Key to Instructions To help readers follow the instructions in this article, we used two different typefaces: Boldface type is used to identify the names of icons, agendas and URLs. Sans serif type shows commands and instructions users should type into the computer and the names of files.

A. Thumbs.db is a file that stores your digital graphics files. So when you command Explorer to display your files as thumbnails (see below), because you want to get a miniature image of a graphic file, Explorer turns to the Thumbs.db file to speed the display.

As you discovered, they can be erased; the only consequence would be a slight delay in generating the thumbnail image. If, on the other hand, you want to keep them but put them out of sight, go to Explorer and click on Folders , Tools , Folder Options , View and cursor down to and check Do not cache thumbnails (to stop creating them) or Do not show hidden files and folders (to keep them hidden).

Be aware, however, if you command Explorer to not show hidden files, that will affect all your hidden files.

A. It sounds like the Word portion of your Registry (Windows’ “brains”) got scrambled so it no longer instructs Word files to use the winword.exe command to open a Word file. Fortunately, the fix is relatively easy. First, we’ll unregister all the Word files and then tell winword.exe to reset them correctly.

To do that we’ll evoke that old Disk Operating System (DOS). You’re probably thinking it’s my brain that’s scrambled because DOS is no longer loaded in Windows. Although it’s not widely known, Microsoft tucked a little kernel of DOS inside Windows to solve problems like this. The next Windows operating system will indeed be without a trace of DOS.

To open a window in DOS, go to Start , point to Programs (some computers list it as All Programs ), Accessories , and then choose Command Prompt . Unless your computer’s name is Stanley, your prompt will not look like the screenshot below; instead, Stanley will be replaced by the name you gave your computer when it was set up.

Type in the following command—including the quotation marks and the spaces:

"javascript:void(null);"/unregserver

Then press the Enter key.

Editor’s note : In the unlikely event you get an error message, that shows that the winword.exe file isn’t where it usually is (as shown in the above command). To find it, use Windows Explorer’s Search tool and then adjust the path in the command accordingly.

Then, while you’re still at the command prompt, enter this command to rewrite Word’s Registry keys (again adjusting the command to the correct path for your machine):

"javascript:void(null);"/regserver

That should put you back in business.

A. Excel has such a tool. To access it, highlight the formula you want to check and click on Formula Auditing and Evaluate Formula . Excel displays this dialog box with your formula:

Excel immediately begins to calculate the first part of the formula (the portion to the left of the underlined section). Each time you click on the Evaluate button, Excel calculates the next portion in the formula, from left to right. Thus you can look at the results calculated by each part of the formula. Don’t worry, nothing in the formula changes as you move around—only the intermediary results. When you’re finished, click on Close .

There’s also a simple version of Evaluate Formula —a way to test a formula before you commit it to a cell: Type a formula in Excel’s Formula bar (the space next to fx), for example:

But instead of pressing Enter, press F9, and you’ll get the answer right there in the Formula bar:

Now, if you add to that formula…

…and then press F9, you’ll get:

As you can see, you can build a formula in the Formula bar and see the results as you proceed.

Q. I just loaded Office XP and I expect great things from it—such as being able to easily add a graphic in an Excel 2000 header, which always has been more complicated than unscrambling the books of a crooked business. Has XP made it any easier to load a graphic in an Excel header?

A. It’s much easier. Here’s how: With the Excel worksheet open, go to the File menu and click on Page Setup . When the dialog box opens, select the Header/Footer tab and select whether you want a Custom Header or Footer (see screenshot).

Then decide whether you want it in the center of the page or on the left or right (see screenshot).

Now click on the Insert Pictur e button (the second button from the right) and a dialog box will open that helps you select the graphic. Once it’s located, click on Insert and the words code &[Picture] will appear in the center section where the graphic will be. Click on OK and OK again. To view the page with the header, return to the worksheet and under File , click on Print Preview (see screenshot).

A. I expect you mean a stamp like this:

There are several ways to do it. In Word, you can use either the AutoText or Picture insert features, and in Excel, which lacks AutoText , use the Picture insert feature.

Let’s start with Word’s AutoText . After creating the table, using Tools , Insert Table , load the stamp in AutoText by highlighting the stamp image, then either press Alt+F3 or click on Insert , AutoText , New , evoking the Create AutoText screen (see screenshot) and name the insert and click on OK .

Then, whenever you want to apply the stamp in Word, click on Insert , AutoText and click on the name you gave it and presto:

Since Excel lacks AutoInsert , you have at least two options. The easiest requires that you have graphic-copying software, such as SnagIt ( www.techsmith.com ), to take a snapshot of the stamp and then store the image in some convenient folder. Whenever you want to stamp a worksheet, click on Insert , Picture , From File and then click on the file where you stored the stamp image.

If you don’t have graphic-copying software, you can copy (Ctrl+C) the stamp image from a Word document and paste it (Ctrl+V) in the Excel worksheet.

Here’s the solution: Click on Format , AutoFormat , Options and the AutoCorrect screen will appear (see below). Place a check next to *Bold* and _ italic _ with real formatting . Notice you can use the underscore line (_) in the same way to set italics automatically.

Close the active window or quit a program: Alt+F4
Full delete (without sending file to the recycle bin): Shift+Delete
Move cursor forward to the next place: Tab
Move cursor back to the previous place: Shift+Tab
Open any menu or menu item: Alt+the underlined letter
Open Help: F1
Open Start Menu: Ctrl+Esc
Switch to a different open program: Alt+Tab

STANLEY ZAROWIN, a former JofA senior editor, is now a contributing editor to the magazine. His e-mail address is zarowin@mindspring.com .