MTips E-Zine
Newsletter for MT’s using MS Word
Vol 3 No 3 September 16, 2003
Laura Bryan Editor
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Table of Contents:
1.
Feature Article: Exactly WHO is
that “Other User”?
2.
QuickTakes-Keyboarding Tips: Can
You Repeat That?
3. Bloopers
4.
Other Sites to See: Look here
for some indispensable anatomy sites.
Editor’s
Note:
Hello again everyone.
It has been a while since I have published a newsletter, but I’m happy
to say MTWerks is up and running full swing now! A couple of years ago I took a part time position with a
transcription company that turned into a full time management position. Now, I am back at MTWerks full time and glad
to be writing and teaching, which is what I enjoy the most. I am so excited about upcoming projects and
presentations! This month, I will give
a full-day class in Dallas and next month you will find me in Atlanta and
Ohio. In November, I’ll be in Lansing
which will be way North and way cold for this native Texan! Be watching the MTWerks web site and
newsletters for new products and ideas to help you type smarter, work faster
and EARN MORE!
I
hope you enjoy this edition of MTips Ezine.
Don't miss the Calendar of Events.
MTWerks is on the road again in 2003.
“This file is being used by another
user….”
Have you seen that message box
before? If you are certain you do not have
the file open already and you are not working on a network, this message can be
baffling! Is there someone lurking in
your PC? How can you get rid of the
“other user” and return to editing the file?
All that and more will be answered below, but first let’s explore how
your computer works using an analogy we all understand.
It is time to file your tax return
(UGH!). You go to the file cabinet and
pull out several file folders, a stack of receipts, reference books on the tax
code, the IRS instruction booklet and a pile of forms required to complete your
return. Now you spread these papers out
on your kitchen table and go back and forth from one stack to another, reading
the instructions, adding up receipts and jotting down notes. In the middle of this, your spouse calls and
says your mother-in-law is coming for dinner.
In a panic, you grab the papers and throw them haphazardly in the file
folders and shove them back into the file cabinet. In your haste, the instruction booklet and the tax form fall on
the floor under the table. The next
day, you grab the files of mixed up papers and spread them out on the table
again, but the incomplete tax form and the instruction book are not in the
folders. Until you find the missing
information, you cannot complete the tax return you already started. You can start again with another form, but
you would really rather use the form you already started.
Now, back to your computer. When you open a file (take a project out of
the file cabinet), the computer moves many files into an area of your computer
called RAM—Random Access Memory (the kitchen table). Word requires many kinds of files in order to complete a
task: reference files called DLLs (the
reference books), temporary files (your notes), the Normal.dot (the instruction
booklet) and various system files (receipts and records). When you close Word, the information is
moved from RAM back to the hard drive (from the kitchen table to the file
cabinet). If Word closes abruptly due
to an error or improper shutdown (shoved back into the file cabinet), some
files remain in RAM (under the kitchen table).
Files in RAM are considered to be “in use” as far as the computer is
concerned. For MS Word, the Normal.dot
file and the current file are the most likely files to be left in RAM after an
improper shutdown, and they are also the most common files to become corrupt
(think coffee spills and ripped pages).
If your computer is having problems
which cause Word to shut down (techies called this “ab-end” for abnormal end),
Word is probably leaving copies of the current file and the Normal.dot in
RAM. When you try to access the file
you were working on, Word tells you the file is “in use” by another user.
If you are encountering the above
problem, then it is likely you are also having problems saving AutoText
entries, AutoCorrect entries, macros and shortcuts stored in the Normal.dot
file. When the Normal.dot is left in
RAM due to an improper shutdown, Word creates another copy of the Normal. If you restart Word after an abnormal
shutdown, upon closing you may be asked to save the Normal.dot using a
different file name. As you have
probably discovered, Windows will not allow you to save it as “Normal.dot”
because Windows thinks the original Normal.dot is still open. Here’s the rub: If you rename the Normal.dot, then Word no longer recognizes the
file as the Normal.dot and will not make the new shortcuts available to you
next time you open Word. If you bail
out of the SaveAs dialogue box, the changes are not saved at all. In either case, the newly-created macros,
AutoText entries and other shortcuts are “missing” the next time you open Word.
Well, now you have an understanding
of the problem, but what you really want to know is what to do about it! If you are having a lot of errors using Word
(shutting down more than once in a blue moon), then obviously you want to
resolve that problem. Since this can
take some time, you need an immediate remedy to get you through the current
crisis. Rebooting will help, but a quicker
way to get back to work without shutting down all other applications is to End
Task. Immediately after an
abnormal shutdown, press CTL+Alt+Del (all at the same time). In Windows 98 or Me, you will see the Close
Program dialogue box. Scroll to the end
of the list, select “Winword” and click the End Task button. If you are running Windows 2000 or XP, press
CTL+Alt+Del, click the Task Manager button and then switch to the tab labeled
“Processes.” Select “Winword” and then
End Task. You may be surprised to find
Winword on the list more than once! If
so, repeat the above steps until all copies have been closed. Always open the dialogue box again to
confirm that Winword is no longer on the list—it is a stubborn little sucker to
close! Press the Escape key to close
the dialogue box without making changes.
Now you can open Word and return to editing the document that was
previously “in use.”