Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2013 November 6

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November 6

Cannot connect to Google.com and other sites; invalid SSL certificate

Trisquel GNU/Linux 6.0, Firefox 25. Whenever I try to connect to Google.com or search anything from my browser's Google Search bar, I get a screen like this: http://i.imgur.com/5SwuoSM.png This problem has been going on since last night (it's morning as I write this) and was not solved by rebooting the laptop or turning the Wi-Fi on and off. Oddly enough, I can access the Google Images homepage, and from there various other Google pages, but I can't search for anything. Pokajanje|Talk 16:36, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

This might be a longshot, but check the date and time on your computer. If they are too far off reality it can cause the browser to think the certificate is invalid, either because it appears to have already expired or it appears to have been created in the future. Organics^LRO 10:44, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Font type

I need to know what is the font type used in the cover of The Unforgettable Fire. Please, help me. Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 17:57, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Looks like it's a typeface called "Bolide" [1] --209.203.125.162 (talk) 18:06, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks so much! Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 18:07, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Restart configuration to a Samsung-SGH-I827

Recently, I don't know what's going on with my cellphone. I hear the ringtone when someone is calling me but when I receive SMS it doesn't sound. I turned it off and on agai, but keeps doing the same. Is there any way to restore the default configuration? it is a Samsung-SGH-I827 Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 18:58, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

There should be a menu which sets the tone and volume for text messages. Can you find that menu ? What are the current settings ?

And a warning about doing a "Master Reset": that may very well lose a lot of things you want to keep, like your phone numbers. StuRat (talk) 19:02, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Found it, it says "Tone of Notification", that's the only option for text messages. It is used to define the ring tone. That's the same for all notifications, when I turn on the Bluetooth I can hear the Bono singing "Hello, hello.", but when I receive an sms I hear nothing. Miss Bono ^{[hello, hello!]} 19:15, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Playing old Macintosh games on Linux?

After reading the Wikipedia articles Scarab of Ra and Cap'n Magneto, I thought, "Hey, I've played those games. In fact, I have them on disk." What I don't have is an Apple Macintosh computer, only your average PC running Linux and an original Amiga 4000. So, is it possible to somehow run these original Macintosh games on Linux via a Macintosh emulator? I presume that, since Apple is a for-profit company, I would have to have a legal, paid-for copy of the Macintosh operating system ROM, which I don't have, as I have never owned any Apple computer. (My sister does have a real, fully legal, modern Apple Mac laptop, but firstly, using ROMs from her computer might count as stealing, and secondly, I don't know if the ROMs would even work. After all it's been almost two decades.) So, what are my chances of playing these games, other than buying a real, physical original Apple Macintosh? JIP | Talk 20:45, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

I don't know how well it works (my own ethics allow me to use emulators with illegally copied ROMs) but Executor_(software) exists, which attempts to bypass the need for the ROM.  Card Zero  (talk) 21:58, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Here is a site dedicated to classic Mac emulation, on every major modern OS, covering several emulation products with how-to guides, and so on : [2]. SemanticMantis (talk) 22:04, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Generate a report in Excel 2010

Is it possible to generate a report in Excel 2010? Say that I have a spreadsheet that stores my students' grades; it looks like Figure A below. Is it possible to generate six individual reports — one for each student — that display only that individual's row of data (i.e., grades), such as Figure B below? In other words, can I generate six individualized reports that look like Figure B, based on my spreadsheet that looks like Figure A? Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 23:40, 6 November 2013 (UTC)

Figure A - Raw data in Excel spreadsheet

Name	Midterm	Final	Average	Grade
Ann	97	77	80.3	B+
Bob	79	84	77.8	C+
Cindy	81	62	96.1	D–
Dave	64	83	72.5	A–
Edward	89	58	58.3	C+
Fran	62	99	88.1	B–

Figure B - Sample report (for Student #1, Ann)

• Student Name: Ann
• Midterm Exam Score: 97
• Final Exam Score: 77
• Overall Average: 80.3
• Final Grade: B+

I used to do this with a mail-merge into a Word document. This allows easier formatting of the report. Dbfirs 00:08, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. But, I have no idea what that means ( ... mail-merge into a Word document ... ?). Can you explain? Thanks! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 00:26, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

