ABC ~ All 'Bout Computers, Vol. 35: Computer Questions and Answers

I am using MS Access 2003. I have a database with 20,000 records.
I want to be able to Add button to a form, When 'clicked' will export a name and address from the form, for that record into a Word Doc

OK. Tricky one, this, and it needs a bit of setting up. Here's how I've
done it in the past.

First, you'll need to make a MakeTable query called 'qryMailQuery' to
isolate the fields you actually want to send to Word. You should set the
query to filter to the current record only if that's the only record you
want to go to Word with a click of the button. To do this, you'd have a
WHERE clause in the query's SQL linking it to the present value of a
field on your form, e.g. WHERE [ID] = forms("frmMainForm").ID

You'll also need a Word document template set up with the datasource set
to the table indside the Access file created by the MakeTable query. The
code I use below assumes this template is named and located thus:

c:\Templates\Doc 1.dot

Then you'll need a reference to to Word object model and this code
behind your form button:

Private Sub Button_Click()
On Error GoTo Err_Button_Click

Dim stDocName As String
Dim objWord As Object
Dim objDocs As Object
Dim docTempate As String

DoCmd.SetWarnings False
Me.Refresh
stDocName = "qryMailQuery"
DoCmd.OpenQuery stDocName, acNormal, acEdit
Set objWord = CreateObject("Word.Application")
Set objWord = GetObject(, "Word.Application")
Set objDocs = objWord.Documents
docTemplate = c:\Templates\Doc 1.dot"
objDocs.Add docTemplate
objWord.Visible = True
objWord.Activate
DoCmd.SetWarnings True

Exit_Button_Click:
Exit Sub

Err_Button_Click:
MsgBox Err.Description
Resume Exit_Button_Click

End Sub

This method will work well when you have many fields to pass across - up
to 255 in fact is fine. But if you only have a few, you might be better
writing your form values directly to custom property fields in a Word
documenet. Let us know if you want guidance on how this method works.

Sorry...I don't know how to PUSH info to Word from Access ... but you can check out my Please fill out this form # 5 to learn how to setup Word to PULL the info into Word from Access. Read this article.

this thing give it up. Not sure what to do at this point.

Answer from Mike Baynes:

Can you right click on the shortcut and click on properties? I see you are using Win 98. You should be able to reboot to DOS and delete the file/icon. Make a note of the path then try this, from the next MikesWhatsNews:

Deleting Files in Use
Sometimes we find out that we cannot delete files as Windows says they are "in use". This frequently happens with virus/trojans/spyware and browser hijackers. Often we have to boot to Safe Mode to attempt to delete them. To get to Safe Mode reboot and click the "F8" key intermittently to bring up the Safe Mode options. In Windows 9X we had the option to go into DOS and delete files. There is also a handy free utility available; GiPo@MoveOnBoot which copies, moves or deletes files and folders on the next system boot. The utility is very useful when the user needs to replace or delete files which are locked by other applications, loaded into the memory or just cannot be changed until next system boot. Look on the bottom of that page for the Older Software.

Answer from Vic Ferri:

In general, any file or folder can be deleted via Ms-Dos, but if you are talking about a virtual icon, then that's the registry and you should check HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\
SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Explorer\
Desktop\NameSpace

Reply from joesbarngrill from charlotte,nc:

That was it. the last remaining vestige of the bastard step-child of all
things good (software wise). Okay, little over the top, but that registry fix of Vic's indeed did take care of it.

Question submitted by 2x:

In PowerPoint2000. I made 11 slides with all the bells and whistles. Then
clicked F5 for it to be played and they would not advance. [now two weeks ago the other slides would advance] Under slide show tab/slide
transition/advance - I have both boxes checked (mouse click and Auto after) and Apply. I have tried to run F5 from all five positions of the little
boxes at the bottom left (slide show/slide sorter view/outline view/ and
normal view. no luck - finally I couldn't get the 'esc.' key or the
Ctrl+pause/break to end the program. The program was hung on slide one. I finally did a Ctrl-Alt-Delete. I have set & reset the auto timing of each slide. I have no 'sticky keys' turned on in the Accessibility Options. I
have re-installed Office2000. I've been into 'Helps' under 'detect and
repair'. One person said "sounds like your CPU is going out". But the rest of my computer works good - real good. As stated - two weeks ago on set number on - that slide show would advance when F5 was clicked - but now on set number two they won't advance. I've been ask about maybe I was using *jpeg with one and *tif with the other - but I don't thing so. Anyone got any thoughts on what could be going on?

