On occasions you may need to copy a document and even though you have a computer complete with scanner, you go to a copy bureau, the library or wherever to get a copy. I don't, I simply use my computer and scanner.

Most computers these days come with a scanner and just about ALL scanners come with software incorporating a copying facility. I admit that I have recently bought a new scanner albeit one that is no longer produced (see below). Nevertheless, it is more than a half decent one - but even my old scanner purchased ten years or more ago had a copying facility.

If you look at your scanner software, I'm sure that somewhere you'll find a copy feature. However, without having the software in front of me, it is largely up to you to find out how it works - unless you want me to come and work it out for you! Whatever, there should be a help facility associated with the software and just pressing F1 at the top-left of the keyboard should bring up the help. This will then give you information on the facilities available with your software.

NOTE: The F1 key should display the help for ANY program and in particular, help for the area of the program you are on at the time you press the key - this is called context sensitive help. A help option should also be available from the current screen but if there isn't - and there isn't always, then you have nothing to lose by pressing F1.

Back to copying a document. If you are worried that by copying a document you are going to waste paper and ink, then there is a way around that. Just lately I've been using a small program that really does seem to be a mini-wonder, my only reservation being that some of the files it creates can be large. I'm sure you may recall that I am an advocate of Adobe Acrobat files, i.e. .PDF files. Very recently, I found a small, FREE program on the internet called Cute PDF which installs itself as a printer and I've started using it for testing documents I've been creating recently and it does seem to work.

As Centre Secretary, I get documentation from Rugby that I have to copy and send out to Comps Committee members and I have used this program quite a lot in the copying process. Essentially, you tell the scanner to copy the required document to this printer and the printer does the rest once the scanner has done its job - the only thing left is tell it where to save the .PDF file. On completion, you can open the created .PDF in your copy of Acrobat Reader and check how well your scanner has done its job. In this way you can test features of your scanner thus saving ink and paper. I should also add that Cute PDF also works with any program from which you can print, i.e. Word, Excel, Ventura, Pageplus, Wordpro, Wordperfect etc., thus providing the ability to create your own PDF files without having the full version of Adobe Acrobat.

If you want a little more control over the way the PDFs are created, there are other programs available from the same site although these are not free, Cute PDF IS! Have a look at the web site if you're interested and download a copy of Cute PDF. All it'll cost is a few minutes on line (the size of the download is 4.17Mb). The web address is:

http://www.acrosoftware.com/Products/CutePDF/Printer.asp
or to go straight to the download page
http://www.acrosoftware.com/Download.htm

NOTE: The web site says it will only work with Acrobat Reader 5.0 or higher. However, I use version 4 and it works fine. I would suggest you 'suck it and see'; if it doesn't work then you can always uninstall it.

The fact that Cute PDF installs as a printer brings me to another point. Just because you have only one printer connected to your system doesn't mean you cannot have more than one printer installed - you can have as many as you wish. For instance I have one printer attached to my own PC and I have further access to another two on our home network. However, I have 12 printers installed on my PC, each used for a different purpose, but only five printers can actually produce a hardcopy printout - all the rest except one, print to a file and are used for creating .PDF files of one sort or another depending on my requirements at the time.

The one exception is a fax printer which allows me to send faxes. When I want to send a fax, I simply type my document and when finished, I select that particular printer to print to. The printer then prints the document to my fax software which opens, allowing me to enter the name and phone number the fax is to go to. On pressing Send, away goes my fax of however many pages - I think the largest I've sent is about 20 or so pages. In this way I can also fax paper documents (as I did only a few days ago), again by using my scanner to copy the document to the fax printer.

Yes, your scanner can be a very powerful and useful friend - but ONLY if you take the trouble to find out how to use it!!!

P.S. If you don't have a scanner and you are interested, I advise you have a look at the Morgan Computers web site. At present, the scanner I purchased from Morgan Computers is still on offer at £46.99 inc. VAT but NOT postage which is about £10 more. However, before taking the plunge, make sure you have a USB hardware facility on your PC and that the USB software driver is installed.

The scanner is slim-line (about 32 mm high) and is what was originally described as a semi-professional scanner - more than adequate for most including me. As long as you are happy with a refurbished scanner then from my experience, you can't go wrong. We've had a number of items from Morgans in the past and their equipment is not rubbish, its essentially refurbished and original redundant stock that they sell off at huge discounts in comparison with the original selling price. I believe my scanner was originally sold at somewhere between £200 and £250! Give 'em a try.