A
Ablang
Seven Ways to Make Living With Windows Easier
Get your operating system to look and work the way you prefer.
Scott Dunn
From the April 2004 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Thursday, February 26, 2004
« Previous Page 1 2 Next »
Every time I set up a new Windows machine, I labor for the better part of
an afternoon to get it just the way I like. These tips get the OS up to
flank speed.
Reveal Your System Files
(2K, XP, 98, Me) When you open a folder that contains important system
files--notably the Program Files, Windows, System, or System32 folder--
you're likely to see a patronizing warning that modifying the contents of
the folder could cause your programs to stop working correctly. Duh! In
versions of Windows prior to XP, this warning appears only if you use the
'View, as Web Page' option (in Windows 98) or if 'Enable Web content in
folders' is selected under the General tab of the Folder Options dialog box
(in Windows 2000). Often this warning requires you to click a 'Show Files'
link to list the folder's files. If you find this annoying, you're not
alone. Fortunately, there's a quick fix.
In Windows Me and XP, just click the text that reads Show the contents of
this folder. The contents will remain visible until you click the text in
the left column to hide the contents again. If you don't see this text,
close the folder pane (if it's visible), choose Tools, Folder Options, and
ensure that Enable Web Content in Folders (in Me) or Show common tasks in
folders (in XP) is selected under the General tab.
To introduce a permanent fix in Windows 98 and 2000, choose View, Folder
Options, View or Tools, Folder Options, View. In Windows 98 select Show all
files in the 'Advanced settings' list, and in Windows 2000 check Show
hidden files and folders and uncheck Hide protected operating system files.
Click Yes to acknowledge the warning (if any) and then click OK.
If you think you may someday want to revert to the old warning, create a
backup of the folder.htt file that's in each of the folders where the
warning appears by first renaming it--call it something like
'folder_old.htt'. Then copy the folder.htt file that's in the Web subfolder
of your Windows or Winnt folder (which lacks the 'Show files' warning) to
the folders whose warnings you find bothersome. When you want to restore
the warning for a given folder, simply delete the folder.htt file from that
folder, and then change the name of folder_old.htt back to 'folder.htt'.
Double Up Your Toolbars
(2K, XP, 98, Me) If your toolbars take up too much space in Explorer and in
your folder windows, conserve screen real estate by putting two or more
toolbars on a single line. First, make sure that your screen resolution is
high enough and your folder window large enough to accommodate the extra
toolbar buttons. Otherwise, they will be difficult to find when you need
them.
Before you merge your toolbars in Windows 98, right-click the standard
buttons toolbar (the one that starts with the Back button) and make sure
'Text Labels' is unchecked (the labels make the toolbar buttons huge). In
2000 and XP, right-click the toolbar area and make sure 'Lock the toolbars'
is unchecked. In all versions, drag the left edge of each toolbar and drop
it where you want it. One toolbar can share space with the menu bar, or you
can place two or more toolbars side-by-side. When you're happy with the
arrangement in Windows XP, right-click any toolbar and choose Lock the
toolbars to set them in place. By clicking the double chevron symbol (>>),
you can access any button that's pushed off the right edge.
Windows 2000, Me, and XP give you other ways to abbreviate your toolbars.
Right-click the standard toolbar and choose Customize. To put your toolbar
on a diet, use the list appearing on the right to select the icons you
don't need, and then click Remove (FIGURE 1). You can rearrange a toolbar's
buttons by dragging and dropping them, or by using the Move Up and Move
Down buttons to shift items you use less frequently to the right (where
they disappear into the >> menu but remain accessible).
To save even more space, choose No text labels from the 'Text options'
drop-down list. When you're done, click Close. If you type in the Address
bar and press Enter (instead of clicking the Go button), save some space by
right-clicking the Address bar and unchecking Go Button.
Relocate My Documents
(2K, XP, 98, Me) The first tenet of good file management is to keep your
applications separate from your work documents. Windows even encourages
this practice by giving you a folder called My Documents, which is located
on your C: drive by default. But you don't have to put your data where
Microsoft wants you to put it. To redirect the My Documents folder, right-
click the icon and choose Properties. With the Target tab in front, click
in the Target box and type the path to the drive and folder where you want
to store your files (see FIGURE 2). In Windows 98, you can click Browse,
select the folder, and click OK. If the folder name you type doesn't exist,
Windows will create it for you. Recent versions of Windows will also offer
to move the contents of the existing My Documents folder to the new
location; feel free to click No if you want to reassign the My Documents
location but don't want to move existing files.