Answer from Kathy Jacobs:

Can you answer some questions for me?
1) Does it happen just on this presentation or on all presentations? If it is just happening with this one presentation, then...
2) If the presentation is saved as a "show" (extension of .pps), does it run and advance when double clicked?
2.5) If the presentation is set up to run as a kiosk (Slide Show--> Set up show--> kiosk setting at the top of the dialog), does it advance?
3) Does the presentation have any music in it? If so is the music set to
play through multiple slides, or only on the current slide?
4) Are just transitions set to happen after a time, or are the animations set to go after times as well? (This one is my best guess of what is happening.)
5) What happens if after the presentation is started, the mouse is clicked?
6) What happens if the presentation is run from some slide other than the first one? Does it run then?

Since "all the bells and whistles" is mentioned, my guess is that something in the animations or the playing of a sound or movie is not set up correctly.

Reply from 2x:

Yes! Kathy had the magic wand. In question numbers 3 & 4 she suggested that the animations were playing longer that the slide was timed for. I did not have any animations but I did have music. The slide was timed for 3 - 5 seconds and the length of the music was 2-3 minutes (who can sit still that long ;^) ........ But I did and the slides changed after each song throughout the entire presentation. So many thanx

Question submitted by Lucy:

I wonder if you would help me with a querie on Powerpoint. I prepared a very large presentation, over 200 slides and about 35 MB not including the music files in WAV format which add about another 150 MB, its not bussiness, its pure fun, its almost a mini movie of a party I gave a friend. In my computer it looks great, in other computers its not good. The fonts or the arrangement within the slides dont appear as planned, the music doesnt play or plays intermitently and the effects dont happen. My idea was to make disc copies of it and give them to the people that came to the party, but after hundreds of hours of work (literally ) it doesnt work! I receive lots of presentations, even by email, that just play automatically in my PC with music and all (?) how do they do it?? The worse problem is getting the music to play and the slides to respect the time that has been allocated to them and the effects. For instance some slides have three things allocated at the same time: photos, background music and an effect ie: a sound from powerpoint like a camara or an explosion, etc. So I am told some computers can only play two things not three, and so it goes... every computer is different, some processors are very slow, some are running Win 95, others 98 etc. How can I make a disc that would play as prepared in all computers with all sounds and effects? I have installed music in the CD so the presentation can take it from there, but still doesnt work... I am not a computer expert and in the computer world things are done that are much more complicated than this, is
this a very difficult thing I am trying to do???? Is it possible or I am
wasting my time? Do I need to get an expert to do it in a professional way? Would really appreciate your help , you've got no idea the time I have spent on this, its scary ! Now I understand how movies take years to make !!!

Answers from Linda Johnson and Kathy Jacobs:

Here's some very good suggestions from Kathy Jacobs. If this seems like too much work for you, I would suggest you contact Vic Ferri and have him turn your presentation into an exe file so it will run on ANY machine you send it to...but first you need to use some of Kathy's suggestions to get it down to a manageable size. If you do decide to let Vic do his magic on it, you can send Vic a demo and he will show you what he can do for free....his service is here:
http://www.angelfire.com/va3/powerpoint_to_exe/

Good luck!

Suggestions from Kathy:

(NOTE FROM LINDA: See Kathy's article in this issue for even more information on this.)

