doc_Babad's Macintosh Tips - A Macintosh Tip or Three

November 2008 Edition

Product and company names and logos in this review may be registered trademarks of their respective companies.

Reviews were carried out on my iMac 2.8 GHz Intel Core 2 Duo with 2 GB 667 MHz DDR2 SDRAM running Mac OS X version 10.5.5.

Disclaimer: When briefly reviewing share-freeware I will often use the developers’ product, functions and features descriptions. All other comments are strictly my own and based on testing. Why need I rewrite the developers’ narratives, if they are clearly written?

This month I continue sharing my almost stumbled upon or homegrown tip related finds with you. As I was did some house keeping on my macCompanion folder, I discovered a trove of tips that space limits had not allowed me to use. I of course being a logical {sic} person had three choices. Use them — Toss them — Ignore them

Acknowledgements — As the occasion warrants, some of the Tips I share come from Paul Taylor's Hints & Tips column and are used with his permission. I also use user group published tips their consent. Where I use any one else’s tips for this column, I acknowledge both their source and their contributors. Yes, I do write down and share some of the tips I’ve discovered while Macin’ around. If a tip or hint comes from a more traditional commercial source, I both acknowledged that and often modify the tip to personalize for our readers.

Oh, I almost forgot! Unless otherwise noted, all the tips and tidbits I share, where appropriate, work on my computer. If I don't own the software but if the tip sounds interesting, I'll so note that information at the end of that specific write-up.

As an aside — I’m still providing Office 2004 tips, despite the fact that Office 2008 has been released. Why? I have too many customizations created in 2004 — so far it’s not been worth the time to switch although I own a copy of 2008.

Doc

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Tips I’ve provided this month, as always in a random order, include:

How to Extract All the Graphics, at Once, from MS Word
Change MS Office’s Registration
Securely Removing Your Data – All or in part
Missing A TWAIN Driver
Dealing with Microsoft Font Problems
Cannot Eject An External Drive
Problems Resizing Pictures for Insertion into PDF Files

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How to Extract all the Graphics at Once from MS Word

I do a lot of work with Microsoft documents from colleagues and friends. Until I found this tip, I captured documents in a MS Word documents the hard way One at a time.

If you get a Microsoft Word document with embedded graphics, you can extract all the graphics at once by using Word’s File > Save as Web Page feature.

This creates a text file that you can throw away, and a folder that contains the full-resolution images in PNG format and lower resolution versions of the images in JPG format.

Sandee Cohen — InDesign Magazine via Design Tools Monthly

January-February Hints and Tips – Used by Permission

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Change MS Office’s Registration

Question: I just recently noticed that I made a typo when I registered my copy of Microsoft Office 2004. When I select Word: About Word (or the equivalent in any other Office application), my name appears misspelled after “This product is licensed to.” Is it possible to fix this? ~ Meng Thao

Answer: Launch Office’s Remove Office utility (/Applications/Microsoft Office 2004/Additional Tools/Remove Office). In the “Welcome To Remove Office” window that appears, you’ll see a “Continue” button in the lower right corner. Hold down the Option key, and the button name changes to “Remove Licensing Information Only.” Click on that button to acknowledge that this is what you really want to do, and Remove Office will delete the files containing the registration information. When you next launch an Office application, the Office Setup Assistant will appear and prompt you for your name and product key, which are to be found on the products DVD box. Doc sez there are only three keys so use them judiciously.

Chris Breen’s Mac 911, Macworld

January-February Hints and Tips – Used by Permission

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Securely Removing Your Data – All or in part

Background — Doc sez that I’ve never tried this. My problem has always been to remove my personal files from an older computer before I pass it on to my children or grandchildren.

There are two circumstances data needs to be permanently deleted.

First, if I partitioned my hard drive e.g., (created several additional volumes on my hard disk to store unique information. I may want to erase permanently erase their contents before I pass on the computer. This can do that using Apples Disk Utilities, which offer a number of secure erase options. [Applications > Utilities > Disk Utility] These include zero out data, 7-pass erase or 32 pass erase. Obviously the more security you want the longer it takes. For my pass-ons I just zero out the data.

