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Windows 95last updated: 20 March 2003 23:30:46 -0600 CAN'T FIND A FILE? WINDOWS 95 CAN--PART 2 OF 2Need to locate a file, but can't remember its name? Windows' Find feature offers plenty of additional ways to track it down. Just fill in what you do know about the file on the Name & Location, Date and Advanced tabs, and chances are Windows can find the file you're looking for. In our last tip, we showed you how to find a file based on two factors--the date it was last accessed and its file type (these options are on the Date and Advanced tabs, respectively). Now let's look at another scenario. Suppose the one thing you know for sure about the document is that it discussed scuba diving. Select Start, Find, Files or Folders, and on the Look In line, click the down arrow and select the drive on which the file is located. (If you aren't sure, select My Computer.) Next to Containing Text (still on the Name & Location tab), type the text that you know appears in the document--in this case, 'scuba'. Click Find Now, and check the resulting list for the missing document. There it is! (Note: If the resulting list is long--after all, you probably have loads of documents containing the word 'scuba'--try narrowing your search a bit more. For example, you might select a file type on the Advanced tab or, if you know you accessed the file in the previous month, select this option on the Date tab. Once again, click Find Now, and with any luck, you'll spot the file you're after.)
CAN'T FIND A FILE? WINDOWS 95 CAN--PART 1 OF 2Need to locate a file, but can't remember its name? Windows' Find feature offers plenty of additional ways to track it down. Just fill in what you do know about the file on the Name & Location, Date and Advanced tabs, and chances are Windows can find the file you're looking for. Let's suppose the only things you can remember about a file are that you opened it last Friday and that it was a Microsoft Word document. Select Start, Find, Files or Folders, and on the Look In line, click the down arrow and select the drive on which the file is located. (If you aren't sure, select My Computer.) Click the Date tab, select Find All Files, then click the down arrow next to this option and select Last Accessed. Select Between then complete both date fields with last Friday's date. Finally, select the Advanced tab, click the down arrow next to Of Type, and select Microsoft Word. Click Find Now, and the resulting list will include all Microsoft Word documents opened last Friday. Hey, there's that file you need! IN CASE YOUR FOUND FILE(S) GET LOST AGAIN--PART 1 OF 2 In the last couple of tips, we discussed some of the search options available to you from the Find dialog box. (To open this box, select Start, Find, Files or Folders; or right-click any folder or drive and select Find.) For example, you can search by file type and date last accessed, or by some text that you know appears in the document. Just complete a search that uses multiple criteria? Before closing the Find dialog box, stop and think--Will I need to conduct this search again? If the answer is yes, or even maybe, save that search. That way, you can start the same find with a couple of quick clicks. With your search results displayed in the Find window (in other words, once the search is complete), select File, Save Search. Switch to the desktop, and you'll see a new icon there titled, 'Files... something or other,' based on the search criteria. (Feel free to move this icon wherever you want--for example, into a folder called Saved Searches.) The next time you need to conduct the same search, simply double-click this icon, then click Find Now. A lot faster than filling in all those criteria by hand, eh? In our next tip, saving the results, too.... IN CASE YOUR FOUND FILE(S) GET LOST AGAIN--PART 2 OF 2 In our last tip, we showed you how to save Find's search criteria so that you can conduct the same search in the future with a couple of quick clicks: Once the search is complete, select File, Save Search, and a new icon appears on the desktop. The next time you need to conduct the same search, double-click the icon, then click Find Now. Want to save your search RESULTS along with the criteria? Before you select File, Save Search, pull down the Options menu and select Save Results. Now, selecting File, Save Search still places a new icon on the desktop--the difference is that when you double-click it, both the original criteria and the results appear in the Find dialog box
RELEASE THE POWER--PART 3 OF 6 In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys, a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. While we frequently refer to Tweak UI, one of the more power-packed toys, the other tools receive a lot less ink. Over the next four tips, we'll discuss a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that appear in your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse menus). In today's tip, we discuss the Send To Clipboard PowerToy. (For information on obtaining this and the remaining PowerToys, see note below.) In our last tip, we told you about the Send To Any Folder PowerToy, a handy command for copying or moving an item to another location: Right-click a shortcut or folder; select Send To Any Folder; select a destination folder; choose Copy or Move, and click OK. While trying out this command, did you happen to notice those other new items in the Send To menu? Send To Clipboard As Contents and Send To Clipboard As Name are handy for copying a shortcut's path, or its target's path, to another location. (They save you from unnecessary typing.) Right-click a shortcut and select Send To, Clipboard As Contents to send the path of that shortcut's target. Or, select Send To Clipboard As Name to send the shortcut's path to the Clipboard. Now that the information is on the Clipboard, switch to your destination--for example, an e-mail or word processing document--move your cursor to the desired location and press Ctrl + V to paste it in there. (Note: If you don't have the Send To Clipboard PowerToy, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0504msw95%2C00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install the Send To Clipboard PowerToy, right-click Sendtox.inf and select Install.)
RELEASE THE POWER--PART 4 OF 6 In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys, a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. While we frequently refer to Tweak UI, one of the more power-packed toys, the other tools receive a lot less ink. Over the next three tips, we'll discuss a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that appear in your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse menus). In today's tip, we discuss the Explore From Here PowerToy. (For information on obtaining this and the remaining PowerToys, see note below.) The name of the Explore From Here PowerToy says it all. Right-click a folder, select Explore From Here, and up pops Explorer with its focus on that folder's contents. So what's the difference between this command and Explore? The PowerToy provides you with access to the selected folder only (and everything within), while Explore clutters up the Explorer window with everything else on your system, too. (Note: If you don't have the Explore From Here PowerToy, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0505ms95x%2C00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install the Explore From Here PowerToy, right-click Explore.inf and select Install.)
RELEASE THE POWER--PART 5 OF 6 In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys, a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. In this series of tips, we're discussing a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that appear in your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse menus). In today's tip, we'll introduce the Contents menu PowerToy. (For information on obtaining this and the remaining PowerToys, see note below.) Right-click any folder (or the Start button or any drive), and you'll see a new Contents command. Select it, and out pops a menu of that folder's contents. Selecting any item in this list is exactly the same as opening the folder and double-clicking that same item--without going through all that extra work! (Note: If you don't have the Contents menu PowerToy, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0506ms95%2C00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install the Contents menu PowerToy, right-click Content.inf and select Install.)
RELEASE THE POWER--PART 6 OF 6 In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys, a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. In this series of tips, we're discussing a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that appear in your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse menus). In today's tip, the Command Prompt Here PowerToy. (For information on obtaining this and the remaining PowerToys, see note below.) Right-click any folder, and you'll see a new command, Command Prompt Here. Select this command and up pops an MS-DOS window with the command prompt already pointing to that folder. Talk about making DOS file management tasks easier! (Note: If you don't have the Command Prompt Here PowerToy, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0507msw95%2C00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install the Command Prompt Here PowerToy, right-click Doshere.inf and select Install.)
OH, THOSE STUBBORN DESKTOP ICONS Have you ever installed an application on your Windows 95 system, only to discover that the program placed its icon on your desktop? Then, when you right-click the icon to try and remove it, no Delete command appears (similar to Inbox, Recycle Bin, and other stubborn desktop icons). Fortunately, there is a way to get rid of that icon. You just have to be willing to edit the Registry to do it. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace. Select a key under NameSpace and watch the name that appears in the right pane under Data. Once you find it, right-click its key (again, under NameSpace in the left pane), select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. Close the Registry Editor, click the desktop to place the focus there, then press F5 (for refresh). Bye-bye icon!
HOLES IN YOUR SAFETY NET As you go about your file management business, do you think nothing of deleting files because you know you can always retrieve them from the Recycle Bin? That's all fine and dandy if you're deleting files from a local drive, but if the files you want to ditch are on an external drive, such as your floppy drive or a network drive, you better think twice. Files deleted from these locations never make it to the Recycle Bin, so once you delete them, they're gone for good.
ELASTIC-WAIST WALLPAPER When you wallpaper your living room or kitchen, do you just place the paper in the center, with blank walls showing on all sides? Of course not. Just the same, you probably don't want a desktop wallpaper that's centered on your screen. The whole idea behind desktop wallpaper is to place something over the entire desktop. If you're using Microsoft Plus! and you select a wallpaper that doesn't fill the entire screen (for example, a custom Paint picture), there's an easy way to solve this problem. Stretch it. Assuming you've just selected and centered the wallpaper--right-click the desktop, select Properties, choose a wallpaper (on the Background tab), select Center--click the Plus! tab of the Display Properties dialog box. Select Stretch desktop wallpaper to fit the entire screen, click OK, and watch as that wallpaper expands to cover the desktop.
OH MY, THAT INBOX TAKES A LONG TIME TO OPEN Do you use Microsoft Fax to receive faxes? If so, you'll need to open that fax in Windows Messaging's Inbox every time you want to view it, right? (Double-click the fax, and it opens inside the Fax Viewer.) Not necessarily. You can save the fax as a stand-alone *.awd file. From then on, you can open the fax without setting foot in your Inbox. Assuming you're viewing the fax inside the Fax Viewer, select File, Save Copy As. Navigate your way to the folder in which you'd like to store the fax--for example, a Faxes folder on your desktop--type a name for the fax, and click Save. The next time you want to view that fax, just double-click the new *.awd file.
EVENT-UALLY, YOU'LL HAVE SOUND--PART 1 OF 2 You probably already know how to associate a sound on your system with an event in the Sounds Properties dialog box: Open the Control Panel, double-click Sounds, select an event in the Events list, and select a sound under Name. But did you also know that if an event with which you'd like to associate a sound is not listed there, you can STILL associate a sound with it? Just add this event to the list by editing the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. There, you'll see a list of applications with events in the Sounds Properties dialog box. (In case you're wondering, .Default is Windows.) First, create a new key for the application whose events you'd like to add to the Sounds dialog box. Right-click the Apps key, select New, Key, type the name of the program's *.exe file without the extension or path (for example, 'winword' for Microsoft Word) and press Enter. In the right pane, right-click (Default), select Modify, and in the Edit String dialog box, on the Value data line, type the application name, such as Microsoft Word. Click OK. Repeat these steps for more applications, if desired, and in our next tip, we'll show you how to add the actual events....
EVENT-UALLY, YOU'LL HAVE SOUND--PART 2 OF 2 In our last tip, we showed you the first part to making new application events appear in the Sounds dialog box. Inside the Registry Editor, navigate your way to KEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. For each application for which you'd like to add events, right-click the Apps key, select New, Key, type the name of a program's *.exe file without the extension or path and press Enter. Right-click (Default), select Modify, type the application name, and click OK. Now, under each new application key, create a key for each event (related to that application, of course) with which you'd like to associate sounds. Right-click the application key, select New, Key, type a legitimate event name, and press Enter. (To view a list of these names, double-click the .Default key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps.) Repeat these steps for each of that application's events you'd like to see in the Events list, then follow these same steps to add events for other applications. When you're finished, close the Registry Editor. The next time you open the Sounds Properties dialog box, you'll see your new application and events in the Events list. You can now associate these sounds with events just as you would any other: Select an event, then select a sound under Name. (Note: If the sound you want to use isn't in the list, click Browse, navigate your way to that file, select it, and click OK.) Click OK to close the Sounds Properties dialog box and enjoy your very event-ful Windows system!
CUT YOUR DOUBLE-CLICKS IN HALF Do you frequently access files on floppy disks? Tired of all the double-clicking you have to do to get to them--double-click My Computer, then double-click your floppy drive? You can cut these double-clicks in half by placing a floppy drive icon right on your desktop. Open My Computer, click and drag your floppy drive icon onto the desktop, and click Yes to confirm that you want to create a shortcut. Rename it (with the shortcut selected, press F2, type a new name, and press Enter), and from now on, you can access the contents of a floppy disk by simply double-clicking this icon.
PUT A TRAIL ON YOUR MOUSE Do you frequently lose track of your mouse pointer as it moves across the screen? That little bugger is much easier to follow if you put a trail on it--a pointer trail, that is. Open the Control Panel (select Start, Settings, Control Panel), and double-click Mouse. Click on the Motion tab, select Show Pointer Trails and move the lever closer to Long or Short, depending on the desired trail length (the number of pointers you want to follow your mouse). Click OK, and now when you move your pointer around, you'll see a lot of little pointers behind it. There's no way you can miss that entourage!
SHIFT-Y RIGHT-MOUSE SELECTIONS Can't seem to get used to that right mouse button? You could always avoid it altogether, but then you won't have access to all those handy, right-mouse-related Windows commands. Instead, try the right-mouse keyboard equivalents. With any item selected--file, folder, shortcut, whatever--press Shift-F10 to display that item's context menu. It's exactly the same as right-clicking the item. From there, use your up or down arrow keys to highlight the command you're after, then press Enter to 'click' the selected command. Sorry right mouse--you've been replaced.
QUIT MOUSE-ING AROUND In our last tip, we showed you how to select a 'right-mouse' command using the keyboard: Press Shift-F10 to display a selected item's context menu, use your up or down cursor keys to select a command, then press Enter. Looking for more ways to avoid the mouse? You can select a menu command in any open window without ever lifting a finger off your keyboard. And actually, there are two ways to do it. Press F10 to place the focus on the active window's far-left menu command (most likely, File). Use the left or right cursor keys to select the menu you want to expand, then press the down cursor key (or Enter) to expand it. Use the up or down cursor keys to select the command you're after, then press Enter. (Tip-in-a-tip: To collapse an expanded menu, press Esc.) If you prefer the more direct approach, use the Alt key in combination with a menu command's underlined letter. For example, to select File, Save As in a Microsoft Word window, press Alt-F to expand the File menu, then press the letter A (the underlined letter in Save As). Once you become comfortable with this method, you'll never go back to mouse-ing it (especially for oft-used commands).
RENDER YOUR RECYCLE BIN USELESS Are you the type of person who deletes something only if you're absolutely sure you'll never need it again? Can't remember a time when you had to retrieve a deleted item from the Recycle Bin--ever? If you need to conserve disk space and wish you didn't have to worry about emptying the Recycle Bin (to free up all the disk space those deleted items take up), disable this trash can altogether. Right-click the Recycle Bin desktop item, select Properties, and select Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin. Remove Files Immediately Upon Delete. Click OK, and now when you delete something, it's really gone for good. (Note: You'll still have a small safety net. When you delete something, you'll have to click Yes to confirm that you really want to remove it.)
HE RECYCLES ME, HE RECYCLES ME NOT In our last tip, we showed you how to disable your Recycle Bin so that deleting items sends them off into oblivion the first time around, without a stop at the Recycle Bin: Right-click the Recycle Bin desktop item, select Properties, select Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin. Remove Files Immediately Upon Delete., and click OK. If you prefer less drastic measures, you can still limit the number of items that wind up in the Recycle Bin, but on a case-by-case basis. To delete an item from your system the first time around (in other words, to bypass the Recycle Bin), right-click the item, then hold down Shift as you select Delete. (Note: As with disabling the Recycle Bin altogether, you'll still have a small safety net. Even if you have the Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box option turned off, using Shift-Delete to delete an item still presents you with the Confirm File Delete dialog box.)
ANYONE FOR PIE? Wondering how much hard disk space you have left? Open My Computer, select your hard drive, and its total capacity and free space appear in the status bar. Want the pictorial view? In the same My Computer window, right-click the drive and select Properties. Pink pie is free space, blue is eaten. (Note: If you have IE 4.0 installed, and you're viewing My Computer as a Web page, selecting a drive displays a black-and-white, free-vs-used-space pie graph on the left side of the window.)
START SMALL You may already know how to start an application when Windows 95 starts: Place its shortcut in your Startup folder. (Right-click the Start button, select Open, double-click Programs, and you'll see the Startup folder.) But did you also know that you can start any or all of your startup applications minimized? In other words, when you start Windows 95, the application(s) will open, and then shrink to the Taskbar, ready and waiting. It's a great way to keep those windows from hogging valuable screen space. Assuming you've already placed a shortcut in the Startup folder, right-click the shortcut and select Properties. Click the Shortcut tab, click the down arrow next to Run, and select Minimized. Click OK, and from now on, starting Windows will launch that application and then send it directly to your Taskbar. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HELP? WHERE'D THE HELP GO? In previous tips, we've discussed installing and using the various tools that are part of the Windows 95 PowerToys. (Point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, and double-click this file to extract its contents. To install most of the PowerToys, one at a time, right-click each *.inf file and select Install.) A number of readers have asked where to find the help screens that appear during the installation process--specifically, those that give information on the Find Extensions, Send To Extensions, and Tweak UI PowerToys. First, open the folder that contains all of the *.inf files you used to install the PowerToys. To view the help screen for the Find Extensions PowerToys, right-click findx.inf and select Open. Similarly, right-click sendtox.inf and select Open to view the Send To Extensions help screen. Tweak UI is a bird of a different color. To view help for Tweak UI, open this utility (double-click its icon inside the Control Panel) and on the Mouse tab, click the Tips button. Double-click About Tweak UI to read the exact help screen that appeared during installation, or select from any of the other help options.
WHO WOULD STEAL A TRASH CAN? B. O'Brien writes, "I don't know how I did it, but I deleted my Recycle Bin icon from my desktop. Is there any way to get it back without reinstalling Windows?" Yes, if you don't mind editing the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace. In the left pane, right-click the NameSpace key and select New, Key. Type exactly {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} and press Enter. (Tip: To save yourself some typing, copy the above line to your Clipboard, then press Ctrl-V after selecting New, Key, above.) In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. In the resulting Edit String dialog box, on the Value data line, type Recycle Bin and click OK. Close the Registry Editor, click the desktop once, press F5 (for refresh), and there's your Recycle Bin icon!
LOGO SCREEN FOLLOW-UP A few months ago we ran a tip explaining how to remove your logo screen from the Windows 95 startup. In response, reader A. Horwitz asks, "How do we change the cloud logo to something that we want to appear? Also, where do we get the Tweak UI utility you mentioned (to facilitate removing the logo screen)?" Let's start with Tweak UI. (We apologize for not including this information the first time around.) To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, including Tweak UI, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w950604a%2C00.html and download Powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install Tweak UI, right-click Tweakui.inf and select Install. To remove the logo screen from the Windows 95 startup, open Tweak UI (double-click its icon in Control Panel), click the Boot tab, deselect Display Splash Screen While Booting, and click OK. Now on to selecting a new image for your startup (and shutdown) screen(s). The easiest route is to use ready-made replacements, which you'll find all over the Web. For starters, try http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w950604b%2C00.html Once you've finished downloading and extracting the necessary files, copy Logo.sys to your root directory, and copy Logos.sys and Logow.sys to your Windows folder. (Note: Rename these existing files on your system first, so you don't overwrite the originals.) Restart Windows, and your startup (and shutdown) will sport a brand-new look!
ONE-CLICK DOCUMENT CLEAR-OUT Wish you could clear your Start, Documents list with one quick click? (Normally, you have to right-click the taskbar, select Properties, click the Start Menu tab, click Clear, then click OK.) Reader G. Sampson shares this batch file technique: Open Notepad--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad--and type the following:
ECHO OFF ECHO Y|DEL C:\WINDOWS\RECENT\*.* Select File, Save; name the file something like Clear_Documents.bat; and save it anywhere you'd like. Locate the new file in an Explorer window, right-click and drag it out to the desktop, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. (Rename the shortcut something appropriate, such as Clear Documents, if desired.) Right-click the new shortcut, click the Program tab, and select Close On Exit. On the same tab, under Run, select Minimized, then click OK. Now any time you want to clear your Documents list, just double-click your new shortcut and voila! (Note: As an alternative, you may wish to place the shortcut on your Start menu.) Thanks for the suggestion, G.!
FAVORITE BACKUPS R. Johnson writes, "My computer recently crashed and I lost everything that I had not backed up. Is there a way to copy my Favorites or somehow save them to another disk, to avoid losing them in the event of a future crash?" Absolutely. To back up your Favorites, just copy the contents of your Favorites folder to a floppy disk. In an Explorer window, display the contents of your Windows\Favorites folder. Hold down Ctrl as you click each Favorite you want to back up (or press Ctrl-A to select them all). With a blank, formatted disk in your floppy drive, right-click the selection and select Send To, 3 1/2 Floppy (A). Close all open windows, remove the disk from your floppy drive, and put it somewhere for safe keeping. In the event of a system crash, just copy the contents of the disk to your Favorites folder, and you've got your links back. (Note: If the contents of your Favorites folder won't fit on a single floppy disk, you'll need to split them up into multiple disks.)
THE UN-WELCOME WELCOME BOX B. Festa writes, "I have recently re-installed Windows 95, and I can't get rid of the password box that appears when the computer starts up. It says that if you don't enter one, it won't appear again, but it always does! Can I fix this annoying problem?" This is one of those questions we get all the time, so although we've run this tip before, we'll discuss a couple of possible solutions. The next time you see the login dialog box, enter a user name and password, if you haven't already. Next, open Control Panel, double-click the Passwords icon, and on the Change Passwords tab, click the Change Windows Password button. Type your password in the Old Password text box, press Tab, then type it again in the New Password text box. Press Enter, and you'll see a dialog box telling you that your password has been changed. That Welcome To Windows 95 dialog box shouldn't bother you again (although we've heard from many people for whom this technique doesn't solve the problem). Another option is to use the Tweak UI PowerToy. (Quick review: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w950409%2C00.html and download Powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install Tweak UI, right-click Tweakui.inf and select Install.) Open Tweak UI (you'll find it in Control Panel), select the Network tab, and select Log On Automatically At System Startup. Type your user name and password, then click OK.
ALT-ERNATE SHUTDOWNS B. Morford asks, "What command can I use to restart or shut down Windows 95 when the Start button is not available?" You may already know that pressing Alt-F4 closes the currently active window. But what you may not know is that this command is the equivalent of selecting Start, Shut Down IF the focus is currently on the desktop (as opposed to an open window) or IF no windows are open. So, close all open windows (or place the focus on the desktop), then press Alt-F4 to bring up the Shut Down Windows dialog box. Select an option--Restart or Shut Down--then press Enter.
WHAT DISK? Reader R. writes, "I have been trying to install Tweak UI to my Control Panel, but am continuously prompted to insert a disk. (I also see an error message telling me that Tweakui.cnt cannot be found.) Where do I get this disk?" We can't tell you how many people have written in with this problem (while installing other PowerToys, too--not just Tweak UI). Actually, you don't need a disk at all. You just need to point the installation program to the right folder. (The message appears if, after extracting the PowerToys files from Powertoy.exe--see note below--you move these files to a new location and then proceed with the installation.) When you see the message telling you a disk is now required, click OK. In the resulting dialog box, click the Browse button and navigate to the folder where the extracted PowerToys files are located. Click OK twice, and the installation will proceed normally. (Note: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w950611%2C00.html and download Powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then one at a time, right-click each *.inf file and select Install.)
CLEAR OFF YOUR CLIPBOARD "I copy and paste constantly. My question is this: How do you remove whatever is copied to the Clipboard to wipe the slate clean (other than just copying something else)?" You can wipe out the contents of the Clipboard from inside the Clipboard Viewer. Open the Clipboard Viewer--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Clipboard Viewer--and you'll see the current contents of the Clipboard. Select Edit, Delete (or press the Delete key on your keyboard), click Yes to confirm, and that Clipboard is clean as a whistle. TAKE A PAINTBRUSH TO YOUR WALLPAPER Wish that desktop wallpaper you like so much came in a different shade? Just as retail wallpaper books typically offer a few color varieties for the same pattern, Windows allows you to recolor wallpaper using the color scheme of your choice. Just open the corresponding *.bmp file in Paint and go to town. (Note: Some wallpapers are easier to recolor than others, based on their complexity.) Open Paint--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint--select File, Open, and open the wallpaper you'd like to recolor. (Tip: By default, wallpapers are stored in the Windows folder.) Assuming you want to leave the original intact, select File, Save As and save the file in the Windows folder under a different name. Select View, Zoom, Large Size to get a closer look, and you're ready to go. Click a tool (probably the pencil, for individual dots of color, or the paint can, for larger areas), pick a color, and start coloring. When you've finished, select File, Save, and you can now choose your custom wallpaper from among the others on the Background tab of the Display Properties dialog box. Can't figure out why, in many cases, you have only a few colors to choose from in the color palette? We'll show you how to expand this palette in our next tip. NOW THAT'S A COLOR PALETTE! In our last tip, we showed you how to recolor your favorite Windows 95 wallpaper: Open the corresponding *.bmp file (in your Windows folder) in Paint; save it under a new name; select View, Zoom, Large Size; and start painting. Wish you had more colors to choose from? (In many cases, your palette will be very limited--in some cases, black, white, and gray only.) To expand your palette, just save the wallpaper as a 256 Color Bitmap file. Let's assume you're recoloring the Houndstooth wallpaper. Open Houndstooth.bmp and select File, Save As. Under Save As Type, select 256 Color Bitmap, type a new name for the file (you might as well do all of this in one step), and click the Save button. And there you have it--a much bigger palette! (Tip: If you don't see an immediate change in your palette, select File, Save As and click the Save button.) SHORTCUT RE-ORG "I have shortcuts on my desktop that I don't use as often as I thought. I don't want to delete them--I just want the icons off my desktop." The easiest way to consolidate shortcuts without actually deleting them is to place them in a single desktop or Start menu folder. That way, they're still around, but they only occupy the space of a single shortcut. To place the shortcuts in a desktop folder, right-click the desktop and select New, Folder. Type a name for the folder, then press Enter. Hold down Ctrl as you select each desktop shortcut you want to move, then drag and drop the selection right on top of the new folder. To place the shortcuts in a Start menu folder, right-click your Start button and select Open. In the Start Menu window, select File, New, Folder. Right-click the new folder, select Rename, type a name for the folder, and press Enter. Hold down Ctrl as you select each shortcut you want to move, drag the selection from the desktop into the new folder (in the Start Menu window), and let go. From now on, you can access these shortcuts by selecting Start, [new folder], [shortcut]. (Note: The above techniques are for shortcuts only. If you try to drag "permanent" desktop icons, such as the Recycle Bin or Inbox, into a new folder, Windows will only allow you to create shortcuts to them.)
ICON LINE-UP "The icons on my desktop just don't look right. (They don't appear evenly spaced and aligned as I've seen on other systems.) How do I align them?" Apparently, your desktop's Auto Arrange command is turned off, meaning that if you click and drag an icon to a new location on the desktop, Windows will leave the icon in that exact location. If you want your icons lined up in neat, evenly spaced rows on the left side of the screen, turn Auto Arrange back on. Right-click the desktop, select Arrange Icons, and in the resulting menu, select Auto Arrange. Now, no matter where you attempt to place icons, they will automatically jump back into formation. If, on the other hand, you want your icons evenly spaced and aligned wherever YOU place them (for example, along the top and right edges of the screen), simply ask Windows to line them up. Right-click the desktop and select Line Up Icons.
THE OL' LANGUAGE SWITCHEROO, PART 1 OF 2 "Is it possible to add an Italian or German keyboard by simply changing Windows' settings or do I have to purchase one?" Windows 95 offers many language/layout combinations to convert your keyboard to the language of your choice. Open Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and click the Language tab. Click the Add button, click the down arrow, select the desired language, then click OK. Back on the Language tab, you'll see this language and the corresponding keyboard layout listed below the default language. (Tip-in-a-tip: Select the language you use most often and click the Set As Default button.) Click OK, and you'll see a new, dark blue symbol in the tray of your taskbar. To change languages, click this button and select a language from the pop-up list.
THE OL' LANGUAGE SWITCHEROO, PART 2 OF 2 In our last tip, we showed you how to install a new keyboard language and layout: Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, click the Language tab, click Add, select a language, and click OK twice. To switch to any of the installed languages, click the dark blue symbol in the tray of your taskbar and select a language. Don't want this icon taking up valuable taskbar real estate? Then hide it. You can still switch among installed languages using the keyboard. Open Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and click the Language tab. Deselect Enable Indicator On Taskbar, then select one of the two keyboard combos under Switch Languages. Click OK, and watch as the symbol disappears from your taskbar. To switch from one installed language to the next, simply press the appropriate keyboard combo.
TAKE YOUR KEYBOARD INTERNATIONAL, PART 1 OF 3 Do you frequently type documents that require foreign characters (of multiple languages)? Forget all that tedious searching through the Character Map. Change your keyboard layout to United States-International, and you can type these characters right from your keyboard. (Note: This tip assumes your default language is set to English [United States].) Open Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and click the Language tab. With English (United States) selected under Language, click the Properties button, then click the down arrow and select United States-International. Click OK twice, and insert the Windows 95 installation CD when asked. The international layout adds one or two characters to certain keys on your keyboard. Hold down your keyboard's right Alt key (referred to as the Alternate Character, or AltChar, key) as you press each key on your keyboard. Now do the same pressing Shift-AltChar in combination with each key. As you go through the keys, make a mental note of the keyboard combos necessary to type the characters you use. For example, to type an uppercase E with an accent that goes up and to the right, you'd press Shift-AltChar-E. Pretty neat, eh? In our next tip, more on this worldly keyboard layout...
TAKE YOUR KEYBOARD INTERNATIONAL, PART 2 OF 3 In our last tip, we showed you how to switch your keyboard to the U.S.-International layout, which adds up to two characters to certain keys on your keyboard: In Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, click the Language tab, click Properties, select United States-International, and click OK twice. To use the new characters, press a key in combination with the AltChar key (the right Alt key on your keyboard) or Shift-AltChar. (Note: This tip assumes your default language is set to English [United States].) Now let's look at another component of this international layout--assistance keys. There are five keys on your keyboard--the apostrophe ('), the back quote (`), the circumflex (^), the double-quote ("), and the tilde (~)--that now act as assistants in making, respectively, an acute accent, a grave accent, a hat over a vowel, an umlaut, and the squiggle over the N in the Spanish word senor. For example, to type an E with an umlaut (the two dots) over it, press the double-quote ("), then press the letter E. Or to type an O with a hat over it, press the circumflex (^), then press the letter O. In our next tip, one more assistance key trick...
TAKE YOUR KEYBOARD INTERNATIONAL, PART 3 OF 3 In the first tip in this series, we showed you how to switch your keyboard to the U.S.-International layout, which adds up to two characters to certain keys on your keyboard: In Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, click the Language tab, click Properties, select United States-International, and click OK twice. To use the new characters, press a key in combination with the AltChar key (the right Alt key on your keyboard) or Shift-AltChar. (Note: This tip assumes your default language is set to English [United States].) Then, in our last tip, we told you that there are five "assistance" keys--the apostrophe ('), the back quote (`), the circumflex (^), the double-quote ("), and the tilde (~)--that, when pressed in combination with another key, make an acute accent, a grave accent, a hat over a vowel, an umlaut, and a squiggle (as over the N in the Spanish word senor), respectively. The big question is, how do you use one of the assistance keys as it's supposed to be used? For example, let's suppose you wanted to type the letter E within single quotes: 'E'. With the international layout turned on, typing a single quote and then E would result in an E with an accent over it. And typing the second quote would do absolutely nothing (that assistance key is waiting for a key to assist). The solution? Any time you want to type an assistance key as it was meant to be used, enter a space after it. So in the example above, you'd type a single quote, press Spacebar, type E, then a single quote, and press Spacebar.
WAVE GOOD-BYE TO THE TEMPS J. Trick writes, "I have a directory called C:\Windows\Temporary Internet Files. It is filled with hundreds of files, some of which, when double-clicked, will start Internet Explorer and bring up Web sites or parts of Web pages. What is it? Can the files in it be deleted?" This folder (called a cache) stores information from all the Web pages you've opened recently. The idea is that if you attempt to open the same pages again, they'll open more quickly because you already have the information on your local hard drive. To empty this folder, open a browser window from Internet Explorer and select Tools, Internet Options (or right-click the IE icon on your desktop and select Properties). On the General tab, click the Delete Files button, then click OK to confirm.
WHAT'S THE DEAL WITH THE PRINT SCREEN KEY? Reader C. writes, "My Print Screen key on my keyboard doesn't seem to get any response at all. Any suggestions?" Pressing the Print Screen key sends the current screen to the Clipboard (not to the printer, as one would expect). To print the contents of the Clipboard, you'll need to use a separate application, such as Paint. Open Paint--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint--select Edit, Paste, and if you see a message stating that the image is larger than the current bitmap, click Yes to confirm that you'd like it to enlarge the bitmap. The image on the Clipboard now appears on screen. From there, you can use Paint's Print command to print the screen. (Tip-in-a-tip: If you're printing an entire screen, switch to Landscape mode first--select File, Page Setup, select Landscape, and click OK--so the image will fit on a standard letter-size page.) (Another tip-in-a-tip: Hold down Alt as you press Print Screen to send only the currently active window to the Clipboard.)
SIZE COLUMNS IN DETAILS VIEW Do you frequently view open folder windows in Details mode (select View, Details)? Tired of having to enlarge these windows to see all the information you're after--for example, the far-right Modified column? You can size down any column to make more room for the rest. Hold the cursor over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag left. (Everything to the right of the column you're resizing will scoot over, too.) When everything you want to see fits in the window, let go. (Tip-in-a-tip: Just the opposite, if you find a column too narrow, so that you can't read its contents, you can size that column to fit its widest entry. Hold the cursor over the line to the left of that column, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click.)
HIDE COLUMN IN DETAILS VIEW In our last tip, we showed you how to shrink any column in Details view (in an open window, select View, Details), to make room for the rest: Hold your mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag left until the column is the right size. Now, let's take this tip to the extreme. Want to remove the column from view altogether? Follow the steps above, but drag the mouse pointer as far left as possible (to the next column or to the left edge of the window). Poof! The column disappears. Gone for good? No such luck. When you want your column back, click just to the right of where you left it, and when a double-pointed arrow with two black lines appears, drag to the right.
WHAT'S THIS BUTTON TO OPEN HELP The next time you're tooling around a dialog box and don't understand a particular button or option, remember that help is just a click or two away (and no, not clicking Start, selecting Help, and so on). Right-click the button or option, and if you see a gray What's This? button, click it. (If no button appears, you're on your own--there's no Help topic associated with that option.) Alternatively, click the question mark caption button in the dialog box's upper-right corner, then click the option or button with which you'd like some help.
SWITCH WINDOWS USING ALT-TAB Need a quick way to switch from one open window to the next, without having to reach for that pesky mouse? While holding down the Alt key, press the Tab key to make a box of all open windows appear. (Each open window is represented by an icon.) Still holding the Alt key, press Tab continuously until the window you want is highlighted (with a box around it). Let go, and that window jumps immediately to the top of the open window pile. (Tip-in-a-tip: To move backward through "icon row," still holding down Alt, press Shift-Tab repeatedly.)
