What do I do when a window appears and says I have performed an illegal operation?

An Illegal Operation is an operation requested to be performed by either the Operating System or CPU that is not understood and therefore is Illegal.  This is very frustrating because you know you didn't do anything wrong.  

Read the message completely.  Sometimes you have the choice to continue with the program.  If you can continue, choose this option, save your work and then close the program you are working in.  If you have no choice and have to close the program, you will probably lose your unsaved information.  

Sometimes, however, a temporary file will be made of your work.  You will know if this happened when the computer comes back on and gives you a message about  a temporary file.  Choose yes you want to open it.  Look at the file to insure it has the information you want and then rename it.

If the problem persists, you will need to call the CaTS Help Desk at ext. 4827.  Either leave the error message on the screen when you call or write down the message completely; it can help the technician diagnose the problem.