Using Word XP/2002/2003 for posting

[DoctorDoom]

When using Word XP, 2002 or 2003 to compose posts, one sometimes sees such crap as ":place". This should eliminate it.

1. Select "Tools" then "AutoCorrect Options".

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/DocDoom777/CompTech/ACO.jpg

2. When the "AutoCorrect" multi-tabbed dialog box appears, select the "Smart Tags" tab.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/DocDoom777/CompTech/SmartTags1.jpg

3. Uncheck "Label text with smart tags".
4. Uncheck "Show Smart Tag Action Buttons".
5. Click "OK" to close the dialog box.
6. Select "Tools" then "Options".

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/DocDoom777/CompTech/SmartTags2.jpg

7. When the multi-tabbed dialog-box "Options" appears, click the "View" tab.
8. Uncheck "Smart tags" (top row, center).
9. Press "OK" to close the dialog box.Disable Smart Tags (http://malektips.com/word_2003_0018.html)

They are all but useless and they add garbage to the text.

[DoctorDoom]

Re Smart Tags, here's what they do, per Microsoft:

In Word, Excel, and Outlook, the Smart Tag Actions button recognizes your typing (such as a name or address in Word, or a stock ticker symbol in Excel) and lets you associate information and actions with that entry. A Smart Tag is indicated by a series of purple dots under the text. For example, if you type the name James Smith in Word or Outlook (when using Word as your e-mail editor), you can use the Smart Tag Actions button to create a new Contact in Outlook, send an e-mail message, schedule a meeting, or find driving directions to the address.

For a person's name, the options offered are:

• Send e-mail
• Schedule a meeting
• Open a Contact
• Add a new Contact
• Insert an address
• Remove the Smart Tag
• Smart Tag options (This brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu.)

For an address, the options offered are:

• Add to Contacts
• Display a map
• Display driving directions
• Remove the Smart Tag
• Smart Tag options (This brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu.)

In Excel, if you type a stock ticker symbol, the options offered are:

• Stock quote from MSN® MoneyCentral™
• Company report from MSN MoneyCentral
• Recent news on MSN MoneyCentral
• Insert a refreshable stock price
• Remove the Smart Tag
• Smart Tag options (This brings up the Smart Tags tab on the AutoCorrect menu.)

To turn off Smart Tags

• On the Tools menu, click AutoCorrect Options.
• Click the Smart Tags tab.
• Clear the Show Smart Tag Actions buttons check box.
• Click OK.

Note: Turning off any of the Smart Tag buttons will make that action unavailable across all the Office programs where it is an option. If you turn off the AutoCorrect button in Word, the AutoCorrect button will also be turned off in PowerPoint.Complete tasks quickly with Smart Tags in Office XP (http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/assistance/HA010347451033.aspx)

They work fine within Office, but pasting a Word document that includes them creates the crap. For example, if you type Dallas, Word recognizes it as a place name and adds XML code (spaces added).

< st1:City>< st1:place>Dallas< /st1:place>< /st1:City>

The problem is that the board software, which can process HTML, reads the opening "<" as indicating HTML, but doesn't know what to do with that code. E.g., when it comes to ":place", it interprets ":p" as a smilie code, and you see "http://www.freeconservatives.com/vb/images/smilies/tongue.giflace".

It may or may not be a problem, depending on how the file was transferred to the board, but turning the tags off eliminates the possibility.

Smart Tags

Microsoft's Smart Tags were a proposed feature of Windows XP that would allow Microsoft and its partners to insert their own links into any Web page viewed through its Internet Explorer browser. These links (which appear as purple dashed underlining, to differentiate them from original content links) are similar to traditional hyperlinks, but more complex and interactive: when the cursor hovers over a Smart Tagged word, a drop-down list appears with a selection of links related to the word. A number of companies are developing industry or application-specific Smart Tag libraries - for example, for the insurance industry or for medical applications. A Microsoft partner, Keylogix, has an application called ActiveDocs Smart Tags that allows end users to create their own Smart Tags from within Microsoft Word.

