Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2011 September 24

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September 24

forward slash in filename

I need to name a file with a filename that has a forward slash in it. On Windows this is not possible, so what would be the best way to encode the forward slash into a format that can be used in a filename? I was thinking about using percent-encoding, would that be good or are there better ways to do this? 82.43.90.142 (talk) 10:27, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

If it is for visual purposes you could use the division slash. Copy this character ==>∕<==-- Q Chris (talk) 10:46, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

Decent time to use a - instead. ¦ Reisio (talk) 12:12, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

This could cause no end of problems, are you sure you really need to do this, instead of using some other character ? StuRat (talk) 02:21, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

It depends what you need it for. URI encoding ("percent-encoding") can be an excellent way to unambiguosly store filenames with questionable characters, but it's ugly and error prone for humans. --Sean 20:57, 26 September 2011 (UTC)

Downgrading from W7 64-bit to 32-bit

So I have read that it's not possible to downgrade from 64-bit to 32-bit just like that *snap of the fingers* (by which I mean there is no program you run for a downgrade); and that the easiest way to tgo from 64-bit to 32-bit is to format your HDD and then reinstall W7. Are there any other methods? Not too hard now, I'm nowhere near as computer savvy as I once was. Thanks! Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | ^{Say Shalom!} 25 Elul 5771 15:18, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

As several people state on this Microsoft message board, there's no way to downgrade; you would have to boot off a 32-bit Windows disc and perform a "clean install", which is going to involve a disc wipe. You haven't stated why you want to do this - it may be that your needs can be met by installing VirtualBox or other virtual machine software, installing 32-bit Windows on the virtual machine, and using that virtual machine to run the apps you need to run in a 32-bit version of Windows. This way, you retain your hard disk the way it is, with 64-bit Windows, and you have a little window in which you can run your 32-bit version of Windows. Comet Tuttle (talk) 20:28, 24 September 2011 (UTC)

Yep, I said that I'd read that. :p Ah right, it's for my gf, her printer is having trouble interfacing with the comp for whatever reason (apparently related to W7 64-bit) and it's giving her a heap of trouble as she needs it for important business. Hmmm, would a Virtual Machine (I know of it but have never used it) help with the printer problem you think? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | ^{Say Shalom!} 26 Elul 5771 05:00, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

It would probably fix the issue, but then your gf will have to copy anything she wants to print to the virtual machine, and then print from there. In turn this means that if printing from Word, she'll also have to have Word on the virtual machine, etc. As a geek, I would use this as a workaround, quite possibly printing to a PDF file every time, copying the PDF file to the virtual machine, and just printing it with Adobe Acrobat Reader. But this may be more than she wants to go through. Is this some sort of really old printer? By now printer manufacturers should have updated their drivers to work with 64-bit Windows. Comet Tuttle (talk) 16:27, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

It's some printer sold in Israel which she bought recently. I can't remember which it is, but you're right that maybe she should look into updating her drivers. This Virtual Machine business is secure btw, yes? It won't make her comp less secure if she does it (just want to be sure)? Sir William Matthew Flinders Petrie | ^{Say Shalom!} 26 Elul 5771 17:12, 25 September 2011 (UTC)

transagent font?web pages and fonts...

Is there a way to present a text with a font that aren't installed in the users' computer, without using an image? I heard about some technology of Microsoft, that deals with it, but it doesn't work with Firefox, or Google Chrome. Is there a global solution for it? Exx8 (talk) —Preceding undated comment added 15:21, 24 September 2011 (UTC).

Here's a page (the first google result for CSS embedded fonts) [1] which uses the @font-face attribute to display some text in a free font called SketchRockwell. This works fine on my Firefox (I think support for it began at around Firefox version 3.5?) - except that I happened to be viewing the page over a slow connection, so at first I saw the text in a substitute font (Impact); several minutes later, the font file (around 500k) finished downloading and the text suddenly popped into the correct font. See Web_fonts#File_formats, which says this will work with all major browsers.  Card Zero  (talk) 16:45, 24 September 2011 (UTC)