A Weekend In The Life of The Cave Creek Geek

I've always been told the weekend is when you are supposed to get a break from work. While I try to do that, it always amazes me that questions from users never stop coming. It could be at night, it could be over the weekend and sometimes it is at night on a weekend (and even holidays). So I thought I'd share just a few of the questions I got this past weekend along with links to previous posts where these questions have been answered and some of the problems could have been avoided.

There are some questions that frustrate me to no end. Not because I have to answer the question, but rather because users fail to take proper precautions. It always starts with "My hard drive crashed and I need to get..." You know backing up your hard drive is important. Yet so few people do it. Whatever you have planned right now, stop! If your data isn't backed up, do it! Yes, now!!!

Remember the story I told you a few months ago in A Failed Hard Drive and the Important of Backup? That user had to spend thousands of dollars to recover their data. So whatever you think is an important enough reason to not do it now is probably nothing more than an excuse. Backup now!

Someone else was describing problems getting quality GIF and JPG files out of CorelDRAW. After asking a couple of questions, the real problem was getting DXF files into CorelDRAW. If you use the DXF import filter in CorelDRAW, you are fighting a losing battle. I wrote Importing AutoCAD Files Into CorelDRAW last year to address this exact problem. There are a variety of methods to test to determine which gives you the best results.

One user had heard of others having problems with CorelDRAW X5 and X6 running on Windows 8 and wondered my experience. I have heard people having problems with every single version of CorelDRAW on every single version of Windows for years. There are legitimate compatibility issues if your version of CorelDRAW is much older than your version of Windows. Many of the times, there is something else involved. In short, I rarely have problems but I also take care to avoid things that can cause problems.

How do you install it? Read Using a Custom Install When Installing CorelDRAW and Other Software for some basic suggestions. Want specific step-by-step instructions for CorelDRAW? I have a lesson dedicated to that in CorelDRAW X5 Unleashed and CorelDRAW X6 Unleashed. Each of those DVDs took a year of my life to complete so that is only one of the hundreds of things you'll learn! One thing is to Never Import Workspaces From a Previous Version!

A user who had purchased some CorelDRAW Brush Packs wondered how to install them. We've got a free video titled Installing Brushes in CorelDRAW showing exactly how to do it. Of course you'll find several more hours of free videos showing you why you need to have CorelDRAW Brush Packs in your design arsenal.

A task that many users need to complete is bringing in variable data and merging it with their designs. This is something you can do with the stock features in CorelDRAW. I've written about Including Variable Data with Print Merge before and you'll also find it detailed in CorelDRAW X5 Unleashed Advanced Topics. Users often tell me something just can't be done and then I show them how to do it.

The best message I received this weekend is from someone who watched Cave Creek Geek Removes Dust From a Computer in Ventura, CA. In fact, it was the "hand model" from the video. He had brought a couple of other machines home from his office and blew out the dust as demonstrated in the video. I got a big smile knowing that my video had helped him out!

Deliver Your Designs On Time With Clocks Clipart Collection

One thing that none of us seem to have in a large enough supply is time. Wouldn't it be great if there was an easy way to add more time in your designs? That is exactly what you can do with Clocks Clipart! There are 48 ready-to-use designs of clocks, watches and other graphics related to time. All priced less than a premium cup of coffee!

Clocks Unleashed Volume 1 is the latest member of the Clipart Unleashed Family. All files (thumbnails are shown below) in this collection are supplied in CorelDRAW X5 and CorelDRAW 9 format. There are also files in Adobe Illustrator CS format. So no matter your choice of design software, we've got files that work for you. The CorelDRAW files are filled with keywords so they can be easily searched using Corel CONNECT or the ROMCat utility. If you are looking for a big bundle of heavily discounted vector artwork and more, make sure to check out the CorelDRAW Unleashed Bonus Content Packs.

Four Useful Add-Ons for Windows 8

Last week I gave you Five of My First Thoughts on Windows 8.1. As with any move to new software and/or operating system, there is a learning curve. Thanks to installing Start8, the learning curve wasn't as painful since I have the familiar Start menu that Microsoft refused to deliver. One reader suggested I should have installed Classic Shell instead simply because it was free. I have no problem paying a company that delivered something of value to me $5 for that product. Yes, I was aware of alternatives for providing a Start menu and I chose what I felt was the best choice for me. Only you can choose the best option for you.

