Windows 98 Tips #13



*1. TWEAK THOSE FOLDERS RIGHT OFF THE START MENU         
     
We can't even begin to count the number of requests we receive for tips on
 removing the Documents and Favorites lists from the Start menu. In our last
 two tips, we showed you how to remove both of these folders by editing the
 Registry. Are you someone who prefers never to set foot in the Registry?
 No problem--you can use the Tweak UI PowerToy to accomplish the same thing. 

(Quick review: The Tweak UI PowerToy is on your Windows 98 installation
 CD, in the tools\reskit\powertoy folder. To install it, right-click
 tweakui.inf and select Install.) 

Launch Tweak UI--open the Control Panel and double-click Tweak UI--and
 select the IE 4 tab. At the end of the list of options, you'll see two
 settings: Show Documents On Start Menu and Show Favorites On Start Menu.
 Deselect either (or both) of these settings to hide their respective
 folders, then click OK. Restart Windows 98 and those folders are out of
 sight. (To put them back on the Start menu, just go back and select
 these same settings.)


*2. DO YOU REALLY NEED TO FATTEN UP?         
     
Does your hard drive still use the FAT16 file system? (If you aren't sure,
 keep reading.) That means you aren't taking full advantage of your hard
 disk space, and you should consider converting the drive to FAT32. This
 new-and-improved system stores data in smaller clusters, resulting in less
 wasted space. 

To determine exactly how much space you'll regain upon conversion, run the
 FAT32 Conversion Utility, available on the Windows 98 installation CD. 

With the installation CD in your CD-ROM drive, click Browse This CD, then
 navigate your way to the tools\reskit\config folder. Double-click
 Fat32win.exe file, and when the utility opens, select a drive and click
 Scan. (If you see a dialog box telling you the drive is already a FAT32
 drive, you're all set.) 

In our next tip, we'll show you how to go ahead with the conversion.... 


*3. GET RESOURCE-FUL         
     
Want to know more about Windows 98 than what you can find in online help?
 We aren't going to send you to your local computer store to purchase a
 three-inch-thick manual. Nor are we going to suggest that you take a
 costly, boring-as-can-be Windows 98 seminar. Rather, we'd like to point
 you to the Windows 98 Resource Kit, an
 everything-you-ever-wanted-to-know-about-Windows-98 reference that's
 sitting right on your installation CD. 

Insert your Windows 98 installation CD in your CD-ROM drive and in the
 resulting blue window, click Browse This CD. (If your CD-ROM drive doesn't
 support auto-play, open My Computer and double-click your CD-ROM drive to
 display the blue screen.) Navigate your way to the tools\reskit\help
 folder, then double-click rk98book.chm. It may look as though you're
 inside the standard Windows 98 Help (and in fact, you navigate this
 resource the same way), but trust us, you aren't in Kansas anymore!


*4. HOW FAT IS FAT?          
     
In our last tip, we suggested that if your hard drive still uses the FAT16
 file system, you should consider converting the drive to FAT32. This
 new-and-improved system stores data in smaller clusters, resulting in less
 wasted space. 

We also pointed out that you can run the FAT32 Conversion Utility
 (Fat32win.exe, located in the tools\reskit\config folder of your Windows
 98 installation CD) to determine exactly how much space you'll regain upon
 conversion. Assuming the numbers convince you to convert (we can't imagine
 they wouldn't, since you'll be gaining more hard disk space), here's how
 to go ahead with the operation. 

First of all, you'll need to find a time when you won't be using your
 system for while--say, three hours. Then close any open programs and
 select Start, Programs, Accessories, System Tools, Drive Converter 
(FAT32). Click the Details button, read all the pertinent dos and don'ts
 (for example, don't try to convert a compressed drive), then click Next.
 Select the drive you're about to convert, click Next, and wait as the
 wizard makes sure you don't have any incompatible programs installed.
 Click Next again, and you'll be asked if you want to back up your files
 before proceeding. If so, click Create Backup and so on (Microsoft Backup
 will appear to help with the operation); otherwise click Next. One last
 Next, and the converter is off and running! Now the question is, what are
 you going to do with all that extra space?


*5. WHERE'D MY PROPERTIES GO?         
     
Have you ever opened a Properties dialog box--for example, by
 right-clicking the desktop and selecting Properties--switched over to some
 other windows for a while, and then come back to the desktop, only to
 discover that the Properties box is gone? Chances are you clicked the Show
 Desktop icon (on the Quick Launch toolbar) or pressed Windows-D. Either
 way, you're asking Windows 98 to reveal the desktop, meaning it sends all
 open windows to the Taskbar and any open Properties boxes off to oblivion. 

