Windows 98 Tips Page 8



*1.   TOOLBAR TRICK.  

In Windows 98, here's a simple little thing that might be overlooked.
 Right click on your taskbar, select Toolbars, and click on Desktop in
 the options. Icons will be placed on your taskbar representing
 everything in your My Computer folder. Just scroll right and left to
 display them. If you click on the icon while holding CTRL depressed,
 a vertical bar displays the contents. Clicking further on that item
 opens or runs it, depending on the application. Thanks, G.C., for the tip.


*2.   PICK A SIZE, ANY SIZE     
 
Wish your desktop icons were just a wee bit smaller, or larger?
 Unfortunately, you can't change this setting in the familiar Display
 Properties dialog box, but if you're willing to do a little Registry
 editing, you can pick and choose your icon size. 

(Warning: As with all Registry-editing techniques, we recommend backing
 up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat, hidden files on the
 root of your hard drive--before continuing.) 

Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing 

regedit 

and clicking OK and navigate your way to
 HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Control Panel\Desktop\WindowMetrics. In the right
 pane, right-click Shell Icon Size and select Modify. In the Edit
 String dialog box, change the number on the Value data line to match
 your desired icon size in pixels (the default is 32). Click OK. Close
 the Registry Editor, click the desktop once to place the focus there,
 then press F5 to refresh. 

(Note: If you don't see a Shell Icon Size value, you'll need to create
 one: With the WindowMetrics key selected, right-click a blank area in
 the right pane; select New, String Value; type 

Shell Icon Size 

and click OK.) 
   

*3.   GET OUT--AND TAKE YOUR FILES WITH YOU     
 
Z. Teeters writes, "I read with interest your tip on changing the default
 directory of an application, such as Word. My question is this: If I
 change my default Word directory from a folder on drive C to one on a
 recently installed drive (E), what happens to all the Word files that
 are still on drive C? Do I just move them? This may seem like a simple
 question, but I don't want to risk losing my old files." 

Once you've changed a program's default directory, it is most efficient
 to move any other files created in that application to the same folder.
 That way, you don't have to go fishing through drives and folders to
 find them when you're in an Open or Save As dialog box. 

An easy way to accomplish this operation is to use two Explorer windows.
 (You could also use one, double-paned window, but we prefer to avoid all
 that scrolling.) Open a single-paned Explorer window and display the
 contents of the new default folder. Now open a second Explorer window
 and find all your files created in the given application. (With any luck,
 they're all in one place. If not, you'll have to repeat these steps a
 few times to move them all.) Hold down Ctrl as you click each one,
 right-click and drag the selection into the first open window, let go
 and select Move Here. From now on, you can access these files directly
 from that application's Open or Save As dialog box. 


*4.   OH WHERE, OH WHERE HAVE MY PREVIEWS GONE? PART 1 OF 2     
 
C. Stott (and a lot of other readers with the same problem) writes, "I
 recently installed a photo publishing package, and it changed my file
 associations so that it was the default program for all graphics files.
 I didn't like this behavior, so I changed it back (by selecting View,
 Folder Options, clicking the File Types tab, and so on). The problem is
 now Windows doesn't display previews of those files in my open folders
 window (when viewing the folders as Web pages), like it used to. How
 can I get my previews back?" 

The good news is you can get them back. The bad news is you'll need to do
 some Registry editing, and quite a bit of it. (Warning: As always, we
 recommend backing up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat,
 hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before continuing.) 

Open the Registry Editor--select Start, Run, type 

regedit 

and click OK--and navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\, where  is the
 type of file you want to preview, such as .gif. With that key selected,
 click the plus icon (+) in the left pane to expand all keys within it.
 In order for preview mode to work for that file type, the following
 entries need to be there: 

Registry Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx] 

Registry Key:
 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}] 

Value: (Default)="{7376D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC}" 

If any or all of these entries aren't there, you'll need to create them.
 We'll show you how in our next tip.... 
   
   
*5.   OH WHERE, OH WHERE HAVE MY PREVIEWS GONE? PART 2 OF 2     
 
In our last tip, we brought up a problem a lot of users have had with
 previews. (When viewing a folder as a Web page, selecting a file of a
 common graphic type--*.bmp, *.gif, and so on--displays a preview of that
 image in the left pane.) Apparently, after installing certain third-party
 software programs that mess around with your file associations, these
 previews disappear. To fix the problem, open the Registry Editor (after
 backing it up, of course) and navigate your way to HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\,
 where  is the type of file you want to preview, such as .gif. With that
 key selected, click the asterisk key (*) on your numeric keypad to expand
 all keys within it. In order for preview mode to work for that file type,
 the following entries need to be there: 

Registry Key: [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx] 

Registry Key:
 [HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\\ShellEx\{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1}] 

Value: (Default)="{7376D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC}" 

Are you missing any or all of these entries? (Our guess is yes, or you
 wouldn't be having a problem.) Then you'll need to create them, as follows. 

