DamronTech Computer Solutions

Is all my data in My Documents?

Sunday, October 19th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

When the My Documents folder appeared as a feature of Windows 95 SR2, I immediately had my reservations. I was concerned that this abstraction would prevent users from understanding the underlying directory structure and lead to sloppy file organization. I was right, the My Documents folder became an organizational trash heap for most users. 

Thirteen years later, I’ve gotten over my disdain for the My Documents folder. Thankfully, more sophisticated users starting utilizing good file organization techniques within My Documents.

I still have some concerns.  While many programs select My Documents as their default storage location, a number of popular programs do not. 

QuickBooks is an excellent example.  For QuickBooks 2008 Pro, we find that the default location for data files is not in My Documents:

Windows XP or Windows 2000
C:\Documents and Settings\All Users\(Shared) Documents\Intuit\QuickBooks\Company Files

Windows Vista:C:\Users\Public\Public Documents\Intuit\QuickBooks\Company Files

The same is true for Outlook .pst files and EndNote .enl files.   If your automated or manual backups are limited to your My Documents folder, you might be missing critical data.

Contact DamronTech if you need some help with data backup and disaster recovery planning.

Brilliant font identification utility

Monday, October 13th, 2008 | Uncategorized | 4 Comments

From time to time, I find myself with a graphic featuring an unknown font that I must reproduce.  Sometimes, I am lucky and can match it with one of 10,000 fonts in my collection.  In other cases, I am often forced to find something close and hope the client finds the match acceptable.

My ship has come in, I have found a fantastic font identification tool at http://www.myfonts.com/WhatTheFont/ .   With this utility, you upload an image and it tries to match it with a font.   In order to give this utility a real test, I uploaded an image that had text and a graphic.  I was curious how the utility would deal with the graphic.  I was prepared to trim the graphic limiting it to just the text, but this wasn’t necessary.

Here was the graphic I uploaded:

The utility analyzed the uploaded graphic and presented a number of images, each with a different element of the graphic highlighted for character identification.  Here’s an example:

For this graphic, I typed the character “R” into a text box.   If the utility selects a graphic element or a partial character, you just ignore that item and move on to the next.  After evaluating about a dozen selections, the utility found five possible matches, Verona TS-Medium, Windsor SB-Light, Windsor EF-Light, Verona TS-Demi Bold, and ITC Benguiat Medium.

I tried a Windsor variant that I had and it was a perfect match.  Excellent.

This also brings up another frustrating web endeavor, searching for free fonts online.  There are thousands of free font sites online.  More than 95% of the time, the font you are looking for is not available for free.  I suggest another strategy that often yields the free font you are looking for. If you are searching for a font named Windsor, add the True Type font suffix and do a Google search for windsor.ttf.  This has worked for me dozens of times.

Fonts are among the cheapest of all software - you can buy a disk of 5000 fonts for $5-$10 or acquire a collection via P2P methods.

Other great sources for rare and expensive fonts include driver packages for high-end laser printers.  Download the driver for a high-end laser printer and you’ll sometimes find a folder full of expensive, high-quality fonts.

DamronTech offers data recovery services

Sunday, September 28th, 2008 | Uncategorized | No Comments

If you have accidentally deleted one or more critical files. Don’t panic. It is very likely that all of your data can be recovered.

Initially, users should attempt to recover data using the Windows undo feature.  If that fails, open the Recycle Bin and attempt to restore your data. If you are unsuccessful, you are on borrowed time. Shut down your system immediately, a skilled computer professional can probably recover all of your deleted files. If you continue to use your computer, the ability to recover lost data diminishes with continued use.

DamronTech utilizes sophisticated data recovery software to recover data lost through accidental deletion, reformatting, and file corruption.  In addition to recovering data from computer hard drives, data can be recovered from damaged flash drives and memory cards.

Contrary to what you may have been told, it is possible to recover data after the hard drive has been reformatted and repartitioned.

Do not attempt to use Windows System Restore or OEM recovery tools.  They are designed to repair your operating system or restore your computer to its original factory configuration.  Use of these tools reduces or eliminates the likelihood that data can recovered.