Weekly Computer Tip # 147
17 March 2006

Stop Word Attachments from opening up in Reading Layout view (Microsoft Outlook 2003)

Full credit for today's tip idea goes to one of your fellow tip subscribers, Naomi Porter. (Hello and thanks, Naomi!) Naomi, a trainer herself, wrote that people keep asking her how to prevent Word attachments from opening in Reading Layout view.

Just in case you don't have a clue what I'm talking about ... the Reading Layout view in Office 2003 displays as a side-by-side two page display, (supposedly) making it easier to read documents on your computer. It hides unnecessary toolbars, it displays the so-called Document Map allowing you to quickly jump to specific sections of the document and it automatically scales the contents of a document to pages that fit comfortably on your screen and that are easy to browse.

So now you know.

Like Naomi's course participants I'm not too keen on this new feature (sorry, Bill) so today's tip is about changing the default settings so that attachments are no longer opened in Reading Layout View.

Here's how:

1. Open Microsoft Word (Yes, Word, not Outlook!)
2. Select the Tools, Options command.
3. On the General Tab, deselect the "Allow Starting in Reading Layout" box.
4. Click OK.

Finally, a big thank you to those of you who have been sending me information about the scroll lock key. Perhaps I should ask for the "phone a friend" option when I'm next on the radio.

Until next week.

PS I’m committed to sharing the best of what I know with others so please don’t keep me a secret. If you enjoyed today’s tip, please forward it to anyone you feel may benefit. Alternatively, feel free to reprint it (with full copyright and subscription information) in your newsletters and message boards.

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