To redirect My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, and other built-in Windows
folders, use the right mouse button to drag their shortcuts to a new
location and then choose Move Here. Finally, to change the name of any of
these folders, simply select its icon, click its name (or press F2), type a
new name, and press Enter.
Set Explorer Defaults
(2K, XP, 98, Me) Windows Explorer gives you many ways to view your files--
as large icons, small icons, thumbnails, lists, or details (the folder view
I prefer). To make Details view the default for all your folders, use the
View menu to set up a single folder window the way you want; then in
Windows 98, choose View, Folder Options, View, Like Current Folder. In
other versions of Windows, click Tools, Folder Options, View, Like Current
Folder (in XP, Apply to All Folders; see FIGURE 3). If you change your mind
and want to go back to the default folder view, click Reset All Folders.
But what if you want some folders to use Details view, others to show
thumbnails, and so on? No problem. First, use the preceding steps to set
the view you'll use with most of your folders. Then, in the 'Advanced
settings' list at the bottom of this dialog box, make sure that Remember
each folder's view settings is checked. Click OK. Whenever you subsequently
change the view setting or sort order for a particular folder, it will
retain that view the next time you open it.
Sort of First Resort
(2K, XP, 98, Me) When you sort Explorer windows by name, folders appear at
the top, and other files are listed underneath, each group in alphabetical
order. If you'd like to place a file or folder at the top of the list, or
if you (like me) want compressed folders and shortcuts to folders at the
top near the folder groups--since these items behave just like folders--
rename the item and place a special character at the beginning of its name.
Select the shortcut, file, or folder, and press F2. Press Home to move the
insertion point to the beginning of the name, and type a punctuation
character such as !, {, [, or (. Press Enter to finish the renaming (see
FIGURE 4).
To see the effect, either close and reopen the folder and click Name at the
top of the column (in Details view), or choose View, Arrange Icons by,
Name. If the folder is already sorted by name, you'll have to follow these
steps twice to see the contents in ascending alphabetical order.
Superfast Task Manager
(2K, XP) Back in the January 2002 issue, I listed several ways to get fast
access to the Task Manager in Windows 2000 and XP. But John H. Rhee of New
York tells us what may be the fastest method of all: Press Ctrl-Shift-Esc
to see Task Manager instantly.
A Fresh Start (Menu)
(2K, XP, Me) Why bother opening a My Documents window, a Control Panel
window, and a Printers window (or some other window) just to reach a file
or icon you want? With a little tweaking, you can make these and other
items appear automatically as submenus off the Start menu. You'll still
have to navigate through one or more submenus to get to the item you want,
but at least you won't have to worry about closing the file's folder window
later.
To create new Start menu shortcuts, right-click the taskbar and choose
Properties. In Windows XP, choose the Start Menu tab and click the
Customize button next to the variation of the Start menu you're using. In
all versions, click the Advanced tab. In the list of check boxes at the
bottom of the dialog box, select the items you want on your Start menu. For
example, check Expand Control Panel (in 2000 and Me), or check Display as a
menu under the Control Panel category in XP's 'Start menu items' pane (see
FIGURE 5). Depending on your version of Windows, you can do the same for My
Documents, My Music, My Pictures, My Computer, Printers, and Network and
Dial-up Connections. When you're done, click OK to see the result.
Windows Toolbox: MinMaxExtender Gives You New Ways to Tame Your Windows
The makers of the MinMaxExtender utility believe that three is not enough.
I'm referring, of course, to the buttons on the top right of folder and
application windows. With this program you can add as many as six new
buttons there to maximize windows vertically or horizontally only, hide a
window except for its title bar (the window shade effect), hide a window
completely, minimize it to the system tray (the taskbar area near the
clock), or make it stay on top of all other windows. You can turn off the
buttons you don't need and customize them in other ways. Unfortunately, the
program's creators don't support the product anymore, so it is now open-
source. Still, it works well for me, except in XP's default blue, olive, or
silver color schemes, whose large buttons collide with MinMaxExtender's
stay-on-top button. So either forget about using that feature in this case,
or tweak additional MinMaxExtender settings in the Windows Registry so the
buttons accommodate each other. And here's the kicker: The program is free.
http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,114821,tk,dnWknd,00.asp
Get your operating system to look and work the way you prefer.
