Method 1: Watch the Splash Screen
You can examine the Office splash screen as your version of office launches. Start any of your office programs and watch as the program loads. A splash screen will appear indicating the version office you have installed.

Method 2: Study the Program List
Often the Office version will be listed beside the program name in the Program list. Click START. Click All Programs. Click Microsoft Office. Look for a version identifier listed after the program name.

Method 3: Use the Add or Remove Programs Dialog Box
You can examine the version information of the installed Office program or of the individual Office products by checking the list of installed products.

1. Open the Control Panel.
2. Click Programs.
3. Click Programs and Features.
4. Scroll through the list of installed programs to locate Microsoft Office.
5. Read the Office version.

In some TechnoKids projects, the read-only property must be removed from a file to allow users to edit the content. This situation applies to database files, as well as sample files in TechnoHTML. A quick way to remove a read-only property from files is to edit the folder settings. To do this, right click on the folder, select PROPERTIES, and then click inside the read-only box. Select Apply changes to this folder, subfolders, and files, and then click OK. This action removes the read-only property from all subfolders and files within the folder.

What is frustrating to many users is that although all the files can now be edited because the read-only property is no longer active, when they look at the properties on the folder, the read-only property has returned. This is a known Windows related issue. Do not become frustrated. As long as your students can access the files and complete their work, do not worry about the status of the read-only check box.

You may have more than one graphic program installed on your computer. Graphic files such as gif, jpg, or bmp, when double clicked will open into a “default” program. To be able to open BMP or PNG files with Microsoft Paint, you may need to change the default program. To do this:

1. Click once on a BMP or PNG picture.
2. Hold down the SHIFT key.
3. Right click on the image.
4. Select OPEN WITH from the menu.
5. From the menu, click CHOOSE DEFAULT PROGRAM…
6. In Recommended Programs, select PAINT.
7. Click to select the box marked Always use the selected program to open this kind of file.
8. Click OK. The picture opens in Paint.

When you take digital photos with your camera often the digital photos are large. For many TechnoKids activities, it is easier to work with the photos if they are smaller.

Follow the instructions in the support document to learn how to take a “batch” of photos and resize them using Microsoft Office Picture Manager or Windows Live Photo Gallery.

Webs.com, Geocities, and Freeservers no longer offer free web hosting. Use either of the following illustrated, step by step instructions to post files using an alternate free web host.

If teaching TechnoHTML use the TechnoHTML support document or if teaching TechnoLink use the document Free Web Host Instructions document to access illustrated, step by step instructions.

Many free web hosts have a minimum age requirement. If your students do not meet that requirement, you can still post their web pages using the free host. Instead, of having each student register for an account, create a teacher account. You can then upload your students web pages using the teacher account. To do this:

1. Register to create a teacher account.
2. Login to the account.
3. Open the File Manager.
4. Create a studentname folder.
5. Select the studentname folder.
6. Upload the web page files into the studentname folder.
7. The URL of the studentname account is http:/teachername.freehosting.net/studentname/index.html

Your students can create web pages, but not upload them to the Internet. You can have your students share their work by having the web page file open on the computer and have others view it on the screen.

Older versions of Internet Explorer used to display source code in Notepad, when View Source was selected. This made it easy to edit the code and then view the changes in the browser window. To open a web page in HTML in the latest version of Internet Explorer:

1. Open the web page in Internet Explorer.
2. Make sure you can see the menu bar. If you cannot, right click beside the tabs and select from the menu, Menu Bar.
3. From the File menu, select Edit with Notepad.
4. The web page will open in Notepad. You will now be able to edit the code, save the changes, and then refresh the browser window to view the changes.

Try the following suggestions:

• You cannot just upload the index.htm file. You must also upload the contents of the index_files folder. This folder contains all of your pictures. Using the File Manager create a sub-directory folder called index_files and then upload the picture files into the subfolder.
• Ensure the index_files folder was named correctly.
• Verify that the pictures were uploaded to the correct location. Make sure that the pictures are in the index_files sub-directory folder in the File Manager and NOT in the same place as the index.htm file. If the files are in the wrong place, select the files, and then click the Choose a Destination arrow and select index_files. Click Move.

You need to open the website in the Office program and compress the pictures. You will then need to re-upload the files.

