Sorting Paragraphs Alphabetically in Word
Here are a few questions about computers I've received recently from people like you, and my answers. I have edited and restated the questions a bit, for readability. This week my mailbox contained questions about sorting paragraphs alphabetically in Word, whether some viruses are a "necessary evil" and using laptops to organize and edit digital photographs..
If you have a question, send it to me at
mossberg@wsj.com, and I may select it to be answered here in Mossberg's Mailbox.
Q: In WordPerfect, it's possible to sort paragraphs alphabetically. For example, in a bibliography you could rearrange the entries, which are short paragraphs, in alphabetical order, even if you didn't enter them in that way. Is there a way to do this in Microsoft Word?
A: Yes, though Word makes the command a little hard to find. Just go to the Table menu and choose "Sort..." From its location, you would think this command sorts only entries in tables, but it also sorts paragraphs that aren't in tables.
When you click on "Sort..." a little window will appear. Make sure the "Sort By" box in this window is set to "Paragraphs," and the "Type" box is set to "Text." You can choose to sort your paragraphs in ascending order (A to Z) or descending order (Z to A.)
By default, the command selects and sorts all your paragraphs. If you want to sort only some of them, select the ones you are targeting before you click on the command.
Q: Lately I've been running antivirus, antispyware, and fix-it programs daily. Now I'm hearing that some viruses are a "necessary evil" to keep some programs running. Is that true?
A: No. By definition, a virus is a malicious piece of software that sneaks onto your computer to cause mischief or do real harm. I know of no legitimate program that in any way requires a virus to function. If you did have some program that required a true virus to operate, I would delete that program, because it would be, by definition, malicious software itself.
It's possible, of course, that your antivirus program is mislabeling as a virus some piece of software you intentionally installed and that you need and want. But that's a different matter. In that case, you could use the options in the security program to allow the misidentified program to live in peace. But you'd better be absolutely certain what it is, what it does, how you got it, and that you need it. Virus writers are always trying to outwit antivirus programs by creating viruses that pose as legitimate programs.
Q: Early on in the digital photography era, at several seminars I attended, the speakers strongly recommended using a desktop Mac or PC as opposed to a laptop for processing digital images. Is this still the case or are laptops with similar power and memory equal to the task today?
A: I'm not sure what you mean by "processing" digital images. But if you are referring to organizing and editing images, most laptops sold today would do the job fine, whether they run Windows or the Macintosh operating system. They have enough power, memory and hard-disk capacity to handle the digital photo needs of mainstream consumers.
The exception might be a case where a professional photographer, or a very serious amateur, is doing extensive editing in Adobe Photoshop of hundreds or thousands of images -- or the laptop is a low-end, lightly equipped model. In those cases, I'd advise using a costlier, well-equipped laptop, or a powerful desktop.
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Because of the volume of e-mail I receive, I can't routinely answer individual questions by e-mail, or consult on individual problems or purchasing decisions. I read all questions I receive and select three each week to answer in the column.
用Word给段落排序
在我们大多数人拥有的大件电器中，再没有什么比个人电脑更令人费解、更变幻莫测的了。每个人或许都有些关于电脑的问题，而《莫博士信箱》将为您提供帮助。
本周我将回答读者有关Word的排序功能、病毒对程序运行的影响以及笔记本电脑处理数码照片的的问题。
问：通过WordPerfect，你可以按照字母顺序对段落进行排列。比如说，你可以按照字母顺序重新整理参考书目的条目，也就是简短的段落，而不用一开始就按顺序输入。微软的Word可以做到这一点吗？
答：可以，但Word的这个命令有点难找。先找到“表格”菜单，然后选择“排序”。从它的位置来看，你会认为这个命令只对表格里的条目适用，但实际上，它也可以对不在表格中的段落进行排序。
当你点击“排序”后，就会出现一个小窗口。确保把这个窗口中的“按. . .排序”栏设置为“段落”，把“类型”栏设置为“文本”。你可以选择按字母升序（A至Z）或降序（Z至A）排列。
默认状态下，这个命令会对所有的段落进行选择并予以排序，如果你只想对其中几段排序，那么就在点击“排序”命令前选中这些段落。
问：最近我一直在运行反病毒软件和反间谍软件，而且每天通过磁碟及系统工具对程序进行清理。现在，我听说一些病毒是保持某些程序正常运行的“必要的恶魔”。这是真的吗？
答：不是。病毒指的是一段恶意软件潜入你的电脑，造成小麻烦或真正的损害。我不知道有何合法的程序需要病毒才能运行。如果你确实有一些程序需要一个真正的病毒才能运行，换作我，我就会删除那个程序，因为根据病毒的定义，它本身就是恶意的软件。
当然，也有可能是你的反病毒软件把你刻意安装、而且是你需要和想要使用的软件的某部分错误地识别为病毒了。但那是另外一回事。在这种情况下，你可以通过安全程序的选择栏，让被误解的程序安然保留下来。但你最好要完全确定这是什么程序，它的用途是什么，你是怎么得到它的，而且它确实是你所需要的。病毒写手总是试图通过创见看似合法的程序，瞒过反病毒程序的火眼。
问：在数码摄影时代之初，我参加过几次研讨会，当时演讲者强烈建议大家使用台式Mac或个人电脑、而不是笔记本电脑来处理数码影像。现在还是这样吗？或者是如今具备相似功率和内存的笔记本电脑也可以处理数码照片了？
答：我不大确定你所指的“处理”数码照片是什么意思。但如果你是指整理和编辑数码照片，今天市面上出售的大多数笔记本电脑都可以很好地完成这项工作，无论它们运行的是Windows还是Macintosh操作系统。它们都有足够的功率、内存和硬盘容量来满足主流消费者对数码照片的要求。
有一个例外的情况是，专业摄影师或非常认真的业余爱好者通过Adobe Photoshop编辑成百上千张数码照片──或者是笔记本电脑是配置较差的低端型号。在这些情况下，我建议使用贵一点、但配置上乘的笔记本电脑或者是性能强大的台式机。
