Sorcerer Software Users Newsletter Issue 0401 Welcome to our monthly newsletter, covering the latest updates, tips and user questions about our software programs. If you have an issue or question you would like to see addressed in a future newsletter, either by me or by your fellow users, please email me and I'll include it. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- January 31, 2004 CONTENTS: 1. The Abacus 2. Envelope Printer -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Abacus http://www.TheAbacus.biz Although we all use (and love?) MS Word, and use it on a daily basis, from time to time it can be a real headache. Sometimes it corrupts a file, renames one, or just doesn't cooperate. Here's an experience an Abacus user had recently, an experience which I suspect has happened to other users as well: "A little while ago I did a check and counted lines of a report I had just completed. Just as I clicked on "Exit" the screen froze. Then when I tried to close Word and prepared to reboot, Abacus kept flashing. I couldn't do anything. I finally had to manually shut down. When I rebooted and tried to open word, I got a message saying that the Abacus add-in had caused a severe error and to go to Word help to get further information." What Sharon described here is an account of Word attacking Abacus and perhaps the global template ("normal.dot") as well. Although I believe this specific episode is rare, it serves as an example of how to go about troubleshooting when Word and Abacus stop playing nicely together. So I have prepared this checklist of things to do when all heck breaks loose: 1. Make sure Abacus is installed correctly. I know it seems obvious, but sometimes Word corrupts or moves things around. So first, check three file as follows... -- make sure the file "abacus.dot" is in Word's "startup" directory (folder), which is usually located at "c:\program files\microsoft office\office\startup". (If you have Word 2002/XP, look in the "office10" folder rather than the "office" folder). -- make sure the file "abacus30.dll" is in the Windows folder (or if you have Windows NT or 2000, it will be called the WinNT folder - "c:\windows" or "c:\winnt"). -- make sure the file "abacus.ini" is in the Abacus folder ("c:\abacus"). 2. If the above 3 files are not in the correct place, use the Windows "Search" tool to locate them and then move them to their correct locations. 3. If the files "abacus.dot" or "abacus30.dll" are not in the correct place and you cannot locate them anywhere on your computer, you will need to re-install Abacus. To do so, just download the installation file from our web site and double click on it to install. The installation file is named "abacus30.exe" (for version 3.0) and you can get it from our web site at: http://www.theabacus.biz/abacus30.exe 4. If the files are correctly installed but Abacus still won't work, check Word's "Macros" screen to make sure Word is loading Abacus correctly. To do this, start Word and press the Alt-F8 keys together. When the "Macros" screen opens, look in the dropdown combobox that says "Macros in". You should find, among other things, "abacus.dot" listed. If it is, click on it and you should then see the macro named "AbacusCountLines" in the "Macro name" box. Click on it and then click on the Run button to start Abacus. 5. If "abacus.dot" is not listed in the "Macros in" dropdown box (see #4 above), then Word is not loading Abacus correctly when it starts. This happens occasionally with Word 2002/XP. To fix this, go back to Word's main screen and click on "Tools->Templates and add-ins". On this screen look in the "Global templates and add-ins" section to see if "abacus.dot" is listed. If it is, make sure its checkbox is checked, then click the OK button, close Word, and restart Word. You should then be in business. On the other hand if "abacus.dot" isn't listed, click on the Add button and locate the file "abacus.dot" on the "Add template" screen that appears. After locating and selecting "abacus.dot", return to the "Templates and add-ins" screen and check "abacus.dot" in the "Global templates and add-ins" section. Then click on OK, close Word, and restart Word. Now Abacus should start normally. These steps will solve the problem 99% of the time. If they don't, just drop us an email and we'll be glad to help from there. The current version 3.0 Abacus build is 031219. If you have an earlier build of version 3.0, you may want to download and upgrade to this build. This is the Word "add-in" version. To get your Abacus version and build number, start Abacus and click on the copyright message at the bottom of the main screen. The current Abacus SE build is 030914. If you have an earlier build of Abacus SE/4.0, you may want to download and upgrade to this build. This is the freestanding version. To get your build number, start Abacus and click on "Help- >About". -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Envelope Printer http://www.sorcerersoftware.com/envelope.htm We are constantly trying to improve the Envelope Printer program, and we depend on users to provide input, such as bug reports or new features that we should add. Many users have said to me things like: "I bought the program because it is compact and simple to use. Please don't clutter it up with feature bloat that makes it unuseable." So I have been trying to walk a fine line between keeping it simple and adding features that appear worthwhile. To that end, we have been working on a few additions that, like many of Envelope Printer's features, are entirely optional and transparent to those who don't want or need to use them, but are available to those that would like to see them added. We are currently trying a few of these features out, including: -- ability to print using any printer (not just the default printer) attached to your computer. -- ability to print in landscape mode with the text rotated 180 degrees so that printers that insert envelopes into a feeder on the LEFT side can print properly. -- ability to recognize entries that are duplicates of addresses already in the database. If you would like to test a version of the program with these new features and are a current user of version 7.0, just email me at: bill@sorcerersoftware.com and I'll send you a copy of the program to try out, as long as you promise to report back to me with your findings! The current Envelope Printer build is 031126 of version 7.0. If you have an earlier build or version, you may want to download and upgrade to this build. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- That's all, folks. Look for our next newsletter in about 4 weeks... -- Bill bill@sorcerersoftware.com Sorcerer Software http://www.sorcerersoftware.com To read all the old newsletters, go to: http://www.sorcerersoftware.com/archives.htm To be removed from our mailing list, send me an email with the word "unsubscribe" in the subject line.