COPY FLOPPY DISK Want to make an exact copy of a floppy disk--for example, as a backup, or to give to someone else? Windows 95 makes this operation a snap. With a blank, formatted disk close-at-hand, pop the disk you want to copy in your floppy drive. Open My Computer, right-click your floppy drive icon and select Copy Disk. Click Start and wait as Windows reads all the information on the disk. When prompted to do so, insert the destination disk, click OK, and wait again as Windows copies the first disk's information to the second disk. You'll know it's finished when you see a message telling you the operation was a success.
RESTORE DELETED FILE FROM RECYCLE BIN Just delete a file, and now you need it back? Good thing Windows 95 comes with a built-in Recycle Bin. As long as you haven't emptied the Recycle Bin since you deleted the file, you can put that file right back where it came from. Switch to the desktop and double-click the Recycle Bin icon. Locate the item you'd like to un-delete, right-click it and select Restore. Whew! (Note: This tip assumes you have the Recycle Bin set to receive deleted items. To be sure, right-click the Recycle Bin icon, select Properties, and make sure Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin is not selected. Also, if you permanently delete a file the first time around, by pressing Shift-Delete and then clicking Yes, the Recycle Bin can't help you.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAKE A MISTAKE? UNDO IT WITH THE UNDO COMMAND In our last tip, we showed you how to restore a deleted item from your Recycle Bin (as long as you haven't emptied the bin since you deleted the file): Open the Recycle Bin, right-click the file you want to un-delete and select Restore. If you catch your mistake immediately, there's another way to un-delete an item. Assuming you haven't performed any mouse operations since the deletion, right-click the location from which you deleted the item (file, shortcut, whatever) and select Undo Delete. In the same way, you can undo a Move, Copy, or Rename. Just right-click the desktop or window in which you performed the operation and select Undo [whatever command you just used]. (Tip: You can also press Ctrl-Z to undo the most recent operation.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULL-SCREEN VIDEO CLIPS The next time you drag out your Windows 95 installation CD to view the Weezer video clip, take a minute to turn your monitor into a TV screen. Open the Control Panel--select Start, Settings, Control Panel--and double-click Multimedia. Select the Video tab and, in the dropdown list next to Window, select Show Video In Full Screen. Click OK and now play that video. Instead of displaying the clip inside a puny window, the image stretches from one edge of the screen to another. (A little distortion is a small price to pay for good entertainment.) Lost without your controls? Press Esc to exit. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTALL SOUND SCHEMES FROM INSTALLATION CD Wondering why the computer in the office next door is emitting all these wild and crazy sounds, and yours isn't? Chances are that person is using one of Windows 95's sound schemes (or a scheme he or she downloaded form the Internet--but that's another story). The schemes to which we're referring--Jungle, Musica, Robotz, and Utopia--aren't part of Windows 95's default setup, but as long as you have your installation CD handy, installing them is a snap. Open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs and select the Windows Setup tab. Under Components, double-click Multimedia, and you'll see a list of available schemes. Select any or all of the schemes, depending on which you want, click OK twice, then follow the steps to complete the installation (insert your CD and so on). You can now access these schemes from the Control Panel's Sounds Properties dialog box. Open the Control Panel, double-click Sounds, and select a scheme in the dropdown list under Schemes. Click OK, and make sure to turn your system's volume up nice and loud! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
END TASK TO RECOVER FROM LOCK-UP Did your system just lock up on you? Before you reboot your system entirely, there's one last hope: Try ending the current task. Oftentimes (but not always), you can close only the program that caused the problem, and get back to work. Assuming you just locked up, press Ctrl-Alt-Del to open the Close Program dialog box. Select the task that caused the problem (most likely, it will say Not Responding in parentheses), and click the End Task button. After a few seconds, a separate End Task dialog box will pop up, explaining that the program is not responding. Click End Task again, and with any luck, Windows will proceed to close just that program. (Note: If pressing Ctrl-Alt-Del does absolutely nothing; or if trying to end a task results in a total lock-up, you're flat outta luck. Time to reboot.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
F5 TO REFRESH FLOPPY CONTENTS Need to view the contents of one floppy disk after another using the same floppy drive? Then there's one key you should know about: F5. Assuming you're viewing the contents of one disk in an open window, replace the disk in the drive, then press F5 (for Refresh). Immediately, the contents of the new disk replace those of the previous one. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ENLARGE WINDOW SCROLLBARS Do you find the buttons on your windows' scrollbars too small to grab onto? (In case you aren't sure what scrollbars are, they're the bars on the right and bottom edges of windows that allow you to scroll up and down, or left and right, to view the contents that aren't currently visible.) Then make them bigger. First open the Display Properties dialog box by right-clicking the desktop and selecting Properties. Select the Appearance tab, and in the dropdown list under Item, select Scrollbar. Adjust the Size (just to the right of the Item field), and when you're happy with the new look, as displayed in the preview area, click OK. Can't miss those buttons now! (Tip-in-a-tip: To make the change a permanent part of a color scheme, click Save As, type the name of the scheme, and click OK.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADD NOTES TO HELP Did you just navigate your way through Windows 95 Help to a rather confusing topic? Wish you could paste a note-filled yellow sticky on it, so that it will make more sense the next time you need it? (Let's face it, Help's wording isn't always the most straightforward.) Then do it. You can annotate any Help topic. Assuming you've already opened the topic to which you'd like to add some notes, right-click a blank area of its window and select Annotate. In the box that appears, type your notes, then click Save. The next time you open that topic, just click the little paper clip to read your notes. (To remove a note from a topic, open the note, then click Delete.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALT-ESC TO SELECT OPEN WINDOW In a previous tip, we pointed out that a quick way to switch among open applications is to use Alt-Tab: Hold down Alt as you continuously press Tab to rotate through all open windows, and when the one you want appears highlighted, let go. Prefer to stick with the Taskbar you know and love (still without having to use the mouse)? Try Alt-Esc instead. Hold down the Alt key as you press Esc continuously. Each time you press Esc, another Taskbar item appears highlighted and the corresponding window takes its place on top of the open window pile. When the window you had in mind appears, let go. (Note: Even windows that don't appear on the Taskbar, such as the Display Properties dialog box, are included in the rotation.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"ROPE IN" ICONS Do you need to select a number of contiguous items in a window or on the desktop? If you already have your mouse in hand, try lassoing them in. Click once next to the first item you want to select, then while still holding down the mouse pointer, drag to create a box around all the icons you want to select. Let go, and every icon inside the selected area will appear highlighted. (Note: If you miss an icon, you can always grab it holding down Ctrl as you click it. Just don't forget the Ctrl key, or you'll lose the whole selection.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREATE FIND INDEX IN WINDOWS 95 HELP When you select Start, Help, and click the Index tab, you'll find that Windows 95's Help offers a fairly extensive index of topics. But occasionally, you may be looking for a topic that doesn't appear in the index. In many cases, you simply won't find the topic in Help at all, but sometimes the topic is buried under another name. As a last resort, try searching through Help by keyword, using a feature called Find. Windows can track down all topics that have that word in it. Open Help, as described above, but this time, click the Find tab. Select one of the three setup options (such as Minimized Database), click Next, and wait as Windows sets up the new index. (Don't worry--you'll have to wait only through the setup the first time you use this feature.) When it finishes, just follow the three steps Find gives you and with any luck, you'll find the topic you're looking for.
OPEN FILE IN APPLICATION OF CHOICE If you've spent a lot of time using Windows 95, you know that double-clicking a file of a particular type (with a certain extension) opens that file in a particular application. For example, double-clicking a text file opens that file in Notepad. But what you may not know is that you can open a file in any application you want--without first opening that application. Click once on the file you want to open to select it, then hold down the Shift key as you right-click that file. In the resulting menu, you'll see a brand new menu command, Open With. (Now why couldn't Microsoft have placed that command in the regular right-mouse menu?) Select this new command, and up pops the Open With dialog box. Select the application you'd like to use to open the file and click OK. (Tip-in-a-tip: Make sure the option Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File is NOT selected before clicking OK. Otherwise, you'll change that file association permanently. Just the opposite, if you would like to change an association--for example, you'd like to open all *.txt files with WordPad--follow the steps above, selecting WordPad in the Open With dialog box; but before clicking OK, select Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FULLY EXPAND EXPLORER FOLDER The next time you need to expand every branch of a folder in a double-paned Explorer window, don't waste time clicking all those plus signs individually. There's a much easier way. Select the folder, then press the asterisk key on your numeric keypad. Every folder inside the top folder (and every folder inside those folders, and so on) will expand before your eyes. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
COLLAPSE FULLY EXPANDED EXPLORER FOLDER In our last tip, we showed you how to expand every branch of a double-paned Explorer window: Select the folder, then press the asterisk key on your numeric keypad. When you're finished, and you'd like all those folders to fall in again, your first instinct might be to click the minus sign next to the top folder. Doing so will seem to collapse the branch, but the next time you click that plus sign, it will appear fully expanded again. To put all those branches back where they belong, permanently, click the minus sign next to the top branch, then press F5. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHOWING HIDDEN FILES When you view a folder's contents in an Explorer window, do you want to be sure that you're seeing EVERYTHING inside? Open any Explorer window, select View, Folder Options and click the View tab. Under Advanced Settings, select Show All Files (under Hidden Files), if it isn't already selected, then click OK. The next time you open any folder window, Windows will reveal all. (Note: Typically, "hidden" files are so important that the developers opted to keep them out of reach. In other words, don't mess with a hidden file unless you really know what you're doing.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SELECT SINGLE- OR DOUBLE-PANED WINDOW VIEW When you double-click a folder on your desktop (or inside another window), by default, that folder opens in a single-paned view. But if you prefer, you can open any folder in a double-paned Explorer view. Just right-click the folder and select Explore. If you've already opened a single-paned window, but would prefer a double-paned Explorer view, right-click the icon in the window's upper-left corner and select Explore. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIDE OR MOVE WORDPAD TOOLBARS Are WordPad's toolbars getting in your way? (For a simple word processor, this thing sure has a lot of commands and buttons taking up valuable workspace.) You can hide or move them at will. To hide a toolbar completely, pull down the View menu and select (or deselect, really) Toolbar, Format Bar, Ruler or Status Bar. (A check mark means the bar is showing on screen.) Repeat these steps to display the bar again. If you want access to your toolbars, but need as much vertical workspace as possible, try changing the Toolbar or the Format Bar into a floating palette. Then, you can position it anywhere you want. Click a blank area around the edge of the Toolbar of the Format Bar, then drag it to any location on screen--even outside the WordPad window. To return the bar to its original location, drag the palette back to the toolbar area, and when the dotted outline changes to a solid line, let go. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRINTING FROM YOUR DESKTOP Need to print a file--fast? There are two ways to do this without manually opening the application in which it was created. The easiest route is to right-click a document icon and select Print. Windows 95 opens the file's native application and prints the file. If you prefer, you can place a printer shortcut on your desktop. (Open My Computer, double-click the Printers folder, right-click and drag your printer icon to the desktop, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.) To print a document, simply drag and drop its icon on the printer icon. (Again, Windows will open the file's native application for you.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TWO ICONS YOUR DESKTOP SHOULDN'T BE WITHOUT When working in Windows 95, there's nothing more frustrating than having to go through more steps than necessary to get to what you need. So we recommend placing shortcuts to the items you use all the time--the Control Panel and your Floppy Drive--right on the desktop. Open My Computer and, one at a time, click and drag the Control Panel and Floppy Drive icons to the desktop, release the mouse button, and click Yes to confirm that you want to create a shortcut. Close the My Computer window. >From now on, accessing the Control Panel or your floppy drive is a one-step operation. Just a simple double-click (or click, depending on your Active Desktop settings), and you're there. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SAME PRINTER, TWO SETS OF PROPERTIES If you frequently print documents using different printer settings, such as black and white drafts versus color documents, you're probably getting tired of changing these settings each time you print. You can avoid this busywork by tricking Windows into thinking you have two different printers. "Install" the same printer twice, then set the Properties for each to match your most commonly used settings. From then on, the only setting change you'll have to make is selecting the printer you want to use. To "install" your printer again, select Start, Settings, Printers and click Add Printer. Follow along with the installation instructions and, when asked, opt to keep the existing driver. Also, be sure to give this "second" printer an appropriate name, such as Color Docs. When the installation is complete, you'll see two different printer icons in the Printers window. To adjust their Properties, one at a time, right-click an icon, select Properties, then make the changes you'd like. The next time you want to print a document, use the native application's Print command, select a printer in the resulting dialog box, and click OK. (Tip-in-a-tip: You may also wish to place shortcuts to these printers on your desktop. Then, you can drag and drop the document you want to print on your printer of choice.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WINDOWS KEY SHORTCUTS Do you have a Windows key on your keyboard? You may already know that pressing this key displays the Start menu, but did you also know that you can hold it down and press E to open Windows Explorer R to open the Run dialog box F to open the Find dialog box F1 to open Help M to minimize all open windows (Shift-Windows-M to undo minimize all) Tab to cycle through the Taskbar buttons Break to open the System Properties dialog box Handy little button, eh? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAKING YOUR OWN WINDOWS KEY In our last tip, we listed the keyboard shortcuts for the Windows key. Don't have one? Before you run out and buy a new keyboard, try making your own Windows key by using the Keyboard Remap Kernel Toy. Point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,746,00.html and download krnltoys.exe. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then right-click the Keyremap.inf file and select Install. Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and select the new Remap tab. Under Right-hand Side, select a key to use for your Windows key--such as Right Alt--on the left; and on the right, select Windows. Click OK, and the key you specified will now act like a real, live Windows key! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
THE SHOW DESKTOP ICON GOES BOTH WAYS If you have Internet Explorer 4 or higher installed on your system, then you have the Quick Launch toolbar next to your Start button (unless you've removed it). This bar of icons includes the Show Desktop icon, which, when clicked, minimizes all windows to display your desktop. Great, everyone knows that, right? But what you may not know is that after clicking this icon once to display your desktop, clicking it AGAIN restores all windows to their original position (before clicking the button). Who knew? (Note: If you do anything on the desktop before clicking the icon again--for example, if you open and close a window--you may have to click the icon twice to restore your windows.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RENAMING YOUR HARD DRIVE Don't like the name that Windows 95 gives your hard drive--for example, Ms-dos_6? Feel free to rename it. First, think of a name of up to 11 characters. Then, open a My Computer window, right-click the drive you want to rename, and select Properties. In the text box next to Label, replace the name there with your name of choice, then click OK. No need to restart--the change shows up immediately. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGING YOUR HARD DRIVE ICON In our last tip, we told you how to rename your hard drive: Open a My Computer window, right-click the drive, select Properties, type a name of up to 11 characters next to Label, then click OK. Is there something still not right about that hard drive? Maybe it needs a new icon, too. Open Notepad (select Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad) and type exactly [autorun] icon=PATH,# where PATH is the path of the icon file containing the icon you want to use, and # is its number. So, for example, if you wanted to use a globe icon, your Notepad file would read [autorun] icon=c:\windows\system\shell32.dll,13 (Note: The icons in icon files are numbered from zero upward. To view the contents of an icon file, such as Windows\System\shell32.dll, right-click any folder shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click the Change Icon button. To view the contents of another icon file, such as c:\windows\system\Pifmgr.dll, click the Browse button, navigate to the file you have in mind, and click Open.) Save the file as AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive, then close Notepad. To view your new icon, open a My Computer window, press F5 (for refresh), and there it is. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
RESTORING THE DEFAULT HARD DRIVE ICON In our last tip, we showed you how to change your hard drive's icon: Open Notepad, type exactly [autorun] icon=PATH,# where PATH is the path of the icon file containing the icon you want to use, and # is its number. Save the file as AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive. Want to change the icon back to its default? Don't worry--you don't have to search out the original icon and type its path and number in the Notepad file. Simply delete Autorun.inf from your system, and that icon will return to its normal, boring self. Oh, and one more hard drive icon tip: You can change the icon of more than one drive. Just create a separate Autorun.inf file for each and store it in the root of the corresponding drive. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADJUSTING THE MENU DELAY When you click the Start button and navigate through folders, do you find that the menus pop out too slowly or too quickly? There are two ways to adjust the delay before which a menu pops out, or the menu delay--by using the Tweak UI PowerToy or by editing the Registry. Tweak UI is by far the easiest route. (Note: To obtain the Tweak UI and the remaining Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser to http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then right-click tweak.inf and select Install.) Assuming you have this utility installed, open the Control Panel and double-click Tweak UI. On the Mouse tab, move the lever under Menu Speed toward Slow or Fast, depending on whether you want to increase or decrease the menu delay. Before clicking OK, test the new setting by right-clicking the Test icon and selecting an item in the pop-out menu. If it feels right, click OK. If not, adjust the setting again until it does. If you don't have Tweak UI, you'll need to edit the Registry to adjust your menu delay. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Then navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop. Right-click a blank area in the right pane and select New, String Value. Name the new value MenuShowDelay. Right-click the new value and select Modify. In the Edit String dialog box, type the desired delay in milliseconds. For example, 1000 would be one second. (The default is 400.) Click OK, close the Registry Editor, restart Windows 95, and try out your new menus! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REGULAR MAINTENANCE WITH SCANDISK Would you let your car go more than 3,000 miles without an oil change? Of course not. And just the same, you shouldn't let your system go too long--say, a month or more--without maintenance. On a regular basis, use ScanDisk to check your hard disk for errors (and fix them, in most cases), and use Disk Defragmenter to reunite the data that's scattered all over your system. Together, these routines can help ensure that your system is running clean and strong. To run ScanDisk, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, ScanDisk. Select the drive you want to scan, then choose Standard or Thorough. (Standard checks the files and folders on your hard disk. Thorough does that AND checks the drive itself for damaged or unusable areas.) Assuming you aren't an expert at fixing drive errors, make sure Automatically Fix Errors is selected, then click OK. When ScanDisk finishes (it can take quite a while--especially the Thorough check), you'll see a dialog box detailing the results. In our next tip, we'll discuss the second part of the maintenance routine, Disk Defragmenter. (You should run ScanDisk before you run Disk Defragmenter, because you can't defragment a disk with errors on it.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REGULAR MAINTENANCE WITH DISK DEFRAGMENTER In our last tip, we mentioned that you should run ScanDisk and Disk Defragmenter on a regular basis in order to keep your system in tip-top shape. We also showed you how to run ScanDisk (which you should run first, before defragmenting): Select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, ScanDisk; select a drive; choose Standard or Thorough; make sure Automatically Fix Errors is selected; then click OK. Now for the second part of the maintenance routine--Disk Defragmenter. Before you begin, disable your screen saver: Right-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Screen Saver tab, select (None) under Screen Saver, then click OK. To start the defragmenting process, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Select the drive you want to defragment, click OK, then click Start. (Often, you'll see a message telling you that only a certain percentage of your disk is defragmented. It's up to you to decide whether you want to proceed.) When the Defragmenter finishes--and just to warn you, it takes a while--restart Windows 95. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MAKING YOUR OWN WALLPAPER Do you like doodling in Paint? Ever create a picture that you like so much that you want to look at it every time you turn on your system? (Or better yet, did some little tyke you know just create a great work of art?) Then slap it on your desktop as wallpaper. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint (unless Paint is already open) and open the picture you'd like to use as desktop wallpaper. Save the file, if you haven't already, then select File, Set As Wallpaper (Centered). Close Paint, then check out your desktop. Now that's homemade wallpaper! From now on, you can choose this wallpaper by name from the Wallpaper list in the Display Properties dialog box. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUICK VIEW TO PREVIEW FILES Want to view a file without taking the time to open the application in which it was created? Try Quick View, an applet that allows you to view the contents of a file in seconds. (Note: The file type must be supported by Quick View.) First, make sure Quick View is installed on your system. Right-click any *.txt or *.doc file and make sure you see a Quick View command in the resulting menu. If not, with the Windows 95 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab and, in the list of components, double-click Accessories. Select Quick View and click OK twice. Ready to try it out? Right-click the file you want to preview and select Quick View. (If you don't see a Quick View command, that file type isn't supported.) Instantly, Quick View opens with a quick (albeit rough) preview of the file. Click the icon just below the File menu to open that file in its native application. (Tip-in-a-tip: You can preview one file after another in the same Quick View window. Drag a file icon into the open Quick View window, and its contents will replace those of the previous file.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EMPTYING THE RECYCLE BIN TO REMOVE DELETED ITEMS If you need to free up hard disk space, a good place to start is your Recycle Bin. Remember that when you delete items, they aren't actually removed from your system. Rather, deleting items only moves them to the Recycle Bin, another folder on your system. To remove deleted items from your system once and for all (and regain the space they're wasting), empty the Recycle Bin. To empty the Recycle Bin--after checking inside to make sure there's nothing you want back--right-click its desktop icon and select Empty Recycle Bin. Click Yes to confirm, and those deleted items are really deleted. (Tip-in-a-tip: If you see something in the Recycle Bin that you don't want to send off into oblivion, right-click it and select Restore to send it back where it came from.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRY A DESKTOP PATTERN Does your desktop wallpaper slow down your Windows 95 startup? (If you aren't sure, try removing it and see if that startup moves along a little faster--chances are it will.) If it's a faster startup you're after, but you can't bear to look at a plain-Jane, solid-color desktop all day, there's a happy medium. Try a pattern. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and on the Background tab, select any pattern. Click OK, and a two-color pattern appears all over the desktop. To change the color of the pattern (not black--the other color), just change your desktop's background. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Appearance tab. With Desktop selected under Item, click the down arrow under Color (on the Item line), select a new color, then click OK. In our next tip, we'll show you how to make your own pattern (or edit an existing one). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EDITING A DESKTOP PATTERN In our last tip, we showed you how to use a pattern on your desktop (a good choice if fancy wallpaper is slowing down your startup, but you still want a snazzy desktop): Right-click the desktop, select Properties, select any pattern (on the Background tab), and click OK. Do you have your own idea for a pattern? Or do you like one of the patterns, but wish it were a bit different? Time for a little pattern editing. Right-click the desktop and select Properties. On the Background tab of the Display Properties dialog box, with None selected under Wallpaper, select the pattern you want to change (or select a pattern that's close to the one you want to create). Click the Edit Pattern button to open the Pattern Editor. The rest is just a matter of clicking. Click any square within the enlarged pattern to toggle its color between black and your desktop's background color. When the sample matches the look you have in mind, type a name for the pattern, click Add, then click Done. You can now choose your custom pattern by name from the Pattern list. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIDING START MENU ITEMS Want to hide some of the items in your Start menu from someone else who is using your system? Just mark the top-secret items hidden. As long as your system is set to hide "hidden" files, those items stay out of sight. Right-click the Start button, select Open, and navigate to an item you want to "remove" from your Start menu. Right-click the item, select Properties, and in the resulting Properties dialog box, select Hidden. Click OK, then repeat these steps for each item you'd like to hide. Restart Windows 95, click Start, and the hidden items are nowhere in sight. (Note: If the items still appear in the Start menu, in any Explorer window, select View, Options, and on the View tab, select Hide Files Of These Types. If you have Internet Explorer 4 or higher installed, select View, Folder Options, and on the View tab, select Do Not Show Hidden Files.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CUT AND PASTE TO MOVE AN ITEM The next time you need to move an item--a folder, file, shortcut, or whatever--don't waste time moving and sizing the originating and destination windows just so. You can move an item from one place to another using a simple cut-and-past operation. Right-click the item(s) you want to move and select Cut. (Note: For multiple items, hold down Ctrl as you click each one, then right-click the selection and select Cut.) Navigate your way to the item's destination, right-click a blank area there--for example, on the white area inside a window--and select Paste. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PRINT SYSTEM SETTINGS Want a printout of all your system settings--a handy resource for troubleshooting hardware problems? Ask the Device Manager to make one for you. Hold down the Alt key as you double-click My Computer. In the resulting System Properties dialog box, click the Device Manager tab. Click the Print button, select the type of report you'd like to print, then click OK. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMOVING THE SPEAKER ICON FROM THE TASKBAR TRAY Do you have loads of icons in the tray of your Taskbar (the area on the right, next to the clock, assuming you have the Taskbar at the bottom of the screen)? If you frequently work in silence, you may wish to remove the volume control to regain more Taskbar space. Right-click the little yellow speaker icon and select Adjust Audio Properties. Deselect Show Volume Control On The Taskbar, click OK, and you've got one less icon in the tray. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADDING THE SPEAKER ICON TO THE TASKBAR TRAY In our last tip, we showed you how to remove the little yellow speaker icon from your Taskbar's tray: Right-click it, select Adjust Audio Properties, deselect Show Volume Control On The Taskbar, and click OK. Want it back? Open your Control Panel and double-click Multimedia. On the Audio tab, select Show Volume Control On The Taskbar, then click OK. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
HIDDEN FILES CAN GET LEFT OUT OF A COPY OPERATION In a previous tip, we showed you how to make sure that you're seeing everything inside a folder when you're viewing its contents in an Explorer window: Open any Explorer window; select View, Folder Options; click the View tab; under Advanced Settings, select Show All Files (under Hidden Files); then click OK. In response, reader M. Anderson offers this tip: "If you are NOT viewing all files and you drag and drop all files in a directory to some other location (to copy them), any hidden files inside the originating directory do not get copied. This can reach out and bite you if you are not aware of this." Something to keep in mind if you do a lot of file copying. Thanks for the tip, M.! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
START AT COMMAND PROMPT--PART 1 OF 2 Want to start your system at the command prompt, without booting all the way to the Windows 95 desktop? Turn your system on and, during the boot process, watch for the Starting Windows 95... message. When you see this message, do one of two things: press F4, or press F8 and then choose Command Prompt Only. Either way, you'll find yourself at a C:\> prompt. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
START AT COMMAND PROMPT--PART 2 OF 2 In our last tip, we showed you two ways to go directly to a command prompt at startup: During the boot process, when you see the Starting Windows 95... message, either press F4 or press F8 and then choose Command Prompt Only. Reader M. Williams offers yet another shortcut for jumping directly to a DOS prompt at startup: When you see the Starting Windows 95... message, press Alt-F5. Take your pick. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUICK ACCESS TO RUN COMMANDS Do you frequently use the Run command to open files or applications (select Start, Run, type a command, and press Enter)? Whatever you do, don't waste time typing the same command over and over. Once you've typed a command on the Open line, it appears in the Run command list. Select Start, Run, and click the down arrow at the right edge of the Open text box. Select any item in this list and press Enter (or click OK). A lot faster than all that extra typing, wouldn't you say? --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
SHORTCUTS TO RUN COMMAND LIST ENTRIES In our last tip, we showed you how to call up a previously typed command from the Run command list: Select Start, Run, click the down arrow (at the right edge of the Open text box), select an item in this list, and click OK. Is your Run list getting really long, making it hard to find the command you're after? To avoid all that unnecessary scrolling and eyestrain, try this shortcut, suggested by reader M. Watson: After selecting Start, Run, type the first letter(s) of the command you want to use. If a command other than the one you want to use appears--oftentimes, multiple items in the list start with the same letter(s)--use the up or down cursor key to rotate through the entries. When the command you want to use appears, press Enter. (Tip-in-a-tip: Even if your Run list is short, you can use a variation of this technique. After selecting Start, Run, use the up or down cursor key to rotate through existing entries.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGE ICON USED TO REPRESENT MY COMPUTER Tired of that boring My Computer icon? Then by all means, change it. If you have Microsoft Plus! for Windows 95 installed, all it takes is a few quick clicks. If not, you can make the change by editing the Registry. Plus! Users can right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Plus! tab. Under Desktop Icons, select My Computer, then click the Change Icon button. Select the icon you want to use and click OK (or click Browse, navigate your way to another icon file, such as c:\Windows\System\Pifmgr.dll or c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll, click Open, select an icon, and click OK). If you don't have Plus!, you'll need to edit the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Then navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}\ DefaultIcon. In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. On the Value Data line, type the path and number of the icon you want to use in the format path, ## For example, if you were using the fourteenth icon in the c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll file, you would type (remembering that the numbering in an icon file starts with zero) c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll, 13 Close the Registry Editor, click the desktop, press F5 to refresh, and My Computer has a brand new look! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGE FOCUS OF EXPLORER SHORTCUT Despite the number of times we've run a tip on how to make an Explorer shortcut open with its focus on your entire system (the same way it looks when you right-click My Computer and select Explore), you wouldn't believe the number of requests we still get for this technique. So without further ado: Right-click the Explorer shortcut, select the Shortcut tab, and on the Target line, type EXACTLY C:\Windows\Explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,,/select,C:\ (Tip-in-a-tip: To apply this technique to the Explorer shortcut in your Start menu, right-click the Start button, select Open, and double-click Programs. Inside, you'll see a Windows Explorer shortcut. Right-click it, and so on, following the steps above.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
PLUS! 98: USE PICTURE IT! EXPRESS TO MAKE WALLPAPER In our last tip, we showed you how to open pictures in Picture It! Express: Select Start, Programs, Microsoft Plus! 98, Picture It! Express; click Get Picture; navigate your way to the folder that contains the pictures you want to use; drag one or more pictures down to the filmstrip; click Done; then double-click any picture (in the filmstrip) to display it on screen. Once you use the Workbench options to edit your picture--for example, to remove red eye, crop the picture, or change its tint--you can turn it into desktop wallpaper. Click Save, Print & Send, select Save As Wallpaper, then click Save As Wallpaper again. Right-click your desktop and select Properties. On the Background tab of the Display Properties dialog box, under Wallpaper, select Picture It! Wallpaper. Choose Center under Display, click OK, and your desktop's got a brand new look! (Over the next month, you'll find Microsoft Plus! 98 tips scattered throughout the Windows 98 tips of the day. Similar to Plus! for Windows 95, but even better, this Windows 98 companion includes a number of bells and whistles--desktop themes, games, utilities, and so on--not included in Windows 98. For those of you who don't own Plus! 98, these tips will serve as a sneak preview, especially if you're on the fence as to whether this add-on is worth the 33 bucks or not. Our opinion is yes, or we wouldn't be giving it so much ink. And if you already have Plus! 98--well then, these tips will show you how to make the most of this feature-packed enhancement.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGE TASKBAR TEXT Want to change the font and size of the text on your Taskbar? All it takes is a quick trip to the Display Properties dialog box. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. Click the down arrow below Item, then scroll up and select Active Title Bar. (Note: As you might guess, this change affects the text of your window title bars, too.) Use the Font and Size options (in the bottom row of settings) to change the appearance of the text, and you'll see the change right on the title bars in the preview area. When you like what you see, click Apply or OK to keep the change. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGE COLOR OF HIGHLIGHTED ITEMS In our last tip, we showed you how to change the appearance of the text on your Taskbar (and on the title bars of active windows): Right-click the desktop and select Properties; click the Appearance tab and select Active Title Bar under Item; then use the Font and Size options (in the bottom row of settings) to change the appearance of the text. Another desktop change you may not think to make--but which can make a big improvement--is changing the color of highlighted items. When you right-click something and then scroll down the resulting menu, each command appears highlighted in dark blue (that is, assuming you're using the Windows Standard scheme). The same thing happens when you select icons in a window or an e-mail in your mail program. By changing the color of the Selected Items desktop component, you can change the color of all highlighting. Follow the steps above to access the Appearance tab of the Display Properties dialog box, then click the down arrow under Item and choose Selected Items. To the right of this option, click the down arrow under Color and click your highlighter color of choice. How about fuchsia? Click Apply or OK. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CRUISE DIALOG BOX TABS WITHOUT THE MOUSE Do you prefer to remain mouseless as much as possible? Here's a keyboard shortcut you may not know about: To move from one tab to the next in a multi-tabbed dialog box, press Ctrl-Tab. (Tip: Hold down Ctrl, press Tab continuously until the tab you want is highlighted, then let go.) Want to cruise tabs in reverse? Try Ctrl-Shift-Tab. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DRAG-N-DROP ITEMS INTO MS-DOS PROMPT WINDOW Do you frequently work in an MS-DOS Prompt window (select Start, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt, and so on)? Here's a tip, sent in by reader A. Sangha, that will save you some typing: Drag and drop any file or folder into the DOS window, and its path appears at the command prompt. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USE OPEN WITH TO CHANGE FILE ASSOCIATION If you frequently open files of a particular type in an application other than the one with which it's associated, it's time for a change. An association change, that is. Change the application with which that file type is associated, so that double-clicking the file opens it in your application of choice. For example, suppose you prefer to open *.txt files in Microsoft Word instead of in Notepad. So you typically open Microsoft Word, select File, Open, and so on. Now watch this: Click once on any *.txt file in order to select it, then hold down Shift as you right-click this file. In the menu that appears, select Open With. Select the application you'd like to use to open files of this type--in this case, Winword for Microsoft Word--select Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File, and click OK. Double-click any *.txt file, and it opens in Word automatically (and will from now on)! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLEAN OUT THE OPEN WITH LIST In our last tip, we showed you how to use the Open With dialog box to change a file association: Click once on any file of the type you want to change in order to select the file; hold down Shift as you right-click this file; select Open With; select the application you'd like to use to open files of this type; select Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File and click OK. While we're on the subject, many readers have asked how to remove items from the Open With dialog box--for example, programs that have been removed from the system. The answer is to remove the file type from your system altogether. Open any Explorer window and select View, Options (or View, Folder Options). Click the File Types tab and, under Registered File Types, select the type associated with the program you want to remove from the Open With dialog box. Click the Remove button, click Yes to confirm, then click Close. The next time you open the Open With dialog box, that program is nowhere in sight! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ACCESS URL FROM RUN COMMAND Need to get to your favorite Web site--quickly? If you don't have a shortcut or link handy, try this: Select Start, Run, and in the box next to Open, type the URL you want to go to. Click OK, and bada-boom, bada-bing--your browser opens and takes you directly to that site. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADD ADDRESS TOOLBAR TO TASKBAR In our last tip, we showed you how to jump directly to a Web site using the Run command: Select Start, Run, type the URL you want to go to, and click OK. If you have IE 4.x or beyond installed, you can set up direct Web access right on your Taskbar using the Address toolbar. Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Toolbars, Address. Poof--an Address bar similar to the one you see in your browser window appears right on your Taskbar. (To resize it, hold your mouse pointer over the vertical bar at its left edge, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag in either direction.) Type an address (or the first few letters of it--the rest pops up automatically), press Enter, and off you go. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGE ICON USED FOR FILE TYPE Do you find the icons Windows 95 uses for your files utterly plain and boring? You can change the icon used for almost any file type to any icon on your system. Inside an Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options). Click the File Types tab and, under Registered File Types, select the file type for which you'd like to change the icon. Click Edit, then click Change Icon. (Note: If the Change Icon button is grayed out, you can't change the icon for that file type. Sorry.) Select your icon of choice, then click OK (or click Browse, navigate your way to another icon file, such as c:\Windows\System\Pifmgr.dll or c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll, click Open, select an icon, and click OK). Click OK two more times, and from now on, Windows will use the icon you've selected to represent every file of that type. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ALWAYS SHOW EXTENSION FOR PARTICULAR FILE TYPE In our last tip, we showed you how to change the icon used to represent a file type: In any Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options); click the File Types tab and select a file type; click Edit and then click Change Icon; select a new icon; click OK and then click OK two more times. Worried that you won't remember what file type that icon represents? Assuming you don't have file extensions showing (otherwise, you'd know a file type at a glance!), you can opt to show the extension for just that file type. Follow the steps above to change the icon, but before clicking the last two OKs (while still in the Edit File Type dialog box), select Always Show Extension. Now click OK twice, and regardless of whether you've opted to hide or show extensions, you'll always see the extension for that file type. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPLY VIEW OPTIONS GLOBALLY We can't tell you the number of people who ask if there's a way to apply viewing options, such as Large Icons, to every folder. The answer is yes, but only if you have IE 4.x or beyond installed. (Sorry--them's the breaks.) Open any folder window and set your ideal viewing options. For example, you might select View, Large Icons, and then View, Arrange Icons, Auto Arrange. In that same window, select View, Folder Options, and click the View tab. Click Like Current Folder, click Yes to confirm, then click OK. From that point forward, any folder window you open will display the same View options. (Note: Toolbars don't apply.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUICK WAYS TO HIGHLIGHT TEXT--PART 1 OF 2 Do you have a word processor on your system? Of course you do (at a minimum, you have Notepad and WordPad)! And if you're like every other word processing individual we know, you frequently need to highlight text. Before you start all that cumbersome clicking and dragging, try these shortcuts on for size: To highlight a word, double-click it. To highlight a line of text, click once to its left (in the left margin). To highlight an entire paragraph, double-click to its left (again, in the margin). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
