Win2k UI annoyances; make like Win95

[none]

simply: I would like aspects of the Windows 2000 user interface to work
like Windows 95. Possible? See below for specifics.

Hello. I am a LONG time Windows 95/98 user (you'd be surprised how many
current things you can do on that old OS). For stability reasons, I want to
upgrade to Windows 2000. However, there are user interface functions in
Windows 95 which I prefer and would like in Windows 2000. Thanks in
advance. I'm sure there are more, but the ones I remember are:

Windows Explorer "folder" pane NOT updating!:
So often, the Windows Explorer "folder" pane fails to update when a change
is made to the folder structure. For example, I'll delete a folder, but it
will still appear in the folder pane. Clicking it will show "this folder no
longer exists" etc and can cause some real headaches. Refresh (F5) doesn't
clear it. This seems like a truely neglectful bug rather than a
functionality issue; can it be fixed?

Lock Windows Explorer "folder" pane:
Though the left pane can be changed between many options, can the "folder"
view be made perminant (ie: Find changes it)? Also, can the X to "close"
the folder pane be removed? The X gets focus when you tab between folder
pane and file pane, which is an annoyance.

Find:
Can Ctrl-F in Windows Explorer open a little "Find Files or Folders" window
(dialog box?) like in Win95? Instead, it converts my "folder" pane into a
"find" pane, which requires me to convert it BACK to a "folder" pane, which
is an annoyance. As a bonus, upon Ctrl-F, can the little "Find" window be
set to search the currently selected folder, like in Win95? And if this is
not possible, can someone tell me the shortcut keys to get to the different
options in WIn2k's Find FIles or Folders (ie: by date, by size, etc)?

Save dialog:
Can the Save dialog box (which is called by apps) be made simpler? ie:
remove the left "Desktop, My Docs, Other" icons, remove the top buttons,
etc? Ideally (like Win95), I'd like "Save in", folder list, file name, and
file type (with some buttons that don't receive focus when using Tab).

Print dialog:
Maybe this is just Office 2k and IE 6. Can the Print dialog use a drop down
list to select a printer and the Properties button to set the details of the
printer? Instead of having an icon for each printer and have the printer
properties tabs appear IN the print dialog when a printer is selected.

Disable unused "Find" modes:
Can the Start Menu "Find" option not open a list (Files or Folders,
Computers, People, on the Internet, etc), but instead JUST open "Files or
Folders"? I will never use those other Find modes and they just add another
key-stroke to opening Find.

cmd current folder:
(I forget how this one works but I'll ask anyway) Can the cmd (or command)
window start on Windows Explorer's currently selected folder when using
Start > Run > cmd? Running command in Win95 starts in the selected folder
(directory).

Home key in Windows Explorer:
(I think this was resolved after 2kSP2, but I'll ask anyway) In Windows
Explorer, can the Ctrl-Home combo be set to NOT load the home page, but
instead, scroll the folder pane to the top without moving the cursor
(similar to Ctrl-End)? Or was this done by Alt-Home, I forget.

Remove "Standby" from Shutdown:
(I could probably find this if I searched, but while I'm at it) Can
"Standby" be removed from the Shutdown dropdown list, leaving only Logoff,
Shutdown, and Restart?

Internet Explorer pervasiveness:
Is it just me, or is EVERY window in the Win2k UI actually an Internet
Explorer window? Windows Explorer can show web pages, Contol Panel can show
web pages, Find can show web pages. Are there seperate specific programs
for these functions, or are they all really just IE?

 

[Jim Eshelman]

simply: I would like aspects of the Windows 2000 user interface to
work like Windows 95. Possible? See below for specifics.

I'd suggest a Win 2K newsgroup rather than a Win95 newsgroup, then. For a
list of all MS public support newsgroups, and direct links to launch them in
your newsreader, see: http://aumha.org/nntp.htm

To answer your broad question above, it is *mostly* possible to make it work
like 95, but there will be differences. From Win98 forward, shell
integration of IE components added extensive capabilities that change how
things work a bit, and then 2K also has its own characteristics. But,
mostly, yeah. (I write this without yet reading your particulars below.)

So often, the Windows Explorer "folder" pane fails to update when a
change is made to the folder structure. For example, I'll delete a
folder, but it will still appear in the folder pane.

Again, I recommend a Windows 2000 newsgroup for this type of question. I'll
just add here that this doesn't match my experience of 2K at all - it's not
a standard behavior. I have, though, occassionally seen something like this
(though I also saw it plenty of times - quite a bit more! - in Windows 95).
I suspect this is a video driver issue, actually - that's just a guess.
Normally it works in Windows 2000 exactly as you say you want, without any
special settings or modifications.

Lock Windows Explorer "folder" pane:
Though the left pane can be changed between many options, can the
"folder" view be made perminant (ie: Find changes it)?

I don't understand the question. Sorry.

Also, can the
X to "close" the folder pane be removed? The X gets focus when you
tab between folder pane and file pane, which is an annoyance.

No. Can't remove it. (You mean the X to close just the left pane, right?)
That's standard. You'll have to press Tab one additional time. (The machine
I just checked is original - no service packs - I've never noticed this
behavior before, and don't have a patched system here at home to test it on.
I use SP3 and SP4 machines at work all the time, bujt have never noticed
this, possibly because I rarely use the Explorer view.)

