Desktop Tips
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Restoring a Lost Desktop - Added 3/15/00
Creating a New E-Mail Shortcut - Added 1/31/00
Creating 3D Window Effect - Added 1/8/00
Creating Shutdown, Restart and Logoff Icons - Added 1/8/00
Having your Favorites and Start Menus Sort Alphabetically - Added 11/9/99
Increasing the Icon Cache - Submitted 10/30/99
Make Icons 256 Color 16-Bit - Submitted 7/19/99
Removing Shortcut Arrows - Submitted 3/28/99
Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu - Added 10/17/98
Making Desktop Changes Permanent - Added 10/16/98
Easy Shortcuts on the Desktop - Submitted 8/14/98
Changing a Folder's Icon - Submitted 8/14/98
Full Window Drag ( Without Plus! ) - Submitted 5/25/98
Fixing Corrupted Desktop Icons - Updated 5/25/98
Getting Screen Shots - Submitted 4/12/98
Increasing the Size of the Scroll Bar - Submitted 1/11/98
Unable to Create Shortcuts on the Desktop - Added 1/3/98
Removing the InBox from the Desktop - Submitted 12/29/97
Customizing Individual Folder Icons - Submitted 11/22/97
Removing the Recycle Bin - Submitted 11/16/97
Adding Send To the Recycle Bin - Submitted 10/11/97
Having Icons with No Name - Updated 9/28/97
Moving the Start Button - Submitted 7/4/97
Aligning Drop-Down Menus to the Right - Submitted 4/25/97
Repositioning a Background Bitmap - Added 4/6/97
Changing Drive Icons - Added 4/6/97
Adding AnyFolder and Mail to SendTo - Submitted 3/7/97
Adding Shortcuts to Desktop Without "Shortcut To" text - Submitted 1/24/97
Easier User Interface - Submitted 1/24/97
Removing the Start Button - Submitted 11/24/96
Changing the clock to 24-Hour Time - Added 10/20/96
Removing the InBox and Recycle Bin Icons from the Desktop - Added 9/8/96
Removing Items from NEW on the Desktop - Added 7/28/96
Modifying Default Desktop Icons - Added 7/27/96
Changing or Removing the Start Menu Icons - Submitted 6/29/96
Adding Drives to the SendTo List - Submitted 6/29/96
Adding a Protected Briefcase - Submitted 6/23/96
Customizing the Start Button's Name and Icon - Added 5/28/96
Adding the Device Manager to your Desktop - Added 5/27/96
Adding Options to the Right-Click of the Start Menu - Submitted 5/20/96
How to make the task bar autohide - Added 5/15/96
More Removing Shortcut Arrows - Submitted 3/12/96
Closing Nested Folders - Added 2/28/96
Changing Application Icons - Submitted 1/21/96
Moving and Resizing the Taskbar - Submitted 1/21/96
Correcting Corrupted Fonts - 1/11/96
Changing Desktop Folders - With No Registry Changes - Submitted 12/14/95
Updating the Desktop - 11/28/95
Adding the Desktop to your Start Menu - 11/17/95
Removing the shortcut arrows (potential problem) - 11/5/95
Getting rid of Click here to continue - 11/4/95
Adding the Control Panel icons to the Desktop - 10/2/95
Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu - 10/2/95
Minimizing all windows - 9/24/95/95
Removing the shortcut icon arrows - 9/18/95
Turning on AutoArrange - 9/13/95
Creating document scraps - 9/13/95
Quick access to your Desktop - 9/3/95
Restoring corrupted icons
Turing off Windows Animation
Renaming the Recycle Bin
Turning off Desktop Icons
Using old Window's Groups
Speeding up the Start Menu
Changing the My Computer or Recycle Bin icons
Removing the Tildes in filenames
Removing the Network Neighborhood icon
Changing the Startup and Logoff Bitmap screens
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Restoring a Lost Desktop
Submitted 3/15/00
If you ever lose the Desktop but Explorer is still running with the Start Button,
you can do this to bring back your Desktop in a Windows box.
Click Start
Click Run
Type a period " . "
Then press Enter
Submitted by John Crossland
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Creating a New E-Mail Shortcut
Added 1/31/00
To create a shortcut that will open your default e-mail program starting a new e-mail,
Right click on an open area of the desktop
Select New / Shortcut
For the Command Line, enter mailto:
For the title enter something like New E-Mail
When you click on this your default e-mail program should start with a new e-mail form.