QUICK WAYS TO HIGHLIGHT TEXT--PART 2 OF 2 In our last tip, we showed you three text-highlighting shortcuts for use in any word processor: To highlight a word, double-click it; to highlight a line, click once to its left (in the left margin); and to highlight a paragraph, double-click to its left (again, in the margin). Now let's look at some bigger selections. To highlight a large area of text, click once at the beginning of the text, hold down Shift, and then click at the end of the text; or, while holding down Shift, use the cursor keys to expand the selection. To highlight an entire document, place the cursor at the very beginning of the document and press Ctrl-Shift-End; or, with your cursor anywhere, press Ctrl-A. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MINIMIZE WINDOW USING KEYBOARD Reader J. Dougherty asks, "Is it possible to minimize a window using keystrokes? If so, how?" We get lots of requests for this one, so here's the technique again: Press Alt-Spacebar to display the context menu of the currently active window. Then press N for Minimize. So for the quick version, press Alt-Spacebar-N. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CLOSE WINDOW USING KEYBOARD In our last tip, we showed you how to minimize the currently active window without using the mouse: Press Alt-Spacebar, then press the letter N. You can use a similar technique to close an open window. After pressing Alt-Spacebar, press the letter C for Close. It's even easier than Alt-F4 (another shortcut for closing the currently active window). --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADD FOLDER TO THE SEND TO LIST If you've ever used the Send To list (right-click the desktop, select Send To, and so on) to send items to a floppy disk or other location, then you know how handy this command is. But what you may not know is that this list is customizable. Add your own favorite locations, and you can move files around your system faster than ever. Suppose you have a folder called My Pictures that you use to store all of your scanned photos. Add a shortcut to this folder to the C:\Windows\SendTo folder, and it will appear in the Send To list. In one Explorer window, locate the My Pictures folder. In another, locate the Windows\SendTo folder. Right-click and drag the My Pictures folder directly over the SendTo folder, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. The next time you want to send a picture to your My Pictures folder, right-click it, select Send To, and choose My Pictures in the resulting list. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
ADD APPLICATION TO THE SEND TO LIST In our last tip, we showed you how to add any folder to your Send To list (the list that appears when you right-click any file or folder and select Send To): Just add that folder's shortcut to the C:\Windows\SendTo folder. But folders aren't the only items the Send To list can handle. Follow these same steps to add an application shortcut to the Send To list and from then on, right-clicking a file, selecting Send To, and choosing the new shortcut opens the file in that application. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGE BEHAVIOR OF SCANDISK AT STARTUP Reader J. Harris both asked and answered an interesting question. The question was: "I have a computer that is never shut down and, for security reasons, needs a password to unlock the keyboard. Occasionally, someone will try to get into this computer by rebooting it. Windows then comes up with the Not Shut Down Properly message and wants to run Scandisk. Since the keyboard is locked, no one can press any key to continue, so there it sits. Is there any way to tell Windows 95 not to want to run Scandisk after an improper shutdown, or to have Scandisk run without pressing a key?" The same reader wrote shortly thereafter: "I have discovered the answer to my question. By adding one of the lines below to the hidden, read-only MSDOS.SYS file in C:\, you can change the behavior of Scandisk on Windows boot-up." AUTOSCAN=0 Shuts off this feature AUTOSCAN=1 Is the default AUTOSCAN=2 Does the scan with no prompting Thanks for the tip, J.! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
"RIGHT-CLICK" WITH THE KEYBOARD Did you know you can "right-click" an item without ever lifting your fingers off the keyboard. With that item--folder, file, whatever--selected, hold down the Shift key and press F10. While you're at it, use your keyboard's up and down arrow keys to select the command you want, then press Enter. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
MORE TRICKS FOR SELECTING ENTIRE DOCUMENT Last month, we suggested a number of text-highlighting shortcuts for use in most word processors. Here are two more tricks for highlighting an entire document (other than the two we mentioned previously--place the cursor at the very beginning of the document and press Ctrl-Shift-End; or, with your cursor anywhere, press Ctrl-A): *Triple-click in the left margin *Hold down the Ctrl key as you click anywhere in the left margin --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
DELETE START MENU ITEMS Is there an item in your Start menu you'd like to get rid of? There are a number of ways to go about it. If you have IE 4.x or beyond installed, deletions are a snap. Click Start, navigate your way to that item, right-click it, and select Delete. If you don't have IE 4.x or later, you have two options. One, right-click the Start button and select Open. Navigate your way to the item you'd like to remove, right-click it, and select Delete. If you prefer dialog boxes to windows, try option two: Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar, select Properties, then click the Start Menu Programs tab. Click the Remove button, locate the Start menu item you want to delete, click Remove, click Close, then click OK. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
EASTER EGG INSIDE 3D TEXT SCREEN SAVER Are you using the OEM Service Release 2 version of Windows 95 (or any other version of Windows that includes the 3D Text screen saver)? Check out this Easter Egg. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Screen Saver tab. Under Screen Saver, select 3D Text, then click the Settings button. Type volcano on the Text line and click OK. Watch the preview screen (on the Screen Saver tab) or click Preview, and you'll see the names of famous volcanoes! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
USE 3D SCREEN SAVERS ON OLDER WINDOWS 95 In our last tip, we discussed an Easter Egg found in the Windows 95 OSR2 screen saver, 3D Text. What's that? You say you're running an older version of Windows 95, but you want to see the Easter Egg, too? Of course you can! That is, as long as you know someone with the newer version who's willing to share some files. Simply copy the 3D Text.scr file (and, if you want, the files for the other 3D screen savers--3D Flying Objects.scr, 3D Flower Box.scr, 3D Maze.scr, and 3D Pipes.scr) AND two additional files, GLU32.DLL and OPENGL32.DLL, to the Windows\System folder of the older system. Look, Ma--3D! --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TURN OFF DELETE CONFIRMATION Do you find it a nuisance that every time you attempt to delete an item, you have to click Yes to confirm? If you don't need this second safety net ("second" because deleted items only go to the Recycle Bin anyway, where you can restore them, if need be), turn it off. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and select Properties. In the resulting dialog box, deselect Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box, then click OK. The next time you delete an item, it will go directly to the Recycle Bin--no questions asked. (Note: If the option Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin is selected inside the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box, the delete confirmation option will be grayed out. Windows thinks you should have at least one safety net.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS FOR LEFT-HANDERS If you're a left-handed mouse user, you probably find it difficult reaching all the way over to the left side of the keyboard to reach the commonly used Cut, Copy, and Paste shortcuts--Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C, and Ctrl-V, respectively. (It's either that or pick your left hand up off the mouse.) But what would you say if we told you there are equivalents on the right side of your keyboard? Many applications support the following CUA (common user access) commands: Shift-Delete = Cut Ctrl-Insert = Copy Shift-Insert = Paste Alt-Backspace = Undo (Tip: Just be sure not to use Shift-Delete outside of an application. Remember, it's the Windows 95 command for deleting an item without sending it to the Recycle Bin.) --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREATE NO-NAME ICONS Do you have an icon on your desktop that speaks for itself? You can remove its label altogether (seemingly) by renaming the icon with non-printing characters. Right-click the icon you want to appear nameless and select Rename. Make sure Num Lock is turned on (above the numeric keypad on your keyboard), then hold down Alt as you type 0160 which just happens to be a non-printing character. Press Enter, and there's your no-name icon! In our next tip, we'll show you a couple more no-name tricks. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
TRICKS FOR NO-NAME ICONS In our last tip, we showed you how to create a no-name icon: Right-click the icon, select Rename, make sure Num Lock is on, hold down Alt as you type 0160 (a non-printing character), then press Enter. So what do you do if you have more than one icon you want to appear nameless? You can't name two different icons the same thing (unless they're in different locations), so here's a workaround: Type the above non-printing character twice to name the second one, three times for the third, and so on. One more tip: These techniques work best if you have your desktop background set to a solid color. That way, the box representing an icon's "name" blends in and disappears. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHECK WINDOWS 95 FOR MISSING FILES "I remember a while back reading a tip about checking Windows 95 for corrupted files. Could you possibly review this technique?" Insert the Windows 95 installation CD or disk and select Start, Run. Type X:\Setup where X is the drive in which the disk is located, then click OK. Setup will now perform a routine check on your system and start the Setup Wizard. When you see the Run Setup Again? dialog box, select the first option (Restore Changed Or Corrupted Files), then click Next. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FILE MANAGER IS STILL AROUND Do you miss your old friend File Manager (from the days of Windows 3.x)? Would you believe you can still run it from within Windows 95 (and even Windows 98)? Select Start, Run, type Winfile and click OK. Who says you can't view two drives side by side? Inside File Manager, select Window, New Window, then select Window, Tile Vertically. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CREATE SUBFOLDER IN EXPLORER Need to create a folder within a folder while working inside a Windows Explorer window? You won't find a Create Directory command, as you did in the old Windows 3.x File Manager (which brings up a good point--if you really miss that command, select Start, Run, type winfile and do your file managing inside File Manager). However, there is an easy way to create a new folder. In the left pane of your Explorer window, select the folder in which you'd like to create a subfolder. Now right-click a blank area of the right pane and select New, Folder. Type a name and press Enter. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT'S YOUR SYSTEM WEARING FOR HALLOWEEN? Do you have your costume all ready for Halloween? If you really want to get in the Halloween spirit, dress your system up, too. There are loads of Halloween-related screen savers, desktop themes, wallpaper, and so on, all over the Web. If you aren't sure where to start, point your browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under the keyword Halloween. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INSTANT SCREEN SAVER ACCESS Have you ever wished your screen saver would kick in on command--for example, when you walk away from your desk? Set up a shortcut to it, and you can quickly invoke your screen saver at any time. Open an Explorer window and locate your favorite screen saver (*.scr) in the Windows\System folder. Now create a shortcut to it: Right-click and drag the *.scr file onto the desktop or Start menu (or anywhere else you want it), release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. Need to step away from your desk? Double-click the shortcut, and the screen saver kicks in immediately. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
INVOKE SCREEN SAVER USING KEYBOARD In our last tip, we showed you how to set up instant access to your favorite screen saver: Open the Windows\System folder, locate the corresponding *.scr file, and place a shortcut to it in your location of choice, such as the desktop. You can now invoke that screen saver by double-clicking the shortcut. Want even faster access to that screen saver, right from your keyboard? Set up hot key access to the shortcut you just created. Right-click the screen saver shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab. Click once in the text box next to Shortcut Key to place the cursor there, then type the letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to invoke your screen saver. Click OK. Now to try it out: From anywhere on your system, press the shortcut key, and there's your screen saver. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOLDER-NAMING TRICKS Want to make sure a particular folder appears at the top of the list--for example, when you're viewing the contents of your hard drive inside an Explorer window? Windows 95 lists folders in alphabetical order, so all you have to do when naming a folder is type a name that starts with A. Better yet, start it with a double A, or even a triple A. The more A's, the higher up the list it goes. Too many A's already? Start the name with a number. Numbers top letters. And to truly top the list, start the name with an underscore, as in _My Folders --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMOVE ITEMS FROM RUN COMMAND LIST "In recent Win95 tips, you covered the dropdown menu for the Run command. My question is, is there any way to delete some of the lines from the list? There are many that I am sure I will not use again." You can delete lines from this list by editing the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in the Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/ RunMRU. In the right pane, you'll see all the items that currently appear in your Run list. To delete an item, right-click its letter (under Name), select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. Repeat these steps for every item you want to delete, making sure not to delete the items named MRUList and (Default). When you've finished, close the Registry Editor; then select Start, Run, and check out the new, shorter command list. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
FOCUS EXPLORER ON MY COMPUTER USING THE WINDOWS KEY "You recently ran a tip describing how to create a shortcut that opens Windows Explorer with the focus on My Computer. Assuming a user has a Windows key, there's a much faster way to open Windows Explorer with the same focus (on My Computer). From anywhere on the system, hold down the Windows key and press E." -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TROUBLE WITH A SHARED FILE "I had a recent problem that I wanted to bring to your attention. In its infinite wisdom, Microsoft has issued two versions of CTL3D32.dll, an important shared file on 95/98 systems. One version is for 95/98, and the other is for NT. "The problem crops up when a programmer releases software that has the NT version in it. When the user loads the software, it overwrites the current CTL3D32 file and replaces it with the NT version. From then on, many applications (especially TWAIN operations) will not work. HP products, such as scanners, are very vulnerable. "When this hit us at work (a school), it not only rendered our scanner useless but also our digital camera and an HP laser printer. It also provided enough error messages with other apps to keep a techie busy for weeks! "We finally tracked the problem and a solution on the Net. However, it was a frustrating two days while we tried to figure out what the problem was." One preventive measure: Make a backup copy of CTL3D32.DLL so that you can restore it should trouble arise. And for more info, check out http://www.annoyances.org/cgi-bin/ce-showtopic/005_007 --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
UPDATED LINKS FOR PREVIOUSLY MENTIONED UTILITIES "I was looking over some of the older tips I'd saved and found that the links for the files Print Directory and File Split no longer work. Would it be possible to print the new links?" Links do change quite frequently. We've mentioned a number of third-party utilities that print directories and that split files into smaller pieces. Here are a couple of each, with current links: Print Directory http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,2290,00.html Directory Printer http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5188,00.html File Fission Wizard http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,2286,00.html Master Splitter http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5132,00.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLE WINDOWS KEY USING KERNEL TOYS Have you ever accidentally pressed the Windows key while playing a DOS game and caused your system to freeze up? Disable the Windows key during your DOS session using the Windows Logo Key Control for MS-DOS Programs (one of the Kernel Toys). Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,746,00.html and download krnltoys.exe. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then double-click Diswinky.inf for information on installing and using the program. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
CHANGE YOUR MOUSE POINTERS Want to use some mouse pointers with more personality than those boring arrows? Windows 95 comes with a number of fun options--some are even animated. (Note: If you haven't already, you'll need to install the pointers off the installation CD. Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and click the Windows Setup tab. In the list of Components, double-click Accessories. Select Mouse Pointers, click OK twice, and insert the installation CD when asked.) To use these pointers, open the Control Panel--select Start, Settings, Control Panel--and double-click Mouse. Click the Pointers tab, and you'll see your current selections. Select the pointer you want to change, click Browse, and a dialog box full of pointers appears. (Tip: To preview an animated pointer, select the corresponding *.ani file and watch the Preview box.) Select your pointer of choice, then click Open. Repeat these steps for each pointer you'd like to change, then click OK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TURN OFF YOUR SYSTEM SPEAKER You've turned off your sound scheme and used that little yellow speaker to turn down the volume on your PC--why on earth are you still hearing error beeps from your system? Because Windows 95 provides plenty of options to silence your speakers (i.e., part of a multimedia sound system), but none to keep your system speaker quiet. If it's absolute silence you're after, you'll need to use the Tweak UI PowerToy to turn off that hard-to-reach speaker. Open Tweak UI and click the General tab. Deselect Beep On Errors, click OK, and from now on, your errors will be seen and not heard. (Note: If you don't have Tweak UI, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1,2061,tw-w951110a,00.html and download Tweakui.exe. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then right-click Tweakui.inf and select Install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can access it by double-clicking the new Tweak UI Control Panel item.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAVE PASSWORD OPTION WOES "How can I save my dial-up networking password in Windows 95? I failed to save it on the original setup, and now the Save Password check box is gray." The problem you're having is a common one, and is answered in detail in the Microsoft Knowledge Base. (No point rehashing it all here.) Point your Web browser at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q137/3/61.asp and with any luck, Microsoft's suggestions will solve your problem. Also, for those of you whose Save Password box is available, but simply doesn't work, check out http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q148/9/25.asp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE FOLDER ICONS "I have been trying to change my folder icons and I've had no luck. Is there a way of changing them?" We get so many requests for this tip! Unfortunately, Windows 95 doesn't allow you to change folder icons (unless they're shortcuts), but there's a shareware program that does. AnyFolder allows you to assign different icons to each folder. To obtain this program, go to http://www.pcworld.com/r/pcw/1,2061,pcw-wn951112,00.html and download afolderx.zip. Extract the contents of this file to your location of choice, then right-click Folders.inf and select Install. Once AnyFolder is installed, you can change the icon used to represent a folder as follows: Right-click the folder, select Properties, and click the New Icon tab. Select Closed or Open (depending on which one you want to change), click Change Icon, select a new icon, and click OK twice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SWITCH TO FULL-SCREEN MS-DOS VIEW Want to switch your Windows-style MS-DOS Prompt window to the old-fashioned, full-screen view? You have two options: Click the Full Screen button (the one with four arrows on it) or press Alt-Enter on your keyboard. To get back to the window view, press Alt-Enter one more time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISPLAY MS-DOS TOOLBAR In our last tip, we showed you how to switch your MS-DOS Prompt window to the old-fashioned, full-screen view: Press Alt-Enter or click the Full Screen button (the one with four arrows on it). Don't see any buttons? Either you're already in full-screen mode (press Alt-Enter to return to a window), or you've hidden the toolbar by mistake. To display the toolbar, click the MS-DOS icon in the window's upper-left corner and select Toolbar. (Of course, you can use this same command to hide the toolbar.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYSTEM PROPERTIES SHORTCUT The next time you need to open the System Properties dialog box, don't waste your time opening the Control Panel and double-clicking System (unless you're already in the Control Panel). Assuming you're staring at your desktop, there's a much faster way. Just hold down Alt as you double-click My Computer. Who knew? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THANKSGIVING SCREEN SAVERS, DESKTOP THEMES How about a little Thanksgiving decor, such as a screen saver, to get you in the mood for the big feast? There are plenty available for download off the Internet. Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under the keyword Thanksgiving. Try the Circles Of Time Thanksgiving Screen Saver on for size. (You'll also find a few desktop themes there for the taking.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DELETE INSTALLED SCREEN SAVERS In our last tip, we showed you where to find a few Thanksgiving-related screen savers: Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under the keyword Thanksgiving. Of course, not every screen saver will float your boat, so you'll need to know how to get rid of the unwanted files. The first place you should look is the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs dialog box. If you see the item in the list of installed programs, select it, click Add/Remove, and click Yes to confirm the deletion. Done deal. If the screen saver does not appear in the Install/Uninstall list (and most won't), look in the Windows/System folder for the corresponding *.scr file and delete it. (Tip-in-a-tip: Switch to Details mode and click the Type column heading, so that all *.scr files appear together.) You can use this same technique to delete any screen saver from your system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE REGISTERED USER INFO We frequently receive requests for the steps required to change Windows 95's registered user information--the name and organization that appears in the System Properties dialog box. (You all remember the shortcut to System Properties from a previous tip, right? Hold down Alt as you double-click My Computer.) All it takes is some quick Registry editing. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft \Windows\CurrentVersion. In the right pane, you'll see RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner in the Name column. Right-click the one you want to change, select Modify, and on the Value Data line of the resulting dialog box, type the correct information. Click OK, repeat these steps for the other value, if desired, and close the Registry Editor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWERTOYS' NEED DISK MESSAGE As you've surely noticed, we frequently discuss the Windows 95 PowerToys--a set of tools that adds a number of new features and settings to Windows 95. And when we do, we tell you how to obtain these tools: Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then one at a time, right-click each *.inf file and select Install. Then, we receive at least one or two letters from readers who say that when they attempt to install the PowerToys, they receive a message stating that they need to insert an installation disk (and they want to know why we didn't mention any disk). Well here's the scoop: The message does mention a disk, but you don't need one. If you see this message, it means that the program can't find the file it needs--most likely because you've moved the extracted PowerToys files to a new location. Click OK, then click the Browse button and select the folder where the extracted PowerToys files are located. Click OK twice, and the installation will proceed normally. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REORGANIZE START MENU (WITH ACTIVE DESKTOP INSTALLED) Need to reorganize your Start menu's Programs list? If you have the Active Desktop (that's part of IE 4 and beyond) installed, all it takes is a simple click and drag--or two, or three.... Display your Programs list--select Start, Programs--right-click an item you'd like to move, then drag it up or down the list to the desired location. Release the mouse button, and all the other programs shove over to make room. (As you're dragging up or down the list, a horizontal black line will show you where you can drop the item; that is, it will indicate whether you're hovering over a legitimate new location for the item. If you don't see the line, don't release the mouse button.) Follow these steps for every item you'd like to relocate. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- START YOUR DAY WITH A MIDI FILE Tired of the little ditty that plays (or the silence) when you start Windows 95? Then try starting your day with a MIDI file. Just place a shortcut to any *.mid file on your system in the Startup folder, and it'll play every time you start Windows. First, silence the sound that's currently set to play at startup. Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click Sounds. Inside the Sounds Properties dialog box, under Events, select Start Windows. Select None in the list of sounds under Name, then click OK. Now make a shortcut to the *.mid file in your Startup folder. Open any Explorer window and locate the *.mid file you want to use--for example, Windows\Media\Canyon.mid. Then open your Startup folder by right-clicking the Start button, selecting Open, double-clicking Programs, and double-clicking Startup. Right-click and drag the *.mid file into the Startup folder, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. Finally, a Properties adjustment: Right-click the new shortcut, select Properties, and click the Shortcut tab. Edit the Target line to read exactly: c:\windows\mplayer.exe /play /close c:\windows\canyon.mid where c:\windows\canyon.mid is the target of your new shortcut, then click OK. That's all there is to it. The next time you start Windows 95, the *.mid file starts too! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHERE TO FIND CD-ROM EXTRAS Throughout these tips, we frequently refer to Windows 95 components that need to be installed off the installation CD--things such as the Character Map, Mouse Pointers, ClipBook, and so on. Don't have the CD? Not a problem. Microsoft has made most of these extra components available for download (the ones on the CD, but not on the floppies). Point your Web browser at http://support.microsoft.com/support/downloads/PNP178.asp Select the appropriate category, then select a file to start the download process. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIEW DATE ON SCREEN WITH TRAYDAY OR TITLETIME Reader T. Meisner writes, "I have a simple question. In Win95, can the date be displayed beside the system clock in the tray area?" We've received numerous requests for this tip, and for good reason. It would be nice to view the date at a glance. Windows 95 doesn't let you display the date, but there are a number of shareware programs that do. TrayDay displays an icon with the current date on it (two digits only--you'll need to know the month by heart!) right on the Taskbar. As an added bonus, you can double-click this icon to insert the current date into the currently active document. (Click the icon once to select a format.) To download TrayDay, go to http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3277,00.html TitleTime, another no-frills (and free) program, adds the time and date to the title bar of the currently active application window. TitleTime is available at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6430,00.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- VIEW DATE ON SCREEN WITH CHAMELEON CLOCK A number of readers have asked how to display the system date on screen. In our last tip, we offered you two programs that do so on the tray of your Taskbar or in the title bar of the currently active application window, respectively: TrayDay: http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3277,00.html TitleTime: http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,6430,00.html Yet another shareware utility, Chameleon Clock, displays the time and/or date anywhere you want (it floats), decorated with any "skin" you want. http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5629,00.html Once you've downloaded and installed this utility, right-click the clock and select Clock Options, Show Date. (Optional: To fit it on your Taskbar, right-click the clock, select Preferences, select the Ampx skin--or any other that's small--and click OK. Now just drag the clock down to the corner of your Taskbar's tray, where it fits nicely over the old one.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITING THE MSDOS.SYS FILE "In the recent tip on changing the behavior of ScanDisk at startup, the solution was to add a line to the MSDOS.SYS file. As MSDOS.SYS is not a text file, how would you edit and add a line to this file?" Making these edits can be a bit tricky. Inside an Explorer window, locate msdos.sys on the root of your hard drive. Right-click this file, select Properties, deselect Read-only, and click OK. With msdos.sys selected, hold down Shift as you right-click it, then select Open With. In the resulting Open With dialog box, select Notepad and click OK. (Note: you could also launch Notepad and then open msdos.sys from there.) Inside the Notepad window, under the [Options] section of msdos.sys, type ONE of the following lines, depending on your ScanDisk (at startup) preference: AUTOSCAN=0 Shuts off this feature AUTOSCAN=1 Is the default AUTOSCAN=2 Does the scan with no prompting Select File, Save to save your changes, then close Notepad. Finally, go back and reattach the Read-only attribute to msdos.sys--right-click it in an Explorer window, select Properties, select Read-only, and click OK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IE 5 DOESN'T INCLUDE WINDOWS DESKTOP UPDATE "This is in response to tips that refer to features in Internet Explorer 4.x and higher: I recently installed IE 5.0, and was expecting to find features similar to those in IE 4.x (which I had previously on a different machine)--features such as the Active Desktop and viewing Windows Explorer contents as Web pages. I see none of these features in Internet Explorer 5.0. Did I miss something?" The features you mention, all of which make up the Windows Desktop Update, are not part of Internet Explorer 5. They will appear on your system only if you upgrade from IE 4 with the Windows Desktop Update option installed. Sorry for any confusion. (Note: The Windows Desktop Update is installed with Windows 98.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ARROWLESS SHORTCUTS "I remember reading about a way to get rid of shortcut arrows on the desktop. Are you familiar with this technique?" You can remove the arrow symbol from shortcuts using the Tweak UI PowerToy. (Note: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/pcw/1%2C2061%2Cpcw-w951208a%2C00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install Tweak UI, right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can open it using the Tweak UI Control Panel icon.) Open Tweak UI and click the Explorer tab. Under Shortcut Overlay, select None, then click OK. (Alternatively, if you'd like to be sure you can tell shortcuts apart from other icons, try the Light Arrow option.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TURN OFF SOUND SCHEME WHILE LISTENING TO AUDIO CD Want to listen to an audio CD as you work without any interference from your sound scheme? Don't mute your system sound (click the yellow speaker on your Taskbar and select Mute); if you do, you won't hear anything, not even music. Instead, before playing the CD, use your master volume control to mute only Wave sounds. (A sound scheme is nothing more than a collection of *.wav files.) Right-click the yellow speaker on your Taskbar and select Open Volume Controls. Select the Mute box under Wave, then click OK. Now you'll hear the music and nothing but the music! (Note: An alternative is to turn off your sound scheme temporarily: Open the Control Panel, double-click Sounds, select No Sounds under Schemes, and click OK.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHERE TO FIND SOLITAIRE (AND OTHER WIN95 GAMES) "I read a Dummies Daily tip about the Windows 95 Solitaire game. This might sound absurd, but where do I go to find this game?" No question is absurd. The games that come with Windows 95 are not part of a typical installation. Therefore, you need to install them manually. Open the Control Panel (Start, Settings, Control Panel), double-click Add/Remove Programs, and click the Windows Setup tab. In the list of Components, double-click Accessories. Click the check box next to Games, click OK twice, and insert your Windows 95 installation disk when asked. You can now access Solitaire (as well as Hearts, Minesweeper, and FreeCell) by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, Games, Solitaire. Don't see Games under Accessories? More in our next tip.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAN'T FIND GAMES ON WINDOWS SETUP TAB In our last tip, we showed you how to install the games that come with Windows 95: Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Games, click OK twice, and insert your Windows 95 installation disk when asked. Don't see Games in the list of Accessories? Believe it or not, administrators can remove this component from the Windows Setup tab altogether. Someone doesn't want you wasting time! If you're an administrator and want the technique, check out http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-95w1209%2C00.html Party pooper. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIST OF COMPONENTS INSTALLED (OR NOT INSTALLED) WITH WINDOWS 95 In a recent tip, we showed you how to install the games that come with Windows 95: Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Games, click OK twice, and insert your Windows 95 installation disk when asked. Wondering what other goodies you might be missing out on? For a one-stop list of all components that are (and aren't) installed during the Typical, Custom, or Portable setup of Windows 95, go to http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-JW95-112%2C00.html It's a lot quicker than searching through all those components on the Windows Setup tab. What's more, if you have installation floppies (not a CD), the same page lists all the components you're missing. (Tip: As we mentioned in a previous tip, most of the CD-ROM Extras can be downloaded from Microsoft's Web site at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-JW95-212%2C00.html Select a category, then select a file to start the download process.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESTORE SPECIAL DESKTOP ICONS WITH TWEAK UI "I'm a system administrator in a small office with 24 PCs all running Win95. I have one user who deleted the special properties desktop icon for Internet Explorer and another one who deleted the special properties Microsoft Outlook icon. I'm sure I can get the icons back by reinstalling both programs, but I don't relish this idea. Is there any other way I can make these icons reappear?" The quickest route is to use the Tweak UI PowerToy. (Note: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install Tweak UI, right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can open it using the Tweak UI Control Panel icon.) Open Tweak UI and click the Desktop tab. Select the special icon(s) you want to restore to the desktop, then click OK. The icons will reappear like magic. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RELOCATE TASKBAR Do you long for the days when you used a Mac? Reminisce a bit by moving your Taskbar to the top of the screen. Click a blank area of the Taskbar, then drag it up to the top of the screen until a gray, dotted outline appears there. Release the mouse button, and the Taskbar snaps into place. Of course, you can use this same technique to move your Taskbar to any side of the screen, or to move it right back where it started. (While you're at it, you might as well rename your Recycle Bin to Trash and move it to the lower-right corner of the screen! We'll show you how in our next tip...) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RENAME RECYCLE BIN USING TWEAK UI Want to rename your Recycle Bin? Assuming you have the Tweak UI PowerToy, all it takes is a simple F2 operation. (Note: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,3889,00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents; then, to install Tweak UI, right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can open it using the Tweak UI Control Panel icon.) Open Tweak UI and select the Desktop tab. Right-click Recycle Bin, select Rename, type a new name, and press Enter. Click OK, and you'll see the change on your desktop immediately. A lot easier than that Registry technique, eh? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESIZE TASKBAR In a recent tip, we showed you how to move your Taskbar to another side of the screen: Click on a blank area of the bar, drag it to your side of choice, and it snaps into place. Similarly, you can use the mouse to resize the Taskbar--for example, if you need multiple rows to accommodate many open window items, tray items, and IE 4.x (and beyond) toolbars. Assuming the Taskbar is at the bottom of the screen, hold your mouse pointer over its top edge. When the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag up until the gray, dotted line snaps into place at the desired height of the Taskbar. Release the mouse button, and the Taskbar expands to fill the space. (Note: Follow these same steps to shrink the Taskbar. Just drag the edge back to where you want it.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DELETE DOWNLOADED DESKTOP ELEMENTS YOU WON'T USE In our last two tips, we pointed you to some Web sites for downloading holiday-related desktop elements such as screen savers, desktop themes, and clipart. For example, you could point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under a keyword such as "Christmas." Without a doubt, you'll download and install some items you don't like--or no longer need. And so, we'd like to offer one quick suggestion: Delete as you go. If you try something you don't like, ditch the *.zip (or *.exe) file it rode in on and any extracted files. Better still, use the uninstall program, if any, that came with the download. If you don't, you'll end up with lots of garbage on your system. And don't kid yourself--you'll never go back and search it out later. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESIZE SINGLE DETAILS COLUMN Do you find that your long filenames get cut off when you're working with Explorer and viewing a folder's contents in Details view (select View, Details)? That's easy enough to fix. Resize the Name column (or any column, for that matter) to fit its widest entry: Hold the mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESIZE ALL DETAILS COLUMNS In our last tip, we mentioned that while viewing the contents of any Explorer window in Details view (select View, Details), you can resize a column to fit its widest entry: Hold the mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when it changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click. If you think that's easy, check this out: You can resize every column to fit the widest entry in one fell swoop. With any item selected, hold down the Ctrl key as you press the plus sign (+) on your numeric keypad. (Note: For this trick to work in a two-paned Explorer window, the focus must be on the right pane. Click any item or a blank area inside the right pane, then press Ctrl+.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE ICON RIPPER TO UNCOVER ICONS "I remember a while back reading about a shareware program that could identify icons on your system. Do you have this information handy?" The program to which you are referring is called Icon Ripper, available for download from http://worldcity.worldcity.nl/~marcoko/delphi/icon.html It's a great time-saver, especially if you frequently dress up your shortcuts with new icons. While identifying and viewing icon files is usually a big pain in the hard drive (right-click a shortcut, select Properties, select the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon, click Browse, select a file, click Open, and so on), Icon Ripper identifies icon files and displays a preview of their contents--all in an Explorer-style window. And it's free. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE ICON RIPPER TO EDIT ICONS In our last tip, we told you about Icon Ripper, a freeware program that will sniff out all the icons on your system. In case you missed that tip, Icon Ripper is available for download at http://worldcity.worldcity.nl/~marcoko/delphi/icon.html But wait, there's more. You can use this utility to edit icons, too. Assuming an icon is displayed in the lower-half of the Icon Ripper window, select it, then press F3 on your keyboard (or select Edit, Edit Icon). Use the tools in the resulting IconDraw windows to edit the icon, then click the Save Icon button (the one with the piece of paper, red arrow, and floppy disk on it) and save your changes as an *.ico file in your location of choice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE DEFAULT CD PLAYER When you pop an audio CD in your CD-ROM drive, the Windows 95 CD Player springs to life and plays the CD by default. However, if you have another player in mind for the job--for example, CD4WIN--feel free to rewrite the rules. In any Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options) and click the File Types tab. Under Registered File Types, select Audio CD, then click the Edit button. Under Actions, select Play, then click Edit. In the Application Used To Perform Action text box, type the path of the program you'd like to use to play audio CDs, followed by a space and then /play. So for example, you might type C:\Program Files\Cd4win\Cd4win.exe /play Click OK, then click Close twice. The next time you insert an audio CD, that old CD Player stays where it belongs--out of the picture! In case you're wondering, CD4WIN is available for download from http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,5641,00.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE DEFAULT CD PLAYER When you pop an audio CD in your CD-ROM drive, the Windows 95 CD Player springs to life and plays the CD by default. However, if you have another player in mind for the job--for example, CD4WIN--feel free to rewrite the rules. In any Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options) and click the File Types tab. Under Registered File Types, select Audio CD, then click the Edit button. Under Actions, select Play, then click Edit. In the Application Used To Perform Action text box, type the path of the program you'd like to use to play audio CDs, followed by a space and then /play. So for example, you might type C:\Program Files\Cd4win\Cd4win.exe /play Click OK, then click Close twice. The next time you insert an audio CD, that old CD Player stays where it belongs--out of the picture! In case you're wondering, CD4WIN is available for download from http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w95-14%2C00.html -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BROWSE FOLDER USING SINGLE WINDOW Do you find it annoying that every time you open a folder inside a folder, and so on, each successive folder's contents opens in a separate window? Ask Windows to open them all in the same window. In any Explorer window, select View, Options and select the Folder tab. Choose Browse Folders Using A Single Window That Changes As You Open Each Folder, then click OK. (Note: If you have IE 4.x installed, select View, Folder Options, and on the General tab, select Custom, Based On Settings You Choose. Click the Settings button, select Open Each Folder In The Same Window, and click OK.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORTCUT TO CHANGE WINDOW BROWSING OPTION In our last tip, we showed you how to change your window browsing option, so that Windows opens successive folders (when you double-click a folder inside a folder, and so on) in a single window: In any Explorer window, select View, Options; select the Folder tab; choose Browse Folders Using A Single Window That Changes As You Open Each Folder, then click OK. Or, if you have IE 4.x installed, select View, Folder Options; select Custom, Based On Settings You Choose; click the Settings button; select Open Each Folder In The Same Window; and click OK. Whether you've chosen to browse open folders in one window or not, you should know the shortcut that controls this option. Then, you can choose your viewing option on a whim, without going near a dialog box. Hold down Ctrl as you double-click a folder icon (inside a window already opened), and Windows will do the OPPOSITE of what you've asked. For example, if you've selected Open Each Folder In The Same Window, holding down Ctrl will force Windows to open the folder in a separate window, and vice versa. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLE STARTUP APPLICATIONS TEMPORARILY If you have shortcuts to oft-used applications in your StartUp folder (in the Start menu's Programs folder), then you know that these applications open each time you start Windows 95. But what you may not know is that you can start Windows without these applications on a one-time-only basis (for example, if you want to get right to work on something else without waiting). When you start the boot process, wait until you see the Windows 95 logo on screen, then press and hold the Shift key until Windows finishes loading. Those StartUp apps are nowhere in sight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLING USER PROFILES We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're re-running this five-part series. To disable user profiles, restart your system and when you see the logon dialog box, click Cancel. Open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, and select the User Profiles tab. Select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences And Desktop, and click OK. Restart Windows 95, and user profiles are officially disabled. (Note: If there's any portion of a user profile you want to keep, such as an address book or a desktop configuration, see the last tip in this series.) In our next tip, we'll show you how to get rid of that annoying logon dialog box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLING LOGON DIALOG BOX AFTER DISABLING USER PROFILES We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're re-running this five-part series. In our last tip, we showed you how to disable user profiles: Restart Windows 95, click Cancel in the logon dialog box, open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, select the User Profiles tab, select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences And Desktop, click OK, and restart Windows 95. The problem is, the logon dialog box still appears every time you start Windows 95. To make it disappear, change the current password to no password. Open the Control Panel, double-click the Passwords icon, and on the Change Passwords tab, click the Change Windows Password button. On the Old Password line, enter your current password. Press Tab to move down to the New Password line, then press Enter. You'll see a dialog box telling you your password has been successfully changed. In the next two tips, we'll discuss removing (as opposed to simply disabling) user profiles from your system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REMOVING USER PROFILES FROM REGISTRY We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're re-running this five-part series: In the first tip in this series, we showed you how to disable user profiles: Restart Windows 95, click Cancel in the logon dialog box, open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, select the User Profiles tab, select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences And Desktop, click OK, and restart Windows 95. Great, user profiles are officially disabled, but all the information stored in each person's user profile is still on the system. To get rid of this information, you'll need to go through two steps, the first of which is editing the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\ProfileList\(username). To remove an individual profile, go to the left pane and right-click the (username) key that represents the profile you want to remove. Select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. To remove every profile at once, right-click the ProfileList key, select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. Close the Registry Editor. In our next tip, we'll show you the other half of removing profiles from your system. --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