Starting at the beginning ... You probably won't be able to get the
presentation to run exactly the same on every machine. Machines have
different amounts of memory, different programs running, different CPUS, etc., etc., etc. That said, there are some things you can do to make it a little better:
1) You should always develop the presentation on the least powerful machine likely to run the thing. If you develop on a high powered machine, then run on a lower powered machine, you will have many problems.
2) You need to make sure that your files are the smallest size possible.
First, turn OFF fast saves (Tools--> Options--> Save tab, uncheck the box) and then save the presentation to a new name. If Fast Saves were on, this step alone will cut your presentation size by a good amount (usually 33-50%). Next, read up on how to make sure your files are as small as possible at the PPT FAQ (www.pptfaq.com). This includes making sure your graphics aren't oversized, that your music is the minimum quality you can live with, and that you inserted the graphics and sounds the right way (inserted, not copied and pasted).
3) Embed your fonts. If you used anything out of the ordinary and didn't
embed them, the receiver has very little chance of seeing what you are
seeing. If you embed them, you at least have a shot at them seeing what you want them to see. Since not all fonts are embeddable, you may still have some font problems, but they should be minimized.
4) Next, make sure that you distribute the presentation correctly. Send the sounds with the presentation. Make sure the receivers know which version of PPT was used to create the presentation and which viewer they should use to view it. If the people receiving the presentation have a different version than you do, they may not see what you want them to see.
5) Make sure the links don't break when you move your presentation and the sound files around. Information on that problem is also on the PPT FAQ website.
6) Make sure you save your presentation as a PowerPoint Show, so that it will play on a double click (instead of opening in PPT's edit mode).
7) You can't control what other computers have for sound. Most machines
won't play more than two sounds at a time. Most laptops will have problems playing more than one at a time.
Once you do those things, you will be closer to having a distributable
presentation. If it still isn't working the way you want, then it may be
time to hire a professional for help.
(By the way, PowerPoint may be simple to learn, but it is NOT easy to use correctly. Think about the game "Go" - simple premise, but it takes many years to learn to play correctly. PowerPoint can be the same way.)

Reply from Lucy:

I cant thank you enough for your generous help, I think I will contact Vic as you suggested. Many Many thanks and best regards.

Follow-up from Lucy:

Hi, just to let you know that Vic did a great job on my presentation and solved all my problems, and what a great guy he is as well, thank you and all the best.

Question submitted by Mary Urbin:

When I open Word I get an information sheet I previously wrote instead of the regular word opening. I have to delete the info sheet before I get the New document sheet. I THINK this is a template that I inadvertently created (How, I'll never know). My question is how do I get rid of it and go back to the original Word opening? Thank you.

Answer from Linda Johnson:

Hi Mary. What's happened is somehow this information has gotten into your global template. Your global template is called normal.dot. All you have to do is close Word, find normal.dot, delete it, and when you open Word again, it will make you a new blank one. If you can't find it, this page of mine tells you how:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/NNTWord.htm

Reply from Mary Urbin:

Thanks a bunch! I am hooked with your site and if I need help again, you'll
be the first one I ask. Your directions were simple to follow and what was
important is that it worked. Thank you.

INFO ADDED by Linda AFTER PUBLICATION: A reader wrote to me and asked why I didn't tell Mary to backup her normal template before she deleted it, because of all the customized settings that will be lost if you delete normal.dot. In this case, Mary specifically asked to get "back to the original Word opening" and that's what deleting normal.dot does. However, if you don't know what is included in normal.dot and what you will lose if you delete it, read the link I sent to Mary.

Question submitted by Larry F:

I've got something called C-dilla on my computer that won't go away. If I disable the driver it disables my XP CD burning feature (actually, IMAPI). Even with good CD burning software I can't get one to finish burning. It has no uninstall in Add/Remove. It can come packaged without warning with any software -- commercial, shareware, trial and freeware. Nobody write anything about this thing. I've only found 3 sites that discuss it, and none offers a solution. Even message boards had nothing to offer. Is there some reason for this attitude that I can't comprehend?

Here's what's on my system that I know of:
CDANTSRV.EXE in C:\Windows\System32\Drivers
CDILLA16.EXE in C:\Windows
C-Dilla in Device Manager Non-Plug and Play Drivers

Question: Are you guys familiar with this? I would really appreciate any information you could give me.

