Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2006 December 14

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December 14

Fireworks MX 2004

Hi. Fireworks MX 2004 suddenly won't start up, along with Flash, Dreamweaver, and Freehand (all MX 2004). I use a Mac. The icons open and bounce, but then stop. Is there anything that I can do about this? Thanks. Ilikefood 00:56, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Some more information is needed. 1. Have you checked to see if it's already running? 2. Have you rebooted the machine? 3. Have you checked for processes related to these programs that might still be in memory and interfering? (#2 should help fix #3, and #3 might explain why #2 would work). - CHAIRBOY (☎) 01:31, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Its not already running, but I'm gonna turn off the computer soon anyway so that should work. Thanks for the help. Ilikefood 01:33, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Image Format Conversion

How can I change the image file format of the below image (which I made, and has this request;) from GIF to SVG? I'm certainly no programmer, and if this isn't possible by simply re-saving it under SVG format (which, apparently, on my computer is not) then I'm stumped. talk | BeefJeaunt 01:25, 14 December 2006 (UTC) File:Mario Kingdom.gif

You mentioned an article that has the answer you need! SVG lists a number of programs that can convert images to SVG, but to see the full benefit of the format, you'll need to use a program like Adobe Illustrator or Inkscape to re-draw it as a vector image. Without that, it won't be dynamically resizable without getting pixelated. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 01:29, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Yes, under Inkscape, you can choose Path > Trace Bitmap, and experiment with the different settings. The one I use is Multiple Scanning, Colour, with 16 scans. This one gives colour, although it is NOT good for images with many colours. --wj32 ^{talk | contribs} 07:06, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

See Commons:Commons:Transition to SVG --h2g2bob 23:38, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Help writing a bot for external wiki

I was wondering if anyone here could write a bot for me to use on an external wiki. if anyone chooses to take up this endeavor, you would be writing it for the XeNTaXWIKI, a small, tight-interest wiki. I need a general-purpose bot that can be run client-side. I'm not sure what other information you might need, so just ask if you need it. --Dinoguy1000 ^Talk 04:46, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Meta:Bot and Wikipedia:Bots are a good place to start. I'd suggest using python or perl - probably python as it's got some interesting network stuff. To mark a user as a bot (you can hide their edits in recent changes), you need to contact a bureaucrat for the site. --h2g2bob 07:54, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I looked at both of those pages (and I originally came here from Wikipedia:Bots anyways), and it seems to me that this would still be the best place to ask. The meta link only has general information about running a bot and setting bot status, with a focus on the Wikimedia server farm, and the WP link focuses on bot policy and requests for bots to be used here. If I missed something, feel free to tell me, but I still think this is the place I need to ask. I would try to write a bot myself, but I don't have the technical or programming knowledge necessary, and I lack enough computer access time to really learn how, much less enough to plan, program, and debug a bot. --Dinoguy1000 ^Talk 18:43, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Extracting tracks from DVD

I have a DVD with some music (video also, its not DVD-Audio) and while I can easily extract all the music to a file I dont know how to extract only select tracks. Put another way I want to split the audio according to chapters, with each chapter being saved to a separate file. Shinhan 09:22, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

You may be able to use DVD Shrink to extract a range of audio, but you will still need another tool to compress it. Droud 10:40, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

"Range"? As in I would have to extract one track at a time? Thats not usefull. Also, compressing is not a problem. Shinhan 11:19, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I don't do this often, and this may or may not do what you want, but I did this easily and successfully a couple of weeks ago using Xmpeg. --jjron 13:30, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Found it! I used ChapterXtractor as a front end for BeSplit to split the source into tracks according to chapters. And then I used BeSweet (in batch mode) to convert ac3 to mp3. Shinhan 16:28, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

XML Parser

which xml parser is better when we consider sax,DOM etc

Different parsers are good in different situations. Take a look at Simple API for XML and Document Object Model. Weregerbil 14:12, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

MSN Messenger

Hi, everyone. I am trying to use MSN Messenger 7.0. After I have installed it, it popups an alert and says "uxtheme.dll blah blah blah ntdll.dll:ntconnectport". I am using Chinese window ^^", and I don't know how to translate the rest of the error message, but sth like msn cannot connect to other device. How can I solve this problem and get start msn-ing?

