Identifying the Version Number of Your Software

If you are not sure what version or even the title of the software you are running,  you can usually display this information in one or two mouse clicks.

• Open the program in question
• Click on Help
• Click on About (the title of your software)

Most programs designed for Windows 95, 98 or Me have a help and about menu to display information about the program or software application.

Why do I need to know the version number?

There are many reasons to truly know what version you are using.

• Software developers may make several different versions of the same software title.  Some are simply upgrades from previous versions

• Some programs are designed to work only with specific operating systems such as Windows 98, Windows 2000, Windows Me, Windows NT or even Macintosh systems.  Don't assume one version will work with all systems.  There are additional operating systems other than those mentioned here.

• Answers to Technical Support questions may be different depending on your version.

• Normal mouse clicks and procedures may be different between various versions.

• You may be considering an upgrade to software you already own.  The upgrade price may be less expensive  than buying a new copy.  You may need to know the exact version number that you already have in order to qualify for the upgrade price.

• Additional support software and new hardware may ask you to identify the exact software title and version that you have.

• When updating anti-virus definitions, there may be a different update file used for different versions of Norton Antivirus or McAfee Virus Scan.

• Clearing Internet Disk Cache/ Temporary Internet Files is different between Internet Explorer and Netscape Navigator.  It is even different for older versions of each of these web browsers.

The problem with File Sharing and Internet e-mail file attachments

The internet has made file sharing and file transferring easy and quick.  Files are regularly attached to e-mail messages in order to share information. 

However, just because you can receive a file attached to an e-mail message, you may not be able to look at or open the file.   In most cases you will need the same program that the file was created in to actually view the file.

If the recipient of your e-mail cannot open your e-mail file attachment, the message sent is useless.

Identifying the version and title of the software you use will help both you and your e-mail recipients to communicate more effectively.   You can come to some agreement on what software you both have and how best to share information.  In many cases, you can save your work in an alternate file format (such as an older version or a more generic format) so that the recipient can read your file.

Knowing your software version number and title is a key to effective internet  file sharing.