Windows 98 Tips #28



*1. WHY IS THE DUN FOLDER I MADE ON THE START MENU EMPTY?         
     
Reader T. Manning writes, "I remember a Windows 95 tip for
 creating a cascading DUN folder in my Start menu. I tried it
 in Windows 98, but the only thing that shows in the Start menu
 is '(Empty).' Is there something else I have to do?" 

First, let's review the technique. To create a cascading DUN
 (dial-up networking) folder, right-click the Start button,
 select Open, and in the resulting Start Menu window, select
 File, New, Folder. Type exactly 

DUN.{992CFFA0-F557-101A-88EC-00DD010CCC48} 

(to name the folder), then press Enter. (Tip: There's no space
 between the period and the opening bracket.) 

The result? An empty folder. The trick is, you need to add items
 manually by dragging them over from the original folder and
 dropping them inside the new one on the Start menu. A little bit
 of extra work, but the end result is worth it.


*2. Turn off menu animation

It's not a big deal for many people, but Windows 98's default way
 of sliding out menus and windows gradually distracts some
 people. To make menus pop out, as they do under Windows 95, open
 Control Panel and double-click on the Display item. Click on the
 Effects tab and under Visual Effects, click to remove the
 checkmark next to Animate windows, menus, and lists. If you
 change your mind later, you can return here and click a
 checkmark back into the box.


*3. SHUT THAT SYSTEM DOWN WITH ONE CLICK         
     
Wish you could shut down Windows with one click instead of four
 (select Start, Shut Down, select Shut Down, click OK)? Then make
 a Shut Down shortcut. Right-click the desktop and select New,
 Shortcut. In the Command Line text box, type 

rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows 

Click Next, name the shortcut something appropriate, such as Shut
 Down (or Later, Alligator), then click Finish. When you're ready
 to shut down, just click your new shortcut (or double-click it,
 as the case may be). 

In our next tip, one-click restarts....


*4. Run through desktop icons fast

It's hard to find an icon on a Desktop that's cluttered with
 dozens of them. Here's a quick way to locate the one you're
 looking for-all you need to know is the name under the icon.
 Click anywhere on the Windows desktop and press the first letter
 of the icon's label. Windows will highlight the first icon it
 comes to beginning with the letter-if that's not the one you're
 looking for, keep pressing the letter and watch the highlight as
 it cycles through the matching icons.


*5. RESTART WITH ONE CLICK         
     
In our last tip, we showed you how to create a desktop shortcut
 that allows you to shut down with one click: Right-click the
 desktop; select New, Shortcut; in the Command Line text
 box, type 

rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows 

and click Next; name the shortcut Shut Down, then click Finish.
 You can use a similar technique to create a Restart shortcut.
 Just follow the steps above, but in the Command Line text
 box, type 

rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindowsexec 

And of course, you'll want to name the shortcut Restart.


*6. REMOVE LOG OFF... COMMAND FROM START MENU         
     
Don't need that Log Off... command taking up valuable Start menu
 real estate (for example, if you're the only one who uses the
 system)? You can get rid of it using Tweak UI. (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 inside the Control Panel.) 

Open Tweak UI and select the IE4 tab. Deselect Allow Logoff, then
 click OK. Restart Windows, click Start, and voila! No more Log
 Off... command.


*7. HIDE INDIVIDUAL DESKTOP ICONS WITH TWEAK UI         
     
Reader T. Moriarty writes, "Is there a way to get rid of the
 desktop icons for My Computer, Briefcase, Network Neighborhood,
 My Documents, etc.? I make extensive use of the MS Office
 Toolbar and place these icons there to be more efficient in my
 desktop real estate." 

The easiest way to hide individual desktop icons is to use 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 inside the
 Control Panel.) 

Later editions of Windows 98 did not include the utility. If you
 don't have it, you can download Tweak UI-98 from File World at 

http://www.pcworld.com/r/tw/1%2C2061%2Ctw-w981129a%2C00.html 

Open Tweak UI and click the Desktop tab. Deselect the icon(s) you
 want to remove from the desktop, click OK, and the icons
 disappear. Of course, if you ever want them back, just follow
 these same steps and reselect the icons. 

(Tip-in-a-tip: As you may remember from a previous tip, you can
 remove all icons from your desktop in one fell swoop--that is,
 assuming your desktop is viewed as a Web page: Right-click the
 desktop and select Properties, click the Effects tab, select
 Hide Icons When Desktop Is Viewed As A Web Page, then click OK.)


*8. Close down Windows 98 fast

Shutting down Windows actually takes three or four steps-Start,
 Shut Down, selecting Shut Down in the dialog box, and clicking
 OK. You can do the same thing by simply double-clicking an icon
 on the Desktop-and here's how to create that icon. Right-click
 on an empty part of the Desktop and select New, Shortcut. Under
 Command Line, enter c:\windows\rundll.exe user.exe,exitwindows
 and click Next. In the next dialog box, give the shortcut a name
 (Shut Down Windows will do), and click on Finish. To close down
 fast, double-click your new icon. (If you have lots of windows
 open, minimize everything fast to uncover your shortcut: hold
 down a 104-key keyboard's Window key and press D).


*9. PRESS F3 TO ACCESS FIND WINDOW         
     
Looking for a quick way to access a Find window? From the desktop
 or any Explorer window, press F3. It's the same as selecting
 Start, Find, Files or Folders. 

(Note: When you press F3, Find will open with its focus on your
 current location. For example, if you're on the desktop, the
 Look In line will point to the Desktop folder.)


*10. Registry Changes on the Fly

Some of the changes you make in the Windows Registry don't take
 effect until you reboot. But if you want to see the effect of a
 changed Registry entry, you can refresh the Desktop and reload
 Registry defaults without rebooting. Press Ctrl+Alt+Del. Select
 Explorer in the Task list and click the End Task button. When
 the Shutdown dialog box appears, choose No. A Program Not
 Responding dialog box for Explorer will appear on the Desktop.
 Click the End Task button to restart Explorer, reloading system
 settings from the current Windows Registry.
