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To help readers
follow the instructions in this
article, we used two different
typefaces:
Boldface
type is used to
identify the names of icons,
agendas and URLs.
Sans serif type shows the names
of files and the names of
commands and instructions that
users should type into the
computer.
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PARTLY SECRET WAY
TO HIDE A WORKSHEET
 I have to send Excel data sheets to
various department heads and some of this
information is not meant to be seen by everyone.
I can hide rows or columns, but anyone can spot
the omissions in the alpha and numeric sequence
of the rows and columns. I’d like to hide
them in such a way that viewers don’t know
they are all hidden.
 Excel
has anticipated your problem. It has two ways to
do that. As you pointed out, one way is to hide
selected rows or columns by highlighting them and
then clicking on Format, on
either Row or Column
(see screenshot) and then on Hide.
But, as you say, it is obvious to the viewer
that they are missing—and therefore probably
hidden—because the row numbers aren’t
contiguous (see screenshot below).
The more stealthy method lets you hide whole
worksheets without leaving any obvious clues.
Again click on Format, only this
time click on Sheet, which
brings up a menu that includes the Hide
command (see screenshot below).
Someone looking at the spreadsheet
wouldn’t know a worksheet was
missing—unless, of course, the worksheet
tabs were numbered consecutively.
Excel lets you hide as many sheets as you wish
in a file. To unhide the worksheet, repeat the
above process, only click on Unhide.
If you’ve hidden several, Excel will display
their names when you click on Unhide.
Select the ones you want unhidden and click on OK.
DISPLAY FILE’S
FULL PATH IN TOOLBAR
When
I’m working on a file, its name appears in
the upper left-hand corner of the screen.
That’s OK, but I sure would like Windows to
identify not just the file’s name but its
path also.
I
never understood why Windows failed to take that
extra step. As you can see in the screenshot
below, Windows identifies the file only as c-TQA jan 06.doc, which means
its name is c-TQA jan 06.doc
and it’s a Word document.
Fortunately, there is a workaround for
providing full path information and it works in
all Windows applications. Click on Tools,
Customize and the Commands
tab. Then, under the Categories
column, cursor down and highlight Web.
Under Commands, grab Address
with your mouse and drag it up to a convenient
spot at the top of the screen—being sure not
to cover any other icons. And there you have it:
the file and its full path (see screenshot
below).
WHEN IT’S
SAFE TO REMOVE A REMOTE MEMORY DEVICE
I
copied a large important spreadsheet file to a
portable memory stick, but when I examined the
file later, I discovered it was corrupt and
therefore unusable. What caused that? Although I
love those portable memory
sticks—they’re great for keeping my
office computer synchronized with my
laptop—now I’m leery about using them.
Are my worries valid?
Assuming
your memory stick is not defective, and you can
easily check that by transferring another file
and examining it—but not until after you
read this whole item. I would guess you
unplugged the stick from its USB slot
prematurely—that is, before the file was
fully transferred—and that corrupted it.
Sometimes, because a computer is busy doing
something else (such as an indexing task in the
background), even a small copying operation may
take longer than expected.
 There is a way
to be sure the file transfer to (or from) a
remote memory device is complete. Before you pull
the USB plug, check your toolbar for a little
icon that shows a green arrow pointing down to
the left at a 45-degree angle: That icon pops up
when all file transfers to or from a remote
device are complete and it’s safe to unplug.
STOP THE
PRINTER! STOP THE PRINTER!
How
do you get a printer to stop printing? Sometimes
all I want to do is print one page, but if I
forget to click on the right button, the whole
100-page document starts pouring out. Help!
You’re
not alone. It’s a small crisis many have
experienced. It’s called the Sorcerer’s
Apprentice syndrome. Before I tell you how to
stop it, these are the things you should not
do. Do not turn off the printer. Do not open the
paper drawer to remove the paper. Do not pull the
plug.
While those emergency steps may work
sometimes, they also can cause paper to jam in
the printer. And even if it doesn’t jam,
you’re still left with the print job in the
printer queue when you turn the printer back on
or close the paper drawer.
Here’s what you should do: Click on Start
and then on Printers and Faxes.
The button for it may be right there in the
opening screen (see screenshot below).
If it isn’t there, go to Control
Panel or Settings and
then click on Printers and Faxes.
