How to Open Files

A couple staff have contacted me lately because they were having difficulty opening customer files. The cause of the problem was due to the fact that they were trying to use Word to open the file. And the type of file format that the customer wanted to view was not a Word document. They ended up getting gibberish like you see to the right.

Have you ever gotten that before? Basically, Word has no idea how to read the file, but he will try anyway. Much like if I tried to read a language I did not know or if I tried to explain abstract art. I'll give it a try, but you probably won't get anything useful.

So how do you know what program you are supposed to use? Just let the computer choose. Follow these instructions in this past MPLIC Tech Train blog post that explains how you use the Address Bar in Internet Explorer to view files on a customer's disk or flash drive. If you access the file directly, the computer will automatically use the best program to view the file.

In one instance, the customer wanted to view a PDF (or .pdf) file format. A PDF can only be displayed by a PDF reader, such as Adobe Reader. Click here for more information on PDFs.

In the other instance, the customer wanted to view a picture (generally a J-Peg aka .jpg file format, although many more image file formats exist).

Microsoft Word can only properly display certain types of file formats, mainly .doc files (document files).

There are many file formats out there. File format extensions can be found at the end of the file name. For example:

Healthy Websites.doc
Form 1040.pdf
Grand Canyon.jpg

For all you file format nuts out there, you can see this ENTIRE LIST OF ALL FILE TYPES...crazy.

See Also:

Search for the Format You Want

Fundamental Skills: Saving and Opening Documents

If you are not comfortable with Saving and Opening files, please view the presentation below (readers using an aggregator will need to access this original post to view). This is a vital skill that is needed in order to do other fun things like insert attachments, uploading resumes, etc.

Enjoy.

Fundamental Tech Skills That All Staff Should Have: My Documents and Drives

It is vital to understand the various drives and folders on our computers. This will allow you to easily place and retrieve documents without the constant fear of losing something.

Briefly, the C: Drive is the computer itself. The A: Drive is the 3 1/2" floppy disk. The D: Drive is the CD/DVD. And now, we have the E: (sometimes F:) Drive for USB Flash Drives.

The C: Drive has a LOT OF STUFF on it, so it is crucial to have a special place on the C: Drive for user documents. This place is called the My Documents folder. Inside the My Documents folder, you may find other folders called My Pictures or My Music.

Look for the My Documents folder when saving to your own or workroom computer. Public computers do have a My Documents folder, but they are not for public use as we do not necessarily want people saving documents to our computers. This will give customers the false impression that they could then retrieve the document at a later time (which we all know is not possible).

That is why we sell 3 1/2" Floppy disks to customers. Many customers are now bringing in the more powerful flash drive for their document storage.

For more information on D: Drives, see this past post.

For more information on Flash Drives, see this document.

Fundamental Tech Skills That All Staff Should Know: Minimizing, Restoring/Maximizing, Closing Windows

This begins a new series of posts aimed at some basic skills that everyone should know. As I add more and more of these, you can use the "Fundamental Tech Skills" link in the Index to see all of them.

The use of the Minimize/Maximize, Close buttons, the three buttons found at the top right of most all windows is paramount to the success of a positive Windows experience.

Minimizing

When you want to "minimize" a window, click on the "minus" button. Your window is still active, yet it is removed from your view. If you want to access that window again, click on its box on the Task Bar.

If you are in a situation where you have multiple windows active, yet you need to access the Desktop, you will have to minimize window after window after window. This can take some time. Pressing the Windows Key+M will minimize all windows. The Windows key is found in between the CTRL and ALT key to the left of the keyboard. It is also found between the ALT and the Menu key to the right of the keyboard. This could be useful in situations where a customer has many, many Internet Explorer windows open, yet they want to open Microsoft Word. Just minimize everything in one fell swoop and open Word.

Restoring/Maximizing

If you are working on a window that is "floating", you can click the "maximize" button to increase the window to its maximum extent. This button looks like a square, or two squares, depending on the state of the window. A window can either be maximized (covering the whole screen) or floating (not covering the entire screen). You use the restore/maximize button to toggle between the two.

Closing

When you want to close a window, click on the "X". If you are closing the window of a program such as Word or Excel, the computer will ask you if you want to Save the document.

If you are in a situation where multiple windows need to be closed, the process of locating the "X", moving the pointer to it, and closing it can collectively take some time. In a situation such as this, you can use the keyboard shortcut, ALT+F4. This combination closes the current window. Holding down the ALT key and pressing the F4 key quickly will remove windows in a flash.