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Creating 3D Window Effect
1/8/00
You can create a nice 3D effect for your windows
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER \ Control Panel \ Colors
Make sure the following setting are there:
ButtonHilight=128 128 128
ButtonShadow=255 255 255
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Creating Shutdown, Restart and Logoff Icons
Added 1/8/00
To create the icons, create a shortcut on the desktop.
For Shutdown, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindows
For Restart, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE user.exe,exitwindowsexec
For Logoff, the command is C:\WINDOWS\RUNDLL.EXE shell32.dll,SHExitWindowsEx 0
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Having your Favorites and Start Menus Sort Alphabetically
Added 11/9/99
If your Start Menu Program or Favorites are not sorting alphabetically, it is easy to fix this:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER/Software/Microsoft/Windows/CurrentVersion/Explorer/MenuOrder
Under here is are Favorites and Start Menu folders
In each there is a value called Order
Simply delete (or rename this) and restart Winodws
Your Favorites or Start Menus should now sort alphabetically
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Increasing the Icon Cache
Submitted 10/30/99
Run Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\explorer
Create a new string called Max Cached Icons
Give it a value of 10000
This will increase response time in windows and give the Shellicon cache file more elbow room.
Submitted by Paul Barker
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Make Icons 256 Color 16-Bit
Submitted 7/19/99
Open the Registry
Hit Ctrl+F
Type Shell Icon BPP
When found, right click the Shell Icon BPP icon
Click Modify
Change the value from 4 to 16
Click Ok
Close the registry
Restart your computer
Submitted by Wes
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Removing Shortcut Arrows
Submitted 3/28/99
An easy way to remove those irritating arrows from your desktop shortcut icons and not change their properties
Right click the Desktop / Properties / Appearance tab
Select Item
Scroll for Icon
The default size is 32
Change this to 30
Clicking Apply
Submitted by Larry McDonald
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Adding the Control Panel to the Start Menu
Added 10/17/98
Open up the Explorer
Go to \WINDOWS\Start Menu
Right click in the right-hand panel
Add a new folder
Name it Control Panel.{21ec2020-3aea-1069-a2dd-08002b30309d}
This makes getting to the Control Panel items a little easier
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Making Desktop Changes Permanent
Added 10/16/98
To make changes to the Desktop like window size, positon after rebooting:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer
Create a New Binary Value
Name it NoSaveSettings
Give it a value of 01 00 00 00
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Easy Shortcuts on the Desktop
Submitted 8/14/98
Here is an easy way to put shortcuts on the Desktop where they can easily be moved to other group icons.
Using the Explorer, create a SHORTCUT to the \Windows\Desktop directory in your \Windows\SEND TO directory.
Now whenever you want to make a shortcut and move it to the desktop:
Just make the shortcut you want using Explorer
Right click on that shortcut
In the pop up menu select the Send To and Desktop shortcut.
Submitted by Jerry Airaudi
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Changing a Folder's Icon
To change the icon of a Folder on desktop:
Using the Explorer, move the folder from the Desktop directory to another directory on the hard drive
Right click on the new folder and select "Create Shortcut"
Move the shortcut to the Desktop
Right click and select a new icon
Submitted by Kim Schmidt
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Full Window Drag ( Without Plus! )
Start Regedit
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER /ControlPanel /Desktop /DragFullWindows
On "DragFullWindows" properties change 0 to 1
Submitted by Fatal III
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Fixing Corrupted Desktop Icons
Updated 5/25/98
Easier way to reset icons then deleting SHELLICONCACHE.
There's no need to exit Win95 and delete the SHELLICONCACHE file in order to reset icons that you may have changed (like Network Neighborhood).
Go to Control Panel, Display, Appearance Tab.
Select Icon from the Item drop down list.
Change the Size up or down one and apply.
Change the Size back to your original and apply.
Submitted by Duane Anderson
Submitted 2/28/98
If your Start Menu is slow or your icons are black for some reason, it means your Shelliconcache file is corrupt and should be deleted.
