Tuesday Tip: “Why Did the Word People Take Away My Printer” and Other Great Questions from Cynthia’s Corner

by David Gracey

This is the first in a series of what I hope will be a fun look at some very practical computer questions from my mother-in-law.  I’m calling it “Cynthia’s Corner” and its origins are the many (and there are many) simple but spot-on questions that I get from ordinary folks who run into snags while using their computers.  Cynthia is a great source of such inquiries.

Most questions come at me when Cynthia is trying to get something important done on her computer and there is some sort of deadline involved.  The phone call usually begins with “Hi David, it’s Cynthia.  I’m desperate.  I can’t print.” And then I’ll be hit by a brief (very brief) description of the problem.  Last week it was “why did the Word people take away my printer” which caused me to think “what could she possibly be talking about?”  But after a bit of digging, I knew exactly what she was describing: the new version of Microsoft Word removes a number of shortcuts from the toolbar and puts them elsewhere.  They did this based on hours of analysis of how folks use Word.  Their “improvements” can easily cause frustration for a new user.  It makes no sense, but in this case, the Word toolbar is missing the printer icon.

word-printer-1

It was there on the previous 10 versions of Word, so where did it go?  I guess the sages at Microsoft want us to click FILE > PRINT every time we need to crank something out.  Wouldn’t it be great if we could have a “quick print” icon right there in the toolbar?  Well we can.  Simply click the drop-down arrow in the toolbar to reveal a number of handy options, including QUICK PRINT.

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Click on Quick Print to permanently add that icon to your toolbar.

And now I’m going to enjoy a nice bowl of fresh peaches that Cynthia brought me from Jaemor Farms.

 

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David Gracey: Since its founding in 1998, David has grown Network 1 into a top-notch IT services company dedicated to delivering the best solutions for Atlanta’s small and mid-size businesses. His responsibilities include creating the vision and strategy for its growth and establishing the culture of Network 1.

Network 1 designs, builds and supports the IT you need to run your business more securely, productively and successfully. Whether you want to outsource all of your IT needs to a reliable, responsive, service-oriented company, or need to supplement the work of your internal IT staff, we will carefully evaluate where you are now, discuss where you want to go and implement and support a plan to get you there with as little interruption as possible.

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