Friday, February 23, 2007

February 23, 2007

Dear Sassy: I can't seem to send email from my laptop wirelessly. What is the problem?
~ Unplugged with no email

Dear Unplugged: This is a great question! It seems so obvious that we should be able to send email using Outlook on our laptops. However, there is a catch with Outlook (at our institution.) In order to send and receive emails on your laptop you MUST be connected via an Ethernet cable. You can login to the web version of Outlook and send/receive email on your laptop wirelessly. But if you use the regular version of Outlook you must be connected to the Internet via an Ethernet cable.

Thursday, February 22, 2007

February 22, 2007

Dear Sassy: I need your continued help with Excel. Now, I want to know if I can force the text to wrap in select cells. When I hit the enter button at the desired spot, the text is deleted instead. What magic button will force the text to wrap?
~Often Clueless

Dear Clueless: You have come so far in mastering Excel, don't give up now! First you need to open up your Excel spreadsheet. Highlight the desired text by clicking on the cell or column that you want the text to wrap. Right click. Choose Format Cells. A new window will open and choose Alignment from the top tabs. In the middle of the box you will see Text Control. Place a checkmark next to Wrap text. And click Ok. Your text should be wrapped.

Tuesday, February 20, 2007

February 20, 2007

Dear Sassy: I am unable to log onto my laptop in the library. Can you tell me what is going on?
~ Logged out via Wireless

Dear Logged: This is a great question! This is a problem that several individuals have asked Sassy about. When you log onto your laptop, it remembers your LSUMC username/password. So, if you should change your password on your desktop, your laptop doesn’t know the new password. You must plug in the Ethernet cable for the laptop to recognize the new password and let you login. After you have logged in once with the new password you should be able to access the internet wirelessly.

These steps will work with our everyday patrons ~ people who have an LSUMC account. It will not work with visitor’s laptops since they do not have an LSUMC account.

Dear Sassy: What is a blog? Does the library have a blog? How would I access it?
~ Want to blog in the library

Dear Blog: A blog (weblog) is a web based publication that can be written in a journal format and is usually in reverse chronological order. You can find blogs on just about any subject ~ from dogs to science fiction to academia. In fact, Sassy has her own blog. You can find it at: http://sassysystems.blogspot.com/. It is a work in progress...

Sassy’s blog is searchable and has identifying labels after every post. You can also leave comments to each post.

You will need a blog feeder (reader) to stay current with reading of your blogs. You can subscribe as many blogs as you want and read them all at the same place (reader). This eliminates having to go to many different websites. Sassy uses http://www.bloglines.com/ to view all of her blogs. Please let me know and Sassy can help you create an account.

Tuesday, February 13, 2007

February 5, 2007

Dear Sassy: Are our computers able to convert Microsoft Works (.wps) files into a format readable by Microsoft Word? If not, can a converter be installed?
~ Would like to Convert

Dear Convert: Sassy is SO glad that you have requested a converter for our computers. Not everyone uses Microsoft Word, and sometimes Sassy forgets to include the Works users. Sassy has added a converter to the 3 networked machines out in the Reference area. You should be able to open the .wps document by going through Word.


Dear Sassy: I overheard someone talking about “defragging” their machine. What is defragging and should I be doing it?
~ Defragged in the Library

Dear Defragged: Ahh, to defrag or not to defrag – that is the question… Defragging is a good thing, but let me explain a little about the process. Disk defragmenter is a System Tool on your machine. This application rearranges the files that are stored on your hard drive so that they are lumped together instead of spread apart. This process can increase the speed of your machine. You can access it by clicking on Start > Programs > Accessories > System Tools > Disk Defragmenter. Once you click on Disk Defragmenter you will have a colorful graph on display. By reading the legend you can determine just how defragmented your files are. If you click Analyze, your machine will perform a quick scan and tell you if your machine needs defragging or not. If your machine does need defragging, try to start the process when you will not need your computer – like at lunch. Defragging can be time consuming depending on the amount of files that need to be moved. Normally after the initial defrag the following defrags will be quicker. Defragging can be done on a monthly or bimonthly basis.

January 22, 2007

Dear Sassy: I know that my personal folders in my email do not count against my allotted email space. But what about items in the Sent folder and the Recycle Bin? Do these items count against me?
~ Lost in Syracuse

Dear Lost: Great job on remembering that personal folders DO NOT count against your allotted email space. Unfortunately, items in the Sent folder and the Recycle Bin do count against your space. Don’t forget that items in your Inbox and your Drafts count as well. So every now and then you need to clean out your email folders. If you can’t bear to delete it, put it in a personal folder.


