How to create a desktop shortcut for an Office program

Tuesday, May 27, 2008

The Microsoft Office System does not automatically create a desktop shortcut for each Office program that is installed. However, you can easily create a desktop shortcut. And some how I have to sketch out the details once again before this Monday for a official presentation. But then what i want to share here with you is my experience of sharing the Microsoft Outlook and providing computer Help

Create a desktop shortcut

  1. Using Microsoft Windows® XP, click Start, point to All Programs, point to Microsoft Office, and then point to Microsoft Office program_name 2003.

Note If you are using Microsoft Windows 2000, you point to Programs instead of All Programs.

  1. Right-click Microsoft Office program_ name 2003, point to Send To, and then click Desktop (create shortcut).

A shortcut for the Office program appears on your desktop.

To learn about additional ways to customize your desktop, click Start, and then click Help and Support (in Windows 2000, click Help)

How to locate missing .msi files

Wednesday, May 21, 2008

An .msi file is a database of all the files, settings, and configuration information for the associated application. When you install Office on your computer, the .msi file is saved in a hidden folder. Without this file, Windows Installer cannot update your configuration, install optional features, or apply software updates. Office cannot be installed, repaired, or updated if the .msi file is not found.

Why is the .msi file missing?

The most likely reason for Windows Installer to require the installation CD is because the saved version of the .msi file for Office has been inadvertently or deliberately deleted from your computer. It is also possible that the file is damaged or corrupted.

Occasionally, changing the drive letters associated with partitions on your hard disk can cause this problem to occur — such as changing drive C: to a different letter or moving the hard disk drive from one computer to another. Other possible causes are a damaged or corrupted hard disk or registry file.

What to do when prompted for a missing .msi file

If you are prompted for the location of a missing .msi file, you must provide the original installation CD used to install Office on your computer.

  1. Make sure that you have inserted your Office installation CD into the CD drive of your computer.

If you installed Office from a network, browse to the network location from which you installed Office.

  1. Click Retry.

In most cases, these steps should resolve the problem and Office can complete the installation and configuration of the needed component.

Office 2003, Office XP, and Office 2000 provide the Detect and Repair command. You can find the Detect and Repair command on the Help menu of almost all Office programs. Using this command corrects identifiable problems such as missing files, corrupt files, registry omissions, or damaged registry entries. It replaces the .msi file if it was deleted, damaged, or is the wrong version. Using the Detect and Repair command usually requires you to provide the installation CD for the version of Office currently installed on your computer.


How to prevent similar problems in the future

To help avoid this problem in the future, use the following guidelines:

  • Do not delete hidden folders or files from any drives on your computer.
  • Do not move drives or change their disk identifier (for example, C: to D:).
  • Install all needed applications as Run from My Computer instead of using Install on Demand (available from custom installation within Setup).
  • Occasionally run the Windows Disk Defragment program to repair cross-linked files, recover lost clusters, and remap bad sectors on your hard disk. Any data present in a bad portion of the hard disk is usually lost and commonly associated with physical damage to the disk. This is most likely the result of high-vibration environments, such as the computer being struck, dropped, or kicked.

If you have Microsoft Windows XP as your operating system, consider using the System Restore option to restore your system to a previous configuration. Consult the Help and Support option of Windows XP for more information on System Restore. You can go for Computer Help

Troubleshoot opening files

Wednesday, April 2, 2008

The file you are trying to open may be damaged. Your Microsoft Office program may let you try to recover the text from the damaged file, or if recovery doesn't work, you can delete the damaged file and open a backup copy.

  1. If the Microsoft Office program you are using is not responding, recover the program.
    1. On the Microsoft Windows Start menu, point to Programs, point to Microsoft Office Tools, and then click Microsoft Office Application Recovery.
    2. In the Application list, click the program or document that is not responding.
    3. Do one of the following:
      • To attempt to recover the files you were working on, click Recover Application or Restart Application.
      • If you just want to close the program, and lose recent changes to the files, click End Application.
    4. The error that caused the problem can be reported to Microsoft for use in improving future versions of the program. Click Send Error Report or Don't Send.

Note If you are not connected to the internet you can click Send Error Report Later to be prompted to send the report the next time you connect.

  1. Open the Office program.
  2. Review the files listed in the Document Recovery task pane (task pane: A window within an Office application that provides commonly used commands. Its location and small size allow you to use these commands while still working on your files.), and decide which to keep.

o If a file has [Recovered] in the title it is usually a file that contains more recent changes than a file with [Original] in the title.

    • If you want to view what repairs were made to a file, point to the file in the Document Recovery task pane, click the arrow next to the file's name, and then click Show Repairs.
    • If you want to review the versions that were recovered, open all of the versions and save the best one.
  1. For each file you want to keep, point to the file in the Document Recovery task pane, click the arrow next to the file's name, and then do one of the following:
    • To work with the file, click Open.
    • To save the file, click Save As, and then enter a name for the file. By default, the file is saved in the same folder as the original file. If you use the same name as the original file, the original is overwritten. When you see a message asking whether you want to replace the existing file (with the changes you made up to the last time you saved the file), click Yes.
  2. When you have opened or saved all of the files you want to keep, click Close in the Document Recovery task pane.

The file name may be too long

The file name or the path name may exceed 223 characters. Do one of the following:

· Shorten the file name.

· Move the file to another folder that is closer to the top of the folder hierarchy.

Try to open the file again.

The disk the file is on may be too full

Try moving files to another disk to make more space available.

The Open dialog box doesn't list the file I'm looking for.

Check the file type

Make sure you have the correct file type selected in the Files of type box.

Conduct a search

In the Open dialog box, click Tools, and then click Search. Select the options you want, and then click Search.

