Sorcerer Software Users Newsletter Issue 0405 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. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- May 26, 2004 CONTENTS: 1. The Abacus 2. Envelope Printer 3. A Cute web site 4. And now for something totally different... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- The Abacus http://www.TheAbacus.biz When we first created and started marketing Abacus, Microsoft was selling MS Word as part of the Office 97 package. Microsoft then released Office 2000, followed by Word 2002 and Office XP, and now Office/Word 2003. Confusing? You bet! But fortunately not to Abacus, which has evolved along with the new versions of Word and remains backwards compatible all the way to Word 97. From our point of view, the biggest change to Word has been the increasing attention Microsoft is paying to security. With Word 97 you could just start Abacus and Word would accept it without question. But now Word (especially 2003) has new levels of security and requires a digital signature in order to load an add-in file like Abacus. This was fairly simple in Word 2000/2002, but it has become a bit more complex in Word 2003 (as discussed in detail in last month's newsletter). In spite of the changes to Word, Abacus continues to return the same line counts regardless of the version of Word you are using. But I have noticed a rather disturbing trend, or perhaps just anomaly. When testing Abacus with Word 2003 on a new notebook computer that I recently obtained (running Windows XP), the line counting process was slower than it was on Word 2002 and the other Word predecessors. I'm wondering if any of you Word 2003 converts have noticed a similar problem? If so, please email me and let me know what you've discovered. Also, if you have upgraded to Word 2003 and find that the counting process is NOT any slower than on your prior version of Word, please email me and let me know that. Let's see if we can collect some information on this issue. When you email please, please let me know the version of Word, Windows, and Abacus you are using. I'll then hope to have some information for everyone in next month's newsletter. The current version 3.0 Abacus build is 040402. 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 040415. If you have an earlier build of Abacus SE, 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 A recurring question is that of "Orientation" and its cousin, envelope size. The term "Orientation" refers to how the envelope (or paper) is inserted into the printer. Since there have been no changes made to the program since the last newsletter, I thought this would be a good time to review the subjects of Orientation and standard envelope sizes for any users who may be confused about them. The Envelope Printer program has 2 standard orientations, Landscape and Portrait, and 2 default envelope sizes, #6 and #10. Orientation refers to how the paper (or envelope) goes into the printer. If the envelope enters the same way a standard piece of paper goes in, it is referred to as "Portrait". If the paper/envelope goes in lengthwise, so that the printer has to print at a 90 degree angle, then it's called Landscape. A standard #10 envelope is also often called a "business" size envelope, and measures about 9.5 inches in length. A #6 envelope measures about 5.5 inches. But you don't have to use our envelope sizes. You can make up your own. If you want to print on an envelope of another size, or want the address (or return address) to print in a non-standard location, even on a standard sized envelope, then you have to "Roll Your Own". When doing this, just tell Envelope Printer which orientation you are using -- Landscape or Portrait -- and then tell it how many inches from the top and side you want the address and return address to print. To use the "Roll Your Own" option, you first have to select an orientation by clicking on "Options" and selecting either Landscape or Portrait. Next, click on "Options" again and then on "Roll Your Own". Go ahead and try it. A new screen will open. If you selected Landscape orientation, you can then input the number of inches from the top and from the RIGHT that you want the return address and the address to print. If you selected Portrait orientation, you can then input the number of inches from the top and from the LEFT side of the envelope that you want the return address and address to print. Make sure and click on the "OK" button after entering your settings. Then just go ahead and print. You may need to fine tune your settings before you have the margins set exactly like you want them. You can also get to the "Roll Your Own" screen from the Envelope Options screen. This screen is quite handy for setting up all your printing options at one time. To access it, click on "Options->Envelope" or click on the 4th button from the right (the light blue one). On this screen select your orientation, and then at the bottom left select "Roll Your Own". When you then click on the "OK" button, the "Roll Your Own" screen will appear. (And next newsletter we'll talk more about the rest of the stuff on the "Envelope