Computer menu on Wednesday-Night.com
Q. I have Windows 98. Sometimes I want to send E-mail in French. I was told I can get accents by typing alt-130 for e or alt-135 for c. What I would like is the complete list of the possibilities of this system, i.e., alt plus a number. Can you provide it?
A. You can find a list of the alt combinations at this site: www.umass.edu/langctr/altnum.htm. The same site offers a more complete explanation of how to use foreign characters on your computer. That page is www.umass.edu/langctr/keyboardhelp.html . When I need to enter an obscure character, I use the Character Map program that comes with Windows. It gives you a list of available characters and allows you to copy and paste them in to your applications. Look for it on the Start Menu. It's usually to be found under the Programs/Accessories folder.
Q. I have downloaded Napster Beta 10.3 for Windows. If I try to open it, it tells me that the MSVCP60.DLL is missing. Is there a way to reinstall that part?
A. The file you are missing is a Windows system file. You can download a copy from the Web and reinstall it in your Windows system directory, which can be found on your C: drive. Look for a copy at www.uforesources.com/dlldownload.html. The site is a good resource for missing dynamic-link library (DLL) files.
For more detailed explanations on the ins and outs of HTML and the art of creating Web pages, two of the best sites you should visit are webmonkey.com and builder.com C|net. They're great for experts and beginners alike.
Q. I sometimes visit sites that have so many animated GIFs that they give me a headache. Is there a way to stop them?
A. If you are using Internet Explorer, simply press the Escape key and all the animations on the page will be halted.
Q. I received a GEDCOM file as an E-mail attachment but have been unable to view it. I have downloaded Ged2html, Netzip and Infozip but get a message saying this is not a self-extracting file. The attachment is my family tree. What should I do to open it?
A. GEDCOM (Genealogical Data Communication) files are text files that contain family tree data in a standard format that can be opened by a variety of genealogical programs. The standard was originally created by the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints Family History Department. Some of these files can get quite big if they contain a lot of data. To make the files smaller, they are sometimes compressed. If the file has a .zip extension, then the two zip programs you downloaded should decompress it. If it has a .ged extension then it is not compressed and you can view the data using any of a number of freeware programs. A good choice for Windows is GedView which can be downloaded at
www.oocities.org/Athens/Acropolis/4317/GedView.html. Macinstosh users can try GEDitcom at www.geditcom.com.
Q. A few weeks back, I loaded Netscape 6, which after a few days I wanted to delete. I am now using Netscape 4.74 again. When I run Outlook Express 5 under Windows 98 and I click on a hyperlink, a window comes up saying "program not found" since it is looking for Netscape 6. How can I change this?
A. Windows maintains a list of common file extensions and associates them with a program so that when you double click on one of those files, the associated program is launched. You need to change the file association for files using the html and htm extension so that the old version of Netscape is launched when you click on one. To do this, double click on the My Computer icon on your desktop and go to the View menu. You will see a choice called Options. Click on it and choose the File Types tab. You will see a list of registered file types. Look for the Netscape Hypertext Document file type. You can double click on this icon and begin editing the settings so that the computer points to the 4.74 version of Netscape rather than version 6.
Q. I just recently received a new computer with a cam and would like to try chatting with it. Being a novice, I tried the program NetMeeting video conferencing installed on my computer and it does not log on to any directory showing people online. In order to use this program, do you have to know somebody using it at the same time? Can you advise some other program that allows you to click on somebody's name like the old Vocaltec program, which, to my knowledge, has been discontinued?
A. NetMeeting is perfectly adequate for video chatting. The only problem is that Microsoft shut down the ILS servers that are listed in the program. Thankfully, many other ILS servers have sprung up to take their place. You can find an exhaustive list of them at the NetMeeting Zone (www.netmeet.net). Not only do they list ILS servers, but also some very useful links to NetMeeting portals and communities. Another option is WebcamNow.com. You can download their software and begin chatting right away with other cam users on the site. Non-cam users can also chat and watch the video using a Java applet.
Q. Whenever I try to upload something large I am always disconnected by a peer. I have contacted Sympatico and have been told that there is nothing they can do about it. The error message I get is: "A network error occurred while Netscape was sending data. (Network Error: Connection reset by peer). Try connection again." Is there anything I can do from my end other than changing service provider?
A. You will get this error when Navigator is running out of memory or when the network is busy. You can try to alleviate the problem by closing any other applications you may be running in order to free up memory for Netscape. Another idea is to upload your files in smaller segments. Switching service providers won't make a difference, but switching browsers might.
The problem will probably disappear if you switch to Internet Explorer
Q. How can I copy my favourites from Internet Explorer 5.5 from one computer to another?
A. Go the File menu in IE 5.5 and select Import and Export. A wizard will appear that will guide you through the steps of exporting your favourites to a file. If you save the file on a floppy disk, you can import it back in to the second computer by going back to the File menu, choosing Import and Export and using the wizard to guide you through the process.
Q. I made the mistake of downloading and installing Netscape 6. Now my pictures are all changed to Mozilla JPEG image instead of a plain JPEG. I am unable to see a picture sent on a floppy. I uninstalled Netscape 6 but the Mozilla extension did not disappear.