Dear Sassy: I can’t seem to log into one of the machines in the computer lab. I am using the username/password that is on the screen: username “WKS23” and password “public” plus the domain is set to “LSUMC-MASTER.” What am I doing wrong?
~ Locked Out in the Computer Lab

Dear Locked Out: Sassy is SO glad that you are trying to keep all the machines up and running in the computer lab. Sometimes patrons log out of the computers. Not that they are required too, it just sometimes happens. If you have tried the correct username/password and domain combination on the machine and are unable to log in, please let a member of Systems know. Just like on your own machine, if 3 unsuccessful attempts have been made at logging on to the machine it locks down and requires resetting from Computer Services.

January 8, 2007

Dear Sassy: I tried to update and run the Spybot program that you installed on my PC but it keeps giving me an error message “Bad CheckSum.” How do I fix this problem?
~ Spybot with Errors

Dear Spybot: Sassy is SO glad that you are active in keeping spyware off of your computer by updating and running Spybot! Sassy tried to update Spybot and received the same error message that you did. Spybot has come out with a new version (1.4) that must be installed in order to keep up with the new spyware out there. Let Sassy know if you have Spybot so that I can update your program to 1.4.

For those of you that don’t have Spybot on your machine – we need to get this program on your computer. Spybot is a program that eliminates spyware on your machine. Spyware is a type of software that is installed on a computer (usually without the users consent) that tracks information about the user. All of this activity occurs in the background and can slow down the performance of your computer. Sometimes spyware is attached to a valid program that is installed on a computer. Sassy could go on and on about spyware, so if you would like to read more view the wikipedia entry on spyware.

Spyware is not something to be afraid of, we just need to remove it.


Dear Sassy: I’ve noticed less of the brown webpage timeouts recently. Has something changed?
~ Less timeouts in the Library

Dear Timeouts: Great question! We had been experiencing a lot of trouble with the internet before the holidays. Librarians couldn’t get to valid websites to perform research. During the holidays networking has made a few adjustments that should eliminate the brown screen webpage that indicated internet congestion. If you should get the internet congestion error, please let me know and I will inform networking.

December 18, 2006

Dear Sassy: Can you tell me where the USB ports are on the public computers? We have a lot of patrons trying to use their thumb drives but I don’t know where they should plug them in.
~ Searching for the USB

Dear Searching: This is an excellent question! Sassy can’t tell you the number of times I have seen people with their thumb drive in hand (no pun intended) looking a little puzzled trying to find the USB port.

The USB ports on the machines in the computer labs are a little tricky to find. And for that we must thank Dell for their creative placement of the USB port.

There are two USB port locations on the machines. The first is on the front. If you notice most of the machines are missing the gray Dell flap on the front of the machines – under this flap is where you will find 2 USB ports. This flap does have a hinge on the top and can angle up out of the way. The ports are set at an angle and really the best way to insert the thumb drive is to really get down there (yes on the floor) so that you can see what you are doing and insert the thumb drive.

The additional 4 USB ports on the machines are located on the back. You can find these ports close to the mouse and keyboard (green and purple) wires. These USB ports work better for some styles of thumb drives – especially odd sized ones and those on key rings.

Oh – and another tip regarding thumb drives… If a patron is having problems getting the computer to “recognize” their thumb drive – have them insert it into another port (front vs. back.)


Dear Sassy: I have some handouts that I would like to give out at my next class. They are in color but I don’t have a color printer … do we have any way of printing those in color?
~ I’m dreaming of color printouts

Dear Dreaming: This question is perfectly timed with the installation of the networked color printer at the Reference Desk! How did you time that SO well?! If you would like to be able to print to this color printer, just let Sassy know and I can get that set up for you. And just a reminder… as with all printing (especially color) we must be respectful in what we print. The color toner cartridges are VERY expensive, so we must only print in color when absolutely necessary.

December 4, 2006

Dear Sassy: During the “Geeks Bearing Gifts” class Michelle talked about making sure our computers were up to date on the anti virus software. How do we check that?
~ Anti Virus in the Cold Weather

Dear Anti Virus: This is a very good question, Sassy is SO glad that you are in tune with keeping your computer safe. First let me explain a little about the functions of the anti virus software. For our purposes there are two important aspects to remember regarding McAfee (our anti virus software.) One is that viruses are always popping up so new definitions are made to block those viruses.