By the way, I am using Window Me. However, MSN Mgr 7.5+ needs Window XP, and installing WinXP is killing my computer. Can I use Live Mgr 8 without upgrading my window?

Thanks a lot!

Kahang^{Shall we talk?} 14:53, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I dont know what the answer to ur question is but i would get WM live. its much better. But i dont know if its compatible with windows me or not.

Can you take a screenshot of the error and upload it to someplace like Imageshack? Someone else may be able to understand all of it. 68.39.174.238 23:30, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

It sounds like it's treating your OS as though it is Windows XP, or some variety of NT (uxtheme.dll is present in XP, nothing earlier). Did you by chance download an XP/NT version of Messenger? I think, but I'm not sure, that they separate it between 98/ME and XP versions. -- Consumed Crustacean (talk) 23:34, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Javscript(ugh) again

is there any specific way to make javascript display text without killing the page(blanking the rest of the page)? srry that i can't seem to figure javascript out...Xiaden 15:11, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

More data is needed. You can output text a number of different ways, the most common being document.write. You may wish to read this, it's a well structured explanation of how to perform basic functions in JS and should help. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 15:27, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

The code i am applying isn't complete, but as of right now, it should display an item, have someone click it and it changes. but right now, it destroys the javascript(and the image it is css aligned to... i looked on your page, but if i imply something i'd have to delete the origainal somehow. i'm looking for something that would replace only part of the page(like document.htmml.body.p.write(if it worked =p)) instead of all of it. Xiaden 19:38, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Put it in the body instead of the head. x42bn6 Talk 16:25, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Document.write only works when you're generating the page for the first time. If you put it on an event (eg. onclick), it will blank the page. Instead, try this code:

<DIV id="result"> initial text </DIV>
<A href="#" onclick='
 var elem = document.getElementById("result");
 if (elem)
   elem.innerHTML = "final text";
 return false;
'> click me </A>

The key point is to use innerHTML. To show and hide complex items, use style="display: none" to hide one at the start, then swap which is showed and which is hidden. The return false stops it navigating to the href location (you might want to change "#" to a page like "you_need_javascript.html")

Plus, don't forget a noscript tag somewhere on the page. Lots of people turn javascript off, and it helps make the web accessable for people using screen readers. To wit,

<NOSCRIPT> You need Javascript! </NOSCRIPT>

Important note: for changing font text, showing drop-down menus, etc. it is better to use the hover attribute in cascading style sheets!

See http://developer.mozilla.org/en/docs/DOM for information on manipulating elements displayed on a page, and http://www.w3.org/ for the official web standards. --h2g2bob 23:34, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

that is a prime exsample of an AWSOME answer. thank you.Xiaden 02:16, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

er... forgot, shoulda mentioned that i'm using IE5 to display this.. will it still work(before i go into the proccess of filling it out?(completely... it's not doing anything nowz.)Xiaden 02:10, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

RAHHHHHH!! no es working! naw, it gives me the (bullshit) error that elem is null or not an object. do i have too put the code exactly as you wrote? erg... can i just dump what i have(codewise) somewhere? Xiaden 14:51, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

nvrmind. i fixed it. is all good. thanks for the help(now to attach that to an image...)Xiaden 15:56, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Cellular Phone --> Computer

Are there any free programs that will let me hook up my cellular phone to my computer via a USB cable and allow me to access the files on my phone and upload files such as .midi, .jpeg, and .mp3 to my phone? I have found many programs that send the file to the phone via SMS or whatever it is called when a file is sent to your phone, but I need a program that will upload to my phone via a USB cable. Thankyou. --Codell ^{[ Talk ▪ Contrib. ]} 16:39, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