Identify your printer icon (there may be several
icons—each labeled by the make of the
printer). Then right-click on the icon, which
brings up a screen that contains the Pause
Printing (or Cancel All
Documents) button; click on it.
I can imagine what you’re thinking: Are
you kidding? Paper is pouring out of the printer
and you want me to start searching for some tiny
icon deep inside the bowels of my computer and
then try to identify my printer icon? I’ll
never remember all those steps.
Calm down. I’ll show you how to create a
shortcut, which you can put right on your desktop
as an emergency printer shutoff switch. After
you’ve selected your printer icon and
right-clicked on it, another option right below Pause
Printing is Create Shortcut.
Left-click on that and a screen will appear that
gives you the option of placing the icon on your
desktop (see screenshot). Click on Yes…
…and this icon (or one like it) will
appear on your desktop.
One more thing: When you click on the Pause
Printing button, the printing may not
stop immediately. It sometimes takes a minute or
so for the printer to obey.
USE BACKGROUND
PRINTING FOR MORE FLEXIBILITY
When
I have a big print job running, I often have to
wait until it’s done before I can return to
work on the computer. My system has plenty of
memory. Why can’t it do both jobs
simultaneously?
I
don’t think it’s a memory problem. It
sounds like you have the Background
printing option off. That printing
control is a handy Word feature, but it’s
not for everyone and it’s not to be used all
the time. If you want a large print job to have
the highest priority so it gets done as fast as
possible, turn off Background printing.
But turn it on if the ability to keep working is
your priority.
You won’t notice the difference if a
print job is small, but if you’re printing
lots of pages and are in a hurry, be sure the
option is turned off.
Here’s how to access the control: Click
on Tools, Options
and then the Print tab. Most
people leave it on and then cancel it only when
faced with a major printing task.
CAN THE NEW
CD-R LAST 300 YEARS?
I
just read about a new CD-R (recordable) from
Kodak that is supposed to safely store data for
300 years. I’m aware that a conventional
CD-R’s surface oxidizes, making it
unreliable after about 10 years. So what’s
your take on this 300-year claim?
Your
guess is as good as mine. Kodak is a reliable
company. It says a 24-karat gold surface protects
the surface against oxidation and that it tested
the product by accelerating the aging process. I
guess the only irrefutable way to test the claim
is to wait 300 years.
Short of that, I play it safe by skipping
CD-Rs for long-term data storage. In addition to
the oxidation risk, they are susceptible to
surface scratches (even with a gold surface). I
prefer to store my data on removable (remote)
hard disks—and even then I opt to replace
them every few years as technology advances.
GOOD NEWS FOR
CORDLESS TELEPHONE USERS
A new cordless technology that promises phone
service without the usual crackles and whooshes
has just reached the market. The technology uses
a frequency (1.9 gigahertz) that’s outside
the range of many other wireless
devices—thus freeing it from static-causing
interference. The new frequency is more secure
against eavesdropping, too.
OOPS, DON’T
TAKE MY TAX ADVICE
Alan E. Weiner, a CPA with Holtz Rubenstein
Reminick of Melville, N.Y., chided me for
probably giving bad tax advice when I suggested
in the May issue
(page 87) that accounting firms donate their used
computers to a worthy cause and take a tax
deduction. In all likelihood, he says, the
computers were fully depreciated, so while you
might feel good about the donation, it won’t
net a tax break. 
Stanley
Zarowin, a former JofA
ssenior editor, is now a contributing editor to
the magazine. His e-mail address is zarowin@mindspring.com.
| Do you
have technology questions for this
column? Or, after reading an answer, do
you have a better solution? Send them to
contributing editor Stanley Zarowin via
e-mail at zarowin@mindspring.com or regular mail at
the Journal of Accountancy, 201
Plaza Three, Harborside Financial Center,
Jersey City, NJ 07311-3881. Because of the
volume of mail, we regret we cannot
individually answer submitted questions.
However, if a reader’s question has
broad interest, I will answer it in a
forthcoming Technology Q&A column.
On
occasion you may find you cannot
implement a function I describe in this
column. More often than not it’s
because not all functions work in every
operating system or application. I try to
test everything in the 2000 and XP
editions of Windows and Office. It’s
virtually impossible to test them in all
editions and it’s equally difficult
to find out which editions are
incompatible with a function. I apologize
for the inconvenience.
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