Another reader suggested I should get ModernMix from the same company that makes Start8. Actually I did get this utility that allows you to run the Windows 8 "apps" within a window on the Desktop (the interface we all know and love from previous versions of Windows). There was actually a discounted bundle of ModernMix and Start8 for $8 so I got both. So far I've yet to find any apps that I want to run and thus I haven't yet had a need for ModernMix. I'm sure that day will come, just not sure when or what apps.

One thing I really missed on Windows 8.1 were the desktop gadgets that existed in Windows 7. They provided me with information I found extremely useful such as a clock, calendar, weather or resource usage. While these may be available using the new-fangled Windows apps, they want to run full screen. Yes, ModernMix can run them in a window, but it still takes up a lot more real estate than it should. In digging around a bit, I found 8gadgets as a free tool that allows you to run the gadgets from Windows 7 on Windows 8. Heck, it even supplies some the most popular gadgets (some are shown in the dialog box above) so you don't even have to go hunting for them.

Now that I have my gadgets back on the desktop, Windows 8.1 is starting to grow on me just a little.

Set of Eleven Free Ephesian Fonts Testament to Your Designs

Some of you may immediately associate the name Ephesian as part of the New Testament in the Bible. I can't see any connection between these fonts and the Bible at all so it just seems to be a coincidence. What you will find is a family of eleven fonts ready to be put to use in your designs. That should fill anyone with joy!

Not sure how to download and install these free fonts? Make sure to read Downloading Fonts, Installing Fonts and Spam Filters for detailed instructions. For those of you using Internet Explorer for your browsing, please read Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 Is Evil and How To Fix It! so you don't have any problems when getting your free fonts.

Ephesian Regular

Ephesian Italic

Ephesian Bold

Ephesian Bold Italic

Ephesian Leftalic

Ephesian Condensed

Ephesian Condensed Italic

Ephesian Condensed Bold

Ephesian Condensed Bold Italic

Ephesian 3D

Ephesian 3D Italic

Microsoft Internet Explorer 11 Is Evil and How To Fix It!

I'll explain in detail why I feel Microsoft Internet Explorer is evil and how to fix it, if you insist on using it. Yet there is a very simple solution and that is simply to not use Internet Explorer for Web browsing. Really, it is that simple! Using other browsers is a topic I've written about before, most recently in Browsers, Passwords and Security. Firefox and Chrome are both free and they don't have even a fraction of the problems of Internet Explorer. For your own sake, please use one of these other browsers!!!

Now that I have that out of the way, I'll discuss the reason I feel Microsoft Internet Explorer is evil and the one setting you can change to rid yourself of the worst of its evils.

The Problem

It started with a phone call about ten days ago from a user who claimed "your Web site has been down the last three days." I found this odd since I had been surfing the site myself just a few minutes earlier without any problems. Just so you understand, our Web server is not located in our office. If my geography is correct, it is at least 2000 miles away. Since the site was indeed working, I asked a few questions and the real problem was "a script error on the shopping cart." I wasn't able to get a lot more information about the error from the user, but I did find out that Internet Explorer was being used. The simplest solution to complete the user's order was to have them use a different browser and that is exactly what was done.

After that was resolved, I placed some test orders myself using Internet Explorer 9, Firefox 25 and Chrome 30. Those orders were all completed without error. I could only assume there was a setting on the user's computer in Internet Explorer that was causing the problem. Since I couldn't re-create the error, I had no idea how to resolve it other than suggesting users avoid Internet Explorer.

Then I heard from someone else a couple of days ago. While the description of the problem was different, the result was the same thing. The user was not able to complete the checkout process on our Web site. Am I upset? You bet because customers aren't able to complete their purchase and that takes money out of my pocket.