There are a couple of variables. First, the specific model of phone is important, each phone requires a different driver. The Motorola RAZR phones, for example, are extremely popular but the drivers to do what you describe are difficult to find (and you must also get special software). The next variable is the service provider. Some cell providers in the US like Verizon will disable functionality like this explicitly so that you can only purchase those via their services, while other cell providers (like Cingular) don't. If your provider does not prevent this, then the easiest way is probably to use Bluetooth instead of USB. A bluetooth dongle for your PC (if it doesn't have it already) should be available on eBay for around $20 and you would be able to transmit the files to the phone (assuming it has bluetooth, of course). If you have a laptop with Infrared and your phone allows you to receive files via IR, you may also be able to do that. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 16:53, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

It's a Motorola V190. I know that it will work. I once had the driver for it to work with USB, and I had a program (MobileEdit) to transfer files onto it, and it worked, but then I uninstalled the program and lost the driver for it. I still have the program, but I'd like a different program that works better 17:02, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, I googled 'v180 usb' and ended up finding the P2K driver at bongo via this thread. Does that help? - CHAIRBOY (☎) 19:48, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Sorry, it's actually the Motorola v190 that I have..--Codell ^{[ Talk]}

Okay,I've got everything working,that is,I have the driver (from the link you gave me)and I have the program MobileEdit,and it works well, but I'd just like a better program then it, because the trialversion only lets you upload 1 file at a time.Codell ^{[ Talk]} 16:48, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

How do I dispute the content of a page?

There is a federal act in here and it is a stub. The stub is completely wrong - in fact, it is the opposite of what the Act actually did. I tried to edit it but it only added my information to the bottom and did not edit the incorrect sentence.

Thank you.

You hit the edit button for the "external links" section, the one for editing the whole article is the tab at the top.

At the top of each page on Wikipedia, there is a link: edit this page - click it. As anon #2 has stated, you could've simply appended information onto a new section. x42bn6 Talk 19:24, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Hmm, that page was created by someone blocked for "Bad Edits", thanx for the fix! In the future if you want to "dispute a page", add a template like {{disputed}}, {{neutrality}}, {{totallydisputed}} or something else from Wikipedia:Template messages/Disputes. However, if you do make such an edit, be sure to explain on the talk page WHY you're disputing it. If you don't someone who reads the articel later will have no idea what's wrong with it or how it should then be fixed. 68.39.174.238 07:14, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Problems with MS Installer - constant pop-ups

I am using Windows XP on my home computer. I recently uninstalled MS Publisher (didn't use it much) and since then I am getting MS Installer pop-ups every time I try to run an application. The pop-up prompts me to install the MS XP disk, which I don't have since the computer came pre-loaded with the software when I purchased it. I have searched at the Microsoft software support site for similar problems, and tried the fixes that they suggest, but to no avail. Any suggestions on how to get this to stop? Thanks.

Is there an i386 folder somewhere on your hard drive? Point the dialog to it. Splintercellguy 00:28, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

If you have a "recovery CD" that came with the computer, try inserting it and telling Windows to look on there. Alternately, if the dialog says "Show me where XXXXXXXX.YYY is located" (Paraphrased), try doing a search of your hard disk for that file and then point Windows to it when it next asks. 68.39.174.238 07:16, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Leisure Suit Larry 7 Cocktail

Does anyone hava a recipe for the cocktail from LSL7? --192.94.73.1 18:04, 14 December 2006 (UTC) I don't metion its name, to prevent my question from getting deleted again.

This is definitely not the place to be looking for game tutorials, and for future reference a simple Google search found that page. Droud 01:57, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Thank you for your help, but I wasn't looking for a recipe for Venezuelan Beaver Cheese, which is required to solve the game. Instead, I want to know how to mix a cocktail, which is mentioned during the game, but whose recipe isn't part of the game. These cocktail has a somewhat risque name (Gigantic E***), what may have led to the deletion of the first version of my question. --192.94.73.30 13:42, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe the cocktail in question is entirely fictional outside the game, so feel free to invent your own. Droud 14:32, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

As a reference, I extracted the line where Drew describes what's in the drink - in case you didn't write it down:

Look. I want a mixed drink. A cocktail. You know, lime juice, 151-proof rum, vodka, triple sec, mayonnaise, with a hollowed-out frozen banana to suck through. You know: a "gigantic erection."

