared to what’s been going down lately. And yeah, sure, some people totally fed him a line without even realizing he was just a troll. But hey, now we know, right?

Can we just be real for a second and look at how much nonsense and pure audacity is packed into Charles Davis88's response to Michelle Flores40? I'm not saying that makes Michelle Flores40 right, obviously. But instead of acting all high and mighty, she could just admit her colleague messed up. That's it! Simple, right? Except I’ve honestly never seen her own up to anything like that, so I’m not holding my breath this time either. And man, the damage she caused to that sub-forum? I don't even need to spell it out; I think we all know exactly where I stand on that. So, nope, I have absolutely nothing to thank her for.

And she’s still playing by those same rules today, like with that one user she let keep posting even though they were under a partial ban. Seriously, shouldn't she be held accountable for bypassing the rules like that?

At the end of the day, I really have to wonder... is she ever actually held responsible for anything?

Look, I really don't have the energy to dive into the weeds of this nasty little argument. All I'm saying is that things don't look the same from everyone's perspective. I'm telling you, when I'm dealing with an idiot (and let's be honest, anyone within a ten-mile radius can see he's an idiot), nobody lifts a finger. What's more, I ended up getting a (later overturned) penalty myself! If I recall correctly, Colby wasn't like that back then.

Maybe I'm blind, or maybe you guys just have much better vision than I do, but I simply don't see these "horrible flaws" in her moderation that everyone is screaming about. In fact, I'll go out on a limb and say this: personally, I actually enjoy having Charles Davis88 here more than almost any other user. And looking back over the last year or two while I've been working as a mod myself, I haven't seen anyone else do a significantly better job.

I'm not using that as an excuse, just as an example to show that not everyone sees the forum the same way. When I saw total BS happening where Catch-22 was, somehow nobody else saw it. Now that you guys see BS where Charles Davis88 is, lo and behold, I don't see it.

I don't see why your drama is more important than mine. Or why your favorites matter more than mine. Just because you guys are constantly complaining while I never am?

Seriously, everyone just back off. When Catch-22 was tearing me and wanderingbadger44 to shreds, you all stayed quiet as mice. Then, when I actually tried to deal with him, I got lectured for "feeding the trolls." Like, seriously? If someone's a troll, just ban them! What kind of me do you expect to take charge here? To me, he’s just some random guy on a forum. It's not my job to play police officer.

And leave Colby out of this. Why is she being blamed for that idiot's behavior now? You all sat there and let him slide, practically patting him on the head while he acted out. But now that his nonsense has finally blown up in everyone's faces, suddenly it's a huge deal?

Everyone needs to just chill out and maybe be a little smarter next time. The idiot got banned, so the problem is gone. Try to make sure it doesn't happen to someone else tomorrow. If it does, report the offensive posts and stop taking it out on the moderators—aim that energy at the actual troll instead.

Wouldn't it be fair if the decent people in this community showed a little solidarity with each other, instead of giving it all to the volunteer mods who are doing us a massive favor and getting trashed more than the trolls ever do?

Man, you guys really know how to get under my skin.