With Andrew Hardy director of Brighton-based Rivendell Software

Q: I use Microsoft Word 97 and every time I start it a little animated character pops up. I find it really irritating. How do I get rid of it?

A: These characters, or Office Assistants as Microsoft calls them, can be very irritating indeed. If you just want to get rid of the Office Assistant temporarily, right click the Assistant and select 'Hide Assistant'. If you want to stop it appearing all the time, then right click the Assistant and select 'Options' and set the check boxes according to when you want the Office Assistant to appear.

Q: I have heard people talking about defragmenting their hard disk. What does this mean and how do I know if my disk is fragmented?

A: When your computer writes information to the hard disk, it tries to slot this information into free spaces on the disk. If this free space is not all in one place, the information becomes scattered with the result that the computer has to 'hunt' all over the hard disk. To defragment your hard disk under Windows 98, double click the 'My Computer' Icon (usually found in the top left-hand corner of the Windows Desktop), right click on the disk you want to defragment and select 'Properties'. Click the tools tab and click the 'Defragment Now' button. As a precaution, ensure your important data is backed up before starting the defragmentation process.

Q: When I type letters in word, some of the keys don't work properly. When I try to type a pound sign, I end up with $. Is there something wrong with my keyboard?

A: Your keyboard is fine. Windows provides support for different languages and it is likely that you have your keyboard set to the English (United States) layout. You can change this by selecting 'Settings' then 'Control Panel' from the Start Menu. Double click on the 'Keyboard' icon, click the 'Language' tab and add the 'English (British)' layout. You can now remove the 'English (United States)' layout and click 'OK'. You may be prompted to insert the Windows 98 installation CD, so ensure you have this to hand. Your keyboard should now work correctly.

Q: Someone told me that it is possible to 'capture' the screen as an image. Do I need special software for this?

A: There are a number of utilities around that will help you capture your screen as an image but many people are unaware that this facility is built into Windows as standard. To capture the whole screen, simply press the 'Print Screen' key (usually found on the top right hand side of the keyboard). This copies the image to the clipboard, which can then be pasted into a graphics package of your choice. To only capture the currently active window, hold down the ALT key while you press 'Print Screen'.