You might also consider e-mailing Al Lowe and see if he knows of an actual recipe (after all, he designed the game). I doubt it, but you never know. ^_^ --Pidgeot (t) (c) (e) 20:47, 16 December 2006 (UTC)

Thaks! I'll try to create my own Erection - without mayonnaise. --192.94.73.1 17:32, 20 December 2006 (UTC)

Page back button in web browser

I use the Firefox browser and I've noticed that on some web sites, when I press the back button, it takes me back to the spot in the page where I was previously, but on other web sites pressing the back button always takes me to the top of the page. Is there a way to change it so it always reverts to the previous location and not to the top of the page? --Wyckyd Sceptre 18:16, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Sometimes pages will re-load when you visit them, and if it takes a long time or the page is long and hasn't loaded the place where you were, it will start at the top (but waiting a few seconds will result in it jumping to where you were previously). If it doesn't take you to where you were even when you wait for it to finish loading completely before hitting any controls, then provide some example links that we can visit. - CHAIRBOY (☎) 19:43, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

This behavior is usally because you clicked an interpage link. Here's an example: Go to the top of this page and click something in the table of contents. Then, scroll around the page. Hit the back button and it should take you to the top of the page. This is because the ToC links use anchors (I think that's what they're called), but since they're a different URI, it has to treat them as a seperate page. I don't know of a way to deal with this (Assuming I correctly interpreted your statement). 68.39.174.238 07:19, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

The most annoying problem!!!

hello,

Theres an annoying problem with my MS word (XP); normally, and before, when you highlited some text and then you typed or pressed backspace then it would overwrite or delete the highlited text. but now it doesnt it just goes to the beggining of the text that had been highlighted. (you can press the delete button and that works tho).

Help!

Thanks, --81.79.20.89 19:26, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Sounds like its set to "Insert more". Try hitting your "Insert" key once (It's exactly to the right of the "Backspace" key on a standard QWERTY keyboard) and see if that works. Also, try quitting and reloading Word and see if that helps. 68.39.174.238 22:10, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I think it might also be a stupid option in Microsoft Word that somehow manages to change itself at the weirdest time. I think I recall seeing something about "Delete text on backspace" in Tools > AutoCorrect or Tools > Options... But the option is a fairly straightforward one - just check it again. Do a little looking around in Tools > Options and Tools > AutoCorrect. Did I ever tell you of the time my spelling checker got disabled even though I never touched it? ... x42bn6 Talk 22:57, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Firefox problem (!)

Recently, this is starting to pop up occasionally. Right-clicking the page pops up a menu, no? However, sometimes, it starts to give me arrows on for no apparent reason: http://img83.imageshack.us/img83/483/firefoxscrollingrm4.png (see up and down arrows). It's frustrating because my fastest back function for me is to right-click and left-click slightly down and right. Isn't going to happen now, is it?

Do any of you know how to fix this? x42bn6 Talk 19:42, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Did you install any new extensions? Which version of FF are you using? Any themes (I don't get the icons in my context menu)? howcheng {chat} 20:14, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I have the British English Dictionary, FlashGot, Free Download Manager plugin, Tab Mix Plus and VideoDownloader. My theme is Mostly Crystal. It started to happen about 2 months after my most recent installation (VideoDownloader) so I doubt that is the problem. x42bn6 Talk 21:36, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I have this two with totally different extentions. It's new with Ffx 2, but I don't know if it's removable. I'm going to check some sites and see... 68.39.174.238 22:11, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, they're called "autorepeatbuttons" officially. The search goes on... 68.39.174.238 22:16, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I think it's because there's a large number of items in the list. Go to tools->addons and, for each of the extensions, open the settings/preferences, and see if there's an option to remove it from the right-click menu.

Are a lot of people affected by this? If so, it could be worth writing an extension which forces the arrows not to appear.

Some tips: alt+left also goes back. I use all-in-one gestures [1] which really speeds up going back for me. --h2g2bob 22:40, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

It doesn't make sense to say that there are too many icons - it does no scrolling at all! It just hangs around there. I have compacted FlashGot into a submenu now using the options, but now I have to regenerate the menu if at all possible. Oh dear... I suppose that you, 68.39.174.238, are suffering from this too?