Second, I have files that need trashing irreversibly, but want to leave the contents of hard drive essentially intact. I use the secure delete option when emptying trash [Apple Menu > Finder > Secure Empty Trash.] Simple. Remember, secure trashing an item(s) will take longer than a normal empty trash. Although I suspect this secure delete just zeros out the data, I’ve not had time to research the subject. But again, I am only slightly paranoiac.

Back to the Delemain Tip — In essence the process of securely deleting files or data on your HD is just about overwriting that file data with binary data that is useless to any user, including yourself. I might add! The benefit of this is clear, but in what instances might you want to do this and how can you go about it?

Well, when you have files that you are no longer using and would like to dispose of in such a way that no one else can retrieve them, via whatever means.

You might also have sold your laptop or desktop computer and wish to remove all traces of data from the hard drive(s) contained within it, including files that contain credit card numbers, social security numbers and other forms of personal data.

Secure Erase with Apple's Disk Utility

Making the assumption that you do not have an external drive from which you can

boot and run OSX, or that you do no have another Mac system you can plug the old

Systems into using FireWire Disk Mode, then the best way to securely erase the data on your hard drive is by using the original OSX install CDs (Mac OS 10.2 or later).

The process is pretty simple and runs as follows:

1. Insert the install CD and reboot the system.

2. Hold down the C key directly after you hear the startup sound.

3. Once the installer appears, select "Open Disk Utilities" from the Installer menu.

4. In the left device menu select the drive you wish to securely erase.

5. Click the "Erase" tab in the window that loads on the right.

6. Choose the HFS+ format from the volume > format > drop menu options.

7. Click the "Options" button and select the "Zero All Data" checkbox.

8. Click OK and then Erase.

9. Hey Presto! It’s Done

Remember there’s no going back from this step!

And so there you have it, a simple guide on how to erase files, data and hard drives on the Mac. As you can see there is no need to purchase or use any third-party apps, as the functionality is built right into the operating system, though that being said, the functionality does not preclude third-party software from providing the same kind of functionality to the end user.

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Missing A TWAIN Driver

Question: My PowerMac G5 had to have the software reinstalled and I reinstalled the Epson scanner software with the CD it came with, but I get a message about missing TWAIN driver? How can I fix it?

Answer: TWAIN is the scanner driver framework. The Epson installer will put in a TWAIN Data Source file. (It goes in the /Library/Image Capture/TWAIN Data Sources/ folder. You forgot to go to Epson’s Web site and download the updated software that actually works with your Mac’s operating system. You may have to uninstall what is there now, before installing the new version.

Apple changed things for scanners with Mac OS 10.3. A large number of printer and scanner drivers required updates. (Some models were left behind and not updated. Anybody got an old UMAX or Microtek scanner?) Pretty much 99.9% of any hardware you might find, the software that came with it on a disc is out of date and needs an update.

The Software Update (you find in the Apple menu) is only good for updating your Apple software. The third party software like Microsoft, Adobe, Epson, HP, you name it, all need to be updated separately. Even firmware updates for your cable/DSL router or your fancy printer come out every so often. You know there have been dozens of iPod updaters, right? Do you think anyone got it right the first time? There is a reason the current Mac OS is version 10.4.7, because there were problems with 10.4.0, and still more with 10.4.1, etc., up to 10.4.7 itself. There will be a 10.4.8 update.

When in doubt, go to http://www.versiontracker.com/macosx to see if there is a software update for something you use. You won’t find every firmware update there, too, but some are listed. I remember calling a friend who had just ordered some new software but he hadn’t received it yet. After checking VersionTracker, I told him, while you’re waiting, download the update for it; it fixes a serious problem.

Updaters can be tricky, too. Some are very incremental, like FileMaker Pro 8.0v3 updater won’t update the original release from the CD, version 8.0v1. You have to first download the 8.0v2 updater, install that before the 8.0v3 can find a valid application to update. More and more programs check for an update for themselves when they launch, but many require you to select from a menu to check for updates now. Some, like Adobe Creative Suite, can check for updates across most of the suite, but you have to check Adobe Acrobat Pro separately.

Bradley Dichter — LIMac Forum, Long Island, NY

January-February Hints and Tips – Used by Permission

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How to Deal With Microsoft Font Problems

Microsoft Office 2004 users sometimes have their programs report that numerous fonts are damaged and must be replaced — this happens, even though the fonts may be Microsoft’s own and/or may have just been installed. Just what triggers this problem is uncertain, but at least a cure has been defined.

