Archive
Archive for October, 2014
How to fix MS-Word not creating PDF Bookmarks for your Headings
2014/10/29
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- Problem: No navigation bar in Acrobat Reader when viewing your PDF created from MS-Word.
- Solution: Check this setting first in the Save as PDF Options:
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But: Word 2013’s “Save as PDF” with “Create Bookmarks” may remains greyed out since it won’t even see your own heading styles, even if you based these styles on the built-in heading styles (which are known to contain “hidden magic” not easily replicated) , including their outline level, if
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Heading appears in Content control.
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Heading appears in Table.
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Workaround:
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Move headings out of Content Controls (you can still “lock”the text with Grouping, which will be enabled on the Developer Tab once you select at least a conten control and text (meant for form field labels).
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Move headings outside of tables.
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Categories: Glitches&Errors, office-software, service-is-documenting
2013, adobe-acrobat, bookmarks, content-controls, headings, MS-Word, outlining, pdf, tables
Can speech recognition tools be soundly applied for speaking practice in second language acquisition programs? Paper at SLRF 2014
2014/10/26
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For your convenience, I provide two versions of this presentation: the slide deck:
And a screencast of my presentation:
(Unfortunately, PowerPoint 2013 seems to have introduced a bug in alignment of narration and video. If they fix it, I will republish),
How to fix primary screen on Linux laptop not coming out of sleep
2014/10/17
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- Problem: My Debian (Jessie) Linux laptop has issues with juggling a secondary screen and sleeping at the same time. More specifically, it seems:
- It seems if you come out of sleep with a secondary screen connected, even if you put the laptop to sleep with “it” (o.k., not the same “it”, just spec-wise the equivalent FULL HD LCD screen on VGA – being able to easily move the laptop to work in multiple places is kind of the point of having one in the first place), the primary laptop screen seems to remain asleep completely. FN keys to switch primary and secondary screen on laptop have no effect.
- If you disconnect the secondary screen, Linux does fall back onto the primary screen, however, “forgets” to turn the backlight on. FN keys to up brightness have no effect
- have not found a reliable way avoiding the issue – maybe always disconnecting secondary screen before putting laptop to sleep? If you don’t want to have to do this, or forget, try to use this:
- Workaround:
- While I could get to the tty shell on secondary screen using
CTRL+ALT+F1, but usingxrandr --autogavecan't open display. - However, try installing this utility which I found recommended in a different context:
aptitude search xbacklightxbacklight - simple utility to set the backlight levelaptitude install xbacklight- Switch to a non-elevated user (or else you’ll get:
No protocol specified" , "Primary laptop", "Can't open display :0", Why can't I run GUI apps from 'root': "No protocol specified"? : " In Debian $XAUTHORITY is usually not set explicitly.", "xauth list xauth: file /root/.Xauthority does not exist"). - Then issue:
xbacklight -set 50ORissuexbacklight -inc 50. - Viola: “Fiat lux”…
- Sleep takes out your primary screen and you are not good at blind starting, finding and typing into your Konsole? Right-click on the desktop of your secondary scree, “Run command”, and issue the same command line.
- Thank you, xbacklight.
- While I could get to the tty shell on secondary screen using
How to export BMC Remedy data into Excel other than via copy-paste
2014/10/10
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- This question came up during consulting (Disclaimer: BMC provides non-customers only limited access to online documentation and trial software).
- BMC Remedy Action Request System 8.1 supports a wide variety of reports, including from a query builder, and editing of reports, using the free Eclipse data visualization and reporting plugin BIRT, and exports of reports in a wide variety of formats, including Excel ( you can find more on Exporting to Excel in these articles).
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BMC can also read excel and other data: “Data Management is a web-enabled dataload tool that enables you to import data into your system” (source) .
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BMC Remedy provides ODBC connectivity (note: read-only , so no round-tripping!). Applications that have been used with this feature include Access, Crystal Reports and Excel. In principal, querying an ODBC data source from Excel (2007 and up) works like this:
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On the Excel machine, install the BMC-provided ODBC driver into ODBCINST.INI (contains information about ODBC drivers available system-wide).
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Create an ODBC connection, save office data connection files as .odc file for easy reuse.
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Query the Remedy database using SQL from ribbon: ” Data” / section:”Get External Data”:”From other sources”/ menu item: “From Microsoft Query”, select the Remedy Database, clear “Use the Query Wizard”, log in, in “Microsoft Query” window, add Remedy data tables, then columns to display, then go to menu: “File”/ “Return Data to Microsoft Office Excel”.
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Some BMC-ODBC-driver-specific limitations are covered in BMC Remedy AR System ODBC considerations
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If the exact required functionality is not built in, BMC remedy also provides extension points for developing plugins. See Application development with BMC Remedy Developer Studio, which happens with using BMC Remedy Developer Studio, a freely downloadable add-on which can be enabled by a vendor call.
