Wingdings and other things....

There is a program used at my place of work that is...tempermental, at best. It is a poorly designed, glorified data base which is an evil necessity for everyone in the office. Everyday we log on and pray that the program will be having a good day. We keep our fingers crossed as we ask the program (ever so nicely) for the needed information. You can hear various groans or verbal signs of joy as the program decides whether you are among the lucky. 40% of the time, you are not.

My issues with the program is not that it will duplicate information by itself or even that it will only give you information on its own terms. My complaint lies solely in the printing from the program.

Once the desired documet is found, you ask to print it. The program gives you multiple formats with which to print. You choose one and print. Then you must decide the amount, the pages, and the printer (as a default for all or any of these is not an option). The last step is going into the program preferences and checking the box that reads 'print as image.' Should you not check this box, your document will print as nothing but wingdings and you will have to start over. Guess how many times I have made that mistake. :)

Here is my question. What is a wingding? How did this foreign language find its way into the workplace? Are there people out there who can actually read this craziness? For me, it simply frustrates me. If you happen to know the history of the wingding, please, enlighten me. I really want to know.