If you look in the Microsoft Office 2004 folder (inside your Applications folder) you’ll find a folder named Office, and inside one named Support Files. Look in there and you’ll find an item named Font Cache Tool. The remedy for the problem is to move this Font Cache Tool to a different folder (any one will do), or to trash it altogether if you feel adventurous.

As far as anyone has been able to determine, this has no adverse effect on the operation of Office programs, and it certainly fixes this problem.

Some time ago there was another Microsoft font problem, and if you seem to be having any trouble with fonts at all and are running an older (than 2004) version of Office, it’s worth downloading the latest versions of Times and Arial from the Microsoft website. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/mac and look at the right hand column.

Scroll down until you can see and click ‘View all downloads’. Now scroll down to Office 2001 and click ‘Core Fonts Update’. Download and install the file you find here.

Steve Cooper - AUSOM News, Melbourne, Australia

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Somewhat Hidden Printing Options

I’ve noted over time that many Mac OS X users are unaware of some very important options that are tucked away in the Print dialog: Whenever you use an application’s Print menu command, you will normally arrive at the standard Print dialog.

One of the features of this is a pop-up menu which, when you first see it, is labeled “Copies & Pages.”

No matter which application you’re working with, or what sort of printer you have, you’ll find groups of other useful settings in this pop-up menu. The first one is “Layout,” where you can choose to print multiple (reduced size) pages of your document on a single sheet of paper — very handy for saving paper when printing long documents, as long as the font size is large enough to remain legible when there are two pages of it on each sheet.

There are several more groups of settings that you can investigate for yourself. Some of them are common to all printer and application setups, while some apply only to the current application/printer combination. There will often be one group that carries the current application’s name (e.g. AppleWorks, FileMaker Pro), where you’ll find settings that apply specifically to that application.

Other settings to look for are those that enable you to tell the software what kind of paper you’re printing on (plain, matte, glossy, etc) and how you want color management to be handled. Often, you can tweak the printer’s color settings in this area.

If you want to print documents using only black ink (to help avoid using up your color cartridge quite so quickly), there’s usually a relevant setting here.

Of Special Note — If you establish a particular combination of all these options and settings, you can save it, for reuse, with an identifying name. Click on the “Presets” pop-up and choose “Save.” Give your preset a name and in future, you’ll be able to recreate that combination of settings simply by choosing its name from the Presets pop-up.

AUSOM News, Melbourne, Australia

January-February Hints and Tips – Used by Permission

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Cannot Eject An External Drive

Several users have experienced an issue in which an attached FireWire or USB drive will not eject. Instead, an error message pops up claiming the drive cannot be ejected because it is in use. This may occur with hard drives, flash drives, or any other storage system. As Apple discussion member, vburger writes:

"I have a Maxtor 500GB HD attached via USB to my laptop. Quite often, when I want to detach it I get the message: 'The Volume could not be ejected because it is currently in use'. However, I am not aware of any active application that is still using the HD."

Warning: Unless it cannot be avoided, do not unplug or shut off an external drive unless it is first unmounted. Data corruption and potential system crash could result.

Fixes:

Disable spotlight indexing for the drive The most common culprit for this issue seems to be Apple's Spotlight indexing services, which maintain an index of all local file system for quick finding of search queries. Many times the indexing can take a while, and will keep the drive in use. To disable spotlight indexing for the drive, open the Spotlight system preferences and add the drive to the "Privacy" list. If that does not stop the indexing, the drive's spotlight index could be corrupted, in which case Spotless 2.01 to manually remove the Spotlight index.

Spotless is a shareware program you can download from MacUpdate, as is CloneEject 1.0 a freeware program. [Disclosure: Doc has never used these products, I just wait the system out — the timeout a cup of coffee usually does the job. This usually happens to me after backing up my drive (cloning it) to an external drive partition using SuperDuper.

Download the utility Spotless.

Use the tool to erase the Spotlight index.

Restart your Mac.

Close all open documents and/or applications. If an application has a document open on the drive, then the drive will not eject. Ensure all applications on the computer are closed and try to eject the drive.