But not really. You can get it back. To reveal that hiding Properties box,
 press Alt-Tab to display a row of icons, each of which represents an open
 window. Continue holding down Alt as you repeatedly press Tab to rotate
 the focus through these icons. When the icon representing the missing
 Properties box is highlighted (you'll know by the names at the bottom of
 the box), let go, and the box returns to your screen. 

(Tip: Pressing Windows-M or right-clicking the Taskbar and selecting
 Minimize All Windows leaves any Properties boxes on screen, while still
 minimizing all other open windows.)


*6. MAKE YOUR OWN WALLPAPER         
     
When you're browsing the Web with Internet Explorer, it's simple to save an
 image you're viewing on a Web site as desktop wallpaper. Right-click the
 graphic, select Set As Wallpaper, and it's a done deal. Your desktop's got
 a brand new look! 

(Tip: If you currently have the Tiled option selected on the Background tab
 of the Display Properties dialog box, that's the way the image will
 appear. Most likely, you'll want to go in and change this setting to
 Centered or Stretched. Right-click the desktop, select Properties, and on
 the Background tab, under Display, select your preferred option.)


*7. NOW WHERE IS THAT BROWSE SETTING?         
     
In the days of Windows 95, you could choose to browse the contents of
 folders--for example, a folder inside a folder inside a folder--in one
 window or many. And you could change this setting right on the Browse tab
 of the View, Options dialog box of any Explorer window. While it may seem
 that this setting has been removed from the newer OS, it hasn't. You just
 have to look a little harder to find it. 

-From inside any folder or Explorer window, pull down the View menu and
 select Folder Options. Select the last setting under Windows Desktop
 Update, 'Custom, Based On The Settings You Choose,' then click the
 Settings button. Under Browse folders as follows, select either of the two
 options, depending on your preference, then click OK twice. 

(Tip: Once you've changed this setting, you can do exactly the
 opposite--for example, open folders in separate windows, even if you've
 asked to open them in the same window--on a per-case basis. Just hold down
 Ctrl as you double-click a folder.)


*8. CONTROL PANEL CONTROL         
     
How many times a day do you select Start, Settings, Control Panel? Wish
 there were a shorter way to access this oft-used window? There is. Place a
 shortcut to the Control Panel on your desktop, and you can lay your mouse
 pointer on those controls with one quick click (or double-click, depending
 on your desktop settings). 

Open My Computer and you'll see your Control Panel icon inside. Click and
 drag this icon out to the desktop, let go, and click Yes to confirm that
 you want to create a shortcut. (If you want to rename it, press F2, type a
 new name for the shortcut, then press Enter.) Instant access. 

(Tip: If you prefer to avoid desktop clutter, place your Control Panel
 shortcut on the Quick Launch toolbar instead.)


*9. THOSE CONTROLS ARE HOT, HOT, HOT!         
     
In our last tip, we suggested that you create a Control Panel shortcut on
 your desktop for quick access: Open My Computer, click and drag the
 Control Panel icon out to the desktop, let go, and click Yes to confirm
 that you want to create a shortcut. Would you prefer to access this
 oft-used window with a simple keyboard combination? Now that you've
 created a shortcut, you're halfway there. 

Right-click your new Control Panel shortcut and select Properties. On the
 Shortcut tab of the Control Panel Properties dialog box, you'll see your
 cursor inside the text box next to Shortcut key. (If it isn't there, click
 inside this box once.) Now just type the letter you'd like to use in
 combination with Ctrl-Alt to open the Control Panel, such as C. Click OK,
 and from now on, pressing that hot key combo--in this case,
 Ctrl-Alt-C--from anywhere on the system opens the Control Panel. Cool--er,
 we mean, hot!


*10. OUT WITH THE OLD, IN WITH THE NEW, PART 1 OF 2         
     
S. Mete writes, "How do I remove items from the list that appears when you
 right-click the desktop or a folder window and select New? I'm assuming
 there's a Registry edit that will do the trick, but I'm not sure what
 it is." 

Actually, you won't have to set foot in the Registry. You can remove any
 item from the New list by using the Tweak UI PowerToy. (Quick review: The
 Tweak UI PowerToy is on your Windows 98 installation CD, in the
 Tools\Reskit\Powertoy folder. To install it, right-click Tweakui.inf and
 select Install. To open Tweak UI, double-click its icon in Control Panel.) 

Open Tweak UI and select the New tab. (You'll need to scroll over a few
 tabs to get to it.) There, you'll find a list of all the items in the New
 list. To remove an item from the list, simply deselect its check box,
 then click OK. 

Note: If you deselect an item, click Remove, and then click Yes to confirm,
 you'll remove the item from the New list AND from Tweak UI's New
 tab--meaning if you change your mind in the future and want that item
 back, you'll have to go through a lot of extra steps to re-create it. More
 in our next tip...