Something else happened between hearing from those two users. I installed Windows 8.1 on two different computers in our office. As part of Windows 8.1, we got copies of Internet Explorer 11. I tried to place another test order using Internet Explorer 11 and I got the error. I immediately tried again on the same computer in Firefox and Chrome and got no error. Some of you will say that there is an error on our site. We certainly aren't immune from errors. But if the error is on our site, then will you also blame other companies with the same problem? Internet Explorer 11 also broke the Google and Outlook sites! In giant corporate politics, some would say there may be something fishy about Google, a major competitor, having problems. Who owns the Outlook site? Ah yes, Microsoft. So if you want to blame our site, I'll accept it as long as you also blame Microsoft and Google for the same problem.

The Solution

As I was researching the problems on other sites, I saw mention of a potential solution. I tested it and it did indeed fix the problem on our site. While I know this is a solution for Internet Explorer 11, you may also want to consider making this change in earlier versions of Internet Explorer. I don't have a copy of Internet Explorer 10 installed to test, but the setting does not appear in Internet Explorer 9 and it is this awful setting that kept me from installing a newer version on my main computer.

Go to the upper right of the Internet Explorer window and you should see a small gear icon similar to the one in the red box of the graphic shown above right. Clicking on the gear icon brings up the menu shown and you want to select Compatibility View settings. This will bring up the dialog box shown below right.

When you get to this dialog box, go down near the bottom and you'll see a checkbox labeled "Use Microsoft compatibility lists" as shown inside the red box of the graphic at right. By default, the box is checked and it seems to do exactly the opposite of what it claims. Compatibility implies it will help things work when in fact it causes many sites to stop working correctly. Remove the checkmark from the box as in my example and click the Close button. Problem solved!

I am absolutely disgusted that Microsoft has this awful setting turned on by default as I'm sure they are aware it causes problems with many Web sites, including their own Outlook site. It is irresponsible decisions like this that cause me to strongly encourage all users to use other browsers. For those of you who refuse to give up Internet Explorer, please make things better for yourself by turning off the compatibility lists that will only cause you and site owners headaches.

Your Own Private Drone Is Available Now

If you've been watching the news at all the last few days, you probably saw mention about the drones Amazon wants to use to deliver packages. You can even watch the 60 Minutes piece that showed Amazon PrimeAir in action. Jeff Bezos, CEO of Amazon, admitted that it would likely be a few years before we see it become a reality.

There were likely a lot of people wondering if the technology for this was available now. The good news is that you can get something similar right now, though it isn't something you can use for delivering packages. One popular option is the DJI Phantom Aerial UAV Drone Quadcopter pictured in this post. This specific model is designed to carry a GoPro camera (see GoPro on 60 Minutes Provides Ideas for Creativity for more on what the cameras can do). What pictures or videos could you shoot if you combined this cool drone with a GoPro camera?

This is not an inexpensive kids toy and it lists for $679 (without the camera). As I write this, Amazon has it priced at $463. Just a note, I don't control Amazon's prices so you may see something higher or lower. Hmmm, I wonder if I can convince Santa to fly one of these into my stocking?

Use Paste Special Instead of Paste

I had someone Hire the Geek recently who was having some issues with a CorelDRAW file. There were a few issues that it was hard to determine the true cause and closing CorelDRAW and restarting made a huge difference. Yet as we started to test some things I discovered one process that I felt needed to be changed.

This process can take place brings data into many different pieces of software. You use the Paste (Ctrl + V) command quite often, don't you? When we are dealing with plain old text, that works great. Copying and pasting data inside of the same application also tends to work great. It is when the data goes between different software that it can be a good idea to instead use the Paste Special command. Above is an example of the dialog box when using Paste Special to bring a spreadsheet from Microsoft Excel into CorelDRAW and you'll see four different formats are offered as options. The "best" option may depend on what you want to do with the data once pasted. Bitmap isn't editable, but would probably look the best. The default is the top option and it allows the most editing options, but likely would look the worst.

In the case of my Hire the Geek session, a bitmap was being pasted in from an e-mail. The quickest option is to Paste Special and choose bitmap. It takes a little longer to instead paste the bitmap into Corel PHOTO-PAINT (or another image editor) and save it. But by doing that, you have a separate file that can be imported into the software of your choice as many times as you would like. Maybe you could save it directly from your e-mail software, but that isn't always possible in all mail readers.

I encourage you all to investigate the Paste Special command in all your software. It might take an extra step to use, but many times it will save you from the trouble caused by simply using Paste.