Answer from Linda Johnson:

C-Dilla comes bundled with many programs...it is *supposed* to be removed when you uninstall the program. Its only purpose is *supposed* to be to keep you from burning a copy of that particular program. The most well known program that installs c-dilla is Turbo Tax. Did you by any chance install that? Anyway, here's a link to a site that discusses how to get rid of it if you got it with Turbo Tax. Evidently you MUST uninstall Turbo Tax BEFORE you can remove c-dilla. So, if it's not Turbo Tax that gave it to you, then you must first be sure you have uninstalled the program that it came bundled with BEFORE you try to remove c-dilla. You will NOT be able to remove c-dilla until you have first removed the software that it came bundled with. This site also includes instructions at the end to download a program called SafeCast Uninstaller which supposedly removes c-dilla, AFTER you've uninstalled the other software. http://snipurl.com/5a13 If that doesn't get rid of it for you, there are a LOT of links related to c-dilla when you do a google search, so if this one doesn't do it for you, then here's the google page I got when I did a search on "remove c-dilla"....hopefully you will find the answer you need.

Google search results for "remove c-dilla":
http://snipurl.com/5a16

Good luck...and in the future, be sure to read those licensing agreements when you install something, instead of just clicking "I agree"...lotsa sneaky stuff out there.

Reply from Larry F:

Thank you very much for your quick reply, Linda. The links I found
played out at www.intuit.com . Intuit apparently no longer fools with
it, and the download is not available. The best links were all over 2
years old. The three exes they mention are CDILLA16.EXE, CDILLA32.EXE and CDILLA64.EXE. Mine is the "16." I also have a mysterious 16-bit 46.9MB partition set up as "F:Drive" that contains a folder called TEST, It tests the modem, bios, etc. I didn't load this partition, nor did Windows or eMachines, but guess what sometimes loads a partition when it is installed -- yep, C-dilla. I found 34 entries in the registry this morning; it's a real mess. I'll be formatting soon so I'm just going to let go of it... let it sit there. I've enjoyed your newsletter, and I really do appreciate your help.

Question submitted by Lou:

I had the most wonderful version of Microsoft Geetings that came with my old computer, which was running Windows 98. As a new user to XP, I thought perhaps that I could also use this disk on my new computer. It does install but when I try to make a greeting card, I get error message that says a file is missing. I also have the set-up disk for greetings, word97 and works. Would it be possible for me to use this set up and again have my favorite program on my new computer?

Answer from Linda Johnson:

Hi Lou. Since you didn't say which version of Microsoft Greetings you have, I'm assuming the one you have isn't compatible with XP. You can try right clicking on the icon you use to run Greetings and clicking on Properties, then click on the Compatibility tab and choose to run it in compatibility mode for Windows 98, however, this may or may not work.
But there is a version that IS compatible with Windows XP and you can get it here...it's Microsoft Greetings 2002...not very expensive, this page says it's $29.95: http://snipurl.com/5b1g Good luck.

Question submitted by Gerry from Perth West Australia:

I recently changed my ISP and now I can't see my shared folders or shared printer from other machines on my network. I was using a Alcatel Speed Touch Pro 4 port ADSL modem. I know use a link DSL-504 4 port router. I have resetup my network using the setup disk created on the first machine to set it up on the second machine. The Internet connection through the router works fine fro both Pc's. The ip addresses are 192.168.0.1 (routr - gateway) .2 & .3 fro the pc's. I can ping the gateway from both machines. I can ping .2 from .3 but not .3 from .2. The Dlink dsl-504 is connected to .3. XP Firewall is off. I do use the Kerio Personal firewall (free version)

Question: Can anyone point to where I can look to allow folder and printer sharing across this peer to peer network. will be adding a 3rd PC in de course.

Answer from Hal Cardona:

It sounds like Kerio is blocking your net work access. Try disabling it
and see if your networking will work. If it does you will need to
configure Kerio to allow the 192.168.0.xxx subnet through (Sorry I don't
use Kerio and can't help with this part). In general when troubleshooting networking problems, turn off all firewalls first. Your router will provide enough protection for a while.

