Jewish World Review July 2, 2003 / 2 Tamuz, 5763


Saving time on distribution lists; he changed the color of the fonts in just that one spreadsheet file; not enough space on 'c' drive, lots on 'd'

http://www.NewsAndOpinion.com | (KRT) Q. I need help with a data backup problem that came up while I was using the mass-mailing feature called distribution lists in the Outlook module of Microsoft Office. I have a distribution list with 120 associates.

I was trying to delete an entry from the list when I accidentally clicked on the delete icon at the top of the page. The entire distribution list vanished without a trace, and without any kind of confirmation box. I restored the list by typing in each of the 120 entries. Since then I have tried to create a backup file for the list without success.

I can use the Save As command to create a file that contains the entries in the distribution list but I cannot figure out how to use the saved file to restore my distribution list. There are no instructions.

Can you help?

Jim Thummel

A. I'm going to save you a whole lot of needless typing and retyping from now on, Mr. T. The solution to your puzzle lies in the basic copy and paste functions built into most Windows business programs. Sadly, it's a solution that Microsoft's software engineers seem to have made a point of concealing in the way Outlook's commands are laid out.

It goes like this: Distribution lists are created by extracting selected names from the Outlook Contacts folder and making a copy of each address in a special folder. To create a custom distribution list, one clicks on File and then New and picks the New Distribution List option. This brings up a box with an option called Select Members that lets one scroll through the entire Contacts list and pick just those names desired for the special list by clicking on desired entries.

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It's a shame you had to do all that typing in your effort to restore the list. There's no need to retype a thing if that Select Members command is used.

Now on to making backups of distribution lists once they are made.

When a distribution list is created you give it a name and it gets included alphabetically among the individual entries in the master Contact lists. By highlighting the distribution list icon, you can use the Save As command to create an icon for the list wherever desired, as you have discovered.

You also can simply select the distribution list icon and press Control + C to copy it and then paste it elsewhere, such as on the desktop.

The final step of restoring a backup list is simple once it is stated, but it is not included among any of the file open/import/export commands offered in Outlook.

What you need to do is paste the copied data right into the Contacts folder. So open Contacts and select the entry just before where you want the distribution list to reside. Now either click Edit and Paste or Control + V and the distribution list you copied using Control + C will be restored. Keep the backups stored safely elsewhere, and this easy restore trick will assure that you never again face the nightmare you have just endured.

Q. I am having a problem with one of my Excel files. I have a folder called "housing" and in that folder I have a number of real estate-related Excel spreadsheets and Word documents. The problem is that one of the spreadsheets that I use regularly (monthly) is labeled HSGG2003 but when I open it the display shows a screen filled with completely blank cells.

I know the data is there because when I hit the print command the spreadsheet prints out fine.

Everything else in the folder works as usual but I now am unable to make changes to the housing spreadsheet. How did I mess up and how can I get back to a normal life?

Richard Mitchell, Wheaton, Ill.

A. It's beyond my ability to figure out how you did this, Mr. M., but somehow you managed to change the color of the fonts in just that one spreadsheet file, called a workbook. Something set the fonts in the same color as the background - white-on-white and much more efficient than a polar bear sitting on a snowbank.

If you doubt this, open the document and tap Control + A to select all the data and you will see the background change to a shade of blue and the data will be there in white.

The fix is to just pick Format in the toolbar at top and then select Cells. Pick the Fonts tab in the command box that appears and look for the little selector box for Color. Click there and you get a box with more than a dozen color choices. Click on the little black box in this palette list and since you have done the Control + A command to select all, the cells will revert to a color that you can see and you can get back to business as usual.

Q. My "C" drive has filled up to the point that I have very little space left, a mere 2 gigabytes on that partition. I have an 80-gigabyte "D" drive available, so space there is not an issue. What software would you recommend for relocating software from drive "C" to drive "D" without uninstalling and reinstalling?

I have added so many patches and fixes, I really want to avoid the uninstall/reinstall trauma. Also, do you have any tips for determining what some of the software installed on my "C" drive is?

I have a program folder named Time Sink and have no idea what it is. It is not listed under Add/Remove programs.

David White, Chicago

A. You're putting the cart before the horse in planning a fix for your problem with a bloated C drive and a wide-open D drive.

Instead of worrying about how to move stuff off of C and onto D, it's far better to use a partitioning program to expand the C drive by decreasing the amount of space given over to D. I am partial to Partition Commander from V Communications Inc. (www.v-com.com), a $50 program that makes quick work out of shrinking and expanding partitions as needed.

I urge you to get real religious about backing up crucial business data before using this tool because it requires tinkering with the very integrity of your current file layouts. Anytime one performs hard-drive maintenance, a data backup should be made whether it's as routine as running the defragmentation modules in Windows or performing the kind of face-lift you need.

As to the second issue, Time Sink is a folder created by another one of those sneaky spyware programs that Internet hustlers trick us into loading using a variety of ruses and come-ons. Time Sink does not come with an uninstall tool.

If you want to get rid of it, check out the free version of Ad Aware anti-spyware software (www.lavasoft.com).

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James Coates is a columnist for the Chicago Tribune. Let us know what you think of rthis column by clicking here.

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