REMOVING USER PROFILES FROM WINDOWS FOLDER We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're re-running this five-part series: In our last tip, we showed you the first step towards permanently removing user profiles from your system: Open the Registry Editor (select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK), navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows \CurrentVersion\ProfileList\(username), and delete the appropriate (username) keys (or delete the ProfileList key to remove all user profiles at once). The second part of the removal process is to delete the user profile information from inside the Windows folder. First, make sure all "hidden" files are visible: In any Explorer window, select View, Options, click the View tab, select Show All Files, and click OK. (If you have IE 4.0 installed, select View, Folder Options, click the View tab, and select Show All Files under Advanced settings.) In that same Explorer window, navigate your way to X:\Windows\Profiles, where X is the drive on which Windows 95 is installed. To delete an individual profile, delete the corresponding C:\Windows\Profiles\(username) folder. To remove all user profiles, delete the entire C:\Windows\Profiles folder. (Note: If there's any part of a user profile you want to keep around, such as a desktop configuration, be sure to read our next tip before deleting that profile.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEEPING PART OF USER PROFILE We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're re-running this five-part series. Over the last four tips, we showed you how to disable and remove user profiles. Want to get rid of user profiles, but keep certain settings that were set up under a specific profile? You can retrieve them from the user profile folder, assuming you haven't deleted it. For example, if you want to retain a user profile's desktop settings: 1. Delete the contents of the default desktop folder (probably C:\Windows\Desktop). 2. Copy the contents of the user profile's Desktop folder (C:\Windows\Profiles\(username)\Desktop) to the default desktop folder. Similarly, to keep a profile's Start Menu configuration, copy the contents of the C:\Windows\Profiles\(username)\Start Menu folder to C:\Windows\Start Menu. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORGANIZE YOUR DATA FILES If you're like most Windows users, as you create data files, you probably store them in various locations all over your system. However, this method of file storage makes for time-consuming backups. (You do back up your data files on a regular basis, right?) Why not store all the files you create in one central location? From then on, backups will be a snap, and you won't risk losing important files. First, create the storage area--a new folder on your hard drive; or, if your drive is partitioned, one virtual drive. Name the folder or drive something appropriate, such as "Data" or "My Data," then create subfolders inside. Of course, the number of folders you create and their names will depend on your work habits. For example, you might create "Personal" and "Work," with a number of different folders within each. Now move your existing data files into the new folders. Sure, it takes a few minutes (and there are some minor annoyances to deal with, as we'll discuss in the next tip), but just think--the next time you perform a data backup, everything is in one place. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLEAN UP SHORTCUTS AFTER MOVING DATA FILES In our last tip, we suggested that you store all of your data files in one central location (a drive or folder with a series of subfolders) to make data backups a snap. Assuming you just moved all of your data files into the appropriate folders, you'll still have a bit of cleanup to do. Remember that all shortcuts to these data files are in their old locations--shortcuts on the desktop, the Documents list, and your applications' File menus--and will need to be deleted or redirected. Windows is pretty good about finding a shortcut's target, if you give it a chance. Double-click a file's shortcut, and chances are good that Windows will find that file in its new location. Alternatively, you may wish to create new shortcuts. As far as the Documents list goes, just clear it and start over. Select Start, Settings, and Taskbar Properties. Then select the Start Menu Programs tab, click the Clear button, and click OK. Finally, you'll want to do away with the shortcuts on your applications' File menus. But really, this will happen automatically. Don't use them for a while, and the files you open using the File, Open command will replace the orphaned menu items. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE NOTEPAD'S OR WORDPAD'S WORKING DIRECTORY In a previous tip, we suggested that you store all of your data files in one central location (a drive or folder with a series of subfolders) to make data backups a snap. We also mentioned that once you've moved all your data files into the appropriate folders, you'll need to redirect or re-create your file shortcuts. One more set of changes you may wish to make is to change the working directories of all your applications. If a program knows where you want to store your data, putting your files there will be that much easier. Most applications offer the commands necessary to change their default directories. For example, in Microsoft Word, you just select Tools, Options, click the File Locations tab, and so on. However, applications such as Notepad and Wordpad require you to make the change on the shortcut level. First, locate the shortcut you use to open a program. (Tip: If the shortcut is on the Start menu, right-click Start, select Open, then locate the shortcut in the Start Menu window.) Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab. On the Start In line, type the path of the folder you'd like the program to use as the default, then click OK. From now on, assuming you use that shortcut to open the application, selecting File, Open inside the program will point you to the specified folder. (Note: In a given work session, navigating your way to another folder within the program's Open dialog box changes the working directory to that folder.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLUS! ICONS DON'T CHANGE FOR EACH USER We frequently receive notes from users stating that, with user profiles enabled, certain desktop icons don't change from one user to the next. Whatever you do, don't pull your hair out trying to discover what you did wrong. This behavior is a bug confirmed by Microsoft. It occurs when users select one of the Plus! For Windows 95 desktop themes. Apparently, Windows looks in the wrong place for the desktop icon information. (The instructions for the desktop icons are located in the System.dat file, but with user profiles enabled, the instructions for each user's desktop settings are stored in his or her User.dat file. Go figure.) In any event, you have two choices: Live with the mix-and-match icons (our recommendation), or set up custom schemes in each user's Startup folder. You'll find complete instructions for this technique in Microsoft's Knowledge Base at: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q136/8/98.asp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIND SHORTCUTS If you frequently use Find (select Start, Find, Files Or Folders) to search folders buried deep within your hard drive, you're probably getting tired of clicking Browse and navigating your way there each time. And for good reason--you don't have to! If the same Find: All Files window is still open, click the down arrow next to Look In, and at the bottom of the list, you'll see all the folders you navigated your way to during the current Find session. Select any one, and it appears on the Look In line. If you've closed the Find window, you won't be able to access previously searched folders in the Look In line. However, you can save yourself some time right from the start by beginning your search closer to your destination. On the desktop or in an Explorer window, right-click the folder you want to search and select Find. The Find: All Files window opens with the focus on that folder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE SHORTCUTS INSTEAD OF FOLDERS In a previous tip, we told you about a shareware program that allows you to make each folder icon look unique. That way, you can differentiate one desktop folder from the next without reading its label. In case you missed this tip, you can go to http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,4165,00.html and download the AnyFolder shareware. No time for shareware? An alternative, suggested by reader R. Douglas, is to place shortcuts to folders in the desktop. In other words, store the folders in a location other than the desktop. As you may remember from a previous tip, you can give each shortcut a unique look without shareware. (Note: In case you've missed our previous tips on changing a shortcut's icon, here's a quick recap. Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and on the Shortcut tab, click the Change Icon button. Select a new icon or click Browse, navigate your way to another icon file, click Open, and then select an icon; click OK twice.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK DESKTOP ACCESS Don't have the DeskMenu PowerToy or IE 4.0's Quick Launch toolbar? While both of these tools provide one-click access to the desktop, there's another tool-less way to get to the desktop, and it's built right into Windows 95: Right-click any blank space on the Taskbar and select Minimize All Windows. Instant desktop! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MANAGE YOUR FILES FROM OPEN OR SAVE AS DIALOG BOX The next time you need to delete or rename a file, don't assume you've got to go all the way out to the desktop or an Explorer window to do it. Any Windows 95-savvy application, such as Wordpad or Word, allows you to perform simple file-management tasks from inside its Open or Save As dialog box. For example, let's suppose you've selected File, Open, and you notice a file you meant to ditch long ago. Right-click it, select Delete, and it's a goner. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISPLAY FILE EXTENSIONS By default, Windows 95 displays filenames without extensions (the dot and three letters after the name, which identify the file type). However, if you'd prefer to see this information on screen, just ask Windows to bare all. Select View, Options, click the View tab, deselect Hide MS-DOS File Extensions For File Types That Are Registered, and click OK. (Note: If you have IE 4.0 installed, select View, Folder Options; select the View tab; deselect Hide File Extensions..., then click OK.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAXIMIZE WINDOW USING TITLE BAR See the big title bar at the top of your open window? Double-click it and watch what happens. Now double-click it again. Did you see that? The entire title bar toggles your window between full-screen and window view. Tell us again why Microsoft bothered with those teensy-weensy buttons in the top-right corner of the window... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAKE CAPS LOCK AND NUM LOCK KEYS PLAY A SOUND Have you ever pressed the Caps Lock key by mistake while typing? Before you know it, you've got an entire line of all-cap text, and you have to go back and retype it all (a lot faster than trying to reformat it). To prevent this frequent mistake, turn on ToggleKeys, one of Windows 95's Accessibility Options. Assuming Accessibility Options are installed on your system (if not, see note below), open the Control Panel and double-click Accessibility Options. On the Keyboard tab, select Use ToggleKeys, then click OK. From now on, you'll hear a beep every time you turn Caps Lock (or Num Lock) on or off. (Note: To install the Accessibility Options, open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and select the Windows Setup tab. Under Components, select Accessibility Options, click OK, and insert the installation disk when asked.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BACKSPACE TO MOVE UP ONE FOLDER LEVEL If you're viewing a folder's contents and want to view the contents of the parent folder (the one that contains the folder you're viewing), what do you do? You click the Up One Level icon (or Up, if you have IE 4.0 or beyond installed), right? Actually, there's an easier way. Just press the Backspace key on your keyboard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WINDOW RECOVERY We've had numerous complaints from readers who have lost windows off the edge of the screen, with no title bar (for dragging it back) in sight. The easiest remedy we've come across is to use one of Windows' ready-made window arrangements. Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar and in the resulting menu, select Tile Windows Horizontally, Tile Windows Vertically, or Cascade Windows. Regardless of your selection, the title bar of every open window will appear on screen. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE WINDOWS CLIPBOARD IS EVERYWHERE Chances are, you know the shortcuts for cut, copy, and paste (Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C, and Ctrl-V, respectively). But have you ever thought about the fact that these combos are universal to all Windows applications? That means you can cut, copy, or paste an item not only within a single application, but across applications. Cut some Notepad text, paste it into Word. Copy some Calculator text, paste it into Excel. The clipboard is everywhere. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATE ICON-CONTAINING DLL FILES In previous tips, we've shown you how to change a shortcut's icon: Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon, and so on. The problem is, if you click the Browse button to search your system for more icon files, it's hard to know which ones actually contain icons. In particular, icon-containing *.dll files are impossible to distinguish from those that don't have any icons. Fortunately, there's a Registry-based workaround designed specifically for *.dll files: Instruct Windows to display *.dll file icons as the icons inside (if there are any). (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\DefaultIcon. In the right pane, right-click (Default), select Modify, replace the text on the Value Data line with %1 and click OK. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows 95. Now try browsing for icon files in the Change Icon dialog box. If the icon next to a .dll file looks different from the default, that file has icons inside. A special thanks to reader B. Garrison for suggesting this tip! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DETERMINE FOLDER SIZE Want to know the total size of any folder, including all files and folders (and files within those folders) inside? Right-click the folder and select Properties. You'll see the grand total next to Size in the resulting Properties dialog box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE FONTLOOK TO VIEW SAMPLES OF ALL FONTS When you open the Control Panel and double-click Fonts, don't you expect to find an option that allows you to view what every font looks like (not just one at a time)? So do many other readers, who've asked us how to accomplish this task. Unfortunately, Windows can't do it. If you want to preview all fonts at a glance, you'll need some shareware. For example, try FontLook, available for download from http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w95-21%2C00.html This handy utility displays and prints samples of all installed fonts in the size of your choice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRAG AND DROP E-MAIL ATTACHMENTS Need to add a file attachment to the e-mail you're composing? Don't bother with all those commands inside your e-mail editor. (For example, in Outlook Express, you'd select Insert, File Attachment, and so on.) Try a drag and drop--it's much faster. Minimize your open message window and locate the file(s) you want to attach (for example, on the desktop). Click and drag the file(s) down to the open message's taskbar item, hold the mouse there for a second until the window opens, then drop the file(s) inside. Done. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MISSING TASKBARS Oftentimes, we get e-mail from readers with missing Taskbars. "All I have is a small gray line at the bottom of the screen. When I hold the mouse pointer over it, the line gets wider, but the Taskbar doesn't appear." This behavior occurs when you have the auto-hide option turned on AND you've manually shrunk the Taskbar down to nothing (by clicking and dragging it downward--most likely by mistake). Holding the mouse pointer over the Taskbar's edge instructs Windows to display the Taskbar (as auto-hide was designed to do), but the Taskbar expands only as far as the size you've defined (currently a flat line). Regardless of the cause, here's how to fix the problem. Hold your mouse pointer over the Taskbar's edge, and when the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag upward until the Taskbar appears at normal size. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COLOR SETTINGS Ever wonder why some people have very detailed icons on their desktops, while others' look quite simple? The way in which Windows displays colors--using few colors or many--is determined by the color palette setting (and your hardware, of course). Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Settings tab. Click the down arrow under Colors, and you'll find several choices: 16 Colors, 256 Colors, High Color (16 bit), and True Color (32 bit). Each represents a different color palette. For maximum performance, opt for 16 Colors. The fewer colors Windows uses, the faster images appear on screen. (The downside is, with only 16 colors available, you'll end up with mottled images.) 256 Colors is a happy medium. You get good performance and fairly good image quality. For more realistic images (but slower performance), you should opt for High Color, a palette of more than 65,000 colors. Finally, True Color allows for about 16.8 million colors--a setting typically used by those who work with graphics professionally. Given these differences, select a setting, click OK, and restart Windows. And don't worry--if you aren't happy with your selection, you can always change it back using these same steps. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPY WINDOWS 95 FILES TO HARD DRIVE If you have an extra 30 MB or so of disk space, you may want to consider copying all of the *.cab files from your Windows 95 installation CD to your local drive. That way, you can install additional Windows 95 components or drivers without the CD. First, decide on a destination for the files. For example, you might create a Win95 folder on the root of your hard drive. Second, pop the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, and double-click the Win95 folder (to display its contents). Select all of the *.cab files inside, then right-click the selection and choose Copy. Open the destination folder, right-click a blank area, and select Paste. Close all open windows. The next time you need to install an additional component, open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and click the Windows Setup tab, as always. Select the components you want to install, click OK, and when Windows 95 asks for the installation CD, click OK. In the Copying Files dialog box, click Browse and navigate your way to the folder into which you copied the *.cab files (here, C:\Win95). Click OK three times, and Windows completes the installation. Look, ma--no CD! In our next tip, we'll show you a Registry edit that will save you from having to point Windows to the correct location of the *.cab files. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TELL REGISTRY ABOUT THE NEW *.CAB FILES LOCATION In our last tip, we suggested that you may want to copy the 30 MB or so of Windows 95 CAB files from the Win95 folder on the installation CD to a folder on your local drive. (That way, you can install components or drivers without the CD.) We also mentioned that when you open the Control Panel, click Add/Remove Programs, and so on, to install components, you'll need to point Windows to the correct path of the local *.cab files. With one simple Registry change, you can avoid this extra step. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup. In the right pane, next to SourcePath, you'll see the path D:\win95 (or the path from which you installed Windows originally). Right-click SourcePath, select Modify, and type the path of the folder to which you copied the CAB files on the Value Data line. Click OK, restart Windows 95, and the next time you attempt to install a component, Windows will know exactly where to look. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TURN OFF NUM LOCK AT STARTUP If you frequently use your numeric keypad for its non-numeric functions--cursor keys, Insert and Delete keys, and so on--then you probably turn off the Num Lock key whenever you start Windows 95. (By default, it turns on at startup.) To avoid this extra step, turn off Num Lock at startup as follows: Open Notepad--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad--and type the following: a 100 mov ax,0040 mov ds,ax and byte ptr [0017],df mov ah,1 int 16 mov ax,4c00 int 21 r cx 0013 n NUM_OFF.COM w q (Note the blank line above "r cx," and be sure to press Enter just once after typing the "q" at the very end of the file.) Save the file in the Windows folder as Numoff.deb. (The result will be a file named numoff.deb.txt.) Inside the Windows folder, select the new file, press F2 for Rename, delete the .txt extension, press Enter, then click Yes to confirm that you want to change the extension. Open an MS-DOS Prompt window (select Start, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt), type debug $ numoff.deb at the command prompt and press Enter. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Replace the dollar sign above with the less-than sign--the one over the comma on your keyboard.) Then, type exit and press Enter to return to Windows. The result is an MS-DOS-based program, num_off.com, in the Windows folder. Finally, add the line NUMLOCK=OFF to your config.sys file. Select Start, Run, type sysedit and click OK. In the System Configuration Editor, select the config.sys window. Type the above line, select File, Save, then close the editor. >From now on, Windows will start with the Num Lock key off. (Tip: To undo this setting, remove the NUMLOCK=OFF line from your config.sys file.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE FOCUS OF START'S EXPLORE COMMAND We frequently receive requests for a tip on changing the focus of the Explorer window that appears when you right-click Start and select Explore. You can't change the focus of only this Explorer window. However, you can change Explorer's focus universally. In other words, if you follow the technique below, right-clicking ANY folder and selecting Explore will open Explorer focused on the folder of your choice. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore\ddeexec. In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. On the Value Data line, replace both instances of "%I" with the desired folder path. For example, this line might now read [ExploreFolder("c:\MyFiles", c:\MyFiles, %S)] Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and try out the change. Right-click Start (or any other folder), select Explore, and Explorer's got a brand new focus. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE FOCUS OF START'S FIND COMMAND In our last tip, we showed you how to change the focus of the Explorer window that appears when you right-click Start (or any other folder) and select Explore. Similarly, you can change the focus of the Find window universally, so that right-clicking Start (or any other folder) and selecting Find opens Find focused on the folder of your choice. Here's the technique: (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\find\ddeexec. In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. On the Value Data line, replace both instances of "%I" with the path of any folder. For example, this line might now read [FindFolder("c:\MyFiles\TipWorld", c:\MyFiles\TipWorld)] Click OK and close the Registry Editor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LOCATE ALL HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS Ever wished you could search out hidden files and directories within a particular folder? If you have Internet Explorer 4.x installed (or you've upgraded to Windows 98), you can sort the contents of any folder by attributes. First, opt to display file attributes (in Details View). In any Explorer window, select View, Folder Options. On the View tab, select Show File Attributes In Details View and Show All Files, then click OK. Now open any Explorer window and navigate your way to the folder in which you'd like to search for hidden files and folders. Select View, Details, then click the heading of the Attributes column. Click the same heading again, and the contents of that folder will appear sorted by attributes (in reverse order), with files first, then folders. An H in the Attributes column--alone or mixed with other letters--means that file or folder is hidden. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPTIONS FOR MOVING, COPYING, OR CREATING A SHORTCUT--PART 1 OF 2 The next time you need to move or copy an icon, or create a shortcut, keep in mind that you have options. You can right-click and drag an icon (or selection of icons) to the desired destination, release the mouse button, and select Move Here, Copy Here, or Create Shortcut(s) Here (or Cancel, to forget the whole thing). Alternatively, you can rely on the Shift and Ctrl keys. Hold down Shift as you drag and drop an icon to move that item; or hold down Ctrl to copy that icon. In our next tip, one more option for moving and copying icons, and creating shortcuts... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPTIONS FOR MOVING, COPYING, OR CREATING A SHORTCUT--PART 2 OF 2 In our last tip, we pointed out that there are a number of ways to move or copy icons, or create shortcuts: One, right-click and drag an icon to the desired destination, release the mouse button, and select Move Here, Copy Here, or Create Shortcut(s) Here; two, use the Shift and Ctrl keys--hold down Shift as you drag and drop an icon to move that item, or hold down Ctrl to copy that icon. But wait, there's yet another option for accomplishing these tasks--the context menu. Select the item(s) you want to move or copy, right-click the selection, and choose Cut (to move) or Copy. Switch to the destination, then right-click a blank area, and select Paste. To create a shortcut, right-click an item and select Create Shortcut to create a shortcut in the same location. You can then move the shortcut to your location of choice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISPLAY FULL MS-DOS PATH IN TITLE BAR Want to know the full path of any open folder window at a glance? Ask Windows 95 to display this information right on the title bar. >From inside any Explorer window, select View, Options. Click the View tab, select Display The Full MS-DOS Path In The Title Bar, and click OK. Now, not only does an open window's path appear on the title bar, but it also shows up on the corresponding Taskbar item (whether the window is minimized or not). (Note: If you have IE 4.0 installed, the full path of any open folder window appears in the Address bar--assuming you have it showing.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD APPLICATION TO FILE TYPE'S CONTEXT MENU By default, Windows 95 opens files of a particular type in a particular application. For example, if you double-click a *.txt file, it opens in Notepad. But sometimes--or perhaps lots of times--you'll want to open files of a certain type in an application other than the one with which it's associated. (For example, you might frequently open *.txt files in WordPad.) Assuming you want to keep the original association in tact, an easy way to streamline this task is to add the secondary application to the right-mouse menu of that file type. Sticking with the same example, here's how to add WordPad to the right-mouse menu of *.txt files (feel free to follow these same steps with your own file type and application choices): Inside any Explorer window, select View, Options and click the File Types tab. Scroll through the list of Registered file types and select Text Document. Click the Edit button, and in the resulting dialog box, click New. In the text box under Action, type the command name that will appear in the right-mouse menu, such as Open With WordPad. Then, in the Application Used To Perform Action box, click Browse, navigate your way to the file that opens WordPad (Program Files\Accessories\Wordpad.exe), select it, and click Open. Click OK to exit the New Action dialog box, and you'll see the new command in the Actions list. Click Close twice. >From now on, you can open any *.txt file in WordPad by right-clicking the file and selecting Open With WordPad. (Note: Double-clicking a *.txt file still opens it in Notepad.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD DESKTOP TO SEND TO MENU Do you frequently move items to your desktop? Add this common destination to your Send To menu, and from then on, you can accomplish the move using the right mouse button. To add the desktop to your Send To menu, simply place shortcuts to the Windows\Desktop folder inside the Windows\SendTo folder. An easy way to do this is to open the Windows folder, right-click and drag the Desktop folder directly over the SendTo folder, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. You may also want to rename the new desktop shortcut now inside the SendTo folder. >From now on, moving an item to the desktop is a simple, right-mouse operation. Just right-click any file, folder, or shortcut, select Send To, and in the resulting list, select Desktop. No clicking or dragging necessary! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADJUST ICON SPACING Want to squeeze a few more icons into each row on your desktop? The default spacing between any two icons (assuming you haven't hand-placed them) is determined by the Horizontal and Vertical Spacing settings, which you can easily change. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Appearance tab. Under Items, select Icon Spacing (Horizontal) or Icon Spacing (Vertical), then adjust the number next to Size. (Note: The default for the Windows Standard scheme is 43.) To test the change, minimize all other windows, click Apply, then click and drag the window over a bit to see the effect on your desktop. (Tip: If your desktop icons don't seem to be moving with each change, right-click the desktop and select Arrange Icons, Auto Arrange.) When you find a setting you like, click OK to make it stick. (Note: On our 800 x 600 desktop, we changed the vertical icon spacing to 30 and found we could fit nine icons in each row. At the default 43, we could fit only seven.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRIEFCASE: EDITING FILES In the first tip in this series, we introduced the Windows 95 Briefcase, a feature designed to keep multiple copies of the same files current (a real time-saver if you frequently work on files away from the office). To create a briefcase, right-click your desktop and select New, Briefcase. Copy any files you plan to work on at another location into the new briefcase, and these "sync files" are now linked to the originals. Use the Send To command to copy the briefcase to a floppy disk, or move the briefcase directly to a laptop connected to the originating system. Now we'll show you how to edit the files in your briefcase. To edit briefcase files on a floppy disk, pop the disk in the floppy drive of the destination computer and copy the briefcase files to any location on that system's hard drive. (Whatever you do, don't move the Briefcase off the floppy disk.) Now go ahead and edit these "sync" (or linked) copies of the briefcase files. If you've moved your briefcase from the originating PC to a laptop, leave the files in the briefcase and edit to your heart's content. (Don't copy or move the briefcase files to a new location on the laptop, or you'll lose your links to the originals.) For our final tip in this series, we'll show you how to use Briefcase to update the original files. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRIEFCASE: SETTING IT UP Do you frequently move files from one system to another--for example, from your office PC to a home PC or laptop? If you simply copy the files to a floppy disk and go about your business, you're not taking advantage of a very useful Windows 95 feature. The Windows 95 Briefcase will keep multiple copies of the same files current, so you don't have to spend valuable time trying to figure out which is the most recent version. In this series of tips, we'll show you how to create, use, and update a briefcase on either a desktop or laptop system. To create a briefcase, right-click your desktop and select New, Briefcase. (If you don't see Briefcase in the menu, you'll need to install this component. To do so, open the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Briefcase, click OK twice, and insert your installation disk when asked.) Select the New Briefcase, press F2 (for Rename), type your name of choice, and press Enter. Now just copy into the new briefcase any files you plan to work on at another location, just as you would any other folder: Click and drag the file(s) directly over the briefcase and release the mouse button. The files in the briefcase, called "sync files," are now linked to the originals. In our next tip, we'll show you how to work on these files at another location without losing your "links" to the originals. Stay tuned. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRIEFCASE: UPDATING In the first tip in this series, we introduced the Windows 95 Briefcase, a feature designed to keep multiple copies of the same files current (a real time-saver if you frequently work on files away from the office). To create a briefcase, right-click your desktop and select New, Briefcase. Copy any files you plan to work on at another location into the new briefcase, and these "sync files" are now linked to the originals. Use the Send To command to copy the briefcase to a floppy disk, then copy these files to a second system and edit them there. Or, move the briefcase directly to a laptop (connected to the originating system) and edit the files inside the briefcase. Now for the fun part: updating all "sync copies" of the same files. If you copied your briefcase to a floppy and then copied the briefcase files to another system, updating is a two-step process. Here's the first: At the location where you edited the files, place the floppy disk containing the briefcase in the floppy drive, display its contents, right-click the briefcase icon, and select Update All. (Note: If you want to change an operation in the Update dialog box, right-click it and select a new operation, such as Skip.) Click Update. Now for the second step: Insert the floppy disk in the drive of the originating PC and follow the steps above (right-click the briefcase icon, select Update All, and so on). The original files are now identical to their copies on the second system (where you edited them). If you moved your briefcase to a laptop, updating is only a one-step process: Move the briefcase back onto the system where the original files are located, right-click the briefcase icon, select Update All, and click Update. (Note: If you created the briefcase right on the laptop, connect the laptop to the originating PC, right-click the briefcase, select Update All, and so on.) Stay tuned for some advanced Briefcase tips. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORPHAN BRIEFCASE FILE BEFORE DELETING IT In our last four tips, we showed you the basics of the Windows 95 Briefcase function. The problem is, basic instructions can't address all situations. Over the next three tips, we'll show you three common Briefcase scenarios and how to handle them. Let's suppose you've copied some files to a briefcase, worked on them in another location, and updated them. So you have two or three (depending on whether you used a floppy disk or a laptop) identical copies of the same file. Now, you're done with one of the files and you want to delete it from the briefcase. If you delete the file, the next time you perform an update operation--right-click the briefcase, select Update All, and so on--Briefcase will attempt to delete the other "sync copies" of that file. (Whatever you do to one copy of a file, Briefcase will try to do to the others.) The easiest solution? "Orphan" the file, or break the links to its sync copies. Open the briefcase and select the file you want to orphan. Select Briefcase, Split From Original, and click Yes to confirm. Now you can delete that file from the briefcase without a problem. The orphaned file has no links to its former sync copies. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RENAMING A BRIEFCASE FILE Let's suppose you want to rename a file that has sync copies (in a briefcase and on another system). If you rename the file, the next time you perform an update operation--right-click the briefcase, select Update All, and so on--Briefcase will think you've deleted that file. So you'll see a Delete action next to the old filename. Yikes. As far as the briefcase is concerned, that newly named file doesn't even exist. The solution? If you rename any copy of a briefcase file, be sure to rename all other sync copies before updating. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESTORING A DELETED BRIEFCASE FILE Let's suppose you mistakenly delete a file from a briefcase. Unfortunately, you can't just right-click the Briefcase, choose Update All, and expect Briefcase to re-create the file--at least not without a little help from you. Inside the Update All window, you'll see a Delete action next to the sync copy of the file you deleted. Right-click this action and select Create. Click Update, and Briefcase creates a new copy of that file to replace the one you deleted. Whew! (Tip: If the file you deleted was NOT inside a folder on the briefcase, you could also copy the original file into the briefcase, as if you were adding it for the first time.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CALCULATOR'S SCIENTIFIC VIEW Looking for a calculator that's just a bit more advanced than the one that comes with Windows 95 (and that isn't saying much)? Look no further than the Calculator itself. In one quick click, this seemingly average applet gets smart. Open the Calculator by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, Calculator. Not much to look at, eh? But now select View, Scientific, and watch the Calculator grow. To switch back to the basics, select View, Standard. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE DESKTOP RESOLUTION Wish you could fit more on your desktop? You could go out and buy a state-of-the-art 19- or 21-inch monitor, but it's a lot cheaper to increase your desktop resolution. The greater your resolution, the more Windows 95 squeezes on to the desktop at once. (It basically just makes everything smaller.) Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the resulting Display Properties dialog box, click the Settings tab. In the Desktop control of the Display Area box, click and drag the lever closer to More, and watch as the numbers under the lever and the desktop preview change. (Note: Available resolutions will depend on your monitor.) For starters, bump the resolution up one size. (Any more can be tough on the eyes.) Click OK, then click OK again and wait as Windows makes the necessary adjustments. When the new look appears on your screen, click Yes to accept the change, or click No to go back to the Settings tab. The new look may seem strange at first, but you'd be surprised how quickly your eyes will adjust. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRAG AND DROP TO OPEN FILES Want a quick way to open a whole bunch of files in the same application? Assuming you have a shortcut to that program on the desktop, it's a snap. Just select the files you want to open, then drag and drop them on top of the application icon. All in one motion, the program starts and then opens the files.
