Windows 95 Tips #12



*1. FIND YOUR F3 KEY        
    
When you need to find something on your system, do you automatically
select Start, Find, Files or Folders, define a folder on the Look In
line, and so on? Sure, the Start menu is one way to start this search
utility, but depending on where you are at the moment, there may be a
faster way to get your search started. 

Right-click any drive or folder--on the desktop, in an Explorer window,
wherever--select Find, and up pops the Find window with that drive or
folder already listed on the Look In line. Ever faster, from the desktop
or an open Explorer window, press F3 to open the Find: All Files window
already focused on the current folder.


*2. CAN'T FIND A FILE? WINDOWS 95 CAN--PART 1 OF 2         
     
Need to locate a file, but can't remember its name? Windows' Find feature
offers plenty of additional ways to track it down. Just fill in what you
do know about the file on the Name & Location, Date and Advanced tabs,
and chances are Windows can find the file you're looking for. 

Let's suppose the only things you can remember about a file are that you
opened it last Friday and that it was a Microsoft Word document. Select
Start, Find, Files or Folders, and on the Look In line, click the down
arrow and select the drive on which the file is located. (If you aren't
sure, select My Computer.) Click the Date tab, select Find All Files,
then click the down arrow next to this option and select Last Accessed.
Select Between then complete both date fields with last Friday's date.
Finally, select the Advanced tab, click the down arrow next to Of Type,
and select Microsoft Word. 

Click Find Now, and the resulting list will include all Microsoft Word
documents opened last Friday. Hey, there's that file you need!


*3. CAN'T FIND A FILE? WINDOWS 95 CAN--PART 2 OF 2         
     
Need to locate a file, but can't remember its name? Windows' Find
feature offers plenty of additional ways to track it down. Just fill in
what you do know about the file on the Name & Location, Date and Advanced
tabs, and chances are Windows can find the file you're looking for. 

In our last tip, we showed you how to find a file based on two
factors--the date it was last accessed and its file type (these options
are on the Date and Advanced tabs, respectively). Now let's look at
another scenario. Suppose the one thing you know for sure about the
document is that it discussed scuba diving. 

Select Start, Find, Files or Folders, and on the Look In line, click the
down arrow and select the drive on which the file is located. (If you
aren't sure, select My Computer.) Next to Containing Text (still on the
Name & Location tab), type the text that you know appears in the
document--in this case, 'scuba'. Click Find Now, and check the resulting
list for the missing document. There it is! 

(Note: If the resulting list is long--after all, you probably have loads
of documents containing the word 'scuba'--try narrowing your search a bit
more. For example, you might select a file type on the Advanced tab or,
if you know you accessed the file in the previous month, select this
option on the Date tab. Once again, click Find Now, and with any luck,
you'll spot the file you're after.)


*4. IN CASE YOUR FOUND FILE(S) GET LOST AGAIN--PART 1 OF 2         
     
In the last couple of tips, we discussed some of the search options
available to you from the Find dialog box. (To open this box, select
Start, Find, Files or Folders; or right-click any folder or drive and
select Find.) For example, you can search by file type and date last
accessed, or by some text that you know appears in the document. 

Just complete a search that uses multiple criteria? Before closing the
Find dialog box, stop and think--Will I need to conduct this search
again? If the answer is yes, or even maybe, save that search. That way,
you can start the same find with a couple of quick clicks. 

With your search results displayed in the Find window (in other words,
once the search is complete), select File, Save Search. Switch to the
desktop, and you'll see a new icon there titled, 'Files... something or
other,' based on the search criteria. (Feel free to move this icon
wherever you want--for example, into a folder called Saved Searches.)
The next time you need to conduct the same search, simply double-click
this icon, then click Find Now. 

A lot faster than filling in all those criteria by hand, eh? In our next
tip, saving the results, too....


*5. IN CASE YOUR FOUND FILE(S) GET LOST AGAIN--PART 2 OF 2         
     
In our last tip, we showed you how to save Find's search criteria so that
you can conduct the same search in the future with a couple of quick
clicks: Once the search is complete, select File, Save Search, and a new
icon appears on the desktop. The next time you need to conduct the same
search, double-click the icon, then click Find Now. 

Want to save your search RESULTS along with the criteria? Before you
select File, Save Search, pull down the Options menu and select Save
Results. Now, selecting File, Save Search still places a new icon on the
desktop--the difference is that when you double-click it, both the
original criteria and the results appear in the Find dialog box.


*6. RELEASE THE POWER--PART 1 OF 6         
     
In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys,
a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. While we
frequently refer to Tweak UI, one of the more power-packed toys, the
other tools receive a lot less ink. Over the next six tips, we'll discuss
a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that appear in
your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse menus). In today's tip, we
discuss the Shortcut Target Menu PowerToy. (For information on obtaining
this and the remaining PowerToys, see note below.) 

Want to find a shortcut's target (the item it points to)? Typically, you
have to right-click a shortcut, select Properties, click the Shortcut
tab, and click Find Target; but with the Shortcut Target Menu PowerToy
installed, that target is accessible via the right-mouse menu.
Right-click a shortcut, select Target, choose Open Container in the
pop-out menu, and up pops the window that holds the target file or folder
(with that item selected). 