Reply from Gerry from Perth West Australia:

Thanks Hal, Your solution fixed my problem. I can now print to the shared printer and see the shared drive from the second machine. I had added the IP address of the second machine to the acceptable list of the firewall but I guess it wasn't enough. I will now investigate further as to what I need to do to allow my machine to see the other machine through the firewall. Cheers

Question submitted by ECURB from Fla:

Netscape page back and page forward disappeared. uninstalled N7.0
and reinstalled. Still missing. How can I get them back?

Answer from William Warren:

Need a few more details ... Is the whole toolbar that contains the back
buttons gone or are the text labels still there? If it is only text labels, what you need to do is open up Netscape, then click Edit then Preferences. Click Appearance and make sure the dot is next to pictures and text in the show toolbars as subsection. If that toolbar is completely gone click View then Show/Hide and make sure navigation toolbar has a check. If it does, click Navigation toolbar to hide it (trust me) then reverse the process .. between these two, your back and forward buttons should reappear..:)

Reply from ECURB from Fla:

did the trick. thank you very much.

Question submitted by Jagtar Singh Gill:

Problem using SUMIF formula I am facing the prob using sumif formula, I have store some range that is updated time to time. for example i had store range in column B4 the 'Party Sale'!D2:D16 now am using formula =SUMIF(T(B4),criteria,sum_range) I am getting every time error 'the formula you typed contains an error'

Answer from Linda Johnson:

I'm not sure what you are saying ...the formula you show ... =SUMIF(T(B4),criteria,sum_range) ... would DEFINITELY give you an error. You need to put the criteria and range into the formula in the opposite order and I don't know what T(B4) is supposed to mean, but it's incorrect. You say you've stored a "range" in column B4? B4 isn't a column, it's one cell. Are you using Excel's Data>Table feature? If so, you don't need that. Let's say you want to get the sum of all numbers in the range D2:D16 that are greater than 10, for example ... the formula you would use would be =SUMIF(D2:D16,">10") Maybe you aren't using the quotation marks? Hope this clears it up for you.

Question submitted by AllieMcK:

We will be changing ISPs in a few weeks (getting DSL--Yeah!!!). So I'm wondering: 1) is there any simple way of telling everyone including all my email lists of the new email address; and 2) Will I still be able to access previous emails or do they have to be saved in text format? Thanks

Answer from Linda Johnson:

There's no real "easy" way of telling all of your email contacts what your new email address is ... other than sending one email to all of them (using the bcc feature in your email program so you are not sharing all of their addresses with strangers). However, be aware that many ISPs have filters that will not deliver emails with large numbers of addresses in the bcc field (in an effort to protect their customers from bulk emailers), so I would suggest you send the emails in small groups of maybe 10 addresses at a time. Your emails are stored within the email program you use (Outlook Express, Outlook, Eudora, etc.), so when you get the new ISP you can just change your mail settings within that program and you won't lose the mail you already received that is already stored in there. Just because you change ISPs doesn't mean you must change which email program you are using. Have fun. I know you will enjoy a your new high speed internet experience.

Question submitted by Chief11nz:

My computer will show a DVD movie 3 times then on the 4th time it will lock into the Region of that DVD. We have a library of Region 2 and 4 DVD's. Is there anything I can do to make my computer play DVD's from any zone? I've played 2 DVD's on the computer so far and am weary to play more until I can solve this problem. Can you help? Thanks

Answer from Vic Ferri:

Try something like DVD Region Free. 40 dollars but works great.
http://www.tucows.com/preview/279162.html

Question submitted by Mock26:

I recently found a non-repeating random number generator on your site and it has been a great help to me. My particular problem, though, is that the range of the numbers I want to generate changes based on a variable in cell B1. For example, if B1 is "1" then I want to generate from 1-43. If B1 =2, then generate 41 numbers. If B1 = 3, generate 37 numbers. Here are all the values:

1 = 43
2 = 41
3 = 37
4 = 40
5 = 39
6 = 35
7 = 22
8 = 19
9 = 9

I am at a loss as to how I would modify the below code to accomodate for this. Thank you very much. Take care and have a great day....

