Windows explorer is not the best tool for deleting documents. Word 97 and 2000, which let you preview documents before you delete them, are better. Select FileòOpen, and when the Open dialog box appears, navigate to the folder containing the documents you want to delete. If the preview window is not open in the dialog box, click the Preview icon in Word 97 (the second option from the right in the top-right corner of the dialog box) or the arrow next to the Views icon in Word 2000 (just left of the Tools drop-down menu). Then select Preview. Identify icons in the dialog box toolbar by hovering the mouse pointer over them until the tool tip appears.

Select the documents you want to delete, and check the preview window to confirm that they're the right ones. Then right-click one of the documents in the dialog box and select Delete from the context menu (see FIGURE 1). Click Yes in the confirmation box. Start by deleting just a few files at a time. And remember, you can't delete a document that's currently open in Word or any other program.

By GEORGE CAMPBELL