Dennis Faas

Infopackets Reader Ken K. writes: " Dear Dennis, I can't seem to get my Spell Check to work in Outlook Express. Whenever I try to run the spell check, Windows gives me an error message. I don't know how to correct this problem. Can you help? " My ... Response: Believe it or not, I've been asked this question many times. My own experience when searching for the answer to this question has always turned up quite a few results using Google -- most of which contained outdated information. I decided to do some thorough digging and eventually came across two Microsoft Knowledge Base articles ... (view more)

A little while back I was asked how to copy Address Book contacts onto another computer. Roberta C. asked: " Could you tell me if there is a way to copy my contacts in Outlook Express and load them onto another computer? " I provided a solution ... (complete with pictures) which details how to use the Export function in the Address Book: How do I export my Address Book contacts? Unfortunately, the Export function appeared ghosted (non-functional) for some folks, so I asked Infopackets Readers to send me their thoughts for an alternate solution: How do I export my Address Book contacts ... (view more)

Whe w! I've been so busy with the web site change-over that I wasn't able to compose a single newsletter last week. There's lots of new stuff to tell you about -- and it's a bit technical -- so bear with me! I'll do my best to explain it in simple ... English. First of all -- did you notice something different about this newsletter? The format of the newsletter has been completely overhauled and now contains new headers and user subscription information. The new format allows me to write only 1 version of the newsletter, and yet produce 2 separate versions for delivery in either HTML or text ... (view more)

Recently, Infopackets Reader 'Cinnamon' asked me a question about how to organize her downloaded ZIP files. She writes: " Is there a guide one can use in attempting to [organize] some or all of them? I'm afraid I'll remove something that I need! " ... My Response: We've been talking about archived files for the last few issues of the newsletter. Incase you've missed it: Zip files are archived files and usually contain many smaller files inside. Finding out what an archived file is (without extracting and utilizing the program) takes too long to do, so there must be a better way. I ... (view more)

Tuesday's feature article of the Infopackets Gazette Newsletter made a very brief mention of a new downloadable eBook and Video Tutorial that I've been working on. The idea to create the tutorial was spawned from our recent newsletter discussions ... about archiving software. I've decided to take a time-out from my regular featured articles to announce that the Archiving eBook and Video Ultimate Guide is now complete. What did you say archiving was, exactly? From the eBook: " Typically, archival software is used to 'glue' multiple files together into a single, smaller file. As the files are ... (view more)

Today I received very disheartening email. Al G. writes: " Why has my subscription to the Infopackets Gazette newsletter suddenly ceased? " I decided to check the subscriber base, and found Al's email address still in the list. I know that most of ... the newsletters have been successfully delivered because the web statistics reflect normal activity. So, why wasn't the newsletter getting delivered to Al? The only logical explanation I could think of -- other than Al's mailbox being over-quota -- was that his Internet Service Provider (ISP) may be incorrectly blocking this newsletter due ... (view more)

Cinnamon asked me a very good question over the weekend: " Hi Dennis! In an attempt to clean out old and/or unnecessary files, I accessed my Winzip files. In scanning through the list and opening (or attempting to) open them to find out what they ... belong to, I find it just a bit mind-boggling. It's very hard to tell what some of them are. Is there a guide one can use in attempting to delete some or all of them? I'm afraid I'll remove something that I need! Thanks, and keep up the great work! " My Response: Zip files are archived files and usually contain many files. Chances are you ... (view more)

Yesterday , I detailed instructions on how to export / import contact information from the Address Book. Essentially, this allows users to make a copy of their address book: either for backup purposes, or to import contacts onto another computer. ... The instructions I gave were done using Windows XP (Service Pack 1) with Internet Explorer / Outlook Express 6. Today, I received email from two users who claim to have similar problems with the Address Book program. John L. writes: " I followed your instructions but the import and export options would not highlight. Is it because I'm using ... (view more)

In the last 3 newsletters , I've been talking about the importance of archiving programs: specifically, WinRAR, WinZIP, and WinACE. Unfortunately, neither of these popular software titles are freeware, which is why I asked Infopackets Readers to ... send me their favorite alternate picks. Ionut C. wasn't alone when he recommended ZipGenius: " ZipGenius is a zip tool suite that offers a variety of features. It offers ... drag and drop and features and an 'intelligent' wizard to get you started. Among other things, ZipGenius offers 5 different compression levels, full customization and ... (view more)

Roberta C. asks: " Could you tell me if there is a way to copy my contacts in Outlook and load them onto another computer? " My Response:I remember reading this question before, so I decided to search previous newsletters for the answer. Low and ... behold -- I found the answer in January 01, 2002's issue of the Gazette ! Jayne T. writes: " [All you need to do is send] the contents to floppy disk [or hard drive] via the export facility in the address book and you can do the reverse with the import facility of the address book on the new machine. " I decided to try it my own ... (view more)