Right-click HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\, select New, Key, type 

ShellEx 

and press Enter. Right-click the new ShellEx key, select New, Key, type 

{BB2E617C-0920-11d1-9A0B-00C04FC2D6C1} 

and press Enter. With the key you just created selected, right-click
 (Default) in the right pane and select Modify. On the Value data line
 of the Edit String dialog box, type 

{7376D660-C583-11d0-A3A5-00C04FD706EC} 

and click OK. 

Oh, and one last reminder: You'll need to repeat these steps for each
 file type you want to be able to preview. What a mess, eh? 
   

*6.   BRIEFCASE DOES IT AGAIN     
 
D. M. Spencer writes, "I have found an excellent use for the Windows 98
 Briefcase that wasn't mentioned in your recent Briefcase series. I
 generate a number of documents that everyone needs access to. I could
 use file sharing on our LAN, but as my computer isn't on all the time,
 people on other shifts wouldn't have access. So, I place sync copies of
 the files on a shared drive on the LAN on one of our servers. The files
 are kept in a briefcase on my desktop, where I can work on them without
 connecting to the LAN. Any time I update these files, I just use
 Briefcase's Update command to make the copies on the LAN current." 

Just another one of the many great uses for the Windows 98 Briefcase.
 Thanks for sharing, D.! 
   

*7.   THE CASE OF THE MISSING MAP     
 
Reader A. Silberlight offers this tip: 

If the Character Map is not installed in your Windows 98 computer, you
 can usually install it as follows: Open the Control Panel, select
 Add/Remove Program, click the Windows Setup tab, double-click System
 Tools, check Character Map, and click OK. However, I recently came
 across a computer (with Windows 98 already installed) on which this
 technique did not work. Then, according to Microsoft, you'll need to
 follow these steps: 

With the Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive,
 select Start, Run, type 

sfc 

(to open the System File Checker) and click OK. Select Extract One File
 From Installation Disk, type 

charmap.exe 

and click Start. Next to Restore From, type 

X:\Win98 

where X is your CD-ROM drive. Next to Save File In, type 

C:\Windows 

and click OK. 

Charmap.exe is now in your Windows folder. Locate this file in an Explorer
 window, and place a shortcut to it on the desktop or in your Start menu. 

Thanks for the tip, A! 
   

*8.   THE FASTEST APPLICATION IN THE WEST     
 
S. Forbes writes, "When I read one of your tips that I want to keep around
 for future use, I do a quick cut-and-paste into WordPad. How do I install
 WordPad on my Taskbar--as opposed to a desktop shortcut--so it's more
 easily accessible?" 

There are two options you may wish to consider. The first is to create a
 hot key for WordPad, so you can open it at the press of a keyboard combo.
 Right-click the shortcut you use to open WordPad and select Properties.
 Click the Shortcut tab, then click inside the text box next to Shortcut
 key. Type the letter you'd like to use in combination with Ctrl-Alt to
 open the program, for example, W (Windows 98 fills in the Ctrl-Alt part).
 Click OK, and from now on, pressing Ctrl-Alt-W opens WordPad. 

Your other option is to add a WordPad shortcut to your Quick Launch
 toolbar (the row of icons to the right of your Start button). Click
 and drag your current WordPad shortcut down to this toolbar between
 two existing icons (or on either edge of the bar). A black line will
 appear to let you know you've chosen an acceptable place to create a
 shortcut. Let go, and you now have Taskbar access to WordPad! 

(Tip: Use the above techniques to create quick access to any of your
 favorite applications.) 
   

*9.   NEW NAMES FOR TRASH     
 
D. Dasher writes, "How would I go about changing the Recycle Bin name
 in Win98?" 

(Warning: This technique involves editing the Registry. As always,
 we recommend backing up your Registry files--System.dat and User.dat,
 hidden files on the root of your hard drive--before continuing.) 

Open the Registry Editor by selecting Start, Run, typing 

regedit 

and clicking OK and navigate your way to
 HKEY_CLASSES_ROOT\CLSID\ {645FF040-5081-101B-9F08-00AA002F954E}.
 In the right pane, right-click (Default) and select Modify. On the
 Value data line of the Edit String dialog box, select Recycle Bin and
 type your name of choice, such as I Love Trash. Click OK and close the
 Registry Editor. 

Click the desktop once to place the focus there, press F5 to refresh,
 and there's the new name! 
   

*10.   ALL TOGETHER NOW     
 
In a previous tip, we showed you how to close a number of related windows
 at once (for example, if you opened a folder inside a folder, and so on,
 all in separate windows): Hold down the Shift key as you click the X
 caption button (in the upper-right corner) of the last  you opened. 

Don't want to be bothered reaching for the mouse? Try the keyboard way.
 Make the last window you opened active, then press Alt-Shift-F4.
 Presto--that window and all of its relatives close in one fell swoop! 

(Tip-in-a-tip: Pressing Alt-F4 closes the currently active window.)