Delete the hidden file C:\WINDOWS\SHELLICONCACHE
It will be recreated the next time you start Win95
Submitted by Tim Berger
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Getting Screen Shots
Submitted 4/12/98
If you need to get a screen shot, and you do not have a screen capture program, try this:
Hit the Print Screen key. This copies a bitmap of the full screen into the Windows clipboard. Start up a graphics editor and paste it in.
Alt + Print Screen will capture only the active window.
Submitted by V. Sahker
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Increasing the Size of the Scroll Bar
Submitted 1/11/98
How to adjust the width of the scroll bar:
Select Properties
Select the Appearance tab
Go to the item list and find scrollbar.
Increasing the value in the Size field will increase the scrollbar width.
Submitted by Scott K. Ibara
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Unable to Create Shortcuts on the Desktop
Added 1/3/98
If you can't create shortcuts on your Desktop, you might have a corrupted registry.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\.lnk\ShellNew\Command
Make sure it has a value of:
RunDLL32 AppWiz.Cpl,NewLinkHere %1 if you don't have IE 4
or RunDLL32 AppWiz.Cpl,NewLinkHere %2 if you have IE 4.0 or IE 4.01
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Removing the InBox from the Desktop
Submitted 12/29/97
A faster way to remove "Inbox" from the Deskop is to
Right mouse click on "Inbox"
Select delete
It will then tell you "you cannot store the inbox in the recycle bin. . .etc"
Click "Yes"
Wait 2 secs and it's gone.
Submitted by Mark Weber
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Customizing Individual Folder Icons
Submitted 11/22/97
To change a folder's icon:
Open Notepad and enter two lines,
[.ShellClassInfo]
IconFile=file name,number
(e.g. IconFile=C:\Icon\CustomFolder.ico,0)
Save the file as DESKTOP.INI in the folder you wish to change.
Click Start -> Run, type in the command line,
ATTRIB +S "folder name"
(e.g. ATTRIB +S "C:\Custom Folder")
Open Explorer or My Computer and refresh (press F5 key).
This tip only work Windows 95/NT 4.0 + IE 4.0 with shell integration, or Windows 98/NT 5.0.
Submitted by Nariaki Ogami
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Removing the Recycle Bin
Submitted 11/16/97
To remove Recycle Bin from the desktop:
Run REGEDIT.
Find NAMESPACE key in left pane (HKEY_Local_Macine \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ Current Version \ Explorer \ Desktop \ Namespace)
Expand NAMESPACE (click '+' box)
Delete the value RECYCLE BIN in right pane
Submitted by Jeff Pilch
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Adding Send To the Recycle Bin
Submitted 10/11/97
Add a SHORTCUT TO THE RECYCLE BIN in your SEND TO folder.
That way you can just right click on a file you want to delete, and send it to the recycle bin without having to confirm each time.
Submitted by Roger Hinton
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Having Icons with No Name
Updated 9/28/97
Normally you have to have a name for an icon, just spaces are not allowed.
To create an icon with no name attached:
Make sure NumLock is on
Highlight the Icon you want to change
Right-Mouse click and select Rename
While holding down the Alt key, type 0160
Now the icon will have no name below it.
To Create Multiple Icons with No Name - From John R.
Follow directions detailed above
With the second icon simply add one space-bar character AFTER the 0160 number.
Each successive icon gets an additional space-bar character at the end (to prevent a duplicate naming error).
Submitted by John R
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Moving the Start Button
Submitted 7/4/97
How to move or close the start button!
Click on the Start button
Press the Esc key
Press the Alt and the - keys together
This will give you a menu, you can move or close
But if you move it you need to use the arrow keys and not the mouse.
Submitted by Mick Jones
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Aligning Drop-Down Menus to the Right
Submitted 4/25/97
All dropdown menus can be aligned to the right.
This features becomes useful when trying to access
menus with submenus that appear directly to the right.
Open the Registory editor (e.g. regedit.exe)
Goto \\HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop
Create a string entry called "MenuDropAlignment"
Set its value to 1
Reboot
Note: Will not work under NT 4.0.
Submitted by Maki Ishizaki
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Repositioning a Background Bitmap
Added 4/6/97
Normally, you only options for displaying a background bitmap are tiled, centered, or stretch to fit (with the Plus Pack).
You can edit the registry and have a third option which is to place the bitmap anywhere on your screen by specifying the X and Y coordinates.