Office 2016, 2013, or 2010

• Double click on any picture in the document.
• On the Picture Tools Format tab, find the Adjust group.
• Click Compress Pictures.
• In the Compress Pictures dialog box, set the options as follows:
  a) Remove the checkmark in the Apply only to this picture box.
  b) Select Delete cropped areas of pictures.
  c) Select the Target output as Screen or Email.
• Click OK.

Office 2007

1. Double click on any picture in the document.
2. On the Picture Tools Format tab, find the Adjust group.
3. Click Compress Pictures.
4. In the Compress Pictures dialog box, make sure that the checkbox Apply to selected pictures only is clear. Click Options…
5. Set the options as follows:
   a) automatically perform basic compression on save
   b) delete cropped areas of pictures
   c) screen
6. Click OK.
7. Click OK again.

Try the following suggestions:

• This may mean that a picture is missing. Go back to the index_files sub-directory in the File Manager. Look to see what image is missing and upload it.
• The picture might be the wrong file type. If using Office 2010, reopen your links web page in Microsoft Word. Right click on the picture. Select Save as Picture. Type in a File name and click the Save as type arrow and select JPG. Delete the old picture and insert the newly saved image. Now re-save the file as a web page overwriting your old index and index_files. Re-upload the web page files.

This may mean that the image inserted from the clip gallery was not a JPG or GIF file type. It is likely it was a WMF file type. This type of file cannot be uploaded to the Internet. To solve the problem:

1. Open your web page in the Office program.
2. Delete the old image and insert a new bullet or divider from the clip gallery. Make sure that it is the correct file type. To do this, rest your mouse pointer over a divider that you like. Read the file name. It must say JPG or GIF in the description box. DO NOT USE A WMF!
3. Now re-save the file as a web page overwriting your old index and index_files.
4. Re-upload the web page files.

1. Open your web page in the Office program.
2. Make the correction to the hyperlink.
3. Test it to make sure it is working.
4. Now re-save the file as a web page overwriting your old index and index_files.
5. Re-upload the file index using the file manager.

Click the Refresh tool in Internet Explorer to reload the page.

This problem seems to be associated with the version of operating system you have on the computer. If the motion clip you want to use keeps stopping, you can fix the problem. To do this, you will need to download the free software GIMP. It will allow you to save a copy of the file, with a “loop forever” property.

The HTML code generated by Microsoft Word and Publisher when saving a file as a web page is best viewed with the web browser Internet Explorer. If viewing the web page using recent versions of the web browsers FireFox or Safari, you will likely find that many of the pictures do not show. Unfortunately, there is not an easy fix to this problem.

This problem will occur if your navigation bar in Microsoft Publisher has been UNGROUPED. To solve the problem, you must:

1. DELETE the navigation bar from every page.
2. Reinsert the existing navigation bar onto every page.
   a.From the Insert menu, select Navigation Bar
   b.Select Existing
   c.Click Main Navigation Bar and then click the Insert button.
   d.Drag the navigation bar into the correct position on the page.
   e.Repeat these instructions to reinsert the navigation bar onto EVERY page. DO NOT COPY AND PASTE!
3. Insert the new page. TIP: Make sure that the Add hyperlink to navigation bars is selected.
4. The navigation bars should automatically update to include the newly inserted page
5. PLEASE NOTE: If using a newer web browser you may need to UNGROUP the navigation bar to have it work when the page is viewed in the web browser.

When viewing an HTML file that has pictures, you might receive the error “Some pictures have been blocked to help prevent the sender from identifying your computer” when you open Internet Explorer.

This will often happen if you have installed additional web browsers on your computer, such as Google Chrome. To remove the error message try the following options:

1. OPTION 1: Make sure that Internet Explorer is your default browser. To do this, access Internet Options. Click the Programs tab, and select Make default.
2. OPTION 2: Reset Internet Explorer settings back to default. To do this, access Internet Options. Click the Advanced tab, and then click the Reset button.
3. OPTION 3: Uninstall Google Chrome temporarily to see if this solves the issue.

TechnoKids PDF files are copyright protected. You and your students can add comments, textboxes, and other annotations to the files using Adobe Reader or the Kami Chrome extension. Watch the instructional video to learn how to use the files in Adobe Reader. To find out more about the Kami extension, watch this video.

Please note, you do not have permission to copy text or pictures from any TechnoKids document. Please refer to your site license agreement, Part 6 (c), The Licensee may not translate, reverse engineer, de-compile, disassemble, or create derivative works based upon the Curriculum or any part thereof.