I would use alt-left but I am a mouse type of guy - I do plenty of things with the mouse pretty quickly. x42bn6 Talk 22:55, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I only get it when using the menu in FoxLingo, which IS huge (Taller then my screen resolution!). Occasionally context menus will noxiously get it. I'm not sure how an extension would remove these as they are genuinely needed if you've got a huge menu and a small screen. 68.39.174.238 06:43, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

You can, however, increase the default height of the menu using an extension. You'd need to import a cascading style sheet which sets .popup-internal-box { max-height: 700px; }, or some similar value, into browser.xul. I've done just that in this extension (.xpi) which will need to filter through mozdev's servers before you can download it (will take up to 24 hrs). With luck, this mad cludge will sort out most of the problems (open as a .zip file to check the tiny amount of code inside). More on scrolling menus here, using <xul:arrowscrollbox /> --h2g2bob 07:17, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

GOOGLE

hi,

Just wondering how come for just for the ordinary google uk homepage the adress can be this: http://www.google.com/webhp?sourceid=navclient&ie=UTF-8. surely its just the normal google ; www.google.co.uk

thx, --Killer 777 19:55, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

It looks like google goes by both names- google.com and google.co.uk. What is your question? Ned Wilbury 20:01, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Google's webservers will WHOIS the IP you're coming from and direct you to the Google site for your sepecific country. You can find this out by getting an anonymous proxy and proxying to Google. If it's a Mexican proxy, you'll end up at google.mx. Since you're evidently in Britain, "google.com" sends you to google.co.uk. 68.39.174.238 22:18, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Exactly. And this sort of redirect can be pretty annoying. That's why you should always start by entering Google at http://www.google.com/ncr, which will keep you at the Google.com and set a cookie that will prevent redirection in the future (as long as the cookie is set). ☢ Ҡi∊ff⌇↯ 04:48, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Well, it can certainly be a good thing if English is not your first language or you're using the computer of such a person, so probably not "always".... —AySz88\^-^ 19:49, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Changing .m4a to .mp3

Is there any way to change a .m4a file to a .mp3 file, without installing iTunes, since I don't want to. I looked for codecs on the MS website, but there doesn't seem to be any for WMP 11. Any way to change the file? Thanks, Kilo•T 21:23, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

VLC will do it, unless it has Digital Restrictions Management (DRM). If you bought it from iTunes Music Store, then it will have DRM, and you will be unable to play it in any other player, or convert it to another format. There are some tools about for removing the DRM, but these may not be legal where you live (eg: the DMCA). --h2g2bob 22:05, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Please keep in mind, though, that you're not just changing it from one format to another, you're decompressing it and then recompressing it with a different lossy algorithm that adds more artifacts without saving any space. It's always better to reencode from the original uncompressed source. —Keenan Pepper 20:12, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

Beware that if it has DRM, you will need to decrypt it with either Hymn or QtFairUse6. But either way, transcoding lossy files is equivalent to self-surgery.--Frenchman113 on wheels! 23:13, 26 December 2006 (UTC)

NES chip music

Find me a computer program that'll let me compose NES 8bit chiptune music. The program should be free, and should not need any extra 'chiptune cards' or actual NES chips in the computer. --Codell ^{[ Talk]} 22:33, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

I believe that would be something like FamiTracker.

FWIW, I really haven't heard of a single NSF-player that actually required chiptune cards or NES chips - they all use software emulation of the sound chip. --Pidgeot (t) (c) (e) 01:12, 15 December 2006 (UTC)

TI-84

I lost my installation CD for my TI-84 calculator for connecting to the computer. Is there anyway I can download the necessary files? I was searching through google and the TI-84 site and could not locate the appropriate files. If you can provide me with a link to download the files, I'd be grateful. Thanks. --Proficient 22:58, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

Perhaps TI Connect? --Spoon! 23:23, 14 December 2006 (UTC)

He.... TI Connect software is easy to find on education.ti.com - try TiLP though, it's faster and it's open source —The preceding unsigned comment was added by Frenchman113 (talk • contribs) 01:03, 17 December 2006 (UTC).