(Note: If you don't have the Shortcut Target Menu PowerToy, point your
Web browser to 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0430msw95%2C00.html 

and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys
folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents;
then, to install the Shortcut Target Menu PowerToy, right-click
Target.inf and select Install.)


*7. RELEASE THE POWER--PART 2 OF 6         
     
In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys,
a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. While we
frequently refer to Tweak UI, one of the more power-packed toys, the
other tools receive a lot less ink. Over the next five tips, we'll
discuss a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that
appear in your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse menus). In today's tip,
we discuss the Send To Any Folder PowerToy. (For information on obtaining
this and the remaining PowerToys, see note below.) 

Ever right-clicked a folder, selected Send To, and wished you could
select a destination folder in the resulting menu? With the Send To Any
Folder PowerToy installed, you can. Right-click any shortcut or folder,
select Send To, and in the pop-out menu, select Any Folder. Inside the
Other Folder dialog box, type the name of the folder to which you'd like
to send the item (or click Browse, navigate your way to the destination
folder, and click OK). Select Copy or Move, click OK and off it goes.
(Tip: In the future, you can select that target folder in the dropdown
list under To.) 

(Note: If you don't have the Send To Any Folder PowerToy, point your
Web browser to 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0503msw95%2C00.html 

and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys
folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents;
then, to install the Send To Any Folder PowerToy, right-click
Sendtox.inf and select Install.)


*8. RELEASE THE POWER--PART 3 OF 6         
     
In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys,
a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. While we
frequently refer to Tweak UI, one of the more power-packed toys, the
other tools receive a lot less ink. Over the next four tips, we'll
discuss a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that
appear in your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse menus). In today's tip,
we discuss the Send To Clipboard PowerToy. (For information on obtaining
this and the remaining PowerToys, see note below.) 

In our last tip, we told you about the Send To Any Folder PowerToy, a
handy command for copying or moving an item to another location:
Right-click a shortcut or folder; select Send To Any Folder; select a
destination folder; choose Copy or Move, and click OK. While trying out
this command, did you happen to notice those other new items in the Send
To menu? Send To Clipboard As Contents and Send To Clipboard As Name are
handy for copying a shortcut's path, or its target's path, to another
location. (They save you from unnecessary typing.) 

Right-click a shortcut and select Send To, Clipboard As Contents to send
the path of that shortcut's target. Or, select Send To Clipboard As Name
to send the shortcut's path to the Clipboard. Now that the information is
on the Clipboard, switch to your destination--for example, an e-mail or
word processing document--move your cursor to the desired location and
press Ctrl + V to paste it in there. 

(Note: If you don't have the Send To Clipboard PowerToy, point your Web
browser to 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0504msw95%2C00.html 

and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys
folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents;
then, to install the Send To Clipboard PowerToy, right-click Sendtox.inf
and select Install.)


*9. RELEASE THE POWER--PART 4 OF 6         
     
In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys,
a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. While we
frequently refer to Tweak UI, one of the more power-packed toys, the
other tools receive a lot less ink. Over the next three tips, we'll
discuss a few of the more obscure PowerToys--specifically, those that
appear in your context menus (a.k.a., right-mouse menus). In today's tip,
we discuss the Explore >From Here PowerToy. (For information on obtaining
this and the remaining PowerToys, see note below.) 

The name of the Explore From Here PowerToy says it all. Right-click a
folder, select Explore From Here, and up pops Explorer with its focus on
that folder's contents. So what's the difference between this command and
Explore? The PowerToy provides you with access to the selected folder
only (and everything within), while Explore clutters up the Explorer
window with everything else on your system, too. 

(Note: If you don't have the Explore From Here PowerToy, point your
Web browser to 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0505ms95x%2C00.html 

and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys
folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents;
then, to install the Explore From Here PowerToy, right-click Explore.inf
and select Install.)


*10. RELEASE THE POWER--PART 5 OF 6         
     
In many of our previous tips, we've referred to the Windows 95 PowerToys,
a set of tools designed by the Windows Shell Development Team. In this
series of tips, we're discussing a few of the more obscure
PowerToys--specifically, those that appear in your context menus (a.k.a.,
right-mouse menus). In today's tip, we'll introduce the Contents menu
PowerToy. (For information on obtaining this and the remaining PowerToys,
see note below.) 

Right-click any folder (or the Start button or any drive), and you'll see
a new Contents command. Select it, and out pops a menu of that folder's
contents. Selecting any item in this list is exactly the same as opening
the folder and double-clicking that same item--without going through all
that extra work! 

(Note: If you don't have the Contents menu PowerToy, point your
Web browser to 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-0506ms95%2C00.html 

and download powertoy.exe to your folder of choice, such as a PowerToys
folder on the desktop. Double-click this file to extract its contents;
then, to install the Contents menu PowerToy, right-click Content.inf and
select Install.)