So this makes it very important to Update your McAfee so that it has all the new definitions. And two, after your McAfee is updated, it is also very important to Run the software. Both of these steps go hand in hand, and Sassy can go on and on about their importance… so update and run

Most, if not all, of our machines update and then run on a daily basis. To check to see when your machine is scheduled Click on Start >> Programs >> Network Associates >> VirusScan Console. This will open up a new window where you should see AutoUpdate and Scan. You can change the schedule by double clicking on each feature. Let Sassy know if you run into any problems, I would be glad to assist.


Dear Sassy: I was attempting to perform a search in PubMed, and received the message below. What does this mean?

Bad Gateway!
The proxy server received an invalid response from an upstream server. If you think this is a server error, please contact the webmaster.
Error 502
~ Hating the Bad Gateway in Caddo

Dear Hating: Wow, it appears by your signature that you have a lot of frustration. Maybe you need to get a cheeseburger from Herby K’s? Never fear, this really isn’t as bad of an error message as it appears. Let me explain what it means. The 502 Bad Gateway error is an HTTP status code that means that one server received an invalid response from another server that it was accessing while attempting to load the web page.

Whew! And now the jargon free explanation is that there was a connection problem between the two servers. The best thing to do is to try to access PubMed again by clicking Refresh. If you are still experiencing problems accessing this page, you may want to contact the webmaster at the address listed on the error page and advise them of the error message you received. Most importantly this error message does NOT mean there is anything wrong with your machine or the internet connection.

November 13, 2006

Dear Sassy: It seems that every time I open my email I get a reminder to change my password. It is good to be reminded, however, it occurs daily counting down from 14 days. Help?! Is there someway to get out of all these reminders?
~ Remind me Less

Dear Remind: Sassy agrees that a good reminder can help get tasks done, however, a bad reminder can hinder productivity and can seem quite annoying. Sassy can change the amount of days that you are reminded to change your password. It will take less than 2 minutes to change. Just let me know and I will be glad to shorten your list of reminders.


Dear Sassy: I have heard other people using a “Print Screen” feature. Can you tell me more about it and how to do it?
~ Capture less on the Monitor

Dear Capture: Fabulous question! There are many joys to using Print Screen. The “Print Screen” feature takes a snapshot of your monitor screen. This is very useful when creating handouts for a class or developing a step-by-step instruction manual. Print Screen is very easy to use and master. First take a good look at your keyboard. Somewhere close to the top right should be a button that says “Print Screen” – it may be one of your function keys. To activate the Print Screen all you do is 1st have the window open that you want copied and 2nd press the Print Screen button. To view your screen capture open up a word document and Paste your capture. You should have a full view of your screen at this time.

But what if you are working in several windows and only want one single window copied? Ahh, Sassy just learned this handy dandy trick last week. Hold down the Alt key while pressing down the Print Screen button. This will only copy the active window.

As always, if you would like a member of the Systems Department to assist you with this or any other problem, please let us know.

October 30, 2006

Dear Sassy: I saw the new release for Internet Explorer 7 on the Shreveport E-announcements page. According to the announcement we are NOT supposed to download this update. I currently have the little yellow shield down in the bottom right hand corner of my screen that says I have updates to install. Can I install these or does it have Internet Explorer 7?
~ IE 7 updates in Question

Dear IE 7: Sassy is impressed that you are receiving your E-announcements and reading them! Great job! Currently you don’t have anything to worry about regarding Internet Explorer 7. We at LSUHSC-S are not installing this product at this time.


Dear Sassy: I was helping a patron the other day using the printers in the lab. One of the printers had gone down and was not working. Even though there was a sign directing the user to print to the lone working printer, they accidentally sent their print job to the non-working printer. The patron had already released the print job from the release station and paid for it. What do I do now? Does the patron need to reprint their print job and pay for it again?
~ Broke down in Printer land

Dear Broke: Oh how Sassy knows your pain! Please let me know anytime a patron has done this. It can be very frustrating for the staff and for the patron who has already paid for their print job and they can’t get it to print. Sassy can redirect the print job using the GoPrint software and send their print job to a working printer. This is a fast process and keeps the patron from having to pay twice for their print job.

