Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 February 6

= February 6 =

Is there any way to do these two tasks in Microsoft Word using the mouse instead of the keyboard?
I used to do everything in Microsoft Word just by holding down the mouse button or copying and pasting. I recently found out about mouse and keyboard shortcuts that take less time and are easier on the hands. I was wondering about two shortcuts that I found for the keyboard:

1) selecting text from the cursor to the beginning of the paragraph (Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow)

This first one might be difficult to see, so I will use this paragraph as an example: Foghorns are a navigation aid for mariners. In foggy conditions, when visual navigation aids such as lighthouses are obscured by the weather, foghorns provide an audible warning of rocks, headlands, or other dangers to shipping. The first automated steam-powered foghorn was invented by Robert Foulis, a Scotsman who emigrated to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The first model was installed on Partridge Island in 1859, replacing the less effective bell and cannon which had been formerly used as warnings to ships in fog.

If the cursor is placed at the word “shipping,” for instance, and I press Ctrl+Shift+Up Arrow, a portion of the paragraph (from the word “shipping” to the beginning of the paragraph) is selected like this (represented by boldface):

'''Foghorns are a navigation aid for mariners. In foggy conditions, when visual navigation aids such as lighthouses are obscured by the weather, foghorns provide an audible warning of rocks, headlands, or other dangers to shipping.''' The first automated steam-powered foghorn was invented by Robert Foulis, a Scotsman who emigrated to Saint John, New Brunswick, Canada. The first model was installed on Partridge Island in 1859, replacing the less effective bell and cannon which had been formerly used as warnings to ships in fog.

2) selecting the whole document except the last paragraph (Ctrl+A and then hold down Ctrl and Shift+Up)

Are there any shortcuts for the mouse (besides just dragging) that will accomplish the same things? I have tried to look for mouse shortcuts in online computer tutorials, but I can find only ones for the keyboard.174.131.43.140 (talk) 03:28, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
 * The only mouse shortcuts I know offhand are that clicking in the left margin selects a line, and double-clicking selects a paragraph, and possibly triple-click selects the whole document. (I don't know if this is still true in Word 2007/2010.) Word's online help should have a section on "mouse shortcuts" or similar. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 12:03, 6 February 2011 (UTC)


 * FWIW I never touch the mouse while I'm doing any word processing. It's worth learning all the common shortcuts, creating more shortcuts as necessary, and customizing the silly 3-key shortcuts so that they are all 2-key shortcuts.--Shantavira|feed me 15:05, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

I was wondering, since I know how to select the whole document, is there any way to simply deselect the last paragraph? Is it possible to deselect text using the mouse?174.131.58.121 (talk) 00:00, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

free poker online with real players but no real money?
is there an online poker system (texas hold'em) that includes no payment of any kind from players, it's completely "fake" (just points)? Thanks... 109.128.155.164 (talk) 13:36, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Googling "free online poker" returns lots of results, including sites such as games.com, Poker Stars, and Free Poker. Try one of them. --Colapeninsula (talk) 13:05, 7 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Normally, all online poker sites offer you the possibility of playing with play money. 80.58.205.34 (talk) 18:01, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

macros application in excel
how can i learn macros application in excel? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 220.225.96.217 (talk) 14:12, 6 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Excel macros are programmed in VBScript. There are many tutorials, guides, books, and examples on the internet. Personally I find the best approach is to just dive in with a specific problem: what do you want the macro to do? Once you know that, you can start to figure out what you need to know to do that, and will learn a bit about how the macros work in general. Personally I find VB scripting for Office products to be very idiosyncratic: they are not very "orderly," like a "regular" programming language, and you end up having to learn a lot of specific ways to do very specific tasks. In other words, it is very hard to get a "general" idea of how they work, because so many of the functions and classes are specific to the particular application (e.g. Excel, or Word).
 * One "easy" way to learn how to do something in Excel macros is to "record" yourself doing it manually and then look at the code generated. It's often not the most ideal way to do whatever it is you want, but it can serve as a basis for further modification, generalization, hacking, etc. Sorry this is so vague: I'm not sure there's an obvious answer. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:13, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Actually Visual Basic for Applications, not VBScript. Similar but not identical. (Though VBScript can be used, for example in web applications or command-line scripts) to drive Excel via the Component Object Model interface.) Apart from that Mr 98's advice is good: recording macros is a good way to find your way around the object model, but beyond that it depends what you want to do, and the original question is so vague that it's difficult to give advice. AndrewWTaylor (talk) 19:58, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
 * Indeed, VBA! Not exactly the same thing as VBS, but pretty similar. True, true. --Mr.98 (talk) 20:21, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

usb
Random question; if you plugged a usb flash drive into this and then plugged that into this, then into a computers usb port, would the flash drive be accessible? 82.43.92.41 (talk) 15:20, 6 February 2011 (UTC)


 * No. Those are connectors for mice. Why?--Best Dog Ever (talk) 18:05, 6 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Let's not dismiss it so quickly. USB has four wires. If (if!) those two connectors just pass the four wires in a 1:1 mapping it could well work. As to why, it probably has no practical value other than satisfying general curiosity, but curiosity is reason enough. 88.112.59.31 (talk) 18:35, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

how much does a short optical audio cable cost?
both my thx certified computer speakers (5.1) and lcd tv have an optical audio connection (the tv is out, obviously, the control center's for the thx sound system is in). I don't have a cable for it -- how much should I expect to pay? 109.128.155.164 (talk) 18:31, 6 February 2011 (UTC)


 * Between £5 and £25, depending on length and how much shopping around you do. I'd grab 1.5m from my local store for £10.99 (US, $17.77). (I'm sure there are cheaper online, but meh)  Chzz  ► 12:19, 7 February 2011 (UTC)

IP address
Hello. I recently switched my router to a newer one. I noticed that even though my IP used to be fairly static, it changed just when I changed my router. It even looks different - before it began with 24 but now it begins with 72. Is this just a coincidence, or did my changing the router have something to do with it? Thanks. 72.128.95.0 (talk) 19:10, 6 February 2011 (UTC)


 * It can easily be related to changing the router. Your ISP's router sees your router's MAC address. Then the ISP's router uses DHCP to give your router an IP address. I find that usually my ISP gives me the same IP address month after month - their router has an algorithm: prefer to give the same IP address to the same MAC address. They aren't required to do that, but why not, that's the easy thing to do.
 * When you get a new router it will have a different MAC address, and the ISP's router randomly assigns you a new IP address - there is no history of what IP address preferentially belongs to that MAC address. That you got a totally different first byte of the address is just luck of the draw; your ISP has been assigned a pool of IP addresses and what you get is what their router software pulls out of the pool. 88.112.59.31 (talk) 20:30, 6 February 2011 (UTC)

Audio backmasking software
Hi. What is a free and relatively small (low KB or MB) software available online for download that can take a recorded audio file and reverse it to produce sound in reverse such as is the case given reverse speech? Thanks. ~ A H  1 (TCU) 19:46, 6 February 2011 (UTC)
 * I'm not sure about its size, but Audacity is useful for manipulating audio files. KyuubiSeal (talk) 22:25, 6 February 2011 (UTC)