Scott Dunn
From the April 2004 issue of PC World magazine
Posted Thursday, February 26, 2004
« Previous Page 1 2 Next »
Every time I set up a new Windows machine, I labor for the better part of
an afternoon to get it just the way I like. These tips get the OS up to
flank speed.
Reveal Your System Files
(2K, XP, 98, Me) When you open a folder that contains important system
files--notably the Program Files, Windows, System, or System32 folder--
you're likely to see a patronizing warning that modifying the contents of
the folder could cause your programs to stop working correctly. Duh! In
versions of Windows prior to XP, this warning appears only if you use the
'View, as Web Page' option (in Windows 98) or if 'Enable Web content in
folders' is selected under the General tab of the Folder Options dialog box
(in Windows 2000). Often this warning requires you to click a 'Show Files'
link to list the folder's files. If you find this annoying, you're not
alone. Fortunately, there's a quick fix.
In Windows Me and XP, just click the text that reads Show the contents of
this folder. The contents will remain visible until you click the text in
the left column to hide the contents again. If you don't see this text,
close the folder pane (if it's visible), choose Tools, Folder Options, and
ensure that Enable Web Content in Folders (in Me) or Show common tasks in
folders (in XP) is selected under the General tab.
To introduce a permanent fix in Windows 98 and 2000, choose View, Folder
Options, View or Tools, Folder Options, View. In Windows 98 select Show all
files in the 'Advanced settings' list, and in Windows 2000 check Show
hidden files and folders and uncheck Hide protected operating system files.
Click Yes to acknowledge the warning (if any) and then click OK.
If you think you may someday want to revert to the old warning, create a
backup of the folder.htt file that's in each of the folders where the
warning appears by first renaming it--call it something like
'folder_old.htt'. Then copy the folder.htt file that's in the Web subfolder
of your Windows or Winnt folder (which lacks the 'Show files' warning) to
the folders whose warnings you find bothersome. When you want to restore
the warning for a given folder, simply delete the folder.htt file from that
folder, and then change the name of folder_old.htt back to 'folder.htt'.
Double Up Your Toolbars
(2K, XP, 98, Me) If your toolbars take up too much space in Explorer and in
your folder windows, conserve screen real estate by putting two or more
toolbars on a single line. First, make sure that your screen resolution is
high enough and your folder window large enough to accommodate the extra
toolbar buttons. Otherwise, they will be difficult to find when you need
them.
Before you merge your toolbars in Windows 98, right-click the standard
buttons toolbar (the one that starts with the Back button) and make sure
'Text Labels' is unchecked (the labels make the toolbar buttons huge). In
2000 and XP, right-click the toolbar area and make sure 'Lock the toolbars'
is unchecked. In all versions, drag the left edge of each toolbar and drop
it where you want it. One toolbar can share space with the menu bar, or you
can place two or more toolbars side-by-side. When you're happy with the
arrangement in Windows XP, right-click any toolbar and choose Lock the
toolbars to set them in place. By clicking the double chevron symbol (>>),
you can access any button that's pushed off the right edge.
Windows 2000, Me, and XP give you other ways to abbreviate your toolbars.
Right-click the standard toolbar and choose Customize. To put your toolbar
on a diet, use the list appearing on the right to select the icons you
don't need, and then click Remove (FIGURE 1). You can rearrange a toolbar's
buttons by dragging and dropping them, or by using the Move Up and Move
Down buttons to shift items you use less frequently to the right (where
they disappear into the >> menu but remain accessible).
To save even more space, choose No text labels from the 'Text options'
drop-down list. When you're done, click Close. If you type in the Address
bar and press Enter (instead of clicking the Go button), save some space by
right-clicking the Address bar and unchecking Go Button.
Relocate My Documents
(2K, XP, 98, Me) The first tenet of good file management is to keep your
applications separate from your work documents. Windows even encourages
this practice by giving you a folder called My Documents, which is located
on your C: drive by default. But you don't have to put your data where
Microsoft wants you to put it. To redirect the My Documents folder, right-
click the icon and choose Properties. With the Target tab in front, click
in the Target box and type the path to the drive and folder where you want
to store your files (see FIGURE 2). In Windows 98, you can click Browse,
select the folder, and click OK. If the folder name you type doesn't exist,
Windows will create it for you. Recent versions of Windows will also offer
to move the contents of the existing My Documents folder to the new
location; feel free to click No if you want to reassign the My Documents
location but don't want to move existing files.