Options" screen.) And finally, you have one other printing option. Some printers expect the envelope to be inserted in the LEFT side of the paper tray, although the Envelope Printer program was designed to be used with printers that expect to find the envelope in the RIGHT side of the paper try. To accommodate these other printers, you can rotate the print 180 degrees. To do this, select Landscape orientation, and then go to the Roll Your Own screen. At the bottom of this screen you will find a checkbox that says "Rotate 180 degrees". Just check this box, and you're all set. After you are done entering the settings for the address and return address, you may want to save these settings so that you don't have to go through this process again. To do so, just click on "File->Save Settings" (or press the Ctrl and C keys simultaneously, or click on the last button on the right of the button bar at the top of the main screen). The current Envelope Printer build is 040125 of version 7.0. If you have an earlier build or version, you may want to download and upgrade to this build. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- A cute web site: Here's a brief diversion that was sent to me by my sister (I think). I did not write this code, and don't know who did. If the author is reading this, please feel free to email me and I'll publish credit for you. http://www.sorcerersoftware.com/Clock.htm Once you get to this web page, just move the mouse around the screen and see what happens. (Notice that this web page is named "Clock".) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- And now for something totally different.. (Perhaps this is just another urban myth. But it's still an interesting story, especially if you are interested in forensics.) "This is something else!! Not even Law and Order would attempt to capture this mess. This is an unbelievable twist of fate!!! At the 1994 annual awards dinner given for Forensic Science, AAFS President Dr. Don Harper Mills astounded his audience with the legal complications of a bizarre death. Here is the story: On March 23, 1994 the medical examiner viewed the body of Ronald Opus and concluded that he died from a shotgun wound to the head. Mr. Opus had jumped from the top of a ten-story building intending to commit suicide. He left a note to the effect indicating his despondency. As he fell past the ninth floor his life was interrupted by a shotgun blast passing through a window, which killed him instantly. Neither the shooter nor the deceased was aware that a safety net had been installed just below the eighth floor level to protect some building workers and that Ronald Opus would not have been able to complete his suicide the way he had planned. "Ordinarily," Dr Mills continued, "Someone who sets out to commit suicide and ultimately succeeds, even though the mechanism might not be what he intended, is still defined as committing suicide." That Mr. Opus was shot on the way to certain death, but probably would not have been successful because of the safety net, caused the medical examiner to feel that he had a homicide on his hands. The room on the ninth floor, where the shotgun blast emanated, was occupied by an elderly man and his wife. They were arguing vigorously and he was threatening her with a shotgun. The man was so upset that when he pulled the trigger he completely missed his wife and the pellets went through the window striking Mr. Opus. When one intends to kill subject "A" but kills subject "B" in the attempt, one is guilty of the murder of subject "B." When confronted with the murder charge the old man and his wife were both adamant and both said that they thought the shotgun was not loaded. The old man said it was a long- standing habit to threaten his wife with the unloaded shotgun. He had no intention to murder her. Therefore the killing of Mr. Opus appeared to be an accident; that is, assuming the gun had been accidentally loaded. The continuing investigation turned up a witness who saw the old couple's son loading the shotgun about six weeks prior to the fatal accident. It transpired that the old lady had cut off her son's financial support and the son, knowing the propensity of his father to use the shotgun threateningly, loaded the gun with the expectation that his father would shoot his mother. Since the loader of the gun was aware of this, he was guilty of the murder even though he didn't actually pull the trigger. The case now becomes one of murder on the part of the son for the death of Ronald Opus. Now comes the exquisite twist. Further investigation revealed that the son was, in fact, Ronald Opus. He had become increasingly despondent over the failure of his attempt to engineer his mother's murder. This led him to jump off the ten-story building on March 23rd, only to be killed by a shotgun blast passing through the ninth story window. The son had actually murdered himself so the medical examiner closed the case as a suicide." A true story (allegedly) from Associated Press, Reported by Kurt Westervelt. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 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.