This behavior doesn't exist in Win XP, btw.

Find:
Can Ctrl-F in Windows Explorer open a little "Find Files or Folders"
window (dialog box?) like in Win95?

Did you know that Win+F opens the Search Results box (the 2K equivalent of
Find Files or Folders)? If you want it to automatically load the parameters
of the folder you're already in, use Ctrl+F - but if you want to open a
"virgin" one that doesn't presume your current folder is the desired one,
use Win+F. If you use the former and it takes you out of your folder, one
tap of the Backspace key gets you right back.

Searching is one of the things that has changed most dramatically from
version to version of Windows. It's no just the NT jump - you wouldn't
recognize it any better on Windows ME, for example. Also - sardonically -
I've long thought it pessimistic of them to change the name from "Find" to

And if this is not possible, can someone tell
me the shortcut keys to get to the different options in WIn2k's Find
FIles or Folders (ie: by date, by size, etc)?

No keystroke. Click on "Search Options." The good news is that if you expand
this then close the window, it is expanded next time you launch it. (If that
doesn't work, hold down Ctrl as you click the X to close it.)

Save dialog:
Can the Save dialog box (which is called by apps) be made simpler?
ie: remove the left "Desktop, My Docs, Other" icons, remove the top
buttons, etc? Ideally (like Win95), I'd like "Save in", folder list,
file name, and file type (with some buttons that don't receive focus
when using Tab).

There is no command to make these changes. Are they in your way? I've always
regarded those as significant improvements. I know that YMMV, but I'm
curious why these added features are a problem. (Ah, the tab thing. Got it.
Among people I work with, I'm one of the most keyboard-using people around,
but even I always use the mouse for the few quick clicks to get around one
of these boxes. I think the key is to use the keyboard where it is handiest
and the mouse where it is handiest, and for this set of functions the mouse
is handier.)

Print dialog:
Maybe this is just Office 2k and IE 6. Can the Print dialog use a
drop down list to select a printer and the Properties button to set
the details of the printer? Instead of having an icon for each
printer and have the printer properties tabs appear IN the print
dialog when a printer is selected.

No. It's pictures now.

I'm surprised you don't like the tabbed structure. Ctrl+Tab bounces through
them very efficiently

Disable unused "Find" modes:
Can the Start Menu "Find" option not open a list (Files or Folders,
Computers, People, on the Internet, etc), but instead JUST open
"Files or Folders"? I will never use those other Find modes and they
just add another key-stroke to opening Find.

You could probably edit the Registry to remove these. I usually discourage
such surgery (too many people shoot themselves in the foot doing it). But,
again, Win+F brings up what you're requesting without having to remove your
hands from the keyboard.

cmd current folder:
(I forget how this one works but I'll ask anyway) Can the cmd (or
command) window start on Windows Explorer's currently selected folder
when using Start > Run > cmd? Running command in Win95 starts in the
selected folder (directory).

I don't know how to make this one work. The closest thing would be to
install the Win 95 PowerToys (these still work, almost to a one, in Windows
2000) so that you have the "Open Command Prompt Here" context menu item. For
more information on using these add-ons in other Windows versions, see my
PowerToys FAQ: http://aumha.org/a/powertoy.htm

Home key in Windows Explorer:
(I think this was resolved after 2kSP2, but I'll ask anyway) In
Windows Explorer, can the Ctrl-Home combo be set to NOT load the home
page, but instead, scroll the folder pane to the top without moving
the cursor (similar to Ctrl-End)? Or was this done by Alt-Home, I
forget.

I just tried on my unpatched Win 2K Original, and I confirmed two things.
First, both Ctrl+Home and Ctrl+End jump to the first and last items in the
folder respectively, but don't actively select it - the item is simply
outlined in a dotted line and you don't get "selection" until you move with
an arrow key. But Home and End themselves (without Ctrl) do exactly what you
requested - jump to the first and last items, respectively, and select them.
(I did the test in C:\Windows\System in List view.)

Remove "Standby" from Shutdown:
(I could probably find this if I searched, but while I'm at it) Can
"Standby" be removed from the Shutdown dropdown list, leaving only
Logoff, Shutdown, and Restart?

Mine doesn't have that entry - just Shutdown, Restart, and Logoff. I'd have
to play around to find the difference, but I suspect it's the hardware's
power options, possibly in CMOS settings.

Internet Explorer pervasiveness:
Is it just me, or is EVERY window in the Win2k UI actually an Internet
Explorer window?

Since Windows 98, EVERY window in Windows has been an IE window. They didn't
always look it, but that's what they've been. In Win 95, IE is a progrm that
ran on top of Windows; but, beginning with Win98, Windows is a program that
runs on top of IE; that is (to be more exacting), the corecomponents of IE
are what Windows uses for its UI rendeirng. And with every successive
version of Windows (and, for that matter, of Office), MS has made more and
more individual componens "web-enabled."

Windows Explorer can show web pages, Contol Panel
can show web pages, Find can show web pages. Are there seperate
specific programs for these functions, or are they all really just IE?

IE is the underbelly of Windows, after Win95. The code becomes much more
efficient, and less likely to trip over itself and cause errors, when a
single base is used for all of these common functions.

--
Jim Eshelman, MS-MVP Windows
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