To redirect My Music, My Pictures, My Videos, and other built-in Windows
folders, use the right mouse button to drag their shortcuts to a new
location and then choose Move Here. Finally, to change the name of any of
these folders, simply select its icon, click its name (or press F2), type a
new name, and press Enter.
Set Explorer Defaults
(2K, XP, 98, Me) Windows Explorer gives you many ways to view your files--
as large icons, small icons, thumbnails, lists, or details (the folder view
I prefer). To make Details view the default for all your folders, use the
View menu to set up a single folder window the way you want; then in
Windows 98, choose View, Folder Options, View, Like Current Folder. In
other versions of Windows, click Tools, Folder Options, View, Like Current
Folder (in XP, Apply to All Folders; see FIGURE 3). If you change your mind
and want to go back to the default folder view, click Reset All Folders.
But what if you want some folders to use Details view, others to show
thumbnails, and so on? No problem. First, use the preceding steps to set
the view you'll use with most of your folders. Then, in the 'Advanced
settings' list at the bottom of this dialog box, make sure that Remember
each folder's view settings is checked. Click OK. Whenever you subsequently
change the view setting or sort order for a particular folder, it will
retain that view the next time you open it.
Sort of First Resort
(2K, XP, 98, Me) When you sort Explorer windows by name, folders appear at
the top, and other files are listed underneath, each group in alphabetical
order. If you'd like to place a file or folder at the top of the list, or
if you (like me) want compressed folders and shortcuts to folders at the
top near the folder groups--since these items behave just like folders--
rename the item and place a special character at the beginning of its name.
Select the shortcut, file, or folder, and press F2. Press Home to move the
insertion point to the beginning of the name, and type a punctuation
character such as !, {, [, or (. Press Enter to finish the renaming (see
FIGURE 4).
To see the effect, either close and reopen the folder and click Name at the
top of the column (in Details view), or choose View, Arrange Icons by,
Name. If the folder is already sorted by name, you'll have to follow these
steps twice to see the contents in ascending alphabetical order.
Superfast Task Manager
(2K, XP) Back in the January 2002 issue, I listed several ways to get fast
access to the Task Manager in Windows 2000 and XP. But John H. Rhee of New
York tells us what may be the fastest method of all: Press Ctrl-Shift-Esc
to see Task Manager instantly.
A Fresh Start (Menu)
(2K, XP, Me) Why bother opening a My Documents window, a Control Panel
window, and a Printers window (or some other window) just to reach a file
or icon you want? With a little tweaking, you can make these and other
items appear automatically as submenus off the Start menu. You'll still
have to navigate through one or more submenus to get to the item you want,
but at least you won't have to worry about closing the file's folder window
later.
To create new Start menu shortcuts, right-click the taskbar and choose
Properties. In Windows XP, choose the Start Menu tab and click the
Customize button next to the variation of the Start menu you're using. In
all versions, click the Advanced tab. In the list of check boxes at the
bottom of the dialog box, select the items you want on your Start menu. For
example, check Expand Control Panel (in 2000 and Me), or check Display as a
menu under the Control Panel category in XP's 'Start menu items' pane (see
FIGURE 5). Depending on your version of Windows, you can do the same for My
Documents, My Music, My Pictures, My Computer, Printers, and Network and
Dial-up Connections. When you're done, click OK to see the result.
Windows Toolbox: MinMaxExtender Gives You New Ways to Tame Your Windows
The makers of the MinMaxExtender utility believe that three is not enough.
I'm referring, of course, to the buttons on the top right of folder and
application windows. With this program you can add as many as six new
buttons there to maximize windows vertically or horizontally only, hide a
window except for its title bar (the window shade effect), hide a window
completely, minimize it to the system tray (the taskbar area near the
clock), or make it stay on top of all other windows. You can turn off the
buttons you don't need and customize them in other ways. Unfortunately, the
program's creators don't support the product anymore, so it is now open-
source. Still, it works well for me, except in XP's default blue, olive, or
silver color schemes, whose large buttons collide with MinMaxExtender's
stay-on-top button. So either forget about using that feature in this case,
or tweak additional MinMaxExtender settings in the Windows Registry so the
buttons accommodate each other. And here's the kicker: The program is free.
http://www.pcworld.com/howto/article/0,aid,114821,tk,dnWknd,00.asp