---------------------------------------------- CLIPBOOK: INSTALLING Want a great place to store frequently pasted items, such as text blocks or graphics, for easy insertion into multiple documents? Try the ClipBook Viewer. And no, you won't find this utility in the typical Start, Programs, Accessories menu; nor will you find it on the Windows Setup tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box. If you want to use ClipBook (a carryover from your Windows for Workgroups days), you'll need to go out and find it on the Windows 95 installation CD. Pop the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, and navigate your way to Other\Clipbook. Double-click Clipbrd.exe, and the ClipBook Viewer springs to life. You can install ClipBook on your hard drive so you don't have to be at the mercy of the installation CD. With the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, open the Control Panel, and select Add/Remove Programs. Select the Windows Setup tab, click Have Disk, then click Browse and navigate your way to X:\Other\Clipbook (where "X" is your CD-ROM drive). You'll see Clipbook.inf on the File Name line. Click OK twice, select ClipBook Viewer under Components, then click Install. Once the installation is complete, you can launch the ClipBook Viewer by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, ClipBook Viewer. In our next tip, we'll look at some ClipBook basics. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLIPBOOK: ADDING ITEMS TO AND PASTING ITEMS FROM In the first tip in this series, we told you that ClipBook Viewer, an old Windows for Workgroups utility, is located on the Windows 95 installation CD. In a nutshell, ClipBook is a great place to store frequently pasted items, such as text blocks or graphics, for easy insertion into multiple documents. To open ClipBook, pop the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, navigate your way to Other\Clipbook, and double-click Clipbrd.exe. (Or, install this utility on your hard drive: With the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, open the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, select the Windows Setup tab, click Have Disk, click Browse and navigate your way to D:\Other\Clipbook, click OK twice, select ClipBook Viewer under Components, and finally click Install. You can now launch the ClipBook Viewer by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, ClipBook Viewer.) When you open ClipBook Viewer, you'll notice it's made up of two windows--Clipboard, which displays the last item you cut or copied; and Local ClipBook, the storage area for frequently pasted items. To add an item to the Local ClipBook, select the item in its native application and press Ctrl-X (cut) or Ctrl-C (copy). Switch to the ClipBook Viewer (or open it, if it isn't already), select the Local ClipBook window, and click the Paste icon. Type a name for the new item and click OK. Immediately, this new "page" appears in your Local ClipBook. To paste a ClipBook page into a new location, select it in the Local ClipBook window and click the Copy icon. Then switch to the document into which you'd like to paste the item, and select that application's Paste command. Simple. In our next tip, we'll look at ClipBook's viewing options. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLIPBOOK: VIEWING OPTIONS In the first tip in this series, we told you that ClipBook Viewer, an old Windows for Workgroups utility, is located on the Windows 95 installation CD. In a nutshell, ClipBook is a great place to store frequently pasted items, such as text blocks or graphics, for easy insertion into multiple documents. To open ClipBook, pop the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, navigate your way to Other\Clipbook, and double-click Clipbrd.exe. (Or, install this utility on your hard drive, as described in a previous tip.) To add an item to the ClipBook, cut or copy the item to the clipboard, open the ClipBook Viewer, select the Local ClipBook window, click the Paste icon, name the page, and click OK. To paste an item from the Local ClipBook, select its page inside the Local ClipBook window, click the Copy icon, switch to the destination document, and select that application's Paste command. Now we'll look at ClipBook's viewing options. Do you have lots and lots of pages inside your Local ClipBook windows? Sooner or later, you're going to find it hard to remember which is which by name only. To see a preview of each ClipBook page, double-click any page, and its contents appear on screen in Full Page view. Now just press the up or down double arrow (in the lower-left corner of the Local ClipBook window) to scroll through ClipBook pages one at a time. Want to view multiple ClipBook pages at a time? Select View, Thumbnails for mini-previews of your pages. (Select View, Table Of Contents to switch back to ClipBook's default view.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPY AND PASTE FROM CALCULATOR Have you ever manually copied a large number from Calculator to another location, only to realize later that the two numbers don't match? You should have let Windows do the copying for you. Assuming you've just used the Calculator (select Start, Programs, Accessories, Calculator) to come up with a figure, press Ctrl-C to copy that number to the clipboard. Switch to the destination, press Ctrl-V, and without fail, you'll see the same number you started out with. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREATE NEW START MENU FOLDER If you frequently add shortcuts to your Start menu (drag and drop an item on the Start button, and its shortcut appears in the top area of the main menu), you may soon find your Start menu stretching out of control. To cut down on the disarray, create a new Start menu folder in which to store these Start menu items. Right-click the Start button and select Open to open the Start Menu folder. Right-click a blank area inside the window and select New, Folder. Type a name for the folder, such as Current Files, then press Enter. Now just fill the folder with frequently used shortcuts. Drag and drop items from the Start Menu window (that you've already added to your Start menu) directly on top of this folder; or drag items in from other locations, such as another folder or the desktop. When you're done, close the Start Menu window. Click Start, select your new folder, and out pops a menu of the shortcuts you placed inside. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRAG AND DROP TO OPEN FILES Want a quick way to open a whole bunch of files in the same application? Assuming you have a shortcut to that program on the desktop, it's a snap. Just select the files you want to open, then drag and drop them on top of the application icon. All in one motion, the program starts and then opens the files. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HIGH-CONTRAST COLOR SCHEMES If you find yourself straining to see what's on your computer screen, you may want to try one of Windows 95's high-contrast color schemes. You can select from three sizes of white-on-black or black-on-white. Right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click the Appearance tab, and in the dropdown list under Scheme, select any of the High Contrast schemes. A preview appears in the top half of the dialog box. Don't care for the black-and-white look? If larger text is all you need, select any of the four color schemes followed by "(Large)." Regardless of your choice, when you find a scheme you like, click OK to make it stick. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVERT SELECTION The next time you need to select most of the files in an open Explorer window--single- or double-paned--don't waste your time holding down Ctrl and clicking each one by hand. It's much easier to select the ones you don't need, and then let Windows reverse your selection. Inside an open window, hold down Ctrl as you select the file(s) you don't want to select (sounds backwards, but wait and see what happens). Select Edit, Invert Selection, and Windows turns your selection inside out! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PAUSE SCREEN DURING BOOT If you remove the Windows 95 startup logo (that cloudy screen that appears whenever you start Windows), you'll see a whole bunch of text narrating the boot process every time you start your system. Want to actually read this text? Unless you can read really, really fast, you'll need this trick: You can bring the boot process (and all the text on screen) to a screeching halt by pressing the Pause key on your keyboard. All done reading? Press any key on your keyboard to boot things along. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REMEMBER THE CHARACTER MAP When you type words like "resume" or "voila," do you just ignore the fact that they're supposed to have accents, because you aren't sure how to add them? (Ironically, that's what we've done in this tip's text to be compatible with various e-mail systems.) No one will notice, right? Wrong. Don't give anyone the chance to assume you didn't know any better. Use the Windows 95 Character Map--or better yet, a keyboard combination--to add the proper foreign characters to your word processing documents. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Character Map. In the dropdown list under Font, select the font you're currently using in your document. Locate the character you need, double-click it (to add it to the Characters To Copy box), then click the Copy button. Switch over to your document, place your cursor where you'd like the character to appear, and select that application's Paste command. When you get the hang of this character stuff, you can add a character to a document using a simple keystroke--no Character Map necessary. Inside the Character Map, select any character, and you'll see a four-digit number next to Keystroke: Alt+ in the lower-right corner of the dialog box. Memorize it. Now, from inside any document, turn on the Num Lock key on your keyboard, then hold down the Alt key and type this four-digit number (on your numeric keypad). Magically, the character appears. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE F2 TO RENAME The next time you need to rename a file, folder, or shortcut, don't waste all that energy right-clicking the file and selecting Rename. Assuming the item is already selected, simply press F2 on your keyboard. It's the same thing, but much easier on the wrist. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WINDOWS KEY SHORTCUTS Do you have a Windows key on your keyboard? Press this key to display the Start menu, or hold it down and press: E to open Windows Explorer R to open the Run dialog box F to open the Find dialog box F1 to open Windows Help M to minimize all open windows (Shift-Windows-M to undo minimize all) Tab to cycle through the Taskbar buttons Break to open the System Properties dialog box Did you get all that? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WINDOWS 95 VERSION NUMBER Want to know which version of Windows 95 you have on your system? Right-click My Computer and select Properties. (Or hold down Alt as you double-click My Computer.) On the General tab of the System Properties dialog box, you'll see the version listed under System. The original version of Windows 95 is 4.00.950. This same version number followed by the letter "a" indicates that the original version of Windows 95 was installed and then updated with Service Pack 1 or OEM Service Release 1. The letter "b" after the version number indicates Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WINDOWS 95 PRODUCT TEAM NAMES Ah, summer. Got some time to kill? Here's an Easter Egg for you. Make sure your speakers are turned on, right-click the desktop, select New Folder, and type the following line: and now, the moment you've all been waiting for Now press Enter. Right-click the new folder, select Rename, and type this line: we proudly present for your viewing pleasure Press Enter. Right-click the folder, select Rename, and type The Microsoft Windows 95 Product Team! (Note: This last step is case sensitive.) Now double-click the folder, and you'll see the names of the Windows 95 Product Team floating by to music. If it doesn't work, try again. One typo will throw the whole thing off.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WINDOWS 95 PALETTE TITLE Ever wander around the Display Properties dialog box a little and come across the term "Palette Title" (in the Item list on the Appearance tab)? Then you, like us, are probably wondering what in the world a Palette Title is. Change its settings, and not much happens--that is, unless you dig around a little. The Palette Title setting affects the title bars of floating palettes. Examples are: Paint's color box after you drag it from the edge of the Paint window; Word 98's little help box (the one with the dancing paper clip); and Netscape Communicator's Component Bar. Why you'd need to adjust this setting remains to be seen, but at least now you know what it is! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WINDOWS 95 INSTALLATION CD VERSION NUMBER In our last tip, we showed you how to determine which version of Windows 95 you have on your system: Right-click My Computer, select Properties, and on the General tab, you'll see the version listed under System. (In case you missed that tip, an "a" in the version number indicates that the original version of Windows 95 was installed and then updated with Service Pack 1 or OEM Service Release 1; a "b" indicates Windows 95 OEM Service Release 2.) While we're on the subject, you can also determine the version of Windows 95 on an installation CD--for example, if you're trying to match multiple CDs with different systems. Pop the CD in your CD-ROM drive and, in the blue Windows 95 CD-ROM window that appears, click Browse This CD. Right-click Setup.exe, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, select the Version tab. There, you'll find the File version. (You can also select Product Version under Other Version Information.) The numbers 4.00.950 indicate the original, or retail, version of Windows 95. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING THE UNDO COMMAND In our last tip, we showed you how to restore a deleted item from your Recycle Bin (as long as you haven't emptied the bin since you deleted the file): Open the Recycle Bin, right-click the file you want to undelete, and select Restore. If you catch your mistake immediately, there's another way to undelete an item. Assuming you haven't performed any mouse operations since the deletion, right-click the location from which you deleted the item and select Undo Delete. In the same way, you can undo a Move, Copy, or Rename. Just right-click the desktop or window in which you performed the operation and select Undo for whatever command you just used. (Alternatively, press Ctrl-Z to undo the most recent operation.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING STICKYKEYS ACCESSIBILITY OPTION
Do you feel like you have to play finger-Twister to get all those fancy keyboard combinations to work? Windows 95 offers an Accessibility option that makes the Ctrl, Alt, and Shift keys "stick." That way, you only have to press them one at a time. Open the Control Panel (Start, Settings, Control Panel), double-click Accessibility Options, and in the Keyboard section, select Use StickyKeys. Click the Settings button on the same line, and in the resulting dialog box, select Use Shortcut. Click OK twice, and you'll see three little black boxes in the tray of the Taskbar indicating that StickyKeys are on. Now to check out how sticky those keys really are: With one finger, press Ctrl, then Alt, then Delete. Up pops the End Task dialog box. To turn off StickyKeys, press the Shift key five times. To turn it back on, press Shift five times, then click OK to confirm. ---------------------------------------------- USING MICROSOFT SCREEN SCENES AS DESKTOP WALLPAPER Ever watch the Screen Scenes demonstration in Microsoft Exposition (on the installation CD)? You can take any of those sample screens and use them as desktop wallpaper. Navigate your way to the Products\Demos\Scenes folder on your installation CD, and inside you'll find the following colorful bitmaps: 1. COLLG.BMP 2. DOLPHIN.BMP 3. FIGHTER1.BMP 4. JAMESC.BMP 5. NATURE1.BMP 6. PARROT1.BMP 7. SKIER1.BMP 8. SUNSET.BMP 9. TIGER.BMP 10. WLDKID.BMP Copy them to your Windows folder, and from then on, you'll see them in the list of available wallpapers in the Display Properties dialog box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING 3D SCREEN SAVERS ON OLDER WINDOWS 95 In our last tip, we discussed an Easter Egg found in the Windows 95 OSR2 screen saver, 3D Text. Even if you're running an older version of Windows 95, you can still see the Easter Egg--that is, as long as you know someone with the newer version who's willing to share some files. All you have to do is copy the 3D Text.scr file (and if you want, the files for the other 3D screen savers: 3D Flying Objects.scr, 3D Flower Box.scr, 3D Maze.scr, and 3D Pipes.scr), plus two additional files--GLU32.DLL and OPENGL32.DLL--to the Windows\System folder of the older system. (Note: If you forget those last two files, it won't work.) USE TWEAK UI TO REMOVE ITEMS FROM INSTALL/UNINSTALL LIST We frequently receive email from readers asking how to remove stubborn names from the Install/Uninstall tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties window (the one that appears when you open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs). There are two ways to go about it. The first and easiest is to use the Tweak UI PowerToy. (See note below for information on obtaining this utility.) Open the Control Panel, double-click Tweak UI, and select the Add/Remove tab. Select the item you'd like to remove from the Install/Uninstall list, click the Remove button, then click Yes to confirm. Repeat these steps for each item you want to remove, then click OK. Note: If you don't have the Tweak UI PowerToy, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/pr/1%2C2061%2Cpr-w95-82%2C00.html and download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then right-click tweakui.inf and select Install. You can now open Tweak UI by double-clicking its icon inside your Control Panel. In our next tip, we'll show you how to clean out the Install/Uninstall list without using Tweak UI. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE SISOFT SANDRA FOR SYSTEM INFO Looking for information on your system, as well as quick access to all your system files? Download and install SiSoft Sandra, an information and diagnostic tool for Windows 95, 98, NT, and 2000 (free to home users; $29 otherwise). To obtain this utility, point your Web browser at http://www.sisoftware.demon.co.uk/sandra/index.htm If you're a home user, click the Download SiSoft Sandra Standard link, then select a download site. Commercial users should click Professional Downloads, and so on. Install and open the utility, then feast your eyes on more information than you could ever want. Click an icon, any icon. (For example, click the System Summary icon for processor information.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE REGISTRY TO REMOVE ITEMS FROM INSTALL/UNINSTALL LIST As we mentioned in our last tip, there are two ways to remove unwanted items from the Install/Uninstall tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box (the one that appears when you open the Control Panel and double-click Add/Remove Programs). One is to use the Tweak UI PowerToy: Open the Control Panel, double-click Tweak UI, select the Add/Remove tab, select an item you'd like to remove, click the Remove button, then click Yes to confirm. Even if you don't have Tweak UI and don't want to download it from http://www.pcworld.com/r/pr/1%2C2061%2Cpr-w95-82%2C00.html you can still clean out the Install/Uninstall list. You'll just need to do a little Registry editing. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\ CurrentVersion\Uninstall In the left pane, with the Uninstall key expanded, right-click any item and select Delete. Click Yes to confirm, and that item is officially off the list. Repeat these steps for each item you'd like to remove, then close the Registry Editor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE QUICK VIEW TO PREVIEW FILES Want to view a file without opening the application in which it was created? Try Quick View. This applet allows you to view the contents of a file in a matter of seconds. (Note: The file type must be supported by Quick View.) First, make sure Quick View is installed on your system. Right-click any *.txt or *.doc file and look for the Quick View command in the resulting menu. If you don't see it, place the Windows 95 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, open the Control Panel, and double-click Add/Remove Programs. Click the Windows Setup tab, and in the list of components, double-click Accessories. Select Quick View and click OK twice. Now you're ready to try out this utility. Right-click a file you'd like to preview and select Quick View. (Note: If you don't see the Quick View command, that file type isn't supported.) Instantly, Quick View opens with a quick (albeit rough) preview of the file. (Tip-in-a-tip: To preview one file after another in the same Quick View window, drag a file icon into the open window and release the mouse button. To open a file in its native application, click the icon just below the Quick View window's File menu.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE QUESTION MARK FOR HELP In our last tip, we showed you one way to get help for an option or button inside a Windows 95 dialog box: Right-click the item and click the What's This? button. As an alternative, you can use the Question Mark button in the upper-right corner of the dialog box. Click the Question Mark, then click the item about which you have a question. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE KEYBOARD SHORTCUT FOR SHUTTING DOWN Don't feel right about clicking Start to shut down your system? With the focus on your desktop (click a blank area once to be sure), press Alt-F4. It's the same as selecting Start, Shut Down. (Note: If the focus is on an open window or application, pressing Alt-F4 will close that window.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE KEYBOARD COMBO TO SWITCH LANGUAGES In our last tip, we showed you how to install a new keyboard language and layout: Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, click the Language tab, click Add, select a language, and click OK twice. To switch to any of the installed languages, click the dark blue symbol in the tray of your Taskbar and select a language. Don't want this icon taking up valuable Taskbar real estate? Then hide it. You can still switch among installed languages using the keyboard. Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and click the Language tab. Deselect Enable Indicator On Taskbar, then select one of the two keyboard combos under Switch Languages. Click OK and watch as the symbol disappears from your Taskbar. To switch from one installed language to the next, simply press the appropriate keyboard combo. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE F6 TO JUMP AROUND EXPLORER WINDOW When you're in a double-paned Explorer window and want to move to another pane, or to the dropdown list of folders (on the toolbar), you probably reach for the mouse. But that's not the only way to get around. Next time, try F6. Pressing this key takes you from the left pane, to the right pane, to the dropdown folder list, to the left pane, and so on, round and round. Who knew? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE DESKTOP SHORTCUT TO CONTROL PANEL If you want instant access to Control Panel, just put a shortcut to it right on your desktop. Double-click My Computer, then right-click and drag the Control Panel icon onto the desktop. Release the mouse button, select Create Shortcut Here, and you're done. Now you have all the tools you need, right at your fingertips. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE ALT-TAB TO SWITCH AMONG APPS In Windows 95, you're almost always multitasking. So what could be more important than getting from one open task to the next? For fast navigation from one window to the next, remember Alt-Tab. Press Alt-Tab, and you'll see a box that holds a row of icons--one for every open application or window. Hold down Alt as you press Tab to rotate from one icon to the next. When the one you want is highlighted, let go and you'll jump directly to that window. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USE ALT-ESC TO ROTATE AMONG WINDOWS Want an easy way to jump from one window to the next? Hold down the Alt key as you press Esc continuously. Each time you press Esc, another open window takes its place on top of the open window pile. When the window you had in mind appears, let go. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.-INTERNATIONAL LAYOUT ASSISTING KEYS In our last tip, we showed you how to switch your keyboard to the U.S.-International layout, which adds up to two characters to certain keys on your keyboard: In the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, click the Language tab, click Properties, select United States-International, and click OK twice. To use the new characters, press a key in combination with the AltChar key (the right Alt key on your keyboard) or Shift-AltChar. (Note: This tip assumes your default language is set to English [United States].) Now let's look at another component of this international layout: assisting keys. There are five keys on your keyboard--the apostrophe ('), the back quote (`), the circumflex (^), the double quote ("), and the tilde (~)--that now act as assistants in making, respectively, an acute accent, a grave accent, a hat over a vowel, an umlaut, and a squiggle, as over the "n" in the Spanish word "senor." For example, to type an E with an umlaut (the two dots) over it, press the double quote ("), then press the letter E. Or to type an O with a hat over it, press the circumflex (^), then press the letter O. In our next tip, one more assistance key trick... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- .S.-INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARD LAYOUT Do you frequently create documents that require foreign characters (of multiple languages)? Don't waste time searching through the Character Map for the ones you need. Change your keyboard layout to United States-International, and you can type these characters right from your keyboard. (Note: This tip assumes your default language is set to English [United States].) Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and click the Language tab. With English (United States) selected under Language, click the Properties button, then click the down arrow and select United States-International. Click OK twice and then insert the Windows 95 installation CD when asked. The international layout adds one or two characters to certain keys on your keyboard. We can't print a diagram, but we can show you how to view all of these characters: Hold down your keyboard's right Alt key (referred to as the Alternate Character or AltChar key) as you press each key on your keyboard; then do the same thing pressing Shift-AltChar. As you do, make a mental note of the keyboard combos necessary to type the characters you use. For example, to type an uppercase E with an acute accent mark, you'd press Shift-AltChar-E. In our next tip, more on this worldly keyboard layout... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TWO ICONS YOUR DESKTOP SHOULDN'T BE WITHOUT In Windows 95, the last thing you want to do is go through extra steps to get to what you need. To cut back on extra clicks, place shortcuts to the items you use all the time--the Control Panel and your floppy drive--right on the desktop. Open My Computer and locate the Control Panel icon. Click and drag this icon out to the desktop, release the mouse button, and click Yes to confirm that you want to create a shortcut. Repeat the same steps with your floppy drive icon and then close My Computer. From now on, accessing the Control Panel or your floppy drive is a one-step operation. Just a simple double-click, and you're there. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TURNING OFF WINDOW ANIMATION Ever notice that when you minimize or restore a window, you see the window shrinking or growing process? If you're looking for ways to increase performance, you may want to remove this window animation. Then, your windows will shrink and grow faster than ever. (Note: This technique involves editing the Registry. As always, we recommend backing up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics. In the left pane, right-click the WindowMetrics key and select New, String Value. Type MinAnimate (to name the new value) and press Enter. In the right pane, right-click MinAnimate and select Modify. In the resulting Edit String dialog box, type 0 on the Data Value line. Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and restart Windows 95. If you want to restore your window animation, delete the MinAnimate string (right-click it, select Delete, and click Yes to confirm), or change its data value to 1. To do this, right-click it, select Modify, type 1 on the Value Data line, and click OK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TURN OFF RECYCLE BIN CONFIRMATION Tired of getting that "Are you sure?" message every time you send something to the Recycle Bin? From the desktop, right-click the Recycle Bin icon and select Properties. In the resulting dialog box, deselect Display Delete Confirmation Dialog. Click OK, and the next time you delete something, it goes straight to the Recycle Bin--no questions asked. (Note: If you use Shift-Delete to delete something, you'll still get the "Are you sure?" message.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TURN OFF DELETE CONFIRMATION Do you find it a nuisance that every time you attempt to delete an item, you have to click Yes to confirm? If you don't need this safety net, turn it off. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop and select Properties. In the resulting dialog box, deselect Display Delete Confirmation Dialog Box, and then click OK. The next time you delete an item, it goes directly to the Recycle Bin--no questions asked. Note: If the option Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin is selected inside the Recycle Bin Properties dialog box, the delete confirmation option will be grayed out. Windows thinks you should have at least one safety net. TURN OFF ASSISTING KEY IN U.S.-INTERNATIONAL LAYOUT In the first tip in this series, we showed you how to switch your keyboard to the U.S.-International layout, which adds up to two characters to certain keys on your keyboard: In the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, click the Language tab, click Properties, select United States-International, and click OK twice. To use the new characters, press a key in combination with the AltChar key (the right Alt key on your keyboard) or Shift-AltChar. (Note: This tip assumes your default language is set to English [United States].) Then, in our last tip, we told you that there are five "assisting" keys--the apostrophe ('), the back quote (`), the circumflex (^), the double quote ("), and the tilde (~)--that, when pressed in combination with another key, make an acute accent, a grave accent, a hat over a vowel, an umlaut, and a squiggle (as over the "n" in the Spanish word "senor"), respectively. The big question is, how do you use one of the assisting keys as it's supposed to be used? For example, let's suppose you wanted to type the letter E in single quotes: 'E' With the international layout turned on, typing a single quote and then typing E would result in an E with an accent over it. And typing the second single quote would do absolutely nothing (that assisting key is waiting for a key to assist). The solution? Any time you want to type an assisting key as it was meant to be used, follow it with a Spacebar. So in the example above, to type the letter E in single quotes, you'd type a single quote, press the Spacebar, type E, type a single quote, and press the Spacebar. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TRY A DESKTOP PATTERN Does your desktop wallpaper slow down your Windows 95 startup? (If you aren't sure, try removing it and see what happens next time you start Windows.) If you want to get things moving, but don't want a plain-Jane desktop, try a pattern instead. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and on the Background tab, select any pattern. Click OK, and a two-color pattern appears. To change the color of the pattern (not black--the other one), right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Appearance tab. With Desktop selected under Item, click the down arrow under Color (on the Item line), select a new color, and then click OK. In our next tip, we'll show you how to make your own pattern (or edit an existing one). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- TILE YOUR WALLPAPER Want to display your wallpaper tiled instead of centered? Right-click the desktop and select Properties. On the Background tab, next to Display, select the Tile radio button. (If you have or ever had IE 4.x installed, under Display, click the dropdown arrow and select Center.) Make sure the wallpaper you want to use is selected, then click OK. From now on, that wallpaper will cover your desktop. Nice, eh? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE TRUTH ABOUT THE PRINT SCREEN KEY "My Print Screen key on my keyboard doesn't seem to respond at all. Any suggestions?" Pressing the Print Screen key sends the current screen to the clipboard (not to the printer, as one would expect). To print the contents of the clipboard, you'll need to use a separate application, such as Paint. Open Paint--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint--and select Edit, Paste. If you see a message stating that the image is larger than the current bitmap, click Yes to confirm that you'd like to enlarge the bitmap. The image on the clipboard now appears on screen. From there, you can use Paint's Print command to print the screen. In the next tip, more about Print Screen... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THE SHOW DESKTOP ICON GOES BOTH WAYS If you have Internet Explorer 4.x installed on your system (or had, and then upgraded to IE 5.x), you have a Quick Launch toolbar next to your Start button. This row of icons includes the Show Desktop icon, which you can click to minimize all windows and go directly to the desktop. Great, everyone knows that, right? But what you may not know is that after clicking this icon once to display your desktop, clicking it AGAIN restores all windows to their original position. Who knew? (Note: If you do anything on the desktop before clicking the icon again--for example, if you open and close a window--you may have to click the Show Desktop icon twice to restore your windows.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- STRETCH DESKTOP WALLPAPER If you're using Microsoft Plus! and you select a wallpaper that doesn't fill the entire screen (for example, a custom Paint picture), there's only one thing left to do: Stretch it. Assuming you've just selected and centered the wallpaper (by right-clicking the desktop, selecting Properties, choosing a wallpaper (on the Background tab), and selecting Center), click the Plus! tab of the Display Properties dialog box. Select Stretch Desktop Wallpaper to fit the entire screen, click OK, and watch that wallpaper stretch. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SORTING FOLDER CONTENTS IN DETAILS VIEW Looking for something in a folder holding a sea of files? Don't strain your eyes scrolling through everything inside. All you need is one vital piece of information--the date on which the file was last modified, the file's approximate size, or its type--and that file is as good as found. Inside the open folder window, select View, Details. The result will be columns of information. (You may need to enlarge the window to see them all.) Click the column heading that represents what you know about the file--for example, if you know the date you last worked on the file, click Modified, and Windows will sort the contents accordingly. Scroll down to find the correct date, size, or type, and there's that file! (Click a heading twice to sort by that column in reverse order.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SIZING COLUMNS IN DETAILS VIEW If you frequently view open folder windows in Details mode (by selecting View, Details), you may be getting tired of enlarging windows to see all the information you're after (for example, the far-right Modified column). To view more information in a smaller space, size those columns down a bit. Hold the cursor over the vertical line at the right edge of a column's title, and when the cursor changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag left. Everything to the right of the column will slide over accordingly. When you're happy with the column size, let go. Repeat these steps for other columns you want to size down. (Tip-in-a-tip: You can also size a column to fit its widest entry. Hold the cursor over the line to the left of that column, and when the cursor changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORTCUT TO RUN COMMANDS In our last tip, we showed you how to call up a previously typed Run command: Select Start, Run; click the down arrow next to the Open text box; select a command and click OK. Is your Run list getting really long, making it hard to find the command you're after? Here's a trick that might help. After selecting Start, Run, type the first letter(s) of the command you want to use. If a command other than the one you want to use appears, use the up or down cursor key to rotate through entries that start with the same letter(s). When the one you want to use appears, press Enter. (Tip-in-a-tip: If your Run list is short, try a variation of this technique. After selecting Start, Run, use the up or down cursor key to rotate through existing entries.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORTCUT FOR RESTARTING WINDOWS Looking for a quick way to restart Windows 95 without a time-consuming "cold" or "warm" reboot? Select Start, Shut Down (or place the focus on the desktop and press Alt-F4). In the resulting dialog box, select Restart The Computer, then hold down the Shift key while clicking the Yes button. Windows 95 restarts without shutting down and rebooting the entire system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SET MAXIMUM RECYCLE BIN SIZE In our last tip, we told you that, by default, Windows 95 will prompt you to empty your Recycle Bin if its files exceed 10 percent of your hard drive's space. If you're low on disk space and have a hard time remembering to take out the trash, you may want to adjust this percentage to a smaller number, so that Windows 95 reminds you to empty the Recycle Bin sooner. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon on your desktop, and then select Properties. In the resulting dialog box, adjust the lever to the desired percentage, such as 1 percent, and click OK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SELECTIVE ERASING IN PAINT Is there an element of your Paint drawing you'd like to erase, if only it weren't interwoven with the rest of your artwork? Before you start trying to move the Eraser tool in, out, and around other drawn elements, remember that Paint's Eraser tool will selectively erase (or replace) a single color in your drawing. Drag the tool over any part of the canvas, and everything but the selected color remains untouched. First, click the color you'd like to erase or replace. Then, right-click the color you'd like to replace it with (for example, white, if that's your background color). Select the Eraser/Color Eraser tool, then hold down the right-mouse button as you drag the mouse pointer back and forth over the color you're trying to erase or replace. Only the selected color disappears! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAVE FIND RESULTS FOR FUTURE USE In our last tip, we showed you how to save Find's search criteria so you can conduct the same search in the future: Once the search is complete, select File, Save Search, and a new icon appears on the desktop. The next time you need to conduct the same search, double-click the icon and then click Find Now. Want to save your search RESULTS along with the criteria? Before selecting File, Save Search, pull down the Options menu and select Save Results. Selecting File, Save Search still places a new icon on the desktop--the difference is that when you double-click it, both the original criteria and the results appear in the Find dialog box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAVE FIND CRITERIA FOR FUTURE USE Just complete a search that uses a bunch of different criteria? Before closing the Find dialog box, ask yourself if you might need to conduct that same search again. If the answer is yes, or even maybe, save the Find criteria. With your search results displayed in the Find window, select File, Save Search. Switch to the desktop, and you'll see a new icon there with a title beginning with the word "Files" and followed by your search criteria. Move this icon wherever you want--for example, into a folder called Saved Searches. The next time you need to conduct the same search, simply double-click this icon and then click Find Now. A lot faster than repeating that search again from scratch, eh? In our next tip, we'll show you how to save search results. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAME PRINTER, TWO SETS OF PROPERTIES If you frequently print documents using different printer settings, such as black and white drafts versus color documents, you're probably getting tired of changing these settings each time you print. You can avoid this busywork by tricking Windows into thinking you have two different printers. "Install" the same printer twice, then set the Properties for each to match your most commonly used settings. From then on, the only setting change you'll have to make is selecting the printer you want to use. To "install" your printer again, select Start, Settings, Printers and click Add Printer. Follow along with the installation instructions, and when asked, opt to keep the existing driver. Also, be sure to give this "second" printer an appropriate name, such as Color Docs. When the installation is complete, you'll see two different printer icons in the Printers window. To adjust their properties, one at a time, right-click an icon, select Properties, and so on. The next time you want to print a document, select the application's Print command, select a printer in the resulting dialog box, and click OK. (Tip-in-a-tip: You may also want to place shortcuts to these printers on your desktop. Then, you can drag and drop the document you want to print on your printer of choice.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RIGHT-CLICK WITH THE KEYBOARD Did you know that you can "right-click" an item without ever lifting your fingers off the keyboard? With that item (folder, file, whatever) selected, hold down the Shift key and press F10. Use your keyboard's up and down arrow keys to select the command you want, then press Enter. RESTORING DELETED FILE FROM RECYCLE BIN Just delete a file and now you need it back? As long as you haven't emptied the Recycle Bin since your deletion, you can restore that file to its original location. Switch to the desktop and double-click the Recycle Bin icon. Locate the item you'd like to undelete, right-click it, and select Restore. Note: This tip assumes you haven't opted to bypass the Recycle Bin. Right-click the Recycle Bin icon, select Properties, and make sure Do Not Move Files To The Recycle Bin.... is not selected. Also, if you permanently delete a file the first time around--by pressing Shift-Delete and then clicking Yes--the Recycle Bin can't help you. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESTORE INFORMATION FROM *.REG FILE TO REGISTRY In our last tip, we showed you how to use the Registry Editor to make full or partial Registry backups: Open the Registry, select Registry, Export Registry File; navigate to wherever you'd like to store the backup file; type a name for the file; select All or Selected Branch under Export Range; and click Save. Now watch how easy it is to restore this information to the Registry--for example, if you've made a change you want to undo. Double-click the *.reg file, click Yes to confirm that you want to restore this information, then click OK when the operation is complete. Or, from inside the Registry Editor, select Registry, Import Registry File, select the *.reg file, and click Open. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RENAME SHORTCUT In previous tips, we've discussed ways to rename a file, folder, or shortcut: Right-click the item and select Rename, or with the item selected, press F2; then type the new name. There's yet another way to rename a file, folder, or shortcut. Click the item once to select it, then click again on the item's name. The name will now appear highlighted, ready for replacement. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REMOVE SPEAKER ICON FROM TRAY Is the tray of your Taskbar overloaded with icons? Assuming you typically work in silence, one icon you may wish to remove is the volume control. Right-click the yellow speaker icon and select Adjust Audio Properties. Deselect Show Volume Control On The Taskbar, click OK, and there's one less icon in that tray. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REMOVE SPEAKER ICON FROM TRAY Is the tray of your Taskbar overloaded with icons? Assuming you typically work in silence, one icon you may wish to remove is the volume control. Right-click the yellow speaker icon and select Adjust Audio Properties. Deselect Show Volume Control On The Taskbar, click OK, and there's one less icon in that tray. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REGAIN 7 MB OF HARD DISK SPACE Looking for ways to free up hard disk space? You can free 7 megabytes' worth by deleting the video clips in the Windows 95 Help folder. (They're for novice users only.) Select Start, Find, Files Or Folders. Click the Browse button, navigate your way to the C:\Windows\Help folder, and click OK. On the Named line, type *.avi then click the Find Now button. Select the first *.avi file, then hold down the Shift key and click the last file. Now press the Delete key on your keyboard (and if necessary, click Yes to confirm). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECYCLE BIN WARNS YOU WHEN IT'S FULL Do you feel as though you never get around to emptying your Recycle Bin? Fortunately, Windows 95 has a built-in reminder. If the total size of files in the Recycle Bin exceeds a set limit (by default, 10 percent of your hard drive's total storage space), a message pops up letting you know you should take out the trash. In our next tip, we'll show you how to adjust your Recycle Bin's maximum size. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RECOVER MISSING RECYCLE BIN ICON "I don't know how I did it, but I deleted my Recycle Bin icon from my desktop. Is there any way to get it back without reinstalling Windows?" Yes, if you don't mind editing the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer\Desktop\NameSpace. In the left pane, right-click the NameSpace key and select New, Key. Type exactly {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E} and press Enter. (To save yourself some typing, copy the above line to your clipboard, then press Ctrl-V after selecting New, Key.) In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. In the resulting Edit String dialog box, on the Value Data line, type Recycle Bin and click OK. Close the Registry Editor, click the desktop once, press F5 (for refresh), and there's your Recycle Bin icon. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- READ-ONLY FILE ATTRIBUTE Want to protect a file from unwanted changes? Mark it "read-only." Then you (or anyone else) can't save any changes to the file--or worse, delete it. In an Explorer window (or on the desktop) right-click the file you want to protect and select Properties. On the General tab of the resulting Properties dialog box, click the Read-only check box next to Attributes. Click OK. Open the file in its native application, and you'll see the words "(Read-Only)" in the title bar. If you change anything about the file and click the Save icon, you'll see a message that reads, "This file is read-only." (Click OK and then click Cancel to close the Save As dialog box.) Now close the file and try deleting it. You'll see another message telling you the file is read-only. If you need to modify or delete a read-only file, simply open its Properties dialog box, deselect the Read-only attribute, and click OK. (Note: Of course, marking a file read-only is not a true security measure, because anyone who knows how to deselect this attribute can do so. It's really just a safety net to prevent unintentional changes.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICKRES POWERTOY In previous tips, we've shown you how to change your color palette setting: Right-click the desktop, select Properties, click the Settings tab, select a palette under Color palette, click OK, then click Yes to restart Windows. Want to change this setting at the click of a button? You need the QuickRes PowerToy. To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w95-55%2C00.html and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then one at a time, right-click each *.inf file and select Install. Assuming you've installed quickres.inf, the next time you start Windows 95, you'll find a QuickRes icon in your Taskbar tray. To change your color palette, click the QuickRes icon and select one of the resolution/color palette combos in the pop-up list. (Note: You'll probably want to select one that includes your current resolution, unless you want to change that, too. If you aren't sure what your resolution is, check the Settings tab of the Display Properties dialog box.) Restart Windows 95 to complete the change. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK WAYS TO HIGHLIGHT TEXT--PART 1 OF 2 Do you have a word processor on your system? (Of course you do--Notepad and WordPad are part of Windows 95.) Then, you frequently need to highlight text. Before you resort to clicking and dragging, try these shortcuts: To highlight a word, double-click it. To highlight a line of text, click once to its left (in the left margin). To highlight an entire paragraph, double-click to its left (again, in the margin). We'll give you more shortcuts in our next tip. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK WAYS TO HIGHLIGHT TEXT--PART 2 OF 2 In our last tip, we showed you three text-highlighting shortcuts for use in any word processor: To highlight a word, double-click it; to highlight a line, click once to its left (in the left margin); and to highlight a paragraph, double-click to its left (again, in the margin). Now let's look at some bigger selections. To highlight a large area of text, click once at the beginning of the text, then hold down Shift and click at the end; or while holding down Shift, use the cursor keys to expand the selection. To highlight an entire document, place the cursor at the very beginning of the document and press Ctrl-Shift-End; or, with your cursor anywhere, press Ctrl-A. Still more highlighting tricks in our next tip... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- U.S.-INTERNATIONAL KEYBOARD LAYOUT Do you frequently create documents that require foreign characters (of multiple languages)? Don't waste time searching through the Character Map for the ones you need. Change your keyboard layout to United States-International, and you can type these characters right from your keyboard. (Note: This tip assumes your default language is set to English [United States].) Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and click the Language tab. With English (United States) selected under Language, click the Properties button, then click the down arrow and select United States-International. Click OK twice and then insert the Windows 95 installation CD when asked. The international layout adds one or two characters to certain keys on your keyboard. We can't print a diagram, but we can show you how to view all of these characters: Hold down your keyboard's right Alt key (referred to as the Alternate Character or AltChar key) as you press each key on your keyboard; then do the same thing pressing Shift-AltChar. As you do, make a mental note of the keyboard combos necessary to type the characters you use. For example, to type an uppercase E with an acute accent mark, you'd press Shift-AltChar-E. In our next tip, more on this worldly keyboard layout... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORTCUT TO RUN COMMANDS In our last tip, we showed you how to call up a previously typed Run command: Select Start, Run; click the down arrow next to the Open text box; select a command and click OK. Is your Run list getting really long, making it hard to find the command you're after? Here's a trick that might help. After selecting Start, Run, type the first letter(s) of the command you want to use. If a command other than the one you want to use appears, use the up or down cursor key to rotate through entries that start with the same letter(s). When the one you want to use appears, press Enter. (Tip-in-a-tip: If your Run list is short, try a variation of this technique. After selecting Start, Run, use the up or down cursor key to rotate through existing entries.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK ACCESS TO RUN COMMANDS If you frequently use the Run command to open files or applications (by selecting Start, Run, typing a command, and pressing Enter), don't waste time typing the same command over and over. Once you've typed a command on the Open line, it appears in the Run command list. From then on, you can access that command with a simple click. Select Start, Run, and click the down arrow at the right edge of the Open text box. Select any item in the command list, then click OK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK ACCESS TO FIND When you need to find something on your system, do you select Start, Find, Files Or Folders, define a folder on the Look In line, and so on? The Start menu is one way to start this search utility, but depending on where you're starting, there may be a faster way to get there. From the desktop or an open Explorer window, press F3 to open the Find: All Files window already focused on the current folder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PROBLEMS WHILE INSTALLING TWEAK UI "I have been trying to install Tweak UI to my Control Panel, but am continuously prompted to insert a disk. (I also see an error message telling me that tweakui.cnt cannot be found.) Where do I get this disk?" So many of you have written with this problem (regarding other PowerToys, too)! The message is misleading. You don't need a disk--you just need to point the installation program to the right folder. (The message appears if, after extracting the PowerToys files from W95powertoy.exe, you move these files to a new location and then proceed with the installation.) When you see the message telling you a disk is now required, click OK. In the resulting dialog box, click the Browse button and navigate your way to the folder where the extracted PowerToys files are located. Click OK twice, and the installation will proceed normally. Note: To obtain the Windows 95 PowerToys, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/pr/1%2C2061%2Cpr-w95-82%2C00.html and download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents and then, one at a time, right-click each *.inf file and select Install. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINT SCREEN POINTERS In our last tip, we showed you how to use the Print Screen key to print the current screen: Press the Print Screen key (to send the current screen to the clipboard); open Paint--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint; select Edit, Paste; if you see a message stating that the image is larger than the current bitmap, click Yes; use Paint's Print command to print the screen. Now on to a couple of pointers: Hold down Alt as you press Print Screen to send only the currently active window to the clipboard. If you're printing an entire screen, switch to Landscape mode first--select File, Page Setup, Landscape, and click OK--so the image will fit on a standard letter-size page. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PRINT FROM YOUR DESKTOP Need to print a file--fast? There are two ways to do it without manually opening the application in which it was created. One, right-click a document icon and select Print. Windows 95 opens the file's native application and prints the file. Two, place a printer shortcut on your desktop. (Open My Computer, double-click the Printers folder, right-click and drag your printer icon out to the desktop, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here.) Then, to print a document, drag and drop its icon on the printer icon. (Again, Windows will open the file's native application for you and then print the file.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PREVENT UNWANTED UNINSTALL Installing components from the Windows Setup tab (of the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs dialog box)? There's one thing you should keep in mind: Deselecting an item instructs Windows 95 to uninstall that component when you click OK to proceed. In other words, watch where you click. If, during the installation process, you think you may have deselected an item by mistake, go the safe route: Click Cancel and start over. Good luck! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWERTOYS: SHORTCUT TARGET MENU In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys, a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. While we frequently refer to Tweak UI, one of the more power-packed toys, the other tools receive a lot less ink. Over the next several tips, we'll discuss a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that appear in your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse-button menus). In today's tip, we'll discuss the Shortcut Target Menu PowerToy. (For information on obtaining this and the remaining PowerToys, see the note below.) Want to find a shortcut's target (the item it points to)? Typically, you must right-click a shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click Find Target. But with the Shortcut Target Menu PowerToy installed, that target is accessible via the right-mouse-button menu. Right-click a shortcut, select Target, choose Open Container in the pop-out menu, and up pops the window that holds the target file or folder (with that item selected). (Note: If you don't have the Shortcut Target Menu PowerToy, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w95-61%2C00.html and download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents. Then, to install the Shortcut Target Menu PowerToy, right-click Target.inf and select Install.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWERTOYS: SEND TO CLIPBOARD In our last tip, we told you about the Send To Any Folder PowerToy, a handy tool for copying or moving an item to another location: Right-click a shortcut or folder; select Send To, Any Folder; select a destination folder; choose Copy or Move and click OK. (For information on obtaining this and the remaining PowerToys, see the note below.) While trying out this command, did you happen to notice those other new items in the Send To menu? Send To... Clipboard As Contents and Send To... Clipboard As Name are handy for copying a shortcut's path, or its target's path, to another location. (They save you from unnecessary typing.) Right-click a shortcut and select Send To, Clipboard As Contents to send the path of that shortcut's target. Or, select Send To, Clipboard As Name to send the shortcut's path to the clipboard. Now that the information is on the clipboard, switch to your destination--for example, an email or word processing document--move your cursor to the desired location, and press Ctrl-V to paste it in there. (Note: If you don't have the Send To Clipboard PowerToy, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w95-62%2C00.html and download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents. Then, to install the Send To Clipboard PowerToy, right-click Sendtox.inf and select Install.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWERTOYS: SEND TO ANY FOLDER Have you ever right-clicked a folder, selected Send To, and wished you could select a destination folder in the resulting menu? With the Send To Any Folder PowerToy installed, you can. (For information on obtaining this and the remaining PowerToys, see the note below.) Right-click any shortcut or folder, select Send To, and in the pop-out menu, select Any Folder. Inside the Other Folder dialog box, type the name of the folder to which you'd like to send the item (or click Browse, navigate your way to the destination folder, and click OK). Select Copy or Move, click OK, and off it goes. (In the future, you can select that target folder in the dropdown list under To.) (Note: If you don't have the Send To Any Folder PowerToy, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w95-62%2C00.html and download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents. Then, to install the Send To Any Folder PowerToy, right-click Sendtox.inf and select Install.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWERTOYS: EXPLORE FROM HERE In many of our tips, we refer to the Windows 95 PowerToys, a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. In this series of tips, we're discussing a few of the more obscure PowerToys. (For information on obtaining the PowerToys, see the note below.) The name of the Explore From Here PowerToy says it all. Assuming you have the PowerToys installed, right-click a folder, select Explore From Here, and up pops Explorer with its focus on that folder's contents. So what's the difference between this command and simply choosing Explore? The PowerToy provides you with access to the selected folder (and everything within) only, while Explore clutters up the Explorer window with everything else on your system, too. (Note: If you don't have the Explore From Here PowerToy, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w95-62%2C00.html and download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents. Then, to install the Explore From Here PowerToy, right-click Explore.inf and select Install.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWERTOYS: CONTENTS MENU In many of our tips, we refer to the Windows 95 PowerToys, a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. In this series of tips, we're discussing a few of the more obscure PowerToys. (For information on obtaining the PowerToys, see the note below.) Assuming you have the PowerToys installed, right-click any folder (or the Start button or any drive), and you'll see a new Contents command. Select it, and out pops a menu of that folder's contents. Selecting any item in this list is the same as opening the folder and double-clicking that item--without going through all the extra work. (Note: If you don't have the Contents menu PowerToy, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w95-62%2C00.html and download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents. Then, to install the Contents menu PowerToy, right-click Content.inf and select Install.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POWERTOYS: COMMAND PROMPT HERE In many of our tips, we refer to the Windows 95 PowerToys, a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. In this series of tips, we're discussing a few of the more obscure PowerToys. (For information on obtaining the PowerToys, see the note below.) Assuming you have the PowerToys installed, right-click any folder, and you'll see a new command, Command Prompt Here. Select this command and up pops an MS-DOS window with the command prompt already pointing to that folder. Use this command to open the DOS window from any folder, and you won't have to do all that unnecessary typing to change the directory. (Note: If you don't have the Command Prompt Here PowerToy, point your Web browser at http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/WUToys/W95PwrToysSet/Default.asp and download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents. Then, to install the Command Prompt Here PowerToy, right-click Doshere.inf and select Install.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLICY EDITOR: WIPE DESKTOP CLEAN Want to hide every icon on the desktop--for example, if you're going on vacation and someone else will be using the system? You can wipe the desktop clean using the System Policy Editor, a utility located on the Windows 95 installation CD. If you don't have the CD, you can download the System Policy Editor from Microsoft's Web site. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/ and you'll find this utility under Management Tools. To open the Policy Editor, insert the Windows 95 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, navigate your way to X:\Admin\Apptools\Poledit (where "X" is your CD-ROM drive), and double-click Poledit.exe. In the System Policy Editor window, select File, Open Registry, then double-click the Local User icon. To hide everything on your desktop, double-click the Shell book, then the Restrictions book. Select Hide All Items On Desktop and click OK. Select File, Save, close the Policy Editor, and restart Windows 95. That desktop is clean as a whistle (except for your background or wallpaper selection). (Note: If user profiles are enabled, this setting affects an individual user only.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLICY EDITOR: RESTRICT DISPLAY PROPERTIES SETTINGS Want to keep people from messing with your Display Properties settings? For example, say you're going on vacation and someone else will be using your system while you're away. You can set this restriction (among others) using the System Policy Editor, a handy utility located on the Windows 95 installation CD. If you don't have the CD, you can download the System Policy Editor from Microsoft's Web site. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/ and you'll find this utility under Management Tools. To open the Policy Editor, with the Windows 95 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, navigate your way to X:\Admin\Apptools\Poledit, where "X" is your CD-ROM drive, and double-click Poledit.exe. In the System Policy Editor window, pull down the File menu, select Open Registry, and double-click the Local User icon. Now to set that restriction: Double-click the Control Panel book, then double-click the Display book. Select Restrict Display Control Panel, and a list of options appears at the bottom of the dialog box. To lock the entire Display Properties dialog box, select Disable Display Control Panel. To restrict access to individual tabs of the dialog box, select the appropriate options. (For example, if you don't want anyone messing with your wallpaper, select Hide Background Page.) After making your selections, click OK, then select File, Save. If you lock the entire Display Properties dialog box, an error message will appear when someone tries to open it. If you restrict access to specific tabs, the Display Properties dialog box will open, but without those tabs. (Note: Keep the Windows 95 installation CD out of sight, so no one else can access the Policy Editor. Also, you'll need to deselect these restrictions if you want to access the "forbidden zones.") -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- POLICY EDITOR: HIDE FIND ITEM ON START MENU Want to hinder searching capabilities on your PC--for example, if you're going on vacation and someone else will be using the system? You can disable the Find command using the System Policy Editor, a utility located on the Windows 95 installation CD. If you don't have the CD, you can download the System Policy Editor from Microsoft's Web site. Go to http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/ and you'll find this utility under Management Tools. To open the Policy Editor, insert the Windows 95 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, navigate your way to X:\Admin\Apptools\Poledit (where "X" is your CD-ROM drive), and double-click Poledit.exe. In the System Policy Editor window, pull down the File menu, select Open Registry, and double-click the Local User icon. To disable the Start menu's Find item, double-click Shell, double-click Restrictions, and select the Remove Find Command option. Click OK, select File, Save, and exit the Policy Editor. When you restart Windows, Find will no longer appear in the Start menu, and pressing F3 does nothing. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- PLAY CD WITHOUT TOUCHING CD-ROM DRIVE In our last tip, we showed you how to eject a CD using Explorer: Right-click your CD-ROM drive icon, select Eject, and out pops the CD. In the same way, you can play a CD from Explorer (for example, if you want to listen to an audio CD that's sitting in the drive). Assuming you have an audio CD in the CD-ROM drive, your CD-ROM icon will actually say "Audio CD" in any My Computer or Explorer window. To play the disk, simply right-click the icon and select Play. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- OPEN WINDOW FROM COMMAND PROMPT In our last tip, we showed you how to open a file or folder from within an MS-DOS Prompt window: Type the word "start" followed by the path of the item you want to open. For example, you might type start c:\data\myfile.doc at the DOS prompt and press Enter. Similarly, you can access an Explorer window from within an MS-DOS Prompt window. Type explorer . at the command prompt, press Enter, and up pops a single-paned window, with the focus on the current directory. (Note: Simply typing "explorer" without the space and period opens a window with its focus on the root directory.) If you'd prefer a two-paned window, type explorer /e at the command prompt. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- NOTEPAD'S WORD WRAP OPTION If you open Notepad--Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad--and start typing, you'll notice the text just keeps going and going to the right. That's because Notepad's Word Wrap option is turned off by default. If you want Notepad to start your text at the beginning of the next line whenever you reach the right edge of the window, select Edit, Word Wrap. (Note: Once the Word Wrap option is on, size your Notepad window up or down as necessary. Notepad adjusts the wrap accordingly.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MS-DOS START COMMAND Need to open a file or folder from within an MS-DOS session? Just precede the command you might normally type at Windows 95's Start, Run command with the word "start." For example, type start c:\data\myfile.doc at the DOS prompt and press Enter to open myfile.doc. Or type start sendto and press Enter to open the Windows\SendTo folder. (Note: If the file or folder you're trying to open is in the Windows folder, as is the case with the SendTo folder above, you don't need to type the full path of the item you're trying to open. If you aren't sure, try it without the full path first.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MOUSE POINTER INDICATES MOVE OR COPY Can't seem to remember whether holding down Shift (or Ctrl) while you drag and drop an icon moves or copies that item? Keep your eye on the mouse pointer. If you see a little white box with a plus sign (+) attached to your mouse pointer, you're about to copy the item(s) you're dragging. If you see no symbol attached, you're about to move the item(s). (If you see a shortcut arrow, as in the case of dragging an icon down to the Start button, you're about to create a shortcut.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE TRICKS FOR SELECTING ENTIRE DOCUMENT In our last tip, we suggested two shortcuts for highlighting an entire document in most word processors: Place the cursor at the very beginning of the document and press Ctrl-Shift-End; or, with the cursor anywhere, press Ctrl-A. Here are two more ways to highlight a document: *Triple-click in the left margin. *Hold down the Ctrl key as you click anywhere in the left margin. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MORE OPTIONS FOR PLUS! SCREEN SAVERS In our last tip, we showed you how to activate your Plus! screen saver by moving your mouse into a corner of your screen: Right-click the desktop; select Properties; select the Screen Saver tab; select a Plus! screen saver; click the Settings button; click the General tab; click a corner and select Now; then click OK twice. Inside the Screen Saver Properties dialog box, under Options For Dismissing Screen Saver, you'll find two more options for keeping your screen saver under control. Select an option on the Mouse Sensitivity line to control how easily a screen saver will disappear when you move your mouse. You can even choose to Ignore Mouse Movement. You also can tell Windows 95 to wait a certain amount of time before requiring a password (provided that you have the screen saver password-protected). For example, if you set the Wait option to ten seconds, you have ten seconds to dismiss the screen saver the easy way (by pressing a key or moving the mouse), without needing to type a password. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MINIMIZE WINDOW USING KEYBOARD Want to send an open window to the Taskbar without using the mouse? Press Alt-Spacebar to display the context menu of the currently active window, then press N for Minimize. So, for the quick version, press Alt-Spacebar-N. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAKING QUICK FLOPPY COPIES Need to copy a whole disk? Windows 95 makes it a snap. Put the disk you want to copy in your floppy drive and open a My Computer or an Explorer window. Right-click your floppy drive icon and select Copy Disk. In the resulting dialog box, click Start and you're off and running. Once Windows 95 has read everything on the original disk, you'll be asked to insert the destination disk. Pop it in, click OK, and wait as everything from the first disk is copied to the second. When the operation finishes, you'll get a message telling you it was a success. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAKING ICONS LARGER If you're a Microsoft Plus! user, you can make your icons larger without having to fiddle around with different sizes in the Display Properties dialog box. Plus! includes an option for quick icon growth. Just click the Plus! tab in the Display Properties dialog box (right-click the desktop and select Properties), then select the first option under Visual Settings, Use Large Icons. Click OK and watch your icons grow. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAKE YOUR OWN WALLPAPER Hey, Paint doodlers, ever make a picture so breathtaking that you want to look at it every time you use Windows 95? Slap it on your desktop as wallpaper. Select Start, Programs, Accessories, Paint and open the picture you'd like to use as desktop wallpaper. Save the file, if you haven't already, then select File, Set As Wallpaper (Centered). Close Paint, then check the desktop for your homemade wallpaper. From now on, you can choose this wallpaper by name from the Background tab of the Display Properties dialog box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- MAKE STARTUP APPLICATION START MINIMIZED You may already know how to start an application when Windows 95 starts: Place its shortcut in your Startup folder. (To access this folder, right-click the Start button, select Open, and double-click Programs.) But did you also know that you could start any startup application minimized? That way, the application will open and then shrink to the Taskbar, ready and waiting. It's a great way to keep those windows from hogging valuable screen space. Assuming that you've already placed a shortcut in the Startup folder, right-click the shortcut and select Properties. Click the Shortcut tab, click the down arrow next to Run, and select Minimized. Click OK, and from now on, starting Windows will launch that application and turn it into an itty-bitty Taskbar item. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS FOR LEFT-HANDERS Hey, left-handed mouse users, do you find it difficult to reach all the way over to the left side of the keyboard (with your right hand) for the commonly used Cut, Copy, and Paste shortcuts--Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C, and Ctrl-V, respectively? Then don't. There are equivalents on the right side of your keyboard. Many applications support the following CUA (common user access) commands: Shift-Delete = Cut Shift-Alt-Delete = Copy Shift-Insert = Paste Alt-Backspace = Undo (Note: Just be sure not to use Shift-Delete outside of an application. Remember that it's the Windows 95 command for deleting an item without sending it to the Recycle Bin.) KEYBOARD SHORTCUTS We frequently receive requests for a list of commonly used keyboard shortcuts (to replace mouse functions). Back by popular demand, here's a list we've compiled: Shift-F10-----------------Right-click selected item Ctrl-Esc------------------Display Start menu Alt-[underlined letter]---Select menu command Alt-Esc-------------------Switch to Taskbar's "next" open window Alt-Tab-------------------Switch among open windows (hold Alt and continue to press Tab) Alt-F4--------------------Close active window Alt-Spacebar-N------------Minimize active window Alt-Spacebar-X------------Maximize active window Alt-Spacebar-R------------Restore close active window Alt-Spacebar-C------------Close active window Ctrl-F10------------------Switch focus to menu commands (in any Explorer window) Ctrl-Tab------------------Rotate through dialog box tabs Ctrl-Shift-Tab------------Rotate through dialog box tabs in reverse Ctrl-Alt-Del--------------Display Close Program dialog box In our next tip, we'll look at Windows key shortcuts. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- JUMP TO URL FROM OPEN WINDOW (IF YOU HAVE OR HAD IE 4.X) Want to jump directly to a Web site? Assuming you have IE 4.0 installed, or had it and then installed a later version over it, you can get there from any Explorer window. Simply replace the current address (at the top of the window, below the icon row) with your URL of choice. (If you don't see an Address bar, select View, Toolbars, Address Bar.) For example, you might type tipworld if you want to access http://www.tipworld.com (Windows 95 fills in all the "W's," dots, and so on.) Press Enter, and the indicated Web page shows up inside the current window. Neat, huh? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- INVOKE SCREEN SAVER USING KEYBOARD In our last tip, we showed you how to set up instant access to your favorite screen saver: Open the Windows\System folder, locate the corresponding *.scr file, and place a shortcut to it in your location of choice, such as the desktop. You can now invoke that screen saver by double-clicking the shortcut. Not fast enough for you? Set up hot key access to the shortcut you just created, and you can set it in motion from the keyboard. Right-click the screen saver shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab. Click once in the text box next to Shortcut Key to place the cursor there, and then type the letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to invoke the screen saver. Click OK. From anywhere on your system, press the hot key combo, and there's your screen saver. INSTANT SCREEN-SAVER ACCESS Have you ever wished your screen saver would kick in on command--for example, when you walk away from your desk? Set up a shortcut to it, and you can invoke your screen saver at any time with one quick click. Open an Explorer window and locate your favorite screen saver (*.scr) in the Windows\System folder. Now create a shortcut to it: Right-click and drag the *.scr file onto the desktop or Start menu (or anywhere else you want it). Release the mouse button and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. The next time you step away from your desk, double-click the shortcut. The screen saver kicks in immediately. ICON NUMBERING IF YOU HAVE OR HAD IE 4.X Do you have IE 4.x installed (or did you have it installed and then upgraded it to a later version)? Open any icon file--right-click a shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click the Change Icon button--and you'll notice that the icons no longer appear in a straight-line sequence, from left to right (as they did before IE 4.x). Instead, they appear in multiple rows. You might think that the icon numbering would start with 0 in the top-left corner, then move across the row, continue at the beginning of the next row, and so on. But that's not the case. Instead, starting in the top-left corner, the numbering moves down to the end of that column, continues at the top of the next column, and so on. Keep this numbering in mind the next time you need to reference a specific icon--for instance, when you're changing your hard drive's icon (as we'll describe in our next tip). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HIDING COLUMN IN DETAILS VIEW In our last tip, we showed you how to shrink any column in Details view to make room for the rest of the columns: Hold your mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when the cursor changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag left until the column is the right size. Want to remove a column from the view altogether? Follow the steps above, but drag the mouse pointer as far left as possible (to the next column or to the left edge of the window). Poof! The column disappears. When you want your column back, move the pointer just to the right of where you left the column. When a double-pointed arrow with two black lines appears, click and drag to the right. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- HIDDEN-FILE ATTRIBUTE Want to keep some top-secret files out of sight? Mark them hidden, and they'll disappear (assuming you keep your hidden files hidden). Right-click a top-secret file and select Properties. On the General tab of the Properties dialog box, select Hidden, then click OK. Now to be sure that your hidden file is actually hidden: In any Explorer window, select View, Options, click the View tab, select Hide Files Of These Types, and click OK. (If you have the IE 4.0 Desktop Update installed, select View, Folder Options, click the View tab, select Do Not Show Hidden Files, and click OK.) Now, any files marked hidden will disappear from open windows and the desktop. To access a hidden file, you have two choices. One, you can opt to display hidden files, using the options described above. Two, you can open the Open dialog box of the file's native application, navigate your way to the file's exact location, type its exact name, and click Open. (Note: As with the Read-only attribute we described in our last tip, marking a file as hidden isn't a true security measure; anyone who knows the name and location of a file can open it. It's really just a deterrent--out of sight, out of mind.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FULLY EXPAND EXPLORER FOLDER Need to fully expand a folder in a double-paned Explorer window? Don't waste time clicking all those plus signs (+) individually. Select the folder, then press the asterisk key (*) on your numeric keypad. Every folder inside the top dog (and all the folders in those folders, and so on) will expand before your eyes. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FULL FLOPPY FORMAT In our last tip, we showed you how to wipe a floppy disk clean of all files for easy recycling: With the disk in your floppy drive, double-click My Computer, right-click your floppy drive icon, select Format, select Quick (Erase), and click OK. If you aren't sure that the disk is error-free, or if you have a disk that you know needs complete reformatting (such as one that was formatted for a Macintosh system), you'll want to perform a full format. Follow the steps above, but inside the Format dialog box, select Full under Format Type. Type a label for the disk (up to 11 characters) if you want, and click OK. Windows 95 will proceed to wipe the disk clean, check it for errors, and prepare it for file storage. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOLDER-NAMING TRICKS Want to make sure a particular folder appears at the top of a list--for example, the list of folders on your hard drive (handy when you're viewing the contents of your hard drive inside an Explorer window)? Windows 95 lists folders in alphabetical order, so all you have to do is type a name that starts with "A." Better yet, start it with a double "A," or even a triple "A." The more A's, the higher up the list it goes. Too many A's already? Start the name with a number. Numbers top letters. To top a number, start the name with an underscore, as in _Halloween. FLOPPY DISK QUICK FORMAT Just discover a floppy disk full of files you'll never use again? Don't throw it away. Assuming you know the disk is still in good condition (if you aren't sure, stay tuned for our next tip), recycle it. With the disk in your floppy drive, double-click My Computer, then right-click your floppy drive icon and select Format. Select Quick (Erase) and, if you want, type a label for the disk (up to 11 characters). Click OK, wait for a message telling you the operation is complete, click OK, then click Close. Good as new! In our next tip, performing a full format... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EXPORT ALL OR PARTIAL REGISTRY TO *.REG FILE Frequently, we run tips that involve editing the Windows 95 Registry. Whenever we do, we stress that it's a good idea to first back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive. One way to back up the Registry involves exporting all or part of the Registry to a *.reg file. The information can then be restored to your system easily. In today's tip, we'll show you how to perform a complete and partial Registry backup. Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Assuming you want to back up the entire Registry, select Registry, Export Registry File, navigate to wherever you'd like to store the backup file (for example, the desktop, for easy access), and type a name for the file. Select All under Export Range and then click Save. The result is a *.reg file in the location you specified. If you'd prefer to back up only part of the Registry--for example, the key you'll be editing--navigate your way to that key, select Registry, Export Registry File, and then follow the steps above to name and save the file. (You'll notice that Selected Branch will be selected for you, under Export Range.) In our next tip, we'll show you how to restore a *.reg file's information to the Registry. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ENLARGING WINDOW SCROLLBARS Are the buttons on your windows' scrollbars too small to grab? (Scrollbars are the bars on the right and bottom edges of windows that allow you to scroll through the current window.) Then make them bigger! Right-click the desktop and select Properties to open the Display Properties dialog box. Select the Appearance tab, and in the dropdown list under Item, select Scrollbar. Adjust the Size (just to the right of the Item field), and watch the preview area until you like what you see. Click OK to keep the change. (Tip-in-a-tip: To make the change a permanent part of a desktop scheme, click Save As, type the name of the scheme, and click OK.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- END TASK TO RECOVER FROM LOCKUP If you use Windows 95, your system is going to lock up. Period. While we can't tell you how to resolve every issue, we can offer a tip that might get you back to work without rebooting. Try ending the current task and see if that solves the problem. Assuming you're frozen, press Ctrl-Alt-Delete to open the Close Program dialog box. Select the task that caused the problem (it should say "not responding" in parentheses) and click the End Task button. After a few seconds, an End Task dialog box will appear, explaining that the program is not responding. Click End Task again, and with any luck, Windows will close just that program. (Note: If pressing Ctrl-Alt-Delete does absolutely nothing, or if trying to end a task results in a total lockup, it's time to reboot.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EJECT CD WITHOUT TOUCHING CD-ROM DRIVE If you want to eject a CD but don't feel like reaching all the way over to the button on your CD-ROM drive, let Windows 95 Explorer eject it for you. Right-click your CD-ROM drive icon, select Eject, and out pops the CD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EJECT CD WITHOUT TOUCHING CD-ROM DRIVE If you want to eject a CD but don't feel like reaching all the way over to the button on your CD-ROM drive, let Windows 95 Explorer eject it for you. Right-click your CD-ROM drive icon, select Eject, and out pops the CD. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITING A DESKTOP PATTERN In our last tip, we showed you how to use a pattern on your desktop: Right-click the desktop, select Properties, select a pattern (on the Background tab), and click OK. Do you have your own idea for a pattern? Time for a little pattern editing. Right-click the desktop and select Properties. On the Background tab of the Display Properties dialog box, make sure None is selected under Wallpaper, and then select the pattern you want to change (or select a pattern that's close to the one you want to create). Click the Edit Pattern button, and the Pattern Editor appears. The rest is just a matter of clicking. Click any square within the enlarged pattern to toggle its color between black and your desktop's background color. When the sample matches the look you had in mind, type a name for the pattern, click Add, then click Done. You can now choose your custom pattern by name from the Pattern list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EASTER EGG INSIDE 3D TEXT SCREEN SAVER Are you using the OEM Service Release 2 version of Windows 95 (or any other version of Windows that includes the 3D Text screen saver)? Check out the following Easter Egg. (An Easter Egg is a hidden trick inside software; you can activate an Easter Egg by performing certain actions.) Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Screen Saver tab. Under Screen Saver, select 3D Text and then click the Settings button. Type volcano on the Text line and click OK. Watch the preview screen (on the Screen Saver tab) or click Preview, and you'll see the names of famous volcanoes. If you don't have 3D screen savers on your system, we'll show you how to get them in our next tip. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DRESS UP YOUR SYSTEM FOR HALLOWEEN Do you have your costume all ready for Halloween? If you really want to get in the Halloween spirit, dress up your system, too. There are loads of Halloween-related screen savers, desktop themes, wallpapers, and so on, all over the Web. If you aren't sure where to start, point your browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/0,1392,,00.html and search under the keyword "Halloween." DISPLAY VIDEO CLIPS AT FULL SCREEN Have you seen the video clips on the Windows 95 installation CD? They sure make a big impression the first time you see them. But they can make an even bigger splash if you view them full screen. Before you view your next video clip (on the CD or elsewhere), open the Control Panel and double-click Multimedia. Now click the Video tab and select Show Video In Full Screen from the dropdown list next to Window. Click OK and try playing the video. Dude! Kewl! (To exit, press Esc.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISPLAY HELP SCREENS FOR POWERTOYS In the last series of tips, we told you how to install the Windows 95 PowerToys: Point your Web browser at http://www.microsoft.com/windows95/downloads/contents/WUToys/W95PwrToysSet/Default.asp download W95powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, and double-click this file to extract its contents. Then, one at a time, right-click each *.inf file and select Install. A number of readers have asked where to find the help screens that appear during the installation process--specifically, those that give information on the Find Extensions, Send To Extensions, and Tweak UI PowerToys. Simply open the folder that contains all of the *.inf files you used to install the PowerToys. To view the help screen for the Find Extensions PowerToys, right-click findx.inf and select Open. Similarly, right-click sendtox.inf and select Open to view the Send To Extensions help screen. To view help for Tweak UI, open this utility (double-click its icon inside the Control Panel). On the Mouse tab, click the Tips button. Double-click About Tweak UI to read the same help screen that appeared during installation, or select from any of the other help options. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLE SYSTEM SOUNDS, NOT AUDIO CD Want to disable your system sounds without disabling all sound--for example, when you're listening to an audio CD? If you simply use the volume control on your Taskbar, you'll end up with complete silence. Instead, switch to the No Sounds sound scheme. Open the Control Panel, double-click Sounds and, under Schemes, select No Sounds. Click OK, and now you'll hear your audio CD and nothing else. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DELETE START MENU ITEMS Is there an item in your Start menu you'd like to delete? There are a number of ways to go about it. If you have IE 4.x installed (or had it installed and then upgraded to a later version of IE), deletions are a snap. Click Start, navigate your way to that item, right-click it, and select Delete. If you never had IE 4.x installed, you have two options. Right-click the Start button and select Open. Navigate your way to the item you'd like to remove, right-click it, and select Delete. Or, right-click a blank area of the Taskbar, select Properties, then click the Start Menu Programs tab. Click the Remove button, locate the Start menu item you want to delete, click Remove, click Close, then click OK.