Categories: audience-is-IT-staff, e-infrastructure, service-is-it-managing
bmc-remedy
VBA script to more easily examine the properties of your Content Control-based forms
2014/10/09
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- The routine loops through the Content Controls and outputs properties as text into the VBA-Editor immediate window,
- from where it can be easily converted into an Excel-table which makes it easy t o spot and mark inconsistencies and outright oversights, like so:
Sub ccPropertiesPrint()
On Error Resume Next
Dim strHeadings, strProps As String
Dim count As Integer
Dim response
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "count"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Tag"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Title"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Type"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "DefaultTextStyle"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Application"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "BuildingBlockCategory"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "BuildingBlockType"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Checked"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Creator"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "DateCalendarType"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "DateDisplayFormat"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "DateDisplayLocale"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "DateStorageFormat"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "DropdownListEntries"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "ID"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "LockContentControl"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "LockContents"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "MultiLine"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Parent"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "ParentContentControl"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "PlaceholderText"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Range"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "ShowingPlaceholderText"
strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "Temporary"
'strHeadings = strHeadings & "~" & "XMLMapping"
Debug.Print strHeadings
If ActiveDocument.ContentControls.count > 0 Then
For Each oCC In ActiveDocument.ContentControls
'debug
'If oCC.Type = 9 Then 'debug: repeating
count = count + 1
If count = 50 Then
'dim response = vbmsgboxresponse
Exit For
End If
' useless cannot access immediate window If count = 15 Then response = MsgBox("paused", vbOKOnly) End If
strProps = "" 'start over
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & count 'CStr(count)
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Tag, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Title, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Type, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.DefaultTextStyle, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Application, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.BuildingBlockCategory, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.BuildingBlockType, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Checked, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Creator, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.DateCalendarType, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.DateDisplayFormat, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.DateDisplayLocale, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.DateStorageFormat, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.DropdownListEntries.count, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.ID, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.LockContentControl, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.LockContents, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.MultiLine, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Parent, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.ParentContentControl, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.PlaceholderText, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Range, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.ShowingPlaceholderText, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
strProps = strProps & "~"
strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.Temporary, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
'strProps = strProps & "~"
'strProps = strProps & CStr(Replace(Replace(oCC.XMLMapping, Chr(13), "#"), Chr(10), "#"))
Debug.Print vbCrLf & strProps & vbCrLf
'End If 'oCC.Type=9 then 'debug: repeating
Next
End If
End Sub
Expanding the Review and Modify Content Control Properties to include Repeating Sections
2014/10/08
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- Greg Maxey provides a lot of useful information on MS-Word content Controls, including a VBA utility to more easily loop through the properties and placeholder text dialogue of Content Controls when building your MS-Word forms.
- Unfortunately, the latter bit fails with nested repeating (wdContentControlRepeatingSection):
- The debugger shows that it Errors on non placeholder text of repeating controls set to
- “.txtPHText = oCC.PlaceholderText” which it breaks into, and a watch put on oCC shows:
- The form 1 (display of inbuilt form ) works and is useful also for wdContentControlRepeatingSection, while form 2 has no use for wdContentControlRepeatingSection. So as a workaround, we just do not show form 2 if placeholder text isNothing:
- We have no pretension to redistribute, get the utility from Greg’s website, it is open and you can extend it with above, if you need to.
Sub CCPropertiesReviewModify()
Dim oFrm As frmCC
bCancel = False
If ActiveDocument.ContentControls.Count > 0 Then
For Each oCC In ActiveDocument.ContentControls
oCC.Range.Select
Dialogs(wdDialogContentControlProperties).Show
Set oFrm = New frmCC
If Not isNothing(oCC.PlaceholderText) Then 'trp
With oFrm
.Caption = oCC.Title
.txtPHText = oCC.PlaceholderText
.Show
End With
End If
If bCancel Then Exit For
Next oCC
Unload oFrm
Set oFrm = Nothing
Else
MsgBox "This document does not contain any Content Controls.", vbInformation, "Review\Set Content Control Properties"
End If
lbl_Exit: Exit Sub
End Sub
Now what about wdContentControlGroup?
Has the “text effects” cheese been moved only in Word 2013 styles?
2014/10/07
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Used to have its own separate button – don’t despair, it is still there, now under the “Format” button:
Categories: office-software
2013, MS-Word, styles, text-effects
We can nest controls in repeating content controls, including repeating content controls
2014/10/06
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- Just saying, since it seems not easy to find within web search results the ones that nest nesting….
- Have not tried accessing the results in OpenXML yet which will have to be done via the control ID
- since repeating:
- does not autoincrement the titles and tags.
- since repeating:
Categories: animated-GIFs, e-infrastructure, service-is-documenting
2013, content-controls, MS-Word
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