By default, Vista's Start Menu Power Button will put your PC to Sleep, not actually shut it down, especially if you ain't looking in the right place.

The default Power Management has a default settings for a Laptop ... pretty OTT for desktop use ... so, we need to change it.

OK, to save me some time on the first one, take a gander at Modifying the Start Menu Power Button nice, but a bit long winded in getting to the end result.

Try my way ... Click the Start Button, now just type "power options" (without the quotes) into the search bar ... there you go, quick, innit.

In XP, we all went about turning off the "Index Service" especially on the hard drive (un-ticking the box) ... well, Vista's version actually works, and I for one will be keeping it running.

Why? well for one reason I highlighted above for a start, another is ... it works, works in the background, is a Low Priority AND has no adverse affect on normal operation of your PC ... well, it may take longer to "finish" booting to the desktop and for the HD to stop flashing away like mad ... but I truly believe, or I wouldn't be saying so, that the benefits out-way turning it off entirely. You can "configure" how you want it to work.

Just type "indexing options" as we did above in the Start button search bar ... that little search bar is going to become your new friend, so don't go turning Indexing off just yet.


There is a nice "tool" in Vista, especially for anybody needing to take "screen shots" of the desktop or open window ...

May I introduce you to the ... Snipping Tool. You can find the Snipping Tool either via Start / Accessories / Snipping Tool or by simply typing Snip into any Search window.

Click the Start button, and as before, just start typing "Sn..." ... I bet before you finish, you'll see the Snipping Tool program listed right at the top of the list. Click on it ... is that nice ? Now, drag it to your Quick Launch on the taskbar.


Did you know you can remove the text under a desktop icon.

Take the Recycle Bin, we all know what it is for, it's plane for all to see, so why not remove the text ... Right-Click on it and go to Rename, hold down the ALT key & type 255 and press Enter. Done, no text.

Now a word of warning, you can only do that once, it you want to remove the text from other desktop icons you will have to use this method for the next one ... hold the ALT key down again and type 255 255 ... yep, twice ... for the third icon, you'll need three 255 255 255 ... and so on. Me, I only ever have the recycle bin on the desktop anyway. oh, and it works in XP too

You are simply typing in a blank using ALT 255's ACSI code for a blank space.


More to come ...


Enjoy!
mucks

Sticky Notes
Microsoft Sticky Notes is a simple little program that is opened by going to the Start Menu and typing in "Sticky Note" in the "Start Search" box.


Either hit "Enter" or click on one of the two items in the Result list. (You can then create a shortcut for it and place it wherever you like) It lets you create small notes and place them on your desktop in a stack. You can configure them to open at startup or always to be on top.

A sticky note can contain writing or an audio recording (voice note). To create a voice note, you tap the New Note button at the bottom right of an existing note and then tap Record at the bottom left. Speak into the microphone to record your note (up to a maximum of 30 seconds).

Watch this space folks ...

Sorry folks, but I will say it again and again ... do not turn off any "unneeded" services, you ain't "improving" anything.

Why am I repeating that message here ... simple.

Someone asked me where the Sticky Notes can be found and was it specific to a particular Vista module. Sticky Notes is enabled in all but Basic Vista AFAIK.

Turning off/disable "Table PC" will cause you to loose the ability to use or find Sticky Notes.


Have fun ...

There's a registry hack for Windows that will let you add a Copy To Folder or Move To Folder to the right-click menu, which can be very useful when you want to move a file but don't have the other folder open already.

Right-click on a file:



And up pops a nice dialog that you can use to easily drop a file into the right directory.



Install

Just download, unzip, and double-click on the registry files. You can choose to use the copy to, move to, or both.

Download Copy To / Move To Registry Tweak

One of the new changes in Windows Vista is that each user has a "Home" directory that is actually accessible and meant to be used. In XP and 2k, you had a hidden home directory that you weren't meant to muck around in.

Some of the new features, like the Downloads directory, are only accessible through your Home directory, which is why it makes sense to put an icon for it right on the desktop.

To do this, click the Globe button, and then right click on your User name. Choose the Show on Desktop option.

Now your home directory icon should show up on your desktop ...

Now, if like me you do not like any icons on your desktop, simply drag the icon to your Quick Launch toolbar.

Great little tweak, Mucks. That was something I really missed on Vista.

A nice little add-on to Windows Sidebar ...


Windows Sidebar Styler is an application which takes advantage of various technologies introduced in Windows Vista in order to provide extensions to the existing functionality of Windows Sidebar.

http://www.stoyanoff.info/blog/code/styler/v205/

Another benefit to this tool is that you can load more powerful gadgets utilizing WPF (Windows Presentation Framework).

As I have previously stated, I don't have any Icons on my desktop, well I do have the recycle bin ... I use the Quick Launch toolbar.

Windows Vista lets you use hotkeys for the first 10 items in the Quick Launch menu. These hotkeys are assigned automatically, so there's no need to do anything other than understand how they work.



For each icon in the Quick launch bar, the hotkey Win + number is assigned. These are assigned from left to right, 1-9 (and 0 for 10).

For instance:

1. Show Desktop
2. Flip3D
3. Windows Media Player
4. Internet Explorer

That would mean the automatic hotkeys are assigned like this:

1. Win + 1 - Show Desktop:
2. Win + 2 - Flip3D:
3. Win + 3 - Windows Media Player
4. Win + 4 - Internet Explorer

Seems kinda a waste to use Show Desktop and Flip3D when you can use Win + Tab and Win + D for those anyway. So why not move them over to the right, yeah, I have more than ten items in my QL toolbar … simply click-n-drag.

Another little beauty, Mucks.

EXCEPT, I can't get it into the Task Bar

Dragging it down does not seem to do it and even having "Display Icon in Quick Launch Toolbar" checked in the Options will not do it either. I've got it on the Start Menu but it would be nice to have it on the Toolbar. Any further ideas?

Cancel above request. I've now got it on the Taskbar.