CUT AND PASTE TO MOVE ITEM The next time you need to move an item--a folder, file, shortcut, whatever--don't feel as though you're stuck with a drag-and-drop operation. Many times, finding and relocating the necessary windows is more trouble than it's worth. As an alternative, try a simple cut and paste. Right-click the item you want to move and select Cut. (Note: For multiple items, hold down Ctrl as you click each one, then right-click the selection and select Cut.) Navigate to the item's destination, right-click a blank area there--for example, the white area inside a window--and select Paste. Done. Like butter. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CRUISE DIALOG BOX TABS WITHOUT THE MOUSE The next time you need to move from one tab to the next in an open dialog box, don't automatically reach for your mouse. Instead, press Ctrl-Tab. (Tip: While holding down Ctrl, press Tab continuously until the tab you want is highlighted, then let go.) To jump through tabs in reverse, press Ctrl-Shift-Tab. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CRUISE DIALOG BOX TABS WITHOUT THE MOUSE The next time you need to move from one tab to the next in an open dialog box, don't automatically reach for your mouse. Instead, press Ctrl-Tab. (Tip: While holding down Ctrl, press Tab continuously until the tab you want is highlighted, then let go.) To jump through tabs in reverse, press Ctrl-Shift-Tab. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREATING FIND INDEX IN WINDOWS 95 HELP Windows 95 Help offers a fairly extensive index of topics. But sometimes a topic you need won't appear in the index--either because it doesn't exist or because Windows lists it under another name. To rule out this second option, try searching through Help by keyword, using the Find feature. Open Help by selecting Start, Help, and then click the Find tab. Select one of the three setup options, click Next, and wait as Windows sets up the new index. (You'll have to go through these steps only the first time you use this feature.) When it finishes, follow the three outlined steps to see if Find can track down what you need. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREATE SUBFOLDER IN EXPLORER Need to create a folder within a folder while you're working inside a Windows Explorer window? You won't find a Create Directory command, as you did in the old Windows 3.x File Manager. However, there is an easy way to create a new folder. In the left pane of your Explorer window, select the folder in which you'd like to create a subfolder. Right-click a blank area of the right pane and select New, Folder. Type a name and press Enter. CREATE SHORTCUT TO DEVICE MANAGER Do you find yourself inside the Device Manager on a regular basis? Then you've probably already figured out one of the fastest ways to get there: Hold down the Alt key as you double-click My Computer, then click the Device Manager tab. Actually, there's an even faster way. Create a custom shortcut and place it in a convenient location, such as on your desktop or Start menu; then you can jump to the Device Manager in one step. Right-click the desktop (or the folder in which you'd like to place the shortcut) and select New, Shortcut. In the text box under Command Line, type exactly C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL.EXE Sysdm.cpl, System,1 Click the Next button, type the name: Device Manager and click Finish. From now on, that shortcut will take you directly to the Device Manager tab of the System Properties dialog box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREATE EMERGENCY RECOVERY DISK To keep yourself safe from disaster, create an Emergency Recovery disk. Once you do, you'll have a complete inventory of your system and configuration files, as well as the Emergency Recovery Utility (the program that restores these files to your system) close at hand. Insert your Windows 95 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, select Browse This CD, and navigate your way to the OTHER\MISC\ERU folder. Inside, double-click ERU.EXE, then follow along as Windows 95 walks you through the disk creation process. (You can save the recovery files on a disk or a drive, such as on a network.) You'll even see a preview of the files that will be copied. When all the files have been copied to the destination, you'll see a message telling you the operation was a success, along with instructions on how to use the disk in the event of a disaster. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CORNER ACCESS TO SCREEN SAVERS IN PLUS! If you have Microsoft Plus!, there's a not-so-obvious way to activate a Plus! screen saver. Move your mouse pointer into a corner of your screen, and up pops the screen saver. To set up this corner-activated feature, right-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, select the Screen Saver tab. With one of the Plus! screen savers selected, click the Settings button. In the Screen Saver Properties dialog box, click the General tab. You'll now see a picture of a computer screen, with a square in each corner. Click a corner, select Now, and you've set up that corner to activate your screen saver. Set one or set them all. (Conversely, you can select any or all of the corners to prevent the screen saver from loading. Just select Never instead of Now.) Click OK twice to exit all dialog boxes, and you're ready for a test spin. Move your mouse pointer to one of the corners where you've set up the "activation" option (as far as you can into that corner). Wait a second or two, and there's your screen saver. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COPY IE FAVORITES TO ANOTHER PC Need to use your Internet Explorer Favorites on another system? Send them on over. Either copy the contents of your Favorites folder to a floppy disk or email them to yourself; then copy them to the same location on the second PC. Regardless of your Internet Explorer version, you'll find your Favorites folder in the Windows folder. It's that simple. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- COLLAPSE FULLY EXPANDED EXPLORER FOLDER In our last tip, we showed you how to fully expand a folder inside a double-paned Explorer window: Select the folder and then press the asterisk key (*) on your numeric keypad. When you're all done, and you'd like to fully collapse the folder, your first instinct might be to click the minus sign next to the top folder. Doing so will appear to collapse the folder, but the next time you click its plus sign, the folder will appear fully expanded again. To make all those folders slide back into place, click the minus sign next to the top dog, then press F5. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLOSE WINDOW USING KEYBOARD In our last tip, we showed you how to minimize the currently active window without using the mouse: Press Alt-Spacebar, then press N. You can use a similar technique to close an open window. Press Alt-Spacebar, then press C for Close. It's easier on the wrists than Alt-F4. And easier is better. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLICK AND DRAG TO SELECT ICONS
If you need to select more than one item in a folder or on the desktop, rope them all in with a simple click and drag. In any folder or on the desktop, click a blank area, then drag the mouse to draw a box around the items you want to select. Release the mouse button, and everything inside appears highlighted. Miss a few? Hold down Ctrl as you click other items to add to the selection. (Tip: Don't release Ctrl while you're clicking, or you'll lose your initial selection.) ---------------------------------------------- CLEAN OUT THE OPEN WITH LIST In our last tip, we showed you how to use the Open With dialog box to change a file association: Click any file (of the type you want to change) once to select it, then hold down Shift as you right-click this file. Select Open With and select the application you'd like to use to open files of this type. Next, select Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File, and then click OK. While we're on the subject, many readers have asked how to remove items from the Open With dialog box--for example, programs that have been removed from the system. The answer is to remove the file type from your system altogether. Open any Explorer window and select View, Options (or View, Folder Options). Click the File Types tab and, under Registered File Types, select the type associated with the program you want to remove from the Open With dialog box. Click the Remove button, click Yes to confirm, then click Close. The next time you open the Open With dialog box, that program is nowhere in sight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLEAN A USER'S DOCUMENTS LIST Are there items on your Start menu's Documents list that you'd like to delete? The procedure varies a bit depending on whether you have user profiles enabled (and whether you've installed IE 4.x). If you don't have user profiles enabled, navigate your way to C:\Windows\Recent and delete any of the items inside. If you do have them enabled, then the address of the Recent folder is C:\Windows\Profiles\<username>\Recent. Again, delete any items inside. Either way, the Recent folder is a hidden folder, so you'll need to make sure you have hidden files displayed. (Note: If you have IE 4.x installed on your system--or had it and then upgraded to a later version--you can delete an item from the Documents list by right-clicking it on the Start menu and selecting Delete.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHECK NETWORK PRINTER QUEUE Ever wonder how many documents you'll have to watch roll out of your network printer before yours comes out? You can check the printer queue right from your own system. Select Start, Settings, Printers, and in the resulting dialog box double-click the icon for your network printer. You'll now see a list of all jobs sent to the printer that haven't finished printing, including your own. If yours is next, great. If not, sit tight for a while--you've just saved yourself an unnecessary wait at the printer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHECK HARD DISK SPACE Need to check your hard drive space? Inside an Explorer window, double-click any folder on your hard drive, and you'll see the facts in the Status Bar at the bottom of the window. Or, if you aren't a numbers person, go for the pie graph. Inside a My Computer or an Explorer window, right-click your hard drive and select Properties. The pink represents the amount of hard disk space you have left. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGING THE FOCUS OF EXPLORER SHORTCUT Despite the number of times we've discussed how to make an Explorer shortcut open with its focus on your entire system (the same way it looks when you right-click My Computer and select Explore), we still get loads of requests for this technique. So, without further ado: Right-click the Explorer shortcut, select the Shortcut tab, and on the Target line, type EXACTLY: C:\Windows\Explorer.exe /n,/e,/root,,/select,C:\ (Tip-in-a-tip: To apply this technique to the Explorer shortcut in your Start menu, right-click the Start button, select Open, and double-click Programs. Inside, you'll see a Windows Explorer shortcut. Right-click it, and so on, following the steps above.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGING A FILE ASSOCIATION If you frequently open files in applications other than those with which they're associated, it's time for a change. An association change, that is. You can change a file's association and double-click it to open the file in your application of choice. Suppose you prefer to open *.txt files in Microsoft Word, not in Notepad. Click any *.txt file once to select it, then hold down Shift as you right-click this file. In the menu that appears, select Open With. Select the application in which you want to open *.txt files--in this case, Winword. Select Always Use This Program To Open This Type Of File, then click OK. When you double-click any *.txt file, it will now open in Word automatically! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE THE SIZE OF WINDOW BORDERS Take a look at the borders around the open windows on your desktop. Wish they were a little bigger, so you'd have more to grab onto when you went to size them? Then fatten them up a bit. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Appearance tab. Under Items, select Active Window Border, then adjust its Size to whatever you want. (Watch the preview to see the effect of your change.) Click OK, and from now on, all your windows will have larger borders. (Note: The Taskbar's borders will get bigger, too.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE TASKBAR TEXT Want to change the font and size of your Taskbar text? All it takes is a quick trip to the Display Properties dialog box. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and in the Display Properties dialog box, click the Appearance tab. Click the down arrow below Item, then scroll up and select Active Title Bar. (Note: As you might guess, this change affects the text of your window title bars, too.) In the bottom row of settings, use the Font and Size options to change the appearance of the text. As you do, you'll see your changes in the preview area. When you like what you see, click Apply or OK to keep the change. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE KEYBOARD LANGUAGE AND LAYOUT Need to do some work in a foreign tongue? Windows 95 offers many language and layout combinations to convert your keyboard to the language of your choice. Open the Control Panel, double-click Keyboard, and click the Language tab. Click the Add button, click the down arrow and select the desired language, then click OK. Back on the Language tab, you'll see this language and the corresponding keyboard layout below the default language. Click OK, and a dark blue symbol appears in the tray of your Taskbar. To change languages, click this button and select a language in the pop-up list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE ICON FONT Remember how you could change your File Manager font back in the days of Windows 3.x? Unfortunately, Windows Explorer doesn't offer this same option--that is, unless you're willing to change the font of every icon on your system. Right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click the Appearance tab, and under Item, select Icon. On the line below that, select a new Font and Size (don't adjust the Size to the right of the Item list, or you'll change the icon size), then click Apply. Open an Explorer window (or switch to the desktop) for a preview of the new setting, and if you like the look, click OK. If not, change it again until you do. Change your mind? In case you forget, the default icon font for the Windows Standard color scheme is 8-point, MS Sans Serif (Western). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE HARD DRIVE ICON Want to change the icon used to represent your hard drive? Here's how: Open Notepad (select Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad) and type exactly: [autorun] icon=PATH,# where PATH is the path of the icon file containing the icon you want to use, and # is its number (see note below for more information). So, for example, if you wanted to use a globe icon, your Notepad file would read: [autorun] icon=c:\windows\system\shell32.dll,13 Save the file as AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive, then close Notepad. Open a My Computer window, press F5 (to refresh), and there's the new icon. (Note: To view the contents of an icon file--such as Windows\System\shell32.dll--right-click any shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, and click the Change Icon button. From there, you can click Browse, and so on, to open another icon file.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE DEFAULT PRINTER Is your system set up to print to multiple printers--for example, a couple of network printers? If you find that you print on one more than on the others (even though Windows 95 defaults to a different printer), make your favorite the default. That way, you won't have to change your print settings every time you print. Select Start, Settings, Printers and you'll see an icon for each of the printers you're connected to. Right-click the printer you use most and select Set As Default. From now on, whenever you use the Print command, the job will go directly to that printer. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE COLOR OF HIGHLIGHTED ITEMS In our last tip, we showed you how to change the font and size of the text on your Taskbar (and on title bars of active windows): Right-click the desktop and select Properties. Click the Appearance tab, select Active Title Bar under Item, then use the Font and Size options (in the bottom row of settings) to change the appearance of the text. Another not-so-obvious desktop tweak is to change the color of highlighted items. Right-click the desktop, scroll down the resulting menu, and watch as each command appears highlighted in dark blue (assuming you're using the Windows Standard scheme). The same thing happens when you select icons in a window, commands in an application, and so on. By changing the color of the Selected Items desktop component, you can change the color of all of this highlighting. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and select the Appearance tab of the Display Properties dialog box. Click the down arrow under Item and choose Selected Items. To the right of this option, click the down arrow under Color and select your highlighter color of choice. Click Apply or OK to keep the change. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BUTTONS OFFER HELP The next time you're tooling around a dialog box and don't understand a particular button or option, remember that help is just a click or two away. Right-click a button or option, and click the gray What's This? button. (If no button appears, there's no Help topic associated with that option--sorry.) Alternatively, click the question mark caption button in the dialog box's upper-right corner, then click the option or button with which you'd like some help. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- APPLYING VIEW OPTIONS GLOBALLY We can't tell you the number of people who ask if there's a way to apply viewing options, such as Large Icons, to every folder. The answer is yes, but only if you have IE 4.x installed (or had it installed and then upgraded to a later version of IE). Open any folder window and set your ideal viewing options. For example, you might select View, Large Icons, and then View, Arrange Icons, Auto Arrange. In the same window, select View, Folder Options, and click the View tab. Click Like Current Folder, click Yes to confirm, and then click OK. From that point forward, any folder window you open will display the same View options. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED OPTIONS IN DISK DEFRAGMENTER Defragmenting your drive? If you're short on time, remember that you don't have to tackle the whole job at once. The Disk Defragmenter breaks the operation into two parts--defragmenting files and consolidating space. Defragment now to gain the performance improvement, then come back to the consolidation part later. To open this utility, select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Disk Defragmenter. Select the drive you want to defragment, click OK, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Advanced button. Under Defragmentation, select Defragment Files Only, then select one of the options at the bottom of the dialog box (to indicate if this is a one-time-only or an all-the-time thing). Click OK, then click Start. Later, when you have more time, follow these same steps to complete the consolidation part of the process. (Otherwise, future files are more likely to become fragmented.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED FIND OPTIONS: DATE LAST ACCESSED AND FILE TYPE Need to locate a file, but can't remember its name? Windows' Find utility offers plenty of ways to track it down. Just fill in what you do know about the file on the Name & Location, Date, and Advanced tabs, and chances are, Windows can find the file you're looking for. Let's suppose the only things you can remember about a file are that you opened it last Friday and that it was a Microsoft Word document. Select Start, Find, Files Or Folders. On the Look In line, click the down arrow and select the drive on which the file is located. (If you aren't sure, select My Computer.) Click the Date tab, select Find All Files, click the down arrow next to this option, and select Last Accessed. Select Between and complete both date fields with last Friday's date. Finally, select the Advanced tab, click the down arrow next to the Of Type box, and select Microsoft Word. Click Find Now, and the resulting list will include all Microsoft Word documents opened last Friday. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADVANCED FIND OPTIONS: CONTAINING TEXT In our last tip, we showed you how to find a file based on two factors--the date it was last accessed and its file type (these options are on Find's Date and Advanced tabs, respectively). Now let's look at another scenario. Suppose the one thing you know about a document you're trying to track down is that it discussed horseback riding. Select Start, Find, Files Or Folders. On the Look In line, click the down arrow and select the drive on which the file is located. (If you aren't sure, select My Computer.) Click the Advanced tab and, next to the Containing Text box, type the text that you know appears in the document--in this case, horseback. Click Find Now and check the resulting list for the missing document. (Note: If the resulting list is long--after all, you might have loads of documents with the word "horseback" in them--try narrowing your search a bit more. For example, you might select a file type on the Advanced tab; or, if you know you accessed the file in the previous month, select this option on the Date tab. Once again, click Find Now, and with any luck, you'll spot the file you're after.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADJUST DOUBLE-CLICK SPEED Do you frequently have to double-click an item more than once (and/or faster than you'd like) to get Windows to respond? If so, it's time to adjust your double-click speed. Open the Control Panel--select Start, Settings, Control Panel--and double-click Mouse. On the Buttons tab, move the lever under Double-click Speed closer to Slow. To take your new double-click for a test spin, double-click the Jack-In-The-Box icon (in the Test area) at a comfortable speed. If Jack appears, you're all set. Click OK. If not, readjust the speed and try again. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDING NOTES TO HELP Need to paste a note on a Windows 95 Help topic, such as "Found more detailed info on this topic at www.betterwin95help.com"? (We just made that URL up.) Assuming that you've already opened the topic inside Windows Help, right-click a blank area of its window and select Annotate. In the box that appears, type your note and then click Save. To read the note the next time you open the topic, click the little paper clip icon. To remove a note from a topic, open the note and click Delete. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADDING ADDRESS TOOLBAR TO TASKBAR In our last tip, we showed you how to jump directly to a Web site using the Run command: Select Start, Run, type the URL you want to visit, and click OK. If you have IE 4.x installed (or had it installed and then upgraded to a later version of IE), you can set up direct Web access right on your Taskbar. Just create an Address toolbar. Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar and select Toolbars, Address. An Address bar similar to the one in your browser window appears on your Taskbar. (To resize it, hold your mouse pointer over the vertical bar at its left edge. When the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag in either direction.) Type an address (or the first few letters of it--the rest pops up automatically if you've typed it before), press Enter, and off you go. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD YELLOW SPEAKER ICON TO TRAY In our last tip, we showed you how to remove the little yellow speaker icon from your Taskbar's tray: Right-click it, select Adjust Audio Properties, deselect Show Volume Control On The Taskbar, and click OK. Want it back? Open your Control Panel and double-click Multimedia. On the Audio tab, select Show Volume Control On Taskbar, then click OK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD NEW SOUND EVENTS TO REGISTRY In our last tip, we showed you the first part to making new application events appear in the Sounds dialog box. Inside the Registry Editor, navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. For each application for which you'd like to add events, right-click the Apps key, select New, Key, type the name of a program's *.exe file without the extension or path, and press Enter. Right-click (Default), select Modify, type the application name, and click OK. Now, under each new application key, create a key for each event with which you'd like to associate sounds. Right-click the application key, select New, Key, type a legitimate event name, and press Enter. (To view a list of these names, double-click the .Default key under HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps.) Repeat these steps for each of the application's events you'd like to see in the Events list, then follow these same steps to add events for other applications. When you're finished, close the Registry Editor. The next time you open the Sounds Properties dialog box, you'll see your new application and events in the Events list. You can now associate these sounds with events just as you normally would: Select an event, then select a sound under Name. (Note: If the sound you want to use isn't in the list, click Browse, navigate your way to that file, select it, and click OK.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD FOLDER TO THE SEND TO LIST If you've ever used the Send To list (right-click the desktop, select Send To, and so on) to send items to a floppy disk or other location, then you know how handy this command is. But what you may not know is that this list is customizable. Add your own favorite locations, and you can move files around your system faster than ever. Suppose you have a folder named My Pictures that you use to store all of your digital photos. Add a shortcut to this folder to the C:\Windows\SendTo folder, and it will appear in the Send To list. In one Explorer window, locate the My Pictures folder. In another, locate the Windows\SendTo folder. Right-click and drag the My Pictures folder directly over the SendTo folder, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. Now, to send a picture to your My Pictures folder, right-click the picture file, select Send To, and choose My Pictures in the resulting list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD APPLICATIONS TO THE SOUNDS PROPERTIES EVENTS LIST You probably already know how to associate a sound on your system with an event in the Sounds Properties dialog box: Open the Control Panel, double-click Sounds, select an event in the Events list, and select a sound under Name. But did you also know that if an event with which you'd like to associate a sound is not listed there, you can still associate a sound with it? Just add this event to the list by editing the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\AppEvents\Schemes\Apps. There, you'll see a list of applications with events in the Sounds Properties dialog box. (In case you're wondering, .Default is Windows.) Now create a new key for the application whose events you'd like to add to the Sounds dialog box. Right-click the Apps key, select New, Key, type the name of the program's *.exe file without the extension or path (for example, type Winword for Microsoft Word), and press Enter. In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. In the Edit String dialog box, on the Value Data line, type the application name, such as Microsoft Word Click OK. Repeat these steps for other applications. In our next tip, we'll show you how to add the actual events. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ADD APPLICATION TO THE SEND TO LIST In our last tip, we showed you how to add any folder to your Send To list (the list that appears when you right-click any file or folder and select Send To): Just add that folder's shortcut to the C:\Windows\SendTo folder. Folders aren't the only items the Send To list can handle. Add an application shortcut to the Send To list and, from then on, right-clicking a file, selecting Send To, and choosing the new program shortcut opens the file in that application. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ACCESSING URL FROM RUN COMMAND Need to get to a Web site quickly? If you don't have a shortcut or link handy, try this: Select Start, Run, and in the box next to Open, type the URL you want to visit. Click OK, and your browser window opens directly to that site (after connecting you to the Internet, if necessary). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHERE TO FIND WIN95 GAMES Can't find the games that you're sure come with Windows 95? If they aren't already in the Start, Programs, Accessories, Games folder, you'll need to install them manually. (Games aren't part of a typical installation.) Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and click the Windows Setup tab. In the list of Components, double-click Accessories. Click the check box next to Games, click OK twice, and insert your Windows 95 installation disk when asked. You can now access Solitaire, Hearts, Minesweeper, and FreeCell by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, Games. Don't see a Games component under Accessories? More in our next tip.... -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHERE TO FIND CD-ROM EXTRAS Throughout our tips, we frequently refer to Windows 95 components that need to be installed off the installation CD--things like the Character Map, Mouse Pointers, and ClipBook. Don't have the CD? Not a problem. Microsoft has made most of these "extra" components ("extra" because they don't appear on floppies) available for download. Point your Web browser at http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q135/3/15.asp and look over the list of available components. Then, just select one of the blue file links at the bottom of the page (under How To Download CD-ROM Extras From Online Services) to start the download process. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- THANKSGIVING DOWNLOADS Only a few more days until turkey day. How about a little Thanksgiving decor to get you in the mood? There are plenty of screen savers, desktop themes, and so on available for download off the Internet. For starters, point your Web browser at http://www.cnet.com and click the Downloads link. Search under the keyword Thanksgiving. Take your pick! There are even some puzzles to try. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SYSTEM PROPERTIES SHORTCUT The next time you need to open the System Properties dialog box, don't waste your time opening the Control Panel and double-clicking System (unless you're already in the Control Panel). Assuming you're staring at your desktop, there's a much faster way. Just hold down Alt as you double-click My Computer. Who knew? -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SWITCH TO FULL-SCREEN MS-DOS VIEW Want to switch your Windows-style MS-DOS Prompt window to the old-fashioned, full-screen view? You have two options: Click the Full Screen button (the one with four arrows on it) or press Alt-Enter on your keyboard. To get back to the window view, press Alt-Enter one more time. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- START YOUR DAY WITH A MIDI FILE Tired of the little ditty that plays (or the silence) when you start Windows 95? Start your day with a MIDI file. Place a shortcut to any *.mid file in the Startup folder, and that song will play every time you start Windows. First, silence the sound that currently plays at startup. Select Start, Settings, Control Panel, and double-click Sounds. Inside the Sounds Properties dialog box, under Events, select Start Windows. Select None in the list of sounds under Name, and then click OK. Now place a shortcut to the desired *.mid file in your Startup folder. Open any Explorer window and locate the *.mid file you want to use--for example, Windows\Media\Canyon.mid. Next, open your Startup folder by right-clicking the Start button, selecting Open, double-clicking Programs, and double-clicking Startup. Right-click and drag the *.mid file into the Startup folder, release the mouse button, and select Create Shortcut(s) Here. Finally, a Properties adjustment: Right-click the new shortcut, select Properties, and click the Shortcut tab. Edit the Target line to read exactly: c:\windows\mplayer.exe /play /close c:\windows\canyon.mid where c:\windows\canyon.mid is the target of your new shortcut. Now click OK. That's all there is to it. The next time you start Windows 95, the *.mid file starts, too! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SHORTCUT TO CHANGE WINDOW BROWSING OPTION In our last tip, we showed you how to change your window browsing option so that Windows opens successive folders in a single window: In any Explorer window, select View, Options; select the Folder tab; choose Browse Folders Using A Single Window, and then click OK. Or, if you have IE 4.x installed--or had it installed and then upgraded to a later version of IE--select View, Folder Options; select Custom, Based On Settings You Choose; click the Settings button; select Open Each Folder In The Same Window, and click OK. Whether you choose to browse open folders in one window or in many, you should know the shortcut that controls this option. Then, you can select a viewing option on a whim, without using dialog boxes. Hold down Ctrl as you double-click a folder icon (inside an already-open window), and Windows will do the OPPOSITE of what you've asked. So, for example, if you've selected Open Each Folder In The Same Window, holding down Ctrl will force Windows to open the folder in a separate window--and vice versa. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- SAVE PASSWORD WOES We can't tell you the number of requests we get for tips on resolving password issues. For example, many people complain that their Save Password check box (for Dial-Up Networking) is grayed out. For information on this issue, check out the following Microsoft Knowledge Base page: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q137/3/61.asp Also, for those of you whose Save Password box is available, but doesn't work (that is, the password isn't saved), try http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q148/9/25.asp -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESIZE SINGLE DETAILS COLUMN Do you find that your long filenames get cut off when you view a folder's contents in Details view (select View, Details)? That's easy enough to fix. Resize the Name column (or any column, for that matter) to fit its widest entry: Hold the mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RESIZE ALL DETAILS COLUMNS In our last tip, we mentioned that while viewing the contents of any Explorer window in Details view (select View, Details), you can resize a column to fit its widest entry. Hold the mouse pointer over the vertical line at the right edge of the column's title, and when the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, double-click. If you think that's easy, check this out: You can resize every column to fit the widest entry in one fell swoop. With any item selected, hold down the Ctrl key as you press the plus sign (+) on your numeric keypad. (Note: For this trick to work in a two-paned Explorer window, the focus must be on the right pane. Click any item or a blank area inside the right pane, then press Ctrl-+.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REMOVE ITEMS FROM RUN COMMAND LIST Do you use the Start, Run command frequently? Then most likely, your Run command list is getting fairly long. (Click the down arrow next to the Open field, and you'll see a list of previously typed commands.) Clean out the entries you don't use with a quick trip to the Registry. (Note: Back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in the Windows folder--before proceeding.) To open the Registry Editor, select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK. Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/RunMRU. In the right pane, you'll see all the items that currently appear in your Run list. To delete an item, right-click its letter (under Name), select Delete, and then click Yes to confirm. Repeat these steps for every item you want to delete, making sure not to delete the items named MRUList and (Default). When you're finished, close the Registry Editor. Now select Start, Run and click the down arrow to check out your shorter command list. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- RELOCATE THE TASKBAR Do you long for the days when you used a Mac? Reminisce a bit by moving your Taskbar to the top of the screen. Click a blank area of the Taskbar, then drag it up to the top of the screen until a gray, dotted outline appears there. Release the mouse button, and the Taskbar snaps into place. Use this same technique to move your Taskbar to any other side of the screen--or right back where it started. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- LIST OF COMPONENTS INSTALLED WITH WINDOWS 95 Wondering what Windows 95 goodies you might be missing out on? For a one-stop list of all components that are (and are not) installed during the Typical, Custom, or Portable setup of Windows 95, go to: http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q123/8/76.asp It's a lot quicker than searching through all those components on the Windows Setup tab. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- IE 5 DOESN'T INCLUDE WINDOWS DESKTOP UPDATE A number of readers have asked why, after installing IE 5.x, they don't see the IE 4.x features that they may have used or noticed on other machines--features such as the View, As Web Page option for an Explorer window, or the ability to activate an icon with a single or double click. Good question. These features (and more) make up the Windows Desktop Update, a component that is part of IE 4.x, but NOT IE 5.x. A user will see these features only if he or she has upgraded to IE 5.x from IE 4.x (with the Windows Desktop Update option already installed). -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FOCUS EXPLORER ON MY COMPUTER USING THE WINDOWS KEY Recently, we ran a tip describing how to create a shortcut that opens Windows Explorer with the focus on My Computer. In response, a few readers pointed out that if you have a Windows key on your keyboard, there's a much faster way to open Windows Explorer with the same focus (on My Computer). From anywhere on the system, hold down the Windows key and press E on your keyboard. Thanks to everyone who brought this shortcut to our attention! -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISPLAY MS-DOS TOOLBAR In our last tip, we showed you how to switch your MS-DOS Prompt window to the old-fashioned, full-screen view: Press Alt-Enter or click the Full Screen button (the one with four arrows on it). Don't see any buttons? Either you're already in full-screen mode (in which case, you can press Alt-Enter to return to a window), or you've hidden the toolbar by mistake. To display the toolbar, click the MS-DOS icon in the window's upper-left corner and select Toolbar. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLE WINDOWS KEY USING KERNEL TOYS Have you ever pressed the Windows key by mistake while playing a DOS game and, as a result, experienced a system lockup? You're not alone. This problem is so widespread that there's a tool to disable the Windows key during a DOS session. It's called the Windows Logo Key Control For MS-DOS Programs (one of the Windows 95 Kernel Toys). Point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description.asp?fid=746 and download krnltoys.exe. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then double-click Diswinky.inf for information on installing and using the program. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLE USER PROFILES We receive so many requests for tips on disabling user profiles (the Windows 95 feature that allows multiple users to apply their own unique settings to a PC) that we're rerunning this five-part series. To disable user profiles, restart your system, and when you see the Logon dialog box, click Cancel. Open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, and select the User Profiles tab. Select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences And Desktop, and click OK. Restart Windows 95, and user profiles will be disabled. (Note: If there's any portion of a user profile you want to keep, such as an address book or a desktop configuration, see the last tip in this series.) In our next tip, we'll show you how to get rid of that annoying Logon dialog box. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLE LOGON DIALOG BOX AFTER DISABLING USER PROFILES In our last tip, we showed you how to disable user profiles: Restart Windows 95 and click Cancel at the Logon dialog box. Open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, and select the User Profiles tab. Select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences And Desktop, click OK, and restart Windows 95. The problem with this procedure is that the Logon dialog box still appears every time you start Windows 95. To make it disappear, change the current password to no password. Open the Control Panel, double-click the Passwords icons, and on the Change Passwords tab, click the Change Windows Password button. On the Old Password line, enter your current password. Press the Tab key to move down to the New Password line, then press Enter. You'll see a dialog box telling you that your password has been successfully changed. In the next two tips, we'll discuss removing (as opposed to simply disabling) user profiles from your system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DELETING INSTALLED SCREEN SAVERS Ever download a screen saver off the Internet? (For example, in our last tip, we pointed you to some screen savers for Thanksgiving.) It's fine if you like what you get, but if you're picky about what goes on your computer, chances are you'll end up with plenty you can do without. Be sure to get rid of the rejects, so you don't waste valuable disk space. The first place you should look for an unwanted screen saver is the Control Panel's Add/Remove Programs dialog box. If you see the screen saver in the list of installed programs, select it, click Add/Remove, and click Yes to confirm the deletion. Done deal. If the screen saver does not appear in the Install/Uninstall list (and most won't), open the Windows/System folder and look for the corresponding *.scr file. (Tip-in-a-tip: Switch to Details mode and click the Type column heading, so that all *.scr files appear together.) Ditch that file and the screen saver is gone for good. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE REGISTERED USER INFO We frequently receive requests for the steps required to change Windows 95's registered user information--the name and organization that appears in the System Properties dialog box. (You all remember the shortcut to System Properties from our last tip, right? Hold down Alt as you double-click My Computer.) All it takes is some quick Registry editing. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) To open the Registry Editor, select Start, Run, type regedit and click OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion. In the right pane, you'll see RegisteredOrganization and RegisteredOwner in the Name column. Right-click the one you want to change, select Modify, and on the Value Data line of the resulting dialog box, type the correct information. Click OK, repeat these steps for the other value, if desired, and close the Registry Editor. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE MOUSE POINTERS Want a mouse pointer with more personality than a boring old arrow? Windows 95 comes with lots of fun choices--some are even animated. (Note: You'll need to install the pointers off the installation CD, if you haven't already done so. Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and click the Windows Setup tab. In the list of Components, double-click Accessories. Select Mouse Pointers, click OK twice, and insert the installation CD when asked. If you don't have an installation CD, go to http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/q135/3/15.asp to download the Mouse Pointers component.) Open the Control Panel by selecting Start, Settings, Control Panel, and then double-click Mouse. Click the Pointers tab to see your current selections. Select the pointer you want to change, click Browse, and a dialog box full of pointers appears. (To preview an animated pointer, select the corresponding *.ani file and watch the Preview box.) Select your pointer of choice and then click Open. Repeat these steps for each pointer you'd like to change, then click OK. