Community News for Scottsdale, Paradise Valley, Northeast Phoenix, Carefree, Cave Creek and surrounding areas.

CITYSunTimes Web Exclusives October 2011 | Read the full SECTION

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CITY LIFE

Copy And Paste With iPad

Q. Is it possible to copy and paste using the iPad?

A. Yes, you can copy and paste within an application (app), between apps or from a webpage. For example, let’s say you read something so profoundly life-altering on my website (www.mrmodem.com) that you want to copy and save it for posterity to your iPad’s Notes app. (Okay, it’s a stretch, but work with me here.)
Launch Notes then go to the material you would like to copy on the website. Touch and hold your finger on a word. The text will be highlighted and surrounded by dots connected to lines along with the word COPY. Tap and drag the dots so the highlighted area is exactly what you want to copy, then tap COPY. (Note: If you want to copy something from within an application, when you touch and hold your finger on a word, the Select/Select All pop-up menu will appear. Select “Select” (oh, the cleverness of the word play!), then tap and drag the dots as described above.)
Return to your Notes app and tap the + button to create a new note, then tap an empty area, which will then display a pop-up menu with the PASTE command. Tap PASTE to insert the copied text.

Q. I'm not happy with Microsoft Word 2010, but I don’t have an older version I can return to. Do I have any options or am I stuck?

A. I found myself in a similar digital pickle last year. After several less-than-enchanted months using MS Office 2010, I removed it from my system and bid a fond farewell to my hard-earned dollars in the process. Instead, I switched to the free OpenOffice (www.openoffice.org) suite. OpenOffice has all the component applications of Microsoft Office: Instead of Word, OpenOffice uses Writer; instead of Excel, it has Calc; instead of PowerPoint, it features Impress, and instead of Access, it has Base. Excellent, free OpenOffice tutorials are available at www.tutorialsforopenoffice.org.

Q. I would like to know where the Scan Disk and the Defragment options are in Windows 7. Can you help, Mr. M?

A. For Win 7 and Vista users, click Start > Computer, then right-click the drive you want to check and select Properties. Click the Tools tab, then the Check Now button under Error Checking, which is the new name for Scan Disk. You will also see the Defragmentation option listed.