Caramba! You have just a few pages to print when the jets on your Apple StyleWriter's ink cartridge begin to plug up, causing white streaks in the printer's output. The StyleWriter Print dialog's "Clean ink cartridge before printing" option doesn't help, and there's not a replacement cartridge in sight. What to do? Dan Coventon of San Pedro Sula, Honduras, has rescued several cartridges with this trick: Remove the cartridge; then wet a cotton swab with pure isopropyl alcohol and very gently swab the surface of the print head. You may have to repeat this a couple of times to get the cartridge to print like new. While you're at it, why not take the time for further printer maintenance? Use a dry swab to soak up some of the ink in the sponge that caps off the print head when it's parked at the right side of the printer.
Since going over the print head with a cotton swab could conceivably damage the print head, you may want to first check for lint around the sponge or the clear plastic wiper near it, and wipe off any accumulated lint with your finger. The lint may absorb ink and cause white streaks in the output just like an ink-clogged cartridge. If removing lint doesn't eliminate the streaks, you have little to lose by swabbing the already malfunctioning print head.
TrackPad Insanity
Q. Please help me--I have been driven insane. Every time I touch the TrackPad of my PowerBook 190cs, the cursor jumps like a horse. My friends have no problem using my PowerBook's TrackPad. I think the problem is that I sweat too much. At the moment, I am using my lab glove to operate my PowerBook. Help!
Ka Tai Shiu
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada
A. According to Apple, sweaty hands or moisture on the pad can cause the pointer to move erratically. Oil or lotion can cause the same problem. Wipe off the pad with a soft cloth or tissue, and try using the pad with a piece of paper between your finger and the pad. If the problem persists, try removing the TrackPad preferences file (a new one will be created automatically). Also, try removing rings and bracelets; jewelry can interfere with TrackPad performance.
If the problem goes away with a piece of paper between your finger and the pad, Apple suggests you purchase a plastic membrane to fit over the pad; this will prevent moisture from directly contact-ing it. Before installing the membrane, clean the pad with a mild glass cleaner, spraying it on the cleaning cloth, not directly on the pad. One source of TrackPad membranes is APS Technologies (800/874-1341, http://www.apstech.com), which sells a sheet of 20 decorative, removable Mylar "skins" for $4.95 (item number 105289).
Macworld contributing editor and PowerBook specialist Cary Lu suggests plugging in a mouse when you are working at a desk. For travel, try turning your hand and using a knuckle. The knuckle method may well become tiresome, but it suffices for short-term work.
A plastic stylus, such as the type used on a graphics tablet or Newton, will not work on a TrackPad. Only an object with the correct capacitance characteristics will register. If you can find some kind of stylus filled with water, it may work, but be careful that it has a smooth, blunt tip that won't scratch the TrackPad.
PPP Out of Control
Q. My Mac seems to have a mind of its own. I use MacTCP with a PPP dial-up connection, and have the Config PPP control panel's Disable Auto Connect option turned off so it will automatically dial and connect whenever I use an Internet application. Sometimes in the morning, the Config PPP control panel indicates that a connection was made overnight. My modem's control panel shows that my Internet provider disconnected the link after a time out. I have also seen this happen in the evening while I am watching TV. The computer just decides to call for a couple of pizzas?
Kevin M. Lind
Houston, Texas
A. According to the FreePPP FAQ document, MacTCP has an internal timer that causes a connection attempt after about 5.5 hours of TCP network inactivity. Try one of these workarounds:
*Disable automatic connections. If you use FreePPP 2.5 or later, in FreePPP Setup turn off the option Allow Application to Open Connection. If you use an earlier version of FreePPP or any version of Mac PPP, turn on the Disable Auto Connect option in ConfigPPP. After disabling automatic connections, you'll have to manually connect and disconnect using FreePPP Setup or ConfigPPP, or with PPPremier, a great PPP timer that I described last month.
*Upgrade to System 7.5.3 (System 7.5 Update 2.0) and to FreePPP 2.5 or MacPPP 2.5. Then use the Network Software Selector application to switch from MacTCP to Open Transport 1.1.