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE ICON USED FOR FILE TYPE Aren't the icons that Windows 95 uses for files plain and boring? Fortunately, you can change almost any file-type icon on your system. Inside an Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options). Click the File Types tab, and under Registered File Types, select the file type you want to redress. Click Edit, then click Change Icon. (Note: If the Change Icon button is grayed out, you can't change the icon for that file type. Sorry.) Select your icon of choice, then click OK. (Or click Browse, navigate your way to another icon file, such as c:\Windows\System\Pifmgr.dll or c:\Windows\System\shell32.dll, click Open, select an icon, and click OK.) Click OK two more times, and the change is complete. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE FOLDER ICONS We get loads of requests for the technique required to change folder icons. Unfortunately, Windows 95 doesn't allow you to change them (unless they're shortcuts), but there is a shareware program that does. With AnyFolder, you can assign different icons to each folder. To obtain this program, go to http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/file_description.asp?fid=4165 and download afolderx.zip. Extract the contents of this file to your location of choice, then right-click Folders.inf and select Install. Once you've installed AnyFolder, you can change the icon used to represent a folder as follows: Right-click the folder, select Properties, and click the new Icon tab. Select Closed or Open (depending on which one you want to change), click Change Icon, select a new icon, and click OK twice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CAN'T FIND GAMES ON WINDOWS SETUP TAB In our last tip, we showed you how to install the games that come with Windows 95: Open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Games, click OK twice, and insert your Windows 95 installation disk when asked. Don't see a Games component under Accessories? Someone doesn't want you wasting time. Most likely, an administrator has removed this component from the Windows Setup tab altogether. Party-pooper. If you're an administrator and want the technique, go to http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q203/4/92.ASP -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BROWSE FOLDER USING SINGLE WINDOW Do you find it annoying that every time you open a folder inside a folder, and so on, each successive folder's contents open in a separate window? Ask Windows to open them all in the same window. In any Explorer window, select View, Options and select the Folder tab. Choose Browse Folders Using A Single Window, then click OK. (Note: If you have IE 4.x installed--or had it installed and then upgraded to a later version of IE--select View, Folder Options. On the General tab, select Custom, Based On Settings You Choose. Click the Settings button, select Open Each Folder In The Same Window, and then click OK.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ALWAYS SHOW EXTENSION FOR PARTICULAR FILE TYPE In our last tip, we showed you how to change the icon used to represent a file type: In any Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options) and click the File Types tab; select a file type, click Edit, click Change Icon, select a new icon, click OK, and then click OK two more times. Worried that you won't remember what file type that icon represents? Assuming you don't have file extensions showing (otherwise, you'd know a file type at a glance), you can opt to show the extension for just that file type. Inside an Explorer window, select View, Options (or View, Folder Options). Click the File Types tab, and under Registered File Types, select the file type for which you want to display extensions. Click Edit, select Always Show Extension, and click OK twice. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REMOVE USER PROFILES FROM WINDOWS FOLDER In our last tip, we showed you the first step toward permanently removing user profiles from your system: Open the Registry Editor (select Start, Run, type regedit, and click OK), navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\<username> and delete the appropriate <username> keys (or delete the ProfileList key to remove all user profiles at once). The second part of the removal process is to delete the user profile information from inside the Windows folder. First, make sure all "hidden" files are visible: In any Explorer window, select View, Options, click the View tab, select Show All Files, and click OK. (If you have IE 4.0 installed--or had it installed and then upgraded to a later version of IE--select View, Folder Options, click the View tab, and select Show All Files under Advanced settings.) In that same Explorer window, navigate your way to the C:\Windows\Profiles folder, assuming C is the drive on which Windows 95 is installed. To delete an individual profile, delete the corresponding C:\Windows\Profiles\<username> folder. To remove all user profiles, delete the entire C:\Windows\Profiles folder. (Note: If there's any part of a user profile you want to keep around, such as a desktop configuration, be sure to read our next tip before deleting that profile.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- REMOVE USER PROFILES FROM REGISTRY In the first tip in this series, we showed you how to disable user profiles: Restart Windows 95 and click Cancel at the Logon dialog box. Open the Control Panel, double-click Passwords, and select the User Profiles tab. Select All Users Of This PC Use The Same Preferences and Desktop, click OK, and restart Windows 95. When you follow these steps, user profiles are officially disabled, but all the information stored in each person's user profile is still on the system. To get rid of this information, you'll need to go through two steps, the first of which is to edit the Registry. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\ProfileList\<username> To remove an individual profile, in the left pane, right-click the <username> key that represents the profile you want to remove. Select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. To remove every profile at once, right-click the ProfileList key, select Delete, then click Yes to confirm. Close the Registry Editor. In our next tip, we'll show you the other half of removing profiles from your system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- KEEP PART OF USER PROFILE Over the last four tips, we've shown you how to disable and remove user profiles. Want to do away with user profiles, but retain some of a profile's settings? You can retrieve them from the user profile folder, assuming you haven't deleted it. For example, if you want to retain a user profile's desktop settings, delete the contents of the default desktop folder (probably C:\Windows\Desktop). Next, copy the contents of the user profile's Desktop folder (C:\Windows\Profiles\\Desktop) to the default desktop folder. Similarly, to keep a profile's Start Menu configuration, copy the contents of the C:\Windows\Profiles\<username>\Start Menu folder to C:\Windows\Start Menu. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- GET YOUR DESKTOP IN THE HOLIDAY SPIRIT Can't seem to get in the holiday spirit? There are loads of holiday-related screen savers, desktop themes, clipart, and so on, available for download off the Internet. For example, point your Web browser at: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/index.asp and search under a keyword like "holiday" or "Christmas" (in Downloads). Other sites you may wish to try: http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/98/ (Select Shell, Desktop And Themes; then look for the word "holiday" (Holiday Cursors, Holiday Icons, Holiday Themes, and so on.) http://www.softseek.com/Desktop_Enhancements/ (Search in Desktop Enhancements using a keyword like "holiday" or "Christmas.") -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- FIND SHORTCUTS If you frequently use Find (select Start, Find, All Files Or Folders) to search for folders buried deep within your hard drive, you're probably tired of clicking Browse and navigating your way there every time. After this tip, you won't have to. If the same Find: All Files window is still open, click the down arrow next to Look In. At the bottom of the list, you'll see all the folders you navigated your way to during the current Find session. Select any one, and it appears on the Look In line. Tip-in-a-tip: If you've closed the Find window, you won't be able to access previously searched folders in the Look In line. However, you can save yourself some time by beginning your search closer to your destination. On the desktop, or in an Explorer window, right-click the folder you want to search and select Find. The Find: All Files window opens with the focus on that folder. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- WHAT TO DO WITH DOWNLOADED DESKTOP ELEMENTS In our last tip, we pointed you to some Web sites for downloading holiday-theme desktop elements such as screen savers, desktop themes, and clipart: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/index.asp http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/98/ http://www.softseek.com/Desktop_Enhancements/ Now that you've downloaded what you need, you'll need to know what to do with it. Assuming you end up with a *.zip file (and you will, in most cases), use an unzipping utility to open the resulting ZIP file (or if it's an *.exe file, double-click it to extract its files). Then... For wallpaper: Extract or move any *.bmp files to your Windows folder. >From now on, you can apply any of the new wallpapers using the Display Properties dialog box. Just right-click the desktop, select Properties, select a wallpaper on the Background tab, and click OK. For screen savers: Extract or move the *.scr file(s) inside to your Windows folder. From now on, you can apply the screen saver(s) using the Display Properties dialog box. Simply right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Screen Saver tab. Select the screen saver you'd like to use (and adjust the delay, if necessary), then click OK. For startup/shutdown screens: Extract or move the files inside to the appropriate directory: Logo.sys belongs in the root directory; logos.sys and logow.sys in the Windows folder. (Tip: Rename the originals first, so you don't overwrite them.) For desktop themes: Extract or move the contents to the Program Files\Plus!\Themes folder. From now on, you can select the theme from the Desktop Themes dialog box. Just open the Control Panel, double-click Desktop Themes, and select the new theme in the Theme list. Assuming you like the preview that appears, click OK to apply it to your desktop. (Note: The above instructions apply to the majority of downloads; however, there will be exceptions. For example, some downloads include a setup program to install the item for you. When in doubt, look for a readme.txt file.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING THE WINDOWS 95 RESOURCE KIT Want some real nerd-level information about Windows 95? Check out the Windows 95 Resource Kit, an intensive help file (designed mainly for administrators) that makes the traditional Windows Help look like baby talk. You could go out and purchase the Resource Kit in book form, but why bother when you can get it for free (assuming you have the Windows 95 installation CD)? Pop the installation CD into your CD-ROM drive, open an Explorer window, and navigate your way to D:\Admin\Reskit\helpfile. To get started, double-click win95rk.hlp and wander through topics just as you would in Windows Help. Feeling smarter already? (Tip in a tip: To install the Resource Kit on your hard drive, copy win95rk.hlp and win95rk.cnt to your C:\Windows\Help folder, then create a shortcut to the win95rk.hlp file in a convenient location.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- QUICK DESKTOP ACCESS Don't have the DeskMenu PowerToy or a Quick Launch toolbar? While both of these tools provide one-click access to the desktop, there's a tool-less way to get there and it's built right into Windows 95: Right-click any blank space on the Taskbar and select Minimize All Windows. Instant desktop. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ORGANIZE YOUR DATA FILES If you're like most Windows users, as you create data files, you store them in various locations all over your system. However, this method of file storage makes for time-consuming backups. (You do back up your data files on a regular basis, right?) Why not store all of the files you create in one central location? From then on, backups will be a snap, and you won't risk losing important files. First, create the storage area--a new folder on your hard drive; or, if your drive is partitioned, one virtual drive. Name the folder or drive something appropriate, such as Data or My Data, then create subfolders depending on your work habits. For example, you might create Personal and Work subfolders, with a number of folders in each of those. Now move your existing data files into the new folders. Sure, it takes a few minutes (and there are some minor annoyances to deal with, as we'll discuss in the next tip), but just think--the next time you perform a data backup, everything is in one place. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DISABLE STARTUP APPLICATIONS TEMPORARILY If you have shortcuts to oft-used applications in your StartUp folder (Start, Programs, StartUp), then you know that these applications open each time you start Windows 95. But what you may not know is that you can start Windows without these applications on a one-time-only basis (for example, if you want to get right to work on something else). When you start the boot process, wait until you see the Windows 95 logo on screen, then press and hold the Shift key until Windows finishes loading. Those StartUp apps are nowhere in sight. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- DELETE DOWNLOADED DESKTOP ELEMENTS YOU WON'T USE In our last two tips, we pointed you to some Web sites for downloading holiday-theme desktop elements such as screen savers, desktop themes, and clipart: http://www.pcworld.com/downloads/index.asp http://winfiles.cnet.com/apps/98/ http://www.softseek.com/Desktop_Enhancements/ As you're downloading, installing, and previewing these holiday elements, you're sure to come across some you don't like. With that in mind, we'd like to offer one suggestion: Delete as you go. Ditch the *.zip (or *.exe) file and any extracted files associated with an unwanted item. Better still, use the uninstall program, if any, that came with a download to get rid of that program. Otherwise, you'll end up with lots of garbage on your system. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CREATING, USING, AND UPDATING A BRIEFCASE Do you frequently move files from one system to another--for example from your office PC to a home PC? If you simply copy the files to a floppy disk and go about your business, you aren't taking advantage of a very useful Windows 95 feature. The Windows 95 Briefcase will keep multiple copies of the same files current, so you don't have to spend valuable time trying to figure out which is the most recent version. In the next few tips, we'll show you how to create, use, and update a briefcase on either a desktop or laptop system. To create a briefcase, right-click on your desktop and select New, Briefcase. (If you don't see Briefcase in the menu, you'll need to install this component: Click Start, Settings, Control Panel. Then select Add/Remove Programs, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click Accessories, select Briefcase, click OK twice, and insert your installation disk when asked.) Select the new briefcase, press F2 (for Rename), type your name of choice, and press Enter. Now just copy any files you plan to work on at another location into the new briefcase, just as you would any other folder: Click and drag the file(s) directly over the briefcase and release the mouse button. The files in the briefcase, called sync files, are now linked to the originals. In our next tip, we'll show you how to work on these files at another location without losing your links to the originals. Stay tuned. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CLEAN UP SHORTCUTS AFTER MOVING DATA FILES In our last tip, we suggested that you store all of your data files in one central location (a drive or folder with a series of subfolders) to make data backups a snap. Assuming you just moved all your data files into the appropriate folders, you'll still have a bit of cleanup to do. All data file shortcuts--on the desktop, in the Documents list, or in your applications' File menus--will need to be deleted or redirected. As far as desktop shortcuts, you have two choices. Either create new shortcuts or let Windows do the redirecting. Double-click a file's shortcut, and chances are good that Windows will find that file in its new location. On to the Documents list: Just clear it and start over. Select Start, Settings, select the Start Menu Programs tab, click the Clear button, and click OK. Finally, you'll want to do away with the shortcuts on your applications' File menus. Don't use them for a while, and the files you open using the File, Open command will replace the orphaned menu items. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHANGE NOTEPAD'S AND WORDPAD'S WORKING DIRECTORIES Two tips ago, we suggested that you store all of your data files in one central location (a drive or folder with a series of subfolders) to make data backups a snap. We also mentioned that once you've moved all of your data files into the appropriate folders, you'll need to redirect or re-create your file shortcuts. You may also want to change the working directories of all your applications. If a program knows where you want to store your data, putting your files there will be that much easier. Most applications offer the commands necessary to change their default directories. For example, in Microsoft Word, you can select Tools, Options, click the File Locations tab, and so on. However, applications such as Notepad and Wordpad require you to make the change on the shortcut level, as follows: First, locate the shortcut you use to open a program. (If the shortcut is on the Start menu, right-click Start, select Open, then locate the shortcut in the Start Menu window.) Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, and in the resulting dialog box, click the Shortcut tab. On the Start In line, type the path of the folder you'd like the program to use as the default, then click OK. From now on--assuming you use that shortcut to open the application--selecting File, Open inside the program will point you to the specified folder. (Note: In a given work session, navigating your way to another folder within the program's Open dialog box changes the working directory to that folder.) -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- USING BRIEFCASE TO UPDATE ORIGINAL FILES For the past few days, we've been discussing the Windows 95 Briefcase, a feature designed to keep multiple copies of the same files current. To create a briefcase, right-click on your desktop and select New, Briefcase. Copy any files you plan to work on at another location into the new briefcase, and these sync files will now be linked to the originals. Use the Send To command to copy the briefcase to a floppy disk, then copy these files to a second system and edit them there. Or, move the briefcase directly to a laptop (connected to the originating system) and edit the files inside the briefcase. Now for the fun part--updating all sync copies of the same files. If you copied your briefcase to a floppy and then copied the briefcase files to another system, updating is a two-step process. Here's the first step: At the location where you edited the files, place the floppy disk containing the briefcase in the floppy drive, display its contents, right-click the Briefcase icon, and select Update All. (Note: If you want to change an operation in the Update dialog box, right-click it and select a new operation, such as Skip.) Click Update. Now for the second step: Insert the floppy disk in the drive of the originating PC and follow the steps above (right-click the Briefcase icon, select Update All, and so on). The original files are now identical to their copies on the second system (where you edited them). If you moved your briefcase to a laptop, updating is only a one-step process: Simply move the briefcase back onto the system where the original files are located, right-click the Briefcase icon, select Update All, and then click Update. (Note: If you created the briefcase right on the laptop, connect the laptop to the originating PC, right-click the briefcase, select Update All, and so on.) Stay tuned for some advanced Briefcase tips. RENAMING A BRIEFCASE FILE In a recent tip, we showed you the basics of the Windows 95 Briefcase function. The problem, however, is that basic instructions can't address all situations. In this tip and the next, we'll show you a common Briefcase scenario and explain how to handle it. Let's suppose you want to rename a file that has sync copies (in a briefcase and on another system). If you do rename the file, the next time you perform an update operation (right-click the briefcase, select Update All, and so on), Briefcase will think you've deleted that file. So you'll see a Delete message (called an action) next to the old filename. Yikes! As far as the briefcase is concerned, that newly named file doesn't even exist. The solution? If you rename any copy of a briefcase file, be sure to rename all other sync copies before updating. MOVING A BRIEFCASE TO ANOTHER LOCATION In the last tip, we introduced the Windows 95 Briefcase, a feature designed to keep multiple copies of the same files current (for example, if you frequently work on files away from the office). As a quick review, to create a briefcase, right-click on your desktop and select New, Briefcase. Copy any files you plan to work on at another location into the new briefcase, and these sync files will now be linked to the originals. Now we'll look at moving the briefcase to another location. A briefcase can travel via floppy disk or laptop. Assuming you want to carry the briefcase to another location on a floppy disk, just move the briefcase to the disk: Right-click the closed briefcase icon, select Send To, then choose your floppy drive in the resulting list. Planning to do your work on a laptop? Assuming you have a laptop that's connected--via an office network or direct cable connection--to the system on which you created the briefcase, just move the briefcase directly to the laptop, and you're off. (As an alternative, fill the briefcase right on the laptop: drag-and-drop files from shared folders on the main computer to a My Briefcase icon on the laptop's desktop.) In our next tip, we'll show you how to edit your briefcase files. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- EDITING BRIEFCASE FILES In the last couple of tips, we've discussed the Windows 95 Briefcase, a feature designed to keep multiple copies of the same files current. To create a briefcase, right-click on your desktop and select New, Briefcase. Copy any files you plan to work on at another location into the new briefcase, and these sync files will now be linked to the originals. Use the Send To command to copy the briefcase to a floppy disk, or move the briefcase directly to a laptop connected to the originating system. Now we'll show you how to edit the files in your briefcase. To edit briefcase files on a floppy disk, pop the disk in the floppy drive of the destination computer, and copy the briefcase files to any location on that system's hard drive. (Whatever you do, don't move the Briefcase off the floppy disk.) Now go ahead and edit these sync (or linked) copies of the briefcase files. If you've moved your briefcase from the originating PC to a laptop, leave the files in the briefcase and edit to your heart's content. (Don't copy or move the briefcase files to a new location on the laptop or you'll lose your links to the originals.) In the next tip, we'll show you how to use Briefcase to update the original files. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- BRIEFCASE BLUNDERS In our last four tips, we showed you the basics of the Windows 95 Briefcase function. The problem, however, is that basic instructions can't address all situations. Over the next few tips, we'll show you three common Briefcase scenarios and explain how to handle them. Let's suppose you've copied some files to a briefcase, worked on them in another location, and updated them. So you have two or three (depending on whether you used a floppy disk or laptop) identical copies of the same file. Now, you're done with one of the files and want to delete it from the briefcase. If you delete the file, the next time you perform an update operation (right-click the briefcase, select Update All, and so on), Briefcase will attempt to delete the other sync copies of that file. (Whatever you do to one copy of a file, Briefcase will try to do to the others.) The easiest solution? "Orphan" the file, or break the links to its sync copies. Open the briefcase and select the file you want to orphan. Select Briefcase from the menu, choose Split From Original, then click Yes to confirm. Now you can delete that file from the briefcase without a problem. The orphaned file has no links to its former sync copies. WINDOW RECOVERY We've had numerous complaints from readers who have lost windows off the edge of the screen, with no title bar (for dragging it back) in sight. The easiest remedy we've come across is to use one of Windows' ready-made window arrangements. Right-click a blank area of the Taskbar, and in the resulting menu, select Tile Windows Horizontally, Tile Windows Vertically, or Cascade Windows. Regardless of your selection, the title bar of every open window will appear on screen. USE TWEAK UI TO OVERRIDE LOGIN DIALOG BOX In a previous tip, we suggested the following technique for disabling the login dialog box: Enter a user name and password when Windows starts, if you haven't already. Then change the current password to no password: Open the Control Panel, double-click the Passwords icon, and click the Change Windows Password button. On the Old Password line, enter your current password. Press Tab to jump to the New Password line, and press Enter. You'll see a dialog box telling you that your password has been changed, and the Welcome To Windows 95 dialog box won't bother you again. "I have found that an effective method of removing the login screen is to use the Microsoft Tweak UI utility. On the Network tab, you can specify a login name and password to enter upon login. Tweak UI then apparently modifies the Registry so that Windows runs a login 'script' upon startup and enters this information automatically. The only disadvantage is that, as Tweak UI warns, 'Note: The automatic logon password is not encrypted. Any user with access to Regedit can view or modify it.'" Assuming you have Tweak UI installed (if not, see note below), open the Control Panel and double-click Tweak UI. Click the Network tab and select Log On Automatically At System Startup. Type your user name and password, then click OK. Note: If you don't have Tweak UI, point your Web browser at http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/0,1458,2803,00.html and download Tweakui.exe. Double-click this file to extract its contents, then right-click Tweakui.inf and select Install. Once Tweak UI is installed, you can access it by double-clicking the new Tweak UI Control Panel item. TURN OFF NUM LOCK AT STARTUP If you frequently use your numeric keypad for its non-numeric functions--cursor keys, Insert and Delete keys, and so on--then you probably turn off the Num Lock key whenever you start Windows 95. (By default, it turns on at startup.) To avoid this extra step, turn off Num Lock at startup as follows: Open Notepad--select Start, Programs, Accessories, Notepad--and type the following: a 100 mov ax,0040 mov ds,ax and byte ptr [0017],df mov ah,1 int 16 mov ax,4c00 int 21 r cx 0013 n NUM_OFF.COM w q (Note the blank line above "r cx", and be sure to press Enter just once after typing the "q" at the very end of the file.) Save the file in the Windows folder as Numoff.deb. The result will be a file named numoff.deb.txt. Inside the Windows folder, select the new file, press F2 for Rename, delete the .txt extension, press Enter, then click Yes to confirm that you want to change the extension. Open an MS-DOS Prompt window (select Start, Programs, MS-DOS Prompt), type debug $ numoff.deb at the command prompt and press Enter. (IMPORTANT NOTE: Replace the dollar sign above with the less-than sign--the one over the comma on your keyboard.) Then, type exit and press Enter to return to Windows. The result is an MS-DOS-based program, num_off.com, in the Windows folder. Finally, add the line NUMLOCK=OFF to your config.sys file. Select Start, Run, type sysedit and click OK. In the System Configuration Editor, select the config.sys window. Type the above line, select File, Save, then close the editor. From now on, Windows will start with the Num Lock key off. (Tip: To undo this setting, remove the NUMLOCK=OFF line from your config.sys file.) THE WINDOWS CLIPBOARD IS EVERYWHERE Chances are, you know the shortcuts for cut, copy, and paste (Ctrl-X, Ctrl-C, and Ctrl-V, respectively). But have you ever thought about the fact that these combos are universal to all Windows applications? That means you can cut, copy, or paste an item not only within a single application, but across applications. Cut some Notepad text, paste it into Word. Copy some Calculator text, paste it into Excel. The clipboard is everywhere. TELL REGISTRY ABOUT THE NEW CAB FILES LOCATION In our last tip, we suggested that you might want to copy the 30 MB or so of Windows 95 CAB files from the Win95 folder on the installation CD to a folder on your local drive. (That way, you can install components or drivers without the CD.) We also mentioned that when you open the Control Panel, click Add/Remove Programs, and so on to install components, you'll need to point Windows to the correct path of the local *.cab files. With one simple Registry change, you can avoid this extra step. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\SOFTWARE\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Setup In the right pane, next to SourcePath, you'll see the path D:\win95 (or the path from which you installed Windows originally). Right-click SourcePath, select Modify, and type the path of the folder to which you copied the CAB files on the Value Data line. Click OK, restart Windows 95, and the next time you attempt to install a component, Windows will know exactly where to look. RESTORING A DELETED BRIEFCASE FILE In a recent tip, we showed you the basics of the Windows 95 Briefcase function. The problem, however, is that basic instructions can't address all situations. In this tip, we'll show you a common Briefcase scenario and explain how to handle it. Let's suppose you mistakenly delete a file from a briefcase. Unfortunately, you can't just right-click the Briefcase, choose Update All, and expect Briefcase to re-create it--at least not without a little help from you. Inside the Update All window, you'll see a Delete message (called an action) next to the sync copy of the file you deleted. Right-click this action and select Create. Click Update, and Briefcase will create a brand new copy of that file to replace the one you deleted. Whew! (Tip in a tip: If the file you deleted was NOT inside a folder on the briefcase, you could also copy the original file into the briefcase, as if you were adding it for the first time.) MISSING TASKBARS Oftentimes, we get email from readers with missing Taskbars. "All I have is a small gray line at the bottom of the screen. When I hold the mouse pointer over it, the line gets wider, but the Taskbar doesn't appear." This behavior occurs when you have the auto-hide option turned on AND you've manually shrunk the Taskbar down to nothing (by clicking and dragging it downward--most likely by mistake). Holding the mouse pointer over the Taskbar's edge instructs Windows to display the Taskbar (as auto-hide was designed to do), but the Taskbar expands only as far as the size you've defined (currently a flat line). Regardless of the cause, here's how to fix the problem. Hold your mouse pointer over the Taskbar's edge, and when the pointer changes to a double-pointed arrow, click and drag upward until the Taskbar appears at normal size. MAKE CAPS LOCK AND NUM LOCK KEYS PLAY A SOUND Have you ever pressed the Caps Lock key by mistake while typing? Before you know it, you've got an entire line of all-cap text, and you have to go back and retype it all (a lot faster than trying to reformat it). To prevent this frequent mistake, turn on ToggleKeys, one of Windows 95's Accessibility Options. Assuming Accessibility Options are installed on your system (if not, see note below), open the Control Panel and double-click Accessibility Options. On the Keyboard tab, select Use ToggleKeys, then click OK. From now on, you'll hear a beep every time you turn Caps Lock (or Num Lock) on or off. (Note: To install the Accessibility Options, open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and select the Windows Setup tab. Under Components, select Accessibility Options, click OK, and insert the installation disk when asked.) LOCATE ICON-CONTAINING DLL FILES In previous tips, we've shown you how to change a shortcut's icon: Right-click the shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut tab, click Change Icon, and so on. The problem is, if you click the Browse button to search your system for more icon files, it's hard to know which ones actually contain icons. In particular, icon-containing *.dll files are impossible to distinguish from those that don't have any icons. Fortunately, there's a Registry-based workaround designed specifically for *.dll files: Instruct Windows to display *.dll file icons as the icons inside (if there are any). (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\dllfile\DefaultIcon. In the right pane, right-click (Default), select Modify, replace the text on the Value Data line with %1 and click OK. Close the Registry Editor and restart Windows 95. Now try browsing for icon files in the Change Icon dialog box. If the icon next to a .dll file looks different from the default, that file has icons inside. A special thanks to reader B. Garrison for suggesting this tip! LOCATE ALL HIDDEN FILES AND FOLDERS Ever wished you could search out hidden files and directories within a particular folder? If you have Internet Explorer 4.x installed (or you've upgraded to Windows 98), you can sort the contents of any folder by attributes. First, opt to display file attributes (in Details View). In any Explorer window, select View, Folder Options. On the View tab, select Show File Attributes In Details View and Show All Files, then click OK. Now open any Explorer window and navigate your way to the folder in which you'd like to search for hidden files and folders. Select View, Details, then click the heading of the Attributes column. Click the same heading again, and the contents of that folder will appear sorted by attributes (in reverse order), with files first, then folders. An "H" in the Attributes column--alone or mixed with other letters--means that file or folder is hidden. INSTALLING CLIPBOOK Want a great place to store frequently pasted items, such as text blocks or graphics, for easy insertion into multiple documents? Try the ClipBook Viewer. And no, you won't find this utility in the typical Start, Programs, Accessories menu; nor will you find it on the Windows Setup tab of the Add/Remove Programs Properties dialog box. If you want to use ClipBook (a carryover from your Windows for Workgroups days), you'll need to find it on the Windows 95 installation CD. Pop the Windows 95 installation CD into your CD-ROM drive, open an Explorer window, and navigate your way to Other\Clipbook. Double-click Clipbrd.exe and the ClipBook Viewer springs to life. Here's how to install ClipBook on your hard drive (so you don't have to be at the mercy of the installation CD). With the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, open the Control Panel and select Add/Remove Programs. Select the Windows Setup tab, click Have Disk, then click Browse and navigate your way to X:\Other\Clipbook (where "X" is your CD-ROM drive). You'll see Clipbook.inf on the File Name line. Click OK twice, select ClipBook Viewer under Components, and then click Install. Once the installation is complete, you can launch the ClipBook Viewer by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, ClipBook Viewer. In our next tip, we'll look at some ClipBook basics. DRAG AND DROP EMAIL ATTACHMENTS Need to add a file attachment to the email you're composing? Don't bother with all those commands inside your email editor. (For example, in Outlook Express, you'd select Insert, File Attachment, and so on.) Try a drag and drop--it's much faster. Minimize your open message window and locate the file(s) you want to attach (for example, on the desktop). Click and drag the file(s) down to the open message's taskbar item, hold the mouse there for a second until the window opens, then drop the file(s) inside. Done. COPY WINDOWS 95 FILES TO HARD DRIVE If you have an extra 30 MB or so of disk space, you may want to consider copying all of the *.cab files from your Windows 95 installation CD to your local drive. That way, you can install additional Windows 95 components or drivers without the CD. First, decide on a destination for the files. For example, you might create a Win95 folder on the root of your hard drive. Second, pop the installation CD into your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, and double-click the Win95 folder (to display its contents). Select all of the *.cab files inside, then right-click the selection and choose Copy. Open the destination folder, right-click a blank area, and select Paste. Close all open windows. The next time you need to install an additional component, open the Control Panel, double-click Add/Remove Programs, and, as always, click the Windows Setup tab. Select the components you want to install, click OK, and when Windows 95 asks for the installation CD, click OK. In the Copying Files dialog box, click Browse and navigate your way to the folder into which you copied the *.cab files (here, C:\Win95). Click OK three times, and Windows completes the installation. Look, Ma--no CD! In our next tip, we'll show you a Registry edit that will save you from having to point Windows to the correct location of the *.cab files. COLOR SETTINGS Ever wonder why some people have very detailed icons on their desktops while others' look quite simple? The way in which Windows displays colors--using few colors or many--is determined by the color palette setting (and your hardware, of course). Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and click the Settings tab. Click the down arrow under Colors, and you'll find several choices: 16 Colors, 256 Colors, High Color (16 bit), and True Color (32 bit). Each represents a different color palette. For maximum performance, opt for 16 Colors. The fewer colors Windows uses, the faster images appear on screen. (The downside is, with only 16 colors available, you'll end up with mottled images.) The 256 Colors option is a happy medium. You get good performance and fairly good image quality. For more realistic images (but slower performance), you should opt for High Color, a palette of more than 65,000 colors. Finally, True Color allows for about 16.8 million colors--a setting typically used by those who work with graphics professionally. Given these differences, select a setting, click OK, and restart Windows. And don't worry--if you aren't happy with your selection, you can always change it back using these same steps. CLIPBOOK: ADDING ITEMS AND PASTING In the last tip, we told you that ClipBook Viewer, an old Windows for Workgroups utility, is located on the Windows 95 installation CD. In a nutshell, ClipBook is a great place to store frequently pasted items, such as text blocks or graphics, for easy insertion into multiple documents. To open ClipBook, pop the installation CD into your CD-ROM drive, open an Explorer window, and navigate your way to Other\Clipbook. Then double-click Clipbrd.exe. (Or, install this utility on your hard drive: With the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, open the Control Panel, select Add/Remove Programs, select the Windows Setup tab, click Have Disk, click Browse, and navigate your way to X:\Other\Clipbook--where "X" is your CD-ROM drive. Click OK twice, select ClipBook Viewer under Components, and finally click Install. You can now launch the ClipBook Viewer by selecting Start, Programs, Accessories, ClipBook Viewer.) When you open ClipBook Viewer, you'll notice that it's made up of two windows: Clipboard, which displays the last item you cut or copied, and Local ClipBook, the storage area for frequently pasted items. To add an item to the Local ClipBook, select the item in its native application and press Ctrl-X (cut) or Ctrl-C (copy). Switch to the ClipBook Viewer (or open it, if it isn't already), select the Local ClipBook window, and click the Paste icon. Type a name for the new item and click OK. Immediately, this new "page" appears in your Local ClipBook. To paste a ClipBook page into a new location, select it in the Local ClipBook window and click the Copy icon. Then switch to the document into which you'd like to paste the item and select that application's Paste command. Simple. CHANGE MESSAGE BOX TEXT Nothing much going on? There are plenty of time-wasters in the Display Properties dialog box. For example, did you know that you can change the text Windows uses to display messages on screen--you know, the ones that pop up to say you can't do something? Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and then the Appearances tab. Under Item, select Message Box. At the bottom of the dialog box, select a new font (preferably, something you'll be able to read), then click OK. To see the change in action, click and drag your floppy drive icon from My Computer out to the desktop, and release the mouse button (be sure to click Yes--you can always use a floppy drive shortcut if you don't already have one). CHANGE FOCUS OF START'S FIND COMMAND In our last tip, we showed you how to change the focus of the Explorer window that appears when you right-click Start (or any other folder) and select Explore. Similarly, you can change the focus of the Find window universally, so that right-clicking Start (or any other folder) and selecting Find opens Find focused on the folder of your choice. Here's the technique: (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Directory\shell\find\ddeexec. In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. On the Value Data line, replace both instances of "%I" with the path of any folder. For example, this line might now read [FindFolder("c:\MyFiles\TipWorld", c:\MyFiles\TipWorld)] Click OK and close the Registry Editor. CHANGE FOCUS OF START'S EXPLORE COMMAND We frequently receive requests for a tip on changing the focus of the Explorer window that appears when you right-click Start and select Explore. You can't change the focus of only this Explorer window. However, you can change Explorer's focus universally. In other words, if you follow the technique below, right-clicking ANY folder and selecting Explore will open Explorer focused on the folder of your choice. (Note: As always, back up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files in your Windows folder--before proceeding.) Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing regedit and clicking OK. Navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\Folder\shell\explore\ddeexec. In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. On the Value Data line, replace both instances of "%I" with the desired folder path. For example, this line might now read [ExploreFolder("c:\MyFiles", c:\MyFiles, %S)] Click OK, close the Registry Editor, and try out the change. Right-click Start (or any other folder), select Explore, and Explorer's got a brand new focus. BACKSPACE TO MOVE UP ONE FOLDER LEVEL If you're viewing a folder's contents and want to view the contents of the parent folder (the one that contains the folder you're viewing), what do you do? You click the Up One Level icon (or Up, if you have IE 4.0 or beyond installed), right? Actually, there's an easier way. Just press the Backspace key on your keyboard.
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