Check the file open status on the affected hard drive. Sometimes a utility or background process that might not present itself as an open application will access the drive. To see a full list of the files that are open on the drive and the corresponding applications/processes that have those files open, run this command in the terminal:

lsof /Volumes/VOLUME_NAME

This will output a list, which will pinpoint the specific process that has an open file on the drive. You can then locate and quit the process using Activity Monitor. If the process is owned by anything but yourusername then it might be best to restart the system instead of quitting the process, as this may destabilize the computer.

Restart the computer. If none of the above works, shutting down or restarting the computer will quit all processes and allow the release the drive. If the problem keeps returning then formatting the drive with Disk Utility may help.

MacFixIt — Trouble Shooting Solutions for the Macintosh

Wednesday, May 21 2008 @ 11:00 AM PDT

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Resizing Pictures for Insertion into PDF Files

As you might remember from my articles on altering web downloaded materials to make them better looking, I add graphics to many items that I download in text format as either MS Word or Adobe Acrobat (PDF) documents.

Annotating & Making Text Recipes Pretty, March 2006 macCompanion. and
Tutorial: Shrinking and Enhancing Multi-Page PDF Recipes October 2008 macCompanion.

Now don’t get me wrong. Most of the time copying an image from Google Images or a web site works fine. You can paste the image into a PDF or Word document and you get a good looking picture whose corner anchor points are available to you for resizing. When resizing, the picture quality is fine, and all that’s may be need is to move the image to where it belongs.

Two Tidbits to Remember:

An image pasted into MS Word can be easily resize by sing one or more of the eight anchor points that surround it when you selected it with your mouse. Then using the software’s tools in the Format Drawing pallet to place the image not only where you want it with respect to the text, but to wrap the text around the image in a manner that pleases you. The tools you use are found in the Format > Picture > Layout.

When dealing with a PDF the pasted image dopes not extend beyond the right and left margins of the document, using the anchor points is easy. Note that unlike MSW (Microsoft Word), images in Acrobat can only be resized on the diagonal. Remember, , the software has a mind of its own and the image is usually both in the wrong place and covers up some of the text. No matter – Anchors aweigh! Or is that away?

There are three kinds of problems that can occasionally occur when you try to add an image from Google Images” or other web source to a PDF

;

Too Large	Too Small	Too Blurred
If this sounds like a problem from Alice in Wonderland, so be it.

1. Too Large — The anchor points fall outside the margins of the PDF you can:
[a] Make the image larger, not by magnifying it with the enlarge pages tool with the zoom tools but by expanding the view window size using the enlarge window tool (Lower right hand corner a the bottom of every apple document window.

With a little bit of luck you will expand the window so that you can see the image anchor points beyond the edges of the document page. Grab an anchor point and size the image to meet your needs.

[b] An alternative that sometimes works when selecting the pasted image. Look for the rotate loop. Image See if twisting the picture diagonally allows you too see one of the anchor points. If so shrink the image, straighten the picture and put it where it is needed.

[c] Finally, if all fails paste or drop and drag the image from its source into a blank MS Word document. Sometime s drag works better than paste; paste gives the Internet address link at times, not the image. The copy the image from MS Word into you PDF. It will now fit on the page. Why does this work — ask someone else… I have no idea.

2. Too Small — Use the anchor point. If the image blurs, go to 1(c) above. Microsoft to the rescue. [Did I write that?]

3. Too Blurred — At times, moving an image from GraphicConverter to a PDF by cutting and pasting results in a badly blurred or pixilated image. This happens for some unknown reason despite the fact that the original image from the web source is greater than 35 to 50K. Okay, KISS — use alternative 1(c)

Of course you all remember the ways to grab an image from the Internet:

You can grab a web image by right clicking on it (copy image) The you can paste it where you need it to be; your final document or into an image processing program to make it uniquely yours.

You can grab it, or part of it, to your desktop using Apple’s Command-Shift 4. I like this for truncating large web headers into just the piece I want. Alternatively you can drag and drop the image on you desktop. Two things could then happen. A new image file results. You use as you would any other image. Or, based on the way I have my computer configured, the image downloads into my downloads folder. That can be done directly using apple’s contextual menu feature, right-clicking on the image.

I’m sure there are more variations on this team but it’s time to move onto another article.

Harry {doc} Babad at macCompanion.com

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That’s all folks…

Harry {doc} Babad