Microsoft Internet Explorer 4.0 Tips #4



---------------------------------------------------------------

If you like Tip of the Day please share it with friends and 
co-workers, and encourage them to sign up! It's free. You can
unsubscribe or change your e-mail address at any time.

To subscribe to or unsubscribe from this newsletter:
* Use your browser to visit our Newsletter Subscription Center:
  http://www.winmag.com/subscribe/
* Scroll down to the Tip of the Day section.
* Click "Choose an option," and select Subscribe or Unsubscribe.
* Scroll to the top of the page, and type your e-mail address 
  in the "E-mail" field.
* Click the Submit button below your e-mail address.

Copyright 2000 CMP Media Inc. A service of Winmag.com.
http://www.winmag.com/

Distributed by MessageMedia Inc. - http://www.messagemedia.com

---------------------------------------------------------------


*1.   SHOW IT NOW 

This question about Outlook Express is from reader Sarah B. 

"Is it possible to set Outlook Express so that picture
 attachments appear in the body of a message?" 

If you'd like to see those attached pictures in your messages,
 open Outlook Express and choose Tools, Options. When the
 Options dialog box opens, click the Read tab. Now, select the
 check box labeled Automatically Show Picture Attachments in
 Messages and then click OK to close the dialog box and save
 your changes. 

Now any attached pictures that Outlook Express can display will
 appear in the messages. 


*2.   NO MORE LINKS 

This question, from subscriber Karen S., is asked frequently. 

"How do you get rid of the Links toolbar? I delete the Links
 folder and it keeps coming back. How can I keep it
 from reappearing?" 

If you don't want to see the Links toolbar when you run Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4, choose View, Toolbars and click Links. This
 will toggle off Links. If you want Links back,
 repeat the procedure. 

If you don't want the Links folder to appear in your Favorites
 folder, open Windows Explorer and navigate to
 \Windows\Favorites. Right-click the Links folder and choose
 Properties. When the Properties dialog box opens, select the
 check box labeled Hidden. Click OK to close the dialog box and
 save your changes. The links folder should no longer appear in
 the Favorites folder. 

If your Links folder still appears, double-click My Computer and
 choose View, Folder Options. When the dialog box opens, click
 the View tab. Now select the radio button labeled Do Not Show
 Hidden Files and click OK to close the dialog box and save
 your changes. 

You can't permanently delete Links because, when you start
 Microsoft Internet Explorer 4, the program will create a new
 Links folder if it doesn't find one. 

We also had several questions from readers who have other folders
 that they can't delete. The folders they asked about are placed
 there by the people who supplied their version of Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4. Many ISPs (and others) embed their own
 folders (and other objects) into custom versions of Microsoft
 Internet Explorer. 


*3.   IN THIS ORDER 

Reader Pete F. sends this question. 

"I like to put shortcuts to all of my most-used programs into
 Quick Launch. To do this, I simply drag the shortcut icon to
 the Quick Launch bar. 

Recently, I was looking for a way to put the icons in order. What
 I did was number all the names. For example, I renamed Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4 

1. Internet Explorer 

I have a shortcut to Microsoft Word in Quick Launch,
 and I named it 

2. Word 

Although this changed the order of the icons in the Quick Links
 folder, it did nothing for the order of icons in the Quick
 Launch bar. Is there a way to set the order in the Quick
 Launch bar?" 

The order of shortcuts in the Quick Links folder doesn't affect
 the icon order in the Quick Launch bar. 

To set the order you want, grab an icon with the mouse and move
 it to a new position. You indicated that you want Microsoft
 Internet Explorer 4 first. Using the mouse, grab the IE4 icon in
 the Quick Launch bar and move it to the left. When you reach a
 point just before the current first icon, release the mouse
 button. The IE4 icon will take the new position and keep it
 unless you decide to move it later. 


*4.   NO FAVORITES HERE 

Subscriber Harlan D. asks if there's a way to remove the
 Favorites folder from the Start menu. 

There sure is a way--you need to edit the Registry. Bet you saw
 that one coming. But, to make things easier for you, we're going
 to provide a REG file to do the job. Don't forget that running a
 REG file is still editing the Registry--and editing the Registry
 is potentially dangerous. 

To generate the REG file, open Notepad and type the following
 exactly as shown minus the lines labeled BLANK LINE GOES HERE.
 Where you see BLANK LINE GOES HERE, press Enter to insert a
 blank line. These blank lines are a necessary part of creating a
 working REG file. 

REGEDIT4 
BLANK LINE GOES HERE 
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\Policies\Explorer] 
"NoFavoritesMenu"=hex:01,00,00,00 
BLANK LINE GOES HERE 

Now, choose File, Save As and name the file Favorites.reg. Locate
 a folder for the new file and click Save. 

To run the file, double-click its icon. When you get a dialog box
 asking if you really want to do this thing, click Yes. The next
 dialog box tells you the job is done. Click OK. 

The next time you start the computer, you won't have Favorites in
 the Start menu. 


*5.   CONNECT FASTER 

Here's a tip from reader Andrew H. 

"If you want to connect more quickly to the Internet, there are a
 few simple steps you can take. Double-click My Computer, and
 then double-click Dial-Up Networking. Now, right-click your
 dialup icon and choose Properties. When the Properties dialog
 box opens, click the Server Types tab. Make sure that TCP/IP is
 the only check box selected in the Allowed Network Protocols
 area. Next, make sure the check box labeled Log On to Network is
 deselected and click OK to save your changes and close the
 dialog box." 

Some people report a drastic speedup when they use this tip, and
 others report no difference at all. You have nothing to lose,
 and you're much better off with only TCP/IP selected. Many ISPs
 will instruct you to deselect any other protocols when you
 have problems. 


*6.   KEEPING ACCOUNT 

Subscriber Joe B. asks if there's a way to back up the Outlook
 Express account information. 

To make a backup of the Outlook Express account info, you need to
 save the information in the Registry. Although you'll have to
 use RegEdit to do this, it's a far less dangerous operation than
 editing the Registry directly. All the same, be careful. 

Click Start, Run, type in 

regedit 

and press Enter. When RegEdit opens, navigate to
 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Internet Account Manager\Accounts
 Click the Accounts key and choose Registry, Export Registry
 File. Make sure the radio button labeled Selected Branch is
 selected, then name the file Accounts and click Save. You can
 close RegEdit by choosing Registry, Exit. 

The information in the REG file you just generated can be merged
 with the Registry again if you should ever need it. 


*7.   NO SPLASHING 

Reader Norm W. sends this Outlook Express question. 

"I know you'll probably consider this one of those unnecessary
 hacks, but can you tell me how to get rid of the small screen
 that pops up when you open Outlook Express? I really would like
 to eliminate that screen." 

We don't have anything against unnecessary Registry hacks.
 Registry editing can be fun. Ok, for those of you who want to
 get rid of the Outlook Express splash screen, here's a REG file
 just for you. But, be careful about running REG files. We offer
 no guarantee at all that these files will do what you expect. 

To create your REG file, open Notepad and enter the following as
 shown here. Where you see BLANK LINE GOES HERE, simply press
 Enter to enter a blank line. 

REGEDIT4 
BLANK LINE GOES HERE 
[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Outlook Express] 
"NoSplash"=dword:00000001 
BLANK LINE GOES HERE 

Choose File, Save As and name the file Splash.reg. Locate a
 folder to hold the file and click Save. 

To use the file, double-click its icon. Click Yes in the first
 dialog box, and OK in the second. The next time you start
 Outlook Express, it will just open--no beautiful splash screen,
 no nothing. 


*8.   YOU'VE GOT MAIL 

Here's a tip from Bertrand L. 

"If you have a microphone, you can record yourself saying
 'You've got mail' and then use the WAV as your
 mail notification." 

Thanks for the tip, Bertrand. 

If you have a microphone, hook it to the MIC input on your sound
 card and then click Start, Programs, Accessories, Sound
 Recorder. Now, double-click the Volume Control icon in the
 taskbar. When the Volume Control dialog box opens, make sure the
 Mute check box in the Microphone area is deselected and the
 control is set to about mid-level. Close the Volume Control and
 get ready to record. 

In Sound Recorder, click the Record button as soon as you're
 ready to talk. Record your message and click Stop. Don't wait
 around--click Stop as soon as you finish your message. You can
 now click Play to see how your new message sounds. If you like
 it, choose File, Save As. Name the new file GotMail and click
 Save. If you don't like it, click Record again and redo
 the message. 

Open Outlook Express and choose Tools, Options. When the Options
 dialog box opens, click the General tab. Next, select the check
 box labeled Play Sound When New Messages Arrive and then click
 OK to close the dialog box and record your changes. 

Finally, click Start, Settings, Control Panel. When Control Panel
 opens, double-click the Sounds icon. In Sounds, scroll down to
 New Mail Notification and click it. Click Browse and locate your
 new sound file. Double-click the file's icon to accept it as the
 sound. Back in the Sounds dialog box, click OK to save your
 sound selection and close the dialog box. 

Now, when you get mail, you'll hear your own lovely voice saying
 "You've got mail." 


*9.   PRESS THIS AND THEN THIS 

Here's a tip from reader Al B. 

"When I show a novice user the power of the 'big four' editing
 keys: Ctrl-Z (undo), Ctrl-X (cut), Ctrl-C (copy), and Ctrl-V
 (paste), I also provide the one other piece of information that
 permits mouse-free editing of a document--the use of the
 Shift key. 

The Shift key is especially useful when editing e-mail. The
 easiest way to mark text for copy or deletion is to hold down
 the Shift key while using the arrow keys, and the Home and End
 keys, along with the Ctrl-Home and End keys. Using these keys
 makes the person far more productive and less
 frustrated--especially on laptops, which often have mouse
 substitutes that are clumsy to use. 

And, of course, there's always Ctrl-S to save the document, and
 in Outlook Express, there's Ctrl-N to compose a new message.
 Then there's Ctrl-R to reply to the current message, Ctrl-F to
 forward the current message, Ctrl-Enter to send the current
 message, and the Tab key to move from field to field
 in a message." 

Thanks for the keystroke overview, Al. 


*10.   A MAIL TEMPLATE 

Here's a tip submitted by reader Emily K. 

"For several months, I've been using a mail template to make
 generating a message easier. I thought others might like to use
 something similar to my template. 

To make the template, press Ctrl-N to compose a new message. Now,
 click in the body of the blank message and choose Format, Apply
 Stationery. Choose the stationery you want to use from the
 expanded list. To see more stationery choices, click More
 Stationery and double-click your choice in the Open dialog box.
 This will insert the stationery and close the dialog box. 

Now, choose File, Save As, name the file something such as MyMail
 and locate a folder for the file (or save it to the desktop if
 you like). Click Save to save the file in the selected folder
 and close the dialog box." 

Thanks for the tip Emily. 

We suggest that you save the template to the desktop and then
 drag its icon to the Quick Launch bar. With the icon in Quick
 Launch, just click the icon when you want to generate a new mail
 message. Fill in the address and message, and click Send.