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Control Panel / Desktop
Create new Strings called WallpaperOriginX and WallpaperOriginY
Give them values to position them around your desktop
The bitmap must be smaller than your desktop size
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Changing Drive Icons
Added 4/6/97
To change a drive's icon when you open My Computer
Create a file called AUTORUN.INF on the root of your hard drive
Enter the lines
[autorun]
ICON=Name of the ICON file
For the name of the icon file you can either specify the path and name (e.g. ICON=C:\WINDOWS\ICONS\MY_ICON.ICO) or
a specific icon in a library (e.g. ICON=ICONFILE.DLL,2)
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Adding AnyFolder and Mail to SendTo
Submitted 3/7/96
Previous examples of adding items to the SendTo usually require editing the Registry.
An easy way around this is to use the following methods.
To add ANYFOLDER:
Open the Explorer
Go to \Windows\SendTo
Right click in the right hand panel
Select New / Text Document
Name it anything with a .otherfolder extension
When you want to send files to another folder:
Select the files with Explorer
Right Click
Select Send to and the name you just created
You them have the option of copying or moving the file to a folder of your choice
To add Mail:
Open the Explorer
Go to \Windows\SendTo
Right click in the right hand panel
Select New / Text Document
Name it anything with a .MapiMail extension (ignore any warnings about the file extension)
When you want to Mail files as attachments:
Select the files with Explorer
Right Click
Select Send to and the Mail name you just created
This allows you to easily mail multiple files
Submitted by Will Raresheid
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Adding Shortcuts to Desktop Without "Shortcut To" text
Submitted 1/24/97
Start Regedit
Go to:HKEY_USERS \ .Default \ Software \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ Explorer
Add binary value to Explorer:link="00,00,00,00"
Now You can make Shortcuts to desktop without Shortcut To" text.
Submitted by Janek Kivisild
janeki@et.ee
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Easier User Interface
Submitted 1/24/97
Add a menu item named "Open THIS folder!" to each of your cascading menus off of the Start menu.
This makes it easier to put items wherever you want them!
Go to Windows \ Start Menu \ Programs \ (etc.) in the Explorer
Start right click/dragging folders to the desktop, one by one.
Rename them and left click/drag them back to the same folder.
It takes a little while, but when you are finished you have a much easier interface to work with.
Submitted by Gordy Robbins
Utility_Oper@communityonline.net
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Removing the Start Button
Submitted 11/24/96
Click on the start menu button twice, so there is a dashed line around the button
Press Alt and the minus sign
Choose Close to make the start button disappear, or move to move it to the right!
Submitted by Justin Nachod
Note from Bob: - You have to re-boot to get it back again, or:
Press Ctrl-Alt-Delete
Highlight Explorer
Click on the End Task button
Select No to doing a full shutdown
Wait a few seconds and the click on the End Task button
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Changing the clock to 24-Hour Time
Added 10/20/96
To change the display of the clock on the taskbar to 24-hour format:
Open the Control Panel
Double-click on the Regional Settings icon
Click on the Time tab
In the Time style section select H:mm:ss
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Removing the InBox and Recycle Bin Icons from the Desktop
Added 9/8/96
To remove the InBox from your desktop, without needing to run the Policy Editor:
Start Regedit
Go to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE \ SOFTWARE \ Microsoft \ Windows \ CurrentVersion \ explorer \ Desktop \ NameSpace
Below that should be a few keys
Rename the key {00020D75-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}. I usually put another character before or after the curly braces.
Restart Windows and the InBox icon should be gone
You can do the same for any other items you don't to show such as the Recycle Bin or The Internet icons
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Changing or Removing the Start Menu Icons
Submitted 6/29/96
Download Microangelo and install it.
Create a blank.ico file.
Put it in a directory (C:\Windows. Then double click on the Microangelo Engineer to run it.
When you get it up on the screen click on the "start" tab. You will see a list of all the icons in the start menu.
Highlight the first one (programs) and select "Change". It will bring up a dialog box - select "browse".
Go to the directory that contains the blank icon and select it. Hit OK until you get back to the main
Engineer window and do all the rest exactly the same way.
When you have finished changing them all to the blank icon, Hit "Apply".
Hit your start button and look to see if all the icons are invisible. (They should be.)
Close out Micro Engineer and you're finished.