TechnoKids PDF files are copyright protected. You do not have permission to copy text or pictures from any TechnoKids document. Please refer to your site license agreement, Part 6 (c), The Licensee may not translate, reverse engineer, de-compile, disassemble, or create derivative works based upon the Curriculum or any part thereof.

There are several causes of printer-related problems. Refer to the solutions below:

1. Update Adobe Reader: Ensure that you have the latest version of Adobe Reader. TechnoKids documents are compatible with Adobe Reader XI or later. Visit www.adobe.com to update your software.
2. Update Printer Drivers: Ensure that you have the latest drivers for your printer. Visit the manufacturer’s website to see if there are any available updates.
3. Print Another Document: Determine if the issue is related to the file. Try to print another PDF file. Does it print? If yes, then the issue may be related to the file. However, if it does not, the issue may be related to the version of PDF software installed.
4. Print from Another Computer: Determine if the issue is related to the computer. Try to print the PDF file from another computer. Does it print? If yes, then the issue may be related to the file. However, if it does not, the issue may be related to computer settings.
5. Print PDF File as an Image: Sometimes PDF files fail to print properly, resulting in output consisting of only a header sheet or part of the file. Often an error message is produced. If your PDF file fails to print, try the following method:
   a) After opening the .pdf file, go to the File menu and select PRINT.
   b) In the Print window, select the printer you want, then click the ADVANCED button in the lower left corner.
   c) You can check the box labelled PRINT AS IMAGE. However, while this usually works, it creates a huge file and can take a very long time to print.
   d) Click OK to close the dialog box.
   e) Click OK to print the document.

Our PDF files are only viewable with Adobe Reader XI or higher. Other PDF software will not open the files. Here are some troubleshooting suggestions:

1. Download the latest version of Adobe Reader. Visit http://get.adobe.com/reader/ to update your software.
2. Your default program for PDF files may not be set to Adobe Reader. Hold down the SHIFT key and right click on a PDF file. From the list select Choose Default Program. Select Adobe Reader.
3. Select Adobe Reader from your program list. With the program open, click File. Click Open and locate the PDF file you want to view.

For students having difficulty reading the text in the workbook, or for students who are not proficient in English, you have two options that convert text to speech.

Use Adobe Reader TEXT TO SPEECH

1. Open the TechnoKids file in Adobe Reader DC.
2. Go to the page you want read.
3. From the View menu select READ OUT LOUD. Click ACTIVATE READ OUT LOUD.
4. From the View menu select READ OUT LOUD. Click READ THIS PAGE ONLY (SHIFT + CTRL+ C is used to Pause/Resume).
5. TIP: Once you activate READ THIS PAGE ONLY you can select any paragraph to have it read.

Use the Chrome Extension Speak It (TIP: This is a great extension that will read any web-based text.)

1. Get the Speak It Extension here.
2. To have TechnoKids PDF file read aloud, post it to your Google Drive.
3. Have students open the file using Kami. (To find out more about the Kami extension, watch this video.)
4. Select the text.
5. Click the SPEAK IT symbol in the TOP RIGHT corner of the browser window.

In Microsoft Word 2010 or 2007, your students should be able to access a dictionary or the Bing search engine, when they click the Research command on the Review tab. If this feature is not working follow these ten steps to manually add Research Options.

1. Open Microsoft Word.
2. If your computer does not display the Encarta dictionary, from the Review tab, click Research.
3. At the bottom of the Research pane, click Research options.
4. If you see, Encarta Dictionary, select it, then click OK.
5. If you do not see it, click Add Services.
6. In the Address bar, type http://office.microsoft.com/Research/query.asmx and click Add.
7. Click Install.
8. Click OK.
9. You will now see the Encarta Dictionary in the list. Click OK again.
10. To test it out, type the word pelage in your document. Select the word. Now click the Research command on the Review tab. Does it automatically show the definition? If not, click the Reference arrow and select Encarta Dictionary. Does it work now?

View the support document How to Add Research Options Services in Office 2010 or 2007 to see or print illustrated instructions.

Need another suggestion? Read this solution from the Microsoft forum that explains how to set Research Options in the Trust Center.

TechnoKids has several projects where students produce a booklet in Microsoft Word. There are known issues when printing two pages per sheet in Office 2013, 2010, and 2007. The pictures in a Word 2007 booklet may not print properly. To solve this problem, resave the document as a Word 97-2003 file.