Check the network connection

If you're looking for a file on the network and the network drive doesn't appear in the Open dialog box under Look in, do the following:

1. Click Tools, and then click Map Network Drive.

2. In the Drive box, click the drive letter you want to use to connect to the network.

3. In the Folder box, enter the path where the file is located on the network— for example, type \\server\share.

You can also look for files on a network drive if your network supports the UNC (universal naming convention (UNC): A naming convention for files that provides a machine-independent means of locating the file. Rather than specifying a drive letter and path, a UNC name uses the syntax \\server\share\path\filename.). Just type the UNC path in the File name box in the Open dialog box— for example, type \\plans\documents.

Look in My Network Places

If you're looking for files on a Web server (Web server: A computer that hosts Web pages and responds to requests from browsers. Also known as an HTTP server, a Web server stores files whose URLs begin with http://.):

· In the Open dialog box, click My Network Places on the My Places bar (Places bar: The bar on the left side of certain dialog boxes (such as Open, Save As, or Insert Picture) that contains shortcuts to the My Recent Documents, Desktop, My Documents, My Computer, and My Network Places folders.) to display folders on the Web server. Double-click the folders until you open the folder that contains the document you want.

You can also type the folder path in the File name box in the Open dialog box— for example, type http://myserver/public.

I can't open a password protected file.

Passwords (password: A sequence of characters needed to access computer systems, files, and Internet services. Strong passwords combine uppercase and lowercase letters, numbers, and symbols.) are case-sensitive. Check to see whether the CAPS LOCK key is on, or retype the password to make sure that you didn't mistype it.

My file opened in a separate window.

When you create or open a file in a Microsoft Office program, the file opens in a separate window. You can quickly switch from one file to another by clicking the file's button on the taskbar or by pressing ALT+TAB.

The shortcut to my file doesn't work anymore.

The file may have been renamed or deleted

The shortcut will not work if there has been any change to the target file's name or extension. Use the Microsoft Office Search feature to look for files that have similar names or that were created or modified on the same date as the file you are trying to open.

Conduct a search

In the Open dialog box, click Tools, and then click Search. Select the options you want, and then click Search.

The file may be temporarily unavailable
  • If the file is located on a network server, consult your network administrator to find out if the server drive is unavailable.
  • If the file is located on removable media such as a floppy disk, make sure the media with the target file is properly inserted in the drive or device.

source office.microsoft.com

Automatically reply to incoming messages

Tuesday, March 25, 2008

This feature requires you to use a Microsoft Exchange Server e-mail account. Most personal e-mail accounts through an Internet service provider (ISP) (ISP: A business that provides access to the Internet for such things as electronic mail, chat rooms, or use of the World Wide Web. Some ISPs are multinational, offering access in many locations, while others are limited to a specific region.) are POP3 accounts and do not support this feature.

  1. In Mail, on the Tools menu, click Out of Office Assistant.

I don't see the Out of Office Assistant command

The Out of Office Assistant command does not appear unless you are using an Exchange Server e-mail account and you are in the Mail view.

  1. Click I am currently Out of the Office.
  2. In the AutoReply only once to each sender with the following text box, type the message that you want to send to others while you are out.
  3. If you want, create rule to manage your incoming mail.

Steps

    1. On the Tools menu, click Out of Office Assistant.

Note The Out of Office Assistant command does not appear unless you are using an Exchange Server e-mail account.

    1. Click Add Rule.
    2. Under When a message arrives that meets the following conditions, specify the conditions of the rule that the message must meet for the action to occur.
    3. To specify more conditions, click Advanced, select the options that you want, and then click OK.
    4. To specify that this rule must be the last one applied, select the Do not process subsequent rules check box.
    5. Under Perform these actions, select the options that you want. You can select more than one option.

Note If you specify that a message must be deleted, rules that follow the delete rule in the list of rules in the Out of Office Assistant dialog box do not affect the message.

Create a task

Wednesday, March 19, 2008

Create a task from scratch

  1. On the File menu, point to New, and then click Task.
  2. In the Subject box, type a task (task: A personal or work-related duty or errand that you want to track through completion.) name.
  3. Complete any other boxes on the Task and Details tabs for information you want to record for the task.
  4. To make the task recur, click Recurrence, click the frequency (Daily, Weekly, Monthly, Yearly) at which you want the task to recur, and then do one of the following:

Make the task recur at regular intervals

Select options for that frequency. Do not click Regenerate new task, or the task will not recur at regular intervals.

Make the task recur based on completion date

Click Regenerate new task, and then type a time frequency in the box.

  1. If you want, set start and end dates for the task.
  2. Click OK, and then click Save and Close.

Create a task from an existing task

  1. In task list, select the task (task: A personal or work-related duty or errand that you want to track through completion.) you want to copy.
    • To select adjacent items (item: An item is the basic element that holds information in Outlook (similar to a file in other programs). Items include e-mail messages, appointments, contacts, tasks, journal entries, notes, posted items, and documents.), click the first item, and then hold down SHIFT and click the last item.
    • To select nonadjacent items, click the first item, and then hold down CTRL and click additional items.
    • To select all items, click the Edit menu, and then click Select All.

Note Changing the view (view: Views give you different ways to look at the same information in a folder by putting it in different arrangements and formats. There are standard views for each folder. You can also create custom views.) for items can make selecting specific items easier. For instance, if you want to select all messages that have the same subject, in the folder containing the messages, on the View menu, point to Arrange By, and then click Subject. Select the messages you want from the view.

  1. On the Edit menu, click Copy. If the Copy command is not available, click the check mark in the task's Icon column, and then try again.
  2. On the Edit menu, click Paste.
  3. As appropriate, open the task and change its options.

Get more information click->Microsoft Outlook