Frequently asked questions

Sometimes the same questions come up again and again from column readers and real life customers. Here are three frequently asked questions…and the answers.

Make the spacing in Word 2007 and Word 2010 look like older versions of Word

The default settings for Word 2007 and Word 2010 are for 1.5 lines instead of 1 line every time you hit the Enter key and every time Word wraps a line for you. If you want things to return to the way they were in the last century, it’s really easy to set your defaults back to Word 2003.

On the Home tab, click Change Styles, then on Style set. Click next to the style called Word 2003! If you always want Word 2007/2010 to behave that way, go back to Change Styles and click on Set as Default. Styles are just a collection of fonts and formats.

You can have that done for you automatically in Word 2007 by going to this page: http://support.microsoft.com/?kbid=921174#LetMeFixItMyselfAlways. I couldn’t find a corresponding page for Word 2010, but there is plenty of help here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/adjust-the-line-spacing-between-text-or-paragraphs-HP010368776.aspx and a short video here: http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/word-help/video-adjust-the-spacing-between-paragraphs-in-word-2010-VA102605459.aspx?CTT=5&origin=HP010016523.

Now your document will use the more traditional Word 2003 fonts and formats, including single spacing where you are used to it!

Word’s text is too small. Or too large.

And while we’re on the subject of word, here’s a puzzle: I received a phone call from a customer who was having trouble reading her Word document. Everything had been fine until suddenly the text was tiny. Confusingly, when she printed the document, everything printed the right size.

As luck would have it, the solution was simple. In Word 2007 and Word 2010, there’s a slider in the lower right-hand corner of the document window. If you leave that slider in the middle, your documents will display on screen actual size (“100%”). If you accidentally slide it all the way to the left, everything will get really, really small. We moved the slider back to centre, and everything returned to normal.

Clean up your Favorites and Bookmarks

Are your Favorites in Internet Explorer and/or Bookmarks in Firefox or Google Chrome out of control? AM-DeadLink is a little utility that detects dead links and duplicates in browser bookmarks and text files. If a bookmark has become unavailable you can verify and delete it permanently. The program is free, and works with Windows versions up to Windows 8. Grab it here: http://www.aignes.com/deadlink.htm. I need to do this more often!

Photo: Contributed

Do you need help with your computer? I'm here to help you and your home or business computer get along!

Cate Eales runs Computer Care Kelowna (http://computercarekelowna.com/) a mobile service helping home users and businesses get along with their computers. To arrange an appointment phone her at 250-764-7043. Cate also welcomes your comments and suggestions. Send email to [email protected].

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This article is written by or on behalf of an outsourced columnist and does not necessarily reflect the views of Castanet.