Submitted by Kristy Shanks
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Adding Drive to the SendTo List
Submitted 6/29/96
I have recently found that if you want to send something from A: drive or from any where to any drive, you can just make a short cut of that drive in subdirectory SENDTO.
For example I have two hard drives, a Floppy Drive, and a CDROM
After I have make a copy of each of my drive I will be able to send a whole directory of E:\XXX from the CDROM drive to A: drive or any other drive that i have had made the short c t in the SENDTO subdir of WINDOWS.
Submitted by Robo
tttran@acs.itd.uts.edu.au
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Adding a Protected Briefcase
Submitted 6/23/96
You can make your briefcase a shortcut on the on desktop so if you have multiple users on your PC and you don't want to have a password for your briefcase, you can at least protect it from inadvertent deletion by just making the briefcase a hidden file or in a different location other than \Windows\Desktop\My Briefcase, then send a copy or shortcut to the desktop.
Submitted by Tony Stewart
tonys@awnet.com
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Customizing the Start Button's Name and Icon
Added 5/28/96
To change the name of the Start button:
Copy EXPLORER.EXE in your Windows directory to another directory
Start a hex editor (I've been using Diskedit from Norton)
Edit EXPLORER.EXE
Search for the string 53 00 74 00 61 00 72 00 74
This is the word Start with the letters separated by a null character
The section you are in should also have the words "There was an internal error..." also separated with the null character immediately following
Now just replace the Start letters with any of your choice (up to 5 characters only)
Exit Windows
Boot to DOS
Copy your new Explorer file over the original
To change the Start button icon:
Copy USER.EXE in your \WINDOWS\SYSTEM directory to another directory
Use an icon editor that can replace icons in executable files
Edit USER.EXE and replace the flag icons with the icon of your choice
Boot to DOS
Copy the new USER.EXE
The same can be done with NT 4.0, just the offset will be different but the location to just before "There was an internal error..." is the same.
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Adding the Device Manager to your Desktop
Added 5/27/96
This allows you to quickly see all the devices attached to your computer.
I use it a lot to select Refresh when I add new external SCSI devices that were not
powered up at startup. This way you do not need to restart the computer. To add the Device Manager Icon:
Right click on an open area of your desktop
Select New / Shortcut
Type in C:\WINDOWS\CONTROL SYSDM.CPL, SYSTEM, 1
Replace C:\WINDOWS with whatever directory you installed Windows95
Click on the Next box
At the next dialog box type in Device Manager
Click on the Finish when you are done
Note: Replacing the 1 with a 3 will bring up the Performance Status
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Adding Options to the Right-Click of the Start Menu
Submitted 5/20/96
To add an option to the Right-Click of the Start button:
Go to Control Panel, View, Options
Click on the File Types Tab
Scroll down until you see File Folder
Click on Edit
Click on New
Type in the Name you want to in the Action box
Type in the Application you want to use
A good option to add is an MS-DOS Prompt:
Try this c:\command.com /k cd %1
It also puts the shortcut on a regular folder.
This command will open a DOS window with that folder as the current directory.
Submitted by Paul Alderson
image@primenet.com
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How to make the task bar autohide
Added 5/15/96
Click the right button on a blank area of the task bar
Select Properties
Select Autohide
Click OK
This will make the task bar slide off the screen when the cursor moves away from it,
and it will slide back on when the cursor is moved near it again.
The same can be done for the MS Office task bar. The "sliding" effect is nice, and can free up some desktop space.
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More Removing Shortcut Arrows
Submitted 3/12/96
'lnkfile', 'piffle' and 'internetshortcut' are the three places
that I have seen the isshortcut arrow.
The best way to deal with this is to rename the 'isshortcut' to
'isshortcutbak' by right clicking on the 'isshortcut' then
select rename and add 'bak' to the end.
Submitted by Charles Muckle
c_muckle@msn.com
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Closing Nested Folders
Added 2/28/96
If you have several nested folders (folders within folders) and want to close them all,
simply, hold the Shift key while closing the last folder
This will close all previous ones as well.