Although Microsoft will not include Smart Tags as part of XP, they have a version of them available for free download, Smart Tags for the Everyday Web. This Smart Tags application is compatible with Internet Explorer 6 and requires 200 KB of free disk space. How Smart Tags work: Someone reading a sports article moves their cursor over a Smart Tag on the name of a particular baseball team. A drop-down list appears with a selection of links - such as current standings, official web site, and related news, for example; when the user clicks a link in the list they are taken to that Web page. A button on the toolbar turns the Smart Tag option on and off.

Although Smart Tag technology has a lot of potential for helping the Web develop its interactive potential, the corporate background has made many Web site developers leery of less benign possibilities. Because the tagged words and associated links are selected by Microsoft, many Web content creators and site owners are very concerned about Smart Tag implementation, which they fear would allow Microsoft to have editorial control of their work. As an example, an anti-Microsoft rant on a Web page might have a lot less impact if links took the reader to pro-Microsoft pages. In response to the outcry against Smart Tags, Microsoft has made them available to Internet Explorer users who want them - but not an integral part of their new operating systems - and created a meta tag that allows developers to disable Internet Explorer-added Smart Tags for their Web pages.Smart Tags (http://searchwin2000.techtarget.com/sDefinition/0,,sid1_gci755198,00.html)

[Rink]

Use Notepad, works just fine for me everytime :D

[RedCastle9]

I have found the Smart Tags handy at work, but I understand what a hassle they can be. What I do to avoid the xml garbage when I want to transfer something I wrote in Word into a message board post is to paste it first in notepad (which strips all the garbage) and then paste it into the text editor of my post. It may be a hassle, but when I find the editing features of Office XP so handy I don't want to turn them off.

[DoctorDoom]

Here's a very good replacement for the standard Windows notepad. It's more flexible, has no file size limit, and is freeware.

NotePad+ (http://www.mypeecee.org/rogsoft/notepad.html)

All of my long posts are composed using it, and then cut & pasted to FC. I have Office 2003 on the box, but for posting, it's overkill to use Word. Just personal preference.

[Hilemanhouse]

I could not find auto correct so I typed something wrong and when it underlined it I right clicked and went to auto correct options that way.

[Rhino]

What version of Word are you using? In Word 2003 it doesn't say "AutoCorrect Options". It just says "AutoCorrect". Other versions may have minor variations on it.

[Hilemanhouse]

2003 professional edition

[DoctorDoom]

This is from Word 2003.

[Hilemanhouse]

But is it the professional 2003? I looked and did not see it but I think it is fixed go look at my newest it looks much better

[DoctorDoom]

What's the difference with Word between Standard (my package) and Pro? From what I can find on the MS website (http://www.microsoft.com/products/info/compare.aspx?view=22&pcid=ee959bd8-14b4-4601-91a7-eea1043249fa), the only difference is the addition of Access, Publisher, and Outlook with Business Contact Manager. There's no indication that the individual programs are different.

[Hilemanhouse]

You got me all I know is I could not find it

[Rhino]

This is from Word 2003.Oops! I got Word 2000 here. I got 2003 at home. I forgot.

[Rhino]

You got me all I know is I could not find itWhen you click Tools, are there two little downward pointing arrows at the bottom of the menu that pops up?

2439

That means there are additional menu items that are hidden because you haven't used them in a long time. Hover your cursor over them little thingies for a second or two, and the rest of the menu will appear.

[Hilemanhouse]

Well for those of us who are blind the other way works too LOL

[DoctorDoom]

For full-sized menus at all times: Tools > Customize

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v349/DocDoom777/CompTech/WordFullMenus.png

[Hilemanhouse]

I am not that blind LOL

[DoctorDoom]

I am not that blind LOLI am. :biggrin:

[Hilemanhouse]

Sometimes I think I am like when I am trying to read those pill bottles