Me v. ActiveSync

Once upon a time, before Palms were big and Laptops were small, I purchased an HP Journada. It was an oversized handheld computer that ran WindowsCE with stripped versions of Office. And-- the reason I picked this little device-- it has a nearly-fully size keyboard.

I loved my little Journada. I named him Snoopy, referring to how the cartoon Snoopy would type away into the night atop his doghouse. And I would type away wherever I was.

The Journada had this "nifty" program called ActiveSync. In theory, it would convert all the WindowsCE versions of files to normal Windows versions. In realty, it resulted in much cursing and finally in me just saving all my files as RTFs and using a flash card to transfer the data. In these early days, ActiveSync was a little buggy and a lot slow. My main problem was that it would refuse to sync, even though nothing had changed in the day since I last cybernetically connected the two devices. It would refuse, refuse, refuse. I'd unplug, plug, curse, kick, pull out hair, beg, clickclicklclick, run the troubleshooter. Then, sometimes, magically, the two devices would connect and sync happily. Sometimes, not. Hence the use of the Flash Card instead. And I didn't have to wait for the files to convert.

Eventually, I abandoned my Jornada. It was the dawn of Flash Drives and the Jornada just didn't have the software to run off a flash drive. With a flash drive, unlike my compact flash card, I could take my files everywhere and always have them ready to go. So, the Jornada was put into a box and the ActiveSync bid a joyful farewell.

Until now.

ActiveSync is back on my computer. My new phone, which has Windows Mobile 6, includes ActiveSync for syncing calenders, contacts, documents and files. Well, it's been a few years, so it can't be as bad as it was. Heh. So I thought.

The good news is, after several hours and some internet research, my ActiveSync is happily installed and, so far, working as intended. Why so many hours? Because Microsoft Products don't play well with Limited User. Yup. I run my computer in Limited User mode to reduce the chances of some data-munching or zombie-making virus. This is a Windows-included setting. But I couldn't install or run ActiveSync on my Limited User account.

My web research (google: activesync limited user) found that in order to install the ActiveSync on my Limited User account, I have to turn the Limited User to Administrator, install the software, then switch the account back to Administrator. Really. Microsoft products... are the worst when it comes to playing nice with Limited User accounts. Which is probably why so many people run as Administrator.

Now, don't get me wrong. I like Microsoft products. But I'm not going to pretend they're perfect. Neither is the Hubby and I still keep him around. ;-)

Undo

These days, just about every program has an Undo Command. This is the helpfulest of all computer commands, by far.

In Microsoft Office 2003 (and earlier) Undo is under the Edit Menu. Right above the Redo Button.




It's also the backwards-looping arrow on the toolbar. If you keep hitting Undo, the computer will continue to undo each successive thing.








In Microsoft Office 2007, the Undo command is on the Home Ribbon. Still works the same way.



But, did you know that Windows Explorer (you may know it as My Computer or the My Documents Folder) ALSO has an Undo command! Yep. For WindowsXP and previous versions, if you go to the Edit menu at the top of the window, you will see and Undo command. It will refer to the last thing you did.

For my screenshot, my computer shows that "Undo Delete" is my option. It will put the last file I deleted back where it came from. You can also Undo a Move (so if you're not sure where you actually moved a file to, Undo it and it'll pop back to where it came from.)

Neat!

Word of caution though. There does become a point when changes are permanent (unless you have Uber Computer Geek skills, like hacking and behind-the-scenes skills. Those are beyond MY capability!) So, do be careful with what you are doing. Undo is like a pair of Water Wings. Useful, but there are limitations.

Your Computer's Make and Model

I get requests to trouble-shoot MSWord from time to time. I'm always happy to help, but first we have to be on the same page. Preferably the same page in the same book...

So I ask what version of MSWord you are running. With the release of Word2007, it is imperative to know the version. Commands and instructions that are good for Word2007 are meaningless for Word2003, as well as other issues. No big deal-- I have both versions. I just need to know whether to give instruction set A or instruction set B.

You answer: "Vista."

Vista is a version of Windows.

Windows Vista runs your computer. Microsoft Word is what you type your document into. One's a plant and one's an animal. You wouldn't ride a tulip into town any more than you'd type a document with just Windows.

Your operating system maybe Windows. It will usualy say which version it is while booting, but you can also go to My Computer, right click and select Properties from the Menu. Hey, looky there, it tells you what version operating system you are running. And other neat details.







Okay, so, we still need to figure out what version of Word you have.
Method #1, find the Icon. Whatever you double-click to open the program. Does it say... Microsoft Word 2003?




Method #2: Open Word. Go to Help... About Microsoft Word. The top line will tell you what version you are running. My desktop has Word 2003.

So... what version of Word are you running? What operating system do you have? If you're going to get the right help, you need to ask for the right information. Luckily, the computer knows what it's using, and is happy to tell you.