Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Computing/2014 July 2

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July 2

Document printing manager

Hi,

I'm looking to create some software that complies MS Word documents into user specified folders and saves/ moves/prints them when asked. The company I work for currently has a word document with a few VBA forms that does this, although it's extremely unreliable and poorly put together, especially since VBA doesn't really work well when multiple users are involved. What would be a good language to program this in?. It's incredibly simple so C# might be overkill, but clearly the VBA solution doesn't work at all so a more flexible language might be required, perhaps a server hosted html5 program? It would have to pretty much be a more robust remake of the current program as it would need to fit in exactly without issue. Any suggestions? Thanks 194.205.13.211 (talk) 15:28, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

If VBA is too limiting, and C#.net is too much, the middle ground is scripting in Windows PowerShell. Powershell is a proper scripting environment, and has access to .NET assemblies (so you can actually do useful things in it). It can manipulate COM objects, so you can control COM enabled programs like Office (e.g [1]). -- Finlay McWalterᚠTalk 15:44, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

Solution to flickering lights at home ?

Probably some power lines are rubbing against a tree somewhere, and this makes our lights flicker. Obviously the proper solution is to keep the trees trimmed back, or, better yet, bury those power lines, but getting the power company to maintain their infrastructure is a constant struggle here. So, if we assume that an unsteady voltage will be coming into the home for the foreseeable future, how could we fix this problem ourselves ? Some type of flywheel-based whole-house UPS ? StuRat (talk) 15:55, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

Flicker on most heating elements will not be noticed, but you could put your lighting circuit, and perhaps other sensitive equipment on a big UPS. Slight flicker and minor variations in voltage are the norm, but, if there is more than a 10% variation in voltage, I'd be making a very big fuss to the power company. I'd be monitoring voltages and putting in claims for damage to equipment. Perhaps expectations are lower in some areas? Dbfirs 17:04, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

You could probably rent a power quality monitor/logger for a few days at a reasonable cost and provide proof of the low power quality to your utility company, but I don't know if that would get you anywhere. I think LED lamps regulate the power coming in to a lower DC voltage, maybe someone who knows them better could confirm that. If that's the case, then they should be less sensitive to supply fluctuations so the flickering isn't noticeable. They aren't cheap, but they are probably more affordable than putting your existing lights on a UPS, especially if you want one wired in and up to code instead of hacked together. Katie R (talk) 19:34, 2 July 2014 (UTC)

If the flickering is caused by nearby interference with the wires, the voltage drop is probably going into resistive loss, i.e. there is likely to be a fire hazard. Don't try to mitigate it with voltage stabilizers in the house. Call the power company and tell them to fix their sh*t. 173.228.123.145 (talk) 09:15, 3 July 2014 (UTC)

145 is correct— you need a professional to look at this. Your electrical devices use the same amount of electric power, but as the voltage drops, the electric current raises. This can cause havoc with you equipment, with a potential for damage and fire. --  Gadget850 ^talk 15:52, 3 July 2014 (UTC)

No, your electrical devices do not use the same amount of power if the voltage changes, unless they self-regulate to do so. --50.100.189.160 (talk) 16:31, 3 July 2014 (UTC)

Why is this at the Computing reference desk? Shadowjams (talk) 08:46, 4 July 2014 (UTC)

By "a professional", you mean the power company ? Tried that already. Would an (electrical) flywheel UPS be the best workaround ? Our natural gas supply actually is reliable, so maybe generating our own electricity using a natural gas fuel cell is the way to go ? StuRat (talk) 17:10, 7 July 2014 (UTC)