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Changing Application Icons
Submitted 1/21/96
To have a wider choice of application icons:
Right click on the icon shortcut
Chose Properties
Click on the Program tab
Chose Change icon
Click on Browse
Select Files of type All Files
Browse to the directory where your icon files are kept
You can even use some bitmap files for you icons
Submitted by Cengiz Lugal
cengiz@dircon.co.uk
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Moving and Resizing the Taskbar
Submitted 1/21/96
You can move the taskbar by pointing on a corner panel and dragging it
It is easier to move if you close all your windows first
You can also resize it by moving the mouse to the edge and dragging it larger or smaller.
Submitted by Adrian Aisemberg - Israel
insane@datasrv.co.il
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Correcting Corrupted Fonts
Submitted 1/11/96
If you have a problem with your non-true type fonts, here's what you do:
Open the Control Panel
Double click on Fonts
Search for the "Monotype Sorts" font
Delete this Font
Submitted by Leslie Mayo
lesliem@quicklink.com
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Changing Desktop Folders - With No Registry Changes
Submitted 12/14/95
From the Explorer, create a folder somewhere OTHER than the desktop, and call it something like "Desktop Folders."
Move all your desktop folders into that folder.
Create shortcuts to all of those folders on your desktop.
Now, you are free to change the icons of each shortcut individually, to anything you like!
Submitted by Jim Andrews
jimndrws@serv.net
Win95 Page
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Updating the Desktop
Submitted 11/28/95
If you want to update the desktop, for example after you've been changing the registry.
Right-Click anywhere on the desktop
Press F5
jonas.almeling@frn.se
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Adding the Desktop to your Start Menu
Submitted 11/17/95
Create a shortcut to the Explorer on your Desktop
Right click on the Start button
Choose Open
Go into the Programs Folder
Drag the Windows Explorer Icon on your Desktop using the RIGHT Mouse button
Choose copy here
Change the command line switch
Right click on the Shortcut you created
Choose Properties
Choose Shortcut
Type in following command line as target:
C:\WINDOWS\EXPLORER.EXE /n, /root,
The last "," is vital!
If you want the two pane Explorer view ad the switch ,/e
Then rename the Shortcut to "Desktop" or whatever you choose and drag the icon onto the start button.
Submitted by Christine Koch
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Removing shortcut arrows
Submitted 11/5/95
One problem when removing shortcut arrows is that
if you delete a desktop item, it will remove it.
If it is a shortcut it will just remove the icon.
If it is not a shortcut, then it will remove the program.
Having the little icon arrow is one way to tell the difference
Submitted by KJ King
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Getting rid of Click Here to Continue
Added 11/4/95
Start the Registry Editor
Open HKEY_CURRENT_USER / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer
Create a binary value and call it NoStartBanner
Double-click on it and give it a value of 01 00 00 00
You will need to repeat the same steps for HKEY_USERS / .Default / Software / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / Policies / Explorer
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Changing the Desktop and Explorer Folder Icons
Added 10/24/95
The following steps will change the icon that is displayed as the default Folder icon.
Start the Registry Editor.
Search for "Shell Icons".
This will bring you to HKEY_LOCAL_MACHINE / SOFTWARE / Microsoft / Windows / CurrentVersion / explorer / Shell Icons.
Double-click on the one has the value name of "3" in the right pane.
Type in the new icon you want to use.
If you have a DLL file specified, you need to count for the location of the particular icon you want to use, starting at 0.
To reset the icon cache, use a program such as Tweak with comes with the PowerToys from Microsoft.
Note: I haven't experimented with too many of the other icon changes possible.
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Adding Control Panel Icons to the Desktop
Added 10/2/95
This is an easy one..
Simply open up the Control Panel.
Right Click and Drag the icon you want to your desktop or folder.
This will create a shortcut for that icon.
It could come in handy if there are always certain items you need to get to quickly.
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Create a Control Panel menu directly below the Start Button
Added 10/2/95
Click the Start Button once with your right mouse button. You should see a right-button menu (called a context menu because it offers different choices in different contexts).
You should see the items Open, Explore, and Find on the context menu. Click Explore with your left mouse button.
An Explorer file management window should open. A directory tree should appear in the left pane, with the right pane displaying the contents of the Start Menu folder.
Right-click any empty space within the right pane. A context menu should appear. Click New and then Folder.
The Explorer will create a highlighted icon called New Folder. Type in the following string, all on one line, replacing the words New Folder with this new line. You must type the period, the curly braces, all four hyphens, and the hexadecimal numbers exactly as shown. After the closing curly brace, press Enter.