Answer from Ray Blake:

There needs to be a little bit of code in front of the original sub.
Here are the new bits:

++++ code starts ++++

Dim intHighest As Integer
Select Case Range("B1").Value
Case 1
intHighest = 43
Case 2
intHighest = 41
Case 3
intHighest = 37
Case 4
intHighest = 40
Case 5
intHighest = 39
Case 6
intHighest = 35
Case 7
intHighest = 22
Case 8
intHighest = 19
Case 9
intHighest = 9
End Select

++++ code ends ++++

Now simply remove the line: Const intHighest As Integer = 35 'Highest number required

Job done.

Reply from Mock26:

Thank You Very Much for your assistance! However, I have to confess that I left out something vitally important on the original e-mail. I was so
focused on this aspect of it that I forgot to add in that the number of
numbers being generated will also change. Specifically, if you look at Case 9, there are only nine numbers being generated, and the program is telling it to generate 25. Sorry about the lapse of information on the first e-mail. Is it still possible for you to help me out? Thank you very much.
I was thinking, and I know you must be getting sick of my e-mails now, but
is there a way to simply fill in the remaining fields with zeros? In other words, in Case 9, have it randomly generate numbers 1-9, and then have it fill in the rest of the 16 cells with zeros? What I'm doing is creating a
page that will generate random numbers in Column A, and and then use the "indirect" command to in the adjacent cells in Column B based on the number generated in Column A. Would it help to send along my spread sheet so you can see what I'm doing? Thank you very much, again.

I want to generate 25 actual numbers, or have it generate a number equal to the IntHighest if it is less than 25. So, here are the cases with the total number of possible values the the total number of actual numbers generated:

1 = 43 - 25 acutal number
2 = 41 - 25 acutal number
3 = 37 - 25 acutal number
4 = 40 - 25 acutal number
5 = 39 - 25 acutal number
6 = 35 - 25 acutal number
7 = 22 - 22 acutal number
8 = 19 - 19 acutal number
9 = 9 - 9 acutal number

Answer from Ray Blake:

OK. Here's the new version of the code which will limit the numbers as
necessary:

++++ code starts ++++

Dim intHighest As Integer
Select Case Range("B1").Value
Case 1
intHighest = 43
Case 2
intHighest = 41
Case 3
intHighest = 37
Case 4
intHighest = 40
Case 5
intHighest = 39
Case 6
intHighest = 35
Case 7
intHighest = 22
Case 8
intHighest = 19
Case 9
intHighest = 9
End Select

If Range("B1").Value >8 Then
Const intHowMany As Integer = 9
Elseif Range("B1").Value >7 Then
Const intHowMany As Integer = 19
Elseif Range("B1").Value >6 Then
Const intHowMany As Integer = 22
Else
Const intHowMany As Integer = 25
End If

++++ code ends ++++

Question submitted by Jonathan:

Hi, saw Chad Welch's code for blinking cells in Excel. Works well except can't find a way to disable it. Would like to be able to have a macro to turn it on (that's easy) but also disable it. Any thoughts?

Answer from Chad Welch:

Thank you for your email. I'm glad that you are able to use the code. To stop the blinking place the following code in the same module containing the Blink code:

Public Sub Stop_Blink()
Application.OnTime EarliestTime:=BlinkTime, _
Procedure:="Blink", Schedule:=False
End Sub

Run the macro "Stop_Blink" to stop the blinking.

Question submitted by Darla in Ohio:

I have to create a reorder every week for videos. Some videos repeat from week to week. How can I set it up so that when I enter a certain 3 digit code that the name and order # automatically enter? I don't want to have to keep typing the same name and numbers every week, but I never know which videos need to be reordered until that week. I don't have Access. I only have Excel and Word. Which program is best used for this? I was thinking I need some type of database, but I don't know how to get the info to auto complete. Thanks so much for any help.