*Turn off your Mac overnight. Save electricity and reduce the pollution that's a by-product of generating it.
Cursor Stuck
Q. For years I have struggled with an intermittent cursor problem. In any number of writing programs, including TeachText, if I go back to a line previously completed in order to indent it, neither the spacebar nor the tab key will push the text ahead. I can delete the first letter, but then the text realigns itself as before with the first letter now erased. I try going to the line above and pressing return, but this does not work, either.
Harriet Hart
New London, New Hampshire
A. Sounds like you are trying to indent a line in the middle of a paragraph. The symptoms you describe are normal in that context. When the program wraps a paragraph to fit the margins, it puts all blank spaces and tabs occurring after the last word of a line at the end of that line, never before the word that begins the next line. So if you set the blinking insertion point (the cursor) before the first word on a line in the middle of a paragraph and then type spaces or tabs, that "white space" all gets added at the end of the line above the insertion point. You must press return to start a new paragraph--or in many word processors, type shift-return to start a new line in the same paragraph--and then press tab or type spaces to indent the beginning of the line.
Incidentally, it's much better practice to use the tab key or the paragraph's indentation settings, not the spacebar, to indent a line. You get more accurate alignment that's not dependent on the font, font size, or font style of the blank spaces.
First or Last, Pronto
In most folder and disk windows, you can highlight the item that comes first alphabetically by pressing any number key or the spacebar. In most cases you can highlight the item that comes last alphabetically by pressing the option key along with any number key.
Melissa York
Austin, Texas
Those tricks, which stem from the ability to select an item by typing the first part of its name, work fine unless you have many item names that come after a bullet (*, option-8), including names beginning with most accented capital letters, most symbols you type with the option and shift keys, and some symbols you type with the option key alone. "Alphabetical Order shows the sequence of the Macintosh character set.
If nothing is selected in the active Finder window (or on the desktop, if no window has racing stripes to indicate it iss the active one), you can highlight the first or last item by pressing tab or shift-tab. With an item highlighted, pressing tab or shift-tab highlights the item that follows or precedes it alphabetically, and pressing an arrow key highlights the closest item on the desktop in the direction of the arrow.--L.P.
Billminder Time Trip
If you back up your Quicken files (which I recommend) and you accidentally open a backup file, Quicken's Billminder starts tracking that file. Since the backup file is not current, Billminder starts reporting that your account has transactions due 10, 11, 12 days ago, ad infinitum. Even closing and removing the backup file does not remove the Billminder reminder.
The list of transactions that Billminder tracks is stored in Quicken 6's preferences file, which is located in the Preferences folder inside the System Folder. Removing this file clears up the Billminder problem--the next time you run Quicken 6 it makes a new preferences file--but you lose all your other Quicken settings by doing so.
You can use ResEdit to reset Billminder without affecting other preferences settings. First, make a copy of the Quicken 6 preferences file just in case something goes wrong. Then use ResEdit to open the Quicken 6 preferences file that is in the Preferences folder (not the copy you just made). One of the resource types is BIL#. Deleting this resource causes Billminder to forget which files it is tracking (see "Syncing Billminder"). The next time you run Quicken, turn Billminder back on. Quicken makes a new BIL# resource that tracks only the transactions in data files open at that time or later.
Laird Malamed
Los Angeles, California
Sharing ClarisWorks Macros
Let's say you've created several ClarisWorks shortcuts you want to give to other ClarisWorks users. For instance, other people might be interested in a bunch of your shortcuts that automate typing of HTML tags. You could simply distribute copies of the ClarisWorks Shortcuts file from your Preferences folder, telling people to replace their files with yours. The drawback to this method is that people will lose any custom shortcuts they have already created.
Instead, follow these steps to create a file that people can use to add your shortcuts to theirs:
1. Make a new ClarisWorks word processing document and choose Edit Macros from the Shortcuts submenu in the File menu.
2. From the Macro pop-up menu, choose a macro that you want to distribute. Then attach that macro to the new document by selecting the Document Specific option. Repeat this step for all other macros you want to distribute, and then click Done to dismiss the Edit Macros dialog box.
