Although a Restore computer option appears in Backup and Restore Center, you can’t actually trigger an entire PC restoration from within Windows. Instead, you will need to reboot your system and utilize the Windows Recovery Environment, which should be installed on your system, or the Windows Vista installation DVD. The reason for this is that the recovery process literally overwrites all of the data on your hard drives. Obviously, you will want to be sure you’ve backed up any crucial data before attempting this process.

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Word used to have a Calculate function on the Tools menu. Select numbers anywhere in the text, and, with a click, Word could add, divide, and more. Press <Shift>- <Insert>, and the result was pasted into your document. Word could even resolve expressions such as ‘(5+5)*(3+3)’. This feature remains part of Word; it’s just hidden. To make it resurface, select Tools->Customize, and choose the Command tab and then Tools in the Categories panel on the left. Over in the right panel, locate Tools Calculate, grab it, and drag it over to a Word toolbar. To use the feature, highlight numbers in your document and click the new Tools Calculate button on your toolbar. The results appear in the status bar in Word’s lower-left corner.

Word can secure your documents to a moderate degree. Choose Tools->Options, and then click the Security tab. To prevent unauthorized edits, type a password in the ‘Password to
modify’ box; to disallow unauthorized viewing, type a password in the ‘Password to open’ box. To permit editing (to fill in a form, for example, or to use tracked changes), click the Protect Document button and make your choices. But Word’s lockbox is easily picked. Try creating a watermarked PDF of your document with Docudesk’s deskPDF Professional. The tool can generate tamper-proof PDFs using 128-bit security that restricts viewing, copying, pasting, and printing.

Smart searching requires documents stuffed with metadata—descriptive keywords that Word can search for. First tell Word to prompt you for the Properties dialog box. Select Tools•Options, click the Save tab, and check the Prompt for document properties box. When you try to save a new document, the Properties box will ask for input. (To add this data to an existing document, open it and select File->Properties.) On the Summary tab, enter the basic information—Title, Subject, keywords (for example, “restructuring,” “goals for 2007”), Comments, and so on. Need more? Click the Custom tab and enter additional properties—Client, Department, and so on. You can even create custom fields: Enter a name in the Name box, choose its type, enter a value that you defi ne, and click the Add button.

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