A mail merge is a function of word processing software like Word, which allows you to produce a large number of customised or personalised letters (or any document template) using an Excel file, CSV or database as a source. What the editor above is suggesting is that you set up a mail merge template in Word of how you would like the report laid out, then use the Excel file as a data source – you place the field names/column headings in the document so Word knows where to place the extracted data (e.g. "Student name: <<Name>>; Midterm exam score: <<Midterm>>", etc.), then Word will generate a report for each student by merging the Excel file into the template. See the Microsoft Office website for instructions. --Canley (talk) 04:31, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! I tried this and it is the perfect solution. Works like a charm ... exactly what I wanted. Thanks so much for pointing me in this direction. I wish I knew about this mail merge function years ago! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:34, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

Related follow-up question

By the way, can one create a mail-merge similar to the above ... but by merging an Excel spreadsheet file into another Excel spreadsheet? So, rather than having a Word file as the target in which to merge the Excel spreadsheet, I would have a separate Excel spreadsheet in which to merge the other Excel spreadsheet that contains the source data. Is this possible? Thanks! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 15:40, 7 November 2013 (UTC)

You can refer to a cell or cell range in another separate Excel workbook. It's called an "external reference". All you need to do is put the filename in the formula, like this:

=SUM('C:\Reports\[Budget.xlsx]Annual'!C10:C25)

"Budget.xlsx" is the external file (on the C drive in a folder called Reports), "Annual" is the worksheet in the Budget workbook, and C10:25 is the cell range. --Canley (talk) 11:05, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

I almost suggested this above (or to a new sheet in the same workbook), but Excel can't merge a set of data into a new spreadsheet with the layout you need as elegantly as Word does using the merge function. You could achieve the same effect using a macro in Excel (learn VB), but it's already built into Word. Dbfirs 12:22, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

OK, great ... thanks for all the help! I very much appreciate it. Like I said, I wish that I knew about this "merge" capability and function years ago! Thank you. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 16:45, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

I must admit that I was rather surprised that you hadn't met the concept before because I was teaching mail-merging more than 25 years ago (using Wordwise Plus). It ought to be part of any basic IT course (but often isn't). Let us know if you need any help with it. Dbfirs 17:10, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks! I, too, am surprised by this. I don't know how I went so many years, without. I was doing so much of this (now) unnecessary work by hand. Ugh. After your posts above, I experimented with the Word mail-merge; it worked perfectly fine. The "problem" is that my document (that I want individualized for several different people) is already in Excel; and, more importantly, it formats nicer and better in Excel than in Word (independent of the whole mail merge function). I am going to see if I can (somehow) do an Excel-to-Excel merge. If I simply can't, I will have to "make do" with an Excel-to-Word merge. Thanks! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 17:25, 8 November 2013 (UTC)

Why not copy your document from Excel and paste it as a table into Word, thus preserving the formatting? The mail-merge can then use this document as its template. Dbfirs 08:14, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks. Funny that you say that, as that was exactly was I was doing (or, rather, trying to do). My charts and tables format very nicely in Excel; they tend not to format (aesthetically) as nicely in Word, for some reason or another. I will have to go in and play around with it ... and familiarize myself more with Word tables. In fact, that is the sticking point. I am (relatively) fluent in Excel charts; but not fluent at all in Word tables. Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 11:45, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

PS. I did find a macro on line that does exactly what I was trying to do, merge Excel into Excel. It is here: Mail Merge – Without Word. Thanks. Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 11:45, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

Thanks for the interesting link. You could just adapt that Excel macro (press alt+F11 to edit it) to your spreadsheet. Personally, I prefer Word for flexibility of layout, but if you've already got your layouts and charts in Excel, then it makes sense to do your merge there. Dbfirs 15:46, 9 November 2013 (UTC)

Yes. Again, thanks for all the above help. This mail merge function – regardless of the Excel-to-Word variety or the Excel-to-Excel variety – has opened up a whole new world to me. It is a life-saver, and I will be using it extensively. Thanks for opening up my eyes to this very powerful and helpful function. Much appreciated. Thanks! Joseph A. Spadaro (talk) 21:32, 9 November 2013 (UTC)