A. This is a fairly common problem that isn't caused just by Netscape. It happens with other Windows programs as well. Windows associates most file extensions with a program installed on your computer. That way when you click on a file, Windows will launch a program that can open it.
When programs are being installed, some force Windows to change the association from another program to theirs. You need to change the association for JPEG files to the program of your choice.
To do this, simply select a JPEG file then hold down shift, and click the right mouse button. Select Open With and choose the program you want to use for this file type. Select "Always use this program to open this type of file" at the bottom of the dialog box. This works for Windows 95, 98 and NT.
Q. Is there a way to import the address book and "My Favorites" from AOL to Excite@home?
A. Unfortunately, AOL stores favourites and address books in a non-standard format that makes them difficult to export. One possible solution is to use one of the free, Web-based bookmark managers such as SyncIt (www.syncit.com) or Link Dragon (www.linkdragon.com). They allow you to upload your bookmarks to their server, where you can then access them from any browser, including Excite@Home's custom version of Internet Explorer 5.
Q. I recently upgraded to Netscape 4.7 from Netscape 4.5. [ver 6 is here] Now
whenever I reboot I am faced with an uninvited box urging me to sign
on for Netscape AOL Instant Messenger. How can I permanently purge
this pest? By the way, what is Instant Messenger?
A. Instant Messenger is a program that allows you to chat to other
people in real time.
If you wish to prevent it from starting when you boot up, click the
Setup button at the Sign-On screen then click the Misc tab. Uncheck
"Start AIM when Windows Starts" and click OK. That should do it. If it
doesn't, you can completely remove AOL Instant Messengerby removing
AIM (America Online InstantMessenger) from your Personal Bookmark
folder then deleting "launch.aim" from every user profile.
The last step is to delete the aim folder that is in the
..\communicator\programs folder and the subfolder \aim\sounds\ and all
its contents.
Q. I often print articles of interest during research projects, but find
that I am typically limited to the sometimes large font sizes found on
the Net. This results in unnecessarily long printouts, often twice the
number of pages that are really needed. Is there a way to reduce the
font sizes for printing purposes? I use IE 5.0
A. Most Web designers design pages with larger fonts because they are
meant to be read on the screen and not the printed page. With
Internet Explorer, you can change the display size of the text by going
to the View menu and selecting Text Size. You can choose from six
different sizes. The smallest will squeeze a bit more text on to the
page, but not much. Another option is to try experimenting with the
font that your browser uses to display text. To do that, go to the Tools
menu and select Internet Options. Under the General tab is a button
marked fonts. You can choose any of the fonts installed on your
system. This a less useful option since that font will only be used by
Web pages that do not specify a font in their HTML, which these days
is a minority of pages.
Q. I am using Netscape 4.73 and would like to go to Internet Explorer.
How do I convert my current files (Inbox, Sent, etc.) to Explorer files?
How do I convert my favourites to those in Explorer? How do I convert
my address books to those in Explorer?
A. Before abandoning Netscape, you should evaluate version 6.0 as it is
a total rewrite of the browser and it incorporates many of the features
found in the latest edition of Internet Explorer. If you're still set on
switching, then Microsoft has made it very easy. To import your
bookmarks, simply go to the File menu of IE and select Import and
Export. A wizard will guide you through the process of finding your
bookmark.htm file and adding it to your IE favourites. It's typically
found in Program\Files\Netscape \Users\ Default\YourName. For your
address book, launch Outlook Express and go to the File menu and
select Import. Of the choices presented, choose Other Address Book
then select Netscape Communicator. You then have to browse your
drive looking for your pab.na2 file, which is in the mail directory found in
the Netscape directory cited above. Under the same Import menu in
Outlook, there is a choice to import messages. Follow a similar number
of steps to import your E-mail from Netscape.
Q.in opening a new
porno site. The only way I have found is to restart Netscape and then I
have lost my original page I was working with. Any easier way to do it?
A. They are using a Javascript trick that causes a page to load when
you close a window. To escape these sorts of dead-end traps, you
simply turn off Javascript. In Netscape, you can disable it by going to
the Edit menu, then selecting Preferences. Under Advanced is a
checkbox for Javascript.
How can I get a copy of a photo which appeared
in The Gazette? or on this ..westweb/ site
To obtain an 8" x 12" copy of a photo which appeared in The
Gazette, send a cheque and a copy of the page to Gazette Photo Sales,
c/o Phil Norton, 250 St. Antoine W., Montreal, Quebec, H2Y 3R7,
CANADA. Each photo costs $28.49. Additional prints are $17.09 each.
Make your cheque payable to Gazette Photo Sales, c/o Phil Norton. For
commercial or editorial purposes, contact the Photo Sales Department
directly at 514-987-2602 or fax them at 514-987-2399. You can also
send them e-mail by clicking here.
For our photos [by DTN] please e-mail Requests for material which is not ours will be forwared.
Research services are also available.
Also see W-N Photo Albums These are outside storage sites that will make prints. In some cases if you join FREE you can get the first 30 prints free, but watch out for the mail costs.
A Window on Westmount
Thanks to Prof. Gerald Ratzer ![[Version en français]](fr.gif){kind=small}
Please phone (514) 934-0023
Please e-mail us your interest.