Windows 98 Tips Page 3



*1.   Changing desktop icons 

Windows 98 makes it easy for you to change the icons assigned to My
 Computer, My Documents, Network Neighborhood, or the Recycle Bin.
 To do so, simply right-click anywhere on the desktop and select the
 Properties command from the context menu. When the Display Properties
 sheet appears, click the Effects tab. You can then select the icon you
 want to change from the Desktop Icons panel and then click the Change
 Icon button. When the Change Icon dialog box appears you'll see a list
 box full of icons. If you don't see one you want, you can click the
 Browse button and locate one of the files listed in the table below,
 each of which contain quite a few icons to choose from.

File		Location	
Cool.dll 	\Windows\System
Shell32.dll	\Windows\System
User.exe 	\Windows\System
Moricons.dll	\Windows
Progman.exe	\Windows
Welcome.exe	\Windows 		


*2.   Keeping your system in tip-top shape 

As you know, keeping your system in tip-top shape requires a regular hard
 disk maintenance program. For example, to keep your hard disk working as
 smoothly as possible you should regularly delete unnecessary files with
 the new Disk Cleanup utility, run ScanDisk to seek out and fix errors,
 as well as run Disk Defragmenter to keep your files in contiguous order
 so that they can load more quickly. While manually performing these tasks
 isn't difficult, remembering to perform them on a regular basis is. 

Fortunately, Windows 98 provides you with a tool called the Maintenance
 Wizard, which allows you to easily create a regularly scheduled system
 maintenance program that includes all of the tasks we mentioned above
 and more. Once you run the Maintenance Wizard, you won't have to worry
 about manually performing these tasks ever again and your system will
 always be in tip-top shape. You can find a detailed article that explains
 the entire Maintenance Wizard scheduling process with step-by-step
 instructions and plenty of illustrations in the November issue of Inside
 Microsoft Windows 98. 


*3.   And While You're at It...

An undocumented SCANREG.INI file entry automatically backs up the files
 of your choice along with the other Registry Checker files, but only if
 those files reside in your root, C:\WINDOWS or C:\WINDOWS\SYSTEM
 directories. To specify the files to back up, open SCANREG.INI in
 Notepad and add the line Files= followed by the folder code (enter 30
 for the root directory, 10 for the Windows directory or 11 for the
 System directory) and the filename, separated by a comma. You can also
 add multiple files within a folder; simply separate them  with commas.
 For example, if you wanted to add the SCANDISK.LOG and CONFIG.SYS files
 (located in your root directory) to your Registry Checker backup, add
 the following line to your SCANREG.INI file:

 Files=30, scandisk.log,config.sys.


*4.   Web Page on the Toolbar

Is there a Web page you check several times a day? Put it in a Win98
 toolbar to make it easy to access. Right-click on the taskbar and choose
 Toolbars/New Toolbar, then enter the full URL in the dialog box that
 opens and click on OK. The new toolbar will appear on the taskbar.
 Drag it off the taskbar and hold the mouse pointer at the right edge
 of the screen until the toolbar automatically mounts itself there.
 Now drag the left edge of the toolbar to the width of the Web page.
 Finally, right-click on the toolbar's gray title bar and choose Auto
 Hide. (You can also choose Always On Top.) Whenever you move your
 mouse pointer to the extreme right side of your screen, the Web page
 will open; move the pointer off the toolbar, and it will
 automatically close.

(NOTE:  With IE4's Desktop Update, Win95 users can perform this tip
 as well.)


*5.  Windows 98 users take a slightly different route for the same results:

Tweak UI comes right on the Windows 98 CD, in the \TOOLS\RESKIT\POWERTOY
 folder. Right-click on TWEAKUI.INF and choose Install from the Context
 menu that pops up. Then follow the instructions in the previous tip to
 automate the log-on screen.


*6.   Connectoids!

Windows 98 makes it even easier to copy connectoids between two Win98 PCs.
 You can drag and drop a connectoid over a network (or via a floppy disk)
 to another PC's root directory or Desktop, and then drag and drop the
 connectoid into the Dial-Up Networking folder. Right-click on the new
 connectoid and make sure your local modem -- not the one from the
 original machine -- is selected. You will also have to reenter the
 user name and password, and you may have to connect twice to save
 the password.


*7.   Scrolling Start menu

If your Start menus won't fit on screen, Windows 98 and IE4 let you
 access the excess content with scrolling arrows-but the scrolling is
 slow. You can dramatically speed up scrolling with an undocumented
 keystroke: Hold down the Ctrl key while you scroll.


*8.   Stretchable Dialog Boxes

One of Win98's subtler capabilities is support for stretchable dialog
 boxes: You can expand some of them by dragging their corners or edges.
 This is especially useful in IE 4.0's Favorites/Organize Favorites
 dialog box, so you don't have to scroll if the Favorites list doesn't
 fit in the default view. But try it also in the System Configuration
 Utility and other Win98 utilities and applets.


*9.   Like Current Folder

Create a new default look for all your Win98 folders using the Like
 Current Folder button. First, customize a folder's view, sort order
 and so forth; then select View/Folder Options and the View tab. Click
 on Like Current Folder to create the new default setting.


*10.   GOIN' FONT-ING?     
 
Subscriber M. Pingel asks, "Is there a way to have Windows display
 installed fonts with each font displayed in its own typestyle? It's
 time-consuming to view them one at a time." 

Open the Control Panel, open Fonts, and you'll see the list of fonts
 to which M. is referring. And unfortunately, the only way to view these
 fonts is to open them one at a time. That is, unless you're willing
 to use a shareware program. A good example is FontLook 3.0 ($15),
 available for download from 

http://www.pcworld.com/fileworld/file_description/
frameset/0,1458,5189,00.html 

Download, install, and open this utility. On the Main tab,
 click the Select All button. Select the Show All Selected tab,
 and you'll find a list of all installed fonts in their own typestyles.
 (Tip: You may also wish to print a list of installed fonts to keep as
 a reference. On FontLook's Main tab, click Select All, choose your
 Print Options and click Print.)