October 10, 2006

Dear Sassy: I found an article in PubMed but there isn’t a LSUHSC-S icon on the PubMed screen. The e-journal is listed on our e-journals page and my article falls between the years of coverage. Why isn’t there an icon in PubMed and who should I contact?
~ Icon missing in the Library

Dear Icon: This is a great question but not necessarily an easy one to answer. There can be several reasons that the icon in PubMed is missing. Not all of the journals and/or publishers are listed in LinkOut, which feeds our holdings into PubMed. So therefore if the journal and/or publisher is not listed then our icon will not be present. Make sense?

Plus Ebsco likes to control its own PubMed icons. When our holdings change through Ebsco, they are responsible for updating LinkOut. Also when our holdings change with other publishers there is a delay in getting PubMed updated. Sometimes we are notified by the publisher about these changes but other times we aren’t so lucky..

Now as far as who you are to contact when you come across a record in PubMed that should have our LSUHSC-S icon… that lucky individual is our own Montie’ Dobbins. Applause… Applause… Hmm, Sassy may owe Montie’ chocolate for this announcement. But seriously just send Montie’ an email with the e-journal title, year and if possible the PMID. The more you send her the more informed she will be in tackling the problem.


Dear Sassy: I have noticed the Reach Out and Read donation box by the Circulation desk. I know that we can place books in this box for the ROR but how would I make a monetary donation?
~ Dollars for ROR

Dear Dollars: Thanks for the question, this is a little off topic for Sassy but still very pertinent to the Library. I spoke with resident ROR Queen Kerri Christopher for guidance in answering your question. She suggested filling out the United Way Donation slip that was included with your payroll stub and marking 51. LSUHSC-S Reach Out and Read Program as the recipient of your gift. You can designate a one time or a continuous gift.

September 25, 2006

Dear Sassy: Isn’t there some trick for finding old emails when I can’t remember which folder I put it in? Ways to search by subject or by sender? I seem to spend a lot of time looking through e-mails for the one I need.
~ Still searching in Shreveport

Dear Searching: Ahh… Sassy is full of tricks up her sleeve. This is a great question, anything Sassy can do to help streamline your workflow please ask! With your email (Outlook) open click on Tools and Find. This should bring up a toolbar at the top of your email folder in which you can enter terms to search.

You can choose the specific folder if you know it or you can search all mail folders. You can enter in subject, sender or a search term from the body of the email. Click Find Now to begin your search. You will receive a lot of false hits but it will help greatly narrow down the correct email in which you are searching for.

Incidentally you can also Sort your emails by sender, subject and received date. At the top of your inbox click From to sort alphabetically by sender, click Subject to sort by subject, and so on.


Dear Sassy: I have noticed that you type in a password on your machine when you have been away from your office. Why do you lock down your machine and should I?
~ Lockless in the Library

Dear Lockless: Wow! You are very observant! Sassy locks down her machine as a security measure. If someone were to access her computer while she had stepped out of her office they could not get past the password screen. If Sassy forgot to lock down her machine, her email could be accessed as well as all the files that she has on her machine. It is a very good practice to lock down your machine when you step away.

Just hit Ctrl, Alt and Delete to bring up the Security Screen. Click Lock Computer. Your machine is now locked down and will require your password to open up. This password is the same one that you log onto your machine with. Locking your computer will not affect any of the files or programs that you were working on. Everything will remain open until you close it down.

September 11, 2006

Dear Sassy: I noticed that when I put in the thumb drive that you gave me for Disaster Planning, it has your name. How did you do that?
~ Nameless in the Library

Dear Nameless: Ah ha! That is where Sassy’s missing thumb drive is! Just kidding. It is a good practice to “name” your thumb drives for identification. More to identify the thumb drive (if you have more than one) and not really to identify the owner if the thumb drive should be lost.

With the thumb drive inserted into your machine:
Right click on Start
Click on Explore
Scroll down until you find the thumb drive listed
Right click on the thumb drive
Click Rename
Type in the name you wish


Dear Sassy: I have heard the phrase “drag and drop” from several different people. What exactly does that mean and how would I use it?
~ Dragging and dropping on Kings hwy

Dear Dragging: Great question! There is more than one meaning for the phrase “drag and drop.” One version of drag and drop is a JavaScript element that allows resizing of images on the web. Another version of drag and drop is a method to move or copy files. Sassy is betting that the second version is the one you would like to know about.