3. Type instructions in the document telling others how to install the macros in their copies of ClarisWorks (hey, it's a built-in Read Me!), and save the document with a descriptive name. Here are the instructions you should type:
To put the macros contained in this document into your copy of ClarisWorks, follow these steps:
*Choose Edit Macros from the Shortcuts submenu in the File menu.
*From the Macro pop-up menu, choose a macro that you want to install and deselect the Document Specific option. Repeat this step for all other macros you want to install, and then click Done to dismiss the Edit Macros dialog box.
4. Go back and deselect the Document Specific option for all macros
you want to keep in your copy of ClarisWorks, and then close the document without saving changes.
Chris Crabtree
via Macworld Online
Quick Bits
*The logic-board upgrade that makes a Performa 63X, 52XX, or 62XX the equivalent of a Performa 6300, as described in July's Quick Tips, can be ordered from an Apple dealer. Apple's estimated street price for the Power Macintosh 5300/6300 Logic Board Upgrade is $769 with your old logic board in trade. Contrary to my July report, installation is extra.
*The Control Strip, which provides quick access to various control-panel settings, is not installed automatically on all desktop Macs using the Easy Install option of the installers for System 7.5.3 and System 7.5 Update 2.0 (contrary to what August's Quick Tips implied). You can use the installers' Custom Install option to install Control Strip, remarks David Sytsma of Higashi Kurume-shi, Japan. He also notes that instead of
Control Strip, you can use Desktop
Strip ($20 shareware), Extensions Strip ($15 shareware), or OneClick ($129; WestCode Software, 619/487-9200, http:// www .westcodesoft .com). Those alternatives can be moved anywhere on screen, and have other advantages over Apple's control panel, which must stick to the left or right edge of the screen. Systma has a Web site (http:// www .calvin .edu/~asytsm89/) dedicated to Control Strip, alternatives to it, and supplemental Control Strip modules.
*Alan Torrey of Carson City, Nevada, fixed crooked scans in Adobe Photoshop as described in August's Quick Tips until he discovered that it's easier with Photoshop's cropping tool. He selects the cropping tool and draws a box roughly around the image to be straightened, making sure the box isn't too close to the document's edge. Next, he rotates the cropping box by holding down the option key and dragging one corner of the box until it lines up with the crooked image. Then he adjusts the box to crop the image as desired. Finally, he clicks inside the box to have Photoshop straighten and crop the image in one step. You can simultaneously change the size of the cropped area by specifying a new size or resolution in the Cropping Tool Options palette before clicking inside the cropping box, says Scott Aronian of San Francisco. Chris Woodfield of Baltimore notes that the cropping tool can only rotate bitmapped images in 90-degree intervals. To rotate a bitmapped image differently, convert it to gray scale first.
*If you are having paper-feed problems with a Hewlett-Packard DeskWriter 520, 550C, or 560C printer, don't use a nail file to clean its rollers, as suggested in August's Quick Tips. Edward Lee of Toms River, New Jersey, reports that you can call 800/ 656-2324 and request HP's free roller-cleaning kit. The kit includes a cleaning plate with Scotch-Brite abrasive patches and special software to spin the printer's rollers.
*Do you need to download a Mac file from the Internet that won't fit on a floppy, using a Windows or DOS PC? Rather than breaking up a large file using a PC word processor (as suggested in August's Quick Tips), David Condit of Warrenton, Virginia, suggests you try using PKWare's DOS program PKZip 2.04g ($47 for DOS, $49 for Windows; 414/ 354-8699, http:// www .pkware .com) to compress the downloaded file about 25 percent and, if necessary, split it across multiple DOS floppies. Then use the ZipIt 1.3.5 utility ($15 shareware; Tom Brown) on the Mac to decompress and join the segments from the DOS floppies into an .hqx file. Finally, drag the .hqx file to StuffIt Expander 4.0.1 (freeware; Aladdin Systems) or ShrinkWrap 2.0.1 (free for educational or nonprofit use, $20 for commercial use; Chad Magendanz) to convert it to a usable Mac file.
The Macintosh shareware and freeware mentioned this month is available from Macworld Online (http://www.macworld.com).
