AskGordRoutley.com Blog

UPDATE on last post – “Cannot send photos from browser in Windows 7 w/Outlook 2003″

Q:  Gord, I followed your instructions from your last post but it didn’t work for me as you can see from my email, there’s no images or hyperlinks attached and it wouldn’t use Office 2003 Outlook. It looks like Windows Mail has taken over & I don’t seem to be able to uninstall it. Do you have any other ideas?

A:  Try this >>> goto control panel (in Windows 7). Navigate down to “Programs & Features” and open it. Right-click on Microsoft Office 2003 Professional >>> select “Change”. When the pop-up appears, select “Repair”. Follow the process through and make sure that Outlook 2003 is selected and that “Run all from computer” is also checked. You might need the Office 2003 CD to do this. Even this may not work. I’ve been poking around in the forums for answers to this problem this week and many, many people are having the same problem. There are also many other problems with Office 2003 on Windows 7 as well including the infamous “roving cursor” issues, amongst many others.

Another thing to remember is that Outlook 2003 (any version) is not really recommended for Windows 7. This is especially true if you have Windows 7 64 bit! I bought Office 2007 Professional (Academic Version since I’m also a Teacher) on eBay to solve my problems with Office 2003, and particularly Outlook 2003. The Professional version is the only version that has Outlook 2007 (with contact manager). It cost me less than $180 Canadian (including S&H) and took 16 about days to get here.

Another option would be to buy Outlook 2007 by itself. It’s a costly investment of about $160 (CDN). You could also buy the Microsoft Office Home & Student 2007 edition for about $149 to $179 (CDN) but it DOESN’T include Outlook!

Let me know if the above work-around fixes the issue. If not, I’d suggest going to Office 2007 Professional (Academic Version) or the stand-alone Outlook 2007 application.

Follow-up: I got an email from Lew today and the work-around above fixed his problem. He said >>> “I followed your instructions & also updated Office 2003 on Microsoft Update.  It seems to be working, and I was able to send  the pictures I took that I was trying to send. Thank you for your help”.

May 2nd, 2010 Posted by DoC | Attach to email, Attachments, Computer Frustrations, DIY (Do It Yourself), Email, MS Outlook, Outlook, Photos, Windows 7 | no comments

Photoshop Elements not working – need to re-size and send photos fast!

Shirley writes: Hi Gord.  I have been trying to edit a photo today.  Twice I have spent an hour photoshopping the picture and when I’m just about finished the picture, Microsoft shows “this program is not responding” and shuts down!!  It also shuts down on most of the programs including emails, but I can just bring the website back up. But with this picture I must start all over again as Photoshop Elements doesn’t respond and the program is closed.  I would like to send the picture back to her as soon as possible edited as the picture is of her husband who is very sick.

I wrote back: Have you tried re-booting the computer (cold)? Shut it right down for a minute then start it up again. Don’t open any other programs and then try to edit in photoshop elements. Often times a cold boot will resolve temporary memory issues. Windows gets confused sometimes – I guess it suffers from old age too. Windows XP is about 60 years old in dog years! (click here or the title above to read full article)

October 4th, 2008 Posted by DoC | Email, Glitches, Photoshop Elements, Software | one comment

TIP: Permanently remove “fix redeye” problem when importing photos in Photoshop Elements…

I’ve discovered a BIG flaw in Photoshop Elements (versions 3 thru 6 – probably in version 7 too). When you’re importing a lot of photos into the organizer, there’s a little checkbox that says … “Automatically Fix Red Eyes”. The first time you use it make sure you UNCHECK that little box! It “probably” will stay unchecked the next time you use it, but I always double-check just to make sure.

My reasoning behind this is that the function really SUCKS! It rarely does it correctly, and some of your photos will end up looking like the people have black eyes. The real bad news is that once it’s done it’s “automatic fix” there NO WAY to undo it. (click here or the title above to read full article)

August 1st, 2008 Posted by DoC | Computer Frustrations, Photoshop Elements, Software, Tweaking | one comment