Drop shadows not showing up...sort of

[KMM]

I have used the drop shadow feature before and the shadow settings tools.
Something strange is happening now in the document. I have three photos in
there. One of them I could get the drop shadow to work fine. But not the
other two. The strange thing is that I noticed on one I'd hit the down
arrowed button in the setting box many times (a little release of
frustration). I then started hitting Ctrl-Z to undo several times. As I did
this I noticed a VERY faint shadow on the right side moving up as I was
undoing my down arrow button pushes. So it was sort of like the shadow was
there, but it just isn't showing up. What am I missing?

Thanks.

 

[Ed Bennett]

I have used the drop shadow feature before and the shadow settings tools.
Something strange is happening now in the document. I have three photos in
there. One of them I could get the drop shadow to work fine. But not the
other two. The strange thing is that I noticed on one I'd hit the down
arrowed button in the setting box many times (a little release of
frustration). I then started hitting Ctrl-Z to undo several times. As I did
this I noticed a VERY faint shadow on the right side moving up as I was
undoing my down arrow button pushes. So it was sort of like the shadow was
there, but it just isn't showing up. What am I missing?

The easiest way to check whether the shadow is really there or not is to
print a PDF file (either Save As PDF in Publisher 2007, or use PrimoPDF
from www.primopdf.com for older versions). It sounds like the problem
may lie with your video driver - see the fourth FAQ at
http://ed.mvps.org/Static.aspx?=Publisher/FAQs for details on this.

 

[KMM]

But I've used it before and seen the drop shadow. And in the current
newsletter, I see the shadow on one of the photo's, but not the other two.
And two of them came from the same camera, taken at the same time, etc. One
of them works and one doesn't.

When the screen loads the page, I see a quick flash of the shadow behind the
picture before the picture pops on (a very quick flash - like less than a
second). I know it's back there, it's just not showing how it's nudged down
and to the right.

I did print to pdf and didn't see it.

 

[Mary Sauer]

Did you look at the FAQ Ed suggested?

But I've used it before and seen the drop shadow. And in the current
newsletter, I see the shadow on one of the photo's, but not the other two.
And two of them came from the same camera, taken at the same time, etc.
One
of them works and one doesn't.

When the screen loads the page, I see a quick flash of the shadow behind
the
picture before the picture pops on (a very quick flash - like less than a
second). I know it's back there, it's just not showing how it's nudged
down
and to the right.

I did print to pdf and didn't see it.

 

[Ed Bennett]

But if it's the video driver, wouldn't it be the
case that I couldn't see the shadow on the third photo? Or the other photos
in other documents I've used the tool on? Those see to work fine.

No, video drivers can be crazy and inconsistent things. It's almost
always worth trying updating those to the latest version before you try
anything else.

 

[KMM]

I love that you say they can be crazy! I've always laughed that often don't
think there's much science in computer science.... (yes, I recognize that
this isn't really computer science...)

So if you will help me again. How do I go about finding updated video
drivers? My computer is several years old and is a Dell, which you say are
slow in providing updated drivers. Pardon my ignorance, but to find out what
my video information is to hunt down a driver where do I look? In device
manager? Probably not? Hardware?

I really appreciate it!

 

[John Inzer]

I love that you say they can be crazy! I've always laughed that often
don't think there's much science in computer science.... (yes, I
recognize that this isn't really computer science...)

So if you will help me again. How do I go about finding updated video
drivers? My computer is several years old and is a Dell, which you
say are slow in providing updated drivers. Pardon my ignorance, but
to find out what my video information is to hunt down a driver where
do I look? In device manager? Probably not? Hardware?

I really appreciate it!

====================================
XP or Vista?

Desktop or Laptop?


--


John Inzer MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[Ed Bennett]

So if you will help me again. How do I go about finding updated video
drivers? My computer is several years old and is a Dell, which you say are
slow in providing updated drivers. Pardon my ignorance, but to find out what
my video information is to hunt down a driver where do I look? In device
manager? Probably not? Hardware?

If you haven't changed from the default hardware that came with your
machine, then you can simply go to http://support.dell.com/ and look for
your computer in the Drivers and Downloads section.

 

[KMM]

It's a desktop with XP. I'll have to go back to the paperwork that came with
it to find out what model.

 

[John Inzer]

It's a desktop with XP. I'll have to go back to the paperwork that
came with it to find out what model.

===================================
Thanks for the info...

I don't need the model, I just wanted to offer
some instructioons on finding a Video Driver:

Go to the support website of your video
adapter's mfg. and search for Windows
XP Compatible drivers.

If you don't know the make and model of
your video adapter...check the documentation
that came with the computer.

Also you could try these steps...
Go to...Start / Run...type...
msinfo32 ...press enter.

On the System Information screen...choose...
Components / Display...

You should find the make and model of your
display adapter as well as the driver version.

If the driver on the support website is more
current than the one you are running...
download it and install it. Also you should find
and follow the installation instructions at the
support site.

Once the driver is updated...return your acceleration
to Full.

Good Luck...

--


John Inzer MS-MVP
Digital Media Experience

Notice
This is not tech support
I am a volunteer

Solutions that work for
me may not work for you

Proceed at your own risk

 

[DavidF]

You don't need to do that with a Dell computer. Just open the control panel

system (or the windows key + the pause key) and on the general tab click

the support information button at the bottom. Make note of the 'Asset tag'
which is also called the 'service tag' on the Dell web site, and the Express
Service Code. Then when you log in to Dell support you can enter those codes
and Dell will tell you exactly how you computer came configured.

This isn't to say that as John suggests, that you might not need to go to
the video adapter's mfg. to find the most current driver, but you can check
at Dell for one they endorse.

DavidF