Control Panel.{21EC2020-3AEA-1069-A2DD-08002B30309D}
Other Folders can be added following the same instructions.
Dial-Up Networking.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48}
Printers.{2227A280-3AEA-1069-A2DE-08002B30309D}
Inbox.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
My Computer.{20D04FE0-3AEA-1069-A2D8-08002B30309D}
Recycle Bin.{645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}
Network Neighborhood.{208D2C60-3AEA-1069-A2D7-08002B30309D}
Desktop.{00021400-0000-0000-C000-000000000046}
Briefcase.{85BBD920-42A0-1069-A2E4-08002B30309D}
Fonts.{BD84B380-8CA2-1069-AB1D-08000948F534}
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Minimizing All Windows
Added 9/24/95
To minimize all windows:
Press Ctrl-ESC ESC to bring up the Task Bar
Right Mouse Click on an open area of the Task Bar
Select Minimize all Windows
This makes it a lot easier to minimize windows when all your open applications are full screen.
With the Microsoft Keyboard, you can accomplish the same thing by pressing the Window-M key.
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Removing the Shortcut Icon Arrows
Submitted 9/18/95
Open REGEDIT.EXE
Open the Key HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT
Open the Key LNKFILE
Delete the value IsShortcut
Open the next Key PIFFILE
Delete the value IsShortcut
Restart the Win95
Submitted by David Wysinger
ZeroCool@FishNet.net
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Turning on AutoArrange for Folders
Added 9/13/95
To make all folders keep AutoArrange turned on:
Open up an existing folder
Select View / Arrange
Arrange the Icons the way you would like, (e.g. Name, Size,etc.)
Select View / Arrange again
Select AutoArrange
Press the Ctrl-key while you close the window.
This folder should now have AutoArrange always selected.
This should allow you to create new folders that have AutoArrange selected by default.
You only need to specify by Name, Size, etc. if you want to change it from the default you set above.
Note: I have only tested this on a few computers. Please give me feedback regarding any problems.
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Creating Document Scraps
Submitted 9/13/95
If you are using Microsoft Word 7.0,
you can highlight a section of the document then drag and drop the highlighted area to
your desktop. Windows will create a file for you with a name something like
"Document Scrap From..." followed by the first few words you selected
Submitted by Charlie Williams
ctw@reston.btna.com
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Quick Access to Your Desktop
Submitted 9/3/95
How do you access your darn desktop when you have a ton of applications open?
Well you could right click on the taskbar and do a minimize all, but that can be slow.
Instead:
Open a browser window (double-click on "My Computer")
If there is no toolbar, select View from the menu and select Toolbar.
Then from the dropdown list-box in the toolbar select desktop.
Now minimize it and forget about it.
The next time you want to access your desktop just click the desktop window on the taskbar.
As long as you don't close the window when you shutdown, it will reopen when you start windows again.
Submitted by Tim LaDuca
laducat@winnie.fit.edu
Additional Note from Bob: You can also drag the Desktop folder to the start menu.
Then you just press Ctrl-ESC and click on Desktop
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Restoring Corrupted Icons
If you use a graphic Card and you change the resolution, sometimes the icons are bad.
End Win95 and restart. When you see the starting message press F8 then type standard.
After this start of Win95 exit and restart.
Change back to your Resolution and restart.
The icons should be corrected.
Submitted by Thomas Lange
CYBERBAR@pan-net.de
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Turn Off Window Animation
You can shut off the animation displayed when you minimize and maximize windows.
This tip makes navigating Windows 95 a lot faster especially for those that don't have
super fast video cards.
Open Regedit
HKEY_CURRENT_USER
Control panel
Desktop
WindowMetrics
Right Mouse Click an empty space in the right pane.
Select new/string value.
Name the new value MinAnimate.
Doubleclick on the new string value (MinAnimate) and click on "Modify"
Enter a value of 0 for Off or 1 for On then hit
Close Regedit and all programs then reboot.
Submitted by Jim Asikis
jimas@cybercom.net
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Renaming the Recycle Bin
Start the Registry Editor
Type Ctrl-F to bring up the Find Menu
In the Find What box type Recycle
Double click on the Recycle Bin in the right pane
Type in the new name under Value Data
Restart Win95
**Probably the same for Win98**