Here are the directions for dragging and dropping files:
Press, and hold down, the left button on the mouse, to "grab" the file,
"Drag" the file/cursor to the desired location,
"Drop" the file by releasing the button.
And there you have “Drag and Drop” as another method for moving or copying files/folders.

August 28, 2006

Dear Sassy: I have seen on the news laptops spontaneously catching on fire. Are we at any risk?
~ Fire hazard in the Library

Dear Fire: Great job keeping up with the news! Just recently Apple began a recall on its batteries; previously it was Dell that implemented a recall. In the library, 99% of our laptops are Dell. In fact, all of the laptops that are used for teaching are Dell. Sassy has checked all of our laptops and we only have one that is listed in the recall. We are in the process of obtaining a new battery for that machine. So you are quite safe from flammable laptop batteries in the library.


Dear Sassy: In some emails that I receive, there is a standard looking name and address down at the bottom of the email. Do they type that information every time? Surely there is an easier way.
~ Surely on Kings Highway

Dear Surely: You have come to the right place! Of course there is an easier way to incorporate a “signature” into your emails. The name and address at the bottom of the emails is called a signature. To add a signature to your emails open up your Microsoft Outlook. Click on the top toolbar Tool > Options and then the Mail Format tab. The third section is where you can add a signature. Click on Signatures… and then New. Type the information that you would like included in your emails in the box. When you are done, click Finish. If you are satisfied with the Preview of your signature click Ok, if not, click Edit. Click the drop down menu next to Signature for New Messages and highlight your new signature. You can also choose to have the same signature (or different one) for replies and forwards. Once you have made your selections click Ok. To test, click on New message to begin composing a message your new signature should now be at the bottom of your message.

August 14, 2006

Dear Sassy: I have some personal folders set up in my email ~ do those count against my allotted email space? And besides, how would I know how much space I am taking up except when I get the “over the limit” emails from Computer Services?
~ Running out of Space in Shreveport

Dear Running: These are some great questions! Personal folders help organize the plethora of emails that Sassy gets. In fact, most of Sassy’s email is routed to a personal folder of some sort. These do not count against my allotted space on the network. Personal folders are saved on each individual computer.

Now, want to know how to avoid those emails from Computer Services? Unless you have a lot of email, and I am talking about A LOT, you really shouldn’t be receiving those emails anymore. Back in January Computer Services doubled the amount of space we have allotted to our email to 100 MB. If you are curious to see how much space your email is taking up… Open up your Microsoft Outlook program and in your Folder list Right click on Outlook Today - [your last name, first name] and then Click on Properties. This will open a new screen with the General Tab selected Click on Folder size… at the top there should be a Total size listed as well as a break down of each folder size underneath. The total size of Sassy’s email is 37235 KB or 37.235 MB (1000 KB = 1 MB).


Dear Sassy: Sometimes after using a laptop or my regular desktop computer I Logoff versus Shutting Down. Does that matter, I mean what is the difference? They both log me off of the computer.
~ Logging off in the Library

Dear Logging: Ahh… Sassy is SO glad that you have submitted this question. Sassy has noticed that some of the laptops have lost their charge due to not being Shut Down. If you use a laptop please go ahead and choose Shut Down from the Start menu. This option will completely turn off the machine. If you should choose Logoff from the Start menu this will indeed log you off of the computer, but it is still on and functioning. And if you physically close the laptop it will go into Sleep mode… where the machine is not quite on but then not off either. Sleep mode will drain the battery of a laptop.

Now for your desktop station you can either Logoff or Shut Down. If this machine is publicly used like the Reference Desk or Circulation Desk machines, you probably will just log off so that the next user can just Log on to begin using the machine. However, if your machine is used solely by you, or you are the last user on a public machine, you can just Shut Down the machine when you leave for the day.

July 10, 2006

Dear Sassy: In PubMed, what does the filter “Link to Full Text” mean? When I perform a search and use this limit I get journals that we don’t have a subscription and requests money for viewing the article.
~ Full Text but not free in Shreveport

Dear Full Text: This is an amazing question, this one stumped Sassy (and several other brilliant minds). After a lengthy call to PubMed I have got some answers for you. You performed a search in PubMed and added the limit “Links to Full Text.”

What this limit is referring to is ALL full text, not necessarily full text that we have a subscription for. The “Full Text” phrase that is used here also includes the Publisher since technically they do offer “Full Text” we may just not subscribe to it.