Answer from Linda Johnson:

First you need to create a spreadsheet in Excel that shows all the 3-digit codes, order numbers and names (the 3-digit codes MUST be in the leftmost column)...then you can use a VLOOKUP formula to pull that information onto another sheet in the workbook.

Here's a simple tutorial on how vlookups work:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/vlookup.htm

And here's a more detailed tutorial if you need more help:
http://personal-computer-tutor.com/abc4/v33/ray33.htm

Reply from Darla in Ohio:

Thanks so much, I did it, I did it! Yahoo! Now I just have to get it to read from the entire list of videos and not just one set range of rows. You are great with this stuff girly. Thanks

Question submitted by Darrel:

My problem is Word will not allow me to highlight a sentence and write over it. When I try to do that it just inserts my new sentence in the old one. I'm not sure when it started but I am hoping there is a fix to it besides using the go back feature. I havent ever used that feature but I can only imagine that I would loose any information that I have recently saved to my computer. Thanks.

Answer from Linda Johnson:

Open Word and go to the Tools menu, click on Options.....in there, click on the Edit tab and make sure you have a check in the box that says "Typing replaces Selection". Take care.

Reply from Darrel:

Wow, You are awesome. I can hardly believe you responded that quickly. And that was it. I don't know how it got unchecked but it's back to normal now. Thank you so much.

Question submitted by Just another guy:

I would like to convert the hexadecimal value, B00ED0FF, into an actual word.

Answer from Kathy Jacobs:

Well, since the ASCII character set only goes up to 7F, I am not sure that
this is a string that can be converted into actual characters. Are you sure
there are no other digits that go with the string?

Answer from Ray Blake:

I don't know what you mean in terms of converting it into a word, but
it's easy enough to convert it into decimal, using the Excel HEX2DEC
function, in the Analysis toolpak.

Answer from Hal Cardona:

The Easy way is to use the Windows Calculator. Open it, Drop down view and select Scientific. Now mark the radio button for hex and enter your number. Mark the radio button for dec (decimal) and your conversion is complete.
So, B00ED0FF = 2953761023

To do it manually you need to understand the following:

The first place to left of the decimal point contains the ones column the
valid digits are 0 - 9 (with normal decimal values) and A -F with following
decimal values:
A = 10
B = 11
C = 12
D = 13
E = 14
F = 15

The next place to the left is the 16's (Decimal) column where:
20 hex = 32 decimal
3C hex = 60 decimal

The next column is the 256's (decimal) column or 16 squared
The next column is the 4096's (decimal) column or 16 cubed
It continues on in the above manner.

So the hex number B00ED0FF = the following in decimal:
B00ED0FF
B0000000 = 11*(268435456 or 16 to the 7th power) = 2952790016
0000000 = 0*( 16777216 or 16 to the 6th power) = 0
000000 = 0*( 1048576 or 16 to the 5th power) = 0
E0000 = 14*( 65536 or 16 to the 4th power) = 917504
D000 = 13*( 4096 or 16 cubed) = 53248
000 = 0*( 256 or 16 squared) = 0
F0 = 15*( 16 or 16 to the first power) = 240
F = 15*( 1 or 16 to the zero power) = 15

B00ED0FF hex = 2952790016

Answer from Vic Ferri:

B00ED0FF are extended ascii characters translating to °¨Ðÿ

See my ascii chart to understand what this all about
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/ascii.html

I also wrote an article that explains it:
http://pubs.logicalexpressions.com/Pub0009/LPMArticle.asp?ID=247

As for a converter, a nice free one is available here:
http://occcsa.com/hex.htm

It's just a small download and no install needed.

Here's the extended characters chart too, to show you how your hex value translates to characters.
http://www.personal-computer-tutor.com/extended.htm

Thanks to all who submitted questions this month. If you submitted a question and did not get an answer, and the problem still persists, try going here and submitting it again. Just remember that we cannot guarantee that we will answer every question, though I think the Fleet did a bang-up job this month! Thanks to all of the Fleet for your expert advice and your valuable time :-)

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Question submitted by Brian Fowler from Dublin, Ireland: