Windows 95 For Dummies #1



*1. THANK HEAVENS FOR THE WINDOWS KEY!          
          
April 14th, 1999          
          
If you bought your computer after, say, New Year's Day 1995, you probably
have a Windows key--a key, usually between the left-hand Ctrl and Alt
keys, with a picture of the Windows logo on it. The Windows key can save
you about 5 million (perhaps an exaggeration) mouse clicks during your
Windows 95 career--2 million of those just by allowing you to open the
Start menu. 

Instead of clicking the Start button, press the Windows key. The Start
menu appears! You can highlight Start menu items by using the arrow keys
and execute them by pressing Enter. 

To learn how the Windows key can save the other 3 million mouse clicks,
tune in next time.


*2. MORE KUDOS FOR THE WINDOWS KEY          
          
April 15th, 1999          
          
Yesterday, we revealed how you can use the Windows key instead of clicking
the Start button, thereby eliminating millions of clicks' worth of wear
and tear on your mouse (and your wrist). Today, we offer an entire list
of additional Windows key shortcuts--shortcuts so convenient, you'll
wonder how you ever lasted a day without them. 

(Note: For our own convenience, we're using the word "Win" to refer to
the Windows key.)

- To start Windows Explorer, press Win + E. 
- To minimize all open windows on the desktop, press Win + M. 
- To undo minimizing all open windows on the desktop, press
	Shift + Win + M. 
- To display the Run dialog box, press Win + R. 
- To display the Find dialog box, press Win + F (you probably guessed
	that one). 

Hungry for more of this? Oh, you'll get more.


*3. MORE WINDOWS KEY MANIA          
          
April 16th, 1999          
          
For the past couple of tips, we've shared Windows key shortcuts to
features you ordinarily access by clicking the Windows Start button.
"That's great," you say. "But what I could really use is an easier way
to use the keyboard--and not the mouse--to navigate the various active
window buttons on the taskbar. Got anything for that?"  

Brushing aside the observation that you people are never satisfied, we
cheerily answer, "Yes, in fact. We got something for that."  

To cycle through the taskbar buttons:  

1. Press Win + Tab to select the left-most taskbar button.  
2. Continue pressing Win + Tab until the button you want is selected.  
3. Press Enter to open the window.


*4. GRAPHICS ACCELERATOR TIPS--PART 4 OF 5          
  
Intel's recently released NX440LX motherboard has some restrictions on
the length and height of the AGP graphics accelerators it supports. Check
into these restrictions when upgrading your video. Read more about this
topic at Intel's Web site  

http://www.intel.com 

and the AGP Forum Web site 

http://www.agpforum.org


*5. YOU DON'T HAVE A WINDOWS KEY? SNIFF.          
          
April 20th, 1999          
          
Over the past few days, we've extolled the virtues and the uses of the
Windows key. But if you're using a computer from the Pleistocene Era that
doesn't have a Windows key, well, you can still use the keyboard to
replace the mouse for some Start button and taskbar tasks: 

To access the Start menu, press Ctrl + Esc. 
To display the Run dialog box, press Ctrl + Esc; then press R. 
To display the Find dialog box, press Ctrl + Esc; then press F. 
To start Windows Explorer: 

1. Press Ctrl + Esc; then press Esc again. 
2. Press Shift + F10. 
3. Press E. 

The preceding steps open Explorer in your Start Menu folder; you can use
the drop-down menu to navigate to whatever folders/drives you want. Not
as easy as the Windows key but still preferable to the mouse for you
keyboard buffs.


*6. QUICK EXPLORER ADJUSTMENT          
          
April 21st, 1999          
          
By now, you probably know that in Windows Explorer, you can double-click
the right edge of any column to make the column as wide as the longest
line of text in the column. But suppose that, instead of seeing the
complete contents of one or two columns, you'd rather see each column,
partial or not, in the Explorer display. 

No problem--just press Ctrl + + (that's the plus key on the numeric
keypad). Explorer adjusts the size of the columns so as to display all of
them in the window.


*7. SHORTCUT WARNING          
          
April 22nd, 1999          
          
A while back, we explained how to create a keystroke shortcut for any
program. Today, we review the procedure: 

1. Right-click the program icon and choose Properties from the
	shortcut menu. 
2. If necessary, click the Shortcut tab. 
3. Place your cursor in the Shortcut Key text box; then press the
	keystroke combination you want to assign to the shortcut. 
4. Click OK. 

Remember: The keystroke you assign to a shortcut OVERRIDES any instances
of that keystroke in your Windows applications. So, for example, if you
assign Ctrl + P to a shortcut, you can no longer use that shortcut to
print from Windows applications. 

In other words, choose your keystrokes with care; we recommend
Ctrl + Alt, Ctrl + Shift, and Alt + Shift combinations.


*8. GET OUTTA HERE          
          
April 23rd, 1999          
          
We've presented countless ways to add programs to your Start menu. How
about a way to remove them? 

To remove anything from your Start menu: 

1. Right-click any empty area of the taskbar. 
2. Choose Properties from the shortcut menu. 
3. In the Taskbar Properties dialog box, click the Start Menu tab. 
4. Click Remove. 
5. In the Remove Shortcuts/Folders dialog box, select the item you want
	to remove and click Remove. 
6. Repeat Step 5 for all items you want to remove. 
7. Click Close; then click OK. 
!


*9. FIT MORE ICONS          
          
April 26th, 1999          
          
If you add lots of shortcuts and programs to your Start menu, pretty
soon, your Start menu may eventually cover your entire screen. You can
make the menu a little less unwieldy by reducing the size of your Start
menu icons: 

1. Right-click any empty area of the Start menu. 
2. Choose Properties from the shortcut menu. 
3. If necessary, click the Taskbar Options tab. 
4. Select Show Small Icons in Start Menu. 
5. Click OK. 

Now click the Start button. Those menus take up a lot less space,
don't they?


*10. MORE ICON SQUEEZING--THIS TIME IN FOLDER WINDOWS          
          
April 27th, 1999          
          
Last time, we told you how you can make your Start menu a lot more
compact and practical by using small icons. You can use the same general
idea to make better use of any folder window: 

1. In any folder window, right-click any blank area. 
2. From the shortcut menu, choose View + Small Icons to reduce the size
of your icons so that they fit within the current width of the window;
if you want your icons to fit to the current height of the window, choose
View + List. 

Either way, you see more icons at a glance; you'll probably find them a
lot easier to work with, too.