If you are wanting your search results to consist of “Full Text” articles that we (LSUHSC-S) have a subscription to you will need to include this line in your search strategy: AND loprovlsuhsclib [filter].


Dear Sassy: I noticed in the computer lab a workstation that did not have all the links or icons on the desktop like it should, nor could it send jobs to the printer. What was going on?
~ Linkless on Kings hwy

Dear Linkless: Sometimes users log on to the workstations using their username and password. When that happens, they do not have access to the printers and some of the icons. If you come across a machine like this, just log off and log back on as the workstation. The usernames and passwords of each workstation are listed on the login screen.
As always, if you would like a member of the Systems Department to assist you with this or any other problem, please let us know.

June 26, 2006

Dear Sassy: Sometimes when I am typing a name or address in the “To:” field in my Outlook email – name(s) automatically come up. Is there a way to delete those?
~ Nameless in LA

Dear Nameless: What a great question! Occasionally Sassy has sent an email to the wrong person due to misclicking on those automatic selections. How embarrassing for Sassy! However, there is a quick fix for to avoid this embarrassment. While you are typing a name or address in the “To:” field if there are other names that begin with the same letter sequence you will receive an option to select one.

If you would like to delete one or all of these options, use the arrow key on your keyboard to select the one you would like to delete and press “Delete” on your keyboard. Remember, deleting this entry from this window will not delete the name/address from your Address Book.


Dear Sassy: In a previous column you talked about the difference between Windows updates and Office updates. I didn’t understand exactly what you were talking about. I mean, my computer is set to automatically update – I shouldn’t have to do anything else regarding updating … right?
~ Confused in the Library

Dear Confused: Sassy appreciates your honesty with being confused about a previous entry. Please at anytime if something doesn’t make sense let Sassy know (sometimes Sassy gets off her medication). Since Microsoft is in both of the names (Microsoft Windows and Microsoft Office) Sassy can definitely see how it would be confusing. Your computer is set to automatically update Windows. This is the operating system for your machine – the big cheese – the big kahuna – where the rubber meets the road… Whew! The Office updates are for your Office products: Microsoft Word, Excel, PowerPoint and Outlook. Office is a “Family” of programs that when placed on your computer will need updates just like we discussed with Adobe Acrobat. Please refer to a previous column for explicit instructions on updating Office. Even though both of these entities are Microsoft based, they require separate updating. Windows updates automatically while Office requires manual intervention. Sassy hopes that this helped to clarify any confusion that you may have had regarding Microsoft Windows vs. Office, if it didn’t please let me know.

As always, if you would like a member of the Systems Department to assist you with this or any other problem, please let us know.

June 5, 2006

Dear Sassy: Thanks for the reminder to back up my files on the “libfilesbackup” server! I just tried to access the backup server by using the link that you placed on my desktop but I receive an error message when I click on the link. I guess I messed up my link – can you come fix it for me?
~ Broken link on Kings Hwy

Dear Broken: Sassy is so glad that you are trying to back up your files onto the “libfilesbackup” server! Do not worry – you did not mess up your computer. Sassy has complete confidence in you!

If you are receiving error messages regarding the “libfilesbackup” server, then something has gone awry with the server – not with your computer. Sometimes when there is a blip in the electrical power (or just because the server wants a break) it needs to be rebooted. Once the backup server is rebooted you should have no problems accessing it via the link that is on your desktop. Do please let the Systems Department know when you are unable to access the backup server and we can reboot the server.


Dear Sassy: Occasionally when I look at a pdf file, a lot of Adobe Acrobat update options appear. These range from Adobe 3.17912839 to Adobe Exercise-a-rama! How do I determine which updates to select? Should I choose 6.0, 6.1, and 7.0? Help!
~ Trapped on the High wire

Dear Trapped: Great question! Sassy can tell that you are an observant computer user. Sassy is interested in learning what version of Adobe Acrobat Reader you are using. If you are using anything below version 7.0 you will want to update your Reader. In fact, that may be one of your updates that keeps popping up (critical updates are marked with an *asterisk.) If it is not listed, you will want to uninstall the Reader that you have and reinstall the newest version at http://www.adobe.com. Once you have the newest Reader you will want to install the critical updates and then use your own judgment for the other updates. There is normally a description listed that will aid in your decision. Sassy isn’t so sure about the “Adobe Exercise-a-rama” update… As always, if you would like a member of the Systems Department to assist you with this or any other problem, please let us know.